Christian Reflection and Prayer

God was not created for man to enjoy,
but man was created for God to enjoy,
Man is God's richest treasure and must
be restored to Him-not for the sake of
the treasure, but for the sake of the
Owner.
We  preach, not because me want God,
but because God wants men.  We go
forth with the Gospel not because men
are godless, but because God is manless.
Salvation has not been provided simply that
man might rejoice in heaven, but that
heaven might rejoice in man.
Though the arms of the cross reach
around the world as an expression
of man's opportunity for deliverance from
sin, yet we do not fully understand
Calvary until we have seen it from above.
From that perspective we begin to
realize that missions is not a
response to man's desire for God, but
to God's desire for man.
The "Great Commission" was His
thought, not ours.  It grew out of God's
desire to enjoy eternal fellowship with
mankind.
For His sake, let's get on with the job.

Don W. Hillis

Scripture:

If you need wisdom . . . ask him,
and he will gladly tell you. James 1:5

Seek his will in all you do, and he will
direct your paths. Proverbs 3:6

Reflection:

Do you ever find yourself in the position
when you just don't know what to do?
I mean you have tried everything, but nothing
seems to work out.  I would like to make a
suggestion, instead of wasting all this time
of trial and error, first seek God's guidance.
If you do this He promises to grant you
wisdom.  Just ask Solomon, he did, and
boy was he granted wisdom.

Prayer:

Oh Lord I do not seek treasure for
myself, please, just grant wisdom.
To the only wise God, in Jesus Name
AMEN!

Scripture:

"And she shall bring forth a Son,
and you will call His name Jesus:
For He shall save His people from
their sins. (Matthew 1:21) KJV

Reflection:

It happened right from the very
beginning, right from the announcement
to Mary of Jesus' birth.  "for He shall save
His people from their sins".  That is just
what we celebrated through Christ's death
and resurrection.  That is what it's all
about, you and I and are saved from our
sins.  You know what that means?  We
are not bound by our sins, or mistakes,
even our lives.  If you and I truly believe,
we are set free from our sins, our mistakes,
from all we did not accomplish in our lives.
Our reward for our deep seated faith, is
that we are set free forever for all eternity.
I believe and I'm free.  ARE YOU?

Prayer:

Almighty God, thank You for Your Son
Jesus Christ who has set me free for
all eternity.  Thank You that I am no longer
bound by mistakes, but am free to learn
from those mistakes and sin no morel

Scripture:

Listen, my child, to what your
father teaches you. Don't neglect
your mother's teaching. What
you learn from them will crown
you with grace and clothe you
with honor. Proverbs 1:8-9 NLT

Sensible children bring joy to
their father; foolish children
despise their mother.
Proverbs 15:20 NLT

(Note= This is really something
to think and pray about!)

Honor your parents

Once upon a time, there was
a young family — a father, mother,
and their young son. Living
with them was the father's dad.
Grandpa was old and shaky and
very feeble. He dripped everything,
especially when he ate. He
slobbered everything and made
a terrible mess. It was embarrassing
to the family, especially when
company came over. So put the
old man off to one side, away from
the table. They gave him an earthen
bowl to eat out of. But he broke that.
In fact, he continued to slobber and
make a mess. Finally, his
daughter-in-law spoke out harshly
to him and moved him to a far corner
of the room, far from the dinner table.
He was given a wooden trough to eat
out of. At mealtime he would look
wistfully at the family, wishing that
he could eat with them. But that was
not to be.

One day the daughter-in-law found
her son fiddling with some pieces of
wood as he tried to put them together.
She asked him what he was doing.
His answer: "I'm making a trough for
you and Daddy that I can give you when
I grow up." With these words, judgment
was brought to the daughter-in-law, and
she shared it with her husband. They
brought their dad back to the table. He
didn't stop slobbering or shaking, but it
didn't matter anymore. They were finally
honoring their father.
adapted from 1001 Great Stories and
Quotes by R. Kent Hughes, Tyndale
House Publishers (1998), p 160

Reflections:

The chances are that you'll never be
elected President of the country, write
the great American novel, make a million
dollars, stop pollution and racial conflict,
or save the world. However valid it may
be to work at any of these goals, there
is another one of higher priority — to be
an effective parent. LANDRUM R. BOLLING
AMEN AMEN!

Scripture:

17And a voice from heaven said,
"This is my Son, whom I love;
with him I am well pleased."
Matthew 3:17 (New International Version)

Reflection:

Jesus is God's beloved Son. With
Whom He (God) is well pleased.  
You know He is well pleased with
everyone who is in Christ, all those
who are united to Him by faith.  
It seems to me that we should
be responding by saying, He is our
beloved Savior of Whom we are
well pleased.  
Are you pleased with God or are
you pissed off at Him?.  So many
people seem to be mad at God.
They want to blame God for their
circumstances.  In other words
they are not tied into (united) to
God by faith.   Because if they were
united to God by faith, they would use
the strength that is given to them,
through their faith, to change their
circumstances. As I have stated
before God promises to give us the
courage to face our problems with
his strength. Use the strength that
God gives you to over come the over
riding problems that surrounds you.
I don't know about you but I AM WELL
PLEASED WITH MY BELOVED
SAVIOR!  HOW ABOUT YOU?

Prayer:

Lord I was once an orphan blown
along deserted streets.  But thank
You Jesus You took me in and
adopted me as Your own child.
How I praise You for the security
and acceptance that I have found
in Your presence!  I praise You
Lord, In Your Name AMEN!

Jesus is my hope and trust

Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?
For sin is the sting that results
in death, and the law gives sin
its power. How we thank God,
who gives us victory over sin
and death through Jesus Christ
our Lord!
1 Corinthians 15:55-56 NLT

Jesus lives, and so shall I:
Death, thy sting is gone forever!
He for me hath deigned to die,
lives the bands of death to sever.
He shall raise me from the dust:
Jesus is my hope and trust.

Jesus Lives, and So Shall I
Christian Furchtegott Gellert (1715-1769)

Just a happy ending?

What difference does Christ's
resurrection make? Is it just a
happy ending to an otherwise
tragic tale? No, of course not.
Jesus had to rise, as Peter
eloquently stated at Pentecost.
It was impossible for death to
defeat the Lord of life. The
Resurrection proves that Jesus
was the Son of God. Our faith
is built on this solid foundation.
As Paul wrote, "If Christ has not
been raised, your faith is futile;
you are still in your sins.…If
only for this life we have hope
in Christ, we are to be pitied
more than all men" (1 Corinthians
15:17, 19). But He has risen! And
as Jesus promised His disciples,
"Because I live, you also will live"
(John 14:19).

Without Christ, human life is merely
prolonged death. Everything is
decaying. But Jesus gives us eternal
life, which radically changes our life
on earth. Not only do we have eternity
to look forward to, but we have the
power to live in right relationship with
God and others right now in our daily
lives. Jesus is our hope for the future
and our trust for each day. Praise Him!

Our "Resurrection Week" readings are
adapted from The One Year® Book of
Hymns by Mark Norton and Robert Brown,
Tyndale House Publishers (1995).
Today's is taken from the entry for April 2.

Scripture:

But the fact is that Christ has been
raised from the dead. He has become
the first of a great harvest of those who
will be raised to life again.
1 Corinthians 15:20 NLT

Hymn:

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high,
Alleluia! Sing, ye heavens, and earth
reply, Alleluia!

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids Him rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led,
Alleluia! Following our exalted Head,
Alleluia! Made like Him, like Him we rise,
Alleluia! Ours the cross, the grave, the
skies, Alleluia!
Christ the Lord is Risen Today
Charles Wesley (1707-1788) and others

Reflection:

Christ has won the final victory

The grave has been "boasting" of its
power since Eden. But now it has
finally met its match. It wraps Jesus
up at the Cross and "forbids him to
rise," but our Champion, Jesus Christ,
fought and won. Where is your sting
now, O Death? Christ has won the
final victory.

We know that whatever boasting we
do is not in ourselves, but in the power
of Christ. He has won the victory, and
now we're just soaring where Christ has
led. We bask in the benefits of the Cross,
and we look past the grave to our heavenly
reunion with Him. Alleluia!

Our Easter Week readings are adapted from
The One Year® Book of Hymns by Mark
Norton and Robert Brown, Tyndale House
Publishers (1995). Today's is taken from
the entry for April 3.

Digging Deeper/Telling Others: For more on
the meaning of Easter, read Why the
Resurrection by Greg Laurie (Tyndale, 2005),

I Know My Redeemer Lives

Scripture:

But as for me, I know that my Redeemer
lives, and that he will stand upon the earth
at last. And after my body has decayed,
yet in my body I will see God. I will see
him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my
own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!
Job 19:25-27 NLT

Hymn:

I know that my Redeemer lives; what joy
the blest assurance gives! He lives, He lives,
who once was dead; He lives, my everlasting
Head!

He lives, all glory to His name; He lives, my
Savior, still the same; what joy the blest
assurance gives: I know that my Redeemer lives!
I Know That My Redeemer Lives
Samuel Medley (1738-1799)

Reflection:

One of those verses

Every once in a while, a verse jumps out of the
Old Testament and takes on a new meaning.
Job lost his fortune, family, and much of his
health. In a stunning display of faith, he expresses
his only remaining hope: "I know that my Redeemer
lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the
earth" (Job 19:25). The words find an uncanny
fulfillment in Jesus.

Jesus gave His life to redeem us, to buy us
back from our slavery to sin. His death was the
price of our freedom. But that's not the bottom
line, thank God. As the sun rises on Easter
morning, we can say with Job, "I know that
my Redeemer lives." He lives! Death could not
hold Him. He lives, to finish salvation's work in me.

Hymn writer Samuel Medley often repeated words
and phrases in his songs. Here, what's repeated is
the most important concept: "He lives…He lives…
He lives."

 ("Resurrection Week" readings are adapted
from The One Year® Book of Hymns by Mark
Norton and Robert Brown, Tyndale House
Publishers (1995). Today's is taken from the
entry for April 2.)

According to the New Testament, Jesus was
arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane by the
Temple Guards through the guidance of his
disciple, Judas Iscariot. Judas received money
for betraying Jesus and told the guards that
whomever he kisses is the one they are to
arrest. Jesus is brought to the house of Annas,
who is the father-in-law of the current high priest,

Read the rest of this entry ... (831 words left)

Were You There?

Scripture:

As his body was taken away, the
women from Galilee followed and
saw the tomb where they placed
his body. Then they went home
and prepared spices and ointments
to embalm him. But by the time
they were finished it was the Sabbath,
so they rested all that day as required
by the law. Luke 23:55-56 NLT

Hymn:

Were you there when they crucified
my Lord? Were you there when they
crucified my Lord? O! Sometimes it
causes me to tremble, tremble,
tremble! Were you there when they
crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they laid Him
in the tomb? Were you there when they
laid Him in the tomb? O! Sometimes it
causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble!
Were you there when they laid Him in
the tomb?
Were You There? Traditional spiritual

Reflection:

Experience the "tremble"

This favorite hymn comes from the
rich American spiritual tradition,
probably developed in the early 1800s
by African-American slaves. As in
most spirituals, the words are simple,
seizing on one central theme or concept.

Spirituals tend to have a lot of emotional
appeal. As a result, this hymn, like few
others, puts the singer there. We
experience the "tremble" as we sing it.
And in the triumphant final stanza, we
experience the glory of a risen Lord.
We are called out of the cold analysis
of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection
into the moment of living it. We are called
out of the theological debate and into the
stark reality. We hear the nails pounded
into the cross, we see the onlookers
wagging their heads, we smell the burial
spices, and we feel the rumble of the stone
rolling away. And we tremble… tremble…
tremble.

Our Holy Week readings are adapted from
The One Year® Book of Hymns by Mark
Norton and Robert Brown, Tyndale House
Publishers (1995). Today's is taken from
the entry for March 21.

MAUNDAY THURSDAY

Go to Dark Gethsemane

Scripture:

Then Jesus brought them into an olive
grove called Gethsemane, and he said,
"Sit here while I go on ahead to pray."…
He went on a little farther and fell face
down on the ground, praying, "My
Father! If it is possible, let this cup
of suffering be taken away from me.
Yet I want your will, not mine."
Matthew 26:36-39 NLT

Hymn:

Go to dark Gethsemane, ye that feel
the tempter's power; your Redeemer's
conflict see; watch Him one bitter hour;
turn not from His grief away; learn of
Jesus Christ to pray.

See Him at the judgment hall, beaten,
bound, reviled, arraigned; see Him
meekly bearing all! Love to man His
soul sustained. Shun not suffering,
shame or loss; learn of Christ to bear
the cross.
Go to Dark Gethsemane
James Montgomery (1771-1854)

Reflection:

Learning from Christ's passion

Step by step James Montgomery takes
us through Christ's passion. We go with
our Lord to the Garden of Gethsemane,
where those troublesome thoughts of
death assailed Him. While His trusted
friends drifted off to sleep, Jesus fought
off the temptation to avoid the Cross.
It was difficult time, and in Montgomery's
simple text we feel drops of sweat.

At Jesus' trial—a shabby excuse for
justice if ever there was one—He bore
the beating and badgering without
speaking a word. He was carrying our
sins with Him to the Cross. At the
Cross we can only fall at His feet to
worship.

At each point of this journey we have
much to learn from our Savior. We
can learn to pray when tempted and
to endure suffering with patience.
And Christ teaches us to rise in
newness of life, to live in a way
that honors Him, and ultimately
to join Him in glory.

Our Holy Week readings are
adapted from The One Year®
Book of Hymns by Mark Norton and
Robert Brown, Tyndale House
Publishers (1995). Today's is
taken from the entry for April 1.

Partake of Me

Scripture:

I live by the power of the living Father
who sent me; in the same way, those
who partake of me will live because of me.
John 6:57 NLT

Hymn:

Bread of the world, in mercy broken,
wine of the soul, in mercy shed, by
whom the words of life were spoken,
 and in whose death our sins are dead;
Look on the heart by sorrow broken,
look on the tears by sinners shed; and
may Thy feast to us be the token that
by Thy grace our souls are fed.
Bread of the World, in Mercy Broken
Reginald Heber (1783-1826)

Reflection:

A Communion hymn

Reginald Heber wrote this hymn
specifically for use in the service
before the Eucharist. Its simple
lines focus first on Christ and then
on the attitude of the singer. Christ
has spoken words of life and has
taken our sins to the cross with Him.
We are sorry for our sins and take
this "feast" of bread and wine as a
"token" of the forgiveness that Christ
offers.

For sixteen years Heber served as a
parish priest in the village of Hodnet
in western England. Three times he
was asked to become the bishop of
Calcutta, India, and twice he turned
it down. Finally at the age of forty,
he accepted the call and sailed for
India with his wife and two daughters.
Three years later, after preaching to
a crowded church near Hindu shrines
to Vishnu and Siva, he suffered a stroke
and died.

While Heber's hymns initially met with
official church resistance, many of them
were eventually published shortly before
his death and have been a blessing to
believers for nearly two centuries.

Our Holy Week readings are adapted
from The One Year® Book of Hymns
by Mark Norton and Robert Brown,
Tyndale House Publishers (1995).
Today's is taken from the entry for April 4.

For more reflection on Holy week, see The
Passion, Tyndale's companion book to Mel
Gibson's powerful movie about the last twelve
hours of Jesus' life.

PALM SUNDAY

All Glory, Laud and Honor

Scripture:

He was in the center of the
procession, and the crowds
all around him were shouting,
"Praise God! Bless the one
who comes in the name of
the Lord! Bless the coming
kingdom of our ancestor
David! Praise God in highest
heaven!" Mark 11:9-10 NLT

Hymn:

All glory, laud, and honor
to Thee, Redeemer,
King, to whom the lips of
children made sweet
hosannas ring; Thou art
the King of Israel, Thou
David's royal Son, who
in the Lord's name comest,
the King and blessed One!

To Thee, before Thy passion,
they sang their hymns of
praise; to Thee, now high
exalted, our melody we raise:
Thou didst accept their
praises—accept the praise
we bring, who in all good
delightest, Thou good and
gracious King! All Glory,
Laud and Honor Theodulf of
Orléans (c. 750-821)

Reflection:

Not the revolutionary they expected

When Jesus entered Jerusalem
riding on a donkey, hopeful crowds
filled the streets waving palm
branches and praising God. But
less than a week later, when it
became clear that Jesus was not
the revolutionary they expected,
this same crowd demanded His
crucifixion.

For Theodulf, whom King Charlemagne
had made bishop of Orléans in
the late 700s, praise was born of
painful circumstances. After
Charlemagne's death, Theodulf
was exiled to Angers, France,
on charges of conspiracy. In the
dark prison at Angers, Theodulf
apparently wrote the text of this
hymn, which became the great
Palm Sunday processional of the
Western church—a celebration of
God's grace sung by millions through
the centuries.

Our Holy Week readings are adapted
from The One Year® Book of Hymns
by Mark Norton and Robert Brown,
Tyndale House Publishers (1995).
Today's is taken from the entry for March 27.

Scripture:

Jesus the Lamb of God
 
29The next day John saw Jesus coming
toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb
of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29 (New International Version)

Reflection:

I got to ask myself. If I saw Jesus coming
towards me would I say, "Look, the Lamb
of God, who takes away the sin of the world?
The sad thing is, I wonder if I would recognize
Christ. 
Wow what a statement "Look, the Lamb of
God, who takes away the sin of the world!
How do you take away the sin of the world. 
Well God did!  He gave us His son who literally,
actually died on the cross for us.  Now that
in itself certainly is an unbelievable sacrifice,
but without the resurrection the act of the cross
would have been lost.  Christ died, a painful,
humiliating death, executed on a cross.  But it
didn't stop there, three days later He arose, He
came back to life and remains with us as the
Holy Spirit!  He did this, so that you and I will
not simply die in sin, but will live forever in glory!
Guess What?  You only have to do one thing,
BELIEVE!!!!!!!!

Prayer:

Thank You lord I Believe!!!!!!!