Christian Reflection and Prayer

"If I had not confessed the sin in my
heart, my Lord would not have listened.
But God did listen! He paid attention
to my prayer."
Psalm 66:18-19 NLT

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"I will bless the Lord who guides me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I know the Lord is always with me,
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside
me."    Psalm 16:7-8 NLT

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(THANKS JAN)

This should probably be taped
to your bathroom mirror
where one could read it every day.
You may not realize it,
but it's 100% true.

1. There are at least two people in this world
that you would die for.

2.. At least 15 people in this world
love you in some way.

3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you
is because they want to
be just like you.

4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone,
even if they don't
like you.

5. Every night,
SOMEONE thinks about you
before they go to sleep.

6. You mean the world to someone.

7. You are special and unique.

8. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.

9. When you make the biggest mistake ever,
something good comes from it.

10. When you think the world
has turned its back on you
take another look.

11. Always remember the compliments you received..
Forget about the rude remarks.

Scripture:

Psalm 121

1I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,
from whence cometh my help
2My help cometh from the LORD,
which made heaven and earth.

7The LORD shall preserve thee
from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul
8The LORD shall preserve thy
going out and thy coming in from
this time forth, and even for
evermore.    King James Version (KJV)

Reflection:

You know I don't know about you but
lately I've been finding myself needing
help. Money is really tight for me, and
for most everybody, right now.
What started me thinking about my
situation was of course television.  
Here it is early November and
Christmas retail sales advertising
has been going full blast for the last
3 weeks.  Well just like everybody else,
I started worrying (already) about, "How
am I going to pay for Christmas?"  I've got
a number of children and grand children
and not enough money to provide Christmas
presents for them.  As I was pondering over
my situation these 4 verses in Psalm 121 came
into my mind.  
I looked up into the sky and prayed, and I
immediately realized, deep in my heart and
soul, where my help was coming from.  
My help, as it always has before, will come
from the LORD.  That's right, the same mighty
and powerful God who created all the heavens
and the earth.  The same God who is going to
help me and preserve me in my going out and my
coming in.  HE IS GOING TO HELP ME STARTING
NOW, AND HE IS GOING TO HELP ME
FOREVER MORE.      A M E N !

Scripture:

"I can do everything with the help of Christ
who gives me the strength I need."
Philippians 4:13 NLT

Man is never so tall as when he kneels
before God — never so great as when he
humbles himself before God. And the man
who kneels to God can stand up to anything.
Louis H. Evans1

Reflection:

When I woke up the other morning, one of the
first things I did was turn to the news on TV.
I was greeted by the news that unemployment
is now in the double digits 10.2 %.  People are
out of work, over 44 million have no health care.
A homeless person has now been joined by
homeless families.  Many, in this country, have
found themselves in the position of having almost
nothing especially concerning financial resources.
The Apostle Paul often found himself in this same
position of having "almost nothing" (Philippians 4:12).
But notice that even in his bleakest moments,
when his stomach was literally empty and growling,
Paul's spirit was full (v. 11). Paul experienced genuine
contentment in difficult times. How did he do this?
Paul relied on the strength of Christ to get him through.
God's strength is a kind of divine energy that can
sustain you through economic difficulties or troubles
of any kind.
PLEASE YOU MUST REMEMBER THROUGH THE
POWER OF THIS DIVINE ENERGY, THE HOLY SPIRIT,
GOD IS THERE FOR YOU!!  RELY ON THE STRENGTH
OF CHRIST TO GET YOU THROUGH

Prayer:

Oh Lord with Your divine assistance I know I can press on.
With your help and strength, I can do whatever you ask
of me. Give me a second wind. I look to you in trust
because I know you are faithful. In Jesus name Amen

And through him God reconciled everything
to himself. He made peace with everything
in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's
blood on the cross.
Colossians 1:20, NLT     
    Christ's death provided a way for all
people to come to God. It cleared away the
sin that keeps us from having a right
relationship with our Creator. This does not
mean that everyone has been saved, but
that the way has been cleared for anyone
who will trust Christ to be saved.     
    We can have peace with God and
be reconciled to him by accepting Christ,
who died in our place. Is there a distance
between you and the Creator? Be reconciled
to God. Come to him through Christ.

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Scripture

And "don't sin by letting anger control you.
" Don't let the sun go down while you are
still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
Ephesians 4:26-27, NLT

Reflection:    
The Bible doesn't tell us that we shouldn't
feel angry, but it points out that it is important
to handle our anger properly. If vented
thoughtlessly, anger can hurt others and
destroy relationships. If bottled up inside,
it can cause us to become bitter and destroy
us from within. Paul tells us to deal with our
anger immediately in a way that builds
relationships rather than destroys them.    

If we nurse our anger, we will give
Satan an opportunity to divide us. Are you
angry with someone right now? What can
you do to resolve your differences?
Don't let the day end before you begin
to work on mending your relationship.    
 

Scripture:

Don't just pretend to love others.
Really love them. Hate what is wrong.
Hold tightly to what is good. Love
each other with genuine affection,
and take delight in honoring each other.
Romans 12:9-10, NLT     

Reflection:

Most of us have learned how to
pretend to love others--how to
speak kindly, avoid hurting their
feelings, and appear to take an
interest in them. We may even
be skilled in pretending to feel
moved with compassion when
we hear of others' needs, or to
become indignant when we learn
of injustice. But God calls us to
real and sincere love that goes
far beyond pretense and politeness.
Sincere love requires concentration
and effort. It means helping others
become better people. It demands
our time, money, and personal
involvement. No individual has the
capacity to express love to a whole
community, but the body of Christ
in your town does.     
Look for people who need your love,
and look for ways you and your
fellow believers can love your
community for Christ.     

From "Life Application Daily Devotion"  
September 20, 2009