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27.02.2007
Prayer for a Better World
O God, the source of creation, ever-present
in the changes of this world, be present
with your people who cry to you for help.
Empower us with vision and strength to
enable the peoples of this earth to acquire
the skills and resources necessary to a
growing world. Enable those from countries
with plenty to share their lives, funds, and resources with those in need. Embolden
those with vision to proclaim new ways of
creating communities of responsibility.
Engage us in learning from one another
and in valuing the unique gifts that you
have given to the people of every land.
Bless your people, O God, who cry to you. Amen.
- Vienna Cobb Anderson
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24.02.2007
"Are You a Prisoner?"
Scripture:
"This grace was given, that I should preach
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of
Christ." (Ephesians 3:8)
Reflection:
This is part of a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote
to the church in Ephesus. Do you realize that
Paul was a prisoner at the time he wrote this
letter. All through the Book of Ephesians, Paul
has this upbeat attitude being excited about the
unsearchable riches of Christ, and all that time
he is suffering the pain and humiliation of a prisoner.
But he didn't see himself as a prisoner of the state
but as a prisoner of Christ. He took the hardship that
he was suffering and made into an exciting opportunity
to bring the Gospel to the gentiles. I'm curious do you
use the pain, the disappointments, the discouragements,
that you encounter in life as an opportunity to tell others
about Jesus Christ? What a wonderful way to approach
your life. In Ephesians 3:8, Paul states "To me, who am
less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given,
that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ". Paul, a prisoner of Christ, saw himself as
being given the privilege to serve God and present the
"riches of Christ" to all. Are You a prisoner of Christ?
Prayer:
Lord afflictions may test me, They cannot destroy me,
because You are my Savior, thank you that one small
glimpse of Your love turns them all to joy. THANK GOD
FOR BEING GOD!
Quote of the Day
Lucretia Mott
Quaker, Pacifist Abolitionist, Feminist
(1793-1880)
"Let it be called the Great Spirit of the Indian, the Quaker
‘Inward Light' of George Fox, the ‘Blessed Mary,' Mother
of Jesus of the Catholics, or Brahman, the Hindu's God -
they will be one, and there will come to be such a faith
and liberty as shall redeem the world.
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22.02.2007
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
Black History Month
I have a Dream
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial
in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963
(Here is the last part of the I have a dream speech.
Let us remember and cherish these words.)
This will be the day when all of God's children will
be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country,
'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land
where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride,
from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And if America is to be a great nation this
must become true. So let freedom ring from the
prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom
ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let
freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of
Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snow capped Rockies
of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks
of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone
Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of
Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and every
molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside,
let freedom ring.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring
from every village and every
hamlet, from every state and every city, we
will be able to speed up that day when all of
God's children, black men and white men,
Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics,
will be able to join hands and sing in the words of
the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last!
thank God Almighty, we are
free at last!"
Prayer:
LORD WE PRAY FOR THAT DAY!
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20.02.2007
EVIL PEOPLE!!!!
Scripture:
But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. I someone
strikes you on the right cheek turn to him the other also.
(Matthew 5:39)
Reflection:
Well I guess that rules out killing um. This verse from the
sermon on the mount, must have left quit an impression.
I think we are being told here to negotiate, to talk with our
enemies, and to leave ourselves a little vulnerable, so our
enemies will talk with us. War begins with the fact that
we don't talk with our enemies, lack of communication, lack
of turning the other cheek, leads to warfare. It seems much
easier to kill them than to talk with them. Let's talk it
out, not wipe them out.
Prayer:
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love
Where there is injury . . . pardon
Where there is doubt . . . faith
Where there is despair . . . hope
Where there is darkness . . . light
Where there is sadness . . . joy
O, Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled . . . as to console
To be understood . . . as to understand,
To be loved . . . as to love
For it is in giving . . . that we receive,
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned,
It is in dying . . . that we are born to eternal life.
Quote for the Day
Sojourner Truth
Pacifist abolitionist, feminist
(1797-1883)
"No more scars and stripes, just stars and stripes
for all God's children."
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17.02.2007
Turning Away from God
Scripture:
(Jonah 1:1-10)
"Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence
of the Lord" (Jonah 1:1)
Reflection:
The book of Jonah is a story that we have all learned
as a child. I love this story, not because Jonah was
swallowed by a big fish, but because I could identify
with Jonah often during my life. You see Jonah was
a prophet who rejected God's call to deliver His word
to the people of Nineveh. He ran away from God rather
than do what God had chosen him to do. Jonah was
angry at God! Boy can I ever identify with this account.
I have often been Jonah! How about you? There have
been many times in my life that I knew exactly what
God wanted me to do and I turned my back on God,
because simply I didn't want to do it. I would run from
God, and try to avoid His presence. I would react to
God with anger and actually reject Him. For example,
when I first felt the calling to be a minister, I rejected
that call. I was highly successful in my chosen field
at the time, there was no way I was going to preach
to bunch of Sunday want to bee's. I turned my back on
God, I was angry, and very unhappy. I began to
realize my unhappiness and finally accepted God's
call to relieve that unhappiness in my life. Boy did
my life change. If you want a change in your life,
if you want to be happy in your life, may I suggest
that you quit running from God and turn your anger
into happiness. Accept God's calling for your life,
this could be the time right now to change your life.
Quit running and turn your life over to God right now,
trust Him especially when it is difficult to understand
His ways. Let Jesus Christ into your life, and make
the change!
Prayer:
Dear Jesus I realize that sometimes it's hard for me
to put my trust in You, especially when I don't understand.
But help me to fight the urge to run from You, and give me
the strength and wisdom to reach out and take Your hand.
THANK YOU GOD FOR BEING GOD!
Quote for the Day:
St. Claire of Assisi
Spiritual Teacher and Guide, Political and Religious Peacemaker
(1193-1223)
"Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. Go forth
without fear, for He that created you has sanctified you, has
always protected you, and loves you as a mother."
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16.02.2007
Black History Month
THE BLACK FAMILY PLEDGE
BECAUSE we have forgotten our ancestors,
our children no longer give us honor.
BECAUSE we have lost the path our ancestors
cleared kneeling in perilous undergrowth,
our children cannot find their way.
BECAUSE we have banished the God of our
ancestors, our children cannot pray.
BECAUSE the old wails of our ancestors have
faded beyond our hearing, our children cannot
hear us crying.
BECAUSE we have abandoned our wisdom
of mothering and fathering,
our befuddled children give birth to children
they neither want nor understand.
BECAUSE we have forgotten how to love, the
adversary is within our
gates, an holds us up to the mirror of the world
shouting, "Regard the loveless"
Therefore we pledge to bind ourselves to one
another, to embrace our
lowliest, to keep company with our loneliest,
to educate our illiterate,
to feed our starving, to clothe our ragged,
to do all good things, knowing that we are
more than keepers of our brothers and sisters.
We ARE our brothers and sisters.
IN HONOR of those who toiled and implored God
with golden tongues, and in gratitude to the same
God who brought us out of hopeless desolation,
we make this pledge.
LET US LEARN TOGETHER
HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH
PASTOR KIM
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13.02.2007
Touched By An Angel
Touched By An Angel
by Maya Angelou
We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.
Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.
We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.
Happy Valentines
Pastor Kim
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12.02.2007
Working Behind the Scene
Scripture:
"He must increase, but I must decrease."
(John 3:30)
Reflection:
"Behind every man is a great woman", "Behind every
candidate there is a great politician, " etc, etc,
I really believe that we as Christians are called upon
to have a similar approach in making Jesus known to the
world. We need to be content to work behind the scenes.
John 3:30 says "He must increase, but I must decrease".
That ain't easy to do is it? Many of us want to have the
glory, many of us want the focus to be on us and not on
God. But please remember what Oswald Chambers reminds
of us: "Goodness and purity ought never to attract attention
to themselves, they ought simply to be magnets to draw to
Jesus Christ. A beautiful saint may be a hindrance if he does
not present Jesus Christ but only what Christ has done for him:
he will leave the impression--'What a fine character that man is!'--
that is not being a true friend of the Bridegroom: I am increasing
all the time, He is not."
Remember Jesus Christ is the lead on stage, we are behind
the scenes. I think we have a few preachers that need to remember
this.
Prayer:
Lord I pray that I am a worker for Your Glory not for Mine]
THANK YOU GOD FOR BEING GOD
Quote of the Day
Abigail Kelley Foster
Pacifist Abolitionist
(1811-1877)
"Go where you are least wanted, for there you are most needed."
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10.02.2007
Being Grateful
Scripture:
"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
(Colossians 3:17)
My parents had one very specific rule as I was growing up.
They were constantly teaching to always say "please" and
"thank you". Actually it was my first words learned.
I soon learned in my life the connection between asking
politely and receiving gratefully. The problem is that as we get
older that connection begins to disconnect, Especially with God.
We ask for more and praise a lot less. We need to be reminded
what the Apostle Paul tell us in Colossians 3:15-17= "Be
Thankful" (v.15), "Sing with gratitude to the Lord" (v.16), "Do all in
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
through Him" (v.17).
Prayer:
I thank you Lord for Blessings you give us on our way, May
I forever be Grateful, and Praise You everyday. (Roworth)
THANK YOU GOD FOR BEING GOD!!!!
Quote for the Day
St. Claire of Assisi
Spiritual Teacher and Guide, Political and Religious Peacemaker
(1193-1223)
"Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. Go
forth without fear, for He that created you has sanctified you, has
always protected you, and loves you as a mother."
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07.02.2007
God is There for Us
Scripture:
"Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.
They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing
as they return with the harvest." Psalm 126:5-6 NLT
"For he has not ignored the suffering of the needy. He has
not turned and walked away. He has listened to their cries
for help". Psalm 22:24 NLT
"
Reflection:
You know, I believe one of the worse things about
televangelists talking about being born again, is
that they give the distinct impression that if you
accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, there will be no
more suffering, and that your life will be filled with
joy. I do agree there is a great deal of joy in your
life, I disagree about the suffering. The Bible does
not promise that we as Christians won't suffer.
Actually we can expect to suffer. As Christians
we will be persecuted and suffer. We are
surrounded by evil, I really believe this. The world
is full of evil, and the good do suffer from the evil.
But what God promises us that our suffering will
bring new growth. As I look back in my life, I see
that many of the things that I truly suffered from has
made me a better person and, without a doubt, a
better Christian.
You know the worst kind of suffering is the suffering
we experience alone. It helps when we have another
person who is sympathetic with our problem, the
suffering is much easier to bear. God is not only
our Father, He is our partner. Jesus Christ hears
our cries. I am totally convinced that my Savior
Jesus Christ has never failed to respond to my pain
and suffering. You see thats the beauty of having
Jesus Christ in my life, I still suffer in my life but
I'm never alone, I never suffer alone, Jesus Christ
is always there for me. He is there for you.
Prayer:
Oh Jesus, thank you for always being there. You
are my Savior and my companion. You take the
pain away. Since You have come in to my life I
grown, I turn my suffering over to You. THANK YOU
GOD FOR BEING GOD!
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04.02.2007
A Morning Prayer
I Cannot Do This Alone
O God, early in the morning I cry to you.
Help me to pray
And to concentrate my thoughts on you:
I cannot do this alone.
In me there is darkness,
But with you there is light;
I am lonely, but you do not leave me;
I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;
I am restless, but with you there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;
I do not understand your ways,
But you know the way for me…
Restore me to liberty,
And enable me to live now
That I may answer before you and before me.
Lord, whatever this day may bring,
Your name be praised.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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01.02.2007
Prayer for Peace
This is a prayer I pray everyday. It is my prayer
that it is your prayer.
Prayer for Peace
Heal my wounded heart.
Grant me the courage to change my heart.
Let Peace live in my heart.
Fill me with compassion for those suffering in war.
Help me care for those in war.
Help me bring Peace to those in war.
Help me stop wars.
Help soldiers stop wars.
Help leaders stop wars.
Fill me with Peace and Justice.
Help me to work for Peace with Justice.
Let there be Peace with Justice among all peoples.
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