Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

8For it is by grace you have been
saved, through faith—and this not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
9not by works, so that no one can
boast. 10For we are God's workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2: 8-9

Reflection:

The Plan of Salvation

Salvation= It is the ultimate reward you
receive for giving your life to Jesus Christ.

The Reward= Eternity spent with Christ
your Savior in heaven.

How do you get this Salvation= You
receive Salvation as a gift through grace,
God's love. You don't get this from anyone
else, or by doing good things. You get
salvation because of your faith, it is a gift
from God.

The cause of Salvation= Salvation causes
our center of focus to change from ourselves
to serving God, (good works).

This is God's Plan for you, you can accept
or reject it, the consequences are totally in
your hands. But please keep this in mind,
God Loves You and that's why this plan
is given to you.

Prayer:

Dear Lord,
I admit that I am a sinner. I have done many
things that don’t please you. I have lived my
life for myself. I am sorry and I repent. I ask
you to forgive me. I believe that you died on
the cross for me, to save me. You did what
I could not do for myself. I come to you now
and ask you to take control of my life, I give
it to you. Help me to live every day in a way
that pleases you. I love you, Lord, and I thank
you that I will spend all eternity with you.
In Jesus Name Amen

Bruce Larson, in The One and Only You,
illustrates the ease with which we can lose
that passion in marriage. He uses the common cold
and a married couple as his principal point-makers.

THE FIRST YEAR:
the husband says, "Sugar, I'm worried about
my baby girl. You've got a bad sniffle. I want
to put you in the hospital for a complete
checkup. I know the food is lousy, but I've
arranged for your meals to be sent up from
Rossinis. It's all arranged."

THE SECOND YEAR:
"Listen, honey, I don't like the sound of that
cough. I've called Dr. Miller and He's going to
rush right over. Now will you go to bed like
a good girl just for me, please?"

THE THIRD YEAR:
"Maybe you'd better lie down, honey
Nothing like a little rest if you're
feeling bad. I'll bring you something to
eat. Have we got any soup in the house?"

THE FOURTH YEAR:
"Look, dear. Be sensible. After you've
fed the kids and washed the dishes you'd
better hit the sack."

THE FIFTH YEAR:
"Why don't you take a couple of aspirin?"

THE SIXTH YEAR
"If you'd just gargle or something instead
of sitting around barking like a seal."

THE SEVENTH YEAR:
"For heavens sake, stop sneezing. What
are you trying to do, give me pneumonia?"

"MARRIAGES ARE NOT RUINED BY A BLOW
OUT, BUT BY A SLOW LEAK."

Reflection:

I know a pastor who does the following when he
marries a couple. First he has the bride and groom
face each other and places 3 braided ropes around
the shoulders of the couple one rope at a time.
After the first rope he says: This represents
the bonding of (woman's name) with (man's name).
After that he places the second rope around their
shoulders and says: This represents the
bonding of (man's name) with (woman's name).
After that he places the third rope around their
shoulders and says: This represents the
bonding of GOD, (the woman's name), and
the (the man's name), in the union of Holy
Marriage, God IS love.

ALL OF YOU PLEASE PUT GOD IN YOUR
MARRIAGE AND BOND TOGETHER! NO
MORE SLOW LEAKS!

In Thailand, the people greatly love
and admire King Bhumibol (Rama IX),
who has led them for over 60 years.
To display their respect for the king,
the Thai people wear bright yellow
shirts every Monday, because yellow
is the official color of the king.

As we seek to live for our King, the
Lord Jesus Christ, we should also
show our colors of allegiance and
appreciation for all He has done for
us. But how? What are the “colors”
that declare to the world that we
serve the King of kings and Lord
of lords? The night before His
crucifixion, King Jesus told us what
our “colors” should be when He said,
"BY THIS ALL WILL KNOW THAT YOU
ARE MY DISCIPLES, IF YOU HAVE
LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER".
(John 13:35). (Bill Crowder; August 26, 2008)

Scripture:

Never be lazy in your work, but serve
the Lord enthusiastically.
Romans 12:11 NLT

Reflection:

Personal responsibility comes home

The USS Astoria was the first U.S.
cruiser to engage the Japanese during
the Battle of Savo Island, a night action
fought 8-9, August 1942.

About 0200 hours Signalman 3rd Class
Elgin Staples was swept overboard by
the blast when the number one 8-inch
gun turret exploded. He was kept afloat
by a narrow life belt that he managed to
activate.

At around 0600 hours, Staples was
rescued by a passing destroyer and
returned to the Astoria, whose captain
was attempting to save the cruiser by
beaching her. The effort failed, and Staples,
still wearing the same life belt, found
himself back in the water. Picked up
again, he was one of 500 survivors.

On board a transport, he closely examined
the life belt that had served him so well. It
had been manufactured by the Firestone
Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio,
and bore a registration number.

Given home leave, Staples asked his mother,
who worked for Firestone, about the purpose
of the number on the belt. She replied that the
company insisted on personal responsibility
for the war effort, and that the number was
unique and assigned to only one inspector.
Staples remembered everything about the life
belt, and quoted the number. It was his
mother's personal code and affixed to every
item she was responsible for approving.

Commander Eric J. Berryman, quoted by R.
Kent Hughes in 1001 Great Stories and Quotes
(Tyndale House) p 234-35

Scripture:

"God opposes the proud, but gives grace
to the humble."  James 4:6

Reflection:

I had a friend who had a favorite Bible
quote, he used to quote it to me all the
time. "Resist the devil and he will flee
from you". James 4:7.  Everytime I
turned around there was my friend with
that quote. The problem with him quoting
that verse was that he would forget the
first part of the verse.  "THEREFORE
SUBMIT TO GOD, resist the devil and
he will flee from you".  You see simply
resisting satan is not enough, simply
resisting evil will not make it flee.  If
you want to put the devil on the run,
if you want to get rid of evil, SUBMIT
TO GOD, and resist the temptation of
pride.  James also wrote, "Humble
yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and
He shall lift you up."  James 4:10
You see we all have a choice to make,
God  allow us to fall flat on our face,
so that we become humble and
submitted, or we can humble ourselves.
I don't know about you but guess what?
I pick the later. 
When I was an active preacher I found
myself falling into to a false and very
deceptive sense of pride.  After, what
I perceived a great sermon, I found my-
self feeling,"look at me, I'm
sacrificing for the Lord".  Believe me
my outward appearance and attitude
reflected my feeling.  But I soon discovered
that when I humble myself in places no-
body sees, there is less temptation of
pride.  Public humility may bring the
praise of men and woman, but private
humility will bring the public grace and
favor of God.  AND THE GRACE OF GOD
PUTS THE DEVIL ON THE RUN!

Prayer:

Oh God, awesome in power and might.  I
submit to You, to Your authority, to Your
Lordship, to Your power.  There is no God
besides You, I chose humility.  Forgive me
for pride and arrogance.

(Note:  The other day a good friend emailed
the following to me. Whenever things get
rough for you, please remember this letter)

It is not known who replied, but there is a
beautiful soul working in the dead letter office
of the US postal service.

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month.
The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter
Meredith was crying and talking about how
much she missed Abbey.. She asked if
we could write a letter to God so that
when Abbey got to heaven, God would
recognize her. I told her that I thought
we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She
died yesterday and is with you in heaven.
I miss her very much. I am happy that you
let me have her as my dog even though
she got sick.
I hope you will play with her.. She likes to
play with balls and to swim. I am sending
a picture of her so when you see her You
will know that she is my dog. I really miss
her.
Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a
picture of Abbey and Meredith and
addressed it to God/Heaven. We put
our return address on it. Then Meredith
pasted several stamps on the front of the
envelope because she said it would take
lots of stamps to get the letter all the
way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped
it into the letter box at the post office. A few
days later, she asked if God had gotten
the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped
in gold paper on our front porch addressed, '
To Meredith' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith
opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers
called, 'When a Pet Dies...' Taped to the
inside front cover was the letter we had
written to God in its opened envelope.
On the opposite page was the picture
of Abbey &Meredith and this note:


Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven.
Having the picture was a big help.
I recognized Abbey right away.
Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit
is here with me just like it stays in your
heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since
we don't need our bodies in heaven, I
don't have any pockets to keep your
picture in, so I am sending it back to
you in this little book for you to keep
and have something to remember
Abbey by..
Thank you for the beautiful letter and
thank your mother for helping you write
it and sending it to me. What a wonderful
mother you have. I picked her especially
for you.
I send my blessings every day and
remember that I love you very much.
By the way, I'm easy to find, I am
wherever there is love.

Love,
God

AND THEY ALL SAID AMEN!

How You Can Make a Fresh Start
Whitney Hopler

(The last two Reflections in the series)

Do you feel stuck?  Maybe you don't
like the way your life has been going
lately, but can't seem to change it.

No matter how stuck you may have
become, you can move forward with
God's help. 

#13. Share your story with others.  Let people
who don't yet have relationships with Jesus
know about how God has given you a fresh
start in life.  Talk with people on common
ground (wherever you all are regularly together,
such as at work, school, or your favorite restaurant). 
Accept people as God's creations, even when
you don't agree with their lifestyles or approve
of their choices.  Avoid being preachy, pushy,
or phony with them.
Simply share the story of what you life was like
before Jesus and what it has been like since
Jesus changed your life.  Then naturally shift
the conversation to them, asking about something
simple like: "What about you?  Have you ever had
any interest in God?".  As you're faithful in caring
for people, you can expect God to do the rest of
the work to draw them into relationships with Him. 
Celebrate how God uses your own fresh start to
inspire other people to pursue fresh starts in their
own lives.

#14.  Keep going strong.  Stay closely
connected to God so you can live with
passion each day and depend on God's
power to help you live out the right values. 
Your fresh start can keep propelling your
life in the right direction.

{Adapted from Fresh Start: God's Invitation to
a Great Life copyright 2009 by Doug Fields.
Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers,
Nashville, Tn., www.thomasnelson.com.

Article publication date: August 20, 2009

How You Can Make a Fresh Start
Whitney Hopler


Do you feel stuck? Maybe you don't
like the way your life has been going
lately, but can't seem to change it.

No matter how stuck you may have
become, you can move forward with
God's help. Here's how you can make
a fresh start to change your life for the better:

#11. Redeem rejection. Memories of past
rejections can leave you stuck without the
will to take new risks and try to pursue God's
best for your life. But while people in our
fallen world will inevitably let you down, God
will always be there for you when you need
Him. You can have complete confidence that
God loves you unconditionally and will help
you move forward with your life to fulfill good
purposes. Choose to live to please God,
not other people.
Ask God to help you see the potential that
He sees in your life. Pray to have compassion
on the people who reject you, realizing that
they're hurting people in need of God's grace,
just like you. Let your experiences of rejection
make you a more compassionate person toward
other people. Invite God to pour out His love
through your life to help heal the pain that others
feel and draw them to Him.

#12. Attack anger. If you're stuck in anger,
God will give you the peace you need to
overcome it. Delay responding immediately
to people and situations that make you angry.
Step back to ask yourself, "Why am I really
angry?" Realize that anger is a secondary
emotion; try to identify what the primary emotion
is that's causing your anger (frustration,
disappointment, annoyance, fear, etc.).
Defuse your anger by choosing to respond
in a peaceful way, despite your feelings
(such as deleting an offensive e-mail without
reading it or making a joke about a hurtful
comment someone makes). After you've
had enough time to calm down, you can
confront the people who make you angry
through calm conversations that let them
know how they made you feel. Pray for
the wisdom and power you need to choose
peace over anger.

{Adapted from Fresh Start: God's Invitation to
a Great Life copyright 2009 by Doug Fields.
Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers,
Nashville, Tn., www.thomasnelson.com.

Article publication date: August 20, 2009

How You Can Make a Fresh Start
Whitney Hopler

Do you feel stuck?  Maybe you don't
like the way your life has been going
lately, but can't seem to change it.
No matter how stuck you may have
become, you can move forward with
God's help.  Here's how you can make
a fresh start to change your life for the better:

#9. Overcome discouragement.  If you're
stuck in discouragement, don't despair because
God always offers you real hope.  Discouragement
can teach you about your unfulfilled expectations,
and it can also reveal areas of your life that
you need to change with God's help.  So pray
about the source of your discouragement and
shift your focus from yourself to God.  Ask
God to give you an eternal perspective on
your life so you can pay attention to what
matters most and let the rest go.  Schedule
leisure time into your schedule regularly so
you don't get burned out, which can lead to
discouragement.  Make a habit of consistently
encouraging the people around you.

#10. Find true friendships.  Loneliness
can make you feel stuck without hope
of finding others who will truly care about
you and share life's joys and sorrows with
you.  But God will give you the courage
you need to reach out to people and form
true friendships.  Realize that you and a
few close friends can be better together
than you can be apart, because you can
grow through your friendships into the
people God wants you all to become. 
Ask God to give you abundant opportunities
to connect with people and cultivate close
friendships with them.

{Adapted from Fresh Start: God's Invitation to
a Great Life copyright 2009 by Doug Fields.
Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers,
Nashville, Tn., www.thomasnelson.com.)

Article publication date: August 20, 2009

How You Can Make a Fresh Start
Whitney Hopler

Do you feel stuck?  Maybe you don't
like the way your life has been going
lately, but can't seem to change it.
No matter how stuck you may have
become, you can move forward with
God's help.  Here's how you can make
a fresh start to change your life for the better:

#7. Find freedom from hurt.  If you don't
forgive the people who hurt you, their offenses
will come back to haunt you over and over
again and you'll be stuck in bitterness.  But
if you obey God's call to forgive others since
He has forgiven you, you can break free of
bitterness and move on well with your life. 
So write down what you think the person
who hurt you owes you (an apology, an
explanation, a marriage that was destroyed,
money that was stolen, a life that was taken, etc.). 
Then cancel the debt, writing "Paid in full"
across your list.  Canceling the debt means
that you decide not to: hold the action against
the offending person, raise it back up with the
person, or use it against the person anymore.
Choose to follow God's command to
forgive despite your feelings.  If you make
a faithful decision, God will gradually change
your feelings. You'll find that after you make
the decision to forgive, God will start the
healing process until you finally come to
the point where you can remember the
hurtful situation or encounter the person
who hurt you without having the poison
of bitterness rise up within your soul.

#8. Use conflicts to discover adventure.
If you've been struggling with a conflict
that has left you stuck in stress without
a resolution, realize that God can use that
conflict to transform you in ways that will
lead to great adventures in your life.  Conflict
can be a powerful catalyst for God to reveal
more about Himself to you and cause new
growth to happen in your life.  Choose to do
what's right - not what's easy - when dealing
with conflict.  Seek peace by confronting the
people with whom you're in conflict, apologizing
for your part in the conflict, and forgiving those
who have hurt or offended you through the
conflict.  As you make every effort to live resolve
conflicts so you can live in peace, you'll grow into
a stronger person and bring glory to God in the
adventurous process.

{Adapted from Fresh Start: God's Invitation to
a Great Life copyright 2009 by Doug Fields.
Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers,
Nashville, Tn., www.thomasnelson.com.
Article publication date: August 20, 2009