Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

Psalm 136:26
"O give thanks to the God of
heaven, for his steadfast love
endures forever."

"Enter into his gates with
thanksgiving, and into his
courts with praise; be thankful
unto him,and bless his name.
For the Lord is good..."
[Psalm 100:4, 5a]


Thou hast turned for me my
mourning into dancing; thou
hast loosed my sackcloth
and girded me with gladness,
that my soul may praise thee
and not be silent. O Lord my
God, I will give thanks to thee
for ever." from Psalm 30

Do not get tired of doing
what is good.
Don't get discouraged and give up,
For we will reap a harvest of
blessing at the appropriate time.
- Galatians 6:9

Reflection:

"Thanksgiving Day comes, by
statute, once a year; to the
honest man it comes as
frequently as the heart of
gratitude will allow."
Edward Sandford Martin

"If the only prayer you said in
your whole life was, "thank you,
" that would suffice."
Meister Eckhart

Prayer:

Dear Lord; I beg but one boon more:
Peace in the hearts of all men living,
peace in the whole world this Thanksgiving.

A M E N !    HAVE A BLESSED THANKSGIVING

LET US REMEMBER

As you prepare to spend Thanksgiving
with your loved ones this week, please
remember the 1 billion people throughout
the world suffering every day from chronic
hunger.25,000 women, men and children
die from malnutrition and hunger-related
causes every single day. This tragedy
will be repeated again on Thanksgiving Day.


THE STORY OF THANKSGIVING

The story of Thanksgiving is basically
the story of the Pilgrims and their thankful
community feast at Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The Pilgrims, who set sail from Plymouth,
England on a ship called the Mayflower on
September 6, 1620, were fortune hunters,
bound for the resourceful 'New World'. The
Mayflower was a small ship crowded with
men, women and children, besides the
sailors on board. Aboard were passengers
comprising the 'separatists', who called
themselves the "Saints", and others,
whom the separatists called the "Strangers".
After land was sighted in November following
66 days of a lethal voyage, a meeting was
held and an agreement of truce was worked
out. It was called the Mayflower Compact.
The agreement guaranteed equality among
the members of the two groups. They
merged together to be recognized as the
"Pilgrims." They elected John Carver as
their first governor.

historyAlthough Pilgrims had first sighted
the land off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, they
did not settle until they arrived at a place
called Plymouth. It was Captain John Smith
who named the place after the English port-city
in 1614 and had already settled there for over
five years. And it was there that the Pilgrims
finally decided to settle. Plymouth offered an
excellent harbor and plenty of resources. The l
ocal Indians were also non-hostile.

But their happiness was short-lived. Ill-equipped
to face the winter on this estranged place they
were ravaged thoroughly.


history

Somehow they were saved by a group of
local Native Americans who befriended them
and helped them with food. Soon the natives
taught the settlers the technique to cultivate
corns and grow native vegetables, and store
them for hard days. By the next winter they
had raised enough crops to keep them alive.
The winter came and passed by without much
harm. The settlers knew they had beaten the
odds and it was time to celebrate.

They celebrated it with a grand community feast
wherein the friendly native Americans were also
invited. It was kind of a harvest feast, the Pilgrims
used to have in England. The recipes entail "corn"
(wheat, by the Pilgrims usage of the word), Indian
corn, barley, pumpkins and peas, "fowl" (specially
"waterfowl"), deer, fish. And yes, of course the
yummy wild turkey.

However, the third year was real bad when the
corns got damaged. Pilgrim Governor William
Bradford ordered a day of fasting and prayer,
and rain happened to follow soon. To celebrate -
November 29th of that year was proclaimed a
day of thanksgiving. This date is believed to be
the real beginning of the present Thanksgiving Day.

Though the Thanksgiving Day is presently
celebrated on the fourth Thursday of every November.
This date was set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt i
n 1939 (approved by Congress in 1941). Earlier it was
the last Thursday in November as was designated by
the former President Abraham Lincoln. But sometimes
the last Thursday would turn out to be the fifth Thursday
of the month. This falls too close to the Christmas,
leaving the businesses even less than a month's time
to cope up with the two big festivals. Hence the change

QUESTION:

"If Jesus is the only way to God,
what about those who have never
heard of Him?"

ANSWER:

God's good, trustworthy character
assures us that He will do what's
right for every person He has created
and deeply loves.  Also, God makes
Himself known in many ways to
people, prompting them to seek Him,
and He has promised to reveal Himself
to those who seek Him with their whole
hearts.  God won't condemn people simply
because they haven't heard the Gospel. 
God will judge people who have not been
evangelized based on their responses to
natural revelation (such as creation,
conscience, reason, and experience),
which His Spirit can use to bring them
to salvation.  Also, God often uses the
world's natural revelation about Himself to
prepare people to respond to the Gospel
once they do hear its message.

Adapted from True for You but Not for Me:
Overcoming Objections to Christian Faith,
copyright 2009 by Paul Copan. Published
by Bethany House, a division of Baker
Publishing Group, Bloomington, Mn.,
www.bethanyhouse.com.
Paul Copan (PhD, Marquette University)
is the Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy
and Ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University
in Florida. He lives with his wife and five
children in Florida.

Original publication date: September 17, 2009

What Remembering the Persecuted Church Looks Like

Scripture:

Remember those in prison as if you
were their fellow prisoners, and those
who are mistreated as if you yourselves
were suffering - Hebrews 13:3

Reflection:

Researchers guess that about 176,000
Christians worldwide may have been killed
for their faith between mid-2008 and mid-2009.
Many of those believers died in secrecy, as
in the North Korean prison camps, and were
cut off from other believers at the end. Now,
consider that we have a daily opportunity to
partner with these men and women in prayer.
I have to think that's what the author of Hebrews
really meant when he encouraged us to
"remember" imprisoned believers. 

I'll be the first to admit it: I'm guilty of not
remembering my brothers and sisters in Christ.
My unfaithfulness to them reflects a heart that
hasn't quite grasped the enormity of the power
of prayer. And yet there James is, telling me
that the Christian's prayers have more impact
than perhaps we'll ever know. So - how about it?

What if we all pick a country and pray for the
believers living there in the coming month? I'll
be praying for North Korea, and believe me, there
are plenty of places to go around. Let's remember
that we serve a God who delights to use our prayers i
n ways we can't even imagine. Let's remember
the persecuted church.

Katherine Britton

crosswalk.com

"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

Reflection:

For us to attempt to approach
God without first addressing the
ways in which we have knowingly
offended and wronged him is an
exercise in futility. Sin is the
"elephant in the room" that must
be acknowledged and dealt with.
Once we do that, we again enjoy
sweet fellowship with God. Clean
and forgiven, we can be sure he
hears our pleas for help.

Prayer:

Lord, you do not listen to my
prayers when I have unconfessed
sin in my life. By your Spirit give
me the humility I need to take a
hard look at my soul. Show me,
God, any wrong attitudes and
actions that I need to acknowledge.
I want to be right with you. I want to
be close to you. Thank you for pledging
to hear those who humble themselves
and acknowledge their sin. May my sins,
which block me from you when I don't
confess them, become a bridge to you
as I admit them, forsake them, and
experience your forgiveness.

from the Praying God's Promises in
Tough Times by Len Wood (Tyndale) pp 8-9"

"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

The steps of the godly are directed by
the Lord. He delights in every detail of
their lives. Though they stumble, they
will not fall, for the Lord holds them by
the hand.  Psalm 37:23-24

Giving thanks that God is near

"Sometimes we try to "ride out the storms" i
n our lives — doing this the best we can.
We think, If I can just hang on and be
strong, I can get through this. David knew
he couldn't make it on his own. In the past,
he had found help in the Lord God. And in
this prayer, David again sought the Lord's
protection: "Keep me safe, O God, for I have
come to you for refuge" (v. 1). He rejoiced
in the guidance and assistance the Lord had
given him. Though his enemies were trying to
shake and topple him, David stood firm because
God was "right beside" him.

In prayer today, acknowledge that God is right
beside you — upholding and guiding you.
Thank him that he helps you and does not
leave you to struggle on your own.

A prayer for today…

Dear Lord, I will not be shaken, for you are
right beside me…

from The One Year® Book of Bible Prayers edited by Bruce Barton(Tyndale)

(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.

(From Life Application Daily Devotion