Christian Reflection and Prayer

There was a woman who had been diagnosed
with a terminal illness and was given 3 months
to live. As she began getting her things 'in order',
she called her pastor and asked for him to come
to her house to discuss certain aspects of her
final wishes. She told him which songs she
wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she
wanted read, and what dress she wanted to be
buried in. She also requested to be buried with
her favorite Bible in her left hand. Everything was
in order and as the pastor was preparing to leave,
the woman suddenly remembered one final
request that was very important to her. "Please
Pastor, just one more thing," she said excitedly.
"Sure, what is it?" came the pastor's reply. "This
is very important to me," the woman continued ...
"I want to be buried holding a fork in my right
hand." The pastor gazed at the woman, at a loss
for words.

"That surprises you, doesn't it?" the woman
asked. The pastor replied "Well to be quite honest,
I am puzzled by the request".

The woman explained. "You see, Pastor, in all
my years of attending church socials and potluck
dinners, I remember that when the dishes were
being cleared after the main course, someone
would inevitably lean over to me and say, 'Keep
your fork' ... it was my favorite part of the meal
because I knew that something better was coming,
like velvety chocolate cake or deep dish apple pie.
Something wonderful to end the meal!"

The pastor listened intently and a smile came
upon his face. The woman continued, "So, I just
want people to see me there with a fork in my
hand and I want them to wonder ... 'What's with
the fork'... then I want you to tell them: "Keep
your Fork ... the best is yet to come".

The pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as
he hugged the woman good-bye. He knew that this
would be one of the last times that he would see
her before her death. But he also knew that the
woman had a better grasp of Heaven than he did.

She knew and trusted that the best was yet to
come. At the funeral, every one that walked by
the woman's casket saw her wearing a beautiful
dress with her favorite Bible held in her left hand
and a fork held in her right hand.

Over and over the pastor heard people ask the
question, "Why is she holding a fork?" and his
smile began to get larger and brighter each time.
During his message, the pastor told the people
about the conversation that he had with the
woman shortly before she died. He explained the
fork and what it symbolized to her. The Pastor
told everyone how he could not stop thinking
about the fork and how he hoped that they would
not be able to stop thinking about it either.

(GodVine)

Scripture:

"This is what the Kingdom of God is like
" Mark 4:26

The story is told of an ancient king who
presented his court jester with a beautiful wand...

"I give you this trophy," said the king, "to
symbolize your status as the greatest fool in my
kingdom. You are to keep it until you can give it
to a greater fool than yourself."

The court jester good-naturedly accepted the
award. Some time later, the king was dying and
asked to see the jester. "I want to say good-bye,
" he said. "I am going on a long journey that will
last forever." The jester then asked, "What have
you done to prepare for this great trip?" "Nothing
whatever," the king replied. "Since I don't know
exactly where I am going on this long journey,
there is nothing to be done." To which the jester
replied, "Then take this wand. You are the biggest
fool of all!"

( Sunday Sermons Online )

Scripture:

Psalm 119:89
"forever, O Lord, your word is settled in heaven."

As I look around the world with the Bible in my hand
I come to the realization that I do not worship
an absentee God. He is standing in the shadows
of history, still working to bring His plans to
completion.

No matter how disturbing the pictures of violence,
Chaos, bloodshed, and war that fill
my television screen every day and that I read
in our newspapers. I know that these disturbances
are the consequences of humanities evil and sin,
which are really caused by our rebellion against
God. Every headline in the newspaper, every
news report on TV confirms this verse:
"the heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked; who can know it?"
Jeremiah 17:9.

But there is one very important thing I need
to remember, and that is God is going to have the
last word. It is so very obvious to me that the
Scriptures are being fulfilled because every day
the world moves closer to the time when Jesus Christ
will return. Satan and his evil will finally be
defeated, the war will be won, and God's perfect
plan will be fulfilled.

No matter how bad the future gets, I as a
Christian, knows the end of the story –
and I know that ending is glorious!!
Christ will return in victory! DON'T LOSE HEART!
You know what, THE BEST IS YET TO BE!

Prayer:

Almighty God, give me the strength to always
keep in my heart my mind, and my spirit, to remember
no matter how hard it gets in my life, no matter how
disturbed the world may appear, I know that You
are with me completing your plan. Thank you
that I know the end of the story, and that story
will end soon, with your glorious victory!
I pray that I am prepared, and I am not worried.
For You Are With Me!
As always in your holy and blessed name
in the name of Jesus Christ  AMEN.