Christian Reflection and Prayer

“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our
salvation.” — Psalm 95:1

Where are we invited to go by the psalmist
when he beckons us to “Come, let us sing
for joy to the LORD”? Anywhere and
everywhere! Every place that we can
transform our feelings of love into actions
of service, that’s where the psalmist wants
us to go. Go somewhere, and do something
good. That’s the ultimate praise of the Lord.

An old age home? A soup kitchen? Or
maybe just the airport to pick up a relative
or friend? Where can you go in praise of the
Lord? Choose one action that you can do
today that reflects how you feel about God.
Turn your love into actions, and your heart
into hands.

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

We have all learned to live with "voice mail" as a
necessary part of modern life. But have you ever
wondered what it would be like if God decided to
install voice mail? Imagine praying and hearing this:
"Thank you for calling My Father's House. Please
select one of the following options:

Press 1 for Requests
Press 2 for Thanksgiving
Press 3 for Complaints
Press 4 for All Other Inquiries."

What if God used the familiar excuse...

"I'm sorry, all of our angels are busy helping other
saints right now. However, your prayer is important
to us and will be answered in the order it was
received, so please stay on the line." Can you
imagine getting these responses as you call God
in Prayer?

"If you would like to speak to:
Gabriel, press 1
Michael, press 2
For a directory of other angels, press 3
If you'd like to hear King David sing a psalm while
you are holding, please press 4.

"To find out if a loved one has been assigned to
Heaven, press 5, enter his or her social security
number, then press the pound key. (If you get a
negative response, try area code 666.) For
reservations at 'My Father's House,' please enter
J-O-H-N, followed by 3-1-6. For answers to nagging
questions about dinosaurs, the age of the earth
and where Noah's Ark is, please wait until you arrive
here.

"Our computers show that you have already prayed
once today. Please hang up and try again tomorrow
so that others may have a chance to get through.
This office is closed for the weekend to observe a
religious holiday. Please pray again Monday after
9:30 am. If you need emergency assistance when
this office is closed, contact your local pastor!"

(Excerpts from Sunday Sermons Online)

"Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5).

A popular author and Pastor recalled the day when
a Church-member approached him after the Sunday
service. "I wish I had half as much faith as you," the
member admitted. The clergyman said he felt like
laughing and quickly explained that while he may
serve as Pastor, his faith is at times as rickety as
Doubting Thomas. "Like so many," he said,
"sometimes I find it challenging to maintain any
level of real trust in God, in the church, or in my
own decision to follow Christ." And then he added,
"sadly, living in this insane asylum we call planet
earth is enough to grind the truest believer into
the dust."

An honest yet jarring assessment to which many
of us can no doubt relate. So how do we do it?
How do we keep the faith when it is sometimes
so hard to believe? The pastor continued, "We
believe because we have chosen to believe. We
will never understand all there is about Christian
spirituality, about following Jesus, or how faith is
best expressed in the world. But we do not have
to understand it all. For in believing, we begin the
life-long, eternity-long journey toward understanding.
As we seize with faith the day that is before us,
God opens our eyes to His reality, to see what
actually is."