Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

"But the things that come out of the mouth come from
the heart, and these make a man unclean"
(Matthew 15: 18).

Reflection:

Brushing one's teeth and gargling with mouthwash may
be as close as many people ever come to getting clean
on the inside. But brushing and gargling do not come
close to reaching the heart of the problem. Instead
Jesus prescribes is the "heart washing"--the cleansing
work of the Holy Spirit.(Titus 3:5).

And a clean heart is the only cleanliness that can truly
lead to godliness!

Prayer:

Oh Lord, may I always experience the cleansing work of
the Holy Spirit. May my heart be cleansed in your sight.
Amen

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that
Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners, of whom
I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in
me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display His perfect
patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for
eternal life. 1 Timothy 1:15-16

For what would you be ready to die? If a person answers that
question about dying, he will also find what should be his
priorities for living.

I remember a story a brother pastor told me many years ago. It
was from a time before cars were equipped with air bags, seat
belts, and child seats were still decades away. He had been
driving home when he came upon an accident. The first thing he
saw was a little girl, about five years old, covered in blood.

The blood on the child was not hers.

The blood had come from her mother. Amazingly, the little girl
had hardly been scratched. What had happened was this: the
mother and daughter had been traveling down a two-lane gravel
road when their car was hit by a drunk driver who had veered into
their lane.

In the last moment before the cars collided, when avoidance
maneuvers were no longer going to work, that mother had thrown
herself across her daughter. When the vehicles slammed together,
it was the mother's body that slammed into the car's dashboard;
it was the mother's head which smashed into the windshield.

That mother's instinctual love had made her willing to give her all,
even her life, to save her daughter.

Loving sacrifice had shown itself in that mother who threw herself
between her daughter and the disaster of a car wreck. In this
selfless act she is not alone. When mothers look at their children,
they see the future. They see possibilities; they see dreams; they
see a chance to change the world for the better. And because of
what they see in their children, many mothers would be ready to
die for them.

But would they die for someone else's child?

That number, while not inconsequential, is a smaller one. It would
be smaller still if the life that needed saving belonged to a child who
was the neighborhood bully -- a child who had frequently picked on
and beat up a mother's own children. Yes, the number of moms
ready to sacrifice for such a child would diminish in such
circumstances.

Here it should be noted that Jesus Christ, God's innocent Son,
came into this world to give His life to save sinners.

* In so doing, Jesus gave His life to rescue the worst of us, and not
just the best.

* He came to redeem the ungrateful, as well as those who were
naturally appreciative.

* He came for those who had spent most of their lifetime rejecting
and mocking Him, as well as those who can never remember a time
when Jesus hadn't been their Savior.

In other words, no matter who you are, no matter what your
circumstance or situation, Jesus came to forgive your sins, save
your soul, and offer you eternal life.

THE PRAYER:

Dear Lord, I make no claim to being the best person this world has
produced. My sins are many, and I am unable to change the smallest
of them. Today I give thanks You were willing to live and die to save
me. In Your Name. Amen.

Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries

Please remember the verse today.

May it bring you comfort

Joshua 1:9

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be
discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you
wherever you go.”