Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

[Jesus said,] "I have loved you even
as the Father has loved me. Remain
in my love. When you obey me, you
remain in my love, just as I obey my
Father and remain in his love. I have
told you this so you will be filled with
joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!"
John 15:9-11 NLT

Reflection:

Studying for my masters degree in
Divinity was one of the most difficult
periods of my life. Three long years of
research, studying, and test taking.
Learning a language that was no
longer used, Biblical Greek, was
really hard. 
But I had a friend going through it
with me.  This friend was an amazing
Christian.  She was struggling even
more than me, and on top of that
she had a physical disability that
made it extremely hard for her.
But Joanie had a sense of joy
about her. She was never down
and always, I mean always, so happy
to be a Christian.  Despite hard times
in her life, she was filled with over-
flowing joy.  Nothing was more eye-
catching or more attractive than that.

This is an example and reminder
that no matter what your current
difficulty, the more you are convinced
of Christ's unconditional love for you,
and the more you are committed to
loving Him, THE MORE YOU WILL
KNOW THE REAL LASTING JOY OF
JESUS CHRIST.

Prayer:

Oh Lord I want to know Your Love.
Rekindle my desire to be within Your
love, so that I may overflow with Your
Joy.
In Jesus name AMEN

"Life need not be easy to be joyful.
Joy is not the absence of trouble
but the presence of Christ."
(William Vander Hoven)

Scripture:

I don't mean to say that I have
already achieved these things
or that I have already reached
perfection. But I press on to
possess that perfection for
which Christ Jesus first
possessed me. No, dear
brothers and sisters, I have
not achieved it, but I focus
on this one thing: Forgetting
the past and looking forward to
what lies ahead, I press on to
reach the end of the race and
receive the heavenly prize for
which God, through Christ
Jesus, is calling us.
(Philippians 3:12-14)  NLT    


Reflection:

The Apostle Paul has one goal in life,
his goal is to know Christ, to be like
Christ and to be all Christ has in mind
for Him.  This goal, that consumes Paul,
takes all of his energy, it even takes the
power of the Holy Spirit. 
This is a helpful example for us.
We should not let anything take our eyes
off our goal, that of knowing Christ.  With
absolute single mindedness just like an
athlete in training, we must lay aside
everything harmful and throw out
anything that may distract us from
being effective and loving followers
of Jesus Christ.  WHAT'S HOLDING
YOU BACK?

Page Three

December 25
M E R R Y Christmas! 20 more inches
of the darn slop tonight - Snowed in.
The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil.
gosh, I hate the snow! Then the snowplow
driver came by asking for a donation and I
hit him over the head with my shovel. The
wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she's
an idiot. If I have to watch "It's A Wonderful Life"
one more time, I'm going to stuff her into
the microwave.


December 26
Still snowed in. Why the heck did I ever move
here? It was all HER idea. She's really getting
on my nerves.


December 27
Temperature dropped to -30 and the pipes froze;
plumber came after 14 hours of waiting for him,
he only charged me $1,400 to replace all my pipes.


December 28
Warmed up to above -20. Still snowed in. The
stinking cold and snow are driving me crazy!!!


December 29
10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the
roof or it could cave in. That's the silliest thing I
ever heard. How dumb does he think I am?


December 30
Roof caved in. I beat up the snow plow driver,
and now he is suing me for a million dollars, not
only the beating I gave him, but also for trying to
shove the broken snow shovel up his backside.
The wife went home to her mother. Nine more
inches predicted.


December 31
I set fire to what's left of the house.
No more shoveling.


January 8
Feel so good. I just love those little white pills
they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed?

THE DIARY SUDDENLY AND WITHOUT EXPLANATION ENDED!!!!!!!!!!

HAVE A HAPPY, HAPPY WINTER!!!!!!!!