Christian Reflection and Prayer

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.

Prayer is the key

Scripture:

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate
their need for constant prayer and to show them they
must never give up…
Luke 18:1 NLT

Saved by a Stamp

God's answers to prayers can affect generations to come.
In fact, if not for his gracious answers to a prayer offered
many years ago, my children, grandchildren, and great-
grandchildren would not know his blessing today.

The story is simple. My cousin Mirea and I wanted to
visit friends in America. Sensing that we would not
abandon our grand idea, my father sent us on our way
with heartfelt prayers for our safety.

Our trip across Europe took several days. Finally we
arrived on the western shores of England. But as we
prepared to set sail for America, we were told there
was a problem with our papers. Officials at the
immigration office said Mirea was missing a stamp
on a paper that would allow her to leave the country.
We would have to stay in England for another week
until Mirea's papers could be corrected, they said.

Mirea and I went to the steamship office to ask if
we could exchange our tickets for a ship leaving
later in the month. The man at the window was
glad to make the exchange. He was sure he could
resell our berths. People were eager to sail on the
maiden voyage of the Titanic.
As we wandered back to the hotel, Mirea and I
were disappointed that we had to stay in England.
But, when the news reached us a few days later
of the sinking of the Titanic, we both began to cry,
in sadness for our lost shipmates, but also in relief,
realizing how close we had come to death ourselves.
God, in his mercy, had answered by father's father's
prayer for our safety with something as small as a
missing stamp. How good is God!
Elsa Sturit Kint

Adapted from The Prayer Bible Jean E. Syswerda,
general editor, Tyndale House Publishers (2003),
p 1495.

(God's Daily Promises)