Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

Mark 5:1-20

Reflections:

One day on a routine family run to McDonald's, a man
suddenly began shouting obscenities at us, hurling his
drink and splattering sticky coke all over my long wool coat.
What had triggered this outburst? Stunned, we felt scared
and helpless and quickly hustled into the car to head for home
and safety.

Perhaps the townspeople in today's story shared similar feelings
toward Legion, the man possessed by demons. Apparently
efforts to constrain his outbursts had proved fruitless, relegating
him to roam the countryside cut off from community. Yet the arrival
of Jesus triggers something in Legion because he immediately falls
and worships him.

Jesus heals Legion and the locals come for a viewing. But rather than
rejoicing over a subdued man who had been healed, they are
frightened and big Jesus to leave. Perhaps, like my family and me,
they were out of their comfort zone and felt scared and helpless.

Prayer:

God, help us to recognize the work of your Son, even in the most
unlikely persons and places. Amen

(From Covenant Home Altar, dated July 3, 2012)
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Scripture:

Lamentations 3:22-23

Reflections:

Lamentations 3 opens with a torrent of nasty events
the author has suffered, for which God is to blame.
God has seemingly ignored cries for help and brought about
bitterness of loss of happiness. Then a sudden turn in verse 21
leads us to today's passage as the author recalls, "The
steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,His mercies never come
to end" (v,22)

Sometimes life feels like that torrent of nasty events. Several years
ago our family suffered the loss of one family member after another
to cancer, three in three years, topped off with a house fire. We
hardly had time to recover from one tragedy before the next one struck.
In these circumstances, it is easy to become bitter, blame God, and
cry out, "Where are you?"

But when the torrents diminished and the carnage is assessed, a song
comes the mine about weaving the hope of a new tomorrow. And
suddenly we recall that, yes, God's love is steadfast and His mercies
never end.

Prayer:

God, thank you for remaining faithful even when life seems impossible
and you feel far away. Amen

(From Covenant Home Altar, dated July 2, 2012)

Scripture:

Psalm 130

"Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord,
hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the
voice of my supplications!" (Versus 1-2)

Reflections:

The psalmist is desperate for forgiveness and waiting
on God for relief. I don't know about you, but crying
to God for forgiveness and waiting for relief have not been
my regular habits-that is until recently.

I was in a relationship that ended badly and, boy, did I
feel mistreated. As I cried out to God for relief and for
justice, something in a Sunday sermon grabbed me:
extending forgiveness to another would bring healing to me.
Really? The psalmist points out that if the Lord marks
all our iniquities, who can stand? Forgiveness is extended freely
to us, so shouldn't we extend it to others? So I prayed and
waited.

Even though the relationship remains unchanged, I feel
healthier. Meanwhile, like the psalmist, my soul is waiting
for the Lord and I am watching for the morning.

Prayer:

Oh Lord help us extend others the forgiveness you extend us.
Amen.

(From Covenant Home Altar, dated July 1, 2012)