Christian Reflection and Prayer

By Pastor Bobby Schuller
 
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from
God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows
God."      1 John 4:7
 
To see like Jesus, you have to see the best in people. I
hope you know that Jesus sees the best in you.

This is exactly what made Jesus amazing. Everywhere he
went in his ministry, he was always seeing the best in what
others called the worst. Matthew was a tax collector, right?
There were people that he called into his circle that were
hated and rejected, especially by religious people. These
people were unloved, disliked, nobody believed them, but
Jesus saw the best in them.

And, Jesus sees the best in you, too. Because Jesus sees
good in you, now do your best to see the best in others. Let
me tell you something: When you see the worst in people,
you will draw the worst out of them. When you see the best
in people, you will draw the best out of them. It is true. Be l
ike Jesus and draw out only the best in all you meet.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for seeing the good in me.
Your love brings out my best. May I follow your example
and see the best in others. Amen.
 
Reflection: When you've encouraged another by seeing only
their best, what was their reaction?

By Pastor Bobby Schuller

I'm not going to defend everything we
Christians have done over the centuries.
We can be silly, spiteful and stupid. We
have our flaws, our fallacies, our falsehoods,
and a full set of foibles. We're not perfect;
we're not even pretty close to being perfect.
We probably deserve much of what is said
about us.
But it is a very big mistake to assume
because God's people mess up, God has done
the same.
He hasn't. In His perfect love He sent His
perfect Son to live a perfect life so all who
believe on Him might enjoy His perfect
forgiveness. There are no slip ups or stumbles
in the creation and execution of the Lord's
plan, which saves. And we, like brother need
to be bold in sharing that truth with the
world's doubters.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks You
are beyond our measurement or understanding.
Your thoughts are above ours, and we need to
remember You are the Creator, Redeemer and
Sanctifier. For all You have done, most hearty
thanks. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Lutheran Hour Ministries

Donald Trump is a real estate mogul for whom the word
"egomaniac" is an understatement. But when America’s
narcissist in chief says he also wants to become
commander in chief, the country pays attention. And
that’s what Trump wanted to have happen. Here is what
Trump said in his announcement that he is running to
add the presidency to his list of successes:

"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending
their best. ...They're bringing drugs. They're bringing
crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good
people."

When challenged on the inaccuracy, outrageousness,
and viciousness of his remarks, "The Donald"
characteristically doubled down and claimed to be the
nation’s only truth-teller, then attacked everyone who
dared to challenge him.

Nice of Trump to assume, I thought, that some of the
11 million undocumented immigrants who live such
vulnerable lives in this country might be good people.
But obviously Trump doesn’t know any of them.

Jesus talks about immigrants when he refers to
welcoming "the stranger," and says that how we treat
them is how we treat him (Matthew 25:31-46).

(Jim Wallis)