Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:
Giving to the Needy
6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (NIV)
Prayer
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (NIV)

Reflection:

Today is Ash Wedesday, the beginning of Lent. This season of the church is meant to mirror Christ's forty days in the desert prior to the start of his public ministry, and traditionally it is a time of abstention when we ponder what it means to "die to self." How fitting that our reading strikes at the heart of one of the most ubiquitous forms of self preservation:  praise seeking.
The problem with seeking praise is that it keeps alive the lie that lasting validation and worth can be found in the good graces of other people.  In truth, real worth and genuine validation can only be found in the grace of God.  When we give to others and when we pray to God, we embody the reality that our God gave to us and that we need God to live.  It is not about a curtain call we can take for ourselves, but instead about how we can point to God, giving glory to the One who gives grace to us.

Prayer:

Jesus, walk with me into this Lenten season, carrying me from a death to self into a life for you.  Amen

(The Covenant Home Alter, Josh Danielson author)

Scripture:
Psalm 50:  1-6
A psalm of Asaph. 1 The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to where it sets. 2 From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. 3 Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages. 4 He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people: 5 “Gather to me this consecrated people, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” 6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice.
Reflection:
Gather to me my faithful one, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice" (v.5)  In the context of a psalm in which the author employs some very imposing langurage about the mighty one, God the Lord, this tender invitation is a beautiful reminder that we are dearly loved children of  the Almighty.
Upon that foundation- God's love- we are in a covenant with God that the psalmist says was made "by sacrifice."  When we are gathered to God, when we live as his faithful ones, necessarily that will entail sacrifice.  The season of Lent starts tomorrow, and it is appropriate to reflect on the proper place of sacrifice in our relationship with God as his people, his children.
As is true with many worthy pursuits, sacrifice is difficult, but it is good. the hope that we can hold onto, even when sacrifice is hard, is that our covenant is made with one who is righteous.
Prayer:
Loving God please prepare our hearts for the season of Lent.  Gather us to you as your faithful ones, and show us the way of sacrifice.  Amen
(The Covenant Home Alter, author Josh Danielson)

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

About five years ago, I attended a pastor's retirement party.
There were songs and speeches and the sharing of special stories.
There were presents, plaques and presentations. It was a beautiful
day. At the end of the day I said to the pastor, "You know, they really
love you. You must love them all."

He replied, "Most of them -- most of the time." Then he added,
"It's not always easy to love everybody."
I asked him to share and, with a bit of a twinkle in his eye, he told
me about the time he and his wife had gone to the hospital to see
one of the members of his church: a mother who had just given birth.
Before they popped into mom's room, they took a look at the baby.
Having looked, the pastor turned to his wife and whispered, "That's
the ugliest baby I've ever seen."

The minister thought 34 years of marriage would give him the right
to say that kind of thing to his wife. "After all," he reasoned, "it's not
our baby. I would never say anything like that about our baby. Not
out loud, anyway."
The pastor confessed he had reasoned wrongly. Yes, his wife had
been with him through thick and thin, in good times and bad, happy
times and sad, but she was not going to accept the ugly baby
comment. With fire in her eyes, and steel in her voice, the wife said,
"Every baby is beautiful. Every baby is perfect."
The pastor didn't argue. He did proceed to see the baby's mom.

She asked, "Did you stop and see my baby?" That was easy. Yes,
they had. The second question was harder. Momma asked, "Isn't
my baby the most beautiful thing you ever did see?"
The pastor told me, "You know, they say when you are about to
die your life passes, in an instant, before your eyes. I don't know if
that is true, but I do know, in that split second I saw my entire future
pass before my eyes. My honesty was weighed in the scale against
having a happy wife and home."

The happy home won out.

The minister said, "Every baby is beautiful. Every baby is perfect.
" Everybody breathed a sigh of relief, including the preacher who said,
"It's not always easy to love everybody."

On Valentine's Day we remember the Lord tells the truth: there is not
a soul in this world who, on his own, can be good. As far as lovable is
concerned, none of us, with the possible exception of Will Rogers,
likes everybody -- except for the Lord.

He who had been sinned against, who had been insulted by
humankind's disobedience, sent His Son into this world to rescue
humanity. Understand, Jesus didn't come for just the best of us; He
came for all of us. That's because, as the passage says, "God so
loved the world" -- not a piece of it or part of it, but all of it.

THE PRAYER:
Dear Lord, I give thanks that Jesus has given Himself so I might be
saved. Now may I, who have been rescued by Your love, reflect that
love into the lives of those around me. This I ask in Jesus' Name.
Amen.

(Pastor Klaus, Lutheran Hour Ministries)

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest
of these is love.”   1 Corinthians 13:13

HAPPY VALENTINES!!!