Christian Reflection and Prayer

"You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God"
(Matthew 16:16).

So listen closely. There once was a very learned philosophy
professor who had earned not one, not two, but three post-
graduate degrees. And his head was crammed full of just
about everything philosophers of every Age had to say about
happiness. Still, he pondered the subject incessantly. He
was so obsessed with the question that he decided to set
out in search of the wisest and happiest person in the world,
wherever it took him, and at whatever cost. After years of
travel to distant places, and at great expense, he finally was
told of a woman who fit the description of the person he was
looking for. And so he set out on a rugged journey to the top
of a high mountain where this wisest and happiest of all
persons lived.

The woman greeted him with a warm smile and a sympathetic
ear. She listened patiently for hours as he described his
pursuit of happiness through years and years of study and
research. At the conclusion of his long discourse, he begged
the wise woman to let him in on the secret of happiness -- the
secret that has eluded him all his life. "Tell me now," he
demanded, but the wise woman would not be hurried. "I
suggest we have some tea," she said. Unhurriedly, she began
the tea ceremony and slowly poured the brew into the
professor's cup. She poured until the cup was overflowing. And
she continued to pour until, finally, the professor asked her to
stop. "Just tell me the secret," he shouted. "This I cannot do,
" said the wise woman. "Like this teacup that is full to
overflowing, your mind is so full of your own knowledge and
your own thoughts that you have no room for anything more.
If I tried to tell you the secret of happiness, it would only spill
 out. You must first empty yourself!"

I'm now going to tell you my secret of happiness. This secret
was given to me by my mother.  It took me a long time to
understand this secret and there still a wonderful mystery to
this secret. There's a lot of people who know this secret and
live by it.  There's a lot of people who know the secret and
don't care.  And finally there is a lot of people who don't know
the secret at all.

This secret has changed my life, it has given me love and
happiness. The Secret is This, "JESUS CHRIST IS THE
SON OF THE LOVING GOD!"

As a human being I speak out and pray because we are
all one. Regardless of our differences, whether they be
ethnically, religiously, or politically, we are all in this
together and the loss of life saddens me, especially that
of innocent women and children. Too often have we
sought to protect the abusers instead of standing up and
fighting for the victims.

As a Christian I speak out because of verses like
Isaiah 1:17, which instructs us to, "learn to do good;
seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan,
plead for the widow" and Proverbs 31:8-9, which states,
"Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of
all the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the
rights of the poor and needy.".  Martin Luther King Jr.
said "There comes a time when silence is betrayal." Let
your voice ring out for justice, for peace, and for righteousness!

WE MUST SPEAK OUT!  WE MUST BE HEARD! 

Prayer:

Oh Jesus give me Thy strength to speak out for those who
cannot speak, for the rights of the destitute, defend the rights
of the poor and needy.  May I always speak out. In the
name of the One Who spoke out for me, Jesus Christ.
Amen

War is always ugly. The loss of innocent lives is never
easy to swallow. And yet, as tanks open fire on the
humble homes of the Gazan poor and rockets rain
down on a terrified Israeli populace we are compelled
to ask, “How do we keep coming back to this profane
and violent place called war?” Why do we consistently
and continually fail to understand the simple principles
of our own faith and the faiths of those who profess a
belief in God?

These simple faith principles speak of a command to
love one another and to have a deep and abiding respect
for all life – especially innocent life. Then, why do we fail
to love justice, peace, and mercy as God commands and
seem so determined to visit such violence and destruction
on our world and on one another?

I think it is absolutely time to practice what we preach.
We call ourselves "People of Faith".  If this is true then
whether Muslim, Jew, or Christian, we must love justice,
peace, and mercy as God commands and stop this
violence and destruction of war.

PEOPLE OF FAITH UNITE AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

Prayer:

Oh Lord my God, may I love justice, peace and mercy,
as you commanded, may I take an active role everyday
in stopping the violence and destruction of war. In the
name of my God, Jesus Christ.  Amen