Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

(Jesus said) "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and
I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for
I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
Matthew 11:28-29

Reflection:

When many of our relatives immigrated to this country, as their boat
passed into New York Harbor, they saw the statue designed by
Frederic Bartholdi. Originally called, "Liberty Enlightening the World,
" it has become better known as the "Statue of Liberty."

While the statue itself was a present from the people of France, the
folks of the U.S. had to come up with the funds for the base to the
giant piece of art. To help in that cause, a small book of collected
writings, including a poem by Emma Lazarus, was put on the market.

The book and Lazarus were soon forgotten.

After Lazarus' death, her poem was rediscovered and all 14 lines of
that poem were carved out and placed at the statue's entrance. In
case you have never heard all of them, they read,

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

May I tell you that those words changed the purpose of the Statue
of Liberty?

You see, Bartholdi had originally thought of the statue giving
encouragement to the people of the Old World who were fighting
oppression. But Lazarus' words changed that. Rather than providing
assistance to folks who were living in Europe, it gave hope to those
who were leaving that continent.

In short, the Statue of Liberty had been transfigured; that is, it had
been given a new and nobler purpose.

This weekend many churches are celebrating Transfiguration Sunday.
It is right that we remember how the Lord acknowledged His only
Son who was living His life to save the souls of lost sinners. Read the
Gospels and you will soon discover that when people thought of Jesus,
they generally thought of Him only in human terms. He was a Prophet,
a Teacher, a Samaritan, a Sinner.

But Jesus' transfiguration tells us that while Jesus is true Man, He is
also true God. For us He was doing that which only God could do. By
that I mean Jesus lived His life sinless and successfully resistant to
all temptation. But more than that, He actually shouldered the sins of
the entire world and carried those sins to the cross where He died in
our stead.

His glorious resurrection three days later says His work had been
completed, and all who believe on Him as Savior are forgiven of the
past and given an eternal home in heaven.

Paraphrasing the last lines of Lazarus' poem, the living Lord Jesus
says, "Give Me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning
for forgiveness free, the doomed refuse of your teeming shores. I call
these the once-lost sinners to Me, for My blood alone opens heavens
eternal door."

THE PRAYER:

Dear Lord Jesus, true Man and God, Your life was lived for my eternal
salvation. May the faith I have been given create a transfiguration in
my life. This I ask in Your Name. Amen.

Pastor KlausIn Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries   

Scripture:

Psalm 130:5-8New International Version (NIV)
5 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.
6 I wait for the Lord
    more than watchmen wait for the morning,
    more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
    for with the Lord is unfailing love
    and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel
    from all their sins.

Reflection:

The process of adopting our daughter, Selah, from Ethiopia
spanned three calendar years and taught me more about
waiting and counting on God than anything else I have ever
experienced. It was an exercise in complete dependency,
of putting my hope in God's word and then trusting God to
come through. At one point when the fatigue of endless
months of waiting threatened to level me, I taped Romans
8:26-28 to the door of her empty bedroom to remind me
where my help comes from.

May you cling to and count on these words today, too,
where ever and for however long-you wait: "The moment we
get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping
us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't
matter. He does are praying in and for us far better than we
know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps
us present before God"

Prayer:

God, my hope is in you as I move expectantly through this
day. May I be found faithful in the waiting-and certainly in the
hoping-as I count on you to finish what you began in my life Amen.

(Taken from The Covenant Home Altar, Kristin Lunsford author)
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Scripture:

“I have loved you,” says the Lord. “But you ask,
‘How have you loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s
brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved
Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned
his hill country into a wasteland and left his
inheritance to the desert jackals.” —
Malachi 1:2–3

The Sages teach that we acknowledge God as
our own personal God before we mention that He
is the God of our forefathers in order to
emphasize that our relationship with God must
be personal.

Sure, we all benefit from being the spiritual heirs
of such holy and beloved men and women, but it’s
not enough. If we worship God only because our
parents did, that’s not enough. If we go to church
or synagogue only because it’s our family tradition,
it’s not enough. First we must discover our own
connection to the Lord, and only then can we enjoy
the benefits of our heritage.

God is not inherited. A relationship with the Lord
has to be earned and cultivated by every individual
who walks this earth. We must all go through our
own trials and develop our own faith. And then, we
will know He loves us for our own sake and not
based on our family ties.

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

(excerpts taken from Holy Land Moments)