Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

"The sheep that belong to Me listen to My voice;
I know them and they follow Me" (John 10:27).

In a high school literature class, the teacher called
on a day-dreaming student to read aloud a paragraph
from an essay. When the reader had finished, the
teacher asked him to tell the class what the paragraph
he had just read meant to him. The classroom rocked
with laughter at his answer: "I'm sorry, but I wasn't
listening."

One thing is clear about today's world: there is a
serious shortage of good listeners.

We talk too much, most of us -- talk, talk, talk. And
even when we're not talking, we're not listening. We're
trying to think of what we're going to say when the other
person slows up enough for us to break in.

Listening is a loving way of affirming the other's real
worth as a human person. When you care enough to be
there and to give your full attention to the other, you are
saying, in effect, "I care enough about you to take time
to listen." Moreover, the person "who can no longer listen
to his brother, will soon no longer be listening to God,
either."

We who have identified with Jesus the Christ have been
taught a very special kind of love which, among other
things, is a listening love.

A young man was faced with making an important
decision that would affect the course of his life. He
considered his grandmother to be the wisest person
He knew, and so he went to see her. "Grandmother,"
He said, "I need to make the right decision about my
life and I've prayed about it. But I just can't decide.
Nothing happens when I pray. Tell me please, how
can I hear the voice of God?" The grandmother thought
for a while, then replied, "My dear grandson, I have
quite a different problem and, because of it, I don't think
I can help you. You see, I cannot NOT hear the voice
of God."

You hear what you want to hear. You hear what you're
listening for. If you want to hear the voice of God, you
cannot not hear it. God never gives up on you. God never
stops inviting you to be His own. The Good Shepherd
always keeps you within calling distance. If you don't hear
Him it's not because He's too far away or He's not speaking
loudly enough. It's because you are listening for other voices.

To listen to God's Word, really listen, we must turn toward
Him in the spirit of complete openness, love and trust.

Prayer:

Lord God please give me the gift of "listening". Lord I want
to listen to You and Your Word.  I mean really listen. I want
to turn to You in spirit of complete openness, love and trust.
I do love you Jesus and I place my trust in You.
In Your most Holy Name     AMEN

We live our lives “on purpose.” We all know that we have
a purpose in life. But sometimes we live life “by
accident.” We forget our purpose and spend our
time and energy on things that don’t really fit our
purpose here on earth. To live “on purpose” means
that everything we do in life aligns with our purpose
on this planet.

When we eat, it can be a mindless, self-indulgent
act, or it can be an act of serving God when we
thank Him for the food that gives us the energy to
serve Him. When we sleep, it can be a purely
physical experience, or we can dedicate our rest
for the purpose of preparing our bodies to serve
God when we wake. Earning money can be a purely
selfish pursuit, or we can use our earnings to further
God’s purposes. Everything we do can be service
to God.

So how do we become holy? We do what we are
already doing – only we designate and dedicate
everything we do to the purposes of God.

Scripture:

"If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him
be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7).

President Theodore Roosevelt once owned a feisty
little dog that was always getting into fights with
other dogs and always losing. Once, after watching
Roosevelt's dog pick a fight and then taking the
usual beating, a friend said to the President, "That
dog of yours isn't much of a fighter, is he?" To
which Roosevelt replied, "On the contrary, he's a
very good fighter, but he's a bad judge of dogs. He
always underestimates his adversaries."

Time after time, Jesus' adversaries grossly
underestimated Him. The Scribes and Pharisees
who resented Jesus failed in their attempts to use
His words and deeds against Him. They failed in
their attempts to trip Him up and they backed off.

All too often we try to create situations in which we
can use another's words and deeds against them.
With our idle gossip, we try to put others to the test
or hold them to a standard that we ourselves are not
living up to. In hypocritical fashion, all too often do
a great deal of judging. Some of us have embraced
it as a way of life...

IS THIS YOU?  IS THIS YOUR WAY OF LIFE?

                       REMEMBER

"If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him
be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7).

(some taken from Sunday Sermon On Line)