Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

1 John 3:18
"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech
but with actions and in truth."

I'm a big fan of what I call talent reality shows.
I enjoy watching TV shows like, The Voice, American Idol,
Dancing With The Stars, and So You Think You
Can Dance. I really enjoy TV shows that highlight
peoples gifts and talents.
As I watch the shows I noticed something that seems
to happen often during each one of the shows. As a matter
of fact this phrase is kind of used the same way in life.
The phrase is "Love You"! I hear love you or love ya",
all the time. I hear it so often that the phrase becomes
almost meaningless. In all honesty, I find myself
using those phrases with really no meaning behind them.

The Scripture verse reminds me of that
phrase "actions speak louder than words". I have
discovered, through my faith in Jesus Christ, that
because of my deep and abiding love for Christ
and because through his words and deeds I have
discovered the meaning of love. I believe the act of love
is much more powerful than the words of love.
I can tell my wife I love you and mean it but when I
show my love for her it means so much more.
When I help a friend in trouble, when I listen to
someone who is suffering and in pain, or their life
is in such distress, just by listening I give them
my love. Whenever Jesus Christ or one of the
apostles talked about love they compared love
within action, like kindness, charity, giving,
healing, even the act of washing someone's feet
when their guest entered the home. It was an act
of love. And you and I have received the ultimate
act of love through the death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ. Because of that action of love I am
free to fully love others.

YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE "ACTIONS ARE LOUDER
THAN WORDS".

Prayer:

Our dear Heavenly Father, thank You for "agape", for
that all giving love as seen through Your son Jesus Christ.
Lord continue to remind me that love is not just words,
not just feelings, but also expressions. Expressions
of kindness, caring, charity, hospitality, compassion,
All of this given from you to me, may that be given
from me two others. Thank you for your love oh Lord!
AMEN

Scripture:

"Honor your father and mother. Then you will live
a long, full life in the land the LORD your God will
give you" - Exodus 20:2

A Bouquet for Mother

This puts it all into perspective. Happy Mother's Day.

A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers
to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles
away.

As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting
on the curb sobbing.

He asked her what was wrong and she replied,
"I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only
have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars."

The man smiled and said, "Come on in with me.
I'll buy you a rose."

He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own
mother's flowers.

As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home.
She said, "Yes, please! You can take me to my mother."

She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the
rose on a freshly dug grave.

The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the wire
order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred
miles to his mother's house.

THANKS MOM, I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!

"“To live in hearts we leave behind, Is not to
die”

Scripture:

"The entrance of your words give light;
it gives understanding to the simple."
Psalm 119:130

Reflection:

There was a Minister flying to the West
Coast who struck up a conversation with
the passenger next to him. "What's your
occupation?" He asked. His seatmate
replied, "I'm a professor of astronomy. And
what about you?" "I'm a pastor," the
Minister answered.

The astronomers shifted a bit in his seat
and then confessed, "I used to attend
church when I was young, but my wife
and I don't go very often now. But the way
I look at it, the Bible is pretty simple. It
all boils down to 'Get along with your neighbors
and stay out of trouble.'"

"That's interesting," the pastor noted.
"I feel the same way about what you do.
For me, astronomy all boils down to
'Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder
what you are.'"

You know it's been said, The Bible is like
the ocean. You can wade in it, feed from
it, live on it, or swim in it. But those who
take the time to learn its truths and
practice them will be changed forever.

It has always been fascinating to me
that the Bible is simple enough for a child
to read, yet too deep for a scholar to
Master.

(Some excerpts taken from "Our Daily Bread")