Christian Reflection and Prayer

In honor of Father's Day this coming Sunday,
I am posting a piece by Paul Harvey.

What Is a Father?

A father is a person who is forced to endure
childbirth without an anesthetic. He growls
when he feels good and laughs very loud
when he is scared half-to-death.

A father never feels entirely worthy of the
worship in a child's eyes. He is never quite
the hero his daughter thinks. Never quite the man
his son believes him to be. And this worries him
sometimes. (So he works too hard to try to
smooth the rough places in the road of those
of his own who will follow him.)

A father is a person who goes to war sometimes
...and would run the other way, except that war
is part of an important job in his life (which is
making the world better for his child than it has
been for him).

Fathers grow older faster than other people,
because they, in other wars, have to stand at the
train station and wave goodbye to the uniform that
climbs on board. And, while mothers cry where it
shows, fathers stand and beam ... outside ...
and die inside.

Fathers are men who give daughters away to other
men who aren't nearly good enough, so that they
can have children that are smarter than anybody's.

Fathers fight dragons almost daily. They hurry
away from the breakfast table off to the arena,
which is sometimes called an office or a workshop.
There they tackle the dragon with three heads —
Weariness, Work, and Monotony. And they never
quite win the fight, but they never give up.

Knights in shining armor; fathers in shiny trousers.
There's little difference as they march away each
workday.


I trust that you will be able to honor your father,
either in person or as you share with others what's
in your memory about your dad.

I hope you dads out there will be a blessing to
your families and that you will be blessed by
your families.

REMEMBER:

By the time a man realizes that his father was
usually right, he has a son who thinks he's usually
wrong.

Scripture:

2 Peter 1:20 (Today's New International Version)

20 Above all, you must understand that
no prophecy of Scripture came about by
the prophet’s own interpretation of things.
2 Peter 1:20 (Today's New International
Version)

Reflection:

I have talked in the past about my
up bringing within the church.  Because
of the example and influence of my
mother, the church became a vital
part of  my life.  Through the church I was
presented with certain facts and from
these facts I made assumptions, and
here is where my problem begins.

As a Christian and Believer of the Holy
Scriptures, I become an interpreter of
God's Word.  There is a danger in my
interpretation.  That danger is reading
the text to fit my assumptions,  In
other words instead of my assumptions
being influenced by my reading, my
reading is influenced by my
preconceived assumptions.

There are 3 things that I have learned to
remember when I read God's Word. 

1st= The Holy Scriptures are "God
Breathed" and is perfect in every way.
It is my interpretation that is not.

2nd=  I read the Holy Scriptures through
the power of the Holy Spirit.

3rd=  Finally when we read together as
a church, as a community, we are
promised, by the grace of God, God's
won Spirit.

"When we submit together to it's truth,
live in it's hope, and rest in the love of
God Whose presence infuses it's
pages.  WITH THAT POWER, WE FIND
LIFE!

On the first day, God created the dog
and said, "Sit all day by the door of your
house and bark at anyone who comes
in or walks past. For this, I will give you
a life span of twenty years."

The dog said, "That's a long time to be
barking. How about only ten years and
I'll give you back the other ten?"
So God agreed......

On the second day, God created the
monkey and said, "Entertain people,
do tricks, and make them laugh.
For this, I'll give you a twenty-year
life span."

The monkey said, "Monkey tricks for
twenty years? That's a pretty long time
to perform. How about I give you back
ten like the dog did?"
And God agreed......

On the third day, God created the cow
and said, "You must go into the field
with the farmer all day long and suffer
under the sun, have calves and give milk
to support the farmer's family. For this,
I will give you a life span of sixty years."

The cow said, "That's kind of a tough life
you want me to live for sixty years. How
about twenty and I'll give back the other
forty?"
And God agreed again......

On the fourth day, God created humans
and said, "Eat, sleep, play, marry and
enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty
years."

But the human said, "Only twenty years?
Could you possibly give me my twenty, the
forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey
gave back, and the ten the dog gave back;
that makes eighty, okay?"

"Okay," said God. "You asked for it."

So that is why for our first twenty years, we
eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the
next forty years, we slave in the sun to
support our family.. For the next ten years,
we do monkey tricks to entertain the
grandchildren. And for the last ten years, we
sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable
information. I'm doing it as a public service.
If you are looking for me I will be on the front
porch.