Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

"As a father pities His children,
so the Lord pities those who fear Him.
(Psalm 103:13)

Reflection:

One of the things I remember, as a
child, was my dependence on my
parents. Of course then I certainly
did not see it as dependance.
I depended on them for meals, clothing,
shelter, and certainly love. I assumed that
my parents would provide everything I
needed, and they did.

WE ARE GOD'S CHILDREN, WE ARE HIS
DEPENDENTS.

Jesus said, "Do not worry, saying, 'What
shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or
'What shall we wear.....But seek first the
kingdom of God.....and all these things will
be added to you"  (Matthew 6:31, 33)

I believe that it is indeed unfortunate that
worry seems to be an ingrained habit for
most of us.  Many of us seem to be
constantly worrying about situations
in our life.  Added to this, the war,
with today's economy, with unemployment
among many of us. We have a lot to worry about.

Philippians 4: 6, 7 tells us----
"6 Do not be anxious about anything,
but in every situation, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God. 7 And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding, will
guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
In other words don't be anxious, don't worry, let
God do the worrying!  Give Him the burden. He
will take care of you.  "Cast all your care upon
Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

NEVER FORGET:  GOD IS BIGGER THAN YOUR
PROBLEMS.  WHATEVER WORRIES YOU MAY
HAVE, PUT THEM IN GOD'S HANDS AND LEAVE
THEM THERE!

Prayer:

My Heavenly Father thank You for always being
there.  I now give You my worries, I give You my
problems, I put them in Your hands and there I
leave them, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
In Jesus Name    AMEN

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door.

Therefore, he took out a business card and wrote 'Revelation 3:20' on the back of it and stuck it in the door.

When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, 'Genesis 3:10..'

Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter. Revelation 3:20 begins 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock.' Genesis 3:10 reads, 'I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked.'

Remember when the funniest jokes were the clean ones?

They still are!

"A CHEERFUL HEART IS GOOD MEDICINE"
(Proverbs 17:22)

Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by
Les Lamborn

Scripture:
Read: Philippians 1:12-20
All who desire to live godly
in Christ Jesus will suffer
persecution. —2 Timothy 3:12
Bible in a year:
Lamentations 3-5;
Hebrews 10:19-39

Reflection:

As my wife and I were walking through
a shopping mall, we came to a T-shirt
stand. While browsing the shirts and
their often humorous sayings, I noticed
one with a disturbing message. It read,
“So Many Christians, So Few Lions.”
 That shirt, with its reference to the
first-century practice of throwing
Christians to the lions in the Coliseum
in Rome, wasn’t at all funny.

Persecution is no laughing matter.
Not long before those brave Christians
faced death in Rome’s cruel sport,
Paul wrote, “All who desire to live
godly in Christ Jesus will suffer
persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). Persecution
is inevitable, and it should be a matter
of serious concern for all believers. In
fact, at this very moment fellow brothers
and sisters in Christ around the world
are suffering in Jesus’ name.

What can we do about it? First, we
can pray that God will comfort them
in their suffering. Second, we can aid
families left without support when loved
ones are imprisoned. Third, we can pray
now for courage should we face persecution.
When the apostle Paul was put in jail for
his faith, his courage led others to be
bolder in their witness (Phil. 1:14).

Want to encourage the persecuted church?
Pray. Then proclaim the message for which
believers suffer.

The church of Christ can’t be destroyed,
Though many enemies have tried;
Whenever persecution comes,
The church is spread and multiplied. —Sper

We find courage to stand when we kneel
before the Lord.