Christian Reflection and Prayer

Ezra had prepared his heart to seek
the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and
to teach statutes and ordinances in
Israel. —Ezra 7:10

Four pastors were discussing the
merits of the various translations of
the Bible. One liked a particular version
best because of its simple, beautiful
English. Another preferred a more
scholarly edition because it was closer
to the original Hebrew and Greek.
Still another liked a contemporary
version because of its up-to-date vocabulary.

The fourth minister was silent for a moment,
then said, "I like my mother's translation best.
" Surprised, the other three men said they
didn't know his mother had translated the Bible.
"Yes," he replied.  "SHE TRANSLATED IT INTO
LIFE, AND IT WAS THE MOST CONVINCING
TRANSLATION I EVER SAW."

Instead of discussing translation preferences,
this pastor reminded them that the most important
focus should be learning God's Word and doing it.
That was the top priority of Ezra's life. As a scribe,
he studied the Law, obeyed it, and taught it to
the Israelites (Ezra 7:10). For example, God
commanded His people not to intermarry with
neighboring nations who served pagan gods (9:1-2).
Ezra confessed the nation's sin to God (9:10-12)
and corrected the people, who then repented (10:10-12).

Let's follow Ezra's example by seeking the Word
of God and translating it into life.   — Anne Cetas

When we take time to read God's Word,
Our heart is filled with pleasure;
So let's relate the truth we've heard-
With others share the treasure.  -Hess

The best commentary on the Bible is a person
who puts it into practice.

Scripture:

TEXT: Matthew 26:3-4 - Then the chief priests
and the elders of the people assembled in the
palace of the high priest, whose name was
Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest Jesus
in some sly way and kill Him.

Reflection:

Jesus had predicted many times the journey
beginning at the Mount of Transfiguration
would end with His being handed over to the
authorities. He would suffer. He would be
crucified. On the third day He would rise again.

Those who would carry out the plan were the
religious leaders of the time. Their
understanding of when the Messiah would
come and what He would do did not include
Jesus. They saw Jesus as anyone but the
Promised One.

Their hope to be able to do the arrest on the
sly was unexpectedly made possible through
the agreement with Judas. For 30 pieces of
silver he would facilitate the arrest. The
journey that had been delayed while Jesus
was in Jerusalem was suddenly put on
"fast forward."

Many have raised questions about how these
people could want to do something so
secretive and sinister. We wonder how a
disciple could betray his rabbi. We wonder
until we reflect on our own "sly" plans.
Then we humbly praise our Lord for His
journey to Calvary and the gift of His
forgiveness.

THE PRAYER:

Forgive us, Lord, for our sly plans. Amen.

from Lutheran Hour Ministries

THIS IS FABULOUS!!!

It was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton,
who lives in Chula Vista , CA . He wrote it for his
third grade homework assignment, to 'explain God.'
I wonder if any of us could have done as well?
[ .... and he had such an assignment, in California ,
and someone published it, I guess miracles do happen ! ]

EXPLANATION OF GOD:
'One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes
them to replace the ones that die, so there will be
enough people to take care of things on earth. He
doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because
they are smaller and easier to make. That way he
doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching
them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to
mothers and fathers.'

'God's second most important job is listening to prayers.
An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like
preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime.
God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV
because of this. Because he hears everything, there
must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he
has thought of a way to turn it off.'

'God sees everything and hears everything and is
everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you
shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your
mom and dad's head asking for something they
said you couldn't have.'

'Atheists are people who don't believe in God.
I don't think there are any in Chula Vista ...
At least there aren't any who come to our church.'

'Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard
work, like walking on water and performing miracles
and trying to teach the people who didn't want to
learn about God.. They finally got tired of him
preaching to them and they crucified him But he
was good and kind, like his father, and he told his
father that they didn't know what they were doing
and to forgive them and God said O.K.'

'His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had
done and all his hard work on earth so he told him
he didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He
could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps
his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things
which are important for God to take care of and which
ones he can take care of himself without having to
bother God. Like a secretary, only more important.'

'You can pray anytime you want and they are sure
to help you because they got it worked out so one of
them is on duty all the time.'

'You should always go to church on Sunday because
it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want
to make happy, it's God!

Don't skip church to do something you think will be
more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And
besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until
noon anyway.'

'If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist,
you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go
everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is
good to know He's around you when you're scared,
in the dark or when you can't swim and you get
thrown into real deep water by big kids.'

'But....you shouldn't just always think of what God
can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can
take me back anytime he pleases.

And...that's why I believe in God.'