Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

8For it is by grace you have been
saved, through faith—and this not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
9not by works, so that no one can
boast. 10For we are God's workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2: 8-9

Reflection:

The Plan of Salvation

Salvation= It is the ultimate reward you
receive for giving your life to Jesus Christ.

The Reward= Eternity spent with Christ
your Savior in heaven.

How do you get this Salvation= You
receive Salvation as a gift through grace,
God's love. You don't get this from anyone
else, or by doing good things. You get
salvation because of your faith, it is a gift
from God.

The cause of Salvation= Salvation causes
our center of focus to change from ourselves
to serving God, (good works).

This is God's Plan for you, you can accept
or reject it, the consequences are totally in
your hands. But please keep this in mind,
God Loves You and that's why this plan
is given to you.

Prayer:

Dear Lord,
I admit that I am a sinner. I have done many
things that don’t please you. I have lived my
life for myself. I am sorry and I repent. I ask
you to forgive me. I believe that you died on
the cross for me, to save me. You did what
I could not do for myself. I come to you now
and ask you to take control of my life, I give
it to you. Help me to live every day in a way
that pleases you. I love you, Lord, and I thank
you that I will spend all eternity with you.
In Jesus Name Amen

Bruce Larson, in The One and Only You,
illustrates the ease with which we can lose
that passion in marriage. He uses the common cold
and a married couple as his principal point-makers.

THE FIRST YEAR:
the husband says, "Sugar, I'm worried about
my baby girl. You've got a bad sniffle. I want
to put you in the hospital for a complete
checkup. I know the food is lousy, but I've
arranged for your meals to be sent up from
Rossinis. It's all arranged."

THE SECOND YEAR:
"Listen, honey, I don't like the sound of that
cough. I've called Dr. Miller and He's going to
rush right over. Now will you go to bed like
a good girl just for me, please?"

THE THIRD YEAR:
"Maybe you'd better lie down, honey
Nothing like a little rest if you're
feeling bad. I'll bring you something to
eat. Have we got any soup in the house?"

THE FOURTH YEAR:
"Look, dear. Be sensible. After you've
fed the kids and washed the dishes you'd
better hit the sack."

THE FIFTH YEAR:
"Why don't you take a couple of aspirin?"

THE SIXTH YEAR
"If you'd just gargle or something instead
of sitting around barking like a seal."

THE SEVENTH YEAR:
"For heavens sake, stop sneezing. What
are you trying to do, give me pneumonia?"

"MARRIAGES ARE NOT RUINED BY A BLOW
OUT, BUT BY A SLOW LEAK."

Reflection:

I know a pastor who does the following when he
marries a couple. First he has the bride and groom
face each other and places 3 braided ropes around
the shoulders of the couple one rope at a time.
After the first rope he says: This represents
the bonding of (woman's name) with (man's name).
After that he places the second rope around their
shoulders and says: This represents the
bonding of (man's name) with (woman's name).
After that he places the third rope around their
shoulders and says: This represents the
bonding of GOD, (the woman's name), and
the (the man's name), in the union of Holy
Marriage, God IS love.

ALL OF YOU PLEASE PUT GOD IN YOUR
MARRIAGE AND BOND TOGETHER! NO
MORE SLOW LEAKS!

In Thailand, the people greatly love
and admire King Bhumibol (Rama IX),
who has led them for over 60 years.
To display their respect for the king,
the Thai people wear bright yellow
shirts every Monday, because yellow
is the official color of the king.

As we seek to live for our King, the
Lord Jesus Christ, we should also
show our colors of allegiance and
appreciation for all He has done for
us. But how? What are the “colors”
that declare to the world that we
serve the King of kings and Lord
of lords? The night before His
crucifixion, King Jesus told us what
our “colors” should be when He said,
"BY THIS ALL WILL KNOW THAT YOU
ARE MY DISCIPLES, IF YOU HAVE
LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER".
(John 13:35). (Bill Crowder; August 26, 2008)