Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

Listen, my child, to what your
father teaches you. Don't neglect
your mother's teaching. What
you learn from them will crown
you with grace and clothe you
with honor. Proverbs 1:8-9 NLT

Sensible children bring joy to
their father; foolish children
despise their mother.
Proverbs 15:20 NLT

(Note= This is really something
to think and pray about!)

Honor your parents

Once upon a time, there was
a young family — a father, mother,
and their young son. Living
with them was the father's dad.
Grandpa was old and shaky and
very feeble. He dripped everything,
especially when he ate. He
slobbered everything and made
a terrible mess. It was embarrassing
to the family, especially when
company came over. So put the
old man off to one side, away from
the table. They gave him an earthen
bowl to eat out of. But he broke that.
In fact, he continued to slobber and
make a mess. Finally, his
daughter-in-law spoke out harshly
to him and moved him to a far corner
of the room, far from the dinner table.
He was given a wooden trough to eat
out of. At mealtime he would look
wistfully at the family, wishing that
he could eat with them. But that was
not to be.

One day the daughter-in-law found
her son fiddling with some pieces of
wood as he tried to put them together.
She asked him what he was doing.
His answer: "I'm making a trough for
you and Daddy that I can give you when
I grow up." With these words, judgment
was brought to the daughter-in-law, and
she shared it with her husband. They
brought their dad back to the table. He
didn't stop slobbering or shaking, but it
didn't matter anymore. They were finally
honoring their father.
adapted from 1001 Great Stories and
Quotes by R. Kent Hughes, Tyndale
House Publishers (1998), p 160

Reflections:

The chances are that you'll never be
elected President of the country, write
the great American novel, make a million
dollars, stop pollution and racial conflict,
or save the world. However valid it may
be to work at any of these goals, there
is another one of higher priority — to be
an effective parent. LANDRUM R. BOLLING
AMEN AMEN!

Scripture:

17And a voice from heaven said,
"This is my Son, whom I love;
with him I am well pleased."
Matthew 3:17 (New International Version)

Reflection:

Jesus is God's beloved Son. With
Whom He (God) is well pleased.
You know He is well pleased with
everyone who is in Christ, all those
who are united to Him by faith.
It seems to me that we should
be responding by saying, He is our
beloved Savior of Whom we are
well pleased.
Are you pleased with God or are
you pissed off at Him?. So many
people seem to be mad at God.
They want to blame God for their
circumstances. In other words
they are not tied into (united) to
God by faith. Because if they were
united to God by faith, they would use
the strength that is given to them,
through their faith, to change their
circumstances. As I have stated
before God promises to give us the
courage to face our problems with
his strength. Use the strength that
God gives you to over come the over
riding problems that surrounds you.
I don't know about you but I AM WELL
PLEASED WITH MY BELOVED
SAVIOR! HOW ABOUT YOU?

Prayer:

Lord I was once an orphan blown
along deserted streets. But thank
You Jesus You took me in and
adopted me as Your own child.
How I praise You for the security
and acceptance that I have found
in Your presence! I praise You
Lord, In Your Name AMEN!

Jesus is my hope and trust

Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?
For sin is the sting that results
in death, and the law gives sin
its power. How we thank God,
who gives us victory over sin
and death through Jesus Christ
our Lord!
1 Corinthians 15:55-56 NLT

Jesus lives, and so shall I:
Death, thy sting is gone forever!
He for me hath deigned to die,
lives the bands of death to sever.
He shall raise me from the dust:
Jesus is my hope and trust.

Jesus Lives, and So Shall I
Christian Furchtegott Gellert (1715-1769)

Just a happy ending?

What difference does Christ's
resurrection make? Is it just a
happy ending to an otherwise
tragic tale? No, of course not.
Jesus had to rise, as Peter
eloquently stated at Pentecost.
It was impossible for death to
defeat the Lord of life. The
Resurrection proves that Jesus
was the Son of God. Our faith
is built on this solid foundation.
As Paul wrote, "If Christ has not
been raised, your faith is futile;
you are still in your sins.…If
only for this life we have hope
in Christ, we are to be pitied
more than all men" (1 Corinthians
15:17, 19). But He has risen! And
as Jesus promised His disciples,
"Because I live, you also will live"
(John 14:19).

Without Christ, human life is merely
prolonged death. Everything is
decaying. But Jesus gives us eternal
life, which radically changes our life
on earth. Not only do we have eternity
to look forward to, but we have the
power to live in right relationship with
God and others right now in our daily
lives. Jesus is our hope for the future
and our trust for each day. Praise Him!

Our "Resurrection Week" readings are
adapted from The One Year® Book of
Hymns by Mark Norton and Robert Brown,
Tyndale House Publishers (1995).
Today's is taken from the entry for April 2.