Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

"Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do
and then not do it." James 5: 17 (NLT)

Reflection:

Boy that verse sure makes you think. Doesn't it.
This definition of sin is one we seem to forget.
We sometimes find ourselves walking around
making all kinds of judgment about what sin is.
You see our definition of sin is usually centered
around knowing when something is wrong and doing it.
But it is also a sin to know when something is right
and not do it. For example Jesus teaches to love
our neighbors, to love our enemies. We know that
is what we ought to do, do we do it? As a country
do we love our neighbors, do we love our enemies?
As a person do I love the people at work? Do I treat
them with respect and kindness, no matter how they
treat me? You see we know what we ought to do,
we just don't do it! How can we look at people who
are suffering, who are hurting, who feel real pain, people
who are angry, who are depressed, people who are in
desperate need of love, knowing what we ought to do
and not do it. THAT IS SIN!
Brothers and sisters, this is our sin, why don't we see
it, others do. People look at us, who call ourselves
Christian, and all they see is so called righteous people,
who sit in judgment. You know we are righteous people,
in other words we know what is right we just don't do anything
about it. Remember the opposite of love is not hate, it's
apathy. How do you make Christians care, how do you make
Christians get off their butts and do something. I don't know!
I do know I love Jesus Christ with all my heart, with all my soul,
with all my mine. Jesus taught me not to judge others but to
serve others. Jesus taught me to turn the other cheek not swing
the other fist. Jesus taught me a faith of action, not of apathy.
Jesus taught me what needed to be done and to do it. When,
as Christians, are we going to understand, that knowing what
ought to be done and sitting back on our butts and not doing it,
is a sin. AMEN!

Quote:

Emily Greene Balch
Leader of The Women's International League for Peace
and Freedom, Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (1867-1961)

"We have a long way to go. So let us hasten along the road,
the road of human tenderness and generosity. Groping,
we may find one another's hands in the dark."

Prayer:

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love
Where there is injury . . . pardon
Where there is doubt . . . faith
Where there is despair . . . hope
Where there is darkness . . . light
Where there is sadness . . . joy
O, Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled . . . as to console
To be understood . . . as to understand,
To be loved . . . as to love
For it is in giving . . . that we receive,
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned,
It is in dying . . . that we are born to eternal life.

Scripture:
Be submissive to those who are older. All of you, cloth
yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes
the proud but gives grace to the humble."
-- 1 Peter 5:5

Reflection:

In my ministry I discovered that I loved to do one very
special thing. I loved to work with our senior citizens.
What an honor and privilage it was for me to be able
not only to give but to receive so much. These folks
were what I called my warm fuzzies of my ministry.
They were amazing people. They were my source
of wisdom. Whenever I had a problem or a need within
the church I always consulted the older and wiser
members of my congregation. If I ever needed a friend
I could always count on the older members to be there
for me. There is no way I could ever give as much as
I received from them. There is a reason that in todays
verse there is a discussion of submission to the older
and grace to the humble. You see that is where I learned
real humility, I learned to be humble from my senior friends,
and family.

Thought:
The word "submissive" is often positive or negative based on its
relationship to us personally. It's nice having someone serve us
submissively, but serving someone else submissively is hard work.
Unfortunately, we are selfish way too much of the time. But God is
at work in direct opposition to anyone who is full of pride and
unwilling to serve others, especially if those "others" are older
believers! Whether it's easy to wear the clothes our Father demands
or not, we are to intentionally clothe ourselves with humility!

Prayer:

Lord please keep me humble. Give me the strength to serve and
to do it with a good heart. Thank You for the wisdom of seniors
and the love that I may share with them. THANK YOU GOD FOR
BEING GOD. In Jesus name amen.

Quote:

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Pacifist Abolitionist, Feminist, Poet (1825-1911)

"I ask no monument, proud and high, to arrest the
gaze of passersby. All that my yearning spirit craves,
is bury me not in a land of slaves."

Scripture:

"Then He asked them, " Who do you say I am?
Simon Peter answered, ' You are the Messiah (Christ),
the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16: 15,16) NLT

Reflection:

That is quit an answer to an obviously important question.
The power that this Christ has had for over 2,000 years
is unbelievable. The belief in Jesus has withstood
that same question all this time. And we still ask the
question "Who is Jesus of Nazareth?", and you know
something, everything, I mean everything, depends
on our answer!
Peter didn't leave the answer that Jesus is the Messiah,
he further stated that Jesus the Messiah is the Son
of the living God! In a world which asks the question
is God alive or dead, this is quit a response. Peter
certainly didn't try to give a water downed answer.
He answered a direct question with a direct answer.
"You are Christ the Son of the living God." Peter
really didn't understand the whole meaning of his
statement, But I think he certainly made a great start.
Please know this, that if you love Him with all your being,
you will not lose in the end, but will receive a great
gain. Are you ready to make that start in your life,
to give your entire being to Jesus the Christ the Son
of the living God. I hope so, because you are in for
the greatest experience of life, the experience of
Jesus Christ.

Prayer:

Father God thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ.
I want Jesus in my life, I want to experience the
fullness of Christ. I want to experience Jesus
Christ the Son of the living God. THANK YOU
GOD FOR BEING GOD in the name of Jesus
Christ the Son of the living God AMEN!

Quote:
Jane Addams Advocate for the Poor and Homeless
Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (1860-1935)
"The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain...
until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life."