Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

"Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.
They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing
as they return with the harvest." Psalm 126:5-6 NLT

"For he has not ignored the suffering of the needy. He has
not turned and walked away. He has listened to their cries
for help". Psalm 22:24 NLT
"
Reflection:

You know, I believe one of the worse things about
televangelists talking about being born again, is
that they give the distinct impression that if you
accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, there will be no
more suffering, and that your life will be filled with
joy. I do agree there is a great deal of joy in your
life, I disagree about the suffering. The Bible does
not promise that we as Christians won't suffer.
Actually we can expect to suffer. As Christians
we will be persecuted and suffer. We are
surrounded by evil, I really believe this. The world
is full of evil, and the good do suffer from the evil.
But what God promises us that our suffering will
bring new growth. As I look back in my life, I see
that many of the things that I truly suffered from has
made me a better person and, without a doubt, a
better Christian.
You know the worst kind of suffering is the suffering
we experience alone. It helps when we have another
person who is sympathetic with our problem, the
suffering is much easier to bear. God is not only
our Father, He is our partner. Jesus Christ hears
our cries. I am totally convinced that my Savior
Jesus Christ has never failed to respond to my pain
and suffering. You see thats the beauty of having
Jesus Christ in my life, I still suffer in my life but
I'm never alone, I never suffer alone, Jesus Christ
is always there for me. He is there for you.

Prayer:

Oh Jesus, thank you for always being there. You
are my Savior and my companion. You take the
pain away. Since You have come in to my life I
grown, I turn my suffering over to You. THANK YOU
GOD FOR BEING GOD!

Scripture:

"You shall not kill Exodus 20:13)

Reflection:

Thats what it says, "Don't Kill". It very simply means
you don't kill another person. There is no room for
error here, there are no exceptions. It doesn't say except
an abortion, except war, except capital punishment, except
if our way of life is being threatened. It says "Do not kill".
we are to follow this commandment. There are no
exceptions. It's hard but true. It is basic all to which
Christ teaches, about loving your enemy and forgiveness.
This commandment is central to our faith. It seems to
me that this is a part of our faith. Many of us like to
overlook this commandment. But it's there!
And we must deal with it. Its amazing to me that when
we find something that is difficult for us to accept, we
make exceptions. The problem is I don't see
any. "Thou Shalt Not Kill" . I have always believed
that the meaning of these words, is what makes us
different from other faiths, it's what make us a loving
and compassionate people. When killing does take
place, as Christians we can help. We can help heal
the Spirit, we can council those who have killed, we
can help heal the physical and spiritual wounds.
We can stand up and show what Christ's love is.
We can let our neighbors, our enemies, the whole
world know that we take this commandment seriously.
We Don't Kill.

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:

* Do to others what you would have them do to you (Matthew 7:12).

Reflection:

You know one of the basic desires of being human is to be treated
right. Everybody that I know likes to be treated honestly, with
compassion, and forgiveness by others. I know that I settle for
nothing less. The problem of course is that not everybody treats me
that way. This part of the golden rule, I was lucky enough to learn
early in my life. It is a part of the rule that is so very important to
my life. I discovered that if I want people to treat me with honesty,
compassion and forgiveness, I needed to treat them with those
same virtues. Thats right if I want to be treated right I have to treat
others right. That makes sense to me. During a recent stay in
the local hospital, I was treated like a king, I was treated with love
and caring. The nurses were fantastic, there kindness was so
obvious to me. When checking out, I told the head nurse about her
nurses. You know what she said, "thats because you cared". Jesus
cares too.

Prayer:

Jesus, thank you for all those who have showed their kindness and
compassion to me, give me the spirit to return it. THANK YOU GOD FOR
BEING GOD!!!!!!!