Christian Reflection and Prayer

"What can we say the Kingdom of God is like?" (Mark 4:30).

The Kingdom of God was the number one topic of Jesus'
teaching. The subject of Jesus' first sermon when He came
into Galilee was the "Kingdom of God": the "Kingdom has come,
" He said.  From that time on, almost every parable of Jesus
begins, "The Kingdom of God is like ..." But many of us know
very little about it, or we misunderstand it. We're like the little
boy in religion class who was asked, "What did Jesus say about
people getting married?" He answered immediately, "Forgive
them, for they know not what they do." If someone should ask
you, "What did Jesus say about the Kingdom of God?" your
answer might well be as unenlightened as that little boy's.

Jesus told us that the Kingdom of God is the most important
thing in life.  He told us to seek it first, before all things.  He told
us it's the one thing needful.  He told us it's like a treasure hidden
in the field that is so valuable if you ran across it you would sell
everything you owned in order to possess it.  He told us that it is
the pearl of great price.

But that leaves us with a real problem.  I want to ask you honestly
now, in the average week how many times do you think about
the Kingdom of God?  How many times does it enter your
conversation?  How many times does it become a part of your
decision-making?  For most of us who claim to be His people, the
Kingdom of God, which meant everything to Jesus, is not an
important part of our lives at all. It doesn't tie into the way we're
feeling, loving, laughing, and crying. 

Before the colonialists imposed national boundaries in Laos and
Vietnam, the kings of those countries reached an agreement on
taxation in the border areas. Those who ate short-grain rice, built
their houses on stilts, and decorated them with Indian-style serpents
were considered Laotians. And those who ate long-grain rice, built
their houses on the ground, and decorated with Chinese-style
dragons were considered Vietnamese. The kings taxed the people
accordingly and therefore had no need for boundaries. It was simple:
each person belonged to the kingdom WHOSE VALUES THEY
SHARED AND WHOSE KING THEY HONORED.
   
In telling us what our lives are leading up to, Jesus, our King of Kings
has provided us with a blueprint for the values we must live by. He
has provided us with the climactic ending for us all. And in telling us
what our lives are leading up to, we are empowered as in no other
way to deal with the events that will occur along the way. Jesus'
testimony unravels the mystery of the Kingdom: God's Kingdom is
the Kingdom of Love  .

(The Staff and editors of Sunday Sermons Online). .

Verse

But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when
he saw him, he was moved with pity.
Luke 10:33

Voice

Patience is not waiting passively until someone else does
something. Patience asks us to live the moment to the
fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste
the here and now, to be where we are. When we are
impatient, we try to get away from where we are. We
behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later,
and somewhere else. Let’s be patient and trust that the
treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we
stand.
Henri J.M. Nouwen


Prayer

God, thank you for your presence. Give us this day our
daily bread. Amen.

IT'S ALL IN HOW YOU SEE IT

See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse.
Deuteronomy 11:26

I am reminded of a story about a pair of twins with opposite
dispositions. One twin was an incurable optimist; the other,
a perpetual pessimist. The parents, concerned about the
extremes, consulted a psychologist. The psychologist
recommended that for their next birthday, each twin should
receive a different present. For the pessimist, a shiny new
bicycle. For the optimist, a box full of manure. When the
birthday arrived, the pessimist opened his box and said:
“A brand new bike! I’ll probably fall off of it and hurt my foot.
” The optimist opened his box and ran outside with excitement
saying “If there’s this much manure, there must be a pony
somewhere!”

Similarly, we all have the choice to determine what we see in
life. We can see a blessing or a curse, depending on our
perspective. Let’s make the choice to see things from a godly
perspective. Everything is a blessings – it’s all in how you see it.

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein