Christian Reflection and Prayer

Humility

t has always amazed me that Jesus, the King of kings,
humbled Himself and came to earth to be our suffering
Servant. He was not born in the palace of the kings.
Indeed, He could have ordered the angels of heaven to
come and prepare a grand building, which could be
substituted for the Bethlehem stable and manger.

When King Herod tried to have the Savior murdered,
Jesus could have transported Himself, Mary, and Joseph
to a place of safety. He could have commandeered a
chariot of fire like Elijah's. He could have ordered the
sands of the desert to blind and confuse the soldiers,
or He might have simply struck down anyone who
opposed Him.

As the Savior hung on the cross, He had the power to
switch places with those who had put Him there. Being
God's Son, Jesus could have done many things to make
His life on earth easier. He could have done those things,
but He didn't. Instead, He chose to live His life in poverty
and humility.

But why?

Had I been in His place I would have used all my authority
to save myself from the attack of my enemies. If I had
been Jesus, I would have performed a miracle to frighten
my enemies and force them to keep their distance.

But Jesus didn't do any of those things. Instead, He
humbled himself even unto death. Jesus gave up all earthly
glory and allowed Himself to be taken by His persecutors
and murderers.

Paul helps us understand in His epistle to the Philippians.
There He says, "Your attitude should be the same as that
of Christ Jesus. ... (He) took on the nature of a servant. ...
As a man He humbled Himself and became obedient unto
death, even death on the cross" (See Philippians 5:5-8).

Now, because Jesus, true Man and true God has fulfilled
the Commandments for us, has defeated temptations for
us, and conquered death for us, all who believe on Him as
Savior are washed, cleansed, forgiven and saved. Now all
that is left for His people to do is follow their Lord in humility.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, we thank You for the humble and sacrificial
work You did for us. Help us to be humble in our daily
contacts with others. This we ask so souls might be won
for Your kingdom. In Your Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

With Congress failing to enact immigration reform,
attention and pressure is now focused on what
President Obama can do to address our broken
immigration system. In June, the president
announced, “I’m beginning a new effort to fix as
much of our immigration system as I can on my
own, without Congress.”

Like everything else in Washington, the president’s
plans have been caught up in politics. With the
surge of migrant children at the U.S. border
fostering misperceptions about border security,
immigration has again become a hot-button issue
in congressional races across the country. Given
pressure from Democrats in tough races and the
desire to depoliticize any administrative action, the
White House announced the president would not
be taking any steps until after the November
elections.

The political calculus is always changing, but the
day-to-day worries and fears of family separation
remain the same. Both Republicans and Democrats
need to stop using immigrant families as political
footballs and remember the lives at stake in this
debate. It is the faith community’s job to offer them
this reminder.

With hope,
The Sojourners Immigration Team

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 15:10New Living Translation (NLT)
10 Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for
the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

Psalm 41
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor!
    The Lord rescues them when they are in trouble.

Proverbs 14:21New Living Translation (NLT)
21 It is a sin to belittle one’s neighbor;
    blessed are those who help the poor.

Luke 6:20 New Living Translation (NLT)
20 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,
“God blesses you who are poor,
    for the Kingdom of God is yours.

2 Corinthians 9:9New Living Translation (NLT)
9 As the Scriptures say,
“They share freely and give generously to the poor.
    Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”

Reflection:

In an experiment, people volunteered to dress up as
homeless individuals. Then, they were placed where
an unknowing family member typically passed by.
Cameras were set up to capture what would happen
when family members walked past their closest
relatives dressed in a pauper’s clothing.

In all cases, the unsuspecting relatives walked right
by. Later, experimenters showed these relatives what
the cameras had captured, only this time the faces
of the homeless were shown. The relatives were
stunned when they realized who exactly it was that
they had passed.

While we are naturally drawn to those who are
outwardly similar to us, we have to learn to bond with
the similarities that reside within. Every one of us was
created in the image of God. We are all brothers and
sisters at our core. Don’t be fooled by the outer shell.
Love every person for who they are within. Don’t walk
by the homeless or the nameless. Each one is our
brother, our sister, our friend. We dare not pass them
by!

DON'T WALK BY!

May god bless all of us and open our minds and hearts
so that we can help each other; regardless of who they
are; remember blessing has no color; god bless us all.
when some one cries for help dont look the other way;
we are all god;s people; you may be in a good position
today but you never know what tomorrow brings; always
remember that god is our keeper.

Prayer For The Poor By Mother Theresa

Make us worthy, Lord, to serve those people throughout
the world who live and die in poverty and hunger. Give
them through our hands, this day, their daily bread, and
by our understanding love, give them peace and Joy. Amen