Christian Reflection and Prayer

Jesus: “Let the little children come to me.”

Pastor: “Children stuck at the border? Build a bigger fence.”

Yep, that’s right – Texas megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress
recently told Fox News that the “Christian” way to respond
to immigrant children in distress is to build a stronger border
fence. You’ve heard the stories: tens of thousands of children
are currently stuck at the border after fleeing crime and
violence in their home countries. These children need our
compassion – not calls for a bigger fence.

This pastor has gone too far. Let’s make sure he knows that
Christians need to welcome immigrants and love our neighbors.

Pastor Jeffress has a history of making shameful statements
posing as religious truth. In January, he said that President
Obama was paving the way for the antichrist. He’s now on the
record saying that the “right thing to do” with children alone in
the desert is to lock them out.

We know better. Let’s make a strong statement against these
outrageous claims.

Tell Pastor Jeffress that it’s time for him to read Jesus’ words
in Matthew 25: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

In faith,
Janelle, Tim, and the rest of the Sojourners team
https://secure3.convio.net/sojo/site/Advocacy;jsessionid=8B1ACF61702D7B34929ABBF9B1A81AB3.app325b?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=867&autologin=true&AddInterest=1223

Scripture:

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself
through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation..."
-2 Corinthians 5:18
 
I remember at my wedding, because my parents were
divorced when I was three, this was the first time in my
life where both families - the Schullers and the Persleys
were all in one place. They were standing in the Crystal
Cathedral in front of the choir loft. My mom, my dad, my
stepmom, my stepdad, all my siblings, all my cousins
on both sides were in one section all standing together
with smiles on their faces, united because Hannah and
I were getting married.
 
At one point, I had to step out of the group to walk down
the stairs in front of them. When I turned back to look at
them together, I said, "Just wait a second. I want to see
this." They all laughed, right? And I started weeping. It
was a good weeping because I was so very moved to see
that, at least for a moment, there was reconciliation in
these two families, which for me is one family. Oh, what
a moving experience.
 
This is a good illustration of what happens between
humankind and God because of Jesus Christ. You are at
peace with your Father. You do not need to carry around
in your heart a sense of guilt or regret or to stand off from
God. God is now as close to you as your breath if you
have faith in what Jesus did for you. You are at peace
with God.
 
Prayer:

Dear Lord, no matter how relationships go in life, in you
I am reconciled. Help me to stay connected with others,
in love, as you have sacrificed so much to be close to me.
Amen.
 
Reflection: With whom do you need to reconcile?
How might God help you to make that effort?

(By Pastor Bobby Schuller)

As human beings, we want so much to understand everything
that is going on in our lives. We’d like to see everything that
has happened and everything that will happen in a neat box all
tied up with a pretty ribbon. However, God doesn’t work that
way. You can’t place God in a box. Our God is way too big
and far too great to be contained. He works in ways that we
can’t possibly comprehend. As it says in Proverbs 20:24,
“A person’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can
anyone understand their own way?” No, we can’t understand
how God works – and that’s a good thing.

If we could understand God’s ways, then His actions would
be limited to our intellectual capabilities. I don’t know about
you, but I want a God who is limited by nothing! A colleague
of mine once put it this way: “I don’t want to pray to a God
who I can understand!” I want God to have ways to make
things happen in my life when I don’t see a way. I want a
God who can make sense out of my messy life when I can’t
see a way to clean it up myself. I want a God who is bigger
and smarter than me!

Friends, let’s remember that when we go through things in
life that we can’t understand, it’s OK. We don’t have to
understand. God understands and that’s all that matters.
As it says in Proverb 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD … lean not
on your own understanding … and he will make your paths
straight.”

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

(excerpts taken from Holy Land Moments)