Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

Romans 15:7-13
New Living Translation (NLT)
7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ
has accepted you so that God will be given glory.
8 Remember that Christ came as a servant to the
Jews[a] to show that God is true to the promises
he made to their ancestors. 9 He also came so
that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his
mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant
when he wrote:
“For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles;
    I will sing praises to your name.”[b]
10 And in another place it is written,
“Rejoice with his people,
    you Gentiles.”[c]
11 And yet again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles.
    Praise him, all you people of the earth.”[d]
12 And in another place Isaiah said,
“The heir to David’s throne[e] will come,
    and he will rule over the Gentiles.
They will place their hope on him.”[f]
13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you
completely with joy and peace because you trust
in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope
through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Reflection:

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted
you, in order to bring praise to God"(V.7)
Paul's claim here begs the simple question, "How
has Christ accepted you?" That seems like a terribly
harmful question. I cannot claim to answer that
question for you, but let me offer an image to guide
our reflection.
At the church I attend, when infants are baptized, the
service ends with this tremendous moment when the
pastor raises the newly baptized child and proclaims:
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God! And that is
what we are!" I must confess that I often need the
emphatic "And that is what we are!" Because the
truth is this claim-that Christ has accepted me like
this tiny and fragile child-is nearly too much to bear.

Prayer: 

God, to Christ you have accepted us and made us
your children; help us to honor our baptism by
excepting one another AMEN

(The Covenant Home Alter, author-Andy Meyer)

4 But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness
and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous
things we had done, but because of his mercy. He
washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new
life through the Holy Spirit.[a] 6 He generously poured
out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.
7 Because of his grace he declared us righteous and
gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”
(Titus 3: 4-7)

Reflection:

On New Year's Day many of us make resolutions about
what we will or won't do in 2014.  We set out to accomplish
new goals or name aspirations in life we are committed
to.  Yet months, weeks, days,and sometimes hours  later we
find ourselves losing hope and giving in.  The doughnut
looks to good to pass up, or it's just a little white lie.
When we feel guilty sometimes we give up altogether.
That's why this passages has been one of my favorite
passages for many years. It doesn't matter how badly
we mess up;  God Saved Us.  He saved us because of
His own mercy, not because of anything we have done
or any promises we've made.  Salvation is completely
dependent on God's own mercy.  Sadly many of us
try to please God on our own strength and we fail.
GOD HAS GIVEN US EVERYTHING WE NEED,
including the ability to live righteous lives.  The only
reason we are able to do anything well is because
of God's mercy.  Will your new year's resolution be
based on your ability or utter dependence on God?

Prayer:

During this new year I commit myself dependent on
You and not giving up even when I fall.  Your mercy
never fails and your love endures forever.  AMEN

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(The Covenant Home Alter, author Jeremy Bower)

Scripture:

Isaiah 9:2-7
New Living Translation (NLT)

2 [a] The people who walk in darkness
    will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,[b]
    a light will shine.
3 You will enlarge the nation of Israel,
    and its people will rejoice.
They will rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest
    and like warriors dividing the plunder.
4 For you will break the yoke of their slavery
    and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.
You will break the oppressor’s rod,
    just as you did when you destroyed the army of
Midian.
5 The boots of the warrior
    and the uniforms bloodstained by war
will all be burned.
    They will be fuel for the fire.
6 For a child is born to us,
    a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
    And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor,[c] Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His government and its peace
    will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne
of his ancestor David for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s
Armies will make this happen!

Reflection:

Today's Scripture passage actually causes me to
reflect on the transformative power of a "child… Born
to us"(v.6). This season, the celebration of Jesus
birth really signifies a change not only for my problems,
my struggles, my faithless ruts but for our entire
system of being human-spiritual, emotional, physical,
and political. Today we can reflect and rejoice in God's
promises for friends and family faced terrible times and
painful situations for He has "government and its peace
will never end" (v.7)