Christian Reflection and Prayer

(from the Daily Bread)

Scripture:

Revelation 5:8-14
(New King James Version)

Worthy Is the Lamb

8 Now when He had taken the scroll,
the four living creatures and the twenty-four
elders fell down before the Lamb, each
having a harp, and golden bowls full of
incense, which are the prayers of the
saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying:


“ You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your
blood Out of every tribe and tongue and
people and nation,
10 And have made us[a] kings[b] and
priests to our God;
And we[c] shall reign on the earth.”

11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of
many angels around the throne, the living
creatures, and the elders; and the number
of them was ten thousand times ten thousand,
and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with
a loud voice:


“ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

13 And every creature which is in heaven and on
the earth and under the earth and such as are in
the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:


“ Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”[d]

14 Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!”
And the twenty-four[e] elders fell down and
worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.[f]

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain! —Revelation 5:12


Reflection:

When I first became a Christian and started
attending church at age 19, I immediately fell
in love with singing the great hymns of the faith.
My heart overflowed with joy and thanksgiving as
we sang of God’s love for us in Christ. Soon one
of my favorite hymns (from the late 1600s) became
“Fairest Lord Jesus!” I love the simplicity of the
melody and the awesomeness of the One exalted
in these words:

Fair is the sunshine,
fairer still the moonlight,
and all the twinkling starry host: Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer than all the angels heaven can boast.
Beautiful Savior!
Lord of the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration
now and forevermore be Thine!

God’s Son, whom we sing about in this song, came
to this earth, lived a perfect life, and gave Himself for
us on the cross (Luke 23:33). He arose from the grave
(Luke 24:6) and is now seated at God’s right hand (Heb. 1:3).
One day we’ll join in worship with thousands upon thousands
and say: “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him
who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!”
(Rev. 5:13). Maybe we’ll sing “Fairest Lord Jesus!” too.

Until then, let’s allow Jesus to be “the fairest” above all in
our personal lives by seeking wisdom from His Word and
following in His ways.  — Anne Cetas

We can never praise Jesus too much.

Scripture:

So now I am giving you a new commandment:
Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you
should love each other. Your love for one
another will prove to the world that you are
my disciples.
John 14:2 NLT

Reflection:

A healthy definition of love is crucial to
understanding the central message of the
Bible. According to the Bible, love is not
confined to sexuality, nor is it primarily a
feeling at all. The Bible teaches that love
is a commitment. As a commitment, love
is not dependent of good feelings, but
rather on a consistent and courageous
decision to extend oneself for the well-being
of another. That commitment then produces
good feelings, not the other way around. Jesus
became the perfect demonstration of God's
unconditional love for us by laying down his
life for our benefit.

adapted from TouchPoint Bible with devotional
commentary by Ron Beers and Gilbert Beers,
Tyndale House Publishers (1996), p 1227

The love we give away is the only love we keep.
ELBERT HUBBARD

Scripture:

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters,
[a] I plead with you to give your bodies
to God because of all he has done for
you. Let them be a living and holy
sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable.
This is truly the way to worship him.
[b] 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs
of this world, but let God transform you
into a new person by changing the way
you think. Then you will learn to know
God’s will for you, which is good and
pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2 (New Living Translation)

Reflection:

I look around at various people in my life
and I see a vast diversity of what they do.
Some are ministers, some are maintenance
workers, many of my friends work in the
communication industry, some are out of
work, some are in school.
It seems that what we do is so very
important to us. 
I have a question then, Is it important to God?

I believe what matters most to God isn't
what we do, it's who we are.  I don't think
what accomplishments we pursue in life is
nearly as important as becoming the person
God created us to be.  I think we need to use
our time we have in life, on earth, very well. 
Each one of us needs to center our lives on
living up to our potential.  I believe we need
to think and to pray for God's help and His
strength every day. We need to grow into
the person that God wants us to be.  We need
to be someone who's free to live with love and
joy.  We need to be a person who lives with and
loves our God.    THAT'S THE PERSON I WANT
TO BE.

Prayer:

Oh mighty God, thank You for making me part
of you wonderful and marvelous creation.  Lord
help me be the kind of person You created me to
be.  Thank you God that through Your Son, Jesus
Christ, I am free to live with love and joy.