Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

All the believers were united in heart
and mind. And they felt that what they
owned was not their own, so they
shared everything they had. The
apostles testified powerfully to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and
God's great blessing was upon them all.
Acts 4:32, NLT

Reflection:
.
What do "things", mean to you.
Are "things", important to you.
Is it important to own what you possess.
I think to most people ownership is very
important. But today's scripture
verse gives us a very different slant.
None of these Christians felt that what
they possessed was their own, and
so they were able to give and share,
actually eliminating poverty among
them. This is important, THEY WOULD
NOT LET A BROTHER OR SISTER SUFFER
WHEN OTHERS HAD PLENTY.
This question begs an answer, "How do
you feel about your possessions? It seems
to me that we, all of us, need to adopt a new
attitude given to us by the scriptures. That
attitude is THAT EVERYTHING, YES
EVERYTHING, WE HAVE COMES FROM
GOD, AND WE ARE ONLY SHARING WHAT
IS ALREADY HIS.
With that attitude I know what "things" are
in my life.

Prayer:

Oh God thank You for sharing with me Your
grace. And especially, Oh God, for sharing
Your Son with me. Oh Lord let it be that
the only "thing" I possess, is the power of
the Holy Spirit!

Scripture:

18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Luke 4:18-19 (New International Version)

(Please take time and read this,
and when your finished please,
please say a Prayer of Thanksgiving.)

Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady
with a look of defeat on her face, walked
into a grocery store. She approached
the owner of the store in a most humble
manner and asked if he would let her
charge a few groceries.

She softly explained that her husband
was very ill and unable to work, they
had seven children and they needed food.

John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at
her and requested that she leave his
store at once.

Visualizing the family needs, she said:
'Please, sir! I will bring you the money
just as soon as I can.'

John told her he could not give her
credit, since she did not have a charge
account at his store.

Standing beside the counter was a
customer who overheard the conversation
between the two. The customer walked
forward and told the grocer that he would
stand good for whatever she needed for
her family. The grocer said in a very
reluctant voice, 'Do you have a grocery list?'

Louise replied, 'Yes sir.' 'O.K' he said,
'put your grocery list on the scales and
whatever your grocery list weighs, I will
give you that amount in groceries.'

Louise hesitated a moment with a bowed
head, then she reached into her purse
and took out a piece of paper and scribbled
something on it. She then laid the piece
of paper on the scale carefully with her
head still bowed.

The eyes of the grocer and the customer
showed amazement when the scales went
down and stayed down.

The grocer, staring at the scales, turned
slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly,
'I can't believe it.'

The customer smiled and the grocer
started putting the groceries on the other
side of the scales. The scale did not
balance so he continued to put more and
more groceries on them until the scales
would hold no more.

The grocer stood there in utter disgust.
Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper
from the scales and looked at it with
greater amazement.

It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer,
which said:

'Dear Lord, you know my needs and
I am leaving this in your hands.'

The grocer gave her the groceries that
he had Gathered and stood in stunned
silence.

Louise thanked him and left the store.
The other customer handed a fifty-dollar
bill to the grocer and said; 'It was worth
every penny of it. 'ONLY GOD KNOWS
HOW MUCH A PRAYER WEIGHS'

THE POWER: When you read this,
say a prayer. That's all you have to do.

Just stop right now, and say a prayer
of thanks for your own good fortune. ..

So dear heart, trust God to heal the sick,
provide food for the hungry, clothes and
shelter for those that don't have as we do.

AMEN & AMEN

Scripture:

8For it is by grace you have been
saved, through faith—and this not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
9not by works, so that no one can
boast. 10For we are God's workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2: 8-9

Reflection:

The Plan of Salvation

Salvation= It is the ultimate reward you
receive for giving your life to Jesus Christ.

The Reward= Eternity spent with Christ
your Savior in heaven.

How do you get this Salvation= You
receive Salvation as a gift through grace,
God's love. You don't get this from anyone
else, or by doing good things. You get
salvation because of your faith, it is a gift
from God.

The cause of Salvation= Salvation causes
our center of focus to change from ourselves
to serving God, (good works).

This is God's Plan for you, you can accept
or reject it, the consequences are totally in
your hands. But please keep this in mind,
God Loves You and that's why this plan
is given to you.

Prayer:

Dear Lord,
I admit that I am a sinner. I have done many
things that don’t please you. I have lived my
life for myself. I am sorry and I repent. I ask
you to forgive me. I believe that you died on
the cross for me, to save me. You did what
I could not do for myself. I come to you now
and ask you to take control of my life, I give
it to you. Help me to live every day in a way
that pleases you. I love you, Lord, and I thank
you that I will spend all eternity with you.
In Jesus Name Amen