PERISHABLE THINGS
Date: 4/30/2012 08:00 - Subscribe
Scripture:
1 Peter 1:18-19
For you know that it was not with perishable things
such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from
the empty way of life handed down to you from your
ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a
lamb without blemish or defect
Reflection:.
Silver or gold! Money, greed, having more, not having enough.
It is so very difficult for us to grasp the concept that these things
are perishable. Ultimately they are meaningless in our lives.
What makes them so perishable is that we can't get enough,
we are never satisfied with these things, they stand before us
and make us empty. These kind of very perishable things
so often make us empty and lonely.
Well if these things make us empty, What fills us up?
I have discovered in my life something that totally fills me up,
it is not perishable, and it is purer than silver and gold.
That which fills me up and gives my life meaning is Jesus Christ.
You know I can just hear the wheels turning now and you're saying
here it comes. Well I guess you're right this means too much for me
not to talk about.
I can emphatically state without any reservations that Jesus Christ fills
me up. His life, his miracles, his teachings, his death, his resurrection,
and his promise of his return, is absolutely what gives me meaning in
my life. All other things are perishable.
Now I know that some of you think this sounds like a sermon, or lecture,
or some kind of conversion process. It is not! It is, however,
my reflection. I am very simply passing along to you my reflection of what
gives my life real meaning.It doesn't make me better than you., As a matter
of fact it doesn't make me right. It is simply how I feel! And I want to pass
along my reflection of how I feel to you.
JESUS CHRIST FILLS ME UP! JESUS CHRIST GIVES ME LIFE!
Prayer:
O heavenly father I have nothing but praise and thanksgiving to my heart
for you. Thank you Almighty God for not being perishable. Thank you.....
thank you for giving me life, filling my life, being in my life, and for being
the reason for my life. Thank you Jesus for what you have given to me.
AMEN!
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LIFE'S MEANING
Date: 4/27/2012 09:20 - Subscribe
Scripture:
But as I looked at everything I had worked so
hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless--
like chasing the wind. There was nothing really
worthwhile anywhere.
Ecclesiastes 2:11, NLT
Reflection:
Solomon summarized all his attempts at finding
life's meaning as "chasing after the wind.
" We feel the wind as it passes, but we can't
catch hold of it or keep it. In all our
accomplishments, even the big ones, our good
feelings are only temporary. Security and
self-worth are not found in these
accomplishments, but far beyond them in the
love of God.
Think about what you consider worthwhile in
your life--where you place your time, energy,
and money. Will you one day look back and
decide that these, too, were a "chasing after
the wind"?
(Life Application Daily Devotion)
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I'M RIGHT
Date: 4/24/2012 04:20 - Subscribe
Scripture:
People may be right in their own eyes, but the LORD
examines their heart. Proverbs 21:2, NLT
Reflection:
Do you know what I'm best at? I am so good at giving excuses.
I can have an excuse for almost anything that comes my way.
I have an excuse when I'm late, I have an excuse when I don't
have a certain task done, I have an excuse when I forget a birthday,
in other words, I have an excuse for everything.
But there's a problem here, I may think in my own mind that I
am getting away with something with all my excuses, but I'm not.
Because I happen to believe in a God that looks behind the excuses
to the motives of my heart.
I guess as I get older I have discovered that I have made certain choices
where the right action was very difficult to discern. Because I believe
that ultimately there is a bottom line to every decision I need to make,
this makes the decision even more important and much more difficult
to arrive at.
I've got to asked myself this question, "How do I arrive at this decision?
Well I have discovered that I can help myself come to a decision
by first identifying the motives I have in making a decision. And then
when I am able to specifically define the motive I simply do this;
WWJD. That's right I'm one of those guys who still ask the question
"What Would Jesus Do?" I also want to know would God be pleased
with my real reasons for making this decision. I have certainly discovered
that God is not pleased when we do good deeds and make decisions
only to receive something in return.
Yes I have discovered, in myself, that when I go to the above process
that I do make the right decision not only for me, not only for all involved,
but also to glorify God.
Prayer:
Oh Lord please continue to be the biggest part of my decision
making process. And to always ask the question "What Would
Jesus Do?" I realize Lord that by doing this it brings me much closer
to the "Right" decision according to your will.
Thank you God for being my God
in Jesus name AMEN
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STICKING CLOSE
Date: 4/22/2012 06:38 - Subscribe
Scripture:
There are "friends" who destroy each other,
but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24, NLT
Reflection:
Loneliness is everywhere--many people feel
cut off and alienated from others. Being in a
crowd just makes people more aware of their
isolation. We all need friends who will stick
close, listen, care, and offer help when it is
needed--in good times and bad. It is better
to have one such friend than dozens of
superficial acquaintances.
Instead of wishing you could find a true
friend, seek to become one. There are
people who need your friendship. Ask God
to reveal them to you, and then take on the
challenge of being a true friend.
(Life Application Daily Devotion)
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WAKE UP
Date: 4/18/2012 04:30 - Subscribe
Scripture:
Lending to the Poor
35 ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty
among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner,
that he may live with you.
(Leviticus 25:35 (New King James Version)
Reflection:
I'm not a Roman Catholic, but there are many things in the Roman Catholic
church that I very much admire. I'm so very often impressed
with their liturgy, their high sense of worship, their dedication
to their faith, and their dedication to tradition.
One thing that I so admire is the Roman Catholic admiration for the
the Saints. As a Protestant I hold to the belief that we are all Saints as believers
in Christ. But I also believe, if you'll pardon the phrase,"some Saints are more
saintly than others". One of those Saints is St. Francis.
Lately I've been asking the question," What if St. Francis were here today"?
I am sure that if St. Francis were with us today, he would not so much condemn
us for our consumer-oriented materialism as he would weep over our failure
to see where life and love can be most fully experienced and actualized-
among the poor. He would not so much tell us that having things is bad
as he would tell us that giving what we have to the poor can bring us to God
and to the highest potentialities of our humanity.
For France's, being Christian was, above all else, being committed to and in love
with the poor. St. Francis found in the poor a special presence of God, and he made
loving the poor synonymous with loving Christ. He said: I love the poor, not because
they are poor but because Jesus is in them. Whenever I embraced them
I embrace our Lord. He really was convinced that as he embraced the poor
he embraced the Lord himself" he is really there". It made no difference
to him whether the poor were holy or Christian. Even among the most despicable
of them, Francis contended that he could experience Christ real presence.
To him Matthew 25:40 was to be taken literally
There is the story, while Francis was traveling by horse back down a lonely road,
abating Leper dressed in rags suddenly blocked his way. Lepers had always
been a repulsive sight to Francis. He became nauseated just being near them.
And there before him was a leper who could not be avoided.
At that moment Francis heard the words of Jesus resounding in his heart:
" as you do it to the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me!"!
St. Francis climbed off his horse and went up to the leper. He not only gave
him all his money but also gave him his clothes. Then, on impulse, he embraced the
and kissed him.
Climbing back onto his horse, Francis glanced down toward where the leper
had been to bid him farewell. Shocked, he realized that the road was empty.
The leper had vanished. All that Francis could conclude was that he who he thought
had been a leper had really been the Lord himself. What he had done
for that leper, Francis was convinced, he had done for Christ.
You see we do not need some wild eyed celebrity preacher or a so-called
Christian politician condemning us for our consumer orientated ways, as much as we need
such a wide eyed Saint pleading with us to find fulfillment and ecstasy in service to the poor.
We need this kind of pleading voice urging us " TO FIND THE ETERNAL IN
THE FACES OF THE OPPRESSED".
PRAYER:
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love
Where there is injury . . . pardon
Where there is doubt . . . faith
Where there is despair . . . hope
Where there is darkness . . . light
Where there is sadness . . . joy
O, Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled . . . as to console
To be understood . . . as to understand,
To be loved . . . as to love
For it is in giving . . . that we receive,
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned,
It is in dying . . . that we are born to eternal life.
(there was a great deal of information taken from the book
"Wake Up America" by Tony Compolo)
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