"Are You a Prisoner?"

Scripture:

"This grace was given, that I should preach
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of
Christ." (Ephesians 3:8)

Reflection:

This is part of a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote
to the church in Ephesus. Do you realize that
Paul was a prisoner at the time he wrote this
letter. All through the Book of Ephesians, Paul
has this upbeat attitude being excited about the
unsearchable riches of Christ, and all that time
he is suffering the pain and humiliation of a prisoner.
But he didn't see himself as a prisoner of the state
but as a prisoner of Christ. He took the hardship that
he was suffering and made into an exciting opportunity
to bring the Gospel to the gentiles. I'm curious do you
use the pain, the disappointments, the discouragements,
that you encounter in life as an opportunity to tell others
about Jesus Christ? What a wonderful way to approach
your life. In Ephesians 3:8, Paul states "To me, who am
less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given,
that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ". Paul, a prisoner of Christ, saw himself as
being given the privilege to serve God and present the
"riches of Christ" to all. Are You a prisoner of Christ?

Prayer:

Lord afflictions may test me, They cannot destroy me,
because You are my Savior, thank you that one small
glimpse of Your love turns them all to joy. THANK GOD
FOR BEING GOD!

Quote of the Day

Lucretia Mott
Quaker, Pacifist Abolitionist, Feminist
(1793-1880)

"Let it be called the Great Spirit of the Indian, the Quaker
‘Inward Light' of George Fox, the ‘Blessed Mary,' Mother
of Jesus of the Catholics, or Brahman, the Hindu's God -
they will be one, and there will come to be such a faith
and liberty as shall redeem the world.

Black History Month

THE BLACK FAMILY PLEDGE

BECAUSE we have forgotten our ancestors,
our children no longer give us honor.

BECAUSE we have lost the path our ancestors
cleared kneeling in perilous undergrowth,
our children cannot find their way.

BECAUSE we have banished the God of our
ancestors, our children cannot pray.

BECAUSE the old wails of our ancestors have
faded beyond our hearing, our children cannot
hear us crying.

BECAUSE we have abandoned our wisdom
of mothering and fathering,
our befuddled children give birth to children
they neither want nor understand.

BECAUSE we have forgotten how to love, the
adversary is within our
gates, an holds us up to the mirror of the world
shouting, "Regard the loveless"

Therefore we pledge to bind ourselves to one
another, to embrace our
lowliest, to keep company with our loneliest,
to educate our illiterate,
to feed our starving, to clothe our ragged,
to do all good things, knowing that we are
more than keepers of our brothers and sisters.

We ARE our brothers and sisters.

IN HONOR of those who toiled and implored God
with golden tongues, and in gratitude to the same
God who brought us out of hopeless desolation,
we make this pledge.

LET US LEARN TOGETHER
HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH
PASTOR KIM
­

Working Behind the Scene

Scripture:

"He must increase, but I must decrease."
(John 3:30)

Reflection:

"Behind every man is a great woman", "Behind every
candidate there is a great politician, " etc, etc,
I really believe that we as Christians are called upon
to have a similar approach in making Jesus known to the
world. We need to be content to work behind the scenes.
John 3:30 says "He must increase, but I must decrease".
That ain't easy to do is it? Many of us want to have the
glory, many of us want the focus to be on us and not on
God. But please remember what Oswald Chambers reminds
of us: "Goodness and purity ought never to attract attention
to themselves, they ought simply to be magnets to draw to
Jesus Christ. A beautiful saint may be a hindrance if he does
not present Jesus Christ but only what Christ has done for him:
he will leave the impression--'What a fine character that man is!'--
that is not being a true friend of the Bridegroom: I am increasing
all the time, He is not."
Remember Jesus Christ is the lead on stage, we are behind
the scenes. I think we have a few preachers that need to remember
this.

Prayer:

Lord I pray that I am a worker for Your Glory not for Mine]
THANK YOU GOD FOR BEING GOD

Quote of the Day

Abigail Kelley Foster
Pacifist Abolitionist
(1811-1877)

"Go where you are least wanted, for there you are most needed."

Being Grateful

Scripture:

"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
(Colossians 3:17)

My parents had one very specific rule as I was growing up.
They were constantly teaching to always say "please" and
"thank you". Actually it was my first words learned.
I soon learned in my life the connection between asking
politely and receiving gratefully. The problem is that as we get
older that connection begins to disconnect, Especially with God.
We ask for more and praise a lot less. We need to be reminded
what the Apostle Paul tell us in Colossians 3:15-17= "Be
Thankful" (v.15), "Sing with gratitude to the Lord" (v.16), "Do all in
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
through Him" (v.17).

Prayer:

I thank you Lord for Blessings you give us on our way, May
I forever be Grateful, and Praise You everyday. (Roworth)
THANK YOU GOD FOR BEING GOD!!!!

Quote for the Day

St. Claire of Assisi
Spiritual Teacher and Guide, Political and Religious Peacemaker
(1193-1223)

"Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. Go
forth without fear, for He that created you has sanctified you, has
always protected you, and loves you as a mother."

God is There for Us

Scripture:

"Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.
They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing
as they return with the harvest." Psalm 126:5-6 NLT

"For he has not ignored the suffering of the needy. He has
not turned and walked away. He has listened to their cries
for help". Psalm 22:24 NLT
"
Reflection:

You know, I believe one of the worse things about
televangelists talking about being born again, is
that they give the distinct impression that if you
accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, there will be no
more suffering, and that your life will be filled with
joy. I do agree there is a great deal of joy in your
life, I disagree about the suffering. The Bible does
not promise that we as Christians won't suffer.
Actually we can expect to suffer. As Christians
we will be persecuted and suffer. We are
surrounded by evil, I really believe this. The world
is full of evil, and the good do suffer from the evil.
But what God promises us that our suffering will
bring new growth. As I look back in my life, I see
that many of the things that I truly suffered from has
made me a better person and, without a doubt, a
better Christian.
You know the worst kind of suffering is the suffering
we experience alone. It helps when we have another
person who is sympathetic with our problem, the
suffering is much easier to bear. God is not only
our Father, He is our partner. Jesus Christ hears
our cries. I am totally convinced that my Savior
Jesus Christ has never failed to respond to my pain
and suffering. You see thats the beauty of having
Jesus Christ in my life, I still suffer in my life but
I'm never alone, I never suffer alone, Jesus Christ
is always there for me. He is there for you.

Prayer:

Oh Jesus, thank you for always being there. You
are my Savior and my companion. You take the
pain away. Since You have come in to my life I
grown, I turn my suffering over to You. THANK YOU
GOD FOR BEING GOD!

A Morning Prayer

I Cannot Do This Alone

O God, early in the morning I cry to you.
Help me to pray
And to concentrate my thoughts on you:
I cannot do this alone.
In me there is darkness,
But with you there is light;
I am lonely, but you do not leave me;
I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;
I am restless, but with you there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;
I do not understand your ways,
But you know the way for me…
Restore me to liberty,
And enable me to live now
That I may answer before you and before me.
Lord, whatever this day may bring,
Your name be praised.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer