SQUIRRELS IN THE CHURCH

A small town had four churches Presbyterian,
Methodist, Catholic and Baptist.
All four had a serious problem with squirrels
in the church. Each church in its own fashion
had a meeting to deal with the problem.

The Presbyterians decided that it was
predestined that squirrels be in the church
and that they would just have to live with them.

The Methodists decided they should deal with
the squirrels lovingly in the style of Charles
Wesley. They humanely trapped them and
released them in a park at the edge of town.
Within 3 days, they were all back in the church.

The Catholics also humanely trapped them and
attempted to teach them the "rhythm" method
which of course did not work.

The Baptists had the best solution. They voted
the squirrels in as members Now they only see
them at Christmas and Easter.

LOVING OUR ADULT CHILDREN

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 13:13 (New International Version)

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.

Reflection:

By the time our children reach adulthood,
most of us have formed opinions of our
children. Many parents are proud of pretty
much everything their children have
accomplished. Other parents, however,
expressed real misgivings or disappointment
about the choices their children have made.
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:4-13
(New International Version)
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not
envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not
easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with
the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies,
they will cease; where there are tongues,
they will be stilled; where there is knowledge,
it will pass away.
Remember when our children no longer seek our
advice, THEY STILL VALUE OUR LOVE.
In every stage of parenting, it's not only
what we say but what we do that counts.

Prayer:

Oh Lord in Your mercy grant to us a home
where Christ is our shepherd, and God is
our Father. Oh Jesus give up peace and
joy from heaven above and abide in our
family from day to day. In Jesus Name
Amen

Reminder: "A parents love never, ever
ends!"

DOES GOD REALLY CARE ABOUT THE POOR?

Scripture:

Who else protects the poor and needy
from those who want to rob them?
Psalm 35:10 NLT

As for me, I am poor and needy, but
the Lord is thinking of me right now.
Psalm 40:17 NLT

He will rescue the poor when they
cry to him; he will help the oppressed,
who have no one to defend them.
Psalm 72:12 NLT

Reflection:

"I'll just have to go blind"

A man was having a lot of trouble
with his eyes. His doctor examined
him and recommended the name of
another doctor he should visit, saying,
"I would advise you to go at once and
take plenty of money with you, for it's
going to cost a lot."

The man had eighty dollars in the bank,
so he got his money and went to see
the other doctor. After examining him,
the doctor said, "I never accept less than
five hundred dollars for this particular operation."

"Well, then," said the man, "I guess I'll
just have to go blind, because I have only
eighty dollars."

But the good doctor said, "There is one
other way to solve our trouble. You don't
have enough to pay the bill, and I can't
charge you as little as eighty dollars,
but there is another way open to us—
I will do the operation for nothing."
And that is just what he did.

adapted from a story by Kenneth N. Taylor,
quoted in 1001 Great Stories and Quotes by
R. Kent Hughes (Tyndale House) p 180

Prayer:

Father, in your wisdom you have made
us dependent on one another, and so
we pray for the starving millions in our
world. Give us true repentance for our
greed and selfishness. Empower us to
make amends as best we can. Help us
to find the ways to share so that no one
hungers at the table of life. We ask this
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

PRAYING EFFECTIVELY

Scripture:

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people.
As you make your requests, plead for God's
mercy upon them, and give thanks. Pray this
way for kings and all others who are in authority,
so that we can live in peace and quietness, in
godliness and dignity.
1 Timothy 2:1-2 NLT

Reflection:

Paul urges Timothy to lift up requests, prayers,
intercession, and thanksgiving.
When we pray effectively, we do more than
communicate with God—we commune with him.
We become one in mind and spirit and purpose.
Today, let the focus of your prayer time be to
connect with God in a very real and personal way,
not as a slave would petition his master, but as a
son would enjoy the company of a loving and
gracious father.

Prayer:

(COMMUNE WITH GOD)

LET'S ASK GOD FIRST

Scripture:

Then Saul said, "Let's chase the Philistines
all night and destroy every last one of them
" His men replied, "We'll do whatever you
think is best." But the priest said,
"Let's ask God first."
1 Samuel 14:36 NLT

The Lord is righteous in everything he does;
he is filled with kindness. The Lord is close
to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on
him sincerely. He fulfills the desires of those
who fear him; he hears their cries for help
and rescues them.
Psalm 145:17-19 NLT

Reflection:

I love this verse! What a reminder,
"Let's ask God first"' Why is it that
so many of us try everything before
we even think about asking God. I
have discovered that when I go to the
Lord first, I save myself an awful lot
of aggravation and sometimes pain.
And please, please, remember this:
Our God is a righteous God, He is
filled with kindness, love, and compassion.
Our God is close to all those who sincerely
call upon Him. He hears our cries for
help, He hears our requests. God is there
for us, ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS ASK!

Reminder:

Prayer appears nearly on every page of
the Bible as the very essence of a faith
relationship with the living God.


Prayer:

(ASK GOD NOW)

The next morning Jesus awoke long before
daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness
to pray.
Mark 1:35 NLT

LET US COME BOLDLY

by Majorie Cooney

There is power
In the hour
That with Him I spend alone.

Joy is knowing
That I'm Growing
As I thus approach the Throne.

I've the feeling
As I'm kneeling
That I tread on Holy Ground.

In Him abiding
I'm confiding
Every burden of my heart.

Satan glowers
In the hours
When my prayer communion starts.

He is leading,
I am feeding
On the manna of His Word.

Life is glorious,
Rich, victorious,
Assured by Him my prayer is heard.

GOD BLESS YOU!

GIVING UP CONTROL

Scripture:

You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever.
Psalm 16:11 NLT

It takes a radical break to turn a man
from earth's trash to heaven's treasure.
Vance Havner

Reflection:

I think one of the most difficult things
about being a Christian is to give control
of my life to God, to let Him call the shots.
That's what it means to take the role of
a willing and faithful servant. When I
do this my life begins running more
smoothly. As David wrote, "Lord,
You alone are my inheritance, my cup
of blessing. You guard all that is mine"
(Psalm 16:5). Don't you think it's time
now to turn your life over to God and
let Him control the shots.

Prayer:

(Psalm 16:11)

May you prayer be like David's:
"Show me the way of life, granting
me the joy of Your presence and the
pleasures of living with you forever:

LOVING THE LEAST

Scripture:

I assure you, when you did it to
one of the least of these my
brothers and sisters, you were
doing it for me!
Matthew 25:40 NLT

Reflection:

Loving the Least

I remember a poster on a dorm-room
wall during my days in college. The
poster was a picture of a homeless
man lying in a dirty gutter holding a
bottle in a paper bag by his side.
The inscription on the bottom was
a quote from Mother Teresa. It read,
"You love Jesus only as much as
the person you love the least."

For all we don't understand about
the life of Jesus and the true nature
of God, there is one truth that he
made completely clear. The Christian
faith is about service and humility. It's
about helping those who can't help
themselves. It's about loving others
more than we love ourselves—even
the most unlovable among us.

What is the sign of true followers?
Is it the amount of knowledge that
we have? Is it the money we give
to missions? the degrees we've earned?
the number of people we've preached
to? the hours we've spent worshiping
in church? the books we've read or written?

According to Jesus, the sign of the
saved is their love for the least.

It is said that when Francis of Assisi
left his wealth behind to seek God, he
stripped naked and walked out of the
city. The first person he encountered
on his journey was a leper on the side
of the road. He first passed him, then
turned back. He embraced the leper
in his arms before continuing his
journey. A few steps down the road
he turned and saw that the leper
was gone. Until his dying day,
Francis of Assisi was convinced that
the leper was Jesus. Even if he was
wrong, he was right.

adapted from Embracing Eternity by
Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins and
Frank M. Martin,, Tyndale House
Publishers (2004), p 3

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.

LET US PRAY

"But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer".
Luke 5:16, NLT

Reflection:

I remember when I was a kid there
was one event each week, that I was
not allowed to miss. That was going
to church. This was a must, with my
mother, I had no choice. It was a
Swedish Mission Church and one
thing about that church was that those
old swedes loved to pray. During prayer
meeting, I would sit next to my mother
and listen to these long, extremely long
public prayers. In my young mind I was
absolutely sure that they were reading
from scripts.
If you read the Gospels you will notice
that Jesus did the exact opposite.
Jesus often withdrew to quiet, solitary
places to pray. Jesus Christ was
constantly surrounded by people who
wanted to hear Him preach or to have
their diseases healed. He needed to
get away and pray to His Father. We
need to get away and to pray to our
father in heaven. Remember strength
comes from God, and we can only be
strengthened by spending time with him.

Let us Pray

WHEN AND HOW DO YOU PRAY?

(From God's Daily Promises)

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to the Most High.
It is good to proclaim your unfailing
love in the morning, your faithfulness
in the evening, accompanied by the
harp and lute and the harmony of
the lyre. You thrill me, Lord, with
all you have done for me! I sing for
joy because of what you have done.
Psalm 92:1-4 NLT

Giving thanks morning and night

What a way to start the day! The
verses in Psalm 92 represent one
of the first prayers on the priests'
lips on the Sabbath day: "You thrill
me, Lord, with all you have done
for me!"

What if before you read your
morning paper, before you head out
the door, before you start the
countless tasks you have to do
for each day, you determine that
you're going to start your day with
praise for how God has "thrilled" you?
Right now, you have the chance to
start afresh. A new day is before you.
Why not start things off right with a
regimen of praise instead of the old
routine? In prayer today, proclaim his
unfailing love, and tonight, before going
to bed, praise him again for his
faithfulness.

Adapted from The One Year Book of
Bible Prayers (Tyndale House) entry
for May 15

WHO CARES?

Scripture:

Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped
from the boat, and he had compassion on
them and healed their sick.
Matthew 14:14, NLT

Reflection:

Do you know somebody that is really hurting
right now? Maybe your in some kind of pain,
physical, mental or spiritual. If so please
remember this verse. Jesus performed some
miracles and healed people because He "had
compassion on them." Jesus was, and is, a
loving, caring, and feeling person. Remember
this when you or someone you know is
suffering. Always keep in your heart that
Jesus, our shepherd, hurts with us. He
died for us on the cross, He knows what
it means to suffer pain. Jesus identifies
with us and has real compassion for us.
If Jesus can have compassion for us then
we should be able to feel compassion for
others. You see that is where the real
miracle lies "CARING"

Prayer:

Lord thank You for Your love and
compassion.Teach me to embrace others
with compassionate arms, no matter what
their age, color, creed, history, or belief.

WHAT KIND OF GREATNESS DO YOU SEEK?

Scripture:

The greatest among you must be a servant.
But those who exalt themselves will be
humbled, and those who humble themselves
will be exalted. Matthew 23:11-12, NLT

Reflection:

Jesus Christ was a radical.
He was absolutely not a believer
in the status quo. Every part of
His ministry challenged society's
norm. Christ showed us that just
because the leaders of the church,
the government, of society in
general, say some
thing, "It just don't make it so'"
Today's verse is a perfect example.
To many in our society greatness
is defined as possessing ego, power,
wealth, and status. To Jesus Christ,
greatness comes from serving and
giving of yourself to help God and
others. Jesus taught us that service
keeps us aware of others' needs,
and it stops us from focusing
only on ourselves. I would like
to remind you that Jesus Christ
came into this world not as the
leader of the status quo but as
a servant of the people. The
question remains, "What kind
of greatness do you seek."

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.

In Jesus Name Amen

SADNESS INTO JOY!

Scripture:

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
You have taken away my clothes of mourning
and clothed me with joy. Psalm 30:11

Reflection:

You know I think of this verse whenever I am
lonely, depressed or even afraid. This verse
reminds me that God can help. My God alone
truly sees my pain and so definitely offers to
turn my sadness into joy.

Prayer:

Thank You Almighty God for knowing my pain,
as You knew the pain of giving Your only Son
for us. You alone turn my sadness into
joy. Thank You for the Joy of Jesus.
In His Holy Name AMEN.