WHEREVER WE ARE HE'S THERE

Recalling his past life, a man from
Washington, D.C. said, "I somehow
managed to become homeless for the
first time in my life"... "I was in this room
with about a hundred guys. You could
hear them coughing and turning as they
tried to get comfortable for the night. It
got a little quieter, and then, somewhere
from out of the darkness a voice said,
'Our Father who art in Heaven...' and the
entire dormitory joined in. At the end of
the prayer, another voice began, 'Now I
lay me down to sleep...' Even now, years
later, I get goosebumps thinking of it. That
minute, I realized that whoever we are, the
Lord is wherever we are. I could feel him in
the shelter, like never before. And he
replaced my fears with peace, and now I
see Him every day in my brothers and
sisters, wherever I go."

(from Sermons on Line)

Prayer:

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be
thy name.Thy kingdom come, Thy will be
done in earth, as it is in heaven.Give us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For
thine is the kingdom, and the power, and
the glory, for ever. Amen.

ACCEPTANCE

Scripture:

"You are the Christ, the Son of the
Living God" (Matthew 16:16).

Reflection:

As a Christian, I find myself sometimes trying
to make Jesus Christ into my own preconception.
To one extent or another I often find myself
trying to mold and shape my Savior into my
own desire. I want Christ on my terms not
His I sometimes refuse to let Him come
into my life on His terms.

When I went to seminary I was fortunate
enough to have one of the leading
authorities on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as
my mentor.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed by the
Nazis for refusing to submit to Hitler's
tyranny. One of his close friends has written
about an experience he had with Bonhoeffer
one Sunday as they walked home from
Church together. They were talking about
the service and the sermon and so on when,
suddenly, Bonhoeffer's friend told him that
there was something about him he found
very upsetting. "There are times when you
seem distant and cold," he said. "Sometimes
it is hard to get close to you. Sometimes
you seem unresponsive, and you make
people feel uncomfortable." Suddenly,
Bonhoeffer stopped the man short by
exclaiming, "Why can't you let somebody
be who he is?" We do this, even to Jesus.
Why can't we let Him be who He is?

JESUS, WHY CAN'T WE LET HIM BE
WHO HE IS.

Christ is there to enrich our lives, He is
there to fill the emptiness. We need to
receive Him on His terms.

ACCEPT CHRIST AS CHRIST AND
YOUR LIFE WILL OH SO CHANGE.

COMING UP WITH MORE MONEY

The minister was preoccupied with
thoughts of how he was going to ask
the congregation to come up with
more money than they were expecting
for repairs to the church building.
Therefore, he was annoyed to find that
the regular organist was sick and a
substitute had been brought in at the
last minute. The substitute wanted to
know what to play. Here's a copy of
the service," he said impatiently. "But,
you'll have to think of something to play
after I make the announcement about
the finances."During the service, the
minister paused and said, "Brothers
and Sisters, we are in great difficulty;
the roof repairs cost twice as much
as we expected and we need $4,000
more. Any of you who can pledge $100
or more, please stand up."
At that moment, the substitute organist
played "The Star Spangled Banner."
And that is how the substitute became
the regular organist!

MY SPOT IN LIFE

Whenever I'm disappointed with my
spot in life, I stop and think about
little Jamie Scott.

Jamie was trying out for a part in the
school play. His mother told me that
he'd set his heart on being in it, though
she feared he would not be chosen.

On the day the parts were awarded,
I went with her to collect him after
school. Jamie rushed up to her,
eyes shining with pride and excitement..
'Guess what, Mom ,' he shouted, and
then said those words that will remain
a lesson to me....'I've been chosen to
clap and cheer.'

PRAISE GOD AND CHOOSE TO CLAP
AND CHEER!

I LIKE IT BEST WHEN I'M WITH YOU

A college student spent a year living with
a group of Navajo Indians as part of his
doctoral studies program. As he did his
research, he lived with the members of a
Navajo family, sleeping in their hut, eating
their food, working with them, and living as
a 20th century Indian. The old grandmother
of the family spoke no English, and the
student knew no Navajo, but a close
friendship developed between the two.
They spent a great deal of time together.
Despite the language problems, they
shared a common understanding of love
and friendship. Over the months they
learned a few phrases from each other.

Finally, the time arrived for the student
to return to the college and write his thesis,
so the tribe held a going-away celebration.
The next day as he prepared to get into his
pickup truck and leave, the grandmother
came to tell him good-bye. With tears in her
eyes, she said, "I like me best when I'm
with you."

You are with the Lord when you are doing
His Will; following His example; living
according to His teachings; devoting
yourself to His ministry of loving service.
This is what brings genuine joy into your
life. This is what makes it possible for you
to say, "Lord Jesus, I like me best when
I'm with You." And when you are with
Jesus in this way, you may even hear
your spouse or your child or your parent
or your friend say to you, "I like me best
when I'm with you!"

(from Sermons on Line)

ARE YOU GOING TOO?

Scripture:

Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked,
"Are you also going to leave?" Simon Peter
replied, "Lord, to whom would we go? You
have the words that give eternal life.
John 6:67-68, NLT

Reflection:

After many of Jesus' followers had deserted
him, he asked the 12 disciples if they were
also going to leave. Peter replied, "To whom
shall we go?" In his straightforward way,
Peter answered for all of us--there is no other
way. Though there are many philosophies
and self-styled authorities, Jesus alone has
the words of eternal life.
People look everywhere for eternal life and
miss Christ, the only source. Stay with him,
especially when you are confused or feel alone.

(Life Application Daily Devotion)

SPEAKING FROM THE HEART

Reflection:

One of the most difficult times in my
life is when I went through a divorce.
This was never ever suppose to happen
to me. This only happened to other
people, people who did not have
"Christian" values. I was brought up
better. Divorce was morally wrong
and contrary to the teachings of
Jesus Christ. People like me, who had
my kind of background, just never
got divorced. It was not ever spoken
of in my family.
But here I was facing the most
difficult and heart wrenching period
of my life. My wife was asking me
for a divorce. In one brief moment.
on my 5th anniversary. the person
that I loved was telling me that she no
longer loved me and wanted to end
our relationship. I felt angry, hurt and
abandoned by my wife and my God.
As I speak of it now, I feel the pain in
my heart. My eyes well up with tears
as I remember the hurt I felt and the
loneliness that I was about to experience
was overwhelming. I felt that this pain and
emptiness would never go away. That
my life was over and there was no longer
any reason to keep going.
I found myself begging my wife to stay
with me and promising I would do anything
to keep her in my life. But this was not
enough and she left me.
I know what your thinking, "Here comes
the sermon, here comes the life changing
experience that brought meaning back
into my life". Well that's not what happened.
IT WAS A LONG HEALING PROCESS NOT
AND OVERNIGHT REVELATION. It was a
process of discovery that yes indeed
eventually changed my life. The discovery
in my life was this, that even though my wife left
me, MY GOD DID NOT.
I know, to some, this sounds like some kind
of platitude that never happens. Many people
say, without meaning, that God is there for you.
But I'm telling you and asking you to believe me
when I say, "GOD NEVER ABANDONED ME".
And I know, from personal experience that HE
WILL NEVER ABANDONED YOU!

GOD LOVES YOU AND HE LOVES ME AND I
PROMISE YOU "For it is by grace you have been
saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God". THROUGH HIS LOVE HE WILL
ALWAYS BE WITH YOU
AMEN

DO YOU HAVE FAITH?

On God's Authority

1 Kings 19:9, 11-13; Psalms 85:9-14;
Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-33

"Man of little faith, why did you doubt?"
(Matthew. 14:31).

At the age of four, I knew that God was
everywhere. I spoke to Him...But as I
grew toward manhood, the more I learned,
the less I believed in God...When I was
twenty-one, my superior intellect told me
that God was a fake. Heaven could not be
"up" and Hell could not be "down" because
in space there is no up or down. And I
knew that everything in creation dies,
including the smallest insect and the
biggest star.

These words were written by Jim Bishop,
the author of many best-selling biographies
and histories. "Then one day," he said,

I felt a new experience. I saw the miracle of
birth -- Virginia Lee, a child of my own -- and
it turned my wandering mind around. I began
to doubt my doubts. Gradually I lost faith in
my intellect. It was not supplying the needed
answers.

I could not see the air, but without it I would
die. Thus it is, I decided, with the spirit of man.
I needed something to breathe life into a soul
that had been crushed by the dominance of
the human mind.

What Jim Bishop needed was faith. "I was a
slow learner," he said, But, somehow,
somewhere, as I groped my painful way, I
found my soul...I knew it was there -- wounded,
bleeding perhaps, but alive.

I began to pray, and as faith returned to me,
I feared that it might dissolve again. So I prayed
for continuing faith.

It was only when I gave up -- when I let go and
allowed myself to be carried by God -- that I
began to really feel His Presence. He was there,
and I knew it!

I had wanted proof -- something for my eyes or
ears or hands. He wanted me to believe without
it. Faith and trust are what He required of me!
And He never rested till I found them.1

What is faith? Faith means acknowledging that
God can tell us truths beyond our human power
of reasoning. Faith means accepting truth on
God's authority.

John Greenleaf Whittier wrote...

He walked by faith and not by sight,
By love and not by law.
The presence of the wrong or right
He rather felt than saw.

DO YOU WALK BY FAITH?

(From the editors of Sunday Sermons Online)