Category: remember

Angry words

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“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1

hold-your-words-when-you-are-angry-because-ifelove-quotesandsayings-com-22569668

My father always told me to not respond in anger to someone who is angry. Good advice but not so easy to follow. When someone is yelling at me about something it is very hard to keep my cool. I can feel my heart racing and my mind gearing up for battle. I’m ready to yell back. Yet very little is solved in anger. Most problems are resolved when everyone calms down.

Prayer:  Gentle Jesus, help us to think of you and respond lovingly to someone who is angry. Amen

 

 

Human judgments vs God’s choice

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The tendency to turn human judgments into divine commands makes religion one of the most dangerous forces in the world.”  Georgia Harkness

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It seems to me that more evil is done in the world in the name of religion than for any other reason. We automatically think of Islam and their fanatic suicide bombers. We tend to forget that Christianity has had its share of purges and killings. Too soon have we let the Inquisition fall from our memory. We become sure that we know what God wants and push our beliefs on everyone. Anyone who doesn’t agree is evil. This is not what Jesus taught.

Prayer: Lord God, there is so much hatred in the world. Help us to turn the face of love toward those who hate and teach them about your love. Amen

Forgiveness frees

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The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness.              William Blake

forgiveness frees

 Sometimes it is so much easier to hold on to our anger than to forgive. We may be using the anger to give us energy. It seems that the whole world is about finding someone to blame. We feel empowered by our anger. We feed on it. The truth is that anger drains us, uses up our energy and makes us ill. This is not what Christ said. He told us to forgive our enemies. The church tells us before we come to communion to turn loose of our grievances with others.  We must forgive. Forgiveness heals.

Prayer: Forgive us as sins as we forgive the sins of others.

 

We did it!

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 Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.

John Stott

father forgive them

 For many years we Christians blamed the Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus. It was easier to do this than to accept that had we lived in his time and place we could have been a party to his death. We are not blameless even now. We kill him again each time we don’t acknowledge that was are Christians, each time that we hurt someone else or don’t do something the we know is right. We kill him little by little.

Prayer: God of forgiveness, we are sinful people and we fall off the path all the time. Help us to think before we act. Amen

 

 

Walk by faith

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With all the things going on today about Christianity we wonder how all of this is going to go. There is one things that we all have to remember. No matter what is going on around us we have to continue to follow the path of Christ. Each of us matters. Each of us can make a difference.

The light is coming

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Today we continue to look forward to the birth of Jesus. It comes close to the shortest day of the year and the time when we start back toward more light.The light of Christ is coming into the world.

I don’t think there is any data to tell us exactly the date of Jesus’ birth but this is when we celebrate it and that is fine. A time set aside for us to remember the birth of the baby that changed the world.

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Amazing god, help to remember why we celebrate. AMEN

Have a ready heart

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Advent brings so much for us to ponder. What is the meaning of Christmas? How can I get ready for Jesus? What does this season mean to me? Can I stop long enough to remember what it is all about?

We have to look toward Christmas with a ready heart.

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Loving God, help us to turn from the busy-ness and dwell on the gift of God. AMEN