A time for reflection

Sometimes we forget why the egg is hollow
sometimes we forget who we should follow
sometimes we need a reminder about why we should go on...
and think about the day, that God gave up his son...


"Still He Walked"

He could hear the crowds screaming "crucify" "crucify"...
He could hear the hatred in their voices,
These were his chosen people.
He loved them,
And they were going to crucify him.
He was beaten, bleeding and weakened...
His heart was broken,
But still He walked.

He could see the crowd as he came from the palace.
He knew each of the faces so well.
He had created them.
He knew every smile, every laugh, and every shed tear,
But now they were contorted with rage and anger
His heart broke,
But still He walked.

He felt alone.
His disciples had left, denied, and even betrayed him.
He searched the crowd for a loving face
And he saw very few.
Then he turned his eyes to the only one that mattered
Knowing that he would never be alone.
He looked back at the crowd...
At the people who were spitting at him
Throwing rocks at him and mocking him
And He knew that because of Him,
They would never be alone.
So for them, He walked.

The sounds of the hammer striking the spikes echoed through the crowd.
The cheers of the crowd, as his hands and feet were nailed to the cross,
Intensified with each blow.
And God's heart broke.
He had let His son walk.

Jesus could have asked God to end his suffering,
But instead He asked God to forgive.
Not to forgive him, but to forgive the ones who were persecuting him.
As he hung on that cross, dying an unimaginable death,
He looked out and saw, not only the faces in the crowd,
But also, the face of every person yet to be,
And his heart filled with love.
As his body was dying, his heart was alive.
Alive with the limitless, unconditional love he feels for each of us.
That is why He walked.

When I forget how much My God loves me,
...I remember his walk.
When I wonder if I can be forgiven,
...I remember his walk.
When I need to be reminded of how to live like Christ,
...I think of his walk.
And to show him how much I love him,
...I wake up each morning, turn my eyes to him,
......And I walk.

Preachers Kid

I'm watching Stan Fosters' 2010 'Preacher Kid'. The storyline is basically about a Preacher's daughter who leaves her life of paternal, Christian, rule, and persues a career of being the understudy in a touring Theatre production. 'Angie' gets involved with hotshot 'Devlin' who abuses her vulnerability- and abuses her. Tonight lets pray for the people physically and pshychologically trapped by the people who claim to love them; pray for their eyes to be opened, and for when that happens that there be a path for them to take, lit by the Lords guidance.

A little something my dear friend Emile forwaded this morning

BY A 15 yr. OLD SCHOOL KID
who got an A+ for this entry

Since the Pledge of Allegiance
And
The Lord's Prayer
Are not allowed in most
Public schools anymore
Because the word 'God' is mentioned.....
A kid in Arizona wrote the attached
NEW School prayer:


"New Pledge of Allegiance"


Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.

If scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.


Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene..
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all..
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks...
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong..

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles..
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.

It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen

Was I wrong?

In this weeks readings we prance through John from capter 7 to 11,
John 8:1-11 gives us a nice little reminder to look within ourselves and goes a little deeper than the 'plank-in-your-own-eye' theory. In this story the teachers of the law and the pharisees want Jesus to talk himself into a corner and brings before him an adulteress, the crime for which Moses taught was punishable by death through stoning. Jesus, in his manner of despondance when being tested, then tells them "Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her", naturally the crowd dispersed quietly- with nobody left to condemn her, Jesus does not either, and dismisses her with fair warning to discontinue her ways.
The lesson to be learnt may be an old one, but is undoubtedly invaluable in the relations between ourselves and the people around us, and sometimes we need a little reminder. We often find ourselves condemning the acts and behaviour of others, but lets learn to look not only within them, their circumstances, their situations and upbringing, lets look inside ourselves, what would we have done? Do we know the whole story? And when we are actively involved do we step back and be the bigger person, assess our role, and ask ourselves: "was I wrong?"...Just a thought*

Lent

The smell of chocolate bunnies and hot cross buns are fast approaching as we come to the climax of another Lenten season, I trust Lent 2011 was and is as fulfilling as any other as we remind ourselves not just of the small sacrifices we make this time of the year but of the larger sacrifices once made for us.
Palm Sunday is but a few days away, so are we ready for that wonderful journey we know as Holy Week? The stations of the cross? The re-enactment of the washing of the feet on Maundy Thursday? And the emotions as we recall the crucifixion?
The crucifixion of Christ happened a very long time ago, years which to us are far from relevant, yet all of Jesus' life that we are priveledged to know, we should use to reflect on our own.
Have you seen the images of poverty in Sudan? Kenya? Even South Africa? Do you know that it would take only 2% of the gross domestic profit of the worlds richest 10% to end global poverty.
Can you spare a 2%? As your sacrifice reminiscent of what has been done for you? Imagine what could be achieved if we all contributed a 2% of anything, our GDP, our groceries, our stationary, to a good cause...
Lets pay it forward and start a new spiritual year in the Spirit of giving with the blessings of God..xx