I Can't Miss Sharing It...

Letters from God
A U.S. ambassador resides in a foreign country and yet lives on U.S.-owned property. Though the laws of that land may differ from ours, the ambassador is still responsible to uphold the laws and rules of his own government. His words and actions can never be wholly his for he does not act in his own capacity. When he speaks, he is a messenger for his government. When he acts, his deeds reflect on the country he represents. We are Christ's ambassadors and therefore his messengers. Too often we think that the message we preach reflects our faith. However, on a much deeper level it is the message of our everyday words and actions that are influential. We are the letter from God that people read. We become unreliable messengers when we speak crudely, gossip about a neighbor, or act dishonestly.
Our words and actions reflect God, who lives inside us, to people who never open a Bible or enter a church. Never forget that you are an ambassador for Christ and a messenger of hope. Ask his Spirit to empower you to deliver the Good News with your life and words.
LORD, thank you for allowing me to be your ambassador. Let my message be honest and true. Help me to encourage others and to go out of my way to speak a kind word. Forgive me for times when I have spoken without thinking. Let me live in such a way that my words and actions represent you so that my message may be one of love and hope.
Adapted from The One Year® Book of Praying through the Bible by Cheri Fuller, Tyndale House Publishers (2003), entry for April 21.

A Father's Prayer

This is the best dowry of hopes, wishes and prayers I would be able to offer:
May God give you the grace of wit and wisdom to understand that rainbows are only the result of showers, dust, and hope.
May you always have joy in the morning and trust in the evening and may your sorrows be short and without scars.
May your lives have a spirit neither bent by belligerence nor broken by failure; may you simply love each other.
May you share with each other spring flowers, dirty dishes, music, rain, death, mushrooms, a measure of boredom, strawberries, and God.
May that God never make you immune to the wonderful afflictions of real love, making you instead farsighted to each other's faults, tongue-tied to criticism, and short of memory to petty hurts and slights.
May God provide the confidence and serenity that comes only from the assurance of each other's fidelity and the tolerance, as years go by, of wrinkles and gray hairs, short tempers, curlers, and Monday mornings.
May no one steal from you laughter at the top of the stairs or giggles and whispers in a dark room.
May you keep a hunger for each other, the appetite to taste tomorrow, and deep knowledge of and devotion to your past, heritage and families.
May you perpetuate trust, the radiation of vitality, kind answers to sharp questions and sharp humor to unkind attitudes.
May your fights be fierce and short, and may each truce be warm and long and held in each other's arms before the sun comes up.
May you walk with wise men, sing loud songs at late hours, share secrets, have healthy children, and provide smiles for lonesome strangers and prayers for those without hope.
May you never forget small things; smiles, birthdays, holding hands, family, old friends, the neglected, and the simplicity of saying please and thank you.
May you keep a warm, generous, and happy house where love is the insulation and God is present.
May your children be friends of God's child, Jesus.
May your union bring a smile to the face of the Holy Spirit and may he live in your pots and pans, in your hope and aspirations.

- Author Unknown

Graduation Prayer

Father, I have knowledge, so will You show me now,
How to use it wisely and find a way somehow
To make the world I live in a little better place,
And make life with its problems a little bit easier to face.

Grant me faith and courage and put purpose in my days,
And show me how to serve Thee in effective ways.
So my education, my knowledge and my skill
May find their true fulfillment as I learn to do Thy will.

And may I ever be aware in everything I do,
That knowledge comes from learning, and wisdom comes from You.
Amen.

Where Our Faith Can Be v.s. Philosophical Flawed

INTERESTING CONVERSATION

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty. He asks one of his new Christian students to stand and.....
Professor : You are a Christian, aren't you, son?
Student : Yes, sir.
Prof : So you believe in God?
Student : Absolutely, sir.
Prof : Is God good?
Student : Sure.
Prof : Is God all-powerful?
Student : Yes.
Prof : My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm? (Student is silent.)
Prof : You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?
Student :Yes.
Prof : Is Satan good?
Student : No.
Prof : Where does Satan come from?
Student : From...God...
Prof : That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student : Yes.
Prof : Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?
Student : Yes.
Prof : So who created evil? (Student does not answer.)
Prof : Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?
Student :Yes, sir.
Prof : So, who created them?
(Student has no answer.)
Prof : Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?
Student : No, sir.
Prof : Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student : No , sir.
Prof : Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?
Student : No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.
Prof : Yet you still believe in Him?
Student : Yes.
Prof : According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.
Prof : Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.
Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof : Yes.
Student : And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof : Yes.
Student : No sir. There isn't.
(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)
Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.
(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)
Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Prof : Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?
Student : You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?
Prof : So what is the point you are making, young man?
Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Prof : Flawed? Can you explain how?
Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?
Prof : If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.) Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavour, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?
(The class is in uproar.)
Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?
(The class breaks out into laughter.)
Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it?.....No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?
(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable.)
Prof : I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.
Student : That is it sir.. The link between man & God is FAITH. That is all that keeps things moving & alive.
- Anonymous (submitted by a friend)

Matt 9:9-17

9) As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. 10) And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. 11) And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 12) But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13) Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." 14) Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 15) And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16) And no one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. 17) Neither is new wine put in old wineskins; if it is, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, so both are preserved."

2 Cor 4:8-11,14

"Triumph of the Cross"
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken;
struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying in the body the death of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.
For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake,
so that the life of Jesus may be manifestedin our mental flesh...
knowing that He who raised the Lord will raise us also with Jesus"

INNER RICHES

This is from the newsletters of the Holy Spirit adoration sisters.
INNER RICHES
It is a universal truth: to be human is to hunger for riches. That is the way we were made, with a built-in lack and a deep-deated need for the riches that are meant to supply our innate poverty. It is as if God, when He created us, placed an endless empty space in our hearts that cries out for satisfaction and fulfillment. The kind of riches we live and die for depends on the degree of our perceptiveness. Or we could also call it grace. For it is grace that makes the difference between a person who slaves day and night for the riches the world has to offer, and another who is forever restless for the treasures of the spirit. It takes grace, because the richest that come from God, like deep faith, wisdom of heart, peace of soul and the delights of divine intimacy, in other words the very possesion of God Himself- which is the real purpose of all His other gifts-is treasure of adifferent order altogether from those that pertainprimarily to our senses, such as large bank deposits, elegant jewelries, luxurious mansions, expensive clothes and the latest car models. Inner riches refer to the treasures that adorn our spirit once we are in close union with the Holy Triune God. The greater our union with the Three Divine Persons, the richer our inmost spirit becomes. And there is no limit to this spiritual wealth because God is limitless. Ever new wonders, ever fresh discoveries of the infinite riches of His glory and power and love will mark our life in time and throughout eternity.

PRAYER FOR FRIENDSHIP

God, why is it so hard to get close to people, to let people get close to me to make friends? Is it because I've been hurt before and am afraid to be vulnerable again? Is it because I think others will take advantage of my openness? Your Son had twelve close friends. One sold Him for thirty pieces of silver. Another denied that he ever knew Him. The rest ranaway when he needed them most. Jesus even predicted these things - yet He didn't shut Himself off fromfriendship. Make me willing to take the risk, too. Help me to realize that, ultimately, in opening to another human being we are opening ourselves to You. AMEN.

A prayer offered by a friend.

Prayer for Those Who Mourn

Almighty God,
Father of all mercies and giver of all comfort:
Deal graciously, we pray thee,
with those who mourn,
that casting every care on thee,
they may know the consolation of thy love,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let's Share Some Laughs, or Maybe a Smile.

My Evil Brother Was a Saint...
There were two evil brothers. They were rich and used their money to keep their ways from the public eye. They even attended the same church and looked to be perfect Christians.
Then, their pastor retired and a new one was hired. Not only could he see right through the brothers' deception, but he also spoke well and true, and the church started to swell in numbers. A fundraising campaign was started to build a new assembly. All of a sudden, one of the brothers died. The remaining brother sought out the new pastor the day before the funeral and handed him a check for the amount needed to finish paying for the new building. "I have only one condition," he said. "At his funeral, you must say my brother was a saint." The pastor gave his word and deposited the check. The next day at the funeral, the pastor did not hold back. "He was an evil man," he said. "He cheated on his wife and abused his family." After going on in this vein for a small time, he concluded with, "But, compared to his brother, he was a saint."

Prayer of Humility

Incline us O God, and let us be focused humbly of ourselves, to be saved only in the examination of our own conduct, to consider our fellow-creatures with kindness, and to judge of all they say and do with the charity which we would desire from them ourselves. Let every move that we make be offered to mankind without the feeling of desire of getting credit nor acknowledgment on every good deed and things that we participate in. Let us feel to continuously allow ourselves to offer more rather than to receive more. For we know the we already received the share of Your grace and we are only sharing the overflows. Let us seek less that we can offer more Father, and that in your mercy and grace, we can always do things according to Your will. Amen.

Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace

Lord, make me an instrument of your 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,
not so much to be understood as to understand,
not so much 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 awake to eternal life.

- St. Francis of Assisi

Dear Lord, I Thank You!

Dear Lord, I thank You for this day.
I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning.
I'm blessed because You are a forgiving and an understanding God.
You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me.
Forgive me this day for everything I have done wrong, said, or thought that was not pleasing to you.
Please send forth Your angels to watch over me to keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day with a clear mind that I can hear from You. Broaden my mind that I can accept all things. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Teach me how to respond when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will. Bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak...Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement and lead others.
I pray for those who are lost and can't find their way.
I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood.
I pray for those who don't know You intimately.
I pray for those who ask selfishly, that they may find the spirit of love in giving and sharing the grace of God that You bestowed.
I pray for those who do not believe.
I thank you Father that I believe, though I am still weak and fall so often.
I pray for all my sisters and brothers and for each and every family member in their households.
I pray for peace, love and joy in our homes that we may be out of debt and all that our needs are met.
I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God.
That every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.
I pray that these words will be received and implanted in the hearts of every eye that sees and read it. That they will be guided by Your love, grace and joy that is truly Your divine mission.
I praise You for Your goodness and I thank You for your mercy and pardon.
May Your kingdom come with our prepared souls and Your will be done without struggle in the heart of every man. May we always glorify in Your name as our Father, Son and the most Holy Spirit in one true God. AMEN!