Today Someone...14 February 2008

A Thankful Heart.

All our Valentine cards have lovely pictures of hearts on them...pink, red, lacy or plain.

Hearts depict love, but we also use them as a symbol of thanksgiving.

A thankful heart.

There are many passages in the Bible about being thankful, so today as I look at these hearts I am reminded that God wants us to turn to Him with thankful hearts.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,

Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is He who made us, and we are His;

we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving

and His courts with praise;

give thanks to Him and praise His name.

For the LORD is good and His love endures forever;

His faithfulness continues through all generations.

(Psalm 100)

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

(1 Thessalonians 5:18)

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

(Colossians 2:6-7)

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,

Today someone kneels to pray,

On this St Valentine's Day,

For a thankful heart, for every blessing

That You have so freely sent my way.

Sometimes I'm unaware,

Of all You do for me.

If it weren't for Your grace, Oh God,

Where would I be?

God's Word dwells within me,

As each new day I start.

I sing songs of praise to the Lord,

With gratitude in my heart.

You clothe me with patience, kindness,

Humility, gentleness and compassion.

You teach me to forgive,

Just as You pardon my sin.

Over and above all these virtues,

You dress me with Your love.

Which binds them all together,

In perfect unity from above.

As members of one body,

We are called to live in peace.

The love and peace of Christ,

From our hearts we now release.

In this world of pain and strife,

Who knows what tomorrow may bring?

With an ever thankful heart,

God's praises I will continue to sing.

Amen.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbour as yourself."

(Luke 10:27)

Have a blessed St. Valentine's Day.

Today Someone...The Way it Was.

As children we follow our parents example,

Their outlook on life becomes our view too.

We didn't know any different.

It's just the way it was.

The Blue Bus for whites, the Green Bus for blacks.

We sat in the bus shelter, they stood in the sun.

We were served first, they waited their turn.

It's just the way it was.

We lived in residential areas, they lived in locations.

White schools, black schools.

Freedom for us, curfews for them.

It's just the way it was.

They waited on us at table,

And ate off tin plates in the yard.

It did not worry me, I was a child;

It's just the way it was.

Times and attitudes have changed,

And my children scorn at the way we lived;

They don't know how we accepted that

It's just the way it was.

As we look to the future,

What are their children going to say

About the life they have accepted because,

It's just the way it was.

Dear Lord, let us pray for peace,

Your love to fill our land.

Teach us to reject the injustice of accepting

It's just the way it was.

And Lord, may the new tomorrow bring

Repentance and acceptance in all our hearts;

May Your message of love be passed on,

This is the way it should be.

Amen.

Racism seems to be a world-wide problem...I grew up with it in South Africa.

Many of us have experienced the injustices of racism and it is up to us not to pass this attitude on to our children to be perpetuated through the generations. This is easier said than done as attitudes become ingrained from childhood.

I'm not a politician and I can't quote from History, all I can do is share the love God has for others.

Jesus is the example we must follow, He came not to condemn but to forgive.

He was criticised for spending time with those deemed "unacceptable".

He is Love.

God loves everyone unconditionally.

What father would give up his own son to a cruel, painful death to save sinners?

As a parent, I don't think I could sacrifice one of my children like that.

Jesus, His Son, did not argue but willingly gave up His life so that our sins could be forgiven, and our eternal salvation could be bought with His blood.

ALL of mankind is saved through Jesus' death and resurrection, not just a select few, a certain race, a specific culture...

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of ALL and richly blesses ALL who call on Him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:12-13).

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

(Romans 10:9-10).

If an individual has converted to Christ, and left his old ways behind, then he is my brother or sister in Christ, it has nothing to do with skin colour.

Let us add to our family, new brothers and sisters, by following Jesus' example, by letting His love shine through us and by rejecting...

THE WAY IT WAS.