Lord Jesus, as I travel the desert journey of Lent, give me strength and courage.
Lead me through these days of prayer and penance in such a way that I may worthily
come to the celebration of your saving death and glorious resurrection.
Stay with me in time of temptation.
Do not allow me to give way to greed but lead me to generous service. Preserve me from
vanity and self glory, and make me humble of heart. save me from false pride, let me
be obedient to your will. Amen.
Throughout our Christian lives we must beware that we dont get so caught up in our
own importance that we forget God. Its so easy to get hung up in our titles, our
wealth, our status and our knowledge, and then forget about God altogether.
In our Scripture today were reminded that Christ was more important than the Temple,
and today He is still more important than the church. The church can not replace
Christ, but it is there to strengthen and build up the members of the Body of Christ
so they are more effective.
NIV Matthew 12:6 I tell you that one greater than the temple is here.
If the Christians of the world make up the Body of Christ in the world today, and if
all those Christians are so hung up on their own self-righteousness then the world is
being led astray.
We need to remember that it doesnt matter how close we get to God, we cannot become
God, and we dont have the right to judge and condemn others.
Were supposed to be loving, not judging.
Were to be loving, not condemning.
Were to be helpful, not hurtful.
Were to be Gods people showing the same love and concern for the world that Christ
did for us.
Thats why were called Christians.
We are to be honest, truthful, caring and praying as we carry the salvation message to
the world around us. This means praying for friends, families, relationships and
enemies as we honestly share God's message with the world around us.
Heres a neat message that was sent to us by Kurt Kolstad.
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. -I Corinthians 3:6
A Sunday school teacher pointed to a large plant in the room and asked her young
pupils, "Who made those beautiful flowers grow?" A boy quickly answered, "God did!"
The teacher was pleased by the response, but before she had a chance to comment,
another boy shouted, "But fertilizer sure helps!"
That youngster touched on a profound reality-the mingling of the human with the divine
in God's plan for growth. For example, even though the Lord created this world with
its growing things, He put man in the garden to tend and cultivate it.
We find a parallel to this truth in the spiritual realm. The apostle Paul said, "I
planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase" .His main intent in writing these
words was to emphasize that God was the one responsible for "the increase. " Even so,
the Lord had worked through the faithful endeavors of men. Notice what the record
states: Paul "planted, " and Apollos "watered. "
We recognize that God alone is the one who makes things grow-both in nature and in the
church. But we also know that He chooses to work through people, and what we do "sure
helps!" God is faithful in doing His part. Are we faithful in doing ours?
The Lord gives each of us a task
He wants us to fulfill;
To love and serve Him faithfully
Accomplishes His will
Pray for a good harvest, but keep on hoeing.
The smallest things become great when God requires them of us; they are small only in
themselves; they are always great when they are done for God, and when they serve to
unite us with Him eternally Francois Fenelon
Gene Gordon
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