Reflection

Monday morning after our small group met last evening is a good time for reflection. Our small group was very small yesterday, but somehow the smaller it is the better it is...why is that? Maybe because we have more of a chance to share our own feelings and observations. There were just five of us yesterday and we really missed the ones who weren't there. In our group we discuss the sermons of the week prior and this week. Our pastor delivers such good, clear sermons and it's so good to discuss them with others and get their views and understandings and put them together with our/my own thoughts. The sermon last week was on Daniel 6. Well, my goodness, we've all heard about Daniel in the lions den since we were just kids. But did you ever stop to think about how faithful Daniel was to God from his youth on up through his adulthood? Life wasn't just a piece of cake for Daniel. He was taken into captivity as a young boy, raised in a different culture, and yet stayed true to God. I'll try to write some of my pastor's main points. Did you ever notice what Daniel was praying when he went up to his room to pray after being told he must pray to the king instead of to God? v. 10-he prayed a prayer of thanksgiving! Oh...do I ever give thanks in the midst of trouble? My prayer is usually help! v.-14 The king wished he wouldn't have made such a law. Have I ever made a decision I'd like to get out of? What can be changed? Anything contrary to God's will for me can be changed. God's will is that I am cleansed and set apart for His Will. Here's a statement to ponder: God's will is not so fragile that if broken it can be repaired! What a mighty God we serve! Daniel was faithful to God in his daily living, then when the big crisis came (the lion's den) God was there to deliver! Yes, what a mighty God we serve!
Yesterday's sermon was titled Sacred Mints. Okay, it was on the sacraments. It was a very good sermon on Communion. In our church we take communion at least every quarter. Even though we don't take it every Sunday we take this for granted so much of the time...just a ritual to be observed. We forget that the first communion was served at the passover meal; we forget that the passover goes all the way back to the Israelites gaining their freedom from Egypt as slaves. We forget and neglect God's Grace to us...to me. I forget God gave His Son for me...God's Grace is to be revered. I praise You, Father.
This Wednesday evening we will celebrate God's Grace with Communion.