Love in the Mirror

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.” 1 Samuel 16:7 

The overemphasis on physical attractiveness in our society is frequently damaging to self‐confidence. A case in point is the story of Peter Foster, a Royal Air Force pilot in World War II.

During an air battle, Foster was the victim of a terrible fire. He survived, but his face was burned beyond recognition. He spent many anxious moments in the hospital wondering if his family—and especially his fiancée—would still accept him. They did. His fiancée assured him that nothing had changed except a few millimeters of skin. Two years later they were married.

Foster said of his wife, “She became my mirror. She gave me a new image of myself. When I look at her, she gives me a warm, loving smile that tells me I’m okay.”

That’s the way marriage ought to work, too—it should be a mutual admiration society that overlooks a million flaws and builds the self‐esteem of both partners. Let’s become each other’s mirrors, reflecting back love and affirmation every chance we get.

Just between us…

• When was the last time I complimented you on your appearance?
• Is our marriage a “mutual admiration society”?
• Would you still love me if I became disfigured like Peter Foster?
• What do you think the Lord sees in me?
• How can I be a better “mirror” for you? 

Lord Jesus, You came to bring Your presence and Your love to all—regardless of looks or ability, of health or condition. Thank You so much! May we reflect that same enthusiastic and unconditional love to each other in our marriage. Amen. 

From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson
Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved.

Verse of the Day - May 01, 2016

Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Read all of Hebrews 11

Saint Philip and Saint James, Apostles

Today the church remembers Saint Philip and Saint James, Apostles.

The apostle Philip was from Bethsaida and was one of the Twelve. He is mentioned in all four gospels and figures prominently in two episodes in the Lord's ministry. In the first, the Feeding of the Five Thousand, Philip's very practical nature shows through (see John 6:5-14). The other episode is the gospel lesson for this feast (see John 14:6-14). He should not be confused with Philip, Deacon and Evangelist, who is mentioned in the fifth and eighth chapters of Acts.

James the Less, son of Alphaeus, was one of the Twelve also. He should not be confused with either James, the son of Zebedee (see July 25), or James, the Lord's brother (see October 23). His agnomen "the less" may imply a small stature or youthfulness. He is mentioned only four times in Holy Scripture, and then briefly or in a list, so we know very little about him.

Philip and James are little more than names to us today. One cannot imagine their being saddened by this fact, since this community and the Christ it knows lives on. "For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5).

Almighty God, who gave to your apostles Saint Philip and Saint James grace and strength fearlessly to bear testimony to the truth: Grant that we, being always mindful of their victory of faith, may learn like them to overcome the world, and glorify the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Read the Wikipedia article here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_the_Apostle
 
Almighty God, who gave to your apostles Philip and James grace and strength to bear witness to the truth: Grant that we, being mindful of their victory of faith, may glorify in life and death the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Daily Readings for May 1, 2016 - Sixth Sunday of Easter

Acts 16:9-15
During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them. We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home." And she prevailed upon us.

Psalm 67
1   May God be merciful to us and bless us, show us the light of his countenance and come to us.
2   Let your ways be known upon earth, your saving health among all nations.
3   Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
4   Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide all the nations upon earth.
5   Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
6   The earth has brought forth her increase; may God, our own God, give us his blessing.
7   May God give us his blessing, and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.

Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5
And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day-- and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

John 14:23-29
Jesus answered him, "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. "I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.

The Meditation for May 1, 2016 - Sixth Sunday of Easter

From Forward Day by Day

John 14:27b I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

The world gives plenty of advice when our hearts are troubled, not all of it helpful.

Life is hard. People we love hurt us. Grief appears in our lives. The brutalities of inequality weigh upon us. We feel lost, alone, even abandoned. And all of these troubles change us.

Our heart’s response to hardships can be that we become less trusting, more brittle, more fearful—all initial and reasonable responses to the deep wounds of life. The world might encourage us to develop a tough soul.

Jesus offers us another step in the journey when we are troubled and wounded. He reminds us that troubles do not have the last word, nor do they have to make our hearts brittle and fearful.

Jesus reminds our hearts to welcome peace, love, and new life. Yes, life is hard. Our hearts will be bruised and troubled. And yet Jesus reminds us not to stop there. God transforms troubles, wounds, even our grief, into something new.

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SPIRITUAL WARFARE TACTICS

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12 

A Filipino pastor, who is a former Muslim, lives on the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines. He was a notorious gang leader and spent years in prison for robbery and murder. But there in prison he met Jesus Christ.

After his release, he was so effective in leading Muslims to Jesus back home in Mindanao that Muslim extremists in his area kidnapped his fourteen-year-old daughter. They would only return her, he was told, if he stopped preaching about Jesus and returned to Islam.

He and his wife prayed intensely about this and felt they could not give in to this blackmail. He continued to preach faithfully for three years with no definite news about his little girl.

He concludes, “Despite the terrible things they have done to my daughter, I fear no one but God alone! Pray for my daughter and that I will continue to preach Christ.”

Three years later, he received a letter from his daughter. She shared with her parents that she had been sold into prostitution in neighbouring East Malaysia. But God had helped her escape. She was then taken in by a sympathetic Malaysian family and hidden for her safety. And then she fell in love with a young man and married him. She and her parents planned to visit together in a safe place.

Spiritual warfare is the cosmic conflict that rages between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. Remember we are not talking about two equal kingdoms battling-it-out for victory. Satan is only a created being. Christ has all authority and power. Satan's power was broken at the cross. The Apostle Paul records for us in Colossians 2:15, And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. So the only power Satan has today is the power to deceive the people of the world - to blind them from seeing the glory of God (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

Satan’s primary strategy is to divide and conquer. His key tactics include accusation, deception, and the interruption of our relationships with the Father and with each other. He is actively leading mankind to defile the land, which is God’s, in order to keep humanity in darkness. This is one reason unity in the Body of Christ is so critical for the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

Why would someone lost in the chaos of the world want to be part of a fellowship of people that is disorderly, dysfunctional, and even destructive? The Church of Jesus Christ must be ruled by love. We must be a refuge, a place of safety!

RESPONSE: I will be alert to Satan’s spiritual warfare tactics today without getting distracted from the Lord’s primary ministry directions.

PRAYER: Pray for witnessing brothers and sisters on the frontlines who experience Satan’s greatest fury.