OzThoughts Wednesday 25th February 2009

OzThoughts Wednesday 25th February 2009

[ In preparation for Easter read a Christian book during Lent.
Lent starts today, Wednesday, 25th of February, and will continue for 46 days until Saturday, the 11th of April. ]

ASH WEDNESDAY (See explanation after Scripture reading below).

Years ago when my daughter, who is now a grandmother, was about two, she was playing with her tea set on her small table and chairs. She asked me to have a cup of tea. So I sat on one of the small chairs. She placed the tiny cup and saucer in front of me and I began play acting enjoying the cup of tea. I slurped but didn’t burp and in a great burst of imaginary and dramatic show, I told her how I enjoyed the tea and thanked her profusely. Her answer? “But Dad, I have not poured into the cup, yet!” So we started all over again.

In that gold mine of Jesus’ teaching we know as “The Sermon on the Mount”, Jesus tells us not to go play acting our religion. When we are doing good for others, when we are praying and when we are fasting, we are not to do it as a performance and in a way to attract the attention and applause of others.

PRAYER: (Using our Song Book as our Prayer Book):

[Listen: Hymn Tune “Lloyd” to which these words can be sung:
http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_850.mp3 ]

Prayer is the soul's sincere desire
Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.

Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near.

Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer the sublimest strains that reach
The majesty on high.

Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice
Returning from his ways,
While angels in their songs rejoice
And cry: Behold, he prays!

Prayer is the Christian's vital breath,
The Christian's native air,
His watchword at the gates of death;
He enters Heaven with prayer.

O thou by whom we come to God,
The life, the truth, the way!
The path of prayer thyself hast trod:
Lord, teach us how to pray!
Author: James Montgomery (1771-1854)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 625

Matthew 6:1-6; 16-21 (The Message).
1 "Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be applauding.
2-4 "When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself. You've seen them in action, I'm sure—'playactors' I call them— treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that's all they get. When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.
5 "And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?
6 "Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.
…………………..
16-18 "When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don't make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won't make you a saint. If you 'go into training' inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face. God doesn't require attention-getting devices. He won't overlook what you are doing; he'll reward you well.
19-21 "Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

Ash Wednesday. The first day of Lent, observed 46 days before Easter, is so called from the practice of placing ashes on the forehead of the worshiper as a sign of penitence. In the Roman Catholic Church, these ashes are obtained from burning palm branches used in the previous year's Palm Sunday observation. (Palm Sunday commemorates the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem a week before Easter Sunday, and it begins Holy Week. On Ash Wednesday, the ashes are placed on the forehead of the communicant during Mass. The recipient is told, "Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return" or "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel." (http://www.bookrags.com/research/glossary-of-religious-holidays-wen-01/)
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