Touched By An Angel
by Maya Angelou

We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.

Happy Valentines
Pastor Kim

Scripture:

"He must increase, but I must decrease."   
(John 3:30)

Reflection:

"Behind every man is a great woman", "Behind every
candidate there is a great politician, " etc, etc,
I really believe that we as Christians are called upon
to have a similar approach in making Jesus known to the
world.  We need to be content to work behind the scenes.
John 3:30 says "He must increase, but I must decrease".
That ain't easy to do is it?  Many of us want to have the
glory, many of us want the focus to be on us and not on
God.  But please remember what Oswald Chambers reminds
of us:  "Goodness and purity ought never to attract attention
to themselves, they ought simply to be magnets to draw to
Jesus Christ.  A beautiful saint may be a hindrance if he does
not present Jesus Christ but only what Christ has done for him:
he will leave the impression--'What a fine character that man is!'--
that is not being a true friend of the Bridegroom: I am increasing
all the time, He is not."
Remember Jesus Christ is the lead on stage, we are behind
the scenes.  I think we have a few preachers that need to remember
this.

Prayer:

Lord I pray that I am a worker for Your Glory not for Mine]
THANK YOU GOD FOR BEING GOD

Quote of the Day

Abigail Kelley Foster
Pacifist Abolitionist
(1811-1877)

"Go where you are least wanted, for there you are most needed."
 

Scripture:

"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
(Colossians 3:17)

My parents had one very specific rule as I was growing up.
They were constantly teaching to always say "please" and
"thank you".  Actually it was my first words learned.
I soon learned in my life the connection between asking
politely and receiving gratefully.  The problem is that as we get
older that connection begins to disconnect, Especially with God.
We ask for more and praise a lot less.  We need to be reminded
what the Apostle Paul tell us in Colossians 3:15-17=   "Be
Thankful" (v.15), "Sing with gratitude to the Lord" (v.16), "Do all in
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
through Him" (v.17).  

Prayer:

I thank you Lord for Blessings you give us on our way, May
I forever be Grateful, and Praise You everyday.  (Roworth)
THANK YOU GOD FOR BEING GOD!!!!

Quote for the Day
     
St. Claire of Assisi
Spiritual Teacher and Guide, Political and Religious Peacemaker
(1193-1223)

"Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. Go
forth without fear, for He that created you has sanctified you, has
 always protected you, and loves you as a mother."

Scripture:

"Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.
They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing
as they return with the harvest."  Psalm 126:5-6 NLT

"For he has not ignored the suffering of the needy. He has
not turned and walked away. He has listened to their cries
for help".  Psalm 22:24 NLT
"
Reflection:

You know, I believe one of the worse things about
televangelists talking about being born again, is
that they give the distinct impression that if you
accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, there will be no
more suffering, and that your life will be filled with
joy.  I do agree there is a great deal of joy in your
life, I disagree about the suffering.  The Bible does
not promise that we as Christians won't suffer. 
Actually we can expect to suffer. As Christians
we will be persecuted and suffer.  We are
surrounded by evil, I really believe this.  The world
is full of evil, and the good do suffer from the evil.
But what God promises us that our suffering will
bring new growth.  As I look back in my life, I see
that many of the things that I truly suffered from has
made me a better person and, without a doubt, a
better Christian. 
You know the worst kind of suffering is the suffering
we experience alone.  It helps when we have another
person who is sympathetic with our problem, the
suffering is much easier to bear.  God is not only
our Father, He is our partner.  Jesus Christ hears
our cries.  I am totally convinced that my Savior
Jesus Christ has never failed to respond to my pain
and suffering.  You see thats the beauty of having
Jesus Christ in my life, I still suffer in my life but
I'm never alone, I never suffer alone, Jesus Christ
is always there for me. He is there for you.

Prayer:

Oh Jesus, thank you for always being there. You
are my Savior and my companion.  You take the
pain away.  Since You have come in to my life I
grown, I turn my suffering over to You. THANK YOU
GOD FOR BEING GOD!
 

I Cannot Do This Alone

O God, early in the morning I cry to you.
Help me to pray
And to concentrate my thoughts on you:
I cannot do this alone.
In me there is darkness,
But with you there is light;
I am lonely, but you do not leave me;
I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;
I am restless, but with you there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;
I do not understand your ways,
But you know the way for me…
Restore me to liberty,
And enable me to live now
That I may answer before you and before me.
Lord, whatever this day may bring,
Your name be praised.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer
 

Scripture:

"You shall not kill   Exodus 20:13)

Reflection:

Thats what it says, "Don't Kill".  It very simply means
you don't kill another person.  There is no room for
error here, there are no exceptions.  It doesn't say except
an abortion, except war, except capital punishment, except
if our way of life is being threatened.  It says "Do not kill".
we are to follow this commandment.  There are no
exceptions.  It's hard but true.  It is basic all to which
Christ teaches, about loving your enemy and forgiveness.
This commandment is central to our faith.  It seems to
me that this is a part of our faith. Many of us like to
overlook this commandment.  But it's there!
And we must deal with it.  Its amazing to me that when
we find something that is difficult for us to accept, we
make exceptions.  The problem is I don't see
any.  "Thou Shalt Not Kill" . I have always believed
that the meaning of these words, is what makes us
different from other faiths, it's what make us a loving
and compassionate people.  When killing does take
place, as Christians we can help.  We can help heal
the Spirit, we can council those who have killed, we
can help heal the physical and spiritual wounds.
We can stand up and show what Christ's love is.
We can let our neighbors, our enemies, the whole
world know that we take this commandment seriously.
We Don't Kill.

Prayer:

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love
Where there is injury . . . pardon
Where there is doubt . . . faith
Where there is despair . . . hope
Where there is darkness . . . light
Where there is sadness . . . joy
O, Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled . . . as to console
To be understood . . . as to understand,
To be loved . . . as to love
For it is in giving . . . that we receive,
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned,
It is in dying . . . that we are born to eternal life.

Golden Rule (part two)

Scripture:

 * Do to others what you would have them do to you (Matthew 7:12).

Reflection:

You know one of the basic desires of being human is to be treated
right.  Everybody that I know likes to be treated honestly, with
compassion, and forgiveness by others.  I know that I settle for
nothing less.  The problem of course is that not everybody treats me
that way.  This part of the golden rule, I was lucky enough to learn
early in my life.  It is a part of the rule that is so very important to
my life.  I discovered that if I want people to treat me with honesty,
compassion and forgiveness, I needed to treat them with those
same virtues.  Thats right if I want to be treated right I have to treat
others right.  That makes sense to me.  During a recent stay in
the local hospital, I was treated like a king, I was treated with love
and caring.  The nurses were fantastic, there kindness was so
obvious to me.  When checking out, I told the head nurse about her
nurses.  You know what she said, "thats because you cared".  Jesus
cares too.

Prayer:

Jesus, thank you for all those who have showed their kindness and
compassion to me, give me the spirit to return it.  THANK YOU GOD FOR
BEING GOD!!!!!!!
Golden Rule (part two)

Scripture:

 * Do to others what you would have them do to you (Matthew 7:12).

Reflection:

You know one of the basic desires of being human is to be treated
right.  Everybody that I know likes to be treated honestly, with
compassion, and forgiveness by others.  I know that I settle for
nothing less.  The problem of course is that not everybody treats me
that way.  This part of the golden rule, I was lucky enough to learn
early in my life.  It is a part of the rule that is so very important to
my life.  I discovered that if I want people to treat me with honesty,
compassion and forgiveness, I needed to treat them with those
same virtues.  Thats right if I want to be treated right I have to treat
others right.  That makes sense to me.  During a recent stay in
the local hospital, I was treated like a king, I was treated with love
and caring.  The nurses were fantastic, there kindness was so
obvious to me.  When checking out, I told the head nurse about her
nurses.  You know what she said, "thats because you cared".  Jesus
cares too.

Prayer:

Jesus, thank you for all those who have showed their kindness and
compassion to me, give me the spirit to return it.  THANK YOU GOD FOR
BEING GOD!!!!!!!
 

Scripture:

"Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31).

Reflection:

Boy there is a rule to live by.  There are 2 very important
components to the rule.  These Components are very
important to us as Christians.  The first one is to love your
neighbor.  Who is my neighbor?   The family that lives on
the right side of me,  the man who lives on the left side of
me, the people that work with me,  my brothers and sisters
in church, the people who I meet shopping,  the city 2 miles
away, all the folks who live in the state to the north, south,
east, and west, Canada, Mexico, yes even Cuba, Russia,
China, Bosnia, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, in other words
everyone is my neighbor, all human kind are my brother and
sisters. The 2nd component is to love them as myself.  God
loved me so much that He created me in His own image. The
very least I can do is to love His creation, including me.  I
guess what it comes down to is to love everyone.  Jesus
even included my neighbors who are my enemies, I even
love them.

Prayer:

'Thank you Jesus for Love!!!!!!!!!!!     THANK YOU GOD FOR
BEING GOD

Scripture:  

"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us
what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our
lives.  I t straightens us out and teaches us to do what is
right".  (2 Timothy 3:16)  (NLT)

Reflection:

I want you to notice that the Scripture verse does not
say Rev. Kim Olson is inspired by God, it says All
Scripture is inspired by God.  I am not perfect, The
Holy Scriptures are.  I do not speak for God, I only
speak as His loyal servant.  Some of my future Reflections
you will surely disagree with, this is good.  Some will be
angered, some will agree, and some will get disgusted
and quite reading my blog.  Please always keep this in
mind, my interpretation of the Scriptures is my interpretation,
not anyone else's.  But always remember that my
interpretation is based on Scripture no other book.
I am a Christian first, a theologian second.  I hope you
enjoy my future blogs and when you disagree with me,
which you will, base your interpretation on the Scripture.
GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU, AT THIS VERY MOMENT
YOU ARE BEING LOVED BY GOD

Pastor Kim
 

Here is a prayer for the New Year by
Edgar A. Guest.  I thought you might
enjoy it. Have a happy and Christ
filled New Year.

Prayer for the New Year

Grant me the strength from day to day
To bear what burdens come my way.
Grant me throughout this bright New Year
More to endure and less to fear.
Help me live that I may be
From spite and petty malice free.

Let me not bitterly complain
When cherished hopes of mine prove vain,
Or spoil with deeds of hate and rage
Some fair tomorrow's spotless page.
Lord, as the days shall come and go
In courage let me stronger grow.

Lord, as the New Year dawns today
Help me to put my faults away.
Let me be big in little things;
Grant me the joy which friendship brings.
Keep me from selfishness and spite;
Let me be wise in what is right.

A happy New Year! Grant that I
May bring no tear to any eye.
When this New Year in time shall end
Let it be said I've played the friend,
Have lived and loved and labored here,
And made of it a happy year.

- Edgar A. Guest