Tag Archives: God

March 22, 2018 · 6:00 am

Lent Day 32

March 22

Keep His Word

John 8:51-59

Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.’ The Jews said to him, ‘Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, “He is our God”, though you do not know him. But I know him; if I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.’ Then the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.’ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Prayer Thought

Lord, keeping you word is a goal that I strive to meet. Help me this day to be faithful to that goal.

Deutsch: Carl Gustav Jung (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“The conscious mind allows itself to be trained like a parrot, but the unconscious does not—which is why St. Augustine thanked God for not making him responsible for his dreams.”

—-Carl Jung

A History of Judaism (3quarksdaily.com)

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March 21, 2018 · 6:00 am

Lent Day 31

March 21

Freedom in the Son

John 8:31-42

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ They answered him, ‘We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, “You will be made free”?’

Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there for ever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.’

They answered him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are indeed doing what your father does.’ They said to him, ‘We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me.

Prayer Thought

Lord, the freedom that you offer is a true. Give us the insight to seek your freedom.

“Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be

Life-size statue of John Wesley on the campus of Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY, USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

clergymen or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon Earth.”

— John Wesley

Our common exile and our common hope: Sunday reflection (hotair.com)

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March 19, 2018 · 6:30 am

Lent Day 29

March 19

The Faith of Abraham

Romans 4:13,16-18,22

¹³For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁶For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us,

¹⁷as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”) —in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. ¹⁸Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” ²²

Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.”

Prayer Thought

Lord, strong faith is our goal. Let us look to people like Abraham to strengthen us.

English: Stephen Covey at the FMI Show, Palestrante on June 22, 2010 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“To achieve goals you’ve never achieved before, you need to start doing things you’ve never done before.” ~ Stephen Covey

A Protestant Note Or Two on “Silence” a Year Out (derekzrishmawy.com)

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March 17, 2018 · 6:00 am

Lent Day 28

March 17

Prophet from Galilee

John 7:40-53

When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law—they are accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.” Then each of them went home.

Prayer Thought

Lord, help me not to judge people because of my perception of people “light them.”

“Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.”

― St. Patrick

Church has more excitement for youths, says Olukoya (vanguardngr.com)

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March 14, 2018 · 9:51 am

This Road We Travel

“While still living in the palace, Abba Arsenius prayed to God in these words, ‘Lord, lead me in the way of salvation.’ And a voice came saying to him, ‘Arsenius, flee from men and you will be saved. ‘Having withdrawn to the solitary life he made the same prayer again and he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Arsenius, flee, be silent, pray always, for these are the source of sinlessness.’ “

—sayings of the Desert Fathers

Threefold is the call to perfection. First, we must flee. We flee from the slavery of the demands of the world. We are no longer obedient vassals to what “everyone else” is doing and saying. Second, we must practice silence. The call to silence is a call to be attentive to the voice of God. God speaks loudest when we are silent. The third call is to pray always. In the practice of constant prayer, we open ourselves to the will of God, and we draw closer to Him. These three concepts are a path to perfection.

The desert people of the early church felt the necessity to go to a place apart. In doing so they gave themselves the opportunity to flee from the “world.” They soon discovered that merely fleeing would not accomplish their purpose. There would be certain disciplines that would have to be practiced. The flight was the beginning.

None of us are likely to have the inclination or the opportunity to flee the world as they did. But flee we can while really physically going nowhere. We can set ourselves apart by silence and prayer.

Prayer

Lord, show us the path that we must follow. Give us the discipline to learn to communicate with you and give us the courage to wait for your answer. In our silence, we are allowed to withdraw from the world and listen for your voice.

Amen

“Prayer is a new, gracious, lasting will of the soul united and fast-bound to the will of God by the precious and mysterious working of the Holy Ghost.”

― Julian of Norwich

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March 14, 2018 · 6:00 am

Lent Day 25

March 14

God Remembers Us

Isaiah 49:8-15

Thus says the Lord:
In a time of favor I have answered you,
on a day of salvation I have helped you;
I have kept you and given you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages;
saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out’,
to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
They shall feed along the ways,
on all the bare heights shall be their pasture;
they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
And I will turn all my mountains into a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
Lo, these shall come from far away,
and lo, these from the north and from the west,
and these from the land of Syene.

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people,
and will have compassion on his suffering ones.

But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me,
my Lord has forgotten me.’
Can a woman forget her nursing-child,
or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.

Prayer Thought

Lord, you are a God that always remembers his people. May we be a people that always remember our God.

To be a man is to suffer for others. God help us to be men!

—Cesar Chavez

Christian groups troop to Senate vs landmark SOGIE bill (rappler.com)
Church should not ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater’ by making radical changes, Archbishop says (telegraph.co.uk)

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March 13, 2018 · 6:00 am

Lent Day 24

March 13

God Will Help Us

Psalm 46:1-9

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Come, behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.

Prayer Thought

Lord, come to my aid when I fear the world. Help me to realize that YOU are always there.

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.

——Mother Teresa

The Periods of C.S. Lewis’ Literary Life (apilgriminnarnia.com)
Praise God for the Blessings (news.sosevents.org)

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March 9, 2018 · 6:00 am

Lent Day 21

March 9

Love the Lord

Mark 12:28-34

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ Then the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that “he is one, and besides him there is no other”; and “to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength”, and “to love one’s neighbor as oneself”,—this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.’ When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ After that no one dared to ask him any question.

Prayer Thought

Lord, in our lives we seek to love but sometimes fail. Let us focus our love towards you so it may reach out to all the world.

God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.

—-Desmond Tutu

Dead Sea Scroll Remains a Puzzle After Scientists Crack its Code (livescience.com)
Facing Adversity as Christians (standupforthetruth.com)

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March 8, 2018 · 6:00 am

Lent Day 20

March 8

Sing to the Lord

Psalm 95

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice!
Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your ancestors tested me,
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

Prayer Thought

Lord, help me to remember and not neglect praising your name every day of my existence.

Renewing Covenant (andrewjware.com)
The Cardinal (thewoundedheart.me)

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March 6, 2018 · 6:00 am

Lent Day 18

March 6

Have Mercy

Matthew 18:21-35

Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

‘For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow-slaves who owed him a hundred denarii;and seizing him by the throat, he said, “Pay what you owe.” Then his fellow-slave fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow-slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, “You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?” And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he should pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’

Prayer Thought

Lord, you are a God of mercy and grace. Teach me these things so that I might live as you.