What if all you had in your life today…
was only what you gave thanks for yesterday?…
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Would your plate be empty?
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Or your hands full?
“With my whole being I sing endless praise to you. O Lord, my God, forever will I give you thanks.” Ps 30:13
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Make us today preachers of the Resurrection by Your Light in our lives.
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We read in Matthew chapter 2 that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, King Herod, fearing for his throne, ordered that all the male infants of Bethlehem be killed. These children are regarded as martyrs for the Gospel.
A Prayer to the Holy Innocents
Holy Innocents, you died before you were old enough to know what life means, pray for all children who die young that God may gather them into His loving arms.
Holy Innocents, you were killed because one man was filled with hatred, pray for those who hate that God may touch their hearts and fill them with love.
Holy Innocents, you experienced a violent death, pray for all who are affected by violence that they may find peace and love.
Holy Innocents, your parents grieved for you with deep and lasting sorrow, pray for all parents who have lost young children that God may wrap a warm blanket of comfort around them.
Holy Innocents, those around you certainly felt helpless to prevent your deaths, pray for all who feel helpless in their circumstances that they may cling to God for courage and hope.
Holy Innocents, you who are now in Heaven, pray for all of us that one day we may join you there to bask in God’s love forever.
Amen.
(author of prayer unknown)
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Slipping and sliding through life…
The rush of the path,
Cushioned by the flow of water…
Until all dries up…
Painful the burn of the journey…when all comes to a standstill.
Oh dehydrated soul
Whose busy-ness of self has forgotten the Source.
Thirst for the living water…
that immerses, that saturates, that floods.
Float back into the current of grace.
Again…Slipping and Sliding through life.
“A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit. Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your Holy Spirit. Restore my joy in your salvation; sustain in me a willing spirit.” Ps 51: 12-14
“I am part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed.
The die has been cast. The decision has been made. I have stepped over the line. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
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My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is in God’s hands. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, the bare minimum, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, frivolous living, selfish giving, and dwarfed goals.
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I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, applause, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, the best, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith. I lean on Christ’s presence. I love with patience, live by prayer, and labor with the power of God’s grace.
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My face is set. My gait is fast, my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable, and my mission is clear.
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I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
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I won’t give up, shut up, let up, or slow up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and spoken up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give until I drop, speak out until all know, and work until He stops me.
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And when He returns for his own, He will have no difficulty recognizing me. My banner is clear; I am a part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed.” (Patrick Madrid, author and radio host)
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Amen, Amen, Amen!
“He said to them, “GO out into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15
Jesus looks down from the cross…
Scans the crowd…
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His body racked with pain and drenched with blood.
His eyes meet yours…
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What does His gaze say to YOU?
Die with Christ…so that you may LIVE with HIM.
(We know the end of this story don’t we, and we rejoice in the knowing!)
“Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted, but he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.” Is 53:4-5
“When the Lord of the world comes and undertakes the slave’s task of foot-washing…
which is an illustration of the way He washes our feet all through our lives…
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We have a totally different picture.
God does not want to trample on us, but kneels down before us so as to exult us.
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The mystery of the greatness of God is seen precisely in the fact that He can be so small…
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Only when power is changed from the inside, and we accept Jesus and his way of life, whose self is there in there in the action of the foot-washing,
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Only then can the world be healed and the people be able to live at peace with one another.” (Pope Benedict XVI)
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“If I therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” John 13:14-15
There are so many ways to RECEIVE God’s LOVE…
Divine love notes fill our days.
Do we notice them?
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Do we ponder all those seemingly coincidences that catch our attention?…
Coincidences that really are “God-incidences”?…
Glimpses of God peeking through our everyday.
RECEIVE His LOVE and be transformed.
“Your love is before my eyes; I walk guided by your faithfulness.” Ps 26:3
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What gets you up in the morning?…
A desire to check off items from the to – do list?
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A recipe for burnout.
What gets you up in the morning?…
A desire to accumulate riches, honors, and personal gain?
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This shrine to self is built on a shaky foundation.
What gets you up in the morning?…
Cruising through the day not much thought why?
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Those are shallow waters to swim in.
What gets you up in the morning?…
We exist for the PRAISE of God’s glory.
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How do we praise God with our lives?
By being the best “you” that “you” can be right where God has placed “you”!
Doing all for God in thanksgiving and praise for the gift of life He’s given you.
Even the smallest and most mundane occasions in our daily life become a gift of love back to Him.
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Sweeping the kitchen floor…presiding over a business meeting…taking out the trash…exercising…making meals for the family…taking time to talk to those who cross our path…8 hours at a desk job.
All given to Him…for Love of Him.
What gets you up in the morning?
The Apostolate of Daily Life!
Morning Offering Prayer: Oh my God, I offer You all my thoughts, words, actions, joys and sufferings of this day in union with my Lord, Jesus Christ. I want to make each of them an act of perfect love giving constant witness of You to those around me. “
“In Him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the one who accomplishes all things according to the intention of His will, so that we might exist for the praise of His glory, we who first hoped in Christ.” Eph 1:11-12
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“And this is the promise he made us: eternal life.” 1 John 26
endless…interminable…unceasing…unending…lasting…permament…perpetual…deathless…immortal…undying…everlasting…timeless…infinite…without-end…forever…enduring through all time…ceaseless…always…
LIFE.
When you make a promise you give your word…
God gave us a promise…
God gave us his word…His Word made flesh…
weareisrael.org
His Word made flesh was the promise of eternal life He gave us.
In the New Year…in this time of resolutions and promises…
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Shouldn’t our most important promises be given to God?
Promises that bring us closer to His promise?
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What steps can we take this day to bring us nearer to living the life that promises us “always” life?
What promises given to God, to ourselves, to others?
“Heavenly Father, You gave Your promise. You gave Your Word…and the Word became Flesh and dwelt among us so that Your promise to us of eternal life might be fulfilled. May we be given the grace to be fully human, beginning eternal life today and drawing others into this forever love.”
Here is a long, but absolutely awesome worship song. Jason Upton’s “One Step Away” will lead you into a taste of that timelessness we all long for. Close your eyes and enjoy this time with God.
through Him with Him in Him... 