Let's be on the lookout today for good things. Too often we notice the bad things going on around us without taking note of the good. So today let's watch for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). For reflection: Who can I compliment today? Let us pray. "I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together." Psalm 34:1-3
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Years ago in a meeting we were discussing evangelization. I asked the folks why they might want to tell other people about Jesus. They came up with a lot of reasons - because Jesus said to, because it's our calling, it's our Christian duty - the answers went on in that vein through the group. But they didn't come up with the answer I thought was paramount. So I asked them, "Do you love them?" Jesus told us, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and "love others as you love yourself". So we have to ask ourselves, "Do I love them enough to tell them what Jesus has done for me?" The great evangelist Paul also talked about the importance of doing things out of love in his letter to the people in Corinth. "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). For reflection: What's love got to do with it? It's not just a "sweet old-fashioned notion" or a "second hand emotion" (as Tina Turner sang). Love is paramount. What's my motivation? Let us pray. Father, I have not always acted out of love in what I have done. I have often failed you and failed the people I love. Increase my love for them, please, and help me to do all the things you have called me to do out of your great love for them and for me. Yesterday at Church we sang the song in the YouTube feature below. It summarizes much of what we have been considering and praying about for the last month - the disciples earliest attempts to live out the commands of Jesus after they were empowered at the Ascension and Pentecost. For a Scripture to meditate on with it, I suggest Luke 4:18-19 There are several versions of this song on YouTube. I liked the pictures with this one the best. Song and lyrics of 'The Summons', or 'Will you come and follow Me'. Words, John L. Bell & Graham Maule, copyright (c) 1987 WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow G2 3DH, Scotland. Website: wgrg.co.uk. Recently I've been working with some children's religious textbooks. I started with the upper grades and am now reading grade 1. I know from long experience that the theme of grade 1 is "God Loves You". So I was not surprised to see in the opening chapters that God the Father loves you, Jesus the Son loves you, Holy Spirit loves you. As I got into the later chapters I found myself thinking, "Now we will have a different subject." But every new chapter, every new topic, comes back around to "God Loves You." God created the word because God loves you. God created people because God loves you Often we adults forget what we learned in first grade. God loves us. For reflection: God loves me. God loves me. God loves me. God loves me. |
AliceI started this website and blog on May 1, 2012. I am a Catholic who has been in ministry for many years. I first developed what I would call a close relationship with Jesus in the early 1970s. Ever since then I have been praying with people for healing and other needs. It is because I have seen so many of these prayers answered that I am so bold as to offer to pray for you individually through this website and phone line. Archives
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