Luke 11:17 (consistently faithful)

* Welcome God every morning before your work by taking ~5 min to read this Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group devotion (life-devotions.blogspot.com), which has snippets from Living Faith (livingfaith.com). All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Col. 3:17

But [Jesus] knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house." Luke 11:17

Living Faith snippets: "The basic thrust of Jesus' words is to caution us regarding the importance of trying to be something few of us are - consistent. Don't say one thing and do another...as we often do. Take your Christian faith seriously enough that it makes you look different." by Mitch Finley

Pat nuggets:

* Regarding today's verse, the designated "pray with your family Wed night" is aimed at preventing our own homes (families) from being divided...a family that prays together, stays together (even if geographically separated). Regarding the Living Faith snippets, people often say to me, "I really like your friend Robert Cox, there is something different about him." Correct, he is living a consistently faithful life for Christ!

* "McDonald's pledges neutrality" http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=281548. A few snippets: "The American Family Association (AFA) is ending its boycott of McDonald's. McDonald's has pledged to remain neutral in the culture war surrounding homosexual marriage." Steve Castle shared, "Bottom line – boycotts work! Nothing makes corporate America stand up and listen like our pocket books (and bad press). I know there were several opportunities my family had to eat at McDonald's during this span and we made other choices because of their affiliation." I feel a Big Mac attack coming on!

* During the 40 Days for Life and the presidential campaign, it is easy to lose hope regarding the fate of the defenseless unborn (abortion). Check out the 40 Days for Life website (below) for encouragement and hope because everyday people are choosing God...and His children (adults and babies) are being saved. Remember this story: Thousands of starfish washed up on the beach, and a little boy was throwing them back into the ocean, one by one. A jogger passing by told the little boy that his efforts did not matter because he could not save them all. The little boy paused, threw another one in the ocean, and said, "it mattered to this one." It sure matters to those babies saved (and their grandchildren) that will get to enjoy life (laughter, meals, special times, etc)...and experience the embrace of their mothers, fathers, and grandparents (or adopted ones).

* At 8 AM, Sun, 12 Oct, the LIFE Runner's will race the Chicago Marathon for the protection of the defenseless unborn. The team of 12 LIFE devotions group members (John, Tracy, Steve, Chad, Bill, Rich, Courtney, Angi, Pat, Scott, Ben, Doug) have raised nearly $4,000 for ProLife awareness.

Sr. Francelle devotion: Read her devotion titled "Are you doing the work God has called you to do?‏" at http://sisterfrancelle.blogspot.com/. A few snippets: "Wouldn't it be a different world if each morning everyone surrendered their lives to God? Maybe on the way to work, or sometime during the day, they simply asked God to take control of their day. Jesus longs to receive the hurts and worries of all His children. He longs to bandage them up with hope and joy. HOPE is what I feel at the hospital, it's what keeps all of us going. In the end, I think that's our purpose in life, to give each other hope."

40 Days for Life campaign (24 Sep to 2 Nov): Campaigns in 179 cities in 47 states (24/7 for 40 days). Please sign up to pray an hour in front your local abortion mill.
* Updates from the national director, David Bereit, at http://www.40daysforlife.com/. ProLife news: http://www.lifenews.com/

Our Prayers: Abortion's end, chastity, our enemies, our troops, natural disasters, depression/ despair, dementia, cancer cure, prisoners, leaders integrity, loss of loved ones, lack of faith

* NEW: Kay Castle (her friend Chris Taylor is recovering from surgery)

* NEW: Mark Engesser motivated this prayer. Let us pray that our pastors will have the courage to address abortion (killing of innocent life) as the ultimate "foot of the cross" election issue. (Without life, the other issues don't matter...and all other issues are impacted by our respect of life.)

Faith Quotes: Sean Dalton shared this acronym (ARRR) to stay connected with God in prayer: "Acknowledge God, Recognize God, Receive God, Respond to God." Dan Lykins shared, "I think daily is the key word in this verse. So often we want to get our monthly or weekly allotment and not have to visit the source on a daily basis."

Through Christ for ProLife,
Pat
Phil 4:13

* Today's Bible readings at www.usccb.org/nab/today.shtml. Reflection on readings at http://www.daily-meditations.org/index2.html
* Prayer: Prayer connects us with God's will & His miracles, thereby changing us & helping others. Wayne Watson lyrics, “When God's people pray, there is hope reborn, there is sin forgiven, and miracles you can't explain await!” 'If you pray that God will move a mountain and He doesn’t, assume Christ wants you to climb it instead & see Him.'
* Defend the unborn: 'Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don’t stand back and let them die' (Prov 24:11). 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you' (Jer 1:5). 'It is a great poverty that a child must die that you might lie as you wish' Blessed Mother Teresa. Prayer to End Abortion.
* Evangelization: Let's make room for non-believers (be a friend, make a friend, lead friend to Christ) and perpetual re-evangelization of self and those near us, by way of daily prayer (relationship) and following Christ's example of selfless love, mercy, and service.
Let's joyfully live out the Good News and gladly tell others about it (Mark 16:15)!