Luke 17:33 (fence builder or ambulance service)

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

Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. Luke 17:33

Living Faith snippets: "Today's Gospel passage brims with alarming images, from the chilling "two people in one bed, one will be taken, the other left," to "Where the body is, there also will the vultures gather." Yikes! Some kind of radical disruption comes to the life we are used to: illnesses, accidents, losses, endings. Part of us moves on, but part of us is left behind. The scarred beauty of the life that is saved can have depth for the joy missing in the life that was lost. No vultures gather."

Pat nuggets:

* In Monday's devotion, I compared aspects of church (spiritual injuries) to a hospital (physical injuries). This reminded me of a lesson that John Sagan taught me. In ministry, we are either helping to build fences to prevent others from going off the cliff again (sin) or calling the professionals (pastors, counselors, etc) to bring an ambulance for those injured at the bottom of the cliff. Joel Cain and I made a commitment in the hallway at work today to be fence builders by doing three simple things: 1. say "God bless you" when someone sneezes, 2. when someone asks for prayers, offer to pray with them on the spot, and 3. when asked on Monday what you did over the weekend, tell folks about your faith activities. Let's be fence builders!

* Aaron Ferrie shared this 5 min video which gives powerful insight into the depth of God's gift of Jesus, and Jesus choosing to die on the cross for each of us: http://www.maximumreferrals.com/videos/bridge/bridge.html.

Sister Francelle's devotion: Read her devotion titled "St. Bakhita - from slavery to sainthood!" at http://sisterfrancelle.blogspot.com/. A few snippets: ""If I was to meet those who abducted me and tortured me, I'd kneel down to them to kiss their hands, because if it had not been for them, I would not have become a Christian." These are the words of St. Bakhita, newly canonized saint in the year 2000. She is the first African saint since the third century. Bakhita was born in the Sudan in the year 1869 and lived happily with her family until the age of nine...[when she was taken to be a slave]. God can use the most unfortunate circumstances in our lives and make something beautiful out of them. All my love and prayers, Sister Francelle"

ProLife news: http://www.lifesitenews.com/
* Let's pray for courage to build relationships and talk about ProLife. Let's pray that We The People of America (beacon on the hill) will shine Christ's Light and build a culture of Life.

Our Prayers: Prayer to End Abortion, chastity, our enemies, our troops, natural disasters, depression/ despair, prisoners, ProLife politicians, loss of loved ones, lack of faith, illnesses/injuries, Joe Castle (medical concern), Joe Hourigan (special intention)

* Pam McGushin: "Thank you to all those who prayed for my son's friend, Will (William James Hopkins May 1, 2002-November 11, 2008). Sadly, Will lost his battle with leukemia last night. His last moments were spent in his mother's arms. What a peaceful way to end his suffering and go forth to meet Our Savior. Please continue to keep his family in your prayers as they continue through the days forthcoming."

* Mary Ellen Seibert: college daughter (Paige) has a tough viral illness

* Lynn (McAleece) Bishara: "My aunt Mary has recently been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She is having surgery on Friday to find out the extent and determine her future treatment. She requested that she be put on any prayer lists we could find, and really believes in the power of prayer."

Faith Quote: "For love. He chose the way of the cross where mercy triumphs over justice because of love." from fictional book The Shack by William P. Young

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.'
* Fasting: Let's fast from things that takes our eyes off Jesus (selfishness, bitterness, being so critical, impatience, judgment, gossip, excessive video games, etc) and take on things that fix our eyes on Jesus (selflessness, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, patience, understanding, caring, helping, listening).

* 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.
* Evangelization: Let's make room for unbelievers (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)!