Isaiah 11:3-4 (Jesus is judge)

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

Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, But he shall judge the poor with justice... Isaiah 11:3-4

Living Faith snippets: "Appearances and hearsay may not be accepted as evidence, but from time to time we give these factors too much weight as we make our own judgments. We may be poor in experience or lacking in knowledge, but let us trust that Jesus, the one who judges "the poor with justice," will give us all the evidence we will ever need." by Julia Schloss

Rich's comments: I am happy that Jesus is the judge of the living and the dead, for only He can see my heart, listen to my thoughts, and understand my internal struggles. I do not have to explain myself to Him, because He knows me better than I know myself. No excuses are necessary, for He knows who I was designed to be, and what spiritual gifts He blessed me with to share with others. He knows what opportunities I have had in life to serve Him by sharing His love with others, and He knows the times when I have failed to carry my cross. Jesus is the judge, and He lets us know ahead of time what is going to be on our "final exam" (responding with compassion to those in need). This exam will not be written or oral, but will be ingrained in our hearts for Him to judge.

ProLife news: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ & http://www.priestsforlife.org/

* Let's pray for courage to build relationships and talk about ProLife. Let's pray that We The People of America will shine Christ's Light and build a culture of Life (Matt 5:16).

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 concerns), Matt Kayser (family of Jesse Alne), Rob Ouellette (Jeff, Arleen, Ramona, Pat).

Faith Quote: "Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." -- Pope John Paul II

Through Christ Our Lord,

Rich

Romans 12:12

* 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)!