Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Matthew 11:28 (find rest with Christ)


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

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

Living Faith snippets: "Jesus offers rest from our grueling burdens and arduous efforts. What surprises me is how easily I forget this generous invitation when I am overwhelmed with work or with troubles that inevitably arise. Instead of leaning on the heart of Christ, I give in to anxiety and worry. I work even harder and spend later hours in the office. I squirm and struggle, trying to get things to develop my way. Instead of turning to prayer and giving more attention to my divine resource, I lessen the time, believing it will help me "get more done." What a crazy response to Christ's wonderful invitation. I can receive an easing of what consumes me...if I deliberately slow down, become still, and turn my heart toward the One who urges, "Come to me." by Sr. Joyce Rupp

Pat nuggets:
* Today's devotion snippets (above) offer us great spiritual perspective and a rejuvenating resource to help us stay filled with peace and joy during this special (and busy) Advent time!

* I heard on NPR this morning that sadly 830,000 children die throughout the world from auto accidents. Rightfully, advocates discussed practical ways on how many of these lives could be saved with safety precautions. According to the Center for Bio-ethical Reform, ~42 million abortions occur every year throughout the world (115,000 per day) http://www.abortionno.org/Resources/fastfacts.html. As ProLife advocates, what can we do to help save some of these lives? Kerry Tragesser shared that Planned Parenthood of Indiana advertised Christmas gift certificates that could be used for abortions (http://www.ppin.org/news.aspx?NewsID=84). To help counter this Culture of Death influence, we could donate to a Culture of Life influence in the name of a friend or family member (as a Christmas gift). For example, we could contribute to the "$5 donation drive campaign" for LifeSiteNews or to Priests for Life.

Jesus' Christmas List: This is how we give Jesus a Christmas (birthday) gift..."whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matt 25:40). The true meaning of Christmas is to share our gifts (time, talent, treasure, faith, hope, love) with those lacking in "daily bread" and love. Who is in dire need of our Christmas gifts?

* Let's pray for courage to communicate the ProLife message through Christ to those around us (John 14:6)...rebuilding 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, John Peak (parent's health & his deployment), Kathy-jo Peterson (friend Dave with brain cancer), Rich Reich (Grandma with health problems), Pat Castle (Kathy Ayers recovering from brain surgery, Mike Castle eye infection, Joe Castle medical appt today)
Faith Quote: "All sectors of life can be illuminated with the light of the faith. I am thinking, among other areas, of the world of culture, science and politics; of the promotion of the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman; of the creation of more just working conditions and the assistance of the disadvantaged; of concern for the environment; of defence of human life at every stage of existence, and of the right and obligation of parents to the spiritual and moral education of their children." Pope Benedict XVI

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)!

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