Matt 4:23 (the Kingdom is here!)

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

He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people. Matt 4:23

Living Faith snippets: "The kingdom is here, inside and all around you, alive and active, and how I desire that you could see it, too! How I wish that your eyes could see and your ears could hear! The kingdom of God is here! Jesus, keep me so closely united to you this day that my life may proclaim to others that the kingdom of God is, indeed, here!" by Sr. Charleen Hug

Sister Francelle's devotion: Read her devotion titled "New Year 2009‏‏" at http://sisterfrancelle.blogspot.com/. Some snippets: "Dearest Ones, If there is anything we truly need in this New Year, it is to get closer to God and to grow in the love of our Savior. Prayer and good Christian self-talk go a long way to having that Happy New Year that we have been wishing each other. Christian self-talk is handling the stress that comes your way by reacting to it in a Christian manner. What we tell ourselves as Christians is largely shaped by how familiar we are with the Bible. After all, God's word tells us that it is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. This new year, face your fears. Fears are removed by replacing them with faith. Say to yourself again and again: "I trust in you, O Lord; my life is in your hands." I have been praying that Jesus will tell me what he wants me to do this new year and this is what I came up with: "to never consciously hurt anyone; to do as much good as possible, as often as possible, and in as many places as possible." Above all, I want to have a thankful heart and not take people or things for granted. The beauty God gives in nature, such as, the awesome beauty of silently falling snow has a way of uniting me with God. Each one-of-a-kind snowflake reminds me that each of us is wonderfully and uniquely created by God, and the peaceful white blanket is the security of His tender love for us, and the peace He offers us each day. If only I notice and remain grateful, I can see God's beauty everywhere. I pray you will be brave enough to look at your trials - not through fear but through hope, holding tight to the hand of Our father. Our journey of faith never ends. It continues and grows with each passing year, as we search for the inner peace that only God can give."

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

* Let's never forget the horrific reality of abortion (click here for images).

* 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, Mike Castle (eye infection), Carolyn McKissack (granddaughter Bailee with Crohn's), Joe Levisky (medical issues), Rob Ouellette (St. Patrick's prayer list), Rich Reich (Granny's health problems), Dan Castle (for alcoholics to accept intervention), Jason Peters (health of son JP)
* Peace in the Middle East (Iraq, Gaza)

* Praise: Liz Curry (friend Julie is cancer free!)

Feast Day (St. John Neumann): http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=70

Faith Quote: Doug Young shared this verse on his Christmas card, "Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of Life." John 8:12

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)!