Let's welcome God every morning by reflecting on this short Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group devotion (life-devotions.blogspot.com), which is based on Living Faith. All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Col. 3:17There were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. But Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God. Exodus 19:16-17 (full readings)
Living Faith snippets: "Usually I am aware of God in small ways: in the company of friends, in unexpected kindnesses. I know that God is present in these quiet ways." by Karla Manternach
Rich's comments: Sometimes I wonder if our society as a whole is aware of God's presence, especially how our culture has broken His laws with abandonment. Lord, I pray that we will always be aware of your presence and obey Your commandments. Amen.
Faith Challenge: Let's challenge each other to joyfully live out the Good News.
* NEW: Think of ways to remind yourself of the presence of God (e.g., picture of Jesus, crucifix, scripture readings, WWJD bracelet, etc.), especially during moments of weakness to give you strength and help you avoid the occasion of sin.
* Let's never forget the horrific reality of abortion (images)...#1 cause of death in America. Let's courageously share ProLife Truth (John 14:6) to create social tension for exposing abortion's unjust peace...rebuilding a Culture of Life (Matt 5:16) and setting the unborn free!"
* NEW: "Part of the foundation of Western civilization is the Ten Commandments. The better we have obeyed the Ten Commandments, the more love, peace, justice, freedom, and happiness we have seen in our society. Right now in our culture the Ten Commandments are being broken with abandon. False gods and graven images (Ex 20:3-4) are being flashed across our TV screens. We put much time, money, and attention into these gods of self, pleasure, power, work, lifestyle, sex(see Eph 5:5), and so on. We adore and worship these gods. We also flaunt breaking the second commandment. If we go to the average movie, we will probably hear God's name repeatedly taken in vain. Who keeps holy the Lord's Day anymore? We work and shop on Sundays much more than ever before in Western civilization. Honoring our fathers and mothers has reached an all-time low, as our society encourages children to rebel against their parents. Furthermore, divorce makes it much more difficult for children to honor their parents. Casual sex denies parenthood. Concerning the fifth commandment, abortion has made us the top killers of all time. Partly because of artificial birth control, we may also be the top adulterers of all time. With our technological and communication expertise, we have developed new ways of stealing, lying, and coveting. No society has broken the Ten Commandments as we have. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rm 6:23)." - OBOB
Our Prayers: Those who pray together stay together. Fasting ideas in footnote below.
* Prayer to end abortion, abused children, chastity, peace, our enemies, our troops, depression/ despair, prisoners, ProLife politicians, illnesses/injuries, jobs, natural disasters, addictions, Stephanie Spader (for a family with unexpected pregnancy), Rob Rysavy (for a coworker's wife who is battling an illness), Carol Nesbit (for my niece, Kelly, whose baby died in her womb)
* NEW: Lynn (8 month old Alex is having surgery this morning to put tubes in his ears. Let's pray that this surgery gives him the relief he needs from all of his struggles so that he can finally start to sleep!)
Feast Day: St. Bridget of Sweden
Faith Quote: "As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live." by Pope John Paul II
Through Christ our Lord,
Rich
Romans 12:12
* Prayer: Prayer connects us with God's will & His miracles, changing us & helping others. 'If you pray that God will move a mountain and He doesn’t, assume Christ wants you to climb it instead.'
* Fasting: Let's fast from things that take our eyes off Jesus (selfishness, bitterness, being so critical, impatience, 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 live 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 invite others to join our LIFE Group...Rich or Pat will gladly add them to the devotions distribution list (Mark 16:15)!
* Fasting: Let's fast from things that take our eyes off Jesus (selfishness, bitterness, being so critical, impatience, 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 live 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 invite others to join our LIFE Group...Rich or Pat will gladly add them to the devotions distribution list (Mark 16:15)!
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