John 12:8 (God is the root of our service)

Let's welcome God today with this Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group devotion (archive, Facebook), based on Living Faith. Prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers. James 1:22

You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me. John 12:8 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "[Jesus] was not saying that there is no use in helping the poor and feeding the hungry, but that using money for seemingly 'useless' purposes is valid too. Expanding on Jesus' meaning, we may say that while the poor and the hungry deserve our assistance, it's good also to help build a beautiful new church, support a music program, erect a monument to a good person or help construct bicycle paths as a way to cultivate a healthy, natural environment. Jesus' point may be that there are values of a spiritual or personal nature that are just as real as those of a physical and material nature, and they all deserve our support." by Mitch Finley

Rich's comments: Today's Gospel reading from John could be confusing, since Christ has always stressed to His disciples the importance of helping the poor. I don't believe that Jesus meant His words to be an acknowlegment of the futility of helping the poor. Jesus possibly rebukes his disciples, because of their overzealousness in the matter of giving to the poor. While giving to the poor is good, forcing someone else to give what they do not desire to give is hardly justified. Also, even though there are poor people out there, that does not prevent one from giving material gifts to people who aren’t poor (especially if that person is God). There is an obligation to help the poor, but that is derived from—and in no way superior to—our obligations to God. The duty of tending to the poor is not supposed to be all consuming that we lose sight of God, or the reasons we are to help the poor. Our duty first and foremost is to love and serve our God, and this love then extends to our fellow man.

Faith Challenges: Let's generously share the LIFE Group by forwarding devotions or using the Facebook "invite people" link.
* NEW: What are the reasons that you give to the poor? Please consider sharing your devotion thoughts on the Facebook page, to be appreciated by many.

Counter-Culture News: 40 Days for Life, LifeSiteNews, Vatican, American Family Association, Priests for Life
* Let's never forget the horrific reality of abortion (images), #1 cause of death in America (23% of pregnancies). Let's courageously share ProLife Truth to expose abortion's unjust peace, rebuilding a Culture of Life for setting the unborn (and parents) free!
* NEW: Large Majority of French Women Agree that Abortion Has Detrimental Psychological Effects

Our Prayers: Those who pray together stay together, and close to God (footnotes). Peters family (JP), Prayer to end abortion, Stephanie Kemp (special intention), Pat Castle (Uncle Jim Castle with blood clots).

Faith Quote: "The needy will never be lacking in the land; that is why I command you to open your hand to your poor and needy kinsman in your country." (Deut 15:11)

Through Christ our Lord,

Rich

James 1:22

* 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, pornography, bitterness, criticalness, 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 a 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 (Matt 28:19).

Deuteronomy 31:6 (have no fear)

Let's welcome God this 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. 3:17

Be brave and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them, for it is the Lord, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "From the time we are little we hear the often repeated words in Scripture: "Do not fear." Throughout our lives many encounters challenge our ability to trust. How they are handled makes the difference between a saint and an ordinary person. Saint Clare, whom we honor today, was born into nobility. Anything Clare wanted or desired would be given her. But she wanted to rely only on God's providence and the generosity of others." by Sr. Charleen Hug, S.N.D.

Rich's comments: Children are often scared of the dark, fearful that something is hiding in their closet or underneath their bed. Parents know that the first thing that their son or daughter does when they are frightened is call their name. The next time that you are scared, may your instinct be to call upon our Father in heaven. Dear Lord, help me to overcome my fears and to trust in You. Amen.

Faith Challenge: Let's invite others to join the LIFE Group (>200 Christians).

* NEW: The next time that you are fearful or worrying about a situation, stop, pray to God and hand over all of these fears to Him.

Counter-Culture News: LifeSiteNews, American Family Association, Priests for Life
* 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!

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, refugees, addictions, persecuted believers, Maureen Rogers (redoing knee replacement on 11 Aug), Rich Reich (friend Carolyn battling cancer), Anonymous (family with unexpected pregnancy), Peters family (JP in hospital)

Feast Day: "St. Clare trusted that it was God who was guiding her life. Eventually her steadfast trust in God paid off when she founded the Poor Clares, a religious order of women devoted to the poor." - Sr. Charleen Hug

Faith Quote: “There are 200 million poor in the world who would gladly take the vow of poverty if they could eat, dress and have a home like I do." - Fulton Sheen

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.

John 12:8 (Holy Week...)

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. All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Col. 3:17

You always have the poor with you... John 12:8

Living Faith snippets: "There will be endless opportunities to help the poor. Many are called to help the poor but few do. Whom will you help? My precious God, you send the poor to me for help. Give me the grace I need to open my hand and share what I have with them." by Paul Boudreau (author of Between Sundays)

LIFE Group nuggets:

* Pastor Don: "As we approach Holy Week may we be reminded of who Jesus was and is and what He embodied for us while He was with us on earth...REAL LOVE. May we become the REAL LOVE of Christ in our homes, our work, our church, our community so that when people look at us they don't see a "polished Christian" that "has it all together", but a Christian who has been loved and loved so much that the sharp edges of our lives have been smoothed out and we reflect the image of the One who has changed us and made us REAL from the inside out."

* Jean Noon: "And with the idea that we are to respond to evil with good I think that we are called by God to create win-win circumstance which can only be created through love. Our greatest desire is not that darkness be annihilated (we win) but that it be transformed through light (win-win). When we have a disposition of love while we speak truth, the defensive-posture of the other is unnecessary and set aside so that growth and transformation can occur (may take time!). Rather than see “them” struggle with “us” we witness their own internal tension which will come about only if their egos are not on the defensive and focused on external strife and survival. Thus we serve rather than participate in attack/defend."

Faith Challenge: Let's challenge each other to joyfully live out the Good News. Suggestions?

* NEW: Let's strive to attend Holy Thurs (Last Supper, washing feet), Good Friday (the Lord's Passion), Easter Vigil and/or Easter morning services...and our Holy Week will be like a retreat! Our Easter experience is not complete without the perspective of Holy Thurs and Good Friday.

Counter-Culture News: LifeSiteNews, American Family Association, Priests for Life
* 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!

ProLife Station #10 (Jesus is Stripped of His Garments): "Nobody can stop us from loving our preborn brothers and sisters. Those stronger than we may strip us of popularity, possessions, or power, but they cannot strip us of love. We love others with the same love that Christ showed for us." by Fr. Frank Pavone (Priests for Life)

Our Prayers: Those who pray together stay together. Fasting ideas below.
* Prayer to end abortion, abused children, chastity, peace, our enemies, our troops, depression/ despair, prisoners, ProLife politicians, illnesses/injuries, jobs, Maureen Rogers (pain)

* NEW: Colleen Boddicker (Her Mom will be moved to hospice today.)

Faith Quote: "We have great hope in the Lord's power to heal our land of the painful wound of legalized abortion. Every abortion is a personal tragedy. Its dread impact falls not only on a little boy or a little girl, but on the child's parents, grandparents, siblings and everyone involved. Knowing that God's mercy is greater than all of our sins, tonight we pray for all these people. We pray for the conversion of all those who promote death as a solution to social ills or to an unplanned pregnancy. We pray for legislators, educators, counselors and all health care professionals who put their skills and training at the service of life. We lift up Project Rachel and other post-abortion counseling ministries, pro-life pregnancy centers, and organizations that work every day to usher in a culture of life." Cardinal Justin Rigali (shared by Kelly Benson)

Through Christ for ProLife,
Pat
Phil 4:13

* 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)!