John 20:18 ("big picture of Jesus")

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

I have seen the Lord. John 20:18

Living Faith snippets: "We pray to hear His voice through those whom He speaks, be it those in ecclesial authority, the voice of the poor or the voices of those who live and speak God's word to us. The more we pray, the more we shall be able to recognize the many ways in which the Lord calls to us here and now." by Fr. James Stephan Behrens (Trappist monk)

Pat nuggets: Today's devotion picture is the same picture of Jesus that I had in my bedroom growing up. When I left home for the Air Force in 1989, I asked my Mom if I could have that picture when I got my own home someday. When moving into our first home in 1997, Robert Cox casually mentioned that the only thing missing in our bedroom was "a big picture of Jesus." He was apparently a conduit of the Holy Spirit because at that moment my parents were in route to deliver the big picture of Jesus as a home warming gift. I later learned that this picture was a home warming gift from my grandparents to my parents for their first home in 1964. Although this picture of our Commander in Chief is a powerful reminder of Christ being with me always, it is in the love and service of God's people that I see the true image of Christ.

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

* NEW: Let's really listen to someone...seek to understand them...and bring Easter healing to their pains, allowing them to see Christ through our love and service.

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 below.* Prayer to end abortion, abused children, chastity, peace, our enemies, our troops, depression/ despair, prisoners, ProLife politicians, illnesses/injuries, jobs, natural disasters

* NEW: Jason Peters shared about his young son JP (on 10 Apr): "JP is coming home today. He will still be fed intravenously at home and is still on quite a few meds, but all in all he is doing great. This is the first time we have been home since before Christmas, and we really haven’t had much time at home since last July. It has been a long haul, but hopefully we can manage JP’s care from home and stay there for a really long time. Thank you for your prayers over the past few months. On January 25th, I really thought we were going to loose JP. To see him now is truly a miracle. So many people shared in the prayers for JP, and everyone should get to share in a prayer of thanksgiving for the miracle we received. Thanks. God Bless and have a great Easter."

Through Christ our Lord,
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)!