John 3:17 (the essentials...)

Let's welcome God every morning before 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

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world... John 3:17

Living Faith snippets: "God sent His Son to us because He loves us and wants us to be saved. His offer to us, in Jesus, is not one of punishment. Rather, He offers us Life. Sometimes we make the message of salvation too complicated or too negative. It is good to get back to the essentials. John 3:16..."For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life."" by Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti

Pat nuggets: Regarding today's verse, as disciples of Christ, God does not call us to condemn the world (Judgement, big J). However, God has equipped us (prayer, Holy Spirit/Bible, natural law) with the ability to judge (small j) good from evil...and the responsibility to help love (selfless/service) our neighbors to the Truth (Mark 16:15). The birds in today's devotion picture are feeling the love of their neighbors!

Faith Challenge: Let's challenge each other to joyfully live out the Good News.
* NEW: Let's reflect to make sure that we are focused on loving our neighbor and not Judging (big J, condemnation) them. Condemnation (Judgement) involves punishments, where tough love often involves boundaries...the difference is usually a matter of the heart.

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, addictions

* NEW: Mike Castle (Nelda Alford cancer treatment), Bobby Aborn (wife Christi with medical issues), Sue Peters (friend getting CT scan, Godchild Sarah Fideler expecting a precious baby on Thanksgiving day)

Faith Quote: "Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly....Leave the rest to God." author unknown (shared by Rob Ouellette)

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)!