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.