Matthew 9:9 ("Follow Me." me?)

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

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." Matthew 9:9 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "In Rome you see this: churches built over the tombs of young, innocent martyrs, magnificient churches built by churchmen and noblemen anxious to compensate for their sins, set snugly along cobblestone streets trod by pilgrims rich and poor, saints and sinners and all in between. All of us, some for better reasons than others, responding out of our own weakness, to the call. Me? Jesus, yes. I will follow you." Amy Welborn

Pat nuggets: I worked the Scott AFB Air Show all weekend, so we went to Mass on base. We were blessed to bring the gifts to the altar. Angi got a kick out of the candor of the military priest when he told the military congregation to "clean it up a bit" regarding reverence when receiving the most holy Eucharist. He also shared these insightful words from Archbishop Fulton Sheen's Life of Christ: "The temptations of man...fall into one of three categories: they either pertain to the flesh (lust and gluttony), or to the mind (pride and envy), or to the idolatrous love of things (greed). It is during youth that man is most often tempted against purity and inclined to the sins of the flesh; in middle age, the flesh is less urgent and temptations of the mind begin to predominate, e.g. pride and the lust for power; in the autumn of life, temptations to avarice (greed) are likely to assert themselves. Seeing that the end of life is near, man strives to banish doubts about eternal security or salvation by piling up the goods of earth and redoubling his economic security. It is a common psychological experience that those who have given way to lust in youth are often those who sin by avarice (greed) in their old age."

Faith Challenges:
* NEW members include Tracy Clinton, Neil Hlebichuk, Duane Strehle...welcome! Let's all invite one person each week (John 14:6) to join our LIFE Group (>225 ProLife Christians).
* NEW: Let's use God's gift of love...demonstrated by prayer/fasting and service/sacrifice (time, treasure, talents)...to guard against lust/gluttony, pride/envy, and greed.

Counter-Culture News: LifeSiteNews, 40 Days for Life (begins 23 Sep), 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 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, Peters family (JP in hospital), Lynn Bishara (for son Alex), Kay Castle (special intentions), Pat Castle (for cousin Michael)

Faith Quote: "God's promises are like the stars; the darker the night, the brighter they shine." David Nicholas

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 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).