Mark 7:37 (Use Your Voice)

Welcome God now with this LIFE Group Devotion (FB), provided by LIFE Runners (FB). Guest Authors schedule. LIFE Minute radio.

They were exceedingly astonished and they said, "He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." ~ Mark 7:37 (full readings)

Rosemary's Reflections: Have you seen the news lately? With all the new pro-life issues receiving media coverage (Komen and Planned Parenthood, Obama's birth control mandate, etc.), it's getting people talking...on both sides. People spend so much time reading and posting on social networking sites, they could make their own countries. Comments made on Facebook and Twitter have now become powerful enough to change the mind of Komen to defund Planned Parenthood. With the tides shifting daily and unborn lives on the line, now is NOT the time to stay silent. Don't think just because you are one person, you can't make a difference. One raindrop is all it takes to make a ripple. Spread the pro-life message any way you can, as much as you can!

Faith Challenge: Are you in the loop? What is your grade on current events and communication? Knowledge is power, especially in these times of spiritual warfare. Educate yourself, then if you have Facebook or Twitter, post something pro-life to help educate others.

Sr. Francelle's Devotion: Love

Counter-Culture News: LSN, LifeNews, Priests for Life, Vatican, Project Rachel.

Our Prayers: Prayer to end abortion. LIFE Runners Creed. Add Prayers. Pray with meals, bedtime, wake up, etc. Consider mid-week Family Rosary (17 min). Let’s pray now.

Feast Day: St. Scholastica

Faith Quote: "The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life." ~ John F. Kennedy

Through Christ Our Lord,
Rosemary
2 Tim 4:7

* Pray/Fast: Prayer connects us with God’s will & His miracles, changing us & helping others. Fast from things that take your eyes off Jesus. Those who pray together stay together, and close to God!
* Save Unborn (& family): Abortion reality (images)…#1 death cause (22% pregnancies). Prov 24:11 & Jer 1:5. “A great poverty that a child must die that you might live as you wish.” Mother Teresa.
* Evangelize: Make room for unbelievers & re-evangelization of self, by way of prayer (relationship) and following Christ’s example of love (service/sacrifice/mercy). Mt 28:19.

Genesis 18:22 (Intercessory Prayer)

Welcome God now with this LIFE Group Devotion (FB), provided by LIFE Runners (FB).

"While the two men walked on farther toward Sodom, the Lord remained standing before Abraham." Genesis 18:22

Rich's Reflections: Throughout my day I am often given unexpected opportunities to pray: waiting for a traffic light to change, waiting in line at a store, waiting for a doctor's appointment, etc. Instead of getting frustrated, I gain greater peace by taking these opportunities to talk with God. After all, Christ may have purposely caused my busy life to pause so that I may be with Him in prayer. In today's reading, the Lord stayed behind with Abraham to give him an opportunity to intercede for the inhabitants of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham eventually caught on and asked the Lord to spare the cities. The Lord said "yes" to everything that Abraham asked of Him, but when Abraham stopped interceding, the cities were destroyed. This reading stresses the importance and power of intercessory prayer; the praying on behalf of others. Lord, give me the courage and compassion to pray for others. Amen.

Faith Challenge: Seek out opportunities each day to pray for others, especially the unborn and their families.

Counter-Culture News: LSN, Vatican, AFA, Priests for Life, Live Action

Our Prayers: Prayer to end abortion, Spiritual Adoption, Alpha Center, Peters family (JP). Add Prayers on our website. Pray with meals, bedtime, wake up, LIFE Runners, etc. Consider mid-week Family Rosary (17 min). Let’s pray now.

Feast Day: St. Cyril of Alexandria

Faith Quote: "Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still." ~ E.M. Bounds

Through Christ our Lord,
Rich
James 1:22

* Pray/Fast: Prayer connects us with God’s will & His miracles, changing us & helping others. Fast from things that take your eyes off Jesus. Those who pray together stay together, and close to God!
* Save Unborn (& family): Abortion reality (images)…#1 death cause (23% pregnancies). Prov 24:11 & Jer 1:5. “A great poverty that a child must die that you might live as you wish.” Mother Teresa.
* Evangelize:Make room for unbelievers & re-evangelization of self, by way of prayer (relationship) and following Christ’s example of love (service/sacrifice/mercy). Matt 28:19.

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Matthew 6:8 (Prayer)

Welcome God today with this Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group devotion (archive). Prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers. James 1:22

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:8 (full readings)

Rich's comments: I take great comfort in today's selected Bible verse. Sometimes I do not know what to pray for or how to pray. Like a loving parent, God knows what I need better than I do. It might make you wonder though, why do we pray if God knows what we need before we ask Him. I believe that prayer is more for the person praying than it is for God Himself. Prayer places the individual in a position of humility and selflessness. We humble ourselves asking for God's help, because we need Him and we cannot do it on our own. We are selfless in focusing on others' needs before our own when we pray for them. And finally, prayer allows us to have a relationship with God. Lord, thank You for teaching us how to pray. Amen.

Sr. Francelle's devotion: Suffering Now, Glory Later

Faith Challenge: Generously encourage others by forwarding devotions or using the Facebook "invite people" link.
* NEW: Prayer brings families closer together. Schedule a time to routinely pray with your family. I have found that praying with my wife, Erica, is a deeper form of communication than just talking.

Counter-Culture News: LifeSiteNews, Vatican, American Family Association, Priests for Life
* Reality of abortion (images), #1 cause of death (23% of pregnancies). Expose this unjust peace, setting unborn/parents free.
* NEW: ‘Bayou State’ Scores another Pro-Life Win with Ultrasound Act

Our Prayers: Those who pray together stay together, and close to God (footnotes). Prayer to end abortion, Peters family (JP).
* NEW: Rich Reich (neighbor George died Tuesday); (cousin Tom undergoing cancer treatment)

Faith Quote: "Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays." ~Søren Kierkegaard

Through Christ our Lord,

Rich

James 1:22

Matthew 6:7 (prayer)

Let's welcome God every morning before work by giving a few minutes to read this 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

In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Matthew 6:7 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "Many words do not necessarily make good prayer. God hears your prayer not because of countless words but because of God's immense love. Jesus is trying to open our hearts to recognize and value the spirit of prayer. He is indirectly saying, don't try to get heaven's attention by a lot of wordy prayers." by Sr. Macrina Wiederkehr

Rich's comments: Sometimes I catch myself speeding off quickly a rote prayer in my head without any real thought to the meaning of the words. When I recognize this, I slow down and think about each word. I think about the beauty of each word selected in the prayer and what meaning it has for me at that moment. I also do this with the prayers that are said aloud in Church. This allows me to become fully present in the words of the prayer and brings me into an intimate conversation with God.

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

* NEW: Be fully present in your prayers to God.

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, addictions.

*NEW: Rich Reich (pray for the soul and family of Troy Doyle who passed away recently)

Faith Quote: "Dear Jesus, help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus. Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others." - Mother Teresa's Daily Prayer

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.

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)!