Psalm 144:1-2 (Shield of Faith!)

Welcome God now with this LIFE Group Devotion (archive, Facebook).

Blessed be the LORD, my rock, my mercy and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, my shield, in whom I trust. Psalm 144:1-2 (full readings)

Steve's Thoughts: The imagery of this Psalm stirred my soul as I read it. Powerful imagery! I've always had a heart for fantastical things with Lord of the Rings and the Narnia Chronicles being some of my favorites. To this day, I still enjoy such images and stories. Of all the powerful images, the shield hits home. As I walk in faith it occurs to me that I am face to face with spiritual entities every day that hate me because I have been claimed by the blood of the cross through Jesus Christ. I am baptised and marked forever as a child of God, part an eternal family. This doesn't stop the "fiery darts of the evil one" from coming my way. I often find the way that I come under attack is through anxiety. It is in these moments that I have learned to rely on James' words, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). Our God is so powerful and mighty that all we must do when we come under attack is raise the "shield of faith" and claim our Baptismal place beside Christ Jesus. Paul exhorts us as Christians that, "above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." Lord, God give me the courage to trust that there is no dart too big that my shield of faith can not quench!

Faith Challenge: Check out Sr. Francelle's Devotion: Darkness. "We have all experienced times of darkness in prayer. What do you do when God seems absent?"

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

* No Arms, No Legs, No Worries! One of the fiery darts we face each day is that we are not good enough - watch this for an instant perspective check!

Our Prayers: Prayer to end abortion. Peters family (JP), Rich Reich (cousin Tom cancer), Vicki Kerkvliet (Mom's radiation treatment), Carol Nesbitt (special intention), Helene Couchon (Molly Barber's health)

* Pat Castle (for awesome RCIA director Rob Ouellette who passed away Wed night).

Feast Day: St. Padre Pio (Sept. 23). Check out the amazing life of this modern day saint!

Faith Quote: "The life of a Christian is nothing but a perpetual struggle against self; there is no flowering of the soul to the beauty of its perfection except at the price of pain" ~ St. Padre Pio

Through Christ Our Lord,
Steve
Romans 12:12

Luke 9:1-2 (Healing Hands!)

Welcome God now with this LIFE Group Devotion (archive, Facebook).

Jesus gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and He sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Luke 9:1-2 (full readings)

Pat nuggets:

* God gave us authority to expel demons. Do you think demons no longer exist? When faced with Spiritual warfare, call on the name of Jesus to disarm the evil, which saves you from being pulled into the darkness (despair). For Spiritual warfare guidance, check out Lighthouse Ministry International (St. Paul, MN) and a book called Unbound by Neal Lozano. Jesus we trust in you, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

* Prayer and a healing hand are powerful tools for healing physical/Spiritual ailments. Thanks to the LIFE Group members who recently used these tools for JP Peters (today's image) and 1 yr old Sarah Castle. Sarah recovered from her serious seizure (caused by roseola), and JP was able to see his Dad finish a marathon (Running for JP). Just hours before Sarah's seizure, Steve pointed out in his devotion that "we all follow Christ with some ailment or infirmity in tow." The Word of God is both healing medicine and preventative medicine for ourselves/others in this broken world. Have you accepted the great Christian commission "to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick"? This song will move you: You Can Have Me.

* The 2011 LIFE Runners (FB) are on a faith journey to the Kansas City half/full Marathon (15 Oct). Our God-sized goal for 2011 is to build a miracle team with 100 LIFE Runners (wearing the "REMEMBER The Unborn" jersey) who raise $25,000 for the Alpha Center pregnancy bus (free ultrasounds). This year we had 17 LIFE Runners who raised $7,000. Please let me know if you or others would like to run with this life saving vision/mission. Vision: LIFE Runners will pray and run as a team until we cross the finish line to end abortion. Mission: LIFE Runners are members of the LIFE Group Devotions faith community who pray, run, and raise funds for ProLife!

Faith Challenge: Who is in need of the healing Word of God or the healing hands of the Body of Christ? Bring this to them. Share the LIFE Group Devotions with others. 40 Days for Life starts today!

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

* Midwest Catholic Bishops Exhort Flocks to Fight for Marriage.

Our Prayers: Prayer to end abortion. Peters family (JP), Rich Reich (cousin Tom cancer), Vicki Kerkvliet (Mom's radiation treatment), Karen Ryan-Philpott (2 wk old Baby William's heart issues), Pat Castle (Molly Barber in hospital)

* Carol Nesbitt (special intention)

Faith Quote: "True life is to progressively attain self-control. Root your hope and your faith in Christ." John Paul II

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In God We Trust,
Pat

Jer 1:5

Psalm 68:20 (finding God in the ordinary...)

Let's welcome God today 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

Blessed day by day be the Lord, who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation. Psalm 68:20 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "While on my first retreat, the retreat leader asked us to recall the moments in our life when we felt most loved. As wonderful and awe-inspiring as mystical experiences of the Divine might be, I have learned that it is the ability to recognize God's presence in the ordinary moments of life that carry us through. Lord, help us recognize the many ways you come to us each day." by Terri Mifek

Pat nuggets:

* Let's leverage Facebook as a Faithbook. Please join our Facebook LIFE Group page, where we will post the devotions for Living In Faith Exchange comments. Almost 200 of the devotion photos are in the Facebook LIFE Group Photos tab, for us to review and comment.

* In support of 40 Days for Life (until 1 Nov), prayed a sorrowful rosary with my family outside the St. Louis abortion mill on Sat morning (today's photo). It was very busy on both sides of the fence (spiritual warfare). Paige (9) said, "I don't get why they call it Planned Parenthood, sounds like they should be helping babies." Later that day, Grace (6) came into my office holding up a ProLife sign and joyfully shouted, "Let's save some babies, Dad!" Let's pray fervently to end the abortion holocaust...for the unborn and the injured parents, prayer to end abortion.

* On the Planned Parenthood website, I found a disturbing note from an employee...read it closely (perversion of Truth): "Today a patient said something in response to the protesters and their signs that made me pause. She said, "I would never protest at their church, never." [moral relativism] I’ve never considered Planned Parenthood to be my “church,” but it does stand for very important rights and values that provide my being with hope [despair], happiness [pain], and faith [in what?]."

Faith Challenges: Let's all invite one person each week (John 14:6) to join our LIFE Group (~ 250 of God's children).
* NEW: Consider attending a faith retreat (marriage encounter, Crusillo, Koinonia, Search, TEC, others?).

Counter-Culture News: LifeSiteNews, 40 Days for Life (until 1 Nov), 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)

Faith Quote: "Faith is a verb."

In God We Trust,

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, pornography, bitterness, criticalness, 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).