James 3:13 (A Lesson for the Wise)

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

"Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom." ~ James 3:13 (full readings)

Rich's Reflections: In today's reading, James invites people who are supposedly wise to step forward and identify themselves. His question is a challenge for those self-proclaiming wisdom (i.e., teachers) to conduct a self-examination. Am I teaching from humility or from selfish ambition? If it is the latter, then I am even failing in the matter about which I am most proud: my grasp of truth. I taught chemistry at the Air Force Academy for 3 years and I truly enjoyed the experience. It was very fulfilling to help others in need and to get others excited about something that interested me. Unfortunately though, my motivation for teaching became focused on a departmental teaching award that consumed me and later shifted to jealousy when I did not win the award. My envy and selfish ambition were the opposite of humility. James explains that true wisdom comes from outside ourselves and from God Himself. Wisdom is humbly admitting one's needs and relying on God for the wisdom one lacks. Lord, help me to be humble so that I may understand that true wisdom only comes from You. Amen.

Faith Challenge: Show wisdom in humbly accepting the word of God in your life.

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. Wulfric

Faith Quote: "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." - Proverbs 11:2

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 (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.

Psalm 37:30 (More than words)

Let's welcome God today by reflecting on this Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group devotion (website, Facebook), 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

The mouth of the just man tells of wisdom. Psalm 37:30 (full readings)

Living Faith Snippets: "Scholars tell us that language is a gift. It comes to us at a very early age, through others. In some ways, and for most children, it is as natural as breathing...Wisdom is also a gift and, like language, is given us by God...Wisdom may blossom into words, but may also be known through the reverence that is silence or waiting or patience." by Fr. James Stephen Behrens, O.C.S.O.

Steve's Thoughts: The last few days have been full of challenges in the Castle household. On Monday our car was hit by a snowplow and was totalled. Yesterday our van's alternator went kaput. And today our youngest woke up with a fever. Life has a way of coming at you in bursts sometimes. Luckily all these things can be fixed in time. It will require some patience on our part to see our way through them. Perhaps you are facing some struggles today? Perhaps it feels like it's "all coming at you at once." Dear Jesus, please be with us and give us the patience we need to bear the trials of life no matter how big or small. Amen.

Faith Challenges:
* Let's generously invite others to join the LIFE Group by forwarding a devotion or using our Facebook Group "invite people to join" link. To encourage others to reflect on the devotions, consider "liking"/commenting or sharing a "God-sighting" on our Facebook Group.

Counter-Culture News: LifeSiteNews, 40 Days for Life, Vatican, American Family, Priests for Life
* Let's never forget the horrific reality of abortion (images), #1 cause of death in America (23% of pregnancies). Let's courageously share ProLife Truth to create social tension for exposing abortion's unjust peace, rebuilding a Culture of Life for setting the unborn (and parents) free!

Our Prayers: Those who pray together stay together...and closer to God. See prayer/fasting footnotes.
* Prayer to end abortion, Peters family (JP), Haitian earthquake victims

Feast Day: St. Scholastica (St. Benedict's sister)

Faith Quotes:"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat." Mother Teresa

Through Christ Our Lord,
Steve
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, 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).

Wisdom 7:29-30 (Truth overcomes Evil)

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

Compared to light, [Wisdom] takes precedence; for that, indeed, night supplants, but wickedness prevails not over Wisdom. Wisdom 7:29-30 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "Jesus, the living Wisdom of God, reveals a life that goes beyond the physical. Destroyed by jealousy and hate, crushed by the power of Rome, Jesus was killed, but no extinguished. Risen Lord, strengthen my faith in what I cannot see, yet long to believe." by Mark Neilsen

Rich's comments: In the Scripture today, I was trying to figure out how Wisdom is more powerful than light. Planned Parenthood Director, Abby Johnson, worked for the leading provider of abortions for 8 years, but ironically remained in the dark about the Truth until she finally viewed an ultrasound image of an abortion resulting in her quitting the organization. 90% of women considering an abortion change their mind about having one after seeing an ultrasound image of their unborn baby. No wonder Planned Parenthood opposes requiring women to see an ultrasound before the abortion procedure. The light into the womb (ultrasound) can be easily obscured by evil (Planned Parenthood), but once the Truth (Wisdom of God) is revealed, goodness prevails.

Faith Challenges: Let's all invite one person each week (John 14:6) to join our LIFE Group (~250 of God's children).

* NEW: Shine through the darkness; share the Truth about abortion with someone who is still left in the dark.

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 to create social tension for exposing abortion's unjust peace...rebuilding a Culture of Life (Matt 5:16) and setting the unborn (and parents) free!

* NEW: I thought that you would like to hear an update about A Woman's Answer (AWA) Medical Center in Gainesville, Florida since many of you contributed to the LIFE Runners Twin-Cities Marathon fundraiser to provide an ultrasound machine for AWA. Thanks to your contributions and the Knights of Columbus councils in the Gainesville area, we have raised over $9000. This amount will be matched by the Knights of Columbus Pro-Life fund, which will enable us to purchase an ultrasound machine for AWA. Today I go by AWA to pick up the final paperwork to start the process. The ultrasound machine will be presented to AWA on Jan 22nd, 2010 (37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade) at their Banquet for Life. This ultrasound machine will ultimately save lives. Thank you.

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), Joe Hourigan (for brother Mike), Doug Young (special intention), Pat Castle (victims/families at Ft. Hood, health care reform bill), Joe Levisky (daughter's pregnancy), that people care for all creation. Stephanie Spader (daughter Rebekah in ICU for pneumonia/H1N1, for 24 wk pregnancy check up) , Brenda Alvine (for her father, Dennis Rolfson, in the ICU).

* NEW: Aaron (personal intention)

Feast Day: St. Josaphat

Faith Quote: "A thing is not necessarily true because badly uttered, nor false because spoken magnificently." - Saint Augustine

Through Christ our Lord,

Rich

James 1:22

* 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).

Psalm 19:2-3 (revealing God's mystery)

Welcome God every morning before your 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 (livingfaith.com). All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Col. 3:17

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day pours out the word to day, and night to night imparts knowledge. Psalm 19:2-3

Living Faith snippets: "Our culture is averse to mystery. And yet the ability to handle mystery is an important component of our faith. God does not reveal the whole picture. He knows that we could not understand or handle it. He gives us only what is necessary and meets us where we are." by Kristin Armstrong

Rich's comments: You might remember the frustrations you had as a child, not understanding the decisions your parents made for you about what you could or couldn't do. Or you might be experiencing the other side of the coin as a parent trying to raise your children. As a parent you know that a child doesn't need to understand every detail about how his parents manage a household (e.g. pay the bills, balance a budget, make decisions, etc.). All the child needs to know is that his parents love him. God may keep many wonders of His universe a mystery, but one thing that He has definitely made visible to us, His children, is that He loves us!

40 Days for Life campaign (24 Sep to 2 Nov): Campaigns in 179 cities in 47 states (24/7 for 40 days). Please sign up to pray an hour in front your local abortion mill.

* Updates from the national director, David Bereit, at http://www.40daysforlife.com/.

* ProLife news: http://www.lifenews.com/

Our Prayers: Abortion's end, chastity, our enemies, our troops, natural disasters, depression/ despair, dementia, cancer cure, prisoners, leaders integrity, loss of loved ones, lack of faith, Rob (St. Patrick's parish prayer list), Tina Castle (Jason Peter's son)

* Lets pray for a change of heart for all Pro-Death candidates. Let's also pray for courage to let Christ lead our vote...and to publicly talk up and clap for ProLife.

* Each day from now until election day (nine days), let's all say an election novena prayer together: www.priestsforlife.org/novenas/election-day-novena.aspx. Also, as part of our election prayer each day, let's fast from something that is taking our focus off of Jesus (selfishness, judgment, gossip, excessive video games, etc) and/or take on something (selflessness, forgiveness, caring, helping, listening) that causes us to watch The Lamb (also The Lion, Aslan).

Feast Day (Sts. Simon and Jude): http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1182

Faith Quote: "God can show Himself as He really is only to real men. And that means not simply to men who are individually good, but to men who are united together in a body, loving one another, helping one another, showing Him to one another." - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Through Christ Our Lord,

Rich

Romans 12:12

* Today's Bible readings at www.usccb.org/nab/today.shtml. Reflection on readings at http://www.daily-meditations.org/index2.html

* Prayer: Prayer connects us with God's will & His miracles, thereby changing us & helping others. Wayne Watson lyrics, “When God's people pray, there is hope reborn, there is sin forgiven, and miracles you can't explain await!” 'If you pray that God will move a mountain and He doesn’t, assume Christ wants you to climb it instead & see Him.'

* 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 lie as you wish' Blessed Mother Teresa. Prayer to End Abortion.

* Evangelization: Let's make room for non-believers (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 live out the Good News and gladly tell others about it (Mark 16:15)!

James 3:17-18 (wisdom, weakness)

* 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 (livingfaith.com).

The wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace. James 8:17-18

Living Faith snippets: "I found God calling me to advocate on behalf of others who felt voiceless [i.e. the unborn!]. I do not thrive on conflict. I've spent much of my life avoiding it. Why, I wondered, would God call me to such contentious work? As I prayed about it, God seemed to be saying that those qualities that I thought disqualified me were precisely the ones he was looking for." by Mark Mossa

Pat nuggets:

* Weakness: Last Wed, I shared this snippet..."Einstein dismissed the idea of God as the product of human weakness and the Bible as "pretty childish."" While praying about this on a run, it occurred to me that Einstein's conclusion unintentionally pointed to wisdom from above. God makes it clear that we must approach Him in our weakness and as His children (trusting and obedient)...allowing us to see God (God sightings). "At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children" (Matt 11:25). "Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matt 19:14). God is able to help us in our weakness. "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:9-10).

* Our Great Commission goal: "He said to them [us], "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15). Please consider making a commitment each week to invite at least one friend or family member to join the LIFE Devotions group, providing routine spiritual connection and strength.

ProLife: Last Thurs, the national campaign director of 40 Days for Life, Dave Bereit, gave a talk in Washington, D.C. entitled: "Pro-Life 2.0: Exciting New Developments to Help End Abortion in America." In the one hour talk, he explored the major trends that leveraged the growth and impact of 40 Days for Life, and how we can use these trends for our ProLife work. He started with a ~15 min summary on the impact of 40 Days for Life (impressive!) and then discussed the trends: Return to God, Bottom Up Empowerment, Collaborative Multiplication, Decentralization of the Media, Shift in Organizational Model, Change of Attitude (expect victory). Hear talk at www.40daysforlife.com/blog/audio/prolife2.mp3.

Our Prayers: Abortion, our enemies, our troops, China earthquake, Myanmar cyclone, depression/despair, Kay Castle (crimes against children), Vicki Miller (cancer treatment), Pam McGushin (Cindy's cancer treatment), Tom Tenpenny (Anna's cancer treatment), Dale Sundermann (strength for his Mom), Jenny Senour (ProLife job interview)
* New: Please pray for my niece Shantelle (severely misguided by the world).

Faith Quote: "Show that Christians aren't necessarily pharisees (only praying in public for show) but rather two-fisted Christ warriors who pray on one hand and DO on the other." by Teresa Perdue (LIFE Devotions group member)
* If you have an inspiring faith quote, please send it to me for sharing in the devotion.

Through Christ for ProLife,
Pat
Phil 4:13
life-devotions.blogspot.com

* Today's Bible readings at www.usccb.org/nab/today.shtml.
* Prayer: If you have a prayer request, simply send it to our distribution list at life-group-distro@googlegroups.com. Prayer connects us with God's will & His miracles, thereby changing us & helping others. Wayne Watson, “When God's people pray, there is hope reborn, there is sin forgiven, and miracles you can't explain await!” "If you pray that God will move a mountain and He doesn’t, assume Christ wants you to climb it instead & see Him."
* Defend the unborn: ProLife websites at life-devotions.blogspot.com. '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. Click for Prayer to End Abortion.
* Share the Good News: Let's joyfully live out the Good News and gladly tell others about it (Mark 16:15)! Let's make room to share with non-believers (be a friend, make a friend, lead your friend to Christ)...and work on perpetual re-evangelization of ourselves and those close to us (Western culture), drawing closer to God's will by way of daily prayer (relationship) and following Christ's example of selfless love, mercy, and service...

Fri, 29 Feb (Mark 12:34)

* Welcome God every morning by reading the Living Faith devotional before work (~1 min). Order at http://www.livingfaith.com/.

No one dared to ask [Jesus] any more questions. Mark 12:34

Living Faith snippets: "In moments of honesty, we will all admit to dismissing many of Jesus' words. The sayings about hating our very selves, or not calling someone a fool, or taking no heed for tomorrow, or letting the dead bury the dead, or lending to those who cannot repay, or resisting not evil...[these sayings] so powerfully assault common sense that we do not entertain them. The gospels...conflict with the conventional understandings and preferred ways of behaving. But if listening to Jesus leads to greater life and love, then the "letting go" will be done in joy." by John Shea

40 DAYS FOR LIFE (until 16 Mar): This is a unified Christian campaign to prevent the destruction of abortion (babies, families, abortionists) with an around the clock, 40 day prayer vigil at abortion clinics nation-wide. Learn about efforts in your area and sign up for the daily updates at http://www.40daysforlife.com/. "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you" (Jer 1:5)..."you knit me together in my mother's womb" (Ps 139:13).

* Please share your experiences with defending the unborn (abortion clinic prayer vigils, ministering to abortionists, etc) and helping post-abortion families heal.

Pat's Nuggets: "I discovered a prolife resource website on the back of a prayer card given to me by Stephanie Kemp at the abortion clinic prayer vigil: www.hli.org/web_resources_links.html#2. This link has a large list of categorized prolife websites. Here is the prayer on the card, "Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen." (www.hli.org/st_michael_prayer.html)

Through Christ For Life,

Pat

Phil 4:13

* Daily Bible readings at www.usccb.org/nab/today.shtml

* LIFE Devotions blog at life-devotions.blogspot.com: Sign up to add your profile and comment at LIFE Devotions. Comment to the entire distro by replying to this email.

* LIFE Prayers blog at life-prayers.blogspot.com: Sign up to post/comment at LIFE Prayers. Prayer connects us with God's will & His miracles, thereby changing us & helping others (so let's pray daily!).

* Sr. Francelle Devotions at sisterfrancelle.blogspot.com.

* Let's joyfully live out the Good News and gladly tell others about it (Mark 16:15)!