A LAMP TO MY FEET. A LIGHT FOR MY PATH.

TODAY’S WORD…

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,

and rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is near to the broken-hearted,

and saves the crushed in spirit.

– Psalm 34:17-18

REFLECTION…

What really identifies the just and righteous person is sincere repentance and humble recourse to God. The Lord always comes to the rescue of those who call out to Him. He will act in accordance to what is, ultimately, best for us to achieve everlasting life in His Heavenly Kingdom – but only if we allow Him to.

PRAYER…

Faithful God, touch my life with Your healing grace.

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TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus said, “How can you believe, since you look to one another for approval and are not concerned with the approval that comes from the one God?”

– John 5:44

REFLECTION…

Jesus is still saying this today, very much so! There is a growing number of “Christians” who are drawn towards a way of life which certainly does not have God’s approval but which, unfortunately, is becoming the accepted norm in today’s society. So many “Christians” choose to reinterpret God’s Commandments as they insist that their circumstances are particular and that God will surely understand. They then look to the permissive world for approval…and, of course, they will get it!

God, our Creator, gave us full freedom to choose, and the world, under the pretext of so-called human rights and liberties, claims to do the same. The world’s “Thou Shalt Nots” are purely legalistic and often formulated through opportune and egoistical compromise. God, on the other hand, knows exactly what is or is not good for us, and His “Thou Shalt Nots” do not reflect approval nor consensus – they only reflect love and are the key to life everlasting.

God, simply loves us so much, that He just does not want to see us get lost forever. That is why Jesus is challenging us, in case our own lifestyle may indicate that we “are not concerned with the approval that comes from the one God.”

PRAYER…

My Lord and my God,

make me always look at You for approval,

and help me always do Your will.

My Lord and my God,

help me never, under any circumstance, compromise with Your Commandments.

Help me love in the way You love.

Help me guide and be guided by Your promise of life everlasting

and not by the short-lived justification of the now.

For this I pray with all my heart. Amen.

TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus said, “I tell you most solemnly, whoever listens to My words, and believes in the One who sent Me, has eternal life.”

– John 5:24

REFLECTION…

Through accepting Christ, through accepting His word we are freed from condemnation and we gain eternal life. Whatever Jesus Christ says is divine revelation; therefore, accepting Jesus’ words is equivalent to believing in God the Father. Jesus emphasises this when He tells us, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me, but in Him who sent Me.” (John 12:44)

If we have faith we are on the way to eternal life. But, in order to be saved, we must stay firm in the faith and live up to its demands. That is why it makes sense to strive, with the help of grace, to live a life consistent with the faith; consistent with Jesus’ teachings.

QUOTE…

“If men go to so much trouble and effort to live here a little longer, ought they not strive so much harder to live eternally?”     –  St. Augustine

PRAYER…

I believe in You, my Lord Jesus,

and Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

Lord, I choose eternity with You over everything else.

Stop me from ever choosing darkness over Your light.

Teach me how to truly love.

Guide me to remove all my egoism, selfishness and greed,

and to determinedly avoid the trappings of a world

which seems to be doing all it can to lead me away from You.

Lord, I choose eternity with You over everything else.  Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus said, “By this love you have for one another, everyone will know you are My disciples.”

– John 13:35

REFLECTION…

“By this love you have for one another, everyone will know you are My disciples.”  Will they? Will everyone, Christian or otherwise, truly recognise me as a true believer and follower of Christ because of the way I act towards them or how they see me treat others?

Do I truly love all others, and not just the ones who love me back or the ones I can benefit from? Do I snub others? Do I…discriminate against others by race and colour, religion, social or economic background? Do I engage in hurtful and harmful gossip? Do I give willingly from what I have, from my time, from myself to others? Do I have enough true love inside of me to give from it to others? Does my “charity” begin and stay at home? It is selfishness, and lack of true love which leads me to argue: “Why should I complicate my life? I have more than enough to do just looking after myself and my own problems!”

If what I have in me is true love – true Christian love – then I will know it, because I will find myself gladly sharing it with all others. If I find myself lacking in that love, then I need to humbly immerse myself in that River of Love which is Christ…and He will fill me till I willingly and lovingly overflow on to others!

PRAYER…

Lord Jesus,

O Love Personified,

O River of Love,

teach me how to love like You love.

Forgive and remove all my selfishness, Lord,

and fill me with Your love.

Teach me, Lord, how to be compassionate

and how to truly love and listen to and give to others

as You so generously do with me.

Amen.

TODAY’S WORD…

I will sing of the LORD’s unfailing love forever!

Young and old will hear of Your faithfulness.

Your unfailing love will last forever.

Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.

– Psalm 89:1-2

SONG…and PRAYER…

I could sing of Your love forever!

To watch and listen to, and also sing this glorious song of praise to the Almighty, please click on this box >>

The following are the song’s lyrics – sing them as a prayer!

Over the mountains and the sea
Your river runs with love for me
And I will open up my heart
And let the Healer set me free
I’m happy to be in the truth
And I will daily lift my hands
For I will always sing
Of when Your love came down

I could sing of Your love forever
I could sing of Your love forever
I could sing of Your love forever
I could sing of Your love forever

Oh I feel like dancing
It’s foolishness I know
But when the world has seen the light
They will dance with joy like we’re dancing now

I could sing of Your love forever
I could sing of Your love forever
I could sing of Your love forever
I could sing of Your love forever

[song by Martin Smith, sung by Hillsong]

TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

– John 3:16

REFLECTION…

“For God so loved the world…”

What Grace!

What Great Love!

What a Great God!

“that He gave His only Son…”

What Great Kindness!

What a Great Sacrifice!

What a Great Son!

“so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish…”

What a Great Revelation!

What Great Mercy!

What a Great Opportunity!

“but may have eternal life.”

What Glory!

What Great Benevolence!

What a Great Future!

God created us, He redeemed us, He loves us with an amazing love! He waits for us – every day – as eagerly as the father of the prodigal son did. He wants us with Him. He wants us to respond to Him with all our love. How precious we must be to Him!

But He made us free…and the choice is ours alone.

PRAYER…

Father in Heaven, thank You for Your great love, mercy and grace!

Father, I want to love You in return,

I want to do Your will,

I want to obey Your Commandments

so that, with the help of Your grace, I may earn eternal life with You.

Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

“Let us set ourselves to know the Lord; that He will come is as certain as the dawn; He will come to us as showers come, like spring rains watering the earth.”

– Hosea 6:3

REFLECTION…

As Christians, we may know of the Lord and we may sometimes pray and even attend Sunday Mass, but do we do it simply out of tradition, habit, or even superstition? Many Christians simply pay lip service to God – they express their respect, but they don’t act on their words, so the respect is hollow and empty.

Our God is an awesome God, but to realise this and truthfully proclaim it, we need to get to know Him and truly welcome Him into our lives. We really get to know the Lord through saturating ourselves with His Word; through living the Gospel; through gladly observing the Sacraments.

That is how God really comes to life in our heart, and to us He will be as welcome as the fresh rain which brings back life to an arid land.

PRAYER…

My Lord, my God, I yearn to know You more.

Quench my thirst, Lord.

I need You, Lord, for You are my sustenance;

You quench my thirst for the truth;

You dispel the aridity of my soul and bring it back to life.

Lord, please never stop soaking my heart with Your water of life.

Amen.

TODAY’S WORD…

One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to Him, “Which is the first of all the Commandments?” Jesus replied, “This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

– Mark 12:28-31

REFLECTION…

Our Lord points out that the whole law can be condensed into two Commandments: the first and more important consists in unconditional love of God; and the second which is a consequence and result of the first, because when we love man we love God, for man is the image of God.

Our Lord establishes, as the guideline for our love of neighbour, the love each of us has for himself or herself. Both love of others and love of self are based on love of God. Love of self – of the right kind – must be based on God’s love for man, and it necessarily involves forgetting oneself in order to love God and to love others for God.

Jesus gave us the perfect example when He forgot “Himself” out of His love for the Father and died on the cross to save us – a supreme act of love for mankind.

PRAYER…

Lord, I want to love with the power of Your love.

TODAY’S WORD…

My child, listen to me and do as I say,

and you will have a long, good life.

I will teach you wisdom’s ways

and lead you in straight paths.

When you walk, you won’t be held back;

when you run, you won’t stumble.

Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go.

Guard them, for they are the key to life.

Don’t do as the wicked do,

and don’t follow the path of evildoers.

Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way.

Turn away and keep moving.

For evil people can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day.

They can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble.

They eat the food of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence!

The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,

which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.

But the way of the wicked is like total darkness.

They have no idea what they are stumbling over.

My child, pay attention to what I say.

Listen carefully to my words.

Don’t lose sight of them.

Let them penetrate deep into your heart,

for they bring life to those who find them,

and healing to their whole body.

Guard your heart above all else,

for it determines the course of your life.

Avoid all perverse talk;

stay away from corrupt speech.

Look straight ahead,

and fix your eyes on what lies before you.

Mark out a straight path for your feet;

stay on the safe path.

Don’t get side-tracked;

keep your feet from following evil.

– Proverbs 4:10-27

QUOTE…

“There are two paths – one of life and one of death – but great is the difference between them.”– from the Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles

PRAYER…

Lord, lead me along Your Path of Life.

TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus said, “I have come not to abolish but to complete [the Law and the Prophets]. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved.”

– Matthew 5:17-18

REFLECTION…

This is a strong affirmation by Jesus, that the Law will never be destroyed until it is fulfilled. Jesus stresses the perpetual value of the Old Testament – it is the Word of God, and because it has a divine authority it deserves total respect. Our Lord emphasises that the spirit and substance of the Law, which requires love and obedience to God and love to people, cannot be changed and will last forever.

Jesus gives the moral precepts of the Law, greater weight and meaning, and they still hold good in the New Testament. Jesus completes the Law and the sayings of the Prophets, in us, by giving us the grace to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbour as ourselves.

PRAYER…

Jesus, my Teacher, my Saviour, my Friend,

my Lord and my God,

You have the words of eternal life.

Lord, Your Word is a Lamp to my feet

and a Light for my path.

Lord, Your Law is within my heart,

and I desire to do Your will.

Lord help me.