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

TODAY’S WORD…

“May it be Your will that we follow You wholeheartedly, since those who put their trust in You will not be disappointed.”

– Daniel 3:40

REFLECTION…

“May it be Your will that we follow You wholeheartedly…” Of course it is God’s will for us to follow Him – it couldn’t be otherwise! However, He does leave it up to each one of us to decide whether to do His will or not. Once we place our trust in Him, and obey His Commandments and follow His Son’s teachings, we will never be disappointed…but, we must follow Him wholeheartedly and never half-heartedly.

Even in those darker moments, where God seems to have forgotten us and left us all by ourselves, we must press on confident of the unfailing love of He who is our Heavenly Father, He who is our Loving Creator.

PRAYER…

Lord God, Heavenly Father, I want to do Your will!

Thank You for showing me the way, through Your Divine Word.

Thank You for Your Beloved Son, Jesus – my teacher, my mentor, my Saviour.

Thank You for Your Holy Spirit – my Consoler, Counselor and Sanctifier,

always by my side, strengthening my resolve to love as Jesus loved.

Father, my God, my King, I place my trust in You.

Help me do Your will.

Amen.

TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus said, “Anyone who drinks the water that I shall give will never be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will turn into a spring inside him, welling up to eternal life.”

– John 4:14

REFLECTION…

The person whose only concern is seeking joy in wealth and pleasures, is never truly satisfied – that person always thirsts for more. But, if we drink from the water that Jesus gives us, we shall be satisfied. The living water that Jesus gives us is His own teaching; His grace; His spirit.

When we drink from the water that Jesus gives us, we shall be satisfied – satisfied with the grace of Christ and its pure and rich joys. The grace of Christ shall be in our heart, and there shall be a constant supply, an unfailing fountain from which we will gladly give to others.

We will no longer yearn inconsolably for the pleasures and amusements of this world. We will be cleansed of our selfishness…and this will be forever and eternal, in this world, and in the world to come.

PRAYER…

Jesus, Fountain of Living Water,

quench my deep thirst for love and joy and peace.

Change me through Your sanctifying grace.

Send Your Spirit to dwell in me

and to wash me clean and fill me with Your love.

Quench my thirst, Lord, and make me a well of living water.

Fill me till I overflow

…so that I can share Your precious grace with others.

Come, Lord, fill me. Amen.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus said, “But the hour will come – in fact it is here already – when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: that is the kind of worshipper the Father wants. God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth.”

– John 4:23-24

REFLECTION…

We pray because we wish to be with God, to commune with Him. We wish to hear His voice and to gaze upon His loveliness. To behold God in His beauty fills us with awe, reverence, and exultant joy! Is it any wonder, therefore, that praise often breaks out into singing, and playing music, and raising loud shouts to God!

When we worship God we praise, adore, extol, magnify, glorify, thank and bless Him for all that He has done for us.  When we worship God we acknowledge Him for who He truly is – the Almighty One, the Everlasting Lord, the Eternal Father, King and Ruler of all that He has made!

True worship is marked by reverence and awe of God, and when we pray and worship in the Spirit we cannot remain silent for too long because the Spirit of God fills us with jubilation and tongues of praise and, with our whole body, we express our praise and worship of God!

There is no greater service we can give Him now than to praise Him with all of our heart, mind, will, and strength. Our joy and sure hope is the promise of Jesus that we will see God face to face and worship Him for all eternity.

[Sourced from a reflection by Don Schwager]

QUOTE…

“To sing to God is to pray twice!”  –  St. Augustine

PRAYER…

O Lord, my God, I worship and adore You!

TODAY’S WORD…

My soul, give thanks to the Lord

all my being, bless His Holy Name.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord

and never forget all His blessings.

– Psalm 103:1-2

REFLECTION…

God is worthy of all the praise and adoration which we, in our entirety, can give. Our “soul” – our heart, our mind – must be allowed the privilege of praising God. To do otherwise, is to tear the soul away from its Maker and this produces an emptiness which ‘evil’ will greedily and cunningly rush in to fill.

We must never forget all the blessings we have received – to do so is inviting and feeding depression, or justifying antagonism towards all that is good and holy. If we are steadfast in our faith we will eventually, and always, find that all which God has done, however dark and mysterious it may have appeared at the time, will have been connected with our own good. This is why we trust in Him who loves us so This is why we must always and under every circumstance give Him thanks and praise!

PRAYER…

My Lord, my God, my Maker,

I acknowledge You and praise You

and bless You and thank You

for all that You have done and still do in my life.

My heart, my mind, my body, my soul

– all recognise and acknowledge You,

because they come from You,

and they never want to be separated from You.

Lord, I give You my heart, my mind, my body, my soul.

My entire being is Yours, O Lord. Take control.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

Even though the fig trees have no fruit

and no grapes grow on the vines,

even though the olive crop fails

and the fields produce no grain,

even though the sheep all die

and the cattle stalls are empty,

I will still be joyful and glad,

because the Lord God is my saviour.

The Sovereign Lord gives me strength.

He makes me sure-footed as a deer

and keeps me safe on the mountains.

– Habakkuk 3:17-19

REFLECTION…

There are times in our lives when everything seems to be going wrong. There are times in our lives where nothing appears to be working out according to our plans. There are times in our lives which bring us close to despair.

Those are the times when true faith and trust in God will shine through – more than ever. Those are the times when a heart, though burdened, remains full of hope and full of love for the Lord. Those are the times when a believer will shout out, “I will still be joyful and glad, because the Lord God is my saviour. The Sovereign Lord gives me strength. He makes me sure-footed…and keeps me safe…”

PRAYER…

My Lord and my God, Your will be done.

My loving Saviour, in good times and in bad, I will rejoice in You!

.

TODAY’S WORD…

Happy are those

who reject the advice of evil people,

who do not follow the example of sinners

or join those who have no use for God.

Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the Lord,

and they study it day and night.

They are like trees that grow beside a stream,

that bear fruit at the right time,

and whose leaves do not dry up.

They succeed in everything they do.

– Psalm 1:1-3

REFLECTION…

Just like a tree, we need nourishment, and our prime source of spiritual nourishment is Jesus – – He provides all that we need to grow, to prosper, and to bear fruit.

There is an important difference between trees and us Christians – whereas trees cannot choose for themselves where to be planted, in our case, we are left free to decide. That is why it is so sad to see Christians, who were originally “planted” by the True Source of Life, taking a conscious decision and moving away.

PRAYER…

My Lord and Maker, You are the True Source of Life.

You have caused me to be like a tree planted and tended beside a sure river.

You are that River, Lord, and my roots go deep down into You.

I am confident, Lord,

that if there is drought all around me,

I will not wilt, I will not faint.

You sustain me, Lord, in every circumstance.

Lord, I seek Your instruction, which is true, vibrant and life-giving.

I have chosen to have You give direction to my life.

You, Lord, and no one else…nothing else.

Thank You, Lord, for Your Water of Life that never runs dry.

Thank You.  Amen.

TODAY’S WORD…

You are my refuge.

Into your hand I commit my spirit;

You have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.

– Psalm 31:4-5

REFLECTION…

In God, we Christians find all the shelter and protection we need – He is loving and steadfast, He is a faithful God. The true believer totally trusts his or her soul to God, through thick and thin, in good times and in bad.

God has redeemed us, through Jesus. God has purchased our freedom. Jesus paid the price for our release from sin and its consequences – His death was in exchange for our life.

PRAYER…

O Lord God of truth,

always true to Your promises,

always steadfast in Your love

– in You, I shall trust

My Lord, my Redeemer,

by the power of Your Holy Blood

You saved me and gave me life

– in You I shall safely seek shelter.

I adore you, O Christ, and I praise You,

because by Your Holy Cross You have rescued me.

My Lord, my Redeemer, I adore You and I praise You!  Amen.

TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus warned, “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

– Matthew 23:12

REFLECTION…

A spirit of pride and ambition is incompatible with being a disciple of Christ.

Our Lord stresses the need for true humility, for anyone who is to follow Him. “All who exalt themselves will be humbled”…they are unacceptable in the sight of God. “All who humble themselves will be exalted”…not necessarily in this world, but certainly in the world to come.

QUOTES…

“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble”    –  James 4:6

“Humility is the source and foundation of every kind of virtue; it is the door by which all God-given graces enter; it is what seasons all our actions, making them so valuable and so pleasing to God.  … for God has never been able to resist a humble heart”    –  The Curé of Ars

PRAYER…

Lord, from the desire of being esteemed, deliver me.

TODAY’S WORD…

Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

– Luke 6:38

REFLECTION…

Giving…is loving…but only when we expect nothing in return. Not judging or condemning…is loving. Forgiving…is loving.

Loving…is caring and being merciful and kind. Loving…is giving generously from the heart.

When Jesus tells us that “the measure you give will be the measure you get back”, He is encouraging us to give with all our hearts, and promising that however much we gladly give in this life, God will use the same measure in life eternal, only giving us more, much more…because God cannot be outdone in generosity.

PRAYER…

Lord Jesus, help me love like You love; give like You give!

TODAY’S WORD…

With God on our side who can be against us?

– Romans 8:31

REFLECTION…

God is with us, He is always by our side.

With God on our side who can be against us? This is a cry expressing confidence and optimism, despite the many problems and sufferings we may face. It is firmly based on our acceptance that we are children of a loving Divine Father. This illustrates the difference in attitude between the one who lives life as if he does not have a home and the one who is secure in his father’s love and heart.

He who has loved us from all eternity and who did not hesitate to have His own Son die for our salvation, will ensure that those who do His will shall emerge unscathed and victorious from all attacks, dangers and sufferings.

If we let His will be done, request His loving protection, and entrust ourselves entirely into His hands, nothing that happens to us will ever separate us from the Lord!

PRAYER…

Father, I love You,

I praise You and adore You

and I glorify Your Name.

I am Your child and You are my God.

Abba, I entrust my entire self into Your loving and caring hands,

and ask You to fill me with joyful hope,

and with faith, strength and determination to do Your will,

because I want nothing and no one to ever separate me from Your love.

Thank You, Father, thank You for Your love.