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

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

Love is patient and kind.

Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.

It does not demand its own way.

It is not irritable,

and it keeps no record of being wronged.

It does not rejoice about injustice

but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

.

Love never gives up,

never loses faith,

is always hopeful,

and endures through every circumstance.

.

– 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)

.

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

This popular passage is often read at weddings,

where, most unfortunately, it is often received

as just another syrupy and sentimental treatise on love

– although, arguably, the most wonderful ever written.

.

“Wishful thinking!” many would say.

“Not so” says the Spirit,

who so desires us to earnestly call upon Him – frequently and in all circumstances –

and invite Him to come and fill us

with the same love that overflowed from Jesus.

.

Two thousand years later,

the modern definition of love (to so many) seems to be all about passion, attraction, and sexual desire,

and it certainly is not generally regarded as a virtue that should endure every circumstance

…and last forever!

.

The quest for immediate self-satisfaction

cannot live side by side with an unselfish love

that never gives up,

never loses faith,

is always hopeful,

and endures through every circumstance.

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

Come Holy Spirit, and fill me with Your love

– a love

that never gives up,

never loses faith,

is always hopeful,

and endures through every circumstance.

.

Come Holy Spirit, and help me love like Jesus loves.

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

“If you do not stand by Me, you will not stand at all.”

.

– Isaiah 7:9b (JB)

.

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

Lack of faith, lack of trust in the Lord

produces indifference to Him.

.

Do I trust in God sufficiently?

Do I still doubt His love and providence?

.

As a result of the lack of sensitivity

to the wonders of God in our lives,

and as a result of pride and our lack of faith,

we resort to relying on ourselves

and we end up paying a price for our foolishness.

.

The Lord is warning us,

“if you do not stand by Me, you will not stand at all.”

When we do not place our trust in Him

and instead rely only on ourselves – on our impulses and instincts –

then we are only deceiving ourselves.

.

How sad it is to choose not to have God right by my side,

to reject Him as my guide,

and to stubbornly wander off

to where and what He has warned me against.

.

When we do not stand by and trust in the Lord,

and, instead, rely purely on what the world tells us, or on ourselves,

then we are walking in darkness,

and when we get to the edge of the chasm of life,

there will be nobody to stop us from falling…to save us.

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

My Lord, my God, my Shepherd, my Guide!

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

Jesus said,

“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me

is not worthy of me;

anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me

is not worthy of me.

Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me

is not worthy of me.

.

Whoever finds their life will lose it,

and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

.

– Matthew 10:37-39 (NIV)

.

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

There are people who are constantly concerned with themselves

and who act, above all, for their own satisfaction,

avoiding problems and discomfort at any cost.

.

Often and for the same reason,

there are those who are ready to accommodate and appease their loved ones

so as to avoid any negative backlash,

even if it means having to bend their Christian principles

and disregard God’s Law.

.

Endangering our eternal salvation

in our efforts to avoid being unhappy in this life

may sound like folly…and it is…

yet so many seem to be prepared to do it!

.

If, on the other hand, we forget ourselves and give ourselves to God,

and do as He tells us even if it entails suffering and sacrifice,

the Spirit will fill us with true joy,

and give us a wonderful sense of great expectation

of the promised eternal life with Christ.

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

Come Holy Spirit, be my Counsellor,

and sustain me as I go through life following Jesus.

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

Jesus said,

“This is why I speak to [the people] in parables:

.

Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

.

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

.

‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’

.

But blessed are your eyes because they see,

and your ears because they hear.”

.

– Matthew 13:13-16 (NIV)

.

.

.

REFLECTION…

.

Only well-disposed people grasp the meaning of God’s words,

and it is certainly not enough just to hear them physically.

In the course of Jesus’ preaching

the prophetic words of Isaiah come true once again,

and, sadly, they remain true today.

.

Each one of us is at times hard of hearing, hard-hearted and dull-minded

in the presence of God’s grace and saving word.

.

It is not enough to be familiar with Scripture

and with the teaching of the Church.

It is absolutely necessary to put our faith into practice,

with all that it implies

– morally, as well as in the manner in which we live.

.

To obey the Lord’s teachings and His commands

we are called to self-discipline and self-denial.

However so many, so often, harden their hearts,

and prefer not to see or hear the truth

and immediate self-satisfaction becomes the order of the day,

.

It seems that we no longer care about eternal salvation,

if we believe in it at all!

.

In any case, God gives every soul opportunities to meet Him,

and each of us has to be sensitive enough to grasp them

and not let them pass.

.

So, what about me,

what is my attitude, and how am I living my life?

In matters of faith, am I like that proverbial ostrich?

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

Come, Lord Jesus, help me see, hear, and live Your Truth.

Heal my heart and bless me, O God.

.

Read the “Lamp” on-line – click on >> www.alamptomyfeet.org. Share the link with your family and friends.

.

Unsubscribe? Please e-mail ChristTheKingPrayerGroup and write “No thanks” in the subject box.