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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“Be still, and know that I am God!”

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– Psalm 46:10a (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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You pray often and faithfully.

You daily go through your devotional prayers.

You speak to the Lord in prayer,

you praise and thank and plead with Him

because you know that He is listening.

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All good

…but the ultimate scope of prayer, of all manner of praying,

should be to bring us into the presence of God.

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“Be still, and know that I am God!”

In a quiet place, let yourself be still,

and let God be God.

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“Be still, and know that I AM.”

God is the Great “I AM”.

He is the eternal present moment.

God is eternal being.

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“Be still, and know.”

It’s enough to know that we are one with God,

and knowing that…is enough.

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“Be still.”

Contemplation is just sitting in God’s presence,

and letting God’s love transform us.

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“Be.”

There are moments

where God would like us to stop saying and doing and thinking and hoping.

God would like us just to be

…there with Him.

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[Today’s reflection is inspired by an article by Fr. Joseph Breighner]

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Here I am, Lord.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“You are the salt of the earth;

but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?

It is no longer good for anything,

but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.

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– Matthew 5:13 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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All Christians must strive for personal sanctification,

and they also must seek the sanctification of others.

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Jesus teaches us this, using the very expressive simile of salt.

Salt preserves food from corruption;

it also brings out its flavour and makes it more pleasant;

and it disappears into the food.

Christians should do the same among the people around them.

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But if the salt is not looked after, it loses its taste,

it becomes good for nothing

and is thrown away as useless.

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My soul is very much like that salt

and if I don’t look after it and it loses its taste…

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Have mercy on me, Lord, and preserve my soul.

Hear me, O Lord, do not let me be cast away.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

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– Matthew 5:3 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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“The poor in spirit”

are those who realise and accept that they ultimately depend on God;

who place their full trust in God;

and who humbly accept God’s will in everything.

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Job’s spiritual poverty is reflected in his words:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there;

the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;

blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)

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“The poor in spirit”

are those who see themselves as little children in the presence of God,

children who own nothing,

who view everything they have as coming from God

and belonging to God.

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QUOTE…

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“The man poor in spirit

sincerely acknowledges himself to be a spiritual pauper,

having nothing of his own.

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Whoever waits for everything from God’s loving-kindness;

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whoever is convinced that he can neither think, nor desire anything good,

if God will not give the good thought and the good desire,

and that he cannot perform one truly good deed

without the grace of Jesus Christ;

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whoever considers himself to be more sinful, worse, lower than everyone;

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whoever always reproaches himself and judges no one else;

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whoever acknowledges the garment of his soul to be defiled, dark, malodorous, worthless

and does not cease to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to lighten the garment of his soul,

to clothe him in the incorrupt clothing of righteousness;

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whoever unceasingly flees beneath the shelter of God’s wings,

not having safety anywhere in the world besides the Lord;

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whoever considers all his property to be God’s gift

and gives thanks for everything to the Bestower of every good thing

and readily apportions his property to the those in need

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– this is he who is poor in spirit.”

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– John of Kronstadt

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, let me learn from You, for You are gentle and humble in spirit

Make me poor in spirit, Lord; make me more like You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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…the Spirit also comes to help us, weak as we are.

For we do not know how we ought to pray;

the Spirit himself pleads with God for us

in groans that words cannot express.

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And God, who sees into our hearts,

knows what the thought of the Spirit is;

because the Spirit pleads with God on behalf of His people

and in accordance with His will.

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– Romans 8:26-27 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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There are times

when we go before the Lord to spend time with Him

and we find ourselves tongue-tied,

or unable to express ourselves,

or distracted by our many thoughts and problems,

or simply shying away out of a sense of guilt.

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These, as are all occasions when go before the Lord,

are very special moments.

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Whether I am full of enthusiasm and joy,

or else feeling downcast and broken, .

God always knows what’s going on in my heart,

and as I allow the Holy Spirit to move within me,

my focus will move from myself to God,

and my heart will sigh, moan and groan,

and reach out

to Him who is my Lord and my God,

my Maker and my Healer.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Come Holy Spirit, come – move within me and make me whole.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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He died for all,

so that those who live should no longer live for themselves,

but only for Him who died and was raised to life for their sake.

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– 2 Corinthians 5:15 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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We should make Christ and not ourselves,

the reason for our living and for everything that we do.

A Christian’s life should be devoted to Christ.

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Sadly, so many show the worthlessness of their professed faith and love,

by living only themselves and for the world!

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Whatever a Christian does,

it should not be self-centered but Christ-centered.

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Our greatest objective in life should not be our own worldly self-interests,

but we should make Christ the grand purpose of our being.

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We should live by His teachings,

and promote His glory and honour,

taking the Good News to others in tangible ways.

We can do this by loving Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength,

and by loving our neighbour as we love ourselves.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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You are the reason I live, Lord.

Help me live like You lived

and love like You loved.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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A third time Jesus asked Simon Peter,

“Simon son of John, do you love me?”

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Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said,

“Lord, You know everything. You know that I love you.”

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– John 21:17 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Deep inside,

Peter realises why Jesus puts the same question to him three times

– he himself had denied Christ three times during our Lord’s passion.

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After his three denials,

Peter had immediately recognised his big mistake,

and he had “wept bitterly”. (Matt 26:75)

His sorrowful reaction reflected the wretchedness he had felt;

his contrite heart;

his true remorse.

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Peter’s betrayal had therefore been temporary

and, when he is questioned three times by his Master

about his love and faithfulness,

Peter humbly and lovingly places himself entirely in Christ’s hands,

and submits himself fully to His judgement:

“Lord, You know everything. You know that I love you.”

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– – – – – – –

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Will Jesus find in me a contrite heart

and a sincere determination not to carry on denying Him

and not to live contrary to His teachings?

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How many times will Jesus have to ask me if I love Him?

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Will I be able to stand in His glorious presence and declare

“Lord, You know everything. You know that I love you”?

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart You, God, will not despise. (Ps 51:17)

Please forgive me, Lord.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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And who can win this battle against the world?

Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

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– 1 John 5:5 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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A deep Christian faith is the cause of victory,

the means, the instrument, the spiritual armour

by which we overcome being enslaved in some respect or other,

to the Godless customs, opinions, or interests of the world.

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In and by faith, we embrace and cling on to Christ,

in contempt of, and in opposition to the world’s soul-destroying enticements.

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Faith sanctifies the heart,

strengthens it against

and purifies it from

those sensual lusts and devious enticements

by which the world seeks to obtain influence and control over souls.

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Real Christians overcome the world by faith.

With Jesus as our Mentor, we seek to be like Him

and strive to conduct ourselves

and to live

in accordance with His teachings, and His example.

As believers, we understand why we must not surrender to the world

and that we can,

with determination and with the help of God’s grace, overcome.

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What other way is there of conquering the world

and living in God’s Kingdom now?

What other way is there of gaining life everlasting?

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And how can we who believe fail?

Belief in Christ unites us to Him,

and gives us a share in His victories

– and He has overcome the world!

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Holy Spirit of God, come live in me, take over

…and give me strength!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures,

where it says,

‘The stone that you builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.’

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There is salvation in no one else!

God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

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– Acts 4:11-12 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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St. Peter applies the words of Psalm 118:22 to Jesus,

conscious no doubt that our Lord had referred to Himself

as the stone rejected by the builders

which had become the cornerstone

– the stone which keeps the whole structure together.

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Jesus is our cornerstone.

He is the stone upon which we should be building our lives.

He is the heir to the kingdom of heaven

and, by His death,

He has made us heirs to the same kingdom.

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Jesus is the Son of the Living God,

He is our Saviour.

We believe in His words and commands,

we proclaim Him as our King who rules over us through love,

so let us gladly claim His Kingdom!

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Today – as ever – the power of Jesus’ name will work wonders

in the souls of those who call upon Him.

Let us not be afraid to call our Lord by His holy name – Jesus –

and to tell Him that we love Him.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Jesus.

Jesus, my God and Saviour, I love You!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Lord Almighty, how happy are those who trust in You!

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– Psalm 84:12 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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Go before the Lord…as you are,

tell Him that you love Him,

ask Him to forgive you just as you have forgiven others,

renounce all things evil,

embrace His commandments,

give your entire self to Jesus – now and forever,

invite Him into your life,

accept Him as Lord, God and Saviour,

and ask Him to heal and change you

and to strengthen you in body, soul and spirit.

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Follow Jesus every day of your life,

trust in Him

…and He will give you perfect peace, solid comfort and eternal happiness.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord Jesus, I trust in You!

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