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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Be under obligation to no one

– the only obligation you have is to love one another.

Whoever does this has obeyed the Law.

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The commandments,

“Do not commit adultery;

do not commit murder;

do not steal;

do not desire what belongs to someone else”

– all these, and any others besides, are summed up in the one command,

“Love your neighbour as you love yourself.”

.

If you love others, you will never do them wrong;

to love, then, is to obey the whole Law.

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– Romans 13:8-10 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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Be under obligation to no one

– the only obligation you have is to love one another.

Love is a debt which can never be discharged.

We should feel that we owe this love to all people,

and though by acts of kindness we may be constantly discharging it,

yet we should feel that it can never be fully met

because there is always the opportunity to do good.

.

When one commits adultery,

when one steals,

when one desires what belongs to someone else,

when one murders,

one is also breaking Christ’s new commandment: “to love one another” (Jn 13:34).

.

Christ also commands us: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Mat 22:39)

The crux of the matter is, do we really care,

or do we simply love ourselves too much

to actually bother about truly loving others

or about disobeying God’s Law?

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PRAYER…

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My Lord and my God,

I pray

that I will not judge others

but, rather, love them like You love me.

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Grant, O Lord,

that I will never love myself

more than I love You,

and more than I love others.

Grant also that I will always shy away from breaking Your commandments

in the realisation that doing so is always an act of utter selfishness,

in complete disregard of the consequences

and of Your love for me.

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Lord, let love steer me away from sin.

Grant me self-control,

help me always love others earnestly and with a pure heart,

and give me a great desire to obey Your Laws.

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Lord,

may all I say, and do and think

reflect my deep love for You.

.

Amen.

.

.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, let love steer me away from sin.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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When Jesus had been baptised,

just as He came up from the water,

suddenly the heavens were opened to Him

and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him.

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And a voice from heaven said,

“This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

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– Matthew 3:16-17 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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The mystery of the Holy Trinity is revealed in the baptism of Jesus:

the Son is baptised;

the Holy Spirit descends on Him in the form of a dove;

and the voice of the Father gives testimony about His Son.

.

Christians must be baptized in the name of the three divine persons.

"If you have sincere piety,

the Holy Spirit will descend on you also

and you will hear the voice of the Father saying to you from above:

‘This was not my child,

but now after Baptism he has been made my child"‘ (St Cyril of Jerusalem)

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.

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QUOTE…

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“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.”

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– Isaiah 42:1

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PRAYER…

.

Lord God, my Heavenly Father,

thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit

which You so generously gave me

through Your Son our Lord Jesus Christ.

.

As I open my heart to You, O Lord,

please renew it once again

and make me whole,

that I may be made worthy of becoming Your child

as I strive to learn from and become more like Your beloved Son, Jesus.

.

Come O God,

You are welcome in my heart.

Come Holy Spirit,

and work in me.

.

Amen.

.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Come Holy Spirit, work in me and renew me.

.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;
He brought me into a spacious place.
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?

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– Psalm 118:5-6 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

.

Nothing is more proper,

more natural for the believer,

than to call out to the Lord when in distress.

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Sometimes we feel pressured,

pressed on every side;

unable to move freely,

chained, weighed down.

.

Then we stop…and call upon Him…with faith,

and He comes and gives us space,

enough space to let us move freely again in His love.

.

Suddenly, with Him by our side,

obstructions are surmountable

and pain is bearable, almost forgotten.

.

Yes, when we trustingly call upon the Lord,

we will no longer be afraid;

we are encouraged;

we regain our sense of freedom.

.

.

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PRAYER…

.

You, O Lord, are my shepherd,

and I know that because of You I lack nothing,

because of Your love for me I can face anything,

I know that You will help me through.

.

You are my Breath of Life, O God, my Reviver

and You make me lie down in green pastures,

You lead me beside quiet waters,

You refresh my soul.

.

You are my Light, Lord,

and even when I feel that I am walking through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

You reassure me;

You comfort me.

.

Thank You for Your love, O gracious God.

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Amen.

.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, You are with me – and I am not afraid..

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TODAY’S WORD…

.

Just as He who called you is Holy, so be holy in all you do;

for it is written: “Be holy, because I am Holy.”

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– 1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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As God’s people, living on this side of the cross,

we have been cleansed from our sin.

The sacrifice of Jesus has made us clean in the sight of God.

We have been made holy through Jesus,

and we can interact with God because of this great gift.

.

But what does living a holy life involve?

Because we have been made holy, we need to act like we’re holy.

We are to be set apart from the world.

.

We are to hate sin and steer clear of sinful situations.

We are to honour God with our every breath

– with whatever we do and say and think.

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We need to be devout in our walk;

devoted to the things of God;

obedient to His commands;

constant in our faith…and loyal.

.

Being holy means being set apart…for God.

.

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PRAYER…

.

Come Holy Spirit,

give me wisdom.

.

Come Holy Spirit,

give me joy.

.

Come Holy Spirit,

give me patience.

.

Come Holy Spirit,

give me peace.

.

Come Holy Spirit,

make me loving.

.

Come Holy Spirit,

make me pure.

.

Come Holy Spirit,

make me strong.

.

Come Holy Spirit,

make me kind.

.

Come Holy Spirit,

make me holy.

.

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[*]

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

Come Holy Spirit, make me holy.

.

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TODAY’S WORD…

.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…

For where your treasure is,

there your heart will be also.”

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– Matthew 6:19-21 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

.

Our hearts yearns for a treasure which will give us security and happiness.

However, every treasure in the form of earthly goods – wealth, property –

becomes a constant source of worry,

because there is always the risk we will lose it

or because the effort to protect it is such a strain.

.

Jesus teaches us

that our true treasure lies in good works and an upright life,

which will be eternally rewarded by God in Heaven.

.

That indeed is a treasure which one never loses,

the treasure on which we should put our hearts.

.

.

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PRAYER…

.

Lord Jesus,

please change the way I view the world.
Grant me a strong desire to accumulate treasure in heaven

– treasure that comes from living my life to the full…for You

– treasure that can never be lost or destroyed.

.

Grant that I will truly love You with all my heart, mind, soul and strength,

and that this love guides all the decisions in my life

and is reflected in pure love and care for all others.

.

For this I pray with all my heart. Amen.

.

.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, Heaven is where I wish my treasure to be!

.

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TODAY’S WORD…

.

Seek good, not evil,

that you may live.

Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,

just as you say He is.

.

– Amos 5:14 (NIV)

.

.

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REFLECTION…

.

This is such a simple but clear call to conversion,

directed at us all.

.

We often need to look inside ourselves

to realise and admit

that in our, sometimes blind, efforts

to satisfy our ego and our yearnings,

we so often seek that which is not good for our soul.

.

If we truly believe that God is with us,

then we should forever seek what is good,

because we ought to be very well aware

that it is only in what is good that we will find God

…and truly live!

.

.

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PRAYER…

.

I believe in You, O Lord,

and my soul yearns for You,

yet I am weak and selfish

…and foolish enough

to sometimes seek what clearly goes against Your Truth.

.

Lord, I want to truly live

with You in my heart.

Come Lord, and cleanse me;

strengthen my resolve to always honour You;

and fill me with life,

and with Your love, joy and peace.

.

I love You Lord.

Forgive me Lord.

Renew me Lord.

.

Amen.

.

.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

I love You Lord.

Forgive me Lord.

Renew me Lord.

.

.

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TODAY’S WORD…

.

And those who sincerely love God will rejoice..

– Tobit 14:7 (JB)

.

.

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REFLECTION…

.

How can we acknowledge God

and claim to love Him

if we find no joy inside us when we stop and reflect on this great grace?

.

If we do not rejoice at knowing that God is with us always

and that He so loves us,

then we, clearly, do not really love Him in the way we should,

and we must be loving ourselves more than we love Him..

.

.

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PRAYER…

.

Lord God, I love You,

You know that I love You.

But I am weak, Lord,

and I can be very selfish and self-centered.

.

Forgive me Lord,

for whenever I remove my focus from You,

and concentrate instead on myself

and on my desires, my hurts,

my preoccupations and ambitions.

.

Send Your Holy Spirit, O Lord,

to prompt me and to counsel me

when I am lost in myself,

and to help me turn the eyes of my heart on to You.

.

I know that You love me, Lord,

and in a manner which is beyond my understanding

and which I can never emulate.

.

I know that You are always right by my side, O God,

and I pray that I will never seek to push You aside

because without You I am nothing,

and with You I lack nothing.

That is why I love You, Lord,

and my heart rejoices in You!

.

Amen.

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

I love You

and I rejoice in You, O Lord!

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

So think clearly and exercise self-control.

Look forward to the gracious salvation

that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.

.

So you must live as God’s obedient children.

Don’t slip back into your old ways

of living to satisfy your own desires.

You didn’t know any better then.

.

– 1 Peter 1:13-14 (NLT)

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.

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REFLECTION…

.

We need to control our feelings and inclinations

if we are to walk with joy along the route

which will take us to the glorious coming of the Lord at the end of time.

.

When I get to know Christ,

I become conscious of my selfish tendencies

and very aware of all that was missing in my heart,

and foolishly rejected by my intellect

before I welcomed Him in.

.

.

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PRAYER…

.

Jesus, thank You for coming into my heart.

Thank You for Your incredible patience with me

and for having so faithfully waited for me to come to my senses

and to focus on You

rather than on myself.

.

Lord, grant that I will always look at You as my mentor;

that I will always do as You ask;

that I will forever trust in You;

that I will never forget how empty I was without You in my life.

.

Lord, lead me

and help me focus on You

and on life everlasting in Your glorious presence.

.

Amen.

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

Jesus, lead me to my salvation.

.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms

because we are united with Christ.

.

Even before He made the world, God loved us

and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.

God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family

by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ.

This is what He wanted to do,

and it gave Him great pleasure.

.

So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out

on us who belong to His dear Son.

.

– Ephesians 1:3-6 (NLT)

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QUOTES…

.

"He who does good with his hands praises the Lord,

and he who confesses the Lord with his mouth praises the Lord.

Praise Him by your actions."

.

– St. Augustine

.

.

"If God has honoured us with countless gifts

it is thanks to His love, not to our merits.

Our fervour, our strength, our faith and our unity

are the fruit of God’s benevolence

and our response to His goodness"

.

– St. John Chrysostom

.

.

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PRAYER…

.

Almighty, true and incomparable God,

I thank You for every spiritual blessing You have given me.

.

I thank You, Lord, for having chosen me

to be holy and blameless before You in love.

.

I thank You for having destined me

for adoption as Your child through Christ Jesus.

.

I thank You for the glorious grace

You freely bestow upon me through Your beloved Son Jesus Christ.
.

You, Lord God of love and peace and joy,

are known to all of us who seek You with hope and love,

and for this grace I praise and thank You with all my heart.

.

Grant, Lord, that, with the help of Your grace,

I may be made worthy of Your promise.
.

Amen.

.

.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

Lord of love and peace and joy,

I praise You for Your glorious grace.

.

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TODAY’S WORD…

.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

.

And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

.

– Micah 6:8 (NIV)

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.

.

REFLECTION…

.

True religion is not only a matter of formal religious worship.

.

If I truly acknowledge the Lord as my God,

then I will love Him

and I will want to honour Him

by following His teachings

and obeying His commandments.

.

God wants those who love Him

to practice justice

and be always lovingly merciful towards others.

And we can only be so if we are humble

like Jesus was humble.

.

.

.

PRAYER…

.

O Lord, my God,

I so want to honour You.

.

I know what You want from me, Lord,

and I pray that I will always demonstrate my love for You

by obeying Your commands,

and by loving and respecting others,

even those who do not show the same sentiments towards me.

.

Grant, sweet Jesus,

that I will always be humble;

never judgemental;

and forever forgiving

just like You were from Your Holy Cross.

.

Amen.

.

.

.

REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

.

Lord, I know what You want from me

– please help me be more like You.

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