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

TODAY’S WORD…

God chose that we should receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us; so that, asleep or awake, we should still live with Him.

– 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10

REFLECTION…

“Salvation”, in the New Testament, means being protected from danger and able to live free from anxiety. Salvation comes to us “through our Lord Jesus Christ”. The name Jesus – “God saves” – conveys the mission which Christ attributed to Himself when He said: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Lk 19:10)

Jesus was made man, like us, In every respect. He went through the ups and downs of life like any other, and, having suffered and been tempted, He is able to help those who suffer, and those who are tempted.

Christ is the Saviour. He will give us forgiveness of sins – that was why He “died for us”. Jesus fulfilled the mission entrusted to Him, and died for us in obedience to the Father, to become the source of our eternal salvation.

“So that, asleep or awake, we should still live with Him.” The word “asleep” here means “dead”, and “awake” means “alive”. For us Christians, death is a step which enables us to live with Christ – forever.

PRAYER…

We welcome You among us, O Lord,

knowing full well

that Your Divine Mission is to die for us

so we can, ultimately, be saved.

Thank You, O loving Jesus,

for all You have done and do for me.

Thank You for Your saving grace.

I believe in You, Lord,

and it is through getting to know You

and accepting You as my Lord and God,

that I am filled with this special joy

which only You can bring.

Thank You, Jesus – my Lord and my God –

thank You for giving me life!

TODAY’S WORD…

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.

– John 1:14

A BEAUTIFUL “REFLECTION”…by St John the Evangelist…

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

Through Him all things were made;

without Him nothing was made that has been made.

In Him was life,

and that life was the light of all mankind.

The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it.

The true light that gives light to everyone

was coming into the world.

He was in the world,

and though the world was made through Him,

the world did not recognise Him.

He came to that which was His own,

but His own did not receive Him.

Yet to all who did receive Him,

to those who believed in His name,

He gave the right to become children of God

– children born not of natural descent,

nor of human decision or a husband’s will,

but born of God.

The Word became flesh

and made His dwelling among us.

We have seen His glory,

the glory of the one and only Son,

who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

– John 1:1-5,9-14

QUOTE…

“The great “gift” of the Child of Bethlehem:

He brings us a spiritual energy,

an energy which helps us not to despair in our struggle,

in our hopelessness,

in our sadness,

for it is an energy that warms and transforms the heart.

Indeed, the Birth of Jesus brings us the good news

that we are loved immensely and uniquely by God,

and He not only enables us to know this love,

He also gives it to us,

He communicates it to us!”.

– Pope Francis

PRAYER…

God of love, Father of all,

the darkness that covered the earth has given way to the bright dawn of Your Word made flesh.

We praise and thank You with great joy and hope in our hearts as we behold His glory, and are bathed in His divine radiance.

Lord God, make us a people of this light. Make us faithful to Your Word, that we may bring Your life to the waiting world.

Lord Jesus, Word Divine, You are welcome…in my heart!

.

TODAY’S WORD…

I will sing for ever of Your love, O Lord;

through all ages my mouth will proclaim Your truth.

Of this I am sure, that Your love lasts for ever,

that Your truth is firmly established as the heavens.

– Psalm 89:1-2 (JB)

REFLECTION…

Sing, earnest Christian, sing…for the Lord our God is with us!

Praise, grateful believer, praise…because our Saviour is worthy, ever so worthy!

Worship, humble disciple, worship…for Christ is King and Lord of Lords!

Proclaim, joyful follower, proclaim…that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life,

and that His love lasts for ever!

PRAYER…

Grant, O Lord, that I will let You live in my heart,

that it may be filled with the joy and peace that only You bring.

Lord, I want to sing of Your love – forever and in truth.

Come, Lord Jesus, come!

.

TODAY’S WORD…

Make me to know Your ways, O Lord;

teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth, and teach me,

for You are the God of my salvation;

for You I wait all day long.

– Psalm 25:4-5

REFLECTION…

Such is the prayer that would come from the heart of a person blessed with a personal relationship with Jesus.

This is a true Christian’s constant yearning, to get to know Jesus better; to steadfastly follow His Way; to humbly delve deeper into His beautiful Truth; to acknowledge Him as the Lord, the Giver of Life.

PRAYER…

Make me to know Your ways, O Lord;

teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth, and teach me,

for You are the God of my salvation;

for You I wait all day long.

Show me Your ways that I may walk with You.

Throughout the day, every day, show me, Lord,

teach me, lead me, instruct me, save me.

Show me Your ways, Lord, I put my hope in You!

.

TODAY’S WORD…

“This is the child I prayed for, and the Lord granted me what I asked Him. Now I make him over to the Lord for the whole of his life. He is made over to the Lord.”

– 1 Samuel 1:27-28

REFLECTION…

Hannah’s touching dedication of her beloved son, Samuel, to God is a beautiful act of faith – she offered back to God, what came through Him in the first place.

So many blessings, so many favours, so many gifts received from God, to be recalled with gratitude, and to praise and thank Him for!

In what would be a most loving and totally liberating act of unselfishness, which would fully reflect an utmost faith and trust in God, would I be prepared to humbly entrust back to God all the good that He has given me, all my possessions, all my loved ones?

If we truly have the conviction that God is omnipotent, all knowing and all loving, then we should entrust ourselves, our loved ones, and our future entirely back to Him, so that His will may be done!

PRAYER…

Father, everything comes from You.

I thank You for all Your blessings

and I lift them all up and release them back to You.

O Lord, my God,

You give…and You take away…

and I shall forever praise You and bless You.

Lord, help me and strengthen my faith and trust in You

on those occasions when I cannot understand why You take away.

Thank you, Lord, for all You have given me.

Your will be done!

TODAY’S WORD…

The voice of my beloved! Look, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.

– Song of Songs 2:8

REFLECTION…

That is how the pure and sensitive heart would express itself upon becoming aware that the very special someone who it truly loves is coming.

The excitement; the joy; the heart beating faster; thoughts and emotions racing away; that indescribable feeling of loving expectation being fulfilled!

Just like the little child rushing towards its loving parent – that is exactly how it is with those for whom the Lord is above all.

PRAYER…

My Lord, my God, my Jesus, I love You.

Thank You for touching my heart like You do.

Thank You for the loving attention You give me;

for the great joy that You bring.

Thank You for filling me with hope.

There is none like You, Lord, and my heart knows it!

That is why it beats faster every time I hear Your voice;

every time You speak to me through Your Word:

every time I stop and contemplate on Your nearness.

My Lord, my God, my Jesus, thank You for touching my heart like You do.

Come, Lord Jesus, come!

TODAY’S WORD…

God will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful; by Him you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

– 1 Corinthians 1:8-9

REFLECTION…

The day of our Lord Jesus Christ is the day of the General Judgment when Christ will appear in all His glory, as our Judge. We Christians actively hope that on that Day, we will be found blameless. Our hope comes from the strength that God gives us through His Spirit working within us, and creating in us a pure and contrite heart.

God’s constant love and faithfulness is the basis for our hope, and this fidelity of our Divine Creator finds its fullest expression in the Redemption brought about by Jesus Christ.

Into the fellowship of His Son. We believers participate with Christ: in His feelings and views; in His trials and sufferings, when subjected to temptations and trials similar to His; in His right to the inheritance and glory which awaits Him; in His triumph in the Resurrection and future glory.

God is faithful to His Son; and He will be faithful to all who are united to Jesus.

PRAYER…

Faithful God,

most loving God,

Your love for me knows no bounds.

You sent Your son to live and die for me;

to teach me by His words, His deeds, and His example.

Jesus died for me on the cross,

so that I will be freed, saved and redeemed.

Thank You, Jesus.

Thank You, Almighty Father.

Strengthen me, O Faithful God.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

But our citizenship is in Heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

– Philippians 3:20

REFLECTION…

All of us have a right to Heavenly citizenship, but in order to claim that right we must make continuous efforts to live in a manner worthy of citizens of Heaven.

Jesus came to re-establish our right and to show us the way, and now we who believe are full of hope

in the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in glory.

Christ’s resurrection is the cause of our resurrection, and an essential prerequisite for us to attain resurrection in glory is the effort to be like Jesus in both joy and suffering, in both life and death.

PRAYER…

Most loving Jesus,

most wonderful Lord,

I thank You for coming among us, Your people,

to live like us and to teach us and show us the way back home.

Your glorious victory over death

has made it possible for me to succeed

in my desire to “come home”

once my time on Earth is done.

Lord, please help me pass life’s tests;

help me live the way You want me to;

help me learn from You,

so that I may become more like You

and merit my claim to Heavenly citizenship.

Lord Jesus, thank You for the hope that You bring.

.

TODAY’S WORD…

The night is almost over, it will be daylight soon – let us give up all the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light.

– Romans 13:12

REFLECTION…

Let us prepare for the coming of the Lord. Christ came into the world by His Incarnation; He also comes to souls through grace; and at the end of time He will come as Judge.

Rising like the sun, He dispelled the darkness when He came into the world, and when we let Him into our hearts and allow Him to work in us, He will dispel whatever darkness remains in our souls.

PRAYER…

Come, Jesus, my Lord, You are welcome in my heart.

Come, Jesus, my Lord,

fill me with Your light and lift all the darkness that exists inside of me.

Come, Jesus, my Lord,

make my heart a welcoming place for You.

Come and abide in me, my God.

TODAY’S WORD…

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

– 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

REFLECTION…

Always be joyful. We must not allow sadness and anger to overwhelm us. We must remember that God loves us and that He is with us always.

Whenever we find yourself slipping into sadness or filling up with anger, let’s not let things fester inside of us but instead, quickly call upon the One who is always right there by our side, and He will counsel us and show us how we can regain our inner peace.

Never stop praying and seeking God’s help. However, we must have a humble heart and be ready to recognise and acknowledge our weaknesses, and submit ourselves to the Lord’s guidance, and trust in Him always…as we let His will be done.

Be thankful in all circumstances and always count your blessings. So many blessings that we have received and that we so easily forget whenever something or other goes wrong in our life.

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.  We want things to be perfect, always, but we must recognise that life isn’t like that. As Christians, we should simply be ever-thankful that we have God with us. We need to recognise when we are being self-centred so that, rather than looking inwardly, we will place our focus on the Lord. Only then will we realise how blessed we are to have Him to guide us through life’s ups and downs. Only then will we realise haw thankful we should be to the Lord, our Saviour!

QUOTE…

“If things go well, let us rejoice, blessing God who makes them prosper. And if they go badly? Let us rejoice, blessing God who allows us to share in the sweetness of His Cross”

– St. Josemaria Escriva

PRAYER…

Come, sweet Jesus, come give me Your peace and fill my heart with joy and thanksgiving!   Amen.

.