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

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TODAY’S WORD…

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As they came near the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if He were going farther;

but they held Him back, saying, “Stay with us; the day is almost over and it is getting dark.”

So He went in to stay with them.

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He sat down to eat with them, took the bread, and said the blessing;

then He broke the bread and gave it to them.

Then their eyes were opened and they recognised Him, but He disappeared from their sight.

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They said to each other,

“Wasn’t it like a fire burning in us when He talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”

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– Luke 24:28-32 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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There are times when we feel so lost and empty, when we cannot even get ourselves to focus and look ahead

and then, suddenly, we come across a passage from Scripture…and it touches us.

What it says to us seems so meaningful, so true, so appropriate for us at that very moment in time.

As we ponder over those words from Scripture, our heart seems to start beating faster

and we feel urged us to open our eyes to those words and to the sense of direction we are being given.

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It is such moments that can lead us to humbly look closely at ourselves and at our weaknesses,

and to recognise that we need to go back to the Lord and invite Him to enter more deeply into our heart,

to fill us with His love and truth, and to show us the way we should take.

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It is such moments that lead us to go and reconcile ourselves with the Lord, our God and Saviour,

and to sit at His table and receive His Living Bread – His Body, His Blood, His Blessing.

This is when our eyes will be truly opened to the truth;

our mind filled with understanding;

and our heart set on fire with a burning determination to always love and follow the Lord.

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PRAYER…

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Lord, You are the Way, the Truth and the Life!

Forgive me, Lord, I love You.

Come, Lord, I need You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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“It is I. Do not be afraid.”

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– John 6:20 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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Sometimes we find ourselves in worrying and even desperate situations, just like Jesus’ disciples did.

There they were, on their fishing boat right in the middle of Lake Galilee,

darkness had fallen, the sea was becoming very rough and threatening,

and it seemed to them that Jesus had abandoned them.

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But our Lord arrives unexpectedly, walking towards them on the stormy water

and their faith in Him, which was still weak, was strengthened.

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That is how it is with us,

in those bad moments when we feel left alone, deserted, afraid and forgotten,

and fearful of not being able to cope with the storms of our lives.

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But if we trust in the Lord and have faith in Him,

we know that He will come to our aid.

And He always does – He is always there, but we must determinedly look out for Him and listen out for His voice.

When we do so, our perseverance will be rewarded,

and He will calm us down, and we will experience His loving reassurance as we hear Him tell us:

“It is I. Do not be afraid.”

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PRAYER…

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My Lord Jesus,

I pray that, in those moments of anxiety, despair, and helplessness,

I will always call upon Your Holy Name.

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I pray that I will persevere and be strong

in the knowledge that You are omnipresent

and that I am never alone.

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Lord Jesus,

when fear sets in my heart

increase my trust in You

and let my heart hear You reassure me, “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Look at those who are honest and good,

for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.

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– Psalm 37:37 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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Consider those who are righteous, who serve and obey God,

and contrast them with those who are and who do the opposite.

The former are the Lord’s friends, seeking humbly to walk in His footsteps and in His pure and purifying light;

the latter prefer to keep away from Him and to walk in the dark shadows,

or to proudly seek to shine in the artificial spotlights of the world.

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One way is full of hope and love, and leads to great peace and salvation; to joy and everlasting life.

The other way is crawling with pique, distrust, and desperation, and it eventually simply leads to death and ruin.

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PRAYER…

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Lord, fill me with Your peace!

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Great peace have those who love Your law,

and nothing can make them stumble.

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– Psalm 119:165 (NIV)

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REFLECTION…

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Great peace have those who love Your law…

In spite of feelings of pain, fear and anxiety that occur as they go through life,

those who love God’s Law and who strive to obey and follow it still find that life-changing, special inner peace.

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As they trust in the Lord and seek to do His will,

those who love Him also find a source of soothing calm in Him,

and this in spite of the turmoil and disappointments in their lives.

They can cope with trouble and anxiety because they know, they believe with all their heart, that God is in control;

and because they allow Him to stay in control.

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…and nothing can make them stumble.

The eyes of the humble and faithful are opened to see and recognise the stumbling-blocks of life.

By following and obeying God’s law, they stay safe.

God warns them against and protects them from falling deeply into the traps of life.

God shields them from the power of temptation.

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Most importantly,

those who truly love the Lord and His law will always find His peace in their heart

and they will never give up.

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PRAYER…

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Lord Jesus, You give me Your peace and I gladly accept it and welcome it into my heart.

O Lord, my God, my Saviour, grant that I will always treasure and embrace the peace that only You can give.

Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I am listening to what the Lord God is saying;

He promises peace to us, His own people,

if we do not go back to our foolish ways.

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– Psalm 85:8 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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We must

patiently listen and willingly hear God’s voice, whatever He says to us.

We must be confident that what He says is favourable to us His people,

that they will be words of mercy and of peace.

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Whatever God commands, we should be willing to yield to;

whatever God says, we should believe;

whatever God commands, we should do;

whatever God asks us to surrender, we should.

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God’s Word

and whatever He says to us,

is for our peace, our blessedness, our prosperity

– because God loves us.

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We really must listen to Him and obey Him and follow His way.

We really must not go back to our foolish ways

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Those who break the Lord’s commandments are being both sinful and foolish.

Those who break the Lord’s commandments are foolishly pursuing immorality

and they lose God’s peace

– that deep inner peace that can only come from Him.

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PRAYER…

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Jesus, You are my Prince of Peace.

Jesus, guard my heart with Your peace.

Jesus, make me an instrument of Your peace.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Turn away from evil and do good;

strive for peace with all your heart.

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– Psalm 34:14 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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God wants us to turn away from all evil, vice and crime of any form.

He wants us to do good to all, in all that we do.

We must strive to live in peace with one and all.

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We must strive for peace and pursue it,

make peace an object of desire,

make constant efforts to live in peace.

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As Christians, we are blessed,

because the Lord our God gives us His peace

– peace that transcends all understanding, and guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. (see Phil 4:6-7)

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PRAYER…

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Come Holy Spirit,

protect me from all evil

and fill me till overflowing, with Your peace

that it may spill on to all around me.

Amen.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The Lord gives strength to His people

and blesses them with peace.

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– Psalm 29:11 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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I believe in God, the Almighty.

I believe that He presides over all,

including the tempests and storms of my life,

and so I have no reason to doubt that He can protect me;

no reason to fear that His strength cannot support me.

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The Lord blesses His people with peace.

Indeed, I believe this with all my heart – that place where He is always welcome.

He calms my mind

and I have nothing to fear as He fills me with hope and His peace.

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PRAYER…

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In You, my Lord, my heart rejoices, in Your Holy Name I trust.

Come my Lord of Peace and Love, I have put all my hope in You.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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I was thrust down, thrust down and falling,

but the Lord was my helper.

The Lord is my strength and my song;

He was my saviour.

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– Psalm 118:13-14 (TGP)

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REFLECTION…

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If you seek the Lord everywhere and in every circumstance,

if you have full trust in Him and in His great love for you,

you will find yourself coping with an almost outer-worldly serenity

with those unwelcome situations you sometimes have to face.

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Trust in the Lord always.

In those desperate situations, call out to Him.

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Often, you will only realise with hindsight

that He was right there next to you when you called,

and that it was His mighty hand that helped you out and lifted you up again.

That is when our heart bursts into praise

and sings thankfully to the Lord

acknowledging Him as our Strength, our Song and our Saviour.

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PRAYER…

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I called out to You, Lord, and You answered.

Thank You, Lord – You are my Strength, my Song and my Saviour.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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The Lord is faithful to His promises;
He is merciful in all His acts.
He helps those who are in trouble;
He lifts those who have fallen.

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– Psalm 145:13b-14 (GNT)

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REFLECTION…

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The Lord lifts those who have faith in His love and mercy,

those who are bent and bowed under the duties, the cares, the trials of life.

The Lord is able to strengthen them

so that they can bear those burdens without being crushed under them.

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The Lord satisfies the desire of all

except in the case of those who are unreasonable, who are satisfied with nothing.

He does good to all and many have tasted His goodness

as He prevented their falls,

or recovered them speedily by His grace and comfort.

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Christ eases and raises up all who are heavily laden and who go to Him in faith.

To these, in particular, He is very near

and always ready to hear and answer their prayers.

He is in the hearts of the faithful and dwells there,

and they dwell in Him.

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He is close to those who call upon Him,

ready to help them in all times of need.

He will be close to them,

and they will find what they seek,

when they call upon Him in truth and sincerity.

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The Lord is our Saviour

– may we love and honour His name and always walk in His ways. Amen.

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PRAYER…

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Lord, You are faithful, You are merciful.

Lord, You lift me up.

Thank You, Lord Jesus.

Forgive me, Lord Jesus.

I love You, Lord Jesus.

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TODAY’S WORD…

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Give thanks to the Lord for He is good,

for His love has no end.

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Let those who fear the Lord say:

‘His love has no end.’

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– Psalm 118:1,4 (TGP)

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REFLECTION…

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Draw others to unite with you in giving thanks to the Lord;

share your experience and tell them why you gladly thank and praise Him;

tell them all about what the Lord has done in your life;

tell them how good He is, how He has saved You,

and how great are His works!

All who worship and adore the Lord their God

are forever keen to know more about Him

and about how He has worked in others.

He fills all who love Him, with His grace

overcoming any darkness with the light of His salvation,

as He lifts their spirit and fills their heart with His love.

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PRAYER…

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O Risen Lord, my Saviour,

I thank You for Your love that sustains me,

for Your love that has no end.

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