January 20th

❀ ❁ January 20^th ❀ ❁

"Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.  If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this,' does not He who weighs the heart perceive it?  Does not He who guards your life know it?  Will He not repay everyone according to what they have done?” Proverbs 24:11-12, NIV
 

“And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even His life to love us. So, the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts...If we accept that a mother can kill her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill each other? Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, rather, to use violence to get what they want...It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.”  
― Mother Teresa

 

“When we consider that women are treated as property it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit.”
― Elizabeth Cady Stanton

 

"The embryo and fetus are entirely dependent on and living in the mother’s body, but they are not a part of the mother’s body.   Healthy women’s bodies don’t grow organs and body parts of a differing DNA than their own.  Their bodies don’t have four arms, four legs and an extra set of genitalia that may even be male... a parent has a basic obligation to feed and shelter her biological offspring, that a fetus has as much a right to his natural environment as the rest of us have to our own biosphere, and that a fetus’ dependence and vulnerability obligates us to them more, rather than less."

―Christopher Hitchens

 

Our culture is such that we do not know how to love ourselves, let alone others.  We have lost patience and a sense of peace, joy, and hope.  We increasingly cannot find satisfaction and continue to up the pleasure ante.  We look over life's simple beauties and seek more and more stimulation.  We learn, think and speak violence.  We cannot tolerate that which does not wholly seek to serve our own ego.  In return we are oblivious slaves to Mammon.  Blind and without direction, we wallow in our own pain.

 

We vilify the act of giving our child over to adoption as "selfish." We revere self-love, the antithesis of sacrificial love, of agape--unconditional love with no agenda.  We vilify forgiveness as "weak," when one of the bravest things we could do is to let go of another's sins against us and to be free from them. 

 

Love has to be at the forefront of helping and healing ourselves and others.  Until then, we will continue to be a people of hedonism rather than agape, of anger and violence rather than service and deliverance. 

 

"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it...

Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal."  Martin Luther King, Jr. 

He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/martin_luther_king_jr.html#mGypdVpZ5fghRjGd.99

Pray for the grace to see how you may help others whose beliefs differ than your own, especially those that make you feel uncomfortable.

 Ask Him for an opportunity to make a loving sacrifice on behalf of helping another, being Christ's arms, hands, feet, and words.

 

January 19th

❀ ❁ January 19^th ❀ ❁

"Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves." Romans 12:10 NIV

It’s never pleasant to take our kids for vaccinations.  It’s enough to make even my alpha male husband get teary-eyed.  The high-pitched squeals.  The confused, hurt look that seems to say, "Why, Mommy, why?"  But it's loving when we have to do things that are ultimately better for our children, to ensure their safety and their well-being.  It's looking down the road and planning for their future rather than living in the moment.  Love can be uncomfortable.  Love can be downright painful. Sometimes it's not pretty.  It involves setting boundaries when it seems easier to go with the status quo, not rocking the boat.

Scripture mentions "love" hundreds of times. Several times does Christ Jesus Himself tell us of His love, and His Father's love. He admonishes us to love one another. This loves starts with sacrifice.  It starts with loving God with everything we have, with giving Him everything we have.  It is realizing who we are and what we are to God.  After this, after we can love ourselves, we can love our neighbor enough to see their dignity.  With that love comes sometimes having uncomfortable times.  It's not love to watch someone walk in front of a car.  We have to grab him and pull him back, even if that means we get injured in the process.  Even if that means at that moment he is angry with us.

Our highest goal should be to be holy, and that starts with loving Christ, and we beginning to see others the way He sees them.

 

Pray for the grace to see those around us the way the LORD does.

Ask Him to soften your heart to have a deeper love for others.

January Eighteenth

❀ ❁ January 18^th ❀ ❁

"[T]o speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show every courtesy to everyone. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another.”  Titus 3:2-3, NRSVCE

In the 1500s a preacher named John Bradford used to say, “There but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford" as he watched criminals head for the local scaffold.  He recognized that he too could have just as easily known no other life that that of a common malefactor.  (And in fact, Bradford did meet a gruesome end; he was martyred by fire in 1555.  His last words were reported as, "We shall have a merry supper with the Lord this night.”)

I have a friend who describes certain people as “pat themselves on the back” Christians.  He bristles at folks who talk among themselves about how they have the truth and seem to have contempt for those who still walk in the darkness.

It is easy for many of us to forget all the mistakes and missteps we have taken in our lives.  Many of us have been a bad choice away from losing our jobs or our homes.  One wrong move and our lives could be totally changed.  We need to remember this in our relationships with everyone from ex-husbands to cashiers at the mall.  Meeting others where they are in is paramount in not only evangelizing, but in being Christ’s hands and feet.  Stopping to recognize everyone has a different life experience, giving others the benefit of the doubt, will go a long way. 

Pray for the grace to recognize where we are not courteous to others, where we are rough, and what our part is in drama and conflict. 

Ask Him to guide us today to show others the patience and respect that they deserve as children of God, expecting nothing in return.

 

 

January Seventeenth

❀ ❁ January 17^th ❀ ❁

On the third day there was a wedding in Can of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tell you." John 2:1-5, NRSVCE

There is everything about Mary. She is the young girl who answered God's call without hesitation, with "Fiat." These verses speak volumes about her, through her relationship with Jesus.

Jesus and His disciples were invited and attended a social function which probably lasted a week. Before this, we are told His mother was there. Interestingly, John, who was close to Jesus, never mentions Mary by name in this book. In this vignette, Mary intercedes on behalf of the bride and groom.  This reflects the way Mary intercedes on our behalf.

Mary is not divine; she is as human as you or I. We are to show her reverence, as she is our Lord’s mother.  Jesus shares her DNA and she is the one who changed his diapers, and fretted over every childhood injury.  She was the one closest to Jesus, the mother whose sorrow we cannot comprehend.

When going to a friend’s home, we are sure to greet his mother, a woman who may also provide us with a plate of cookies or a delicious meal.  In the book of John, about a disciple, Jesus tells his mother, “Dear woman, this is your son.” He then tells the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” (John 19:26-27, NLT)  He is setting the stage for us to have a relationship with her.

As mothers we have Mary’s example.  We do not pray to her, but ask her to pray for us.

Pray for grace to see Mary in the context of our LORD and in a way that facilitates our walk as Christians.

Ask Him to show us how we can use her example and ask her for intercession.

 

 

Day Sixteen

❀ ❁ January 16^th ❀ ❁

"Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12, NIV

My younger daughter was 6, and I was just beginning to consider learning about the Christian faith, after she had told me God was telling her we needed to start going to church and she needed to get baptized.  During this time, the two of us were in a local craft store.  She saw a lady with a scarf around her head, being supported as she shopped with some others.  My daughter asked if she had cancer.  I told her, “It looks like she might, honey.”  To my surprise, my daughter stopped what she was doing, folded her hands, and spoke a quiet prayer for God to care for this woman and her family, and to bless her doctors and nurses. When she finished, she continued to the kids’ section with no fanfare.  I stood there, struck by my daughter’s simple faith and her desire to help another, with no hesitation, with no agenda for herself, and with total love and devotion.

The party line these days is to let our children "be themselves" and to give them choices. "Let them decide." We are to give them the information and allow them the freedom to do what they wish.

The trouble with this is it not practical by any means.  The home is a sanctuary.  This is a place where a foundation is being built; the stage is being set for how our children will live the rest of their lives and the choices they will make.  If we allow children to make the decisions for themselves, we may have little ones who live on candy and never go to school.  We place so much emphasis on healthy foods, wellness check-ups, dental appointments, sports, education… Are we prioritizing what our children really need?  What is greater than having godly children who know Jesus and walk with Him?

There is a conversation in many homes about whether a child should be “forced” to go to church.  There are rarely conversations about “forcing” a child to go to school.  What is the difference?  Why do kids begin to resent going to church?  What is the joy-level in the home?  How on fire for the Lord are the children’s parents?  Are we meeting these kids where they are?  Are we dragging them to services because we are dragging ourselves?  “This just what we do; we go to church on Sunday.”

Thinking back to the cruise ship analogy, are we content to enjoy all the peace, joy, love, and safety of being on board with Christ, knowing our children are treading water within our reach? They are weathering storms that are now so much worse than anything we had to endure.  And yet the hope in the Lord is that our children are called to come to Him, and we are to not be stumbling block in that journey.  Our children are called to purity, to love, to joy, to faith.  Our children are also lights unto the world, no matter how small.    

Pray for grace to see what your part is in ministering to and guiding the children around you.

 Ask Him to reveal to you how you can best evangelize to “the least of these.”

 

January 15th

❀ ❁ January 15^th ❀ ❁

^"But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!'  Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him..." Matthew 14:30-31, NIV

Peter is the only disciple on the boat, but he is the only one who risks his life to walk out with his Lord. It was not the popular choice.  The others may have even been judging the seemingly unwise choice to leave the boat. When Peter notices just how rough the waters are, he is filled with fear.  Just as soon as Peter realizes he cannot tread the water himself, that he needs Jesus or he will die, he is lifted up and saved.

There cannot be enough emphasis on these verses.  Often in life we fret and worry and doubt.  Circumstances arise that leaving us with knotted stomachs, headaches, tears, anger, and fear.  We continue to believe we alone have to handle these trials alone. 

We sit in court with no one on our side except the public defender who is over-worked and just wants to get this hearing over. We sit across from our child's principal and assorted school staff, whose words betray their amazement that you could such a bad parent that it's come to this.  We sit in the hospital, holding her hand as she dies, wondering why you didn't spend more time with her.  We get served with the divorce papers and wonder how we could have failed so miserably as a wife.  We try and try and can't seem to have that relationship with our parent that others seem to have, wondering why we are so broken and bad that we don't have something so universal and simple.  We sit alone in a bathroom, holding something sharp, wondering where all this pain came from. 

We never seem to know He sits with us, crying with us, holding us.  He tries to make Himself known but we don't listen.  It's not our pride but our pain and our past that keep us from Him, when our pain and our past are the greatest gifts we could give him. 

Pray for grace to keep your eyes on Him as you walk out to meet Him. 

Ask Him today to save you from drowning in the world.
 

January 14th

❀ ❁ January 14^th ❀ ❁

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace." Acts 20:24, NIV

 

"You may be the only Bible someone reads." This is an oft-repeated statement (and warning) to Christians. This certainly puts life in perspective. What does it mean, to consider one's life "worth nothing?"

 

Acts of the Apostles is a book of Scripture that exclusively details the early church, the Apostles' ministry and that of Paul of Tarsus. The verse above Paul speaks to the church elders, everyone knowing they would not see Paul again. Paul is willing to sacrifice everything in order to evangelize. He puts being holy as his ultimate goal and his parting words to others are to share his experiences and to give them warning and instructions. Paul values his service to the LORD beyond any care for himself. He is untiring in his evangelism. It is a sobering section of Scripture.

 

How do we take this caveat ourselves and apply it? For a start, what does the Gospel mean to us? Is it something that holds really meaning in our lives, or is it something we now take for granted? Are we willing to give everything to God? Are we tireless in our efforts? Is our first goal to be holy, or is it to have a better material life? Making being a saint the highest priority should be our life's work. Being a saint means to die to oneself in order to be submissive to the will of the LORD. To walk with Christ means to trust Him enough to understand that our mortal lives are finite; His ultimate plan for us is far greater. This should be the idea in our minds in every interaction with others. Putting God first, and loving others, requires us to treat every relationships as sharing the Gospel.

 

When we snap at the waitress, she will notice the cross necklace. When we lash out at the car that just cut us off, the driver will remember the fish symbol on our bumper. Conversely, when we show love and patience to others, we are demonstrating Christ's love. When we show joy in a hard situation, we illustrate our hope in Jesus. When we say a quick prayer and swallow unkind words when our husbands are being unreasonable, we are plants the seeds of faith to him. With every act, we can set the stage for others to know a better and a truer Christianity than what they think they know, an authentic faith. And in dying to ourselves, to our pride, and to our egos, we bring to life joy and redemption.

 

Pray for grace to see how you can live this verse to the fullest.

 

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your day with the goal of "testifying to the good news of God's grace."

 

Day Thirteen

 ❀ ❁ January 13^th   ❀ ❁  

^“But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.” Matthew 5:22

Several years ago I was having lunch at a deli with my husband, just before I left for a spiritual retreat.  In the booth next to us, two gentlemen were talking about the mother of one of the men.  They were remarking that this lady, “Never had a bad thing to say about anyone.”  I remember slumping down into my seat, thinking that my husband was not going to be able to say that about me. 

How easy is it for us to say negatives things about one another?  In Judaism there is the concept of lashon hara, "the evil tongue."  There is a story oft repeated about gossip.  A woman goes to her rabbi to repent for talking about others in the village.  The rabbi tells her to take a feather pillow to the top of the mountain and tear it open.  She is to allow the feathers to be blown by the wind throughout the area, and return to the rabbi several days later.  When the rabbi returns, he asks her to go and gather each and every one of the feathers.  The woman tells him tearfully this is impossible.  The rabbi replies, "Yes, as it is impossible to undo all the damage you have done with your words." 

When we talk about others, it's as if we are adding to our own baggage in so many ways.  Those around us are unsure if they should confide in us.  We make ourselves look bad when speak poorly of others.  After a while, we are unable to look in the eyes those other people we speak ill of.  We wonder just what they are saying about us.  It becomes an unbearable burden. 

Perhaps we are surrounded by those who are "negative" and spend their time talking about others.  Perhaps this is a long-time habit for us.  But we must rise above this, even being bold enough to stop a turn in any conversation when it takes a turn toward ungodly speech.  We use prayer and Scripture to begin to tame our speech.  We will begin to wince when we hear others gossiping or judging.  Our tolerance for "the evil tongue" will decrease.  And as with any other habit, we must fill the void left in its absence by something positive.  We will find ourselves speaking well of others, even the difficult ones... or saying nothing about them at all! 

Pray for grace to see where your speak is less than encouraging and notice when you say things you shouldn't.  What do you say about others when they are not around?  In what ways has your speech caused problems in your life?

 Ask Him to help you clean your speech and keep your mouth from gossip or other ungodly words.  Ask the Holy Spirit to fill your speech today. 

 

Day Twelve

 ❀ ❁ January 12^th   ❀ ❁  

“…for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him.  But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee.  When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.’ And he solemnly swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.’  She went out and said to her mother, ‘What should I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the baptizer.’ Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.  The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her.” 

Mark 6:20-26, NRSVCE

 

Scripture tells us that Herod "feared" John and knew him to be holy.  He "liked to listen to" this righteous man.  But ultimately Herod betrays John in order to please his guests.  John was the one who confronted Herod about his marriage to his brother's wife.  In yet another act of cowardice, Herod sends a soldier out to do to do the job, perhaps thinking he is keeping his own hands clean.  

As much as we want to say we do not understand Herod, how many times to we compromise what we know to be true in order to live in this world?  How often do we take the easy road of appearing in sync with those around us?  We want to blend in with the wallpaper of "normal."  We want to be seen as part of the popular crowd. 

Maybe it's little things.  Maybe we don't pray over our food in a restaurant with friends.  Maybe we swear and gossip when in the company of those who are swearing and gossiping.  Maybe we get angry when we are told something that we don't want to be true, especially about ourselves and our foibles.  Perhaps we lash out at the family member who calls us on the carpet for our adulterous behavior with a co-worker.  Perhaps we let a friend "have it" who questions that sinful behavior that we just enjoy too much.

This is the only story in the book of Mark without Jesus Christ.  Interestingly, preceding this story we are told of Jesus sending out disciples to teach, after giving them the caveat that, "If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them."  (verse 11)  He does not say to argue or to challenge them, but to leave them.  Archbishop Fulton Sheen is quoted as saying, "Win an argument, lose a soul." 

Following the story of John and Herod, we are told Jesus instructs the apostles, ostensibly after obtaining John's body, to ­­­­­­­­­­spend time alone and "rest."  But the crowds see the apostles and, starved for teachings, swarm them.  After being taught, it gets late, and Jesus feels compassion for this crowd.  He admonishes the apostles to feed these people from their own food. 

A very different take on being hospitable.  It is one of sacrifice and service, one of compassion and love.   This is at the core of the gospel, the "good news."

 

Pray for grace to see how we are like Herod, enjoying hearing the Gospel but not loyal to our LORD  or how willing are we to "sell out" on what is important.  How are we to be compassionate to others, serving and sacrificing?

 

 Ask Him to help you in these areas.

 

Day Eleven

 ❀ ❁ January 11^th  ❀ ❁  

"Tobias got out of bed and said to Sarah, ^'Sister, get up, and let us pray and implore our Lord that he grant us mercy and safety.'  So she got up, and they began to pray and implore that they might be kept safe."  Tobit 8:4-5, NRSVCE

Before consummating their marriage, Tobias leads Sarah to prayer.  Granted, this was under the instructions of the angel Raphael to keep Asmodeus from killing Tobias and rendering Sarah a widow for the eighth time.  However, the act of a couple praying before this act is a strong lesson to us.

As followers of Christ, we often pray for our needs and the needs of others.  We pray for help with relationships and with job; we pray for healing and for safely.  How often do we pray and ask for His help in the area of love? 

It is no small thing that Tobias calls his bride "sister."  He understands he has shouldered the task of caring for a daughter God.  He must treat her with the respect and care due to her.  He does not force her.  He is not impatient with her.  He places the Almighty in charge of their marriage and even their sexuality from the start. 

In the encyclical letter Humanae Vitae, Blessed Pope John Paul II states that married love is "an act of the free will, whose trust is such that it is meant not only to survive the joys and sorrows of daily life, but also to grow, so that husband and wife become in a way one heart and one soul, and together attain their human fulfillment."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that "[c]hastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person."  This can only be accomplished by recognizing God as the creator of not only ourselves but of our sexuality.  As with everything else in our lives, we must hand this over to Him.

Pray for grace to bring God in control of your sexuality.  Begin to pray before romantic dates or before each marital act.  Ask Him to show you where you should improve as a single woman, or in the vocation of being a wife.  Ask Him to place strong, obvious obstacles between you and sin in this area.

Day Ten

 ❀ ❁ January 10^th  ❀ ❁  

 "That day she was deeply grieved in spirit. She went in tears to an upstairs room in her father's house with the intention of hanging herself. But she reconsidered...So Raphael was sent to heal [her]: to... drive the wicked demon Asmodeus from her...In the very moment...Sarah came downstairs from her room."

Tobit 3:10,17 NAB

 

 

In the book of Tobit, Sarah is being ridiculed by a servant because she has been married seven times. A demon has murdered her husbands on each wedding night, before consummation.  Being plagued by a demon causes Sarah enough grief and embarrassment that she considers suicide.  It is not until Sarah cries out to God for His help that her situation becomes remedied.  She is giving Him permission to remove this demon from her life and free her. 

C.S. Lewis writes about lust in The Great Divorce, in a story called "The Little Red Lizard."  In this tale, an angel offers to kill the demon plaguing a man, who refuses, stating he can handle the creature on his shoulder himself.  The angel is not free to kill the lizard without the man's permission.  The man is afraid of the pain of having the thing taken from him.

How often do hold onto our own demons?  Like the man in the Lewis story, we sheepishly decline to give our struggles and addictions over to the LORD.  We have much to give up in the process, including the excitement and the fun of sin.

A friend of mine who struggled with shopping addiction finally prayed for the LORD to remove this sin from her.  Not long after she did it, her checking account was emptied out by an anonymous thief.  Hundreds of dollars were taken and was done in such a way that it was difficult for her to get her money back.  In the interim, she had to rely on her husband and had to become accountable for each purchase she made with his card.  No longer could she lie to him about purchases, claiming they were items given to her by friends or overstating her grocery bill needs in order things she wanted, like new clothes, books, and craft supplies, whose receipts she threw out at the stores, so she would not be caught by husband and have to return the items.  She disclosed her problem to her husband and gave him permission to help her be accountable for her spending.  She suffered embarrassment and the temporary loss of financial independence.  In the end she gained a freedom and joy greater than she imagined, as she was able to share honestly with her husband what she had bought, and she no longer felt the need to hang onto all the material goods she had collected over the years.  Her marriage improved, as did her peace of mind, energy, and ability to help keep their home clean and organized. Once she was able to give over her weakness to LORD, her pain was replaced with much greater than her wrong actions could have ever brought her. 

 

Pray for grace to see the area of your life in which you need the most help.   Ask Him to slay the demon of this situation and remove this burden from you.  Be prepared to gain ultimately more than you will lose!