Luke 8:16-18
                                      
I can so easily take for granted the words of God’s wisdom written in scripture, in the ordering of nature, and in the lives of others. “The Word of the Lord,” I can repeat casually along with everyone else at church after the proclamation of the word – and promptly forget what was said, or minimize the words of God while I think about ‘more pressing’ temporal desires, issues, or passions. But Jesus urged his listeners, urges me, to listen carefully to the wisdom of God, to constantly ‘give heed according to your word (Psalm 119:9). When I hide God’s word in my heart and cultivate it to grow into fruitfulness, then I can become fully aligned with God’s will and walk in his ways all the days of my life.  Will my heart, mind, soul and strength remain void of God’s word, or will my being become so infused with God’s wisdom that I become more full of his love and mercy?  Holy Spirit of God, help me be careful how I listen to your word. 
                                                       
How can young people keep their lives pure? By taking heed according to your word… Your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.   (Psalm 119:9&11)
 
Lord you have my heart, and I shall search for yours,
Jesus, take my life and lead me on…             
Worship Song by Derlerious?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIRPDwwO8mw
 
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Soli ad gloriam Dei
 

 
Mathew 18:21-35
                                      
Only God knows how much his grace is need in today’s world! All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…” all 7.8 billion of us. Every time I expend time and energy to demand my own vengeance, what I am owed, or what is rightfully mine, I am doing nothing to spread the grace of God in my corner of the world. But every time I give the benefit of the doubt, an uncalled for act of kindness or a ‘glance of grace’ before I sink into a pit of revenge, rights and selfcentredness –that is, every time I fore-give –I become a pathway for God’s grace to touch, purify and strengthen another person, another beloved child of God, and myself as well. Whom do I need to forgive?  Holy Spirit of Jesus, you remove my sins far from me, through your fore-give-ness.  Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me generously pay forward your grace through forgiveness.                                                         
It is the Lord who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crown you with steadfast love and mercy.   (Psalm 103:3,4)
 
The word forgive literally means to give away. It has very little to do with the other person. It’s a decision you make, like exhaling carbon dioxide from your body because you know that holding onto it will only harm you. So go ahead: exhale, release forgiveness.      
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Soli ad gloriam Dei

 
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
                                      
Like a beach ball inflated with ‘hot air’, our minds and souls can be puffed up with our own experiences and knowledge or with the ideas and issues we glean from others, online, or through print, audio, or the world around us.  Needless to say, a beach ball is much less stable, has a shorter life-span and is less useful than a baseball that is ‘built’ with a core of intertwined filaments, rather than ‘puffed up’. When I, with the limited resources of my human intellect attempt to understand and control the power of the God, the ‘hot air’ of my own logic puffs up my mind and soul. Then I can be easily tossed about by the winds of change.  But when I, strand by strand, build up the core of my heart, mind, soul and strength with the elastic and resilient, boundless and immortal love for –and from –God,  then I become aligned with the Holy Spirit of Jesus.  Then, like Him, I too can remain resilient and useful to the end, rain or shine, wind or calm.  Am I puffing up my ego-centric will, that is pride, with knowledge, or building up my being with Love?  Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me be not puffed up with knowledge, but be built up with your love. 
                                                       
Show me, Lord, your way so that I may walk in your truth. Give me an undivided heart to revere your name.    (Psalm 86:11)
 
What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.                              
Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta
 
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1 Corinthians 7:25-31 & Luke 6: 20 – 26
                                      
In his first letter to the Church in Corinth, St. Paul encourages Christians to de-clutter their lives and simply live into their faith journey with the Lord. With the Beatitudes, Jesus maps out the simple path of faithfulness to God’s mercy and truth, past the pitfalls of day to day life in this world. When I am tempted to increase my possessions, Lord, help me live simply faithfully.  When I am pressured into activism and expending energy in political and social agendas that “I must change!!” , help me live simply faithfully.  When the waves of desire and passions swamp my soul, help me live simply faithfully.  When I feel the bite of anxiety and worry chewing at my heart and soul - help me trust in Jesus – and live simply faithfully.  Will I listen to the deceits and pitfalls of darkness or open myself to the true light of life available to me as a follower of Jesus? Holy Spirit of God, help me to live simply faithfully. 
                                                       
Show me, Lord, your way so that I may walk in your truth. Give me an undivided heart to revere your name.    (Psalm 86:11)
 
To reach satisfaction in all, desire satisfaction in nothing; to come to the knowledge of all, desire the knowledge of nothing; to come to possess all, desire the possession of nothing; to arrive at being all, desire to be nothing     
St. John of the Cross ― St. John of the Cross   
 
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Luke 6:12-19

Even Christ Jesus, the Son of God who was the Son of Man, prayed through his decisions – he spent the night in prayer before naming his Apostle- Disciples. Depending on common sense or my own sense of right based on my lived experience is adequate for day to day choices, but when I am deciding who to align myself with, how to resolve conflict, where to be, when to make a move or what I will be doing, I, too, need to pray. When I pray my heart, mind, and soul become aligned with God’s will, and then I am able to use his wisdom and understanding, his love and truth, to inform my decisions, and to give me fortitude (congruency), courage, and strength to go forward and live into the vision I received in prayer.  Am I taking time to pray before making critical decisions in my life?  Holy Spirit of God, help me pray my decisions.   
                                                       
O send forth your light and your truth; let these be my guide.  (Psalm 43: 3)
                                                    
Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God's will.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
 
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