Luke 5:12 (make us whole)

Welcome God every morning before your work by taking ~5 min to read this Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group devotion (life-devotions.blogspot.com), which has snippets from Living Faith (livingfaith.com). All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Col. 3:17

And when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with Him, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” Luke 5:12

Living Faith snippets: “Clearly, not all people are healed. Some recover from sickness and others do not. Some survive disasters and others do not. None of us has full knowledge of how God is at work in the world. What we do have is the powerful image of Jesus, who came into this world to heal, to help and to cleanse, who reached out tirelessly to others, who served to the point of exhaustion and even embraced death for us. We have His promise that in Him all would be glorified. Lord Jesus, heal us and make us whole.” by Karla Manternach

LIFE Group nuggets:

* Joel Cain and Angi Castle each mentioned seeing a ProLife commercial aired in C. Springs this week. In the commercial, Jane Roe (Roe vs Wade) said that she never had an abortion, has three daughters, and became ProLife “upon knowing God.” To see this powerful 1 min commercial, click here. You can see other ProLife commercials and make donations at http://www.virtuemedia.org/.

Sister Francelle’s devotion: Read her devotion titled “Abide With Me‏‏‏” at http://sisterfrancelle.blogspot.com/. Some snippets: “Dearest Ones, One of the most comforting hymns I know,”Abide with Me,” was written by Henry Lyte, 1847. I can only imagine the pain-filled body of this great man composing this hymn, as he lay dying of tuberculosis. As his world became darker, he asked our Lord to abide in him. Now he is with God, living in his light. Completely healed. “Abide with me, fast falls the evening tide, The darkness deepens, Lord with us abide, When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me. Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes, Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies, Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee, In life, in death, O Lord abide with me.” If you truly accept His presence in every part of your life, every minute of every day, then He will abide in you, and your life will never again be the same. James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” Apart from him, we have no strength, no power, no joy, no peace, no happiness. So many people grow discouraged when they have trials. They think God is punishing them for something they did – this is not true at all. Trials can be a blessing in disguise. The only way to maturity in your faith is through trials.”

ProLife news: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ & http://www.priestsforlife.org/
* Let’s never forget the horrific reality of abortion (click here for images).
* Let’s pray for courage to communicate the ProLife message through Christ to those around us (John 14:6)…rebuilding a Culture of Life (Matt 5:16).

Our Prayers: Prayer to End Abortion, chastity, our enemies, our troops, natural disasters, depression/ despair, prisoners, ProLife politicians, loss of loved ones, lack of faith, illnesses/injuries, Mike Castle (eye infection), Joe Levisky (medical issues), Rob Ouellette (St. Pat’s prayer list), Rich Reich (Granny’s health problems), Dan Castle (for alcoholics), Jason Peters (health of son JP), Peace in the Middle East (Iraq, Gaza), Papa Joe Castle (bleeding in brain), Lynn Bishara (family of Nick Hoch who passed away, Aunt Mary battling cancer)

Faith Quote: Sharon Carlson shared this one. “When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present…we experience heaven on earth.” Sara Ban Breathnach

Through Christ for ProLife,
Pat

Phil 4:13

* Today’s Bible readings at www.usccb.org/nab/today.shtml. Reflection on readings at http://www.daily-meditations.org/index2.html
* Prayer: Prayer connects us with God’s will & His miracles, thereby changing us & helping others. Wayne Watson lyrics, “When God’s people pray, there is hope reborn, there is sin forgiven, and miracles you can’t explain await!” ‘If you pray that God will move a mountain and He doesn’t, assume Christ wants you to climb it instead & see Him.’
* Fasting: Let’s fast from things that takes our eyes off Jesus (selfishness, bitterness, being so critical, impatience, judgment, gossip, excessive video games, etc) and take on things that fix our eyes on Jesus (selflessness, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, patience, understanding, caring, helping, listening).

* Defend the unborn: ‘Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don’t stand back and let them die’ (Prov 24:11). ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you’ (Jer 1:5). ‘It is a great poverty that a child must die that you might lie as you wish’ Blessed Mother Teresa.
* Evangelization: Let’s make room for unbelievers (be a friend, make a friend, lead friend to Christ) and perpetual re-evangelization of self and those near us, by way of daily prayer (relationship) and following Christ’s example of selfless love, mercy, and service.
Let’s joyfully live out the Good News and gladly tell others about it (Mark 16:15)!