Mark 8:35 (eternal life, not alone)

* Welcome God every morning before 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).

Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it. Mark 8:35

Living Faith snippets: “We were made to be like God, and we are seemingly happiest when doing good for others. A lifetime of caring for those in need is a blessing that can be ours if we are willing to model Christ in our everyday lives.” by Fr. James Stephen Behrens

Sr. Francelle snippets: “Dearest Ones, it is normal to be lonely and it’s nothing to be ashamed of – Jesus was lonely, too, because he was fully human. The night before his death, He asked three good friends to accompany Him as He faced His agony because He didn’t want to face it alone. His loneliness on the cross can only be imagined – nearly everyone rejected Him in His last hours. We will probably never experience such loneliness as that. The Bible has many quotes where God asks us just to listen. “Be still and know that I am God.” I must give Jesus a chance to talk in my prayer time. Jesus said, “My sheep know My voice; they hear when I call.” Despite all the false teachings in the world, the Lord still speaks directly to the hearts of those willing to hear. “And Peter went upon the housetop to pray,and there came a voice to him.” (Acts 10:9) Paul “fell to the earth and heard that voice.” Till we meet in heaven, Sister Francelle” See the entire devotion at sisterfrancelle.blogspot.com.

* Praise prayer from Pam McGushin: “The genuine love and concern I have felt through [LIFE group] prayers and individual emails to me has been overwhelming. After my [prayer] request, we almost immediately began to see a change in [her Mom’s depression]. Once she was a bit more stable, I shared with her what I had done and some of the responses I received. There is no way anyone could doubt her “recovery” is anything short of heaven-sent. I know in my heart He heard the prayers of so many and responded with such power and love for her. I am happy to say that today, as her and my dad celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary, she is almost completely back to her “old” self. As we were together for dinner tonight, I could also see a strength in their marriage that was not there before. Who would have thought this ordeal would bring about such an abundance of positive change? How truly blessed we are to have the favor of the Lord and the love of so many!”

* Open: Abortion, our enemies, our troops, earthquake in China, depression/despair, Kay Castle (crimes against children), Vicki Miller (cancer treatment), Pam McGushin (Cindy’s cancer treatment), Tom Tenpenny (Anna’s cancer treatment), Dale Sundermann (strength for his Mom), Jenny Senour (ProLife job interview)

Faith Quote: Jean Noon sent this one…”To move forward in faith, your God image must periodically fall apart. Your self-image must periodically fall apart as well. If you are willing to let go of both of them, you will really grow.” Fr. Richard Rohr

* If you come across an inspiring faith quote, please send to me for sharing in the devotion.

Through Christ for ProLife,

Pat

Phil 4:13

* Let’s invite family, friends, and our “neighbors” to join the LIFE Devotions group, providing routine spiritual connection and strength for our faith communities.

* Today’s Bible readings at www.usccb.org/nab/today.shtml.

* Prayer: If you have a prayer request, simply send it to our distribution list at life-group-distro@googlegroups.com. Prayer connects us with God’s will & His miracles, thereby changing us & helping others. Wayne Watson, “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.”

* Defend the unborn: ProLife websites at life-devotions.blogspot.com. ‘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 live as you wish’ Blessed Mother Teresa. Click for Prayer to End Abortion.

* Share the Good News: Let’s joyfully live out the Good News and gladly tell others about it (Mark 16:15)! Let’s make room to share with non-believers (be a friend, make a friend, lead your friend to Christ)…and work on perpetual re-evangelization of ourselves and those close to us (Western culture), drawing closer to God’s will by way of daily prayer (relationship) and following Christ’s example of selfless love, mercy, and service…