06 Sep We Can Do Nothing (1 Cor 3:18-20) by John Paul Deddens
Welcome God now with this LIFE Group Devotion (FB), provided by LIFE Runners (FB). Leaders. Guest Authors.
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“Brothers and sisters: Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool, so as to become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written: God catches the wise in their own ruses, and again: The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.” ~ 1 Cor 3:18-20 (full readings)
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John Paul’s Reflections: In reading today’s readings, I am struck by my need for God. God does not need us, we need Him. We really can do nothing without Him. As the first reading says, we are fools if we think we are wise before God. God’s wisdom is so far above us and all we really need to do is to rely completely on Him and not on our own wisdom. Even if we have been given great gifts by God, we must still remain humble and completely reliant on Him. These gifts could pass at any moment, but God does not waiver in His love for us. In fact, He seeks us out. It’s amazing to think that God would love us so much that He would come for us! Peter sees his situation clearly when he says to Jesus “Depart from me, I am a sinful man.” He knows that he must be humble before God and that on his own he can do nothing, but with Jesus he can do all things. He knows that he is unworthy. And yet, Jesus calls this unworthy fisherman to be a great Saint. In the same way, Jesus calls you and me to be great saints by relying completely on Him.
* John Paul Deddens is the founder of Students for Life of Illinois (http://www.prolifeillinois.com/) and the website http://www.PrayMoreNovenas.com/.
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Faith Challenge: Let us commend our sinfulness to God in humility and follow his call to holiness today. Let us not be afraid.
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Counter-Culture News: LSN, LifeNews, Priests for Life, AFA,Vatican, Project Rachel.
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Our Prayers: Prayer to end abortion. LIFE Runners Creed. Add Prayers. Pray with meals, bedtime, wake up, etc. Consider mid-week Family Rosary (17 min). Let’s pray now.
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Feast Day: Blessed Claudio Granzatto.
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Faith Quote: “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. ~ Jn 15:5
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Through Christ our Lord,
John Paul
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* Pray/Fast: Prayer connects us with God’s will and His miracles, changing us & helping others. Fast from things that take your eyes off Jesus. Those who pray together stay together, and close to God!
* Save Unborn (and families): Abortion (images) is #1 death cause (22% pregnancies). Prov 24:11 and Jer 1:5. “A great poverty that a child must die that you might live as you wish.” Mother Teresa.
* Evangelize: Make room for unbelievers and re-evangelization of self, by way of prayer (relationship) and following Christ’s example of love (service/sacrifice/mercy). Matt 28:19.