Ready!

"This story throws light on what will happen in the kingdom of heaven:  Ten bridesmaids went out with their lamps to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were careless, and the others were sensible.

"The careless bridesmaids took their lamps as they were, and did not bring extra oil.  But those who were sensible, brought with their lamps flasks of oil.  As the bridegroom delayed, they all grew drowsy and fell asleep.

"But at midnight, a cry rang out, 'The bridegroom is here, come out and meet him!'  All the maidens woke up at once, and trimmed their lamps.  Then the careless ones said to the sensible ones, 'Give us some oil, for our lamps are going out.'  The sensible ones answered, 'There may not be enough for us and for you.  You had better go to those who sell, and buy some for yourselves.'

"They were out buying oil when the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him to the wedding feast, and the doors were shut.

"Later the other bridesmaids arrived and called out, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!'  But he answered, 'Truly I do not know you.'

"So stay awake, for you do not know that day nor the hour."

Matthew 25:1-13

"Oh, Lord, let each moment of my life be a preparation for Your coming."

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High Fidelity

"Stay awake then, for you do not know on what day your Lord will come.  Obviously, if the owner of the house knew at what time the thief was coming, he would certainly stay u pa dn not allow his house to be broken into.  So be alert, for the Son fo Man will come at the hour you least expect.

"Imagine a capable servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time.  Fortunate indeed is that servant, whom his master will find at work when he comes.  Truly I say to you, his lord will entrust that one with everything he has.

"Not so with the bad servant, who things, 'My master is delayed.'  And he begins to ill-treat his fellow servants, while eating and drinking with drunkards.  But his master will come on the day he does not know, and at the hour he least expects.  He will dismiss that servant, and deal with him as with the hypocrites.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Matthew 24:42-51

"Lord Jesus, I pray for the grace to be a high fidelity Christian not just by my words but my actions as well."

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Someone Believes In You

"But you get ready for action; stand up and say to them all that I command you.  Be not scared of them or I will scare you in their presence!

"See, I will make you a fortified city, a pillar of iron with walls of bronze, against all the nations, against the kings and princes of Judah, against the priests and the people of the land.  They will fight against you but shall not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue you--it is Yahweh who speaks."

Jeremiah 1:17-19

"Lord, in You I have strength.  I need You each day as I face the battles in my life.  I know I will conquer."

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Tragedy Into Victory

From sports.yahoo.com

"Brothers and sisters, let us speak about the coming of Christ Jesus, our Lord, and our gathering to meet him.  Do not be easily unsettled.  Do not be alarmed by what a prophet says or by any report, or by some letter said to be ours, saying the day of the Lord is at hand.

"Do not let yourselves be deceived in any way.  Apostasy msut come first, when the man of Sin will appear.

"To this end he called you through the gospel we preach, for he willed you tos hare the glory of Christ Jesus our Lord.

"Because of that, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold to the traditions that we taught you by word or by letter.  May Christ Jesus our Lord who has loved us, may God our Father, who in his mercy gives us everlasting comfort and true hope, strengthen you.  May he encourage your hearts and make you steadfast in every good work and word."

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3,14-17

"Lord, teach us to be strong and take courage even in the midst of darkness."

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Promise Keepers

"Therefore, woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You shut the door to the kingdom of heaven in people's faces.  You yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow others to do so.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You devour widows' houses, even while for a pretense you make long prayers;  therefore you shall receive greater condemnation.  Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You travel by sea and land to win a single convert, yet once he is converted, you make him twice as fit for hell as yourselves.

"Woe to you, blind guides!  You say:  To swear by the Temple is not binding, but to swear by the treasure of the Temple is binding.  Blind fools!  Which is more worth:  the gold in the Temple, or the Temple which makes the gold a sacred treasure?  You say:  To swear by the altar is not binding, but to swear by the offering on the altar is binding.  How blind you are!  Which is of more value:  the offering on the alater, or the altar which makes the offering sacred?  Whoever swears by the altar, is swearing by the altar and by everything on it.  Whoever swears by the Temple is swearing by the Temple and by God who dwells in the Temple.  Whoever swears by heaven is swearing by the throne of God, and by him who is seated on it."

Matthew 23:13-22

"Dearest God, help us keep our promises to You and to one another.  In Jesus' name, we pray.  Amen."

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Extraordinary Love

"Let all kinds of submission to one another become obedience to Christ.  So wives to their husbands, as to the Lord.

"The husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is the head of the Church, his body, of whom he is also the Savior.  And as the Church submits to Christ, so let a wife submit in everything to her husband.

"As for you, husbands, love you wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her.  He washed her and made her holy by baptism in the Word.  As he wanted a radiant Church without stain or wrinkle or any blemish, but holy and blameless, he himself had to prepare and present her to himself.

"In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they love their own bodies.  He who loves his wife loves himself.  And no one has ever hated his body;  he feeds and takes care of it.  That is just what Christ does for the Church, because we are members of his body.

"Scripture says:  Because of this a man shall leave his father and mother to be united with his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.  This is a very great mystery, and I refer to Christ and the Church.  As for you let each one love his wife as himself, and let the wife respect her husband."

Ephesians 5:21-32

"Lord, I love You.  I love You.  I love You.  Thank You for always loving me."

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Actions And Words

From www.sodahead.com

"Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

"'The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees have sat down on the chair of Moses.  So you shall do and observe all they say, but do not do as they do, for they do not do what they say.  They tie up heavy burdens and load them on the shoulders of the people, but they do not even raise a finger to move them.  They do everything in order to be seen by people;  they wear very wide bands of the Law around their foreheads, and robes with large tassels.  They enjoy the first places at feasts and reserved seats in the synagogues, and they like being greeted in the marketplace, and being called "Master" by the people.

"'But you, do not let yourselves be called Master, because you have only one Master, and all of you are brothers and sisters.  Neither should you call anyone on earth Father, because you have only one Father, he who is in heaven.  Nor should you be called Leader, because Christ is the only Leader for you.  Let the greatest among you be the servant of all.  For whoever makes himself great shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be made great.'"

Matthew 23:1-12

"Holy Spirit, rule, guide and protect my heart always so my life becomes a testimony of my faith."

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The Promise

"Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found the one that Moses wrote about in the Law, and the prophets as well:  he is Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.'

"Nathanael replied, 'Can anything good come from Nazareth?'  Philip said to him, 'Come and see.'  When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, he said to him, 'Here come an Israelite, a true one; there is nothing false in him.'  Nathanael asked him, 'How do you know me?'  And Jesus said to him, 'Before Philip called you, you were under the fig tree, and I saw you.'

"Nathanael answered, 'Master, you are the Son of God!  You are the king of Israel!'  But Jesus replied, 'You believe because I said, "I saw you under the fig tree." But you will see greater things than that.

"'Truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.'"

John 1:45-51

"Lord, we rejoice because as we suffer, we persevere and as we persevere, we find hope."

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Open Invitation

"Jesus went on speaking to them in parables:

"'This story throws light on the kingdom of heaven:  A king celebrated the wedding of his son.  He sent his servants to call the invited guests to the wedding feast, but the guests refused to come.

"'Again he sent otehr servants, ordering them to say to the invited guests, "I have prepared a banquet, slaughtered my fattened calves and pother animals, and now everything is ready.  Come to the wedding!"  But they paid no attention and went away, some to their fields, and some to their work.  Others seized the servants of the king, insulted them and killed them.

"'The king became angry.  He sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.  Then he said to his servants, "The wedding banquet is prepared, but the invited guests were not worthy.  Go instead to the crossroads, and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast."

"'The servants went out at once into the streets and gathered everyone they found, good and bad alike, so that the hall was filled with guests.

"'The king came in to see those who were at table, and he noticed a man not wearing the festal garment.  So he said to him, "Friend, how did you get in without the wedding garment?"  But the man remained silent.  So the king said to his servants, "Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the dark, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth."

"'Know that many are called, but few are chosen.'".

Matthew 22:1-14

"Thank You, Lord, for welcoming us to Your eternal banquet!"

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Learning From Mary

From www.catholictradition.org

"This story throws light on the kingdom of Heaven:  A landowner went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.  He agreed to pay each worker the usual daily wage, and sent them to his vineyard.  He went out again at about nine in the morning, and seeing others idle in the town square, he said to them, 'You also, go to my vineyard, and I will pay you what is just.'  So they went.

"The owner went out at midday, and again at three in the afternoon, and he did the same.  Finally he went out at the last working hour--the eleventh hour--and he saw others standing there.  So he said to them, 'Why do you stay idle the whole day?'  They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.'  The master said, 'Go and work in my vineyard.'

'When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the workers and pay them their wage, beginning with the last and ending with the first.'  Those who had come to work at the eleventh hour turned up, and were each given a silver coin.  When it was the turn of the first, they thought they would receive more.  But they, too, each received a silver coin.  So on receiving it, they began to grumble against the landowner.

"They said, 'These last hardly worked an hour, yet you have treated them the same as us, who have endured the heavy work of the day and the heat.'  The owner said to one of them, 'Frind, I have not been unjust to you.  Did we not agree on one silver coin per day?  So take what is yours and go.  I want to give to the last the same as I give to you.  Don't I have the right to do as I please with what is mine?  Why are you envious when I am kind?'

"So will it be:  the last will be first, the first will be last."

Matthew 20:1-16

"Thank You, Lord, for the gift of our Mother Mary.  May we learn from her humility, her courage, and most of all, her deep love and devotion to Jesus.  Mother Mary, pray for us."

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Blessed And Honored

From www.theworkofgod.org

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Truly I say to you:  it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Yes, believe me;  it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.'

"On hearing this the disciples were astonished and said, 'Who, then can be saved?'  Jesus looked steadily at them and answered, 'For human beings it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.'

"Jesus answered, 'You who have followed me, listen to my words:  on the Day of Renewal, when the Son of Man sits on his throne in glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.  As for those who have left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or property for my Name's sake, they will receive a hundredfold, and be given eternal life.  Many who are now first will be last, and many who are now last will be first.'"

Matthew 19:23-30

"Lord Jesus, please forgive my sins.  In Thy Name, I forgive all others for what they have done against me.  I accept Thee as my Lord God and Savior.  Heal me, change me, strengthen me in body, soul and spirit.  (From the Miracle Prayer)

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Walk In His Footsteps

From http://hersilent-thoughts.blogspot.com

"It was then that a young man approached him and asked, 'Master, what good work must I do to receive eternal life?'  Jesus answered, 'Why do you ask me about what is good?  One only is good.  If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments.'  The young man said, 'Which commandments?'  Jesus replied, 'Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.'

"The young man said to him, 'I have kept all these commandments.  What is still lacking?'  Jesus answered, 'If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you possess and give the money to the poor, and you will become the owner of a treasure in heaven.  Then come back and follow me.'

"On hearing this answer, the young man went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth."

Matthew 19:16-22

"Lord Jesus, help me overcome my fear.  Give me a fresh perspective and the strength to endure."

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The World Today

"Pay attention to how you behave.  Do not live as the unwise do, but as responsible persons.  Try to make good use of the present time, because these days are evil.  So do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is.

"Do not get drunk:  wine leads to levity; but be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Gather together to pray with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  Sing and celebrate the Lord in your heart, giving thanks to God the Father in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord, always and for everything."

Ephesians 5:15-20

"Lord, allow me to be a tiny spark of light in this world of darkness."

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For My Own Good

"The word of Yahweh came to me in these terms, 'Why are you applying this proverb to the land of Israel:  "The parents have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge?"

"'As I live, word of Yahweh, this proverb will no longer be quoted in Israel.  All life is in my hands, the life of the parent and the life of the child are mine.  The lives of both are in my hands, so the one who sins will die.

"Imagine a man who is righteous and practices what is just and right.  He does not eat in the mountain shrines, or look towards the filthy idols of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife, or have intercourse with a woman during her period;  he does not steal, gives food to the hungry and clothes to the naked;  demands no interest on a loan and doesn't lend for interest, refrains from injustice, practices true justice, man to man, follows my decrees and obeys my laws in acting loyally.  Because such a man is truly righteous, he will live, word of Yahweh.

"'But perhaps this man has a son who steals and sheds blood, committing crimes which his father never did.

"'demands interest on a loan, even practices usury.  Will such a man live?  No, he will not!  Because he has committed all these abominations he will die:  his guilt will fall upon him.

"'That is why I will judge you, Israel, each one according to his ways, word of Yahweh.  Come back, turn away from your offenses, that you may not deserve punishment.

"'Free yourselves from all the offenses you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit.  Why should you die, Israel?  I do not want the death of anyone, word of Yahweh, but that you be converted and live!'"

Ezekiel 18:1-10,13,30-32

"Lord, guard me from temptation.  Reveal to me the ugliness of sin that I may despise it.  Amen."

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Adulterous!

From www.nomadicpictures.com

"The word of Yahweh came to me in these terms, 'Son of man, make known to Jerusalem its sins.  You say on my behalf:  Your beginning was in Canaan; tehre you were born.  Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.  On the day you were born your cord was not cut, you were not bathed in water to make you clean, you were not rubbed with salt nor were you wrapped in cloth.  There was no one to look with pity on you or compassionate enough to give you any of these attentions.  You were left exposed in the in the open fields because you were looked upon with disgust on the day you were born.

"'But I passed by and saw you immersed in your blood, I said to you in the midst of your blood, "Live!"  I made you grow like a plant of the field.  You grew up and became tall and were becoming of marriageable age.  Your breasts were formed and your hair had grown but you were naked and exposed.  I passed by later and saw you were at the age of love and spread part of my garment over you to cover your nudity.  I made a covenant with you with an oath--word of Yahweh--and you were mine.  Then I bathed you in water, I cleansed you of your blood and anointed you with oil.  I clothed you with embroidered cloth and put soft leather sandals on your feet.  I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with silk.  I adorned you with jewelry, putting bracelets on your arms, a necklace around your neck and a ring in your nose.  I gave you earrings and a magnificent crown for your head.  You were adorned with gold and silver; your clothing was fine linen, silk and embroidered cloth.  You were fed on the fines flour, honey and oil;  you became very beautiful and rose to be queen.  Your beauty was perfect and your renown spread through the nations, because of the splendor I had given you--word of Yahweh.

"'But you relied on your beauty; you trusted in your fame and you began to give yourself to every passerby like a prostitute.'"

Ezekiel 16:1-15

"Lord, my heart is prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love.  Here's my heart.  Take it and seal it for Your courts above."

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Callous

"This word of Yahweh came to me, 'Son of man, you live in the midst of a house of rebels;  they have eyes for seeing but do not see;  they have ears for hearing but do not hear, for they are a house of rebels.  Because of this, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile's baggage in their sight as an exile does;  and go as an exile to another place in their sight.  Would that they may understand, because they are a house of rebels.

"'You will gather your things, an exile's baggage, by day to be seen by them, and you will leave in the evening as for a departure of deportees.  While they look on, dig a hole in the wall and leave from there.  As they look on, shoulder your baggage and leave in the dark.  Veil your face and do not look at the land for I have made you a sign for Israel.'

"I did as I was ordered, gathering my things by day, an exile's baggage, and in the evening I made a hole in the wall with my hand, I left in the dark, in their presence, shouldering my baggage.

"In the morning, the word of Yahweh came to me:  'Son of man, did not the Israelites, these rebels, ask you, "What are you doing there?"  Answer them on behalf of Yahweh:  This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the Israelites remaining in the city.

"'Say, "I am a sign for you," for what I have done will happen to them:  They will be deported, exiled.  The prince among them shall shoulder his baggage in the dark and depart.  They will dig a hole in the wall to let him leave by it.  He will cover his face because he must not see the land with his eyes.'"

Ezekiel 12:1-12

"Dear Lord, forgive me for the times I've chosen to be blind and deaf towards loving You and others more.  Amen."

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Always At Your Service

"Mary then set out for a town in a hill country of Judah.  She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.  When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leapt in her womb.  Elizabeth was filled with holy spirit, and giving a loud cry, said, 'You are most blessed among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me?  The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy.  Blessed are you who believed that the Lord's word would come true!'

"And Mary said,

'My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit exults in God my savior!
He has looked upon his servant in her lowliness,
and people forever will call me blessed.

The Mighty One has done great things for me,
Holy is his Name!
From age to age his mercy extends
to those who live in his presence.

He has acted with power and done wonders,
and scattered the proud with their plans.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and lifted up those who are downtrodden.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
but has sent the rich away empty.

He held out his hand to Israel, his servant,
for he remembered his mercy,
even as he promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his descendants forever.'

"Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned home."

Luke 1:39-56

"Lord, may I be like Mary who put others' needs before her own."

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Grace Through The Special Ones

Canon G10

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?'

"Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, 'I assure you that, unless you change and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever becomes lowly like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child in my name receives me.

"'See that you do not despsie any of these little ones, for I tell you:  their angels in heaven continually see the face of my heavenly Father.

"'What do you think of this?  If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, won't he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside, and go to look for the stray one?  And I tell you:  when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it than about the ninety-nine, that did not get lost.  It is the same with your Father in heaven:  your Father in heaven doesn't want even one of these little ones to be lost.'"

Matthew 18:1-5,10,12-14

"Lord, make me gracious enough to let the little ones, the people with disabilities and those below me in stature, enter my life."

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No Offense

Canon

"While Jesus was in Galilee with the Twelve, he said to them, 'The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him.  But he will rise on the third day.'  The Twelve were deeply grieved.

"When they returned to Capernaum, the Tmple tax collectors came to Peter and asked him, 'Does your master pay the Temple tax?'  He answered, 'Certainly.'

"Peter then entered the house, and immediately Jesus asked him, 'What do you think, Simon?  Who pay taxes or tributes to the kings of the earth:  their sons or the other people?'  Peter replied, 'The other people.'  And Jesus told him, 'The sons, then are tax-free.  But so as not to offend these people, go to the sea, throw in a hook, and open the mouth of the first fish you catch.  You will find a coin in it.  Take the coin and let it pay for you and for me.'"

Matthew 17:22-27

"Lord, help me learn victory through surrender.  In Jesus' name."

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Get Going

From www.SustainAbility.com

"He himself disappeared in to the desert going on a day's journey.  Then he sat down under a broom tree and prayed to die, 'That is enough, Yahweh, take away my life for I am dying.'

"He lay down and went to sleep under the broom tree.  Then an angel touched him and said, 'Get up and eat.'  Elijah looked and saw, at his head, a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water.  He ate and drank and went back to sleep.  The angel of Yahweh came a second time to him, saying, 'Get up and eat, for the journey is too long for you.'  He got up, ate and drank, and on the strength of that food, he traveled for forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God."

1 Kings 19:4-8

"Lord Jesus, You knew Your fate but You persisted in doing Your Father's work.  Teach us to face life with courage and faith the way You did."

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The Faith That Moves Mountains

"When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus, knelt before Him and said, 'Sir, have pity on my son, who is an epileptic and suffers terribly.  He has often fallen into the fire, and at other times into the water.  I brought him to your disciples but they could not heal him.'

"Jeus replied, 'You faithless and disoriented people!  How long must I be with you?  Bring him here to me.'  And Jesus commanded the evil spirit to leave the boy, and the boy was immediately healed.

"The disciples then gathered around Jesus and asked Him privately, 'Why couldn't we drive out the spirit?'  Jesus said to them, 'Because you have little faith.  I say to you:  if only you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could tell that mountain to move from here to there, and the mountain would obey.  Nothing would be impossible to you.  (Only prayer and fasting can drive out this kind of spirit.')

Matthew 17:14-20

"Increase my faith, Lord.  Help me to realize that You are bigger than my problem."

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Good Irritation

"Truly, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone;  but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

"Those who love their life destroy it, and those who despise their life in this world keep it for everlasting life.

"Whoever wants to serve Me, let him follow Me;  and wherever I am, there shall My servant be also.  If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him."

John 12:24-26

"I pray that by Your grace, I may turn my 'irritations' into blessings."

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The Name Game

"After that, Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi.  He asked His disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of Man is?'  They said, 'For some of them You are John the Baptist, for others Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.'

"Jesus asked them, 'But you, who do you say I am?'  Peter answered, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.'  Jesus replied, 'It is well for you, Simon Barjona, for it is not flesh or blood that has revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.

"'And now I say to you:  You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church;  and never will the powers of death overcome it.

"'I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven:  whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you unbind on earth shall be unbound in heaven.'

"Then He ordered His disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ.

"From that day Jesus began to make it clear to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem;  that He would suffer many things from the Jewish authorities, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law;  and that He would be killed and be raised on the third day.

"Then Peter took Him aside and began to reproach Him, 'Never, Lord!  No, this must never happen to You!'  But Jesus turned to him and said, 'Get behind me, Satan!  You are an obstacle in my path.  You are thinking not as God does, but as people do.'"

Matthew 16:13-23

"Jesus, may You be real in my life today.  Thank You for being everything I need for You to be."

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Where There Is Doubt

From www.cbmidwest.org

"Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  Now a Canaanite woman came from those borders and began to cry out, 'Lord, Son of David, have pity on me!  My daughter is tormented by a demon.'  But Jesus did not answer her, not even a word.  So his disciples approached Him and said, 'Send her away!  See how she is shouting after us.'

"Then Jesus said to her, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel.'

"But the woman was already kneeling before Jesus, and said, 'Sir, help me!'  Jesus answered, 'It is not right to take the bread from the children and throw it to the puppy dogs.'  The woman replied, 'That is true, sir, but even the puppy dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's table.'  Then Jesus said, 'Woman, how great is your faith!  Let it be as you wish.'  And her daughter was healed at that moment."

Matthew 15:21-28

"Lord, thank You for Your mercy!  Help us always remember that though it seems that Your answers to our prayers are delayed, they are never late.  Strengthen our faith, Lord!"

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Lord, Save Us!

"Immediately Jesus obliged His disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowd away.

"And having sent the people away, He went up the mountain by Himself to pray.  At nightfall, He was there alone.  Meanwhile, the boat was very far from land, dangerously rocked by the waves, for the wind was against it.

"At daybreak, Jesus came to them walking on the sea.  When they saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, thinking that it was a ghost.  And they cried out in fear.  But at once Jesus said to them, 'Courage!  Don't be afraid.  It's me!'  Peter answered, 'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You walking on the water.'

"Jesus said to him, 'Come!'  And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water to go to Jesus.  But seeing the strong wind, he was afarid and began to sink; and he cried out, 'Lord, save me!'  Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and took hold of him, saying, 'Man of little faith, why did you doubt?'

"As they got into the boat, the wind dropped.  Then those in the boat bowed down before Jesus, saying, 'Truly, You are the Son of God!'

"They came ashore at Gennesareth.  The local people recognized Jesus and spread the news throughout the region.  So they brought all the sick to Him, begging Him to let them touch just the hem of His cloak.  All who touched it became perfectly well."

Matthew 14:22-36

"Father, help us in our daily needs.  Help us increase our faith and trust in You."

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Like A Detection Dog

"Indeed, what we taught you about the power and the return of Christ Jesus our Lord was not drawn from myths or formulated theories.  We ourselves were eyewitnesses of His majesty, when He received glory and honor from God the Father, when from the magnificent Glory this most extraordinary word came upon him:  'This is my beloved Son, this is my Chosen One.'  We ourselves heard this voice from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

"Therefore, we believe most firmly in the message of the prophets which you should consider rightly as a lamp shining in a dark place, until the break of day, when the Morning Star shines in your hearts."

2 Peter 1:16-19

"Dear Jesus, enable me to overcome my weaknesses.  Help me train myself in Your way."

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Aim To Look Like Jesus

"I say to you, then, and with insistence I advise you in the Lord; do not imitate the pagans who live an aimless kind of life.

"But it is not for this that you have followed Christ.  For I suppose that you heard of him and received his teaching which is seen in Jesus himself.  You must give up your former way of living, the old self, whose deceitful desires bring self-destruction.  Renew yourselves spiritually, from inside, and put on the new self, or self according to God, that is created in true righteousness and holiness."

Ephesians 4:17, 20-24

"Lord, please send me the Holy Spirit to guide me in all my actions so that I may be like Christ in everything I do."

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First Quarter Storm

"Then the priests and the prophets said to the leaders of the people: 'This man must die for he has spoken against the city as you have heard with your own ears!'

"Jeremiah replied, 'I have been sent by Yahweh to prophesy against his House and this city all that you have heard. Hence, reform your ways and your deeds and obey Yahweh your God that he may change his mind and not bring upon you the destruction he had intended. "As for me I am in your hands; do with me whatever you consider just and right. But know that I am innocent and if you take my life you commit a crime that is a curse on yourselves, on the city and the people. In truth it was Yahweh who sent me to say all that I said in your hearing.'

"Then the leaders, backed by the people, said to the priests and the prophets, 'This man does not deserve death; he spoke to us in the Name of Yahweh.'

"As for Jeremiah he was befriended by Ahikam, son of Shaphan, and was not handed over to those who wanted him put to death."

Jeremiah 26:11-16, 24

"Lord, grant me the grace to win my battle against my everyday sins."

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