Fix Your Eyes On The Prize

From http://guff.com/life-hacks-to-leverage-your-credit-card-rewards

Once there was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted every day.  At his gate lay Lazarus, a poor man covered with sores, who longed to eat just the scraps falling form the rich man's table.  Even dogs used to come and lick his sores.  It happened that the poor man died, and angels carried him to take his place with Abraham.  The rich man also died, and was buried.  From hell, where he was in torment, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham afar off, and with him Lazarus at rest.

He called out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus, with the tip of his finger dipped in water, to cool my tongue, for I suffer so much in this fire.'

Abraham replied, 'My son, remember that in your lifetime you were well-off, while the lot of Lazarus was misfortune.  Now he is in comfort, and you are in agony.  But that is not all.  Between your place and ours a great chasm has been fixed, so that no one can cross over from here to you, or from your side to us.'

The rich man implored once more, 'Then I beg you, Father Abraham, to send Lazarus to my father's house, where my five brothers live.  Let him warn them, so that they may not end up in this place of torment.'  Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets.  Let them listen to them.'  Bu the rich man said, 'No, Father Abraham; but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Luke 16:19-31

"Lord, help me focus on the things of heaven.  Carry me into Your arms in times of depression."

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Finally

From http://www.sheriyates.com/2016/04/encourage-yourself-in-lord.html

Rejoice, young man, in your youth and direct well your heart when you are young:  followyour desires and achieve your ambitions but recall that God will take account of all you do.

Drive sorrow from your heart and pain from your flesh, for youth and dark hair will not last.

Be mindful of your Creator when you are young, before the time of sorrow comes when you have to say, "This gives me no pleasure,"

and before the sun, moon and stars withdraw their ight, before the clouds gather again after the rain.

On the day when the guardians of the house tremble, when sturdy men are bowed and those at the mill stop working because they are too few, when it grows dim for those looking through the windows, and the doors are shut and the noise of the mill grows faint, the sparrow stops chriping and the bird-song is silenced, when one fears the slopes and to walk is frightening;  yet the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper is fat and the caperberry bears fruit that serves no purpose,

because man goes forward to his eternal home and mourners gather in the street,

even before the silver chain is snapped or the golden globe is shattered,

before the pitcher is broken at the fountain or the wheel at the mill,

before the dust returns to the earth from which ti came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Meaningless!  meaningless!  the Teacher says;  all is meaningless!

Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:8

"Find rest, my soul, in Christ alone.  Know His pow'r in quietness and trust...  I will be still, know He is our God."  (From the song "Still")

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Time For Family

From http://www.mytimemanagement.com/family-goal-setting.html

There is a given time for everything and a time for every happening under heaven;

A time for giving birth, a time for dying;  a time for planting, a time for uprooting.

A time for killing, a time for healing;  a time for knocking down, a time for building.

A time for tears, a time for laughter;  a time for mourning, a time for dancing.

A time for throwing stories, a time for gathering stones;  a time for embracing, a time for refrain from embracing.

A time for searching, a time for losing;  a time for keeping, a time for throwing away.

A time for tearing, a time for sewing;  a time to be silent and a time to speak.

A time for loving, a time for hating;  a time for war, a time for peace.

What profit is there for a man from all his toils?

Finally I considered the task God gave to the humans.  He made everything fitting int its time, but he also set eternity in their hearts, although they are not able to embrace the work of God from the beginning to the end.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

"Father, You made time to create and to rest.  Help me to remember to make time for all that You want me to do.  Grant me wisdom in the use of my precious time so I can give glory to You."

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Let All My Life Be Music

You turn humans back to dust, saying, "Return, O mortals!"

A thousand years in our sight are like a day that has passed, or like a watch in the night.

You sow them in their time, at dawn they peep out.  In the morning they blossom, but the flower fades and withers in the evening.

So make us know the shortness of our life, that we may gain wisdom of heart.

How long will you be angry, O Lord?  Have mercy on your servant.

Fill us at daybreak with your goodness, that we may be glad of our days.

May the sweetness of theLord be upon us; may he prosper the work of our hands.

Psalm 90:3-6,12-14,17

"Lord, let my life be a beautiful song for You."

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From Admiration To Imitation

From https://quartervida.com/2014/05/28/when-a-chameleon-moves-away-from-its-backdrop-its-color-fades/

As Jesus moved on from there, he saw a man named Matthew at his seat in the custom-house, and he said to him, "Follow me!"  And Matthew got up and followed him.  Now it happened, while Jesus was at table in Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners joined Jesus and his disciples.  When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why is it that your master eats with sinners and tax collectors?"

When Jesus heard this, he said, "Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do.  Go and find out what this means:  What I want is mercy, not sacrifice.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Matthew 9:9-13

"Lord, I pray for a strong resolve to conform to Your mind and do what You've commissioned me to do--to make disciples."

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Haste Makes Waste

From http://www.goenglish.com/HasteMakesWaste.asp

In the hands of Yahweh, the heart of the king is like running water; he directs it wherever he wishes.

To the eyes of man all his ways are honest but it is Yahweh who weighs the heart.

To do what is upright and just pleases Yahweh more than sacrifice.

Haughty looks, proud heart, the light of the wicked is sin.

The plans of a hardworking man result in earnings; poverty is for those who act too hastily.

To make a fortune by means of deceit is like running after the wind; the end is death.

The soul of the wicked desires nothing but evil; not even his friend is treated with compassion.

When the mocker is punished the ignorant man grows wise; when the wise man is instructed he grows in knowledge.

The Just One watches the house of the evildoer and hurls the wicked into misfortune.

He who is deaf to the poor man's cry will not be heard when he himself calls out.

Proverbs 21:1-6,10-13

"Lord, teach me to be prudent, not only in temporal things but also in spiritual ones, that I may do what is pleasing in Your sight."

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He Remembers

From https://revandy.org/2011/03/02/god-remembers/remember/

Do not hold back from those who ask your help, when it is in your power to do it.  Do not say to your neighbor, "Go away!  Come another time; tomorrow I will give it to you!" when you can help him now.

Do not plot evil against our neighbor who lives trustingly beside you, nor fight a man without cause when he has done you no wrong.  Do not envy the man of violence or follow his example.

For Yahweh hates the wicked but guides the honest.  He curses the house of the evildoer but blesses the home of the upright.  If there are mockers, he mocks them in turn but he shows his favor to the humble.

Proverbs 3:27-34

"Thank You, Lord, for being there for me when nothing seems to be happening down here, and for the hope that Your Word gives me.  Amen."

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God's Timing, Not Ours

Hear this, you who trample on the needy to do away with the weak of the land.  You who say, "When will the new moon or the sabbath feast be over that we may open the store and sell our grain?  Let us lower the measure and raise the price, let us cheat and tamper with the scales, and even sell the refuse with the whole grain.  We will buy up the poor for money and the needy for a pair of sandals.

Yahweh, the pride of Jacob, has sworn by himself, "I shall never forget their deeds."

Amos 8:4-7

"Lord, I pray to have the patience to accept Your timing, Your answers to my prayers, and Your version to these answers.  Amen."

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Mang Ramon

From http://ssnet.org/blog/sunday-adam-and-jesus/

Some of you will ask"  How will the dead be raised?  With what kind of body will they come?

You fools!  What you sow cannot sprout unless it dies.  And what you sow is not the body fo the future plant but a bare grain of wheat or any other seed.

It is the same with the resurrection of the dead.  The body is sown in decomposition; it will be raised never more to die.  It is sown in humiliation, and it will be raised for Glory.  It is buried in weakness, but the resurrection shall be with power.  When buried it is a natural body, but it will be raised as a spiritual body.  For there shall be a spiritual body as there is at present a living body.  Scripture says that Adam, the first man, became a living being; but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit.

The spirit does not appear first, but the natural life, and afterwards comes the spirit.  The first man comes from the earth and is earthly, while the second one comes from heaven.  As it was with the earthly one, so is it with the earthly people.  As it is with Christ, so with the heavenly.  This is why, after bearing the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

1 Corinthians 15:35-37,42-49

"Loving Father, I want to live a purposeful life.  Please show me the way."

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A Fascinating Pattern

Jesus walked through towns and countryside, preaching and giving the good news of the kingdom of God.  The Twelve followed him, and also some women, who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases:  Mary called Magdalene, who had been freed of seven demons;  Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod's steward;  Suzanna, and others who provided for them out of their own funds.

Luke 8:1-3

"Lord Jesus, when You were hear on earth You began the work of building  the Church and proclaiming the Kingdom.  Today, over 2000 years later, the work is not yet finished.  It is a huge task, Lord.  Help me to do my part in any way I can.  I want to contribute to Your mission, too.  Amen."

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180-Degree Turn

From https://happymonkeyland.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/just-turn-around-and-walk-away/

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the Good News that I preached to you and which you received and on which you stand firm.  By that Gospel you are saved, provided that you hold to it as a I preached it.  Otherwise, you will have believed in vain.

In the first place, I have passed on to you what I myself received that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says, that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.  Afterwards he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters together; most of them are still alive, although some have already gone to rest.  Then he  appeared to James and after that to all the apostles.  And last of all, he appeared to the most despicable of them, this is to me.  For I am the last of the apostles, and I do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God.  I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been without fruit.  Far from it, I have toiled more than all of them, although not I, rather the grace of God in me.

Now, whether it was I or they, this we preach and this you have believed.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

"Jesus, every lash of the whip You endured and every drop of blood You shed paid for our sins.  Change our wicked hearts and teach us to die to ourselves for You.  Amen."

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The Fruit

From https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:German_Adam_and_Eve.jpg

No one has ever gone up to heaven except the one who came from heaven, the Son of Man.

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him nay have eternal life.

Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life.  God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through him the world is to be saved.

John 3:13-17

"Thank You, Lord God, for sending us Your Son, Jesus Christ."

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The Waterspout Challenge

From http://www.homemade-preschool.com/lw-eensy-weensy-spider.html

A little later Jesus went to a town called Naim.  He was accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people.  As he reached the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out.  He was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; there followed a large crowd of townspeople.

On seeing her, the Lord had pity on her and said, "Don't cry."  Then he came up and touched the stretcher, and the men who carried it stopped.  Jesus then said, "Young man, I say to you, wake up!"  And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.  A holy fear came over them all, and they praised God saying, "A great prophet has appeared among us; God, has visited his people."  This news spread throughout Judea and the surrounding places.

Luke 7:11-17

"Lord, I can do all things through You who strengthen me!" (Philippians 4:13)

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Factions

From http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2014/08/07/4-good-reasons-to-cancel-your-weekly-staff-meeting/#214da0d2314f

To continue with my advice, I cannot praise you, for your gatherings are not for the better but for the worse.

First, as I have heard, when you gather together, there are divisions among you and I partly believe it.  There may have to be different groups among you, so that it becomes clear who among you are genuine.

Your gatherings are no longer the Supper of the Lord, for each one eats at once his own food and while one is hungry, the other is getting drunk.  Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink?  Or perhaps you despise the Church of God and desire to humiliate those who have nothing?  What shall I say?  Shall I praise you?  For this I cannot praise you.

This is the tradition of the Lord that I received and that in my turn I have handed on to you;  the Lord Jesus, on the night that he was delivered up, took bread and, after giving thanks, broke it, saying, "This is my body which is broken for you;  do this in memory of me."  In the same manner, taking the cup after the supper, he said, "This cup is the new Covenant in my blood.  Whenever you drink it, do it in memory of me."  So, then, whenever you eat of this bread and drink from this cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord until he comes.

So then, brothers, when you gather for a meal, wait for one another.

1 Corinthians 11:17-26,33

"Father, help me to be an instrument of unity and strength in my family, community and Church."

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Ordained

From http://www.sandiegoknightsofcolumbus.com/2015-ordination-class-shows-increase-in-number-ordained-priests/

I give thanks to Christ Jesus, our Lord, who is my strength, who has considered me trustworthy and appointed me to his service, although I had been a blasphemer, a persecutor and a rabid enemy.  However he took mercy on me because I did not know what I was doing when I opposed the faith; and he grace of our Lord was more than abundant, together with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

This saying is true and worthy of belief:  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first.  Because of that I was forgiven; Christ Jesus wanted to display his utmost patience so that I might be an example for all who are to believe and obtain eternal life.  To the King of ages, the only God who lives beyond every perishable and visible creation--to him be honor and glory forever. Amen!

1 Timothy 1:12-17

"O loving Mother Mary, Mother of priests, take to your heart your Son who is close to you because of His priestly ordination, and because of the power which He was received to carry on the work of Christ in a world which needs Him so much." (Prayer for a Priest)

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Rock Star

"No healthy tree bears bad fruit, no poor tree bears good fruit.  And each tree is known by the fruit it bears:  you don't gather figs from thorns, or grapes from brambles.  Similarly the good person draws good things from the good stored in his heart, and en evil person draws evil things from the evil stored in his heart.  For the mouth speaks from the fullness of the heart.

Why do you call me, 'Lord! Lord!'and do not do what I say?  I will show you what the one is like, who comes to me, and listens to my words, and acts accordingly.  That person is like the builder who dug deep, and laid the foundations of his house on rock.  The river overflowed, and the stream dashed against the house, but could not carry it off because the house had been well built.

But the one who listens and does not act, is like a man who built his house on the ground without a foundation.  The flood burst against it, and the house fell at once:  and what a terrible disaster that was!"

Luke 6:43-49

"Father God, I am weak and I cling to bad habits.  Fill my heart with Your loving presence so that I will listen to Your word and amend my life.  For You, O Lord, are my God and my Savior."

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Children Are Gifts

From http://stmaryspearland.org/news/children-gifts-from-god

Because I cannot boast of announcing the Gospel:  I am bound to do it.  Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!  If a preached voluntarily, I could expect my reward, but I have been trusted this office against my will.  How can I, then, deserve a reward?  In announcing the Gospel, I will do it freely without making use of the rights given to me by the Gospel.

So, feeling free with everybody, I have become everybody's slave in order to gain a greater number.

To the weak I made myself weak, to win the weak.  So I made myself all things to all people in order to save, by all possible means, some of them.  This I do for the Gospel, so that I too have a share of it.

Have you not learned anything from the stadium?  Many run, but only one gets the prize.  Run, therefore, intending to win it, as athletes who impose upon themselves a rigorous discipline.  Yet for them the wreath is of laurels which wither, while for us, it does not wither.

So, then, I run knowing where I go.  I box but not aimlessly in the air.  I punish my body and control it, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be rejected.

1 Corinthians 9:16-19,22-27

"Lord, teach us to delight You in all our ways."

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Good Luck, Bad Luck

From https://theunitycodex.wordpress.com/2015/04/04/good-luck-bad-luck-who-knows/

We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him, whom he has called according to his plan.  Those whom he knew beforehand, he has also predestined to be like his Son, similar to him, so that he may be the Firstborn among many brothers and sisters.  And so, those whom God predestined he called, and those whom he called he makes righteous, and to those whom he makes righteous he will give his Glory.

Romans 8:28-30

"Father, give me the resolve to stand up when I stumble in the darkness as I humbly follow and steadily trust in Your voice."

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Year Of The Poor

From http://nassa.org.ph/2014/11/25/year-of-the-poor-logo-explained/

Then looking at his disciples, Jesus said,

"Fortunate are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours,

Fortunate are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.

Fortunate are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

Fortunate are you when people hate you, when they reject you and insult you and number you among criminals, because of the SOn fo Man.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven.  Remember, that is how the ancestors of this people treated the prophets.

But alas for you who have wealth, for you have been comforted now.

Alas for you who are full, for you will go hungry.

Alas for you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

Alas for you when people speak well of you, for that is how the ancestors of these people treated the false prophets.

Luke 6:20-26

"Dear God, grant me the grace to help others who are truly in need, even if I think myself need help.  In Jesus' name.  Amen."

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The Secret To Doing The Impossible

At this time Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God.  When day came, he called his disciples to him, and chose twelve of them, whom he called 'apostles':  Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John;  Philip and Bartholomew;  Matthew and Thomas;  James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot;  Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.

Coming down the hill with them, Jesus stood in an open plain.  Many of his disciples were there and a large crowd of people, who had come from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem, and from the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon.  They gathered to hear him and to be healed of their diseases.  And people troubled by unclean spirits were cured.  The entire crowd tried to touch him, because of the power that went out from him and healed them all.

Luke 6:12-19

"Abba Father, forgive me for those times I was too busy to even get down on my knees..."

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Watch For The Good

From behappytips.com

On another Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and began teaching.  There was a man with a paralyzed right hand, and the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees watched him:  Would Jesus heal the man on the Sabbath?  If he did, they could accuse him.

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to the man, "Get up and stand in the middle."  Then he spoke to them, "I want to ask you:  what is allowed by the Law on the Sabbath?  To do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?"  And Jesus looked around at them all.

Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  He stretched it out, and his hand was restored, becoming as healthy as the other.  But they were furious, and began to discuss with one another how they could deal with Jesus.

Luke 6:6-11

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew the Spirit within me."

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The Prize

Great crowds accompanied him on his way and he turned and spoke to them. 'Anyone who comes to me without hating father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, cannot be my disciple.  No one who does not carry his cross and come after me can be my disciple.

'And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it?  Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, anyone who saw it would start making fun of him and saying, "Here is someone who started to build and was unable to finish."

Or again, what king marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who was advancing against him with twenty thousand?  If not, then while the other king was still a long way off, he would send envoys to sue for peace.  So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple without giving up all that he owns.

Luke 14:25-33

"Lord, my strength comes from my weakness for You said it is in weakness that Your power will show its perfection.  Thank You, then, I love You!"

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