A Light In The Dark

We heard his message from him and announce it to you:  God is light and there is no darkness in him.

If we say we are in fellowship with him, while we walk in darkness, we lie instead of being in truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we are in fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, purifies us from all sin.

If we say, "We have no sin," we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all wickedness.

If we say that we do not sin, we make God a liar, his word is not in us.

My little children, I write to you that you may not sin.  But if anyone sins, we have an intercessor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just One.  He is the sacrificial victim for our sins and the sins of the whole world.

1 John 1:5-2:2

"Father, admonish us when we stray.  Be our guide always.  Where there is darkness, be our Light."

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Good News

This is what has been from the beginning, and what we have heard and have seen with our own eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, I mean the Word who is Life...

The Life made itself known, we have seen Eternal Life and we bear witness, and we are telling you of it.  It was with the Father and made himself known to us.

So we tell you what we have seen and heard, that you may be in fellowship with us, and us, with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

And we write this that our joy may be completed.

1 John 1:1-4

"Lord, lead me to tell others about You today.  Give me the strength and boldness to share the great things You have done in my life.  Amen."

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Don't Just Be Merry

Then he showed me the river of life, clear as crystal, gushing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.  In the middle of the city, on both sides of the river are the trees of life producing fruit twelve times, once each month, the leaves of which are for healing the nations.

No longer will there be a curse, the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the City and God's servants will live in his presence.  They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads.  There will be no more night.  They will not need the light of lamp or sun for God himself will be their light and the will reign forever.

Then the angel said to me, "These words are sure and true;  the Lord God who inspires the prophets has sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon."

"I am coming soon!  Happy are those who keep the prophetic words of this book."

Revelation 22:1-7

"Lord, let me express my love this season through acts of generosity."

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Love And Respect

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 your 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 5:21-33

"Lord Jesus, grant me the maturity to understand the needs of my spouse and to respond according to Your Word.  Amen."

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The Grace Of Motherhood

"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 may 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

"Grant me an open heart, Lord, to be used for the fulfillment of Your plans for mankind."

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In God's Time

"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 of 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 fo ryou 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

"Lord, please show me everyday that You're teaching me Your way, and that You do just what You say in Your time."

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A Safe Refuge

"You have become news with a case of immorality, and such a case that is not even found among pagans.  Yes, one of you has taken as wife his own stepmother.  And you feel proud!  Should you not be in mourning instead and expel the one who did such a thing.  For my part, although I am physically absent, my spirit is with you and, as if present, I have already passed sentence on the man who committed such a sin.  Let us meet together, you and my spirit, and in the name of our Lord Jesus and with his power, you shall deliver him to Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit be saved in the day of Judgment.

"This is not the time to praise yourselves.  Do you not know that a little yeast makes the whole mass of dough rise?  Throw out, then the old yeast and be new dough.  If Christ became our Passover, you should be unleavened bread.  Let us celebrate, therefore, the Passover, no longer with old yeast, which is sin and perversity; let us have unleavened bread, that is purity and sincerity."

1 Corinthians 5:1-8

"Lord, You are my rock, my fortress, my refuge and my strength.  There is nothing I shall fear."

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Not Found Wanting

"One day, as Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, with a crowd gathered around him listening to the word of God, he caught sight of two boats, left at the water's edge by fishermen, now washing their nets.  He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull out a little from the shore.  There he sat and continued to teach the crowd.

"When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.'  Simon replied, 'Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing.  But if you say so, I will lower the nets.'  This they did, and caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.  They signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  They came, and they filled both boats almost to the point of sinking.

"Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!'  For he and his companions were amazed at the catch they had made, and so were Simon's partners, James and John, Zebedee's sons.

"Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid.  You will catch people from now on.'  So they brought their boats to land and followed him, leaving everything."

Luke 5:1-11

"Soften my heart, Lord.  Let me be fertile ground for Your Word."

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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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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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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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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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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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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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Massage Chair, Anyone?

"And whatever we ask we shall receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what is acceptable to him.

"His commandment is this, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and that we should love one another as he commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments remains in God, and God in him. And this is the proof that he remains in us: the Spirit that he has given us.

"My dear friends, not every spirit is to be trusted, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets are at large in the world.

"This is the proof of the spirit of God: any spirit which acknowledges Jesus Christ, come in human nature, is from God, and no spirit which fails to acknowledge Jesus is from God; it is the spirit of Antichrist, whose coming you have heard of; he is already at large in the world.

"Children, you are from God and have overcome them, because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world, and therefore the world inspires what they say, and listens to them. We are from God; whoever recognises God listens to us; anyone who is not from God refuses to listen to us. This is how we can distinguish the spirit of truth from the spirit of falsehood."

1 JOHN 3:22-4:6

"Lord, may I obey You not in exchange for things I need,
but because I just love You so!"

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Testify

"When the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness. And you too will be witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning.

"I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you to bear now. However, when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking of his own accord, but will say only what he has been told; and he will reveal to you the things to come.

"He will glorify me, since all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine."

JOHN 15:26-27; 16:12-15

"Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful; enkindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and we shall be created and we shall renew the face of the earth."

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Brownies, Anyone?

"They had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.

"He enjoined them, 'Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.'

"They concluded among themselves that it was because they had no bread.

"When he became aware of this he said to them, 'Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?' They answered him, 'Twelve.' '"When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?' They answered (him), 'Seven.' He said to them, 'Do you still not understand?'"

MARK 8:14-21

"Lord, guide me as I seek Your truth at all times."

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A Van, Please!

"The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.

"He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, 'Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.'

"Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore."

MARK 8:11-13

"Lord, grant me the grace to see and marvel at the many miracles You allow to happen in my life."

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