Only God can change our hearts and make them clean and whole through the power of the Holy Spirit. Like a physician who probes the wound before treating it, God through his Word and Spirit first brings to light our sinful condition that we may recognize sin for what it is and call upon God's mercy and pardon.
Memorial of St. John Vianney
Numbers 12:1-13
Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 6cd-7, 12-13
Matthew 15:1-2, 10-14 (alternate text: Matthew 14:22-36) 1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat." 10 Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, "Listen and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles." 12 Then the disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?" 13 He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit."
Meditation by Don Schwager
Which is more important to God – clean hands or a clean mind and heart? The Scribes and Pharisees accused Jesus' disciples of breaking their ritual traditions. They were concerned with avoiding ritual defilement, some no doubt out of fear of God, and others out of fear of pleasing other people. Jesus points his listeners to the source of true defilement – evil desires which come from inside a person's innermost being. Sin does not just happen or force itself upon us. It first springs from the innermost recesses of our thoughts and intentions, from the secret desires which only the individual soul can conceive.
God in his mercy sent his Son Jesus Christ to free us from our sinful cravings and burden of guilt, and to restore us to wholeness of life and goodness. But to receive his mercy and healing, we must admit our faults and ask for his forgiveness. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8-9). When Cain was jealous of his brother, Abel, God warned him to guard his heart: "Sin is couching at the door; it's desire is for you, but you must master it" (Genesis 4:7). Do you allow any sinful desires to couch at your door? We do not need to entertain or succumb to sinful desires or thoughts, but instead, through the grace of God, we can choose to put them to death rather than allow them mastery over us.
Only God can change our hearts and make them clean and whole through the power of the Holy Spirit. Like a physician who probes the wound before treating it, God through his Word and Spirit first brings to light our sinful condition that we may recognize sin for what it is and call upon God's mercy and pardon. The Lord is every ready to change and purify our hearts through his Holy Spirit who dwells within us. His power and grace enables us to choose what is good and to reject what is evil. Do you believe in the power of God's love to change and transform your heart?
"Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and make my heart like yours. Strengthen my heart and my will that I may I choose to love what is good and to hate what is evil."
Supplementary Reading
Walk in the Way of Love by Juan Carlos Ortiz
"Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." – Ephesians 5:2
My father died when I was a child, leaving my mother with five of us to raise. Amazingly, we were able to buy a house—a fairly nice one, and reasonably priced.
After we moved in, we found out why it was so easy to acquire. In our enthusiasm, we failed to discover that it was beside railroad tracks. Several times an hour, we were treated to "Whooooo! Whooooo! Chugga-chugga-chugga. Whooooo! Whooooo!"
The first week we lost so much sleep that we were nervous and fighting with each other all the time. Then after a few weeks, a strange thing happened—we got used to the sound. We slept peacefully. Of course, visitors couldn't sleep, but that was only a temporary problem.
A few years later, the railway people went on strike, so the trains stopped for a few days. We couldn't sleep! We had grown so accustomed to the noise that we needed it to sleep. Our adjustment, though, did not mean that all that noise was a good thing.
People, like trains, can be quite noisy too. I'm not talking about people with loud voices, but about people consumed with obtrusive things that seem "noisy" because they're unnecessary. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:1 that the Christian who lacks love is like a "noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." Likewise, divisions in the church grow out of an absence of true love. We may get used to them, but that doesn't lessen God's displeasure with them.
The best excuses for division amount to clanging cymbals in God's ear. The least we can do, as well as the most we can do, is to love the brethren, and to love those of the world who need to see God's love firsthand.
* * *
Be more than a clanging cymbal in God's ear today. Love others in a way that lets them experiences God's love firsthand.
* * *
GOD BLESS US ALL!
PRAY as if everything depended on HIM. ACT as if everything depended on YOU.
http://www.tlig.org/en/messages/
Daily Mass and Gospel Meditation Broadcast (Tagalog) thru DWXI (5am Phil Time), pls click this link: http://www.eradioportal.com/index.php?p=2&aid=1&sid=62
Saturday, August 01, 2009
August 3, 2009 Monday Meditation (Power of Right Choices)
Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.
Monday in the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Numbers 11:4b-15
Psalm 81:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
Matthew 14:13-21 Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately he spoke to them, saying, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." 28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; 30 but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." 34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent round to all that region and brought to him all that were sick, 36 and besought him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well.
Meditation by Pat Borchers
It’s tempting to comment on the Gospel reading of Matthew’s account of the loaves and the fishes, but the reading is familiar to all and I fear that I would have little to say that you, the reader, haven’t thought of already.
But the first reading about the children of Israel lamenting their lack of food and their nostalgia about their captivity in Egypt spoke directly to me. I am not one of those people who suffers in silence when facing a challenge, whether it be physical, emotional or what have you. To some extent this is part of my coping mechanism because it helps me to talk about it with other people. There’s a certain healthy aspect to this I suppose, but I fear I often underestimate Evil One’s deviousness. One way that he tries to trick us is to trap us into self pity. “See, if God really loved you and cared about you, he wouldn’t do this to you!” So he tempts us into self pity and ignoring other people because after all we’re suffering. Of course it’s good to try to get help but to give God the cold shoulder is exactly what the Evil One wants us to do. If he can do that, he can turn us from children of God into children of self pity and self indulgence. We can’t let it happen.
Supplementary Reading
The power of Right Choices by John C. Maxwell
"…He will instruct them in the ways they should choose." – Psalm 25:12
Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you. What will you do for your career: Who will you marry? Where will you live? How much education will you get? What will you do with today? But one of the most important choices you will make is who will you become! Life is not merely a matter of holding and playing a good hand as you would hope to do in a card game. What you start with isn't up to you. Talent is God-given. Life is playing the hand you have been dealt well. That is determined by your choices.
The talent-plus people are the ones who maximize their talent, reach their potential, and fulfill their destiny.
I was reading a book by Dr. Seuss to my grandchildren called Oh, the Places You'll Go! In it, I found a wonderful truth. It said,
You have brains in your head
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
Any direction you choose.
I believe that with all my heart. My prayer is that you steer yourself in the right direction and make right choices that will empower you to become a talent-plus person, build upon the foundation of your abilities, and live your life to its fullest potential.
* * *
Maximize your talent by steering your entire life in the right direction.
* * *
GOD BLESS US ALL!
PRAY as if everything depended on HIM. ACT as if everything depended on YOU.
http://www.tlig.org/en/messages/
Daily Mass and Gospel Meditation Broadcast (Tagalog) thru DWXI (5am Phil Time), pls click this link: http://www.eradioportal.com/index.php?p=2&aid=1&sid=62
Monday in the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Numbers 11:4b-15
Psalm 81:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
Matthew 14:13-21 Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately he spoke to them, saying, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." 28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; 30 but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." 34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent round to all that region and brought to him all that were sick, 36 and besought him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well.
Meditation by Pat Borchers
It’s tempting to comment on the Gospel reading of Matthew’s account of the loaves and the fishes, but the reading is familiar to all and I fear that I would have little to say that you, the reader, haven’t thought of already.
But the first reading about the children of Israel lamenting their lack of food and their nostalgia about their captivity in Egypt spoke directly to me. I am not one of those people who suffers in silence when facing a challenge, whether it be physical, emotional or what have you. To some extent this is part of my coping mechanism because it helps me to talk about it with other people. There’s a certain healthy aspect to this I suppose, but I fear I often underestimate Evil One’s deviousness. One way that he tries to trick us is to trap us into self pity. “See, if God really loved you and cared about you, he wouldn’t do this to you!” So he tempts us into self pity and ignoring other people because after all we’re suffering. Of course it’s good to try to get help but to give God the cold shoulder is exactly what the Evil One wants us to do. If he can do that, he can turn us from children of God into children of self pity and self indulgence. We can’t let it happen.
Supplementary Reading
The power of Right Choices by John C. Maxwell
"…He will instruct them in the ways they should choose." – Psalm 25:12
Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you. What will you do for your career: Who will you marry? Where will you live? How much education will you get? What will you do with today? But one of the most important choices you will make is who will you become! Life is not merely a matter of holding and playing a good hand as you would hope to do in a card game. What you start with isn't up to you. Talent is God-given. Life is playing the hand you have been dealt well. That is determined by your choices.
The talent-plus people are the ones who maximize their talent, reach their potential, and fulfill their destiny.
I was reading a book by Dr. Seuss to my grandchildren called Oh, the Places You'll Go! In it, I found a wonderful truth. It said,
You have brains in your head
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
Any direction you choose.
I believe that with all my heart. My prayer is that you steer yourself in the right direction and make right choices that will empower you to become a talent-plus person, build upon the foundation of your abilities, and live your life to its fullest potential.
* * *
Maximize your talent by steering your entire life in the right direction.
* * *
GOD BLESS US ALL!
PRAY as if everything depended on HIM. ACT as if everything depended on YOU.
http://www.tlig.org/en/messages/
Daily Mass and Gospel Meditation Broadcast (Tagalog) thru DWXI (5am Phil Time), pls click this link: http://www.eradioportal.com/index.php?p=2&aid=1&sid=62
August 2, 2009- Sunday Meditation (Who Do We Hunger For)
How is Jesus present in the Eucharist? All very good human questions and we, like our Jewish ancestors, can grumble, regret and take off to the comfort of the easily explainables. I surrender to the love that Jesus is, even when I can’t stomach or digest all that love means and invites me to.
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15
Psalm 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54
Ephesians 4:17, 20-24
John 6:24-35 So when the people saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Caper'na-um, seeking Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" 26 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal." 28 Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." 30 So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 32 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world." 34 They said to him, "Lord, give us this bread always." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.
Meditation by Larry Gillick, S..J. - Deglman Center for Ignatian Spirituality
PREPRAYING
Try balancing yourself on one foot; it is difficult to remain standing still and upright. There is this “inner ear” which helps us know we are off center a bit. High wire performers do amazing stunts when aided by a long pole which keeps them tantalized us from below.
There is our “inner-self” which so easily loses balance. Our spirits can go this way and that with leaving us with no proper sense of soul-self. Our emotions, our self-esteem, our relationships with God and life oscillate and we long for some kind of stability.
We can prepare for this weekend’s liturgy with some daily experiences of being out of balance. One experience with which we can pray is our sense of closeness to God. As with the moon, which these days is farther away from the earth, and in a year will be closer, our sense of God comes near and then drifts away. We can pray with the resulting sense that this distancing is our fault. It may be, but most likely it is too much to take in at all times. We can pray for the peace that comes from realizing that, like the moon, God is present in the light and the dark, even when we are out of balance.
REFLECTION
This whole chapter from which our First Reading is taken is such a wonderful human-to-God story. The release from 430 years of slavery in Egypt is over, the Exodus has led them out into the desert of wandering and they are hungry. Their hunger becomes a complaint against God. They whimper and regret their having left slavery.
God promises food in the form of some mysterious bread which the Israelites do not understand. There is a little test embedded in the offering. In this Reading we do not hear what it is. God has asked them to take only their “daily bread” and not provide for any tomorrows.
Ah, more humanity, of course they tuck a little away for a less rainy day and it spoils. The gift of today is prelude to the Giver’s kindnesses tomorrow. Pro means “toward or for” and videre means “to look”. God pro-vides and the Israelites are to continue watching for tomorrow’s renewal of care.
The wonderful thing here is that God doesn’t retract the gifts, because of the human self-providing, rather God remains “watching-out” for God’s humanly family. God gives them bread from heaven which is mysterious, but inviting.
Those of you who read the Daily Reflections for Sunday, you know I dearly love the Eucharist, not just as liturgy, but as a mystery, an invitation and a comfort within a challenge. The Gospel for today is not exactly a text proving the Eucharist as the Real Presence, nor is the Holy Bread a sure ticket to salvation for those who receive it. The text can make for a great homily on the Bread of Life, but there are other Gospel texts for that purpose. So what’s the what here?
John presents the religious leaders of the Jews as asking Jesus for a “sign”, some kind of unusual event that will prove His authenticity. They quote a line from our First Reading from Exodus, reminding Jesus that their Father sent down miraculous bread, so what can Jesus do, like that.
Jesus uses the very image they use in their challenge. He refers to their religious historic scripture, bread from heaven, as a way of explaining just Who He is. As bread came down, He, Jesus Himself is presently, right now, coming down in their present experience.
John uses often homey symbols, such as light and water. Here it is bread. As the Jews failed to understand the gift of bread in the desert, so they are not understanding Jesus. John’s Gospel is written as a support for those who have remained faithful to the early Jesus-Group, and as a confrontation against those who have refused to believe or have failed to continue in the community of believers. The Jewish leaders are solidly religious and committed to their traditions and sacred history. This entire chapter is not so much an indictment against the Jewish community as it is a presentation of the invitation to take in, digest, and interiorize the Jesus of the Gospel.
We read in the first verses of the Gospel today, how the religious leaders were confounded with how Jesus got from here to there. In a sense, they were asking our human question about Jesus in the Eucharist, but even more about Jesus as our Lord and Savior. “How did you do that?” Faith is an understanding which allows for the misunderstandables. How did God split the sea? How did God present manna and quails? How did Jesus take five loaves and two fish to feed so many? How is Jesus present as man and Son of God? How is Jesus present in the Eucharist? All very good human questions and we, like our Jewish ancestors, can grumble, regret and take off to the comfort of the easily explainables. I do love the Eucharist, it is easy to consume. I surrender to the love that Jesus is, even when I can’t stomach or digest all that love means and invites me to.
“You gave us bread from heaven, Lord, a sweet-tasting bread that was very good to eat.” Wis. 16, 20
Supplementary Reading
Your Are Special
"How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them." – Psalm 139:17
When Isaac emerged from Abraham's shadow after being esteemed "the child of the promise" for so many years, he appeared to be a weak, passive man. Much of his family life and character was unimpressive.
But it is important to see what God saw in Isaac. He was not a charismatic personality or a perfect man, but Isaac was chosen by God to be part of the family line and fulfillment of God's purposes and a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of God's son, Jesus.
You, too, may feel that you are ordinary or merely average. But as God's child, you are important to him and directly linked to the fulfillment of his purposes. Learn to see yourself through God's eyes and you will discover your positive identity! If God thinks you're special—you are!
* * *
What do you think God sees in you? Come up with a list of ideas. Then remind yourself that you are special to God and vital to his plans and purposes in the world.
* * *
Note: This excerpt was taken from the "Power for Life Daily Devotional"
GOD BLESS US ALL!
PRAY as if everything depended on HIM. ACT as if everything depended on YOU.
http://www.tlig.org/en/messages/
Daily Mass and Gospel Meditation Broadcast (Tagalog) thru DWXI (5am Phil Time), pls click this link: http://www.eradioportal.com/index.php?p=2&aid=1&sid=62
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15
Psalm 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54
Ephesians 4:17, 20-24
John 6:24-35 So when the people saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Caper'na-um, seeking Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" 26 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal." 28 Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." 30 So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 32 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world." 34 They said to him, "Lord, give us this bread always." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.
Meditation by Larry Gillick, S..J. - Deglman Center for Ignatian Spirituality
PREPRAYING
Try balancing yourself on one foot; it is difficult to remain standing still and upright. There is this “inner ear” which helps us know we are off center a bit. High wire performers do amazing stunts when aided by a long pole which keeps them tantalized us from below.
There is our “inner-self” which so easily loses balance. Our spirits can go this way and that with leaving us with no proper sense of soul-self. Our emotions, our self-esteem, our relationships with God and life oscillate and we long for some kind of stability.
We can prepare for this weekend’s liturgy with some daily experiences of being out of balance. One experience with which we can pray is our sense of closeness to God. As with the moon, which these days is farther away from the earth, and in a year will be closer, our sense of God comes near and then drifts away. We can pray with the resulting sense that this distancing is our fault. It may be, but most likely it is too much to take in at all times. We can pray for the peace that comes from realizing that, like the moon, God is present in the light and the dark, even when we are out of balance.
REFLECTION
This whole chapter from which our First Reading is taken is such a wonderful human-to-God story. The release from 430 years of slavery in Egypt is over, the Exodus has led them out into the desert of wandering and they are hungry. Their hunger becomes a complaint against God. They whimper and regret their having left slavery.
God promises food in the form of some mysterious bread which the Israelites do not understand. There is a little test embedded in the offering. In this Reading we do not hear what it is. God has asked them to take only their “daily bread” and not provide for any tomorrows.
Ah, more humanity, of course they tuck a little away for a less rainy day and it spoils. The gift of today is prelude to the Giver’s kindnesses tomorrow. Pro means “toward or for” and videre means “to look”. God pro-vides and the Israelites are to continue watching for tomorrow’s renewal of care.
The wonderful thing here is that God doesn’t retract the gifts, because of the human self-providing, rather God remains “watching-out” for God’s humanly family. God gives them bread from heaven which is mysterious, but inviting.
Those of you who read the Daily Reflections for Sunday, you know I dearly love the Eucharist, not just as liturgy, but as a mystery, an invitation and a comfort within a challenge. The Gospel for today is not exactly a text proving the Eucharist as the Real Presence, nor is the Holy Bread a sure ticket to salvation for those who receive it. The text can make for a great homily on the Bread of Life, but there are other Gospel texts for that purpose. So what’s the what here?
John presents the religious leaders of the Jews as asking Jesus for a “sign”, some kind of unusual event that will prove His authenticity. They quote a line from our First Reading from Exodus, reminding Jesus that their Father sent down miraculous bread, so what can Jesus do, like that.
Jesus uses the very image they use in their challenge. He refers to their religious historic scripture, bread from heaven, as a way of explaining just Who He is. As bread came down, He, Jesus Himself is presently, right now, coming down in their present experience.
John uses often homey symbols, such as light and water. Here it is bread. As the Jews failed to understand the gift of bread in the desert, so they are not understanding Jesus. John’s Gospel is written as a support for those who have remained faithful to the early Jesus-Group, and as a confrontation against those who have refused to believe or have failed to continue in the community of believers. The Jewish leaders are solidly religious and committed to their traditions and sacred history. This entire chapter is not so much an indictment against the Jewish community as it is a presentation of the invitation to take in, digest, and interiorize the Jesus of the Gospel.
We read in the first verses of the Gospel today, how the religious leaders were confounded with how Jesus got from here to there. In a sense, they were asking our human question about Jesus in the Eucharist, but even more about Jesus as our Lord and Savior. “How did you do that?” Faith is an understanding which allows for the misunderstandables. How did God split the sea? How did God present manna and quails? How did Jesus take five loaves and two fish to feed so many? How is Jesus present as man and Son of God? How is Jesus present in the Eucharist? All very good human questions and we, like our Jewish ancestors, can grumble, regret and take off to the comfort of the easily explainables. I do love the Eucharist, it is easy to consume. I surrender to the love that Jesus is, even when I can’t stomach or digest all that love means and invites me to.
“You gave us bread from heaven, Lord, a sweet-tasting bread that was very good to eat.” Wis. 16, 20
Supplementary Reading
Your Are Special
"How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them." – Psalm 139:17
When Isaac emerged from Abraham's shadow after being esteemed "the child of the promise" for so many years, he appeared to be a weak, passive man. Much of his family life and character was unimpressive.
But it is important to see what God saw in Isaac. He was not a charismatic personality or a perfect man, but Isaac was chosen by God to be part of the family line and fulfillment of God's purposes and a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of God's son, Jesus.
You, too, may feel that you are ordinary or merely average. But as God's child, you are important to him and directly linked to the fulfillment of his purposes. Learn to see yourself through God's eyes and you will discover your positive identity! If God thinks you're special—you are!
* * *
What do you think God sees in you? Come up with a list of ideas. Then remind yourself that you are special to God and vital to his plans and purposes in the world.
* * *
Note: This excerpt was taken from the "Power for Life Daily Devotional"
GOD BLESS US ALL!
PRAY as if everything depended on HIM. ACT as if everything depended on YOU.
http://www.tlig.org/en/messages/
Daily Mass and Gospel Meditation Broadcast (Tagalog) thru DWXI (5am Phil Time), pls click this link: http://www.eradioportal.com/index.php?p=2&aid=1&sid=62
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