Month: February 2018

2018 Lenten Walk – Wordless Sermons

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Today is Wednesday the 28 February, in the Second Week of Lent

heavens
Prayer of Presence: 
Here I am as fully in your presence as I am able to be,
Offering my fears, my needs, my hopes, my love, and my life.
For I am yours and belong to no other.
40 Days of with Wesley by Rueben P. Job, p. 29
Scripture: Today’s reading is from Psalm 19:1-6

        The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.  There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard, yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens, he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hidden from its heat.

Reflection:  Some of the best sermons on the glory and majesty of God I experienced have come by the visual, wordless beauty of nature. Nature has preached to me about the glory and majesty of God as I gazed up at the stars on a clear night on highway 54 along the White Sands area of New Mexico. Nature preached about God’s glory and majesty as I looked across the vastness and chasm of the Grand Canyon, looked out to the four horizons from atop Pikes Peak, witnessed an electrical thunderstorm racing across the night sky, and when I see breath-taking pictures of the universe taken by the Hubble telescope. Nature has preached about the glory and majesty of God to me through the grandeur of the Smokey Mountains in North Carolina and the painted desert landscapes of West Texas. The beauty and majesty of God are preached when I see a rose, a sweet watermelon growing on a vine in a dusty field in South Texas, or enjoy with fascination the sight of a hummingbird hovering in front of a flower drinking its nectar.
        Nature never stops preaching about the glory and majesty of God; day after day it pours forth speech. The beauty of nature has provided a platform to talk about my faith in a loving God that has done all this to create a sustainable planet for human life to flourish.
         Whenever I hear nature preaching a sermon about God’s glory and majesty, I join with the Psalmist. In wonder I ask, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4)
Questions for Reflection: Remember a time when you were overwhelmed with the beauty of creation. Where were you? What did you see? Did you make any connections between what you experienced and God’s love for the world?
Prayer Focus: For the grace to hear the speechless sermons of God’s glory and majesty through the beauty and power of nature.
Concluding Prayer: 
O God, our bread, our milk, and our honey;
in the resurrection of your Son, you have brought us to your table.
Feed us with your plenty, and enlarge our table for all the hungry,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Alleluia.
(John 6:35, 1 Peter 2:2; Ezequiel 3:3)

2018 Lenten Walk – Kingdom Life

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Today is Tuesday the 27 February, in the Second Week of Lent

communication2
Prayer of Presence: 
Here I am as fully in your presence as I am able to be,
Offering my fears, my needs, my hopes, my love, and my life.
For I am yours and belong to no other.
40 Days of with Wesley by Rueben P. Job, p. 29
Scripture: Today’s reading is from Exodus 20:12-17
        Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Reflection:   
        This portion of the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) addresses the second part of the Great Commandment Jesus refers to in the gospels. That is, ” ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ .” (Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:31).
        The commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” focuses on the flourishing of life and well-being of our neighbor, our communities, our nation, and the world. The commandments to love God and love neighbor is interdependent because how we think about our relationship with God will deeply affect how we think about and act toward our neighbor. If we think God is gracious, then we are gracious to others. Is God just? Then we are just. Is God good? Then as God’s people, we are good to others. Is God merciful? Then we are merciful. Is God patient and long-suffering? Then so are we. Does God make provision for our lives to flourish? Then we should make provision for the lives of others to flourish.
        The 10 Commandments present the world with a radical and new way of thinking and living in relationship with God and our neighbors.  They call us to experience a vibrant spiritual life in God that is essential to inner and outer peace and to a contented quality of life. They teach us to affirm human rights and dignity that build societies on the foundation of trust and peace. The commandments provide us with an outline of a radical spiritual and social vision of what kingdom life can be like on earth as it is in heaven.
Questions for Reflection: 
  • Is adherence to the 10 Commandments burdensome or liberating to you?
  • Has your love for people increased as your love for God increases? 
Prayer Focus: For the grace to more fully live into God’s spiritual and social vision.
Concluding Prayer: 
O God, our bread, our milk, and our honey;
in the resurrection of your Son, you have brought us to your table.
Feed us with your plenty, and enlarge our table for all the hungry,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Alleluia.
(John 6:35, 1 Peter 2:2; Ezequiel 3:3)

2018 Lenten Walk – Liberated to Love God

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Today is Monday the 26 February, in the Second Week of Lent

Liberation
Prayer of Presence: 
Here I am as fully in your presence as I am able to be,
Offering my fears, my needs, my hopes, my love, and my life.
For I am yours and belong to no other.
40 Days of with Wesley by Rueben P. Job, p. 29
Scripture: Today’s reading is from Exodus 20:1-11
Then God spoke all these words:
 
    I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work–you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days, the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.
Reflection: 
    This portion of the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) addresses the first part of the Great Commandment Jesus refers to in the gospels. That is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:28; Luke 10:27). To “love God” is not so much an imperative that is imposed on Israel, rather it is a call to a right response of worship within a covenant relationship between God and God’s people grounded upon all the good things God has done for them out of steadfast love. Loving God with all of one’s being also reminds the people of who they are and to whom they belong.
Questions for Reflection:
  • What is one thing that God has liberated you from? 
  • Is your worship of God based on fear or gratitude?
  • Is your assurance of God’s love for you deepened when you worship?
Prayer Focus: For the grace to remain faithful in our love of God.
Concluding Prayer: 
O God, our bread, our milk, and our honey;
in the resurrection of your Son, you have brought us to your table.
Feed us with your plenty, and enlarge our table for all the hungry,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Alleluia.
(John 6:35, 1 Peter 2:2; Ezequiel 3:3)

2018 Lenten Walk – Self-Denial

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Today is Sunday the 25 February, the Second Sunday of Lent

die to self
Prayer of Presence: 
Here I am as fully in your presence as I am able to be,
Offering my fears, my needs, my hopes, my love, and my life.
For I am yours and belong to no other.
From 40 Days of with Wesley by Rueben P. Job, p. 29
Scripture: Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Mark 8:34-38
     He (Jesus) called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
Reflection:   
      The disciples could expect to be reviled, persecuted, and spoken ill of on account of Christ (Matthew 5:10-11). The only way they could endure such treatment was by self-denial. That is why Jesus said, “If anyone wants to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
      Self-love increases our pride and exposes our sensitivities to insult, attacks, and rebuffs. The more we are able to renounce our self, the more we are able to be at peace within ourselves and with God in the face of loss, fears, threats, violence, even death. Our bodies may experience suffering and pain, our ego insults, and our good name tarnishing, but our soul remains untouched and at peace in God as we carry our earthly cross for the sake of Christ. “Therefore,” says St. Paul, “I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”  (2 Corinthians 12:10)
      So, we are not ashamed to evangelistically and prophetically speak up and stand up for Christ because – through self-denial – we are “not afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28; Luke 12:4).  The horror of the cross loses its power when there is no self to suffer under it.  We can hold all things in this life dearly but loosely, hand them over to God confidently, and trust fully on God’s salvation and vindication when our earthly tents waste away and our souls migrate into the forever heart and life of God where all is at peace and rest.
Questions for Reflection: 
  • When was the most recent time you spoke up or stood up for Christ? How did others respond? How did you respond?
Prayer Focus: For the grace to deny ourselves and give ourselves more fully to Christ.
Concluding Prayer: 
O God, our bread, our milk, and our honey;
in the resurrection of your Son, you have brought us to your table.
Feed us with your plenty, and enlarge our table for all the hungry,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Alleluia.
(John 6:35, 1 Peter 2:2; Ezequiel 3:3)

2018 Lenten Walk – Conflicted

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Today is Saturday the 24 February, in the First Week of Lent

Conflict of Interest
Centering Prayer: A Prayer by St. Anselm of Canterbury
Teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me as I seek;
for unless you instruct me I cannot seek you,
and unless you reveal yourself I cannot find you.
Let me seek you in desiring you; let me desire you in seeking you.
Let me find you in loving you; let me love you in finding you.
Scripture: Today’s reading is from Gospel of Mark 8:31-33
Then he (Jesus) began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
Reflection:
This is the first of Jesus’ three “passion predictions” in the gospel of Mark (8:31; 9:31; 10:33). When I think about Jesus’ terse, blunt, and open teaching in this gospel text, I become conflicted. Like Peter, I too set my mind on human things instead of the things of God. At times my attachment to human things sets internal limits and parameters to how much or how far I am willing to give myself for God’s purposes when what Christ asks of me begins to encroach on my human commitments and desires.
This story conflicts me because I all too often identify with Peter when I assert a claim to my own wants and desires and tell Jesus, “I don’t want to hear about humility, suffering, rejection, and death from you, Jesus!” In truth, I’d rather hear of how Jesus can make my life better, bless me, make my life easier and less painful, less stressful, successful, and more self-fulfilling.  All this talk about suffering, rejection, and death is contrary to what is generally defined as the good life.
I’m also like Peter because I’ve been put in my place by Jesus more times than I can remember. Sometimes Jesus is gentle with me, sometimes stern. Whatever the case, I ultimately come to set aside what I want and seek God’s grace to accept the path Jesus calls me to walk.
Mark Twain was right when he said, “It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.” I know what Twain meant, and I know what Jesus means by setting my mind on human things instead of the things of God; that’s my Lenten conflict; perhaps it is yours too.
Questions for Reflection:
  • In what ways have you suffered or experienced rejection because you were a follower of Christ?
  • Has Jesus ever put you in your place after you asserted your own will over his? 
Prayer Focus: For the grace to increasingly and joyfully set our mind on the things of God.
Concluding Prayer: 
Anima Christi
Jesus, may all that is you flow into me.
May your body and blood be my food and drink.
May your passion and death be my strength and life.
Jesus, with you by my side, enough has been given.
May the shelter I seek be the shadow of your cross.
Let me not run from the love which you offer,
But hold me safe from the forces of evil.
On each of my dyings shed your light and your love.
Keep calling to me until that day comes, when with your saints,
I may praise you forever. Amen.

2018 Lenten Walk – Living with Hope

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Today is Friday the 23 February, in the Season of Lent

1-Hope
Centering Prayer: A Prayer by St. Anselm of Canterbury
Teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me as I seek;
for unless you instruct me I cannot seek you,
and unless you reveal yourself I cannot find you.
Let me seek you in desiring you; let me desire you in seeking you.
Let me find you in loving you; let me love you in finding you.
Scripture: Today’s reading is from Romans 4:18-25
Hoping against hope, he (Abraham) believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.  No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
Reflection: Abraham is looked upon as being irreproachable before God because of his unwavering faith and hope. Abraham’s expressed his faith through obedience to God as he waited in hope for promises he would not live to see. When God directed Abraham to leave his kindred, comfort, and the security of his homeland and go to an unknown place God would show him,  Abraham believed God, he obeyed God and went (Genesis 12:4) in the hope of attaining the promises of God. He kept believing that God was able to do what he had promised, purely by grace. Abraham trusted that God would provide. He hoped for the promise of a son even when there was no real basis for the hope of having a son at Sarah’s or his respective ages. And, he believed God’s divine power of resurrection when his own body and Sarah’s womb were barren.  Abraham experienced occasions throughout his life when his faith was tested, yet he never wavered to the point of losing his faith and hope in the promises of God. As we journey to the cross this Lent, we believe that God has done something for us that we cannot do for ourselves, purely by grace. He gave us his Son Jesus Christ to bear our trespasses, and through trust in him, we are heirs to God’s forever promises. God will provide the grace we need to live by faith and hold on to those promises even when what we hope for is beyond our lifetime.
Questions for Reflection: 
  • Has your faith and hope in God strengthened over the years? 
  • Would the people you know and associate with describe you as a person of faith and obedience to God? Why or why not? 
Prayer Focus: For the grace to live in faith and hope, especially during times of waiting, testing, temptation, and trial. 
Concluding Prayer: 
Anima Christi
Jesus, may all that is you flow into me.
May your body and blood be my food and drink.
May your passion and death be my strength and life.
Jesus, with you by my side, enough has been given.
May the shelter I seek be the shadow of your cross.
Let me not run from the love which you offer,
But hold me safe from the forces of evil.
On each of my dyings shed your light and your love.
Keep calling to me until that day comes, when with your saints,
I may praise you forever. Amen.

2018 Lenten Journey – Guaranteed

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Today is Thursday the 22 February, in the Season of Lent

Work guaranteed
Centering Prayer: A Prayer by St. Anselm of Canterbury
Teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me as I seek;
for unless you instruct me I cannot seek you,
and unless you reveal yourself I cannot find you.
Let me seek you in desiring you; let me desire you in seeking you.
Let me find you in loving you; let me love you in finding you.
Scripture: Today’s reading is from Romans 4:13-17
 
For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.  For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”) –in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
Reflection:  We live in a world of broken and empty promises. People constantly break promises to each other, employers break promises with employees, and nations break promises made with other nations. In a world of so many broken and empty promises, God’s promises can be trusted; they are guaranteed! Saving faith is deeper than believing “in God.” Saving faith believes God and the promises God makes through Christ to love and sustain us in this life and in the promised eternal life to come (Romans 8:31-39).
Questions for Reflection:
  • Do you believe “in God” or do you believe God? What difference does that make when you face trials, setbacks, disappointments, sorrow, and pain in life?
  • What do you own that has a guarantee? Are you confident that your guarantee will be honored if you present a rightful claim for it? Do you have as much confidence in God’s guarantees to you? List three guarantees you can claim from God?
Prayer Focus: 
  • For the grace to “believe God.”
Concluding Prayer: 
Anima Christi
Jesus, may all that is you flow into me.
May your body and blood be my food and drink.
May your passion and death be my strength and life.
Jesus, with you by my side, enough has been given.
May the shelter I seek be the shadow of your cross.
Let me not run from the love which you offer,
But hold me safe from the forces of evil.
On each of my dyings shed your light and your love.
Keep calling to me until that day comes, when with your saints,
I may praise you forever. Amen.

2018 Lenten Journey – God Stories

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Today is Wednesday the 21 February, in the Season of Lent

God Changed My Life

Centering Prayer: A Prayer by St. Anselm of Canterbury
Teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me as I seek;
for unless you instruct me I cannot seek you,
and unless you reveal yourself I cannot find you.
Let me seek you in desiring you; let me desire you in seeking you.
Let me find you in loving you; let me love you in finding you.
Scripture: Today’s reading is from Psalm 22:27-31
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. For dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations. To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.
Reflection: The Psalmist experienced the desolating absence of God when he found himself despised, mocked, and encircled by his enemies (Psalm 22:1-21). Then, God heard his cries and rescued and saved him. The psalmist’s  perspective of and relationship with God changed profoundly. Now he stands before the assembled congregation to praise and worship the Lord! He appraises that the story of God’s saving grace is so amazing that he envisions the necessity for all families, nations of the world, the rulers and powerful, and future generations not yet born to be told what God has done and can do. He is convinced that if people would just know that God doesn’t hide his face from those that suffer, they would return/turn to the Lord, worship Him, live for Him, serve Him, and continue to proclaim his mighty acts to the world.  God’s saving grace cannot remain a private secret. God stories of salvation, healing, and liberation must be openly proclaimed so that others may know and turn to God so their hearts can live forever in wonder, love, and praise to God!
Questions for Reflection: 
  • What is your salvation story about God that needs to be shared with the world?
  • Who would resonate with your God story if you would tell it? Why?
  • Is it easy for you to share your story of God’s salvation with others? Why or why not?
Prayer Focus: For the grace and courage to share our God stories with the world.
Concluding Prayer: 
Anima Christi
Jesus, may all that is you flow into me.
May your body and blood be my food and drink.
May your passion and death be my strength and life.
Jesus, with you by my side, enough has been given.
May the shelter I seek be the shadow of your cross.
Let me not run from the love which you offer,
But hold me safe from the forces of evil.
On each of my dyings shed your light and your love.
Keep calling to me until that day comes, when with your saints,
I may praise you forever. Amen.

2018 Lenten Journey – Memoirs of Praise!

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Today is Tuesday the 20 February, in the Season of Lent

Praise

Centering Prayer: A Prayer by St. Anselm of Canterbury
Teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me as I seek;
for unless you instruct me I cannot seek you,
and unless you reveal yourself I cannot find you.
Let me seek you in desiring you; let me desire you in seeking you.
Let me find you in loving you; let me love you in finding you.
Scripture: Today’s reading is from Psalm 22:23-26
22:23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me but heard when I cried to him. From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD. May your hearts live forever!
 
Reflection: The psalmist is in a life-threatening situation and crisis. He experiences the harrowing sense of abandonment by people and by God. He cries out and God saves him from his affliction (verse 24). He writes a memoir in song form with the future generations in mind, the offspring of Jacob and Israel. He explains why he worships God and why he follows through on the promises he has made to God. His experience of God’s salvation and his grateful response for his salvation will serve as a witness to God’s goodness and faithfulness that will instruct and encourage his future generations to seek, trust, and worship God.   
 
Questions for Reflection: 
  • What stories of God’s kindness and saving mercy toward you do you want your future generations to remember and talk about with their children and their children’s children? 
  • Will your commitment to corporate worship and your local church membership vows – Prayers, Presence, Gifts, Service, and Witness – serve as a positive example your future generations can follow? 
  • Of the five membership vows you made to God – Prayers, Presence, Service, Gifts, and Witness – which is the easiest to keep? The most difficult? Ask God for the grace to fulfill all of your vows with praise and thanksgiving!
Prayer Focus: For spiritual commitment and the grace to envision how our present faith decisions and actions will impact and bless future generations.
 
Concluding Prayer: 
Anima Christi
Jesus, may all that is you flow into me.
May your body and blood be my food and drink.
May your passion and death be my strength and life.
Jesus, with you by my side, enough has been given.
May the shelter I seek be the shadow of your cross.
Let me not run from the love which you offer,
But hold me safe from the forces of evil.
On each of my dyings shed your light and your love.
Keep calling to me until that day comes, when with your saints,
I may praise you forever. Amen.

2018 Lenten Journey – Generation to Generation

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Today is Monday the 19 February, in the Season of Lent

Family-Reunion

Centering Prayer: A Prayer by St. Anselm of Canterbury

Teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me as I seek;  for unless you instruct me I cannot seek you, and unless you reveal yourself I cannot find you. Let me seek you in desiring you; let me desire you in seeking you. Let me find you in loving you; let me love you in finding you. 

Scripture: Today’s reading is from Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 (NRSV)

17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.

17:2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.”

17:3 Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him,

17:4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations.

17:5 No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.

17:6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.

17:7 I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.

17:15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.

17:16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”

Reflection: God makes numerous one-sided declarations, or promises/covenants, to Abraham in this passage of scripture. Abraham will not live to see the promises God makes to him realized. He will not see his future grandchildren become kings and queens. He will not live to see the multitude of nations that will claim him as their ancestor. And yet, Abraham believes the promises will come true because he believes the Promiser, Abraham was fully convinced that God was able to do what he promised.

     God foresees greater things for us and our descendants than what we can foresee and promises to show loving kindness to the thousandth generation (Exodus 20:6) when we entrust our lives to him through Jesus Christ. 

Questions for Reflection: 

  • Which promises of God are you holding on to?
  • Even though your name may not have changed like Abraham’s or Sarah’s (verses 5 and 15), how has your purpose in life changed because of your faith?

Prayer Focus: For the return of the descendants of Christian parents that have left the Christian faith and the church. 

Concluding Prayer: 

Anima Christi

      Jesus, may all that is you flow into me. May your body and blood be my food and drink. May your passion and death be my strength and life. Jesus, with you by my side, enough has been given. May the shelter I seek be the shadow of your cross. Let me not run from the love which you offer, But hold me safe from the forces of evil. On each of my dyings shed your light and your love. Keep calling to me until that day comes, when with your saints, I may praise you forever. Amen.