Hope to be Saved

For we must be content to hope that we shall be saved – our salvation is not in sight, we should not have to be hoping for it if it were – but, as I say, we must hope to be saved since we are not saved yet – it is something we must wait for with patience.
Rms.8:24,25

Paul writes to the suffering Church of Rome that present suffering and future glory are two sides of the same coin. Our suffering is made bearable by the hope we have in attaining salvation.

"Are you saved brother?" The only honest answer I can give to this question is, " No, but I have every hope to be". Paul is very clear in saying that salvation is something to be waited for with patience. 

Faith is the sure belief that salvation will be mine in Jesus. Hope is based on that faith. Love for God and others is the result. Not a bad way to live out my day today.

Jesus, thank you for the sure hope you give me today. Help me pass on that hope to others I meet today.
Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

Rescued

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body doomed to death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Rms.7:25

Paul writes of struggle with his fleshly desires. He concludes that, by himself, his case is hopeless. However, with help from Jesus he is victorious.

Paul's admission can be heard in any therapy group today. Nothing has changed in two thousand years. I've said as much myself. The good news is that the antidote is the same as well. Keeping pressed into Jesus is the only way I have to walk the talk.  He rescues me.

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Saint Augustine, please pray for me.

Stand Up

Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 
Lk.12:51

Jesus' popularity is peaking with crushing crowds now following him. He chooses this time to start preaching the hard side of the gospel such as fire, discord and division.

At first it seems strange to hear the Prince of Peace, who usually prays for unity, unequivocally state he has come to bring discord and division. However, my experience has been that there are two sides to the coin that is the Gospel of Christ. Yes there is peace, joy and love but there is also discord, sadness and animosity. 

My conversion to Christianity led to heated discussion within my atheist family. At times I was mocked at work. It was a testing time. I guess this is why Jesus is giving us warning. My zeal had better run deep because it will be tested. The good news is my mother converted on her deathbed. 

Jesus, at times it is hard being your follower. Give me courage when I strike opposition. 

The Happy Servant

Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you truly, he will place him over everything he owns. 
Lk.12:43,44

The Church is approaching the end of the calendar year and shifting her gaze to end times, to the master's return. Jesus' warning is consistent. We do not know the hour or the day of his return but we had best be at our God-given work when he does. 

What is that God-given work? The title of "servant" gives a clue. Serving others does not come naturally for me. I'd much prefer it the other way round. Yet, Jesus promises happiness comes with servitude. 

Let's give it a try...

Jesus, help me see you in those I meet today so I may serve them with joy.

Stand Ready

You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Lk.12:40

Jesus instructs his disciples to be always ready for his return, whenever that time may be. The only thing we know for sure is the timing of his return will be unexpected.

I have a friend who was told six months ago he has three months to live. When I visited him yesterday he was very much alive and still waiting. There's a strange sort of comfort in acknowledging it is the Lord who gives life and who takes it away. I don't need to fight for the last nanosecond of my life. The timing of my last heartbeat is already recorded. Worrying about it is not going to change that.

So, what is left? Stand ready says Jesus. Now that is an exciting way to live out each day until he returns. 

Thank you Jesus for your perfect timing. I place my trust in you.

.

Treasure in Heaven

But God said to him, “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?” So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in place of making himself rich in the sight of God.

Lk.12:21

In response to a request to settle a family inheritance dispute, Jesus gives a warning about greed.

It seems almost weekly that a news story surfaces about another family inheritance quarrel before the courts. It makes sad reading about a family imploding. Jesus warns about treasures on earth. They are always temporal, never giving laying satisfaction.

The difficulty is that treasures in heaven aren't visible, aren't always before me. Or are they? I spent time wasting time with some grandchildren yesterday. Treasures? Yes. Eternal? Yes. 

Thank you Jesus for the treasures you have given me.

A Sparrow

Why, every hair on your head has been counted. There is no need to be afraid: you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.
Lk.12:7

While a crush of people is trying to see Jesus he turns to his friends with a warning (against hypocrisy) and encouragement (don't be afraid).

Every landmass on the planet has sparrows. I can hear them outside my window this morning as I write. They are the most prolific and so could be said to be the most successful of God's creatures. It follows that this quote from Jesus is among the most widely known. We all see the result of God's blessing on sparrows by their proliferation. And yet God wants to bless me even more than hundreds of sparrows. 

I have no need to be afraid. What is around the corner will come with or without my worry. I choose not to worry, knowing God knows me intimately and loves me mightily.

Thank you Jesus for your steadfast love. Morning by morning new blessings I see.

His Hand Withheld

In this way God makes his justice known; first, for the past, when sins went unpunished because he held his hand, then, for the present age, by showing positively that he is just, and that he justifies everyone who believes in Jesus.
Rms.93:25,26

Paul writes to the Roman Church declaring that Jesus has won justification for all believers, pagans and Jews alike.

I have experienced God's mercy both in the past and in the present; In the past as an unbeliever when he withheld his hand and the present as a believer when he still withholds his hand. Jesus' sacrifice protected me when, even as an unbeliever, I wouldn't acknowledge him. My indebtedness is huge.

Thank you Father for your mercy. Jesus, help me be an agent of mercy to those I meet today.

Entertaining Angels

Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.
Lk.10:8,9

Jesus is instructing the seventy two before their mission trip. They are to seek out the welcoming places, receive whatever support is offered and repay with healing and the Good News: "The kingdom of God is very near to you".

I recall us billeting two members of a visiting youth ministry team for three weeks. Our young family was mightily blessed. It was a pivotal, faith-building time. There is a blessing that comes with welcoming hospitality. We never know when we could be entertaining angels. 

Lord Jesus, give me a welcoming spirit today for all those you send my way.
Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

Cleansing Generosity

Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside too? Instead, give alms from what you have and then indeed everything will be clean for you.
Lk.11:41

After accepting a Pharisee's invitation to a meal, Jesus rebukes him for his hypocrisy. External observance is only of value if internal life is clean. Jesus suggests almsgiving as a way to clean the interior.

People who are generous are great to be around, they are so encouraging. Giving alms is not a natural action for me. It's always a struggle. Yet, here is Jesus saying almsgiving as the way to cleanliness, a way to purify my soul. 

Jesus, help me to be generous with those I meet today that my soul may be made clean.
Saint Barnabas, please pray for me. 

For or Against

He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.
Lk.11:23

Jesus is explaining to his detractors how spiritual warfare works. He then delineates all people into two camps. Those with him and those against him.

There's no middle ground with Jesus. He doesn't give any place for the , "He was a great teacher but not God" camp.  We either work with the "finger of God" or against him. I choose to gather with Jesus.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. I place my trust in you.
Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.

Come Holy Spirit

If you then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
Lk.11:13

Jesus encourages us to be persistent in prayer, especially in our petitioning for an infilling of the Holy Spirit. God the Father is aching to give us this greatest of gifts, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit.

This is the pivotal prayer of the Alpha Course Away Day, the most ancient prayer of the Church. Come Holy Spirit.  It can be my prayer today.

Holy Spirit, come. Fill the lives of the faithful and renew the face of the earth... and Lord, start with me.

Saint Pope John 23rd, please pray for me.

 

Home

It is he, the Lord Most High, who gives each his place. In his register of peoples he writes: ‘These are her children,’ and while they dance they will sing: ‘In you all find their home".
Ps.86:5-7

The psalmist sings of the glories of Jerusalem, the City of God, the home of all God's people.

There's security and peace in knowing you have a place called home. As in the physical, so in the spiritual. No matter the trials or joys that this day may bring, I have my place in the House of God, a place where I can dance and sing.

Jesus, you are the way back home, the way to the place where I can dance and sing.
Saint Philip Neri, please pray for me.