IT'S UP TO YOU . . .

“Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”         Luke 10:38-42

Have you ever felt like Martha? We all have. But, it’s important to take a close look at what she is really worried about. Martha is telling Jesus that she is not being treated fairly. She wants others to start acting differently so that she will feel better. Sound familiar?

Poor Martha wants everyone around her to change, but she is not willing to change at all.

That can be a familiar feeling. When things aren’t going our way, sometimes our first reaction is to think that we are being ignored or taken advantage of. “Why is everyone doing this to me?”

This is when you can turn to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and freedom. If you do you will find an opportunity for real peace in any tense situation. But, you must take responsibility for changing yourself before trying to change anyone else, especially if you are asking for divine grace to help you. You see, while the Lord will help you deal with you, He alone will deal with everyone else.

And when you allow the presence of Jesus to have absolute first place in your heart, I guarantee amazing things will happen in your life! That is because God is so creative He can lead you to life-changing thoughts, decisions, and actions. This will do far more than just resolve a particular situation; it will bring healing, freedom, and even deliverance.

Be assured that your love and compassion for others will always replace your fuming over be slighted by them. Yes, if you call upon Him, God’s own divine wisdom will lead you to make changes in you and how you deal with everyone else in your life. He may even reveal how you played a key role in creating whatever problems you face . . . along with a way out of the mess!

But, no matter what the Spirit reveals to you, you will find your faith and trust in Jesus deepening. And as you experience His power to change your heart, His grace will flow out of you, helping everyone around you to experience that very same healing, freedom, and lasting joy.

          TODAY'S PRAYER

Come, Holy Spirit, Divine Creator, 

true source of light and fountain of wisdom! 

Pour forth your brilliance upon my dense intellect, 

dissipate the darkness which covers me, 

that of sin and of ignorance. 

Grant me a penetrating mind to understand, 

a retentive memory, 

method and ease in learning, 

the lucidity to comprehend, 

and abundant grace in expressing myself. 

Guide the beginning of my work, 

direct its progress, 

and bring it to successful completion. 

This I ask through Jesus Christ, 

true God and true man, 

living and reigning with You 

and the Father, forever and ever.

Amen.

St. Thomas Aquinas
     
 

A LIFE OF JOY

"The Seventy returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.' He said to them, 'I watched Satan fall from heaven like a lightning flash. Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will ever harm you. However, don't rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.' In that same hour He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, 'I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this was Your good pleasure.'"

                                                Luke 10:17-21

Centuries ago, St. Francis was a wealthy man who gave up everything to live a life of self-imposed poverty, suffering and service. Yet, he celebrated with great joy each and every day of his life! In fact, nothing separated him from the joy he found in the Lord. Even we he faced rejection by his family, or hardships among his friends, or poverty, his life remained a song of praise and thanksgiving!

How? St. Francis understood the real reason that Jesus rejoiced when his disciples returned from their successful preaching tour. Remember, these were simple fishermen and tax gatherers who had just performed miraculous healings and cast out fearsome demons all across Israel. But, like children whose boundless energy needs to be channeled in the right direction, Jesus had to make the disciples recognize where their joy truly lay. So He made it very clear that no matter what incredible deeds they performed or power they had commanded, nothing compared with the fact that their names were written in heaven.

Then Jesus brings the disciples, and all of us, even further into this journey of joy. He continues by demonstrating the kind of rejoicing that should be expressed by His followers. He says, “Thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.”

Jesus is rejoicing in the Holy Spirit because “infants” like us had opened their hearts to the Father’s love and all of heaven was opening to receive them. It is exactly this experience of an opened heaven that is meant to move you and me to exuberant praise and rejoicing as well. Yes! Knowing that God has you in the palm of his hand will lead you to a whole life of joy!

At this very moment, be opened to God’s joyous revelation in your heart. Allow yourself to experience the very tangible potential and power of your life as God sees it in Heaven. When you open your heart to the open doors of heaven, you will find yourself rejoicing in the beauty of the sunrise, the face of a newborn child or in the loving relationships surrounding you.

If you allow yourself to see your name written in heaven, this will be the most joyous moment in your life. It will change your life forever. And that joy will never end.

This Week’s Prayer

Lord Jesus, help me rejoice in the love you pour out upon me. May I live my life in exuberant praise as you surround me with your presence. Show me through your Holy Spirit that my name is written in your heavenly kingdom. And remind me to be ever thankful for the blessings you have provided me. Amen.

How To Make The Biggest Decision Of Your Life

Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God's will

entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.

1 Peter 4.19

There is a remarkable story of a newspaper editor who was told that a storm had caused a high-tension wire to fall across the street in the middle of the business district of town. He assigned two reporters to the story. The editor sent them out, saying: “No one knows whether the wire is live or not, so I want you to cooperate--one of you touch it and the other write the story. The choice is yours!”

Captain Peter Townsend, was a dashing World War II fighter pilot in Britain’s Royal Air Force. After the war, he and Princess Margaret, sister to the current Queen Elizabeth of England, fell in love. By the early 1950’s, the two were engaged to be married.

But, Princess Margaret had a choice to make. You see, Townsend had been previously married and divorced, and the royal family along with the British establishment did not approve of the marriage. Margaret could marry him only if she gave up her title, her money and her place in the line of succession to the throne.

And so it was on October 31, 1955 that Princess Margaret announced to the world that she would not marry Captain Townsend. Further, the much-decorated war ace was banished from the palace and assigned to a diplomatic post in Brussels. “She could have married me,” Capt. Townsend wrote in his 1978 autobiography, “only if she had been prepared to give up everything, her position, her prestige, her privy purse. I simply hadn't the weight, I knew it, to counterbalance all she would have lost.”

You will face many choices in the day's ahead. True you may never have to choose who picks up an electrical wire or between true love and a throne, but you still have choices. What value and weight will you put on the things of this world, stature, prestige and money? What will you give up to follow the will of God? It’s all up to you, but you do have help. Jesus wants to assist you in every decision. He wants to guide you to your best options and your most joyous future! Don’t turn away. Whatever it takes, and yes, it may take a lot, choose to spend your life with the King whose crown will never diminish or fade away!

Today's Prayer

Lord Jesus, I need your guidance in the days ahead. Stand with me when the moment of decision comes. Let me stand by you in all things. Guide me in all my decisions, large and small, so that I may glorify you in all I do. Amen.