"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."
Matt 22:37
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Prayer is, in the strictest sense, a humble religious petition of man to God to seek divine benevolence and benefits he needs for life, both temporal and eternal. It is a conversation with God, either by accepted prayer forms, or from the heart. Consider these words as if God were speaking them to His children...
"It is not necessary my child, to know much in order to please me much; it is enough that you love me fervently. Speak here to me then, as you would speak to your most intimate friend, to your mother, to your brother." ~God your Father~
He Gave His Only Son
"Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."
John 21:29
Quotes to Live By- There should be less talk. A preaching point is not a meeting point.
- The dying, the cripple, the mental, the unwanted, the unloved-- they are Jesus in disguise.
- In the West there is loneliness, which I call the leprosy of the West. In many ways it is worse than our poor in Calcutta. (Commonweal, Dec 19, 1997)
- It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.
- The poor give us much more than we give them. They're such strong people, living day to day with no food. and they never curse, never complain. We don't have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so much to learn from them.
- I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?
- I do not pray for success. I ask for faithfulness.
- Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.
- If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
~Mother Teresa~
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by Patti LaRue
The day after Thanksgiving I found myself standing in line at a grocery store. In the background you could hear Christmas music playing softly. As I was being checked out the woman behind me, another employee of the store made the comment "Man, that music is going to get old real quick." The one checking me out replied "Oh, I don't know, I really like it." "Oh, you must be one of those people who likes Christmas. You're still young, that'll change soon enough."
This conversation made me cringe. In that short few moments one person tried to turn Christmas into something that sounded like should be avoided. Her negative feelings towards Christmas was one of disdain and almost disgust. When did Christmas become such a negative experience for this woman and why? I wondered how many more people felt the same way? It gave me a truly sad feeling all over to think that Christmas can be thought of in such a negative light.
When I got home I began to think about that sad conversation I overheard in the store and I thought that Christmas is beginning to get lost in the middle of the chaos of this world. I could see Satan standing in the background laughing as the woman expressed her disdain for Christmas. I could hear him laughing as the season becomes more and more commercialized each and every year.
I realized that there are so many people out there that have become desensitized by all the importance put on buying this, buying that, looking for that best deal, that best sale. Standing in line at 3:00 in the morning, rushing through the crowds, cursing the lines, the drivers, never once stopping to realize why?
They have forgotten Christmas in all the chaos, they have forgotten the why. They have forgotten that Christmas is for our own salvation and to celebrate the joy that Christ can bring to our lives if we only open our hearts to His grace, His love, His peace and His forgiveness!
We need to stop, put down the credit cards, the money, and slow down and ask God to show us what Christmas really is all about, before the true meaning gets lost forever in the chaos that Satan surrounds us with.
URLVD
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