Your words are Spirit and life

"It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life."  (John 6: 63)

The Holy Spirit is Lord and Giver of life.

A Prayer to the Holy Spirit:

Lord of life, O Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere present and fills all thing, O Bringer of every good gift:  Come and dwell in us and make us whole.

Holy and life-giving breath of God, fill our hearts and minds with your love, assist us to be faithful disciples of Jesus, always open to hear His call.  O promise of God, grant us the grace to faithfully and eagerly respond to the awesome gift of Your personal, passionate Presence.  Amen.

Jesus died for all

"He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."  (2 Corinthians 5: 15)

Although Jesus died for every human being.  Not every human being who is alive today is benefiting from the death of Jesus.  It is by His death and resurrection that we are saved.   We that have appropriated the fruit of salvation have the responsibility of living in such a way that would make the unsaved desire what we have.

Jesus has freed us from the darkness of error and sin. Help us Jesus to cling to your truths with fidelity.

Jesus is the Bread of life

" Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."  (John 6:  35)

When we eat the Bread of life with faith, we shall be freed of dependency on family, money, job, health, tools, property, food, etc.  Dependency on these creatures is what enslaves us.

Psalm 16: 1 - 2 puts it this way:

"Keep me safe, O God;
in you I take refuge.
I say to the LORD,
you are my Lord,
you are my only good."

The psalmist asks God to keep him safe and acknowledges that God is his only good.  Psalm 16: 4 hammers away at dependencies that may enslave us:

"They multiply their sorrows
who court other gods.
Blood libations to them I will not pour out,
nor will I take their names upon my lips."

Every kind of dependency (other god) is an addiction which brings its particular sorrows.  Each  of them urges us to pour libations to it.  This is  why addiction of any kind is idolatry.

What is the cure?

"Jesus replied, 'I am the Bread of Life.  He who comes to me will never be hungry, and he who believes in and cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me will never thirst any more (at any time)  (John 6: 35 AMP)

Do not work for food that perishes

"‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God."  (Matthew 4: 4)

God's powerful and generous Providence fulfills all our needs in a timely manner."
"Fear is useless; what is needed is trust."  (Luke 8: 50; Mark 5: 36)

Jesus Christ is the Top Prize

"Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."   (John 14: 6)

You want abundant life?  Jesus is abundant life.

If God is with us, it is accomplished

"For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself.
But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” They were persuaded by him."  (Acts 5: 38 - 39)

No fear, No worry, No doubt.  God is in control.

Is Jesus not the son of the carpenter?

"Unless the LORD build the house,
they labor in vain who build.
Unless the LORD guard the city,
in vain does the guard keep watch.
It is vain for you to rise early
and put off your rest at night,
To eat bread earned by hard toil—
all this God gives to his beloved in sleep."  (Psalm 127: 1 - 2)

Lord, prosper the work of our hands.

Believers were of one heart and mind

"The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common."  (Acts 4: 32)

Our time, talent and treasure come from God.

Tested by fire

"In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."  (1 Peter 1: 6 - 7)

Endure your trials as discipline.  (Hebrews 12: 7)

What wonderful truths to contemplate on Divine Mercy Sunday.   My faith is being tried in the crucible of fire.   God is most merciful and loving.  The purpose of the testing is not to prove me a failure.  Just as God does not rejoice in the destruction of a wicked man, so does He not want the failure of His children. In my trials, scripture encourages me with these words:

"Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."  (James 1: 2 - 4)

Dear Lord Jesus Christ, you are the most merciful.  Grant me the grace to persevere to the end.  You are the One Thing Necessary.  At the end of my testing, may you become all that I need.  May I say:  Jesus Christ has truly become my Good Shepherd.  I have everything I need.

Give thanks for answered prayer

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. My strength and my courage is the Lord, an he has been my savior.  
The joyful shout of victory in the tents of the just."  (Psalm 118: 1, 14-15)

The pure joy of answered prayer is unbelievable.  Have you experienced it?  Keeping a list of answered prayers could provide a strategic shield in the next warfare which is just round the corner.  It occurred to me recently that the reason why I forget answered prayers is that I do not sufficiently etch them into my memory.  I keep daily journal to be sure and have done so for a longtime.  But journals and diaries could be like books stacked on the bookcase gathering dust.   The written word has been called a dead letter.  The living word is the one in your heart that you can use here and now.  That word that makes you leap up and dance.  That is what I want the list of answered prayer to do for me.  I want to dance with every answered prayer.

But how do I accomplish this?  I will from hence forth celebrate every answered prayer.  I placed an order on Amazon for a bell after searching for one in vain in the Houston area.  I received the bell with joy some days ago.  Once I have a prayer answered, I will ring the bell and dance around my apartment singing a praise song to God.  This I hope will reinforce the journal entry and makes forgetfulness more difficult.  I hope it works.  I will ring the bell not just for the big favors.  Small, medium and big favors will all be celebrated with the chiming of the bell.

The Name of Jesus is a Strong Tower

Acts 4:11-12 "This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe." (Proverbs 18:10) Seekfirst.blogspot.com

Scripture cause our heart to burn with faith

"He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.”  (Luke 24:  44)

Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

Dear Jesus, you opened the minds of your disciples to understand the Scriptures after your Resurrection.  Do the same for us, O Lord.  Open our minds to understand the Scriptures so that our hearts will burn within us as we listen to you. Teach us Lord and help us to share what we learn from you.  Amen!

I was dead but now I am alive forever

"Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”  Matthew 28: 10)

This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it.

Today is the day of Easter joy!

This is the morning on which the Lord appeared to men who had begun to lose hope and opened their eyes to what Scripture foretold:  that first Jesus must die, and then He would rise and ascend into His Father's glorious presence.

May the Risen Lord open our eyes to recognize Him in the Scriptures and in the Breaking of Bread.

Do this in remembrance of me

 "For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,k that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”  (1 Corinthians 11: 23 - 24)

"How can I repay the LORD
for all the great good done for me?"  (Psalm 116: 12)

St. Paul shares with the Corinthian Church a personal revelation from the Lord Jesus on the Eucharist.  Summary of this revelation:  the Eucharist is the true Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.  How can we repay the Lord for this great gift?  Let us approach the throne of grace in the Eucharist with joy and thanksgiving and we shall and we shall receive more gifts.

Do this in remembrance of me

1 Corinthians 11:23-24

"For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,  and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Psalm 116:12
"What shall I render to the Lord
for all his benefits to me?"

Seekfirst.blogspot.com

The Disciples Never Washed the Feet of Jesus

"Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom* for many.”  (Matthew 20: 28)

We never read in the Gospels that the disciples washed the feet of Jesus.  Jesus, the King of kings on the other hand washed the feet of the disciples.  He whom "All things serve."  (Psalm 119: 91) and at whose name "every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth" (Philippians 2: 10) became our Servant.
Dear Jesus, give me a genuine spirit of humble service.

In the Name of Jesus

"Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,"  (Philippians 2: 6 - 9)

Hosanna to the Son of David.

Jesus was sacrificed for our salvation

"Caiaphas did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,"  (John 11: 51)

The Church is the Family of the Father, the Body of the Son and the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
For His Body, Jesus gave His flesh and blood.  Scripture says that nobody hates his body.  Jesus loves His body unconditionally.

In my distress I called and He heard me

"But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.  They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten."  (Jeremiah 20: 11)

God is the Guardian of my rights.