My Rock of safety

“Lord, be my rock of safety, the stronghold that saves me! For the honor of your name, lead me and guide me.” (Psalm 31: 3-4)

Be my rock of safety.
Be my rock of security.
The Lord himself makes me feel secure.
I feel secure in the Enterprise. Thanks to the Lord.
I feel secure because I know that the Lord is leading and guiding me.
He is protecting me every moment and every step.
The Lord saves me from all dangers.

Daddy, for the sake of your name, lead me, guide me and use me.

The man and his wife

“The man and his wife heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3: 8)

The consequence of sin is flight. We flee from the offended party. We hide ourselves. We cover up. We lose our confidence. The snake does not tell us of the consequences of sin.

We should ask before the action: If I take this action you propose, are there any negative consequences?

Our first parents, tempted by Satan, brought evil into the world. Their sin was one of self-love, pride, and lack of trust in God. We inherit their fallen nature, and can only hope in God’s mercy to redeem us.

The sinner knows his sin, expects God’s justice, and acknowledges original sin (Psalm 51: 3-5)
Original sin, its consequences, a sinful world; God does not abandon us (Catechism of the Catholic Church 396 – 412)
Original sin ruptured the initial harmony between men and women (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1607)

The Master Salesman

“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the Lord God had made. The serpent asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” (Genesis 3: 1)

The devil is a master salesman. Watch his steps:

• He makes a suggestion
• We listen to him
• Then he states the promise
• We are enticed by the promise
• He urges action
• We act

These steps are not different from the model of advertising called AIDA. This stands for:

• A: attention
• I: Interest
• D: Desire
• A: Action

According to this model, to sell anything, you need to take the prospect from attention to action. You start by capturing the attention of the prospect and quickly develop her interest in the product. Then get the prospect to desire ownership of the product and at this point, urge action.
This also is the model for temptation. If we do not want to buy a product, we stop the sales pitch at the level of attention-grabbing. If we allow the salesman or the snake to grab our attention, we expose ourselves to the next level of the sales effort.

Faith and Persistence

“For saying this you may go home happy; the devil has gone out of your daughter.” (Mark 7: 29)
All things are possible for him who believes.
Your faith will bring you healing.
The Syro-Phoenician woman had faith and she was also persistent.

Receive God's Word with joy

“Receive and submit to the word planted in you; it can save your souls.” (James 1: 21)

When was the first time God’s word was planted in me? The very first time was at my Baptism when I was only a few weeks old. But then, I was not conscious of God’s word till I became much older. But the very first time I knew the power of God’s word was in a crisis. It happened many years ago. I was in deep trouble with regard to my job. I faced imminent termination and consequent financial crisis. I opened the Bible I found beside the night table in my hotel room and it fell to Exodus 14: 13 – 14. This is the word of God that I heard that night:

“Do not be afraid! Stand firm, and you will see what Yahweh will do to rescue you today; the Egyptians you see today you will never see again. Yahweh will do the fighting for you; all you need to do is to keep calm.”

As I write these words again today, I feel the power once more. I have some issues at the moment that border me. God’s word above assures me again that all that I need to do is to believe and to keep calm. All will be well because God himself will fight for me. Thank you Jesus.

I receive God’s word with joy and I will do whatever he tells me.

Fear the Lord

“Happy are you who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways! For you shall eat of the fruit of your handiwork; happy shall you be, and favored.” (Psalm 128: 1-2)

Most Holy Spirit, fill my soul with the fear of God. I want to enjoy the blessings promised in the above Psalm.

What is the fear of the Lord? Reverence God, respect God; fear to offend him.
To walk in the ways of God is to walk with Christ who is the way.

What are the works of my hands?
• My ministries
• Seekfirstweb

God promises fruitfulness and blessings to those who fear him and walk with Jesus. I accept God’s word as true on the fruitfulness and prosperity of my work.
Faith that is firm is patient: I wait for the fruitfulness and prosperity with patience. I do not try to rush things or bring about the blessings by purely human effort. Faith that is firm is also obedient. I follow the lead and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Mission for Two

“Yahweh God said, ‘It is not right that the man should be alone. I shall make him a helper.” (Genesis 2: 18)

God gave man a helper in woman. Christ sent out his disciples in twos. The Book of Proverbs talks of the wisdom of being two in any mission.
“Wherever two or three of you gather in my name, I am there in your midst.”
“Wherever two of you agree on anything in prayer, it shall be done to you.”