Free to preach the Gospel

2 Timothy 4:17

"17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth."

"When we proclaim God's Word, we need not be chained by compulsive behavior, imprisoned by sin, or paralyzed by the fear of death (see Rv 11:11-12). The truth of God's Word sets us free (Jn 8:32). God's Word is the key to freedom. On this glorious feast, turn the key to unlock your chains, spring yourself from prison, and give yourself real freedom." (Presentation Ministries - June 29th 2013)

Yes I will do it

"And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately."  (Matthew 8: 2 - 3)

Lord Jesus, if you will, you can transform me.  You can fill me with the Holy Spirit and all His gifts.  I want you to do for me what you did for the leper.  Touch my head and say to me, "Yes, I will do it."  Now give me the faith to receive.  I ask for this in your Name Jesus.  Amen!!

"Come," says my heart, "seek his face;" Your face, Lord, do I seek."  (Psalm 27:8)

Source of blessings

"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)

"But Moses answered the people, “Do not fear! Stand your ground and see the victory the LORD will win for you today. For these Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again.
The LORD will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”  (Exodus 14: 13 -14)

"to Egypt whose help is futile and vain.
Therefore I call her
“Rahab Sit-still.”  (Isaiah 30: 7)

"For thus said the Lord GOD,
the Holy One of Israel:
By waiting and by calm you shall be saved,
in quiet and in trust shall be your strength.
But this you did not will."  (Isaiah 30: 15)

"Otherwise, you might say in your heart, “It is my own power and the strength of my own hand that has got me this wealth.”
Remember then the LORD, your God, for he is the one who gives you the power to get wealth, by fulfilling, as he has now done, the covenant he swore to your ancestors."  (Deuteronomy 8: 17 - 18)

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
on your own intelligence do not rely;
In all your ways be mindful of him,
and he will make straight your paths."  (Proverbs 3: 5 - 6)

"It is the LORD’s blessing that brings wealth,h
and no effort can substitute for it"  (Proverbs 10: 22)

"“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.
 If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil."  (Matthew 6: 25 34)

"I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing."  (John 15: 5)

"Give us today our daily bread;"  (Matthew 6: 11)

Building on a foundation of rock

"Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock." (Matthew 7: 24 - 25)

"Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves." (James 1: 22)
Power comes from doing.

"He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” (Luke 11: 28)
Blessings come from obeying the word.

"I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them." (Luke 6: 47)
The man who listens to the word of Jesus and acts on them is like one who builds his home on a foundation of solid rock.  No rain, no storm, no hurricane or flood can destroy that house.

"For it is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; rather, those who observe the law will be justified." (Romans 2: 13)
Emphasis again is on observing, acting and doing.

"Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous." (1 John 3: 7)

• Believe what you read.
• Teach what you believe.
• Practice what you teach.

"Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." (John 13: 17)
Change happens not because of what you know but because of what you do daily.

Unless the Lord builds

Psalm 127:1-2
Unless the Lord Builds the House

127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house,those who build it labor in vain.Unless the Lord watches over the city,the watchman stays awake in vain.2 It is in vain that you rise up earlyand go late to rest,eating the bread of anxious toil;for he gives to his beloved sleep."

Do good to every person

"“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets." (Matthew 7: 12)

Lord, grant me a merciful heart for every person I meet today.  Help me to bear witness to your word and wisdom by thinking of, speaking to and acting towards every person exactly the way I want them to do to me.

St. John the Baptist who is synonymous with bearing witness, pray for me.

He is the most effective witness

"A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him."  (John 1: 6 - 7)

St. John the Baptist bore a most befitting testimony to Jesus Christ.  He pointed out the Lamb of God to the world.  That is witness par excellence.  By his lifestyle and preaching, he called people to repentance.  This repentance prepare hearts and minds to receive the message of Jesus Christ.

How can we witness to Jesus Christ today?  The best practice in bearing witness is John the Baptist.  If we want to bear effective witness to Jesus Christ, we must do what John the Baptist did.  We must point people to Jesus.  By our lifestyle and word, we must invite people to conversion.

We teach people to use the word of God to deal with the daily challenges of health, family, finances, job, tools and property.   We use every opportunity to point people to the source of power, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  When we choose to be patient under the various challenges of daily living, people notice.  When we choose to be cheerful rather  than gloomy, we bear witness to a peace which the world cannot offer. Christ came to free us from the shackles of sins so that we can enjoy the freedom of the children of God.  Sin deprives us of the freedom to live the abundant life that Christ promises His disciples.

Let go and live

Luke 9:23-24

'Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."

"I let go of my desire for security." 
"I let go of my desire for affection ."
"I let go of my desire for control ."
"I let go of my desire to change the situation ."
"I let go of my desire for perfect health ."
"I let go of my desire for perfect family harmony ."
"I let go of my desire for the perfect job."

I let go and live!!

Take up your cross and follow me

"Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." (Luke 9: 23 - 24)

The Church teaches that the cross is the ladder to heaven. (CCC 618)  This is not an easy saying.  The cross comes to us through the ordinary pathways of life: Health, Family, Finances, Job, Tools/Property, Food and Future.  Each of these can be a blessing or a cross at anytime.  It is impossible to pick up one end of the stick without picking up the other.  The cross comes with the territory of life.

How do we pick up our cross daily and follow Jesus?  We read and accept the word of God on the inevitability of the cross in life.  Through prayer, we prepare for all the surprises of life.  When the cross appears, we use the tool of prayer to deal with the situation.  We ask God for help.