Strive to know the Heart of Jesus intimately

Do you realize that heaven on earth is knowing the Heart of Jesus intimately, loving Him passionately and following Him everywhere?

"Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”   (Hosea 6:3 NLT)

"For I desire and delight in dutiful steadfast love and goodness, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of and acquaintance with God more than burnt offerings."
(Hosea 6:6 AMP)

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Love God and your neighbor

How do you do love of God and neighbor?

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."  (Mark 12:30-31 KJV)

"Love is never tired of waiting; love is kind; love has no envy; love has no high opinion of itself, love has no pride."
(1 Corinthians 13:4 BBE)

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Obedience Not Sacrifice

"Do you find in your heart a desire to obey Jesus in all things or just in a few things?

"This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people.
Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper." (Jeremiah 7: 23 NABRE)

"Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart."   (Psalm 37:4 AMP)

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
(Hebrews 3:15 NIV)

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Let the Word direct your Journey

Do you realize that life is a Journey with a destination?

“And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you."
(Deuteronomy 4:1 NLT)

"Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”
(Deuteronomy 4:6 NIV)

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Have mercy on me, I will pay you in full

Are you struggling with the wicked spirit of Unforgiveness?

"A debtor was brought before him [master] who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan."
(Matthew 18: 24-26 NABRE)

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’"   (Matt 18:32-33 NIV)

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Trust in Jesus Not your understanding

Do you find the simplicity of the Sacraments an obstacle to faith?

"Elisha sent a messenger to say to Naaman, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”
(2 Kings 5:10 NIV)

"If the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary,
would you not have done it?" (2 Kings 5: 13 NABRE)

"So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child’s, and he was healed!"
(2 Kings 5:14 NLT)

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Never forget to honor the Lord on Sunday

Can you count the numberless blessings attached to honoring the Lord on Sunday?  Impossible!

“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work,  but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work."  (Exodus 20:8-10 NLT)

"That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it [set it apart for His purposes]." (Exodus 20:11 AMP)

The Sabbath Rest is a Rehearsal for Eternal Rest.

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Confess your sins to Jesus

Do you realize that the strength and power of Jesus are most effective in your weakness and brokenness?

"Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;
Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency, And will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt?"  (Micah 7: 18 NABRE)

I was the prodigal son.  Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Jesus blotted out the record of my sins and removed my guilt completely.

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Bring Jesus the sacrifice of your time

Do you know that the more you choose to trust Jesus the easier it becomes?

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."
(John 3:16 NLT)

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
(1John 4:10 NIV)

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Try St Joseph

“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21)

"I wish I could persuade everyone to be devoted to this glorious saint, for I know from long experience the benefits he obtains from God. I have never known anyone who was truly devoted to him and performed particular services in his honor, who did not advance greatly in virtue... I only ask, for the love of God, that anyone who doubts what I say make a test of it himself, and he will see, from actual experience, the great benefit it is to commend oneself to this glorious Patriarch, and to have devotion to him." (St Teresa of Avila, LIFE)

Acquiring a servant spirit

Do you embrace all Jesus is doing in your life?

"Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,  and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave."
(Matthew 20:26-27 NLT)

"Even as the Son of man did not come to have servants, but to be a servant, and to give his life for the salvation of men."
(Matthew 20:28 BBE)

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Cultivate the spirit of justice

Have you discerned that  true security rests in Jesus alone?

"Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow."
(Isaiah 1:17 NIV)

"If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat.   But if you turn away and refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies. I, the LORD, have spoken!”  (Isaiah 1:19-20 NLT)

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Be merciful

Do you perceive Jesus as a Judge that can never  be pleased?

"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven."  (Luke 6:37 KJV)

No judge. No condemn. No criticize.

"So be merciful (sympathetic, tender, responsive, and compassionate) even as your Father is [all these]."
(Luke 6:36 AMP)

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Listen to Jesus always and everywhere

How do we listen to Jesus?
His word, Prayer, Eucharist, Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Church.

"From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard:
This is my beloved Son, listen to him."  (Matthew 17: 5 RM)

“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
(Luke 10:16 NIV)

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Love those who are against you

Do you find it impossible to love those who humiliate and abuse you?

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."
(Matthew 5:44 KJV)

"If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that."
(Matthew 5:47 NLT)

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Declare your trust in Jesus during trials

Do you trust Jesus to deliver you from sin and evil?

"Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"
(Ezekiel 18:23 NIV)

"Lord, deliver me from my distress. See my hardship and my poverty, and pardon all my sins."  (Psalm 25: 17 -  18)

"I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
My soul waits for the LORD
more than sentinels wait for the dawn.
Let Israel wait for the LORD."  (Psalm 130: 5-6)

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Ask and keep asking and you will receive

Do you place your security in promises of Jesus?

"Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you."
(Matthew 7:7 AMP)

“You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?  Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!"   (Matthew 7:9-10 NLT)

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Ask Jesus to renew your heart

How do you respond to the message of Conversion?

“Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”  Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
(Joel 2:12-13 NIV)

"When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened."  (Jonah 3:10 NLT)

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Be fertile and fruitful through the Word

Are you fertile and fruitful through the daily consuming of the word of God or are you sterile?

 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.  It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.   (Isaiah 55:10-11 NLT)

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. "
(2 Timothy 3:16 KJV)

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Store up your treasures in heaven

How do you treat the least and the marginalized in the community?

"‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’"
(Matthew 25:44 NIV)

“And Jesus will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
(Matthew 25:45 NLT)

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