(CLICK THE PICTURE) Good morning everyone. The question of the day is, what will you do to grow spiritually today? I was sitting and listening to that still small voice and thinking about my trials when the voice reminded me of something I learned years earlier in my spiritual walk; put others before yourself. I went back in my archives again and found the proper message for today. Let it bless you.
Today’s Prayer
Father, You never promised that life would be easy, or that patience in parenting would be a “natural.” In fact, You never implied that parents and their offspring would always live in harmony, did You? But You did promise to be with us and to hear our prayers. Teach us, Lord, to pray together daily, both as a family and separately. Help us each to learn to start the day with prayer, to seek Your guidance, and to sense Your leading, for fear that we run ahead of You, and bring on our own problems. Each day, let us find some blessings to count. Open our eyes to sense Your protection and care. Then when we gather together at night as a family, let us share our experiences of the day, and the many evidences of Your care and kindness. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ holy name we pray, Amen.
Let’s eat.
Living for a Cause Greater Than Yourself
He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done. – Proverbs 19:17
If you were GOD and you wanted to send one of your servants to help the less fortunate in the world, how would you train your servant for this task? Our ways are not God’s ways. I was reading an article put out by the Moody Bible institute and encountered an interesting story in the case of Brigid, a woman born in the early 400’s in Ireland.
Brigid was born from a sexual encounter between an Irish king and one of his slaves. She was raised as a slave girl within the king’s household and was required to perform hard work on the king’s farm. From the beginning, Brigid took notice of the plight of the less fortunate. She would give the butter from the king’s kitchen to working boys. She once gave the king’s sword to a passing leper-an act about which the king was enraged. The king tried to marry her off, but to no avail. One day, Brigid fled the king’s house and committed herself to belonging only to Christ.
Brigid sought other women who also wanted to belong only to Christ. Seven of them organized a community of nuns that became known as the settlement of Kildare, a place where many thatch-roofed dwellings were built, and where artist studios, workshops, guest chambers, a library, and a church evolved. These and other settlements became little industries all to themselves, producing some of the greatest craftsmanship in all of Europe. Many of the poor had their lives bettered because of Brigid’s ministry to them.
Brigid became a traveling evangelist, helping the poor and preaching the gospel. When she died in 453, it is estimated 13,000 people had escaped from slavery and poverty to Christian service and industry. Her name became synonymous with the plight of the poor. She was a woman who turned a life of slavery and defeat into a life lived for a cause greater than herself. She became a nationally known figure among her people, and the Irish people still recognize her each February 1.
(courtesy of the Moody Bible institute)
God has called each of us to live for a cause greater than ourselves. If God asked you what you had done for the poor, what would you say? Jesus had a special place in His heart for the poor. Ask God how you might use your gifts and talents to improve the plight of the poor in your community.
Quote of the Day
To care means first of all to empty our own cup and to allow the other to come close to us. It means to take away the many barriers which prevent us from entering into communion with the other. When we dare to care, then we discover that nothing human is foreign to us, but that all the hatred and love, cruelty and compassion, fear and joy can be found in our own hearts. When we dare to care, we have to confess that when others kill, I could have killed too. When others torture, I could have done the same.
Henri J. M. Nouwen
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REV. ELDER G E STERRETT
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James H. Taylor Sr. – Kankakee City News has published my Daily meal message for a decade.