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The Word became flesh to reconcile us with God, to manifest God’s love for us, to model holiness, and to make us partakers of the divine nature. We learn that the “Incarnation” refers to the fact that the Son of God assumed human nature in order to accomplish our salvation. Fr. Mike explains that belief in the Incarnation of God is the distinctive sign of Christian faith. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 456-463.
Click on the link to play video: https://youtu.be/3vRxlDNcbNs
//Prayer Warriors//
“Always give good heed to the Word of God, whether you hear or read it in private, or hearken to it when publicly preached: listen with attention and reverence; seek to profit by it, and do not let the precious words fall unheeded; receive them into your heart as a costly balsam; imitate the Blessed Virgin who ‘kept all the sayings’ concerning her Son, ‘in her heart.’ And remember that according as we hearken to and receive God’s words, so will He hearken and receive our supplications.”— St. Francis de Sales
//The Catholic Company//
//The Catholic Company//
Joy is an important part of our lives as Christ-followers.
1. It’s a fruit God produces in us as we yield to His Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
Yielding to God’s Spirit means taking our growth in Christ seriously and allowing Him to change us (Philippians 2:12-13).
2. We find joy in God’s Word (Psalm 19:8).
What joy in knowing the way God’s Word enhances and empowers our lives (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
3. We find joy in fellowship (2 John 1:12).
Thank God for the blessing of brothers and sisters in Christ who share our sorrows, joys, needs, fears, and frustrations (1 Corinthians 12:26).
4. We find joy in our trials because they produce perseverance (James 1:2-4).
Finding joy in our trials would seem impossible if we didn’t have the example of Christ. We fix our eyes on Jesus because he endured the cross because of “the joy set before him” in bringing our salvation. Because of Christ’s example, we do “not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:1-3).
5. We have the “inexpressible and glorious joy” of knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior (1 Peter 1:8-9).
I saved the best for last!
Thomas Jefferson didn’t agree with the whole Bible, especially miracles, the resurrection, and the Holy Spirit. So he cut out the portions he didn’t agree with and created the Jefferson Bible.(1)
Jefferson was like another political leader thousands of years earlier:
The Lord told Jeremiah to write a prophecy and read it to King Jehoiakim. When Jeremiah read it to the king, he listened to it a few lines at a time and “cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire” (Jeremiah 36).
Most of us don’t take scissors to our Bibles; we just ignore passages we don’t like or create sophisticated arguments to explain them away.
But no matter what we do, if we cut passages out of our Bibles like Jefferson or simply refuse to obey them, “the word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:25).
God’s Word “is eternal, it stands firm in the heavens” (Psalm 119:89).
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but [God’s] words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever” (Isaiah 40:8).
Why not take a moment and thank God for His perfect, unchanging Word!
Suppose someone went on a cruise and didn’t realize the meals were included in the price. While others dined on the chef’s finest dishes in the dining room, they ate peanut butter sandwiches in their cabin.
It’s a good analogy for my behavior at times when I stupidly depend on my own resources instead of God.
I may see some results…after all, peanut butter has some nutrition.
But real change comes when I depend on God’s Word and prayer to change me.
Hebrews 4:12 says God’s Word is alive (yes!). It actively changes my heart and mind and reveals my true attitudes. If I believe it, memorize it and meditate on it, I will change.
You and I can dine on the peanut butter of self-help or sit at the banquet table of God’s Word. When we “sign up” for our salvation journey all “meals” are included!
