RANDOM THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS, by Deacon Sam October, 2024
- We praise God for who He is; we thank God for what He has done. We give thanks to God always – even when things have not gone our way. We praise God in every moment – without condition – because God is God; because He is just, loving and amazing. We praise God to the end.
- Stay calm in the busyness of life. We have holiness if we keep ourselves unstained by sin. We long for a deep connection with God. What do we value more than Jesus in our lives? Attachments to physical things often make it difficult for us to achieve the connection that we crave. Jesus wants us to have a rich meaning in our life. What is my purpose? What is my call as a follower of Jesus? Keeping faith in God, believing we are loved and valued by Him and keeping God as the priority in our life gives us peace as we travel on our journey through this life to eternal life.
- Is God fair? Sometimes it seems He is not as we struggle our way through life. As humans we put limits on our love but God does not. God is full of compassion. He never gives up on any of us, calls us to be close to Him and offers salvation to everyone. When we choose Jesus, He gives us His best! We pray: "Jesus, I will let you be the Lord of my life.”
4 Life Challenges:
1) Avoid hypocrisy – practice what you preach;
2) Do not create barriers that distance yourself from God;
3) Be a servant – don't oppress others;
4) Be aware of false values that deny justice, compassion and love.
- True beauty and goodness are related to a loving heart. Every good deed is beautiful in God's eye. To paraphrase St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta: "I cannot change the world but I can cast a stone that creates many ripples."
- What is more important than the truth – nothing. Every sin is a lie against truth – we go against Jesus who is The Truth. When we hide from the truth we hide from Jesus. When we reject the truth we reject Jesus. We are each called to speak the truth, listen to the truth and live the truth.
- “Be doers of the word and not hearers only "says St. James.
- It is important for us to know that it is good for us to exist; that we each have something to offer. We want to matter to each other; we need to be loved and respected. When it comes to God I matter even when I feel like I have nothing to offer. God wants us to notice, see and love the people around us even if we think that they have nothing to offer. In God's eyes we all matter.
- "The basis of all excellence is truth." -Samuel Johnson