Devotions
Only The Sick Need Doctors
ʺThose who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I do not come to call the righteous, but sinners.ʺ Mark 2:13-17
There are those who are righteous in this world. They are rare, but they are recognizable to us precisely because they are rare. They are the living saints among us. These are already well with God and do not concern themselves with outward signs of their holiness, nor with self-praising words. They do not go around saying, ʺLook at me.ʺ Then there are those who, like the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, go around dressing in ways that attract attention to them and to their supposed importance. And like those Pharisees, they pray loudly at the street corners, saying, ʺLook at how holy and righteous I am.ʺ
Jesus did not come to call the former, because they are already well and they are already well loved by God. They have been made healthy by God’s generous grace in this world. They are not without sin, for they are human, but they know when they have fallen ill, and they know the Physician that will heal them. They do not hesitate to go to him for healing. Because of their humble and deep love of God, they have that healthy glow that is the mark of a healthy and righteous soul. The latter, because they are too full of themselves, do not think that they need the help of God, or anybody else. They are sick and do not even know it. Their souls are sick with the sin of pride. Because of their pride they are unable to see that they are sick and in need of The Physician.
In this passage from Mark, Jesus was being criticized by those who believed and felt themselves to be among the ʺrighteousʺ in Israel. They were speaking disparigingly about him. They could not understand why Jesus would want to spend so much time speaking to, and eating with, those ‘sinners,’ instead of with them. Jesus’ remark to them was meant, as always, to wake them up, to give them a chance to recognize their sinfulness, and to humbly accept their need for the healing love of God. On the other hand, the ‘sinners’ that he was eating with, those whom the righteous had condemned as ʺlesser beings,ʺ knew their need for healing. They were humble enough to recognize this. They were touched deeply by the surprise that Jesus, this wandering Rabbi whose fame was spreading throughout the land, would want to spend time with them. They heard in his words and the tenor of his voice, that they were actually and truly loved by God, even though they were sinners. They saw this love of God for them in his eyes. They knew their need and they were eager to be healed.
Brothers and sisters, we are the ‘sinners’ that Jesus came to heal. We are all in need of this beloved Physician. Let us go to him, truly humble and contrite, knowing our need, our desperate need, for his healing touch. And it will be ours. For we know by the truth of scripture, and by our faith, that his deepest desire is to heal us. Let us, in our prayers, long for his healing touch, for we are so often sick at heart. This Physician still makes house calls. We can count on him to be there whenever we are in need of him. He will not fail to love us back to health every time we fall ill, through the infinite power of his healing forgiveness. As we know in faith, God is love and love conquers all things.
Taken from the web site "Jesus Loves You"
http://jesus-loves-you.org/only-the-sick-need-doctors/
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One Mountain At A Time "That's it! I'm through! I'll not take another step!"
William threw his tired teenage body to the ground in the sparse shade of the first tree they had seen in several days. Caroline stood beside him anxiously, torn between love and loyalty for her older brother and the fact that the pioneer wagon train was moving on without them.
She nudged him gently with her foot. "Come along, William. We don't want to fall behind."
"I don't care. Let them go. I'll just stay here the rest of my life."
"I shouldn't think that would be very long, since you have no food or blankets."
"I don't care," William said, closing his eyes against the dust and heat and, perhaps, life itself. Then he added softly, "It's too far. I can't do it."
Caroline was startled by what she was hearing from her brother. They had been through so much together -- their mother's death during childbirth in England; the family's immigration to America via a perilous ocean voyage during which their younger sister died; working with their father to build a new life for themselves in America; and then their father's accidental death just a few weeks before the start of the trek west.
They had walked, side-by-side, every step of the way from New York to... well, wherever this place was. And through it all, William had been strong and courageous. Caroline had leaned on his strength, even come to depend upon it. But now, she had to be the strong one.
"You can't leave me alone, William," she said. "Not now."
"I'm not leaving you," William insisted. "I'm staying. If you go, you'll be leaving me."
She paused a moment, watching the dust settle on the parched ground behind the last wagon as it rumbled up the trail.
"All right," she said at last. "But at least walk with me the rest of the day. Then you can come back here, if you like."
That seemed like a small request to William. Surely he could walk just one more day. It was the least he could do for Caroline.
"One more day," he agreed. "Then I'm through."
When he arose the next morning, Caroline wasn't in her blanket. He finally found her on a small rise just outside the camp.
"See that hill off in the distance there?" she said as he approached her. He turned to look.
"Yes," he said. "I see it."
"I wish you would walk that far with me," she said. "Then you can go back to your tree."
William continued looking at the hill. It didn't seem to be such a great distance. Surely he could walk with Caroline that far. She was, after all, his sister.
"I'll walk with you to the hill," he agreed. "But no further."
It took two days for the pioneer company to reach the hill, and by then Caroline was focused on a range of mountains looming out there on the western horizon. She persuaded her brother to walk with her "just that far." And then to a distant grove of trees beyond that. And then to the river beyond that. And then to the next range of mountains. And then, suddenly, their journey was over. Caroline had coaxed William into walking with her more than 1,000 miles.
She didn't do it by convincing him to walk 1,000 miles all it once. She did it by urging him to walk with her one more day.
Life often confronts us with journeys that seem long, and obstacles that appear to be overwhelming. It can be discouraging to look down the road at the enormity of the task before us and to consider all that needs to be done. We need to remember that we rarely accomplish any great thing all at once.
Rather, we do it just as Caroline and William did. One hill, one river, one mountain at a time.
~ Joseph Walker ~-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ʺThose who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I do not come to call the righteous, but sinners.ʺ Mark 2:13-17
There are those who are righteous in this world. They are rare, but they are recognizable to us precisely because they are rare. They are the living saints among us. These are already well with God and do not concern themselves with outward signs of their holiness, nor with self-praising words. They do not go around saying, ʺLook at me.ʺ Then there are those who, like the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, go around dressing in ways that attract attention to them and to their supposed importance. And like those Pharisees, they pray loudly at the street corners, saying, ʺLook at how holy and righteous I am.ʺ
Jesus did not come to call the former, because they are already well and they are already well loved by God. They have been made healthy by God’s generous grace in this world. They are not without sin, for they are human, but they know when they have fallen ill, and they know the Physician that will heal them. They do not hesitate to go to him for healing. Because of their humble and deep love of God, they have that healthy glow that is the mark of a healthy and righteous soul. The latter, because they are too full of themselves, do not think that they need the help of God, or anybody else. They are sick and do not even know it. Their souls are sick with the sin of pride. Because of their pride they are unable to see that they are sick and in need of The Physician.
In this passage from Mark, Jesus was being criticized by those who believed and felt themselves to be among the ʺrighteousʺ in Israel. They were speaking disparigingly about him. They could not understand why Jesus would want to spend so much time speaking to, and eating with, those ‘sinners,’ instead of with them. Jesus’ remark to them was meant, as always, to wake them up, to give them a chance to recognize their sinfulness, and to humbly accept their need for the healing love of God. On the other hand, the ‘sinners’ that he was eating with, those whom the righteous had condemned as ʺlesser beings,ʺ knew their need for healing. They were humble enough to recognize this. They were touched deeply by the surprise that Jesus, this wandering Rabbi whose fame was spreading throughout the land, would want to spend time with them. They heard in his words and the tenor of his voice, that they were actually and truly loved by God, even though they were sinners. They saw this love of God for them in his eyes. They knew their need and they were eager to be healed.
Brothers and sisters, we are the ‘sinners’ that Jesus came to heal. We are all in need of this beloved Physician. Let us go to him, truly humble and contrite, knowing our need, our desperate need, for his healing touch. And it will be ours. For we know by the truth of scripture, and by our faith, that his deepest desire is to heal us. Let us, in our prayers, long for his healing touch, for we are so often sick at heart. This Physician still makes house calls. We can count on him to be there whenever we are in need of him. He will not fail to love us back to health every time we fall ill, through the infinite power of his healing forgiveness. As we know in faith, God is love and love conquers all things.
Taken from the web site "Jesus Loves You"
http://jesus-loves-you.org/only-the-sick-need-doctors/
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One Mountain At A Time "That's it! I'm through! I'll not take another step!"
William threw his tired teenage body to the ground in the sparse shade of the first tree they had seen in several days. Caroline stood beside him anxiously, torn between love and loyalty for her older brother and the fact that the pioneer wagon train was moving on without them.
She nudged him gently with her foot. "Come along, William. We don't want to fall behind."
"I don't care. Let them go. I'll just stay here the rest of my life."
"I shouldn't think that would be very long, since you have no food or blankets."
"I don't care," William said, closing his eyes against the dust and heat and, perhaps, life itself. Then he added softly, "It's too far. I can't do it."
Caroline was startled by what she was hearing from her brother. They had been through so much together -- their mother's death during childbirth in England; the family's immigration to America via a perilous ocean voyage during which their younger sister died; working with their father to build a new life for themselves in America; and then their father's accidental death just a few weeks before the start of the trek west.
They had walked, side-by-side, every step of the way from New York to... well, wherever this place was. And through it all, William had been strong and courageous. Caroline had leaned on his strength, even come to depend upon it. But now, she had to be the strong one.
"You can't leave me alone, William," she said. "Not now."
"I'm not leaving you," William insisted. "I'm staying. If you go, you'll be leaving me."
She paused a moment, watching the dust settle on the parched ground behind the last wagon as it rumbled up the trail.
"All right," she said at last. "But at least walk with me the rest of the day. Then you can come back here, if you like."
That seemed like a small request to William. Surely he could walk just one more day. It was the least he could do for Caroline.
"One more day," he agreed. "Then I'm through."
When he arose the next morning, Caroline wasn't in her blanket. He finally found her on a small rise just outside the camp.
"See that hill off in the distance there?" she said as he approached her. He turned to look.
"Yes," he said. "I see it."
"I wish you would walk that far with me," she said. "Then you can go back to your tree."
William continued looking at the hill. It didn't seem to be such a great distance. Surely he could walk with Caroline that far. She was, after all, his sister.
"I'll walk with you to the hill," he agreed. "But no further."
It took two days for the pioneer company to reach the hill, and by then Caroline was focused on a range of mountains looming out there on the western horizon. She persuaded her brother to walk with her "just that far." And then to a distant grove of trees beyond that. And then to the river beyond that. And then to the next range of mountains. And then, suddenly, their journey was over. Caroline had coaxed William into walking with her more than 1,000 miles.
She didn't do it by convincing him to walk 1,000 miles all it once. She did it by urging him to walk with her one more day.
Life often confronts us with journeys that seem long, and obstacles that appear to be overwhelming. It can be discouraging to look down the road at the enormity of the task before us and to consider all that needs to be done. We need to remember that we rarely accomplish any great thing all at once.
Rather, we do it just as Caroline and William did. One hill, one river, one mountain at a time.
~ Joseph Walker ~-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pushing Against the Rock
I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me. – Psalm 119:30
A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.
This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing it with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
Noticing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, the adversary decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man’s weary mind. “You have been pushing against this rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it.” Thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These troubling thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. “Why kill myself over this?” I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough.
And that is what he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his thoughts to the Lord. “Lord” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even been able to budge that rock. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”
The Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, When I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so?”
“Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock.”
At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is simple obedience and Faith in Him…
By all means exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves them.
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During the Christmas season each year we celebrate the coming of the Lord, the Messiah, Jesus. But there are three times that the Lord will come that are known to Christians. Two will come to mind very quickly. The first, of course, took place at the birth of the infant Jesus during that cold night in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. The second one is that one we long for when the Lord will come again at the end of time to conclude history. We call that event ʺthe Second Coming.ʺ But there is a third time that the Lord comes too. The Lord comes to each one of us, to each of our souls every day, that is, if the doors of our souls are open to him. The most important question we must ask ourselves each and every day, then, is, ʺIs my soul open to the coming of the Lord?ʺ Or, do I hang a sign on the door of my soul that says, ʺDo not disturb.ʺ
The world waited with baited breath for centuries for the coming of the Lord, and their faithful waiting was fulfilled in Jesus. He came in the flesh and dwelt amongst us for some 33 years. He lived with us, celebrated with us and wept with us. He taught us about love, and about ourselves as sinners who are meant to be saints. He took on all of our sins and bore the weight of them on the Cross, suffering and dying in order to free us from the terrible oppression of our sins and to open the doors of Paradise to us once again. He did all of this over 2,000 years ago. He died, just like we will die some day. But he rose again and gave us his Holy Spirit to teach us and to guide us until he comes again.
The Church and all Christian believers now actively wait for that time when Jesus will come again in Glory, to put an end to all suffering, to establish the Kingdom of God, that place where there will be no more tears, where we will be able to see God in the face and know the joy that our hearts and souls were made for, forever and ever.
But we must learn, too, the truth that the Lord comes to each of us every day, intimately, desiring to enter our souls, to be in communion with us personally, individually. He wants to sit with us every day, to speak to us in the Spirit, to counsel us, to encourage us in the long pilgrimage that we are on to our eternal home. If we are too busy, too overburdened by daily concerns; if we are too distracted by things, or the siren calls of immediate gratification, we will miss his soft knocking at the door of our soul, we will miss the opportunity to open the door of our soul and to welcome him there. We must learn to pray every day. We must learn the habits of prayer, both in our private and in our public lives. We must tune the ears of our body, as well as those of our conscience, and those of our soul, to hear the whispering presence of the Lord at our door every day. t Words of the Bible in the Book of Revelation speak for us every day then. Let us open the doors of our souls to hear the promise of these words, ʺHe who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ʺ And let us respond every day, crying out fervently: ʺAmen. Come, Lord Jesus.ʺ Come into my soul each day.
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I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me. – Psalm 119:30
A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.
This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing it with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.
Noticing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, the adversary decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man’s weary mind. “You have been pushing against this rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it.” Thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These troubling thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. “Why kill myself over this?” I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough.
And that is what he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his thoughts to the Lord. “Lord” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even been able to budge that rock. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”
The Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, When I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so?”
“Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock.”
At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is simple obedience and Faith in Him…
By all means exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves them.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
During the Christmas season each year we celebrate the coming of the Lord, the Messiah, Jesus. But there are three times that the Lord will come that are known to Christians. Two will come to mind very quickly. The first, of course, took place at the birth of the infant Jesus during that cold night in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. The second one is that one we long for when the Lord will come again at the end of time to conclude history. We call that event ʺthe Second Coming.ʺ But there is a third time that the Lord comes too. The Lord comes to each one of us, to each of our souls every day, that is, if the doors of our souls are open to him. The most important question we must ask ourselves each and every day, then, is, ʺIs my soul open to the coming of the Lord?ʺ Or, do I hang a sign on the door of my soul that says, ʺDo not disturb.ʺ
The world waited with baited breath for centuries for the coming of the Lord, and their faithful waiting was fulfilled in Jesus. He came in the flesh and dwelt amongst us for some 33 years. He lived with us, celebrated with us and wept with us. He taught us about love, and about ourselves as sinners who are meant to be saints. He took on all of our sins and bore the weight of them on the Cross, suffering and dying in order to free us from the terrible oppression of our sins and to open the doors of Paradise to us once again. He did all of this over 2,000 years ago. He died, just like we will die some day. But he rose again and gave us his Holy Spirit to teach us and to guide us until he comes again.
The Church and all Christian believers now actively wait for that time when Jesus will come again in Glory, to put an end to all suffering, to establish the Kingdom of God, that place where there will be no more tears, where we will be able to see God in the face and know the joy that our hearts and souls were made for, forever and ever.
But we must learn, too, the truth that the Lord comes to each of us every day, intimately, desiring to enter our souls, to be in communion with us personally, individually. He wants to sit with us every day, to speak to us in the Spirit, to counsel us, to encourage us in the long pilgrimage that we are on to our eternal home. If we are too busy, too overburdened by daily concerns; if we are too distracted by things, or the siren calls of immediate gratification, we will miss his soft knocking at the door of our soul, we will miss the opportunity to open the door of our soul and to welcome him there. We must learn to pray every day. We must learn the habits of prayer, both in our private and in our public lives. We must tune the ears of our body, as well as those of our conscience, and those of our soul, to hear the whispering presence of the Lord at our door every day. t Words of the Bible in the Book of Revelation speak for us every day then. Let us open the doors of our souls to hear the promise of these words, ʺHe who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ʺ And let us respond every day, crying out fervently: ʺAmen. Come, Lord Jesus.ʺ Come into my soul each day.
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God always keeps His promises. Always. “Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.” Deuteronomy 7:9 NLT
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In 2 Timothy 4:2, we’re instructed to be ready to preach the Gospel at any time. But we tend to rush around every day going about our own business, don’t we? Think of a place you go every day. How can you share God’s love with the people you meet?
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Do not be afraid—I am with you! I am your God–let nothing terrify you!! I will make you srong and help you; I will protect you and save you. Isaiah 41:10
Remember? These are the first words Jesus spoke to his Apostles when he came to them in the upper room after his Resurrection, “Do not be afraid.” They were up in that room precisely because they were afraid. They were afraid that they, too, were in danger of paying the ultimate price for being followers of the Crucified One. They wanted to carry on, they wanted to believe and to continue spreading the good news that Jesus had taught them in their presence. And remember? It was after Jesus had ascended back to the Father, that the Holy Spirit descended upon them and they boldly stepped out onto the balconies of the house they were hiding in and began to preach the word of God in a multiplicity of languages. Most of them would, indeed, meet martyrdom, but they would no longer be afraid, because they knew that God was with them.
We, in our own day, have a lot in common with the people of Isaiah’s time. Though they did not experience him in the flesh, they believed that their savior would one day come. We have not known the Redeemer in the flesh, as the Apostles and the disciples did, yet we, too, believe, though we have not seen. In the passage from Isaiah, the people needed encouragement. They understood the prophet to be the mouthpiece of God. They did not doubt that the word of God had come to him and that he was passing it on to the people of God. They believed that the holiness and the will of God had been revealed to the prophets, in this case, Isaiah. They would have heard this message from the mouth of the prophet with great joy and consolation. Of course, they had proof of God’s fidelity in their traditions already. Moses, the father of the prophets, told countless stories of how the Jews had doubted, resisted, or feared that they had been abandoned by God in the desert. But, in every case, God remained faithful to them, provided for them, and protected them from themselves and their enemies.
We, too, in our weakness, sometimes fail in our fidelity to God. Sometimes, because we have recognized our own sinfulness, we have feared that God would abandon us. But, just as in Isaiah’s time, and in the time immediately after the Resurrection, and countless times over the history of the Church, God has always remained true to those who love him. It is a temptation of the Evil One to think that we are beyond God’s mercy, that he could never forgive the terrible things we have done. But God’s love is unconditional. Nothing we can do will prevent his love for us, if we but turn to him in humble contrition, recognizing that we are lost without him. As he promised, he will be with us. He will forgive us and he will make us strong. He will help us, protect us and save us, for we are his children. Do not be afraid then. He is with us!
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Remember? These are the first words Jesus spoke to his Apostles when he came to them in the upper room after his Resurrection, “Do not be afraid.” They were up in that room precisely because they were afraid. They were afraid that they, too, were in danger of paying the ultimate price for being followers of the Crucified One. They wanted to carry on, they wanted to believe and to continue spreading the good news that Jesus had taught them in their presence. And remember? It was after Jesus had ascended back to the Father, that the Holy Spirit descended upon them and they boldly stepped out onto the balconies of the house they were hiding in and began to preach the word of God in a multiplicity of languages. Most of them would, indeed, meet martyrdom, but they would no longer be afraid, because they knew that God was with them.
We, in our own day, have a lot in common with the people of Isaiah’s time. Though they did not experience him in the flesh, they believed that their savior would one day come. We have not known the Redeemer in the flesh, as the Apostles and the disciples did, yet we, too, believe, though we have not seen. In the passage from Isaiah, the people needed encouragement. They understood the prophet to be the mouthpiece of God. They did not doubt that the word of God had come to him and that he was passing it on to the people of God. They believed that the holiness and the will of God had been revealed to the prophets, in this case, Isaiah. They would have heard this message from the mouth of the prophet with great joy and consolation. Of course, they had proof of God’s fidelity in their traditions already. Moses, the father of the prophets, told countless stories of how the Jews had doubted, resisted, or feared that they had been abandoned by God in the desert. But, in every case, God remained faithful to them, provided for them, and protected them from themselves and their enemies.
We, too, in our weakness, sometimes fail in our fidelity to God. Sometimes, because we have recognized our own sinfulness, we have feared that God would abandon us. But, just as in Isaiah’s time, and in the time immediately after the Resurrection, and countless times over the history of the Church, God has always remained true to those who love him. It is a temptation of the Evil One to think that we are beyond God’s mercy, that he could never forgive the terrible things we have done. But God’s love is unconditional. Nothing we can do will prevent his love for us, if we but turn to him in humble contrition, recognizing that we are lost without him. As he promised, he will be with us. He will forgive us and he will make us strong. He will help us, protect us and save us, for we are his children. Do not be afraid then. He is with us!
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