Archive for the ‘Daily Bible Readings’ Category

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

July 1, 2008

When: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 12:00 AM to Wednesday, June 18, 2008 12:00 AM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).

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Words written in red; Words of Jesus

"You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 5: 43 – 48

If we have any natural defect, either in mind or body, let us not grieve and be sorry for ourselves. Who is there that ever receives a gift and tries to make bargains about it? Let us, then, return thanks for whatever God has bestowed on us. Who can tell, if we had received a larger share of ability or stronger health, we would have possessed them to our destruction?

— St. Alphonsus Liguori

Abba, Father, Lord God, grateful I return to this day knowing Your every word contains wisdom which through asking and prayer I seek to know and understand so that I may put it to work for You. O Lord God that you would bless me indeed, enlarge my territory and keep me from evil and causing pain. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

1 Kings 21:17-29<http://www.ewtn.com/vbible/search.asp?abbr=_1kgs&ch=21&bv1=17&ev1=29>

Psalm 51:3-6, 11, 16<http://www.ewtn.com/vbible/search.asp?abbr=Ps&ch=51&bv1=3&ev1=6&bv2=11&ev2=11&bv3=16&ev3=16>

Matthew 5:43-48<http://www.ewtn.com/vbible/search.asp?abbr=Matt&ch=5&bv1=43&ev1=48>

Audio books I am listening to and other books or readings I am reading:

Revolution: Finding Vibrant Faith Beyond the Walls of the Sanctuary<http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_TYND_000051&BV_SessionID=@@@@1338077985.1212362231@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccjadeefgfjhjmcefecekjdffidflg.0> (Unabridged) – World-renowned pollster George Barna has the numbers, and they indicate a revolution is already taking place within the Church: one that will impact every believer in America. For leaders working for positive change in the church, and for believers struggling to find a spiritual community and worship experience that resonates, Revolution is here. Are you ready?

Heaven Is Real: Lessons on Earthly Joy – from the Man Who Spent 90 Minutes in Heaven<http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_PENG_000702&BV_SessionID=@@@@1338077985.1212362231@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccjadeefgfjhjmcefecekjdffidflg.0> (Unabridged) – On January 18th 1989, Don Piper died in a car accident. Ninety minutes later, after a preacher prayed over him, Piper came back to life with an extraordinary story. He'd been to heaven. So began the phenomenon of 90 Minutes in Heaven.

"Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?" If they would put half of this labor upon mortifying their appetites and their passions, they would gain more in a month than by all their own exercises in many years.

July 1, 2008

When: Tuesday, July 01, 2008 12:00 AM to Wednesday, July 02, 2008 12:00 AM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).
 
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Words written in red; Words of Jesus
And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, "Save, Lord; we are perishing." And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?"
Matthew 8: 23 – 27
 
The ignorance of some is greatly to be pitied, who load themselves with unwise penances of their devising, putting all their confidence in them, and expecting to become saints by their means. If they would put half of this labor upon mortifying their appetites and their passions, they would gain more in a month than by all their own exercises in many years.
— St. John of the Cross
 
Abba, Father, Lord God, thankful and aware I seek clarity, I look for change, I ask for Your help, and I pray for Your presence. Clarity to see through Jesus’ eyes, change to reflect His image from within me, help in discerning each moment with His heart, and the presence of You through Him in the Holy Spirit. I do not wish to create an image of You or belief in You that is not true; for what good or what would that prove. I do ask and pray that You would mold me into that which You intended me to be, according to Your will and for Your purpose. That You would use this time to show and teach me in Your ways, tuning my ear, focusing my eyes, likening my heart to that of Jesus. For I feel, know and accept my nature, but I feel, know and accept my source is You. So my faith is in Jesus, my hope is with the Spirit, and my love is for You; that You will finish the work You have begun in me, and that each day You will guide and provide me with what I need for that day, and the mercy and grace to get me through it. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
 
 
Audio books I am listening to and other books or readings I am reading:
The Art of Presence By: Eckhart Tolle In The Art of Presence, Eckhart guides you through seven hours of transformational insights that allow "presence to naturally arise" in you. With his one-of-a-kind instruction, you will learn how to ground yourself in the vibrancy of your "inner body" while simultaneously breaking free from the illusion of separation from the outside world.
The Brain That Changes Itself: Personal Triumphs from the Frontiers of Brain Science (Unabridged) By: Norman Doidge The discovery that our thoughts can change the structure and function of our brains – even into old age – is the most important breakthrough in neuroscience in four centuries.
The Shack Mackenzie Allen Philips’ youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack’s world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You’ll want everyone you know to read this book!
 
 

"Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?" If they would put half of this labor upon mortifying their appetites and their passions, they would gain more in a month than by all their own exercises in many years.

July 1, 2008

When: Tuesday, July 01, 2008 12:00 AM to Wednesday, July 02, 2008 12:00 AM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).
 
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
 
Words written in red; Words of Jesus
And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, "Save, Lord; we are perishing." And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?"

Matthew 8: 23 – 27
 
The ignorance of some is greatly to be pitied, who load themselves with unwise penances of their devising, putting all their confidence in them, and expecting to become saints by their means. If they would put half of this labor upon mortifying their appetites and their passions, they would gain more in a month than by all their own exercises in many years.
— St. John of the Cross
 
Abba, Father, Lord God, thankful and aware I seek clarity, I look for change, I ask for Your help, and I pray for Your presence. Clarity to see through Jesus’ eyes, change to reflect His image from within me, help in discerning each moment with His heart, and the presence of You through Him in the Holy Spirit. I do not wish to create an image of You or belief in You that is not true; for what good or what would that prove. I do ask and pray that You would mold me into that which You intended me to be, according to Your will and for Your purpose. That You would use this time to show and teach me in Your ways, tuning my ear, focusing my eyes, likening my heart to that of Jesus. For I feel, know and accept my nature, but I feel, know and accept my source is You. So my faith is in Jesus, my hope is with the Spirit, and my love is for You; that You will finish the work You have begun in me, and that each day You will guide and provide me with what I need for that day, and the mercy and grace to get me through it. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
 
Amos 3:1-8; 4:11-12
Psalm 5:4-8
Matthew 8:23-27
 
Audio books I am listening to and other books or readings I am reading:
The Art of Presence By: Eckhart Tolle In The Art of Presence, Eckhart guides you through seven hours of transformational insights that allow "presence to naturally arise" in you. With his one-of-a-kind instruction, you will learn how to ground yourself in the vibrancy of your "inner body" while simultaneously breaking free from the illusion of separation from the outside world.
The Brain That Changes Itself: Personal Triumphs from the Frontiers of Brain Science (Unabridged) By: Norman Doidge The discovery that our thoughts can change the structure and function of our brains – even into old age – is the most important breakthrough in neuroscience in four centuries.
The Shack Mackenzie Allen Philips’ youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack’s world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You’ll want everyone you know to read this book!
 
 

Let each one remember that he will make progress in all spiritual things only insofar as he rids himself of self-love, self-will, and self-interest.

June 30, 2008

When: Saturday, June 14, 2008 12:00 AM to Sunday, June 15, 2008 12:00 AM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).
 
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Words written in red; Words of Jesus
"Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, `You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply `Yes’ or `No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
Matthew 5: 33 – 37
 
Let each one remember that he will make progress in all spiritual things only insofar as he rids himself of self-love, self-will, and self-interest.
— St Ignatius of Loyola
 
Abba, Father, Lord God, thankful for all the blessings You have given me I know and feel in this time You are molding me as You have always intended; it is for this reason that I try not to miss one day’s readings for fear that that day missed may contain that next step up closer to You.  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
 
 
Audio books I am listening to and other books or readings I am reading:
Revolution: Finding Vibrant Faith Beyond the Walls of the Sanctuary (Unabridged) – World-renowned pollster George Barna has the numbers, and they indicate a revolution is already taking place within the Church: one that will impact every believer in America. For leaders working for positive change in the church, and for believers struggling to find a spiritual community and worship experience that resonates, Revolution is here. Are you ready?
Heaven Is Real: Lessons on Earthly Joy – from the Man Who Spent 90 Minutes in Heaven (Unabridged) – On January 18th 1989, Don Piper died in a car accident. Ninety minutes later, after a preacher prayed over him, Piper came back to life with an extraordinary story. He’d been to heaven. So began the phenomenon of 90 Minutes in Heaven.
 
 

"Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."

June 30, 2008

When: Monday, June 30, 2008 12:00 AM to Tuesday, July 01, 2008 12:00 AM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).
 
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Words written in red; Words of Jesus
Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."
Matthew 8: 18 – 22  
 
The Transfiguration is not only the revelation of Christ’s glory but also a preparation for facing Christ’s cross. It involves both "going up the mountain" and "coming down the mountain." The disciples who have enjoyed this intimacy with the Master, surrounded by the splendor of the Trinitarian life, "…are immediately brought back to daily reality, where they see ‘Jesus only,’ in the lowliness of his human nature."
— Pope John Paul II
 
Abba, Father, Lord God, always thankful and grateful, I struggle in confusion trying to separate right from wrong, faith from fear, hope from despair, and unconditional love from conditional love. Help me Father, liken my heart to Jesus and guide my thoughts, and direct my words and actions; strengthen and energize me for the work at hand. Bless me indeed and enlarge my territory, keeping me from evil and from causing pain. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. 
 
 
Audio books I am listening to and other books or readings I am reading:
The Shack Mackenzie Allen Philips’ youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack’s world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You’ll want everyone you know to read this book!
Revolution: Finding Vibrant Faith Beyond the Walls of the Sanctuary (Unabridged) – World-renowned pollster George Barna has the numbers, and they indicate a revolution is already taking place within the Church: one that will impact every believer in America. For leaders working for positive change in the church, and for believers struggling to find a spiritual community and worship experience that resonates, Revolution is here. Are you ready?
Heaven Is Real: Lessons on Earthly Joy – from the Man Who Spent 90 Minutes in Heaven (Unabridged) – On January 18th 1989, Don Piper died in a car accident. Ninety minutes later, after a preacher prayed over him, Piper came back to life with an extraordinary story. He’d been to heaven. So began the phenomenon of 90 Minutes in Heaven.
 
 

"Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."

June 30, 2008

When: Monday, June 30, 2008 12:00 AM to Tuesday, July 01, 2008 12:00 AM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).
 
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
 
Words written in red; Words of Jesus
Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."

Matthew 8: 18 – 22  
 
The Transfiguration is not only the revelation of Christ’s glory but also a preparation for facing Christ’s cross. It involves both "going up the mountain" and "coming down the mountain." The disciples who have enjoyed this intimacy with the Master, surrounded by the splendor of the Trinitarian life, "…are immediately brought back to daily reality, where they see ‘Jesus only,’ in the lowliness of his human nature."
— Pope John Paul II
 
Abba, Father, Lord God, always thankful and grateful, I struggle in confusion trying to separate right from wrong, faith from fear, hope from despair, and unconditional love from conditional love. Help me Father, liken my heart to Jesus and guide my thoughts, and direct my words and actions; strengthen and energize me for the work at hand. Bless me indeed and enlarge my territory, keeping me from evil and from causing pain. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. 
 
Amos 2:6-10, 13-16
Psalm 50:16-23
Matthew 8:18-22
 
Audio books I am listening to and other books or readings I am reading:
The Shack Mackenzie Allen Philips’ youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack’s world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You’ll want everyone you know to read this book!
Revolution: Finding Vibrant Faith Beyond the Walls of the Sanctuary (Unabridged) – World-renowned pollster George Barna has the numbers, and they indicate a revolution is already taking place within the Church: one that will impact every believer in America. For leaders working for positive change in the church, and for believers struggling to find a spiritual community and worship experience that resonates, Revolution is here. Are you ready?
Heaven Is Real: Lessons on Earthly Joy – from the Man Who Spent 90 Minutes in Heaven (Unabridged) – On January 18th 1989, Don Piper died in a car accident. Ninety minutes later, after a preacher prayed over him, Piper came back to life with an extraordinary story. He’d been to heaven. So began the phenomenon of 90 Minutes in Heaven.
 
 

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

June 29, 2008

When: Friday, June 20, 2008 12:00 AM to Saturday, June 21, 2008 12:00 AM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).
 
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Words of Jesus
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 
Matthew 6: 19 – 23
 
Those who choose their work because it fulfills a purpose they approve are the only ones who grow in stature by working. They alone can properly say, at the end of it, "It is finished!"
— Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
 
Abba, Father, Lord God, O Lord hear my thoughts, prayers; You know my heart, You know the numbers of hairs on my head. O that You would find a way to bless me indeed, that Your hand would be with me and my love ones always, to keep us from evil and from causing any hurt or pain; and that I may be able to proclaim as did Joshua ‘as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord‘. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
 
 
Audio books I am listening to and other books or readings I am reading:
The Shack Mackenzie Allen Philips’ youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack’s world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You’ll want everyone you know to read this book!
Revolution: Finding Vibrant Faith Beyond the Walls of the Sanctuary (Unabridged) – World-renowned pollster George Barna has the numbers, and they indicate a revolution is already taking place within the Church: one that will impact every believer in America. For leaders working for positive change in the church, and for believers struggling to find a spiritual community and worship experience that resonates, Revolution is here. Are you ready?
Heaven Is Real: Lessons on Earthly Joy – from the Man Who Spent 90 Minutes in Heaven (Unabridged) – On January 18th 1989, Don Piper died in a car accident. Ninety minutes later, after a preacher prayed over him, Piper came back to life with an extraordinary story. He’d been to heaven. So began the phenomenon of 90 Minutes in Heaven.