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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem The Creation Rosh Hashanah 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. 6. And...

Is There Good in Temptation? "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man . . ." —1 Corinthians 10:13 The word temptation has come to mean something bad to us today, but we tend to use the word in the wrong way. Temptation itself is not sin; it is something we are bound to face simply by virtue of being human. Not to be tempted would mean that we were already so shameful that we would be beneath contempt. Yet many of us suffer from temptations we should never have to suffer, simply because we...

September 17, 2012 Monday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Cor 11:17-26, 33 Brothers and sisters:In giving this instruction, I do not praise the factthat your meetings are doing more harm than good.First of all, I hear that when you meet as a Churchthere are divisions among you,and to a degree I believe it;there have to be factions among youin order that also those who are approved among youmay become known.When you meet in one place, then,it is not to eat the Lord's supper,for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper,and one...

Jude 1:24,25 All Glory to Him Who Alone is God, Who Saves us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Yes, Splendor and Majesty, All Power and Authority Are His from the Beginning; His they are and His they Evermore shall be.

Praying to God in Secret "When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place . . ." —Matthew 6:6 The primary thought in the area of religion is— keep your eyes on God, not on people. Your motivation should not be the desire to be known as a praying person. Find an inner room in which to pray where no one even knows you are praying, shut the door, and talk to God in secret. Have no motivation other than to know your Father...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Jerusalem In The Scriptures Leviticus 23 23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. 25 Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the Lord.’”

September 16, 2012 Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Is 50:5-9a The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear;and I have not rebelled,have not turned back.I gave my back to those who beat me,my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;my face I did not shieldfrom buffets and spitting. The Lord GOD is my help,therefore I am not disgraced;I have set my face like flint,knowing that I shall not be put to shame.He is near who upholds my right;if anyone wishes to oppose me,let us appear together.Who disputes my right?Let that man confront me.See, the Lord...

Yet another public school has halted prayers before football games after receiving a threatening letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), an atheist activist non-profit. Earlier this week, TheBlaze told you about the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and its decision to ban prayers. Now, Haralson County High School in Tallapoosa, Georgia, is also ceasing its broadcast of prayers before football games. After 50 years of traditional invocations being uttered before Rebels games, the loudspeaker has now been silenced. The situation commenced when the school, back in September 2011, received a letter from FFRF staff council Stephanie A. Schmitt....

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Jerusalem In The Scriptures 2 Chronicles 3 1. Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David. 2. He began building on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign. The foundation Solomon laid for building the temple of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide (using the cubit of the old standard). 4. The...

What To Renounce "We have renounced the hidden things of shame . . ." —2 Corinthians 4:2 Have you “renounced the hidden things of shame” in your life—the things that your sense of honor or pride will not allow to come into the light? You can easily hide them. Is there a thought in your heart about anyone that you would not like to be brought into the light? Then renounce it as soon as it comes to mind—renounce everything in its entirety until there is no hidden dishonesty or craftiness about you at all. Envy, jealousy, and strife...

September 15, 2012   Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows   Reading 1 1 Cor 10:14-22 My beloved ones, avoid idolatry.I am speaking as to sensible people;judge for yourselves what I am saying.The cup of blessing that we bless,is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ?The bread that we break,is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?Because the loaf of bread is one,we, though many, are one Body,for we all partake of the one loaf. Look at Israel according to the flesh;are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?So what am I saying?That...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Jerusalem In The Scriptures 2 Samuel 6 12. Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13. When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, 15. while...

Arguments or Obedience ". . . the simplicity that is in Christ." —2 Corinthians 11:3 Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly until a long time passes, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put His pressure,...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Jerusalem In The Scriptures 2 Samuel 24 18. On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19. So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad. 20. When Araunah looked and saw the king and his officials coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. 21. Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” “To buy your...

Pray For Our American Heroes and Our Nation 1 Samuel 17 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.1 Samuel 17 God Bless America!

After Surrender— Then What? "I have finished the work which You have given Me to do" —John 17:4 True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me . . . and...

I am making a special request as a fellow FRper. My beloved boyfriend, whom I have loved, name David, passed away suddenly after a brief illness and I am need BIGTIME for prayers, added to that, I am fighting yellow jaundice, with my mother having been sent to the hopspital for a fall. All this has happened in one week and I am struggling right now. Thank-you for your prayers and support.

September 13, 2012 Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church   Reading 1 1 Cor 8:1b-7, 11-13 Brothers and sisters:Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up.If anyone supposes he knows something,he does not yet know as he ought to know.But if one loves God, one is known by him. So about the eating of meat sacrificed to idols:we know that there is no idol in the world,and that there is no God but one.Indeed, even though there are so-called gods in heaven and on earth(there are, to be sure, many 'gods' and many 'lords'),yet for...

Going Through Spiritual Confusion "Jesus answered and said, ’You do not know what you ask’ " —Matthew 20:22 There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.The Shrouding of His Friendship (see...

September 12, 2012 Wednesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Cor 7:25-31 Brothers and sisters:In regard to virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord,but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy.So this is what I think best because of the present distress:that it is a good thing for a person to remain as he is.Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek a separation.Are you free of a wife? Then do not look for a wife.If you marry, however, you do not sin,nor does an unmarried woman...