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WILL YOU CROSS THE LINE TODAY? April 6, 2012

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As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it.
Luke 19:41

On March 3, 1836, only 183 men remained to defend The Alamo against a huge army led by Santa Anna. Two hours before dusk, the Mexican guns suddenly stopped firing. The end was near.

The Commander of The Alamo, William Travis quickly assembled his men. He told them that no reinforcements were coming. “Our doom is certain,” Travis told the tired, beaten men. Then, Travis pulled his sword from its sheath and drew a line in the dirt. He asked every man who was committed to remain in the Alamo, fight and die to cross the line.

Topley Holland was the first man to cross the line. Others quickly followed. Another man was Colonel Jim Bowie. He was very sick and unable to cross the line on his own, so he called for help. Four men carried him from his cot and lifted him over the line. On March 6, the Alamo fell. Every man within her walls died.

But, as their lives ended a great new beginning sprang forth. Because of their choice to cross the line, the Republic of Texas was born from their sacrifice.

The moment Jesus enteredJerusalemon Palm Sunday, He had crossed the line. The end was near.

This should have been the happiest single day in Jesus’ life. Yet, we read that “He wept over” the city. Why? After all, huge Passover crowds had come out to greet Him. So many people, in fact, that the Pharisees murmured, “Look! The whole world has gone after him!” Yes, when Palm Sunday began it appeared as though Jesus’ preaching ministry would be a huge success.

But Jesus knew better. He knew how disloyal the crowds would become. He knew that when He needed His people the most, they would all forsake Him and run away. This same welcoming crowds would escort Him to the Cross.  Today, they were shouting, “Hosanna!” By Friday, they were shouting, “Crucify Him!” Before this week finished, Jesus would be arrested, tried, whipped, humiliated, spat upon, cursed at, betrayed, crucified, dead, and buried.

He had crossed the line. But, as His life ended a great new beginning sprang forth.

He shed His blood for us. And now He draws a line in the sand and asks you to cross over to His side. Make no mistake, if you choose Jesus, you will need to make a very special kind of commitment. Now is the time.

As we approach Easter, will you cross the line to the Cross of Christ?

This week’s prayer

Dear Lord, I offer my eternal thanks for your Son Jesus Christ. He died for me so that I may spend eternity in your glorious presence. Please guide me so that I will not take lightly my commitment to Jesus. Help me to live a Jesus kind of sacrifice. Amen.

IT’S UP TO YOU . . . March 31, 2012

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“Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”         Luke 10:38-42

 

Have you ever felt like Martha? We all have. But, it’s important to take a close look at what she is really worried about. Martha is telling Jesus that she is not being treated fairly. She wants others to start acting differently so that she will feel better. Sound familiar?

Poor Martha wants everyone around her to change, but she is not willing to change at all.

That can be a familiar feeling. When things aren’t going our way, sometimes our first reaction is to think that we are being ignored or taken advantage of. “Why is everyone doing this to me?”

This is when you can turn to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and freedom. If you do you will find an opportunity for real peace in any tense situation. But, you must take responsibility for changing yourself before trying to change anyone else, especially if you are asking for divine grace to help you. You see, while the Lord will help you deal with you, He alone will deal with everyone else.

And when you allow the presence of Jesus to have absolute first place in your heart, I guarantee amazing things will happen in your life! That is because God is so creative He can lead you to life-changing thoughts, decisions, and actions. This will do far more than just resolve a particular situation; it will bring healing, freedom, and even deliverance.

Be assured that your love and compassion for others will always replace your fuming over be slighted by them. Yes, if you call upon Him, God’s own divine wisdom will lead you to make changes in you and how you deal with everyone else in your life. He may even reveal how you played a key role in creating whatever problems you face . . . along with a way out of the mess!

But, no matter what the Spirit reveals to you, you will find your faith and trust in Jesus deepening. And as you experience His power to change your heart, His grace will flow out of you, helping everyone around you to experience that very same healing, freedom, and lasting joy.

          TODAY’S PRAYER

Come, Holy Spirit, Divine Creator,

true source of light and fountain of wisdom!

Pour forth your brilliance upon my dense intellect,

dissipate the darkness which covers me,

that of sin and of ignorance.

Grant me a penetrating mind to understand,

a retentive memory,

method and ease in learning,

the lucidity to comprehend,

and abundant grace in expressing myself.

Guide the beginning of my work,

direct its progress,

and bring it to successful completion.

This I ask through Jesus Christ,

true God and true man,

living and reigning with You

and the Father, forever and ever.

Amen.

St. Thomas Aquinas

YOUR ANGEL STORY December 17, 2011

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So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.    
Acts 12:5-10

I love this story of Peter’s deliverance, because I love angel stories. Almost every day someone sends me a story of a personal miracle; some incredible angelic intervention that changed their life. Yes, angels are very real They are God’s helpers and messengers. The Bible and our reality is filled with their incredible stories and adventures.

During the Christmas season, we often hear the story of the angel who appeared to Mary and told her that she would have a son called Jesus. Joseph was also visited by an angel who told him what his role would be in this world-changing event. After Jesus was born, another group of angels appeared to the Wise Men, as well as to a group of very surprised Bethlehem shepherds.

Today Christmas angels are alive and well, appearing just in time to help save or comfort us. They appear in many ways, but their mission never changes; they are here to help us in times of great need.

One of my own Angel stories is not that different than many others. Years ago I was driving home very late one night after a long day of work and some last minute Christmas shopping. The road was very dark and I was very tired. I was fighting to keep my eyes open and I was losing the fight. After dozing for only a second, the steering wheel was torn out of my hands and pulled sharply to the left. The sudden movement woke me out of my dangerous slumber as I grabbed the wheel. Just then I passed a parked car in the breakdown lane. I missed it by inches. I had fallen asleep at the wheel, drifted into the emergency lane and was headed directly at that car. In that one, life-saving moment, an Angel was driving my car – and probably saved my life.

What is your angel story? You probably need only a minute to remember that one moment in your life when something unexplained happened; when someone seemed to be helping you – maybe even saving you.

Yes, I love angel stories and I want to hear yours. Please tell us your angel story by responding in the Comment Section below with all the details. It’s time we spread the miracles!

This Week’s Prayer
Dear Lord, I know your angels are all around us. And I know I need them more than ever. Yes, Lord, I need an angel. But, most of all, I need the love and grace of Your Son, Jesus, through whom all things are made new again. Amen.

THE CHOICE IS YOURS December 5, 2011

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“The commandment we have from him is this:
those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.”
1 John 4:21

Since the time of Adam and Eve, our Lord has provided us with everything we need in life, including the choice to reject it all. Yes, the power to choose is one of the most awesome, mysterious and wonderful of God’s gifts. Whether we accept it or not, it is something we live with every moment of the day. In fact, our lives are filled with choices between our way and the Godly way.

The history of the Christian faith is filled with inspirational stories of people whom made Godly choices. One story begins long ago with a young girl named Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu who chose to become a nun when she was 18 years old. As a nun, Agnes was assigned to teach very wealthy children inCalcutta,India. From her classroom window, located in a well-to-do neighborhood, she could easily see people living in the impoverished slums throughout the villages below. Yet, Agnes was perfectly content with the choice she had made for her life.

Then one night she was walking home and heard a woman crying out for help. Finding the injured woman lying in the street on the verge of death, Agnes rushed her to the nearest hospital. Since the woman was poor the hospital said she would have to wait for treatment. Knowing the woman would die without immediate medical attention, Agnes took the woman to another hospital. Again help was denied because the woman was poor and belonged to an undesirable social class. Desperate, Agnes took the woman to her own home. A few hours later, the woman died in peace, held in the comfort of Agnes’s loving arms.

That night Agnes resolved that this would never happen again to anyone within her reach. She chose to devote her life to easing the pain of those who suffered around her. Whether they lived or died, they would do so with dignity. She made a clear choice to treat the poor better than they had ever been treated in their entire lives, with the love and respect the Lord wanted them to have.

That is the choice Agnes made. And that is how she began her journey as Mother Teresa.

We never know what the results will be when we begin to share God’s love, especially when we share it with the poor. Long after Agnes became Mother Teresa to the world, she told us, “What the poor need most is to feel needed, to feel loved. The condition of banishment which their poverty imposes is what ulcerates them. There are remedies and treatments for all kinds of illnesses, but when someone is undesirable, if there are no serving hands and loving hearts, then there is no hope for a true cure.”

This Christmas, you can become the cure by using your hands, your heart, your mind – your everything – by serving “the least of these,” the poor.

This week’s prayer

Lord Jesus help me to share your love generously. Give me the strength to choose Your will and Your way in all things. Keep me focused on the people you need me to help most of all. Show me the opportunities to help the poor and give me the discipline to make the right choice. Amen.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE July 19, 2011

Posted by Raymond Bechard in Bible, Christ, Devotion, Devotional, Devotions, evangelism, Jesus, Lord, Meditation, Motivation, Raymond Bechard, redemption, renewal, salvation.
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We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself
intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
                                                                                           Romans 8:26

Do you sometimes feel like there is no one on your side? We often move through the day and our lives so fast and so blindly, that we end up disconnected from the people and world around us. Well, I have news for you. You are NOT alone! The Holy Spirit is with you right now.

Why is that so important? Because the Holy Spirit is far more than just another character from the Bible or an entity we mention in worship. The Holy Spirit is our personal friend sent by God to intervene on our behalf. Yes, the Holy Spirit is your intercessor. As a follower of Jesus Christ, you have the Holy Spirit, God’s divine intercessor, actually living inside you to guide you in prayer, to reveal God’s Word to you, to reveal you to the truth and to actively pray for you.

Why is having an intercessor so important? The word “intercede” is from the Latin words “inter,” which means “between,” and “cede,” which means “to go.” When someone intercedes it means “to go between.” So, when we act as intercessors we bridge the gap between current circumstances and God’s will. That is why we are called to always intercede on behalf of people, crisis situations and nations.

The Holy Spirit knows the gaps that the Father desires us to fill. So He places that particular weight in our hearts and leads us to pray.

Yes, life can be chaotic and lonely. And you may feel that you lack even the energy or ability to pray correctly. Don’t worry about it. God only requires that you be available. If you will just be faithful and turn your face toward Him, God will perfect any inaccuracies and strengthen any inadequacies. Rest assured, your prayers will be heard because you are not alone. You have a helper.

When you pray, be fully aware that you are in partnership with the Spirit of the living God. Your success in prayer does not come from how well you articulate the words of prayer, but on how fully you yield yourself to the Holy Spirit so He can pray through you. Don’t be concerned about the Quality of your prayer, that’s the Holy Spirit’s job. You just be concerned with the Quantity of your heart that you put into the prayer, that’s your job.

As you pray today, you only need to believe in God and believe that God WILL! We should always approach the place of prayer with an extraordinary expectation of meeting with God and seeing Him answer our prayer.

Today’s Prayer

Lord, I come to your throne with a heart full of faith; faith in you and faith in your will for my life. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may have guidance through the places in my life that are too dark for me to understand or see. Lead me in my prayer so that I may be closer to you and come to fuller understand and acceptance of your will for my life. Amen.

He Prays For You! June 30, 2011

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My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
John 17: 20-26

Jesus has prayed for you! Read John’s Scripture again. He says, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” Jesus prays for his future disciples—all the men and women in future ages who will believe through the message proclaimed by his first followers. You are one of those people! You are one of those future disciples for whom Jesus prayed. So, as you read this part of Jesus’ prayer, take a close look at what it is that Jesus wants for you.

Jesus wants his disciples—all of us—to be in unity with one another as we are also in unity with Him and His Father. The calling to be united with Jesus and the Father is awesome enough, but how much more awesome—and how much more challenging—is the call to be united with one another. Knowing that Jesus prayed for this kind of unity gives us confidence that it really will happen, especially during those times when we aren’t united as believers.

Why does Jesus take our unity so seriously? Of all the things he could have prayed for on his last night on earth, why did he choose to pray for this? There are many reasons, but one of the most important is because He knew that our witness of love and mercy toward one another could change the whole world. He knew that our unity in Christ is one of the most important elements of evangelization. Actions always speak louder than words, and when we demonstrate to the world that people from diverse backgrounds and cultures can come together, we are demonstrating the power of divine love.

Finally, Jesus prayed that the same love the Father has for Him may be in us. Try to imagine the immensity of the Father’s love for Jesus. This is the same love Jesus wants for you! Today, take time to rest in this love and fully experience it. And as you pray, and let the experience of this love flow over you. As you do, it will empower you to seek the unity that Jesus deeply desires and to become a light to the whole world!

Today’s Prayer
Holy Spirit, open the eyes of my heart to the immense love that Jesus has for me. Fill me with your spirit so deeply that your love shines from every part of my life. Allow me to experience this love more deeply so that I may share it with others throughout every day of my life. Amen.

A Peace of the Action February 10, 2011

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“He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”
Isaiah 2:4

In 1900, two South American neighbors, Chile and Argentina, were eager to enter into a vicious war against each other. Their dispute centered on the mountain boundary which separated the two nations. It seemed nothing was going to stop the inevitable conflict and loss of life until one Christian man decided to take a stand. His name was Bishop Benoventa.

This great man on God did not see nations, he saw human beings. He did not see politics, he saw need and suffering. He did not see reasons for conflict, he saw the path to peace. So, he invited the leaders of both nations to his church for a celebration of Easter Mass. At that time, an invitation from a prominent Bishop could not be refused. The leaders of both countries accepted and made their way to the church on Easter morning.

With very little fanfare Bishop Benoventa made his way to pulpit and began to speak. He only had one message. A message that Jesus first brought to us centuries ago. Making sure that the leaders of the two angry nations would pay attention, he leaned forward and said very calmly, yet with the authority of Jesus Christ, “Why not make friends with our neighbor?”

Reminded of this fundamental lesson, the leaders listened. Before long the two countries signed a treaty of arbitration, pledging to settle all their disputes diplomatically. To seal their peaceful intents, guns were melted to make a beautiful statue called CHRIST OF THE ANDES. It was placed high on the mountain boundary. It depicts Christ standing on a globe with his feet on a map of South America, his right hand gesturing upward, his left holding a tall, narrow cross. A plaque contains the words of a pledge made at the dedication of the statue: “These mountains will crumble into dust before the people of Argentina and Chile break the peace which at the feet of Christ, the Redeemer, they have given their word to keep.”

At the statue’s dedication Chileans and Argentineans knelt at the feet of Christ together. They witnessed His hands reaching out in a blessing over them. At that moment, they all realized their brotherhood. Never again have these countries gone to war against each other.

Christ’s way is the best way. Deep in your heart of hearts you know that. Then why don’t we do what He says? Why don’t we act upon what He is saying? All around us, all around our nation, and all around our world, there is conflict. From the streets of America, to the main squares of Egypt, to the desert towns of Iraq, there is bloodshed. Politics aside, Christ calls us to proclaim His peace and act upon it. When the people He loves, all people, are dying around us, there are no exceptions. We must do whatever it takes to fulfill the mission given to us by Jesus Himself, be friends with our neighbors.

Today’s prayer
Dear Lord, forgive me when I fall short of following the way of Jesus. Grant me the courage to be at peace and to work for peace. I know the greatest way to proclaim the Gospel is to demonstrate Your love to the world. And I know that love is never more powerful than when it quietly enters into human conflict. Show me the opportunities to bring Your love to the minds and hearts that need it most. Please give me the strength to deliver Your love wherever it is needed today and everyday. Amen.