| September 1-8 The Call: September 1. �Do not put the Lord your God to the test� (Matthew 4:7). The devil tempted Jesus to risk his own life so that God might come to the rescue. Jesus had nothing to prove. And he didn�t want to try God�s patience with a foolish prank like jumping off �the pinnacle of the temple� (4:5), Eliminating unnecessary wilderness (drama) in our lives is a healthy way to live, spiritually and otherwise. September 2. Beloved, do not believe every spirit; but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone into the world (1 John 4:1). �Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep�s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits� (Matthew 7:15-16). The wilderness is full of spirits. We must listen to them and determine is it good or bad. Love is the fruit of anyone from GOD. In Matthew, Jesus said that discernment may be made by judging the fruit, good or bad. The attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 killed many people from all cultures, races, and from all over the world. This is not what Jesus would have done. The attacks were bad. Evil overtook the terrorist�s minds and they performed Satan�s acts of evil. Real evil is not Hollywood, it is people treating people badly. Holy Spirit, I pray for the gift of discernment, that I may follow your tabernacle and not get lost. September 3. Therefore thus says the Sovereign, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them (Jeremiah 23:2). A mother of a son dying of AIDS called for support. She could not go to her minister because of his antigay sermons. She feared telling anyone, lest it get around her small town. Another mother of a son who died of AIDS was horrified when her pastor used the funeral to condemn the son and his parents to hell. She has now become an advocate for lesbian and gay people. These �pastors� are but two of the �shepherds� who drive God�s people away. We know others. We pray for the sheep who have been scattered and driven away, that they may return to you, the Good Shepherd. September 4. A PRAYER: O God, the challenges, the pleas, the sorrow, the laughter, the wonder of this day awaits me. Help me to embrace what will be awakened throughout the day, to not reject it or take it for granted, that I might grow closer to you through all things. May I walk in your mercy and love. O God, I thank you for this day. Amen. September 5. The same people who hate or fear us hate and fear a lot of people different from them. They love their neighbor insofar as the neighbor is like themselves. They love the alien insofar as the alien adopts their lifestyle, values, and language. Lord may people learn to love one another, as you love us all, and to fear not our differences, as you accept them all. Amen September 6. A PRAYER: In a church with others who believe, in my bedroom all alone, at the kitchen table with family, as I pass the hours of this day, I will worship you and thank you. Thank you for your love that is constant and firm. Thank you for Jesus, whose life, death, and resurrection brings forgiveness and joy to every moment of this day. Amen. September 7. A PRAYER: God of hope, there will be things I will not understand today. When I am confused by or disappointed in the choices humanity makes, remind me that you have been present through all of time and that, indeed, you do have the whole world in your hands. Remind me that you sent Jesus to save us, in spite of ourselves. Today, may the compassion Jesus taught us be my compass. Amen. September 8. A PRAYER: Where are you, God? Sometimes it is hard to see you and to feel you. I know you are still there, but at times, my days are filled with more questions than answers. Come to me today. Comfort me in my weak moments. Bring healing where I am broken. Enter into my shadows and guide me into your light; in the name of Jesus. Amen. |
| NYC before the 9-11-2001 Radical Muslim Satanic Attacks on the people living there. |
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| GOD is Love |
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