I have long lived near the ocean. Saltwater, crashing waves and changing tides have always brought renewal to my body and soul. Years ago, I trained to be a lifeguard. I understand recklessness and riptides versus respect for the sea’s power. Some of my most meaningful talks with God have been at the beach, where my heart is at home.
God has brought poignant lessons of salvation though water. In the opening lines of Genesis, the Spirit of God that brought creation into being moves over the waters. Later in Genesis 6–7 we have Noah’s ark saving God’s chosen family. And who can ever forget how the Lord saved Israel via their exodus through the sea? The psalmist today seemingly harkens back to all of it.
The most saving water experience we will likely ever encounter is our own baptism. The same “voice” of the Lord spoke then. And is speaking to us today.
The Liturgical Season of Lent has been my favorite since the beginning of my spiritual growth. I love the rich readings of reflection, repent, behave. I crave Jesus’ messages everyday, but this time of the year truly pulls me back into reality and deeply uncovers my sinful nature. Lent enriches my soul! Thank you God for your ultimate sacrifice , thank you Jesus for being the sacrificial Lamb. and wanting me to be saved and wanting me to be in an eternal life with God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
Amen. Thank you Holy Father for this beautiful day and for this Gospel today. Thank you Lord for my faith, my life and for my family. Thank you Holy Father, most of all, for you great sacrifice and for the opportunity of forgiveness and reconciliation. Please Lord have mercy. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ, King of Endless Glory. Amen Father , in the name of Jesus, we ask that you release your warrior angels and heavenly hosts. We decry and declare that they would take us off the enemies' radar and scramble the enemies' frequencies (airwaves). Your Kingdom must come now. Your will must be done right now as in the heavens also on earth. Amen
Lord, please guide us all as we begin again another Lenten journey together sharing your love. A blessed and beautiful "fat" Tuesday as Tim mentions :) My continued ongoing prayers for all here at Living Faith.
"WARNING" God seemed to have enough with the man he created, as he gave Noah to strict instructions on what he wanted done. Noah and his family were saved by God because of their righteousness. God was preparing for the punishment that he was going to hand down to man for their wickedness and sins. Because of sin, man was out of control and God did not believe it was going to get any better, so he needed to correct the situation. God's heart was grieved, our God, is this even possible. We must have true faith in God. In today's Gospel we see Jesus pointing out to each of us the fact that with everything he has done so far with his teachings along side his disciples , has not yet stuck with them. He finds them in worry about only having 1 loaf of bread to eat on their current journey with Christ. They worry, that the bad guys are going to get them, that they will be vulnerable to the bad guys. I can see Jesus, just shaking his head back and forth. Jesus says are your hearts harden, do you just not understand, did you not have eyes to see what I have done, did you not have ears to hear what has happen so far on our journeys? Then Jesus reminds them with the feeding of the 5,000 and of the 4,000 and that they did not have a lot to begin with, but that they had enough left over. The same applies to our lives. First we need to begin preparing before it is too late. Let us prepare our hearts this Lent and be ready when Jesus goes to the cross for our sins, overcomes the cross, for our sins and gives us the chance for everlasting life through the Resurrection. Lesson, all is possible with Jesus in our lives. If we truly believe and always keep Jesus in our boat, there is nothing to fear, nothing to worry, it will not add a single day to our lives. Keep Jesus always in our lives, in our boats, go to him in prayer, let him come into your hearts. See Him. Feel his presence. Trust him, have faith. Praying for our Living Faith Family, for those who have no one to pray for them and for all of the souls in Purgatory, we pray, Amen. Have a Blessed "Fat" Tuesday.
For God So Loved by We The Kingdom https://youtu.be/jasoo3UDSwY
This is heart breaking to read in Genesis 6:5-6, "The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that He had made human beings on the earth, and His heart was deeply troubled." ***Didn't God know all that was going to happen before He created human beings? Yes, He did!!! He is God and He knows everything from the beginning to the end because He has no beginning or end! He created human being anyway knowing their rebellion againstnand rejection of Him. Think about the agape (divine unconditional) love He has for us! ***Does God really regret anything He has done? Yes, only in the sense of a language that we can understand! Does that mean He changes His mind? No, God does not change His mind! He is the same yesterday, today and forever :-) The word 'regret' tells me the depth of God's grief when hman being sin. God is holy and sin is the opposite of holiness. ***Did God know He would be troubled by human beings? Absolutely God knew and knows He would be and will be troubled by human beings :-( And He put/puts up with us giving us chances after chances to repent and draw near to Him! *Listen to this fact and Scriptural references: 1)God waited for 120 years (that was how long it took Noah to build the ark) before judgement fell. 2)2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance!" 3)John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life!" * This question tugs my heart in Mark 8:21, "He (Jesus) said to them, “Do you still not understand?”" The fact is I don't understand on my own just as the disciples didn't undertand after spending 3 years everyday with Jesus in person. However, I now have the Holy Spirit to teach me, to guide me and to encourage me :-) *I give to the LORD glory and praise, I give to the LORD the glory due His Name; The Lord will bless His people with peace! Amen! (Psalm 29:1b, 2a, 11b)
I believe there will be many standing before Christ saying "but Lord, we were baptized as babies", and He'll reply "I never knew you". Nurture a true relationship with Christ, our Savior!
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Am so grateful for Lenten Season God, it cleans out the old yeast and makes me ready for the leaven of new life. Thank you Jesus.