Morning Prayer: Sat, 07 Jan – 1 John 3:22-4:6; Psalm 2:7-8,10-11; Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25 ~ truth or deception?

Saturday of the Second Week of Christmas

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening Sentence

O come, let us adore him!

The people that lived in darkness have seen a great light; on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death a light has dawned.
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Reading:1 John 3:22-4:6 (NLT)

And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.

And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.
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Reading: Psalm 2:7-8,10-11 (NLT)

The king proclaims the Lord’s decree: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son. Today I have become your Father. Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession….'”
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Now then, you kings, act wisely! Be warned, you rulers of the earth! Serve the Lord with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling.
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Reading: Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25 (NLT)

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah:

“In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River, in Galilee where so many Gentiles live, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.”

From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
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Prayer:

Glory to you, Christ the Lord! Through you God’s salvation reaches to the boundaries of the earth.

+ Christ, our Redeemer, you have drawn all men to yourself; break down the walls of prejudice that separate man from man.
+ Word, made flesh, you came to live among us: help us to recognize your presence in the Church and in the lives of the people around us.
+ Jesus, God’s righteousness revealed: conform our faith and our works to your teaching.
+ Immanuel, God with us, renew our lives completely; make us a people you can call your own.

Lord God, may the radiance of your glory light up our hearts and bring us through the shadows of this world until we reach our homeland of everlasting light. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
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“Light of the World” – Eden’s Bridge

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Blessing

You belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory… because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Alzheimer’s Disease: 9 things you should know | Re-blog – Joe Carter | TGC

Peanut Gallery: Recently I boarded an airline flight early and, with an aisle seat near the front, watched the parade of the remaining passengers. One older couple caught my eye. She seemed confused as her husband gently guided her to her seat in the row behind me. She didn’t seem to know how to slide in to her window seat, or where to sit, or how to buckle her seat belt. All the while, her husband patiently explained what to do and how to do it. And then it dawned on me – the woman must have Alzheimer’s Disease.

I have re-blogged this article written by Joe Carter, September 20, 2016, for The Gospel Coalition to help you better understand the nature of the disease. Alzheimer’s disease affects nearly 6 million Americans. Perhaps it is affecting someone you know.
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via 9 Things You Should Know About Alzheimer’s Disease (please click on link for full article)
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1. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain’s nerve cells (neurons) that produce the brain chemical (neurotransmitter) acetylcholine. The disorder causes the connections between the nerve cells to break and ultimately die. The destruction of these nerve cells results in loss of memory, thinking, and language skills, and can cause behavioral changes.

2. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, a general term for a range of mental impairments such as memory loss and inability to focus that are both persistent and serious enough to affect a person’s ability to function normally. Dementia is a syndrome (a group of symptoms that doesn’t have a definitive diagnosis) and is not, like Alzheimer’s, a distinct disease. Neither dementia nor Alzheimer’s is part of the natural aging process.

3. Alzheimer’s disease symptoms vary among individuals, but the most common initial symptom is a gradually worsening ability to remember new information. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, this occurs because the first neurons to be damaged and destroyed are usually in brain regions involved in forming new memories. As neurons in other parts of the brain are damaged and destroyed, individuals experience other difficulties. Other common symptoms of Alzheimer’s are memory loss that disrupts daily life, challenges in planning or solving problems, difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure, and confusion with time or place.

4. Alzheimer’s disease is named after the German clinical psychiatrist and neuroanatomist Alois Alzheimer. In 1906 Alzheimer gave a lecture at a meeting of German psychiatrists in which he identified an “unusual disease of the cerebral cortex” that affected Auguste Deter, a woman in her 50s. The disease caused Deter to suffer disorientation, hallucinations, and memory loss before leading to her death at age 55. At the time the lecture—and the discovery—attracted little notice. Although the local press commented extensively on the lectures given at the meeting, only two lines were devoted to Alzheimer’s lecture.

5. Among the leading causes of death in the United States, Alzheimer’s disease ranks sixth. In 2014, 93,541 Americans died from the disease. However, official mortality figures may be substantially underreporting deaths due to the disease. Recent research shows that the disorder may rank third, just behind heart disease and cancer, as a cause of death for older people. And a 2014 study published in the journal Neurology found that the number of deaths due to Alzheimer’s disease in people 75 and older could be six-times higher than the official count, with researchers’ estimating that 503,400 deaths in 2010 were due to Alzheimer’s.

6. People with Down’s syndrome have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in middle age. One study found that the proportion of the overall population with Down’s syndrome and dementia is about 17 percent, and that about one-third (32.1 percent) of people aged 55 to 60 that had Down syndrome also suffered from dementia.

7. People with fewer years of formal education are at higher risk for Alzheimer’s and other dementias than those with more years of formal education. Some epidemiological studies appear to suggest that lifelong experiences, including educational and occupational attainment, and leisure activities in later life, can increase a person’s “cognitive reserve” (i.e., the mind’s resistance to damage and deterioration in the brain) that enables individuals to better compensate for changes in the brain that could result in symptoms of Alzheimer’s or another dementia.

8. To diagnose Alzheimer’s a primary doctor or neurologist (a physician trained in brain conditions) will review a patient’s medical and medication history and consider all related symptoms. According to the Mayo Clinic, the doctor may also order additional laboratory tests, brain-imaging tests, or send the patient for memory testing. Such tests can help doctors rule out other diseases that cause similar symptoms.

9. Currently, there is neither a cure for Alzheimer’s nor a way to reverse the damage caused by the disease. However, new research announced last week might lead to a breakthrough in understanding the disease. Researchers at Northeastern University say that Alzheimer’s disease may “progress not like falling dominoes, with one molecular event sparking the formation of plaques throughout the brain, but rather like a fireworks display, with a unique flare launching each plaque, one by one.” The finding provides “critical insights for developing therapies to slow, halt, or reverse” the disease, the researchers say.

Morning Prayer: Fri, 06 Jan – 1 John 5:5-13; Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20; Mark 1:7-11 ~ it’s all about Jesus, the Son of God

Friday of the Second Week of Christmas

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening Sentence

O come, let us adore him!

The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered: This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.
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Reading: 1 John 5:5-13 (NLT)

And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. So we have these three witnesses—the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.

And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.
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Reading: Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20 (NLT)

Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!

For he has strengthened the bars of your gates and blessed your children within your walls. He sends peace across your nation and satisfies your hunger with the finest wheat. He sends his orders to the world—how swiftly his word flies!
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He has revealed his words to Jacob, his decrees and regulations to Israel. He has not done this for any other nation; they do not know his regulations.

Praise the Lord!
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Reading: Mark 1:7-11 (NLT)

John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”

One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”
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Prayer:

Christ our Redeemer: you humbled yourself to receive baptism at the hands of John, have mercy on us.

+ Lord, you taught us how to live; open our eyes to the light which is ever ready to enlighten us.
+ Lord, you humbled yourself to receive baptism from your servant: help us to give ourselves for others.
+ Lord, your baptism has made us children of the Father: grant the Spirit of adoption to all who seek you.
+ Lord, with baptism you have opened the door of repentance: make us living ministers of your gospel of new life.
+ Lord, your baptism has revealed to us the persons of the Trinity: renew your Spirit in all baptized believers.

Almighty, ever-living God, when Christ was baptized in the river Jordan the Holy Spirit came upon him and your voice proclaimed from heaven, ‘This is my beloved Son.’ Grant that we, who by water and the Holy Spirit are your adopted children, may continue steadfast in your love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
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“It’s All About You Jesus” – Passion

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Blessing

This is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

2016, March ~ Throwback Spring Break in Myrtle Beach

2016, March ~ Throwback Spring Break in Myrtle Beach

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Spring Break in Myrtle Beach

Morning Prayer: Thu, 05 Jan – 1 John 3:11-21; Psalm 100:1-5; John 1:43-51 ~ love is a sacrifice

Thursday of the Second Week of Christmas

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Opening Sentence

O come, let us adore him!

A holy day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations, and adore the Lord. Today a great light has come upon the earth.
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Reading: 1 John 3:11-21 (NLT)

This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.
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Reading: Psalm 100:1-5 (NLT)

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
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Reading: John 1:43-51 (NLT)

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.

Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.

As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”

“How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”

Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”

Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”
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Prayer:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, sent by God to be for us the One who is Wise, Just and Holy – our Redeemer.

+ Lord of the universe, the shepherds found you in a manger: save us from a selfish, self-serving lifestyle.
+ You so loved us in all our weakness that you came to be our Savior; help us to respect the dignity of every man and woman.
+ You took our nature but you did not sin; help us to use your gifts in the service of others.
+ You made the Church your bride without defect or blemish: grant that all your people may persevere to the end.

God, our Father, since through the human birth of your only Son you began in us the work of redemption, keep us firm in faith, and with Christ as the Shepherd of our souls bring us the glory you have promised. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
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“Good Shepherd of My Soul” – Keith & Kristyn Getty

Good Shepherd of my soul come dwell within me. Take all I am and mold your likeness in me. Before the cross of Christ, this is my sacrifice: a life laid down and ready to follow.

The troubled find their peace in true surrender. The prisoners their release from chains of anger. In springs of living grace, I find a resting place to rise refreshed, determined to follow.

I’ll walk this narrow road with Christ before me, where thorns and thistles grow and cords ensnare me. Though doubted and denied, He never leaves my side. But lifts my head and calls me to follow.

And when my days are gone, my strength is failing, He’ll carry me along through death’s unveiling. Earth’s struggles overcome, heav’n’s journey just begun, to search Christ’s depths and ever to follow.
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Blessing

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

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