Right & Left; Sheep & Goats - Monday, March 14th

Readings of the Day

Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46
Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’

Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

• separate: to make a distinction between (distinguish); to set or keep apart; to isolate from a mixture; to sever an association; disconnect; to divide, as by an intervening barrier of space.
• inherit: to come into possession of or receive especially as a right or divine portion; to receive as an heir.
• eternal: having infinite duration (everlasting); continued without intermission; without beginning or end; perpetual; ceaseless; endless; existing outside all relations of time; not subject to change.

Definitions from http://www.merriman-webster.com/ and http://www.dictionary.com/.

Angels Came and Ministered to Him - Sunday, March 13th

Readings of the Day

Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” He said in reply, “It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”

Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you,if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.”

Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

• tempt: to attract, appeal strongly to; to put someone to the test; to entice to do wrong by promise of pleasure or gain.
• devil: the supreme spirit of evil; a subordinate evil spirit at enmity with god, and having power to afflict humans with bodily disease and spiritual corruption; something very trying or provoking.
• minister: to give service, care or aid; attend, as to wants or necessities; to contribute, as to comfort or happiness.

Definitions from http://www.merriman-webster.com/ and http://www.dictionary.com/.

Leaving everything behind - Saturday, March 12th

Readings of the Day

Gospel: Luke 5: 27-32
Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

• follow: to engage in as a calling or way of life; to be or act in accordance with; to accept as authority; to copy after (imitate); to go after or along with as companion; to keep up with an understand.
• What, or whom, do I follow?  Do I view my following of Christ as an obligation, a "list-checking" exercise?  Or do I see myself as His companion, going along with Him at my side, and me at His?
• leave: (bequeath), to allow to remain in the same place or condition; to fail to take along; to permit to be or remain subject to another's action or control; to go away from; to terminate association from (desert, abandon).
• What things have I already left behind to follow Jesus?  How often do I thank God, and others, for the grace to leave behind other, un-godly ways of thinking and being?
• behind: in the place or situation that is being or has been departed from; in a secondary or inferior position.
• How closely does my past, and my past sins, follow me?  What can I do to, on a daily basis, leave everything behind and make the everything farther behind and in a more inferior position of influence in my life?

Definitions from http://www.merriman-webster.com/ and http://www.dictionary.com/.

Pharasaical Phasting - Friday, March 11th

Readings of the Day

Gospel: Matthew 9: 14-15
The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

• disciple: a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; any follower of Christ; one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another; a convinced adherent of a school or individual.
• What doctrines am I a student of?  What would someone say my convictions are based on observing my actions?
• mourn: to feel or express grief or sorrow; to grieve or lament for the dead; to show the conventional signs of sorrow over a person's death.
• When I look at Christ nailed to the cross, do I feel mournful?  For Him?  For the souls that don't believe or reject Him?  What does Mary mourn for at the foot of the cross?
• take: to seize or capture, to carry off without permission; to remove by death; to get into one's hands, control
• Very few of us actually intend to be separated from Christ.  What habits, thought processes, distractions, etc. take Him away from me?  What can I do to reduce how often this happens?

Definitions from http://www.merriman-webster.com/ and http://www.dictionary.com/.

Profits & Gains - Thursday, March 10th

Readings of the Day

Gospel: Luke 9: 22-25
Jesus said to his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

• lose: to come to be without something in one's possession or care, through accident, theft, etc. so that there is little or no prospect of recovery; to suffer the deprivation of; to bring to destruction or ruin; to let oneself go astray; to allow oneself to become absorbed or engrossed in something and oblivious to all else.
• What absorbs most of my time?  What causes me to lose "possession" of my self?  What engrosses my mind?
• save: to deliver from sin; to rescue or deliver from danger or harm; to preserve or guard from injury, destruction or loss (maintain, preserve); safeguard; to avoid the spending, consumption, or waste of.
• If I am not losing my life for Christ and His Kingdom, what am I preserving it for?  Do I truly believe He has, and can, save me?  Do I ask Him to?
• profit: returns, proceeds, or revenue, as from property or investments; the excess of returns over expenditure in a transaction or series of transactions.
• When the day is over, and I can say I truly carried my cross and followed Christ, what profit remains?  Has denying myself ever left me in the red?  How do I feel after a day I've saved my life and denied my cross?

Definitions from http://www.merriman-webster.com/ and http://www.dictionary.com/.