Women of Vision Houston
A World Vision Program
Weekly Devotional for May 2, 2010
Scripture: Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Reflections: "Once you see and taste this love [ of Christ ] you will follow his teaching and find your nourishment at the table of the cross. In other words, charity will make you put up with your neighbors with true patience by enduring pain, torment, and weariness no matter what their source." St. Catherine of Siena,The Dialogue
"There will always be defects in ourselves or others which we cannot correct. These we must simply tolerate until God in His goodness sees fit to change things. After all, this may be the best possible way to prove our patience, without which our good qualities are not worth much." St. Thomas a Kempis,
The Imitation of Christ
Prayer: Oh Lord, how impatient we are in our lives. We cannot wait for things to change, for people to change, for you to change! Forgive us this impatience, and teach us to wait for you to work in our lives. Give us that peace that the world cannot give, even as we learn to trust that you are working all things together for our good. In the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, Amen.
Weekly devotional for April 5, 2010
Scripture:
1 Peter 1: 8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
4/1/10
Scripture: Romans 4:25 [Christ] was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
Reflection: "Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song." Pope John Paul II
Prayer: "Thanks be to thee, Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits which thou hast won for us, for all the pains and insults which thou hast borne for us. O most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother,
may we know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly, day by day." Richard of Chichester (1197-1253)
7/21/09
Scripture: James 2: 14-18 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Reflections: "Apart from its context, this verse might seem to contradict the Biblical teaching that people are saved by faith and not by good deeds. But James means only that righteous action is evidence of genuine faith- not that it saves...As Paul wrote, 'The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.' " NIV Study Bible
"Therefore, as you profess the name of Christ, good Christian people, let no such fantasy and imagination of faith at any time beguile you; but be sure of your faith, try it by your living, look upon the fruits that come of it, mark the increase of love and charity by it towards God and your neighbor, and so shall you perceive it to be a true, lively faith." (Thomas Cranmer, 1489-1556) from
Readings in Christian Thought, Hugh Kerr
Prayer: Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon.;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
4/5/09
Scripture: John 12: 27-28 [Jesus said] "The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!"
Reflections: "Before the cross of Jesus, the opposite of sin was being good, and the world bumbled along trying to be good enough, hoping to escape the judgment. The rules would now forever change. The opposite of sin would become faith in Jesus, not righteousness by works. If we are condemned, it will not be for our sin, which He has already paid for, but for refusing to have faith in Him." Michael Card, Parable of Joy
"Let us all meditate, brothers, on the Good Shepherd who bore the suffering of the cross for the salvation of his sheep. The Lord's sheep have followed him in tribulation, in persecution, in shame, in hunger and in thirst, in weakness, in temptations and in other trials. For this faithfulness they have received eternal life from the Lord." St. Francis of
Prayer: O, Lord, wherever your glory be best served, whenever, however, there, then, and in that state let me your servant be. Only hide not from me your divine love. Help me to trust you to the uttermost. Teach me to serve you as you deserve: to give, and not count the cost; to fight, and not to heed the wounds; to toil, and not to look for rest; to labor, and not ask for any reward, save that of knowing that I am doing your will." St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits
3/29/09
Scripture: Ephesians 2: 7-10 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Reflection: "If we are called by God to holiness of life, and if holiness is beyond our natural power to achieve (which it certainly is), then it follows that God himself must give us the light, the strength, and the courage to fulfill the task he requires of us. He will certainly give us the grace we need. If we do not become saints it is because we do not avail ourselves of his gift." Thomas Merton, Life and Holiness
Prayer: Oh Lord, in this time of repentance, search our hearts and reveal to us those areas in our lives where we have pride in our goodness. Show us our deepest sins, and help us to understand your gift of grace. Lead us by your Spirit into those good works which you have prepared for us, and give us your grace to do them all in the spirit of love. Amen
3/22/09
Scripture: Romans 7: 16-25 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do- this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: when I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord. So, then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Reflections: "Sanctification means being made one with Jesus so that the nature that controlled Him will control us. Are we really prepared for what that will cost? It will cost absolutely everything in us which is not of God. Are we prepared to say, "Lord, make me, a sinner saved by grace, as holy as You can'? The resounding evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person's life is the unmistakable family likeness to Jesus Christ, and the freedom from everything which is not like Him." Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
"Repentance means to lament the sins one has committed and not to commit any more the sins one has lamented." Soren Kierkegaard, Provocations
Prayer: Oh God, my God, your undeserved mercy to me in my unfaithfulness overwhelms me. I thank you that you continually forgive my sins through the sacrifice of your Son, Jesus, my Savior. I praise your holy name for the grace you have given me, and I vow, before you, in this moment, to endeavor to be worthy of that grace, with your help. I pray this in the name of the most holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen
