Presence

Dear Lord, as I come to You today,
fill my heart and my whole being
with the wonder of Your presence.

Freedom

Lord, guide me always
to do Your holy will,
knowing that Your strength
will carry me through.

Consciousness

Dear Lord, by spending time with You, may I become more like You, so that others will see Christ in me and come to know Your love.

The Word of God

⁴⁰When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” ⁴¹Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? ⁴²Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” ⁴³So there was a division in the crowd because of him. ⁴⁴Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

⁴⁵Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” ⁴⁶The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” ⁴⁷Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived, too, have you? ⁴⁸Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? ⁴⁹But this crowd, which does not know the law, they are accursed.” ⁵⁰Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before and who was one of them, asked, ⁵¹“Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” ⁵²They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”

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Inspiration

A closed mind is a great affliction, all the more so when it is reinforced by pride.  These so-called ‘learned men’ were so convinced of their own rightness in interpreting the scriptures that nothing that Jesus said or did could get through to them.  St John Henry Newman said, ‘To live is to change, and to live well is to change often.’  How willing am I to let go of the addictions and selfishness that block God’s working in me?

Even the police, sent to arrest him, acknowledged that ‘No one has spoken like this man.’  Let us open ourselves to the teachings of Jesus.  ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’

Conversation

Friends don’t keep secrets from one another.
As I pray, can I look at Jesus as my friend
and share my innermost thoughts with Him,
trusting that He understands?

Conclusion

I thank God for His gift of love
as I go forth with joy and hope
to serve His people.

Amen