1ST READING
If you do not have a vision for your life, you will be doomed to wander through life being blown to the left and the right by the prevailing winds of fads and fortune. This is not a very satisfying life — in fact, it sounds like a total bore to me! If we want to make something of our lives, we need to grab hold of God’s vision for us and run with it to the end.
Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4
2 How long, O Lord? I cry for help but you do not listen! I cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not intervene. 3 Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and clamorous discord. 2: 2 Then the Lord answered me and said: Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. 3 For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. 4 The rash man has no integrity; but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.
P S A L M
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
R: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
1 Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalms to him. (R) 6 Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us. 7 For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides. (R) Oh, that today you would hear his voice: 8 “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, 9 where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.” (R)
2ND READING
Timothy was a young man and was probably unsure of himself in front of other leaders in the community, most of whom were more than twice his age. This is understandable. But when the anointing is there we must follow where it leads. The Scriptures are full of examples where God raises up the youngest and makes him the greatest (e.g., Jacob and King David). It is not for us to understand everything but to be obedient to God’s Word.
2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14
6 Beloved: I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. 8 So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God. 13 Take as your norm the sound words that you and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.
GOSPEL
It is important for us to realize that our lives and communities need structure and discipline to survive. Without these things, the world will descend into chaos as the experience of the Dark Ages, following the destruction of the Roman Empire by the various Barbarian hoards, tells us. Structure is especially important, as it will remind us that we never stand alone. We always stand in the midst of a community of faith and it is here that we can draw our strength to continue facing adversity.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
The word of the Lord remains for ever. This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
Luke 17:5-10
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” 6 The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it wouldobey you. 7 Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? 8 Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? 9 Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’”
think: Our lives and communities need structure and discipline to survive.
T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: __________________
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God’s special verse/thought for me today_
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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Hosea 6-10
SABBATH PAUSE
My weekly time with God
THANK YOU LIST
Things to be grateful for from the past week
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SPECIAL NEEDS
Things to ask God for in the coming week
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HIDDEN TREASURE
Most important word God told me this week
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