BEADS OF JOY 03-08-18
“Sign From Heaven”
©2018 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
My Friends,
Today’s Gospel: Luke 11:14-23 (Jesus and Beelzebul)
“Now he was casting out a demon
that was dumb; when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke, and the people
marveled. But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the
prince of demons"; while others, to test him, sought from him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their
thoughts, said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid
waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against
himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by
Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast
them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. But if it is by the finger of
God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a
strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace; but
when one stronger than he assails him and overcomes him, he takes away his
armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoil. He who is not with me is
against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”
Reflection:
We have reflected upon this scripture recently, though it may be a repeat reading, don’t consider it to be repetitive. It is so very important that we go over scripture constantly and hopefully; we have new ways to reflect upon it and understand it. I know from my own experiences, I can reflect upon a scripture last year and write about it; then this year I’ll have a whole new reflection. Our Lord’s words are meant for the masses, so everyone will, by their own life’s experiences, interpret and understand scripture differently in their lives. As long as we stay on point and not sway away from our core beliefs; daily reflection is very good on our spiritual journey.
I don’t claim to be a scholar,
but I have been reading and reflecting upon scripture for over 35 years, most
every single day. With that said, I think it’s clear to better understand Jesus,
we must understand that there is no neutral ground; you are either with Him or
against Him. You can’t sit on the fence and play both sides and think, “Oh, our Lord is a merciful God, He will understand
me and love me and forgive me.” Not that any of that is incorrect, no, it
is all correct. The problem is when we arrogantly presume, His mercy and refuse
to decide to be on Team Jesus’ side
all the time.
There’s a saying I use to hear growing
up, this was before I was born again in 1983. It goes like this: “Confession on Saturday. Mass on Sunday. Back
to sinning on Monday.” I’m pretty sure I am saying it right. I am from NYC,
so that’s the slang I remember. The major problem with that kind of thinking is
that is ok to go, “Back to sinning…”
Yes, I know we are all sinners and we will continue to sin, but to actually
plan it and think of it as ok; allows the devil to convince us there is nothing
wrong with sinning. It was sin that
nailed Jesus to the Cross. It was sin
that Jesus died and paid our debt in full for. It is sin that will send us to hell. We need to be more proactive and
conscious of our actions, our words and our thoughts. Spending time daily in
scripture will help you better understand why it is important that we spend
time reading scripture every day. I invite you to Join Team Jesus today and
remember these scriptures:
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God.” ~John 1:1
“And the Word became
flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and
truth.” ~John 1:14
Pondering these thoughts today:
-Who is the Master of your life?
-What do you have on to for security?
-Are you seeking a sign from Heaven?
-Do you spend time reading your Bible?
(You now the Bible is fascinating with stories
virtually all contact, somehow, someway and
they all lead you inevitably to Jesus.)
I Challenge YOU to begin reading your Bible,
however, you would like, just READ it.)
This will begin to deepen your love for scripture…
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
Today is Thursday: We pray the Luminous Mysteries:
The Luminous Mysteries
1. The Baptism of Jesus (Matt 3:13-17)
2. Wedding Feast of Cana (John 2:1-12)
3. Proclamation of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15)
4. The Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-13)
5. Institution of the Holy Eucharist (Matt 26:17-30)
Glory and Honor and Praise -Lord Jesus Christ!!
Rosary Man Jim's Luminous Reflections: http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-luminous-mysteries.html
MY
FIRST BOOK. MORE TO COME…
