Since Creation, down the ages, men and women, when called upon by God, have stepped out in faith to do His bidding. They were the least likely individuals to accomplish God’s purpose, but they were men and women who had a faith that could move mountains! And their faith came from “hearing the Word of God”.

When God instructed Noah to build an ark of cypress wood, he went ahead and built the boat to God’s exact measurements. He was ridiculed by everybody for building a boat with no water anywhere around, but Noah had heard the Word of God, and he stepped out in faith to do His bidding, and thereby, he and his family found salvation when God unleashed the Deluge to destroy the wicked world (Gen).

Even though Abraham and his wife Sarah were well past child-bearing age, God fulfilled His promise to give them a son. God also promised Abraham that his son, Isaac, would give him descendants numbering as many as the stars in the sky. So, when God asked Abraham to offer his only beloved son to Him, on Mount Moriah, did Abraham hesitate? No, he stepped out in faith to do God’s bidding, because he had heard the Word of God, and he knew Yahweh would fulfill His promise (Gen).

Moses, who murdered an Egyptian, was hiding in Midian when God spoke to him from a burning bush, and commissioned him to bring out the Israelites from the bondage of Egyptian slavery, to “a land of milk and honey”. Moses stepped out in faith to do God’s bidding, and shepherded the Israelites to the threshold of the land God had promised them, because he had heard the Word of God assuring him, “I will be with you” (Ex 3: 7 – 12).

While the Israelite armies, led by King Saul, trembled and fled before the giant Philistine, Goliath, a young shepherd boy, David, stepped out in faith to do battle “in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel” (1Sam 17: 45). As he told Goliath, “…for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands” (1Sam 17: 47). This shepherd boy, filled with the Spirit of the Lord, armed only with a sling and five pebbles, prevailed over the giant, fully-armed, fully-armored Philistine!

Faith always played a crucial part in the signs and wonders worked by our Lord Jesus Christ during His short ministry on this earth. From curing the leper, or the paralytic lowered through the roof, or the twelve years hemorrhaging woman who touched His cloak, it was their great faith that brought about their cure. From curing the Roman centurion’s servant, to bringing to life Jairus’ dead daughter, it was their great faith that helped to accomplish the extra-ordinary events.

If you want to have a faith that can move mountains, what you say is very important. Remember, when Jesus cursed the fig tree and it withered away? Peter pointed out the fact to Jesus, who replied: “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you” (Mk 11: 22 – 23).

The key phrases here are “do not doubt in your heart”, “believe that what you say will come to pass” and “it will be done for you”. From this, it follows that you get what you think in your mind, believe in your heart and speak with your mouth. So, to have a faith that can move your mountains of failures, your mountains of sickness, your mountains of financial problems, or your mountains of relationship problems, you have to get out of the habit of letting your thoughts and words dwell on your health problems, weaknesses and failures.

Rom 10: 17 tells us: “Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the Word of Christ.” So, fill your mind, heart and mouth with the Word of God.

Tackle your mountains of financial problems by memorizing and repeating often: “And my God will satisfy every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4: 19), and “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps 23: 1).

Tackle your mountains of failure by memorizing and repeating frequently: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil 4: 13).

Tackle your mountains of health problems by memorizing and repeating frequently: “By His wounds you have been healed” (1Pet 2: 24).

Remember, these are God’s words that you speak, and there is power in the Word of God. You will develop a faith to move your troublesome mountains as you hear the Word of God flowing from your lips.

Today, Christianity is faced with increasing religious indifference and secularism, moral degradation and sexual immorality, consumerism and greed for wealth, shameful public life and unethical scientific experimentation in the name of progress, as well as terrorism and violence in certain parts of the world.

To deal with this unprecedented situation, Christianity must find new and effective ways of evangelizing and proclaiming the Good News. It must evolve ways that are in keeping with today’s culture, ways that will meet the spiritual demands and find a response from today’s mankind.

As usual, the answers we seek are in the Holy Scriptures. Looking back to the beginning of Christianity, before Jesus was taken up to heaven, He gave the following mandate to His apostles, to be accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit:

To “preach the Good News to everyone” (Mk 16: 15), to “make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28: 19-20), to “heal people and set them free” (Mk 16: 17-18) and to “be my witnesses to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1: 8).

No doubt, this mandate was given to the apostles 2000 years ago, but it also holds true for every Christian today, because this privilege was passed on to us by the Lord’s own words: “Just as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you” (Jn 20: 21).

Further, the Lord has stamped a “Guaranteed To Succeed” watermark on this assignment He has set before us: “I tell you for certain that anyone who has faith in me will do the same things I am doing” (Jn 14: 12).

Yet, most Christians will balk at the mere suggestion to take on this awesome mission for the Lord. The majority will not feel qualified and gifted to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, others may even be reluctant to preach or to heal, but all Christians are in a position to be authentic witnesses to the Lord, as He was to His Father in heaven.

Today, Christians are called by the witness of their lives to take part, in an increasingly important way, in spreading the Good News to those that come in contact with them in their day to day lives.

Today, there is an urgent need for Christians to involve themselves in groups and movements to safeguard human rights and to promote truth and justice in public life, to reach out to the weaker sectors of society, to address the social evils of alcoholism, drug addiction and sexual child abuse, and to infuse all cultures with the values of the kingdom of God.

Today, it is the duty of the Christian laity to be at the forefront in seeking to apply the teaching of Jesus Christ to the ethical, moral and social questions which arise in their communities.

The task before every Christian, therefore, is to ensure that they are true witnesses to Jesus Christ, able to face the challenges of today’s world, not just with worldly wisdom and work ethos, but with their hearts renewed and strengthened by the two basic tenets of Christianity – love of God and love for their fellowmen.

If we truly love God, this immense love will radiate out to all those who come in contact with us – in our families, in our work places, and in our communities – making us true witnesses to the Lord.

Right from ancient times, faith has been the essential ingredient in getting God’s blessings showered upon His creation, mankind.

Adam and Eve were privileged to enjoy everything in the Garden of Eden except the fruit from the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. When Eve listened to the voice of Satan, it was the first failure of faith. She didn’t believe that what God had restricted was for her own good, because she didn’t have faith in His perfect love for her (Gen.).

To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. It was by their faith that people of ancient times won God’s approval (Heb 11: 1 – 2).

It was faith that made Noah heed God’s warnings about the things in the future that he could not see. He obeyed God and built a boat in which he and his family were saved (Heb 11: 7).

Again, it was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him to go out to a country which God promised to give him, and it was faith that made Abraham able to become a father in old age. He trusted God to keep His promise that he would be the father of a multitude, and have descendants as many as the stars in the sky (Heb 11: 8 – 12).

It was faith that made the walls of Jericho fall down after the Israelites had marched round them for seven days! (Heb 11: 30).

The Old Testament is full of incidents that were brought about only because the Israelites believed in God’s Word and had faith that He would keep His promises to them.

The New Testament also abounds in miracles that were wrought by Jesus, because of the faith of the recipients, as well as the failures that resulted because of a lack of faith in Him.

Jesus healed the leper who came to Him in all humility and deep faith, saying, “Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out, touched him, and healed him (Matt 8: 1 – 3).

Jesus healed the servant of the Roman officer, who begged Him, “Just give the order, and my servant will get well.” Although a Gentile, the officer’s extra-ordinary faith moved Jesus to heal his servant (Matt 8: 5 – 8).

And Jesus healed the paralyzed man because of the faith of his friends, who lowered him down from the roof unto his presence (Matt 9: 1 – 8).

Again, Jesus brought back to life the daughter of the Jewish official, because of the man’s extra-ordinary faith, who knelt down humbly before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and place your hands on her, and she will live (Matt 9: 18 – 23).

But, see what happened when faith was lacking, even among Jesus’ own disciples.

When Jesus was in a boat on the lake with His disciples, a fierce storm hit the lake, and the boat was in danger of sinking. The frightened disciples woke the sleeping Jesus, begging Him to save them. Jesus calmed the storm, but rebuked them, saying, “How little faith you have!” (Matt 8: 23 – 27).

Jesus worked miracles everywhere He went, but in Nazareth, his own home town, He hardly succeeded because lack of faith and prejudiced opinions of the local people, made this impossible. They could not accept that anyone who had lived among them, especially a carpenter’s son, had any right to preach and work miracles (Mk 6: 1 – 6).

Again, when Jesus came walking over the lake waters to His disciples in the boat, Peter wanted to emulate the Lord. He got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus. But, when he took off his eyes from the Lord, he was frightened by the choppy waves and began to sink. Peter was rewarded with: “How little faith you have! Why did you doubt? (Matt 14: 22 – 31).

Faith is still the only ingredient that can make a difference in our lives. So, how do we get faith? There’s only one way. Holy Scripture says that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the preached Word of God” (Rom 10: 17). As we allow God to speak to us through His Word, we’ll not only get faith, but our faith will keep on increasing.

God has many wonderful things to give us. But, all His gifts are gifts of grace, and we need faith to receive those gifts.

To have faith in God means to trust Him, and to believe what He has said in His Word, in spite of what our feelings may tell us, or what other people may tell us. It’s as simple as that.

Much that is said about opportunity suggests that it is something that comes to you arbitrarily: “Opportunities like this don’t come every day” or “Opportunity only knocks once”.

But if we see opportunity as something that only comes by chance, are we not leaving ourselves powerless? In this scenario we have no control in what comes to us.

If you have a dream, or a goal, you have to create your own opportunities and the way to do this is by focusing, believing, being and thinking.

We all get into a negative state of thinking from time to time. This can manifest in many different ways: anxiety, anger, resentment, bitterness, etc, etc. When we operate within these states we are closing the door to opportunity, and we cannot create constructive ideas that will move us forward.

However, when we operate from a positive state of mind, e.g. peaceful, loving, trusting, relaxed etc, we are more open to what is around us. It is from these states of mind that we can create new ideas and find new opportunities.

If you think that it’s too difficult to switch from one state of mind to another, then you are again leaving yourself powerless. Your emotions are controlling you instead of you being in control.

Once you realize that who you are being at any one time is completely within your control, you are then putting yourself at the control center of your own life. Once you are aware of your negative state, it is entirely your choice to switch to a more constructive one.

The way it works is this: What you focus on has a tendency to become a reality. When you are thinking negatively, your focus is bound to be negative. The first step in changing your state is to be aware of your thoughts. If you are feeling low, then it’s likely that your thoughts are negative.

Once you have noticed this, it is then a short step to creating new, positive thoughts.

Creating positive thoughts is just a case of changing your view of any given reality. For example, most of us know the feeling of suddenly getting a huge bill we weren’t expecting, or finding we’re overdrawn. Negative thoughts tend to crowd in at these times, making us feel powerless and depressed.

But instead of such thoughts as “I just never seem to have any money” or “Why does this always happen to me?”, both of which tend to keep us in the same situation, you can switch to something like: “The money I need is always available for me” or “My life is rich with opportunities” – or whatever works for you.

Once you start switching your thinking like this, you may notice an increase in energy and an increase in your ability to create solutions and find the opportunities that are all around you.

We live in a world filled by cruel and mean people. People who make caustic statements, utter cutting remarks and air unkind comments.

We live in a world of broken promises, broken marriages and broken homes.

It’s a world of never ending problems, filled with people who have lost their jobs because of peer jealousy and people who have been cheated out of their life’s savings.

It’s a world filled with children estranged from their parents and parents estranged from their children. It’s a world filled with families whose members don’t even speak to each other anymore, and close friends who have drifted apart.

Invariably, all the cruelty and meanness done to us leads us to anger and hatred, towards our tormentors. It leads us to bitterness, frustration and sleepless nights. Eventually, it leads to ulcers, high blood pressure, migraines, cancer, and lots more.

Modern psychology and medical research has proved, beyond any doubt, that most sickness in man is due to broken relationships. Painful memories and thoughts destroy us and make us sick. So does rejection and hurtful words from our family, friends and colleagues.

Scientists and researchers tell us that there are numerous health hazards associated with anger, hatred and bitterness. They say it increases blood pressure and leads to hormonal changes which eventually result in cardiovascular disease, immune suppression, and possibly, impaired neurological function and memory loss.

There is a close relationship between emotions and disease. It is a fact that 90% of diseases are pneumo-psychosomatic. So, although we run to doctors and hospitals, and spend loads of money, we get no relief. We have to realize that the only real cure for our malady is total forgiveness of our perceived tormentors.

Forgive my tormentors? Yes, for this is the only way to release them from your life and set yourself free. It’s not easy to forgive people who have hurt you and caused you so much pain, but it’s possible if we focus on Jesus Christ hanging on the cross at Golgotha.

What happened that day was unforgivable, but no finer, purer or better example of can you find than Jesus, hanging on the cross, close to death, praying to His Father in heaven to forgive the very people who were putting Him to death!

Condemned to death by these evil men who wanted Him dead, convicted by lying witnesses who testified falsely against Him, Jesus looked down on the mob who were taunting, mocking, jeering and cheering His sufferings, and the only truly innocent and sinless man who ever walked this sinful earth, uttered words that still melt the hardened hearts of sinners: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk 23 : 34).

These dozen words still ring across 2,000 years, and shatter into smithereens all our lame excuses for not forgiving those who ill-treat us and hurt us, for continuing to carry our burdens of bitterness, anger, and our desire for vengeance.

Forgiveness is never easy. But, it becomes easier when we realize that forgiveness is not about us, and it’s not about those who hurt us. Forgiveness is all about God.

Jesus said, “If you forgive others the wrongs they have done you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done” (Matt 6 : 14 – 15). Then He went ahead and put into practice what He had preached, on the cross at Golgotha.

Your forgiveness doesn’t depend on the person who you wish to forgive. You don’t need their permission to forgive them. You neither need their approval nor their agreement that they were wrong.

“God said there’s a seed that’s been planted in your heart. You either hate and be angry, or you forgive.

Today, we live in a world of plastic cards, especially Credit cards and ATM cards. When we need money we go to the Automatic Teller Machine and withdraw what we need. We have instant money in our hands. That’s why we call them Any Time Money cards.

But, few of us know that in our hearts we have an automatic dispensing machine, too, and it responds only to our Any Time Mercy card. So, choose forgiveness in your heart, flash your Any Time Mercy card, forgive your tormentors, and move on to a healthy and stress-free life.

Anger is an impulsive outburst of emotion that often occurs without conscious thought. Normally, a mentally healthy person does not react as negatively as someone who is angry does because a mentally healthy person is able to control his emotions. He is able to think rationally; thus, it can be said that sometimes, anger is a sign of mental illness.
To make matters worse, anger can be destructive. If truth be told, it is in fact oftentimes destructive. It causes harm not just to other people, but to properties, as well as to yourself. Road accidents happen sometimes because of anger. People hurt each other or even kill one another because of anger. Crimes of passion are also the result of severe anger. Sometimes, people inflict pain on themselves and others even commit suicide because of anger.
A person who is angry by and large suffers from high blood pressure, and nervous and muscular tension. There is also some degree of loss in the normal function of the different systems of your body. All these things can make you think of yourself in a rather negative way.
Anger is something that should not be taken lightly at all. As you can see, there is nothing good about being angry at all. Externally, there is a lot of damage done to others; internally, you suffer a great deal, too, because nobody in his right mind will rejoice in the feeling of being angry. You are not proud of the fact that you have hurt somebody.
Sometimes, after taking a long look at the situation, you wish you could have changed things but you know you can’t anymore; instead, you lapse into a state of depression or worse, despair. The moment you despair, you lose hope, and from this you can see that being angry is no laughing matter indeed.
Anger is nothing else but a weakness of character. It means that you do not have what it takes to control your emotions. You allow yourself to be controlled instead of being the one controlling and taking the driver’s seat.
Anger should be checked because it is infectious. It has been written somewhere that a kind word can calm a situation, but an angry outburst can spark another negative reaction. Perhaps, it is human nature that you give the other person a dose of his own medicine, so to speak. Nonetheless, this only goes to show that such an outburst can only make matters worse.
If you are a parent, therefore, it is important that you know how to cope with anger, especially in the upbringing of your children. Normally, you would want your children to grow up in a peaceful environment and to develop enough self confidence and self-control so that they will be able to stand up on their own in the future.
A person who is in control of the situation and especially of himself is said to be in a state of good mental health, and naturally, you would not want anything less for your child or for yourself.

What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God? How do you do it? There is much to this, but the following goes into one aspect of it. Here is the verse for reference.

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, With what shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
(Mat 6:31-33)

These verses say that your needs can be met if you seek first the kingdom of God. What does this really mean? Many people put this into practice by reading the bible and praying first thing in the morning. Many even get up earlier so they have time to do this.

For many people, though, it ends there. They go about the rest of the day and do not even think about God. Also, with this schedule, what happens when they get up late? What usually gets cut? It’s their bible reading and prayer time.

Instead of only doing morning devotions, you should seek God first in everything you do, all day long. How do you do that? Acknowledge Him, talk to Him, praise Him, and ask Him for help and guidance. As you are getting ready for work, thank God for all that He has given you. Thank Him for everything going smoothly and for good traffic so you make it to work on time and being calm and peaceful when you get there.

At work, thank Him for your job. It may not be the perfect job, but thank Him for it anyway and do your best job. If you run into a problem, instead of complaining and worrying, say “God, you have not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. Help me Lord to know what to do in this situation.”

God is always talking to us, but we are not always listening. When we do listen, many times we do not do what He says. So, we need to listen and obey, all day long.

Seeking God first should also include the plans and goals for your life, your relationships and even your recreation. God has a plan for your life. When followed, that plan will have the best possible outcome. You need to know that God is Love and anything that He has for you is for your best interest. The problem is that many people come up with their own plans and then want God to bless it. Well, folks, it doesn’t work that way. You need to seek God first in your plan making, find out what God wants you to do and then go do it.

In conclusion, do not make God part of a list that you do first thing in the morning and then check it off and then go about the rest of your day without Him. Include Him in everything you do.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
(Pro 3:6)

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Hater/ By Maya Angelou

A hater is someone who is jealous and envious and spends all their time
trying to make you look small so they can look tall.
They are very negative people to say the least.  Nothing is ever good
enough!

When you make your mark,  you will always attract some haters…

That’s why you have to be careful with whom you share your blessings and
your dreams, because some folk can’t handle seeing you blessed…

It’s dangerous to be like somebody else…. If God wanted you to be like
somebody else,  He would have given you what He gave them!  Right?

You never know what people have gone through to get what they have…

The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory,  but they
don’t know my story…

If the grass  looks  greener on the other side of the fence,  you can
rest assured that the water bill is higher there too!

We’ve all got some haters among us!

Some people envy you because you can:
a) Have a relationship with God
b) Light up a room when you walk in
c) Start your own business
d) Tell a man / woman to hit the curb
(if he / she isn’t about the right thing)
e) Raise your children without both parents being
in the home

Haters can’t stand to see you happy.
Haters will never want to see you succeed.
Most of our haters are people who are supposed to be on our side.

How do you handle your undercover haters?
You can handle these haters by:

1. Knowing who you are & who your true friends are
*(VERY IMPORTANT!!)

2. Having a purpose to your life: Purpose does not
mean having a job.. You can have a job and still be
unfulfilled.

A purpose is having a clear sense of what God has called you to be.
Your purpose is not defined by what others think about you.

3. By remembering what you have is by divine
prerogative and not human manipulation.

Fulfill your dreams!  You only have one life to live…when its your
time to leave this earth, you ‘want’ to be able to say, ‘I’ve lived my
life and fulfilled ‘my’ dreams,… Now I’m ready to go HOME!

When God gives you favor, you can tell your haters, ‘Don’t look at
me…..Look at Who is in charge of me…’

Pass this to all of your family & friends who you know are not hating on
you including the person who sent it to you.

If you don’t get it back, maybe you called somebody out!
Don’t worry about it, it’s not your problem, it’s theirs..
Just pray for them, that their life can be as fulfilled as yours! Watch
out for Haters…BUT most of all don’t become a HATER!

‘A woman’s heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to
seek Him first to find her.’

Maya Angelou

“The birth of Christ brought God to man; the cross of Christ brings man
to God.”

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Critical darts. At some point in our lives, every Christian, in fact every person has to deal with criticism. You may feel as though you have been placed on a dartboard and everyone is taking turns throwing the darts at you.

Why do people feel the need to criticize? Many people criticize because they feel a loss of control. They would rather do a task wrong than to do it someone else way.

In Neh:4, we read that Nehamiah has taken on the task of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. When Sanballet heard this, he immediately began criticizing. “Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building–if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!” (NEH 4:3)

How do you feel when you are criticized? Angry? Depressed? Betrayed? Not everyone feels the same way. More than that, how do you respond? How is your Temper?  Do you react with Violence?

Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” How you respond to criticism tells more about you than the critic. You should consider the possible influences that could be causing their behavior.

Unless you own your own business, you probably have had to deal with bosses at your job. While some are fair and reasonable, some seem to relish in ridicule and criticism. Have you ever considered why?

Perhaps they are feeling pressure from the top. Or maybe their personal lives are falling apart. Many times, the pursuit of advancement overcomes them and allows Satan to influence their behavior.

It is possible that they need your prayers instead of your anger. At the very least, you can help defuse a situation with a gentle answer instead of harsh words.

But what if the roles are reversed? Instead of being criticized, many of us become the critic, often without even realizing it.

In Matthew 27, when Jesus was brought before Pilate for judgment, he washed his hands of the responsibility because he found no evidence to convict Jesus (Matt 27:24). Yet Jesus was crucified anyway based on hearsay and false testimony.

Every human is a creation of God and deserves to be treated fairly. Before you spread that rumor criticizing someone, check out the facts first. Without doing so, you become no better than the ones who crucified Jesus.

Dealing with criticism is a two way street. Do not get caught going the wrong way.

During our lifetime, our triumphs and achievements are tempered by our failures and disappointments. Everything in our life has its seasons. And as the song reminds us, “… along with the sunshine, there must be a little rain sometimes …”

Our faith and belief in Jesus Christ is not tested when we march along life’s victory path, basking in the accolades of our fellowmen, but it can be severely dented when we are at the receiving end of life’s blows.

At these moments, when we touch the troughs in life’s ocean, it is essential to hold fast to our faith and belief, and not walk away from our failures and disappointments, like the two followers of Jesus on the road to Emmaus.

On the very day of Christ’s victory over death, these two persons walked away from Jerusalem, the scene of His crucifixion, an event that put to rest their ill-conceived hopes of Israel’s freedom from the Roman yoke (Lk 24 : 21). They believed in Jesus, but they could not accept His resurrection, and certain other things foretold in the Scriptures.

In times of defeats, failures and disappointments, most of us fail to rise above our hurts, pain and tears, to be aware that Jesus is still with us. Like the two on the road to Emmaus, we still believe in Jesus, but our faith is weakened so much by our failures and disappointments that we fail to recognize Him (Lk 24 : 16).

It was only when Jesus explained to His two followers what the Scriptures said about Him, right from the beginning of time (Genesis), that their eyes were opened, they recognized Him, and immediately returned to Jerusalem, to rejoin the disciples gathered there (Lk 24 : 31 – 33).

Therefore, when failures and disappointments come our way, we need to increase our faith and belief by turning to the Scriptures. The Word of God will ignite a fire within us, to increase our spirituality to a level that allows us to recognize Jesus totally in our life, and cry out to Him for help.

Although He knows our problems, the Lord never forces Himself upon us. On reaching Emmaus, Jesus indicated that He was going farther, but remained with His followers only because they insisted on His company (Lk 24 : 28 – 29).

The Lord waits for us to ask Him to solve our problems, and only when we place them totally into His hands does He respond instantly to mitigate our failures and disappointments.