John 1:29
July 1, 2023
FEAST OF SAINT BERNARDINO REALINO – 2nd JULY
July 2, 2023
THE 1st OF JULY
WE NEED TO BE SPIRITUALLY ALERT
“But take heed to yourselves and be on your guard, lest your hearts be overburdened and depressed (weighed down) with the giddiness and headache and nausea of self-indulgence, drunkenness, and worldly worries and cares pertaining to [the business of] this life, and [lest] that day come upon you suddenly like a trap or a noose;” – Luke 21:34
In this particular case, Jesus ended His teaching about the end times with an important reminder for His disciples, by telling them to always live with the expectation of the judgment day, which He calls here “that day.” This warning is valid for us, also. It is our duty to be on guard, to be watchful of our hearts and how we live our everyday lives.
If we do not truly care about growing in our relationship with Jesus and we do not feed our hearts with God’s Word on a daily basis, it is easy to become weary and little by little, go back to our old ways of doing things. Self-indulgence is our enemy. Since we have become born-again and the Holy Spirit lives in us, we also have His fruit in our spirit, including self-control. But for the fruit of the Holy Spirit to be at work in our lives, we need to be truly committed to the Lord, give it all to Him, be hungry for more of Him all the time, not only on Sundays and use every chance we have to seek to be in His presence.
Everything that we allow to control us becomes an idol and a sin. Whenever we allow worries and the concerns of this life to rule us instead of Jesus, we must realize it and get back under the Lord’s leadership. We need to try our best to not allow ourselves to habitually worry and get to where we may have no time left to repent and start living right for Jesus.
SUGGESTED PRAYER: Heavenly Father please help me to always be hungry for more of You. Please help me walk on the narrow path and never look back to any of the things that I used to do before becoming Your child. Please help me understand the Scripture and apply its truth into my life daily so that I may mature spiritually and have the fruit of the Holy Spirit manifested in my life. Please help me grow in controlling my carnal nature, so that I will not sin, but live right for You. Thank You so very much dear Lord, that as long as I sincerely want to be Yours, You continue to help me grow and become what You want me to be so that for all eternity I will be with You in heaven. Praises and glory to Your holy Name. Amen
Source: thetruthstandsforever
