“We ourselves, then, will give our full time to prayer and the work of preaching.” (c.f. Acts 6:4) OUR MISSIONARY IDENTITY August 5-11, 2013 Objective of the Week: To enter in the dynamism of the Word of God as Verbum Dei Family who has its source in the Word of God. To be able to share and preach to others what we have listened and assimilated in the Word of God, realizing and putting into practice our missionary identity.
Introduction(c.f. VDMFa9) The dynamism of the Word of God guides the way of living and the way of carrying out the mission in VDMFa: to pray with the word, to assimilate it, to live it and to create communion around it; to announce the gospel, to celebrate the life that the word creates, teaching others to do the same so they can participate actively in the evangelizing mission of the church. (c.f. VDC21) In communion with Jesus, given up for all of us, we are to transmit solely the Life-love of Christ, without adulteration or watering down, making Jesus’ words reality. “Anyone who listens to you, listens to me” “Anyone who welcomes you, welcomes me.” It is true that the dynamism of the Word of God guides the way of living and the way of carrying out the mission in VDMFa. The dynamism of the word of God in our life helps us to carry out our missionary identity. The word of God, listened to and assimilated, like the rich and fertile soil by which our faith and relationship with Jesus grow and develop, will push us to put into action our faith and conviction to be Christ in our world of today. This awakens the missionary zeal that lies deep within us. We are called to teach others to do the same so that they too can actively participate in the evangelizing mission of the church. Our vocation, then, is to be Christ. We are called to be identified with Christ. Do I really believe, that I am called to be Christ? Do I really believe that I share the same missionary identity of Christ? Romans 8:29-30: “Those whom God had already chosen he also set apart to become like his Son, so that the Son would be first among many brothers. And so those whom God set apart, he called; and those he called, he put right with himself, and he shared His glory with them.” Ephesians 1:11-12: All things are done according to God’s plan and decision; and God chose us to be his own people in union with Christ because of his own purpose, based on what he had decided from the very beginning. Let us, then, who were the first to hope in Christ, praise God’s glory. God chose us to become His own. He has already put the mark of ownership over us, thus, we share in His own mission of sharing His love to others who do not know Him yet. This is His special purpose why He chose us and called us to be His. He chose us to become His own mouth, hands and feet for others to recognize Him. Are we ready to share this missionary identity of Christ that we have in us? Jesus desires that His love and presence be felt by others through you. He wants you to become the channel of His love, peace, mercy and compassion to many of us who are brokenhearted, depressed, spiritually blind and spiritually paralyzed. Can we become His instruments for the salvation and happiness of many people around us? Our invitation for this week is to become aware of our missionary identity that is to be Christ for others, bringing the good news of Christ’s love for them. MondayAccept God’s invitation to share His Love for others ”We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10) We are here to make a difference by serving God and others. God fashioned each of us to make a unique contribution with our lives. You have a place, a purpose, a role and a function to fulfill. For us Verbum Dei disciples, prayer and preaching are the heart of the life of our following of Jesus. Jesus came to serve and not and not to be served. We are doing great service to others, when we can simply share Jesus love to them through His words. What is holding us back from accepting God’s call to share the Life-love of His son to those who do not know Him yet? TuesdayYou are shaped and formed to serve Him “God work through different people in different ways, but it is the same God who achieves his purposes through them all.” (1 Corinthians 12: 6) We are God’s masterpiece, custom designed, one –of-a-kind. God shaped and formed us to be likened to His Son Jesus. He planned every day of our life to be able to do HIS will. Nothing in our life is insignificant. He gave us talents, abilities, gifts, and experiences to use them for HIS glory. The bible says we are wonderfully complex. Every believer is given by God spiritual gifts to be used in our charism. Our spiritual gifts were given for the benefit of others. This is why we are commanded to discover and develop our spiritual gifts. Identify and understand these spiritual gifts to discover God’s will for our life. When we serve God from our heart, we serve with enthusiasm and effectiveness. In what way could we see ourselves passionately serving others and loving it? WednesdayGod chose us to be with Him Then Jesus went up a hill and called to himself the men he wanted. They came to him, and he chose twelve, whom he named apostles. “I have chosen you to be with me,” he told them. “I will also send you out to preach, and you will have authority to drive out demons.” (Mark 3:13-15) Because of Jesus great love for us, He wants us to be close to Him. He wants us to be with Him all the time. When He chose us to be with Him, what He desires is for us to live a happy and fulfilled life. The happiness and fulfillment in life that Jesus is offering, depends on our collaboration to Him. It depends on our obedience to His instructions. This happiness and fulfillment is not something material but one that is most precious and valuable, when we can be like Jesus in our dealings with other people. Nothing brings more happiness when we can heal the brokenhearted, set free the oppressed, give justice and fairness to the poor, heal the sick, make the blind see, make the deaf hear and free others from the bondages of sin and slavery. We should not be afraid. Be courageous. Jesus is giving us the authority to drive out demons through the Word of God. Did you feel Jesus’ presence working in you when helped others know Christ? ThursdayThink like a servant "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2:5) To be a servant, we must think like a servant. We focus on others, not ourselves. This is what it means to lose our life - forgetting oneself in service to others. "Jesus emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant." (Philippians 2:7) To be real servants we must base our identity in Christ and think like stewards, not owners. We must bear in mind that God owns all that we have. We have nothing to boast about, instead, we have the responsibility of sharing what we have to others. Our deep relationship with Jesus in prayer and our deep love for Him will invites us to change our attitudes and values in life likened that of Christ. Our love for others too should be unconditional and limitless, constantly forgiving. Do I reflect the life of Christ in myself in my dealing with other people? Have I been limitless in my patience, love, understanding, humility, generosity and forgiveness to others? How can I do more for Christ? FridayShare your life to others Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15-16) God wants us to share our life lessons. The essence of witnessing is telling our personal encounters with the LORD. Jesus said ”You will be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8). "Those who believe in the son of God have the testimony of God in them (1 John 5:10). Share the truths that God has taught you from experiences with HIM - relationship, problems, temptation, pain and other aspects of life. The books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are filled with practical lessons on living. As I reflect on my personal story, who would God want me to share it with? SaturdayServe God by serving others If you give even a glass of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.
(Matthew 10:42) To be Jesus for others we should make ourselves available to serve. It means giving up the right to control ones life and schedule, allowing God to interrupt it whenever HE needs to. Like Jesus, we should always be on the lookout for ways to help others. We must do the best that we can with the little that we have. Jesus appreciates our efforts to serve His Father with whatever we have and wherever we are right now. We are invited to fulfill our mission with dedication. We should follow the instructions found in Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD, not for men.” Are we willing to “put on the apron of humility, to serve one another?” (1 Peter 5:5) Comments are closed.
|
Weekly Prayer GuidelinesRead this week's guidelines to help you deepen in the Word of God for today. Archives
December 2016
Categories
All
|