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Tuesday, July 4, 2006

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St. Elizabeth of Portugal


Amos 3:1-8; 4:11-12
Psalm 5
Matthew 8:23-27

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i told you so

"Indeed, the Lord God does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants, the prophets." —Amos 3:7

Every good and bad thing that has ever happened God told us about ahead of time. Yet we were surprised by world wars, the Third Reich, abortion, the September 11 terrorist attacks, and so many other catastrophes. We refused to listen to the prophets that the Father in His loving mercy sent "early and often" to warn us of evil (2 Chr 36:15). Usually prophets tell us to repent before it's too late. Nonetheless, we refuse to return to Him, so we are dealt with accordingly (Am 4:11-12).

Right now, the storms of next month and next year are brewing. The prophets are warning us. "Let him who has ears heed the Spirit's word to the churches!" (Rv 2:7) God does not want to surprise us, but to prepare us. However, if we insist on being deafened by the world and blinded by sin, we doom ourselves to devastating surprises.

On this Independence Day in the USA, let's repent of living independently of God's warnings and declare our total dependence upon the Lord. Let's turn to the Lord now, before the catastrophe rather than afterward. If we had only listened to God, how many soldiers, Jews, babies, and innocent people would have been spared the bloodbath of our time. Jesus says: "If only you had known the path to peace this day; but you have completely lost it from view!" (Lk 19:42)

Prayer:  Jesus, I repent of stifling the Spirit and despising prophecy by ignoring it (1 Thes 5:19-20).

Promise:  "Then He stood up and took the winds and the sea to task. Complete calm ensued; the men were dumbfounded." —Mt 8:26-27

Praise:  St. Elizabeth worked relentlessly in bringing peace between her husband and their son.

Reference:  (For a related teaching, order our tape Developing A Deep, Personal Relationship with Jesus on audio AV 52-1 or video V-52.)

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 12, 2005

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