A WORD FOR TODAY 1 AUGUST 2019

A WORD FOR TODAY

The dwelling place of the Lord is a lovely place to be and the first reading of today presents how Moses followed God's instruction to set up the tabernacle and placed the ark of the covenant in it and the presence of the Lord became the shield of the people by day and by night.

We must recognise the greatness of God when we come into His temple and we must invite Him to always go with us and shield us with His glory by day and by night just as He did for the people of old.

You do not just go to Church to do nothing, but to pray and encounter the Lord who is always ready to be with us, to bless us and to go with us if we choose to let Him. God dwells in His holy temple and it is a sacred place where we must strive everyday to keep it holy and clean and to worship Him in silent adoration.

We must yearn for the presence of the Lord in his temple like the deer yearns for running stream, because the presence of the Lord shall be our shield and protection from every force of evil that may rise against us. We will be happy when we are in God's house worshipping and praising His name for the Lord will take care of us and He will bless us immensely beyond our imagination.

We are called to Iive a holy life, but we will not be able to do it if we do not have a deep and intimate connection and encounter to the source of our holiness who is God. We must draw our grace and strength to do good from Him when we come before Him in His dwelling place. More importantly, we will make effort to let God dwell in our hearts so that He will lead us and guide us to do good here on earth in His name so as to be among those who will be welcomed into His kingdom on the last day.

Be useful to God here on earth and you will have a place in His presence on the last day. Do not let anything you do now or anyone you encounter make you wasteful and useless. Stay focused on your mission and keep doing the right thing always.

Today we celebrate the memorial of saint Alphonsus ligouri. He was a great moral theologian and the guides he laid down is still being used by the Church to teach her children. He allowed God to make use of him and we have gained from his gifts. We must learn from him to always listen to God and let Him make use of us where He wills.

Good morning dearest one. 😊Smile as you do your work and do have a magnificent day. May the presence of the Lord surround you always and may your love for God's house never grow cold. Amen. And may the Almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Meditation: Exodus 40:16-21,34-38/Psalm 84:3-6,8,11/Matthew 13:47-53

Watch-Word: How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, God of hosts.

Every encounter with God transforms us, therefore, come before His presence with faith, hope and trust and you will go home happy.