A WORD FOR TODAY 11 JUNE 2020

A WORD FOR TODAY

MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT WITH YOUR LIFE

"And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number that believed turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large company was added to the Lord."(Acts 11:21-24)

If there is one thing I have come to learn in my already spent time here on earth, it is the fact that life is short and time waits for nobody, therefore, if you do not make use of this limited time you have to impact life, you will leave the earth with regret and all that people will remember you for will be on the side of negative.

The story of the Apostle Barnabas whom we are celebrating today is one that should inspire us to make the best use of the time we got now to do our best so that when we are no more we will be remembered for the good we have done and not for the evil we did or the good we failed to do.

Barnabas means son of encouragement and he showed it through his actions as we have recorded in the first reading of today. He encouraged the christian community in Antioch, he encouraged Saul, he was a good man full of the Holy Spirit and of faith and He was disposed to let the will of the Holy Spirit be done in his ministry. We need to have such Spirit in us as we strive to do God's will here on earth. We must use every opportunity we get to touch lives through our words and actions and to win souls for God. We must encourage the weak to become strong, those who are lazy to become hardworking, the proud to become humble, the prayer less to become prayerful and the fearful to become courageous and so on.

The command that Jesus gave to His disciples in the gospel reading is about making positive impact in the lives of the people. They are called to proclaim the good news and to share what they have received from the Lord freely with others. We must hearken to the voice of God and begin to make use of our gifts, talents and resources to touch lives here on earth so that when we are gone, the souls we have impacted will remember us and heaven will welcome us.

We are to be alter Christus (another Christ) The disciples were first called Christian's in Antioch because their lives were Christ-like, we must also live like Christ so that those we encounter will come to believe in Him who sent us like the apostle Baranabas did.

God has given us an assignment to carry out here on earth and it is something we must take seriously if we intend to please Him and to win souls for Him. Winning souls and making a positive impact in others does not require much, but only the will to let God make use of you. Start little and you will progress to something great over time. It can happen anywhere, Church, home, neighbourhood, office, shop, organisation and in the larger society. Let people know you for the good you do and how you inspire them to be good and you will never be forgotten when you are no more.

Good morning dearest one. Smile😊as you do your work and do have a blessed day. May God give you the grace to make positive impact in people's life here on earth so that you will be welcomed into heaven on the last day. And may the Almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Meditation: Acts 11:21-26;13:1-3/Psalm 98:1-6/Matthew 10:7-13

Watch-Word: Go and make disciples of all nations, says the Lord.

Time waits for nobody, if you want to touch lives, now is the time to do it. Start now and posterity will remember you when you are gone.

(Thursday of the 10th week in the Ordinary Time. Year II)