MyJoysComplete!

The Jewish confession of faith  Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad! “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one!”    This is known as the Shema – the most central prayer in Judaism. It is considered the main confession of Jewish faith. As such it is different to our Christian confessions, which usually are expressed in multiple series of declarations: “We believe, …” The Jewish confession, however, is not so much a “we believe” statement but a divine command to hear, to listen to the voice of God regarding who He is – the one true God. The Shema has such a sanctified status, that for many rabbis the short phrase “Shema Yisrael” is equal to the very name of God, many times just symbolized with the Hebrew letter ש [shin].  https://www.icej.org/blog/hear-o-israel/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17224557502&gbraid=0AAAAAChbkRh_iMViA02KLPoDcZa0AaDXQ&gclid=CjwKCAjwyMnNBhBNEiwA-KcguxXl6yE2OpvKt-39dqt-2QcIZfwE2B-CEAQ2yC5UjpmILQdDuBxuhxoCSswQAvD_BwE

Jeremiah 7:23-28 delivers a blistering rebuke to Judah, emphasizing that God desires heartfelt obedience over empty ritualistic sacrifice. God states that true covenant relationship ("I will be your God, and you shall be my people") requires walking in His ways, yet the people are condemned for their stubborn, persistent disobedience and for acting worse than their ancestors. 

Reflection Questions: * Azariah acknowledges that God is just in allowing their punishment (exile). Do I struggle to believe that God is fair when I am suffering, or can I humbly accept His discipline? * Azariah asks that his suffering be accepted like a sacrifice. What "sacrifices" of pride, ego, or comfort am I holding onto, and how can I offer them to God?

Questions: (AI Gen) 1. Naaman was a "mighty man" but he had leprosy. What is your "hideous birthmark" or "leprosy"—the weakness or hurt you try to conceal while maintaining an impressive outward appearance? 2. How has your own weakness or "thorn in the flesh" served to humble you and bring you closer to God in a way your strengths never could? 3.

A PASSION FOR GOOD Applying this biblical approach activates our anger as a passion for good in three ways: ✦ Anger can make us holy. ✦ Anger can motivate us to work for justice. ✦ Anger can fuel our zeal for evangelization. https://www.catholicdigest.com/faith/spirituality/anger-a-passion-for-good/

Take some time today to snuggle into the Father's lap, placing your head close to His chest and just be there, hearing His heart beat!

By calling God "Father", the language of faith indicates two main things: that God is the first origin of everything and transcendent authority; and that he is at the same time goodness and loving care for all his children. God's parental tenderness can also be expressed by the image of motherhood,62 which emphasizes God's immanence, the intimacy between Creator and creature. the language of faith thus draws on the human experience of parents, who are in a way the first representatives of God for man. But this experience also tells us that human parents are fallible and can disfigure the face of fatherhood and motherhood. We ought therefore to recall that God transcends the human distinction between the sexes. He is neither man nor woman: he is God. He also transcends human fatherhood and motherhood, although he is their origin and standard:63 no one is father as God is Father.

Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.

 “Let us fancy we see hell, and imagine what is worst to behold – a horrible cavern full of black flames. Sulphur, devils, dragons, fire, swords, arrows, and innumerable damned who roar in despair. Imagine the worst you can, and then say, ‘All this is nothing compared to hell.'” St. Ignatius of Loyola

St. John Chrysostom⁠: "The hypocrite would seldom choose to toil but would prefer only to make a show. For this very reason, the hypocrite is easily detected... do not look to the mask but to the behavioural fruits". Questions: (AI gen.) Am I "hiding myself from my own flesh" (neglecting family or neighbors in need) rather than sharing my resources?What "malicious speech" or judgmental attitudes do I need to remove from my daily interactions to ensure my prayers are heard?

This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Questions: Is my goal to "gain the world"? If I were to look at my calendar and bank statement, what do they show I truly value? What is my "cross" today? What specific selfish desire, pride, or comfort must I surrender to follow Jesus more closely? (AI generated questions)

Today is a favourable day! Today is a day of salvation! Today God comes to meet me! My heart is overwhelmed!

"He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day." - John Bunyan "Hurry is the death of prayer." — Unknown

Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you; All things pass: God never changes.  Patience achieves all it strives for.  Whoever has God lacks nothing, God alone suffices. Question:  Is God enough for you?

1. In what areas of my life am I "spiritually deaf," struggling to hear God's voice amidst the noise? 2. How can I apply the word "Ephphatha" (Be opened) to my heart today? AI generated

What small compromises in your life might be gradually leading your heart away from God?Who are the people in your life that influence your spiritual direction? Are they leading you toward or away from God?How are you using the gifts and resources God has given you—for His glory or for personal convenience?  - AI generated

Jesus had come to give us a heart transplant, to take away our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh, hearts like his, that could love God and others. He had come to set us on the path of beatitude, in this life and in the next, and enunciated that blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. The heart is the real core of the person, pointing to what we love and desire. It’s what’s in the heart — and the actions that flow from the heart — that renders a person pure or impure. Jesus describes several desires in the heart that defile us: “evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.” The last one, folly, is basically the lack of wisdom. The Greek word that St. Mark uses, aphrosune, doesn’t point to an imprudence flowing from a frail brain or intellect, but moral foolishness, those who play the fool by acting foolishly, by acting contrary to God’s wisdom.https://catholicpreaching.com/wp/learning-from-the-queen-of-sheba-to-seek-gods-wisdom-5th-wednesday-ii-february-7-2018/

Image management in psychology is the conscious or subconscious process of controlling how others perceive you by regulating information, appearance, and behavior, first conceptualized by Erving Goffman. It involves strategic, often social, efforts to project a desired image—such as competence or likability—to influence others' evaluations and achieve personal or professional goals.  (AI Overview) Question: What do I do in order to make others believe in me? Is this my authentic self acting to win the favour of others? Reflection: Take some time to examine the 'real me' and bring this side before the Lord . Lay it bare before Him and ask Him to heal those rugged areas and to make me more and more like Him each day!

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 6:19

When faced with a situation that requires me to be brutally honest despite the opposition I might face, do I: * rise up like Nathan and John the Baptist, without fearing the consequences? OR * do I slink away and let others do the work while I remain in my safety net?