Today’s Readings:
1 Maccabees 6:1-13
Psalm 9:2-4, 6,16,19
Luke 20:27-40
It is easy to look at the interesting story of King Antiochus' defeat at the hands of the Jews and compose a prayer like, "May God grant me victory over my enemies. May they know the shame of defeat and disappear like smoke". To which you will shout a deafening "Amen!!!" But God's word is often not so easy.
The Igbo people say “A man who does not know where the rain began to beat him cannot say where he dried his body.” This means that we learn a lot more from misfortune than from success, from defeat than from victory. One, who fails a test, goes back to the drawing board to perfect his plans. The one who passes a test becomes relaxed. An unfortunate person neither learns from his successes nor failures. King Antiochus learned some lessons from the defeats he suffered at the hands of the Jews and the Persians, but it was already too late for him. We can learn from his mistakes and avoid repeating them.
If you wish to be wise and successful, here are some facts about life that you should not miss:
Stay with God and pray always (e get why).
Respect human life and the beliefs of others.
Let your faith be reflected in all you do. If you are not grounded in your faith, you will be swallowed up by meaninglessness.
Learn to be a good judge of character by being upright yourself. If you're dubious, you will attract like minds.
When you succeed people will seek to please you and often they will keep the truth away from you.
Keep those who you knew when you had nothing closer to you; most times, they are sincere.
Stay humble and never claim to be something you're not.
You will learn more when you listen. Stubbornness will be your undoing.
Money, power, and fame will fade so take them with a pinch of salt.
Your ultimate goal is eternal union with God. If that is not the most important thing in the world to you, I am sorry to tell you that you have lost your way (God forbid).
JUDE-MARY OWOH
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, preserve me from the lust for power, riches, and fame, in Jesus' name.
Give me gifts and responsibilities that, by Your grace, I can handle, in Jesus' name.
Help me to stay humble when things go well and to stay calm when I fail, in Jesus' name.
Keep me trusting in You at all times. Amen.
Lord, please keep me humble and faithful to the very end. Amen.
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