Cristy Li

Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice. I know them and they follow Me. I give them Eternal Life and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of My hand. What My Father has given Me is greater than all else and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are One.”  –John 10:27-30

The Divine Shepherd

A Song of David

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside still waters;

He restores my soul.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1)

He leads me in right paths

for His name sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley – the valley of the shadow of death

I fear no evil;

for You (the Great Shepherd) are with me;

Your rod and Your staff

they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4 -Hebrew/English)

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1)

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1)

Surely goodness and Mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life

and I shall dwell in the House of the LORD

my whole life long — for ever! (Psalm 23:6 (KJV)

You Lord are my Shepherd; I will never be in need. (Psalm 23:1 (CEV)

–Psalm 23:1-6

• You May Know the Joy of Salvation and Eternal Life Today
  Through The Good News of Christ Jesus!

Related: For Today’s Most Holy Scripture Readings and More, Visit: -USCCB

Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming The Good News of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God has come near; Repent and Believe in The Good News!”  –Mark 1:14B-15

The Twelve Apostles

Jesus summoned His twelve Disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast

them out and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve

Apostles: First, Simon also known as Peter; his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee and his

brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of

Alphaeus; Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean; Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Jesus.

The Mission of the Twelve

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles

and enter no town of the Samaritans but go rather to the lost sheep of the HouseofIsrael. As

you go proclaim the Good News, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise

the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; Give without

payment. Take no gold, silver or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or

sandals or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. Whatever town or village you enter, find out

who in it is worthy and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house greet it. If the house is

worthy, let your peace come upon it but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If

anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you

leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of  Sodom and

Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”

Coming Persecutions 

“I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent

as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their

Synagogues; you will be dragged before governors and kings because of Me, as a testimony to

them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or

what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you

who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to

death and a father his child and children will rise against parents and have them put to death;

you will be hated by all because of My name but the one who endures to the end will be saved.

When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have

gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

A Disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; It is enough for the Disciple to

be like the teacher and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house

Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!”

Whom To Fear 

“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered and nothing

secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; what you hear

whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the

soul; rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in Hell. Are not two sparrows sold

for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father and even the

hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid, you are of more value than many

sparrows.

Everyone therefore who acknowledges Me before others, I also will acknowledge before My

Father in Heaven but whoever denies Me before others, I also will deny before My Father in

Heaven.”

Not Peace But a Sword

Do not think I have come to bring peace to the earth;

I have not come to bring peace but a sword.

For I have come to set a man against his father

and a daughter against her mother

and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law

and one’s foes will be members of one’s household.

Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me and whoever loves son or

daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me and whoever does not take up the Cross and follow

me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it and those who lose their life for My

sake will find it.”

Rewards

“Whoever welcomes you welcomes Me and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent

Me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of the prophet will receive a prophet’s reward

and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the

reward of the righteous and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in

the name of a Disciple — truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” –Matthew 10:1-42

• You May Know the Joy of Salvation and Eternal Life Today,
  Through The Good News of Christ Jesus!

Related: For Today’s Most Holy Scripture Readings and More, Visit: -USCCB

Blessed are You Father,  Lord of Heaven and earth,
for You have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom. –CF. Matthew 11:25
Image Courtesy: Archbishop Jose Gomez

Life In The Spirit

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the Law of the Spirit of

life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the Law of sin and death. For God has done what the

Law, weakened by the flesh could not do; by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh

and to deal with sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the Law

might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For

those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh but those who

live according to the Spirit, set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the

flesh is death but to set the mind on the Spirit, is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is

set on the flesh is hostile to God; It does not submit to God’s Law — indeed it cannot and those

who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who

does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him but if Christ is in you. though the

body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him who

raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to

your mortal bodies also through His Spirit that dwells in you.

So then, Brothers and Sisters, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — for

if you live according to the flesh, you will die; if you live by the Spirit you put to death the deeds

of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you

did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear but you have received a spirit of

adoption. When we cry, “Abba Father!” It is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that

we are children of God and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ — if,

in fact, we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Future Glory

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about

to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children

of God; For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the One

who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and

will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation

has been groaning in labor pains until now and not only the creation but we ourselves, who

have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of

our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for

what is seen? We hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Likewise the Spirit helps is in our weakness; For we do not know how to pray as we ought but

this very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words and God who searches the heart,

knows what is the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the Saints according to

the will of God.

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called

according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed

to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn within a large family. Those

whom He predestined He also called; those whom He called He also justified and those whom

He justified he glorified.

God’s Love in Christ Jesus

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not

withhold His own Son but gave Him up for all of us, will He not with Him also give us

everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is

to condemn? It is Christ Jesus who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God,

who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship or

distress or persecution or famine, nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” (Psalm 44:22)

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am

convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to

come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate

us from the love of God in Christ Jesus Our Lord!  –Romans 8:1-39

Related: For Today’s Blessed Holy Scripture Readings and More, Visit: -USCCB