Saturday July 8, 2023

For you this week:

• Reflection for Saturday: Your Divine Daddy wants to bless you abundantly
• Inside the Ministry: How to keep the blessings going
• This week’s WordBytes faith-builder: Where is God When Disaster Hits?
• This week’s recommended video: Blessings in Disguise

This week’s Trivia Challenge: What were the names of the twins who wrestled in their mother’s womb? (Check your answer at the end of this newsletter.)

Saturday July 8, 2023

Genesis 27:1-5, 15-29
Psalm 135: 1-6
Matthew 9:14-17
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070823.cfm
Podcast:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-july-8-2023

Saints Calendar:
gnm.org/saints-find/saints-calendar

“May God give to you
of the dew of the heavens
And of the fertility of the earth
abundance of grain and wine….
Cursed be those who curse you,
and blessed be those who bless you.”
(From Saturday’s first reading)

Reflection for Saturday:
Your Divine Daddy wants to bless you abundantly

Guess what! Your Divine Daddy wants to give you his blessing. A blessing that will stay with you for the rest of your life. A blessing that will carry you into the bliss of Heaven. A blessing that will make a difference today and every time you return to Abba-Father during prayer.

In the Old Testament, we read about the great patriarchs of the faith giving a father’s blessing to the eldest son before dying. This was a reflection of God the Father. They believed that the father of the home was directly connected to God the Father. Therefore, whatever blessing the father chose to give to his offspring (usually the first-born son) came with the authority of God. This is why Jacob stole the blessing from his twin, Esau, and why Esau was so upset by the trickery (read that story in Genesis 27). They knew that the blessing was not a wish; it was a guaranteed plan for the future, an inheritance received from the hand of God.

You are a much-loved adopted child of God. With your adoption, you have inherited all that belongs to him. Generously! Abundantly! But what does this mean? In our human experiences, someone has to die before we receive our inheritance. Since Abba-Father is eternal, how does our divine inheritance come to us? Do we have to die? Do we have to wait until we reach Heaven before we can receive it?

Our inheritance looks like this: God has made available to us eternal life and every blessing under the heavens and in Heaven. (See Genesis 49:25, Ephesians 1:3, and Malachi 3:10.)

Jesus often said, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” We can correctly interpret that to include: “The full inheritance of God is at hand.” Note that Jesus did not say: “When you die, if you believe in Me you will enter the Kingdom of God and then you will receive your inheritance.”

He did say, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live forever” (see John 11:25-26). This is the greatest blessing of all. But we need every blessing under the heavens now. Today. Right? Don’t you wish you could have Heaven on Earth this day and every day? Isn’t that what you’re asking for when you ask for God’s intervention in the problems of this world?

The good news is: Your inheritance is available to you right now. Abba-Father desires to give it to you today and every day of your earthly life — as long as you are still following Jesus and doing your best to be the saint that your baptism re-created you to be.

Blessings come to us all the time. Every breath and each heartbeat is a blessing of life. We are blessed whenever we see, do, hear, or feel something that comes from the heart of our Divine Daddy. Thus, we’re even blessed in situations that feel like curses, because he is with us, guiding us through it!

To grow stronger in our relationship with the Father, we need to become more aware of our inheritance. We need to look for the blessings he wants to give us.

Note: This was an excerpt from my book The Father’s Heart. You can order it @ tothefathersheart.com.

Inside the Ministry:
How to keep the blessings going

When does a blessing become a curse? When we don’t share  our  blessings with others, our eternal souls suffer for it.

If GNM has blessed you, share the blessing with people you don’t even know. How? By making sure GNM remains available when they browse the Internet as they search for God’s healing love. Would you be willing to make a sacrifice for them? It’s really very doable — even on low incomes. Fast from one meal and divert the cost of it to Good News Ministries. You will bless people like Trish, Helio, and Louise.

Trish recently wrote in to say, “Good News Ministries has given me hope during some recent trying times.”

Helio says, “In difficult times, times of uncertainty, times of sorrow, times when you can’t find an answer, times when you feel there is no solution, times you feel God has abandoned you, Good News Ministries has been my direct contact to God himself.”

Louise says, “Good News Ministries has been a blessing to me in good times and bad! I discovered GNM in 2012 as I finally began my official journey into the Church.”

If you’ve received blessings from God through GNM, Jesus is asking you, “Do you want to help others grow in their faith?” Before you answer him, think about this: How much do you want GNM to keep going for your own sake? What’s it worth to you? And then double that amount as a gift that shares God’s blessings with a stranger.

If you fast from one meal to divert the cost of it to Good News Ministries, how about fasting from two meals? God will bless you abundantly.

We need a big boost in support — US$30,000 — now or GNM won’t be able to continue past August.

And if you are one of those who truly are unable to donate anything, pray for those who can. Make a sacrifice of keeping them in your daily prayers.

Thank you!
gnm.org/donate

This week’s recommended faith-builder:
Where is God When Disaster Hits?

When a disaster hits us, or when we witness destruction hitting the lives of other people, it’s normal to wonder: “Where is God? Why didn’t he prevent this?” It’s one of the five stages of grieving.

Spiritual grieving begins with pain that causes confusion. Faith and trust in God seemingly are contradicted by reality.

Here are the five stages of grieving and how they affect us spiritually: visit wordbytes.org/suffering/disasters.

WordBytes is a library of Catholic faith-building articles by Good News Ministries. Come on in and explore! Visit WordBytes.org today.

This week’s recommended video:
Blessings in Disguise

Mark 7:14-23 tells us: Do not worry! Here’s how to let God be in control of your life instead of worry and fear. We constantly have bad things hitting us from the outside, and it’s how we react to them that matters. You have Christ in you. Learn how to rely on him when you feel like worrying! You will find blessings disguised as problems.

Watch the video that Ralph and I made on this @ gnm-media.org/blessings-in-disguise. Or if you prefer to read it, download the transcript at this link.

Answer to this week’s Trivia Challenge:
What were the names of the twins who wrestled in their mother’s womb? Jacob and Esau of this Saturday’s first reading.

God bless you!

Every morning, I lift up in prayer everyone who helps Good News Ministries in any way (donors, volunteers, prayer supporters, etc.) and all the prayer requests posted on our site. What can I cover in prayer for you? Post your prayer request.

How else can the team and I serve you today? Visit our homepage.

Thank you for reading this newsletter.

Your servant in Christ,
Terry Modica, Executive Director
Good News Ministries
gnm.org

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