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Deuteronomy 30:9-14

Repentance and ForgivenessAnd when all these things come upon you, the blessing andthe curse, which I have set before you, and you call them tomind among all the nations where the Lord your God has

driven you, 2 and return to the Lord your God, you and yourchildren, and obey his voice in all that I command you today,

with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lordyour God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you,and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the

Lord your God has scattered you. 4 If your outcasts are in theuttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will

gather you, and from there he will take you. 5And the Lordyour God will bring you into the land that your fatherspossessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you

more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6And theLord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart ofyour offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with

all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. 7Andthe Lord your God will put all these curses on your foes and

enemies who persecuted you. 8And you shall again obey thevoice of the Lord and keep all his commandments that I

command you today. 9 The Lord your God will make youabundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in thefruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in thefruit of your ground. For the Lord will again take delight in

prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, 10whenyou obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep hiscommandments and his statutes that are written in this Bookof the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all yourheart and with all your soul.

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The Choice of Life and Death

11 For this commandment that I command you today is not

too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven,

that you should say, Who will ascend to heaven for us andbring it to us, that we may hear it and do it? 13 Neither is itbeyond the sea, that you should say, Who will go over thesea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and inyour heart, so that you can do it.

15 See, I have set before you today life and good, death and

evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your Godthat I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, bywalking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments andhis statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply,and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are

entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turnsaway, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship

other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that

you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the landthat you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 Icall heaven and earth to witness against you today, that Ihave set before you life and death, blessing and curse.Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,

20 loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holdingfast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that youmay dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to

Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Colossians 1:1-14

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, andTimothy our brother,

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2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ atColossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith inChrist Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,

5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this youhave heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,

6which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is

bearing fruit and increasingas it also does among you,since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God

in truth, 7just as you learned it from Epaphras our belovedfellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your

behalf8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

9And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to prayfor you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of

his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so asto walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing tohim, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the

knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with allpower, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and

patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who hasqualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and

transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 inwhom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Preeminence of Christ

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all

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creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heavenand on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones ordominions or rulers or authoritiesall things were created

through him and for him. 17And he is before all things, and

in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of thebody, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the

dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in

him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 andthrough him to reconcile to himself all things, whether onearth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind,

doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body offlesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless

and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue inthe faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope ofthe gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in allcreation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became aminister.

Paul's Ministry to the Church

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in myflesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for

the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which Ibecame a minister according to the stewardship from Godthat was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully

known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but

now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to makeknown how great among the Gentiles are the riches of theglory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of

glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teachingeveryone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone

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mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all hisenergy that he powerfully works within me.

The Saving Gospel of JesusAccording to St. Luke, 10:25-37

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying,

Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He saidto him, What is written in the Law? How do you read it?

27And he answered, You shall love the Lord your God withall your heart and with all your soul and with all your

strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor asyourself. 28And he said to him, You have answeredcorrectly; do this, and you will live.

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who

is my neighbor? 30 Jesus replied, A man was going downfrom Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, whostripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half

dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road,

and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 Solikewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him,

passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as hejourneyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he

had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up hiswounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on hisown animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

35And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them

to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him, and whatevermore you spend, I will repay you when I come back.

36Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a

neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? 37 Hesaid, The one who showed him mercy. And Jesus said tohim, You go, and do likewise.

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WhatwouldYOUDo?

AuthorClareDeGraffwroteanapproachablelittlebook

entitled,TheTenSecondRuleLetmeexplain:

Mostofuswouldliketothinkofourselvesasfollowersof

Jesus,butwhatdoesthatreallymean,practically?Jesussaid,

Whoeverwantstobemydisciplemustdenythemselvesand

takeuptheircrossdailyandfollowme.Luke9:23.Simplyput,

itstrustingJesusenoughtosaynotowhatwewant,and

yestowhathewants.So,thenwhyisitwedontobeyhim

moreoftenthanwedo?YearsagoInoticedthatduringthe

courseofmydayIdhavetheseimpressionstodosomethingIwasreasonablycertainJesuswantedmetodo.Itcouldbean

impressiontoeitherdosomethinggoodforsomeoneora

warningaboutasinIwasabouttocommit.Itmightbetostop

foracarbrokendownonthehighway,speaktoaco-worker

aboutJesus,orsimplyturnoffmycomputerbeforeIendedup

atasitewherenoChristianshouldgo.

AlmostsimultaneouslyIwouldsenseanothervoicewhisperingtome.Youdonthavetimetodothathelpingthatperson

couldgetmessyyoucantaffordtohelpthemrightnowits

okay,onemoretimewontkillyousendit,youvebeen

wronged!IfIlistenedtothisothervoiceandthoughtaboutit

longenough,themomentforobediencewouldpass,oftento

myrelief.Itfinallydawnedonmethatbyprocrastinating,Iwas

unintentionallyteachingmyselfthehabitofdisobedience.Why

isthat?BecauseIknewthatalmosteverydecisiontoobeywouldcostmesomethingtime,money,embarrassment,

inconvenience,oramomentarypleasuredeniedsomething!

BychoosingnottoobeyJesus,Icouldavoidallofthat!Asa

result,Ifoundmyselfsettlingforgoodenoughalmostdaily

whichiskryptoniteforanywould-befollowersofJesus!

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ThenadecadeagoalaypastorfromChinataughtmeasimple

rulethathelpedmebreakthatcycle:

The10SecondRule:

JustdothenextthingyourereasonablycertainJesuswantsyoutodo.

(anddoitimmediatelybeforeyouchangeyourmind!)

Ifyouloveme,youwillobeywhatIcommand.

-John14:15

But,howdoweknowwhatJesuswantsustodo,exactly?

Godhasnteverspokentomeaudibly,soImnottalkingof

actuallyhearingvoices.However,IvefoundthatthemoreIstudytheteachingsandcharacterofJesus,themoreconfident

Ivebecomemovinginspontaneous,simpleobediencetothe

opportunitieshesendsmyway.Itshislife,andtheHolySpirit

remindingmeofeverythinghedidandtaughtthatgiveshim

thisvoice.

Canwealwaysbesure?No.TheRuledoesntrequireyoutobe

absolutelycertainanimpressionisfromGodbeforeyouobey.Infact,Ivefoundthattheneedforcertaintyisoftentheenemy

ofobedience!But,letsjustsaythisimpressionwasntfrom

God.Sowhat?Youvestilldonesomethinggoodforanother

humanorkeptyourselffromsinning.Howcanthatnotbethe

willofGod?

But,hereswhatdiscouragesmanyofus.Weknowthatthereis

absolutelynowaywecaneverhopetosurrendertothewillofGodperfectly,everyday,fortherestofourlife.And,noneofus

wanttochaseanimpossibledream.Butheresthepower

behindTheRule;eventhoughabsolutesurrenderis

impossible,doingthenextthingImreasonablycertainJesus

wantsmetodo,isnt!Icandothat!And,socanyou.

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So,TheRulegivesyouaplacetobeginagainfollowingJesus,

rightnowtoday,ifyouvedriftedspiritually.Itsfollowing

JesusmadesimpleandbeingledbyJesus,momentbymoment,

daybyday(oreveninthenext10seconds!).And,itsbeenthe

experienceofChristianssincethetimeofJesusthattruegodlycharacterisforgedlessbyafew,bigdramaticdecisionsthan

thecumulativeimpactofthousandsofsmallactsofsimple

obedience

Itsthesestepsthatwetaketowardstheotheronour

pathways.WhatwouldJesushaveusdotoday?Perhaps

wewontseeaforeignerontheroadbutwemay

encounterthehomeless,thehungry,thelost,thewayfaringstranger.YouandIweareChrists

ambassadors!WeareGospelwhenwereachout,whenwe

love,andwhenwegivehopetothoseseenhungeringand

thirstingtohearthegoodnewsofJesusChristcrucified

andrisenagain.

ThestoryoftheGoodSamaritanisnotalessonusedtoscorn

thosewhoignoredtheneedsofthispoormanlayingontheroadasratherbelovedIseeitasGodcallingustobeother

orientated.Whenweglanceoutintoworldwhatdowesee?

WhatisGodcallingustodo?

For the Lord will again take delight in prospering

you, as he took delight in your fathers, 10when youobey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his

commandments and his statutes that are written inthis Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lordyour God with all your heart and with all your soul.

When we obey the voice of the Lord we turn to him, we seethe other, we hear the cries of the hungry and the lost!

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APPLICATION

THEREFOREBELOVEDCHOOSELIFEo Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring

may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying hisvoice and holding fast to him, for he is your lifeand length of days, that you may dwell in the landthat the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, toIsaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

o Choosinglifemeansthatwechoosetolivenotforourselvesbutinservicetotheonewhogaveuslife!

Itmeansdailydyingtooursinsandtheluresofthis

worldandrisingagaininnewlifelivedinthevictoryofJesusChrist.

o Whenweseethevictimsofthisworldbeitthelost,hungry,theforsaken,thoseheldinbondageto

sinChristbidsustocomequicklywithHissaving

graceandWord.Lordspeaktousthatwemay

speak!

BETRANSFORMEDTHROUGHTHEPOWEROFPRAYERoAnd so, from the day we heard,we have notceased to pray for you, asking that you may be

filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual

wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in amanner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him,bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in

the knowledge of God. 11 May you bestrengthened with all power, according to

his glorious might, for all endurance andpatience with joy, 12 giving thanks to theFather, who has qualified you to share inthe inheritance of the saints in light.

o The phone rings in the middle of the night, wehear of injustice in the world, our job is

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terminated, the neighbor whom we thought weknew tragically ends his life, the baby we expectedto bring joy to her family dies before birth whatnow O Lord?

o In all things beloved pray. GOANDDOLIKEWISE

oWhich of these three, do you think, proved to be aneighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?

37 He said, The one who showed him mercy.And Jesus said to him, You go, and do likewise.

o Go and do likewise when the world bids us toforget them just ignore them move on.

o Be bold in your faith and in your conviction toserve as God has called us to do in our baptismvocation.