Blog Archives

25 Days of Scripture Reflections

11/30/2014

This Christmas season, New Way Today invites you to join us each day, for the next 25 days, for Scripture Reflections. We will post a short scripture reflection on our blog every day, throughout the season of Advent, which is a time of preparation for the coming of Christ. It's the perfect time of year to grow spiritually, and this is one way to keep Christ in Christmas.

At a time of year when the world is very "noisy" and busy with the externals of Christmas, I pray we will enter internally into a dialogue with God. I hope these reflections will prompt a conversation of heart with God as we too "prepare the way for the Lord" to come into our hearts (Mark 1:3). I pray we also will make a "straight path" for Him, removing the obstacles that get in the way of our relationship with Jesus, and create a space within our hearts for the Christ child to be born in us.

These daily reflections will be posted on our blog from December 1st to December 25th. They do not follow any particular pattern and I hope to keep them short and simple. These are simply my own spiritual thoughts about the true meaning of Christmas, something I pray we will all experience in a New Way this year.

I look forward to growing in my faith this advent season and I pray that you will too. May God bless you, and everyone near and dear to you, and provide you the grace to know Him in a real, meaningful and New Way, Today.

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Prayers For Healing of Broken Dreams

11/29/2014

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Healing of Broken Dreams

"Dear Lord, I have always had an image in my mind of what my life would be like. I had certain expectations and prayers. I had a particular idea of how things would turn out. I could picture it. I could count on it. It was familiar and comfortable. I had hope. I had a dream. And now I think it’s time for a new one.

Lord, you alone can move my heart in a new direction that will bring me the peace and happiness I have always longed for. It may look different than what I envisioned but your vision is greater than mine. You see the whole picture, I only see part. You know what will make me happy. I don’t. You truly are the light that will shine in my darkness. Please shine brightly. Please make my path clear and give me something to look forward to once again. In Jesus’ name. Amen."

This is a prayer from our new book, "Prayers For A New Way. A Prayer Book For The Heart."

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Jesus Christ The King

11/23/2014

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Today is the Feast day of "Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe." Today we reflect on the Victory of The Cross.

The Kingship of Jesus, which The Feast of Christ The King calls to mind, brings hope for Christians everywhere. We share in the victory of the Cross, and through it we can have eternal life. God Loves us, and He has proven it.

There is a beautiful irony in the Cross. It looks like the end, when really it's the beginning. This means something for us. This day reminds us of the purpose of the Cross and the truth of our own lives ... there is more than what we see.

The world looks at the Cross and sees a defeated man. We don't. The world looks at Christ's broken and bloody body hanging on these two pieces of wood and says He was defeated. We see that He was victorious! The world sees someone who has lost. We see someone who has won. The world sees Jesus as a failure up there, helplessly hanging from nails, a condemned man. We see our Redeemer. The world looks at Jesus' life ending in a death like that and says He didn't amount to anything after all. We say Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

While we don't know what it's like to die on a cross, we do know what it's like to be misunderstood. Maybe we feel unjustly judged by others, who only look at the surface of our lives. When people judge us, that is exactly what they do - form a conclusion based only on what they see, on what they know, which is always limited.

Maybe you're feeling defeated. Maybe, according to the world's standards, it looks like you will never get out of the situation you're in, that your life will never change, that it's too late to have the life you want. Maybe it appears there is no way out. Maybe something looks hopeless to you. Maybe it looks like you lost the battle. Set your eyes on the Cross and hear Jesus say to you today "it just looks that way."

Death did not crush Jesus. Jesus crushed death. His pain and suffering brings life everlasting. Let's not get discouraged. Jesus has overcome, and through His death, He opens up a way for us too. Good things are on the way. A new life is possible. God loves you. There is reason to hope.

If I could speak to Jesus on the Cross this day I would simply say "Thank you." Thank you for this sacrifice you made for me, thank you for your obedience to The Father's Will and for making all things new in my life. I would ask Him to help me to let go of the opinions of the world and to focus my attention on Him. To help me not to worry about what other people think, only what He thinks. To help me not to judge by appearances and to love those who judge me. Only Jesus Christ The King has the power to help us love one another as He loves us, and I pray He will grant us all this grace in a new way, today.

May God Bless you and everyone near and dear to you. In Jesus' most powerful name.

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