Behold I come to you who were lost but are now saved

Notes of meeting on 9 December 2014

Picture of a road full of light leading to The Holy City on the mountain. Many people were travelling to the City with angels lighting the way because it was so dark.
The people on the road were of every nation, creed and colour. As they reached the entrance to the City they could see a large army of light getting ready to go out and attack it's foe the Evil One and his cohorts.
Jesus was with them ready to go too. Then the Blessed Mother knelt down in front of Jesus and asked for more time and help to find the lost ones. Jesus put up his hand to stay the army. He then called on all of Heaven's assistance to accompany his Mother and the angels to go looking for the lost.
Jesus put down his sword and took up his lantern and led the search, he went into the darkest of places, buildings, fields caves, mountains, deserts, ships on the seas and craft on rivers even down mines. he lit up the dark places and people came forth to him. When they saw him and his Loving Heart it caused such repentance that the faces which were sorrowful became instantly full of gratitude and joy. Their faces showed wonder and transformation, their hearts so very full now that had been empty before this meeting. All joined the road to the heavenly place singing and praising.
Jesus says:
"Behold I come to you who were lost but are now saved, you who were dead to me are now fully alive to me, my beloved did you think I would leave you orphans, I would not for my Heart bursts with love for you."

Revelation 7 v 13 -17
¹³ One of the elders then spoke and asked me, 'Who are these people, dressed in white robes, and where have they come from?'
¹⁴ I answered him, 'You can tell me, sir.' Then he said, 'These are the people who have been through the great trial; they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.
¹⁵ That is why they are standing in front of God's throne and serving him day and night in his sanctuary; and the One who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
¹⁶ They will never hunger or thirst again; sun and scorching wind will never plague them,
¹⁷ because the Lamb who is at the heart of the throne will be their shepherd and will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.'

Matthew 18 v 12-14
¹² 'Tell me. Suppose a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays; will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search of the stray?
¹³ In truth I tell you, if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the ninety-nine that did not stray at all.
¹⁴ Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

daily reflection from Bible Alive:
What is the Christian faith all about? There are many answers to this question, but at its very heart the Christian faith is about salvation – what we are saved from, why we need salvation and the purpose for which we are saved. We are saved from sin, death and eternal damnation; we are saved for a relationship with the living God.
Now sin, death and eternal damnation are subjects we don’t hear too much about these days but they remain at the very core of the Christian message. Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), and God, our heavenly Father, as we are told in today’s Gospel, is not willing that even one of his little ones should be lost (v. 14). In other words, no one is beyond salvation or redemption, and salvation and redemption are vital in understanding the Christian faith. On the Day of Pentecost Peter proclaimed: ‘And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12).
Salvation is a gift which we receive supremely when we are baptized but continue to work out throughout our lives, as Paul emphasized: ‘Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling’ (Phil. 2:12, emphasis added). We cannot earn our salvation; we don’t deserve our salvation; we cannot buy our salvation or secure it in any other way than through the sheer kindness and mercy of God, which we graciously receive in the gift of baptism.
What we can do, though, is cultivate an interior attitude of gratitude for our salvation. It is our birthright as baptized believers to know the joy of salvation – joy and salvation go hand in hand. The season of Advent invites us to spend time reflecting on what a wonderful gift salvation is – ‘For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…’
(Isa. 9:6).
‘For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God – not because of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.’ (Eph. 2:8-10)

2 Tim 2 v 14-26
¹⁴ Remind them of this; and tell them in the name of God that there must be no wrangling about words: all that this ever achieves is the destruction of those who are listening.
¹⁵ Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who has no need to be ashamed, but who keeps the message of truth on a straight path.
¹⁶ Have nothing to do with godless philosophical discussions -- they only lead further and further away from true religion.
¹⁷ Talk of this kind spreads corruption like gangrene, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus,
¹⁸ the men who have gone astray from the truth, claiming that the resurrection has already taken place. They are upsetting some people's faith.
¹⁹ However, God's solid foundation-stone stands firm, and this is the seal on it: 'The Lord knows those who are his own' and 'All who call on the name of the Lord must avoid evil.'
²⁰ Not all the dishes in a large house are made of gold and silver; some are made of wood or earthenware: the former are held in honour, the latter held cheap.
²¹ If someone holds himself aloof from these faults I speak of, he will be a vessel held in honour, dedicated and fit for the Master, ready for any good work.
²² Turn away from the passions of youth, concentrate on uprightness, faith, love and peace, in union with all those who call on the Lord with a pure heart.
²³ Avoid these foolish and undisciplined speculations, understanding that they only give rise to quarrels;
²⁴ and a servant of the Lord must not engage in quarrels, but must be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and patient.
²⁵ He must be gentle when he corrects people who oppose him, in the hope that God may give them a change of mind so that they recognise the truth
²⁶ and come to their senses, escaping the trap of the devil who made them his captives and subjected them to his will

Isaiah 40 v 1-11

¹ 'Console my people, console them,' says your God.
² 'Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and cry to her that her period of service is ended, that her guilt has been atoned for, that, from the hand of Yahweh, she has received double punishment for all her sins.'
³ A voice cries, 'Prepare in the desert a way for Yahweh. Make a straight highway for our God across the wastelands.
⁴ Let every valley be filled in, every mountain and hill be levelled, every cliff become a plateau, every escarpment a plain;
⁵ then the glory of Yahweh will be revealed and all humanity will see it together, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.'
⁶ A voice said, 'Cry aloud!' and I said, 'What shall I cry?' -'All humanity is grass and all its beauty like the wild flower's.
⁷ The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of Yahweh blows on them. (The grass is surely the people.)
⁸ The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God remains for ever.'
⁹ Go up on a high mountain, messenger of Zion. Shout as loud as you can, messenger of Jerusalem! Shout fearlessly, say to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God.'
¹⁰ Here is Lord Yahweh coming with power, his arm maintains his authority, his reward is with him and his prize precedes him.
¹¹ He is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against his breast and leading to their rest the mother ewes.

 

THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL - THE KERYGMA

"Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you."  Pope Francis