Dearest Father, thank You that You have anointed me for my mission and my business as written in the Gospel today.
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Today's Readings
First Reading: Nehemiah 8: 2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 19: 8, 9, 10, 15
Second Reading: First Corinthians 12: 12-30 or First Corinthians 12: 12-14, 27
Alleluia: Luke 4: 18
Gospel: Luke 1: 1-4; 4: 14-21
Reading 1, Nehemiah 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10
Nehemiah 8:2-6, 8-10 GNBDK
[2] So Ezra brought it to the place where the people had gathered — men, women, and the children who were old enough to understand.
[3] There in the square by the gate he read the Law to them from dawn until noon, and they all listened attentively.
[4] Ezra was standing on a wooden platform that had been built for the occasion. The following men stood at his right: Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and the following stood at his left: Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
[5] As Ezra stood there on the platform high above the people, they all kept their eyes fixed on him. As soon as he opened the book, they all stood up.
[6] Ezra said, “Praise the LORD, the great God!” All the people raised their arms in the air and answered, “Amen! Amen!” They knelt in worship, with their faces to the ground.
[8] They gave an oral translation of God's Law and explained it so that the people could understand it.
[9] When the people heard what the Law required, they were so moved that they began to cry. So Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra, the priest and scholar of the Law, and the Levites who were explaining the Law told all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God, so you are not to mourn or cry.
[10] Now go home and have a feast. Share your food and wine with those who haven't enough. Today is holy to our Lord, so don't be sad. The joy that the LORD gives you will make you strong.”
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 19:8, 9, 10, 15
R. (cf John 6:63c) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart
find favor before you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Reading 2, First Corinthians 12:12-14,27
1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27 GNBDK
[12] Christ is like a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts. [13] In the same way, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, have been baptized into the one body by the same Spirit, and we have all been given the one Spirit to drink. [14] For the body itself is not made up of only one part, but of many parts.
[27] All of you are Christ's body, and each one is a part of it.
Gospel, Luke 1:1-4,4:14-21
Luke 1:1-4 GNBDK
[1] Dear Theophilus: Many people have done their best to write a report of the things that have taken place among us.
[2] They wrote what we have been told by those who saw these things from the beginning and who proclaimed the message.
[3] And so, your Excellency, because I have carefully studied all these matters from their beginning, I thought it would be good to write an orderly account for you.
[4] I do this so that you will know the full truth about everything which you have been taught.
Luke 4:14-21 GNBDK
[14] Then Jesus returned to Galilee, and the power of the Holy Spirit was with him. The news about him spread throughout all that territory.
[15] He taught in the synagogues and was praised by everyone.
[16] Then Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath he went as usual to the synagogue. He stood up to read the Scriptures
[17] and was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written:
[18] “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set free the oppressed
[19] and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people.”
[20] Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. All the people in the synagogue had their eyes fixed on him,
[21] as he said to them, “This passage of scripture has come true today, as you heard it being read.”
Dearest Father,
Thank You that You have anointed me for my mission and my business as written in the Gospel today.
Anointed to proclaim Your good news to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed, and to proclaim a year of favor from the Lord.
I remember in 2022, when I set out to start my online business, and I asked You what it would be, You gave me this message.
Luke 4:18
18 The spirit of the Lord is on me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,
I knew then that my business would have to involve sharing the good news of Jesus Christ to others, to the afflicted - the poor, the broken-hearted, the captives, the blind, the oppressed, and everyone!
I was inconsistently blogging then. I knew I had to continue doing that. Then I wanted to do print on demand. So I did, with inspiring and encouraging scripture messages for designs.
But You told me to focus on writing so I could write the books You want written. I already had books on Amazon Kindle. Now I made my own digital shop.
However, I have no audience so to build that audience, I transferred my blog from my own site to Substack so I could have a newsletter and a ready ecosystem of 20 million users and readers.
Then You inspired me to make short-form content to post to social media, catching people to my blog.
Also, to make a once a week video to YouTube where I talk about my walk in Christ on my morning walk and an ASMR Meditation channel.
All these to proclaim You to others as the Good News as I experienced You in my life.
But I got confused hearing experts say I must have just 1 particular niche and 1 particular market to sell to.
You sell to everyone, you sell to no one.
They say.
But You say here:
Luke 4:18-19 EASY
[18] ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is on me. He has chosen me to tell good news to poor people. He has sent me to tell people who are in prison, “You can go free!” I must say to people that cannot see, “See again!” I must cause people that are like slaves to become free. [19] I must tell everyone, “This is the year when God will be kind to his people.” ’
I must proclaim You, Jesus, the Good News, to all Your people who are
Poor (in finances and spirit), that they are rich
Broken-hearted, that they are healed
Captives, that they are released
Blind, that they can see again
Oppressed, that they have freedom
To Everyone, that this is the year of God's favor
How? By living the rich life in You every day.
In You, Jesus, we have the rich life, now and forever:
Riches beyond compare for the poor
Healing for the broken-hearted
Liberty for the captives
Sight to the blind
Freedom to the oppressed
A whole year of favor for everyone
And everyone, every person is poor, broken-hearted, captive, blind, and oppressed in one way or another.
Everyone needs You.
Living in You daily is the answer.
I remember last year when I received the foreclosure notice for my condo that shook my world.
If I didn't have You in my life, I wouldn't have known exactly what to do and my condo would have been lost forever, just like that!
Cause my family all thought that was the end for us having that condo. They were all sure that nothing could be done since my condo had already been scheduled for auction.
I was stunned at first and then sad.
I remembered how You gave me that condo miraculously. That condo has always been a testament to me that nothing is impossible with You, Jesus, in my life.
But right there and then, when I received the news of the foreclosure, You gave me this message from Nehemiah which, amazingly, is today's first reading:
Nehemiah 8:10 GNBDK
[10] Now go home and have a feast. Share your food and wine with those who haven't enough. Today is holy to our Lord, so don't be sad. The joy that the LORD gives you will make you strong.”
Don't be saddened this day, the joy of the Lord is my strength.
That's what You were saying to me.
So I resolved to rejoice in You Jesus and thank You in advance for the easy resolution of my foreclosure problem.
3 months later, I got my condo back and my housing loan was reconstructed and updated.
I detailed it all here in my book Foreclosure Diaries, where I packaged my journal entries of that experience in an ebook you can read, a Google doc actually so you can easily read it on your phone.
I'm giving it away for free to my subscribers for a limited time. I want to give you the link. Just subscribe here.
That's why I need to share You to others. I know many people have more problems than I have.
But no matter what it is, Jesus is the answer.
Now You are leading me to start this SpeakChrist Richlife Club membership where I can share to others how it is to live the rich life in You as I live it for myself daily.
It's kind of a mini-course that includes a few information you can listen to again and again, with ongoing daily execution and support on implementing the 4-Pillar Richlife Playbook that God have shown me so we can experience richly this year of the Lord's Favor.
The 4-Pillar Richlife Playbook You have shown me are these truths:
Pillar 1: Divine Identification - I am a child and heir of God with a promised eternal inheritance of power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory, and blessings!
Pillar 2: GodX vision - The fullness of life promised in John 10:10, the perfect 10X rich life Jesus came to give me - everything in abundance, more than I expect, until I overflow! It’s what God wants me to be, do, and have.
Pillar 3: Rock Foundation - I remain in Christ and His words as my Rock Foundation and let Him remain in me and everything else will be done for me.
Pillar 4: 24-Hour Activation - I act in accordance to who I am, a child and heir of God, implementing God-inspired ideas that bless me and the people God brings to me, I listen to and obey the Father, in Jesus’ Name, by the power of His Spirit, one day at a time, within a 24-hour activation window. Now is the right time. Now is the day of salvation.
Of course, I'm the first member as I'm implementing it for myself first.
So far, the first month of the year is almost over, and implementing the Richlife Playbook has given me clarity on what I'm supposed to be, do, and have daily.
I have done exactly that, without the struggle and inconsistency that I experienced before.
I'm so excited, Lord, expecting great things this year.
I'm so happy You helped me make a valuable product I can offer to the marketplace which, at the same time, proclaims You to others, and for that, I know they will be extremely blessed.
I'm excited to see 1 billion Speakchrist Angels coming into the membership, children and heirs of God, warriors fighting to live the rich life in Christ daily, developing discipline, and consistently achieving what God wants them to be, do, and have without struggle and frustration. My angels are coming!
I'm offering it right now so that those who are interested can start now, the soonest they can, with living the rich life in You daily.
Thank You, Dearest Father, for anointing me for this mission.
By Your grace may I be found faithful till the end.
I love You.
Now Your Turn
What verses spoke to you strongly and powerfully from the scripture readings?
What is God saying to you in these verse or verses?
What does God want for you to do today?
Journal prompts of the day:
(You can reply in comments too)
How will you respond to the call of Christ and this mission He has given you?
Will you accept the mission?
Are you ready to live the rich life in Him today?
Your Actionable Steps to Do This Week:
Live in Christ daily.
Use the anointing God has given you in your daily life and work.
Proclaim the Good News of Christ with your life.
Let us pray:
Dearest Father,
I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Thank You that by His Blood, I have been given the anointing and power to be Your child and heir, co-heir with Christ. As your child and heir, I know I receive, as joint heirs with Jesus, power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory, and blessing. I’m so excited for this year and all that it holds. I receive my mission and anointing to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with my life daily.
In Jesus’ Name.
Jesus has anointed you. Are you ready?
Luke 4:18-19 BSB
[18] “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.[19] to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
This is it for now. Until next time.
To our health, wealth, and victory – our rich life in Christ, GODSPEED!
P.S.
If you want to develop discipline and consistently achieve what God wants you to be, do, and have, without struggle - live the rich life in Christ daily. Join the RichLife Club. I'll show you how.