Sometimes You Just Know

A "Jesus" thing happened yesterday. What is a "Jesus" thing you ask?  For me, it's when I am praying for someone, ask Christ for guidance, and He answers me so quickly I have no doubt the answer is from Him.  I am doing some contract work as an RN in a research facility.  One of the young women I work with (she's 19) has had a lot of disappointment in her life.  We have had some brief discussions between patients. One of those discussions she stated she was not raised with faith and she knew nothing about Jesus. Of course, Heaven Speaks to Young Adults popped into my mind. I told her I had something to help her learn about our Lord. Fast forward to when I arrived at the office yesterday. She seemed a little "off" to me.  I didn't approach her, but it made me remember I needed to get the booklet for her.  I left the office at noon to run home for lunch.  Sitting in my home office, working on my blog post, I started praying for her. Then, I began to hunt for the Young Adult booklet. I knew all my copies were in the case at my church, but I hoped there was a spare copy around.  First thing, I looked in the bookcase right over my desk.  In between Lessons in Love and Serving in Clarity was a Heaven Speaks to Young Adults CD! I have no idea where it came from nor did I buy it! I grabbed it and went back to the office. After I was back a few minutes, this young woman walked quickly past me crying and out the front door.  I tried to see if she was ok, but she was down the sidewalk and didn't hear me.  At the end of the day when we were all packing up to leave, I grabbed the CD and found her teary-eyed and drained.  I explained to her what had happened with finding the CD and gave it to her.  I went to give her a hug and she began weeping on my shoulder.  I told her Jesus wanted her to have this and I knew He would have some consoling words to help her through whatever circumstances she was experiencing.  She genuinely thanked me and off we went. Wow, huh?  Thank you, Jesus!

In todays Gospel (Matthew 16:13-23) Jesus sees that Peter knows who He is not through evangelization, but from faith in God:

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

In Heaven Speaks to Those Who Do Not Know Jesus, our Savior wants us to believe in and love Him of our own will:

“My friend, this is between you and Me. By “this” I refer to both this conversation and your ultimate decision of whether to accept Me or reject Me. When you are asked to make an important decision on earth, you consider your options. You take time and weigh both sides. Perhaps you waver between one course and another. I want you to consider both sides of this decision. If you accept Me, you will have entry into the most loving and secure family of all. If you accept Me, you will have security for the rest of your life in that I will lay out the course in front of you, guiding you, protecting you, and never leaving you. If you accept Me, you will come to heaven in triumph, bringing with you the great benefits that your cooperation secured for your family. You will walk in truth and in calm. Your life on earth will not suddenly become easy, but it will be filled with God’s peace and God’s grace. If you reject Me, you will continue on, vulnerable to the deceit of My enemy. You will delude yourself at times, thinking that you are wise. Perhaps you will feel superior to many of your brothers and sisters, but I tell you today, in all of My truth, that the most humble one in heaven holds all of God’s mysteries in his soul. You will not be privy to these mystical realities if you reject Me. How could you be if you did not want to be? I conclude with one of the greatest truth of all and that is that I do not force My children to choose Me.”

Lay apostles, don't miss any opportunities to bring the words of Jesus and all of heaven to those who have lost their way or are in need of discovering Christ. If you can't afford to buy the booklets or Volumes, print them out for someone.  Just click on the link of the book you want to print to the right.  Sometimes we have to keep our eyes open for the hints, and sometimes you just know.

Thank you, Lord, for the opportunities you present me with to evangelize.  And, I don't know where that CD came from, but THANK YOU for helping me find it!  

God bless,
Bonnie