East4B24.    Acts of the Apostles 4:8-12.   The Holy Spirit speaks through the graced words of Peter.  God is not silent but rather uses the hearts and minds of those who have chosen to belong to him to speak in his behalf.   The “good deed done to a cripple” gave testimony to the saving power of Jesus Christ, “who God raised from the dead.” “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”

John 10:11-18.  Not only is Jesus the Good Shepherd who daily leads his flock on the way to heaven; but he is also the sacrificial lamb, who “lays down his life for the sheep,” so that, redeemed from their sins, they may enter heaven.  Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me.” He knows those who have chosen to belong to him.  Through daily prayer we come to know him more and more personally as our God, who loves us and dearly cares for us.  He wants us all to join together as one flock with one shepherd.

1 John 3:1-2.  “Beloved (loved ones), See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God.”  In the intensity of God’s love for us, he makes us to be his children, when we accept his love and choose to live our life born from above in God’s love for us.  To human eyes we seem to be just like any other earthly creatures but in God’s eyes there is much more to us than just earthliness.   As children of God, God is our life here and now.  That God made us in his image and likeness will only be fully realized when we are in heaven and “shall see him as he is.”