To the Ends of the Earth: Action – Week 10, Day 4 – In God Our Second Chance Can Be Our Number-One Accomplishment
To the Ends of the Earth: Character – Week 10, Day 1 - God's Probing Love Reveals Everything About Us
The LORD looks down from heaven,
he sees all the sons of men;
from where he sits enthroned he looks forth
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all,
and observes all their deeds.
Psalm 33:13–15
Our heavenly Father knows us and loves us perfectly. Nothing we do escapes his all-seeing eyes. He observes every sin we commit and wants us to come to him to receive healing. His love enters deep into our hearts to convict us of every wrongdoing and draw us back to his open arms. God loves us so much that he sent his Son, Jesus, to redeem us from our sins. That truth should cause us to drop to our knees to ask God for his forgiveness and healing. It should lead us to raise our hands to heaven to praise him for his love, which lifts us up from our falls. It should lead to confession and contrition and restoration of our relationship with God as Father and Lord.
As men, the thought of anyone knowing our deepest fears and failings is disquieting. We want the world to perceive us as strong and secure. We may even resist God’s penetrating probing of our hearts, fearing what will happen to us if our sin is exposed. We need to look to Jesus, who gazes upon our fallen nature with perfect discernment and perfect forgiveness. Yes, he hates sin, but he loves the sinner. When we let him love us in our sin, we receive the grace to find healing and become the kind of men he wants us to be.
Questions for Reflection
Are there parts of your life that you hide from God? What are they? Why do you hide them?
Has the sacrament of Confession brought you freedom from worry and pain? If yes, how? If not, do you want to find that kind of freedom in the sacrament?
How can you encourage other men in your life to examine their lives and let go of sin?
Praying with Scripture
The eyes of the LORD are in every place,
keeping watch on the evil and the good. (Prov 15:3)
You can learn more about the To the Ends of the Earth Series HERE
You can watch and listen to this devotion HERE
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About the Author
Mark C. McCann is an author and Ministry Consultant with more than 30 years of writing and ministry experience. He has published articles for a number of Catholic magazines and websites including St. Anthony Messenger, Emmanuel Magazine, Liguorian Magazine, Catholic Stand, the Connecticut Catholic Men's Conference, and Homiletic and Pastoral Review. He recently published the 4-volume Catholic men's devotional, To the Ends of the Earth, as well as the 2021 Advent Daybreaks devotional and 2022 Lenten Daybreaks devotional with Liguori Publishing. He has also released his End Times novel series, Jacob's Dream: The Vision and Jacob's Dream: The Final Battle. He was a radio host and producer for 8 years at a Connecticut Christian radio station and has worked as a Catholic religion teacher/campus minister and a parish youth minister. He has also served the Norwich, CT Diocese as a Youth Ministry Director and Family Life Director. He currently lives in Connecticut with his Proverbs 31 wife, where together they have brought up three incredible children. He strives each day to live out his call to be a man of words. You can learn more about Mark and his writing at www.wordsnvisions.com.
