Devotional Thought of the Day….
¹⁹  Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19 (MSG)

²⁴  ” ‘For here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to take you out of these countries, gather you from all over, and bring you back to your own land. ²⁵  I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. ²⁶  I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. ²⁷  I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. ²⁸  You’ll once again live in the land I gave your ancestors. You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God!     Ezekiel 36:24-28 (MSG)

2      God is my Father! If you meditate on it, you will never let go of this consoling consideration. Jesus is my intimate Friend (another rediscovery) who loves me with all the divine madness of his Heart. The Holy Spirit is my Consoler, who guides my every step along the road. Consider this often: you are God’s… and God is yours.  (1)

This morning one of the first things I read was this…

We wait for years for an extra day, and it is a Monday. A Monday?  Really?  I mean why couldn’t we have the extra day be a Sunday?  Or at least a Friday?

Why did it have to be a Monday?  What kind of Madness is this?

I could make the point it is a divine sort of madness.  A reminder that God doesn’t want us just on Sundays.

God, our Father, doesn’t want “visitation” rights.  he doesn’t want to be our God on a part-time or occasional basis  He doesn’t just want to see us when we are on our best behavior, expecting times of great joy.  He wants to be in our lives on Monday mornings, before we shower, or have that first 32 oz coffee (or in my case, diet Coke with line) He wants to be beside us at 10 am – when we realized we had a deadline at nine a.m.

What madness! How insane!  He wants to be there, to show us His love, even when we admit we aren’t all that lovable, or all that ready to be loved.  He not only loves us on Mondays when we are unbearable, but He also loves us as our sin crucified Jesus, His only begotten Son, our Savior and Friend.

What comfort that gives, what peace it brings, when we take a moment and catch ou breath, and realize He is still God, our God.  And we are still His children, His beloved children. He has marked us as His, and not just for the good times, for the challenged times, for the times where we throw a tantrum and whine, because it is Monday…..

So know His peace…for God is mad enough to love us even now….

Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 237-242). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.