Acknowledging God
My grandchildren when they send me any text messages, they often have emojis in their content. Some I recognize, others I have to ask what they mean.
Back in the early church days when a Christian wanted to talk to another Christian secretly (for fear of to being killed or arrested) but also was unsure if they were actually talking to another Christian, they would start drawing part of the fish picture. If the other person completed the drawing – they were safe.
Or carefully they made the sign of the cross to see if someone would reply with the sign of the cross.
The sign of the cross was used by early Christians as a primary, often silent, method of identification, a “passcode,” and a seal of belonging to Christ. Tertullian (c. 160-220 A.D.) wrote that Christians marked their foreheads with the sign during all daily activities – eating, travelling, bathing and before sleeping.
The sign of the cross nowadays does not just identify us but it protects us. By making it we ask the Lord’s blessing to be upon us but most importantly we are acknowledging that we are under the Lordship of Our Father, The Son and Spirit. We belong to Him.
So instead of hurriedly making it we should remind ourselves with Holy Joy that we are acknowledging we belong to Him.
This season of Lent is a wonderful time to reflect upon how we acknowledge the Lord in our lives. How do you remind yourself of who God is in your life?
May these jottings from my journal inspire you to believe in and fall in love with Christ- the hope of the world, as stated in Jeremiah 17:7, ‘Blessed is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord!’
Love
Rosemary
Every week groups of ladies meet together to chat about the things I raise in my weekly blog post and to chat about life in general. We call these ‘Heart Connect’ groups.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Have you ever thought about how you ask the blessings of God upon you when you make the sign of the cross?
What are the ways that you acknowledge God in your life?
How do you think reminding yourself that you belong to God would change the way you live your life?
4 Comments
Valerie Simms
Thank you Rosemary for writing down the verses from Jeremiah 17: 7… I feel like I am living in a world where I see less of our Faith. But I keep praying for the lost sheep!!! In the 70’s and 80’s there was more openness and demonstration of our Faith… Now I don’t see or hear back then.
I remember our Lord God Jesus saying that when He comes again, will there still be Faith?… I do believe there will be for those who will persist to the very end. There are those who have turned away from their Faith and many young ones who do not know our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, through Him, who don’t know God the Father and God the Holy Spirit…I keep praying for the lost sheep in the world, for our families and relatives…I also need to ask St Monica to continue to pray for our families, relatives, friends. She was persistent in her prayers upon the earth for her husband and for her son who is a well known Saint!!!… I will pray for me also to our Great Loving Lord God, to give me courage and strength for my Faith in our Great Loving Lord God…
In Christ’s Love
Valerie
Jen Williams
I love these jottings. I love that the sign of the cross is an identifier
I would often touch my cross around my neck
Thanks for sharing
I feel Gods presence in my daily life and when I don’t I do call on him or again touch my cross
I am ever so grateful for a friend from my coffee shop back in 2021 sending me a Daily Devotion and since I have been getting and was blessed with meeting you and Bruce twice in Brisbane last year
I am not Catholic however I have grown in my walk with the Lord due to your humility and joy and love of Christ that shines wherever you are
Blessings to you 🙏🙏🙏
Carla Villafana Villafana
Good day Rosemary.
Thank you for reminding me of the value of the Sign of the Cross. Remembering I belong to God, made in His image, helps me to make better choices in the way I speak , the way I behave. I need constant reminders as I seem to make many mistakes.
Thank you.
Rosie Imbert
Thank you Rosemary for strengthening our faith and walk with God, with your jottings. I’m learning so much from you.🙏