Tag: religion

God always and in everything

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St. Vincent Pallotti

Not the goods of the world, but God. Not riches, but God. Not honors, but God. Not distinction, but God. Not dignities, but God. Not advancement, but God. God always and in everything.

 

Do you worship things of this world? Do you idolize people who have higher honor than you? Do you think if you’re famous or successful, that it’s the key to happiness?

If you do, you’ve fallen for a trick. A scam. Because the things of this world are just that – things. You can’t take any promotions with you to heaven. You can’t take those fancy clothes or that expensive car or your house with you either. None of this stuff that we seem to worship here on earth matters.  Nope, in the end, what does matter is our love for each other and our love for God. That’s it.

Fit in your Faith Today:  Do you worship things? Do you find money as being something you can never quite seem to get enough of? Do you need to prioritize the important things in your life? Start with your relationship with God. Then consider your relationship with others. Is it suffering due to your obsession with material posessions or success in your life? Re-examine your priorities and put God first.

Pray for Wisdom

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Proverbs 8: 9-12

My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those with knowledge.

Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold.

For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it.

I, Wisdom, live together with good judgement. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment.

Wisdom should affect every aspect of our lives, from beginning to end. We should always strive to increase our wisdom, always willing to learn something new about our faith, about relationships, about life. Under God’s direction and guidance, we can attain all kinds of wisdom and knowledge.

As for the value of wisdom, Proverbs teaches us it’s far valuable than gold or silver and jewels. Our goal should never be to increase our wealth. If we keep our eye on the prize of wisdom, we’ll be far happier with the results.

Money and fame and material possessions have temporary effects. They will only give us satisfaction that lasts a short while. It’s far better to have a wealth of knowledge, than a wealth of money.

Fit in Your Faith Today: What can you learn about God today? What is He trying to teach you and how can you share this new found wisdom with others?

The Lost Sheep In Your Life

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The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Luke 15: 1-7

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them he addressed this parable. “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

 After reading this parable, we might consider ourselves to be the lost sheep. We might compare ourselves to that lost animal that wanders off the path that God has set for us, hoping to be found again.

But what if you are the shepherd and the lost sheep is one of your friends or family members? Maybe it’s someone you used to see at church but haven’t in a long time. Or maybe it’s a friend you used to be close with but they have started hanging out with a different crowd, one that you might not understand or get along with for one reason or another.

Consider that lost sheep in your life ask yourself how you can make a point to reach out to them and see what they are up to. Have you reached out to this person recently? If not, why? If you did, how did it go? Some of these lost sheep might not want to return “home.”  And there’s really nothing we can do about it right now. But one day they might want to come back and we should be there with open arms as God our Father would want us to be. He always welcomes back his lost sheep and we should too.

Fit in your Faith Today: Think about who is lost in your life and how you can make an active effort to bring them back home.

Putting on the Armor of God

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Ephesians 6:11-12

Put on the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the Devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.

The city of Ephesus, to which this letter was written to, was practicing what would be considered a “cult” practice of magic, new age, spells, etc. at this time.  They were trying to harness divine powers for their own control. Lots of spiritual warfare going on at this time. This was the home of St. Paul for awhile because it was at the heart of the battle of light and darkness.

Paul is trying to assure the Ephesians (and us in our present day) that the struggles in this world is not with the things that we see. We always want to blame people around us for our problems like politicians, world leaders, the government, anyone but ourselves. While there’s plenty of blame to go around, that’s not the end of the story. There are spiritual realities behind all these people and events that are bigger than we can actually see.

What is bigger? God. God is bigger than all of this. There is an unseen reality all around us. We have guardian angels who are protecting us and fighting these battles that we just can’t see. It can scary to think about this but it’s also comforting. The reality for us is that God is in control. We need to pray for the grace and the strength to do our part in this “battle.” As chaotic as the world might seem, we need to have confidence that God has won.

Fit in Your Faith Today: Recognize that just because what you read in the paper and see on the news looks like the world is chaotic and in turmoil, this battle has already been won. God is bigger than the chaos.

Chasing the Wind

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Ecclesiastes 2:9-11

So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless – like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anymore.

The book of Ecclesiastes can be a depressing one as we read Solomon’s words on life. He was the wisest man in the world. Yet he lived a lot of his life away from God. So he wrote this book as a way to spare future generations the bitterness of learning through their own experience that life is meaningless apart from God.

Solomon summarized his many attempts at finding life’s meaning as “chasing the wind.”

In all our accomplishments, even the big ones, our good feelings are only temporary. We might get that promotion at work and that feels great. But then we have to work even harder to keep that job. Security and self-worth are found, not in these accomplishments, but far beyond them in the love of God. Think about what you consider worthwhile – where you place your time, energy, and money. Are you always on the lookout for what will make you happy? “Once I lose this weight, then I’ll be happy.”  “Once I get that job, then I’ll be content.”  “Once we can finally afford that new home, then our lives will be so much better.”

Really? Chances are, once all these things happen, you’ll find something else to shoot for and won’t be happy until that next goal is met. Don’t look back at your life and think that you, too were “chasing the wind.”  Above everything we should strive to know and love God. He gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy.

Fit In Your Faith Today: Take a look at where you put the majority of your efforts and energy. Are you yearning to know God? Or are you chasing the wind and searching for things that will only provide temporary satisfaction?

 

Nothing Ever Can Separate Us

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Romans 8:31-39

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

In yesterday’s post, we discussed how it’s easy to have an Unbelief during tough times. Similarly, we might feel like God’s love has completely abandoned us in the times when we need Him most. We still believe in Him, but we don’t believe Him. We might have faith, but we might ask ourselves, “Where is my faith now?” Almost like we lost it like we lose a set of keys. “It was right here! Where has it gone?”

This passage from the book of Romans assures us that God has not abandoned us. He gave us his Son, He would not turn around and condemn us for wrongdoing. St. Paul reminds us to have confidence, and hope, and faith that His love for us does not waiver. Our love for Him might waiver. Our faith in Him might not be in tip top shape. But His love doesn’t fail us. Ever.

Fit In Your Faith: Take one or two lines from the above scripture and commit it to memory. Pray these words on the days when you feel like God has abandoned you. Understand and have confidence that nothing ever could separate us from His love.

 

 

 

Helping our Unbelief

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Mark 9:20-24 Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed by an Impure Spirit

When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered.  “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

This passage from the gospel of Mark can easily be applied to us today. Why, although we believe in God, do we struggle to have faith when faced with the daily difficulties of life?

It seems easy and natural to have faith when things are going great in our lives.

Got a promotion at work – “Thank you God!”

Kids came home with a stellar report card – “Our prayers were answered!”

Avoided an accident on the roads – “God must have been watching over me!”

But it’s when things don’t go so well that we start to lose faith in God, right?

Can’t find a job after months of searching and praying about it – “I can’t believe God is letting this happen!”

Another school shooting in the news –  “Why doesn’t God stop this?”

Sudden death of a friend or family member – “Where are you God?”

But it’s at these crucial times of our lives that we need our belief to be restored and delve even deeper into our faith. It’s so much more than just believing in God. It’s believing in what the Bible says, as His inspired Word. It’s also learning from the people in the Bible. Many of us focus on just the Gospels but we can learn alot from the other books, especially the Old Testament.

Think of people like Abraham and Moses and David and Job. They had their own trust issues with God, too. Just because they lived in a completely different age as us, they weren’t that much different than we are. They prayed to God. They argued with him. They went against his wishes sometimes. They weren’t sure of His plan for them.

What can you do to help your unbelief during tough times?

  • Strength in numbers: Ever notice that when society tells us to just “give up” and “There is no God,” and call us names for believing in an all-powerful God, there’s a huge surge in Christians right there proclaiming the Good News? It’s almost like they wait for a disaster to make their faces known. 🙂 Draw yourself near to them. Hang out with them. Talk to them. You will find there are more people who feel the same way you do (and struggle with their faith just like you too).
  • What’s the Lesson? As much as it may seem that problems keep piling up, search for the silver lining.  What can you learn from all this negativity? What can be done right now to help get things right again? You’ll find the answer is usually something in line with “Keep the Faith.” There’s always a reason that something didn’t work out the way you thought it would. You have to believe, as difficult as it may be, that there was a reason.
  • Listen to Him, not him: In other words, listen to God’s voice, not the voice of society that says to do something different. The other voice might be louder.  Listen to His voice. In order to hear it, you have to be quiet. And you have to be patient. Two characteristics that are very challenging, but necessary to keep the faith.
  • Look for the Good: Even in a sea of evil, there is always good. They say, whoever THEY are, that Good Triumphs Evil. And it’s true! Except Good doesn’t make the headlines. It’s usually the bad stuff. But do you ever notice, for instance, when a natural disaster occurs, people from all over get together to help? Items get donated, experts fly in to help with search and rescue, money is sent to help rebuild destroyed cities. And when something terrible happens in a town (small or large) complete strangers start asking “How can I help?” That’s faith. Some might say that’s just faith in humanity, and not necessarily God. But who created those people? Who created those helpers?

Fit in Your Faith Today: When challenged with difficult circumstances, do you find yourself struggling to believe? Take some of the steps listed above to restore it. Reignite the fire in your heart when it’s struggling to stay lit.  Open your Bible and picture the words being said directly to you. Because He is speaking directly to you. The question is, are you listening?

Be Like St. John the Baptist

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Most people probably don’t think they could possibly be like a saint. They might not describe themselves as being very holy or good or sin-free. But you can be saintly, everyday.

There is a light inside all of us. And each day you have an opportunity to show people that light. For some, it’s barely lit. For others, it’s burned out. But for most, it’s shining as bright as the sun.

To be like a saint, in particular like John the Baptist, you can prepare the way for something (or someone) good to enter someone’s heart. Especially to those whose light is barely shining.

How?

  • Recognize they are hurting, perhaps depressed, bitter, or lonely. Don’t make it about you and your feelings, remember it’s about them.
  • Steer conversations to how they are feeling, what they are doing to get better. Make them do most of the talking.
  • Your role is a listener. Listen as the saints listened. They were silent when God spoke to them. Be that good listener and hear the words your friend is speaking.
  • Show them your light by taking them to lunch. Buy them a small thoughtful gift. Something even as small as a smile and a “How are you doing today?” can mean the world to someone who feels like there is no one they can talk to.
  • The sense of touch can make all the difference. A simple hug/embrace may sound like nothing. And maybe it’s even a little uncomfortable for people who aren’t used to affection. But even a friendly gesture like a hug can brighten someone’s day.

After you leave your friend, you’ll have shown them some of your light. You can be like the saints and like St. John the Baptist and prepare the way for Christ to enter his or her heart. It may seem like no big deal on the outside, but on the inside, that friend is grateful and transformed. And you can say that YOU helped make it happen.

Fit in Your Faith Today: Seek out that person that needs a saint in their life and show them that light inside of you.

Are YOU the one that needs a saint?  Hold that mirror up to yourself and ask what you can do personally to become like the saints. Prepare the way for Jesus to come into YOUR life.

 

Spirit, Soul, and Body

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The Second Reading for the Third Sunday of Advent is from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24.

The last two verses are particularly interesting. It reads:

“May the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.”

According to a Bible Study Guide on these two lines:

“The spirit, soul, and body refer not so much to the distinct parts of a person as to the entire being of a person. This expressions is Paul’s way of saying that God must be involved in EVERY aspect of life. It is wrong to think that we can separate the spiritual life from everything else, obeying God only in some ethereal sense or living for him only one day each week. Christ must control ALL of us, not just a “religious” part.

Thoughts on this reflection:

How often do we think “As long as I go to church, I’m good in God’s eyes.”  Or maybe we say “I pray everyday, I’m religious enough.”

Why do we cut God out from our lives and only let him in when it’s time to pray or go to Church? The key to keeping God close to our hearts is to know Him. We should study Him more than once a day. We should talk to Him more than once a week. He’s the reason we are alive. We, our spirits, souls and bodies, are living proof of His creation. We need to care for what we are given.

How do we do that?

Our Spirits – This is defined as the “invisible, nonmaterial part of humans.”

How does someone take care of their spirit if they can’t even see it or feel it? Perhaps it’s just a feeling, an emotion. It’s the part of us that maybe only people looking at us can see or feel. Maybe it’s just one action or one smile or one act of caring and kindness that someone else looks at in us and thinks, “This person has a truly good spirit in them.” We feed our spirit good things by saying good things, nothing self-deprecating. We try to treat others as we want to be treated. When strangers see you performing good acts of kindness, you are showing them who God is. They will remember that and always remember what a good-heart and kind spirit you have.

Our Souls – This is defined as the “inner life of a human being, the seat of emotions, and the center of human personality.”

Have you ever just looked at someone and thought you could see into their soul? Or maybe someone looked at you and you felt immediately a little uncomfortable, because you thought they could see a part of you that you wished they hadn’t seen? It’s our soul. Our “inner life” as it’s called. What does your soul look like? Are you happy with it or could it use a makeover? Are you doing harm to your soul by sinning and making poor decisions? Remember what St. Paul said, our souls should remain blameless until Christ comes again.  A priest once spoke about sin in this way: “Every time we sin, we disfigure our soul.”  We can take care of our souls by confessing our sins. Picture your soul becoming disfigured every time you knowingly and willingly choose to sin. That is an upsetting visual and sometimes it’s enough to get us to cease with sinning and start praying.

Our Bodies – This is our physical body, our “physical essence.” We take care of our bodies by honoring God with it. This means we don’t intentionally harm ourselves. We don’t purposely engage in behavior that puts our body in danger of getting hurt. Simply put, our body is a temple. We need to treat it as such. For many this means being physically fit, eating nutritious and healthy foods, getting plenty of rest and not putting our bodies in harms way. But honoring God with our bodies can be difficult for some. Addictions to food, drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, and abuse can cause a lot of damage to our bodies (souls and spirits too!). The good news is we can reverse this process. We can surrender to God and give it all to Him if we have an addiction. He can set our path straight if we have taken a wrong turn. It’s never too late!

Fit in Your Faith Today: Honor God by doing one thing today that shows you are keeping your Body, Spirit and Soul blameless.

 

 

Anxiously Awaiting during Advent

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Some might think of the “holidays” as a time to be impatient. Some might want to get them over and done with, while others love to enjoy every single day and take it all in because they think it goes by way too fast.

How do you view Advent and Christmastime? Do you get sucked into the materialistic world and think of all the gifts you need to buy or all the gifts you are anxious to receive? Do you ever stop to think about what this time of year is really about?

Although it was just a cartoon, Charlie Brown’s Christmas special is remembered as one of the most popular tv specials of it’s time. It’s repeated on the air at this time of year and I would be willing to bet most people don’t even think about how it is completely centered around Jesus.

Who knew Linus’ closing soliloquy would have such an impact!? All ages can relate. We can all find some comfort in his simple message of the nativity scene.

So don’t be in such a hurry to get this time of year over with. Take each day to wait, anxiously. It’s okay to NOT be patient.

What’s there to be so excited and anxious about, you might ask?! It’s not the anticipation of opening gifts, it’s not the hustle and bustle of standing in shopping lines or even remembering all the cooking you have to do for relatives or the holiday parties you committed to going to.  Those are all exciting and great things. But they have very little to do with the true meaning of Christmas. Remember what Linus said.

It’s the coming of our Savior.  Anxiously await in anticipation of his birth. That’s the best way to fit in your faith this and every Advent season.