Try, Try, and Try Again

   I was talking with a friend a while ago and she said how great it would be if God would just stop us before we sin.  I agreed but I also realize that is not the way it works.  God does not desire a world full of automatons who simply respond to His directives.  If we refuse to participate with His plan He will not drag us kicking and screaming to heaven.  He gave us free will because He wants us to voluntarily choose to follow Him.

   God will guide us, strengthen us and help us to avoid sin.  However, it takes our initiative to make it happen.  We must seek His help, ask for His guidance and pray for His strength.  It’s our responsibility to do those things that will lead us to God.  We have the choice of whether or not we will follow Him and try our best to avoid sin.

   Yet, no matter how hard we try we will continue to sin.  It’s in our DNA and has been since the fall in the Garden of Eden.  No matter how much we want to avoid sin we will still fail at times.  But by the grace of God and the mercy of Jesus we can be forgiven our sins.  No matter the sin, no matter how often, God will forgive if we truly repent and are sorrowful.  If we are willing to do all in our power to avoid sin, God will help us and again forgive us when we fail.

   It comes down to our effort and desire.  If we sincerely want to serve God and avoid sin we will be forgiven each time we fail.  If we do all in our power to follow His will He will help us.  God’s love is a love unknown to this world.  No matter how much we love another we can never even begin to understand the depth of God’s love for us.  This is the love that is our salvation.

   So try, try, and try again.  God knows our weakness and will help us if we sincerely try to walk His path in our life.

I’ve failed You many times I know

But when tonight I rest,

I hope that I can kneel and say,

Dear God, I’ve tried my best.

Amen

Called to Silence

   “Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.  Full of Thy mercy.  And I who am nothing have been placed here in silence to behold it and to praise Thee!”  (Thomas Merton, “A Year with Thomas Merton: Daily Meditations from His Journals”)

   As I sit in my kitchen eating breakfast I can watch the squirrels playing and the birds eating at the bird feeders.  Sometimes there are butterflies and hummingbirds feeding at the flowering bushes I’ve planted.  To me this is a beautiful part of the glory of God and His creation.  A wonderful gift He has given me to enjoy, it is a veiled glance at His true majesty.  A gift best enjoyed in silence.

   Though I am not prepared to enter the seclusion of the monastery as Thomas Merton did, I seek silence in my spiritual life.  In quiet prayer and contemplation I find a closer relationship with my Lord.  In the stillness I better feel His presence within me.  Though I will never experience the life of a hermit and would not want to, the silent times are very important to me.  In quiet prayer and meditation I close my eyes, open my heart and experience the joy of having God in my life.  In the quiet I commune with the Lord.

   The sunrise, the sunset, the gentle rain showers and even the occasional thunderstorm speaks to His majesty.  In silence I dream of the glory to come in His heavenly kingdom.

Lord, You give us a mere glance at Your glory.

And still I am in awe of the splendor I see.

The true extent of Your majesty remains hidden.

I pray for the day it will be revealed.

Imagine

   “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him,” (1 Cor 2: 9)

   I recently watched the movie “I Can Only Imagine”, the story behind the incredible hit Christian song written by Bart Millard and performed by MercyMe.  I rarely offer suggestions about movies but I strongly recommend this one.  Without giving away the whole story it is a movie about an extremely difficult relationship between a father and son and how that relationship led to the writing of the song.

   Anyone who has had a difficult relationship with another, particularly a loved one or family member can relate to this movie.  For several years my father and I were estranged; we had no relationship.  Sadly there was no healing before his death.  For years I’ve regretted that no resolution was possible.  Though we never reconciled in life, I continue to pray that Dad found God before his death.  It would be a dream come true if we were able to meet again and be the father and son we should have been in this life.

   The Holy Spirit can heal many things including difficult relationships.  No matter the issue or how long it has persisted there is always hope for healing.  With God all things are possible.  “I Can Only Imagine" is a beautiful example of God’s healing power.

   I caution only one thing.  If you choose to watch this movie you might want to have a good supply of tissues on hand.  I believe you will need them.

Lord, our lives can become so confused.

Human relationships can be difficult.

Help us to seek resolution wherever possible.

If not in this life, then in the next.

Amen

Two Ways

   Each day I am faced with two options.  I can choose to live in God’s will or allow earthly temptations to pull me from Him.  These choices continue throughout the day forcing a decision on which way to turn.  I pray each morning that God will strengthen me to seek His will and reject the enticements of this world.  I pray that He will forgive me my failings.

   Some choices are easy.  I’m certain that Satan and his demons recognize that there are some things I will not do; commit murder for instance.  Therefore it is a waste of their effort to even try to tempt me in that respect.  I believe their plan is a very simple one; take one small step at a time.  Tempt me to sin in a way that I may fall into, perhaps a little white lie, or a glance too long at an attractive woman.  If they are successful in small matters, their temptations will take a step up.  They will test with other, more dangerous temptations.

   Therefore I must constantly be on guard.  It’s not the big horrific sins I am concerned with as much as the little things that over time add up.  I am never going to support abortion, but I must take care to not excuse anyone who does.  To support those who sanction grievous sin is to add support to the sin itself.  Satan must love the argument many make in this regard; “I’m against abortion but it’s not my place to tell others what to believe or how to live.”

   I read once that a part-time Christian will never defeat the full-time onslaught of the evil one.  Unless every moment of my day is guided by the will of God and the rejection of the other my soul is at risk.  I will fail at times I know.  But the Father will forgive and the Holy Spirit is within, helping me recognize my failures, giving me strength to try harder.

Lord help me focus on Your will.

Strengthen me to reject the temptations of this world.

Send Your Holy Spirit to guide me.

Lead me in the path of righteousness.

Amen

Give All to God

   “Do You Yourself in kindness dispose of me, my thoughts and actions, according to Your good pleasure, so that Your will may always be done by me and in me and concerning me”. (St. Anselm)

   God doesn’t want just part of me, He wants all of me.  As in a sacramental marriage the husband and wife abandon themselves to each other and become one, God wants me to abandon myself to Him and His will for me.  Anything less is not acceptable.

   Very early in Christianity there were quite a few hermits, those who withdrew from the world completely.  These men and women many times gave up wealth and property to live their lives in total dedication to God.

   Not everyone is called to such rigorous lifestyles in their service to God.  Many are called to matrimony, the priesthood or other religious orders.  Some serve in various ways in the church supporting those in need and helping in whatever way they can.  They a secular life, but one devoted to Him.  All they do is offered to Him in love.

   In any relationship there are sacrifices; there are times when we do what the other desires rather than force our own wants upon them.  A relationship with God requires the same.  God has blessed us in so many ways, yet so many seem to think it is their due.  

   We can’t buy His blessings but we can thank Him in the way we live our life.  We can offer ourselves to Him and follow His will.  This is the path to heaven; to sacrifice for our Lord as His Son Jesus sacrificed for us.

Father, You have blessed us in so many ways.

Yet we ignore You and Your will.

Give us the wisdom to seek Your will.

Give us the love and the courage to follow it.

Amen

Good Works

   “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works in dead.”  (James 2: 26)

   Some people claim that Saint James placed too much importance on works.  Some even went so far as to say that he claimed we could earn our way to heaven by good works.  I must believe that they have never read the entire letter of St. James but have just extracted a quote here and there.

   When a person accepts God’s ways in their life it is only natural that they will try to act in the will of God.  Jesus told us that we must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and infirm.  As Christians we are expected to do these “good works”.  We are to recognize Jesus in those who need our help and in helping them we are also serving Christ.  If not, we will be turned away at the judgment.  “Truly I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.  And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matt 25: 45 – 46).

   Good works are important and, I believe necessary, in the life of a Christian.  However, all the good works in the world won’t get anyone to heaven.  Only faith can open those doors.  But how strong and true is our faith if the good Jesus asks of us is ignored.  We become like the hypocrites who talk a good game but never take any action.

   St. Teresa of Calcutta is the perfect example.  She had incredible faith and it showed in her lifetime of devotion to helping the poor.  Hers’ is the example we are to follow.

Father our faith is sometimes weak.

We ask You to strengthen it.

We sometimes overlook those in need.

Help us to see Christ in them and provide.

Amen

Is God Enough?

“All things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9: 23)

   During the great depression in this country there were those who jumped from the windows of high-rise buildings to their death.  Their wealth had disappeared overnight.  They saw no hope and couldn’t face life without their wealth.  For whatever reason they could not or would turn to God in their distress.  God was not enough for them to go on.

   When faced with a terrible, perhaps terminal illness some seek what is called “assisted suicide” because they believe there will be no quality of life.  God is not enough.  Others turn to God for support.  They offer their suffering to Him and pray for His comfort and peace in their final days.  Even though they know the pain and death that awaits them, they trust in God to see them through.  For them God is enough.

   I realized the importance of this truth when I lost my wife of forty-eight years a few months ago.  I was totally lost. I had no idea of how to go on or even if I could go on.  How was I to live without her?  My whole life was I turmoil.

   Thankfully, in faith, I turned to God.  I can’t image a pain worse than that of losing her, but God has carried me through.  I still love her and miss her terribly and will for the rest of my life.  But I know that God is with me and He will comfort me in the sorrow and pain.  My greatest desire is to live my life in His will and be re-united with her when this life is over.  Together, the two of us will spend eternity sharing the love God has given us and praising Him for all things.

   There is no way to know when tragedy will strike or how devastating that tragedy might be.  The only thing certain is that God will always be there for us.  He will give us comfort, mercy and peace.  And yes, God is enough.

Lord, You are there for us.

Regardless of the cross we bear,

You strengthen us to carry it.

Your love and mercy is enough.

Amen