Rest in the Lord’s Love

Lord, my soul rests in Your love.

Though I sin, You forgive me.

I am unworthy, but still You accept me.

Your love, O Lord, is my comfort and my joy.

Help me walk with You.

Guide my path in Your ways.

Protect me from the temptations of this world.

Help me prepare for the glory of the next.

I stumble in my weakness,

But You bring me back to the path.

I am sorely tempted by the evil one,

But You give me the strength to resist.

I need only dedicate myself to You,

And you will bless me greatly.

In You I want to rest,

In Your house I want live.

Lord, I offer myself to You.

All that I am, all that I’ll ever be.

Use me, I pray, to further Your glory.

Make me a sign of Your love.

Be the Evangelist

   “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold I am with you always, to the close of the age.”  (Matt 28: 19-20)

   This is the commission Jesus gave to His apostles.  He tasked them with evangelizing the whole world in His name.  All but John would be martyred in following Jesus’ wish to spread the Gospel far and wide.  They knew that bringing salvation to the world was worth dying for.

   As we look around today we see many things wrong in our world.  Morality seems to be virtually non-existent.  It would be easy to conclude that perhaps God should bring another flood and wash away the sin and depravity.  Yet God promised Noah that He would never again destroy all in a flood.  He had a plan and His plan was Jesus.

   I believe one reason we see so much evil in the world is because that is what is shown to us.  Newspapers, magazines, television and the internet are full of the bad but rarely show us the good.  There good is there, it just doesn’t sell as well as evil.  People seem to be more interested in the violence, sexuality and perversion of our society than in the love, caring and morality that we should be focused on.  Satin is alive and well in this world.

   We, just as the apostles, have a responsibility to Jesus to spread His word.  If we share the joy of our faith and love of God perhaps we can make some small change in the world.  If we speak up for the good and denounce the evil maybe we can influence others to do the same.  The thing we cannot do is drift along letting Satan have his way.  If we do, we are failing in our mission to evangelize the world.

   Jesus said He would be with us always, until the end of the age.  This age we live in is only temporary.  We truly are the Pilgrim Church; sojourners in a foreign land.  When we reject the evil and promote the good we are doing the work Jesus asks of us.  Our life is to be an example to others of the love and mercy of God.  We are the evangelists who can change the world one person at a time.

   “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  (Luke 15:10) 

Do It Anyway 

We live in an imperfect world.  As Christians we try follow God's will in our lives.  We strive to see Jesus in everyone and treat them as children of God.  But our efforts are often met with resistance; we are laughed at, ridiculed, and even persecuted for living as God teaches. 

Those with no faith try to tell us we are naïve and childish.  They would have us restrict our faith to church and home alone.  According to some God has no place in the public square and we have no right to put our faith on display.  At times it can be tempting to go along; to just keep our faith to ourselves to avoid conflict.  Yet that is a denial of God and His place in our lives and our world. 

Difficulty in living our faith is to be expected.  Christianity has never been nor ever will be an easy path.  Our Lord told us that would have crosses to bear as we follow Him.  How should we react to a world that wishes to silence our faith and our way of life?  We continue to live it anyway. 

The following poem is attributed to Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta.  By following this example and living by these words we can be assured that God will strengthen us in our efforts. 

“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. 

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. 

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

  If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.  

  What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.  

   If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.  

   The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.  

   Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway. 

  In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway." 

Spiritual Darkness

   Many great saints have gone through periods of darkness of spirit.  They uniformly tell us that these times are when we most need to turn to God.  These periods when we feel alone and without God can be very difficult.  We may even we wonder if He has abandoned us.  Even though we can’t seem to feel Him within us He is still there.  He has never left us and the darkness will depart.  Perhaps these times are meant to help us better understand His love for us when the period of spiritual dryness has passed.

   When they come we can use them to strengthen our faith by remaining confident in His love and continuing to pray and live our life accordingly.  Otherwise these dark times can harm or even destroy our faith.  Satan likes nothing more than convincing us that God is no longer there; that He has abandoned us and will never return.

   As long as we cling to His love it will bring us through these difficult periods.  He is there with us during these hard times as well as the good.  Put your faith in Him and never doubt His presence, especially during the periods of darkness. 

Temptation

   “Be sober, be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5: 8)

   This description of Satan perfectly fits the events of our society today.  Everywhere we turn he is there tempting us.  He will certainly devour us if we aren’t diligent in our efforts to thwart his attacks.  His methods are many and enticing.  He wants us to believe that our happiness depends on the things of this world rather than the things of God.

   From the beginning of time Satan has been tempting us.  Some have succumbed, some have resisted.  Those who overcame the temptation strengthened their relationship with God; those who failed lessened and perhaps destroyed that relationship.  Humanity will be subject to the temptations of the devil until the end of time.  Only when Jesus returns in glory will Satan and his temptations end.

   I suspect that even Mary, the Mother of God, considered whether or not to believe the message of Gabriel.  As a young Jewish woman she knew her pregnancy would be seen as evidence of adultery for which she could be stoned.  Yet she accepted God’s will for her and became the mother of Jesus.  We, as the adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus, are also her adopted children.

   Joseph was tempted to reject Mary when he found her to be pregnant.  Yet, he believed God’s messenger when told that Mary was to be the Mother of God and took her into his home, becoming a husband to her and father to our Lord.

   “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” (Matt 4: 1).  Even our Lord was tempted.  Jesus was incapable of sin so why allow the temptation?  I believe Jesus permitted it in order to provide us an example of how to avoid sin.  If we face the temptation and respond as He did we can reject Satan and his encouragement to sin.

   How do we react when tempted?  Satan would want us to equate the temptation with having sinned.  If successful in convincing us that temptation alone is sinful then he is much more likely to convince us to consummate the sin by our action.  Temptation is simply an effort by the devil to get us to sin.  If we resist, confident in the strength and help available to us through our Lord and Savior we can reject him and avoid the sins he would have us commit.

   “Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world.  And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish and strengthen you.” (1 Peter 5: 9-10)

Serve One Another

   “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.   For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.”  (John 13: 13-14)

   Some of the happiest people are those who have chosen to put the needs and desires of others above their own.  Marriages based on the needs of one’s partner are much more likely to be happy and life-long than those based on selfish desires or wants.  Parents who put the needs of their children first raise children who know they are loved.

 

   True friendship involves sacrificing time, effort and perhaps money to help a friend.  Not as a loan or expecting favors in return but out of love.  Friendship isn’t based on who has done the most for the other but on the willingness to be there when needed.  These are the life-long friendships which so enrich our lives.

   Have you ever had the opportunity to help a stranger in need?  If so, you may have found that they were amazed that anyone would do such a thing.  Why would you, a stranger, bother to help someone you didn’t know?  The fact that such an act draws amazement is a sad statement on our society.  We should look for the opportunity to help others with no thought of repayment or even thanks.  Helping others is what Christians are supposed to do.  This is how we share the love of God.

   If you read of people who have lived their lives in this manner you find a great number of saints.  Those who are willing to sacrifice for others truly live their lives as an example of Jesus’ love.  When we look at Him upon the cross we see the love He has for us and the sacrifice He was willing to make to offer us salvation.  He didn’t owe us anything and all He asked in return was love of Him and to share His love with others.

   Love has become such a distorted concept in our society that it’s difficult to truly understand the love God has for us.  But if we follow His example and love everyone, serving them as Jesus served the disciples at the last supper perhaps we can begin to teach society what true love means; the giving of ones self to others.

Inescapable God

   “O Lord, you have searched me and known me!  You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.” (Psalm 139; 1-2)

   Psalm 139 is one of my favorite psalms.  I’m strengthened by the fact that nothing we do, nothing we say, not even our thoughts are unknown to God.  He is within us and around us.  He is all encompassing.  To know this brings great comfort because if He is always with us then He is there when we need Him.  The blessing of knowing that we can turn to God at any time helps me when things are difficult.  I know that regardless of worldly concerns and troubles our God will strengthen me and help me through any problem.

   “For you formed my inward parts, you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, for I am wondrously made.” (Psalm 139: 13-14).  From the beginning of time God has known us.  He determined the date of our birth and the date of our death in this world.  Jesus told the disciples, “But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. (Matt 10: 30).  God has planned every second of our lives according to His will.  It is our decision to accept His will and live with Him in eternity or reject it and spend eternity without Him.

   “If I ascend to heaven, you are there!  If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.  (Psalm 139: 8-10).  Regardless of where we go, He is there waiting to help us and guide us home.

   Some would try to escape God, choosing to live their life without Him.  They will never have the joy and peace of knowing Him.  We choose to seek Him and follow Him home.  We shall spend eternity in the company of our loving God.

   “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!  If I would count them, they are more than the sand.” (Psalm 139: 17-18)