These were the words from the devotional Jesus Callings by Sarah Young that I listened to recently. “Refuse to worry!” They struck me. All of a sudden, a habit I viewed as out of my control was thrust back at me. Do you have a choice when it comes to worry? Worry just comes on us. We do not choose it. It is a feeling. Or is it? Jesus told his followers “do not worry.” If it were simply a feeling or something out of our control, perhaps he would have taken a different approach. The fact is worry is a choice. When we choose to worry, it has…
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Power
There are few choices more powerful than forgiveness. It removes further self-inflicted poison from the lips of the victim. It creates an opportunity for new beginnings. It sets offender and offended free. It initiates the healing process. Forgiveness. It is love in action. It liberates from the inside out. It starts the perpetrated on a new path. It turns the eyes of the guilty heavenward in utter awe and faith. There are few decisions more influential than forgiveness.
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My Favorite Thing About Jesus
There are some great things to love about Jesus. He told awesome stories. He helped people. He inspires people to live better lives. He did miracles. He pushed back against an oppressive religious system. But, for me, there is one thing I love about Jesus above all else. One thing stands out above all the rest. One thing is consistent through multiple stories of Scripture. My favorite thing about Jesus is how sinners enjoyed being in his presence. It is so fascinating to me. People who lived lives very different from Jesus, were not put off by his perfection. They actually wanted to be around him. In fact, they loved…
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Hearing God’s Voice
A friend once shared with me that God was calling him to move across the country and go to seminary. I responded by asking him, “What is her name?” He then told me the name of the girl he was interested in. There is a skepticism to the idea of hearing God’s voice. At least for me, I struggle a bit with the concept, both in my life and when I hear others talk about hearing from God. Can God speak so specifically to us? Does God want to speak directly to us? No matter our background view on this subject, we must learn to align our views with Scripture, rather…
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Killing Time
~ by Leo Rock SJ How do I kill time? Let me count the ways. By worrying about things over which I have no control. Like the past. Like the future. By harboring resentment and anger over hurts real or imagined. By disdaining the ordinary or, rather, what I so mindlessly call ordinary. By concern over what’s in it for me, rather than what’s in me for it. By failing to appreciate what is because of might-have-beens, should-have-beens, could-have-beens. These are some of the ways I kill time. Jesus didn’t kill time. He gave life to it. His own.
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Doubt
Welcome to Good Friday. Are you suppose to say that with excitement? It may surprise some of my friends, but there was a time in my life that I doubted my faith…to the point of considering leaving. I had so many questions, most of which only led to more questions, rather than answers. At that point in my life, I felt very distant from God. I didn’t know how to continue following Jesus. The doubt was overwhelming. Have you ever been there? Ever had doubts about God? It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone. So what happened? Well, there is an important step to leaving Jesus. Where are you going to go?…
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A Struggler’s Prayer
Thank you, God, for this opportunity to trust you.
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Spiritual Life Planning
I’m looking to make some changes. Doing some spiritual life planning. What do you do to be intentional about your spiritual growth? How are you growing closer to Jesus? What habits do you have? What spiritual disciplines are a regular part of your life? What do you read?
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Meditation of the Heart
“How’s your heart?” A friend asked me this recently. He was talking in the spiritual and emotional health sense, rather than the physical. I was reading Psalm 19 this morning and it made me think of this. Have you ever noticed your heart focused on the negative, unhelpful or insignificant? This week, choose to focus your heart on things of significance. “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” ~ Psalm 19:14
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Love to Action. Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! This is the time of year that we celebrate the birth of Jesus. This is a celebration of God’s love. Unlike the “love” we are used to seeing, characterized only by feelings, God’s love for us led him to action. So he came down to live among us. Then he died and rose again. As we celebrate this love in action, what is your love for others leading you to do? In the coming year, what will you do as a result of your passions? Who will you show love to? May you have a Merry Christmas and may your love lead you to action this next year.