Our Personal Commandments

"Keep your own belief before God, and happy are you if you never act against your own belief." - Romans 14:22

One thing I know for sure is that God speaks to each and every one of us. We're just not used to quietening ourselves to listen to His voice. But when we're silenced, with our focus on God, there He speaks to us in our hearts and in our conscience. We know the ten commandments and the beatitudes, but as individuals, there are commandments God has put into our hearts. For example, there may be nothing wrong with music, but lately, I've been feeling bad in my soul when I listen to a rap song with a lot of curses; I feel my spirit sadden within me. This is a belief that God has put into my heart that I must listen to.

And you, examine your heart, examine your mind. Is there something that God is telling you? Is there something you feel you shouldn't be doing or should do? Just because something isn't written in the 10 Commandments doesn't mean it's not wrong for you and that God isn't calling you to stay away from it. That's why Saint Paul stresses us here to keep those beliefs God has put in our hearts. It is the voice of God within you, speaking to you. Don't ignore it. When God speaks to us, it's to help us, not to harm us, so please listen and take heed. Happy are you if you never act against those beliefs.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, I know You speak to me in the silence and You come through so loud and clear. Thank You for giving me personal direction in my life and help me follow Your will for me. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Who Are You?

"Now it happened, while Jesus was at table in Matthew's house, many tax collectors and other sinners joined Jesus and his disciples." - Matthew 9:10

A common saying is tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are. I've never believed in that much but there is some truth to it. We tend to have similar behaviors, beliefs and interests as our friends. However, it does happen that a lot of times, we end up adopting the same behaviors, beliefs and interests as our friends if our friends are very influential people. If our friends are smart, outgoing, and love having fun in good way, then that's a great thing to look up to people like that. Unfortunately, in the majority of cases, the opposite occurs. We become friends with people that influence us in a bad way, and we end up falling into the same vices as other people. We lose our integrity, who we really are because we weren't strong enough in ourselves to hold firm to how we were raised and what we believe in.

Take a look at Jesus' life. He hung out with sinners. In this verse, He was having dinner with sinners. But instead of this being a bad thing because where Jesus could have fallen into their ways, He met with them, spent His time with them and they became tranformed for the better. Jesus spent time with Matthew, a tax collector who was seen as evil, and Matthew became a better person. Jesus spent time with Mary Magdalene, who was said to have 7 demons, and she came out a better person. In none of these cases did Jesus compromise who He was and what He believed in, instead, He did not waiver and served as the catalyst for a positive change in His friends.Today, think about who you are with your various groups of friends. Who are you most yourself around and who do you compromise your values and beliefs for? Realize that when you compromise your values to adapt yourself to someone else, you are wrong. Take Jesus as an example and be one, strong person around everyone you're with, or else, not even you know who you really are.

Today's Prayer:
My God, search my heart and show me if I am compromising myself around others. Help me to be true to myself and to You. Help me to influence others for good, instead of letting me be influenced by sin. In Your Name we pray, amen.