Just Keep On Praying

"As for the Eleven disciples, they went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Jesus, they bowed before Him, although some doubted." - Matthew 28:16-17

While Jesus lived with the apostles, they doubted Him. When He was crucified, they lost all their hope. When He resurrected, they still doubted. Even after spending 40 days with them after His resurrection, they still doubted! It doesn't even matter that they saw Him with their own eyes! Dumb apostles, right? If they're dumb, so are we! It's the same thing with us. How many times hasn't God come through for us, on the big things and the small, yet the next time a problem rolls around… bam… we're down on the floor worried that God won't be there for us! But you know what… it's ok! Jesus knew them, He knew what was in their hearts and He didn't reprimand them for it and that's because although they had questions in their head, they were still there praying. You see, that's all that really matters, that we keep on praying, even if a billion questions are stuck in our head. Just keep on praying.

Today's Prayer:
Jesus, You have to put up with so much from me! I doubt and turn my back on You, but You're always there to take me back. Please, never let me stay fallen down for too long. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Hesitation

"The angel came to her and said, 'Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.' Mary was troubled at these words." - Luke 1:28-29

Let's be honest - whenever someone invites us to pray, go to a prayer group, or go to church, our first reaction is to think/say "mmm, thanks, but no thanks." Something about getting closer to God makes us put up a wall automatically. That may be because we know that a call from God means change. There is work to be done and we don't like that. We don't want to give anything up and we don't want to change the comfort of our current lives. God has called many of you and that call, like the angel appearing to Mary, was sweet; it brought good news. But quickly we start to think "oh no, I don't want to have to change anything" and the good God intends for us we turn into a problem.

Mary's concern for her own life was no different than ours. Imagine being young and single and then ending up pregnant with no partner. A lot of times the call of God will put us in a very uncomfortable situation which will make us prefer to stay the way we are. However, part of you knows you can't really do that… inside you *know* what the right move should be on your part. Although Mary was troubled, she knew she had to accept the call of God and do His will. Even though she was going to face a lot of hardships and go from a comfortable life to a very hard one, she said yes and we all know what came out of that acceptance. How about you, though? Are you hearing a call from God to open up a little more to Him? Are you feeling troubled and battling with stepping forward and really giving God the chance to tell you what He wants to do next? Let go of what's holding you back and say yes. We all get scared but what God has on the other side of your doubts and hesitations is great blessings for you like you've never even imagined!

Today's Prayer:
Lord, I have this battle that goes on within me between wanting to serve You more and wanting to stay comfortable the way that I am. I know in my heart I need to give more of myself to You but I don't want to give up so many things in my life. Be with me as I live each day so that You can keep reminding me of Your love and Your call. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Seeing Is Not Believing

"If today you hear His voice, do not be stubborn, as at Meribah, in the desert, on the day at Massah, when your fathers challenged me, and they put me to the test. For forty years they wearied me and I said, 'They are a people of inconstant heart; they have not known my ways.' So I declared on oath in my anger, 'Never shall they enter my rest.'" - Psalm 95:8-11

My mom and I were talking in the kitchen the other day about how good God is and she said, "I really can't judge Moses, but I don't understand how he saw the power of God and how He released the Jews, yet he doubted in God in the desert." After seeing a staff turn into a snake, rivers turn into blood, many other plagues and the red sea part, Moses doubted God and because of this he never saw the Promised Land. This got me thinking about faith and signs. So many people want to put God to the test and make Him prove His existence or His power as a condition for them to believe, but this really goes against all God is. Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. No where in there does it say that faith is the result of what your eyes tell you. Jesus said that only an evil and unbelieving people want a sign. This tells me that those who are going to believe in God do not need any visual proof, all they need to do is let their hearts experience the truth when it comes across it. If even Moses, who witnessed so many wonders doubted, what are signs going to do for us if we don't accept God in our hearts and minds? So many people were healed when Jesus asked "do you believe?" Only after they said yes were they actually healed.

Instead of working on what our eyes tell us, let's work on what our hearts tell us. When Jesus resurrected and went to visit the apostles, He told Thomas that he believes in Him because he touched and saw His wounds, but fortunate are those who have not seen and yet believe - that could be me and you.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, forgive my weak nature. Overlook my doubts and failure to trust You when I put my reliance in my own senses over confidence in Your power. Build me stronger so that I can truly be fortunate before Your eyes. In Jesus' Name we pray, amen.

Open the Door

"Look, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my call and opens the door, I will come in to him and have supper with him, and he with me." - Revelations 3:20

Now with Christmas approaching, we are reminded to keep Christ in Christmas. We are reminded of the baby Jesus lying in a manger and how we need to pay attention to that infant and what He did in our lives. But all of you have gone past this and now are being called to a more advanced relationship with Jesus Christ. So now, during advent, I want you to instead think of the resurrected Jesus speaking to Saint John in the book of Revelations, saying, "Look, I stand at the door and knock." We all need to welcome Jesus in and finally open that door this time of year. Do away with the past and allow for Him to finally step in through the door, not just waiting for you outside while you decide what to do with your doubts and hesitations. And if you do this, He promises to come in to your heart and be with you. Who doesn't need healing? Who doesn't need the reassurance of a loving God? Who doesn't need direction and wholeness? This is what Jesus is knocking on your door to give you. Not to take anything from you, but to give to you what you have always been most in need of.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I welcome You through my door. Sometimes it's scary to give up control to You, but I know in my heart that what You give me is life. Help me keep that door open and help others open it as well. In Your Name we pray, amen.

You Gotta Have Faith!

"But Jesus again spoke to the woman, 'Your faith has saved you; go in peace.'" - Luke 7:50

There are four gospels covering the life of Jesus and in each of them, He heals numerous people. He also walked on water and multiplied food for people. Sometimes we see these miracles as a one-sided street - God does all the work - when in reality, we do about 50% of it. Read this verse above, whose faith saved the woman? Her own! She had to believe it for it to happen. Read Jesus' miracles in the gospels. To almost every blind, dumb, mute, paralytic sick person, Jesus said "as you have believed" before healing them. If you believe a little, then you are setting yourself up for a little. Jesus told Peter to walk out to Him in the water and when his faith started to fade, Peter began to sink. Jesus knew why it happened and asked Peter why he doubted. All you want out of life, out of your God is already in your hands. Jesus has given it all to you and it is truthfully up to you to ask and expect it. Many of you doubt when you ask for things and what you're really doing is giving God so little room for Him to do anything. You have to give God room to do His thing! Give Him something to work with! From now on, ask God in true faith for something and expect it. Give thanks for it because if you believe, it will come. If it delays, keep expecting because it will come! And if it doesn't come, then evaluate your own faith - when Jesus says to you "your faith has saved you" how much do you think your faith will do?

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help my weak faith. All that we could ask, You lovingly provide as long as we ask You in faith. Help us let go of our doubts and open our hearts to You. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Led Into Exile

"And Yahweh says, 'When you call on me, I will listen. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.' For Yahweh says, 'I will gather you from among all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you and bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.'" - Jeremiah 29:12-14

Sometimes we get so lost when it comes to God. It feels as though we're abandoned by Him and its such a lonely and scary feeling. This is being in exile and sometimes the Lord sends us off into a place where we feel this abandonment so that we can become stronger in that place; we can learn to rise above our own problems and fears. But it is the Lord who sends us there, sometimes because He wants to strengthen our faith and other times because we need to be corrected and pass through trials to be cleansed and purified. Although we are in this foreign place in our lives, God always knows where we are. He makes sure we absorb what we need from there and then He gathers us back into His love. But here's the key to this - "when you search for me with all your heart." If you haven't taken the time to develop your faith to the point that you learn to stand on your own two feet, you will not be drawn back from exile because you are not searching with all your heart. If you have been cast off into exile because you have committed a grave sin before the eyes of the Lord and you do not recognize that sin and repent, you will not be drawn back from exile since you have yet to search with all of your heart. Searching with all of your heart is to put the Lord in first place. You're in exile - how much longer until you realize that you cannot make it on your own? Searching with all of your heart is to do away with the doubting, the selfishness, and the control of your will and surrendering it to God…only then are you really, truly searching. Don't lie to yourself and say that you do look for God, but in the back of your mind want an excuse to validate your own will and your own doubts. It doesn't work that way! If you are in exile, if you feel abandoned, you need to recognize that your one and only true source of life is the Lord. Look for that source and He will let Himself be found by you. He can only work the miracles and bring you the blessings when you let go of what's holding you back. He will listen to you. You will have God's ear and compassion when you just give up the control to Him. Just by seeking Him in this way, He brings you close again to where He is. Your fears, pains, worries, loneliness…this all disappears when He gathers you back from where He sent you. The reward is to be that close to your creator who seeks to bless you and guide you through all the scary parts of life and all the good as well.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I seek to surrender myself to You. Gather me back Lord, and bring me close to where I can be guided and led by You. Grant me the blessing of letting Yourself be found by me and having Your ear when I cry out to You. Let this always be the desire on my heart. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Faith That Moves Mountains

"Jesus replied, 'Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, if you say to this mountain: Get up and throw yourself into the sea, and have no doubt in your heart but believe that what you say will happen, it will be done for you.'" - Mark 11:22-23

God worked a miracle through my dad today. For those of you that don't know him, my dad is a deacon and a preacher in the Catholic Charismatic Renovation. He left for a business trip to Miami yesterday and was called in today to visit a woman in the hospital. The woman was pretty much a vegetable as she had been in a coma for a while. When my dad went in and called upon the Name of Jesus Christ to heal her, the woman awoke from her coma immediately.

Some of you may ask why you don't see these things or why God doesn't answer even the smallest petitions you ask of Him. The answer is that you do not have faith, or, as Jesus commands, you doubt instead of believe whole heartedly. But where do you get faith? How do you start believing and stop doubting? Saint Paul says in Romans 10:17 that faith comes from hearing the message of Jesus Christ. If you want faith that can move mountains, you NEED to listen to the message of Christ. Not once a week, but continually throughout the day. My dad has faith that can move mountains and awaken people from comas. Why? Because since my father started walking on the path of the Lord, there has not been one day that has passed that he is not up early in the morning to put himself in God's presence to pray and read the bible. He is not only in church once a week, but every day. He fills himself with the Word of God because he has learned that it gives life. Sometimes my boyfriend says that all my dad wants to do is pray and only God interests him - glory be to God because this is the reason God does what He does through my father.

But my father is only one man and God has so many more gifts to give and miracles to work through people like you and me. God gives abundantly to those who seek Him so why can't you be the one performing amazing deeds in the Lord's Name? Fill yourself with the Lord's presence. Dedicate your life to Him when you wake up each morning. Read the bible and listen to the Word that gives life. The glory of God is yours for the taking, but you have to do your part.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank You for the amazing gift of faith and for the miracles You work through this faith. Please help me prioritize my time so that I can put You first and fill myself with Your message. I want faith that can move mountains Lord, and need Your strength to get me there. In Your Name we pray, amen.

The Dark, Unknown Path

"The priest answered them, 'Go in peace, the journey you make is under the eye of Yahweh.'" - Judges 18:6

Life is just so difficult sometimes. There are no road maps, we only get advice that we probably won't follow. Sometimes I feel like I know what I want and what to do with my life and other times I feel so lost, so confused. It feels like I have to make such permanent decisions so fast. When we're in our late teens and 20's, the choices we make have a profound effect on the rest of our lives. Do I take this job, or even this career? Do I marry this person? Should I move to another city? Will I want this 10 years from now, or 5 years or even 1? There are so many paths to take and some are easy but a lot are painful and we might not even have the reassurance that we are doing the right thing. Are we on the right path right now? Is this where we're supposed to be?

This is why it's so important to be in constant contact with God. This journey of life is hard enough by ourselves, we need His guidance. We need Him to tell us that we're on the right path, to be in peace because He is watching us as we walk through it. There so much fear in uncertainty and in facing an unknown, daunting future, but by knowing that the Lord is with me as I go, I am comforted that I am in His hands. How scary it must be for those that don't know God…those who who let their own whims guide them; its a shot in the dark. Without guidance from God they face the next 40 or 50 years taking an unknown, shaky path. One mistake for them could cost them dearly, but putting ourselves in the Lord's presence each day is like being given a flash light to make it through this dark, unknown journey…He illuminates the path as we go.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, I know You have plans for me and my future, but help me see today how I can follow You in getting there. Sometimes I am so afraid and don't know what to do and need Your guidance in making decisions. As scary as it is, just be with me as I go so that I know I am where I need to be. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

Betraying Thoughts

"O Lord, how great in number are my foes! How numerous are they who rise against me! How many are they who say of my soul: 'There is no help for him in God.' But You are my shield, O Lord, my glory, You lift up my head." - Psalm 3:2-4

I'm not sure how many real enemies I may have but I know that my worries are many and the things that make me sad are many; they are my foes. And sometimes it feels like they all come up against me at the same time. Then, like in the psalm, these problems rise against me to tell me there is no help in God. I've been praying, kneeling in God's presence and I've heard voices in my head saying, "there is no one there, there is no one to really help you, just give in to your sadness." But you know what, I've learned two things - a. This life will always be full of problems and b. The enemy will always try to take away whatever good God is trying to give me. Although everything just feels like it's against me and I can't see a way out and I just feel so helpless and alone, I set my hopes in my God because I know He will not abandon me. It might take some time before I see these worries go away, but through my hope in Him, He gives me strength to make it through the day. It might not be the best day and things might not be going my way, but He will come through…He always has.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, You don't need to search my soul for You know the sadness and fear that lurks within. You know the betraying thoughts that float around my head, but You are bigger than this Lord and today I ask You to come and descend upon me as Your child. Guide me and show me Your love and protection. In Your Name we pray, amen.

An Exercise of Your Faith - Jesus Walks On Water

"And having sent the people away, He went up the mountain by Himself to pray." - Matthew 14:23

This message will be different than the rest and not intended to be read quickly, but to be read when you have time to think about it. We all want to be closer to God and have deeper faith and the only way to achieve this is through meditation. Meditation is not easy because our minds get noisy and it's easy to lose focus of what you're trying to reach. I picked a passage that will serve as a great backdrop for a meditation session. God gave us our imaginations and as we begin to create the following images in our minds, He will be there to guide us through and give us the blessings we need to see Him more clearly.

The passage I have chosen is of Jesus walking on water. He had been away at the mountain praying all night and then made His way over to the apostles who were on a boat. Just as Jesus was at the beginning of this passage, alone praying by Himself, so should you be when you do this exercise.

Matthew 14:23-31

"At nightfall, He was there alone. Meanwhile, the boat was very far from land, dangerously rocked by the waves for the wind was against it.

At daybreak, Jesus came to them walking on the lake. When they saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, thinking that it was a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But at once Jesus said to them, 'Courage! Don't be afraid! It's me!' Peter answered, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you walking on the water.' Jesus said to him, 'Come.' And Peter got out of the boat, walking on the water to go to Jesus. But, in face of the strong wind, he was afraid and began to sink. So he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and took hold of him, saying 'Man of little faith, why did you doubt?'"


Now, instead of Peter, it is you sitting on a chilly night on a boat while you wait for Jesus to come to you. The winds have picked up and are pushing against you for what seems like hours, just like the trouble and sorrows in your life that seem endless. Finally, when you thought you couldn't hold on any longer, you see Jesus, radiant in white, coming to you, walking on the water but with His eyes fixed on going to help you in your time of need. Holding on to your faith, but yet still afraid, you call out to the Lord and ask Him to help you get to where He is, and instead of doubting, you want Him to fill you with strength and faith so that you too can walk with Him. Jesus smiles at you, motions with His hands and says, "come." But it's not easy, you try but your problems bring you down. You fall back into the same addictions. Your financial situation brings you down and you can't think about anything else but your own worries and your own fears…and then you take your eyes off of Jesus and start to sink. But when you realize you need His help and despite the storm, you cry out to the Lord to be saved. Lovingly, Jesus is right there to pull you up by your hands and save you. Now He's holding you in His arms and you feel His embrace, His love for you, His care, His mercy, and He looks at you in the eyes and asks you, "why did you doubt?"

You will have your own answer to give to Jesus at this point, but the idea is to close your eyes and envision this, envision Him saving you in this storm and continue the dialogue with Him.

Today's prayer is that you take 20 minutes to practice this exercise in meditation and meet with the Lord who is waiting to save you on the boat and carry you through the storm to where He is.

Mother Teresa's Perseverance of Faith

I was watching the Today Show yesterday and during a segment they introduced a new book entitled, "Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the 'Saint of Calcutta.'" This book publishes many letters she wrote during her lifetime to colleagues and friends and it seems that the overall theme of the letters was her struggle with her faith. In one letter, she actually writes, "What do I labour for? If there be no God, there can be no soul, if there is no Soul then Jesus You also are not true."

While part of me feels that this book is a good example for those that struggle through the dark night of the soul, I also feel that the media and those that take every opportunity they can find to knock down religion are going to use this as an excuse to say that even someone like Mother Teresa, who dedicated her life to God, did not believe but spent her life pretending.

The truth is that we all struggle. When Paul wrote in Ephesians that our struggle is not against human forces, but the forces of evil, he was 100% right. While we're here on earth, we will go through things that will severly test our faith. The enemy is subtle and effective at making us believe that God has abandoned us and He is not faithful, but like all things that truly matter and are important, we need to continue the daily struggle with our faith.

The call to follow God is NOT something that comes easily. Day after day we need to renew our dedication and our belief that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life and by no other name shall we have eternal life. Some days we are on fire and we feel the Holy Spirit with us constantly, while other days we feel so alone and wonder why God has abandoned us. This is why Paul and the other writers of the New Testament constantly warned us about the importance of staying steadfast through these trials, because they happen to all of us. The 1st letter of Peter, chapter 2 says, "Thus will your faith be tested, like gold in a furnace, gold, however, passes away but faith, worth so much more, will bring you in the end praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ appears." He even goes on to say, "you are reaching the goal of your faith: the salvation of your souls."

So when you struggle with your faith, do not think you are alone because even the most holy people that walked the earth like Mother Teresa had the same doubts. Although her written words expressed doubt, the works of her hands expressed the most amazing faith in God. Someone that does not believe in God would never live the life that she lived or give so much of herself to those that society chooses to turn a blind eye to. If she did not believe, she would have given up her work decades ago instead of picking up her cross each day. She chose to believe that the Lord Almighty is her God and that Jesus Christ is her savior and she perservered in the faith to the very end.

My prayer is that all those that hear about this book and her struggles choose to see her as an example of someone who said yes to God every day of their lives despite doubts and adversity, instead of using this champion of the faith as another excuse to say God does not exist.

Believe In The Blood and Wounds

"Then He said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here and see my hands; stretch out your hand and put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.' Thomas then said, 'You are my Lord and my God.' Jesus replied, 'You believe because you see me, don't you? Happy are those who believe although they do not see.'" - John 21:27-29

The apostle Thomas had not been there when Jesus appeared to the rest of the apostles after His resurrection. When he heard of Jesus appearing, he said, like many of us, that he will not believe until he sees and feels the wounds of the cross with his own eyes and hands. That's why when Jesus appeared again, and Thomas was there, He asked him to touch the wounds for himself.

There are so many of us who need to see and feel in order to believe. It isn't enough that Jesus, being holy and without blame, had to suffer a painful death on the cross for us, but we also need to see and feel. Jesus, in His infinite mercy never rebuked Thomas for His lack of faith, but answers his questions and asks Thomas to come forward. If you doubt, you need to take the example of Thomas and go before Jesus to witness the marks of the Passion for yourself. For when Thomas said he needed proof, Jesus called him forward, as you need to do to respond to the call of Jesus. No one who doubts will believe by staying away, but will see the Lord by getting up and moving towards Him to experience the fruits of the resurrection. You are not punished for your lack of faith; today Thomas is a Saint. You are punished for staying away when you know you should get closer to the many wounds Jesus endured for you. Whether you choose to believe it or not, Jesus did die for you.

And for you who believe without needing to see or feel His holy wounds, work so that all around you may also believe. Pray so that His most Holy blood was not shed in vain, but that the wonderful act of the crucifixion may bring all to Him in love and unity with God. If we don't do our part for this, we are letting the devil blot out and erase the memory of the Passion of the Christ. He did not endure death for nothing.

Today's Prayer:
My Lord Jesus, open our eyes so that we may forever have before us the blood You shed and the wounds You experienced for us. Set before my eyes the sores on Your back that were ripped open with pieces of bone tied to whips, the wounds around your head from Your crown of thorns that pierced Your pure skin, letting blood run into Your eyes not letting You see as You walked, the wounds and bruises on Your shoulders from carrying my cross, the horrible holes created in Your flesh from rusty nails piercing Your hands and feet, and the cut from a sword on Your side that we helped give You on the cross. My God, You endured so much for us, please don't ever let me forget the pain You bore willingly out of love. In Your Name, we pray.