Jesus Freak!

"Not everyone who says to me: Lord! Lord! will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father in Heaven. Many will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not speak in your name? Did we not cast out devils and perform many miracles in your name?" Then I will tell them openly: I have never known you; away from me, you evil people!" - Matthew 7:21-23

Why is it that I am met with so much resistance when I want to pray with someone or talk about God? It seems to me that I would have more friends and people wanting to talk to me if I spoke about wild nights and getting wasted as opposed to the fact that God wants to be everything for us… He wants to make up for the friend that betrayed you, give you love for the partner that doesn't show you affection, be a crutch when you need support. Yet the people that don't want to hear about God now become expert knee-benders, church goers, and bible-holders when an accident leaves a loved one in a coma, when a serious illness hits, when someone goes to jail, or someone is about to lose their house because they can't pay their bills. Where are they when life is good? The fact is, that soon or in a couple of years, I, like each and every single one of you, am going to die, and on that day, I will have to face my God, and on that day, I WILL NOT care about who calls me a "Jesus freak" today, who avoids talking to me because I want to talk about the love of God, or who tries telling me that I should take things easy. The only thing I care about, that matters to me, is that when I die, Jesus will know who I am. Therefore, I am NOT compromising on my faith and I WILL continue to try to do the will of God, because as far as I am concerned, when I call out "Lord! Lord!" I'm getting through those doors and joining all the other Jesus freaks!

Today's Prayer:
Jesus, it is so hard to live with Your joy and do Your will when most of the people around me only seek their own needs and desires. Help us to remember that this life is short and in order to live it righteously we need to put ourselves aside and do as You have taught us. Give us the strength to persevere. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Rely Only On God

"Do not worry and say: What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? Or: What shall we wear? The pagans busy themselves with such things; but your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Set your heart first on the kingdom and justice of God and all these things will also be given to you." - Matthew 6:31-33

Today was the third time in the past week that I've shared this verse so I felt that it was a sign to write about it. We all worry about the future and making it financially. There are so many things we need and every day can be a struggle, but I am a firm believer in what Jesus says here - set your heart first on the kingdom and justice of God and all will be given to you. If you hesitate, it means you're not having complete confidence in God. You don't see the results because you're not showing faith, you're not trusting. It is our faith that activates the power of God and until you start showing that faith, you won't see God working in the way He wants to. He'll only go as far as you let Him, so remove those mental obstacles.

Finances aren't the only reason to set your heart on God first. I've been speaking to people that want to change, that are struggling to be better but get stuck on trying to do it themselves. We can't do anything on our own. It is all by the grace of God. That's why, again, set your heart first on the kingdom and justice of God and all else will be given to you. You really, really need to take this message in: Our God is a good and powerful God - the ONLY thing we need to do is focus on Him and every single thing we need He will take care of, He wants to take care of… a new job, a new car, a spouse, a family, health, happiness, finances… all of these things He will handle for you if you just focus on Him!

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, teach me to stop relying solely on myself when it is You that give me all I have, even the air I breathe. Teach me to trust in You and set my heart on Your kingdom and justice. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Sinners In The Church

In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus tells a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven. He teaches about a King who wanted to celebrate the wedding of his son. He invited the most prestigious guests, but they refused to attend after multiple invitations. Jesus says of the king, "then he said to his servants: 'The wedding banquet is prepared, but the invited guests were not worthy. Go, then, to the crossroads and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast.' The servants went out at once into the streets and gathered everyone they found, good and bad alike, so that the hall was filled with guests."

I have a tough time when people tell me they don't go to church because they don't do anything bad and don't see why they need to go. It's always worse when they add "I see the people that go to church and they're all bad people! I know who they really are!" First of all, ALL of us are sinners and therefore there is not one among us that has the right to pass that kind of judgment upon anyone else. And second of all, if this is your attitude about why you don't go to church, then guess who the guest was that refused to attend the wedding banquet?

God has called each and every one of us to enjoy His banquet and many of us fail to attend but instead put those down that do attend. "Oh, so and so is doing this, I don't know what he's doing in a church," or "I'm not even half as bad as the people there, so why should I go?" This is just like when the pharisees got angry and they complained about Him eating with sinners - Jesus didn't come for the healthy. He came to heal the sick and if you feel that you're not a sinner and feel yourself more righteous than others, you better take a closer look at your life for I don't know a single person that does not need healing from Jesus Christ.

Everyone that attends church, whether good or bad, whether honest or a total hypocrite, is there because God invited ALL to attend. He knows what He's doing and He knows what He has planned for everyone in there, and I'll tell you one thing, you may feel like a better person than the people in there, but God is more likely to work in those that make the effort each Sunday than in those that don't. Don't worry about anyone else in there, only yourself and where you stand with God.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, please grant that I may not pass judgment upon anyone else, especially those that go to mass to find You. Forgive me for my shortcomings and help me see everyone as You see them. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

Set Your Heart On The Kingdom

"Which of you can add a day to his life by worrying about it? Why are you so worried about your clothes? Look at the flowers in the fields how they grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his wealth was clothed like one of these. If God so clothes the grass in the field which blooms today and is to be burned tomorrow in an oven, how much more will he clothe you? What little faith you have! Do not worry and say: What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? Or: what shall we wear? The pagans busy themselves with such things; but your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Set your heart first on the kingdom and justice of God and all these things will also be given to you." - Matthew 6:27-33

One of the most difficult things we have to learn as Christians is to let go and surrender our problems to the Lord. Sure, being nice to someone we don't like is kinda hard, but when our back is against the wall and we can't seem to figure out what to do in our lives, it almost feels impossible to not worry and tell Jesus, "I trust in You to help me through this."

Jesus rebukes us by saying, "What little faith you have," and it's at times like this that we realize it's true. Our faith is lacking if we do not believe that God has each and every single one our worries, our burdens, our anxieties at heart. Each problem that you are facing, He is already planning a solution for!

Tell me who has ever really trusted in the Lord and has been let down? Moses and the Jews faced the Red Sea while Ramses and his army followed behind, but the Lord showed His power by parting the seas and creating a way for them, so imagine what He can do for you! Take the example from Jesus - even the flowers in the field are beautiful and well taken care of, so why would the Lord ever abandon you who mean so much more to Him?

His plan might not be to make us materially rich and afford all of the things we want, but His plan is to give us a life full of substance and joy, which is far more valuable. If this is the life you want to lead, then do as Jesus says and set your heart on Him first, and God will be sure to take care of every one of your needs.

Pray to Him every morning and every night. Abandon yourself in Him! Tell Him He is your savior and your God in whom you trust! I promise you that if you do this, no matter what trials you face, you WILL see the hand of God at your side taking care of you!

Today's Prayer:
My God, I don't have the strength to carry on and my troubles are constantly weighing me down. But You know I want to trust in You. Please give me the strength to follow through on what You ask of me and and fill me with Your joy along the way. In Your Name we pray, Amen.