Jesus Is Lifted Up

"And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all to myself." - John 12:32



When Jesus first said these words, He was referring to His death on the cross - when He was lifted up, crucified, He drew all people into His mercy by dying for us. If you're like me, there are people who you know and love that need to accept Jesus' mercy, but it's the last thing they'll ever pay attention to. Give them up to Jesus. During each sacrifice of the Mass, Jesus is lifted up again when the priest consecrates the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. At that moment when the body is raised into the air by the priest, offer the lives of those you love to Jesus, those you worry about and those who you know need God so much. It doesn't matter how lost they are, our God is so much bigger than their disbelief. When Jesus is lifted up, you have all the power of God right there before you.



Today's Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank You for the ultimate sacrifice of dying on the cross for our sins. I ask that You keep Your promise of drawing all souls to You when You're lifted up above the earth and have mercy on those who need to believe in You. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Don't Go For Just The Surface

"Yahweh says, 'Yet even now, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, weeping and mourning. Rend your heart, not your garment.'" - Joel 12:12-13

We're all thinking about Lent and these sacrifices we're making but it's important that each of us understands what this time is really about. This is a call for us to realize that we need God and work on letting Him in to change our lives for the better. The fasting, the weeping, the mourning described are all outward signs of what's going on inside of us and that's why what God says here is so important. Don't let this time be only about what's on the outside, what you're doing out of routine. God doesn't want us to rend our garments, what's on the outside. He wants us to rend our hearts, seek a true conversion from within. He wants to see a real desire in you to follow Him. What you do on the outside for Lent, going through the motions, does not count for anything if the change isn't going on in your mind, heart, and soul. Don't give up soda, candy, smoking, or anything else you can think of if these Lenten sacrifices aren't practiced out of a sincere desire to seek God's will for your life.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, open my eyes to the things I do only in a superficial manner. Help me to put value on what You really want out of me. Help me discover what in me needs to change so that I can be a much better person in You. In Your Name we pray, amen.

My Sacrifice Is a Broken Spirit

"In Your great compassion, blot out my sin. Wash me thoroughly of my guilt; cleanse me of evil. For I acknowledge my wrongdoings and have my sin ever in mind. Against You alone have I sinned; what is evil in Your sight I have done. You take no pleasure in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, You would not delight in it. O God, my sacrifice is a broken spirit; a contrite heart You will not despise." - Psalm 51: 3-6, 18-19

Examine your conscience and think about where you have sinned today. Essentially, a sin is evil because it indicates a lack of love. We fail to love our neighbors, ourselves, and most importantly, God. Remorse for a sin should cause in us great sorrow because it is a blatant betrayal of God on our part. King David expresses his great sorrow in this psalm. He had fallen in lust with a woman, slept with her and when she came out pregnant, he had her husband put in the front lines of combat so that he would surely die and he did. Maybe we haven't gone that far, but any lack of love is a serious offense and hurtful to God just the same.

Many people take confession for granted because we "enjoy" our sin, confess it, and we're "forgiven." But it does not work this way. Confession under these circumstances is a "burnt offering." If we seek true forgiveness from God and want to mend our relationship with Him, we need to really examine ourselves carefully, admit that we have done what is evil to God, and feel that pain of betrayal in our hearts. That's why David says that a broken spirit is his true sacrifice, as it should be ours. Going against God's will should break our spirits. If we are committing various sins in our lives and feel no true remorse, that is a litmus test for how our spiritual health is doing. We are spiritually dead if we continue to do things we know are wrong and seek no way to repair ourselves. But still, God is merciful and if we ask Him to help us feel repentance for these sins, no matter how big or small they may be, He will allow us to feel the pain of not doing His will.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have done what is evil in Your sight, and like King David, I offer You up my broken spirit in exchange for my sins. Help me to not look at forgiveness of sins as a way to avoid eternal punishment, but as a way to grow in perfect love and unity with You. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

Make Peace Before Forgiveness

"So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God." - Matthew 5:23-24

Before Jesus' death, the Jews would sacrifice a lamb or a calf at the temple for the forgiveness of sins. Now, when Jesus came, He radically changed the way the law was practiced because He wanted us to have the law in our heart, instead of just as commandments to follow so that we learn what it really means to follow and love God each day. In His famous Sermon on the Mount, in which He tells us how He wants us to live, He talks about forgiveness and how we need to truly give ourselves up to being open to loving one another. More than just forgiving those that have hurt us, He goes a step further in saying that if you are going to ask God for forgiveness of a sin and you remember that someone has something against you, whether justified or not, whether they forgive you or not, you need to put your sacrifice down and go make peace with that person. Your sacrifice, or your act of asking God forgiveness for your own sins, means nothing to God if at first you do not make amends with those who you have hurt or have hurt you. For us this is a very difficult thing to do, but not impossible. Our God is a just God and justice demands that we forgive and be forgiven if we are to ask mercy of God for our own sins against Him. So if you really want to be in good standing with the Lord in terms of your own faults, then make peace with your neighbors first.

Today's Prayer:
God, it's not easy for me to admit guilt, ask forgiveness, and especially forgive someone who has hurt me, betrayed me and let me down continually. But I trust in You, my Lord, and I know that Your ways are the right ways, so please guide me and help me to do Your will because You know that I can't find it in me at times. In Your Name we pray, Amen.