Willingness

"My grace is enough for you; my great strength is revealed in weakness." - 2nd Corinthians 12:9

I was just reading about the life of St. Thérése of Lisieux. When she was a teenager, she wanted God to make her a saint, but she struggled in trying to contain her emotions, such as stubbornness, anger, and the desire to seek attention. She made a mistake that we all make - she tried to work on her own feelings instead of giving them up to God to handle.

Tomorrow, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. After meditating on His passion, some of us are moved to explore a closer relationship with God, but there are always doubts that pop up into our head: Can I really live a life following the Lord? Am I ready to give up certain things I know aren't good for me? Will God really listen to me? Is He really there? All of us struggle with doubts and questions, but all that God needs from us is our willingness to let Him guide us, instead of trying to do the work ourselves, as Thérése first did. Don't try to control anything or change anything yourself. As He told Paul, His grace is enough for you and in the areas you feel weak, He'll show you His strength. Where you feel you don't believe or can't continue, He'll help you through. All you need to do is tell Him with a sincere heart that you are willing to have Him work in you. That's the beauty of following the Lord - sometimes we think there is too much work involved, but then you see how He gently moves you in love to better, more peaceful places. All He looks for is a simple prayer from the heart saying that you are willing.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, today, I give up to You my fears, my weaknesses, and my doubts. I bring before You my desire to follow You, and with all of my heart, I would like You to work in me. Carry me when I am weak and when I doubt. In Your Name we pray. Amen.

Test Yourselves

"Examine yourselves: are you acting according to faith? Test yourselves. Can you assert that Christ Jesus is in you? If not, you have failed the test." - 2nd Corinthians 13:5-6

Scripture says that all good things come from God, therefore, if we want to live our lives as good people, we need to be firmly planted in the Lord. But so much more than this, we need to be radical in our approach to living a life in Christ. Think about this, every single person Jesus met in His life was transformed by Him. Meeting Jesus would make people change their entire lives! People left their families to follow Him, people turned away from sin, people rose from the dead and were cured of disease. Even if people didn't change for the better, like the Pharisees and the Sadducees, Jesus stirred in them violent emotions because the message He delivered was full of purpose and full of passion. His was a life that made people examine themselves and what they stood for. That's how we need to live our lives.

What is the impression we make on people? Will they even remember us a week later? Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God has given us this same fire to change the lives of the people we come into contact with, to make an impact, if we use it. This is why, like Paul says, we need to examine our faith and test ourselves. If you think the Spirit of God really lives in you, can you honestly say you live your life according to the faith? Can you say that Jesus Christ lives in and through you? Are you causing an impact in the lives of the people you come across? Or are you simply passing by people's lives? Test yourselves to see if Jesus Christ really lives in you, if not, you have failed the test.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, You have given us a clear way to tell if we are really living our lives in accordance with You. Help us to let You live in us and manifest Yourself through us so that all can see You and Your work in our lives and come to believe. In Your Name we pray, amen.

When You Are Weak

"My grace is enough for you; My great strength is revealed in weakness." - 2nd Corinthians 12:9

Oprah had a young girl on her show named Kristen Anderson. When she was about 15/16 yrs old, Kristen lost 4 of her closest friends in suicides and accidents. A year after that, her grandma died and shortly after that, she was raped. Needless to say, she was full of despair. She felt alone, helpless and with nothing to live for or look forward to. One evening, she decided to go out to her back yard which was next to some rail road tracks. After seriously considering ending her life, she decided to lie down on the tracks as a train approached. The train came and rail road cars drove right over Kristen. Amazingly enough, she didn't die. Fully conscious, she looked behind her and saw her legs with her brand new sneakers lying a couple of feet away. The train engineer stopped the train and called the cops. The Kristen Anderson that made it to the Oprah show, however, was a completely different person. She was radiant and all smiles as she pushed her legless body off her wheel chair and onto Oprah's coach. Oprah also had another young adult on the show who also tried commiting suicide after his parents divorced. He took a gun and blew off his face, but somehow survived. After about 18 reconstructive surgeries and 6 months in a drug induced coma, doctors have some what rebuilt his face. David also sat on Oprah's couch radiant. The show was about people who had tried commiting suicide but failed. Oprah wanted to show her audience the warning signs and how to help people in despair who see no way out, but I saw another message in the people's stories. These kids had awful things happen to them and they saw no hope, no help. Somehow after their accidents, they both found God and instead of going on Oprah with sob stories, they both told Oprah that they have found the love of Jesus Christ and despite having severe disabilities, they said they were happier than ever. David is now blind and hardly even has a nose or a mouth and Kristen's legs were cut off right above the knees, but in God, they are more full of life than most of us are! We let financial problems and relationship problems keep us down and gloomy but these kids have seen worse, tried killing themselves, and now, when the world would see them at their weakest, they are strongest. Happiness and strength doesn't lie in physical strength and beauty, but it ONLY lies in having God in our hearts. For these disabled kids, His grace is enough because when they are weak, they are really the strongest since their faith is firmly and indivisibly placed on God. We need to learn that God's grace is our only strength, and when things are at their lowest in our hearts, in our souls, prepare yourselves because that is when God really shows His strength!

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, forgive me for not allowing You to be God and for You to be my strength when I feel down and defeated. I can't do it on my own. Favor me with Your grace and give me the supernatural strength I need to get through. In Your Name we pray, amen.

We Are Strongest When We Are Weak

"'My grace is enough for you; my great strength is revealed in weakness.'" - 2nd Corinthians 12:9

Paul was a man of God, a champion of faith, but he suffered from a weakness, something he called a thorn in his flesh, which he asked God to remove until God answered him with this verse.

When we think about our own heroes and the people we look up to, for most of us, it's the rich and powerful, or the attractive people with the right clothing and accesories, but God chooses those we often overlook. Many times, those with power only depend on themselves and what they can make happen on their own, not trusting in God. They have too much stuff in the way so that God can never make His way through the clutter. On the other hand, the poor and those we don't find interesting or attractive, don't hold on to the things of this world and know how to empty themselves before God. It is in these people, those who recognize that before the Almighty they are nothing, that God reveals Himself. Out of their weakness, He is able to manifest Himself in all of His glory for others to see and believe. Here we see that God does what He wants with whom He wants because His strength does not depend on our own power. Therefore, never brush aside those that with the eyes of the flesh you see as nothing for those who on the outside look better, for your human mind will never even be able to fathom the miracles God creates out of what you deem insignificant. And in the same way, when you are weak and have no strength left, don't scorn God or try to rely on your own strength, but pray and wait to experience God's power in you.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, I am nothing before You. Help to wash away my pride and my false sense of strength so that You can truly work in me for the glory of Your Kingdom In Your Name we pray, Amen.

Stop Complaining and Make a Decision

"Therefore we are not discouraged. On the contrary, while our outer being wastes away, the inner self is renewed from day to day." - 2nd Corinthians 4:16

When you choose to walk with Jesus, you begin to notice how perfect God's timing is for everything. At the right time, God will answer your prayers and bring you relief from a certain problem in your life, but there will always be another around the corner. So what are we to do? Live in mourning always? The answer is to stop complaining. Stop feeling bad for yourself because there is always someone worse off and because in this life we will never ever be 100% happy anyway. When you trust in God, stop focusing on the negative and instead let this new hope work in you, your whole demeanor will change. What goes on around you doesn't matter because the Almighty will be working inside of you, to give you hope, patience, and understanding…and all this will make your outlook on the obstacles in front of you so much brighter. The second you give in to feeling discouraged, that's when you give up on your hope and you're only hurting yourself.

I've had something bothering me for so long and each day I tell God that I'm putting myself in His hands and that I will be joyful because I know He's taking care of me and consoling my soul. That's a decision I make each day to let my heart be filled with God instead of my doubts and sadness. Is it hard to do? Yes. Do I struggle to follow through? Of course! But I'll tell you this, I'm telling you to do this because I've perservered and each day God is making me stronger! If you choose today to tell God "I will not be discouraged because I know You are working in me to get me through this, and instead I will smile and give You thanks," you will begin to feel this joy you yearn for. Make this decision today!

Today's Prayer:
Lord, I know You didn't create me to go around depressed and conquered by each problem or unpleasant situation that comes my way, but You have created me as Your child so that I may come out victorious in all things, showing Your power in all I do. Help me to follow through on my decision to chose to be happy and let You work in me instead of letting life get the best of me. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

The Test

"Examine yourselves: are you acting according to faith? Test yourselves. Can you assert that Christ Jesus is in you? If not, you have failed the test." - 2nd Corinthians 13: 5-6

These were the words God said to me one night a few years ago. I had just had a huge argument with someone and I stormed to my room, slamming things on the way. I was so angry and on the verge of tears. In my despair, I picked up the bible and asked God to speak to me. I closed my eyes, opened the bible to a random page and let God guide my fingers and when I opened my eyes, I had landed on this verse. Even more upset because I felt it had nothing to do with me, I closed the bible and opened it again. When I opened my eyes, my fingers were still on the same passage. On my third try, I was still in the same place.

Never before had I felt God give me a message so strongly. Wasn't I supposed to have love for others? Wasn't I supposed to forgive? Wasn't I supposed to control my anger and not let it take hold of me in the way that it did? I had failed the test. Jesus is too pure and holy to reside in a person that was acting the way I was - I couldn't say Christ Jesus was living in me and I was so disappointed in myself. I had tried so hard to be like Him and I let one thing get in the way.

Today, I can't remember what that fight was even about. All I remember is my anger and despair turning into shame and disappointment for I had let God down. But what I do know is that each day is another chance to make it better as long as I keep my eyes on the prize as Paul had said.

From now on, I intend to pass the test and assert that Christ Jesus does live in me!

How do you know if you pass the test? In Galatians 5: 19-23, Paul gives us a list of qualities that cause us to fail the test and they are: immorality, impurity, shamelessness, idol worship, magic, hatred, jealousy, violence, anger, ambition, division, factions, envy, drunkeness, and orgies. But Paul also gives us the qualities that will help us make the grade: charity, joy, peace, patience, understanding of others, kindness, fidelity, gentleness, and self control.

Think these over and ask yourselves which of these do you have more of? Examine yourselves: are you acting according to faith? Test yourselves. Can you assert that Christ Jesus is in you? I hope that you have not failed the test.

Today's Prayer:
My God, each day is a struggle to keep Your commandments and I am so weak most of the time. I lose sight of You and let myself be led to those things that You hate. I know that I always need Your help, but do not look at what I do, but at the intentions in my heart to please You. I may have failed the test today Lord but help me to one day proclaim that You do live inside me. In Your Name we pray, Amen.