Compromising On What's Right

"Now the serpent was the most crafty of all the wild creatures that Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say: You must not eat from any tree in the garden?'" - Genesis 3:1

That serpent really is the craftiest of all the creatures! Eve knew exactly what God had said. She heard perfectly clear what He said and what she should do. And what happened to Eve happens to all of us. We know what's good for us. We know the difference between right and wrong, and we are also smart enough to know what to do in the gray areas. We have enough experience to foresee the repercussions of our actions. But what happens when sin comes before our eyes? At least in my case, things start to get fuzzy. Knowing myself, in Eve's position, once the devil comes to tempt me, I would definitely question myself. For example, if the question would have been, "is this apple red?" and I was being tempted to answer that it wasn't, I would start thinking, "well, it's not technically red… it looks a little yellowish in some areas and a bit burgundy on this side." The point is that we know what the right answer is but if we're weak, and faced with temptation, we find ourselves compromising and rationalizing on what we want the answer to be compared to what we actually know it is. As smart as we think we are, the devil totally blind sides us into believing the opposite, although most times, in our hearts we feel we did wrong.

Think about the areas in your life where you do this. Do you have a problem with alcohol, or do you tell yourself you can control it? Do you need to ask forgiveness over a grudge you're holding, or do you tell yourself that person deserves it? Are you questioning your immoral sexual behavior, or do you tell yourself that everyone is doing it and it's not a big deal? Do you have a real excuse for not attending mass every Sunday, or do you tell yourself you don't need to go to church to worship God? These are the questions you need to ask yourself. I'm sure you already have the answers in your heart. The right answer should leave you at peace with no guilty feelings at all. If you consistently choose to sin, what you need to do is realize that you are compromising on the answer. You're sinning like Eve in the garden. Be strong about what you know God wants from you and act on it!

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, I hear Your voice, I know what is right, but it is so hard for me to actually go through with what is good. Cut through the temptation, make me stronger, and help me to consistently choose the path which leads to You. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Human Sexuality

"God said, 'Let there be light;' and there was light. God said, 'Let us make man in our image, to our likeness.'" - Genesis 1:3,26

When God spoke the words "let there be light," He spoke into them all of His power. This wasn't just a bright light, but a fire of energy that burst forth to set all creation into motion. The same fire, power, and energy was put into us when we were created in God's image. The Lord, who put all of His passion into creation, also put that fire and passion into us. We are made in God's image in the sense that we have an incredible ability to love and love passionately. The central place this love is revealed is through our sexuality. It is the source of creation. From this fire we were created and we too create new life from it.

A lot of times many people are ashamed of their sexuality or feel a need to hide it, thinking that some how God does not approve of sexual feelings or desires, when it was God that put that passion into each and every one of us. It's the drive we have within us to go out to love and be loved. In being like God, we have the need for intimacy, for affection, for touch, for real love. This is a good thing and a gift from God. But it's a gift that needs to be taken care of. I'm learning in ministry classes that from the time a baby is born, it is already a sexual being and that from birth we all go through a cycle of psycho-sexual maturation with various stages all the years of our lives. Sometimes along that journey, traumas can occur that affect our sexual development. We become hurt because of rejection, abuse, guilt, shame or a number of things that lock us in a stage of development for a while and we never grow to reach the full, sexual life God intended for us. Many times people abuse sexuality and take freedom to mean purely genital pleasure, not the fullness and depth God intended through love. When we learn that sexuality is a gift to be valued, and as mature persons share that love and intimacy with a partner who is our equal, God is in that union. It is holy and pleasing to the Lord.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, thank You for the gift of sexuality. Through it, You teach us how to love and give ourselves in love to another as You have done for us. Help guide us Lord so that we don't abuse the gift, but use it as You please so that we can have life in abundance. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Turning Bad Into Good

"You intended to do me harm, but God intended to turn it to good in order to bring about what is happening today - the survival of many people." - Genesis 50:20

Now that I'm in my mid 20's, I think back on my life and the paths I've taken so far. I've definitely made some mistakes but those mistakes helped me get where I am today. And since I'm still young, I have many more mistakes to commit as do the rest of you. One important reason to follow God when we're young and mapping out our lives is that when we try to follow His will, all the mistakes we've committed or errors we've made, God takes them and turns them into good. We might not see that working out into any possible good any time soon, but in due time, we will see it. This verse reminds me of a GPS system - you plug in an address and it will take you where you need to be no matter how many times you veer off course. God will continually bring you back to where you're supposed to be no matter how many times you sin or how many mistakes you make. God is so much bigger than your badness! He knows what's in your heart and as long as you intend to follow Him and do right by Him, He will guide your steps and turn the bad things in your life into blessings down the road.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, thank You for loving me enough to take all the bad I've done and mistakes I've made and turn them into good things for me in the future. Help me be forever grateful for Your loving kindness. In Your Name we pray, amen.

In The Beginning

"In the beginning, when God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth had no form and was void; darkness was over the deep and the Spirit of God hovered over the water." - Genesis 1:1-2

In the beginning stages of our relationship with God, we have no shape and the life we think we have is actually empty and dark. Things like friends, money, parties, clothes, drinks, fill us up temporarily but what do you have when the party is over and you're alone again? The thing about us all, whether we care to acknowledge it or not, is that we all need God in order to be fulfilled. Our souls were created by Him and only with Him can we ever feel completion and rest. When we go about without Him, the Spirit of God hovers around us. As far from God as we get, He will always put something or someone in our path to remind us that He is there. The passage says He hovers over the water. He hovers like an eagle who flies over her young; she doesn't get too close, she doesn't interfere, but she watches closely by and the second her baby is in danger, she's there to scoop it up as God is always there for you.

Let Him begin His work in you, form you and chase out the darkness with His light. Let Him fill you with life so that you will no longer be void, dark, and empty.

Today's Prayer:
My God, thank You for looking out for me, especially in those moments when I'm too busy to even remember who You are. I know You respect my will but right now I want to give You permission to always, always remind me, even in a harsh way, that You are all I need. In Your Name we pray, Amen.