Meaning, Not Tradition

"Jesus answered, 'You go no further than appearances. How well Isaiah prophesied of you when he wrote: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless, for what they teach are only human rules. You even put aside the commandment of God to hold fast to human tradition.'" - Mark 7:6-8

We can be so fake at times. During the regular church year, masses aren't full at all, but during Christmas and Easter, the church is full from wall to wall. When actors and musicians win an award, the first person they thank is God, yet why don't we know more about their faith? It's time for all of us to respond to the call of God in a genuine way and begin to live a different life, walk with the dignity and integrity of Jesus. Saying we are Christians and that we believe in God is only the beginning. Attending church on Sunday does not make you a true follower, rearranging priorities does. Traditions are only the shells the represent meaning. They go over our heads unless we respond to the voice of God and delve into that meaning. That's why church might be boring, or prayer is boring, because people fail to make the time to discover the richness and fullness of a life in God. So many of us only follow tradition and think we are just and good people because of it. Just and good people are the ones the seek to take Jesus' message to heart and live it, not only keeping it on the outside as a custom.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me to exercise my faith in You. Don't let me fall into the traps of conforming to society and not follow You with my entire life. Let my zeal for You guide me in all things so I show You my actions and not just tradition. In Your Name we pray, amen.

True Life

"I say to you, then, and with insistence I advise you in the Lord: do not imitate the pagans who live an aimless kind of life. Their understanding is in darkness and they remain in ignorance because of their blind conscience, very far from the life of God." - Ephesians 4:17-18

It pains me to say, but I see this aimless kind of life Saint Paul talks about all around me. I see people whose priorities are all screwed up. Is life just stacking up materials things to be in a better class range than others, or is it going out late, getting wasted and doing it all again the next day? It's none of these. That's an empty life, it's aimless and no life at all. Unfortunately, it's what we see on TV, magazines, and movies. It's the life of the people we admire, the lives of people we wish we had for just one day. But I guarantee that as fabulous as it seems and as fun as it seems, they are so empty inside. Are you feeling empty inside? What is the aim of your own life? What are you doing with the gift God gave you? People go around trying to fill their lives with things they think will make them happy, but only God, who is the author of life can give it meaning. The confusion you feel within you, that sense of being absolutely lost at times, the answer to that is not in the world. It's not in what you think you want or what you think will fill you and make you happy. Don't look for the answers among the rich and good looking people - they've just got it together on the outside. But true life, true meaning is only found in God. You were created by Him to have life in Him, and away from Him, you are nothing. You toil and trouble, trying to arrange your own world, but it's all in vain. You're still empty. You're still lonely and feel you have nothing or no one. Surrender yourself to God. Let Him fill you. Let Him show you what real life is, what real happiness is, what real peace is.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are the source of all goodness and kindness. Reinforce in my heart and in the hearts of all who read this that only You can fill us and give us true life in abundance. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Priorities, Priorities

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." - Deuteronomy 6:4-5

We wake up in the morning, brush our teeth, take a shower, eat breakfast, go to work/ school, eat lunch, come home, eat dinner, watch tv, talk on the phone, surf the internet, go to bed. Does this sound like your typical day? What else do you fill it up with? If you have a boyfriend/ girlfriend, I'm sure you spend a lot of the day thinking about them, or talking to them. If you have a child, a lot of your time is spent tending to them, and if you go to school or are a workaholic, most of your time is spent working. You spend most of your time doing these things because they are your priorities - you have made a conscious decision to organize your time in this way according to the things you care the most about. Now, if your day has 24 hours and you filled it up with these things, how much did you give to God today?

Many of us want God to give, give, give to us, and answer our prayers immediately but a lot of times, what you get back from God is in direct proportion to what space He occupies in your life. Honestly, think about where you have God in your life right now, would you want Him to give you the same amount of importance you currently give Him? He does give you so many things because He is merciful, but this verse in Deuteronomy tells you EXACTLY how it needs to be - you need to love God with ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, and with ALL of your strength. Anything less is not good enough at all! This means that He, and only He, must occupy the first place in your life. Not your own life, not your significant other, not your family, not your job, because He is the one that gave you all these things and He can take them away. Remember that Jesus had said to only fix your eyes upon God and all else will be taken care of for you. If you decide to make Him first in your life, then as soon as you open your eyes in the morning, your first thought should be to give Him thanks for the new day. In all you do, wherever you go, you have Him in mind, constantly shooting up mini prayers throughout the day.

Make God first in your life and He will help you with all your other priorities.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, help me to love You with all my heart, with all my soul and with all my strength. You made me and deserve the most and the best of me each day. In Your Name we pray, Amen.