Light In The Darkness

"Whatever has come to be, found life in Him, life which for humans was also light. Light that shines in the dark: light that darkness could not overcome." - John 1:4-5

Unfortunately, we all know sadness and depression first had. We know how sin can creep in and poison us. The moment we allow one sin to enter our lives, others lurk around the corner waiting for their turn to go in. What was once bright and clear went getting murkier and darker. Do you ever feel like this about yourself? Do you ever feel that your soul has become poisoned due to all of the things you shouldn't have done, things you shouldn't have let in? That is the darkness in our souls, the darkness Christ was born to overcome.

Jesus Christ is life, is light. He is cleansing and pure. In your darkness, do you feel you need this purity? Only Jesus can offer it to you. What I love about this verse is that it said that Jesus is light that the darkness could not overcome, meaning that no matter how dirty, dusty, or filthy your soul is right now, the victory already belongs to Christ because He already overcame the evil. Jesus is power that the evil in this world could not overcome and He wants to offer you that light as well. Like when you clean a house and open the curtains to see clearly, let the light expose you and all the sin, sadness and despair you hold within you. Let the bad come to the light so that you can receive healing and the darkness will go away. Fix your eyes on Jesus and you will live with the light of the Lord within you.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, shine Your light within me and cast away all evil, all hurt, anything that does not come from You Darkness can not overcome and in Your Name I refuse to let it overcome me. Be with me Lord as I seek to find life in You. In Your Name we pray, amen.

A Contrite Heart

"Draw close to God and He will come close to you. Clean your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you doubters." - James 5:8

We all want to draw close to God and be better people. The great thing about our God is that the second we seek Him, He draws closer to us. I've heard people that claim to try to look for God with no success but that's hard for me to believe. It's a fact that God let's Himself be found by those who seek Him but there is always one condition - as James puts it here - clean your hands, purify your hearts. When you look for God it's because you know that things in you need change and you know that only He can help you, therefore, when approaching God, it must be with an attitude of repentance and a willingness to give up your former way of living/ thinking/ being and let God guide you. It's the only way. How else can you become a better person and see more good things come your way in life if you don't first acknowledge that God needs to shift some things around? Once you are open to this, you will see God come into your life in an undeniable way.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, I want to be closer to You but I know that my heart needs to be humbled. Search me and bring to light things that I need to change, things that are standing in Your way. Come close to me Lord, for I just want to be close to You. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Be Holy

"God has called us to live, not in impurity but in holiness." - 1st Thessalonians 4:7

Up until a couple of months ago, I thought that to be holy I had to be pretty much a nun. I thought holy people were those that lived in monasteries praying all day or those like Mother Theresa that dedicated their lives to helping the poor. They were the saints and the rest of us were poor sinners. I was so wrong. Holiness is a call to try to integrate God into all we do in our every day lives. It doesn't necessarily mean praying 24/7, but acknowledging God in all we do. We can be holy and chaste in a marriage if we honestly give of ourselves in complete love to our partner. We can be holy in our friendships if we serve our friends out of respect and dignity. And we can be holy with ourselves if we take care of our souls, keeping them pure and protected from the things we know can only bring us harm. The bottom line is that we can all be holy if we imitate Jesus who all through His life set an example by the service He gave to others. Holiness is in trying to follow this example. And please know that it's ok if you can't forgive today, as long as you're trying to in Jesus' Name. It's ok if you haven't given up on that addiction today, as long as you keep on asking God for help. It's all about the journey - knowing God is calling us for holiness and trying in all the big and small things to get there one day at a time.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, in Your love for me You have called me to be pure and holy like You. I'm so far from it now, but please look at the desire in my heart and bring me a few steps forward each day. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Never Too Young

"Let no one reproach you on account of your youth. Be a model to the believers in the way you speak and act, in your love, your faith and purity of life." - 1st Timothy 4:12

Following the Lord has no age, although we tend to see churches filled with old people on Sundays. And where are the youth? I've had people tell me that they're young so it's their time to go out, get wild and live life. God wants you to enjoy your youth but being young isn't an excuse to get carried away by the empty things of this world and then think to yourself that you'll turn to God when you're your parents' age. The first in reproaching us on account of our youth is ourselves - we're too young to spend our time praying or going to church in our teen's and 20's, right? The fact is that we need God at all times and at all points of our lives, especially when we are young with so many decisions to make in front of us. There are times when we are so down and so completely lost and the only one that can help us is God, but why only turn to Him when you need something from Him? Isn't He worthy enough to share in your joys as well? If you truly want God's blessings and to walk with Him always, make a decision in your life today to turn away from sin and its distractions. Do as Saint Paul told Timothy, a young believer - be a model to others in your faith and in the way you act. Purify yourselves and don't let evil come from your lips or from your actions. Do everything out of love and your Father in Heaven will see this and be with you throughout your entire life. We are never too far gone to win back God's graces. Each day is a chance to start anew and straighten our paths.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, the old people I see in church have the blessing of saying that they have seen Your powerful hand throughout their entire lives. Let me be as wise as they are and in my youth proclaim Your Name and wonders for all. That I may be a witness to your grandeur every year of my life. In Your Name we pray, Amen.