Inspiration for your journey to God!

Category: Advent (Page 12 of 20)

The true disciple has a firm foundation

true disciple
Obedient and wise!

The true disciple has a firm foundation. Would you agree?

matthew 7:21, 24-27

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

“Everyone who listen to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

Lip service is the first thing I thought of when I read this. When we pray, when we praise or thank God, are we just doing it when things are going our way? When we profess how much we love the Lord, are we professing it only when life is good?

In the motorcycling community there’s a phrase that describes those who only ride when the conditions are just right. They are called fair weather riders. This Gospel got me thinking along those lines. Are we fair weather disciples?

fair weather Disciple

Do we lose faith when bad things happen? Bad things like getting a startling diagnosis, losing a loved one, losing a job or maybe even experiencing a dark night of the soul. Regardless of where we “are” – we MUST truly believe GOD IS THERE!

Is it fair to wonder where He is simply because we can’t see beyond the circumstance. Or is it fair to wonder where He is simply because we’re not getting what we want? When you were a child, did you ever wonder where your parents were simply because they didn’t give you what you wanted?

rejoice

In Rejoice! Advent Meditations with Joseph by Fr. Mark Toups, today’s reflection talks about Joseph being an obedient man. Here are a few sentences I thought hit the mark of today’s Gospel message and how Joseph is a great example of what it means to be a true disciple:

Joseph chooses God, even in the face of fear; once Joseph knew it was God speaking, his only response was “yes”; wisdom – the greek word sophia literally means “the capacity to understand and act according to wisdom;” to function according to wisdom is to be obedient; Joseph’s obedience was a response to a relationship, not yielding to a task!

To be wise is to be obedient and to be obedient is to be wise! Obedient to what? To God’s will. THAT requires us to be true disciples with a firm foundation that no circumstance or experience can rock. This wisdom we gain from obedience allows us to see God’s work unfolding. It allows us to accept our circumstances with the understanding that He is present and dynamically working in our lives.

do not fear

What do you fear? Look to Joseph as an example of what it means to be a true disciple. He experienced fear too. He was “engaged” to a woman who ends up pregnant with someone else’s child. He has some tough decisions to make but relies on his faith to steer him. He encounters situations, after Jesus’ birth, that would cause any of us maddening anxiety and yet he relied on his relationship with God to guide him.

can you relate?

Relationship is key here. In all of my recent spiritual reading I have come across a common idea – God is always pursuing us. But God is not “out there.” He’s in our hearts. So He pursues us from within. He seeks to form a deep relationship with us. He wants us to participate in His will for us. Today’s Gospel tells us this.

In order to do that we have to search within. We have to make time to be in relationship with Him. We do that in silence in order to hear God speak , just as Joseph did and this way we respond as Joseph did with a resounding YES! Let’s not be fair weather disciples but obedient and wise!

God bless you!

Click here to listen to Trisha Yearwood sing: It Wasn’t His Child

Jesus provides what we want and need!

jesus provides

Jesus provides what we want AND need! What a comfort it was to read the Gospel this morning. It was especially comforting as I prepared to sit before the tabernacle with a special intention! Here’s what it says:

Matthew 15:29-37

Moving on from there Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.

Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way. The disciples said to him. “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.” He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over – seven baskets full.

They placed them at his feet

“They placed them at His feet and He cured them.” THAT, my friends, brought me comfort this morning. I promised my friend that I would place her prayer intention in my heart and sit before the tabernacle this morning for that special intention. I, in a sense, am placing it at the feet of Jesus and to read this passage this morning brought tears to my eyes. I hope it brings you comfort too YP!

We often hear that sometimes our prayers aren’t answered as we wish and that we have to trust that what God has planned is better than we could ever imagine. While I believe that to be true, I also believe that we have to firmly believe in miracles. Our God is a God of miracles. Nothing is impossible with Him. So when we are met with a situation that seems defeating against all odds, THAT’s when we truly have to believe that our God is who we claim He is. THAT’s when we have to believe that He is capable of performing a miracle on our behalf!

my experience

I know this from experience. My 83 year old dad had liver cancer surgery last year. The doctors tried to convince him that the surgery was risky and expressed concerns about his heart health, his diabetes and all kinds of negative statistics. But he wanted the cancer OUT! So he made the decision to move forward with surgery. I can’t tell you how many people were praying for that old man (laugh out loud) but it was powerful and he defied the odds! Thanks be to God!

My brother (I’ve written about this before – see here) was placed in an induced coma after having suffered complications from hernia surgery. Who could have known? I had a choice to make – go stand at his bedside or continue to Canada on a pilgrimage that would span several days. Several days of heartfelt prayer. I chose Canada! Another powerful experience. I was steeped in prayer for the entire time. Always carrying my brother and his intentions in my heart. By the end of my retreat, my brother was back! Thanks be to God!

Prayer works, intention is powerful and believing in miracles is a necessity if we are going to receive what we want from Christ! Ask and you will receive.

the feeding

As I read the second portion of the Gospel and how Jesus took the bread and broke it, I was reminded of the last supper. This portion of the Gospel spoke to the disciple in me. We are called to share our faith with others, to share our joy in Jesus Christ. We are nourished through the Eucharist. Not only do we become what we receive, but it gives us the strength we need to live a Gospel life.

The feeding should remind us that our God is not a God of scarcity, He is a God of abundance. He gives us what we want AND need. So when you approach Him in prayer, approach Him with the knowledge that there is more than enough to go around. Approach Him with confidence that He is going to give you not only what you want, but also what you need!

God bless you!

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