Day 130: True Faith

"If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?  Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."  James 2:15-17

Here is a sharp way of putting this message.  Unfortunately, this same issue still applies today.

With the rise of social media becoming platforms for people to project all their feelings, including support and denunciations, there have been some ideas that have become quite popular.  One of these that has been getting lots of backlash from secularists is the notion of stating, "Pray for ___", where the blank is usually a country/city in the West.  I must admit, I agree with the secularist argument.  In fact, James even agrees, as he has written above.

For many, church has become something more of a habit rather than an act of devotion.  There's nothing ever planned on Sunday mornings, and there are many places that don't even open on Sunday, so what better to do than to go to church?  And that's all that happens.  Crowds fill up the pews in churches all over the world on Sundays, but that's all that happens.  So many people will show up on Sundays, but when it comes to volunteering for charities or giving time for other things, nobody shows up.  You can wear the cross around your neck, but are you ready to pick up the cross that is still lying in your room?

The truth of the matter is that our faith should be producing works.  Our faith is not something that just stays stagnant.  I mean, there are countless examples that remind us that our faith is not dead.  Jesus never says, "Say you believe in me, but stay seated."  No, in fact, Jesus says, "Follow me."  We have the Holy Spirit guiding us to do many great things in our lives.  The word Spirit comes from a word meaning breath/wind.  If it's still, it's no longer a breath or wind.  In this same way, we should be looking at all of our aspects of our lives in faith.

Why do we read the bible?  We should be reading for answers and for a strengthening relationship with God.  Why do we pray?  It should be so that we can keep up our communication and have a moment to breathe in between living our tough life and continuing with more works.  It should also be a chance for us to receive strength to continue.

So, when it comes to praying, it shouldn't just be a post on Facebook.  It should be a true meditation, one that gives us strength to do all that we can to help out those around us.  Our prayers should be our calls to action.  God calls us to action during our prayers.  Our faith calls us to action.  Our faith calls us to lead, to follow, to act, to love.

Day 129: Unwavering Faith

"But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind."  James 1:6

This is one of my all time favorite verses.  It taught me so much about faith when I first read it, and each time that I come across it, it bears the same weight on my life.

As Christians, we have to live our lives faithfully, and one of the ways to do that is to do everything out of faith.  We should be able to point all of our actions back to our faith in the one God.  Our love should come from our faith.  Our practice should come from our faith.  Our hospitality should come from our faith.  Our faith is the root to everything that we do.  If we do not have faith, we don't have anything.

Imagine if you asked a close friend or your partner to do something.  You ask simply because you expect/know that it will be done.  You have forged a relationship with this person because of the amount of trust that you have put into this person and because you know that there will be support coming from this person.

When I think about this, I immediately wonder why I would ever cast any doubt upon God.  I mean, why would I pray if I don't even have a reason to pray?  Why would I get all worked up, kneeling on the ground, reaching up with my hands, shouting before God if I am not expecting for my prayer to get answered?  That sounds like an awful lot of effort for something that doesn't matter.  Even worse, why would I place so much doubt upon the being who has guided me and saved me and transformed me in so many different ways?

God should have all of my trust.  I shouldn't have to wander away from time to time just out of curiosity or doubt.  That makes absolutely no sense.  If I do all of that, I become as a wave.  I cycle above and below the water, and I only live as long as I don't bump against a rock or any other body floating on the sea.  That's not a very good lifestyle for me to adopt.  Instead, I should be prepared to communicate with God.  More importantly, I should be prepared to encounter God, even when it might be a shock to me.

Communication with God is difficult because God is not like every other human being on the earth.  God is God.  Therefore, we need to prepare ourselves to talk to God.  It's not that God isn't going to listen, but it's that we are going to lose sense of God when we go unprepared.  There are some easier preparations, such as by attending church or reading the bible.  But the real test comes when you approach prayer.  Is your mind ready to speak to God?  Are your hands ready to reach for God's hands?  Are your ears ready to hear what God has to say?  It's only when we are prepared to communicate with God in faith that we will have a rewarding conversation.

Day 128: Love in a Community

"Let brotherly love continue.  Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels."  Hebrews 13:1-2

This is plain and simple: look after one another.

Don't we all have stories to tell one another?  We can talk about how we each have different challenges to face every single day.  One person can describe the pains of work.  Another can describe the pain of not having work.  Another can talk about loss.  Yet another can talk about the stresses of marriage.  We all have troubles.

When I read this, I thought about how important it is to stick together.  It's so important to make sure that our communities only get stronger and greater as the days go on.  We cannot allow for petty fights to divide us in this life.  Why entertain strangers, though?  I mean, we can never tell if they are going to be kind or rude.  We can't determine if they'll repay us.  In context, it almost seems that the second half of that verse was more of a concession.  Of course, we should always be prepared to entertain angels or people of the Lord.  But, at the same time, we shouldn't think of such a reward (a blessing) to be the sole purpose of our hospitality.  Instead, we should be thinking about what we need in this life.

I thank God for my family and friends, because they are all faithful to me, and I try my best to be faithful to them.  I have people who want to see me succeed, and I want to see all of them succeed.  My mom is the best example, who always looks out for me and always offers her help in so many different forms.  I hope that I can be the same way back to her. 

I appreciate that kind of support.  It might be contained within a small circle, but it is incredibly magnificent.  Now, I can't even imagine how much better life would be if everybody started supporting one another.  I know of so many different people who work in fields that I'll never be interested in or even knowledgeable of.  And, I appreciate when they can help, just as how I feel a joy in being able to offer my own services to people who need help in things that I am quite knowledgeable in.

Let's think more about the Kingdom of Heaven rather than our own personal gain in our lives.  Let's build up the Kingdom by circulating the brotherly love that we are all capable of giving.  Let's be more Christ-like.

Day 127: Giving Peace

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  John 14:27

Happy Pentecost!  Come Holy Spirit!

Today is the day that is usually identified as being the founding of the Church.  It is the day of yet another promise fulfilled.  It is a day we remember Jesus bringing all of us together under one accord.  It's also a day where we celebrate the diversity of languages, which is something that I hold very dear.

For the past few days, I'd been thinking about what the language trope meant in the story of Pentecost.  Sure, it was a way for the people to show that they were fully equipped to preach in every place.  It was also a concrete sign of the coming of the Holy Spirit.  But, when I went through the readings in the Lectionary Page, I saw that the Tower of Babel was in the readings as well, which gives a different perspective on language diversity.

I found that a major theme in Pentecost is the idea of redemption.  God scattered the people from the Tower of Babel and confused their language.  God then starts to unite people through a gift of the Holy Spirit - that of language.  Language diversity comes about because of sin, and then it comes back as a blessing.  These are two almost opposing views on language diversity, but they are important for our growth.

There are so many different things happening in our lives right now.  There are things that keep us going, and there are things that keep us back.  However, God is the one who can show us how to manage everything.  We have the Holy Spirit as a guide in our turbulent lives.  The Holy Spirit is a breath of fresh air when we are trapped inside an office, a basement, a hospital.

In the language learning communities I am a part of, I see many people who want to see language diversity to go away.  They see the diversity as a barrier, and, in reality, they have quite a point.  Imagine if we could get all our ideas across without any challenge in terms of language.  There are others, though, who want to learn more languages so that they can gain more perspectives on life.  I like to see languages as a gift from God.  Yes, I wish I knew how to speak all of them, but the fact that I don't and probably won't is beautiful, because it means that there are people who will always have stories to tell me.

Jesus has also shown us how to look at things in a very good way.  Throughout his earthly ministry, he guided his disciples very closely.  He made sure that they understood everything with his teaching.  However, he also had to depart from them and head to heaven.  In the end, they were left with peace.  Jesus offers peace to all of us.  We can concern ourselves over all the challenges in our lives, but at the end of the day, we can relax on the peace that Jesus leaves us.  Unlike the gifts that we can give, ones that can only be used for a certain amount of time before fading, the peace and the Holy Spirit are gifts that guide us throughout our entire lives.

So, when you look at the big picture of your life: all the struggles that lie behind and ahead of you, the problems that face you, the difficult things that might scare you; remember that we have a way to get through the trouble.  It involves an open heart to receive the peace that Jesus has given us.  It's knowing that the hills are there so we can have something beautiful to look at on our journey.  It's knowing that we have no reason to be afraid.  It's knowing that no challenge is too big for us.  It's knowing that God is gathering all of those who have wandered off with comfort.

Day 126: Seeing into the Heart

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Have no regard for his outward appearance, nor for the maturity of his stature, because I have refused him.  For man does not see as God sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord sees into the heart."  1 Samuel 16:7

Imagine how great it would be to have the power to look into someone's heart as opposed to the outward appearance.  We would accomplish so much more as a society.  No more race.  No more gender.  No more discrimination.  Just the purity of one's heart is all we'd need for everything.

But that's not the world we live in, unfortunately.  We live in a world where the first thing we see is color.  If that color is different from our own, that person is all of a sudden the 'other'.  We will treat that person differently, I'm sure usually negatively.  That other doesn't know what I do or what I've been through.  That other is going to mess things up that I and my people have accomplished.

This is where we need to take on God's example: impartiality.  We need to start looking at the heart of our neighbors rather than their outward appearance.  It's difficult, but how do we even start?  The people who are around you probably have eyes, a mouth, a body, skin, hair, and many other features that you probably already have.  So, after getting through those similarities, wouldn't you think that there would be a heart in there somewhere?  A soul?  A being with feelings and thoughts?

Go to Jesus' command.  Show your neighbor love.  God can see into our hearts because God is all seeing.  But, at the same time, we can see into other people's hearts just by acting in love.  We will start to see what we want.  We will be the gateway into communicating straight to the heart as opposed to the social construct that we have grown used to.  Just as God can look at us and see God's image, we can see ourselves in our neighbors.  When we see that way, we can start to see into the heart.

Day 125: Our Faith in God

"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."  Hebrews 10:22-23

This is a message that relates to another that James writes in his own letter, which is one of my favorites.

Faith is hard.  For a strictly logically focused mind, faith can be counter-intuitive, with there being little to no instant, tactile rewards for faith.  But, the epistle writers in the New Testament made sure to encourage all of their readers to continue in faith.  This is because faith is the most important requirement for our relationship with God to strengthen.

I like that the word faith really only occurs in two places in common English parlance: religion and relationships.  I don't think this is a coincidence at all, and I think there are many things we can learn about how to live religiously through the lens of a relationship.  In American culture, one of the most celebrated, if not the most celebrated, things in life is the romantic relationship.  I will admit that I put such an importance on romantic relationships almost immediately after coming out of the closet.  Sure, my family joked about the necessity for them, specifically so that we could have new babies in the family, but I will say that most of the emphasis has been of my own doing.  It was something that I strove for, going on countless dates, engaging in countless social meetups, and praying to God for.

Now that I am in a committed with a great boyfriend, I am learning more about myself.  There are, of course, many things I need to learn in order to have our relationship continue to grow.  However, the way that I learn about these things is by keeping up a constant communication between my boyfriend and me.  Communication is the only way I'll be able to learn anything about him.  Communication is also a great foundation for faith because it's an expression of interest in the other person.  It shows that I am willing to learn more and get even closer.  It also helps me keep my boyfriend in my mind.

Faith is much more important in our relationship with God, for God is the ultimate expression of love.  We learn so much about how to treat those around us through the ways God has transformed us.  However, we can allow for many different temptations to seize us at anytime, leading us away from our relationship with God.  Perhaps the strongest factor leading to such an overwhelming attraction to temptation is a lack of knowledge of the beloved.  When we wander around, knowing little to nothing about God, we start to find the things that we are looking for in other entities.  When we find ourselves seeking to make ourselves better, we will look for the instant gratification that comes from money rather than God.  When we look for satisfaction in our lives, we will look for self-destructive activities rather than edifying ones that we could find in God.  In other words, we lead ourselves astray from God by our desire to remain ignorant of all the good that God is.

This passage from Hebrews reminds us that we have been transformed by God in ways that only make us better.  God has cleaned us from every impurity that has infiltrated our lives.  God has promised us love, life, success, and so many other things.  And God is delivering on each of those promises every single day.  We need to be listening to God speaking to us and answering our questions rather than our own voices that lead us astray.  We need to ask God with the intent of seeking God out as opposed to just asking just for the sake of asking.  We need to make God a part of our lives so that we can continue living in a faith that is rewarding for our life.

Day 124: Change that Saves

"But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation."  Hebrews 9:11

This is a message that is so pertinent to today, especially for those who wish to see the Church continue to grow.

To start, this passage refers specifically to the new tabernacle that Jesus brings about with his coming to earth.  He instituted something that was drastically different: one sacrifice for all eternity, a complete forgiveness of sin, love of God.  That's quite a change from the older Mosaic tabernacle, but it was necessary for the spreading of the Gospel.

Today, there are many churches that are dying everywhere, and those congregations are turning to many different consultants from different places.  Some are even looking to consultants for large businesses so that they can make the best business decisions.  But, I would say that there is a fundamental issue: we hold onto our old customs, even if they do lead us straight to complete failure.

We want to be comfortable.  We know that things that have sustained us for long stretches of time should still work.  At the very least, those things are comfortable.  When I was a little kid, I loved eating fried foods as my main source of food.  However, over time, I gained lots of weight because of my decisions, and, even more recently, I'm finding that fried foods make my stomach upset for quite a long time after enjoying.  Yet, I want to be able to eat them because they are so good!

I am sure that we all have issues that we could talk about.  Maybe you can't run as far as you used to.  Maybe you shouldn't see that one ex lover who used to be great in the past but now only serves as a temptation to you.  Maybe you can't sit in front of the TV all day because of the threat of debilitating weight complications.

We need this same sort of mentality with our churches.  The churches are not ours; they are God's.  As such, we need to remember to listen for God's advice on all matters.  That might mean that you will have to start playing different music.  That might mean that you will have to incorporate more modern language, or even an entirely different language.  That also might mean that you will have to dissolve a community and embrace another.  I cannot speak for every church that is out there, but I do know that there are always difficult decisions to be made.  And that's where we need to start remembering what Jesus has done.

Jesus has come into the world to bring us all closer to God via change.  Jesus wants to change us all for the better.  That means that we need to be going back to God every chance that we get (which is, of course, all the time).  Jesus is showing all of the good things that are in existence.  Most of all, we need to remember that Jesus is going to be working in our communities, even when that means that our hand prints will be supplanted by his.

When we allow for Jesus to renew us, we will be able to change for the better.  We need to open up our arms that were once crossed in front of us so that we can welcome Christ's embrace.