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 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 096: Work

"Where there are no oxen, the stalls are clean, but where there are abundant crops, the strength of an ox is evident."  Proverbs 14:4

This proverb gives us an insight into life.

Something that I'm sure many people envy is having time to relax.  Sometimes we see our friends who do nothing but relax.  They have the time to sleep long hours, and then they get to have more time to do whatever they want.  On the other hand, our lives are ones that are filled with many stresses, such as working long hours and facing criticism after criticism.

But the proverb is quite sly when it expresses the truth.  The clean stalls, the lives that are just of relaxation, are a revelation of a life without any work at all.  These lives are ones that are fruitless.  They are ones where they are mere shells of what's supposed to be happening.  Just walk into a stable, ranch, zoo, or wherever animals are kept, and you can smell and see how hard it is to have a clean stall in the first place.  Clean stalls are either new or ones that aren't being used.

On the contrary, lives that produce lots of fruits, lives where many things are happening, are ones where we can see that there is effort.  There is work in the midst of all the troubles.

This proverb explains that living a good life will require lots of work.  There will be piles of papers on your desk.  There will be files unsorted all over your computer desktop.  There will be sinks full of dirty dishes.  There will be misplaced items.  There will be an unmade bed.  But there will be results.  Our journey with Christ will require us to leave many things behind, but we will reach the goal, where life will be just an abundance of fruits that will sustain us to eternal life. 

Day 077: Fear

"Behold, the Lord your God is delivering the land to you in our presence; go up and take it as an inheritance, in the manner the Lord God of your fathers spoke to you; do not fear or be afraid."  Deuteronomy 1:21

Imagine that somebody calls you on the phone right now to tell you that your dream job is set up for you: you will do what you love, and you will get paid to do it - no risks.  Would you turn it away?

I find that the story of the Israelites going into the Promised Land is a great example for us to learn from.  God, who delivered them from Egypt and who led them through the desert with a sign of a cloud by day and fire (an entire pillar!) by night, told them that their land of promise, one flowing with abundant resources, one that they would be able to clear for themselves, was prepared and ready for them.  Almighty God told them this.  But they, in response, asked to reconsider everything, to make sure that everything was 'safe' and 'ready' to their arbitrary standards.  They became afraid because they reconsidered every single detail and found things to be afraid of, despite God's promise.  This, obviously, did not end well for them.

However, we face this same sort of situation frequently in our lives.  We can go to church and pray and read the bible, but when it comes time for challenges in our lives, we cower.  We turn away from everything we have been taught and have seen and run away to our own detriment.

God used Mosaic Law to teach the people of Israel how to follow God.  Then, when the time was appropriate, God sent Jesus to free us from the tutelage of the Law so that we could walk in faith towards him without any reservations.  Jesus made it so much simpler for us.  But, we continue to walk away, saying it's too scary to follow, too risky to become a disciple, too good to be true.

And then, we have all of the blessings that we receive every day.  We can't seem to be thankful for each one of them.  Instead, we go to God, asking for God to make things the way that we want them, for the moment, for the minute that it sounds good.  Instead, God shows us the bright way, but we find the things to make it scary for us.  God shows you the dream job, but your investigation shows that you would have to put in a greater effort.  God shows you the dream house, but your investigation shows that you would have to mow the lawn.  God shows you salvation, but your investigation shows that you would have to follow God.

This Lent, take some time to thank God for all the blessings you have received.  Ask God for courage through every situation in your life, so that you might be able to become the best that you can be.

Day 063: Recommendation Letter

"You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart."                           2 Corinthians 3:2-3

When applying for a school or a job, you usually need a letter of recommendation or a reference.  In both instances, it's a way for the employer to become familiar with who you are.  In these letters, you can usually find someone writing about all the best that you have done and all the good that you are.

From the above passage, we can see that we are letters of recommendation of God, for we are reflections of all the good that God has done.  God created us with many gifts, talents, and other positive traits.  We need to remember this when we go about living our lives, because we need to show that we truly are children of God and not just bags of bones on earth.

Another thing that comes to mind from this passage is that we need to be sure that we are producing results with our work.  Now, results aren't going to look the same for every person.  For some, good results are a massive church with thousands of congregants.  For others, good results will be your living each day.  The world around us, the things and people with which we surround ourselves, reflect who we are as people.  We always need to work to produce good signs about us in those who are around us.  In order to accomplish this, though, is to remember that we too are recommendation letters.  When we finally write ourselves to be perfect, with everything in line, and with all the good in our letters representing all that we are, we can start to write great ones on other people.  We are all called to build each other up as a community: a community of successes.

Take some time this Lent to reevaluate your spiritual life.  Ask for God to write all the good things on you, and ask how you can write great things onto your friends and neighbors. 

 

Day 044: Outreach

"And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'"  Matthew 25:40

This parable reminds me of one of my favorite church songs, "Pequeñas Aclaraciones," which has the refrain, "Va Dios mismo en nuestro mismo caminar." (God himself walks alongside us)

I feel that Lent is a season where we can really explore this idea of God, because God is always around us, whether we're aware of it or not.  Lent is a time for us to reach out our hands to the many different outstretched hands that God shows us along our way.

Jesus teaches us, in this parable, that we cannot just believe with our lips.  We can't just call ourselves Christians without living a life in Christ.  In the same way, we can't say we're students if we're not studying in school.  If we don't do the assignments and tests and requirements for school, we won't get the degree.  If we don't work diligently in our jobs, we won't get our paycheck, let alone keep the job.  So why does being a Christian have to be any different?

All throughout the Bible, we can see examples of people who didn't seem like they were right for the job, but who worked very hard to accomplish what God needed to have happen.  Moses had trouble speaking in public, but strove to make it work and sought the right kind of help.  Jeremiah was afraid to prophesy because he was young, but he continued to work.  Paul persecuted the early Christians, but he had a change of heart and continued to work out a new theology out of his own understanding.

To follow Christ means to work for him.  We can't just sit around, posting about how holy our lives are on Facebook or proclaiming to all our friends that we are righteous beings.  We need to be out there, helping out the less fortunate, loving those who are outcast, spreading the Gospel to all those who may never have heard it before.  We need to go around the mansion that was built for us by the long line of saints before us and make sure that everything is tidy.

Day 013: The Harvest, The Goal

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”       Matthew 9:37-38

 Here is a place where Jesus gives us a prayer to say.  What better way to pray than to pray the way Jesus did?

This specific passage is one that usually rings with the message that Jesus is calling for us to go out and do the work of God.  Indeed, there are so many people out there who are hungry for the Gospel.  But, at the same time, we are all weary from the troubles of this rude world.  We need to pray for Jesus, the Lord of the harvest, to send out his laborers our way.

These days, I had been getting into a sort of rut.  I graduated with my master's degree, but then I didn't know what to do next.  I got turned down in four auditions as I was preparing to graduate, and then I hadn't really picked myself back up from that.  I feel pretty broken in that respect.  However, now that I have plans to perform more this year, I am starting to feel ready to face challenges anew.  It was because I set tangible goals that I am ready to pick myself back up.

When I think about my current situation and story, I can't help but think about how God's chosen people were when Jesus came into the scene.  People were pretty set in their ways of interpretations of the Scriptures and had lots of constructs set in place for their society.  They found a passable way of living under oppression.  But, when Jesus came to the world, he challenged everybody to think about everything in new ways.  How can you spread the Gospel to the other nations?  How do you treat these new people?  How do you receive the love of God?  What is going wrong with your customs?

Jesus means change.  Jesus means change in the lives of the Jews in the past, and Jesus means change in my life today.  Jesus, for me, is the Lord of the goal.  I have trouble whenever I wander around, as a sheep without a shepherd, and it is only whenever I pray to the Lord of my goals, the Lord of my success, the Lord of all that is good in the universe, the Lord of mercy, the Lord of compassion that I can continue down the way.  Life is never going to be easy, and Jesus' life is the prime example of that, but the outcome will sure be worth it.

Today's readings:
Genesis 25-26
Psalm 10 (11)
Proverbs 6:26-40
Matthew 9:32-10:15
Acts 13

New Life

Today's gospel is about Jesus healing a man from being possessed by demons.  However, the story does not end just there.  The demons plea to be put into some pigs, and Jesus sends them there, and then the pigs run off a cliff and die.  This upset the herders, and, therefore, the people told Jesus to leave.
Mind you, the demon possessed man who was famous for being demon possessed just got healed.  He had clean clothes on.  He was a new person.  But, the town cared more about the pigs and the status quo than for the miracle.  They asked for the miracle worker to leave.
Faith in Jesus requires us to live a life that may feel uncomfortable at times.  We have to love that neighbor, or we have to donate that money.  Instead of letting Jesus work miracles in our lives, we tell Jesus what to do.  Let's take a step back from our own habits and let Jesus take control, for He is the Almighty; He is Lord.