I Am An Alien

1 Peter 4:4-5 - They are surprised that you do not plunge into the same swamp of profligacy, and they vilify you; but they will give an account to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 

Thoughts: When a person comes to a close and personal relationship with Jesus Christ, they realize that they can no longer live the same way they did before. For me, my life had to change. I had been born again of the Spirit and I was no longer of this world. I now belonged to my heavenly Father. For now, I must stay in this world and accomplish His mission.

Television was causing a  lot of issues in my life, both for me personally and for my family. How could I even imagine getting closer to God if I kept filling my life with images and words that are not of Him. After ignoring the prodding of God for almost a year, I took the plunge and cable television was gone. The opposition was strong at first but I did not relent. Within 2 weeks my family actually came and thanked me. I think there is still more work to be done here but one step at a time.

For a few years now, I have been wanting to have a mid-life crisis. I would go from wanting to buy a motorcycle to an antique car to some other crazy thing. I never actually did any of these things because I had no peace about them. What I realize now is that I was trying to fill an emptiness in my life. That empty spot was the one reserved for Jesus and nothing else was going to fit in there correctly. I have abandoned myself to Jesus and I am finally going to have my "mid-life" crisis. I am going to be a disciple and evangelist for Christ. Now, this is something I have peace about.

My dad always instilled in my a strong sense of responsibility and much of it rooted around being financially secure. This is not a bad thing but I put too much reliance on the material things of this world and their promise of peace and security. No amount of money was ever going to be enough and peace was certainly not to be found there. I had often place my faith and the faith of my family as secondary. We went to church weekly and frequently received the sacraments but we were kind of missing the boat of true faith. Recently, I told my wife she could quit her job if she wanted. I don't know if she will quit or not but I needed to give up the world’s view on money and possessions. 

There are people who look at me and just can’t understand why I am this way. I greeted a co-worker one day and he asked how I was. I told him that I was fantastic. He said, "Then you aren't of this world". I thought for a second, laughed, told him he was right and walked off. I went to a New Year's eve party and as I mingled with the different people of the party, I again realized that I am not part of this world. Don't get me wrong, I had a good time but I was different than the rest of the people at the party. 

A life dedicated to Christ can be lonely. However, I find my consolation and joy in Jesus. People often see this and they ask why I am joyful. I share the gospel message with them. 

I know there are still places in my life where I need to rid myself of things that are not of God. But I get stronger everyday as I slowly detach myself from the things in my life that do not lead me to God.

The Lord bless you and keep you

Numbers 6:22-27 - The Lord said to Moses: "Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them:

The Lord bless you and keep you!

The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!

The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!

So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them."

Thoughts: I was feeling a bit down at the time I read this and it really picked me up. God, the Lord, is telling Moses. not just some random person that this is how you are to bless the Israelites. This is what He wanted the Iraelites to know. We are God's children and he wants to bless us, he wants to keep us, He does not want to put us up for adoption no matter how bad we behave. This is comforting. 

Due to our selfishness and sinfulness, we often hide in the dark not wanting God to find us. I don't want God to see how bad I am and so I hide in the dark and convince myself that I like it there. It is winter right now and dark for a large part of the day. whenever the sun does finally peak out how wonderful and rejuvenated I feel. God wants to be the sunshine in our lives and warm us more than the sun ever can. Sometimes babies are born with jaundice. I think it is like a lack of vitamin A or something like that. Anyway, the important thing is that to cure that they put the baby in sunlight. When we are feeling down or beat up or distant from the Lord, we need to move into the sunlight of His love and grace. Then we will be renewed. 

So, we walk in the light of Christ, we say goodbye to those these that keep us in darkness and the result is that we will have peace. The message from God to Moses to Aaron and his sons is still relevant today. Let us share and be the blessing that we are called to in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Who do you say that I am?

Matthew 16:15-16 - He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the messiah, the Son of the living God."

Thoughts: Who do I say that Jesus is? This was a question that was posed to me a couple weeks ago and I have been thinking about it since. As I reflect on this question, many words come to mind. 

Father, brother, and guide identify the different roles I see Jesus playing in my life. He is the Father that gives sagely wisdom. He is the Brother and friend I can turn to for help. 

Healer, redeemer, and prophet come to mind when I think about what Jesus has done in my life. 

He is the Creator of all things. This is ever visible when looking in the eyes of my children. 

He is Light, shining for me in my greatest darkness.

Jesus is the standard. He is the perfect example of how things should be, of how we should be. I also think of God like a mother. Always there to take care of us and always there to comfort us and pick us up. No matter how often we fall and disappoint Him, he is always ready to forgive me and give me a chance to do better.

Jesus is eternal and everywhere. I find him in the stillness of the night and the business of my day. 

Jesus is life.

Happy New Year

During these first few days of the new year, I have been thinking about the past year and look with eager anticipation to the new year. This past year has been quite the eventful one. 

Last year at this time I was saying goodbye to my second daughter as she boarded a plane to spend the semester in Italy. It was difficult to say goodbye and pray that all would be well. Everything did go well and she grew and matured while over there and I collected a few more gray hairs. 

My oldest daughter's boyfriend asked me for permission to marry my daughter. Another difficult transition for me but one that I am extremely grateful for. By June we were headed to the church for the wedding. They are happily married and expecting my first grandchild in June. Yahoo!

Daughter number three got her drivers license and turned 18 this year. Now I have 3 adult children. Boy I feel old. 

As eventful as all of that was, I was also quite taken by surprise that God chose this year to turn my life around. He chose this year to help me get off the fence, to stop just being a spectator in my faith life. I was spiritually healed in a very powerful way this year and feel that I must now give back to the One who gave this gift to me. I have started the discernment process for the diaconite. We will see where God takes me with this one. In the meantime I will continue to serve Him in whatever little ways I can. 

OK, now I have the last year recapped. Let's talk about the future. I realized a couple of days ago that I was not hungry. I had not been hungry in a very long time. This was evident just by looking at my waist. Upon further reflection, I also realized that I had lost some of my spiritual hunger. I was still saying all of my prayers and devotions but I was not nearly as hungry for the Word as I had been.

So, what I pray for this coming year is to know hunger. I want to feel my stomach growl because I have neglected to feed it. I want to hungrily devour the Word of God. Hunger is a great driving force in the lives of people. People who never hunger often lose ambition and drive, we become complacent. Maybe my lack of spiritual hunger is caused by a complacency of feeling I was already doing all I could. Perhaps it was some pride in myself causing me to think I didn't need more. Thankfully, God allowed me to be humbled last night and I had to turn to him in supplication.

Happy New Year and I pray that you all know hunger this year. Let us return to feasting on the Word of God.