Self Esteem/Confidence
"You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth. Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be. How precious to me are your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them! Were I to count, they would outnumber the sands; to finish, I would need eternity." Psalm 139: 13-18
"Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.
Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows." Luke 12:6-7
"My son, with humility have self-esteem; prize yourself as you deserve. Who will acquit him who condemns himself? who will honor him who discredits himself?" Sirach 10:27-28
"I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me." Philippians 4:13
"For we are the handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them." Ephesians 2:10
"Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7
"For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church,
because we are members of his body." Eph. 5: 29-30
"They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles' wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint." Isaiah 40:31
"Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that of ourselves we are qualified to take credit for anything as coming from us; rather, our qualification comes from God, who has indeed qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives life."
2 Cor. 3: 4-6
"I rejoice, because I have confidence in you in every respect." 2 Corinthians 7:16
"Not that we dare to class or compare ourselves with some of those who recommend themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. For it is not the one who recommends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord recommends. 2 Cor. 10: 12,18
"Beloved, if (our) hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God" 1 John 3:21
"I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than one ought to think, but to think soberly, each according to the measure of faith that God has apportioned. Rom. 12: 1-3
Self esteem is how you feel about yourself and confidence is the assurance that God is with you in whatever you do or say. How do you feel about your looks, personality and abilities? Your opinion of yourself usually depends on how you have learned to think of yourself from the important people in your life who love you or the opinions and beliefs of strangers as you grow. You have to remember that you are loved by God your Creator and you must honor him by loving Him, yourself and others. You were designed for greatness. You shouldn't settle for less than what you are truly worth.
Despite what the world says, your worth is not the sum of your appearance, your abilities and how rich you are or how the culture thinks you should fit in. How do you see yourself? Do you define yourself by how many trophies you have or how much you have in the bank? It's not about what the world values with looks, brains, wealth and talent but God looks at your character, your attitude, your generosity and your faithfulness. Are you more concerned about looking good or doing good? You need to do the best you can with what the Lord has given you. You also need to try and live for Him and less for you. You have to realize that you can love and be loved and you need others as they need you.
You exist by the will and wisdom of the God who made you for Himself to know, honor and enjoy Him forever. God should be the most important person in your life because He not only made you but he cares and loves you more than anyone can imagine. You need to think of yourself as the person God says you are to reshape the way you think about yourself. He alone can give you every reason to feel good about yourself. You need to accept your imperfectness, limitations and what you cannot change. You can rise above your problems and circumstances and take control of what you can but let God do the rest. Even though we have weakness and are flawed by human nature because of original sin with our first parents, Adam and Eve; in God's eyes you are adequate, likeable, valuable and needed.
You should have a good, healthy, high self esteem but one with humility and not have too high of an opinion of yourself. To achieve this, you need to understand your dependence on God and on one another. You need to put your confidence in God and not just yourself and the opinion of others. If you feel you have nothing to offer then you'll probably act like you don't, if you think poorly of yourself and think you're going to fail, then you will act poorly. On the other hand, if you know you have something to offer in life, then you'll make a positive difference in others lives. You won't back away from relationships and you'll have what it takes to handle any challenges that come your way. You must think well of yourself to meet your own goals and expectations. Self-esteem and confidence are something you need if you expect to grow in your faith. Getting on a bike for the first time showed that you had confidence in yourself and in the person helping you. Jesus wants you to place your confidence in Him, for He is your strength and will carry you through any situation in life. Just like you didn't learn to ride a bike in a flash, you need to wait patiently for Jesus to fulfill your needs.
In your walk with Christ, you can by His Spirit be anything He wants you to be, do anything He wants you to do and say anything He wants you to say. But Jesus also wants you to put Him ahead of every other relationship. God sees everything more clearly than you do so you need to trust Him for your needs. If you completely rely on God, you will find dignity and self-acceptance. It is normal to feel discouraged by your failure because that shows that you care about yourself. You were made to serve God and feel good about the privilege of being one of His servants. If you serve anything other than God, you will feel empty and unfulfilled. You just need to depend on Him to resist temptation and overcome the struggles and obstacles in your life.
Your soul and spirit can only be filled by giving of yourself. It's not about having or getting the latest and greatest electronic...it's about contributing and not acquiring things. So you can try and do something for someone every week, thinking of others rather than yourself. Other ways to boost your self-esteem are to think positively about yourself and catch yourself when you say something negative about yourself and replace it with an affirmation or something good. Satan sometimes will have his hand on the recorder in your brain....with his themes of shame, guilt and defeat. But hearing the true voice of God and seeing God the right way, you will always triumph in making wise decisions and choices with His help.
Furthermore, you can write down a list of reasons why you are valuable and put it on a mirror and read it every day. Also read your Bible and you'll renew your mind with the words and thoughts of God. There you will find self-respect, self-acceptance and see yourself from heaven's point of view. And don't forget that trying new things, exercise and getting outdoors have been proven to boost your spirits as well. You must give up your own will and follow the will of God. Believe you can do anything God enables you to do. If you are faithful to the plan God reveals to you, you will be successful. And as you succeed by figuring out His plan for you, your self-confidence will soar.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Being Positive instead of Complaining
"Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus," Philippians 2:5
"Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world," Philippians 2:14-15
"Be hospitable to one another without complaining." 1 Peter 4:9
Do you know anyone who complains and thinks nothing ever good happens to them? They might groan, roll their eyes and stomp their feet a lot. When things go wrong, how do you react? Do you ever feel down, grouchy, lazy, hateful, mean, or just want to act ugly? Then you are a victim of a bad or negative attitude. God wants you to trade those bad attitudes for better ones. He tells you that we should not trust your feelings. Feelings lie to us. Jesus has a good attitude and the cure for this syndrome. You need to ask yourself when you feel like moping, "How would Jesus act?" We should think in the same way that Jesus thinks. This is not always easy for us but He can help. You just need to work on your attitude and change the way you think. It is a daily challenge. Match up your attitudes to that of Jesus and see if they looks like His. Acting as Jesus would can bring joy
back into a bad situation! Seek God out and he will help you have an attitude that will honor Him.
Complaining is very common and problems happen all the time in everyday living. But it doesn’t make it right to complain if you feel you are suffering a hardship or being inconvenienced. And who really wants to be around whiners who can rub off on you, lead you to pout yourself and pick up a bad habit? But did you know that the gripers and grumblers of the world don’t have any more problems than anyone else? And did you also know that complaining will not change anything or make the situation better. You might have heard that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. Having a bad attitude will cause you to feel bitter inside and make you think that the whole world is against you and in turn hurt those around you. Your only hope is prayer and cooperation with God to have a positive attitude.
You need to have an attitude like Jesus and handle situations in your life like He would. He should be your model so you will be a positive Christian example to all those around you. There will be a lot of stress, disappointments and frustrations that you will face in life and family and friends can really let you down. You have the choice of either making them get you down or not. It's how you react to disappointments and act when you don't get your way. It's all in how you handle it! When you feel sorry for yourself and blame others or think that you don't deserve it, just rise above it and choose to repond in a more loving way instead of getting all hurt and angry. It is not easy to free yourself of these feelings but God wants that for you. If you complain too much or focus on all the negative things and all the things that go wrong in your life, you can forget all the good things God does in your life. You can waste your time complaining or you can find a way to make things better, remembering all the others things God has done for you.
A bad attitude can turn you away from God and may lead you to make wrong choices. A happy, positive person can do God’s work and teach others about Him and others will listen. The good news is that you have control over your emotions and can decide your reaction. Having a good attitude and remaining positive will let Christ show in your life. You don’t want to show discontentment with the life God has given you and dissatisfaction with what He is doing in your life. After all, aren’t you supposed to show God’s love in what you say and what you do?
Negative attitudes come from negative thoughts. When negative actions and words come from negative thoughts, your body and mouth will follow with what you are thinking. So all you need to do is turn any negative thoughts you have into positive responses. Every day is a balance of doing what you really want to do and what you feel you have to do that you might not enjoy. When your mom asks you to do something, you can say in a nice tone, "Okay mom" and when you know you did something wrong, just say,“I’m sorry" and when you can’t do something and get a "no" for an answer just say, "Okay, maybe next time." Saying any of those words may feel forced at first but with practice it will become easier and more natural to you. You have a choice every day on what attitude you will have for the day. You are in charge of your attitude.
When you feel in a complaining mood, you can stop and think before you speak and tell yourself that you need to take a deep breath and calm down. You could make a list of the positives and negatives in your life and then focus on the things you wrote on your positive list. This may require a lot of work on your part to pull you back into the positive mode when you think you are slipping into negativity. So try and seek the good and learn to be okay with the bad and then look past the bad to see the good in life. If you can keep a positive attitude then you can manage difficult situations that will creep up in your life. And I bet you can still find the good in those challenging times because God’s blessings are right in front of you.
The opposite of complaining is being grateful and thankful to God because you have to trust that He is only working out His plan for you in your life. And being strong in your faith will make the trials easier and keep you from the temptations of Satan. Put on a new attitude because you belong to God. You can choose not to get mad, or ugly. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you act in kindness and love. No one is stronger than God! The Holy Spirit will show you His power as He helps you change your unpleasant attitudes. When you ask for God's will to be done in you, even your own will is not stronger than His. He wants you to choose to do what is right and use His Holy Spirit's power to help you change the way you act. So remember not to gripe and whine but ask God to help you change and He will give you the grace to overcome complaining and move forward.
"Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world," Philippians 2:14-15
"Be hospitable to one another without complaining." 1 Peter 4:9
Do you know anyone who complains and thinks nothing ever good happens to them? They might groan, roll their eyes and stomp their feet a lot. When things go wrong, how do you react? Do you ever feel down, grouchy, lazy, hateful, mean, or just want to act ugly? Then you are a victim of a bad or negative attitude. God wants you to trade those bad attitudes for better ones. He tells you that we should not trust your feelings. Feelings lie to us. Jesus has a good attitude and the cure for this syndrome. You need to ask yourself when you feel like moping, "How would Jesus act?" We should think in the same way that Jesus thinks. This is not always easy for us but He can help. You just need to work on your attitude and change the way you think. It is a daily challenge. Match up your attitudes to that of Jesus and see if they looks like His. Acting as Jesus would can bring joy
back into a bad situation! Seek God out and he will help you have an attitude that will honor Him.
Complaining is very common and problems happen all the time in everyday living. But it doesn’t make it right to complain if you feel you are suffering a hardship or being inconvenienced. And who really wants to be around whiners who can rub off on you, lead you to pout yourself and pick up a bad habit? But did you know that the gripers and grumblers of the world don’t have any more problems than anyone else? And did you also know that complaining will not change anything or make the situation better. You might have heard that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. Having a bad attitude will cause you to feel bitter inside and make you think that the whole world is against you and in turn hurt those around you. Your only hope is prayer and cooperation with God to have a positive attitude.
You need to have an attitude like Jesus and handle situations in your life like He would. He should be your model so you will be a positive Christian example to all those around you. There will be a lot of stress, disappointments and frustrations that you will face in life and family and friends can really let you down. You have the choice of either making them get you down or not. It's how you react to disappointments and act when you don't get your way. It's all in how you handle it! When you feel sorry for yourself and blame others or think that you don't deserve it, just rise above it and choose to repond in a more loving way instead of getting all hurt and angry. It is not easy to free yourself of these feelings but God wants that for you. If you complain too much or focus on all the negative things and all the things that go wrong in your life, you can forget all the good things God does in your life. You can waste your time complaining or you can find a way to make things better, remembering all the others things God has done for you.
A bad attitude can turn you away from God and may lead you to make wrong choices. A happy, positive person can do God’s work and teach others about Him and others will listen. The good news is that you have control over your emotions and can decide your reaction. Having a good attitude and remaining positive will let Christ show in your life. You don’t want to show discontentment with the life God has given you and dissatisfaction with what He is doing in your life. After all, aren’t you supposed to show God’s love in what you say and what you do?
Negative attitudes come from negative thoughts. When negative actions and words come from negative thoughts, your body and mouth will follow with what you are thinking. So all you need to do is turn any negative thoughts you have into positive responses. Every day is a balance of doing what you really want to do and what you feel you have to do that you might not enjoy. When your mom asks you to do something, you can say in a nice tone, "Okay mom" and when you know you did something wrong, just say,“I’m sorry" and when you can’t do something and get a "no" for an answer just say, "Okay, maybe next time." Saying any of those words may feel forced at first but with practice it will become easier and more natural to you. You have a choice every day on what attitude you will have for the day. You are in charge of your attitude.
When you feel in a complaining mood, you can stop and think before you speak and tell yourself that you need to take a deep breath and calm down. You could make a list of the positives and negatives in your life and then focus on the things you wrote on your positive list. This may require a lot of work on your part to pull you back into the positive mode when you think you are slipping into negativity. So try and seek the good and learn to be okay with the bad and then look past the bad to see the good in life. If you can keep a positive attitude then you can manage difficult situations that will creep up in your life. And I bet you can still find the good in those challenging times because God’s blessings are right in front of you.
The opposite of complaining is being grateful and thankful to God because you have to trust that He is only working out His plan for you in your life. And being strong in your faith will make the trials easier and keep you from the temptations of Satan. Put on a new attitude because you belong to God. You can choose not to get mad, or ugly. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you act in kindness and love. No one is stronger than God! The Holy Spirit will show you His power as He helps you change your unpleasant attitudes. When you ask for God's will to be done in you, even your own will is not stronger than His. He wants you to choose to do what is right and use His Holy Spirit's power to help you change the way you act. So remember not to gripe and whine but ask God to help you change and He will give you the grace to overcome complaining and move forward.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Heaven, Hell and Purgatory
"In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth," Gen. 1:1
"Look down, then, from heaven, your holy abode, and bless your people Israel and the soil you have given us in the land flowing with milk and honey which you promised on oath to our fathers." Deu. 26:15
"The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven. God's eyes keep careful watch; they test all peoples." Psalms 11:4
"Thus says the Lord: The heavens are my throne, the earth is my footstool. What kind of house can you build for me; what is to be my resting place?" Isaiah 66:1
"Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Mat 5:12
"But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal."
Mat. 6:20
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. Mat. 8:10
"So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God." Mark 16:19
"In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be." John 14:2-3
"The heavens are my throne, the earth is my footstool. What kind of house can you build for me? says the Lord, or what is to be my resting place?" Act 7:49
"Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together 4 with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord." 1 Thes. 4:17
"But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth 11 in which righteousness dwells."
2 Peter 3:13
"Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the victor I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that is in the garden of God." Rev. 2:7
Heaven is where you can enjoy the fullness of communion with God so it is the state of supreme happiness. You can also think of it as the dwelling place of God that you can experience for all eternity if you believed in Him and remained faithful to His will. Jesus opened heaven to us when He died on the cross and rose from the dead. It is not a physical place in the clouds but a living, personal relationship with the Holy Trinity. Heaven is the ultimate goal that you should strive for through His grace if you lived your life welcoming God and opening yourself to His love.
Hell
"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few." Matthew 7:13-14
"Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." Matthew 13:49-50
"And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Matthew 25:46
"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." Mark 9:43-48
"These will pay the penalty of eternal ruin, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power," 2 Thess. 1:9
"Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld."
Revelations 1:18b
"The Devil who had led them astray was thrown into the pool of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." Revelations 20:10
"But as for cowards, 8 the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death."
Revelations 21:8
Hell is the opposite condition of existence than heaven and is the ultimate consequence of sin if you chose to freely reject God’s love and forgiveness during your life. It brings eternal suffering and everlasting punishment with the loss of God and no return to Him, the source of all life and joy. You can avoid the fiery furnace of hell by saying “yes” to God and “no” to the temptations of the Devil.
Purgatory
"In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water." 1 Pet 3:19-20
"for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire (itself) will test the quality of each one's work. If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. But if someone's work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire."
1 Cor. 3:11-15
"They disciplined us for a short time as seemed right to them, but he does so for our benefit, in order that we may share his holiness." Heb. 12:10
He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin. 2 Maccabees 12:43-46
"but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any (one) who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." Rev. 21:27
"And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." Mt. 12:32
You can think of purgatory as the boot camp of heaven so that our sins can be taken off our souls. It is simply the last stage of sanctification or purification (cleansing) after death before you enter into perfect and complete communion with God. It is not a place but a state of being where you have to be brought up to the level of spiritual excellence. In order to do this you must endure some kind of pain or discomfort before you receive the reward of heaven. It is also joyful because your soul is in closer union with God than it is on earth and you will have a final and full appreciation of just how much God loves you and how gracious He is to you since you know you are guaranteed to enjoy God forever.
It is not a middle state between heaven and hell but is more like a mudroom or closet to heaven since everyone who goes to purgatory goes to heaven. After all, you need to get gussied up before entering the King’s palace. You need to be fitted for life in heaven so this transition is necessary to become fully united with God and the whole communion of saints.
You, the living can pray for the souls in purgatory for them to be made holy more quickly and in the most painless way possible. You can even help your deceased loved ones and other poor suffering souls in purgatory by doing good works for them and making sacrifices. If you don’t go straight to heaven, you will remain in purgatory until you pay or make up for your sins (even the ones already forgiven) depending on the number and seriousness of them or until Christ’s second coming at the end of the world. It is then that you will achieve the holiness needed to enter the joy of heaven. While on earth, you can even try and lessen your time in purgatory by avoiding sin, fasting, almsgiving, doing penance and gaining indulgences.
"Look down, then, from heaven, your holy abode, and bless your people Israel and the soil you have given us in the land flowing with milk and honey which you promised on oath to our fathers." Deu. 26:15
"The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven. God's eyes keep careful watch; they test all peoples." Psalms 11:4
"Thus says the Lord: The heavens are my throne, the earth is my footstool. What kind of house can you build for me; what is to be my resting place?" Isaiah 66:1
"Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Mat 5:12
"But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal."
Mat. 6:20
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father. Mat. 8:10
"So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God." Mark 16:19
"In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be." John 14:2-3
"The heavens are my throne, the earth is my footstool. What kind of house can you build for me? says the Lord, or what is to be my resting place?" Act 7:49
"Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together 4 with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord." 1 Thes. 4:17
"But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth 11 in which righteousness dwells."
2 Peter 3:13
"Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the victor I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that is in the garden of God." Rev. 2:7
Heaven is where you can enjoy the fullness of communion with God so it is the state of supreme happiness. You can also think of it as the dwelling place of God that you can experience for all eternity if you believed in Him and remained faithful to His will. Jesus opened heaven to us when He died on the cross and rose from the dead. It is not a physical place in the clouds but a living, personal relationship with the Holy Trinity. Heaven is the ultimate goal that you should strive for through His grace if you lived your life welcoming God and opening yourself to His love.
Hell
"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few." Matthew 7:13-14
"Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." Matthew 13:49-50
"And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Matthew 25:46
"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." Mark 9:43-48
"These will pay the penalty of eternal ruin, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power," 2 Thess. 1:9
"Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld."
Revelations 1:18b
"The Devil who had led them astray was thrown into the pool of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." Revelations 20:10
"But as for cowards, 8 the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death."
Revelations 21:8
Hell is the opposite condition of existence than heaven and is the ultimate consequence of sin if you chose to freely reject God’s love and forgiveness during your life. It brings eternal suffering and everlasting punishment with the loss of God and no return to Him, the source of all life and joy. You can avoid the fiery furnace of hell by saying “yes” to God and “no” to the temptations of the Devil.
Purgatory
"In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water." 1 Pet 3:19-20
"for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire (itself) will test the quality of each one's work. If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. But if someone's work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire."
1 Cor. 3:11-15
"They disciplined us for a short time as seemed right to them, but he does so for our benefit, in order that we may share his holiness." Heb. 12:10
He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin. 2 Maccabees 12:43-46
"but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any (one) who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." Rev. 21:27
"And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." Mt. 12:32
You can think of purgatory as the boot camp of heaven so that our sins can be taken off our souls. It is simply the last stage of sanctification or purification (cleansing) after death before you enter into perfect and complete communion with God. It is not a place but a state of being where you have to be brought up to the level of spiritual excellence. In order to do this you must endure some kind of pain or discomfort before you receive the reward of heaven. It is also joyful because your soul is in closer union with God than it is on earth and you will have a final and full appreciation of just how much God loves you and how gracious He is to you since you know you are guaranteed to enjoy God forever.
It is not a middle state between heaven and hell but is more like a mudroom or closet to heaven since everyone who goes to purgatory goes to heaven. After all, you need to get gussied up before entering the King’s palace. You need to be fitted for life in heaven so this transition is necessary to become fully united with God and the whole communion of saints.
You, the living can pray for the souls in purgatory for them to be made holy more quickly and in the most painless way possible. You can even help your deceased loved ones and other poor suffering souls in purgatory by doing good works for them and making sacrifices. If you don’t go straight to heaven, you will remain in purgatory until you pay or make up for your sins (even the ones already forgiven) depending on the number and seriousness of them or until Christ’s second coming at the end of the world. It is then that you will achieve the holiness needed to enter the joy of heaven. While on earth, you can even try and lessen your time in purgatory by avoiding sin, fasting, almsgiving, doing penance and gaining indulgences.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
The Media
Inappropriate TV, Movies and Songs
*omit if not age-appropriate
There’s no mistaking that watching TV, videos, movies and listening to songs causes you to relax because it requires low levels of concentration. But did you know that whatever you read, listen to or look at has an incredible power and an effect on you? The power of your mind is awesome, and it can have positive and negative influences on you. When you feed your mind with negative influences, the negative will come out. On the other hand, if you feed your mind with positive messages, then the positive will win. What comes in must come out is often the case with the common phrase "garbage in, garbage out!" When you fill your mind with garbage, the natural thing to do is to act upon it and it may be who you become.
But the good news is that you can, for the most part, control and allow what you want to enter your mind. This ensures that you can live a positive and healthy lifestyle. It's hard to escape the effects media can have on you after processing everything you see and hear. Offensive or inappropriate material is found in TV shows, movies, music, books, magazines and the Internet. Even when you view violence, it makes you less likely to repond to others in a caring and loving way. You have the power to choose what kind of shows and music you invite into your mind. This is why you should choose only media and entertainment that is uplifting for you so you won't lose the Spirit of the Lord. So you really shouldn't attend, view or participate in forms of entertainment which are immoral, violent or vulgar.
A lot of shows that you may find cool and exciting are full of reckless driving, nudity, bad language, drug use, casual *sex/relationships and other risky behaviors such as smoking and underage drinking. So many of them are unrealistic and don’t resemble the true lives of anyone you may know. Even commercials can bombard you with images of impossible thinness and beauty. So you have to ask yourself if will you be truly happy if you buy a certain product that a celebrity is telling you you must have. *Did you know that two-thirds of TV shows and movies contain sexual content with verbal and visual references? So this entertainment is a major source of information/misinformation about sex and does not give healthy attitudes and messages surrounding sex.
Music is an important and powerful part of life and it can have a good influence on you. There's no denying that it plays a significant role in your life. But some music can have evil effects on your mind and spirit. Do you know what the lyrics in the song you listen to are actually saying or referring to? Whether you realize it or not, your mind is recording everything that is placed in it. You might think you are more concerned with the beat than with the words but your mind will pick up on the lyrics even when you aren't focusing on the words to the songs.
Some songs in popular music today (and it can include rock, hip hop, heavy metal country and rap) have lyrics that are full of bad language and themes. These themes can be drugs, alcohol, destructive relationships, and even hate aimed at women and minorities. There are subtle and not-so-subtle lyrics coming out of the mouths of some of your favorite music superstars. Video games can even encourage violence. Some are filled with obscene and indecent images, and they portray characters making poor moral decisions. These are not appropriate values for you. Don't you want to keep your mind and spirit pure like God wants you to be? Taking in questionable content also leaves little room and time for God and takes away from family and friends as well.
So, what's wrong with watching and listening to inappropriate shows, videos, pictures and songs you may find appealing? This type of media can ruin your mind and heart and weaken your affection for God. You'll hear actors cursing God or take God's name in vain in times of anger, pain and even joy. God and the Christian faith are made fun of in many ways with all the immorality, impurity and drug usage. They show disrepect for Jesus and the Holy Spirit and go against the Word of God.
You should choose carefully the shows, videos and music that you watch and listen to; you should be a selective watcher and listener. If you encounter anything that you don't think will meet and keep God's standards, you should have the courage to turn it off, change it, or put it down. You can ask yourself if a certain favorite show or song has control over you. Do you glorify God by watching or listening to it? Could your time be better seeking God's wisdom or spent better in prayer? And just think, would you still be watching these kinds of shows and listening to your music if Jesus came to visit? It is important to show others the love of Christ through your behavior and your lifestyle. You can bring others into God's Kingdom by serving God, living a clean life and guarding your mind against poor influences.
*omit if not age-appropriate
There’s no mistaking that watching TV, videos, movies and listening to songs causes you to relax because it requires low levels of concentration. But did you know that whatever you read, listen to or look at has an incredible power and an effect on you? The power of your mind is awesome, and it can have positive and negative influences on you. When you feed your mind with negative influences, the negative will come out. On the other hand, if you feed your mind with positive messages, then the positive will win. What comes in must come out is often the case with the common phrase "garbage in, garbage out!" When you fill your mind with garbage, the natural thing to do is to act upon it and it may be who you become.
But the good news is that you can, for the most part, control and allow what you want to enter your mind. This ensures that you can live a positive and healthy lifestyle. It's hard to escape the effects media can have on you after processing everything you see and hear. Offensive or inappropriate material is found in TV shows, movies, music, books, magazines and the Internet. Even when you view violence, it makes you less likely to repond to others in a caring and loving way. You have the power to choose what kind of shows and music you invite into your mind. This is why you should choose only media and entertainment that is uplifting for you so you won't lose the Spirit of the Lord. So you really shouldn't attend, view or participate in forms of entertainment which are immoral, violent or vulgar.
A lot of shows that you may find cool and exciting are full of reckless driving, nudity, bad language, drug use, casual *sex/relationships and other risky behaviors such as smoking and underage drinking. So many of them are unrealistic and don’t resemble the true lives of anyone you may know. Even commercials can bombard you with images of impossible thinness and beauty. So you have to ask yourself if will you be truly happy if you buy a certain product that a celebrity is telling you you must have. *Did you know that two-thirds of TV shows and movies contain sexual content with verbal and visual references? So this entertainment is a major source of information/misinformation about sex and does not give healthy attitudes and messages surrounding sex.
Music is an important and powerful part of life and it can have a good influence on you. There's no denying that it plays a significant role in your life. But some music can have evil effects on your mind and spirit. Do you know what the lyrics in the song you listen to are actually saying or referring to? Whether you realize it or not, your mind is recording everything that is placed in it. You might think you are more concerned with the beat than with the words but your mind will pick up on the lyrics even when you aren't focusing on the words to the songs.
Some songs in popular music today (and it can include rock, hip hop, heavy metal country and rap) have lyrics that are full of bad language and themes. These themes can be drugs, alcohol, destructive relationships, and even hate aimed at women and minorities. There are subtle and not-so-subtle lyrics coming out of the mouths of some of your favorite music superstars. Video games can even encourage violence. Some are filled with obscene and indecent images, and they portray characters making poor moral decisions. These are not appropriate values for you. Don't you want to keep your mind and spirit pure like God wants you to be? Taking in questionable content also leaves little room and time for God and takes away from family and friends as well.
So, what's wrong with watching and listening to inappropriate shows, videos, pictures and songs you may find appealing? This type of media can ruin your mind and heart and weaken your affection for God. You'll hear actors cursing God or take God's name in vain in times of anger, pain and even joy. God and the Christian faith are made fun of in many ways with all the immorality, impurity and drug usage. They show disrepect for Jesus and the Holy Spirit and go against the Word of God.
You should choose carefully the shows, videos and music that you watch and listen to; you should be a selective watcher and listener. If you encounter anything that you don't think will meet and keep God's standards, you should have the courage to turn it off, change it, or put it down. You can ask yourself if a certain favorite show or song has control over you. Do you glorify God by watching or listening to it? Could your time be better seeking God's wisdom or spent better in prayer? And just think, would you still be watching these kinds of shows and listening to your music if Jesus came to visit? It is important to show others the love of Christ through your behavior and your lifestyle. You can bring others into God's Kingdom by serving God, living a clean life and guarding your mind against poor influences.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Alcohol and Drugs
Alcohol and Drugs
"Old wine and new deprive my people of understanding." Hosea 4:11b
"Hear, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart in the right way. Consort not with winebibbers, nor with those who eat meat to excess; For the drunkard and the glutton come to poverty," Proverbs 23:19-21a
"Wine is arrogant, strong drink is riotous; none who goes astray for it is wise." Proverbs 20:1
"But these also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priest and prophet stagger from strong drink, overpowered by wine; Led astray by strong drink, staggering in their visions, tottering when giving judgment." Isaiah 28:7
"For a bishop as God's steward must be blameless, not arrogant, not irritable, not a drunkard, not aggresive, not greedy for sordid gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, temerate, just, holy, and self-controlled.
Titus 1:7-8
"Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:19-21
"But I now write to you not to associate with anyone named a brother, if he is immoral, greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunkard, or a robber, not even to eat with such a person. God will judge those outside. "Purge the evil person from your midst." 1 Corinthians 5:11, 13
"nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God."
1 Corinthians 6:10
"And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit," Ephesians 5:18
Do you want to become a statistic in the war on drugs? You better believe that when your lives are controlled by addictions to cigarettes, alcohol or drugs, you are made a slave and those bonds can lead to a life of ruin or even death with the negative effects these substances can have in your life. The world that we live in today will tell you that to have fun and to be social and to look cool, you have to drink or get high. And then later you may end up as an alcoholic or a crackhead. Yes, nowadays you can't drive your car, watch TV, or turn on your radio without somehow seeing and hearing how the world glamorizes the use of alcohol and drugs.
But how does God feel about these substances? The fact is that you are commanded by God to live a life of holiness and you are not showing your love or being a good witness for Christ if such addictions control you, now are you? How many of you are trying to prove something to your so-called friends and fit in with them instead of following God's warning to not abuse these substances that alter your behavior and damage your mind? Don't you want to be used by God? How can God use you as a witness to others if you have no self-control, are setting a bad example to others, and are behaving just like the world by drinking and getting high? God's Word tells us that for us to be used by God, we must be sober and avoid intoxicating substances. The Devil loves it when you get drunk and use drugs because you are then in no shape to fight against his attacks. He knows that with your inhibitions lowered and your judgment gone, you will sin and get into things that you would have avoided had you been sober.
Smoking is an uncool, costly and smelly habit. Why throw your money away on tobacco when you could use that money for clothes or computer games? Smoking makes your skin look older, your teeth yellow and your breath, clothes and hair stink. Most people know that smoking is bad for them and want to quit but find it hard because of the nicotine ingredient. The tar in cigarettes can cause serious health problems like lung cancer. Are you aware that the nicotine in cigarettes can be more addictive than illegal drugs and the tar in marijuana can be four times more dangerous than tobacco smoke? Yes, cigarettes can be a gateway to stronger, more hardcore drugs.
Underage drinking can set you up for a lifetime of trouble because it causes long lasting changes to your developing brain. When of age, drinking itself is not a sin but abusing alcohol is because you no longer have power over yourself. Not only do you lose control of your ability to think clearly, but did you know that drinking alcohol can cause you to become argumentative, act violently, engage in risky behaviors and drive recklessly? It can even go as far as causing the breakdown of families. In fact, illegal drinking and driving causes over half of all road accidents. Did you also know that heavy drinking can lead to liver damage, ulcers, malnourishment, cancer and that it kills brain cells? Don’t you think as a Catholic Christian, you should be strong enough and avoid drinking too much (not consuming alcohol above your tolerance level) and not get into the party scene? When you first go away to college, peer pressure can be heavy because you want to fit in. Our culture tells you that drinking is fun, that people who drink are social and attractive, and you even may see the allure of partying with how the young celebrities behave and how movies portray it. Do you really want to live in such a messed up reality?
If you are a smart, sensible person, you will never even try cigarettes and illegal drugs because of their addictive and harmful nature. Drugs are indeed people wreckers. These substances affect so many of your loved ones if you become a user because they see the damage that it causes you. Drugs don't make you more social, more creative or a cooler person. Those substances only steal your health, cloud your mind, make you a danger to others, and lead you farther from God. They only create money problems, the inability to do well in school or hold down a job, and even lead to an overdose resulting in death. There are many users who even have committed crimes against their neighbors and friends because they had to get some money for a quick fix.
Do you know why a lot of people drink and do drugs? They do it to try to escape their lives, improve their mood and confidence, medicate themselves when they are feeling stress or pain and in times of celebration, make them more outgoing and forget all their worries. But these substances will only weaken your common sense and give you a false sense of security. It makes you feel that you can only experience those things through using these substances. There are a lot of other social interactions that do not revolve around drinking and chemicals such as sports activities or theatrical performances. So live your life without being drunk or getting high. You need to choose this day whom you will serve. You can serve God or you can serve your own fleshly lusts. And if you choose to serve God, you need to follow His commands. The Holy Spirit is in you and you need to glorify God in your body. That means you should look after your body and not put harmful substances in it at all while treating your body as a Temple of the Holy Spirit.
"Old wine and new deprive my people of understanding." Hosea 4:11b
"Hear, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart in the right way. Consort not with winebibbers, nor with those who eat meat to excess; For the drunkard and the glutton come to poverty," Proverbs 23:19-21a
"Wine is arrogant, strong drink is riotous; none who goes astray for it is wise." Proverbs 20:1
"But these also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priest and prophet stagger from strong drink, overpowered by wine; Led astray by strong drink, staggering in their visions, tottering when giving judgment." Isaiah 28:7
"For a bishop as God's steward must be blameless, not arrogant, not irritable, not a drunkard, not aggresive, not greedy for sordid gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, temerate, just, holy, and self-controlled.
Titus 1:7-8
"Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:19-21
"But I now write to you not to associate with anyone named a brother, if he is immoral, greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunkard, or a robber, not even to eat with such a person. God will judge those outside. "Purge the evil person from your midst." 1 Corinthians 5:11, 13
"nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God."
1 Corinthians 6:10
"And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit," Ephesians 5:18
Do you want to become a statistic in the war on drugs? You better believe that when your lives are controlled by addictions to cigarettes, alcohol or drugs, you are made a slave and those bonds can lead to a life of ruin or even death with the negative effects these substances can have in your life. The world that we live in today will tell you that to have fun and to be social and to look cool, you have to drink or get high. And then later you may end up as an alcoholic or a crackhead. Yes, nowadays you can't drive your car, watch TV, or turn on your radio without somehow seeing and hearing how the world glamorizes the use of alcohol and drugs.
But how does God feel about these substances? The fact is that you are commanded by God to live a life of holiness and you are not showing your love or being a good witness for Christ if such addictions control you, now are you? How many of you are trying to prove something to your so-called friends and fit in with them instead of following God's warning to not abuse these substances that alter your behavior and damage your mind? Don't you want to be used by God? How can God use you as a witness to others if you have no self-control, are setting a bad example to others, and are behaving just like the world by drinking and getting high? God's Word tells us that for us to be used by God, we must be sober and avoid intoxicating substances. The Devil loves it when you get drunk and use drugs because you are then in no shape to fight against his attacks. He knows that with your inhibitions lowered and your judgment gone, you will sin and get into things that you would have avoided had you been sober.
Smoking is an uncool, costly and smelly habit. Why throw your money away on tobacco when you could use that money for clothes or computer games? Smoking makes your skin look older, your teeth yellow and your breath, clothes and hair stink. Most people know that smoking is bad for them and want to quit but find it hard because of the nicotine ingredient. The tar in cigarettes can cause serious health problems like lung cancer. Are you aware that the nicotine in cigarettes can be more addictive than illegal drugs and the tar in marijuana can be four times more dangerous than tobacco smoke? Yes, cigarettes can be a gateway to stronger, more hardcore drugs.
Underage drinking can set you up for a lifetime of trouble because it causes long lasting changes to your developing brain. When of age, drinking itself is not a sin but abusing alcohol is because you no longer have power over yourself. Not only do you lose control of your ability to think clearly, but did you know that drinking alcohol can cause you to become argumentative, act violently, engage in risky behaviors and drive recklessly? It can even go as far as causing the breakdown of families. In fact, illegal drinking and driving causes over half of all road accidents. Did you also know that heavy drinking can lead to liver damage, ulcers, malnourishment, cancer and that it kills brain cells? Don’t you think as a Catholic Christian, you should be strong enough and avoid drinking too much (not consuming alcohol above your tolerance level) and not get into the party scene? When you first go away to college, peer pressure can be heavy because you want to fit in. Our culture tells you that drinking is fun, that people who drink are social and attractive, and you even may see the allure of partying with how the young celebrities behave and how movies portray it. Do you really want to live in such a messed up reality?
If you are a smart, sensible person, you will never even try cigarettes and illegal drugs because of their addictive and harmful nature. Drugs are indeed people wreckers. These substances affect so many of your loved ones if you become a user because they see the damage that it causes you. Drugs don't make you more social, more creative or a cooler person. Those substances only steal your health, cloud your mind, make you a danger to others, and lead you farther from God. They only create money problems, the inability to do well in school or hold down a job, and even lead to an overdose resulting in death. There are many users who even have committed crimes against their neighbors and friends because they had to get some money for a quick fix.
Do you know why a lot of people drink and do drugs? They do it to try to escape their lives, improve their mood and confidence, medicate themselves when they are feeling stress or pain and in times of celebration, make them more outgoing and forget all their worries. But these substances will only weaken your common sense and give you a false sense of security. It makes you feel that you can only experience those things through using these substances. There are a lot of other social interactions that do not revolve around drinking and chemicals such as sports activities or theatrical performances. So live your life without being drunk or getting high. You need to choose this day whom you will serve. You can serve God or you can serve your own fleshly lusts. And if you choose to serve God, you need to follow His commands. The Holy Spirit is in you and you need to glorify God in your body. That means you should look after your body and not put harmful substances in it at all while treating your body as a Temple of the Holy Spirit.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Peer Pressure
Peer Pressure
*omit if not age-appropriate
"Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked. Nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, But delights in the law of the Lord and mediates on his law day and night." Psalms 1:1-2
Peer pressure is when you act a certain way because you want to fit in and be accepted by certain people. The pressure comes from your peers, it comes from the media, and it's all around us. Usually we give in to peer pressure from our friends and from the world in order to fit in with certain people and to feel like we belong. You try and behave in certain ways in order to get along with people and blend in with the crowd. You usually have a choice of how you will act. If you decide to do your own thing, you might get laughed at or talked about or shunned. Others may only tease or ridicule you to get you to do the wrong thing and try to do what they want you to do. Nobody wants to be the person who gets talked about or laughed at.
Sometimes the pressure that you feel involves superficial things, like dressing a certain way to be considered cool. You have to have the name-brand clothes or shoes. Or maybe the pressure involves doing things that you think everyone else is doing. Or maybe the pressure involves doing something illegal like drugs or drinking under age. Maybe your friends were in on something and you went along and joined in because you didn't want them to think that you were scared. Or maybe you were the one who convinced one of your friends into doing something wrong. So there's no mistaking, you sometimes feel pressure from our friends.
So why does it seem so important for you to fit in and be accepted? It is probably because you want to belong to something. You want to feel chosen like being picked on a team...feeling as good as everyone else for not being the last person chosen. You want to be part of the "in"crowd but the "in"crowd may not be the crowd you should be with. But then on top of that, you may also get caught up in what the world says is important. The world stresses to us that we have to look a certain way to be cool. The world's value system revolves around money and status. There are going to be times when you have to make a choice. Are you going to choose your peers or what God would have you do? Are you going to choose what the world says is important or what God's Word tells you is important?
Even though to us this might sound like something small, as Catholic Christians we should know that if we don't stand for Christ in the small things, then we are only fooling ourselves if we think we will persevere and be able to stand when really put to the test. The Devil is smart and can trick you. You'll be tempted with, "Why don't you just take a sip of beer just to taste it. What's the harm?" He will say, "Everybody's doing it. It's 'in' to get high" and the next thing you know you're an alcoholic or into drugs.
But, unfortunately, sometimes you lose focus of who you really are because it becomes more important to you just to fit in. So peer pressure happens, basically, when you lose focus. Instead of focusing on God and listening to God's voice and being in touch with what God is trying to do in your life, you start looking at those people around you. Then you start worrying about what other people do and what other people think that you let other people influence your actions. If you are someone who blends in too easily with the crowd and you are comfortable being in the company of friends who don't respect or honor God, you will be influenced by them.
You can even miss out on what God is trying to do with your life. So peer pressure happens when instead of going forward towards God, you get stuck trying to fit in with the world. But if you are smart, you will eventually realize that there is no way to please the world, so why are you even trying? No matter what you do, there is going to be someone who wants to put you down. If you are really smart, they will say you think you know it all. If you are good looking, someone is going to say that you are stuck up or conceited. If you are really thin or really heavy, someone will call you an unflattering nickname.
And do you think in the end when you die and face God on Judgment Day, will your peers matter then? God is not going to look at you and say, "Oh, you have on name-brand clothes. Come on in." "Oh, you had much respect in your neighborhood. I'm impressed." When you die, will you end up in Hell with Satan and those other people who never cared about God, or will Jesus step up and say, "He's on my team. He chose me, and I died for him." Don't you realize that no matter what you look like, whether you have nice clothes or not, Christ is willing to say, "I'll take him." What do your so-called friends have to offer that compares with that?
As you know now, peer pressure sometimes shows itself by the way you act a certain way because you want to blend in and be accepted by a certain group of people. But sometimes you can fold under peer pressure not so much by what you do, but by the things that you don't do. For example, when you don't speak up even though something is going on that you know isn't right. Or maybe it shows itself just in your conversations. *For example, while in the locker room, the conversation turns to dirty jokes or sexual comments about girls that, as a Catholic Christian, you know are inappropriate, but instead of voicing your opinion against such talk, you just smile as though you think it's funny. Did you know that whenever you don't take a stand for your Catholic Christian beliefs and instead you just go along with anything and everything that this world says is okay, then you are giving in to peer pressure?
If you are a true follower of Christ, you should carry yourself in such a way that you are making God proud of you, not saddened by you. Is God proud of you when you are cussing up a storm with your friends, watching R-rated films, *watching sex and violence TV? I bet that breaks God's heart. Even though He knows that we are going to do it, I bet it saddens Him greatly when we let the world influence our actions and we desert Him.
Peter denied knowing Christ three times around Jesus' death. Peter went from being someone who at first gave in to worldly pressure, to ultimately becoming someone God used in a mighty way. And God can do the same for you, but you have to make a choice: Jesus or the world. Is there a time when you should have stood up for someone, but instead you went along with the crowd? Have you ever denied Christ by your words or actions because it was more important for you to be comfortable around your friends? And fortunately for us, God is so good that even when we've denied Him in the past and given in to the temptation of this world, he will still give us another chance. But only if you sincerely admit your mistakes, ask his forgiveness in confession, and turn away from sin.
You don't need to please the wrong types and give into the pressure; just please the Lord and fix your attention on Him and don't take your eyes off Him. Recognize what God wants from you and then you can respond to Him. You don't have to go along with someone who doesn't care if something is right or wrong or care that it may hurt someone. You just need to keep doing what is right and not worry what others think. If you truly love the Lord, then don't follow Christ from a distance. Don't deny Christ by your actions. Read your Bible daily (the 4 Gospels are a good place to start). Pray daily. Wherever the pressure comes from, avoid that situation! And surround yourself with people who will help you to grow in your faith. Stop being a coward trying to please other people rather than standing up for Jesus Christ. You can stop living like the rest of the world and start being a true follower of Christ!
But you know what? If you call yourself a follower of Christ, you are not supposed to even care what is going on with everybody else, let alone try to go along with it. And in the end, people will respect you more if you stand up for what you believe in. Jesus will turn things around to where even your enemies will be at peace with you. The way to reach people isn't by coming down to their level. It is by holding your head up high and standing your ground. Your friends may come around when they see us live lives that honor God and when we refuse to bow down to peer pressure. And what about you? Wouldn't you rather be special and unique and blessed by God instead of being just another face in the crowd? We are supposed to stand out from the crowd. Show that they weren't interested in being like everybody else. Live your life in such a way that shows that Jesus is the only one you care about fitting in with and impressing.
You are the sum total of the choices you make. With every choice you reveal what you actually believe. There really is no confusion in figuring out who a person is and what he or she really believes...simply look at his or her choices!
Every decision tou make either brings us closer to God and His design for our lives, or moves you further from Him and His design. Every choice is filled with opportunities for growth or for stepping backward. There are a lot of voices to which you can respond when making choices. Each voice comes from something or someone who wants you on their side. Remember, God is calling you to choose. Which voice are you going to respond to most often in your life? Are you going to listen to those other 'gods' who are calling for you to follow them, or are you going to tune into God's frequency and follow His voice? As you think about your life today, remember how God has loved you and guided you faithfully. Then as each voice comes and wants you on thier team, choose to follow the voice that leads you onto a path of holiness.
*omit if not age-appropriate
"Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked. Nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, But delights in the law of the Lord and mediates on his law day and night." Psalms 1:1-2
Peer pressure is when you act a certain way because you want to fit in and be accepted by certain people. The pressure comes from your peers, it comes from the media, and it's all around us. Usually we give in to peer pressure from our friends and from the world in order to fit in with certain people and to feel like we belong. You try and behave in certain ways in order to get along with people and blend in with the crowd. You usually have a choice of how you will act. If you decide to do your own thing, you might get laughed at or talked about or shunned. Others may only tease or ridicule you to get you to do the wrong thing and try to do what they want you to do. Nobody wants to be the person who gets talked about or laughed at.
Sometimes the pressure that you feel involves superficial things, like dressing a certain way to be considered cool. You have to have the name-brand clothes or shoes. Or maybe the pressure involves doing things that you think everyone else is doing. Or maybe the pressure involves doing something illegal like drugs or drinking under age. Maybe your friends were in on something and you went along and joined in because you didn't want them to think that you were scared. Or maybe you were the one who convinced one of your friends into doing something wrong. So there's no mistaking, you sometimes feel pressure from our friends.
So why does it seem so important for you to fit in and be accepted? It is probably because you want to belong to something. You want to feel chosen like being picked on a team...feeling as good as everyone else for not being the last person chosen. You want to be part of the "in"crowd but the "in"crowd may not be the crowd you should be with. But then on top of that, you may also get caught up in what the world says is important. The world stresses to us that we have to look a certain way to be cool. The world's value system revolves around money and status. There are going to be times when you have to make a choice. Are you going to choose your peers or what God would have you do? Are you going to choose what the world says is important or what God's Word tells you is important?
Even though to us this might sound like something small, as Catholic Christians we should know that if we don't stand for Christ in the small things, then we are only fooling ourselves if we think we will persevere and be able to stand when really put to the test. The Devil is smart and can trick you. You'll be tempted with, "Why don't you just take a sip of beer just to taste it. What's the harm?" He will say, "Everybody's doing it. It's 'in' to get high" and the next thing you know you're an alcoholic or into drugs.
But, unfortunately, sometimes you lose focus of who you really are because it becomes more important to you just to fit in. So peer pressure happens, basically, when you lose focus. Instead of focusing on God and listening to God's voice and being in touch with what God is trying to do in your life, you start looking at those people around you. Then you start worrying about what other people do and what other people think that you let other people influence your actions. If you are someone who blends in too easily with the crowd and you are comfortable being in the company of friends who don't respect or honor God, you will be influenced by them.
You can even miss out on what God is trying to do with your life. So peer pressure happens when instead of going forward towards God, you get stuck trying to fit in with the world. But if you are smart, you will eventually realize that there is no way to please the world, so why are you even trying? No matter what you do, there is going to be someone who wants to put you down. If you are really smart, they will say you think you know it all. If you are good looking, someone is going to say that you are stuck up or conceited. If you are really thin or really heavy, someone will call you an unflattering nickname.
And do you think in the end when you die and face God on Judgment Day, will your peers matter then? God is not going to look at you and say, "Oh, you have on name-brand clothes. Come on in." "Oh, you had much respect in your neighborhood. I'm impressed." When you die, will you end up in Hell with Satan and those other people who never cared about God, or will Jesus step up and say, "He's on my team. He chose me, and I died for him." Don't you realize that no matter what you look like, whether you have nice clothes or not, Christ is willing to say, "I'll take him." What do your so-called friends have to offer that compares with that?
As you know now, peer pressure sometimes shows itself by the way you act a certain way because you want to blend in and be accepted by a certain group of people. But sometimes you can fold under peer pressure not so much by what you do, but by the things that you don't do. For example, when you don't speak up even though something is going on that you know isn't right. Or maybe it shows itself just in your conversations. *For example, while in the locker room, the conversation turns to dirty jokes or sexual comments about girls that, as a Catholic Christian, you know are inappropriate, but instead of voicing your opinion against such talk, you just smile as though you think it's funny. Did you know that whenever you don't take a stand for your Catholic Christian beliefs and instead you just go along with anything and everything that this world says is okay, then you are giving in to peer pressure?
If you are a true follower of Christ, you should carry yourself in such a way that you are making God proud of you, not saddened by you. Is God proud of you when you are cussing up a storm with your friends, watching R-rated films, *watching sex and violence TV? I bet that breaks God's heart. Even though He knows that we are going to do it, I bet it saddens Him greatly when we let the world influence our actions and we desert Him.
Peter denied knowing Christ three times around Jesus' death. Peter went from being someone who at first gave in to worldly pressure, to ultimately becoming someone God used in a mighty way. And God can do the same for you, but you have to make a choice: Jesus or the world. Is there a time when you should have stood up for someone, but instead you went along with the crowd? Have you ever denied Christ by your words or actions because it was more important for you to be comfortable around your friends? And fortunately for us, God is so good that even when we've denied Him in the past and given in to the temptation of this world, he will still give us another chance. But only if you sincerely admit your mistakes, ask his forgiveness in confession, and turn away from sin.
You don't need to please the wrong types and give into the pressure; just please the Lord and fix your attention on Him and don't take your eyes off Him. Recognize what God wants from you and then you can respond to Him. You don't have to go along with someone who doesn't care if something is right or wrong or care that it may hurt someone. You just need to keep doing what is right and not worry what others think. If you truly love the Lord, then don't follow Christ from a distance. Don't deny Christ by your actions. Read your Bible daily (the 4 Gospels are a good place to start). Pray daily. Wherever the pressure comes from, avoid that situation! And surround yourself with people who will help you to grow in your faith. Stop being a coward trying to please other people rather than standing up for Jesus Christ. You can stop living like the rest of the world and start being a true follower of Christ!
But you know what? If you call yourself a follower of Christ, you are not supposed to even care what is going on with everybody else, let alone try to go along with it. And in the end, people will respect you more if you stand up for what you believe in. Jesus will turn things around to where even your enemies will be at peace with you. The way to reach people isn't by coming down to their level. It is by holding your head up high and standing your ground. Your friends may come around when they see us live lives that honor God and when we refuse to bow down to peer pressure. And what about you? Wouldn't you rather be special and unique and blessed by God instead of being just another face in the crowd? We are supposed to stand out from the crowd. Show that they weren't interested in being like everybody else. Live your life in such a way that shows that Jesus is the only one you care about fitting in with and impressing.
You are the sum total of the choices you make. With every choice you reveal what you actually believe. There really is no confusion in figuring out who a person is and what he or she really believes...simply look at his or her choices!
Every decision tou make either brings us closer to God and His design for our lives, or moves you further from Him and His design. Every choice is filled with opportunities for growth or for stepping backward. There are a lot of voices to which you can respond when making choices. Each voice comes from something or someone who wants you on their side. Remember, God is calling you to choose. Which voice are you going to respond to most often in your life? Are you going to listen to those other 'gods' who are calling for you to follow them, or are you going to tune into God's frequency and follow His voice? As you think about your life today, remember how God has loved you and guided you faithfully. Then as each voice comes and wants you on thier team, choose to follow the voice that leads you onto a path of holiness.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Lust vs. Chastity (Purity)
Lust vs. Chastity (Purity)
"Like an open city with no defenses is the man with no check on his feelings. Proverbs 25:28
"This is the will of God, your holiness: that you refrain from immorality, that each of you knows how to acquire a wife for himself in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion" 1 Thess. 4:3-5a
"For the love of money is the root of all evils." 1 Timothy 6:10 (a)
"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love." 2 Peter 1:5-7
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8
Lust is the self-destructive drive for physical pleasure or for material possessions. It is an excessive love for something that you either shouldn't love or not love as much as you do. It is really about control. Lust is worshiping or idolizing anything material above God. Instead of putting your hope in God for your joy, you put all your hope in money or material things for your happiness. These things are needed to make you feel good, so lusting after things like money is what is really evil. It also can be the desire of power, financial gain, revenge, having an ego (self-importance) or treating someone like scum or a servant to accomplish your own personal will.
Sexual excitement without love is lust and is immoral. Prolonged sexual fantasies are desires that seek to use people and things with the intent of satisfying your own needs and desires. Using a person just as a means of sexual gratification instead of treating a person with respect and dignity and as a child of God is wrong and a serious sin.
Sexual promiscuity and immoral practices turns a person into an animal. It's thinking you can use your body as you see fit and that you're not hurting anyone. It is dominating another person or having an attraction turn into a conquest. Sexual desire is not only a physical attraction but emotional or mental as well. It can not only be a physical attraction but you can even being attracted to someone's mind or demeanor. Lust of the eyes and the flesh lead to sexual sins. Looking at nude pictures or treating or seeing a person as a sexual object does not respect them as a full person with a personality and a soul. You must have self-control and self-discipline to avoid premarital sex, perverse sex, pornography, adultery, homosexuality, and prostitution.
Chastity is innocence and purity in body and soul. Purity is keeping yourself uncontaminated from the world, the flesh and the devil. It is the ability to keep your mind and heart from bad thoughts, desires and feelings. It helps you to guard your senses as well as your own body and those of others as a temple of the Holy Spirit. It is also being chaste in your behavior, manner of clothing and appearance and reflecting your love for God. The purpose of God's creation of sexual feelings was for procreation of humankind. Losing your virginity outside of marriage is sinful and will ruin your reputation. You are called to holiness. Inappropriate images in video games, movies and TV shows can lead to having disordered desires. They can leave mental images in you that can lead to impure thoughts and actions. You can be tempted by dirty magazines and pornography on the Internet.
You can practice romantic courtship and friendship and abstain from sexual conduct if in an unmarried state. You need to try and keep a pure heart and be strong to avoid this sin. Serving your personal desires sets your will against God's. You must develop the ability to refrain from being distracted and influenced by temptation. Self-control is controlling our actions to do what is right. The Holy Spirit will help you do what is right. When you hear Him and obey what He says, you are using your gift of self-control.
Joseph faced a lot of different temptations from Potiphar's wife to thoughts of revenge on the brothers that sold him into slavery. Yet Joseph never wavered in his devotion to the Lord. His actions were always defined by his relationship and faith in God. When he turned down Potiphar's wife, it was with the words, "How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"
We can all learn lessons from Joseph's self-control. It is so easy today to give into the temptations that you face. Sometimes it is more difficult to walk away from temptation than to give into it. After all, there is so much peer pressure to drink, have sex, do drugs, not go to church, and more. God will eventually reward your self-control and help you to overcome temptations.
"Like an open city with no defenses is the man with no check on his feelings. Proverbs 25:28
"This is the will of God, your holiness: that you refrain from immorality, that each of you knows how to acquire a wife for himself in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion" 1 Thess. 4:3-5a
"For the love of money is the root of all evils." 1 Timothy 6:10 (a)
"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love." 2 Peter 1:5-7
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8
Lust is the self-destructive drive for physical pleasure or for material possessions. It is an excessive love for something that you either shouldn't love or not love as much as you do. It is really about control. Lust is worshiping or idolizing anything material above God. Instead of putting your hope in God for your joy, you put all your hope in money or material things for your happiness. These things are needed to make you feel good, so lusting after things like money is what is really evil. It also can be the desire of power, financial gain, revenge, having an ego (self-importance) or treating someone like scum or a servant to accomplish your own personal will.
Sexual excitement without love is lust and is immoral. Prolonged sexual fantasies are desires that seek to use people and things with the intent of satisfying your own needs and desires. Using a person just as a means of sexual gratification instead of treating a person with respect and dignity and as a child of God is wrong and a serious sin.
Sexual promiscuity and immoral practices turns a person into an animal. It's thinking you can use your body as you see fit and that you're not hurting anyone. It is dominating another person or having an attraction turn into a conquest. Sexual desire is not only a physical attraction but emotional or mental as well. It can not only be a physical attraction but you can even being attracted to someone's mind or demeanor. Lust of the eyes and the flesh lead to sexual sins. Looking at nude pictures or treating or seeing a person as a sexual object does not respect them as a full person with a personality and a soul. You must have self-control and self-discipline to avoid premarital sex, perverse sex, pornography, adultery, homosexuality, and prostitution.
Chastity is innocence and purity in body and soul. Purity is keeping yourself uncontaminated from the world, the flesh and the devil. It is the ability to keep your mind and heart from bad thoughts, desires and feelings. It helps you to guard your senses as well as your own body and those of others as a temple of the Holy Spirit. It is also being chaste in your behavior, manner of clothing and appearance and reflecting your love for God. The purpose of God's creation of sexual feelings was for procreation of humankind. Losing your virginity outside of marriage is sinful and will ruin your reputation. You are called to holiness. Inappropriate images in video games, movies and TV shows can lead to having disordered desires. They can leave mental images in you that can lead to impure thoughts and actions. You can be tempted by dirty magazines and pornography on the Internet.
You can practice romantic courtship and friendship and abstain from sexual conduct if in an unmarried state. You need to try and keep a pure heart and be strong to avoid this sin. Serving your personal desires sets your will against God's. You must develop the ability to refrain from being distracted and influenced by temptation. Self-control is controlling our actions to do what is right. The Holy Spirit will help you do what is right. When you hear Him and obey what He says, you are using your gift of self-control.
Joseph faced a lot of different temptations from Potiphar's wife to thoughts of revenge on the brothers that sold him into slavery. Yet Joseph never wavered in his devotion to the Lord. His actions were always defined by his relationship and faith in God. When he turned down Potiphar's wife, it was with the words, "How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"
We can all learn lessons from Joseph's self-control. It is so easy today to give into the temptations that you face. Sometimes it is more difficult to walk away from temptation than to give into it. After all, there is so much peer pressure to drink, have sex, do drugs, not go to church, and more. God will eventually reward your self-control and help you to overcome temptations.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Wrath (Anger) vs. Patience (Meekness)
Wrath (Anger) vs. Patience (Meekness)
Deadly Sin vs. Heavenly Virtue/Fruit of the Holy Spirit
"… for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God." James 1:20
"The fool immediately shows his anger, but the shrewd man passes over an insult." Proverbs 12:16
"The quick-tempered man makes a fool of himself, but the prudent man is at peace." Proverbs 14:17
"The patient man shows much good sense, but the quick-tempered man displays folly at its height." Proverbs 14:29
"A mild answer calms wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1
"An ill-tempered man stirs up strife, but a patient man allays discord." Proverbs 15:18
"A patient man is better than a warrior, and he who rules his temper, than he who takes a city." Proverbs 16:32
"It is honorable for a man to shun strife, while every fool starts a quarrel." Proverbs 20:3
"Like golden apples in silver settings are words spoken at the proper time." Proverbs 25:11
"Like an open city with no defenses is the man with no check on his feelings." Proverbs 25:28
"The fool gives vent to all his anger; but by biding his time, the wise man calms it." Proverbs 29:11
"An ill-tempered man stirs up disputes, and a hotheaded man is the cause of many sins." Proverbs 29:22
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, and factions (Galatians 5:19-20).
"Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger, and do not leave room for the devil." Ephesians 4:26-7
"All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice." Ephesians 4:31
"Know this my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God." James 1:19-20
"Do not return evil for evil, or insult with insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing." 1 Peter 3:9
"Leave it to the Lord and wait for him; Be not vexed at the successful path of the man who does malicious deeds. Give up your anger, and forsake wrath; be not vexed, it will only harm you. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall possess the land.” Psalms 37:7-9
"Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because of the coming of the Lord is at hand. James 5:7-8
"… strengthened with every power, in accordance with his glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy," Colossians 1:11
"It is good sense in a man to be slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense." Proverbs 19:11
"Better is the patient spirit than the lofty spirit." Ecclesiastes 7:8 b
Wrath is senseless anger. It causes you to be irritated and intentionally want to cause harm to others. It is when you want revenge or to get even when you feel someone is not treating you fairly. Wrath or anger can strike when you are tired or frustrated. There are days you may find it hard to be loving. You can become angry with the very people we love the most. When someone is not nice, you shouldn't repay one bad deed with another bad deed. You shouldn't take the matter into your own hands but leave the justice to God. You should fill your heart with love and not anger.
God commands us to forgive those who sin against us. This doesn't mean you have to forget about the offense against or ignore the pain that it has caused you. You just need to choose to let go of the wrong that was committed and move on without seeking revenge. You need to take responsibility for your own actions and Jesus asks us to love the sinner but to hate the sin. You shouldn't keep your anger in but turn it into something positive instead. Angry people usually justify their anger, saying it's someone else's fault they are angry. We shouldn't give into anger when we are upset by other people's words or actions. When we give in to anger, we often focus on our own well being, comfort or happiness. Instead, we should be first and foremost concerned about other people’s welfare and being a good witness for God. God does not want us to simply react emotionally to others' actions. God is the judge and will take care of others. Instead, we should respond with a gentle spirit or find a way to turn the situation around for the betterment of everyone concerned.
Patience is the ability to be calm (have control of your emotions), tolerant (kind and considerate to the people different from you) and understanding (putting yourself in another person's shoes). Patience is a type of meekness and selflessness that avoids harming others. Sometimes you may feel that the hardest thing to do is to wait. Waiting your turn in line can be extremely difficult especially when you are excited and in a hurry. You usually know what you want and when you want it which is usually right now. But the right time for things to happen in your life is determined by God and not by us. He will help you in His own time and according to His own plan and he will eventually reveal what He has in store for you. In other words, you must wait for God to make His plans clear.
Are you patient when someone else is unhappy? God wants you to choose not to get angry or upset with yourself and others when things are not going your way. You should also watch out for the feelings of others. You can choose not to get upset because God gave us this wonderful gift of Holy Spirit to help you with this.
Patience is the ability to remain calm in difficult situations. When you are patient, you will have better relationships since you will have tolerance for others’ shortcomings, and able to forgive when someone wrongs you. It can be hard to wait when we want something right NOW and so much harder not to complain about it. We live in a society that promotes instant gratification. The wait on things can be frustrating. After all, you want that guy to ask you out right now. Or you want that car so you can go to the movies tonight. Or you want that great skateboard you saw in the magazine. Advertising tells us that the "now" matters. Yet, there is something to the saying, "Good things come to those who wait." We shouldn't want everything right now because things/tasks can take more time than we thought. You must take your turn, wait for your friend or wait to go somewhere. It may take a lot of practice. If you can just put the needs and wants of others ahead of you, you'll get better at being patient.
We don't always understand why God says "no" to our prayers. You also might not want to wait on God to do something. He wants you to trust Him. He wants you to use the gift of patience as we love Jesus, others and, yes, even yourself, with His special love. God has His own timing so you need to wait on that timing or sometimes our blessings get lost. We cannot know all of His ways, so it is important to have trust in the delay. Eventually what will come your way will be better than you ever thought it could be, because it will come with God's blessings. God will help you gain the patience and the strength to wait for the things He desires for you. Allow Him to work in your heart to provide you with the patience you need.
When you lose your temper, you want to strike out at others with an intention to hurt them and say and do things you shouldn't. So when you are tempted to say unkind words or start an argument, you should learn to slow down and think about things before you do them. After all, you can't take words back. If you blurt out the first words that come into your head, you may say the wrong thing. God wants you to choose your words carefully or you will regret it later and may even lose a friend. You can ask yourself before you speak, if what you say is necessary, true and kind.
Frustration can lead to anger and then even worse, rage and bitterness can follow. Anger may be good for identifying problems but not the answer to solving them. But as you know, the feelings of anger will pass.
You need to take responsibility for your own actions and not blame your hurtful responses on someone else. Stepping back and taking a break from the situation to be alone can be very helpful in managing your anger. This gives you the chance to calm down, think over the happening and determine what to do next. If your response is to act out or attack, you may just need to take a deep breath and leave the room to clean out your anger tank. You can talk about it after you settle down so no mean words will be exchanged. This way you can think more clearly and get a better handle on your emotions to control your anger. Thinking how bad it could have been and expanding your view of the others perspective or thinking of someone who is dealing with a difficult situation can ease the anger. You can try praying, singing a song (in their head); read a favorite passage of Scripture or a "feel-good" wise saying; go for a run, count backwards, call someone to vent or just to just shift your focus and get redirected. Or use grace by serving the object of your wrath a cool glass of water – then have one yourself while you're at it. Inhale slowly, hold your breath for five seconds, then completely exhale slowly and wait five seconds before repeating the inhale and exhale three times...this can at least reduce your pulse rate and lower blood pressure. You may need to try again and start over, adjust your attitude, accept your instruction and remain calm and not blow up. It takes a lot of patience, prayer, self-control and self discipline to get over your anger quickly, channel it into different areas or express it at a different time.
Deadly Sin vs. Heavenly Virtue/Fruit of the Holy Spirit
"… for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God." James 1:20
"The fool immediately shows his anger, but the shrewd man passes over an insult." Proverbs 12:16
"The quick-tempered man makes a fool of himself, but the prudent man is at peace." Proverbs 14:17
"The patient man shows much good sense, but the quick-tempered man displays folly at its height." Proverbs 14:29
"A mild answer calms wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1
"An ill-tempered man stirs up strife, but a patient man allays discord." Proverbs 15:18
"A patient man is better than a warrior, and he who rules his temper, than he who takes a city." Proverbs 16:32
"It is honorable for a man to shun strife, while every fool starts a quarrel." Proverbs 20:3
"Like golden apples in silver settings are words spoken at the proper time." Proverbs 25:11
"Like an open city with no defenses is the man with no check on his feelings." Proverbs 25:28
"The fool gives vent to all his anger; but by biding his time, the wise man calms it." Proverbs 29:11
"An ill-tempered man stirs up disputes, and a hotheaded man is the cause of many sins." Proverbs 29:22
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, and factions (Galatians 5:19-20).
"Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger, and do not leave room for the devil." Ephesians 4:26-7
"All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice." Ephesians 4:31
"Know this my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God." James 1:19-20
"Do not return evil for evil, or insult with insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing." 1 Peter 3:9
"Leave it to the Lord and wait for him; Be not vexed at the successful path of the man who does malicious deeds. Give up your anger, and forsake wrath; be not vexed, it will only harm you. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall possess the land.” Psalms 37:7-9
"Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because of the coming of the Lord is at hand. James 5:7-8
"… strengthened with every power, in accordance with his glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy," Colossians 1:11
"It is good sense in a man to be slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense." Proverbs 19:11
"Better is the patient spirit than the lofty spirit." Ecclesiastes 7:8 b
Wrath is senseless anger. It causes you to be irritated and intentionally want to cause harm to others. It is when you want revenge or to get even when you feel someone is not treating you fairly. Wrath or anger can strike when you are tired or frustrated. There are days you may find it hard to be loving. You can become angry with the very people we love the most. When someone is not nice, you shouldn't repay one bad deed with another bad deed. You shouldn't take the matter into your own hands but leave the justice to God. You should fill your heart with love and not anger.
God commands us to forgive those who sin against us. This doesn't mean you have to forget about the offense against or ignore the pain that it has caused you. You just need to choose to let go of the wrong that was committed and move on without seeking revenge. You need to take responsibility for your own actions and Jesus asks us to love the sinner but to hate the sin. You shouldn't keep your anger in but turn it into something positive instead. Angry people usually justify their anger, saying it's someone else's fault they are angry. We shouldn't give into anger when we are upset by other people's words or actions. When we give in to anger, we often focus on our own well being, comfort or happiness. Instead, we should be first and foremost concerned about other people’s welfare and being a good witness for God. God does not want us to simply react emotionally to others' actions. God is the judge and will take care of others. Instead, we should respond with a gentle spirit or find a way to turn the situation around for the betterment of everyone concerned.
Patience is the ability to be calm (have control of your emotions), tolerant (kind and considerate to the people different from you) and understanding (putting yourself in another person's shoes). Patience is a type of meekness and selflessness that avoids harming others. Sometimes you may feel that the hardest thing to do is to wait. Waiting your turn in line can be extremely difficult especially when you are excited and in a hurry. You usually know what you want and when you want it which is usually right now. But the right time for things to happen in your life is determined by God and not by us. He will help you in His own time and according to His own plan and he will eventually reveal what He has in store for you. In other words, you must wait for God to make His plans clear.
Are you patient when someone else is unhappy? God wants you to choose not to get angry or upset with yourself and others when things are not going your way. You should also watch out for the feelings of others. You can choose not to get upset because God gave us this wonderful gift of Holy Spirit to help you with this.
Patience is the ability to remain calm in difficult situations. When you are patient, you will have better relationships since you will have tolerance for others’ shortcomings, and able to forgive when someone wrongs you. It can be hard to wait when we want something right NOW and so much harder not to complain about it. We live in a society that promotes instant gratification. The wait on things can be frustrating. After all, you want that guy to ask you out right now. Or you want that car so you can go to the movies tonight. Or you want that great skateboard you saw in the magazine. Advertising tells us that the "now" matters. Yet, there is something to the saying, "Good things come to those who wait." We shouldn't want everything right now because things/tasks can take more time than we thought. You must take your turn, wait for your friend or wait to go somewhere. It may take a lot of practice. If you can just put the needs and wants of others ahead of you, you'll get better at being patient.
We don't always understand why God says "no" to our prayers. You also might not want to wait on God to do something. He wants you to trust Him. He wants you to use the gift of patience as we love Jesus, others and, yes, even yourself, with His special love. God has His own timing so you need to wait on that timing or sometimes our blessings get lost. We cannot know all of His ways, so it is important to have trust in the delay. Eventually what will come your way will be better than you ever thought it could be, because it will come with God's blessings. God will help you gain the patience and the strength to wait for the things He desires for you. Allow Him to work in your heart to provide you with the patience you need.
When you lose your temper, you want to strike out at others with an intention to hurt them and say and do things you shouldn't. So when you are tempted to say unkind words or start an argument, you should learn to slow down and think about things before you do them. After all, you can't take words back. If you blurt out the first words that come into your head, you may say the wrong thing. God wants you to choose your words carefully or you will regret it later and may even lose a friend. You can ask yourself before you speak, if what you say is necessary, true and kind.
Frustration can lead to anger and then even worse, rage and bitterness can follow. Anger may be good for identifying problems but not the answer to solving them. But as you know, the feelings of anger will pass.
You need to take responsibility for your own actions and not blame your hurtful responses on someone else. Stepping back and taking a break from the situation to be alone can be very helpful in managing your anger. This gives you the chance to calm down, think over the happening and determine what to do next. If your response is to act out or attack, you may just need to take a deep breath and leave the room to clean out your anger tank. You can talk about it after you settle down so no mean words will be exchanged. This way you can think more clearly and get a better handle on your emotions to control your anger. Thinking how bad it could have been and expanding your view of the others perspective or thinking of someone who is dealing with a difficult situation can ease the anger. You can try praying, singing a song (in their head); read a favorite passage of Scripture or a "feel-good" wise saying; go for a run, count backwards, call someone to vent or just to just shift your focus and get redirected. Or use grace by serving the object of your wrath a cool glass of water – then have one yourself while you're at it. Inhale slowly, hold your breath for five seconds, then completely exhale slowly and wait five seconds before repeating the inhale and exhale three times...this can at least reduce your pulse rate and lower blood pressure. You may need to try again and start over, adjust your attitude, accept your instruction and remain calm and not blow up. It takes a lot of patience, prayer, self-control and self discipline to get over your anger quickly, channel it into different areas or express it at a different time.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Greed (Avarice) vs. Charity (Generosity)
Greed (Avarice) vs. Charity (Generosity)
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue
"Rely not upon deceitful wealth, for it will be no help on the day of wrath." Sirach 5:10
"For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it." 1 Timothy 6:7
"For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains." 1 Timothy 6:10
"Tell the rich in the present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth but rather on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment." 1 Timothy 6:17
"Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never forsake you or abandon you." Hebrews 13:5
"But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you." Matthew 6:3-4
"Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasure in heaven where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." Matthew 6:19-21
"It is easier for a camel to pass through (the) eye of (a) needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." Mark 10:25
"Then he said to the crowd, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions." Luke 12:15
"If therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you that is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." Luke 16:11-13
"Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you." Luke 6:38
"Tell them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share." 1 Tim. 6:18
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, That there may be food in my house, and try me in this, says the Lord of hosts: Shall I not open for you the floodgates of heaven, to pour down blessing upon you without measure." Malachi 3:10
"...nor thieves, nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God."
1 Corinthians 6:10
"Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9: 6-7
Greed is the desire for wealth (money), power and material things or earthly treasures as well as other people's property. Greed is about more than money, and it is a kind of selfishness. It can also mean that you want the honor of the world and the best for yourself instead of pleasing God first. It is thinking you can never have enough money or possessions and that more is always better. We often assume that money exists for our own benefit, rather than for God or others. You start being a slave to these objects. God doesn't care how many toys, electronics, trading cards or other trinkets you have, He just wants you to follow Him. When you want to get your share and more, you don't make room for the spiritual reward of Heaven. For if your treasure is on earth, your heart will experience disappointment.
Charity is having an unselfish attitude which causes you to perform actions out of love for God. To be charitable is to have authentic love for others, which means to want what is really good for them. Charity or generosity will open your heart as well as the hearts of people who receive from you. It means being willing to share with others, and realizing that all you have belongs to God. It is also the ability to give to those in need without feeling superior or wanting to show off to others in a public way. And the more generously you give, the richer you will become. If you give, God will give back to you in some form of a blessing. You have to ask yourself, "Are you giving all you can to the Lord's Kingdom?" Giving at church and giving to your community is a selfless act. Tithing or almsgiving (10% of what we have earned) is bringing an offering to God or giving to a need. Charity may mean letting others get the credit or praise. You can also share the credit of successes with others or even share in the blame. You also need to remember to accept the help from others gratefully, knowing you can't do it all.
You are most like God when you give to others and doing good for others honors them and God. You need to give to God by enjoying what He gives to you. You cannot outgive God so give what you can of the money you earn and/or the services you provide with your time. In fact, He is the God of More - more of Himself and His goodness, more of His kindness and His mercy. He gives us not only eternal life, but the very presence of His Holy Spirit in our lives.
The best way to give is to give with cheer - it has to be from the heart, having a heart willing to give. You should give your time, attention and energy without expecting anything in return. Even being anonymous or doing your good deed in secret can bring about a lot of fun planning your surprise strategy. Too often our actions are good, but our reasons are not. Time and again people serve and give not from compassion, but from selfish motives. God knows sincere faith and loves a pure heart. You cannot give while expecting to get something in return. You must give and serve in response to God’s love not for others approval or recognition.
You can't take money or possessions with you when you die. You don't want your possessions to own you. It may be nice to bless others by giving maybe your toys, books or clothes to other children who don't have much. You can reach out in many ways with good works like cleaning a park, give 10% of your Halloween candy to missionaries in Africa or Operation Shoebox or perhaps shoveling, washing a car, doing yardwork for a neighbor. So start now to reserve a little extra money, time and energy so you can share it with those around you. As Catholic Christians, we should serve and give, even if no one notices because we know there is One who always sees.
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue
"Rely not upon deceitful wealth, for it will be no help on the day of wrath." Sirach 5:10
"For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it." 1 Timothy 6:7
"For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains." 1 Timothy 6:10
"Tell the rich in the present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth but rather on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment." 1 Timothy 6:17
"Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never forsake you or abandon you." Hebrews 13:5
"But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you." Matthew 6:3-4
"Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasure in heaven where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." Matthew 6:19-21
"It is easier for a camel to pass through (the) eye of (a) needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." Mark 10:25
"Then he said to the crowd, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions." Luke 12:15
"If therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you that is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." Luke 16:11-13
"Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you." Luke 6:38
"Tell them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share." 1 Tim. 6:18
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, That there may be food in my house, and try me in this, says the Lord of hosts: Shall I not open for you the floodgates of heaven, to pour down blessing upon you without measure." Malachi 3:10
"...nor thieves, nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God."
1 Corinthians 6:10
"Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9: 6-7
Greed is the desire for wealth (money), power and material things or earthly treasures as well as other people's property. Greed is about more than money, and it is a kind of selfishness. It can also mean that you want the honor of the world and the best for yourself instead of pleasing God first. It is thinking you can never have enough money or possessions and that more is always better. We often assume that money exists for our own benefit, rather than for God or others. You start being a slave to these objects. God doesn't care how many toys, electronics, trading cards or other trinkets you have, He just wants you to follow Him. When you want to get your share and more, you don't make room for the spiritual reward of Heaven. For if your treasure is on earth, your heart will experience disappointment.
Charity is having an unselfish attitude which causes you to perform actions out of love for God. To be charitable is to have authentic love for others, which means to want what is really good for them. Charity or generosity will open your heart as well as the hearts of people who receive from you. It means being willing to share with others, and realizing that all you have belongs to God. It is also the ability to give to those in need without feeling superior or wanting to show off to others in a public way. And the more generously you give, the richer you will become. If you give, God will give back to you in some form of a blessing. You have to ask yourself, "Are you giving all you can to the Lord's Kingdom?" Giving at church and giving to your community is a selfless act. Tithing or almsgiving (10% of what we have earned) is bringing an offering to God or giving to a need. Charity may mean letting others get the credit or praise. You can also share the credit of successes with others or even share in the blame. You also need to remember to accept the help from others gratefully, knowing you can't do it all.
You are most like God when you give to others and doing good for others honors them and God. You need to give to God by enjoying what He gives to you. You cannot outgive God so give what you can of the money you earn and/or the services you provide with your time. In fact, He is the God of More - more of Himself and His goodness, more of His kindness and His mercy. He gives us not only eternal life, but the very presence of His Holy Spirit in our lives.
The best way to give is to give with cheer - it has to be from the heart, having a heart willing to give. You should give your time, attention and energy without expecting anything in return. Even being anonymous or doing your good deed in secret can bring about a lot of fun planning your surprise strategy. Too often our actions are good, but our reasons are not. Time and again people serve and give not from compassion, but from selfish motives. God knows sincere faith and loves a pure heart. You cannot give while expecting to get something in return. You must give and serve in response to God’s love not for others approval or recognition.
You can't take money or possessions with you when you die. You don't want your possessions to own you. It may be nice to bless others by giving maybe your toys, books or clothes to other children who don't have much. You can reach out in many ways with good works like cleaning a park, give 10% of your Halloween candy to missionaries in Africa or Operation Shoebox or perhaps shoveling, washing a car, doing yardwork for a neighbor. So start now to reserve a little extra money, time and energy so you can share it with those around you. As Catholic Christians, we should serve and give, even if no one notices because we know there is One who always sees.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Envy vs. Kindness (Love)
Envy vs. Kindness (Love)
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue (Fruit of the Spirit)
"Anger is relentless, and wrath overwhelming-but before jealousy who can stand?" Proverbs 27:4
"But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth." James 3:14-16
"Let not kindness and fidelity leave you; bind them around your neck;" Proverbs 3:3
"A kindly man benefits himself, but a merciless man harms himself." Proverbs 11:17
"Do to others whatever you would have them do to you, This is the law and the prophets." Mathew 7:12
"And the king will say to them in repky, "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Colossians 3:12
"See that no one returns evil for evil; rather, always seek what is good (both) for each other and for all."
1 Thessalonians 5:15
Envy is the desire for your neighbor’s property, status or situation. It is also the last Commandment, “Thou shall not covet your neighbor's goods.” In other words, it is when you wish you had it and they didn't have it. No matter what we have (own), you always want more, and more and more. It is also not being happy for the well-being of others, not caring about their joys and successes. It's thinking how good things always happen to someone else or that person doesn't work as hard as you and doesn't deserve the good things they have received. It is wishing you were as smart, popular or as good at sports as someone else and thinking you should have these characteristics instead. Sometimes it’s being jealous of that person for getting away with something. It makes you so angry, resentful that you start feeling sorry for yourself because someone has more than you. You may start wishing them ill and you behave badly to them, plotting evil plans for them.
Has something like this happened to you? You set your eyes on something that your friend has and you want it so badly. You know you'd be much happier if you only had what your neighbor has. Then you realize there's no way you can have it and that makes you want it even more. "That person doesn't deserve it then since I can't have it!" Then it becomes more about the desiring of the object than the possession itself. You want to rise above others and become better than them. This will backfire and only make you suffer and experience negative emotions and feel inferior to them.
Kindness is having a friendly and good-natured attitude toward others. It is having a positive outlook and cheerful demeanor, and this quality can help you make and keep friendships. It is having the attitude of knowing, liking and accepting other people, even someone you may not like very well. It is accepting them the way they are because that is how God made them. Kindness means taking a tender approach and having patience and compassion. It is the "golden rule" of treating others the way you would want to be treated. It encourages you to be good to everyone and having unconditional love towards all others. That way you can really care, help and trust others and you can inspire others to do the same. Kindness is also when you make sacrifices for others which helps you to be in God's image and likeness.
You are commanded to love your neighbors as ourselves as Jesus did. Just like in the story of the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan showed a great deal of kindness for the Jewish man who was hurting, even though Samaritans were not liked and often mistreated by the Jews. It is easy to be kind to those you like and those who like you. Are you willing to put your own hurt feelings aside to help someone that has not been kind in return? Jesus tells us that we are to show mercy to all ... not just the people we like. Jesus not only forgave his enemies but loved them and so should you.
You can speak a kind word or do a good deed. You should practice saying lots of kind words and do lots of kind things and be especially kind to your loved ones. When you do good deeds for others, you've done a good deed for God. Gentle words are better than harsh words, and good deeds are better than the other kind. Kind words help and cruel words hurt. That means to not gossip about others or listen to people who do (saying something about them that you wouldn't normally say if they were standing in earshot of you). It may be tempting to say bad things about people, and it can even make us feel important for awhile. But those bad things hurt others and they will come back and hurt you, too. You can also pray for the needs of others and ask God to place kindness and mercy in your heart. If someone doesn't treat you kindly or mistreats others, ask God to give you a merciful heart and kind attitude toward that person. And don't forget to thank God when someone treats you with a good and kind heart.
God wants you to be good and kind to everyone, especially the less fortunate. He will show you the needs of others and fill your heart with joy as you help people. When we are in trouble, it is God who sends us help through others. When God gives us a way to help others, that is what we must do. He will bless us and them too! We should treat both our friends and our enemies with kindness. If you're waiting for other people to be nice to you before you be nice to them, then you have it backwards. It starts with you. When someone is discouraged or sad, you can take the matter into your own hands and think of something you can do to cheer them up. When you say the right words at the right time to someone, you give them a gift that can change someone's day or even someone's life. It's up to you to step in and lend a helping hand and encourage others.
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue (Fruit of the Spirit)
"Anger is relentless, and wrath overwhelming-but before jealousy who can stand?" Proverbs 27:4
"But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth." James 3:14-16
"Let not kindness and fidelity leave you; bind them around your neck;" Proverbs 3:3
"A kindly man benefits himself, but a merciless man harms himself." Proverbs 11:17
"Do to others whatever you would have them do to you, This is the law and the prophets." Mathew 7:12
"And the king will say to them in repky, "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Colossians 3:12
"See that no one returns evil for evil; rather, always seek what is good (both) for each other and for all."
1 Thessalonians 5:15
Envy is the desire for your neighbor’s property, status or situation. It is also the last Commandment, “Thou shall not covet your neighbor's goods.” In other words, it is when you wish you had it and they didn't have it. No matter what we have (own), you always want more, and more and more. It is also not being happy for the well-being of others, not caring about their joys and successes. It's thinking how good things always happen to someone else or that person doesn't work as hard as you and doesn't deserve the good things they have received. It is wishing you were as smart, popular or as good at sports as someone else and thinking you should have these characteristics instead. Sometimes it’s being jealous of that person for getting away with something. It makes you so angry, resentful that you start feeling sorry for yourself because someone has more than you. You may start wishing them ill and you behave badly to them, plotting evil plans for them.
Has something like this happened to you? You set your eyes on something that your friend has and you want it so badly. You know you'd be much happier if you only had what your neighbor has. Then you realize there's no way you can have it and that makes you want it even more. "That person doesn't deserve it then since I can't have it!" Then it becomes more about the desiring of the object than the possession itself. You want to rise above others and become better than them. This will backfire and only make you suffer and experience negative emotions and feel inferior to them.
Kindness is having a friendly and good-natured attitude toward others. It is having a positive outlook and cheerful demeanor, and this quality can help you make and keep friendships. It is having the attitude of knowing, liking and accepting other people, even someone you may not like very well. It is accepting them the way they are because that is how God made them. Kindness means taking a tender approach and having patience and compassion. It is the "golden rule" of treating others the way you would want to be treated. It encourages you to be good to everyone and having unconditional love towards all others. That way you can really care, help and trust others and you can inspire others to do the same. Kindness is also when you make sacrifices for others which helps you to be in God's image and likeness.
You are commanded to love your neighbors as ourselves as Jesus did. Just like in the story of the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan showed a great deal of kindness for the Jewish man who was hurting, even though Samaritans were not liked and often mistreated by the Jews. It is easy to be kind to those you like and those who like you. Are you willing to put your own hurt feelings aside to help someone that has not been kind in return? Jesus tells us that we are to show mercy to all ... not just the people we like. Jesus not only forgave his enemies but loved them and so should you.
You can speak a kind word or do a good deed. You should practice saying lots of kind words and do lots of kind things and be especially kind to your loved ones. When you do good deeds for others, you've done a good deed for God. Gentle words are better than harsh words, and good deeds are better than the other kind. Kind words help and cruel words hurt. That means to not gossip about others or listen to people who do (saying something about them that you wouldn't normally say if they were standing in earshot of you). It may be tempting to say bad things about people, and it can even make us feel important for awhile. But those bad things hurt others and they will come back and hurt you, too. You can also pray for the needs of others and ask God to place kindness and mercy in your heart. If someone doesn't treat you kindly or mistreats others, ask God to give you a merciful heart and kind attitude toward that person. And don't forget to thank God when someone treats you with a good and kind heart.
God wants you to be good and kind to everyone, especially the less fortunate. He will show you the needs of others and fill your heart with joy as you help people. When we are in trouble, it is God who sends us help through others. When God gives us a way to help others, that is what we must do. He will bless us and them too! We should treat both our friends and our enemies with kindness. If you're waiting for other people to be nice to you before you be nice to them, then you have it backwards. It starts with you. When someone is discouraged or sad, you can take the matter into your own hands and think of something you can do to cheer them up. When you say the right words at the right time to someone, you give them a gift that can change someone's day or even someone's life. It's up to you to step in and lend a helping hand and encourage others.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Sloth (Laziness) vs. Diligence (Self Discipline)
Sloth (Laziness) vs Diligence (Self Discipline)
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue
“ The soul of the sluggard craves in vain, but the diligent soul is amply satisfied. ” Proverbs 13:4
“In the seedtime the sluggard plows not; when he looks for the harvest, it is not there.” Prov. 20:4
"Anything you can turn your hand to, do with what power you have" Ecclesiasstes 9:10
“When hands are lazy, the rafters sag; when hands are slack, the house leaks.” Eccl. 10:18
"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God." 1 Cor. 10:31
Sloth is the failure to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. It is the deadly sin of avoiding physical and spiritual work. Physical sloth includes laziness and procrastination. It is not doing things at the proper time. Procrastinating is not getting around to doing things and leads you to have excuses. Sloth can also mean spiritual laziness in our relationship with God. It is about not caring about the things that should matter and that are meaningful to the soul. It is also failing to seek the spiritual growth that God calls you to and not making good use of the talents God has given you. Being busy all the time may even be more of a deadly sin than “doing nothing.” Have you heard yourself ever breathe these words?:
When your parents ask you to do them a favor or help out around the house, they don't want to give you an extra 15 minutes to finish that last level of Super Mario Brothers. It may be easy for you to see how your dad never gets around to do what he promised you, but do you see the same sin in your own life? Did you know that when you are lazy, you are committing acts of selfishness, extreme arrogance and irresponsiblity?
Diligence is the virtue and the opposite of sloth. You need to have the kind of self-discipline that does not wait to be asked to serve, that does not need to be reminded a second time even when you’d rather be lying down on the couch in front of the TV. God wants you to be diligent in taking care of your soul. That means you need to pray and learn about God. Sometimes you are so busy and your lives are filled with distractions and interruptions with noise, that you do not listen to God. You should set your heart on making the most of the time you have, so you need to evaluate your priorities.
You need to put God first in your life instead of filling your life up with so much busyness or activities where you don’t have anything left over for God. Otherwise, this may lead you into temptations and give you no time to serve others. If you fill your life with things that are not important or are low priority commitments, you don’t even have the energy left for those closest to you. You shouldn't waste time or effort on things that don’t really matter. You should not be lazy about making, maintaining or deepening relationships since these are the things that you should value and give your effort toward. So take action in the present moment and spend your time more wisely in loving and serving God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength. God has called you. He has something for you to do. How are you spending your time? Are you productively making a positive difference with your life? Today is the first day of the rest of your life. You can choose to make it a wonderful day with God. So rise up and do it!
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue
"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God." 1 Cor. 10:31
- What fun is that?
- I shouldn’t have to do it.
- This is boring.
- Do I have to say my prayers?
- I’ll do it, I’ll do it!
- Why does Mom always have to be such a nag?
- Hang on mom, I'll do it after.
- I don't feel like it.
- I'll do it tomorrow?
When your parents ask you to do them a favor or help out around the house, they don't want to give you an extra 15 minutes to finish that last level of Super Mario Brothers. It may be easy for you to see how your dad never gets around to do what he promised you, but do you see the same sin in your own life? Did you know that when you are lazy, you are committing acts of selfishness, extreme arrogance and irresponsiblity?
Responsibility is doing what is expected of you. Work is not being lazy, but doing the tasks God gives you. If you put off the voice from heaven telling you what God’s will is, then that is sloth. Even Peter, James and John did not remain with Jesus and stay awake with Him in the Garden. Jesus could not rely on them and they let Jesus down. You may wait to do your chores or school work and decide to take a break or figure you’ll just do it in the morning. If this is the case, you are just plain lazy and if you don’t correct it, it may become part of your character. You become a real slacker.
You may put off making commitments and living life to the fullest. You may have every excuse in the book, "When I get out of school, then I'll commit my life to God" or "As soon as I have some money, my life will change." You may have no time to even think or listen. We know what God wants us to do, but we pause and make an excuse. You shouldn't make excuses and waste you life by putting off the important long-term priorities for the less important short-term ones. You need to hear God’s will and hear what others need. You may need to give advice or listen instead of talking. You might need to listen and rest instead of being on the move. You have a responsibility to God to make use of the gifts He has given to you.
You may put off making commitments and living life to the fullest. You may have every excuse in the book, "When I get out of school, then I'll commit my life to God" or "As soon as I have some money, my life will change." You may have no time to even think or listen. We know what God wants us to do, but we pause and make an excuse. You shouldn't make excuses and waste you life by putting off the important long-term priorities for the less important short-term ones. You need to hear God’s will and hear what others need. You may need to give advice or listen instead of talking. You might need to listen and rest instead of being on the move. You have a responsibility to God to make use of the gifts He has given to you.
You need to put God first in your life instead of filling your life up with so much busyness or activities where you don’t have anything left over for God. Otherwise, this may lead you into temptations and give you no time to serve others. If you fill your life with things that are not important or are low priority commitments, you don’t even have the energy left for those closest to you. You shouldn't waste time or effort on things that don’t really matter. You should not be lazy about making, maintaining or deepening relationships since these are the things that you should value and give your effort toward. So take action in the present moment and spend your time more wisely in loving and serving God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength. God has called you. He has something for you to do. How are you spending your time? Are you productively making a positive difference with your life? Today is the first day of the rest of your life. You can choose to make it a wonderful day with God. So rise up and do it!
Pride vs. Humility
Pride vs. Humility
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue
"Likewise, you younger members, be subject to the presbyters. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for: "God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble." 1 Peter 5:5 and 6
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
"Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but (also) everyone for those of others."
Philippians 2:3-4
Pride is the 1st of the 7 deadly sins and Humility is its opposite heavenly virtue.
Pride is when you give yourself credit for things that God has done. It’s bringing praise and honor to yourself instead of God who is really the one accomplishing something though you. Do you ever hear yourself saying, “I’m the best. I’m always right. I’m the greatest. I’m more talented that you.” If you have mouthed these words, then it shows you have a big ego. In other words, you’re saying, “It’s all about me and my interests and I’m above everyone else.” It may even lead you into thinking that you are even superior to God. False pride takes on the form of self-worship also known as arrogance. This is when you pretend you are better than everyone else and are unwilling to admit mistakes. It means bragging about how good you have it.
When you think only of yourself, you are being conceited. It can mean being unkind to people by being hurtful or sarcastic to them or even angry with them because they aren’t doing what you were planning on doing. It may mean you are talking too much, thinking that what you have to say is more important than what anyone else has to say. You may even feel the need to act out with bizarre behavior or dress differently to get noticed because you want the attention. It is thinking you don’t need other people or feel so down on yourself to the point that you think you have no gifts, talents or special abilities. In this case you are not respecting who you are or what you can do without getting the approval from others. You are rather wanting others to acknowledge that you are a more important human being.
When you have such a high value placed on yourself, it usually means you have a low value of others. When you are self-concerned and overly consumed with yourself and your own desires, you are in your own little world and become selfish or not other-concerned people that God has called you to be. Selfishness can ruin friendships, work relationships and, ultimately, pulls us further from Christ and lead to despair and lonliness. To be Christ-like, you must put others before yourself.
Humble people live differently than proud people. To them, it is all about God and putting your relationship with God at center stage. When you are humble, you have the attitude that you need God and that you can accomplish things only under God’s power and authority. Being humble has to do with respect for yourself without having it confirmed by others and not trying to seek outside approval. It’s a matter of controlling what you say or holding your tongue. Having true humility is putting others first and ahead of yourself. It’s offering help to others as well as accepting help given to you. It’s accepting each other for who they are and supporting each other with their struggles and problems. You shouldn't think of yourself first but think of other people ahead of yourself. Your friends are just as important to God as yourself. It is selfish to want your way all or most of the time. I'm sure you've heard, "It is so much more wonderful to give than to receive," and it is really true.
Thinking of others and caring about your friend's interests and concerns is what you are called to do. It is a call to unity, a call to be others-focused.It is better to put others’ needs before your own. It is easy and natural to look after and care only for yourself, but the Lord wants you to look out for more than just number one. He tells you to love your neighbors. Understanding that everyone is equal in God’s eyes will help you walk in true humility. It allows you to work better together with those in your church, neighborhoods and communities when you realize that your needs are not any greater than the needs of another. It is easy to get so wrapped up in yourself-your schedule, your problems, your stresses—that you do not take time to think about what others around you are going through. So each day, ask the Lord to give you a humble spirit and an eye for the needs of others.
Why is it difficult for you to love our enemies? It is because of pride. You think to yourself: how can I love someone who does not see my kind gestures, does not understand what a wonderful person I am? How will I do good unto someone who does not value me? And how do you love your enemies or someone you find hard to love? What is the key? Humility.
Try to be nice to someone, no matter how the other person acts towards you; try to do something good for him or her without expecting anything in return. If you are able to do this, an entirely new world will open up to you, a higher world, and you will feel the extraordinary power and energy of love that you get from God and the Holy Spirit within you. Then you will clearly realize that it is much more wonderful to give than to receive – both things and feelings. How is your sensitivity toward other people? Do you take time to care about the needs of your friends and family? Sometimes we get so absorbed with our own personal problems we forget that others are hurting inside and may need our attention. The strange thing about it is that when we give love and concern to others, we usually forget about our own problems. Who can you make feel special or like royalty today? How can you show them that you care about them?
We are all imperfect people and we can turn our brokenness over to God and find love and support in a community of other not so perfect people. You can walk a mile in someone else's shoes and seek God’s will above all else. Just don’t forget that all your capabilities and skills come from God. You will then have peace with God and others. After all, the humble will inherit the earth.
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue
"Likewise, you younger members, be subject to the presbyters. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for: "God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble." 1 Peter 5:5 and 6
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
"Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but (also) everyone for those of others."
Philippians 2:3-4
Pride is the 1st of the 7 deadly sins and Humility is its opposite heavenly virtue.
Pride is when you give yourself credit for things that God has done. It’s bringing praise and honor to yourself instead of God who is really the one accomplishing something though you. Do you ever hear yourself saying, “I’m the best. I’m always right. I’m the greatest. I’m more talented that you.” If you have mouthed these words, then it shows you have a big ego. In other words, you’re saying, “It’s all about me and my interests and I’m above everyone else.” It may even lead you into thinking that you are even superior to God. False pride takes on the form of self-worship also known as arrogance. This is when you pretend you are better than everyone else and are unwilling to admit mistakes. It means bragging about how good you have it.
When you think only of yourself, you are being conceited. It can mean being unkind to people by being hurtful or sarcastic to them or even angry with them because they aren’t doing what you were planning on doing. It may mean you are talking too much, thinking that what you have to say is more important than what anyone else has to say. You may even feel the need to act out with bizarre behavior or dress differently to get noticed because you want the attention. It is thinking you don’t need other people or feel so down on yourself to the point that you think you have no gifts, talents or special abilities. In this case you are not respecting who you are or what you can do without getting the approval from others. You are rather wanting others to acknowledge that you are a more important human being.
When you have such a high value placed on yourself, it usually means you have a low value of others. When you are self-concerned and overly consumed with yourself and your own desires, you are in your own little world and become selfish or not other-concerned people that God has called you to be. Selfishness can ruin friendships, work relationships and, ultimately, pulls us further from Christ and lead to despair and lonliness. To be Christ-like, you must put others before yourself.
Humble people live differently than proud people. To them, it is all about God and putting your relationship with God at center stage. When you are humble, you have the attitude that you need God and that you can accomplish things only under God’s power and authority. Being humble has to do with respect for yourself without having it confirmed by others and not trying to seek outside approval. It’s a matter of controlling what you say or holding your tongue. Having true humility is putting others first and ahead of yourself. It’s offering help to others as well as accepting help given to you. It’s accepting each other for who they are and supporting each other with their struggles and problems. You shouldn't think of yourself first but think of other people ahead of yourself. Your friends are just as important to God as yourself. It is selfish to want your way all or most of the time. I'm sure you've heard, "It is so much more wonderful to give than to receive," and it is really true.
Thinking of others and caring about your friend's interests and concerns is what you are called to do. It is a call to unity, a call to be others-focused.It is better to put others’ needs before your own. It is easy and natural to look after and care only for yourself, but the Lord wants you to look out for more than just number one. He tells you to love your neighbors. Understanding that everyone is equal in God’s eyes will help you walk in true humility. It allows you to work better together with those in your church, neighborhoods and communities when you realize that your needs are not any greater than the needs of another. It is easy to get so wrapped up in yourself-your schedule, your problems, your stresses—that you do not take time to think about what others around you are going through. So each day, ask the Lord to give you a humble spirit and an eye for the needs of others.
Why is it difficult for you to love our enemies? It is because of pride. You think to yourself: how can I love someone who does not see my kind gestures, does not understand what a wonderful person I am? How will I do good unto someone who does not value me? And how do you love your enemies or someone you find hard to love? What is the key? Humility.
Try to be nice to someone, no matter how the other person acts towards you; try to do something good for him or her without expecting anything in return. If you are able to do this, an entirely new world will open up to you, a higher world, and you will feel the extraordinary power and energy of love that you get from God and the Holy Spirit within you. Then you will clearly realize that it is much more wonderful to give than to receive – both things and feelings. How is your sensitivity toward other people? Do you take time to care about the needs of your friends and family? Sometimes we get so absorbed with our own personal problems we forget that others are hurting inside and may need our attention. The strange thing about it is that when we give love and concern to others, we usually forget about our own problems. Who can you make feel special or like royalty today? How can you show them that you care about them?
We are all imperfect people and we can turn our brokenness over to God and find love and support in a community of other not so perfect people. You can walk a mile in someone else's shoes and seek God’s will above all else. Just don’t forget that all your capabilities and skills come from God. You will then have peace with God and others. After all, the humble will inherit the earth.
Gluttony (Excess) vs. Temperance (Moderation)
Gluttony vs. Temperance
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue
*omit if not age-appropriate
“For the drunkard and the glutton come to poverty.” Proverbs 23:21a
“He who keeps the law is a wise son, but the glutton's companion disgraces his father.” Proverbs 28:7
Gluttony is not being able to control yourself - whether it is eating, drinking too much or allowing yourself to be guided by what you feel. It is also the desire for obtaining more than you really need. In other words, it is being self-indulgent.. It is also worshiping your things too much, making them idols. It can apply to toys, television, entertainment, *sex or relationships. Instead, we should obey the First Commandment of "having no other gods before Me, the Lord, your God."
Have you ever heard yourself or others say
A glutton can never get enough to fully enjoy and it can harm your soul as well as not be healthy for your body.
While gluttony is about being a slave to something, the virtue of temperance brings freedom. Temperance is having balance or moderation in what you do and how you live. You must have moderation in all aspects of your life. For example, moderation in your speech would be to not gossip or tell stories that aren’t true or hurtful to someone. There’s moderation for your eyes, not looking at indecent and inappropriate things. What about moderation for your temper by managing your anger and not bursting into flames at someone? It is having the will power to stop since you want to honor the body God gave you instead of turning into a fat slob.
We live in a world that tells us that if feels good, it must be good for us. Just because it may fill our senses with a thrill, it does not always bring us the best of circumstances. Instead of consuming too much or focusing on things that give us pleasure for only a moment, we should practice temperance. True pleasure is found through awareness and appreciating the practice of moderation and self-control.
You can try to strengthen your will and the ability to control yourself with God’s help. You may be too concerned about what makes you feel good that you forget the ways of God. You need to make a point to leave room for God instead of filling your life with too much so God can be your reason for living. We must also put your own wants and needs aside for the good of others.
Deadly Sin and Heavenly Virtue
*omit if not age-appropriate
“For the drunkard and the glutton come to poverty.” Proverbs 23:21a
“He who keeps the law is a wise son, but the glutton's companion disgraces his father.” Proverbs 28:7
Gluttony is not being able to control yourself - whether it is eating, drinking too much or allowing yourself to be guided by what you feel. It is also the desire for obtaining more than you really need. In other words, it is being self-indulgent.. It is also worshiping your things too much, making them idols. It can apply to toys, television, entertainment, *sex or relationships. Instead, we should obey the First Commandment of "having no other gods before Me, the Lord, your God."
Have you ever heard yourself or others say
- Super size it!
- I just got to have that
- I might as well have a third one because I want to enjoy myself
- Fat genes run in my family so I can’t help how I take care of my body.
A glutton can never get enough to fully enjoy and it can harm your soul as well as not be healthy for your body.
While gluttony is about being a slave to something, the virtue of temperance brings freedom. Temperance is having balance or moderation in what you do and how you live. You must have moderation in all aspects of your life. For example, moderation in your speech would be to not gossip or tell stories that aren’t true or hurtful to someone. There’s moderation for your eyes, not looking at indecent and inappropriate things. What about moderation for your temper by managing your anger and not bursting into flames at someone? It is having the will power to stop since you want to honor the body God gave you instead of turning into a fat slob.
We live in a world that tells us that if feels good, it must be good for us. Just because it may fill our senses with a thrill, it does not always bring us the best of circumstances. Instead of consuming too much or focusing on things that give us pleasure for only a moment, we should practice temperance. True pleasure is found through awareness and appreciating the practice of moderation and self-control.
You can try to strengthen your will and the ability to control yourself with God’s help. You may be too concerned about what makes you feel good that you forget the ways of God. You need to make a point to leave room for God instead of filling your life with too much so God can be your reason for living. We must also put your own wants and needs aside for the good of others.
Grace
Grace
"But grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 3
Grace is love given freely by God to you. It is God's powerful force of love within us. It fills your body and your soul to the very top so you can love. There is sanctifying grace and actual grace. Sanctifying grace is the life of God within you. In other words, it is God's gift of divine life into man's soul. It's what stays in your soul and it's what makes your soul holy. It IS supernatural life. God's free and generous gift is also called the "state of grace." Baptism puts sanctifying grace into your soul for the first time. You need sanctifying grace so you are able to live in Heaven (to share in God's happiness) and be in the perfect union with God, the source of all life. It really transforms your soul, actually wiping away our sins, makin it spotless and holy. If this kind of grace is in your soul when you die, you can live in Heaven (but you may need your soul first purified in Purgatory). If however, you are in a state of mortal sin (the serious kind), you cannot live in heaven. So you can lose sanctifying grace by committing a mortal sin because it destroy God's life in your soul. Once you have achieved sanctifying grace, you can increase it by doing good actions, receiving Communion and other sacraments, saying prayers, performing good works. You can serve the community of God through good works toward the sick and needy, and keeping God's commandments. You can also serve God through acts of charity through His love and acting out the virtues. You need to work on it to keep it by responding to His actual graces and continue to seek these actual graces ... a totally different kind of grace.
Actual grace is an undeserved favor or gift from God or you can think of it as a push of encouragement. You can think of it as a kind of helping grace or God's support for us in our day to day life. It kind of acts on the soul from the outside. It gets you moving so it's like a kick in the pants. With God's help, it allows you to act above your nature. When God gives you these divine pushes, all you have to do is go along with them. He may move you to do an act of faith or go to confession where through your reconciliation you will receive more sanctifying grace. Then you can have supernatural life again, But you can lose it very easily by committing a mortal sin. Venial sins don't do this but they can weaken us making you more distant from God. Using God's gift of free will or freedom of choice, you are called to accept the divine love of God. Grace gives you the ability to live life according to the love of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is received and celebrated in community with each other. You are empowered to forgive, to accept without judgment, to give without asking for return, to love without end. This is a power that can do marvelous things! It can heal and bind people together, give comfort and peace, offer affectionate love and create new persons, rest peacefully and disturb the comfortable! So remember no matter what you do, there is nothing that can separate you from God's love. It's not about what you've done ... we really can't do enough. It's about God extending his grace to you because of God's crazy love for you! There's really nothing else like it in all the world!
Examples of grace from the Bible:
Jesus showed grace to Zacchaeus, a rich cheating tax collector when he invited himself to to stay at his house. He even said the name of Peter, the disiple who denied knowing Christ when Jesus returned from the dead and asked him if he loved Him....now that is God's amazing grace! Just think, the disciples didn't even get the concept of grace. Although everybody in town hated Zaccheus and looked down upon him as a crook, Jesus saw something different. He saw that Zaccheus had a new heart. Jesus saw that Zaccheus was sincerely seeking Him out. Zaccheus came seeking the Lord's forgiveness, he came seeking Him for direction, and Jesus told him then and there that He would come spend time with him at his house. Zaccheus may not even have known that he was lost, but he obviously knew that something in his life wasn't right. Fortunately for him, he went to the right person (Jesus Christ), and Zaccheus went from being a known sinner to becoming a child of God!
Jesus gave Peter a second chance. After Christ was crucified and rose from the dead, He appeared to His disciples. In front of everybody, Jesus specifically asked Peter if he loved Him. And when Peter said, "Yes, Lord, you know I love you," Jesus told Peter, "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15-19). What the Lord meant by that was that He wanted Peter to take on the role of a leader. Jesus knew that Peter was truly sorry for denying Him in the past, and he showed Peter that He still believed in him and that He wanted to use him for great things.
"But grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 3
Grace is love given freely by God to you. It is God's powerful force of love within us. It fills your body and your soul to the very top so you can love. There is sanctifying grace and actual grace. Sanctifying grace is the life of God within you. In other words, it is God's gift of divine life into man's soul. It's what stays in your soul and it's what makes your soul holy. It IS supernatural life. God's free and generous gift is also called the "state of grace." Baptism puts sanctifying grace into your soul for the first time. You need sanctifying grace so you are able to live in Heaven (to share in God's happiness) and be in the perfect union with God, the source of all life. It really transforms your soul, actually wiping away our sins, makin it spotless and holy. If this kind of grace is in your soul when you die, you can live in Heaven (but you may need your soul first purified in Purgatory). If however, you are in a state of mortal sin (the serious kind), you cannot live in heaven. So you can lose sanctifying grace by committing a mortal sin because it destroy God's life in your soul. Once you have achieved sanctifying grace, you can increase it by doing good actions, receiving Communion and other sacraments, saying prayers, performing good works. You can serve the community of God through good works toward the sick and needy, and keeping God's commandments. You can also serve God through acts of charity through His love and acting out the virtues. You need to work on it to keep it by responding to His actual graces and continue to seek these actual graces ... a totally different kind of grace.
Actual grace is an undeserved favor or gift from God or you can think of it as a push of encouragement. You can think of it as a kind of helping grace or God's support for us in our day to day life. It kind of acts on the soul from the outside. It gets you moving so it's like a kick in the pants. With God's help, it allows you to act above your nature. When God gives you these divine pushes, all you have to do is go along with them. He may move you to do an act of faith or go to confession where through your reconciliation you will receive more sanctifying grace. Then you can have supernatural life again, But you can lose it very easily by committing a mortal sin. Venial sins don't do this but they can weaken us making you more distant from God. Using God's gift of free will or freedom of choice, you are called to accept the divine love of God. Grace gives you the ability to live life according to the love of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is received and celebrated in community with each other. You are empowered to forgive, to accept without judgment, to give without asking for return, to love without end. This is a power that can do marvelous things! It can heal and bind people together, give comfort and peace, offer affectionate love and create new persons, rest peacefully and disturb the comfortable! So remember no matter what you do, there is nothing that can separate you from God's love. It's not about what you've done ... we really can't do enough. It's about God extending his grace to you because of God's crazy love for you! There's really nothing else like it in all the world!
Examples of grace from the Bible:
Jesus showed grace to Zacchaeus, a rich cheating tax collector when he invited himself to to stay at his house. He even said the name of Peter, the disiple who denied knowing Christ when Jesus returned from the dead and asked him if he loved Him....now that is God's amazing grace! Just think, the disciples didn't even get the concept of grace. Although everybody in town hated Zaccheus and looked down upon him as a crook, Jesus saw something different. He saw that Zaccheus had a new heart. Jesus saw that Zaccheus was sincerely seeking Him out. Zaccheus came seeking the Lord's forgiveness, he came seeking Him for direction, and Jesus told him then and there that He would come spend time with him at his house. Zaccheus may not even have known that he was lost, but he obviously knew that something in his life wasn't right. Fortunately for him, he went to the right person (Jesus Christ), and Zaccheus went from being a known sinner to becoming a child of God!
Jesus gave Peter a second chance. After Christ was crucified and rose from the dead, He appeared to His disciples. In front of everybody, Jesus specifically asked Peter if he loved Him. And when Peter said, "Yes, Lord, you know I love you," Jesus told Peter, "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15-19). What the Lord meant by that was that He wanted Peter to take on the role of a leader. Jesus knew that Peter was truly sorry for denying Him in the past, and he showed Peter that He still believed in him and that He wanted to use him for great things.
The Mass
"And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:18-19
"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20
"For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him." John 6:55-56
At Mass we come together as members of God's family. We listen to God's Word and we gather around the table of the Lord to remember God's gift to us - Jesus. We give thanks and praise to God. The most important part of Mass is not the Homily but the Eucharist (or Communion). Mass was how Jesus set it up almost 2000 years ago so the Church gets its authority from Jesus. He made Peter the head of the Church - our first Pope. Jesus gave Peter and the Church "the keys to the kingdom of heaven." Jesus established a new covenant when He started His ministry of teaching and when He died for our sins. It is then that we became His new people or the Church. The priest at Mass has been given the authority from Christ to be Jesus to us during the liturgy as the priest accepts the simple gifts of bread and wine and consecrates the Eucharist to change it into the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Church houses Jesus Himself in the Eucharist so He is giving His very self to us - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity - a kind of self-giving when we receive Him at Communion. The Mass is God's precious gift to us when God comes to us. God has invited us to enter into the Eucharistic ceremony in which the Sacrifice of Christ is offered to the Father through the priest just as Jesus offered Himself to the Father on the Cross.
We repeat the Last Supper when we remember His great act of love for us on the Cross. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me" That is a pretty specific command - "Do this." He didn't just say "Remember me." He told us exactly how to celebrate His passion, death and resurrection for the redemption of the world by taking our sins so that we, if we follow His commandments, can live with Him forever in heaven.
It is because we are baptized into the Body of Christ (the Church) at your baptism, it is important to worship with other members of the Church who are all a part of His one body. So it's not a "Jesus and me" religion. In fact, at each Mass we celebrate with the Church past, present and future. This includes the saints, your deceased loved ones and all who live in Christ are praying together. Because the Mass “re-presents” (makes present) the sacrifice on Calvary, Catholics all around the world join together to be made present in Christ’s timeless sacrifice for our sins. There is something fascinating about continuing to celebrate the same Mass with the whole community of Catholics around the world … and in heaven. So if you're not holding both hands with someone during the Our Father, your other hand is really holding the hand of an angel!
You should not feel like you have to go to Mass even though honoring the Sabbath or the Lord's Day is a Commandment, but you should feel like you want to. We shouldn't treat Mass as an obligation or a duty or something we want "to get out of the way." Mass is not supposed to be entertainment for us, to get something out of it but instead it is what we bring to Mass. We not only go to praise Him but also give Him thanks for all He has done for us and act sorry for our sins. We get our own personal audience with God and get a glipse of Him in Heaven on his Throne.
So we go to Mass to worship our Creator, develop a relationship with God, keep our faith strong, and help build up the Church - the Body of Christ, the Communion of Saints, His family of believers. You can also pray your petitions or personal needs for yourself and others. We all need the sacrament of the Eucharist to remain in the state of grace when our venial sins (or less serious sins) get wiped away off our soul.
In fact, at Mass we find everything else we’ve talked about: celebration, our community, our shared values, and the call to serve others. This is what Catholics mean when they say Eucharist is the “source and summit” of Christian life. This sacrament nourishes us so that we can be the Body of Christ on earth and live like Christ.
You can even look forward to hearing the Gospels by preparing for them (reading them ahead of time online), reflecting on your week and offering it to God, singing, praying, sharing with the other members of the Body of Christ. Mass can then be more of a moving experience if we participate and get involved with the Church. You should come open and willing to be touched by God. If you miss a Sunday, He will truly miss you. The Church should be your second home to celebrate and chill with your extended family. It should give you a sense of belonging when you participate with people of the same faith.
There are two parts to the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Mass is a sacrifice, a perfect and holy sacrifice. It is also a meal. At the consecration, the bread and wine, through the power of the Holy Spirit, become the Body and Blood of Christ. This is called transubstantiation. Not a symbol, but Jesus' real flesh and real blood, under the appearance of bread and wine. With Holy Communion, we get to eat at his table like his apostles did and share in Jesus' body who is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins.
When we receive Christ, He lives within us in a special way and gives us the real food for our soul. Holy Communion will strengthen our bond with Jesus, rid us of our venial sins (mortal or more serious sin require forgiveness in Confession), it increases our love of God and neighbor and gives us the grace to avoid sin in the future. The Lord is not wanting to condemn us for our sins but heal us. Receiving Jesus in the Eucharist gives us the strength to go on with our daily lives, get healed of our brokenness and hurts and become whole again so we can follow Him and respond to others....we're lifting all our troubles up to the Lord and carrying him with us every week to go out into the "mission fields" and do Hi work. We should always say thank to God when we go to Mass and pray boldly for yourself and others, asking your favors be conformed to God's will. Your gift of an hour of good attitude and attention is even a way to thank Him. So when you participate, be alive and not say your responses like they are a throwaway word...say the Great Amen with what it means, "Yes, I believe." Afterall, God doesn't need to hear it but we need to say it and God speaks to us directly when we listen to the readings and the Gospel, He's really proclaiming His story.
Jesus wants us to share in His own divine life. You are who we are because of our sharing with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And what we share is Jesus Christ Himself, His special gift to you. You live in Jesus and He in you and you need to give to others in faith, hope and love. This means that you must see Christ in one another. The Body of Christ unites us and strengthens you for the week ahead as you take on the work of being Jesus' hands and feet in the world today. You can do this by performing some works of mercy, e.g., feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and welcoming the stranger. So have a positive effect on other people's lives!
There is proper conduct to follow while you are at Mass. Try and finish your breakfast early to allow an hour before Mass begins so you'll be able to receive Jesus. Respectful silence is to be observed in the church, so don't forget to turn off any cell phones. Dressing appropriately for Mass is simply a matter of showing respect, not only for God, but for others around you. You should wear clothes that are modest and clean and the nicest clothes you have. So just say no to street clothes like t-shirts (especially with any writing on them) and denim. Think about how you would dress for an important event, and then recall we are meeting Almighty God at Mass. It doesn’t get more important than that! You are free to leave once the priest finishes walking down the aisle. The best part about Sundays is that you get to keep holy the Sabbath by making it a day of rest for you … it means no shopping or heavy duty chores for you!
"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20
"For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him." John 6:55-56
At Mass we come together as members of God's family. We listen to God's Word and we gather around the table of the Lord to remember God's gift to us - Jesus. We give thanks and praise to God. The most important part of Mass is not the Homily but the Eucharist (or Communion). Mass was how Jesus set it up almost 2000 years ago so the Church gets its authority from Jesus. He made Peter the head of the Church - our first Pope. Jesus gave Peter and the Church "the keys to the kingdom of heaven." Jesus established a new covenant when He started His ministry of teaching and when He died for our sins. It is then that we became His new people or the Church. The priest at Mass has been given the authority from Christ to be Jesus to us during the liturgy as the priest accepts the simple gifts of bread and wine and consecrates the Eucharist to change it into the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Church houses Jesus Himself in the Eucharist so He is giving His very self to us - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity - a kind of self-giving when we receive Him at Communion. The Mass is God's precious gift to us when God comes to us. God has invited us to enter into the Eucharistic ceremony in which the Sacrifice of Christ is offered to the Father through the priest just as Jesus offered Himself to the Father on the Cross.
We repeat the Last Supper when we remember His great act of love for us on the Cross. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me" That is a pretty specific command - "Do this." He didn't just say "Remember me." He told us exactly how to celebrate His passion, death and resurrection for the redemption of the world by taking our sins so that we, if we follow His commandments, can live with Him forever in heaven.
It is because we are baptized into the Body of Christ (the Church) at your baptism, it is important to worship with other members of the Church who are all a part of His one body. So it's not a "Jesus and me" religion. In fact, at each Mass we celebrate with the Church past, present and future. This includes the saints, your deceased loved ones and all who live in Christ are praying together. Because the Mass “re-presents” (makes present) the sacrifice on Calvary, Catholics all around the world join together to be made present in Christ’s timeless sacrifice for our sins. There is something fascinating about continuing to celebrate the same Mass with the whole community of Catholics around the world … and in heaven. So if you're not holding both hands with someone during the Our Father, your other hand is really holding the hand of an angel!
You should not feel like you have to go to Mass even though honoring the Sabbath or the Lord's Day is a Commandment, but you should feel like you want to. We shouldn't treat Mass as an obligation or a duty or something we want "to get out of the way." Mass is not supposed to be entertainment for us, to get something out of it but instead it is what we bring to Mass. We not only go to praise Him but also give Him thanks for all He has done for us and act sorry for our sins. We get our own personal audience with God and get a glipse of Him in Heaven on his Throne.
So we go to Mass to worship our Creator, develop a relationship with God, keep our faith strong, and help build up the Church - the Body of Christ, the Communion of Saints, His family of believers. You can also pray your petitions or personal needs for yourself and others. We all need the sacrament of the Eucharist to remain in the state of grace when our venial sins (or less serious sins) get wiped away off our soul.
In fact, at Mass we find everything else we’ve talked about: celebration, our community, our shared values, and the call to serve others. This is what Catholics mean when they say Eucharist is the “source and summit” of Christian life. This sacrament nourishes us so that we can be the Body of Christ on earth and live like Christ.
You can even look forward to hearing the Gospels by preparing for them (reading them ahead of time online), reflecting on your week and offering it to God, singing, praying, sharing with the other members of the Body of Christ. Mass can then be more of a moving experience if we participate and get involved with the Church. You should come open and willing to be touched by God. If you miss a Sunday, He will truly miss you. The Church should be your second home to celebrate and chill with your extended family. It should give you a sense of belonging when you participate with people of the same faith.
There are two parts to the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Mass is a sacrifice, a perfect and holy sacrifice. It is also a meal. At the consecration, the bread and wine, through the power of the Holy Spirit, become the Body and Blood of Christ. This is called transubstantiation. Not a symbol, but Jesus' real flesh and real blood, under the appearance of bread and wine. With Holy Communion, we get to eat at his table like his apostles did and share in Jesus' body who is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins.
When we receive Christ, He lives within us in a special way and gives us the real food for our soul. Holy Communion will strengthen our bond with Jesus, rid us of our venial sins (mortal or more serious sin require forgiveness in Confession), it increases our love of God and neighbor and gives us the grace to avoid sin in the future. The Lord is not wanting to condemn us for our sins but heal us. Receiving Jesus in the Eucharist gives us the strength to go on with our daily lives, get healed of our brokenness and hurts and become whole again so we can follow Him and respond to others....we're lifting all our troubles up to the Lord and carrying him with us every week to go out into the "mission fields" and do Hi work. We should always say thank to God when we go to Mass and pray boldly for yourself and others, asking your favors be conformed to God's will. Your gift of an hour of good attitude and attention is even a way to thank Him. So when you participate, be alive and not say your responses like they are a throwaway word...say the Great Amen with what it means, "Yes, I believe." Afterall, God doesn't need to hear it but we need to say it and God speaks to us directly when we listen to the readings and the Gospel, He's really proclaiming His story.
Jesus wants us to share in His own divine life. You are who we are because of our sharing with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And what we share is Jesus Christ Himself, His special gift to you. You live in Jesus and He in you and you need to give to others in faith, hope and love. This means that you must see Christ in one another. The Body of Christ unites us and strengthens you for the week ahead as you take on the work of being Jesus' hands and feet in the world today. You can do this by performing some works of mercy, e.g., feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and welcoming the stranger. So have a positive effect on other people's lives!
There is proper conduct to follow while you are at Mass. Try and finish your breakfast early to allow an hour before Mass begins so you'll be able to receive Jesus. Respectful silence is to be observed in the church, so don't forget to turn off any cell phones. Dressing appropriately for Mass is simply a matter of showing respect, not only for God, but for others around you. You should wear clothes that are modest and clean and the nicest clothes you have. So just say no to street clothes like t-shirts (especially with any writing on them) and denim. Think about how you would dress for an important event, and then recall we are meeting Almighty God at Mass. It doesn’t get more important than that! You are free to leave once the priest finishes walking down the aisle. The best part about Sundays is that you get to keep holy the Sabbath by making it a day of rest for you … it means no shopping or heavy duty chores for you!
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