All In or All Out, That is the Question?

How much does it stink to be in need and not have any help. Once I walked home 15 miles because my car broke down and no one wanted to stop and pick me up. It was especially disheartening to see people I knew drive by without pause. Like it or not there will be times in all of our lives when we need help. Some of us are lucky and our time of need is not that dire. For others their distress can be life shattering. God knows that this world works best when everyone goes “all in”. I cannot count the times when people in this great land have come together and overcome great obstacles. God sent his son Jesus to show us how to love and taught us to love “all in”. Jesus the man himself even let himself be arrested, beat, mocked, spit on, nailed to a cross and left to die for us because Jesus loved “all in”. There is so much need in the world and it can all be tended to with love. I need, you need people all over this world need wether they know it or not. God didn’t make us all the same. He didn’t make each one of us a self contained self sufficient person. He created us each with needs and everyone with complimenting gifts so that we could learn to love. Love each other and take care of each other. To look beyond our own selfish flesh driven desires and become something more. I truly believe that if we all worked as hard at giving as we now do at getting that we would destroy famine, poverty, and sickness, but to do that we all need to go “all in”. We need to hold nothing back. I know that many right now may be shaking their heads thinking, “Yeah, thats great but it will never happen”, and with that attitude it won’t. Many are probably thinking that the problem is so impossibly large that it can never be conquered. It is true that we will not end poverty, sickness and famine today. However if we BEGIN today we can get there. If you want to get somewhere else the first thing you have to do is walk out the door. Unfortunately many stay inside and just lament that they are not where they want to be. It all begins by putting more love in the world than we are taking out RIGHT NOW, TODAY. Your part in this journey can be as easy as taking each day and smiling as much as possible. It’s amazing how you can see people transform right in front of you if you lock eyes with a smile. Whenever I feel lost on ideas of how I can give I look to Jesus. I open my Bible and look at his teachings. He loves you and is waiting to help and spend time with you. The question though is, Are you ready to go “all in”?

Luke 21:1-4

1He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury; 2and he saw a poor widow put in two copper coins. 3And he said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4for they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all the living that she had."

Pay It Forward or Pay Your Pocket?

One thing that I have learned from life is that if you want something you need to go get it. Life is about actions. We are what we do. God is no different he judges us by our actions. I have spoke to many a person that has told me, "All you need is faith to get into the kingdom of heaven." Yes, you need faith but I ask what kind of faith do you have it is not followed by good works. God knows that this world works best when we serve not ourselves but our fellow man. To have compassion and commit acts of charity and kindness for those less fortunate than ourselves is truly Christian. I see "non-christians" everyday committing acts of charity. When we care for strangers out of the goodness of our hearts we sew love into this world,and as the famous saying goes, you reap what you sew. Do some acts go unnoticed? Yes, and they should. We shouldn't do charity for any kind of recognition or fame. We should do it out of love. Love means giving without expecting anything in return. We should do it out of love and appreciation for what we have. Out of thankfulness for God and all of his gifts, and we should be charitable to those less fortunate out of love because we are all brothers and sisters in this world. God has bestowed so many blessings, the first of which is, that he gave us life. He didn't have to but he did because he is filled with love and wanted to share life. He loves us so that the sent his son to teach us how to love. Jesus loved us so much that he share lessons of life to help keep us safe with each other. Jesus even died on the cross for us. A most terrible death he endured for us because of our sins. If we let him God will travel with us every day in the Holy Spirit and aid us at every turn. I know for some time is short or money may be little, but if you can take 5 minutes a day and pray for those in need. You can take a dollar and buy one extra can of food to drop in a donation basket. Charity is like a muscle and the more you use it the stronger you will become with it. If you are lost and don't know where to begin, do not fear, pause and pray God will show you how you can help others. He loves you. Ponder this though, if you refuse to help others, who might help you in your time of need?

Matthew 25:31-40

31"When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. 34Then the King will say to those at his right hand, `Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? 38And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? 39And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?' 40And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'

Was I Going To Fall On My Face?

Have you ever felt so exhausted that you thought you might just collapse? I try and get up every morning and right now I have a cold, not the flu but a cold and it was working against me this morning. “Give up, give up”, my body kept telling me. All I wanted to do was go back home and curl up in bed. Problem is, life isn’t about me. I have 4 wonderful children and they all depend on me. I have a wonderful wife and she depends on me. I want to be healthy and have a long life so that I can provide for them until my children can be on their own. I want a long and healthy life because I love my wife and I do not want her to feel the abandon of an untimely death. Life is not about me. Seems like right now we live in a time wherever we turn everything is saying, “Take care of #1!” In America we live in a culture that encourages us to consume as much as we can, and if we don’t then we aren’t cool, we a big fat loser. God wants you to look outside of yourself. He knows what happens when everyone searches to only feed their own desires. We become self-centered and concieted. Those in need continue in need because those with extra do not care for their fellow person. God doesn’t want us to give our money in taxes to the government so that we they can care for the poor. God wants you to care for the poor. He wants you to see the humanity there. He wants you to see their faces. He wants you to help PERSONALLY. When we help each other we humble ourselves. Through that humility we can build relationships on love and understanding. Through love and understand we can find true peace and happiness. Happiness is not eating as many cheeseburgers possible, trust me I have tried. Happiness isn’t the nice car or the oversized home. Happiness is love and caring for each other. God doesn’t like clicks, he wants us to be one Church following his son Jesus Christ. God is very wise and I consult him everyday. I beg for his help and for him to share his wisdom. I read the teachings of Jesus and learn how to love. I ask for help from the Holy Spirit in times of trial and to help me stay or the path of righteousness. I am no one special. It is not about me. For me, it is about God and it is about YOU. The happiness and peace I find is unending. I encourage you to come into the fold as well. God loves you and is waiting. He wants to share because for God it’s not about him it’s about YOU. Who are YOU living for?

Luke 14:12-14

12He said also to the man who had invited him, "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. 13But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just." 

Oh, Before You Throw That Thing

Ever have one of those days?  I have, actually I think sometimes that I have my share and a couple of other people’s share too. The days I wake up, loose my glasses, try to get out the door and it takes like an hour cause I keep forgetting things. I’m in a hurry but I need to get gas then I hit all the red lights and all my errands are on opposite sides of town. I get in the store but I left my wallet out in the truck. I get home to realize I didn’t hear my wife right on the cell and I was supposed to bring home lunch, and it just keeps getting better from there. I used to get mad so easily. I would yell and scream and sometimes throw things (and then have to buy new). Prayer comes in so handy. Nothing works better than a little alone time with God. It helps me find clarity when life is confusing. It helps me calm down with life is spinning out of control. Through prayer helps me find answers to problems. When I worry for others I goto prayer and God listens and even sometimes enlightens me on how to help those in need. God is my greatest cheerleader and through prayer he gives me the hope to succeed. Through prayer with God I find my faith strengthened so that I don’t doubt in times of question. I find talking to God through prayer he shows me how my charity can be put into action and where to go to help. Most of all prayer is awesome for asking for forgiveness when I do sin. Confession for me is the most amazing, wonderful, uplifting thing. My favorite place to pray is in my church, but God is everywhere he is at my beckon call 24/7. He doesn’t always do what I want. He says and does what I need. Going to mass I find such peace because it is like one GIANT prayer. I don’t know what I would do without God in my life. I know how it went before. I was lost, constantly trying to feed my needs. I didn’t care about anyone else but myself. I was a slave to vices that I thought defined my life as free. Now I have hope instead of fear. I have faith instead of feeling lost, and I have charity instead of being self-centered. It all started with prayer. God is waiting, he loves you and wants to hear from you. He doesn’t need fancy words. He just wants to hear what is in your heart. He just wants to help you feel whole. He wants you to feel as special as you are. He knows cause he made you. 

Luke 6:12-16

12In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles; 14Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Hypocrites Don’t Do The Dishes

“HYPOCRITE!”, man if had a dollar for every time I have heard that phase. I would have a lot of dollars. Mo money, mo problems though, it’s hard cause we are people not machines. God gave us free will, and well, sometimes we do some pretty stupid things. Christians get held to a higher standard, and we should be. A Christian is someone who has taken the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal savior, been baptized in the Holy Spirit, Confirmed a belief and dedication to God and is supposed to be living a life according to the 10 Commandments and the teachings of Jesus. Tall order, like I said that free will and a hungry ego get us into a ton of trouble. When you say you are a Christian people watch, and when you act out of line, fingers go a pointing. I do believe that there are two types of Christians. Which one are you? There are the types that believe and follow God/Jesus/Holy Spirit. They make mistakes but their hearts are in the right place. That’s why we ask for forgiveness and try and do better. Others think of Church as a social club. Yeah, they give to the Church and back to their community but they seem to act as though sometimes it’s a place to hang on Sunday to look like they are good and Monday thru Saturday it is a different story. Being a Christian isn’t a Sunday thing. It’s a 24/7 thing, WOW, I know some of us are parents and we already have one of those jobs. Nice thing about being a Christian 24/7 though is that you can weave it in to everything you already do. Will people at work and in public make fun of you when you pray in public before meals. Maybe, but in all my life I have only had someone tell me to stop, ONCE. Be respectful and don’t make a spectacle and you will be fine. Living a life of prayer is HUGE in becoming a better Christian. It keeps your faith up front and center, making it harder for you to slip. I pray at night, before meals, at work, in the car, everywhere. Next, study, I know some may be are having bad SAT flashbacks with the word “study” but take 5 minutes a day and read passage from the Bible. Its like running, you don’t go out running 10 miles your first day. First you run around the block, then slowly adding more and more. Through this you will not only find your faith getting stronger but that your temptations are easier to battle. No one is perfect, but with God you can overcome anything. You can become an example for the lost and help so much in this world, but first you got get cleaned up and in shape. There is so much to be done and God is waiting to do it with you cause he loves you. Don’t wait, start today.

Luke 11:37-41

37While he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him; so he went in and sat at table. 38The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 39And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of extortion and wickedness. 40You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you.