Friday, January 22, 2021

How to Improve Our Lives? Verses that will open your heart

Let's remember that every action, every decision we make, is the purpose of the Highest to improve our existence and that there is always time and place for Christ in our hearts.


“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.” Psalms 13:5

How important and wonderful it is to have God's Mercy in our existence! The daily events that produce tension and anxiety in our lives often make us overlook the beautiful gestures that the Lord has with us. Have we thought deeply about all the times we have been favored with the Love and action of the Highest?

We would probably be amazed at the long list we could make with the blessings that our Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us. We can feel His Mercy at different stages of life. For example, when we are sad. We all experience this feeling and our reactions vary according to age or circumstance. Some brothers and sisters may even feel certain anger towards the Eternal.

However, we must always keep in mind that God is not indifferent to our pain. He cares for us by manifesting himself through our brothers to ease our burdens.

The Lord will never turn his back on us or abandon us. He is firm in His promises.

 

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

One of the most difficult acts, for many, is that of forgiveness. There is a certain logic to it; by being offended, defrauded, and even harmed, we may feel little inclination to forgive those who have hurt us. Through Prayer, we must ask our Heavenly Father from our heart to remove all feelings of rancor, revenge, resentment, and anger. The Lord knows very well what steps we must take to overcome and free ourselves from the harmful thoughts that generate the grievances we may have received.


 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:36

When we reach that goal that cost us so much sacrifice, in addition to our effort we must understand that the strength to persevere in our goals comes from the Mercy of the Lord.  It is also true that when we are happy to have achieved what seemed impossible, our first thought is not directed to God. Let us not become accustomed to turning away our hearts, in times of victory, from the ability to thank Christ.

We plan our life together with the Eternal, telling Him our expectations for the future, giving Him our desires and yearnings. Let us remember that His times are perfect as well as the Mercy we receive to reach the destination we have dreamt of.


 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7

We must become truly aware of how fundamental it is to have a stripped Spirit when it comes to giving, containing, and helping our brothers. This action not only enriches us as members of the People of God but also allows us to see the world in a different way. Sometimes we think that helping is just a matter of money and it is not. Accompanying someone who is suffering, giving encouragement to someone who is in trouble, sharing how much or how little you have with others is the most beautiful expression of the Lord's Mercy on earth that transforms our lives forever.

We live in a society that seems to give more importance to the speed with which the problems of daily life are resolved, than to the Balance and Wisdom necessary to face the challenges that life presents us.

It seems that the final results and their consequences do not matter. What the world tells us today is that it needs immediate answers. Many times we are pushed to solve situations without a minimum of reflection, without time to share it with the Lord or with our brothers.  We are demanded, then, an individualistic action that, with time, can lead us to have feelings of self-sufficiency that move us away from the path that God has designed for us.  As we enter into that vertiginous spiral, we can lose sight of all the times that our Heavenly Father has interceded on our behalf by showering us with blessings.

Today we are required to live by giving answers at full speed. We have the impression that there is no time to reflect with God on our actions. Let us remember that the Lord lives in each of the steps we take. In Him we trust.  



Sunday, January 10, 2021

Are you for Him?

Are you asking yourself: What should I do?

My guess is that you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t asking yourself that question. While there’s nothing wrong with setting goals, there are a few things we need to do first.

The Bible records that three different groups (the crowds, the tax collectors, and the soldiers) all asked John the Baptist the same question after hearing his message:

“What shall we do?” (Luke 3:10; 12; 14)

The same question that probably plagues many of us at the beginning of a new year, quarter, month, or simply just a random Monday is right here in God’s Word. 

So…who was John the Baptist and what did he say that prompted this question?

John the Baptist, the first prophet who had appeared in centuries (There are 400 years of silence between the end of Malachi and the beginning of the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John!), had a familiar message of repentance for sin, and with it, a bold call to actually live for God.

His message is essentially summarized in Luke 3:8: “Therefore, bear fruits in keeping with repentance.”

Repentance isn’t just a prayer we pray or words we say. Our actions are supposed to show that we live differently when we live for God.

So before we try to decide what we want to accomplish in the new year, we’re going to spend the next three days examining John’s responses.

He doesn’t give the crowd a new goal to accomplish; he gives them a new way to live.

God’s way.

If we want to make this year our best year yet, we have to do something different. But that doesn’t necessarily mean a new business, a new product, or a new service.

Rather than being fiercely committed to accomplishing a certain goal, let’s first be committed to the way we work toward our goals instead.

Let’s pray:

God, I want the goals I set to reflect my love for You. Don’t let me separate the goals I set from how I live for You, but align my goals with Your mission. Open my heart to more than what I want, God. Open my heart and open my hands to do Your work. Amen. 

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Motivational movement




Out of thought

God looks at your future, while the enemy tries to keep you in your past.  God says, “You can, in spite of what has been done!” The enemy sa...