We have all run into the moment when we have to make a very big decision. Whether it is to stay at the same job we have been doing for years, deciding who to marry, or even just what you're going to eat tomorrow. I wanted to post on this subject because there is actually an easy button for this.
Four years ago I got on the plane to visit my now wife's family. On that plane I was faced with the biggest decision I would ever make... Would I marry my now wife, Elizabeth awesome Day. I remember on the plane ride I made a pro's con's list of why I should or should not marry her. I stopped, but probably not soon enough. You probably cringed as you read that sentence almost as much as I cringed to write it. It's probably one of the stupidest things I have done.
Four years ago I got on the plane to visit my now wife's family. On that plane I was faced with the biggest decision I would ever make... Would I marry my now wife, Elizabeth awesome Day. I remember on the plane ride I made a pro's con's list of why I should or should not marry her. I stopped, but probably not soon enough. You probably cringed as you read that sentence almost as much as I cringed to write it. It's probably one of the stupidest things I have done.
Truth is, there are a thousand reasons for doing one thing over the other. Life would get insane very quickly if there wasn't a sure way to find out what path to take. Life would be complete chaos! The starting point in making a decision is turning to Jesus, who is "the way, and the truth and the life." (John 14:6)
In the parable of the vineyard Jesus reminds us that He loves us personally, cares for us, and that we need to stay close to Him. If we stay close to Jesus we can ask him anything we want, and as a loving spouse, He will respond. In John 15:7-9 Jesus says:
"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you." By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
He says, "by this is my Father glorified that you bear much fruit and become my disciples." It glorifies God to ask Him for things! If you are remaining in Christ, then you will ask for good things and you will ask for what God wants in your life. By doing this you will certainly find the answers you seek and glorify God by being the you that God planned for you to be, which brings you and all those around you the most joy. It's like a snowball effect.
Jesus makes His intentions for you and I clear throughout all of Scriptures. He says, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete." (John 15:11). The one conclusion I have made in this life is we are infinitely loved beyond what we can possible imagine. Our joy is God's first concern. Thankfully, joy from God is not the same as regularly super crummy cheaply-bought brand X joy, that we're used to in this world that blows up in our face when things get bad.
Jesus came so that we could join His divine family and He was willing to do anything to make that happen. He was willing to do anything to be with you. God Himself, the creator of the universe, wants to be closer to us. Coming from a broken home, the thought of my Father as the creator of the universe is an awesome reality. A close second to the fact that this same Creator wants to be close to us and cares for us more than we can possibly imagine.
Jesus came so that we could join His divine family and He was willing to do anything to make that happen. He was willing to do anything to be with you. God Himself, the creator of the universe, wants to be closer to us. Coming from a broken home, the thought of my Father as the creator of the universe is an awesome reality. A close second to the fact that this same Creator wants to be close to us and cares for us more than we can possibly imagine.
Truth is, God has prepared a path for our life before we were even born. In Ephesians 2:10 St. Paul says: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." The ways that we are supposed to take are already known by God. We need to only go to the Divine architect of the universe and our lives and ask. He Himself will set us on the road that will bring the most joy.
I am writing this partially as a reminder to myself as well. I am currently struggling with anxieties of my own as I write this with uncertainties with work, how to be the man I am supposed to be, and other issues close to my heart. And it's tough, but we are on this journey together. And I firmly believe if we remind each other of the times that God has intervened in our life in the past and how He has constantly revealed Himself in our lives and Scriptures to be true, faithful, and always caring of our unique lives; maybe we can learn something from mere repetition that our soul sometimes forgets.
Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path." At times we can only see the next step. To be honest, I think it is best this way for us and I thank God it is this way. Even though it is very hard to be in the midst of uncertainty, I think it would be much worse to have to worry about every decision months or even years before a clear alternative arrives at your door!
With that said I encourage myself and everyone who actually reads this silly blog to only look at your next step. If you must change course or stay where you are, God's word will act as a Lamp for your feet. That same word that is a lamp onto your feet is the word of which God Himself says: "So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)
Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path." At times we can only see the next step. To be honest, I think it is best this way for us and I thank God it is this way. Even though it is very hard to be in the midst of uncertainty, I think it would be much worse to have to worry about every decision months or even years before a clear alternative arrives at your door!
With that said I encourage myself and everyone who actually reads this silly blog to only look at your next step. If you must change course or stay where you are, God's word will act as a Lamp for your feet. That same word that is a lamp onto your feet is the word of which God Himself says: "So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)
Catholicism is counterfeit Christianity and you are completely deceived, believing in "another jesus and another gospel" per 2 Cor 11:4, which will never save you. For example, Boniface VIII proclaimed (circa 1300) that it was, "altogether necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff".
ReplyDeleteFace it: THAT IS A LIE. You can jump up and down, stand on your head in Macy's window and scream to the moon until you're blue in the face trying to convince us, but it will never be true. Salvation is believing in the merits of Christ alone, period, end of story.
Indeed, Catholicism is a viperous theology that has bitten its members for far too long. Only the anti-venom of Scripture can cure her ills. But she refuses to take the antidote. We are flabbergasted that the laity refuse to wake up out of their spiritual coma and prefer to be lulled to sleep by all of the RCC's unbiblical doctrines! Let's take another example. The RCC has abrogated the original command to partake of BOTH bread and wine, and instead teach Jesus would be pleased we take either one!
WHAT?! NO WAY.
They even teach that the Savior never even OBLIGATED us to consume both elements. Listen to the madness of the Council of Trent: "This holy synod, taught by the Holy Spirit...declares that lay people...are not obliged by any divine command to receive the sacrament of the Eucharist under both kinds, and that it can in no way be doubted without injury to faith that Communion under either kind is sufficient to them for salvation. For although Christ the Lord at his last supper instituted this sacrament with the form of bread and wine...nevertheless that institution and tradition do not aim at this, that all believers in Christ are bound by the commandment of the Lord to receive both kinds. Neither is it rightly concluded [from the Last Supper or] from the discourse in John 6...that Communion under both kinds is commanded by the Lord” (“Concerning Communion Under Both Kinds”, ch 1).
To be sure, these are not the words of those under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but rather of MAD SCIENTISTS on the verge of an explosion in the laboratory. They have completely reversed and thrown under the bus our marching orders to partake of BOTH bread and wine, so it is inconceivable they have been divinely commissioned by Jesus Christ to break his own commandments! The Lord said the Scriptures cannot be broken (John 10:35), but the Council of Trent has indeed done just that! No reasons whatsoever, no matter how pious they may sound, can justify mutilating the Lord’s Supper down to the choice of either bread OR wine. Jesus did not give us that option! Consequently, since the magisterium is obviously of the devil, the belief that the Messiah was speaking LITERALLY in John 6 and the Last Supper (as it regards eating his flesh) cannot possibly be true. Instead, all the biblical evidence proves he was speaking metaphorically in those places, and oh....should you deny it, I dare you to invite me to debate the issue.