Of Course He Answers Prayers!

You know those points in time when you can only stand in amazement at how God works in your life. Well I’ve missed out on those for a while, but God recently answered a much-needed prayer. I was praying a few days ago about how I felt that I was lost in my journey to God and that I desperately needed His guidance and wanted Christian friends with whom I could talk. I used to talk about faith in high school occasionally, and would have many discussions with my father and pastor; since coming to Holy Cross I have missed out on that a lot. In a way, not having those discussions quieted my faith and cut me off from God in a way that I formerly connected with Him. I’ve become involved in a group of friends who go to a youth group in Worcester, but tonight the van was taken due to a screw up in the schedule so we sat down and chatted for a good hour or so. It was one of the best conversations I have had in a long time, we talked about faith, God, the Bible, Heaven, and miracles. It was so refreshing to talk to people who have a passion for God, it is something I really missed. While I may still be in the fog God has allowed to enter my life I know that I need not go through it alone. While God certainly was there the whole time, now He has heard my prayer and brought me to others who may help me rediscover my faith and develop in my relationship with God. The journey to God’s heart is not one meant to be taken alone, no it is one of twists, turns, and trials and demands company for there are times when we may trip or struggle. I heard God’s voice ever so faintly, but it was there, and He said “I am with you.” In a time where I am growing up and discovering myself I desperately needed to hear Him say that. Things are changing in my life, but at least I may find comfort in knowing that I am not alone, and that in the future wherever I may go a brother in Christ will never be too hard to find, all I need is to pray.

Darn Writer's Block

Well March is nearly over, and as I look back at one of the worst months for the blog I have a few thoughts. You ever have those moments, or series of moments, when you feel lost even though everything seems to be going right? For me writing is a huge part of my life (I would say it is my life, but God takes that spot every day), yet for some reason over the past five weeks or so I have not been able to write. It’s not that things have been going poorly for me, instead things have been great. I’ve had job interviews, I have a newspaper column, I’m on a softball team… the list goes on and on. It’s just that somehow I feel lost or unsure of myself. It has been one of those moments when I take a step back and ask “Who am I, where am I going, and who does God want me to be?” God doesn’t want me to sit around and be an ordinary college student, there is more to life than working every day of the week and hanging out on the weekends. There has to be more. So how do I add more? Well, to have a meaningful life doesn’t mean that I need to drop out of school and join the peace core. No, instead I can add meaning to what I do. I can live out the Gospel, talk about God, discuss things and ask the big questions with my friends. Instead of sleeping during my free time I can set aside a moment for prayer and Bible study. God gave me a great responsibility in being the next leader of FCA at Holy Cross, and to prepare for this I need know Him and heed His guidance. It’s been a tough journey but I didn’t get completely lost because God was guiding me through it. Every day is an opportunity to grow and learn, I’m just happy I was able to take advantage of it.

One Family

I had an interesting discussion today with some friends over lunch. I rarely express my views on faith to my friends, mainly because they rarely ask. If anyone engages me in a discussion on faith I will be more than happy to talk. Some call it a “debate” but for me I’m expressing my views and showing people the love of God, not trying to prove them wrong. Anyway the discussion today was about the Catholic Church. It was a good talk; they asked me what I liked about the Protestant church and what made me “convert.” I expressed my view that I started going to NPC simply because I enjoyed the company of the people there more than my old church and that for me I am a Christian first. I’ve written about this a lot, and I’ll preach this message till I am blue in the face, but if the Church wants to accomplish he goal Jesus gave us then we have to come together. In switching to NPC from a Catholic Church I didn’t convert, I switched from one to another. We all read the same Bible right? We all believe in one God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit right? Or am I missing something? Sure there are some differences between the two, but we all follow Jesus, we all believe He is our Savior, and thus we are all gathered together in His family. If you accept Jesus you are welcomed into God’s family, no separation or difference from one brother to another.

Miracles

So earlier tonight I went to the Lutheran Church in Worcester to help out with the youth group and as usual it was enjoyable. I sometimes find myself in disagreement with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and this was one of those times. The topic of tonight was healings, as we as Christ’s disciples preforming miracles. Now I do not discount the power of God, I firmly believe in the miracles of Jesus and that God’s power is limitless. As C.S. Lewis once put it (and I paraphrase) God wrote the rules, He is fully capable of bending around them a bit to do His will. But it seems to me that some people are missing the heart of the matter when it comes to preforming miracles. One of the members seemed to talk of testing God’s power in praying for the sick to show that miracles exist. Now, what I find disagreement with is this. Who is doing the healing here? As a mere man I can do nothing, but through Christ I can do anything. When Jesus preformed a miracle He was sought out. People didn’t bring the blind or sick to test His power, the blind wanted to see and the sick wanted health. Jesus was the cure. It’s not that what the people at the church wanted to do was bad, it was very good of them to desire to help a friend. But what they miss is that God is the one in control, and it is up to us to seek His help. In my opinion it isn’t the faith of the disciples that causes the healing, but the faith of the sick. Let’s say I lose my sight, who’s faith will save me my friend’s or my own? In seeking God myself I demonstrate my own faith, that is the real test (if there ever was one). This is certainly not to say that we shouldn’t pray for the sick because we should. My point is that we mustn’t lose sight of God’s power and His will behind the scenes. God is the supreme Healer, not me. The moment I put myself in focus and God in the blurry edge is a moment I step away from His glory and into pride.,

Crossing the Sea

Recently I went to an FCA meeting and that night we talked about Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea. The Israelites saw the impending Egyptian army and cried out in anger and distress that it would have been better to die in Egypt instead of the desert. Moses silenced them saying “The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still” Exodus: 14:14. Right now God seems pretty distant from me. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I’m having trouble hearing His voice and sensing His presence in my life, and I really miss it. But one thing I learned from FCA that night is that no matter what stands in our way God will be there to carry us through and fight for us. All that matters in the end is that we have God on our side; though the world may fall apart we still have God fighting for us. God may be testing me with silence to see how I react, or I may have lost my step and confidence in myself, but I know that even though these obstacles stand in my way nothing can stand before God. The Israelites thought there was no way out, but God showed them wrong. I’ve had some rough times so far at college but also some really great blessings. The greatest miracle of it all is even though the devil laid his traps for me, nothing has shaken my faith. I may have lost strength and determination but God has led me through the “sea” in my way and further on my journey to Him. I don’t know where God is leading me, but I do know that he is my “#1” and will guide me wherever I go. 

Notice

I realized that I haven’t blogged in a while, so to my faithful readers I am sorry. It’s not that I haven’t been thinking, in fact I have been doing a lot of thinking. It’s just that I cannot put everything that is going on inside my head to words. It can be tough, so many thoughts swirling around and no way to really organize them. God is leading me somewhere, I know He is, but where I am going I have no idea. More often than not I find myself lost or confused, but I know that God is faithful and that He will carry me through the storm. A lot has been going on, lots of personal issues have come up, but I know that God is there holding me up and will be by my side no matter what. Once I get a moment to really relax and reflect I’ll be sure to write a post, but until then I need take a break.

It's All There for the Taking

I was reading John 5 last night, and the passage that really spoke to me was the beginning of the chapter where Jesus heals the man by the pool. For the full story read John 5: 1-14, basically there is a man who is paralyzed and lies by the pool hoping to get healed (he’s been sick for 38 years so I guess it’s not working out). Anyway, Jesus walks up to him and asks if he wants to get healed, but look at the reply: “Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool…” Jesus asked a yes or no question, and this man gave an excuse of sorts. I love what happens next, Jesus outright commands the man to get up, and he is instantly healed. Often we try to go with what is the norm. Something that has been established in society as a solution to a problem can seem pretty enticing, even if it never works out the way we want it to. This man had sat by a pool for 38 years! I’m 18 and already that seems like a long time. The most amazing part is that he still stuck to his solution, when Jesus asked if he wanted to be healed he didn’t say “Yes can you help me?” He said that no one would help him into the pool; he didn’t get it that maybe the pool wouldn’t work for him, maybe it wasn’t the solution to his problem. When we get stuck in a tough spot it can be easy to want to do what everyone else is doing, to follow the rules laid down by the world. But that isn’t always what God wants of us, sometimes instead of working out a flawed solution for ourselves we need to listen to God and do what he tells us. It took 38 years for the man to try to get healed but never actually be freed from his illness and a few seconds to actually be healed by Got; which do you think works out better? Sometimes I like to go my own way (like the Fleetwood Mac song), but it doesn’t really work out the way I want it to. That’s why we need God and we need to accept His guidance and strength so that we may overcome the obstacles in our way.

We Need to Grow

My family recently bought a small house on Cape Cod to vacation in and rent out, and my younger sister is convinced that it is haunted. I have not been in the house so I cannot attest to the level of activity going on, but I do have an opinion on the issue. I used to believe in ghosts and all that paranormal stuff, but then I became a Christian and view it more as a devil’s trick than something real. Still that kind of stuff gives me the creeps, but there is one thing I am more afraid of. What scares me the most is not demons going bump in the night, but how the devil can easily slip in between God and us. Here’s a good example, I have been away from the blog for some time; I have been busy and have not really been reading my Bible. Now, the devil isn’t causing me to stop reading my Bible, but he is suggesting that maybe I get a few more minutes rest, or maybe because I am not in the right frame of mind that I give in to a temptation that would otherwise be resisted. It’s not in leaps but in small steps that we leave God. I still have firm faith, but my dedication has been lacking of late. Ghosts don’t scare me quite as much as the realization that I am farther from, not closer to, God than I was a month ago or even a year ago. This Lenten season, focus on getting close to God and staying that way. Just as Jesus was tempted so are we and we must do our best to resist temptation and grow in our relationship with the Lord.