What Does God Want from You?
"Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
I Thessalonians 5:16-18
"Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
I Thessalonians 5:16-18
God wants a relationship with you. You already have his love. Nothing you can do will ever earn his love and nothing you can do will ever push it away. God is love. That is who he is. That is an unimaginable miracle. Meanwhile most of us want a miracle. It is a perfect arrangement. Just know that it isn't like any other relationship with any other person.
You have the miracle of God's Love and the gift of His Spirit to recognize him. Miracles are 99.9% up to God. The .1% that is up to you will involve all you are and all you have. This is total commitment, and total commitment requires support because that is not the way the world works. While there are many varieties of holy habits, they all begin and are saturated with prayer. Archbishop Temple once said "When I pray, coincidences happen, and when I don't, they don't." If we put God first, in prayer, in giving, and in all we think and do and say, we will be changed. We will recognize God's presence in our lives and we will be new.
The more we look to God and put God first, the more we see God. It is not really a cycle, but more like a dance of an upward spiral in God's heart. Life in the Spirit of God yields Joy that sustains us through every thing. The world's idea of joy is getting what you want, or being entertained and made happy. The Joy of life with God is tender, sometimes tearful, quiet, unexpected, humbling, cleansing, healing and often internal. Joy is a change in condition, not circumstances, because seeing God makes us new. We are not alone and it is not all up to us.
Life with God changes us. We are saved from the earthly cycle of retaliation, and keeping score. Who will save me from the angst and anger of our world right now, from my thoughts & fears? It's St. Paul's thought, but we've all had it. Thanks be to God who gives us real victory, now.
You have the miracle of God's Love and the gift of His Spirit to recognize him. Miracles are 99.9% up to God. The .1% that is up to you will involve all you are and all you have. This is total commitment, and total commitment requires support because that is not the way the world works. While there are many varieties of holy habits, they all begin and are saturated with prayer. Archbishop Temple once said "When I pray, coincidences happen, and when I don't, they don't." If we put God first, in prayer, in giving, and in all we think and do and say, we will be changed. We will recognize God's presence in our lives and we will be new.
The more we look to God and put God first, the more we see God. It is not really a cycle, but more like a dance of an upward spiral in God's heart. Life in the Spirit of God yields Joy that sustains us through every thing. The world's idea of joy is getting what you want, or being entertained and made happy. The Joy of life with God is tender, sometimes tearful, quiet, unexpected, humbling, cleansing, healing and often internal. Joy is a change in condition, not circumstances, because seeing God makes us new. We are not alone and it is not all up to us.
Life with God changes us. We are saved from the earthly cycle of retaliation, and keeping score. Who will save me from the angst and anger of our world right now, from my thoughts & fears? It's St. Paul's thought, but we've all had it. Thanks be to God who gives us real victory, now.
Children's Homily: How M&Ms Teach Us to Put God First
