Lent

I grew up Catholic and I have always observed Lent. I attended Catholic school for about four years and during those four years it was impressed upon me the importance of Lent.

However, during one Lent service our priest told me something I had never heard before. He told us that Lent is not about giving something up, making sacrifices, as we often do during this time of year. He said it doesn't matter so much if we don't give something up in observation of Lent. He told us that what matters more is doing good deeds in this special time.

He encouraged us to go out of our way in order to make someone's day a little brighter, to show our love to one another as Jesus shows his love to us.

This Lenten season, I am going to challenge myself to do one good deed a day for someone I love. Whether this be dropping a friend an e-mail, sending someone an encouraging card, taking time out to do some community service, or just to alert the neighbor that the UPS man dropped by and couldn't get into our building, I want to set aside a little time every day this season to show love and compassion to those around me.

I encourage all of you to do the same.

Pleasing God

Joyce Meyer, in her book Approval Addiction assets that all we need to do in order to receive God's approval is to believe in Jesus and desire to please Him. God wants us to fulfill His Will for our lives, but He knows we are imperfect. He does not expect us to behave perfectly, she says, but He does expect us to have a heart that is right.

This is a hard concept for me, personally, to grasp. I have been (and still am) a people pleaser, so it is hard for me to fathom how God will accept me just as I am as long as I have a good heart and believe in Jesus.

Pleasing God

Joyce Meyer, in her book Approval Addiction assets that all we need to do in order to receive God's approval is to believe in Jesus and desire to please Him. God wants us to fulfill His Will for our lives, but He knows we are imperfect. He does not expect us to behave perfectly, she says, but He does expect us to have a heart that is right.

This is a hard concept for me, personally, to grasp. I have been (and still am) a people pleaser, so it is hard for me to fathom how God will accept me just as I am as long as I have a good heart and believe in Jesus.

Blessings

In the hustle and bustle of every day life, I think it's easy to overlook or forget all the wonderful little things in our lives. God promises to pour His blessings upon us abundantly, but we won't recognize blessings if we don't take the time to remember the small things God does for us every day.

During your prayer time, take a few minutes to thank God for the blessings He gave you that day. Did someone smile at you on the street? Did your cat sleep on your pillow last night? Did you hear from a good friend today? Did you get a promotion or a raise? Did you enjoy sunny and/or warm weather?

Blessings can be big or small, but regardless of their size, we should thank God for each and every blessing He gives us.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the continual outpouring of blessings into my life.

Does God Punish?

Verse: Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and throw into the fire. Mathew 7: 17-19 NIV

As a Christian and a religious studies scholar, I have often puzzled over the question of whether God punishes His children either here on earth or after we die.

This passage from Mathew suggests God will banish everyone who is not living a Christian life into Hell (Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and throw into the fire).

Many people, including myself, have trouble connecting the angry God of the Old Testament and the generally loving God of the New Testament. The parts of the Bible were written at different times for different audiences.

Perhaps our perceptions of ourselves and God affect how we see God. For instance, if you see yourself as deserving of love, you might perceive God to be much more loving than someone who sees himself or herself as deserving of punishment.

While some denominations of Christianity may preach that one needs to live a good, Christian life to avoid going to Hell, others preach that as long as you repent and ask for forgiveness of your sins, God will save you from the fire.

In their book If Grace is True: Why God Will Save Every Person, Phillip Gulley and James Mulholland go as far as to claim that God will save every human being, no matter their sins, no matter if they have asked for forgiveness, no matter whether they believe in God. Their theory says Hell does not exist.

As you can see, theories about God and punishment clearly run the gammot.

Do you think God punishes either here or in the afterlife? Feel free to discuss in the comments section.

Need a Blogger? Contact me

Worry

Verse: Therefore I tell you do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink: or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Mathew 25-27 NIV

Worry is something most of us struggle with daily. I know I do. We think by worrying about finances, food, our children, or our jobs that we can somehow control the outcomes of situations.

But this isn't true.

God wants us to hand over all of our worries and concerns to Him. He promises to take care of the smallest of our needs. Today, instead of worrying about the future, try praying to our Heavenly Father, asking Him to take care of your burdens.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, help me hand my troubles over to you today instead of worrying about them. May I take comfort in knowing that You have promised to take care of all my needs. Amen.