When you want to stay, and God sends you.

We know those seasons when life settles into a gentle rhythm. The early, unhurried morning; the familiar commute with the same sea of stranger-faces; the workday where nothing is on fire; even a season when prayer feels easy and God feels close. There’s a quiet comfort in that routine, almost like being on a little mountain where the view is familiar and the air is calm.

In today’s Gospel, Peter has his own version of that moment. He sees Jesus shining like the sun, hears the Father’s voice, watches Moses and Elijah appear in glory, and his instinct is to stay put: “Lord, it is good that we are here… I will make three tents.” He reaches for permanence, for a way to hold onto the moment and make it last. You and I know that impulse well—whether it’s a beautiful family moment we wish would never end, or a comfortable routine we don’t want disrupted.

But before Peter can finish his sentence, a bright cloud overshadows them and the Father speaks: “This is my beloved Son… listen to him.” Not “build for him,” not “prove yourself to him,” but “listen to him.” The first call is not to perform, but to pay attention.

Grace in a performance-driven Lent

In the second reading, Paul reminds Timothy—and us—that God “has saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace.” That line cuts straight across a lot of the pressure we feel around Lent.

Lent can easily become a spiritual performance review. We set resolutions, compare our fasting or prayer habits to others, and listen to louder, more intense voices online that seem to say, “If you’re not doing as much as I am, you’re not serious.” Sometimes those voices are explicitly religious; sometimes they’re just the background hum of productivity culture, baptized in holy water.

But Paul says the opposite: it begins in grace, not in our performance. God’s call on your life is rooted in his purpose and his love, not in how dramatically you can give up coffee or how many holy hours you can log this month. The point of Lent is not to impress God; it’s to make space for God to impress his love and mercy more deeply into us.

That doesn’t mean we coast. Lent is “self-denial ordered toward love”—we willingly stretch, fast, and give, not because God keeps score, but because love wants to grow. We want to move beyond the bare minimum, beyond autopilot, and let God shape us into people who love more freely.

The danger is when that holy desire to “do more” quietly slides into a fear of not doing enough, of not being enough. When we start playing the comparison game—measuring our prayer life, our sacrifices, our spiritual “intensity” against what we see others posting—we can quickly forget that the foundation is grace. Sometimes we may just want a calm, private experience with God, away from the public eye, and that’s okay. Holiness doesn’t need a platform.

The temptation to pitch tents

Peter’s idea on the mountain is sincere. He’s not trying to escape responsibility; he’s just overwhelmed by a beautiful, holy moment and wants to hold onto it. You and I know that feeling. A retreat that changed us. A prayer time when Scripture suddenly came alive. A season when we felt close to God and everything seemed to flow. “Lord, it is good that we are here. Can we just stay like this?”

But the Father interrupts with a different invitation: “Listen to him.” And what does Jesus say afterward? He doesn’t say, “Stay.” He says, “Rise, and do not be afraid,” and then leads them back down the mountain.

In other words: the experience on the mountain is real, but it’s not the destination. It’s a gift meant to strengthen them for the journey ahead, a glimpse of glory that will carry them through the coming valley of the cross. The same Jesus who shines in light will soon sweat blood in Gethsemane.

The Little Flower Carmelite reflection captures this beautifully: God is both Place and Journey, the One who meets us on the holy mountain and the One who keeps calling us on when we would rather camp and pitch tents. God is not being cruel when he doesn’t let us stay in the “perfect” moment. He is inviting us into a deeper, more costly love.

Listening more than understanding

If you’re reading this on your phone late at night, or sipping coffee between notifications, it’s not news to you that we live in a loud time. Wars and conflicts across the globe, angry voices on every platform, headlines that pull our attention from one crisis to the next. It can feel like the world is on fire most days, and our instinct is either to doomscroll or to shut down and block it all out.

In that noise, “listening” can sound like a luxury. But the Father’s words on the mountain are surprisingly simple and practical: “Listen to him.” Not “understand everything,” not “solve all the problems,” but listen. Take his words seriously. Let them land in your actual life.

Abram in the first reading does exactly that. God tells him, “Go from your country and your kindred… to the land that I will show you.” No map, no step-by-step plan, just a promise: “I will bless you… and you will be a blessing.” Abram doesn’t understand how it will all work out, but he listens and goes.

In Lent, listening often comes before understanding. We may not fully grasp why God is nudging us to forgive that person, to unplug a bit from our screens, to give more generously, to show up at Mass again. We may not see how our little acts of self-denial matter in a world on fire. But the pattern of Scripture is clear: God speaks, we listen, we step, and understanding often comes later.

Listening in this sense is an act of trust: “I don’t see the whole picture, but I’m going to take this next step with you, Lord.”

When you want to stay, and God sends you

So what does this look like for us, halfway through Lent?

Maybe your life right now feels like that peaceful routine: early mornings, familiar commutes, workdays on repeat, prayer that’s fine but not exactly stretching you. Or maybe it’s the opposite: too much noise, too many headlines, too many voices telling you what you should be outraged about today. In both cases, there’s a temptation to stay where we are—either comfortably settled or comfortably numb.

Lent, in this Sunday’s light, is Jesus taking us gently by the hand and saying: “Rise, and do not be afraid.” Not “rise and perform,” not “rise and prove yourself,” but “rise and come with me.” The Transfiguration reminds us that:

We are called and saved by grace, “not according to our works.”
We are invited to listen before we understand.
We are meant to go back down the mountain with him, into a noisy, hurting world, as people who have seen his light.

For some of us, “going down the mountain” might mean stepping out of a comfortable spiritual routine and trying something a bit more courageous: going back to confession, returning to Sunday Mass, joining your family for prayer even if it feels awkward, reaching out to someone who is struggling. For others, it might mean turning down the volume of the world just enough to actually hear Jesus again: less doomscrolling, more Gospel; fewer hot takes, more quiet listening.

The Carmelite prayer asks God to “transfigure our cloudy and confused spirits so that we are not afraid to follow Jesus through the times of trial, tribulation and stretching.” That’s the heart of this Sunday. God doesn’t shame us for wanting to stay where it feels safe. He meets us there, shows us his glory, and then gently sends us back into the ordinary, carrying that light.

A simple listening practice for this week

If you can give God two or three quiet minutes sometime today or this week, here’s a small way to “listen more than understand”:

Three questions to sit with:

Where am I most tempted right now to “pitch a tent”—to stay put spiritually or emotionally, rather than follow where Jesus might be nudging me next?
Where have I slipped into a performance mindset with God—trying to earn his love, or comparing my efforts to others—instead of starting from grace?
What is one small, concrete step Jesus might be inviting me to take this week, even if I don’t fully understand why yet?

A short prayer (adapted in the spirit of the Little Flower reflection):

Lord Jesus,
You are the beloved Son, and the Father tells me to listen to you.
Save me from the pressure to perform, and remind me that I am called by your grace, not my works.
When I want to stay where it feels safe, give me courage to follow you back down the mountain, into the world you love.
Take me through my clouds of doubt and distraction to your holy mountain, where I can see your glory,
and then send me as a quiet light into the places that feel dark.
Rise in me, Lord, and help me not be afraid. Amen.

If all you do this week is pause your scrolling long enough to ask, “Lord, what are you saying to me?” and then listen for a moment, that’s already a powerful Lenten step—not according to your works, but according to his grace.

When Sin Runs Deep: Jesus’ Shocking Words and God’s Promise of a New Heart

Jesus exposes how deep sin really runs—not to crush us, but to replace our hardened, petty hearts with a new, generous heart that looks like his.enduringword+2

When Jesus Sounds Extreme

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses some of the most jarring language in all of Scripture: “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away… If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off.” He repeats the same idea later: it is better to enter life “maimed or lame” than to be thrown into the fire with all your members intact. These are not literal surgical instructions, but spiritual shock therapy—Jesus is trying to wake us up to how lethal sin is when we treat it lightly or manage it politely.preceptaustin+5

If the problem were just our eye or our hand, we might imagine we could “fix” ourselves by removing a part. But you can pluck out the eye and still have a mind that replays the image; you can cut off the hand and still have a heart that broods over revenge or fantasizes about using others. Jesus’ hyperbole forces the question: if every part of me can become a channel for sin, maybe the real issue is deeper than body parts. Maybe the “surgery” we need is not on the limb, but on the center that drives them all.lifehopeandtruth+2

The Hidden Depth of Sin

Jesus doesn’t begin by talking about eyes and hands; he starts with the commandments themselves. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’… But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Earlier in the same chapter he goes even deeper with anger: “You have heard that it was said… ‘You shall not murder’… But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.”harvestpca+2

In both cases, Jesus exposes the “road” that leads to the visible sin long before the final act:

Long before murder, there is unchecked anger, contempt, and the quiet decision to stop seeing the other person as a brother.bible.usccb+1
Long before adultery, there is the cultivated gaze, the entertained fantasy, the interior willingness to treat another person as an object.harvestpca+1

This is where pettiness shows itself. A petty heart asks, “How far can I go and still be technically innocent?” A generous heart asks, “What leads me toward love and away from anything that degrades God’s image in me or in others?” Jesus’ strong language about cutting off and plucking out is his way of saying: don’t negotiate with what kills your capacity to love; don’t bargain with what hardens your heart.

Hardened Hearts and Religious Pettiness

When Scripture talks about a “hardened heart,” it isn’t just describing emotional coldness; it’s naming a stubborn, resistant interior that refuses to be moved by God or by the needs of others. In the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly runs into this hardness—often among very religious people. In Mark, when he heals the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath, the religious leaders watch him, not with compassion, but with suspicion, and Jesus looks at them “with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart.” They are more concerned with guarding their system than with rejoicing that a broken man has been restored.openbible+2

When Jesus discusses divorce, he explains that Moses’ allowance was “because of your hardness of heart,” but that “from the beginning it was not so.” In other words, God had made a concession to human stubbornness, but it was far from his original, generous design for covenant love. Hardness of heart always shrinks love down to the smallest possible space: What am I allowed to do? How quickly can I write this person off and still feel righteous? How can I keep my image intact while my relationships crumble?dwightgingrich+2

Jesus is ruthless with this kind of religious minimalism because it blinds us to God’s generosity. A hardened, petty heart will quote Scripture while ignoring the suffering person in front of it; it will defend its rights while forgetting that every breath is a gift. The same Jesus who warns us to cut off hands and pluck out eyes is the Jesus who exposes our loopholes, our technicalities, and our carefully managed bitterness—and then offers us something entirely different.bible+1

God’s Promise: From Stone to Flesh

Centuries before Jesus, God had already diagnosed the problem: “I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel’s image is striking. A heart of stone is inflexible, unresponsive, and cold toward God’s voice; a heart of flesh is soft, living, and responsive, able to be impressed and moved by God’s will. In the ancient world, the heart was the center of decision, desire, and thought, so this is not cosmetic change—it is a promise of a new core.biblehub+3

God doesn’t stop there: “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.” Jeremiah echoes the same hope: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.” Under the old covenant, God’s law was written on stone tablets outside of us; under the new covenant in Christ, that law of love is meant to be etched into our very desires and motivations. Jesus is not lowering the bar; he is raising it and then promising the grace to live what he commands.esv+3

Now the extreme sayings about eyes and hands come into focus. Jesus isn’t calling us to mutilate ourselves to earn God’s favor; he is revealing that the old, stone heart can’t be managed into holiness. It has to be replaced. It’s not that we remove one offending part and keep the rest intact; we bring the whole person to the surgeon who can actually give us a new heart.

From Pettiness to Generosity

What does a new, “flesh” heart look like in practice? The New Testament consistently links it with generosity. “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” “If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” The contrast is sharp: a closed, stingy heart versus a heart opened by Christ’s own self-giving.lifepointbaptist+2

Jesus describes this generous posture in his own teaching: “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” This isn’t about becoming a doormat; it’s about becoming free from the internal bookkeeping that always asks, “Have I done enough yet?” Pettiness calculates; generosity rests in the Father’s abundance and asks, “How can I mirror the way God has treated me?”logos+2

In daily life, pettiness in my heart might show up as:

Doing the bare minimum in my marriage, parenting, or friendships, while resenting any extra demand.
Clinging to small offenses, replaying them, and refusing to let go until the other person “pays.”
Giving financially or serving others but constantly checking whether I am getting enough appreciation in return.globalchristianrelief+1

By contrast, a generous heart acts more like Christ: quick to forgive, willing to go beyond what is strictly required, eager to protect others from temptation rather than seeing how close to the line we can stand together. The same Jesus who warns about hell also says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” promising that there is joy on the other side of relinquished pettiness.lifepointbaptist+2

Letting Jesus Rewrite the Heart

So how do we move from a hardened, petty heart to a generous one? We don’t get there by gritting our teeth and cutting off figurative hands on our own; we get there by bringing our whole interior life under the gaze and grace of Jesus. First, we let him tell the truth about us. When he says that anger, contempt, and lust in the heart are already violations of the law of love, we resist the impulse to defend ourselves and instead allow his light to reach those hidden corners.bible.usccb+1

Second, we cooperate with his grace by taking his warnings seriously. That may mean literally “cutting off” certain habits, environments, or inputs that regularly pull us toward sin—changing what we watch, what we scroll, who we vent to, or how we let our imagination run. Not because we are terrified of God, but because we trust his diagnosis: whatever keeps feeding the hardness in me is not worth clinging to.gotquestions+2

Finally, we ask God for the miracle he has already promised: “Lord, take away my heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh; write your law of love on my heart.” Over time, as he answers that prayer, we find that obedience becomes less about rule-keeping and more about family resemblance. The goal is not simply to avoid sin but to become people whose very instincts are being reshaped—less petty, more generous; less defensive, more open; less stone, more flesh.dailyverse.knowing-jesus+2

That is the hope at the center of Jesus’ hard words: he exposes how deep sin really runs not to leave us in shame, but to invite us into a deeper healing than we imagined was possible—a new heart that looks a little more like his.

Finding Your One True Priority in Life

Lately the word “priority” has been sticking with me. I learned that when it first entered English in the 1400s, it was singular—there was just one “priority,” the first and most important thing. Only in the 1900s did we start talking about “priorities,” as if we could have many “most important” things at the same time.

As a Catholic, that little language shift makes me pause. If everything is a priority, then nothing really is—and for me, it raises the question: who or what actually comes first in my life? In my faith, God is meant to be that one priority, the One everything else flows from and returns to.

Another word that has been on my heart is “consecrated,” which means something set apart, made holy, reserved for a special purpose. In Catholic theology, to be consecrated is to belong to God in a particular way, to be given over to Him in love. The ancient burnt offerings in the Old Testament were a symbol of this: something given completely, not partly, to God.

Christians believe that Jesus is the “Lamb of God,” offered not as a thing, but as a living person who gives Himself totally for us, for our forgiveness and healing. In Jesus, God is not distant or abstract; He draws close and offers His whole self so that we can live in friendship and union with Him. Even if you do not share that belief, there is something moving about the idea of a love that holds nothing back.

What encourages me is that God does not just give words, but also gives a language of actions, symbols, and even our everyday choices to communicate with us. The way we order our time, our energy, and our “one priority” becomes its own kind of prayer—a way of saying, “This is who I belong to, and this is what I’m living for.” That feels like good news in a scattered world: we are invited into a simpler, deeper center.

A Scripture that captures this for me is Romans 12:1: “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” It speaks of life, not destruction: offering our ordinary selves—work, family, struggles, hopes—as something set apart for good, for love, for God. Whether or not you share my faith, it is an invitation to ask: what is my one true priority, and what am I willing to give myself to, wholeheartedly, in love?

As we close this reflection, please join me in prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ,
You are the one true priority and the Lamb of God, consecrated and given for our salvation.
Teach us to set our hearts on You above all things.
Gather our scattered desires into a single yes to Your will.
Consecrate our minds, our work, our relationships, and our rest,
so that all we are and all we do may be set apart for Your glory.
By Your Holy Spirit, make our lives a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to the Father, our true and spiritual worship.
Mary, Mother of God, and all the saints,
pray for us as we learn to live with one heart and one priority in Christ.
Amen.

Purging Religious Yeast

The first book of Corinthians writes in a figurative sense about “yeast” when it says:

Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast – as you really are. For Christ, our passover lamb, has been sacrificed. – 1 Corinthians 5:7

From an old post on the blog “Finding the Motherlode” the author poses a theological discussion on the nature of religion. Religion (religious thoughts, rules, ways and means), the author writes, is selfish. It stems from self and revolves around self. This selfish sense of “religion” is present in all of us and like a speck of yeast, it is very difficult to spot and remove. Some examples of this sense of “religion” that we should be warned of:

Religion is when I try to make something happen before God has ordained it.
Religion is doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons.
Religion is saying Hallelujah before having the faith to say Amen.
Religion is saying “Yes” to God without saying “No” to ungodliness.

I think I have a sense from where the author is coming from and I offer up an example from another blog which studies the works of James and the warning “Faith Without Works is Dead.” This selfish notion of religion is in saying and doing things that are biblically advisable but not really making the effort to make it happen. That in itself is a contradiction. It’s in the contradiction that we find the “yeast” in our lives.

But if a brother or sister is naked and may be lacking in daily food and any one of you say to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, but does not give them the things the body needs, what gain [is it]? – James 2:14-15

This is a tough brand of yeast for me to purge from myself as I am faced daily with many homeless and poor individuals on the streets, all of whom are begging for their meager living. I usually pass them up knowing that a smile or a good word is not enough to fulfill their bodily needs, as the Bible demands. Finding ways of fulfilling my obligations to the poor is a lifelong challenge that faces me and possibly many others.

Like I said, once you recognize what yeast is in your life, it’s really, really hard to figure out how to remove it. It takes work and it takes sacrifice. As in the promise of salvation through Christ, we are challenged by Corinthians to prepare and make ourselves “new” (a new batch without yeast) to meet Christ’s sacrifice.

Fatherhood in Tough Times

Today’s reflection comes from Purpose for Everyday Living for Fathers, which really speaks to this current life and times facing families today. It talks about the nature of unpredictable change and the anxiousness that some fathers may feel about factors affecting their families that seem so far out of their control.

Our world is in a state of constant change. God is not. At times, the world seems to be trembling beneath our feet. But we can be comforted in the knowledge that our Heavenly Father is the rock that cannot be shaken. His word promises, “I am the Lord, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6 NKJV)

The author reminds any father facing difficult circumstances that God is far bigger than any of those problems that you may face.

By putting your faith in the Father and His only begotten son: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8 NKJV) Because the savior does not change “you can face your challenges with courage for today and hope for tomorrow.”

I myself as a father experience this anxiousness each day as I prepare my children for their day, struggle to pay the bills and expenses or hear about yet another violent crime happening in my community. Sometimes the number of troubles at my feet seem insurmountable and the pressure that comes from having a family count on me introduces a whole new level of change and uncertainty.

With God there is certainty. God will protect you if you ask Him. So ask Him and trust in Him to handle the many things that seem out of your control.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV

Corinthians reminds us that we are meant to be beings of faith. If we succumb to what we see before us, it is certain that we will be overcome and overrun with the multitude of problems that face us. By walking with faith we look beyond and towards the Lord instead. With faith, we trust in Him to handle what seems out of our control allowing us to serve Him instead of the problems before us.

Getting What You Need

Like the Rolling Stones song that goes: “You can’t always get what you want…” We have to remember daily through our disappointments and shortcomings that

Faith in God will not get for you everything you want, but it will get for you what God wants you to have. The unbeliever does not need what he wants; the Christian should want only what he needs. – Vance Havner

This rings some truth in many ways. We don’t always have what we want, which contrary to common wisdom, is a good thing. The trick is in paying close enough attention to the things we do have. These are our blessings. This is what the saying “count your blessings” is all about. All our needs are laid out before us for the asking. All the needs for the moment have already been provided for us. It is up to us to be thankful and to recognize this throughout our moments of disappointment and want.

Perhaps you may want a better job, or a bigger pay raise. Maybe you want more recognition for your labors at the office. Maybe you want to win big money in the lottery or in a casino. The important question is however, what will become of your life if these moments or events never come into your life? Chances are very good that you will still go on living and breathing. The important thing is that you don’t imprison yourself in the cycle of “wants”.

There is a parable I recall from Max Lucado’s book: “Traveling Light”, about a man who in a bad turn of the stock market lost overnight his entire fortune and savings. When asked of his situation, he replied: “I lost everything“. A colleague and close friend of his then asked “Have you lost your faith?”; “No,” he replied. “Have you lost your character?”; “No,” he replied again. “Have you lost your salvation?” his colleague quizzed once more. “Why, no.” To which his friend replied: “Then it appears to me that you have lost none of the things that matter.”

The friend is a wise one. Indeed, when you think about it, what really matters in this life? God doesn’t look at the number of cars you own, the brand name labels on the clothing on your back, the money in your wallet or bank accounts and assets or even the fanciness of the home you live in. God looks at your heart.

1 Samuel 16:7 – “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

That is where all of us should begin to look… at the inside and all of the needs that originate from that place within. When we look there, we circumvent the slavery of “wants” and materialism that takes us places, but eventually takes us nowhere. Having better things, more things or any things doesn’t increase the value or the worth of our inner being. Take some time to focus on the needs that we have to make our inner beauty shine and pray for them.

“Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.” – 1 Peter 5:7 (AMP)

In the long run, if you focus on putting these anxieties on the Lord, you’ll find that “You can’t always get what you want… but if you try sometimes, you get what you need.” (Rolling Stones) Search through your countless blessings and look for the needs that have been answered… most evidently at the right time, place and situation. You may surprise yourself when you do.

Move Those Mountains

Many of us have read the Bible passage in Matthew 17:20 which reads: “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Indeed, moving mountains is not an easy task. They’re tall. They’re massive. Even all the earth’s forces at work together can only carve out mere inches from a mountainside let alone move it from “here” to “there”. The metaphor is there for a reason. Faith allows us to achieve what may seem to us as “impossible”.

I read this reflection this morning in the book: “Purpose for Everyday Living” and I think it’s a great one:

God did not create you for a life of mediocrity; He created you for far greater things. Reaching for greater things usually requires work and lots of it, which is perfectly fine with God. After all, He knows that you’re up to the task, and He has big plans for you if you possess a loving heart and willing hands.

We are meant to be up to the challenge: moving mountains and conquering insurmountable challenges… if we have faith. To have faith is to believe that through every problem you face in life, God is with you every step of the way, ready and willing to strengthen you.

The passage also encouraged readers as Christians to “Live Courageously”… and to put fears and disappointments in God’s hands for able handling. When we feel fear or doubt approach us, turn to God.

I am a firm believer that these fears and disappointments in life are meant for us to develop our character and our inner being. How we handle ourselves in times of turmoil is a reflection of that character. Through it all we are not alone. Acknowledging this more in our lives enables us and increases our ability to take on life’s big challenges. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13). As Christians and followers of the Lord, our ability to move mountains attribute to His glory, inspiration and might.

Be patient. When you feel lonely, stay with your loneliness. Avoid the temptation to let your fearful self run off. Let it teach you its wisdom; let it tell you that you can live instead of just surviving. Gradually you will become one, and you will find that Jesus is living in your heart and offering you all that you need – Henri Nouwen

The lessons of life build our character and with faith they inevitably lead us to Christ: both for comfort from our fears and for steady endurance and strength to take on the tasks at hand. Author Max Lucado wrote this on fear: “Earthly fears are no fears at all. Answer the big question of eternity, and the little questions of life fall into perspective.” Eternity is your destiny and your salvation. Faith in God leads you there.

I pray that this reflection leaves you feeling encouraged and emboldened to tackling bigger problems and tasks in your life, knowing that through Christ you are strengthened and meant to accomplish many great, amazing things. Now leave your fears at the door and go out and start moving those mountains!

The Butterfly Effect

The “Butterfly Effect” is a metaphor that encapsulates the concept of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory; namely a small change at one place in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere. The popular story illustrating this is of a butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the planet triggers a chain of events that eventually contributes to a major weather event elsewhere like a hurricane or a tsunami.

The closest example I can think of that relates to the “Butterfly Effect” is the concept of “Random Acts of Kindness” or “Pay it Forward”.

In Random Acts of Kindness, one chooses to live their life with accents of acts of kindness towards complete strangers both small and large: paying someone’s parking meter that has run out or when visiting a hospital, spend a few moments with someone who doesn’t have visitors. The acts are usually encouraged to be anonymous or secretively done.

Some additional inspirational examples of acts of kindness can be found at bukisa.com or daretobeanangel.com. A google search for “random acts of kindess ideas” also yields some great results.

The point of this is that things like the “butterfly effect” or “random acts of kindness” are not an example of chaos or randomness in this world at all. Christian faith teaches us that nothing in this world is left to chance or to randomness. All are designed and integrated into a “master plan” managed by God himself.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens (Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8)

The inspiration to do good works and random acts of kindness comes from the Holy Spirit – and from it the machinery of the universe and the wonderful “positive energy generator” continues to move forward in our lives.

There are times where we are privy to witness even a small glimpse of what becomes of random kindnesses when it snowballs forward in the world around us. The concept of “pay if forward” is used to describe the concept of asking that a good turn be repaid by having it done to others instead.

Television and media mogul Oprah Winfrey has on occasion talked about “pay it forward” and has even tracked on her show instances where a second and third generation act of kindness has exploded into something both inspiring and wonderful at the same time. All involved have no idea how they can be related to the initial act of kindness but many will agree and attribute that the unpredictable effects is a wonder and mystery of God’s work in this world.

The movie of the same title, while fictional, also illustrates the concept of how a simple act of kindness can snowball and grow into something more… both positive and of great impact to society at large.

Arguably, the butterfly effect is not chaos at all. It is the product of a higher, divine “order” of the universe that is dictated by an infinite number of complex, tiny and large interactions at work. As humans, we may pretend to understand the wisdom and the machinery of such interactions, but we cannot – it is beyond the scope of our understanding. Faith shows us that by contributing to the energy of acts of kindness and good deeds something positive will eventually become of it whether or not we will be able to observe its outcome. So get busy and pray for your own revelations – so that you will be more observant of God’s plan for your day and your butterfly role in the world around you.

The Prayer of Jabez – Revisited

Read a review and a new perspective on the book “The Prayer of Jabez”. I too feel uneasy with the unbalanced nature of the book’s suggestions. It (the book and its testimonials) seems to indicate that faith is fueled by constant challenges to God to fulfill one’s prayers based on rote prayer and formula. It also inflates expectations that these prayers will always be positively answered… In truth we cannot even begin to assume an understanding of God’s wisdom nor can we expect Him to respond to prayers in the same way that a “genie” in a bottle grants wishes to passerby.

“Wilkinson (the author of The Prayer of Jabez) asserts that praying Jabez’s prayer leads to a life of incredible blessing and ever-increasing ministry opportunities-a life that sounds almost like a fairy-tale. However, little reference is ever made to the reality of genuine difficulties in life, and the necessity of sincere prayer to face those difficulties in a God-honoring way.” I think the review article raises a good point in that ministry for God is rarely a 123-formula approach to success… there are hardships and also setbacks because it is not the will or the might of the person that answers prayers… but the will and grace of God Himself.

I appreciated the commentary that: Scripture, however, points to the importance of learning to live a life fixed on pleasing God in all the little details in life-attitudes, thoughts, words, and behavior. In the “mundane” aspects of life, God is also there.

There are basic tenets of the Prayer of Jabez that I do see as useful: the demonstration of humility, dependence and expectation of blessing are all good things to model in one’s prayer and pursuit of worship. Overall, good lessons are to be learned from Jabez’s shortly documented, but meaningful life story. Continue to pray for God’s blessings. May all of you find balance in things that you do and the life that you have chosen to pursue.

10 Minutes For God

Daily Prayers, Meditations and Inspirations on the Go

faith