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He Gave His Only Son

"Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

John 21:29

• There should be less talk. A preaching point is not a meeting point.


• The dying, the cripple, the mental, the unwanted, the unloved-- they are Jesus in disguise.


• In the West there is loneliness, which I call the leprosy of the West. In many ways it is worse than our poor in Calcutta. (Commonweal, Dec 19, 1997)


• It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.


• The poor give us much more than we give them. They're such strong people, living day to day with no food. and they never curse, never complain. We don't have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so much to learn from them.


• I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?


• I do not pray for success. I ask for faithfulness.


• Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.


• If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

~Mother Teresa~

Yesterday was my daughter's belt testing for Taekwondo. To be promoted to a higher "belt" or level of proficiency, she and her classmates had to demonstrate mastery of the requirements in their current level; how to do self defense, how to execute their "basic form" (a sequence of movements and stances). The final test was for each of them to break a wooden board; both a physical and symbolic gesture. Each one of them had their own wooden board and prior to the breaking of the board each one had to write on the board a particular bad habit that they would like to break. They then could break the board either by hand or by kicking. One little girl had trouble breaking her board. Over and over she tried to break it by kicking but she lacked the force to break it in half. The more she tried, the more she became timid and more anxious. The instructors helped her in different ways: one helped her with her stance and told her to jump higher; the other instructor guided her leg toward the board. Each time the board remained unbroken because she still did not hit it hard enough. As she was preparing to jump yet one more time, the third instructor cheered: "Don't be scared!"

We who were watching sensed right away the great effect of those three words on her. In an instant she jumped and lifted her leg so high and brought it down on the board, breaking it cleanly in half. It was her fear that stopped her from trusting and so, as soon as she heard those three words,and believed it,her heart was set free.

In the face of our symbolic wooden boards and real crises in our lives our loving Heavenly Father continues to encourage us and remind us:

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."(Joshua 1)

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you." (Isaiah 41)

This Lent provides us a special opportunity to reunite with God's words of promise and keep them by heart. There is a church that I pass by on my way to the Gresham Library. On top of its entrance are the words from Jeremiah 29:

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity." (Jeremiah 29)

Here is our loving Heavenly Father who has left us words of such deep love and devotion to us, who yearns to hold us safely in His arms. Because of our present earthly limitations it is often hard to sense or even believe that He is actually present in our midst and that we are loved, and that He also aches unbelievably so whenever we do. But however fragile faith could be, even the littlest of faith is enough to grant our Heavenly Father a foothold in our hearts. Every day take time out to commit His words to memory. Whenever I am tempted to feel anxious and worry about what I have to do, I recall His words: "Fear not, for I am with you." Whenever I am tempted to lose hope and despair that He does not care about me, I recall His words: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you." The more I think about that, the more I feel overwhelmed with joy. He is thinking about me! I think about the little girl and her wooden board, and I think about us, each facing our own boards to break. Each day give our Heavenly Father a chance to instruct us and increase our faith in Him by opening our hearts to His will and continually asking Him, "Father, what do You want me to do today?" The more we surrender our day to our Father the more clarity we will have about His ways and His plans for us. With that surrender comes the reality that we need the Divine overseer of past, present and future, and the confidence that He knows what is best for us. All He asks for is our trust. Our Heavenly Father says:

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye." (Psalm 32)

The little girl could not see beyond her fear that what she thought impossible was possible. In many ways we also cannot see what lies beyond what we fear and it becomes harder to believe that our Almighty Father always has His eyes on us. Whenever we are tempted to doubt then hold firmer each day to His words: "Fear not, I am with you."

Don't Be Scared!

URLVD

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