Be Bold

Yesterday was a pretty exceptional day. So exceptional that I'd like to share it with you. It started out like just another day...I had class in the morning and then another class in the afternoon. I decided to go to Mass at Christ the King between my classes, and it was such a wonderful way to spend an hour. The first reading was from Hebrews 2, where it says "What is man, that you are mindful of him? Or the son of man that you care for him?" I like this. Sometimes, when I'm having a rough day, this hits my heart just perfectly. Even when I'm not having a rough day, I love hearing this and being reminded that I am nothing...I am small and insignificant. And God is something...He is great and VERY significant. He is the creator of all things. Including you and me. And you know what He said when He created everything? He said "It is good." Not only were the plants and animals good, but He called US good, too. Fr. Ed, the priest at my church, gave a wonderful talk at Mass today with the message that we are to obey Jesus and to submit our lives FULLY to Him. Not partially...not just a few areas of our lives. FULLY. We are to submit FULLY. Every aspect of our lives. Yeah...not so easy to do. But that's where prayer comes in. Prayer is so darn powerful. God is just waiting for us to come to Him with our desires and thoughts...He wants us to hand over every single problem we have so that we don't have to worry about it anymore. Sounds great, right? Not having to worry about anything? Let's do it!

Another thing that made my day great yesterday was the UCO weekly prayer meeting. First of all, I got to play guitar and sing with the music team. That always makes me happy. I love using my talents to serve my King. :) The message at UCO this week was about evangelism. That is, telling others about Christ. Our mission leader Dave reminded us that we have a message of urgency. We are to go and make disciples of Jesus! I think God is tired of us saying, "I'll talk to that person later..." or "I'm way too afraid to share my faith with him/her." He wants us to boldly proclaim His words and deeds. Dave posed two questions during his talk that really struck me. The first question was this: "If we don't love people as God loves them, do we really know God?" I had to really think about that before it clicked. What does it mean to love others as God loves them? It means to be slow to anger, rich in kindness, and to love everyone with compassion. We are also to be quick to forgive. Loving others in this way is hard, yes, but it shows that we understand God's character (not that we ever fully will...but you get the idea). The second question Dave posed was this: "If we can't articulate our relationship with God, how do we know if we really have one?" Whoa. How convicting is that? This challenges me a whole lot. Not being able to talk to others about the nature of my relationship with God shows that I may not even have a very great one. I pray: Oh God...grant me Your spirit of boldness. Rid me of my spirit of fear!

One last thing to close this with. I got a text message this morning from a friend who has been struggling with "letting go and letting God." We had been talking the last couple of days about the power of prayer and how we always try to do things ourselves first before we let God handle them. I was really encouraged by this text message and I'd like to share it. In reference to a daily devotional, my friend says this: "The one for today was about praying and relying on God's strength throughout all your problems and not facing them with a spirit of cowardice. He always knows when to talk to you personally. :)" How wonderful...and how true, huh? We would have things so much easier if we would just pray about what's troubling us, and then let God take care of everything. Who are we to try and take control of our lives? God's the one with the power to change us and our circumstances! :)

I hope you were encouraged by all of this. And maybe challenged too. We're still in the very beginning of a brand new year. This could be a year of spiritual change for you...I know it will be for me. As I pray for God to guide me on His perfect path for my life, I will keep all of my friends and family (and you all reading this) in my prayers as well. I hope you're having a great week!