Following Him

""Repairer of the breach,"" they shall call you, ""Restorer of ruined homesteads."" 

If I had to choose a superhero name, I wouldn't mind either one of the above. To be able to bring healing, peace and reconciliation to people, families, what a great vocation. 

Actually., this vocation is a common one among Christians for this is what Jesus did. And if we follow Him, then He has promised He will guide us always, renew our strength, and nourish us. As long as we do not follow our ways, or seek our own interests, then we will be able to delight in Him no matter what we do. That is the promise revealed to prophet Isaiah. 

As we all know, following Jesus is not an easy strretch, by any means, because it requires much sacrifice and ever-present humility, a constant refinement of spirit through self-examination and repentance. And yet, the rewards can be long-lasting. 

So a apt prayer today would be as the psalmist wrote:

Keep my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God.

Fasting 101

We all know what fasting is, especially in today's context, where it's touted as a healthy lifestyle and great weight loss tool. But as a disciple of Christ, fasting has to have wider ramifications. We have to go beyond ourselves and make concrete changes in the world. Isiaih, chapter 58 says it best;

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:

releasing those bound unjustly,

untying the thongs of the yoke;

Setting free the oppressed,

breaking every yoke;

Sharing your bread with the hungry,

sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;

Clothing the naked when you see them,

and not turning your back on your own.

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,

and your wound shall quickly be healed;

Your vindication shall go before you,

and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,

you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

Choosing life or death

I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then...

Practically every choice we make in life involves choosing between life and death. It may not seem that way, but consequences have a way of coming back and blowing up in our faces years after that first seemingly inconsequential poor choice that reaped immediate, big rewards, or so ims. 

Take me, for instance, I ate a hash brown for breakfast knowing it was a poor choice, but it offered me instant gratification. I'm on vacation, it's allowed, was my excuse. It is now so easy for me to keep making excuses and end up eating unhealthily over the next few days, and I may continue to do so after my break, for a pattern has already been set. 

Why did I pick food as an example? Wisdom and temperance may be easier to exercise when it comes to ethical issues where good or bad choices are more clear-cut, but when it comes to the temple of God, the bodiy, we tend to unwisely pick death quite often. 

How many good Christians I know who can't fast? It requires great discipline and self-mastery which ihelp us make good choices in many other areas of our lives. Given that it's Lent, fasting at least once a week may not be a bad idea. And on the other days, a healthy diet and some exercise will also mean we choose life. We choose to take care of our bodias we should. 

To run the good race requires stamina, endurance and focus. We need to be triathletes, with multiple skills, if we want to serve God as we desire, to be strong and ready to go the full distance.So choose health and fitness today, choose life, as part of your plan to be a good disciple of Christ. If you don't feel good in your body, it is just so much harder to be good, and to do good.

It's the events in our lives that shape us but the choies in our lives that define us. - Detective Mac Taylor, CSI: NY

Turning back

Rend your hearts, not your garments. This particular sentence struck me this morning as I was reading Joel. This call to repentance reminds me Lent is not about an outward show of actions, but rather what I do when I pray, fast and give alms, that it's not about me feeling good that I have ticked the boxes of requisite Lenten acts, but that I come to a place within me that tears apart all pretence and pride that prevent me from walking closer with Jesus. 

Every day, I may fall short in my intentions to be good, I may indulge in the sins of harsh impatience and hatd indifference, or worse, I may be in a spiritual rut, but, today I choose to listen to His voice and I seek to root out and destroy the impurities in my heart. I pray that I will be given the strength and perserverance to walk the next 40 days of Lent, allowing Jesus to show me new joys and pleasures of my ongoing conversion.

A pure heart create for me, O God,

put a steadfast spirit within me.