Who Knows Better, You or God?

    Let’s face it, trusting in God is a lot easier to say than to do, but why? Why is it so difficult to trust our Creator? The one who’s love and mercy are endless? The one who sent his only son to us where we flogged him, spat in his face, cursed him, and nailed him to the cross like a criminal and watched him die? Well, the fact is, we don’t look at God like this. Rather we look at him as a fellow human. We think “well, I wouldn't forgive someone who kept ignoring me and lying to me, why would God?” But he will if we simply admit to our failure. He loves each of us unconditionally and wants us to turn to him.

    How can I say God loves each of us when life seems so unfair? Well, let’s change it up, what’s the difference between a lump of coal and a diamond? A diamond is formed 90 miles under the surface of the earth at about 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s one of the most coveted stones in the world. Look at coal, it's just vegetation and such that has been around for millions of years without any structure. God wants us all to become diamonds, the hardest rock able to withstand anything. But there needs to be pressure and heat to do this. So when struggles come into your life, trust that God is just helping you get to heaven. Scripture (1Corinthians 10:13) says that God doesn't give us anything we can’t handle providing we trust in him. David, a man after God’s own heart said, “Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no harm for you are at my side (Psalm 23:4).” Tough times are going to come, we can either embrace the suffering and become more perfect through it, or we can be like the coal and let whatever happens happen. But all that coal is good for is burning. Do you want to a lump of coal, or a diamond made even more beautiful through its imperfections?

Perfection...Is It Possible?

    You ever hear the phrase “nobody’s perfect!” If you’re like me, you've used that phrase...a lot. But let’s seriously think about it, is it possible to become perfect? Dictionary.com states that perfect is entirely without flaws, defects, or shortcomings. I know what you’re thinking, “but Jason, Matthew 5:48 says ’So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’ I can’t do that! I have flaws!” Well, Dictionary.com has a second definition as well. It states that perfect is “exactly fitting the need in a certain situation or for a certain purpose.” Changes it up, doesn't it?

    We think, “I can’t be perfect, so why even try. I’m just setting myself up for failure.” That is the devil, the father of lies, talking. Ain't no body got time for him. Have you ever helped someone in need? Could have been on a mission trip, at a soup kitchen, held the door for someone with their hands full, congratulated someone, shared a meal, gave money, spent time with someone, or did an act of charity for someone else? At those moments, you exactly fit the need in that certain situation; therefore, you were perfect.

    We have moments of perfection everyday. Unfortunately, we also have moments of sin everyday. But Christ is calling us to perfection. That could mean washing the dishes, spending time with a friend, not getting drunk, not using someone’s body for personal pleasure, letting someone else use your jacket, sharing a Cliff Bar with someone who is hungry, there are many different ways to be perfect for a moment. The way to become more perfect is to string the little bits of perfection together and decrease the number and severity of the sins. That is done through self reflection every night and confession at least once a month. God gives you opportunities to become perfect, how will you respond to them?

Does Your Phone Own You?

    You ever count the number of times you look at your phone in an hour? What about a whole day? I find myself checking my phone a lot, especially when I’m bored. It’s so much of a habit, that when I don’t check my phone, I get antsy. “Did someone text me? What if they need me? What if Bryan fell down a well and needs me to save him? I’m important. I need to look at my phone!” And then there’s nothing when I check.

    Every time I take a break from soccer, volleyball, or a meeting, I check my phone. One day, in the car on the way to mass, my sister called me out. “What, the four people in this car isn’t good enough? You need to call out?” And she was right. I wasn’t showing love and respect to my family because I was with them physically, but I tried to be somewhere else.

    We get so caught up in certain things that we become a slave to it. I am a slave to YouTube videos when I keep clicking the next video, but know I should be doing something more valuable with my time. I’m a slave to my bed in the morning because I never want to get out of it. The more we say no to sleeping in, that second YouTube video, going on Instagram every five minutes, etc, the freer we become. If you can’t sit or go for a walk for an hour without looking at your phone, or getting an itch to want to do something else, you are not free.

    People say, “I’m free to do what I want, when I want.” All I can think is, “Can you freely say no to it?” Take a look at your life choices as far as why you’re doing something. If you’re watching videos to feel less lonely, ask a friend to hangout, go to the movies, the park, play volleyball, set up minute to win it games, build a fort or a tree house, go for a bike ride, etc. When we are able to substitute bad habits with good ones, we will have a much happier and freer life.

Is it Wrong to Question Your Faith?

  Questioning often gets confused with doubt. Some people say “I’m questioning the existence of God.” If they were honest with themselves, it would translate to “I’m doubting God’s existence.” Because a question is searching for an answer. If I ask how old Stacy is, I am asking others in search of the answer.
    So in truth, it is great to be constantly questioning your faith because it allows you to dig deeper into it. So if you are questioning the stance the Church takes on homosexuality, have you looked at the Catechism in paragraph 2357? What about the next paragraph that states it is a major sin to treat them with anything but love? The Church does not condemn someone for their sexual preferences, but unfortunately people often do.
    Confusion of these topics come from sinners and hypocrites. Some people think the Church is full of them, but that’s just not true, there’s always room for more. In John 8:7, Jesus said, “Let he who is without sin throw the first stone.” We all sin. We are so quick to judge those who have different views than us that we forget to express charity (love) toward them. That very well could be the reason why that person who supports abortion feels excluded from the Church. The pro-choice person sees pro-lifers as saying no to the woman when in actuality it is a strong “yes, you can be a mother, and let us help you.” There are people who have been waiting for years to adopt a child. There are also clinics and houses to help these mothers go through pregnancy.
    The Church values each individual, whether that person is: gay, straight, has special needs, handicapped, a criminal, Muslim, Jewish, in the womb, or outside of it. Help the Church pass on this message of love. And continue to question the faith...just make sure to find the true answer.

Going Past the Words

Did You Catch It?

    So last week’s article (Click to read first) was about trusting in God and realizing that even though Jesus was stressed and felt abandoned, he never stopped trusting in God. But in the article, did you catch the 6 Backstreet Boys song titles? What about the 4 songs by Avril lavigne? Or the one 98 Degrees song? Or perhaps the NSYNC song? Did you catch some of them?

    I’m sure you’re asking “Why would Jason do that?” First of all, the Backstreet Boys and Avril Lavigne performed a few weeks ago at DTE and I wanted to make reference to them. But another reason is to show how little we think when we read. Some facts about me are: I’m a 90s kid, love 90s music, went to the BSB’s concert June 17th, and love to give hidden references to see who catches on to them. Now that you know a little more of my background, you may have caught more of the references.

    Same thing goes for scripture. The Book of Psalms are prayers from King David. Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” 1 Samuel 13:14 said that David is a man after God’s own heart. Even King David didn’t always feel God’s presence.

    Let’s look at John 21, when Jesus asked Peter after the resurrection, “Do you love me?” Peter responded, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus responded, “Feed my sheep.” This happened 3 times. Jesus did this to counter the three times Peter denied Jesus. In Scripture, the number 3 means completeness. Christ gave Peter the opportunity to know that he was completely forgiven. Jesus then gave him the task “feed my sheep,” reaffirming that Peter was to be the head of the Church even after the denials.
    The New Testament reveals the Old Testament. I encourage you to join a bible study to learn more about the faith. In only a few classes, my whole perception of the bible changed.