The Wrong Question

If God is all powerful, then why doesn't He feed the poor? Why doesn't He stop all the wars? We're asking the wrong question.

Of course, God could stop all of the wars and end hunger. He's God! The REAL question is "why don't WE?"

The first verse that comes to my mind about this topic was when Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you." - Matthew 26:11. Why? Why will we ALWAYS have the poor with us? It's because WE are the ones who are supposed to care for them. WE are the ones who are failing to feed the hungry.

Of course, Jesus is really talking about the 'spiritually' poor. And Jesus was right. They have always been with us.

The statement "the poor you will always have with you" is an all-knowing God knowing that we will never accomplish what He wants us to do, because of our sinful nature. Our desire for our own material possessions and 'looking out for number one' outweighs our desire to help and to love others.

A better question should be "Lord, what can I do to help the poor?" To feed the hungry. To cloth the naked.

Lord, show me what you would have me do. Lord, teach me, that I might use my knowledge to feed those who are hungry, house those who have no home, to clothe those who are naked.

We keep asking all of the wrong questions. We have the capability and financial resources to do everything God wants us to do, but we don't. It's not God we should be questioning. It is ourselves and our own free will decisions.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ - Matthew 25:34-40

Change My Heart

One of the biggest obstacles we face in life is our unwillingness to be transformed into what God wants us to be. We fight it. We resist it. Why? It's because of our sin nature. God wants us to live a sinless life. And, quite honestly, we struggle to do that.

There needs to be a willingness in our hearts to transform. But so often, although God is willing to shape us, unless WE are willing it's just not going to happen.

Of course, God will try to change our hearts through trials and struggles. But even that doesn't change some of us. We are too unwilling to even consider Him. And that's too bad because of the joy that awaits us if we do.

The prophet Isaiah referred to a perfect relationship with God as being like that of clay in the hands of a potter. The potter knows what type and shape of art He would like to create. He knows how beautiful the finished work will be.

However, to arrive and that finished work, pressures and outside forces are applied to shape is. Exaclty like a potter and his clay.

"Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." - Isaiah 64:8

We always have to try things our way. Just as often, those ways don't turn out exactly as we had planned. But if we would just be willing to be molded into God's finished creation, we would become a thing of beauty in God's eyes.

The question each of us must answer is, "Are we willing?"

Change My Heart O God - Maranatha Music

Freely Give

We all like a good deal. My wife especially. She's an excellent shopper - always getting the best deals in stores. She came home from grocery shopping on Monday and said she'd saved $42 on food. That's a lot!

One thing I eat a lot of is Cheerios cereal. My wife knows that and when she sees a deal in the stores she pounces on it. This week she came home with six boxes of the stuff. "It was a deal," she explained. They were practically giving them away.

My wife doesn't really like my Cheerios. She'd rather eat her Special K. Still, she knows what I like and what I need and so she provides for me in her shopping.

God knows what we need as well. He too has provided for our every need. Not our "wants" like my Cheerios, but our needs. Our hearts are beating. Our lungs are breathing. Those are REAL needs.

Eventually though our hearts and lungs stop and we are faced with the possibility of death. Even in death though, God has provided for us. He has promised us a life AFTER this one. The only thing we have to do to get God's free gift it is to believe in His Son, Jesus.

The choice seems simple enough yet many people refuse. Why is that? Well, it's because of another free gift from God. Free will. God doesn't force us to believe. We have to come to decisions about our faith on our own. Well, sort of.

God already knows who will believe in His Son and who won't. God calls the believers to Himself. Those who receive that gift of eternal life are asked to spread the good news - The Gospel. AND to love one another.

"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give." - Matthew 10:8

We are to freely give of ourselves to a dying world. Why? In hopes that some might be saved. Our love is a calling card to the world from God Himself. Our prayer then is that those who have not yet placed their faith in Christ will do so, and be saved.

You see, OUR free gift that was given to us by God was NOT free to Him. His Son had to die for our sins in order for us to be able to obtain that free gift. Respect a God that would sacrifice so much we such a group of unfit sinners. THAT is love.

Ain't nothin' free. Someone must pay the price. Jesus paid it. We get the gift. That's why we go to church. To worship the giver of the gift.

Freely Freely - Sanctuary Choir

Believer's Baptism

Were you baptized as a baby? I was. At least I think I was. I don't really remember. And what did it do? I don't really remember that either. So what good was it? Let's go to the experts!

The Catholic Church has some interesting thoughts. There is a link at the bottom of this story where they will tell you exactly what they think baptism is. The funny thing is they start out their definition by stating  that other churches with different baptism beliefs are wrong.

I wonder what infant baptisms look like in the age of Covid-19. Two masked people handing their vulnerable healthy baby to an unmasked priest. Doesn't sound very smart to me. And, I'm just guessing here but, most infant baptisms have been against the baby's will. But I'm getting off track.

I was at a baptism yesterday. It was great. The pastor asked each person if the truly placed their faith in Jesus and that they have freely chosen to follow Him. All confessed their faith and were indeed baptized. Isn't that the way it should be?

All through the book of Acts, when the Apostles were spreading the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, it repeated says that people believed and were baptized. Not that people were baptized and then came to faith.

"But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women." - Acts 8:12

It is really the baptism of the Holy Spirit that matters. Baptism by water is only symbolic. And what about the thief on the cross, hanging next to Jesus. He was never baptized. At least not that we know of.

The baptism I was at yesterday featured two men, a woman, and a young pre-teen girl. They all love Jesus and have given themselves freely to Him. Isn't that how it should be?

Infant Baptism - Catholic Answers