There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Catholic Church is a force for good in the world. When it comes to preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, and looking out for the poor, the Catholic Church is second to none. It has, more so than any other religious institution spread its wing in diverse places across the globe. Wherever there are suffering and oppression, the Catholic Church is there to lend a helping hand.
Nevertheless, the Church is not perfect. Its failings in recent years and in its distant past continue to be an Alcatraz around its neck. However, such failings should not in any way shape or form take away from its importance as a force for good in the world.
I strongly believe was it not for the Catholic Church, even with its failings, the world would be worse off than it is today.
The Temptation of Christ, 1854 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Everybody faces temptation. It pursues you like a predator stork its prey. Young or old, temptation entices your wish. It follows you wherever you go. It enters into your thoughts, your dreams, and even into your prayers.
In the book of Matthew 18:7-9, Jesus warns that temptation to sin is sure to come: He says:”Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or disabled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.”
There is absolutely no doubt that God could spare you from such enticement, but He has decided not to. Instead, He uses Jesus as an example for you to emulate. According to Matthew 4:3-7, He endures temptation after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights.
“Now when the devil came to Jesus, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
However, Jesus answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’
Then the devil took Jesus up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you.’
And,
‘In their hands; they shall bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.’
Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”
So when temptation comes, do as Jesus did. He uses the Word of God to turn back every sinful challenge the devil throws at Him. He knew the flesh by itself cannot endure temptation. Still temptation is sure but yielding is sin.
Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.
As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (Colossians 4-10).
Jesus Christ is above everything, before everything, and ahead of everything in your life, in this world, and in this universe. Before you ever sinned, He was already your redeemer, waiting for you to come to Him. When you had your first revelation of God, it was Christ’s image that you beheld.
Christ is your hope of the resurrection. And because He has already experienced it, He has made it possible for you to experience it as well.
Are you empty?
Christ is your fullness
Are you weak?
He is your strength
Are you needy?
He is your supply
Are you confused?
He is your wisdom
Are you seeking?
He is your destination
Are you anxious?
He is your peace
Are you alone?
He is your companion
In Christ you have much more than you could ever imagined—everything!
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The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters. (Psalm 24:1)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:1-5).
Let’s be realistic, everybody struggles with something. Heavenly religious or earthly secular, personal weaknesses are real. Furthermore, you cannot be a follower of Jesus Christ and not struggle with demons. The Apostle Paul calls his, a “thorn in the flesh.” And while Simon Peter never admits this publicly, he hated the Gentile.
Here is how Paul describes his personal weakness: “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. . .” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
Jesus knew that personal weaknesses or borne out of self-indulgence and there are no shortcuts around them. Perhaps that’s the reason He declared: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24).
God does not want you to carry anything that He has not asked you to carry. Everything that He has asked you to carry, He will give you the grace to carry.
If you try to carry something that God wants someone else to carry, they will be given the grace to carry it, but you will not. If God has not asked you to carry something, do not pick it up.
Although taking up your cross involves denying yourself, the main focus is about following Christ. The cross you carry has to do with the choices you make with your will, the responses you have in your actions, and the attitude you have in your heart.
God has called you to carry your own cross. His cross for you is something that you can take up daily, because grace will be in your hands to lift the cross, grace will be on your shoulders to carry the cross, and grace will be in your heart to live out the cross in your daily life. It is grace that makes bearing your cross possible.
Your cross means that you are putting to death every decision, every response, and every attitude in your life that is not consistent with the love of Jesus Christ.
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