The joy of the Lord is free and can be experienced through trials and joyful times of your life. The key to this joy has never changed: your relationship with God.

 

^{Galatians 5:22-23   New American Bible (Revised Edition)}

²² In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Feeding Your Soul

Galatians 5:22-23 is a recipe for living. In order to have joy you must first have love. Love is the yeast in the bread of life. I have made bread before, and the yeast causes the carbon dioxide to  form into the tiny bubbles that cause it to rise. The yeast also helps with the flavor of the bread and with the hardness of the crust.

After love comes joy, and with love and joy you will always have peace. That peace will help you overcome difficult situations or people who attempt to rob you of your joy. Peace is attained through prayer and trusting God to guide you through this maze of life.

Peace In the Family

We are a very colorful, dynamic family, but we do not always get along. I have two adult children who do not always agree with one another. I never take sides because as a parent this would cause division. I pray, and pray until I see the Lord’s hand in the situation. It’s amazing what prayer combined with patience can accomplish. In the midst of the storm, there is no better place to be than in your prayer closet.

I know of a few parents who have chosen to  take sides, and the results were disastrous. When a parent takes a side it complicates matters. The other sibling feels rejected and develops a deeper disdain for the favored child. No one will ever win in this scenario, and it makes it difficult to honor a parent who chooses this path.

Patience

Patience, for me, is a challenge. I hate to wait for anything. But praying has taught me to become more patient. When it’s in God’s hands, He will be the one to lead me out of the storm. Life’s storms have become darker, and the Enemy is out to destroy families. We must remain steadfast in prayer and patiently wait on the Lord.

The definition of patience:

Patience   

noun

My cat Prudie has a kidney disorder. Both Mike and I are gently caring for her. When she wakes up at 3 a.m. I get up to make sure she has plenty of fresh water to drink. Mike made her a comfortable place to sleep in his office. The way we treat our pets in these situations makes us aware of how we would like to be treated in our lives as we age.

My prayers are efficacious for many, but lately I have added my own spiritual needs. In doing this, many revelations have come to pass. It’s been almost six years since my hammer toe surgery; so after ruining several pairs of shoes and cursing the doctor who caused my botched toe surgery, I had succumbed to the notion that this was my lot in life.

Tripping and Falling

My right foot was a mess because it no longer functioned properly.  When I was referred to foot therapy I thought for sure this would improve my walking. It did not. As time passed, the problem worsened because I was compensating for the botched toe surgery. The tripping and falling continued and my right shoe would wear out much faster than the left.

A few Christmases ago Sonja decided that I needed special tennis shoes to help me avoid my imminent falls. I tried the shoes, but my right foot felt incarcerated. You see, I, on my own, made allowances to protect myself from falling. One of the most distressing decisions training my toes to curl under to prevent a fall. This further complicated my condition because this added a limp to my walk.

Walking is my favorite exercise and I was not giving this up. Since I believed the tennis shoes were the cause of my problem, I thought purchasing the most unfashionable Ecco sandals would solve the world’s foot problems. They were wonderful because even though sometimes I’d trip, these shoes were safer because the strap wrapped securely around my toes, forcing them to become somewhat normal. When winter rolled around, I’d add socks to the sandals, which made my feet look as if I was living in a third world country. I am on my third pair of these shoes. Thank the good Lord that style and colors have been added to the comfortable shoes.

Barefoot Epiphany

I could never walk barefoot because this would create a bigger impediment: the toes on my right foot would immediately go into the protective mode of curling under like a claw. The other night I had forgotten to lock the door to the laundry room. Mike was in a deep slumber and I was too tired to get my slippers, so for the first time in years I walked barefoot. Something very unusual happened: I looked down at my feet and felt a strong urge and heard an inner voice saying, “Follow the lead of your left foot.” “What?” I questioned this voice but again I heard, “Follow the lead of your left foot.” I did this, and for those few minutes that it took to walk down stairs  and up again, all of my toes were in perfect harmony!

The following morning I thought that it was a dream, but when I started walking barefoot I clearly noticed that my right foot was in sync with my left foot. I quickly shared the news with Mike,  he replied, “So it was all in your head all along?”

All In My Head?

Did I create this deformity in my mind? That very well may be the case because after giving up on foot therapy, and believing it was a botched surgery, that is the logical assumption. As days have passed, clearly the foot problem has improved by about 50%. The only reason it’s not at 100% is because sometimes my foot will go the way I trained it. Walking barefoot has helped tremendously, but when I wear shoes my foot has the tendency to revert to the old habit. I’m trusting God for a total healing.

Answered Prayer

Why am I writing about something so trivial? Because I want to relay a very profound and important message: God is in the healing business, and we need to trust Him for all of our needs. I did not think this matter was important enough for God to answer my prayer. I created this conundrum. In spite of all the complaining, with every missed fall I failed to turn this problem over to our Heavenly Father.

Our parish has several steps to the altar, so as a Eucharistic Minister, on a daily basis, it is necessary  to walk up and down these steps. After experiencing many near-tripping incidents, I started to pray: “Lord, guide my every step.” This was the first indication of my healing and recognizing that God’s hand was on this situation all along. But how did I miss the mark by not realizing this sooner?

Missing The Mark

There were three reasons why I missed my healing:

1. Complaining superseded prayer;

2. Not surrendering the problem to God sooner; and

3. Repeating to myself and to others that it was caused by the botched surgery.

All three of  these reasons led to defeat. Once you’re defeated the battle is over. I forgot that the battle belongs to the Lord!

At one time or another we will all experience spiritual battles. Any well trained soldier knows that you cannot go into the battlefield without being prepared. When repeating words of defeat, you’ve set yourself up for failure. I was like the 12 scouts in the Book of Numbers (Num 13:33; Num 14:2-4) “Why did I get this surgery? I was better off without it!” The Israelites wanted to appoint a new leader to lead them back to Egypt instead of receiving the blessing God had for them in the Promised Land. I was doing the same thing by declaring defeat before the blessing.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You for allowing me to enter into the Promised Land. I repent of all the negative self-talk about my foot surgery. Lord, I pray for all who are blaming others for their mishaps, including myself. I pray for all those who are in the midst of their battles fighting cancer and other serious medical diseases. Jesus, be at their side and remove any fear. Lead them to the Promised Land of healing. Amen.

Have you ever wondered if you are fulfilling your calling? It takes a lifetime to discern in what spiritual direction you should take. This is the story of St. Paul and how God prepared him for his life’s journey from his birth. We all have a special calling, but we must be willing to say “yes” in order for God to move in our lives. You realize you’re in the center of His will for your life when you have peace and are unstoppable to accomplish the work of God. My assignment as an evangelist, blogger, missionary, and teacher is to share the  Word of God, a calling that was given to me by Jesus.

Gamaliel

God’s perfect plan for Paul’s calling had many different twists and turns. One of the major milestones in his life was his time as a student of Gamaliel. Gamaliel was a highly regarded Pharisee who was a member of the Sanhedrin (Jewish high court), but he will be remembered as Paul’s mentor and teacher. God knew that Paul had to be under the teaching of the best scholar in order for him to comprehend and defend the holy teaching of the Jewish Torah. Gamaliel, the doctor of  Mosaic law, can be found in (Acts 5:34-40). In Acts Chapter 5 Gamaliel defends John and Peter before the counsel and offers words of deep wisdom.

When John and Peter were released from the Sanhedrin they were instructed not to preach using the name of Jesus. This did not stop the apostles from preaching day and night proclaiming the Messiah, Jesus.

The courage and wisdom of Gamaliel helped the first Christians spread the Word of God. Saul was introduced in Acts 7:58 at the stoning of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr.

Saul/Paul

Saint Paul, who had the dual names of Saul (Jewish) and Paul (Roman), was born a Jew with Roman citizenship. To have  Roman citizenship in the time of Jesus was a coveted possession that granted great status. Saul would use this to his advantage on many occasions.

Saul, a hardcore Pharisee, was hell bent on destroying Christianity. He knew what avenues to take and used his influence to gain support. With letters from the High Priest of Israel he headed to Damascus to bring those who belonged to “The Way” back to Jerusalem in chains.

The Conversion

Before Saul’s conversion God had placed the fire of passion in him. This would take a new direction when he met Jesus on the Road to Damascus. His zealous hatred was changed into love to spread the Word of God throughout the world. So Saul, an angry non-believer of Christ, would become one of the greatest missionaries and writers of the early church.

As he traveled spreading the Gospel he would use his Roman name Paul; this was fitting as he witnessed to many Gentiles. God had His hand on this apostle, choosing dual names for him:  Saul, the Pharisee and Paul the missionary for Christ.

Saint Paul’s Preaching

Wherever Paul preached he caused controversy; if he preached in the synagogues it caused division. When he was not reaching the Jews, he would go to the Gentiles. Paul, the preacher of preachers, and his epistles spoke not only the “Good News” but taught his readers that Christ is the model for all mankind. He did not hesitate to remind his believers that he possessed apostolic authority from the Lord. (Gal 1:1). He had a mandate from God and the boldness to speak the truth.

Saint Paul suffered for Christ and was thrown in prison for his beliefs, but his imprisonment was also part of God’s plan. This is where Paul wrote many of his epistles. He could not go in person to preach, so he wrote letters to his followers.  His prison epistles–Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon, are treasured teachings in the New Testament.

St. Paul’s Imprisonment

Because he was a Roman citizen, Paul demanded that he be tried before the Roman magistrates. He was acquitted after his first trial, which allowed him to continue evangelizing. This was another of God’s plans coming to fruition. Paul needed to revisit his earlier converts who needed reassurance and spiritual guidance.

By the time Paul wrote 2 Timothy, he was feeling abandoned because no one came to his defense (2 Tim 4:16-17). But in his loneliness, Paul  knew to cry out to God, because he was confident that the Lord would rescue Him (2 Tim 4:18).

Paul used his Roman citizenship to his advantage. When more than 40 Jews conspired to kill him, God intervened. Jews, under Roman law, could not receive capital punishment. When it was discovered that Paul was a Roman citizen, his life was spared ( Acts 24:20-26).

Paul would appear before Felix, the governor of Judea and Samaria, Festus, his successor, and Herod King Agrippa. In every circumstance his defense remained steadfast. He simply told the truth. Before King Agrippa, a Jew, Paul spoke with great authority. This boldness and authority was Paul’s greatest gift.

The Death Of Saint Paul

It is a historical fact that Emperor Nero accused the Christians of The Great Fire of Rome in AD 64. Under the orders of Nero Paul would have been executed; but because he was a Roman citizen, Paul was spared a crucifixion and was beheaded instead.

The Church of St. Paul at the Three Fountains (San Paolo alle Tre Fontane) in Rome is the site of his beheading. According to legend  after St. Paul’s beheading, his head bounced three times, creating three separate springs of water. These springs of water are still flowing in the sanctuary of this church.

Answering the Call

It baffles me that so many people who have the influence to change the trajectory of our world instead ignore their calling. Their vain existence clouds their vision. In all that we do, whether we are serving God or the Enemy, we will be held accountable. When judgment falls they will be like Nero; no God will save them. We must seek to find what God has planned for our lives. Make a difference by opening your mouth and telling the godly truth.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, I come before You and ask that You convict those who have not responded to their calling. Move mightily in their lives and bring them to their knees. Humble them with Your unconditional love. Amen.