Author: Debra Weldon

Oh my people, I long to embrace you and make you whole.  Why won’t you turn to me, and let me heal you? Why won’t you turn away from the world, and more fully enter into the body of Christ, into union with me, a Triune God?  

I long to show you the way. I long to help the law written on your hearts further resonate within you.  I long to love you fully!  The things of this world are not the answer to your fulfillment in this life. It isn’t money, status, or a nice house and car that make you feel whole! No! It is in loving your neighbor, and in treating people as you want to be treated. It is in giving to others and in serving others.  The world needs you to enter in and to be healed so that the on-going mission of my Son can be felt throughout the world.  

I long to give you joy and a fuller experience of love.  I long for you to experience peace, even in this broken world.  

If you wonder what is wrong with this world, turn to the prophets. Their words still ring true.  If you want to know what is wrong, then turn to the words of my Son. There is more to this life than words on your lips.  Listen to the Beatitudes. Mediate on the footwashing story in John’s Last Supper.

I long for you to rend your heart. I want you to surrender your stony hearts so that I can replace it with a heart made of true flesh. I want to fill you with the Holy Spirit so that you can proclaim my works loudly, and convincingly.  I want you to be healed so that you can bring your neighbors to me for healing. I want a world where sheep and lion lay down together. 

I will not override your will, even though I have the power to do so. I want you to turn to me on your own free will. I created you to be free, but freedom in me is something other than what you think.  Please turn to me, and lay down your life for me. 

Repent, not out of fear of hell, but out of love for a God who loves you, and wants to use you in this world for the salvation of souls; for the total fulfillment of your purpose in this life; for the complete and utter joy that comes from living a life with and in your God. 

In Him,

dw

Our souls long to be loved, to fit in, to be a part of something greater than ourselves.  We want to be seen for who we are, but most of us (or all of us) hide who we really are from those whose love we seek.  Is it not fitting that God already knows us? He knows our failings, our longings, our hurts and pains, and still, he loves us.     

Why, then, do we find ourselves running from our deepest fulfillment? I suppose the answer is somewhat different for each of us.  One reason may be that the Devil whispers lies of unworthiness in our ears; that we do not deserve his love.  Since this lie hits our deepest, darkest fear, it strikes a cord. We respond to the lie, instead of the unconditional love that surrounds us and envelopes us.  

I think another reason that we refuse to more diligently seek the love of our lives is that we want to be our own boss. We want to make our choices. We want what we want, when we want it.  Thus, it is hard to surrender to a God who wants us to do what he wants, when he wants, even though his motives are not selfish. He just wants what is best for our long-term good. 

It is hard to go deeper with a God who’s love is so alien to us because he loves even our brokenness; he loves us even though we are imperfect. This is the type of love for which we long, but it is still so foreign to our concept of love.   This confusion may also causes us to avoid his love. 

Regardless of our reason(s) for avoiding a deeper experience of God’s love, he longs for us to spend time with him, letting him love our hurts away. Spend some time with him in silence today. Invite him into your hearts, and let him love you. When you find yourself avoiding, surrender to the experience. Surrender to the Holy Spirit who wants to love you like you have never been loved before.  

In Him,

dw 

What does it mean to live in the New Covenant?  It is more complex than I will say here, but here are some points to ponder.  

The Old Covenant was one where the Jews were called to follow God by obeying certain rules. One of the rules was that all men had to be circumcised. This was a sign that one was in covenant with God.  In addition, they agreed to perform certain sacrifices, and to live pure lives. In exchange, God would bless them, and even reside with them.  He resided in the Arc of the Covenant and in the Temple.  

As we see in the Old Testament, the people did their best to live out the covenant, but in the end, because of sin, they were unfaithful.  Thus, the prophets spoke of a new covenant, one in which the law would be written in our hearts.  One that would convert our stony hearts, and empower us to live a life of freedom from sin.  

Jesus came to institute this new covenant.  He fulfilled the laws of old, and gave us the tools needed to live a life in conformance with the laws that remain – love of God and neighbor.  It may sometimes seem like Jesus’ mission failed because sin still rules us to some degree, but this is not the case. 

As with the Old Covenant, God resides with us.  Once we are baptized, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in his new temple, our bodies.  It is no longer one human trying to live up to the standards of the law. No. It is about us striving for compliance and, at the same time, allowing the Spirit to bolster our efforts. It is about working with the Spirit to disentangle from sin, and to live more holy, Christ-like lives.  It is about sacrifices of praise as preached in the Psalms. It is about trusting in the Spirit to lead us and guide us to more fulfilled lives in our times.  

When we walk in the Spirit, we find ourselves more fully loving God and neighbor because we are in an ever deepening union with love itself. We experience greater gratitude and joy. We are led to humility, and the joy of being weak before a God who wants to provide everything for us. 

Spend some time in prayer today, and reflect on your life in Christ. How is your walk with the Spirit? Do you allow him to guide you to a life of more joy and compliance with the law?  Say a prayer asking him to show you where you can improve in your faith walk, and be open to the answer he provides.  He promises you a life free from sin, but first, you must surrender to him so he can heal you of all things that hold you back from living a more Christ-like life. 

In Him,

dw

“[D]evelop[ing] self-knowledge, [is] an essential element on the spiritual journey. Keep in mind, however, that awareness of God is our ultimate goal. Self-knowledge, in the light of God, is only the beginning of any meaningful growth in our relationship with God. These initial steps lay the groundwork for the rest of our journey. We can never expect to plot an accurate course to our destination if we don’t know where we stand at the start.”

 Daniel Burke and John Bartunek, Navigating the Interior Life: Spiritual Direction and the Journey to God (Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2012), 85.

Last weekend, I witnessed the most incredible temper-tantrum! It was about 20 minutes of foot stomping, hand thrashing, crying, and screaming.  It was amazing to sit and watch as she cried it out.  Slowly, over time, she submitted to the authority, and peace returned to her face.  

This event made me reflect on my relationship with God, my authority.  God longs for us to be a healthy and happy people.  It is in our own disobedience, and longing to do things our way that we find discontent.  We spend our own 20 minutes thrashing about, trying to get God to bend his will to ours.  He is the perfect parent, and he will let us shout it out for as long as it takes.  Just as with this child, when we submit to his parental will, we will find joy and peace.  

In addition to the joy and peace of surrendering to the parent, this child also opened herself up to the parent’s instructions. These instructions will help her to be a more productive member of society; a more well rounded person; a more loving person.  So to will we learn to live better lives when we surrender to God.  

Spend some time with God today considering where you are in rebellion against his will. There may be some areas where you don’t even realize you are refusing to submit.  Be open to God’s parental nurturing and wisdom.  Let him help you live an ever more fulfilled life in Christ. 

In Him,

dw

In the early Church, people came to know Jesus when they understood that they were in need of a savior because they were sinful; they could not help but sin without God’s help.  There was conviction in their hearts that they were not living in line with what their creator intended for them. There was conversion, repentance, and baptism, which was followed by joy in the forgiveness of their sins.  

Through baptism, they understood that they died to themselves, and were raised again in the resurrection of Christ. They were no longer “I,” but Christ lived in them.  They were all united. They were one in Christ.  Thus, when one person hurt, the community hurt. When one was hungry, the community was hungry. They responded to this need by giving to those with less. They gave, even if it hurt the giver’s bottom line.  When they gave to the point of hurting, they trusted that the community would care for them if they ran into trouble down the road. 

They understood themselves to be one, and that this oneness was perpetuated and strengthen through the breaking of the Bread. They believed their bond required them to partake of the Bread for it was in the bread that Jesus, who was known to be present therein, would continuously renew them in Christ, the head of the body. 

They understood that hardships and trials were a part of life, and that in Christ, they could persevere, and even find joy in surrendering to God’s will for that moment in their life. They trusted God to guide them in the Spirit, and to give them the heroic courage to face even the most horrific challenges. In fact, legend speaks of St. Lawrence, who was roasted alive over an open pit.  He is said to have told his persecutors that he was done on one side, and needed to be turned over. What humor amidst such pain and horror! 

It is this kind of faith to which God calls us. We cannot live a life in God if we do not walk in the Spirit. How can we better incorporate the works of the Spirit into our lives today?  I’m sure others have some better ideas, but here are mine: Invite the Spirit into your day many times throughout the day. Consider setting an alarm to remind you to renew this invitation.  Look for the slight tugs within that call you to the greater good.  Look for the slight nudges towards helping a person who may be in need.  When in doubt, go with the good choice that you desire to do least.  Afterwards, prayerfully reflect on the event, and see what you can learn from it in hindsight; see what you can learn about the Spirit’s method of communicating with you. Take that knowledge into tomorrow where you will repeat the process, and continue to grow in wisdom of how God works within you.

In Him,

dw 

Have you ever stopped to think about how much God loves you? How much he longs for you to be deeper and deeper in love with him? I propose that it is only in going ever deeper in this love relationship that we can find true meaning and happiness in this life.

At the same time, there are many things that keep us from more fully entering into this relationship. We may have trust issues from our human relationships that impact our understanding of our relationship with God.  At our core, I believe we fear that we are unlovable because we know we are sinners; we are imperfect.  In our culture, this truth impacts the ability for others to love us.  However, God’s love is unconditional. He knows our sinful nature even better than we do, and I think that frightens us.  It frightens us because we have all been judged, and have felt the rejection of such judgments.  

Therefore, basking in God’s love is not as easy as it sounds. We have our fears of being vulnerable and of being judged.  So, we run from experiencing his love.  If you do not believe me, try meditating on his love for you. See if you can bask in his love for 20 minutes a day. Watch how you find yourself wanting to be busy or to otherwise avoid the process.      

Spending time basking in God’s love is like a bride standing before her bridegroom on her wedding night.  She stands before him, naked, vulnerable, wondering what he sees, and worries that what he sees is not good enough. She fidgets before him or even resists standing still in the light before him.  When she finally stops avoiding, and stands before him, he takes her to himself, and loves all of her fears away.

Spend some time in silence today, and picture yourself before your bridegroom.  Stand for as long as you can, and then push yourself to stand even longer.  If you feel fidgety, reminder yourself that he loves you. He already knows your defects and failures. He loves you anyway.  Be aware of the joy of that love, even if it, like hope in Pandora’s box, is at the bottom of your awareness. Let this joy float to the top; let it offset your fears.  Try and spend even more time tomorrow basking in the love of a God who longs to fulfill your every want and need through the healing power of his love.

In Him,

dw 

August 20, 2019

We live in a world where our faith and culture are in conflict.  Jesus says, carry the cross.  Society says, be comfortable. Life should be about physical pleasures. Jesus says, store up treasures in Heaven.  Society says, take care of yourself first, and then take care of others if there is anything left. Jesus says, give generously, and trust him to take care of you; let him take care of others through you.  

If we turn to the saints as examples, we see some who gave up everything in their fight against this conflict. We see others who continued to live their noble lifestyles, but gave tremendously to the care of others through financial aid and the gift of their time and talent.  They lived their lives according to the Gospel in the ways in which they felt called.  

God is always calling us to do more; to go deeper.  He loves us where we are, and allows us to take baby steps towards being better neighbors; better Christians.  He is delighted when we allow the Holy Spirit working in us to foster larger steps, too.  The concept is that we are never holy enough. We can always do more. We are on a spiritual journey of constant improvement. 

Let us spend some time in prayer today seeking where God is calling us to resolve the conflict in favor of Heaven.  Let us ponder anew how we can be more prayerful, more generous, and more loving.  

In Him,

dw 

How many of us feel abandoned by God?  How many of us have trusted in God, not gotten the results we expected, become confused, and felt like he was not there for us?  I know I have fallen into this trap.  Again, this is the result of not understanding how God, in his infinite knowledge, cares for us.  

We see this feeling of abandonment even in Jesus, when his humanness cried out these words in anguish.  In these words of Jesus, we see ourselves, our pain, and our confusion.  We also see how God used this place of feeling abandoned for the salvation of all people.  We see how God used the unexpected as a way of bringing humanity closer to himself. 

From this example, we can learn to trust as Jesus trusted. He may have experienced feelings of abandonment, but we know that he knew the true value of what was happening to him. He knew that all things work for the good for those who love God. 

It is amazing that God loves us so much that he became man so that he could show us how he understands our human nature. He felt our pain.  He felt our loneliness. He felt our joy. He felt it all.  Jesus continues to feel and to experience our humanness as the head of the body of Christ. 

He knows our hurts and pains firsthand. He has a plan.  He will use our negative experiences to his glory.  Yes, we might feel abandoned, and even doubt in God.  Learn from Jesus’ experience on the cross to know that even when things feel bleak and we feel abandoned, God is in control.  He will bring good things from the pain.  

Surrender to the will of the God who loves you enough to have walked in footsteps similar to yours. He has compassion, and he will bring you through this. 

In Him,

dw