Meditation Day 2 - To Fear Him is to Trust Him

"It is apparent that God's aim in the events of the Exodus was not only to gain glory to Himself, but also to stimulate and increase the faith of the Israelites. He deliberately maneuvered them into a situation where they could be saved only by His mighty power, and through that experience come to trust Him........
But why should we fear and trust Him? What basis do we have for doing so?"

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the dep into storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the people of the world revere him.
For he spokee, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever;
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
Psalm: 33:6-11

"Fear the Lord and stand in awe of him."

And what will cause us to do so? It is recognizing His greatness as displayed in His mighty power in creation and His absolute sovereignty over the nations. As we become convinced of His greatness, we will fear Him -- stand in awe of Him -- and also trust Him.

The eyes of my heart on you You, O LOrd, as I celebrate Your mighty power displayed in creation and Your absolute sovereignty over the nations.
Convinced of Your greatness, I fear You and stand in awe of You. Because I fear You, I trust You; and because I trust You, I worship You. "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." Rev 4:11

Fearing You is "the begininng of wisdom" and athe begininng as well of my worship. "Who is like you...awesome in glory?" No one is! "You alone are to be feared" "You alone are God." So You alone I worship. Psalm 111:10, Exodus 15:11, Psalm 76:7;86:10
Let my worship be acceptable to You today, O living God. Hebrews 12:22,28.

Lord, I feel like I trust in You. When challenges come my way and I don't know what to do, I put my faith in You. You have never let me down. You have abundantly blessed me. I worry if I were put to the test as Job would I, like Him, be able to put my total trust in You. Lord continue to strengthen me, form me, and mold me to your liking. Let my actions be such that Your light always shines through. I praise You, I thank You, I love You, I adore You. Amen

Day 1 Meditation - God plays for keeps

Imagine seeing the Red Sea waters divided, opening a way for you and two million others to walk through on dry ground. You step down into the sea bottom with those walls of water towering above. Could they at any moment come crashing down?
At last you reach the far side, only to look back and see that the Egyptians have followed. Suddenly you watch those walls of water collapse; you witness an entire army drowning in the sea. In only a few hours, you've experienced the highest degree of fear, apprehension, dismay, excitement, and overwhelming relief.
However, the Israelites experienced something more than relief and elations following the climax of that day's events: "And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LOD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant." (Exodus 14:31)
The people feared the Lord. Obviously this wasn't the same fear or dread they felt upon seeing the fast-approaching Egyptian army. Rather, it was the revenerntial awe produced by the awesome display of God's might. While they rejoiced that this power had been exercised on their behalf, they could not escape the sober realization that this God was not only an almighty deliverer, but also a righteous judge of those who opposed Him. As a friend of mine put it, they realized that God plays for keeps.
The text says that the Israelites both feared the Lord and put their trust in Him. Fearing God and trusting Him are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the Israelites were able to trust God because they experienced first hand His awesome power to deliver them. It was not just the display of raw power -- the Egyptians also saw that -- but the eercise of it in their behalf that caused the Hebrews to trust God. Power without love is terrifying. Love without power is pitiable. In God, the Jews saw both working together.
O mighty God, my loving Father, I praise and thank You for acting so strongly on my behalf both to save me and to transform me.
This I know: "that God is for me" and since You are for me, who can be against me?" Therefore, "in God I trust; I will not be afraid." (Romans 8:31; Psalm 56:9-11)
You have commanded me to trust You with all my heart and to lean not on my own understanding. You have promised that "in quietness and trust" is my strength, and that You will keep me in perfect peace as I steadfastly trust in You. (Proverbs 3:5; Isaiah 30:15; 26:3)
So, I bring to You my faith. "In you I trust, O my God," "I trust in you, O LOD; I say, "You are my God'" "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." (Psalm 25:2; 31:14; 91:2)
O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you." I praise and thank You for those words of promise, for by Your grace, I believe that this very blessing shall also be mine." (Psalm 84:12) I exalt You, O GOD, by Jerry Bridges

Lord, I read the above and also am awe-struck as I think back over my life, especially all during that time I was away from your loving arms - although under your protection. Even though I didn't care, even though I didn't ask, even though I didn't deserve, you protected me from so many evils that were lying in wait for me. You protected me all those years. And, more recently, in the past 8-10 years you have almost totally transformed me. You gifted me with a beautiful daughter, you blessed me with a most loving, devoted husband, you directed me to wonderful jobs, every step of the way has been gifts and blessing from you. As it says above in the reflection/meditation, "while they rejoiced that this power had been exercised in their behalf, they could not escape the sober realization that this God was not only an almighty deliverer, but also a righteous judge of those who opposed Him." Tonight, I'm awe-struck. Why Lord? What plan have you for me? Lord, guide me now, continue to transform me so that I can in time be even marginally worthy of all that you have bestowed upon me. I praise You Jesus; I love You Jesus; I adore You Jesus - Amen

The Good Shepherd

Today's Gospel is short, but full of comfort and promise. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He promises eternal life to His sheep and they hear His voice and follow Him. We hear His voice through Scripture and the teachings of the Church because Jesus told His apostles "those who hear you, hear me."
Jesus promises in today's Gospel that no one can take us out of His or the Father's hand. He is faithful and will never abandon or forsake us. However, by freely choosing to commit mortal sin, we spiritually separate ourselves from God, because this type of sin destroys the life of God within us. Mortal sin is the only thing that can do this. God honors our free will even when our choice is to commit mortal sin which drives Him out of our souls. We don't have to fear losing our salvation by accident or without our knowing it or against our will, because "mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent (CCC 1859). "For a sin to be mortal, three conditions together must be met: 'Mortal sin is sin whose object is a grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.' (CCC 1857).
Even if we should lose God's grace by committing mortal sin, we must never lose hope in God's love and mercy. God has said that He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but desires that they turn back from evil ways and live (Ez 33:11). No matter how great our sins may be, God's mercy is greater, and we need never despair of receiving His forgiveness. He has said "though your sins are like scarlet they shall be as white as snow." (Is 1:18)
In the revelation of His Divine Mercy to St. Faustina, Jesus encourages sinners to trust in His mercy. "Let the sinner not be afraid to approach me." (Diary 50). "The greater the sinner, the greater right he has to my Mercy" (Diary 723). Our God is love and He delights in being merciful to souls who trust in Him. Let us hate sin and avoid any person, place, or thing that will lead us into sin. This is an important part of repentance. We must turn away from sin and the occasion of sin.
St. Paul summarized the Gospel when he said, "I preached he need to repent and turn to God, and to do works giving evidence of repentance." Let us always remember that Jesus has promised never to reject anyone who comes to Him (Jn. 6:37). This knowledge gives us the confidence to place our complete trust in God's mercy so we can say with all our hearts, "Jesus I trust in You." Father Richard Miles - church bulletin 5/15/11