Good News!

  

When something goes wrong, do you ever feel like God is getting even with you for your sin or past actions?

Does this thinking lead you to feel that you deserve the bad things that come your way? 

Do you live in the Old Testament, assured of a punishing God?

In the New Testament, at the end of the Gospel of John, Chapter 12, Jesus frees us from the image that God is after us, waiting to pounce on us for whatever we've done wrong.

He said:

". . . I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world."

He also said that the condemnation we receive comes from our own rejection of him and our not accepting the word that he spoke. 

In other words, we need to look to ourselves before we assign blame on God. It is our own doing when we choose to live in darkness when the One who came into the world as light was sent to free us.

What a different image we get when we see Jesus as coming to save us, rather than coming to condemn us. He loves us and he wants us to be with him. He speaks what the Father has commanded him to say, and he is trustworthy.

Knowing this, what changes do you need to make in your life to be open to his saving word and not condemn yourself or others?

Pray for peace and an end to war.

Janet Cassidy
Email me at:  jmctm2@gmail.com

janetcassidy.com
https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith/
https://www.youtube.com/@janetcassidy 

 

 

 

God's great tenderness

 

 

I'd like you to take a minute and think of someone that you really appreciate.

What are their characteristics?

Are they loving and kind to you? Do you observe their generosity of spirit or their sacrificial ways?

I read this quote by Denis ("The Treatise on the Divine Names" in "Aquinas and His Role in Theology") and found it interesting:

"In this way every quality of perfection in creatures exists in a more excellent way in God." (Think "people" when you read creatures.)

The point is, the goodness and love that you see exhibited by someone you know is a reflection of God, whose love and goodness is even greater than what you are seeing.

That's because God pours out his goodness on (or in) us, and through others we get a hint of how amazing God is.

Think back to a time when that someone you appreciate took care of you in some way. Now imagine God being there for you even more!

The tenderness that you felt from another is just a smidgen of God's love and tenderness towards us.  We can barely imagine how much more we are loved by God. 

If you ever start to wonder about God's love or his presence, call to mind that special someone and remember that God's love is even greater and more tender than what you have experienced here on earth.

I hope you are enjoying these beautiful days leading us to Pentecost!

Pray for peace and an end to war.

Janet Cassidy
Email me at:  jmctm2@gmail.com

janetcassidy.com
https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith/
https://www.youtube.com/@janetcassidy 

 

  

 

Do you fear death, or dying?

 

 

When I read this verse from Psalm 34--"I sought the Lord, and he answered me, delivered me from all my fears"--it reminded me of something I heard years ago . . .

"People are not so much afraid of death as they are afraid of dying."

This got me to thinking that, of course, it is natural to fear the process of dying when you think of all of the conditions that we may be subjected to that are out of our control. The pain and suffering that we may have to endure is part of the reason why people turn to euthanasia, but that's a different discussion for another day.

I started wondering why we would be more concerned about the physical affects of dying and less concerned about where we might end up for all eternity.

We know our life here is temporary, and any suffering we might have to endure will technically be short-lived, yet we still do whatever we can to ease our pain, here and now.

That's understandable.

But what doesn't make sense to me is why we are not just as concerned about where we will go after we die.

Life after death isn't temporary and how we live our life here today makes a difference in where we spend it.

Seek the Lord. His mercy is available to you. He will deliver you from all your fears. 

Live your life close to him and you will have no reason to be afraid.

Pray for peace and an end to war.

Janet Cassidy
Email me at:  jmctm2@gmail.com

janetcassidy.com
https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith/
https://www.youtube.com/@janetcassidy