Tag: belief

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Weekly Blog

Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

The age old question….why do bad things happen to good people? Does God create evil in the world? Why does He allow tragedy to take place? If God is all-loving, why do people experience suffering?

The human condition is to experience these things, to suffer at some point during our lives. It skips no one. It doesn’t matter our race or religion, our gender or socioeconomic circumstances. It could start as something global like a natural disaster, war, or terrorism. Or it can be much closer to home, like the death of a loved one, addiction, divorce, serious illness, or significant financial crisis. We’re all going to experience something bad in our lives, maybe many things. The question is “why”, given that we have an all-loving God. 

Although an avid reader of faith-based books, including the Bible, I’m no Scripture scholar or theologian. For the Church’s teaching…in easy to understand terms, I’d suggest watching Fr. Mike Schmitz, my favorite Homilist and speaker on our faith, in this 7-minute video.

For me, every time I’ve experienced tragedy or heartache or pain in my life, it’s brought me closer to God. I’m currently going through something which I’d love to not be dealing with. It’s not one of the global things from above, but closer to home. It’s not something I’d wish for me or anyone else. Like past challenges it’s brought me closer to God. As such, it’s caused me to look within, reflecting on how my actions have impacted the situation. It’s also caused me to reach out for help. It’s not only helped me grow in my faith, but be more who God calls me to be. 

Things are crazy in our world today. With so many challenges, I think it’s sometimes easy to wallow in our sorrows. I’m not suggesting there’s no time for sadness or empathy. And I’m not suggesting that life is easy. My sense is that it’s not supposed to be. We’re certainly not guaranteed that it’s going to be. 

Know that God loves you more than you’ll ever know, no matter what you’ve ever done. As Fr. Mike says, God doesn’t create the bad times, but does allow them to take place. As tough as it may be at times, I’d encourage you to embrace all in your life, growing in everything you experience. And if I can be so bold, be in a place of gratitude, thanking God for all. 

I sincerely hope that you and your family had a Happy Thanksgiving, grateful for all as we head into the Advent season. 

As always, please email me at [email protected] with questions, concerns, comments, or prayer requests. 

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Remember…God made you for Greatness!!!

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

The True Reason for the Season

It seems to me that the title of this blog is more often used as related to Christmas than Easter. I love Christmas and always have. With all the traditions from my childhood, the birth of our Lord and Savior has remained a joyous holiday for me.  

As I get older and grow more spiritually though, I find that Easter is the most meaningful of our Christian celebrations…the true reason for the season. Jesus’ torturous crucifixion, followed by His resurrection…each foundational to our faith. 

The Passion of the Christ came out in 2004 and since my conversion in 2006, I’ve watched it every Good Friday. Originally with my Dad prior to his passing and now watching alone (including this Friday), it is the movie that most speaks to the meaning of our faith to me (and I’m a huge fan of Chosen). What a gift from Mel Gibson and Jim Caviezel, really a work of God.

When watching, I often imagine myself there, wondering what I would do, how I would react. Would I run or would I stay? I know that regardless Jesus would have still loved me. We have the benefit of having 2,000 years of history on our side. We know the end of the story. We know Jesus won victory for us. 

I think that Easter gives us an opportunity to start anew. Easier said than done, simple but not easy, Jesus laid it out for us in the:

  • Great Commandments – Mark 12:30-31, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 
  • Great Commission – Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Paraphrasing, Jesus directs us to love God, love our neighbors, and share the love of Christ…that’s it. Not mere suggestions, Jesus tells us specifically what to do. That’s our faith. In our crazy, crazy world, I think that if we all did more of that…what a difference it would make. 

I wish you and your family a Holy and Happy Easter. During this time, let us reflect on what Jesus has done for us while we rejoice in His glory. Below I’ve included a prayer that you may have seen before…I wrote it in 2009 and say it every day. It speaks to Easter. It speaks to the Great Commandments and Great Commission. And it speaks to me in my walk with our Lord. Enjoy. Happy Easter. 

Thank you God our Father; Thank you Jesus!!!

Dear Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, thank you for dying that torturous death on the cross for each one of us, including me. Thank you for rising from the dead so that I can live in Your Glory. God the Father, thank you for loving me enough to give me your only begotten Son.

Lord, thank you for my journey, every step along the way…the good, the great, the wonderful, the bad, the terrible, the ugly. I am where I am because it is where You want me to be. I am who I am because it’s who You are making me to be. I trust in You to make me and shape me for Your Glory.

Thank you for loving me, blessing me, showing me Your Will, showering me with Your Grace, and granting me Your Peace, which can only come from being in a place of Surrender, Gratitude, Humility, and Love.

Lord Jesus, help me to feel your Unconditional Love and Unconditional Forgiveness, fully internalizing and living these gifts, so that with Holy Spirit Boldness, using my God given gifts, not caring what anyone on this earth thinks of me, I can be all that You want me to be, in serving You.

Dear Lord, help me to always see Christ in All and be Christ to All, Living Your Will, helping others become the best versions of themselves, which is True Love…Christ’s Love. Please give me the strength and courage to evangelize my Faith, living the Gospel, sharing the Gospel, using words when necessary and often. When done for the Glory of God, the unimaginable is achievable.

I ask this blessing for my family, friends, and myself, in addition to all those on Your Journey….grant us peace. For all those seeking, help us find. For all those lost, help us see.

I ask this in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

As always, please email me at [email protected] with questions, concerns, comments, or prayer requests. 

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Remember…God made you for Greatness!!!

Mark Joseph

Categories
Weekly Blog

Is Heaven For Real?

Last month marks the 3rd anniversary of my father’s passing. At his funeral, really a celebration of his life, I made the point as part of his eulogy that if we believe what we believe (and I do), that he is in a much better place. My dad didn’t fear death. Near the end, he repeatedly said to my brothers and me, “I’m tired, I want to go home to our Lord”. When I said to him, “Dad, that’s not easy to hear”, he responded with, “it’s very easy to say”. In a great place spiritually, he was looking forward to what he understood to be Heaven.

In our increasingly more secular world, it must be so sad for so many, who don’t believe in God and as such, can’t believe in Heaven. Without faith, there is such a finality to death. That’s it. The end. As Christians, we know there is so much more.

Heaven is referenced multiple times in Scripture and there are numerous books written on the subject. My wife couldn’t find enough of them to read after losing her father 5 years ago. A few of her favorites include:

  • Heaven is for Real, by Todd and Sonja Burpo
  • Proof of Heaven, by Dr. Eben Alexander
  • 90 Minutes in Heaven, by Don Piper

Many Believe The Challenge To Be Too Great

For many, they don’t believe they can get to Heaven, given their understanding of what they need to do during their life in order to attain it. The perception is often…all the things that we need to give up, all the rules we need to follow, in order to get there. People come to believe that they can’t have fun, can’t do what they want, and can’t be who they are if they want to go to Heaven.

To compound things, many have an understanding of Heaven, given how it’s often described or given their own perceptions, that it is something far off, very theoretical, metaphorical, and not practical…that it is incredibly difficult to attain. So the thought becomes, “I need to sacrifice so much here to get to a place I don’t even understand”.

Living Heaven Here on Earth

Here’s the reality, not only is there Heaven as related to our eternity, but we can live Heaven here on earth.

The fact is that it’s impossible (yes, I said IMPOSSIBLE) to find Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment living the life that the world professes. I refer to them as the 4 Ps, prominence, possessions, people, and pleasure. Although all can bring short-term happiness, none can result in long-term joy.

The only way to experience that joy, true peace in your life, is to say “yes” to our Lord, Jesus Christ. Sometimes a decision, most often requiring conversion (topic of past blogs), there is nothing like it. In fact, you can’t find a person who has said “yes” to Jesus who would ever be willing to go back to their old life. No one.

It’s in truly knowing Jesus that you become passionate about sharing the good news of the Gospel. With the passion so deep, you will also endeavor to live the life of Jesus. A Scripture passage that comes to mind is…. Matthew 25:44, “Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to You?” Then He shall respond to them by saying: “Amen I say to you, whenever you did not do it to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me”. We need to see Christ in all and be Christ to all.

Living our faith, these things become our strongest desires. Instead of the 4 Ps, they are what we want to do. Living as described above is not only a life of Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment, but Heaven here on earth.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or challenges at [email protected].

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph