Living By His Holy Word

[Prayer-Soldier]

Living By His Holy Word:

Scripture:

And now, O Israel, hear the commandments and judgments which I teach you: that doing them, you may live, and entering in may possess the land which the Lord the God of your fathers will give you. You shall not add to the word that I speak to you, neither shall you take away from it: keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

And you shall observe, and fulfill them in practice. For this is your wisdom, and understanding in the sight of nations, that hearing all these precepts, they may say: Behold a wise and understanding people, a great nation. Neither is there any other nation so great, that has gods so nigh them, as our God is present to all our petitions. For what other nation is there so renowned that has ceremonies, and just judgments, and all the law, which I will set forth this day before your eyes? ( Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 )

Every best gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration. For of his own will has he begotten us by the word of truth, that we might be some beginning of his creatures.

Wherefore casting away all uncleanness, and abundance of naughtiness, with meekness receive the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation: and to keep the self of one unspotted from this world. (James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27)

And there assembled together unto him the Pharisees and some of the scribes, coming from Jerusalem. And when they had seen some of his disciples eat bread with common, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews eat not without often washing their hands, holding the tradition of the ancients: And when they come from the market, unless they be washed, they eat not: and many other things there are that have been delivered to them to observe, the washings of cups and of pots, and of brazen vessels, and of beds. And the Pharisees and scribes asked him: Why do not your disciples walk according to the tradition of the ancients, but they eat bread with common hands? But he answering, said to them: Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and precepts of men. For leaving the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, the washing of pots and of cups: and many other things you do like to these.

And calling again the multitude unto him, he said to them: Hear me all, and understand. There is nothing from without a man that entering into him, can defile him. But the things which come from a man, those are they that defile a man.

For from within out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile a man. (Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)

Reflection:

If we look at that which is behind His commandments, we see His love. His desire is that we should not render harm to one another, that we should respect one another, that we should care for one another, that we should live in love of our Creator and that we should love those whose paths we cross. His commandments as so we avoid the temptations of lust, idolatry, envy, incivility, lies, gossip, theft and murder so that we may avoid all the anguish and pain they bring. His commandments are so that as we seek the blessings of selflessness over selfishness, that we are better able to face and survive the burdens of the world. If we understand the purpose and blessings of His commandments, we must wonder how is it we are such easy prey for the one who tempts us?

We need only look at the sorrows of the world to see what evil brings to so many lives and how many lives are cut short, kept away from the blessings He intended for the children of His creation. We are tempted to ask, who will save us from these tragedies and atrocities? The answer begins with us. If we are to build a family, community or nation that will be seen as wise and understanding, we must seek to learn from what He seeks to teach us. We must educate our youth as to the blessings they may receive through living by His Word. In prayer, we must ask for His help to avoid temptation. In practice, we must approach one another in kindness and civility. We must strive to be an example to one another, not in self-righteousness, but in humility and hospitality.

As we begin each day, we may ask for His help to live according to the ways which shall fulfill His will. Should we fail, we should not give up, but each day, try to begin anew. If we observe a failure of our neighbor, we should not step forward to judge, ridicule and condemn; for in so doing, we only bring judgment, ridicule and condemnation upon ourselves for our own failings. Instead we should pray that we are guided in how we may help open their hearts to understand His love and the blessings of His forgiveness.

We should remember that the easy task is to judge, but the difficult task is to forgive and extend ourselves to encourage one another to a better day. We should also remember, that if we all pray for one another, many prayers will also be said for us.

We might ask ourselves, do we understand the divine guidance of His Word, what it means to our living and our salvation? Without it, our only destiny is death, but with it, we receive the hope of eternal life. If we pray for strength of spirit, we may overcome the weakness of our flesh.

Can we imagine a world where all live by the blessings of His Word? Can we imagine the challenges which can be overcome and the joy and love which would flow from heart to heart? Can we imagine what we may experience if we were able to set aside divisions and join together in love of Him and one another? Can we imagine the message we would send to the evil one if we were all able to rebuke his temptations?

Our actions often betray us, therefore, we must pray for the wisdom, courage and strength to do that which is right and just before we do for ourselves. In this way, what will come from us is kindness and civility when we are tempted to strike out. What will come from us is caring for those who are less fortunate rather than turning a blind eye. What will come from us is the example of His love rather than the anguish which flows when we fall to the temptations of the evil one.

It is not a matter of our ability to follow laws, but our ability to follow the will of our Creator. People have many laws, but not all which are right and just. Some laws may serve a purpose within the moment, but their blind application may yield harmful consequences. Some laws are simply corrupt or loathsome in the behavior they enable. If we understand the greatest of His commandments, then, we will understand that true justice protects the less fortunate and the defenseless among us, especially the child within the womb.

While we are called to remain unspotted by the world, we must look around us at the challenge. Only if we invite Him into our hearts will we prevail in this objective. Only if He is within us will we have the strength. He knows our every need, but it is through prayer we let Him know how we understand His Word and the love which we have for Him.

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier