What Would You Do?

Hello there, are you doing well? Thanks for visiting, and just for a little bit of background: I had this faith-based experience last Thursday. I can't say that I am the strongest Christian (or am even a strong Christian, for that matter), but this little anecdote just really resonated with me and I wanted to share it with you because it presents a challenge for Christians fairly well and I thought it was pretty cool. I'm a part of the Navigators, which under my interpretation is basically a Christian ministry that is focused on sharing God's love with others. The Navigators have a presence on campus, and I attend their Bible study groups and enjoy listening to some of their talks.

Today, I just wanted to share with you about the last session I attended with the Navigators. The topic was basically on being a laborer for Christ, but the speaker surprised us with a common topic that I hadn't seen framed in this manner before.

He asked: "What would you do if Jesus walked right through there and came to this room, right at this very moment?"

This wasn't a rhetorical question, though. He wanted answers. What would you do if Jesus came for a visit? I thought that I would be absolutely shocked, and then fall down to my knees. It sounds somewhat dramatic, but I feel like it's actually the opposite... These actions reflect my brain drawing a complete blank.

Then, the speaker continued on with his hypothetical situation. "Let's say that Jesus walks up to Taylor and says, 'Hey, how you doing, Taylor? I haven't seen you in a while. I was thinking maybe I could buy you some coffee tomorrow morning so we could catch up. Would you like to meet at Starbucks before your classes?' What would you to say to that, Taylor?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Taylor.

What would you do the next day when you saw Taylor after lunch? What would you ask her?

But he wasn't done with this little string of situations and questions yet. "What if the next day, you see Taylor at the dining hall, and ask 'How was it? What did he say? What was he like?' but then Taylor says, 'You know, I was really looking forward to it, but I forgot to set my alarm last night and overslept... Then when I got up, it was already time for class so I just couldn't make it.'"

An awkward silence fell around the room.

He captured the thoughts that were running through most of our minds. "What were you thinking? How could you do that? What's wrong with you?!"

"But you know what," he continued. "This is happening to us. Don't you see that God is inviting you to listen to him every morning? All you have to do is open his Word, and discover all he has to say."

Now is the chance to open up your Bible and spend some quality time with Jesus, the best friend a guy or girl could ever have. I hope this post challenges you to remember that meeting with God doesn't have to be taken for granted.

Take care,
-Riley XO

theheartofpastormatt.wordpress.com 

A Prayer of Generosity

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a lovely time with your friends and families. Today is a wonderful time to reflect on everything we have. 

I personally think that when you realize how blessed and gifted you are, you become inspired to share your blessings with all the people around you. So for this Thanksgiving, I wanted to share this short prayer of generosity from St. Ignatius Loyola:

Lord, teach me to be generous.

Teach me to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to look for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward, save that of knowing that I am doing your will.

Have a wonderful evening!

-Riley XO

littlebrotherssf.org