Quien ora con todo el corazón, profundizando en las palabras de la oración, además del cumplimiento de sus peticiones obtiene la paz interior, esa que el mundo no podría darle. Fuente: Orando, podemos obtener por parte de Dios cualquier cosa que le pidamos. .

A veces, como cristianos, oramos por la ayuda de Dios, y parece como que nuestras oraciones rebotan en el techo. Dios parece preocupado en otros lugares. Salmo 13 nos ayuda a entender cómo responder cuando Dios no parece que está  presente o activo.

Aun los cristianos maduros pasan por momentos cuando Dios guarda silencio

Este salmo puede haber sido escrito cuando David era perseguido por un rey que quiso matarlo (1 Samuel 22-27) o cuando, él mismo era rey, huyó de una rebelión se alzó en contra de él (2 Samuel 15-16). Otros personajes de la Biblia tuvieron experiencias similares. Incluso Jesús, en la cruz, exclamó: “Dios mío, Dios mío, ¿por qué me has abandonado?” (Marcos 15:34).

Aunque la tentación de claudicar en nuestra postura amenaza a todo creyente, no tenemos que ceder ante ella. Si somos conscientes del peligro, y entendemos las consecuencias finales, podemos tomar la decisión de estar vigilantes en obediencia al Señor. El primer paso para combatir esta situación es entender por qué es tan tentadora. Es fácil ceder ante la presión de los demás para que tomemos parte en lo que sabemos que Dios ha prohibido, pues es natural querer evitar el rechazo. Pero cualquiera que esté decidido a agradar a Dios, debe estar dispuesto a soportar persecución (2 Ti 3.12). Otras veces aceptamos actividades que violan nuestra conciencia, solo para evitar el conflicto, pero lograr la paz no debe ser a costa de sacrificar la obediencia a Dios.

Our happiness consists in doing the will of God. It makes sense that if we resists the will of God and we know it, we find ourselves feeling guilty that we knowingly disobeyed God’s will.

The essence of this happiness does not lie in the agreement of wills, it consists in union with God.

The union of wills which makes us happy in God must ultimately be something deeper than just an agreement. We must develop conviction.

The first step after knowing God’s will is to discover our motivation for doing God’s will. Much of this outline comes from Thomas Merton’s classic, No Man is an Island, and then I have elaborated on his thoughts. *

Freedom:

I have an instinct that tells me that I am less free when I am living for myself. Living for self is really a basic natural function. In a way, living for my self is not freedom, because I am a slave to the old selfish nature.

My freedom is only freedom when it is brought into the right relation with the freedom of others. This is the essence of community, all members exercising freedom of self-sacrifice on behalf of others. If one fails to be in relation to others, we are not able to exercise the freedom to choose to follow a cause higher than our own natural instincts.

Some fears are legitimate, of course; we should fear a poisonous snake or a drunk driver, and take steps to avoid them. We also should fear sins that have a grip on our lives, because we know they’ll destroy us. The Bible says to “flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11). But some fears aren’t legitimate — that is, they have no basis in fact.

The key is to learn to trust God, no matter what our fears are. And we can trust Him, because He loves us, and He is greater than anything we’ll ever face. Furthermore, when we know Christ, we know He is with us every moment of the day, and that should give us comfort.

When we trust God, we can live like we believe what He says about us is true. Even when persecution tempts us to doubt our identity, our loving Father confirms His presence and fights on our behalf. He affirms we can walk like mighty warriors armed with His absolute love, guarded by His endless grace, and secured in His reliable truth.

There are dozens of men and women of steel and velvet in the Bible—like Moses, Joshua, Deborah, Ruth, David, the prophets, and many men and women of the New Testament. Their examples would make a very good Bible study for young men and women who want to develop these qualities of steel and velvet.

God wants you to, but do you personally want to become a man or women of steel and velvet? I can guarantee that if you choose to pursue this aim, it will be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make!

It is important for us to pray for others because Jesus Christ has commanded us to do so. Jesus commands that we pray, not only for our family, friends, and fellow believers, but even for our enemies (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:28). By praying for others we are imitating Jesus Christ, who intercedes with God the Father on our behalf (Romans 8:34; John 17:9), as well as the Spirit of God who intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26).

El Peligro del Enojo

En Isaías 64:9, el profeta implora al Señor: "No te enojes sobremanera, Jehová". Este pasaje implica que Dios mide su enojo de una manera apropiada a cada ocasión. Nosotros, también, podemos aprender cómo medir nuestro enojo y focalizarlo para que no se produzca ningún daño. ¿Cómo hacerlo?

En Efesios 4:26, se nos exhorta a controlar nuestro enojo, para que no pequemos. El enojo en sí mismo no es pecado, pero puede llevar rápidamente al pecado. Hay una línea que no debe cruzarse. ¿Cómo saber si la hemos cruzado? Es obvio que el abuso verbal y la violencia física deben ser evitados, pero el enojo puede llevar a otros pecados que son igualmente fatales.