Have you ever wondered how many decisions you make
everyday? While most of them may seem trivial and insignificant, like the
choice of what to wear, it is crucial to understand that they matter because it
is the little choices that determine the bigger ones we have to make.
“…I have set before you life and
death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your
descendants may live.”
- Deuteronomy 30:19
Every
choice we make has its own consequence - they are the seeds that produce fruits
in our lives - and if we want to have the life that Jesus wants us to have we
need to make the right decisions.
The
16th SFC Middle East Regional Conference held October 24-25, 2014 in
Bahrain
reminds us of our conviction to change for the better, to recommit to God, to
make the bold choice and CHOOSE CHRIST.
Session 1 – Christ is Alive
Christ is Alive and we have seen
him. Jesus personally comes to us despite our ‘locked doors’.
Jesus
died to give us an abundant life full of overwhelming peace and joy but in the
Good Friday’s of our lives – the times of deep sadness; in our fears; in our
disbelief; in our guilt and unworthiness – we begin to question His presence
and wonder how can He work and change our lives.
Looking
back, I realized how our Lord has been initiating an encounter with me, from
being invited to the CLP to being tapped for service – there are times that I
have felt unworthy and inadequate but by removing the ‘stone’ in our hearts, and
recognizing God’s initiative we are able to experience Christ’s resurrection –
the Easter Sunday in our lives.
Have you learned to recognize the
Lord’s initiative?
Session 2 – Hearts on Fire
When we choose Christ, we fill our
lives with Him.
When
we learn to recognize that Jesus is constantly journeying with us we become
united with Him.
Like
the two disciples on their Emmaus journey, recognizing God working in my life
did not come to me in an instant. I felt ‘forced’ the first time I attended the
CLP but when I opened my heart and felt touched by God’s presence, I was filled
with a burning desire to get to know Him more and felt even more and more
united with Him when struggles are conquered; mass is celebrated and the
Eucharist received; during prayer; when tapped for service and in the thousands
of moments in between – by making our lives God-centric we become united with
Him thus we experience and radiate true Peace and Joy in His presence.
Each
day is an opportunity to surrender all our inadequacies to God. When we learn
to surrender; we learn to obey; our faith springs forth and our hearts burn
with a passionate desire to follow Him and with Mother Mary as the perfect
example of steadfast faith we too should strive to emulate her openness and
acceptance of God’s will in our life.
Have you accepted that Jesus is
alive in your life? Do you radiate His presence?
Session 3 – Hearts in Love
Declaring that Jesus is alive in
our lives is a call to unity with Him.
Life
in Christ means being ready to say ‘YES’ and saying yes means being ready to obey
and give God our best even in times of the odds in our life, trusting that He
wants lead us from where we are to where He wants us to be.
A
life of servitude is one way of giving back all the praise and glory to God. Being
in the SFC Community presents various opportunities for service but it is only
when we become like Christ in humility and obedience in self sacrificing
service that we truly become His instrument to being the answer to someone’s
prayer - making Him real to the people around us.
A
life of Humility and Obedience anchored on God’s love will naturally lead us to
share this love through service, and service that is anchored in humility and
obedience is our Faith in action.
Do people see Christ in you?
There is no other way to live a
full life other than a life for Christ and with Christ.
God
wants to be present in our lives, He wants us to experience the fullness of
life but sometimes we forget and go back to our sinful ways and choose a
different life than what He has planned for us. The good news is that even if
we have made wrong choices and gone astray we can change.
We
can renounce a life of emptiness as a consequence of our empty pursuits, by
taking responsibility for the mistakes that we have made in the past, making
the bold choice and choosing Christ! I was once asked what makes me stay in the
community after more than a year of service, right off the bat I answered
"I remained in service because the community has helped me (and
continues to help me) grow as a person whom God aught me to be." I had made my choice and my choice became my
life…
Living
a life for and with Christ is not easy because choosing Him does not make us
immune to suffering and temptations but by Knowing
Christ and pursuing Him in our daily life we begin to have a deeper
understanding of how we can Imitate
Christ and be like Him by being inspired and inspiring thru the Gospel -
choosing decisions and actions that becomes our being and our doing, thus Living Christ to the people around us.
Have you made the bold choice?
We
are given the power of choice, of having free will and as we are presented with
worldly lures that affects our decisions how can we make the right choices? It
is by acknowledging that we can not do it on our own. By seeking wisdom,
praying and asking God’s guidance to help us and renewing our commitment to do
what He wants us to do that we are changed.
Being
part of the SFC Community further challenges us to be “fools for Christ” as we
are called to be imitators of Christ and be witnesses for Him, proclaiming that
he is alive with hearts on fire and in love -living a life in Him for we are
Generation Christ.
The
16th SFC Middle East Regional Conference dares us to grow in
conviction to change for the better, to change for the Lord, to recommit to God
and CHOOSE CHRIST for “Life is Christ and death is gain”
And
for all of this May God be Praised!
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