Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Men
1. In what ways can the steps listed above help you to be a man of faith?
2. Which of the steps seem to apply most to your life right now? Apply least? Are there any additional steps you would add to or delete from the list?
3. In what ways are you willing to focus on at least one or two of the above steps over the next few weeks? Use the steps identified to develop a personalized daily plan for yourself. If you are a member of a men’s group, share the impact these steps have had on your day at the next meeting. Otherwise, consider sharing the impact with another man or your wife.
4. Continue to focus on additional steps each week until they are all in some measure a part of your everyday life. What impact are these steps having on strengthening your faith and how you live out your day as a man of faith?
(This article is part of NFCM's sponsorship of the Catholic Man channel and originally appeared as part of the Catholic men’s E-zine, Being a Man of Faith, (Jan-Feb 2003 issue) which is available on the NFCM website. You may email them at info@nrccm.org. Many thanks to The Word Among Us for allowing us to include some material from various daily meditations.)
Reflection/Discussion Questions on Page 2
[Editor's Note: This is the fifth and final article in a series on the theme “Being a Man of Faith.” Click here to find the first article, the second article, the third article or the fourth article.]
Every day our faith is tested as we encounter temptations of all kinds — choices to either love or hate our neighbor, to help someone or to pass him by, to obey God’s commands or to ignore them, to be instruments of peace and reconciliation or to promote division and separation. Some of us even face outright persecution because of our faith — because we have chosen the “narrow way” of Christ.
We know that faith is a gift from God, but we also know that as men of faith, we are called to cooperate with God in putting our faith into practice. Below are some steps we can take each day to strengthen our faith.
1. Each day we need to put our faith in Jesus. This is more than just an intellectual acceptance of the fact of Jesus’s death and resurrection. We have to entrust ourselves to Him completely.
Is it really worth it to do this? If we were to ask all the generations of Christians who have come before us this question, they would respond with a loud and grateful “Yes!” And many of them have walked the hard road and persisted through sufferings far greater than our own.
Why so great a response? Because they knew that Jesus was walking with them. This one fact makes all the difference between hopeless frustration and comfort, between defeat and victory, and between faithlessness and faithfulness.
2. Each day we need to submit ourselves to Jesus and His new life in us. As we do this, and learn to walk in the Father’s ways, our lives are filled more and more with Jesus’s light and life. We could never achieve this on our own; rather, we are lifted up to a whole new life by the power of God’s grace. As His light shines in our lives, it is plainly seen that this is the work of God.
3. Each day we need to remind ourselves that at every step we take, Jesus’s hand is on our lives. Can you believe that the Son of God Himself has paved the way for you and gives you everything you need to follow Him? Do you see that as you walk this road trusting Him, your life can be filled with meaning and purpose? Do you believe that as you follow this path, you are becoming an ever more powerful ambassador of Jesus and vessel of the Holy Spirit?
4. If there is unconfessed sin in our lives, we must confess it and be restored to full intimacy with God. Then, through His Spirit, we can resist thoughts of condemnation and shame, and, instead, stand firmly on the truth of God’s forgiveness and passionate love for us.
5. We must believe that God would not have given us His commandments without also giving us the power to carry them out. He knows that we’re weak. For example, when He says, “Do not look lustfully,” we can take His words of command as a promise as well — a promise that He will be with us to heal our lusts and change our thinking. If someone treats you badly today and you start to feel rage rising up, stop right there and pray, knowing that “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 Jn 4:4).
6. Throughout the day, we need to speak words of faith to ourselves. One way we can do this is by using Scriptures such as “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor 5:17); “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19); and “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).
Also, constantly remind yourself of His promises. For example, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Heb 13:5) and “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jer 29:11).
7. Ask the Holy Spirit for strength, knowing that He dwells in you. Speak to the old life whenever it tries to reassert itself inside you: “You have no power over me anymore. I am filled with the Spirit of God, and His grace to help me now is greater than your desire to bring me down.” As you do this, the new life of Jesus in you will become more evident, both to you and others. At the same time, the power of the old life will get weaker. It will never go away completely in this lifetime, but you will see significant victories if you put faith in Christ’s life within you.
8. In the tasks that you perform each day, try to find little ways of stepping out in faith and obedience. Even the smallest of these are precious to the Lord. Nothing is outside the realm of possibility for those who exercise their faith. Open yourself to experimenting with God’s grace. Give Him chances to reveal his goodness. Don’t lower your expectations of what God can do. Allow Him to make you a pillar of faith.
As you implement some of these steps, remember, there is no neutral stance when it comes to responding to the Lord — only a choice between acceptance and rejection of His love, between belief and unbelief. If we believe in Jesus, then by opening the door of our hearts to Him, we will receive new life from above. We will become a new creation, completely reconciled to God and freed from His wrath.
Lord Jesus, I believe in You and in Your promises. I give You thanks today for making me a new creation. Release your Holy Spirit in me in a new and more powerful way, so that I may live a new life of faith in You and turn away from the old life of sin. Lord, each day I will be open to opportunities to exercise my faith in You and for opportunities to share this new life of faith with others.
