****Year-End Reflections and Wishes

       Some thoughts as the year concludes. As my time on earth becomes increasingly limited, doing the will of God is now my only priority. Prayer comes first. At this point, blogging to draw as many people to the Lord as possible through the Holy Eucharist is my primary mission. I leave how much I can achieve entirely to Christ and care only about how obedient I am to him. I still enjoy playing the piano and photographing with my iPhone, but they no longer have any hold on me. It's a beautiful day today with blue skies, white clouds, and green grasslands all around, begging me to go outside to enjoy the outdoors, yet no feeling can ever be more exhilarating than knowing that the Lord God dwells within you.  
          My prayer is that every single person will come to know that Christ is our Lord and Savior. I wish more than anything else that you will let him love you so that you may love him and enter heaven. There is no greater joy than giving Christ joy. 

***Glory Be to Our Lord***

         Today's Gospel reading at Mass began with the Gospel of John. I'd like to present the first 5 verses below to glorify our Lord on this last day of the year 2021.

        In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. he was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

***Greatest Revelation and Test

         John 1:14a, 12a is today's Gospel acclamation. "The word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. To those who accepted him he gave power to become the children of God." This has to be the greatest revelation to us, for it is stunning, awesome, and incredible! Of course, to those who do not believe, it means nothing. But for those who believe, it is everything! The Lord wishes to take complete care of us— and it's up to us to say yes or no to him. So this greatest revelation is also our greatest test.

*****God's Love at Work

        This year is coming to an end tomorrow. I'd like to share this story which is basically a happy one, for it shows how beautifully God's love works. Here's the site. If you are looking for a good charity to make a donation to, you have an ideal candidate here. 
          May you have the brightest New Year coming to you!

***Same Old Dilemma

        In today's first reading from 1 John 2, the Apostle writes, "Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever." It seems as if the Apostle had just seen our world today. To love the Father and not what's in the world is indeed most difficult. The only remedy is to do the will of God. So we must know God first. To attain union with God is of course the way to go. It again comes down to how we respond to God's call. We can keep on loving the world, which is easy, or turn to loving God, which is possible if we were humble enough.

***Our Best Prayer

         Abandoning ourselves totally to God without reservation. 

**Nobody Becomes Somebody

        Be a nobody in the eyes of the world and you become somebody before the Lord. (You can achieve the same result by living for Christ only in secret.) 

**False Humility & True Lack of Pride

        If God asks you to become a saint and you say "Oh no, I am not good enough"—do you know that this is false humility? On the other hand, if you say "Yes, I'll do it"—this shows that you are humble enough to know that nothing is impossible for God and you do not let the your pride get in the way.    

**Are You a Burden or Joy to God?*

        Do Christians carry a heavier burden than non-Christians? I believe so. That's because a Christian feels the tremendous pain the Lord suffers as the entire world sins against him. What is amazing is that Lord helps carrying the burdens of all his servants with joy! 

***Purify the Vaccines!

        Fr. Mark Goring follows up his video Tainted Vaccines of yesterday with a new one today. You can learn more and do something about it by visiting the website https://cogforlife.org/. (Note: Today is 1/26/2022. It looks like YouTube has removed this video. Anyway, you can still visit the website given here.)

**Tainted Vaccines

        Fr. Mark Goring's new message. In case you don't know, not all vaccines are "clean." 

***Christ Our Determinator

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 2, we have the presentation of the child Jesus in the temple. Simeon blessed Joseph and Mary and said to Mary, "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." Indeed, it is through Jesus that all our hearts will be judged and our destiny determined by him. For he is our creator, our judge, and our Savior! 

***Why I Love the Holy Spirit

        I love God the Holy Spirit for the following reasons. (1) He makes me new and keeps me refreshed. (2) He teaches me in all things and revealed the truth to me always. (3) He sets my heart on fire to glorify God to the max in this life. (4) Last but not least, he is the greatest joy to me.

****Proclaiming God's Glory

        From Psalm 96, today's responsorial Psalm, I read the following: "Announce the LORD's salvation, day after day. Tell his glory among the nations; among all peoples, his wondrous deeds." We Christians must never stop spreading the good news and telling people what the Lord has done for us! Never let anyone who reacts negatively to us silence you. Even if there is no one around, we need to proclaim the glory of God to the mountains and the sea. The joy of God is not to be suppressed!

***Learned from Saint John the Apostle

        Today's first reading comes from 1 John 2. Two things the Apostle wrote impress me. (1) "Whoever keeps Jesus' word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him." So obedience to the word of Christ leads to union with him. (2) "Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness." So whoever remains in the light of Christ does not hate anyone anymore. This is how we remains in peace. If you are still angry at a brother or sister, you are not yet walking in the light of Christ.

**Never Worry for the Lord

        We often pray to God for some favor and wonder if he is going to grant it to us or not. Well, the Lord knows exactly whether what you ask for is best for you or not and how he should respond to you. If we don't have peace after praying to him, then you are in a way worrying for him. Our role is to trust in God completely and wait for things to work out in peace. Know that faith can only get stronger after being tested 

**Being Secure in God's Light

        Today is the Feast of Holy Innocents. In the first reading from 1 John 1, the Apostle writes that God is light and exhorts us to walk in that light. I love the Lord shining his light on us always while we fellowship with him, being cleansed by him from all sin and prevented from sinning anymore. No darkness can now invade our space again.  

**That Which Completes Our Joy

        Today is the Feast of Saint John, Apostle. In the first reading from 1 John 1, as an eye witness and Apostle of the Lord Jesus, he writes, "What we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing this so that our joy may be complete." When we are in union with the Lord, we attain the ultimate fellowship with him, and our joy is complete. This joy, being the ultimate joy that surpasses all other joys, becomes the only joy we need to possess. It is the joy what will sustain and vitalize us for all eternity. 

**Another Christian Joy

        The great joy for those who follow Christ is, of course, knowing that they will be in heaven with him forever. Another joy we mustn't forget is that when that happens, we'll be like him ourselves!  

**Saving the Family

         Today is the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. In these evil times, Satan has succeeded in breaking up so many families. It's common to meet Catholic parents whose sons and daughters were raised in the Catholic faith but have left the Church altogether. When prayers don't seem to work, the parents are left with no choice but to give their children completely to God. This is a good move, but remember that if you truly trust in the Lord, your burden is now carried by your heavenly Father and you mustn't let it burden you anymore.

**Learning How to Love

          If you love anyone, you must be concerned about that person's soul and eternal life. If you don't live a good spiritual life, you basically don't love yourself. Love Christ first and foremost and you'll know how to love everyone else and yourself right.

**Completing God's Joy

        Communion experience. God has completed my joy. I must now focus upon completing his joy. 

***Day of Mercy

        Each day we are alive is a day of mercy bestowed upon us by God! We'd better take full advantage of it.

***God's Ultimate Intention***

       Do you know that the Lord wants to save us so that we can finally become perfect like him?

**Mutual Exalting

        When we remain humble, the Lord exalts us. Do you see that as we humble ourselves, we exalt the Lord too?

***That Christmas Joy

          It's Christmas, a day Christians greatly rejoice in. This is a unique joy that non-Christians do not experience, the joy of knowing that God truly loves you and has saved you from sin to live for all eternity with him in heaven. So, on this joyful day, I do feel the sorrow that many still do not know or have even rejected Christ—you can't get more lost that that. It is imperative that all true believers in Christ pray for the conversion of the entire world so that all peoples may experience that joy God has intended for all of us.

***Most Comfortable for Me

         As Christmas is only two days away, you see houses decorated with lights, people busily shopping for gifts, stores putting up ostentatious displays, etc. Christmas is now even celebrated in non-Christian countries. For many, it provides a holiday break and an opportunity to spend or make a lot of money. Just how many people see Christ as our Savior and are drawn to him at Christmas time? I am afraid that all the glitter and glow only show how ungenuine we can be. Anyway, I am happy because Christ is the one with whom I feel most comfortable. He has completely fulfilled me in every way. How is this possible when him I don't even see? Well, that's because he created and knows me thoroughly and nothing is impossible for him.

*****Conversion of the Jews

        I posted Part 1 of Roy Schoeman's talk on Nov. 8, 2018, in which he told his own amazing conversion story. Today I watched Part 4 of his talk and feel compelled to share it with all. He tells how some of the prominent Jews converted to Catholicism. Perhaps more importantly, we Catholics can learn how lucky we are to have the truth and all the sacraments. This presentation should make us appreciate and treasure Jesus Christ our Savior and the teachings of our Church even more! The main talk ends around 1:06:14, followed by a Q and A. 

 

**Christ Our Ohly Hope

        Many hope that the coming Christmas and New Year will bring them peace and joy. As a matter of fact, they do this every year. But those who are in union with Christ are already enjoying peace and experiencing great joy in him. Elsewhere you'll find no true peace nor joy, so stop hoping in vain but go directly to Christ to surrender yourself to him to receive what you lack. 

****Extraordinary Living

        Prophets, visionaries, mystics, and many saints experience the Lord supernaturally. It might be hearing the Lord speaking to you, seeing visions, entering ecstasy, receiving the stigmata, or other. Nevertheless, for us who do not normally experience the Lord in any extraordinary way, we can still enter into a most special relationship with him. We receive the Holy Eucharist and attain union with him. Now we enjoy the Lord, living secretly for him in him. We are in the world, but not of the world anymore, feeling completely secure. Dwelling in the Lord is absolutely special, most satisfying and exhilarating. 

***"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"

        Alma Deutscher was a British music prodigy. At age 16 now, she has already composed a number of orchestral works, an opera, many piano pieces and songs. She plays both the violin and the piano beautifully. Enjoy her latest Christmas song here, sung by her friend Anna Voshege with Alma and her sister Helen providing the chorus.

****Why Imitate Christ

        If you are a parent and your children want to be just like you, you would feel very happy, for they believe in you. Now, our heavenly Father loves us with an infinite love—imagine how much more he would be pleased if we want to be just like him! Start seeking union with Christ so that you may become like him.

**Taking Afterlife Seriously

        I feel sad when I see someone doing something not quite right and hear him say casually that he doesn't mind spending some time in purgatory. How foolish can one be! Assuming such an attitude can only worsen one's suffering in purgatory. We must be absolutely serious about where we go after this life. The suffering one experiences in purgatory can be most painful too. If we truly love Lord, we should aim for going straight to heaven.

*Accidents and Coincidences

         Unbelievers explain away all hard-to-believe events as accidents or coincidences, but believers in the Lord know very well that no event can occur without his permission and he imparts knowledge to them via everything that occurs to them.

***Healing Our Division

        The world, including the Church, is so badly fractured now that in some way we have all become enemies to each other. As long as we do not submit ourselves to Christ completely, we shall remain divided. Unity and harmony can only come through obedience to the Lord. When we all attain union with him, we become truly one.  

**God Is for Us

        Romans 8:31—If God is for us, who can be against us? I can't think of God going against me without a good reason. Truly, he loves me and is always for me. Since I do have a heart, I feel that I must love and listen to him as much as possible.  

***Why We Need to Pray

        When we pray to the God of Christ from our hearts in great faith and with great trust, we move his heart and can change his mind. The salvation of all the souls, the severity of coming chastisements, how much time the Devil still has over us, our own destiny . . . all these things and more are within our power to alter, alleviate, or eradicate. For the Lord listens to those who love and stay with him. Pray for the conversion of the entire world so that he may truly become the Lord in all our hearts.

****To Be a Saint or Not

        If you pray to the Lord to make you a saint, how do you think he will respond? It'd be impossible for him to reject your request, as far as I can see. In fact, this is exactly what he wishes to hear from all of us at any time. You are now making heaven rejoice! Sadly, many Catholics don't ponder over becoming a saint, for they think that's for the big, well-known saints only, not realizing that at the beginning, these saints were sinners just like them or worse. The truth is that nothing is impossible for God. If you truly desire something for his glory, God will surely make it happen. We are never too good for God or not good enough for God—we are always just right for him to turn us into saints! If you'd rather remain with the world in this life, becoming saintly is not for you. But if you'd rather shine extra bright in heaven later for all eternity, then it's perfect for you. (Note. To be a saint does not mean to be a canonized saint later. I believe that all the canonized saints were so humble that they'd rather not be singled out if they had the choice. It simply means to be holy here.) 

***Serving God Only*****

        In Matthew 6:24, Jesus said to his disciples and the crowds, "No one can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and mammon." Of course, God we must serve, so "mammon" may be replaced with someone or something else. What comes to my mind is that "we cannot serve God and ourselves." If we serve ourselves first, we cannot possibly love God. Even if we place ourselves in second place, we won't be able to serve God whole-heartedly. That leaves us the conclusion that "we must forget about ourselves and serve God only." This is the key to freedom and holiness! And our reward will surely be great in heaven!

***God Meeting Our Expectations

         I've wanted to experience God's love, peace, freedom, and joy. I've wanted to know him most intimately. I've wanted to enjoy his presence at all times. I've wanted to be able to overcome all evil through him. And most of all, I now want to go to him as soon as I depart from this world to be with him for all eternity. These are all big demands, and the God of our Lord Jesus Christ has met them all, assuring me that I would be with him forever. This is the God who can meet our highest expectations.

***You Are Ready*

         If you are ready to face Christ, you are ready; you are now ready for anything! Rejoice!

***St. John of the Cross Counsel

        Today is the Memorial of Saint John of the Cross. I had read some of his writings some decades ago and the best thing I learned from him which I'll always remember was this piece of advice. He says that if you wish to attain union with Christ, you must focus upon him alone and let nothing whatsoever distract you, even should the Lord appear before you. He really made the point. It is true that anything that tends to shift our focus away from Christ can be counterproductive. If you want only him, why look elsewhere?

***Time Is Short (a Warning)

         I have already lived quite a bit beyond my life expectancy. One good grace I've received from the Lord is being aware of the little time I have left on earth. Some of you may not even live as long as I, so the time you have left would be even shorter. Anyhow, no matter how old we are, the time we have left is limited. That is, the time we have for seeking Christ the Savior is limited, while the time we'll spend with or without him later is forever! Wake up now while you still can. 

***Everything Through Christ!

        The Lord God knows everything that's going on and nothing can happen without his allowing it. So I see that it would be most wise to do everything through him. That is, we make sure that we always do his will, as it's easy to follow what we think we should do without going through him. In Matthew 7:21, Jesus said to his disciples, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." Make sure that you know this. A perfect God deserves perfect obedience from us.

***Christ Our Liberator

        We human beings tend to hold onto the past. We like to preserve our heritage, our culture, and our traditions. We restore old buildings and protect ancient artifacts. All this is good as long as we are not obsessed with it. Again, I love Christ because he liberates us from all things, good and bad. We become abhorred of the bad and enjoy the good without being attached to them. In other words, we are free. We belong to Christ now, our everlasting future. The world will pass one day and that would be just fine.

**Questioning the Lord Properly

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 21, the chief priests and the elders of the people questioned the authority of Jesus. Since they couldn't answer the counter question Jesus asked them, he did not tell them by what authority he did all his things. Of course, we may ask the Lord questions to learn from him, but we should never ask him without trust nor respect. After all, what we know is nil compared to what he knows.

****Only True Future

        I watched another video showing that some of the most talented students at a prestigious university in China are working on how they can improve our daily life with cutting-edge technology. This is truly looking into the future, but does that make you truly smart? Let me say outright that any future that does not include God is no future. We must look beyond this world, this life, to be truly smart. To be blunt, without Christ, we don't have a future to speak of.

**Spotting the Smart One

      In Matthew 21, Jesus told the parable of the two sons to the chief priests and the elders of the people. "What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' He said in reply, 'I will not,' but afterwards he changed his mind and went. The nan came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, "Yes, sir," but did not go. Which of the two did his father's will?" They answered correctly, "The first." 
       I thought of this parable because I want to ask a question in a similar way. Say you have two people. One is very good at trading or doing business with others and becomes rich. Meanwhile, the other lives for God alone, quietly storing up treasure in heaven. Which of the two in your opinion is the smart or wise one?

**Shock for the Proud

        All the great saints humbly saw themselves as most wretched sinners before the Lord God, whereas today many lukewarm Christians and nonbelievers see themselves as pretty decent people that the Lord will surely forgive them. In Matthew 23 and Luke 14, Jesus said, "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." So for all those who think they are good enough and are not contrite or don't try to become more humble, they'll be in for a big shock when they face the Lord either at the time of the Warning or after they die. Only a fool will take a chance with God.

***Ultimate Freedom, Peace, and Joy

          It is the Third Sunday of Advent. Today's Communion experience: my quest for ultimate freedom is over.
       Freedom, peace, and joy mark the true Christian. There are all kinds of freedom, peace, and joy out there, but only the freedom, peace, and joy of God surpass all understanding. To me, they are the ultimate freedom, ultimate peace, and ultimate joy. If you don't possess Christ, you are not truly free, let alone experiencing his peace and his joy.

**How God Teaches Us

         The Lord God is always trying to perfect those who love and are receptive to him. It is in learning from him that he becomes dear to us. There will be dry moments or periods, so don't think that he has abandoned you. It may just be a transient test or signify the beginning of a new phase of your spiritual life. We must never let our feeling affect our faith. Psalms 23:4, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

*****Greatest Favor!

        Prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosaries today and realized that the Lord God actually died for my sins so that I might live—this is absolutely the most anybody could possibly do for me. It is hard to believe that God should love me this much—I feel elated and most grateful to him. Soon I'll be with my most beloved Father forever! Try to top this. 

****We Are the Culprits**

        We see how evil the world has gotten to be. Christians clearly see the fierce battle being waged by Satan against God. You may wonder why Almighty God doesn't just wipe out Evil to bring us peace. We must remember that the Lord's hands are tied because of our disobedience. If all of us repent of our sins and surrender ourselves to God, Satan instantly loses the battle and we'll have order and peace. So, you see, we are the ones fanning the spiritual war, giving the Lord God a most difficult time. He is doing his utmost to save us and we keep resisting him! Rebelling against God is surely the path to self-damnation; it's so very logical and clear.

**Mary Our Best Ally Against Evil

         Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Lord had chosen this immaculate handmaid to bear his divine Son first and is now letting her spearhead the campaign to crush the Devil. No doubt her Immaculate Heart will triumph in the end. Allow the Holy Mother to help us crush evil in our own lives.

**Dealing with Prophecies and Apparitions

      Jesus came to cause division among us. Mother Mary has also caused division. So have all the prophets. I've come across one website which lists all the prophets that are credible or questionable or false, beginning with Prophet Joel (c. 800 BC) to the self-proclaimed prophets of today. That would be absolutely impressive if the information were accurate. Anyway, we should always use our discernment. Regarding current prophets, I get suspicious if a prophecy contains specific detailed instructions, as prophecies are usually general warnings. But many of them do give us good timely advice which I can totally accept. 
    Regarding the Marian apparitions at Medjugorje and Garabandal, the Church has not approved or disapproved them yet. I've been to Medjugorje three times and experienced great joy and uplifting of the spirit there. Nonbelievers always point out some of the scandals (not involving the visionaries) or the disapproval given by some high church official, but the good fruit is obvious with so many conversions happening there, not to mention the miracles witnessed by many (and myself). As for Garabandal, I believe that the Church never really investigated the apparitions with an open mind. There were those high in the Church who did not wish to see them approved from the very beginning. The Church was already fractured in those days. The video I am giving you below is a little over an hour long. But if your are interested in the Garabandal apparitions, you should find it enlightening. 

**Sticking to the Father

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 18, Jesus gave us the parable of the lost sheep. He told his disciples, "If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, he rejoices more over it than the ninety-nine that did not stray. In the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these littles ones be lost." Know how much we mean to the Father and stick close to him so that we may never become lost.

***Advice on Spiritual Growth*

        We should never compare ourselves with anybody else. If you follow Christ and don't judge anyone, that should take care of that. Basically, what anyone (yourself included) thinks of you doesn't matter in the end—it's what God thinks of you at any moment alone that matters. So you should focus only upon making sure that he is always pleased with you.

***God's Unique Love

        Strictly speaking, only God's love qualifies as true love. Our own so-called love for people and things is never 100% pure. We fall for them for our own pleasure and enjoyment; that's more desire than love. When we love God, we love him with his love. We know this because we become selfless in loving him and others. This is love on an entire different level, for it sets you free and you are never the same again!

Living Our Last Day

         It's been said that we should live each day as if it were our last day on earth. I see the merit in that. If I were living my last day now, I would just not worry or be anxious about all my unfinished business anymore.

***Faith Saves Us!

        Jesus often told those who had been cured or whose sins had been forgiven by him that "Your faith has saved you." Faith is essential for our salvation and experiencing God's wondrous deeds. In my own experience, I can say that as long as I have faith and believe, the end or outcome is not affected by the means I use. Let's suppose that I touched someone serious ill with a relic pertaining to some saint and prayed that he be healed and he got well quickly. This would be because I put my faith in God's power, not in the relic by any means. I could have used some other object; as long as I believed, the outcome would have been the same. Let's remember what Jesus said in Matthew 17:20 to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, if you have the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

**Praying for Ourselves First

         While praying the Our Father, I came to "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" and saw that for everyone on earth to do God's will, it must start with us first and then we pray that the Lord will convert the rest of the world to do his will. We must make sure that we are not deficient of what we wish others to have ourselves. If we put our own house in order first, then we'll know better what the rest of the world needs.

****Secret to Spiritual Triumph

        Cast all your burdens upon to Lord to become carefree. If you don't do this, you become his burden! Letting God carry you every step of the way is the way to spiritual triumph. 

**No Concern About Second Coming

        Jesus has come to us and will come again to judge all nations. If we remain in union with him now, we won't need to be concerned about his Second Coming anymore. 

*God Our Permanent Rest

        I attended Vigil Mass yesterday. Communion experience: the Lord made me see that he's the only one in whom I can find true rest for now and all eternity.

**God Our Great Giver

        God first gave himself up fully to saving our souls. Then he gave himself to us in the Holy Eucharist to be with us always. And he is giving us all the time we need to turn and return to him in our life on earth. 

**Story with the Happiest Ending

        I just saw a video on YouTube. It's a true story that happened in China. A mother's two-year-old son was kidnapped and she never stopped looking for him since. Now, 32 years later, with the aid of DNA testing, he was found and the dramatic reunion took place. It was a sad story with a happy ending. I mention it here because I see how fortunate we can be by attaining union with God the heavenly Father so that no one will ever be able to snatch us away from him. Yes, we can always end our story with the happiest ending!

*The Little Boy or Girl in Us

        No matter how old we are or how mature and poised we appear to be, we all still have that little boy or little girl in us. In situations when our security is threatened, fear and worry often make us wish that we can turn to a father or mother who can protect and comfort us. For the Christians, they no longer have this problem, for they have their most powerful and mightiest heavenly Father to turn to at any time.

**God Exalts the Humble

        When you decide to become a nobody before God, he changes you into somebody pleasing for him to behold. Submit yourself to the Lord and he always changes you into a more beautiful person beyond all expectations.

**Knowledge That Leads to Life

        I love Christ because he loves me and is my Savior. To anyone who doesn't know him, all the sufferings he underwent probably doesn't make much sense. But to those who already knew him, it makes them want to love him even more. Understanding the Passion of Christ is the gateway that leads to eternal life.

***All Because of Sin*

        Today I realize that I love Jesus because I am a sinner. If I were a holy, sinless person, I would not need God to save me anymore. I believe that because we innately realize that we are sinners, we are innately attracted to Christ. And when we find out that he is truly the one for us, we fall in love with him.

***The Shroud Says It All*****

        Right after I blogged about how God died for us in the last post, I saw this video about the Shroud of Turin which provides all the evidence you need to see that it is the shroud of Jesus who suffered and rose from the dead just as the Gospels tell us. This is a video all should watch, especially the nonbelievers. How Christ suffered for us! Knowing that we are sinners, how can we possibly not love him?        

***God Loves Us Rightly*

        Jesus has said to his disciples, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." The Lord God is all holy, while we are notorious sinners. If we love the Lord, it makes sense that we should die for him. Yet the Holy Lord has sacrificed himself to die for us sinners! This doesn't seem right until you realize that he loves us so much that he sees us as his best friends.

****Submission Power

         When we are submissive to God, we receive great power from him. Now we are directly linked to him and he listens to our pleas, concerns, and questions. We can now influence the Lord and get things done for his glory for us.

*Muslims Converting

        An interesting video from Dinesh D'Souza.

****Secret to Union with God!

        Let God love you and you'll fall in love with him. Let God know you and you'll know him as never before. Let God possess you and he is all yours as well. Be wide open to the Lord to become one with him.

*****Fate of Our World*****

        The fate of our world depends entirely upon how much we obey God. It is in our hands!