*Glorious Moment

        Communion experience. When the Lord entered me, I became part of him and nothing (besides my own rebellion) could possibly separate me from him anymore. What a glorious moment for me! 

**Creating Awareness of God's Presence*

        I believe that all of us who follow Christ have had moments in which we feel or sense the presence or reality of God in our spiritual journey. These fleeting moments vary in duration, but we can create them! Rather than waiting for God to grant us such glimpses of him, we can turn to God with our heart and mind completely open and desire and seek union with him. Then, once you attain union, you will feel his constant presence within you. Even when you go through the dark night of the soul, not hearing his voice or receiving any consolation from him, you still know that he is present within you.   

Obligation to Save Souls

        If you see someone about to fall off a precipice into a giant firepit at the bottom below, most of us would instinctively reach forward to try to save that person if possible. Now, if you are a Christian and realize that many lost fouls will probably meet a similar fate after they die, wouldn't you want to try your best to save as many of them as possible now? 

Simple Wish

        Communion experience. I was not inspired to ask the Lord to overwhelm me with his love, nor uplift me to some great heights – I just asked to remain in him. 

*God, Our Supreme Example

        Today's 1st reading came from Genesis 22. We heard how God tested Abraham. The Lord instructed Abraham to offer up his only son Isaac up as a burnt offering to him. When Abraham and Issac came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he bound Isaac and put him on top of the wood on the altar. Just as Abraham was about to slaughter his son, the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven to stop him, for he passed the test. My first reaction: how could God be so cruel to Abraham? Then I realized that the Lord had sacrificed his only Son for our sake! I am not in any position to question him again. 

Today's Hypocrites

        In the old days, the news media were quite honest, for they reported all the news factually without bias. Today, it's a different world ~ a lot worse, I am afraid. Most news media even manufacture fake news or distort facts as they please. For example, they would not report on any bad deed done by some politician they like, no matter how horrible it might be; but twist and magnify every fault of another they don't like, ignoring altogether his accomplishments. Holding such a double standard is being unpatriotic and hypocritical. Hear what Jesus said to the Pharisees and scribes and you'll see how hypocrisy offends the Lord. The need to turn to God now is more urgent than ever.

**Going Direct to God

          God is our Father, brother, friend, teacher, spiritual guide and inspiration, protector, Savior, creator, life-sustainer and much more. Therefore, we should be his best children, siblings, friends, students, imitators, etc., and share all our thoughts, feelings, burdens, needs, and everything else with him. The communication and relationship must be direct and open, as we are entirely dependent upon him. This is trust and obedience. Direct learning from him follows. It goes without saying that no one can teach us spiritually as well as the Lord himself. Once you know him intimately, as in union, he speaks directly to your heart and effectively transforms you into a new creature. For results, always go straight to the top.

***No Small Act

        Communion experience. The Lord entered me, with his body and blood, soul and divinity! This was no small act; this was giving me the most loving, awesome, and powerful gift, the Lord God himself! It was the perfect time to open oneself to union with him and be set free!

Faithless Generation

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 8, Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea, calming a storm from a boat he's in. Today if we pray to God for rain or a hurricane to change its course, people would laugh at us – pity they don't know that nothing is impossible with God. No wonder that this faithless generation does not get to see many wonders of God. 

*Self-Importance has No Place

      There is danger in doing the Lord's work to believe that you are indispensable to him, forgetting that he has chosen you to do his work. For example, even though I am blogging almost daily for the benefit of many readers around the world, it is really not me doing my work. I must remember that it is the Lord using me for his glory and no more. If I cannot let my blog go, then I become a slave to myself. Anytime the Lords wants me to stop, it should be OK with me. The detachment to oneself must be thorough or you are not truly free in the Lord. Let all be accomplished through or without us by the Master, for we are mere servants doing what we should do.