Saving Faith

        To believe in God is to believe in his love for us. It is this faith that has the power to save us.

**Best Way to Live*

        You've heard said that we should live each day as if it is the first day of our life. This is good, for it makes us look forward to discovering new things every day. Then it's also been said that we should live as if today is the last day of our life. This is better, for now we are being farsighted. Unfortunately though, many miss the point and start to enjoy the pleasures of the world as much as they can. Personally, I see that the best way for us is to live as if the Second Coming of Christ is going to happen anytime now, which is true. This is being most realistic. Realizing this, we can still continue to store up treasures in heaven in the meantime.    

Joy of Success

        I have tried hard to come up with a drain connecting the pipe on the house to the underground pipe. Previous installations had never lasted long. Finally, I stumbled upon a downspout extender that could work with some modification. I tested it and I was right! It was a good feeling that I solved the problem satisfactorily. I thought of how happy we and God would feel when he succeeds in making us perfect. 

*God Full of Surprises

        God has an amazing way of answering prayers. When my heart is burdened and I pray to him, I have no idea how he is going to help me. But help does come at the appropriate time in an unexpected way. His latest response to me came when I was listening to a talk online on a subject totally unrelated to my issue, yet what I heard illuminated me. It's a matter of correcting my perception to see the overall picture and it took someone else to make me see it. Our God is full of delightful surprises, making my journey of following him truly exciting.

***Enjoying God

        I had enjoyed doing many things in life. Listening to good music whether it be classical, jazz, vocals, or other instrumentals was one big enjoyment. Driving a sports car on a winding road was also fun. And there were others. Now I no longer get carried away by any of these things, so you might think that I have no more fun in life. Certainly, all the things remain the same; what had happened was that Christ had become so dazzling and attractive that everything else just faded away, you might say. It's like the shining sun standing out more than anything else you can see. I finally realized that no created thing can be more beautiful than its creator. Being with my Lord is now my greatest enjoyment, and fun.

***A Jewish Convert Story

        This is the amazing, beautiful testimony of Roy Schoeman which I just came across unexpectedly on YouTube. I know there is a purpose here for me. May you profit from watching it. (A footnote. Roy is the author of the book Salvation is from the Jews and also published the book Honey from the Rock, a compilation of stories by 16 Jews who have found the sweetness of Christ.)

*Most Important Freedom*

        You can have the freedom to get the best medical care, to accumulate great material wealth, and to earn highest possible honors, but if you do not have the freedom to believe in your God, then you are not free at all.

**Repent First of All

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 15, Jesus told the Pharisees and scribes the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. He let them know that "there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who have no need of repentance, and there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents." It shows how incredibly important we are to God our Father and how necessary it is for us to repent! If you haven't repented yet, the whole heaven is waiting to cheer for you. So get off your high horse and stop being a kill-joy.

Letting God Strengthen You

        This morning's entrance antiphon from Psalm 38: Forsake me not, O Lord, my God; be not far from me! Make haste and come to my help, O Lord, my strong salvation! This is the timely prayer for me to hear. Since the Lord is the infinite wellspring of anything we need, we can derive infinite strength from him. Be weak in God and he'll make your strong. Be in union with him and he'll fight all the battles for you.

**The Lost Generation

        I have come to see that if you know the Lord well, you'll see and understand clearly what life and this world is all about. If you don't see good against evil going on at all times and that the soul lives on forever and will face final judgment after we die, then you are essentially living in darkness. Christ is the only shining light that can make us see and understand the reality and truth. But tragically, many are so lost that instead of seeing themselves as obstacles in God's way, they do not see him at all or even see him as an obstacle in their way. How I wish that they realize that there is not a time in life that we don't need to repent of our sins.