Once I dealt with a legal case and had to make numerous trips and spend time over several years to get it resolved. Often it takes a lot work to get something done in this life. Then I see that by contrast we can get to know God a lot quicker. Theoretically, you can accomplish this instantly by surrendering yourself completely to him! Once you know him, you'll be able to accomplish everything else with ease, for he now does all the hard work for you. When God wins, we win.
Sunday, March 3, 2024
*Belief vs. Faith
They are not the same thing. You can believe that God exists but have no faith in him. This is not much different from being atheistic. So belief is something you think you know, while faith is something you actually believe in and feel or experience too. One is cold and the other warm.
***The Living Faith***
Faith in Christ must be a living faith, for if it remains static, it's essentially dead. The greater it grows, the more peace and wonders we experience. This is precisely what makes living in Christ exciting! To let your faith grow, you simply submit yourself to the Lord more. You become more like him as your union with him deepens. When you limit God, you limit yourself!
****God Is for Us!
God is so good to us: He loves us with the greatest possible love (he died himself so that we might live!) . . . he always wants the best for us . . . he's always on our side. Yes, he's always for us!
Saturday, March 2, 2024
***Prayers Requested***
Please pray extra hard, for the Holy Church is being attacked and Catholics in particular persecuted worldwide.
*****Christ Indispensible to Us*****
Today I particularly feel good because in communion with the Lord, he actually made me see all my faults. To see what he sees is really cool! I am truly happy about this because he's going to guide me in all I do. He is absolutely indispensable for me to remain alive and grow holy now and to live happily in heaven forever later! With Christ, we have everything; without Christ, we have nothing. Amen.
*****Heaven Not to Be Missed!
On earth, we have to learn to survive, deal with bad people and things, worry about our health, etc. Well, in heaven we won't have any such problems. For God will take care of everything so that we may simply enjoy him forever! I can still remember the joy I felt when school was over and vacation started or when someone paid off some debt for me or when I won some sort of first prize, but all these are not even peanuts compared to the joys we'll have in heaven! And as far as I know, the God of Christ is the only one who can get you into heaven for sure. This is absolutely the best possible news I can give you!
***Real Suffering
If you don't know Christ yet, any suffering can be hard to bear. You start feeling sorry for yourself or even cursing God. But Christians in union with the Lord feel differently. They see all sufferings as being sent by him and that they are his sufferings too. So they joyfully accept them with patience and gratitude. Now, this is real suffering.
*****God's Selfless Love*****
Today's Gospel reading from Luke 15 gives us the parable of the lost son, to many the most beautiful and moving of all Jesus' parables. When the older son found out that the father was celebrating the return of his lost brother with a feast, he got jealous and angry. He said to his father, "Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf." He said to him, "My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found."
You can learn so much about God's love for us from this parable, but let me jusy share this thought. If we know that the Father loves us, we have already received the maximum reward and should be so happy that he should love all others. To know God's love is to become completely selfless!
***Good to Know Now***
We human beings occupy ourselves doing all kinds of things. This reminds me of walking into a large thrift store, seeing a myriad of things you can buy, and realizing that every item was made by someone at some place in the past. Of course, we also built buildings, pursue hobbies, take vacations, watch ballgames on TV, attend live shows, etc. But if we only do such transient things and not store up treasures in heaven, it'll be a total waste of time. Those in heaven know it and you should know it now too for your good.
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