***Why God Is Worthy of Our Worship**

        The fact that the Lord God is most holy is enough for us to worship and adore him, to say nothing of his great love for us.

***Spiritual "Secrets"***

        A vain soul remains distant from God, whereas the childlike find union with the Lord effortlessly.

***The Riddle of Life Solved**

        Because we inherited original sin, we will all physically die. We are merely passing through this earth, and now is the time to get ready to enter our next life. How we live now determines how we shall live later, forever. I am absolutely sure that if we follow Jesus faithfully now, we will be back with God our creator in heaven for all eternity.

**Knowing Our Place**

        In today's First reading from 1 Corinthians 3, Paul reminds us that we all work for God, and he alone causes us to grow spiritually. We are merely channels through which the Lord does the work; nothing more.

***Most Precious Lord***

        How shall I praise the Lord today? These verses from Matthew 13 come to my mind: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it." Jesus is the ultimate treasure and the finest pearl. The joy of "possessing" him is out of this world!

***What Is Your Ideal God?*

        Let us suppose that you don't know God and have never heard of Jesus, and you are asked to tell me what kind of God you would like to have. I don't think this will be easy. Suppose you want God to be like a genie in a bottle who can grant you whatever you wish for. Obviously, that won't work—what if someone else wishes that you don't get your wish? Maybe you want your God to be the most powerful king who will destroy all your enemies. That will not work either. I really don't think we can come up with a valid answer. Then the Lord God revealed himself to us. He is our Father and Creator who loves us so much that he sent his own Son, Jesus, to die on the cross in our place. Now we are redeemed from sin and will inherit eternal life if we believe in him. This is the amazing truth, a great surprise! We are taught not to be self-centered, but to love, be humble, and accept suffering—it is through suffering that we come to know God.

***Our Great God***

        In Psalm 145, today's Responsorial Psalm, these two verses describe our God beautifully: "The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works." I know that he is holy, perfect, and worthy of our absolute trust. Above all, out of pure love, he desires to save us from sin and grant us eternal life. Let us start rejoicing in him forever!

***Our Ultimate Choice***

        In today's First Reading from 1 Corinthians 2, Paul writes, "Now the natural man does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God, for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it, because it is judged spiritually. The one who is spiritual, however, can judge everything but is not subject to judgment by anyone." Because of this, a spiritual person perceives the entire world differently than a natural person. While a true Christian maintains a clean, sharp conscience, a non-Christian can easily fall into a muddy, dull state of mind. To each his own, but the resulting eternal consequences could not be more distinct. Ultimately, it comes down to a single choice: living for yourself, or living for God.

***It Is Up to Us***

        In Matthew 16:25, Jesus says, "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Similar versions of this verse appear in all the other Gospels.) Jesus speaks either profound truth or utter nonsense here. You see, he never forces our hand—he simply presents the challenge and leaves it to our free ill to decide.

**Becoming Wise and Undestanding**

        From today's Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 119), I read these verses: "Lord, I love your commands. Your command has made me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers when your decrees are my meditation." My thoughts are: If you know the Lord, you know the whole truth. This makes you wise and understanding so that you don't have to feel inferior to anyone anymore.