If we have perfect health and live in a completely stress-free environment, we probably wouldn't think about God at all. Therefore, see your physical problems and stressful encounters as blessings. It is easy to notice the gloomy side of things and forget to look at the much brighter side of them.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Powerful Sorrows
Today Tuesday is the day for praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Why should the Passion of Christ move me so much? I believe it is because deep within I know that I am a sinner and need God's salvation. Otherwise, it would be just one of the myriad sad stories of the past.
Salvation Without Cooperation?
Salvation is free in the sense that God alone has made it possible, but we still need to cooperate with him to be saved. Otherwise, faith becomes unnecessary, Jesus didn't even have to come to us, and we can keep on sinning. God gave us the free will precisely for us to choose to believe in or to reject him. Note: Once you have chosen to follow Christ, your are free to retire your free will. (This post is prompted by a non-Christian friend who believes that he is going to heaven anyway.)
Monday, January 9, 2017
Only Way to Freedom
How happy and free we are in life depends upon how we handle ourselves. If you play God, you won't be happy because you are not him. Those who are happy let God be their Lord and follow his will and see all problems as his problems. Abandon yourself to God is the only way to freedom. When you taste this freedom, you'll know that you have the truth.
*God's Companionship
God is always there for us. It is when we stray away from him that we lose his companionship. Of course, you need to get to know him first. Anytime I miss my intimacy with him ever so slightly, I know that I have strayed away, usually in thoughts. This is good for me, for it makes me want to go right back to be in full union with him. It is this intimate companionship that makes life sweet, satisfying, and worth living.
Sunday, January 8, 2017
*Heaven and Hell
Heaven exists because God is love. Hell exists because sin is real. Our free will exists because God wants to give us the chance to choose him.
*Do You Hear Yourself?
It is easy for us to hear others talk and then criticize them, but hard to be aware of exactly what and how we speak to others. It is hard because when we speak, the intention to listen to ourselves is not there. So if someone criticizes what we have said, that person may have a point. If we do not hear ourselves, mostly likely we are not as perfect as we think we are. In sum, be sensitive to what you say and know that other speakers do not hear themselves well either. This can help us avoid unnecessary arguments.
Entrusting Your Soul
Communion thoughts. You can fully entrust your soul to Jesus, for he is the soul healer. Now, there are those who sell their soul to the devil for riches on earth. With Jesus, not only you gain eternal life, you also inherit all that the Father has in heaven.
Division and Unity
Jesus said that he had come not to establish peace on earth, but rather division ~ you see that this has been happening to this very day. But let's not forget that he has also brought unity among all the faithful disciples, the communion of saints, and for many of us union with God. (Note that there is no unity on the other side.)
*Revelation Amplified
Revelation from God needn't be some new knowledge we learn for the first time; it could also be a confirmation that something already revealed to us is absolutely true.
A Creation Secret
The more we give ourselves to God, the more we experience freedom. How so? Answer: God has created us this way.
*In God's Light
Today is the Epiphany of the Lord. In reading 1, Isaiah speaks of God as the light that shines upon us. Today, if you are not in the light of Christ, you are still in darkness, for only in him is your path to eternity made crystal clear!
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