Today's Gospel from Matthew 18 is about rejoicing over finding the one sheep that has gone astray out of the hundred sheep. God rejoices over finding one lost human soul. In the same way, when we seek God, we rejoice over finding the true God, lovely and beautiful beyond all expectations.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Let God Have His Way
God's ways are not our ways ~ I believe that we all know that. But do know that God's ways also include God's way with each one of us! So, let God shape and transform each of us freely the way he likes.
Getting Along with Others
There will never be another person you can get along perfectly in this world ~ we were all made differently. That's why Jesus taught us to be nonjudgmental, to be forgiving always ~ all part of loving others which he had commanded. In a way, it's much easier to get along with God because he can help us change ourselves. In fact, we should seek to get along with God first, then we'll be able to get along with all other fellow human beings as well.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Jesus as Rock
When you say "Jesus is my rock," it means that he is so solid that you can lean on him all you want. I see it in another way. I feel that he dwells within me like a rock, keeping me anchored and stable. This gives me a great secure feeling, knowing that I am safe with him from committing sins.
Opening Up to the Lord
God already knows what is in our heart and mind, but for our own benefit, we must keep communicating with him to show that we trust in him and that we want to stay close to him. Therefore, it's good to turn to the Lord to let him see exactly what's in our hearts, our spiritual state, desires, wishes, concerns, our burdens and problems and everything else. The communication must be free, thorough, and heart-to-heart. Basically, you bare your soul to the Lord who loves you. If you make this your daily practice, you'll definitely experience his peace.
Praying Effectively
(1) Pray "Thy will be done."
(2) Pledge obedience to God.
(3) Place all your trust in God.
Jesus Challenges Us.
In the same story of the paralytic, Jesus actually forgave the man's sins first. Then, knowing what the scribes and Pharisees were thinking in their hearts, to show that he truly had the authority to forgive sins, he ordered the man to rise, pick up his stretcher, and go home as well. The crowd was astonished and struck with awe. Who wouldn't be? Our Lord is authoritative, knows everything and exactly what he's doing. He is absolutely unique among all the religious leaders in history. If he is not truly God, then he must be the biggest liar who has ever lived. Again, Jesus challenges us.
Faith Must Shine
Today's Gospel reading from Luke 5: A paralyzed man on a stretcher, not being able to get through the crowd to get to Jesus, was lowered through the tiles on the roof into the middle in front of the Lord. He made quite a dramatic entrance. Jesus healed him because he demonstrated his great faith. We too must let our faith shine in every way at every opportunity we get.
The Beauty of Christ
The beauty of Christ is not merely perceived through the senses, not even sensed by the heart; it is etched in the soul of the one who's deeply in love with the Lord.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
A Way to Remain Humble
Looking at our great Creator and realizing how small and imperfect we are is an effective way to keep us humble.
God's Love Frees Us
God is real, not empty talk. Christ had come and finished his work of salvation; God had demonstrated his unconditional love for us. How can we not love God? I believe it's because of our self-love. We need to be loved and put ourselves in place of God to love ourselves. What does that accomplish? Nothing, because it's a dead end ~ it just shuts God's love out of our life. It's by replacing this self-love with God's love that we can break out of our self-isolation and be set free, for God is greater than us. By letting in God's love, we become greater too.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Most Importance Relationship
For each of us, there is a whole list of things, such as our health, our house, etc., that we want to maintain in good condition for as long as we live. What should be at the top of every list is "Our relationship with God." This should be of first importance to us, for a bad relationship with God invariably turns life into a shambles.
God Is Freedom
Today is the Memorial of St. Francis Xavier. At Mass, somehow St. Francis of Assisi entered my mind and I felt the great freedom he felt when he gave up all his worldly possessions to follow Christ. Indeed, letting go in God and freedom are synonymous.
The Unavoidable Meeting
As one past post mentioned, there are many who are greatly interested in Jesus' Second Coming. Whether it's seeing the Lord then if we are still alive or facing him after we die, it's all about meeting with him ~ that unavoidable, critical moment of either great joy or great sorrow. Let's get ready for that meeting while we still have time.
Transforming Life into a Joy
Life is full of ups and downs and it's the downs that usually get us. Most recently, a married couple, our friends, is on the verge of breaking up, causing severe emotional stress to themselves and others. We all experience pains, disappointment, suffer losses of various kinds, receive unfair treatments... Peoples in many other countries face even more and greater disruptions and dangers of life. It seems that life is good only temporarily in all those intervals between the "down" moments. This is reality! What can you expect when you throw billions of sinners together on a relatively small planet? So it comes down to how we are to deal with life. Personally, I believe that believing "Christ is the way" is the way to go. By following him in this life, we are actually preparing ourselves to live the heavenly life with him for all eternity. This is how we transform our present life into a joy.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Lessons for the Troubled Heart
I've been praying and listening hard because of the burden I mentioned last time. And I have learned the following.
(1) God does not want us to be affected by any false accusations we face. Don't ever let lies upset your composure. Only what God thinks of you matters.
(2) If your heart is troubled, go deep into the Lord. Center on him alone and obey him in all things, then you are ready to face any unknown.
(3) Any time is the time to start following the will of God. It's never too late to put your trust in him. This is the way to get you out of any mess you're in in time.
(5) No matter what, never harbor any hatred, bitterness, or resentment toward others. The peace of God needs to be preserved in your heart for you to hear the Lord speak and for you to be able to think clearly.
All the above may seem hard to accomplish, but our God is God of the impossible!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
First Burden of December
On this first day of December, I have a quite weighty matter on my heart, so I am praying deeply for directions from God. I know which way I would go if I were without faith. But now I must seek God's will no matter how difficult it may turn out to be. One thing I want to be sure is that whatever action I take will draw those involved (who don't have much faith in God in this case) closer to him or at least not make them go further away from him. May the Lord provide me with discernment and strength.
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