*Winers and Losers

        Jesus repeatedly gave the message "To anyone who has, more will be given; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away." This also applies well to anyone seeking the Lord. If you are closed to God, how do you expect him to ever enter your heart? So you will remain being cut off from him to the end. But to those who search for him sincerely with humility, they will be richly rewarded.

*Worst Wake-Up Call*

        If we remain asleep and aloof from Jesus in this life, we shall wake up in shock after we die to see that every knee of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth shall bend before him (Romans 14.11 & Philippians 2.10). This is not good.

**Most Humbling Experience*

        Communion experience. Jesus is meek and humble. As God, he treated me as his equal when he entered me. Such an experience is to be cherished forever!

Peace in Perfection

        Our world is imperfect even without us sinning. All of a sudden, I have trouble sending email out, due to some change my server had made and it does look like I have to spend extra money to get this problem fixes myself. Then this morning, I discovered an underground sprinkler system leak, most likely due the inferior workmanship of the installer. We must accept the fact that life is much about facing problems and overcoming difficulties, dealing with people issues, making and changing plans, seeking answers and learning new things, etc. You can let all these things make you lose peace or accept them as reality for the time being, knowing that everything will be perfect after you get to heaven. In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus advises us to remain meek and humble and to find rest in him. To remain meek and humble is not complain about things. To find rest in him is to make him our refuge. Only in him shall we find peace and happiness, for only in him shall we find perfection.

**Right Focus for Spiritual Progress*

        I have always advocated placing your focus upon Christ and not on yourself. I can preach a thousand times to someone, telling him to love the Lord, to pray hard, this and that – while my intention is good, the advice could hardly be effective, for you are asking someone who cannot even make himself grow half a millimeter taller to make the effort a become a perfect follower of Christ. Let's remember what Jesus said in John 15.5: I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Therefore, we need to let the Lord do the work for us. Of course, this doesn't mean that we just sit back at home, do nothing, and wait for miracles to happen. What we only need to do is to remain open and submitssive to God first, for he cannot work freely in a closed or partially open or nonsubmissive heart. Then focus upon his power, his glory, his love for you, his beauty and perfection . . . and you shall be transformed by him without doing any hard work on your own. As always, to get results, focus upon God and not yourself.   

*The Joy of Christ

        Today's Gospel reading was taken from Matthew 9. The disciples of John the Baptist approached Jesus and asked, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast." A true follower of Christ is characterized the joy of the Lord, for he is with and within him or her always. Shall we say that A Christian without joy is one who has not known the Lord thoroughly yet? It is this great joy of Christ that converts and transforms our hearts and lives.

*Glorious Moment

        Communion experience. When the Lord entered me, I became part of him and nothing (besides my own rebellion) could possibly separate me from him anymore. What a glorious moment for me! 

**Creating Awareness of God's Presence*

        I believe that all of us who follow Christ have had moments in which we feel or sense the presence or reality of God in our spiritual journey. These fleeting moments vary in duration, but we can create them! Rather than waiting for God to grant us such glimpses of him, we can turn to God with our heart and mind completely open and desire and seek union with him. Then, once you attain union, you will feel his constant presence within you. Even when you go through the dark night of the soul, not hearing his voice or receiving any consolation from him, you still know that he is present within you.   

Obligation to Save Souls

        If you see someone about to fall off a precipice into a giant firepit at the bottom below, most of us would instinctively reach forward to try to save that person if possible. Now, if you are a Christian and realize that many lost fouls will probably meet a similar fate after they die, wouldn't you want to try your best to save as many of them as possible now? 

Simple Wish

        Communion experience. I was not inspired to ask the Lord to overwhelm me with his love, nor uplift me to some great heights – I just asked to remain in him. 

*God, Our Supreme Example

        Today's 1st reading came from Genesis 22. We heard how God tested Abraham. The Lord instructed Abraham to offer up his only son Isaac up as a burnt offering to him. When Abraham and Issac came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he bound Isaac and put him on top of the wood on the altar. Just as Abraham was about to slaughter his son, the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven to stop him, for he passed the test. My first reaction: how could God be so cruel to Abraham? Then I realized that the Lord had sacrificed his only Son for our sake! I am not in any position to question him again. 

Today's Hypocrites

        In the old days, the news media were quite honest, for they reported all the news factually without bias. Today, it's a different world ~ a lot worse, I am afraid. Most news media even manufacture fake news or distort facts as they please. For example, they would not report on any bad deed done by some politician they like, no matter how horrible it might be; but twist and magnify every fault of another they don't like, ignoring altogether his accomplishments. Holding such a double standard is being unpatriotic and hypocritical. Hear what Jesus said to the Pharisees and scribes and you'll see how hypocrisy offends the Lord. The need to turn to God now is more urgent than ever.

**Going Direct to God

          God is our Father, brother, friend, teacher, spiritual guide and inspiration, protector, Savior, creator, life-sustainer and much more. Therefore, we should be his best children, siblings, friends, students, imitators, etc., and share all our thoughts, feelings, burdens, needs, and everything else with him. The communication and relationship must be direct and open, as we are entirely dependent upon him. This is trust and obedience. Direct learning from him follows. It goes without saying that no one can teach us spiritually as well as the Lord himself. Once you know him intimately, as in union, he speaks directly to your heart and effectively transforms you into a new creature. For results, always go straight to the top.

***No Small Act

        Communion experience. The Lord entered me, with his body and blood, soul and divinity! This was no small act; this was giving me the most loving, awesome, and powerful gift, the Lord God himself! It was the perfect time to open oneself to union with him and be set free!

Faithless Generation

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 8, Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea, calming a storm from a boat he's in. Today if we pray to God for rain or a hurricane to change its course, people would laugh at us – pity they don't know that nothing is impossible with God. No wonder that this faithless generation does not get to see many wonders of God. 

*Self-Importance has No Place

      There is danger in doing the Lord's work to believe that you are indispensable to him, forgetting that he has chosen you to do his work. For example, even though I am blogging almost daily for the benefit of many readers around the world, it is really not me doing my work. I must remember that it is the Lord using me for his glory and no more. If I cannot let my blog go, then I become a slave to myself. Anytime the Lords wants me to stop, it should be OK with me. The detachment to oneself must be thorough or you are not truly free in the Lord. Let all be accomplished through or without us by the Master, for we are mere servants doing what we should do.

**Most Urgent Goal!*

        Do you know that one day when you are with God, all your worries, questions, inner conflicts, unsettled issues, emotional complications, etc., will all be cleared up and resolved, and you shall simply enjoy the peace and freedom in God forever? Hence, to be with God now and forever should properly be your ultimate and most urgent goal!

Good Reason We Need God

        Another good reason why we absolutely need God. The world is full of evil caused by sin and to overcome evil, no one can help us but the living God of love, the Father of Christ our Lord, who alone has the power to take away our sins.