***Only Two Paths for Us***

        We have just one Lord, the God of Christ, who is everlasting. We become either his friends or his foes. We get either exalted or humbled by him. After we die, we'll either inherit his kingdom or be cast into the nether world. Everything is clearly laid out before us. Fix your eternity now.

***Our Fundamental Joy

        This is a joy many of us set aside, ignore, or even jeer at, a joy so few ponder, appreciate, or treasure. I am talking about the joy of being saved. God has come to us, made it clear to us by his wonderful words and deeds, including his own sacrifice on the cross and Resurrection, that he wants to save us to enjoy eternal life in heaven, yet many of us have hearts so hardened that they tune out this best news of all. If we do not realize that we are sinners, then we lose all hope of being saved. On the other hand, those who know what salvation is all about are filled with heavenly joy; they can't believe that God loves them this much. It's a joy that will infiltrate their souls and spirits forever.       

**When Our Faith Is Challenged

        Our faith is being tested by God at all times. Times can be so dark that it seems that all we can do is to pray. This challenges us to the core to choose trusting in God all the way or not; it separates the ones with strong faith from those whose faith is weak. Know that God is not just our first or last resort, he is our only resor! Without him, we lose everything. Therefore, always trust in him all the way.

**Believing Without Seeing

        God can speak audibly or appear visually to us if he so chooses, so not hearing or seeing him does not mean at all that he is not with us. Attain union with the Lord through the Holy Eucharist and you'll know him personally without needing to hear or see him. Jesus said to Thomas in John 20:29, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." I choose to be blessed this way. If I ever wish to see the Lord now, it'll be only because I yearn for him.

**:How to Best Follow God

         Since we cannot see the future, we need to trust in God who knows everything and has a plan for each of us. With the Lord, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day (2 Peter 3:8). God has his schedule. Sometimes he changes things depending upon how we respond and pray to him. The best and only thing we can do is to trust in him with no anxiety nor worry, knowing that he is in control and his timing will always be perfect for our greater good. What Jesus said in Matthew 6:34 should help: "Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil." One thing is clear: we must never lose hope in God.

**Most Rewarding Spiritual State

        When we pray to the Lord, we connect with him. And if we pray with all our heart and soul in earnest, that connection becomes most intimate and beautiful. It solidifies your union with him. Sharing everything with the Lord with absolutely no barrier between you and him as one is absolutely the most rewarding state you can be in. After surrendering yourself completely to him, you can finally exclaim "My Lord and my God!" as Thomas did after seeing the Risen Christ.

***God Always Wins

        If you do not yet fully believe in Christ, you are really playing a game with God. If you reject Christ outright, believing that you don't need him, you are playing a deadly game that could end up with you dead for all eternity. Those who believe in him only lukewarmly are also playing a risky game. It's a foregone conclusion that you cannot beat God in any game you play, for he created you and knows all that's in your heart. So wise up.

**God More than Uplifting

          There are many things you see, hear, or read about that uplift the soul. Examples are beautiful landscapes, great music, and inspiring stories of saints or other extraordinary human beings. But only Christ our Savior can save our soul.

**Faith over Understanding

        We never know what can happen tomorrow. Life can be full of unexpected twists and turns. Looking back on what we've gone through, we often see things clearly. What I have learned in following Christ is that I don't need to understand why certain things happen that seem to thwart my progress in certain endeavor. As I plow forward, I learn more and more about everything and finally the greater good emerges at the end as all problems are resolved. This is very satisfying and is often how the Lord puts us through. We only need to keep our faith, knowing that by following him faithfully, we'll ultimately arrive at heaven. 

***What Is Success?

         Do you feel that you are successful in life? What is success to you? Let me share with you what true success is. It has nothing to do with what people think of you or even what you think of yourself. It is not measured by any standard of the world. True success is measured by how you succeed in doing God's will. If you are totally obedient to the Lord and accomplish whatever he wishes you to do, then you are a resounding success in his eyes! So it all has to do with what God thinks of you. When you succeed this way, you are a fulfilled and happy person and are ready for heaven.   

**Glad Earthly Life Is Finite

        Today I feel good that I don't live forever in this world and that I shall die one day and return to God our loving Father. You have to be out of your mind to want to live in this sinful world forever. Happiness is not good enough if it's not forever; that's how the Lord has made us. I rejoice that I've found Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life. He is what I ever wanted and need. He fulfills me for all eternity! 

**To Make God Happy or Not*

        If we reject the God of Christ, he will reject us. If we believe in him with all our heart and with all our soul, we'll receive all the blessings he can give us. So God will take us as seriously as we take him. Rightly, we reap what we sow. It's in making God happy that we become joyful.

***God as Our Friend

        Another new day: another day for us to praise God.  Today the Lord made me see the difference between him a good human friend. If I have the best human friend in the world, he'll probably help me as much as he can. But if I ask for his help time and again, eventually he would want me to stop bothering him. Now, take our God, if we truly need his help, he will never reject us. In fact, it pleases him immensely to know that we trust in him as our Father. So even if we ask for his help unceasingly, he won't mind at all, for his love for us is great.

**To Be Free of Material Possessions

        Most of us in this country accumulate a lot of material things over our lifetime. I remember one family who belonged to my church two years ago. The couple had accumulated 300 boxes, some of which quite sizable, of Christmas decorations. Every year they started decorating their house about a month ahead of Christmas, and of course had to take down and pack away everything later in the new year. Looking at my own possessions, because my hobbies had been music and photography, I still have many CDs, LPs, music scores and books, a piano, photographic prints, matting and framing materials, a mat cutter, etc. I know that when I leave this world, it's be saying goodbye to them forever. This makes me see that we should start detaching ourselves from all our material possessions as we age. The only way to succeed here is to attach ourselves to the Lord God alone. Again, surrendering to him is the key, not trying to fight yourself and struggle on your own. Once more, it comes down to whether we let God truly be our Lord or not—something we must face.

***Call to Be Courageous

         Today's message from Fr. Mark Goring comes at the perfect time. Christians need to hear it and make a choice.          

***Keep Up Your Faith

          The world has got so evil and corrupt that they are crucifying our Lord again. After the first Crucifixion before his Resurrection, the disciples became so demoralized and didn't know what to do. But Resurrection changed all that. Now we should always be full of hope, knowing that the Lord is alive and with us. Therefore, continue praying and never give up. To lose hope is to fall into the Devil's trap. Our final victory is assured. Nothing is impossible for God if we have faith. Rejoice in the Lord always.

**Before We Depart

        As we get older, we start getting ready for meeting God. One of the things we sometimes forget is straightening out our relationships with all others on earth before we depart. If you haven't made peace with your fellow humans yet, how can you possibly expect that you'll get along with God?   

***God Most Beautiful

        It's only 11 days to Christmas and Christians are exchanging glad tidings with each other. I just received an email about a YouTube video on Christmas music. The singing was wonderful, but I couldn't help thinking that no matter how beautiful what we have created to glorify God might be, it still falls far short of the true beauty of the Lord himself, for we are finite and our capabilities are limited. To appreciate and enjoy the full beauty of the Lord, get to know him thoroughly first. Once you attain union with him, all other beauties fade away.