**Rejoicing Called For

         We have a most merciful God who loves us, understands us thoroughly, and wants to save us with all his heart. All we need to do is to believe in him and obey him. Instead of ignoring him, we should rejoice every moment with gratitude and anticipation!

***Pleading with Worldlings***

        The world is wasting a lot of its time. Many do not believe in God or love him as much as they should and many are embracing evil. It's most lamentable. God loves us and unquestionably will vanquish all evil in the end. Many will be saved, but many will be lost too. If you sin, you just have to pay a price. But the God of Christ can remove all our sins and save us if you believe in him. That's why it's called the good news. It's actually fantastic, much better than good. Ask for his mercy right now before time runs out on you. Do yourself this favor you need the most. Please!

**Disobedience, the Root of All Evil

        Since disobedience to God causes us to love money, it's even more correct to say "disobedience to God is the root of all evil" than "money is the root of all evil." To obey God alone requires that we trust in him alone and not in anyone else, ourselves included. 

***Most Beautiful Relationship with God

        If you keep the God of Christ out of your life, naturally you'll never get to know him. He already knows you, so to know him best, you only need to open up wide to him. Then he'll come and reveal himself and whatever you need to know to attain eternal joy to you. There is no relationship more rewarding and beautiful than you and the Lord freely exchanging thoughts with each other at any time. 

*Don't Miss Out on Getting into Heaven

        Today's Gospel reading from Mark 9 is on the transfiguration of Jesus. Peter, James, and John were with him on the high mountain. He was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white. Then Elijah appeared along with Moses, and they conversed with Jesus. A cloud came over them and from it came God's voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." The whole scene was just splendid and awesome! Don't you wish that you can be in heaven too? You surely can if you stick with Jesus.

***Disobedience Begets Confusion

        In my last post, I extolled perfect obedience to God. Today, we have disobedience to God everywhere, within and without the Church. Ralph Martin's new video brings an excellent message that may shock you, but we need to stay informed. This we already know: Confusion can only come from the Devil.

*****Obedience Is Being Humble*****

         If we obey the Lord, we'll automatically be humble and ask for the right things. What if I ask the Lord to make me a great saint? This doesn't sound like I am very humble. Yet this is what the Lord wants to hear from us, for he had said to his disciples, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). We make such a request only to obey the Lord, and it does take great humility to obey whatever he tells us to do and not question him. Perfect obedience overrides all consequences. Abraham is a great example. When God tested him by asking him to offer up his son Issac as a burnt offering, he readily compiled. Of course, our perfect model is Christ himself who died for our sins in perfect obedience to the Father. Yes, we are to do God's will single-mindedly with all our heart and with all our soul.

***Treating Jesus Right

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 8, we hear Jesus say to the people, "Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words . . . the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angles." It sounds fair enough. Thank you, Lord. Now I know exactly how to treat you and your words so that you may be proud of me and grant me eternal life. 

***World in Crisis

        The Holy Church is supposed to be the light in the world, making disciples of all nations and proclaiming the gospel to every creature, keeping the souls of the faithful safe and defending mankind against evil. The fact that today the Church seems to be more in line with the world than the teachings of Christ indicates that we are truly in end times, you might say, and the Lord will be compelled to do something to wake all of us up. I have no doubt that his Holy Church will be purified, restored, and become stronger than ever. Meanwhile, we need to double down on praying harder than ever.

**Obeying God Unconditionally

        We are to obey God unconditionally. This means that we don't just do his will, but also do it willingly and with joy. For inspiration, you only need to look at how Jesus dealt with the Passion he underwent. 

**Most Satisfying Involvement

        In the past, I have been involved in mathematics, product design, rental business, photography, CD collection, etc. They're all interesting. Now that I am primarily involved in saving souls, I can say that it is the most satisfying involvement yet. For you remain in communion with the Lord at all times and experience freedom, peace, and joy. Shall I say that the Lord God is the best boss there is and working for him the fringe benefits are fantastic?

**Same Lord with Us Today

        Even though we were not at the Last Supper, we still receive the same body and blood of the Lord Jesus at every Mass as the Apostles did at the Last Supper. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The Lord fulfills his promise he made in the last verse of the Gospel Matthew that he is with us always, until the end of the age.

*Our Perfect Lord

        It is by Christ's perfection, especially his love and humility, that we are made to see our own imperfections, shortcomings, weaknesses, and faults. He is the perfect one for us to imitate and follow, the perfect shepherd for us who are his sheep. And he is also the shining light that dispels all darkness around us and keeps us on the path to heaven. Rejoice that we have such a Lord!

***Our Souls, Most Precious*****

         Once when I was traveling with my wife Maria in Yucatan, Mexico, I almost lost her. Fortunately, I found her again. I mention this because we all experience great pain when we lose a loved one, temporarily or permanently. I thought of God the Father who loves us infinitely more than we can possibly love others. Imagine how much pain we would cause him if one of us is lost to him forever! If you have any heart at all, you should realize this. So do your best not to sin, and if you failed, get your sin forgiven without delay, for you mustn't lose your soul! You are loved by the Father, the saints, the good angels, and all those who are heaven bound, and that's a lot of people. Nevertheless, God's love alone should be sufficient for you to want to safeguard you most precious soul. Heaven awaits you and is ready to give you the biggest possible welcome when you turn to the Father to tell him that you want to come home to him. Or you'd rather remain an outcast to be shut out of heaven forever? 

*Faith in Jesus

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 8, a blind man begged Jesus to heal him. Jesus laid hands on the man's eyes and his sight was restored. To those who don't believe in Jesus yet, surely if you ask him to help you see the spiritual truth, he will heal you spiritually blindness too.

**Our Crucial Moment

        In today's first reading from James 1, the Apostle writes, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world." I'd like to go over that last bit of advice: to keep oneself unstained by the world. Everyday we turn on the news, watch some shows on TV, or just hear others talk around us, the world is trying to stain us! To protect ourselves, we need to dwell completely in the Lord. This is accomplished by attaining union with him. There's not another way, for only God can keeps our soul unstained and safe. The fact is that God is always inviting us to abandon ourselves in him to achieve this union, but we must will to accept his invitation to make it happen. For those who have not responded yet, you are facing this crucial moment right now. This invitation will expire when you expire.

***Second Greatest Gift

         The greatest gift the Lord God has given us is of course Himself. Christ the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Eucharist we've received are all Him. After the Lord, I personally rank the Holy Mother as our next greatest gift. She, conceived without sin, loves us with God's pure love, prays for us unceasingly, and is our best partner in doing the will of God the Father. She's the Mother in whom we can fully trust and find protection and guidance as we return to the Father. With her in company, the journey is now a total delight! 

**Making an Effort in Serving God

        To serve God, we must always make an effort. I am not saying that we struggle hard in any way. In fact, we should never struggle in spiritual life; instead, we rest in the Lord to let him help us do all the necessary work. To make an effort simply means to not miss any opportunity. It's too easy to sit back and skip doing some of the little thing for the sake of God, when doing them can mean a lot to him and benefit our own spiritual life greatly. I can still recall the pop song "Little Things Mean a Lot" of the 1950s. The title means something to me now.