***That Clean Feeling*

         Communion experience. I felt exhilarated that the Lord could make me as white as snow.

**Feel Free to Ask*

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus said to his disciples, "And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" After hearing what Christ has said here, we should never ever hesitate to go to the Father to ask for whatever we need.

***Our Interceding Power

         In today's Gospel reading from Genesis 18, Abraham intercedes for Sodom. He asked the LORD, "Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty? Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city; would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it?" The LORD replied, "If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham asked again and again, reducing the number of innocent people to forty-five, forty, thirty, twenty, and at least ten, and the LORD each time yielded. This shows that we can influence the LORD if we are persistent. So, feel free to access his power to overcome evil, to save souls, to remain free ... anything that glorifies him. 

**Most Assured Investment

         I knew someone once who was an astute business person. He knew how to find good investment opportunities and made a lot of money. Finally he bought a big mansion and a Maserati. He's always friendly and honest, so I respected him. Then one day he made a bad judgment and lost all his money and had to declare bankruptcy,—I really felt sorry for him. Of course, such occurrences are common in the business world. I bring this up to say that by contrast, when you invest all your faith in Christ, the chance that you would be lost is now zero! So be smart and invest in the Lord before investing anywhere else.

*****Undying Faith***

         If you truly trust in Christ and follow him as your Lord, you would always hope in him and keep going no matter what happens. Suppose you are ill and ask the Lord to heal you and it doesn't happen, you still believe that it could still happen. Either way you would accept his will and never question or doubt him. In other word, you have an undying faith. This is what he deserved and will earn you eternal life.

*****URGENT QUESTION*****

        Here I am at it again, because the message is so very important and urgent! Life is short—most of us die between 60 and 100 with many leaving even earlier. The central good (fantastic) news is that the Lord God of Christ loves us so much that he wants to give all of us eternal life. He has already paved the way for us. Are you going to embrace or ignore it? 

**Lesson Learned**

         Today is the Feast of St. James, Apostle. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 20, Jesus said to his disciples, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave." The lesson learned here is that we must not look down on anyone, not even on the evildoers. We should serve everyone and leave all judgments to God. 

***Falling in Love with Love***

        In this world, we fall in love with many things: people who are attractive to us, things we enjoy doing or having, generally things that make us feel good. Then we encounter Christ and fall in love with the Lord because of his perfection and holiness. This is unlike any of the experiences we had that can actually enslave us; the new experience with Christ liberates us to the core! We have fallen in love with love as God is love!

***Unbelievable Encounter***

        Communion experience. I couldn't believe that I came into this world and found the One who could completely fulfill me! My existence is now complete. Praise God! 

***The Best of All Things***

        There are many, many nice enjoyable things in this life, but the best of all things is yet to come. It is being with Christ in heaven for all eternity!

**Taking God Seriously*

        When we pray the Lord's prayer, we come to the part "thy will be done." It really means that we should do God's will ourselves first or we would be praying hypocrites. 

**Most Beautiful Peace***

        The peace of Christ is the unique profound peace that's beyond our understanding. It is to be preserved in the hearts, treasured and enjoyed, by those of us who experience it.

***Levels of Meditation**

         At the lowest level, you focus upon how you can love God more. At the highest level, you forget about yourself and focus upon the greatness and the glory of God alone. Guess which level will bring about greater spiritual growth. Hint: Being selfless is always better than being self-centered.

*****Warning from the Lord*****

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus says to his disciples, "To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away." It shows that we'll end up being either rich or poor, spiritually; being either saved or damned. Accept Christ now and you won't have to worry about that anymore!

***God Is Attrative Because . . .

he is most holy!

**Super sharp Conscience*

        A super sharp conscience is to be treasured and thankful to God for, as it makes you sharply aware of right from wrong. This guards you against committing any sin. The more you belong to Christ, the sharper you conscience becomes, and the happier you get.

***Right Way Seeking God***

         The most effective way to know God or to surrender yourself to him is to go passive, offering zero resistance so that you are wide open to him. I heard once a hypnotist asking his subjects to relax like a sack of potatoes—that's a good metaphor! If you feel stressed about it, you are still fighting yourself.

***Only Way to Enter Heaven***

         Entering heaven is not automatic; you have to work at it. The work involved may be hard or easy, depending upon how you go about it. The most assured way is to surrender yourself completely to Christ. Any deviation from this approach will be less assured or worse.