***Follow Christ Only*

         Our No. 1 calling is to be like Christ, and our No. 1 mission is to save souls, for it's Christ's No. 1 mission.

***Another Holy Rule***

        Pity, not hate, the evildoers. So pray for them.

*****Numbing of the Conscience***

         When Russia invaded Ukraine, I saw a case of a world leader invading another country not because his own country was being invaded or the other country was a great evil which needed to be wiped out. Instead I saw the action to be more a power trip. This has so far caused hundreds of thousands of military and civilian deaths, and both sides are still not eager to seek peace. For the sake of not losing face? (This reminds me of how King Herod went ahead and ordered the beheading of John the Baptist.) What has happened to our God-given conscience? We have a generation that goes against anything that's good for all in the name of personal freedom. This is how far we've fallen way from God. 

*****Belief in Jesus Matters!*****

        Today is the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. So Happy Birthday, Holy Mother! The Gospel reading from Matthew 1 tells us that the birth of Jesus fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."
           Now, those who believe in and follow Jesus and those do not believe in nor follow him are on two separate paths leading to opposite ends. The difference cannot possibly be greater, as one leads to eternal life and the other to an existence infinitely worse than nonexistence! 

**Facilitating Our Departure**

         When we leave this world, it'll be a oneway trip, for we won't ever come back to live on earth again. It'll be bye-bye to everything you have forever! You'll also leave your loved ones behind, but you may see some or all of them again, depending upon God's will. Knowing this reality, it'd be wise to get youself detached from everything right now to make your departure smooth and easy. Jesus said in Luke 9, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God." Of course, if you don't care about entering the kingdom of God, then by all means cling to the world as much as you want before your departure.

**Feeling Free

         Communion experience. My life is complete and I am ready to move on—the Lord can truly set us free.

**Tragic Neglect*

         Many people in the world are very shrewd in planning their earthly life, but totally unconcerned about their spiritual life. 

!!!!!Most Important Announcement!!!!!

         Most of us know that Jesus died on a cross, but do you know why he died? The fact is that he died willingly out of love in our place to save us from sin so that we might have eternal life in heaven! If you don't know the reason or know the reason but don't care, you miss the greatest truth on which your entire existence hinges! It's all up to you now.

***To follow Jesus, No Problem**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus addressed the crowds on discipleship. He said to them, "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple" and "Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple." In other words, we must love the Lord first and most, and be detached to all our possessions. It sounds hard, but you can accomplish all that effortlessly with his help. This has been my experience. First, you must get started or nothing will happen. When I first openly asked the Lord to change me in a certain way, he actually made that happen and I was surprised and excited. Then I asked for more and he delivered again. It went on like that until I was completely sold, realizing that the Lord can truly transform me easy if I abandon myself to him. So if you don't make it hard for the Lord, he can turn you into a perfect disciple!

***Beautiful Message

        Only August  24, I blogged Encountering the Lord Head-On about crying to the Lord. Here's a video message related to that. (Try ignoring any mispronounced words by the AI voice.)

****Being Nice Is Not Good Enough****

        Some people are known to be nice and are well liked by others, for they know how to get along and please everyone. If you were like that, it'd be easy to think that you're probably going to heaven. Well, nice people and people that are good enough to get into heaven belong to different categories. The latter must be Christlike. The Lord's most outstanding traits are holiness, humility, and mercy. So to be like him, you must be sin-free, egoless, and forgiving, which you can achieve all through him. Simply being nice can make you miss all three marks and end up somewhere outside heaven.

***The Lord My Fortress*

         Today's Communion experience. My spirit was raised to the level beyond the touch of any evil.

*****Our Bestest News*****

 Follow Jesus and he'll ultimately lead you to ETERNAL JOY!        

***Our Private Battle (a Warning)

         Here's one summary of the life of all those who have heard abut Christ. They fight themselves over whether to let God be their Lord or be lords themselves. The battle can go on their whole lifetime. Bless those who are humble enough to surrender to Christ and follow him, for they will have life eternal in heaven. But pity those who hold onto their pride and do not abandon themselves entirely to Christ, for they risk being cast out by the Lord in the end. All are on earth now and the split begins when they depart from here.

***On Communion Experience**

         You adore the Lord. After you receive him in the Holy Eucharist, he now dwells in you. Adoration becomes more internal. The experience humbles and sanctifies you. More peace and joy ensue.

**Communion Experience

         To receive the Lord is to surrender to him so as to let his love make you whole. 

**Rejoicing in the One Forever New**

         In this world, everything eventually perishes, but Christ remains the same forever—I could say that he remains new forever. This makes following him exciting and satisfying. He's the one to rejoice in always!

***All or Nothing with God*

        If you pray for God's protection against evil or anything, you must be willing to put yourself in his hands. If you pretty much think that you can take care of yourself, then any request for protection just can't be serious. It's like telling God that you love him but don't come too close. With the Lord God, it has to be all or nothing, for you can't possibly trust in any god who doesn't demand total obedience.