Sin has no power over God; it has only power over us! When sin destroys our soul, we are destroyed forever. To continue to sin is heading straight toward a place where the suffering of the souls makes me shudder. Jesus has changed everything. Acknowledge that he is our savior and we are saved. With him, sin loses all its power over us. We can respond to God or remain an eternal fool.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Discerning God's Calling
All Christians want to know God's calling or vocation for them. Know that his ultimate calling is for us to be one with him because when we attain union with him, we will know his will. This is the fast track to discerning what God's specific callings for us are.
Standing Before the Lord
Today's Gospel acclamation, Luke 21.36: Be vigilant at all times and pray that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man ~ Jesus said this. That we shall stand before him one day is inevitable. Sins weaken us, so to be vigilant is to be sure that they are taken away by the Lord as soon as possible. Of course, if you are pure enough to receive Holy Communion, you should have the strength to stand before him. Nevertheless, the best preparation is made by seeking union with God. When you attain it, you'd want to go to him in earnest so as to meet your most beloved.
Again, God Is Real
Throughout history to the present, there have been many who yearned for God, experienced a calling, believed in him and followed him joyfully even to death (for example, the Christian martyrs). If we just happened to be on earth by some kind of accident with God nonexisting, I don't believe what I described above could ever have occurred. Intuitively, I again know that God exists and has made it possible for us to know him.
God Ever-Present
When I got up around six this morning, I did not turn on any light and saw that it was still quite dark outside. In this quiet darkness, it was easy to sense your loneness. Yet immediately I knew that Jesus was present, more certain than I knew that the sun would soon rise.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Jesus, Savior and Sanctifier
Communion reflections. When Jesus went on the cross, he carried all our sins upon himself. We surrender to him and we become clean. When we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, all his love enters us. We surrender to him and we become holy.
Spiritual IQ
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus told the crowd the parable of the rich fool. The fool is the rich man who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God. He says to himself, "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!," not knowing that his life will be demanded of him that night. Here's someone who probably has a lot of business acumen, but a low spiritual IQ. Obviously, a high intellectual IQ can get you into a university, but you would need a high spiritual IQ to get into heaven.
Journey of Faith
I still remember when I first became a Christian, there were instants at which I sensed the existence (not presence) of God to keep me going in my journey of faith. As I persisted, my faith grew, but I was still amazed by others of stronger faith. When I asked the Holy Spirit to baptize me during my involvement in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement, things started to happen. I actually experienced the presence of God and his power of transforming us. When you let the Holy Spirit take over, your spiritual growth soars without effort on your part. Those were the memorable four and a half years of my life. Finally, the Lord withdrew and the time had arrived for me to surrender to him so that his graces might pour freely into me. Now I do not have to make myself believe anymore ~ the faith is automatically in place as I enjoy his presence within me and about me. Throughout the entire process, God remained gentle, patient, and loving. He truly respected my free will in order to make my faith meaningful to me. What a great Lord!
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Ever Present Urgency
Today I particularly feel the urgency for the world to turn to the Lord before it's too late. Since Jesus can come at any time and we can die at any time, that urgency remains ever present. Every moment we have is precious, an opportunity for us to glorify God and not to be squandered in sinning against God. Both good and bad things happen. It is only when bad things happen that we wish they have not happened.
No Fair Again
Communion experience. I felt great joy in receiving the Lord, so beautiful, loving, and holy; yet so many ignore, reject, or even blaspheme him. Where is fairness? Know that when we hurt the Lord, we end up ultimately hurting ourselves the most. When we love him, we love ourselves too and become happy.
Unfair to God
When we wish to speak to God, he is all ears and jubilant. Then when he wishes us to hear him, we harden our hearts or play deaf. How unfair!
God Is Real!
I have posted on this blog over 5,000 times for the sole purpose of letting all know that God is real, that he loves us and is longing for our love, and that he is to be experienced and enjoyed. I am not forcing myself in any way to say all these things for his sake ~ it just comes forth from my heart naturally as the Holy Spirit directs and inspires me. And it's a great honor and joy to serve the Lord, our Father, our brother, and our teacher. I'd like to emphasize that God wants to be one with you all; he wants you to experience his love, his power, and his holiness. There is nothing more exciting than letting him transform you into a new creature, good enough to enter heaven. As the father said to the elder brother of the prodigal son in the parable, "Everything I have is yours." This is the kind of relationship God desires to have with you. We are so privileged and blessed that we can get to know our God so intimately through Christ. Let him break you down and build you up again, and you'll know that I am speaking what I know to be the truth.
Saturday, October 17, 2015
OK With God?
If you think you are OK with your boss or a family member or friend, you are OK. But if you think you are OK with God, then you are not OK if you are not sure about it. With God, it's no light matter. You can't "earn" salvation if you are casual about it. God means business because he and his words are totally trustworthy .
Sweet Union
Communion experience. I have heard much beautiful music, but no music can possibly express the sweetness of union with God in the Holy Eucharist. All I could do was enjoying the Lord in deep gratitude.
Warnings From God
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven." To me, these sayings could only have come from God himself. The warnings are well for us to remember. We must never, never blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, for he is God!
Abandonment in God
Total abandonment in God is entering the Lord to discover his wonders and experience true freedom, with the Holy Spirit teaching you everything. It's entering the kingdom of God to be one with love and beauty. God is all ours to enjoy, now and forever!
How to Live
The first verse of this morning's entrance antiphon from Galatians 2 at Mass: I am crucified with Christ, yet I live; no longer I, but Christ lives in me. The whole process of living can be summed up this way: Do I live or do I let Christ live in me? We have our free will. We feel the tug from God, but we turn away or resist ~ this goes on throughout our whole life. It's our choice to live triumphantly and free in God or to hide and cling to ourselves. It's just so hard to let go of oneself ~ the crux of the matter. Happy is the one who can abandons himself completely to God.
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