God wants us to follow him in faith. Otherwise, he would show us instantly what he wants us to do each time and reveal the purpose of it all. Trusting in him with a strong faith is what he wishes.
Saturday, February 23, 2019
*Missing the Boat (repost)
I have been going over my old posts, trying to extract the short to the point sayings from them. I came across this one of September 10, 2015. I hope you'll like it as much as I do.
"Not knowing Jesus is missing the boat that happens to be paradise."
Friday, February 22, 2019
**Fearing Ourselves (repost)
This post of June 26, 2015 is worth reposting. I have shortened it to make it more succinct.
"No need to fear God, for he loves us. No need to fear the evil one, for we have God. Fear only ourselves, for our eternal destiny depends upon if we choose God or the evil one."
To Know You've been Chosen
Today is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 16, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." If you honestly believe as Peter did, then you have been chosen and called to be the Lord's disciple too. Now, follow him.
Letting God Have His Freedom
I arrived at Mass this morning as an empty vessel, a blank canvas, ready for God to fill me with and make me look like whatever he wished.
Thursday, February 21, 2019
***How to Love God?
I was on the tread mill when this question came up and the answer came to me instantly: by unloving ourselves. As long as we love ourselves more than we love God, we do not really love him much. If we can love only him, 100%, then we become free. I have just revealed this simple truth to you. To me, compared to Einstein's E = mc² equation, it's simpler, but in a way even more profound and astounding.
God Ours for the Asking
There is a spiritual world out there. Before I became a Christian, I'd watched people inviting some spirit to come and it just showed up almost instantly. In this country, people who play the ouija board can tell you about this. Of course, those are all evil spirits you cannot trust. The point I want to make is that the Lord God, our creator, is the greatest and most holy spirit. Naturally, if you invite him to come into your life, your heart, he would do just that. Yes, he who loves you is yours for the asking. And he will protect you from all evil.
An Unavoidable Question
In today's Gospel reading from Mark 8, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" We must ask ourselves this same question and know the right answer, and live what we profess to believe in. Again, no escape here. And believing in Jesus must be followed by following him until we know him at least as much as we know ourselves. (Yes, it's possible to know and love Jesus more than you know and love yourself.)
**The Unavoidable!
The world is burying it head in the sand, trying to avoid something that is absolutely avoidable. And that thing is, every one of us will face our God and be judged one day soon; there will be no escape! So I am very concerned about all the souls. I have already woken up and know where I am headed, a great feeling. If you do not pay attention, you are drifting into oblivion, not good.
*Living Without Anxiety
I learned another lesson. God does not want us to be anxious about anything, even if we are doing his work. (Actually, a faithful follower will always be doing his work.) Not to be specific, I've been doing something I sensed to be what he wanted me to proceed, so I started working hard at it, disrupting even my daily routine. Last night I had a bad dream about that which made me lose my peace. I now realize that to do God's work diligently does not mean pushing it as hard as I can. Our Lord waited 30 years before the time was ripe for him to start his ministry. So I must enjoy living, trust in my God, take one step at a time following him, and never set myself any rigid time schedule in advance to follow.
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Monkey Our Ancestor? (repost)
As I was reviewing my old posts, I came across this one of Dec. 8, 2014. I think it's worth reposting it one more time.
"The other day someone asked if her dog could go to heaven. Now, a dog has neither the concept of God nor any moral understanding of good and evil. Thereby, a dog does not have a soul. Without a soul, there is no heaven to speak of. I believe that theology can back me up on this. If dogs have souls, then what about birds, ants, all insects, and bacteria, or even plants? Where do you draw the line? If I am logical to you, then we can see that human beings, who have souls, could not possibly have been evolved from monkeys, who have no soul. Evolution of the soul? No scientists would know how to do research on that."
**God vs. Satan
God and Satan are far apart, for one is all good and the other, all evil. Yet Satan can make himself look like God by producing false miracles, apparitions, visions, prophecies . . . to deceive you. Many today are following certain seers whom the Church has already condemned to be false. We have to be so careful. My advice is to stick to Christ the Lord and the Church. You do not need any miracles to boost your faith. Genuine miracles are there for a particular purpose. False ones are there to distract and confuse you. Satan is cunning, but not smart. If you look closer, there is always something not quite right. I mentioned some years ago that I came across this book written by a woman who claimed to have seen the Blessed Mother and received many messages from her. I flipped through the book, everything seemed to be OK until a chapter close to the end started talking about how the Blessed Mother was reincarnated. At that moment, I dropped the book. So, focus single-mindedly upon Christ. Do you know how thieves and pickpockets steal things from you? They always distract you in some way first.
*God is Fire
We know that God is love. He is also water, for he quenches our thirst. God is also fire, for the Holy Spirit can set our heart ablaze. Do not disrespect or play with this fire lest you get burned or scorched forever. Let it instead purify you to make you clean and ignite your zeal for God, and you'll be filled with joy and transformed into a delight in the Lord's sight.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
***God Is Unique and Real***
God is unique because he is the only one who can enter our hearts, speak to us from within or deposit joy there, take away all that defiles us and make us clean and holy – you know it and you feel it! I experience all these things myself and I am not surprised at all, for he's the one who has made me after all. No one else in this world can even come close. Yes, the Lord God is real – this he let me know from within my heart. (It's so good to have him and to know that he is one with me.) Please open your hearts to let him in to be yours forever too!
**Are You Your Own Enemy?
Telling yourself that becoming a saint is not for you proves that you are your own spiritual enemy.
To Be Made New Again
Communion experience. It was a golden opportunity for me to be made new as thoroughly as possible by the Lord.
***Be Proud of the Lord!
The Lord is everything to us. He is our creator, our Father, and our Savior! Therefore, we should be proud of him and proclaim his name and greatness boldly and loudly to the whole world! Shame on you if you consider yourself a Christian but hide him from others! If you are not proud of him, how can you expect him to be proud of you? With the Lord, either you are with him or you are not.
Our Role Before God
In today's Gospel reading from Mark 8, Jesus talked about the leaven of the Pharisees, and his disciples did not quite follow. We are like that too with hardened hearts. In general, the Lord made me see that even if we do not understand what's going on, he knows exactly what he is doing, and he always prepares everything in the background for us. We must see that his plan would turn out well if we just trust and follow, not to get in his way.
Another Fr. Goring Video
Here's Fr. Mark Goring's latest video. I enjoy listening to him because he always gives a compelling message. This one is entitled "If Jesus is just 'another' way, forget about celibacy!"
Monday, February 18, 2019
**Very Sad Reality**
At Mass this morning, I realized that Jesus just doesn't come up in our ordinary conversations. When I was active in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement, Jesus was mentioned a lot within the charismatic circle. Then you started talking like that to non-charismatic Catholics and met only silence – they probably thought you were nuts or something. No doubt when Christ was on earth with us, people talked about him a lot after witnessing the wonderful deeds he performed. They were so overwhelmed and couldn't keep quiet. Today, most believers seem to have assigned the Lord to a compartment separate from theirs, living their lives by themselves. I do recall one pilgrimage I went on though – the priest who accompanied us was filled with the Holy Spirit. The first thing he told us each morning was what he learned from the Lord the previous day. Why can't all of us be like that? Yes, the Lord is real and most exciting to know!
**Cool Spiritual Progress
When I was still the old me not that many years ago, I was a lot more anxious about getting things done. If I was on a project, I just wanted to finish it before I could relax – no time to waste. I am a lot different today. Even though I am doing something to which I believe God has lead me, I feel very calm about it all. If I don't get it done, it's OK. After all, it's his work and his call. If I die now, well, that must be what he has planned too. If he wants me to get it accomplished, I am not going to die early. This is clear thinking, good logic, showing trust. I am very happy about the new cool me.
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Completing Our Trust
Attaining union with God is simply letting God be our Lord. Prior to union, we are our own gods in our lives. By relinquishing our hold onto our lives, God properly takes over and we are freed, now receiving power directly from him. Our trust is complete and order restored.
No Partial Following the Lord
In Luke 14.26, Jesus said to the crowds, "If any one 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. It occurs to me that this condition applies also when we go to him to surrender to him. He deserves our entire, sole devotion. His self-giving requires our self-giving.
Saturday, February 16, 2019
***Our Mortal Enemy
It is sin. If we lose our battle to sin, we will spend time in horrific misery for all eternity. If we get sin lifted off us by God, we'll experience the most exuberant feeling and live in paradise for all eternity. So, heed my advice – take sin seriously and defeat it when you still can.
One Example of a Hypocrite
Anyone who believes that the way to "liberate" people is to give them all kinds of rights and free stuff, but is not willing to suffer in any way himself is an egoistic hypocrite.
**Do You Realize That . . .
the joys and the sorrows we receive in this life are nothing compared to the joys or sorrows we shall receive after we die?
God's Flexible Mercy
God does not judge us like a college professor who fails you if you score below some prefixed mark or passes you after you have earned enough credit. I am sure that in some cases there is no question that the soul will go to heaven or hell. Anyway, I believe God will consider many factors at judgment time. If you are right on the borderline, he may just let you pass. The best policy is to love the Lord as much as possible and we don't have to be concerned about how we'll be judged.
Friday, February 15, 2019
***Our Only Savior
By default, we are going to lose our soul to Satan! Therefore, we must turn and submit ourselves to God, our creator and only Savior.
***Our Spiritual Jam***
The Lord made me see that we have inherited the original sin and ended up in this jam, helpless on our own, and he is committed to saving us because he loves us. It would be erroneous to think that we are basically evil, wanting to fight him. If that were the case, he needn't be merciful to us at all. With this understanding, we see that we are just capable of being bad as well as being good. The important thing to see is that by God's mercy, we can be freed and restored to holiness. All it takes is to believe in and follow Christ, something we can easily accomplish once we see that it is what God has planned for us.
***Jesus Our Secret Help
Great news! Accept any challenge from Jesus our Lord and he'll secretly assist you to make sure that you succeed. Now, aim high and tell him that you are ready to become a saint. (I am serious.)
Duality of Being Christian (reposted from 3/9/2013)
A Christian is both timid and bold – timid because he realizes that he is finite before God; bold because God empowers him. A Christian is both humble and proud – humble because God is awesome to him; proud because he has God. A Christian is both invisible and visible –invisible because he hides himself in God; visible because God dwells in him.
God Calling!
If you feel that you are somewhat tired of living in this world, know that it is God calling you to respond to him!
*Are You Aware?
Are you aware that God has done all the work for us to get back to him in heaven and it is now time for us to respond to him? I am not kidding. The time we have is the time we have on earth, not much.
***Easiest Person to Love
I have family members and friends who love me and whom I also love, but our love is so much inferior to God's love for us. Here's how God loves us. He always listens to us, understands us perfectly, is sympathetic and most patient, never rushes to judgment, never points the finger at us, is faithful and trustworthy, ready to help always. Unlike us, his love is totally selfless and pure, the greatest. See how much he went through in order to save us. Strictly speaking, only he knows how to love, for we all fall short miserably. The least we could do is to accept his love, hoping that we'll learn how to love better. All human beings, being imperfect, are more difficult for us to love without his help. The Lord has to be the easiest person for us to get along with and love.
Thursday, February 14, 2019
**Mixed-up Hypocrite
This is someone who wants to ban all the guns and rifles but totally supports killing the unborn at any stage. What a joke!
Heavenly Experience
Remain completely passive in the Lord, letting him soak you with his love and draw you deep into him.
Be Nothing to Get God's Attention
If you think nothing of yourself, you will get full attention from the Lord. As Jesus has said, whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
***Our Critically Important Choice
In this life, we face this critical choice: to follow Christ or the world. Our eternal existence is at stake!
God's Holy Power
In today's Gospel reading from Mark 7, a Greek woman begged Jesus to drive a demon out of her daughter. Because of her faith, Jesus did it. When the Lord willed, it was done. I am thinking that it's a good thing that we don't have such power, for if we do, we would surely mess up everything. The Lord will always will what is right and best for us – this we can be sure of. Trust in and follow him and all will work out fine personally for us.
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
*From Pagan to Saint
Here is the complete spiritual journey summarized. Part 1 – from not believing to believing. Critical point: when you repent of your sins. You search for God on your own and reach that point critical for salvation. Part 2 – from believing to being a saint. Critical point: when you surrender yourself completely to God. You struggle mostly on your own from the beginning and the critical point is difficult for many to approach. But once you go beyond it, you are powered by God and the journey becomes a delight.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
At God's Mercy
"All at your mercy" – this was how I felt toward the Lord at the end of Mass. So, hear me, Lord. And I gladly submitted myself to him once more.
***Cool Experience
Communion experience. My eyes do not see the Lord and my ears do not hear the Lord, yet my heart sees and hears him. This is really cool. Christ is now my life, my heart, and my soul – he's this close to me!
Spiritual Progress
I am happy that nowadays my thoughts no longer dash around uncontrollably, for I am able to remain perfectly still in the Lord.
Don't Tell Me There's No God
It amazes me today that the earth would orbit around the sun once a year, year after year. How is this possible if there is no God?
**Mankind's Biggest Tragedy
I dare say that deep in their hearts most people know that money and material possessions cannot make them truly happy, yet they still strive to get rich and accumulate material things. It often takes something shocking or unexpected like a death, an accident, a serious illness . . . to wake them up. The biggest tragedy has to be that people do not want to know the God who only wants to save them.
Monday, February 11, 2019
Jesus and the Avant-Garde
What does Jesus and the avant-garde have in common? In a changing world, the avant-garde is always avant-garde, while Jesus remains the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Forever Refreshing and New
Communion experience. Each reception of the Holy Eucharist is a refreshing new experience, for the Lord is forever refreshing and new.
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