Show Others The Light

Acts 3:11-26; Psalms 8:2-9; Luke 24:35-48

The bible is full of stories of our failure to see God’s goodness and heed God’s commands and direction for us, not to mention, our lack of faith, as clouded by our own limited knowledge of everything. We find comfort in relying on ourselves than on the Lord. We like to be in control of everything. This pride has caused us to sin countless times. Even Jesus’ closest disciples were guilty of taking matters into their own hands, and one of then didn’t even give Jesus a chance to forgive him. Yet, the Lord constantly shows us that there is a better way – His way. When everything else has failed, The Lord’s way proves to be the only way and the right way.

The Lord has on countless times, revealed His true nature to us through the prophets, messages, the miracles, and the person of Jesus Christ. In repentance and faith in Jesus only can we be saved from sin, and triumph over any trial and sickness. The Lord did this to His followers back in His time so that they may be witnesses of the power of God’s love over everything, even evil.

We are called by Jesus to be witnesses. With this, He is not asking us to preach or talk about the many miracles that the Lord has performed, nor talk about His love and mercy to others. We are asked to be shining examples of His goodness by letting others experience His love and mercy by being compassionate and forgiving through our ways. He wants us to show kindness and generosity, simplicity and honesty to others, which may be considered miracles to others, especially in today’s world where it is surrounded by greed, pride, arrogance, and materialism. The world is corrupt, and it needs witnesses to remind the people that the Lord exists, and that the world can be a better place to live if we follow Him. We need to remind the world just as Jesus reminded His disciples that He is present among us, walking with us in our every experience of life, in happy times and in times of trials, despair and grief. We need to let others know that they are not alone, and that they are loved. We can do all these by being examples to others rather than preaching in words, for it is very easy to preach the wisdom coming from God rather than doing what God teaches. If others see you as a fine example of what a Christian should be, a lot of people will be touched and will be inspired to do the same.

Seek The Lord

Acts 3:1-10; Psalms 105:1-9; Luke 24:13-35

Today’s readings remind us that we should not forget God’s undying love for us, His promises to us, and that we should remain faithful to Him. Once God has decided on something, nothing will prevent Him from fulfilling His promise. The promise of forgiveness and the cleansing of our souls have been fulfilled and given to us through the risen Christ. The Lord’s graces are there for all who seek it. As long as we walk in faith and live the faith, we will be blessed. God’s blessings however doesn’t mean prosperity and an abundance of material things. The Lord may not bless us with gold or silver, but we will be provided with blessings that are much better and more meaningful than gold and silver. These are spiritual blessings that make us happily involved with the Lord no matter how much or little you are materially blessed with, regardless of whether you are in your highs or lows. They may take the form of teachings when we are lost, miracles, unexplained events, as well as ordinary events, and many others. Having a real relationship with the Lord matters more than having having a bliss with material things which He gives us. Material things may disappear, but the Lord’s blessings consisting of an abundance of love and grace will never disappear. The Lord does bless us materially as a result of His love for us, but we should not focus on what He gives us, but focus on His love for us and how we should reciprocate. We are also blessed materially for a reason. When He does, He wants us to bless others with it. When we focus on material things and things that are not of God, we tend to misuse the blessings that God gives us, plus these material things tend to replace God in our lives. Satan focused on the power given to him by God, and look what happened. We will never be able to recognize God, His ways, and His blessings even if they are right in front of us when we are focused elsewhere.

The Israelites focused so much on their freedom from the Romans, Little did they know that Jesus was trying to set them free from sin right from the start, which is much better than just being liberated from physical slavery, for we can be free even if we’re slaves. However, we can not be free when we’re enslaved to sin, even if we are as free as birds. We will always have a space of emptiness within us, if we don’t have Jesus in our hearts. They were slaves to sin and Jesus was trying to them free, and He finally made this offer of freedom free for all after He died and rose again. The problem still reject this freedom and focus on so many other things instead of this offer of redemption, so they remain slaves to sin.

We should be aware of the Lord’s presence in our everyday lives. Christ walks with in our every trial, joy, and pain. Even if we abandon Him just as we did before in His earthly life, He will never abandon us. All we need to do is believe in the promise that he brings, and live in faith according to His teachings, and we will always be blessed.

Do not focus on our needs, but focus on the Lord and His teachings, and He will provide for our needs.

Humility and Perseverance In The Lord

Acts 2:36-41; Psalms 33:4-22; John 20:11-18

The readings in the bible for today reminds us to stay faithful and humble no matter how successful we may be in life, or how far we have reached in our goals. The bible tells us not to rely too much on ourselves, for our efforts based on our own plans alone will never be fruitful compared to doing things as guided by God.

We can try to outsmart others by cheating, lying and boasting about ourselves and our good deeds. We will be able to gain praises from those around us but in the end, we end up with nothing but emptiness. No amount of material things will prevent us from being empty and sad. Being materially wealthy isn’t a sign of security. The Lord can take everything that He blesses you with and you can still end up being helpless the moment He does this. If our goal is just material in nature, then we only gain material things and nothing more. However if our goal is to follow what is right and good in the eyes of God, regardless of how blessed we are materially or not, we will always be blessed with inner peace and happiness, and our world would be filled with love. The things that are of God last eternally while material things don’t last long. Even a person who wins the lottery is bound to be poor in a matter of a time, if he does not have the Lord’s guidance.

Selfishness and pride are the worst deterring factors that prevent us from receiving God’s graces. When we are proud, we do not see our mistakes, for in our eyes, we see none. We become blind to sin when we are proud. It is when we become humble, loving and selfless that we start to see the goodness of others and the opportunity to learn many lessons being taught to us by God, many of these through other people around us, as well as situations or trials that may arise.

When we are filled with God’s graces, we are filled with love and compassion, become sensitive to other people’s feelings, and we become remorseful and aware of our own wrongdoings, unlike when we are proud and when we think highly of ourselves. It was pride that caused Satan to fall into sin. He felt highly of himself that he challenged God, our Creator. We all know what happened next.

Based on the bible, Mary Magdalene was possessed with 7 demons, but was cured by Jesus. We don’t know how she was cured, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or financially, but we know that Jesus touched her life. The moment Jesus cured her until His last day on Earth, Mary remained very loyal to Jesus, and was willing to share in His suffering. She witnessed both the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, even when it was dangerous for her to do so. What mattered to her was her love for Him more than anything else, even in the face of danger.

Even with 2 armed guards stationed at the tomb to thwart away any of Jesus’ followers, Mary nevertheless risked herself to visit the tomb at dawn of the third day to tend to Jesus’ body. Due to her undying loyalty to Jesus, she was blessed with being the first person to see the risen Christ. She was also privileged enough to be the person to share the good news to the apostles.

Like Mary Magdalene, we search for Jesus and seek for His blessing and healing. If we stay as loyal and faithful as Mary did despite of risks and uncertainties in life, we may experience the joy of Christ when He reveals Himself to us.

Are you like Mary, or does your faith in the Lord crumble the moment you experience signs of difficulty?

 

On Mutual Love

Romans 12:9-21; Proverbs 6:16-19

The Lord tells us to love one another, not just ourselves, and love what is good and hate what is evil. The Lord despises proud hearts that look down on others. Hating what is evil pertains to hating the act of wrongdoing that a sinner does, but not the sinner himself. Do not hate the sinner, for we are all sinners. We shouldn’t judge one another for we have no place in judging one another. Only the sinless and pure have the right to judge. Judging is the job of the Lord. However, we do have a right to rebuke one another out of love and concern, if such actions are against what the Lord teaches us.

There is a difference between rebuking and scolding or confronting the person. Rebuking is what Jesus did in His earthly life. Rebuking involves love and concern for the person, while scolding and confronting and and getting mad at the person involves traces of pride, selfishness, self-righteousness and lack of concern for the feelings of the other person. No matter how harsh the person is to you, you should still treat him with love and respect and never curse him. No matter how harsh that person is, if we rebuke him but still love and respect him, unexplainable things happen in his head. This is the grace and power of God working in his mind. Such is guilt. This is how God works. Take for example, Judas, who killed himself after betraying the Lord. Conscience and guilt seeped in. If we coerce them with the same treatment as we receive, then nothing good will ever come out of it. It’s like opening another can of worms.

We should watch the words that come out of our mouths, especially when we feel offended, hurt, or feel like correcting others. Instead on focusing on ourselves and our own feelings or well-being, we should focus on the fact that we are all sinners, including ourselves, and we should also focus on others. The suffering that we currently have are in no match for what Jesus, Son of God, suffered. Imagine, the Son of God was sent down from heaven to guide us and show us the way to His kingdom. Yet we spat on Him, we brutally hurt Him with both words and physically, and humiliated Him beyond description. He sweated blood and died due to so much intense pain. If our Creator in the person of Jesus have endured all that, then who are we to get mad and complain for every little suffering that we have?

We should not be wise in our own estimation. When we attempt to correct others, we have to make sure that we don’t place ourselves highly above them, but instead correct them with the real intention of making them see the errors that they have committed without offending them, belittling them, or making ourselves look good or righteous to ourselves and to others. We should also make sure that whatever we are error trying to correct in that person is really an error in the eyes of God. Many of our corrections on others are rooted to pride, manipulation, greed, and the desire for earthly things such as having a place of honor among the people. (self-righteousness)

Proverbs 6:16-19 reveals list of what the Lord hates, and the first in the list is pride. When one has too much pride, a little bruise on his ego sends him amok. Plus there is no room for God’s graces in the hearts of proud people. Unless we learn to humble ourselves, we will never get to have a real relationship with God. Plus we should not only be concern with ourselves, but we should “have the same regard for one another” as stated in Romans 12:15.

We should not repay sin with vengeance as well, for this is not our place, either. Romans 12:19 says, “Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Only the Lord knows what is best for each one of us, and that includes our offenders. For if we rely on our sinful selves, what kind of effect will we have over others? Nothing, for we are all sinners.

God Does The Right Thing At The Right Time

Genesis 1:1-2:2; Exodus 14:15-15:1; Luke 24:1-12

God created everything with perfect timing and in the right sequence, such that the nature of every creation’s existence wasn’t disrupted. Everything was well-planned and executed. He made us His image and likeness and gave us the dominion over the creatures of the sky, the land and the seas. From that day on, He has never stopped loving us.

When the Israelites were enslaved and oppressed by the Egyptians, God sent Moses to deliver them from Egypt. When the Israelites were stranded by the Red Sea, God did the impossible: He parted the Red Sea to for them to cross over, in order or to save them.

Likewise, in Jesus’ time, the Lord did the impossible: He rose from the dead on the third day, as predicted by Jesus, inline with the prophecies in the Old Testament. Everything seemed to have been planned ahead of time.

We don’t need to worry about anything as long as we have faith in Him and do our best, for He has our backs. God knows what we need even before we even see the need to pray for such need. He knows what is best for us.

There are times when we expect our prayers to be answered, and yet they were not answered in the way we expected them to be answered. We may think or feel that the Lord has abandoned us, when in fact, the answer to your prayers are staring at your faces. Even silence is an answer. Some things that we ask for may not be good for us, and that’s why we are not blessed with their fulfillment. What He does, though, is He gives us something better than what we ask for, which is best for us. Only the Lord knows what we really need, and what is best for us. We should trust in Him. We should have the patience and trust that even in the midst of financial difficulties and other trials, He will move mountains, part bodies of oceans, and do other things humanly impossible, just to save us. Of course we should also do our part in solving our own issues rather than just sit around and wait for money to come in or something. What I’m saying is He will never allow us to suffer beyond our capacity, as long as we help ourselves, and ask for His help, as well as believe in His capacity to deliver us from these trials.

Faith like Abraham’s

Genesis 17:3-9; Psalms 105:4-9; John 8:51-59 

The message that Jesus was trying to get across was hard to digest, for He was trying to show the Jews that He is a part of God in the form of His Son, and that He existed as early as God has existed, and is part of the Holy Trinity. He was only born of human flesh and appeared young, so that’s why they couldn’t understand how He could have met Abraham.The life that Jesus referred to is the life in God’s presence, which is our life after life. The Jews keep analyzing but still could not comprehend, for they were just humans with limited intellect given to us by God as He saw fit. May we are not made to analyze the logic behind God’s words and decisions, but just to believe in the goodness of His words and the promises that it brings.

Abraham, on the other hand, followed everything God told him to do to the detail, and God blessed him by making a covenant with him, making him father of all nations, and he was promised with descendants as countless as the stars. All Abraham needed to do was to keep the God’s covenant, which he did to his death. This came true, for we are his descendants.

As we continue our Lenten journey, let us pay close attention to God’s call for us and let us try to see what His call for us is all about. We are all invited to God’s covenant of love made from the body and blood of Christ. Let us be like Abraham, trusting in God so that we can fully enjoy His love, presence, and blessings as well.

The Only Thing That Is Real

Hebrews 6:9-20; John 8:31-42

 

We listen to the news on TV and read newspapers. Everything we read and see shapes our minds and even out future. Have we, however, taken into consideration the fact that these news articles, videos and newsfeeds are all products of fellow human beings and are just opinions of human beings? A newspaper company and a newscasting company look for incidents that they might want to provide an expose on because that’s what sells. So what happens is whatever comes out from the media are always either extremely positive or negative, and mostly sensationalized. Other companies follow suit upon realizing the profitability of the situation.  The viewers and readers are the ones who get affected, and their outlook in life, attitude and everything is clouded by what they see and read. 

 

There had been so many sensationalized people who predicted this and that, but none of them were accurate. The only predictions that came true are the words coming from God through His prophets in the bible. Some of what is stated in Revelations are either already happening or have happened.  The words of the Lord remains true and unchanged no matter how much time has passed. The Old testament predicted the coming of Jesus the Messiah, and Revelations predicted the second coming of our Savior. Jesus says everything passes away but the Word of God remains because it is eternal. 

 

Human history raised up many truths and philosophies, some of which only confuses us. Dynasties and empires  rose and fell. The world is constantly changing and evolving. To know the truth, we need the discernment coming from God. We need a spiritual anchor that can withstand the test of time. 

 

“The Word of God instructs, refutes falsehood, corrects errors, and gives encouragement.”- 2 Timothy 4:2 

It also goes beyond the test of time. It should not only be listened to, but practiced and lived by faith, so we can gather fruits of love, faith, hope, and charity.  

 

God’s Words Are Solid As A Rock

Numbers 21:4-9; Psalms 89:1-29; John 8:21-30

In the time of Moses, after Moses led the Israelites out from slavery into a desert en route to the Promised Land, the Israelites were blessed with manna coming from heaven. Yet, they took everything granted, not realizing that they could die without food in the desert had God not helped them, and how much they have been blessed right from the start. They have become spoiled. God sent poisonous snakes to bite them. It was only then that the Israelites realized the gravity of their sins, and asked Moses to intercede for them by asking God to have mercy on them on their behalf. God told Moses to make a bronze snake and erect it, which became the end of his staff. God said whoever were bitten by the poisonous snakes will be healed if they look at the snake made by Moses.

In a similar way, God blessed us with His Only Son, Jesus. In Jesus’ time, there was so much evil going on, caused by pride, greed and jealousy. Many became His followers at first, but then people were easily swayed by the Pharisees. The Pharisees were jealous of Jesus’ fame among the crowds that they relentlessly tried to persecute Him, and eventually were able to persuade people to punish Him. The leaders had nothing on their minds but to remain in power. They did not really care about justice. They cared about maintaining their popularity, and that’s why they did things that were favorable to the people in their eyes, even when it meant crucifying Jesus. Pilate felt guilty (but not enough) that he had to wash his hands after going against his wishes, just to be in tune with the people’s demands. Jesus died and rose again. When He died and rose again, he cleansed us from our sins. A lot of us now are suffering from our sins, just like being bitten by the serpents who bit the Israelites in Moses’ time, or the curse caused by the sin Adam and Eve committed when they were persuaded by the serpent to commit sin.

The manna in the desert is Jesus when He was here on earth, whom we have spoken against and taken for granted. The poisonous snake are the many sins caused by greed, pride, lust, selfishness, and lack of concern for others. The bronze snake is our salvation by Jesus through His death and resurrection, symbolized by the cross that He was bound to.

Both the bronze snake (back then) and the cross with Jesus (now) reminds us how sinful we are and how we constantly hurt the Lord with our disobedience. However, God tells us that all we need to do is look at it and be healed. With Jesus’s death and resurrection, all we need to do is believe and be healed. We should believe that by His death and resurrection we are healed. Of course, if we believe in how bad we have been right from the start, our heart will also tell us to repent for our sins. True repentance occurs are deeply and truly remorseful of what we have done and ask the Lord for his forgiveness. If we are truly remorseful, then we should refrain from doing it again. With this kind of repentance and faith in the Lord’s salvation, we are saved, just like the repentant Israelites in Moses’ time.

When God makes His promises, He keeps,eternally, no matter what, for the Lord’s love is steadfast. King David sinned against God by having Bathsheba’s husband killed in war, and committing adultery with Bathsheba and even having her child.

God said,
“For-ever I will keep my steadfast love for him,
and my covenant with him will stand firm.
I will establish his line for ever,
and his throne as long as the heavens endure.” – Psalms 89:27-29

Jesus comes from a very long line of descendants coming from David’s line. God kept His promise about David through the prophet. Likewise, the promise of salvation is there for those who seek it. We just have to claim it and transform ourselves anew.

Living The Faith

Jeremiah 11:18-20; Psalms 7:2-12; John 7:40-52

The bible is full of martyrdom, not just with Jesus. These are people who wrote the bible, and the people mentioned in the bible. Their stories of faith reveal their strong faith and their willingness to suffer martyrdom than renounce what is true. Perhaps it is because these people had the privilege to encounter God and Jesus in a personal way and face-to-face. Yet, why do people in biblical times still refuse to believe, even after seeing so many miracles and seeing the Lord face-to-face?

Moses delivered the Israelites out of slavery from Egypt, and yet within those 40 days and 40 nights when Moses was up in Mt. Sinai, the Israelites led by Aaron, managed to create a golden calf in replacement of God, for fear that Moses won’t return. they had this tendency to be impatient and take things under own hands. They lack faith in God, and equated God’s time to human time, and God’s ways to human ways, not knowing that they lack enough knowledge to know what God wanted. They relied on their own wisdom, and that is what happened. The parting of the Red Sea is something spectacular and miraculous enough for them to experience personally, to know that God exists, and that they just needed to be obedient to his prophet, yet they failed.

In today’s times, we are no different from the Israelites back in those days. We, too, get impatient and tend to control everything we can take control of, even in situations that we have no control of, and that’s why we make mistakes. We have the natural tendency to be in control for we feel safest when we are in control. We are able to make calculated adjustments to avoid situations or manipulate situations when when we are able to control things. Since we are so full of ourselves, we hold on to our misery and hardiness of heart that we prevent the grace of God from being revealed to us, or we become blind to it whenever it comes.

Our world is not just about us. If you read the bible, you will find out that the bible is all about the love of God and spreading the goodness of God to the world. All the executions, martyrdom, miracles, denials, and stories in the bible are all caused by the spreading of the Good News. If Jesus didn’t speak about God to the crowds, He wouldn’t even be harmed. Same with His disciples, and the prophets and the appointed kings of the Old Testament. Everything is in line with our mission to spread the Good News to others.

There are many ways to spread The Good News to others without being preachy. The first step is to practice what you want to share. Be loving God and being loving to your enemies, your neighbors, and yourself. If you love God, loving others comes easily, for God lives in each and every one of us.
By example, we will be able to show others how God wants us to live our lives, and they will be inspired and spirit-led.

Many seek approval and recognition of others in life, to make them feel good of themselves. This is false happiness and it will not last compared to seeking approval from the Lord. Humility plays a vital role in this. It is best if we keep our negative comments to ourselves, and just share whatever wisdom that is coming from God to others, the results would be positive. It is not our comments and our words nor our wisdom shared to others that reveals the graces of God to others, but it is in the sharing of His wisdom and His words. For what good is it if you gain the acceptance of man but not God? If you don’t know what to share, then I suggest you read the bible and learn more about God and your relationship with Him. Encouraging others to read the bible is also a good start. Perhaps you can even do it together.

Living The Faith

Jeremiah 11:18-20; Psalms 7:2-12; John 7:40-52

The bible is full of martyrdom, not just with Jesus. These are people who wrote the bible, and the people mentioned in the bible. Their stories of faith reveal their strong faith and their willingness to suffer martyrdom than renounce what is true. Perhaps it is because these people had the privilege to encounter God and Jesus in a personal way and face-to-face. Yet, why do people in biblical times still refuse to believe, even after seeing so many miracles and seeing the Lord face-to-face?

Moses delivered the Israelites out of slavery from Egypt, and yet within those 40 days and 40 nights when Moses was up in Mt. Sinai, the Israelites led by Aaron, managed to create a golden calf in replacement of God, for fear that Moses won’t return. they had this tendency to be impatient and take things under own hands. They lack faith in God, and equated God’s time to human time, and God’s ways to human ways, not knowing that they lack enough knowledge to know what God wanted. They relied on their own wisdom, and that is what happened. The parting of the Red Sea is something spectacular and miraculous enough for them to experience personally, to know that God exists, and that they just needed to be obedient to his prophet, yet they failed.

In today’s times, we are no different from the Israelites back in those days. We, too, get impatient and tend to control everything we can take control of, even in situations that we have no control of, and that’s why we make mistakes. We have the natural tendency to be in control for we feel safest when we are in control. We are able to make calculated adjustments to avoid situations or manipulate situations when when we are able to control things. Since we are so full of ourselves, we hold on to our misery and hardiness of heart that we prevent the grace of God from being revealed to us, or we become blind to it whenever it comes.

Our world is not just about us. If you read the bible, you will find out that the bible is all about the love of God and spreading the goodness of God to the world. All the executions, martyrdom, miracles, denials, and stories in the bible are all caused by the spreading of the Good News. If Jesus didn’t speak about God to the crowds, He wouldn’t even be harmed. Same with His disciples, and the prophets and the appointed kings of the Old Testament. Everything is in line with our mission to spread the Good News to others.

There are many ways to spread The Good News to others without being preachy. The first step is to practice what you want to share. Be loving God and being loving to your enemies, your neighbors, and yourself. If you love God, loving others comes easily, for God lives in each and every one of us.
By example, we will be able to show others how God wants us to live our lives, and they will be inspired and spirit-led.

Many seek approval and recognition of others in life, to make them feel good of themselves. This is false happiness and it will not last compared to seeking approval from the Lord. Humility plays a vital role in this. It is best if we keep our negative comments to ourselves, and just share whatever wisdom that is coming from God to others, the results would be positive. It is not our comments and our words nor our wisdom shared to others that reveals the graces of God to others, but it is in the sharing of His wisdom and His words. For what good is it if you gain the acceptance of man but not God? If you don’t know what to share, then I suggest you read the bible and learn more about God and your relationship with Him. Encouraging others to read the bible is also a good start. Perhaps you can even do it together.