Consoling truths

"The LORD is my light and my salvation;

whom should I fear?

The LORD is my life's refuge;

of whom should I be afraid?

 

One thing I ask of the LORD

this I seek:

To dwell in the house of the LORD

all the days of my life,

That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD

and contemplate his temple.

 

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD

in the land of the living.

Wait for the LORD with courage;

be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD"

Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14

Two consoling truths from the Responsorial Psalm of today:

"Fear is useless; what is needed is trust." (Luke 8: 50; Mark 5: 36)

"Wait for the Lord with courage." (Psalm 27: 14)

 

 

I am with you always

"I, the Lord, am with you always, until the end of the world, alleluia." (See Matthew 28: 20)

If the Lord is with me, it is accomplished."

Emmanuel!

Bearing fruit that lasts

"The Lord says, 'I have chosen you from the world to go and bear fruit that will last, alleluia." (See John 15: 16, 19)

"I will be a witness to you in the world, O Lord. I will spread the knowledge of your name among my brothers, alleluia." (Psalm 17: 50; 21: 23)

Conquering through faith

"In truth I tell you, if your faith is the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there, and it will move; nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17: 20)

Faith is simply believing that God's word is true; that God will do what He promises. In the Gospels, the evangelists emphasize again and again that things turn out exactly as Jesus had said. I am delighted when I read this. God's faithfulness to His promises is one of His attributes that I love very much. We cannot live a victorious life without faith. This is the message of the whole of Chapter 11 of Hebrews. The author gives a list of all the Old Testament giants that overcame daunting odds through faith. The message is clear. If they overcame by faith, we too can overcome by faith.

Forgetting

"When Yahweh has brought you into the country which he swore to your ancestors …. That he would give you, ..... be careful you do not forget Yahweh who has brought you out of Egypt, out of the place of slave labor." (Deuteronomy 6: 10 – 13)

Is it possible to forget Yahweh when He brings us into our Promised Land? The answer is an unequivocal Yes. If this is impossibility, scripture would not have warned us of it.

My God, your word is true. I know you will lead me to the PL. I know too that I can forget you in the PL. Father of mercies, may your grace forbid this from happening.

The Gang of Three

"Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain by themselves." (Matthew 17: 1)

The gang of three, Peter, James and John are representatives of the Church who became witnesses to the Transfiguration of the Christ. Jesus Christ strengthened their faith through this experience.

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to see your glory and give us the grace to bear witness to it in our lives.

Morning Star

"So we have confirmation of the words of the prophets; and you will be right to pay attention to it as to a lamp for lighting a way through the dark, until the dawn comes and the morning star rises in your minds." (2 Peter 1: 19)

What is the evidence that the word of God in scripture is true?

The Church as the Body of Christ is the visible sign and confirmation of the words of scripture. The Church is what scriptures foretold it would be:

• Universal
  
• Historic
  
• Relevant
  
• Invincible
  

Trust the word of God.

All honor and kingship belongs to Christ

"On him was conferred rule, honor and kingship, and all peoples, nations and languages became his servants." (Daniel 7: 14)

The "Him" is Jesus Christ to whom all honor, power and majesty belongs. I want to publish this truth with all my time, talent and treasure.

Lead me, guide me and use me, dear Lord Jesus Christ.

My King and my Boss

"But you,'he said,' who do you, say I am?" (Matthew 16: 13: 15)

You are Jesus Christ:

• My Lord and my God
  
• My Savior and my Redeemer
  
• My King and my Boss
  
• My Friend and my Companion
  

Lord Jesus, that I may know you more, love you more and serve you more. Amen

Meribah

"These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites laid blame on Yahweh and where by their means, he asserted his holiness." (Numbers 20: 13)

In the desert, the Israelites were stretched to the breaking point at the Waters of Meribah. They failed the test and murmured against God. Every crisis is a test of faith. Where do you go first for help? Whom do you trust? Are you prepared to wait for God for deliverance?

Meribah is the type of all testing grounds. Where is your desert or Meribah?

• Home
  
• Workplace
  
• School
  
• Church
  
• Playground
  

The geography is the theology.

Always with you

"I, the Lord, am with you always, until the end of the world." (Matthew 28: 20)

Jesus is Emmanuel – God with us. But in Matthew 28: 20, He promises to be with us always till the end of our life. Consider this for a moment. A medical doctor can be very powerful and highly competent. But can he promise to be with you always until the end of your life? Of course not! Only Jesus can make this promise and keep it.

Let your desire be granted

"Woman, you have great faith. Let your desire be granted." (Matthew 15: 28)

My simple definition of faith is putting our trust in God's word. This happy woman has just heard that her desire is granted. Her faith led her to ask confidently. She went away believing that it would be done to her according to what Jesus said. I want to exercise my faith like this woman. I want to hear Jesus say to me: "Let your desire be granted."

Milk and honey

"We have made our way to the country where you sent us. It does indeed flow with milk and honey; here is what it produces. At the same time, its inhabitants are a powerful people…." (Numbers 13: 27 – 28)

The Enterprise is a journey to the Promised Land. Indeed milk and honey flow here. At the same time, it is occupied by the Anakims, that is very powerful demons. In the name of Jesus I will conquer. I came, I saw and in the name of Jesus I conquered.

Blind leaders

"They are blind leaders of the blind and if one blind person leads another both will fall into a pit." (Matthew 15: 14)

Who are the blind leading the blind? Many journalists today are blind leaders leading the blind. Many pretend that are guardian of public morality. But in fact their self-interest is evident and it betrays their pretension. They act as if they are neutral and unbiased commentators in the public domain but in fact are narrow minded with entrenched self-interest. The recent attacks on Pope Benedict XVI are vile and selfish. They want to silence him and thought they found a good cause in the so-called sexual abuse of minors which they claim occurred over a generation ago. They will not succeed in intimidating him. They win this game with politicians. Pope Benedict is not a politician.

The humility of Moses

"Is Moses the only one through whom Yahweh has spoken? Has he not spoken with us too? Now Moses was extremely humble, the humblest man on earth." (Numbers 12: 2 – 3)

The trials and tribulations of Moses

Even Aaron and Miriam joined the rebels. They became part of the problem and not the solution.

Those that ate with me raised their heels to strike me. Moses allowed God to fight for him. God was the guardian of his rights. Moses exemplified the leadership principle. The leader is a servant and not a master.

Doubt versus Trust

"You have so little faith. Why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14: 31)

This is a well merited reproach from Jesus. After all that He does for me every day, why do I still doubt? Why does doubt instead of trust seem to have been ingrained as a second nature? Why does it seem easier to doubt than to trust God?

Lord Jesus, increase my faith. Make me always aware of your presence.

The Journey and Patience

"Would that we have meat for food! We remember the fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt, and the cucumber, the melon, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now, we are famished; we see nothing before us but this manna." (Number 11: 4 – 6)

The journey to the Promised Land was a test of patience, endurance, faith, courage and humility for the Israelites. It was a very severe test. They failed. They lost their patience in spite of the fact that they still had the manna to eat. They looked back to former days in Egypt. They complained against God and Moses.

The Enterprise is also a severe test. To succeed, I must rely on God for everything. I must trust God to lead and guide me according to His designs. I will depend on God to fight my battles.

Five loaves and two fish

"Five loaves and two fish are all we have here. Then he said, 'Bring them here to me." (Matthew 14: 17 – 18)

Bring whatever you have to the Lord. He can multiply it. "Silver and gold I do not have to give. What I have, I give you." Nobody can give that which he has not. We are expected to work with what we have. God is a creator, a multiplier. Small or big before God is the same.

Lord, take and receive all that I am, all that I have. Lead me, guide me and use me.

Nothing can separate us from Christ

"What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?" (Romans 8: 35)

Even if the figs do not blossom, even if all support systems fail, I will never doubt God's love for me.

If we live we live, if we perish, we perish.

Essentials of life

"Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy?" (Isaiah 55: 2)

We work very hard and spend what we earn on what does not satisfy. Advertising is great in encouraging us to spend our money on what is not bread. What is essential for life and happiness have been adequately provided by God. Our responsibility is to make sure that everybody gets a fair share.