Slay me with your words

"For this reason I struck them down through the prophets,
I killed them by the words of my mouth;
my judgment shines forth like the light.
For it is loyalty that I desire, not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."  (Hosea 6: 5 - 6)

Abba Father, slay me with your words but do not kill me in your anger.  I will accept your admonishments because I know that you love me.  You train me as a father trains the sone he loves and approves.

"You have also forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons:
“My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
or lose heart when reproved by him;
for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he acknowledges.”
Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as sons. For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline?
If you are without discipline, in which all have shared, you are not sons but bastards.
Besides this, we have had our earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not [then] submit all the more to the Father of spirits and live?
They disciplined us for a short time as seemed right to them, but he does so for our benefit, in order that we may share his holiness.
At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it."  (Hebrews 12: 5 - 11)

Father, I submit to your discipline.

"It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life."  (John 6: 63)

The Verdant Cypress Tree

"Ephraim! What more have I to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will take note of him.
I am like a verdant cypress tree.
From me fruit will be found for you!"  (Hosea 14: 9)

Jesus, the Pearl of the Greatest Value, our Treasure is here compared to the "verdant cypress tree."  That is, the ever-green cypress tree that is ever flush with foliage come winter come summer.

"He is like a tree
planted near streams of water,
that yields its fruit in season;
Its leaves never wither;
whatever he does prospers."  (Psalm 1: 3)

So, I can always trust Jesus for protection and provision and prosperity.  "Whatever he does prospers."
Yes Lord, I know that because of you, I will bear much fruit for you.  Because of you too, I will remain faithful till I cross the threshold.  Thank you Jesus.

Jesus Christ is the stronger Man

"When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils."  (Luke 11: 21 - 22)

The strong man is Satan.  Note that he is fully armed with all the tools of his trade.
But thanks be to God.  The stronger man is Jesus Christ who overcomes him, takes away the armor on which he relies.

With such certain knowledge, "So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help."  (Hebrews 4: 16)

Confident in the power of Christ, "I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me."

Although Jesus Christ takes away the armor of our mortal enemy, in His wisdom, He leaves for Satan certain tools with which he harasses us.  And besides, our concupiscence is always warring against us.

But Jesus wants us not to be afraid because  “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12: 9)

For our greater consolation we also know, "God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control."  (2 Timothy 1 :7)  Also, "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba, Father!”  (Romans 8: 15)

Amen! Amen! Amen!

Establish my feet in your word

"Steady my feet in accord with your promise;
do not let iniquity lead me."  (Psalm 119: 133)

Direct my steps in the Church, home, work and everywhere.  Let no sin gain dominion over me.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
on your own intelligence do not rely;
In all your ways be mindful of him,
and he will make straight your paths."  (Proverbs 3: 5 -6)

"For you are my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake lead me and guide me."  (Psalm 31: 4)

"In green pastures he makes me lie down;
to still waters he leads me;
he restores my soul.
He guides me along right paths
for the sake of his name."  (Psalm 23: 2 - 3)

"But I, through the abundance of your mercy,
will enter into your house.
I will bow down toward your holy sanctuary
out of fear of you.
LORD, guide me in your justice because of my foes;
make straight your way before me."  (Psalm 5: 8 - 9)

"Make known to me your ways, LORD;
teach me your paths.
Guide me by your fidelity and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
for you I wait all the day long."  (Psalm 25: 4 - 5)

"Good and upright is the LORD,
therefore he shows sinners the way,
He guides the humble in righteousness,
and teaches the humble his way."  (Psalm 25: 8 - 9)

Guidance is promised to those who ask for it and those who wait on God and trust in Him.

Lesson about prayer from the Unforgiving Servant

" At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan."  (Matthew 18: 26 - 27)

What can we learn about prayer that gets result from the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant?
The servant fell down, did Christ homage and asked to be given chance to change. When I am in dire need and come to Jesus for an answer, I would like to remember these three steps: Posture, Worship, Words.  The right posture in prayer, praise and worship, asking with faith can get results.

Do whatever he tells you

"But his servants came up and reasoned with him: “My father, if the prophet told you to do something extraordinary, would you not do it? All the more since he told you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?"  (2 Kings 5: 13)

Learn the heart of God from the word of God, says Pope St. Gregory the Great.  What can I learn about the Heart of God from the above scriptures?
First, I see from the whole incident of the cure of Naaman the leper, a type of Sacraments.  The sacramental form and matter may appear too simplistic to be real but they are true and real.  Take for example Baptism.  Water is poured over the baptized and the formula of Baptism repeated as this is done.  The resulting effect is total cleansing from sin and effective incorporation into the family of God.  Can so much benefit be delivered by such a simple means and gesture?  Take another example, the Eucharist.  The matter is bread and wine while the form is formula of consecration.  The Holy Spirit is invoked and the words of consecration are pronounced over the bread and wine.  The result is the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.  Is this credible?  The Church has done and believed this from the very beginning, that is for 2000 years.  If this is not true and real, then the Church is guilty of the worst perjury.  No institution can survive for so long with such a monumental lie and deception.

We learn from the story of Naaman that God's thoughts and ways are not our thoughts and ways.  We learn also that it pays to listen to God when He speaks through His prophets.

 “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”  (Matthew 17: 5)

But listening to Jesus and the prophets is not enough, we must also:
"Do whatever he tells you."  (John 2:5)

The swallow lays her young by your altar

"As the sparrow finds a home
and the swallow a nest to settle her young,
My home is by your altars,
LORD of hosts, my king and my God!
Blessed are those who dwell in your house!
They never cease to praise you." (Psalm 84: 4 - 5)

Pope Gregory the Great (690 - 604) taught: "Learn the heart of God from the word of God."
What can I learn today about the heart of God from Psalm 84: 4 - 5?
I learn that God is so tender towards His creatures that He allows the common sparrows and swallows to settle very close to His altars.
And how about me?
My home is by our altars, O Lord my God.

The Lord Himself marks out the pleasant spots for me near His altars.
"LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you have made my destiny secure.
Pleasant places were measured out for me;
fair to me indeed is my inheritance."  (Psalm 16: 5 - 6)

The Sanctuary is still and restful waters.
"The LORD is my shepherd;
there is nothing I lack.a
In green pastures he makes me lie down;
to still waters he leads me;
he restores my soul.
He guides me along right paths
for the sake of his name."  (Psalm 23: 1 - 3)

Where to seek the Lord?  In the Sanctuary.
"O God, you are my God—
it is you I seek!
For you my body yearns;
for you my soul thirsts,
In a land parched, lifeless,
and without water.
I look to you in the sanctuary
to see your power and glory.
For your love is better than life;
my lips shall ever praise you!"  Psalm 63: 2 - 4)

The Choice, the Call and the Sanctuary
"Blessed the one whom you will choose and bring
to dwell in your courts.
May we be filled with the good things of your house,
your holy temple!"  (Psalm 65: 5)

Where to finish my days?  Near your Sanctuary, O Lord my God.
"One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the LORD’s house
all the days of my life,
To gaze on the LORD’s beauty,
to visit his temple."  (Psalm 27: 4)

Learn the heart of God

"The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
The LORD is good to all,
compassionate toward all your works."  (Psalm 145: 8 - 9)

Father, let the truth about who you are in the above scripture transform me.
"Perfect love drives out fear."  (1 John 4: 18)

"Learn the heart of God from the word of God." (Pope St. Gregory the Great)

Believe what you read.
Teach what you believe.
Practice what you teach.

Grant me the grace to know the heart of Jesus perfectly, to love Him passionately and to follow Him everywhere.

God loves me so much that He....

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life."  (John 3: 16)

The "world" here is me.  The Father loves me so much that He made Jesus Christ suffer and die for me.  The afternoon vision I experienced some days ago brought the truth home. Below is the narrative:

I experienced a bizarre dream towards the end of my nap this afternoon.  2 young men were in an enclosure.  Both seemed equal in terms of build.  One of them ordered the other to undress completely.  Then he picked up a spiked belt and started tearing into the flesh of the other man mercilessly.  I woke up shaken.  The question I kept asking myself is:  Why did the other man not resist?  I got the answer on Wednesday morning when I said the Divine Mercy Rosary glancing at the Stations of the Cross at STM BS Chapel.  The man being flogged is a type of Christ.  The Lamb that was led to the slaughter and did not open his mouth. The man doing the flogging is Satan, the original man of wickedness.

I understand better what Christ did for me.  He took the lashes for me.  Lord, I believe in you.  Thank you for what you did for me.

Direct my path according to your promise

"Thus says the LORD:
Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
who makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He is like a barren bush in the wasteland
that enjoys no change of season,
But stands in lava beds in the wilderness,
a land, salty and uninhabited."  (Jeremiah 17: 5 - 6)

I trust in you with all my heart O Lord.  Help me never to lean on sense evidence.  In everything I do I call upon you.  O Lord, direct my path according to your promise.

The man who trusts in human beings and makes the physical world his strength does not enjoy the benefits of times and seasons.  Times and seasons are God's appointment.  Just as we have summer, autumn, winter and spring so does the life of  man cycle through periods of prosperity and poverty.  I see enough of this in my business and life to understand.

Servant Spirit

"But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;"  (Matthew 20: 26)

Lord Jesus, give me a true servant spirit.  Give me also deep humility.  I want to serve your Body, the Church with all my time, talent and treasure.  Let your Holy Spirit lead me, guide me and use me.  Amen!

"Some men are born great.  Some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust unto them."  Shakespeare

Writing and Publishing Praise

"I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous deeds."  (Psalm 9: 2)

What will happen to make me praise the Lord with all my heart and declare his wondrous deeds to the world?  I have learned from experience that the purest joy I have known is the joy of answered prayers.  The bigger the item, the more the joy and the greater the praise.  St. Therese of Lisieux says that God puts the desires in her heart that He intends to fulfill.  God's desire then becomes the same as that of St. Therese.

God has a good plan for our lives.  If we are open to His voice, He gives us desires that align with our destiny.

"For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope."  (Jeremiah 29: 11)

Are the desires of my heart aligned with God's plan for my life?

"Find your delight in the LORD
who will give you your heart’s desire."  (Psalm 37: 4)

How do I find my delight in the Lord?

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

Stop Judging and you will not be judged

"Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven."  (Luke 6: 37)

No Complain. No Criticize. No Condemn.  Help me God.  Amen!

Listen to Jesus

" Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” (Luke 9:35)

Father, I promise to listen to your Son.  Your Son always listens to my cry for relief. Therefore I will listen to Him when speaks to me.

"Sacrifice and offering you do not want;
you opened my ears.
Holocaust and sin-offering you do not request;
so I said, “See; I come
with an inscribed scroll written upon me.
I delight to do your will, my God;
your law is in my inner being!” (Psalm 40: 7 - 9)

Pray for those who persecute you

"But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust." (Matthew 5: 44 - 45)

I have found from experience that the best way to deal with people who are very unkind to me is prayer.  First, I go to the Lord with the hurt.  Then I start praying for them.  Depending on how deep the hurt is, this prayer can be just one time or as long as a few days to a few years.  I have actually prayed everyday for three people who ganged against me for a couple of years.  I did not even know when I stopped praying for them.  But the hurt was healed completely by God along the way.  It was then that  I noticed that the so-called "great hurt" was  necessary so that God can move me to another level of His plan for my life.

"But Joseph replied to them: “Do not fear. Can I take the place of God?
Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve this present end, the survival of many people." ( Genesis 50: 19 - 20)

"We know that all things work for good for those who love God,* who are called according to his purpose."  (Romans 8: 28)

I have prayed that your faith may not fail

"Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat,
but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers.”  (Luke 22: 31 - 32)

If Christ has prayed for me, then it is accomplished.
Emmanuel, Emmanuel, your faith will not be shaken by whatever distress: health, family, money, job, tools, food.  This is because I have prayed especially for you.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God."  (2 Corinthians 1: 3 - 4)

Jesus Christ is the Advocate and High Priest of His people

"The valiant one whose steps are guided by the LORD,
who will delight in his way,
May stumble, but he will never fall,
for the LORD holds his hand." (Psalm 37: 23 - 24)

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For everyone who asks receives

"For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."  (Matthew 7: 8)

Matthew 7:8 is a universal promise open to anyone who prays, seeks and knocks.  The Church teaches that prayer is infallible.  In other words, God commits Himself always and everywhere to fulfill His promise.  There are though, a few conditions that common sense dictates:  The one who prays must pray with faith and what he asks, seeks or knocks will be according to common sense.  Prayer is one of God's greatest gift to man.  Prayer is like the most advanced universal smartphone that holds the key to every door.

What do we ask for in prayer? We ask, "Give us today our daily bread."  (Matthew 6: 11)  The daily bread represents all our needs, spiritual and material. These are needs for pardon, peace, power, purpose, presence, protection and provision.

Thank you Father for giving us the consolation of the truth in your word today.  I need to hear this word here and now. It has brought already much joy and hope to my soul.  This morning, I stood before you Father and prayed with confidence for my daily bread.  As the day unfolds, I watch and wait to see how you fulfill them.  In the meantime, let me experience the foretaste of answered prayer in peace and joyful expectation.

Continuous joy is the gift of the redeemed

"Then all who trust in you will be glad
and forever shout for joy.
You will protect them and those will rejoice in you
who love your name." (Psalm 5: 12)

In some translations of the above scripture, the word "joy" is mentioned three times.  When I read it, it reminded me of the popular Christmas tone: "Joy, Joy, Joy......"
Continuous joy is the gift of the redeemed.  A joyful spirit is a sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

I share below part of the commentary of above scripture from John Gills Exposition where joy is used several times:

"But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice
Who trust not in themselves, in their own hearts, in their righteousness, or riches, or strength; but in the name, righteousness, and strength of the Lord: who betake themselves to him, and put all their confidence in him: let them rejoice in the salvation of the Lord, and in hope of eternal glory and happiness;
let them even shout for joy:
not only rejoice inwardly, but express their joy externally, with their voices, and in the loudest manner; and that always, the matter and foundation of a believer's joy always continues; and so does the grace itself: though it is not always in exercise, yet it is an everlasting joy; and with it the redeemed of the Lord will come to Zion, and no man will be able to take away their joy. Which distinguishes it from the triumphing of the wicked, and the joy of the hypocrite, which is but for a moment;"

Give us today our daily bread

"Give us today our daily bread."  (Matthew 6: 11)

Father, your Son gave us the great prayer,  Our Father.  I wonder how many times  this prayer is said everyday by people all over the world.  I would imagine a couple of billions of times.   I know that I say it at least twenty times a day.  The more I say this prayer, the more I come to love and to depend on it.  This prayer is part of the Gospel of today that is read everywhere in the world.

As I seek to understand more your plan for providing my needs, I am struck by this verse more than in the past.  "Give us today our daily bread."  (Matthew 6: 11)  I know that you hear prayers.  I know too that your word is true and infallible.  Help me to trust you completely for the provision of my needs.  Help me also to understand that "Man does not live on bread alone."  (Matthew 4: 4).  Your mighty and loving providence knows what we need and provides them as needed.  Thank you Father.

When did I see you hungry?

"Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’
He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me."  (Matthew 25: 44 - 45)

Lord, lead me, guide me and use me to minister to the hungry, thirsty, sick and imprisoned this Lent.  You know well that without your help, I can do absolutely nothing.  Use me and may all the glory come to you.  Amen!