Hope delayed

Proverbs 13:12 "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life." The pure joy of answered prayer. I will rejoice in hope. I will bear my trials as discipline from a loving Father. I will pray constantly.

Trust in God's Providence - St Teresa of Avila

St Teresa had complete trust in God’s Providence. "To those who give up everything for Him, God gives Himself," she wrote. "Nothing is insignificant in our lives. Every event represents a divine opportunity, a divine call, a definite contribution to the intricate design of God's Providence." She says that God is watching and will care for you; therefore she advises: "Cease to be anxious for yourselves, for He bears your anxiety and will bear it always." (St Teresa of Avila)

Productive Moments

"All our moments are made productive by our obedience to the will of God, which reveals itself in a thousand different ways, each of which successively becomes our immediate duty. Together they mold and perfect within us that "new self." (John-Pierre de Caussade, SJ)

The hope of our calling

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.
May the eyes of [your] hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones."  (Ephesians 1: 17 - 18)

Matthew Henry comments on the subject of Paul's prayer for the Ephesians:
"Now what is it that Paul prays for in behalf of the Ephesians? Not that they might be freed from persecution; nor that they might possess the riches, honors, or pleasures of the world; but the great thing he prays for is the illumination of their understandings, and that their knowledge might increase and abound: he means it of a practical and experimental knowledge. The graces and comforts of the Spirit are communicated to the soul by the enlightening of the understanding. In this way he gains and keeps possession. Satan takes a contrary way: he gets possession by the senses and passions, Christ by the understanding." (Matthew Henry Commentary)

Present Moment

"What God arranges for us to experience at each moment is the best and holiest thing that could happen to us." (John-Pierre de Caussade)

Do you still not understand?

"When he became aware of this he said to them, “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened?"  (Mark 8: 17)

What do I need to understand and remember today about Jesus that will enhance my faith?
First, whenever I remember the wonderful things Jesus has done for me, my faith is boosted.  When I understand that Jesus did these awesome things for me because He loves me and also because He is sending a signal through His actions, I become not just full of trust but even courageous as I confront the world.

Memory and understanding are important abilities in the life of faith.  Every believer has the responsibility to develop these two faculties.  I keep a daily journal of  events in my life.  I guess that these journals capture 90% or more of significant events.  The act of writing helps memory.  But how often do I forget the wonderful things God does for me.  If it were not for the work of the Holy Spirit, I will remember so little of these amazing things.  My faith in God today is in direct proportion to my awareness of what God is doing in my life.  For this, I owe all the thanks to the Holy Spirit who reminds me always.

Endure your trials as discipline

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4)

"Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.  Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.  But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing."
(James 1:2-4 AMP)

"Everything is bread to nourish me, soap to cleanse me, fire to purify me."  (John-Pierre de Caussade)

Be my rock of safety

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

Do I know God as my rock and fortress?  Where do I run to in crisis?  Where do I place my hope for rescue and safety?

O Lord my God, You are all that I have.  For the sake of Your Name, lead me, guide me and use me.

They ate and were satisfied!

Matthew 4:4

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Man does not live on money alone..
Man does not live on salary alone..
Man does not live on job alone..

Seekfirst.blogspot.com

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

"Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will act."  (Psalm 37: 50

How do you know the Lord will act for you when you need Him?
Trust His word.  Then walk by faith.

God keeps faithfully His covenant of mercy

"Solomon said, “LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below; you keep covenant and love toward your servants who walk before you with their whole heart."  (1 Kings 8: 23)

How happy I am to be reminded  that our Father keeps His covenant and love toward His servants.  His covenants are His solemn promises.  There is one covenant of God that is specially close to my heart:

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides"  (Matthew 6: 33)
How do I understand this covenant?  If Jesus Christ comes first in my life; if He reigns over my family, health, job, finances, tools and toys, food and future; if I allow the Holy Spirit to produce in me the fruits of righteousness, then God will keep His covenant of mercy and love for me.  This is consoling and exciting.  I love Matthew 6;33 so much that I have this scripture verse pinned all over my apartment.  My Blog is named after this promise: Seekfirst.blogspot.com.  I own the domains:  Seekfirstweb.Com, Seekfirstweb.Net and Seekfirstweb.Org.  This shows how much I need to be reminded of this covenant promise.

In Sacred Scripture, every covenant has a sign.  The covenant of God with Abraham was sealed with circumcision. Circumcision is therefore the sign of the Old Covenant.  What is the sign of the New Covenant?  It is the  Eucharist.

"TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT, FOR THIS IS MY BODY, WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.

TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT, FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT, WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY FOR THE FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.  DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME."

The above words of consecration in Holy Mass affirms the Eucharist as the sign of the New Covenant.  Every single promise in Sacred Scripture is sealed in this Eucharistic sign.  The logic is simple.  If the Father can swear to His trustworthiness by giving us the Flesh and Blood of His Only Begotten Son, what can He not give us as well.

"What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him?"  (Romans 8: 31 - 32)

What is the conclusion?  Seek first the Kingdom of God and His justice and you shall find everything you need for life and happiness.

You are the light of the world

"Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  (John 8: 12)

The Church exists to be the light of the world.  How is the Church the light of the world?
"I have chosen you from the world to go and bear fruit that will last." (John 15: 16, 19)
The Church responds:
"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)

"The origin and purpose of mission. The Lord's missionary mandate is ultimately grounded in the eternal love of the Most Holy Trinity: "The Church on earth is by her nature missionary since, according to the plan of the Father, she has as her origin the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit." The ultimate purpose of mission is none other than to make men share in the communion between the Father and the Son in their Spirit of love."  (Catechism of the Catholic Church #850)

When we evangelize, we become who we are, Christians.  The essence of a salt is to be salty. The essence of light is to illuminate.

Lord, I want the little light in me to shine, shine shine.  Thank you Jesus.

Let us thank God for the blessed rest of Sunday

"Jesus said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat."  (Mark 6: 31)

Sunday is God's great gift to humanity.  Let us thank God for the gift of Sunday.  As we enjoy the blessed rest of Sunday every week, we prepare to transition from Sunday rest to eternal rest.  As we worship God on Sunday, our faith in heaven grows.  As our faith in heaven grows so does our desire to please in everything.

Don't grow weary of Jesus

"But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance."  (Luke 8: 15)

"Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up.
So then, while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all,h but especially to those who belong to the family of the faith."  (Galatians 6: 9 - 10)

Is it possible to get weary of Jesus?  The answer is yes if we do not nurture the relationship.  On His part, Jesus is always present and trustworthy.  We can be sure that He always does His own part of the equation.  Jesus does not force us to do own part of the relationship.  We have our free will.  A mutually loving relationship is nurtured through constant communication.

For the Christian, the path of growth in relationship with Jesus may pass through daily prayer, daily reading of the word of God, frequent Communion, faith sharing and others.  Love seeks the maximum and not the minimum practice.

Trust in Jesus with all your heart

"He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic."  (Mark 6: 8 -9)

How do we grow in trusting God?  In Mark 6: 8 - 9, we see Jesus training His disciples to learn to rely on their hidden source of supply.   The alternative is to encumber themselves with unnecessary baggage.  Our faith is put on spot when we have to trust Jesus to deliver on His promises.  The promises of Jesus is unerring and fire-tried.  How about our trust?  Here lies the problem.  God makes it easy to trust Him by helping us with His instructions:
"He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic."  (Mark 6: 8 -9)

I confess my faults to the Lord

"David answered Gad: “I am greatly distressed. But let us fall into the hand of God, whose mercy is great, rather than into human hands.”  (2 Samuel 24: 14)

David, faced with a most distressing situation falls back on his knowledge of God.  He knows that God is most merciful.  He knows that he can rely on this mercy.  If David's knowledge of God comes to his rescue at the moment of his greatest need, what we know about God can save us from great distress at the moment of our greatest need.

Cultivate your knowledge of God through prayer and the word of God.

We overcome by faith

"Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith."  (Mark 5: 366)

Fear is useless.  All that is needed is trust.

Jesus wants us to trust Him completely in everything, always and everywhere.  But how do you trust Jesus in anything?  You trust that He will do what He promises to do in His word.  You trust that He has the power to accomplish anything that He wills.  You trust in His love and mercy for you.  You trust that Jesus knows what is best for you.

To maintain and grow your faith in Jesus, pray always.  Read the word of God everyday.

"Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith."  (Mark 5: 366)

Disregarding the doctor's report...
Disregarding the empty bank account...
Disregarding the teacher's evaluation of your child...
Disregarding the supervisor's evaluation and the pink slip..
Disregarding the empty pantry...

We walk by faith and  not by sight.  Sense evidence means nothing.  Only the word of God stands forever.

Go and tell what the Lord has done for you

“Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.”
Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed."  (Mark 5: 19 - 20)

What I like about this story is how a man went from being possessed to being an evangelist.  In this narrative, we see the best content for evangelization.  When people are challenged to share their faith, you hear often:  "I don't know what to say"; 'I have not studied the faith or the catechism."  

Listen to what Jesus told the man who has just been set free from demonic possession:
“Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.”  How did the man respond:  "Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed."

How then do we evangelize?  Start with your family and friends.  Share with them the simple touches of goodness you experience from the Lord during the day.  Don't wait for the big ticket items like being cured of cancer or winning a lottery.  During the day, we experience many blessings from the Lord such as.  A hot shower, a nice breakfast, the humble car that took you to work, a beautiful smile.  The strongest way to evangelize and may be your strongest act of witness to Jesus Christ is a constant joyful and cheerful expression.  Sooner or later people will  notice and ask what makes you bubble.  Be ready with your answer.

Why are you terrified?

"Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still! The wind ceased and there was great calm."
"Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”
 (Mark 4: 38 - 40)

Lord Jesus, You ask me:  “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”
Lord, when I face troubling situations with regard to family, health, finances, job, tools and property, food and future, I am terrified because my faith is very small.  I know You are God and present everywhere.  But I still wonder whether You will leave me to sort out things by myself. This is why I am terrified.  If only I can believe Your promise that You will never fail me; You will never forsake me.  Lord, if You strengthen my faith in Your promises, I will no longer be terrified.

Lord Jesus, increase my faith.

Why are you terrified?

"Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still! The wind ceased and there was great calm."
"Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”
 (Mark 4: 38 - 40)

Lord Jesus, You ask me:  “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”
Lord, when I face troubling situations with regard to family, health, finances, job, tools and property, food and future, I am terrified because my faith is very small.  I know You are God and present everywhere.  But I still wonder whether You will leave me to sort out things by myself. This is why I am terrified.  If only I can believe Your promise that You will never fail me; You will never forsake me.  Lord, if You strengthen my faith in Your promises, I will no longer be terrified.

Lord Jesus, increase my faith.