Who is Jesus?

“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16: 13).

The mystery of Jesus.
Who is He?
Whence did He come?
Why did He come?

These and similar questions exercised the minds of the disciples of Jesus and the Jewish leaders who watched with amazement the ministry of Jesus Christ.  The time has come at last to confront these questions.  Jesus took the initiative and asked His disciples.

"They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  (Matthew 16: 14).

Jesus apparently not satisfied with generalities asked pointedly:

“But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”  (Matthew 16: 15 - 16).

Then Jesus revealed an astonishing truth:
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father."  (Matthew 16: 17).

Many people in the Church today have stopped believing.  The honest ones are those who have stopped coming to Church.  There is a phenomenal problem of faith in the world today.  Jesus is saying in Matthew 16: 17 that faith is a gift of God.  Those who have stopped asking and practicing their faith may be losing their faith.

 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you."  (Matthew 7: 7 NLT).

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O woman, great is your boldness!

"Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour."  (Matthew 15: 28).

Blessed are the desperate, for they shall have their miracles.
O man, your extremity is God's opportunity. Know too that your security is Satan's opportunity.

The Canaanite woman whose daughter was tormented by a demon understands what faith is all about. True faith is driven by desperate need.  Mother Angelica, the EWTN founder taught me that faith is boldness.  Be bold with God's promises. Be bold with the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.

Gross materialism in the culture gives us a false sense of security.  Your security is Satan's opportunity.  The Canaanite woman's desperation is an opportunity for Jesus.

How many things have you prayed and cried? God hears the cry of the poor.

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In their fear, they thought Jesus was a ghost.

“Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”  (Matthew 14: 27).

The disciples of Jesus were terrified when they saw Jesus walking toward them in the foaming sea.  They thought it was a ghost. To calm them down, Jesus assured them that it was He.

When our heart is gripped by whatever fear, we need to remember those calming words of Jesus.  Can you draw money from an empty account? To withdraw money, you must first deposit funds.  It is when things are calm that you fill your mind with the word of God.

On the subject of fear, St John Chrysostom, a 4th/5th century Church Father and Doctor of the Church who admired St Paul the Apostle said that Paul was inimitable. He added that Paul was so bold and fearless that even the devil was afraid of Paul.  We can all say that Jesus, the God-Man is fearless and the devil is terrified by His Name. And Jesus is the source of the fearlessness of every Christian.

Here are a few of the Scriptures that help me to fight fear:

#1 Deuteronomy 31:  8
"It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

#2  Psalm 27:1
"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

#3  Isaiah 41:10
"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

"And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:20 NLT).

I like this petite but powerful Scripture:
"Fear is useless; what is needed is trust."  (Luke 8: 50; Mark 5: 36).

And here is word of wisdom and courage from the Carmelite mystic:
"Let nothing trouble you,
let nothing frighten you.
All things are passing;
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
He who possesses God lacks nothing:
God alone suffices."  (St Teresa of Avila)

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What do you hear when you listen?

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

The Church celebrates today the great feast of the Transfiguration. What happened at the Transfiguration?  In the presence of credible eyewitnesses, Peter, James and John, Jesus was transformed in His essence into a heavenly Being. But that was not all.

"Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”  (Mark 9: 7).

Just as John the Baptist identified Jesus at the Baptism as the Lamb of God, the Father Himself pointed out Jesus as His only beloved Son.
The Father added an authoritative command which should catch our attention. "LISTEN TO HIM."

What do you hear when you listen to Jesus? What I hear clearly is this:
"Make your top priority God’s kingdom and his way of life, and all these things will be given to you as well."  (Matthew 6: 33 NTE).
I like what I hear. It is clear from the Gospel that Jesus has a magnificent obsession for the Kingdom of God and righteousness.  I ask Abba Father every day to grant me a magnificent obsession for the Kingdom so that I can accomplish my mandate.

When you listen to Jesus, what do you hear?

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What is this food?

"My Father gives you the true bread from heaven." (John 6: 32).

Jesus and His followers are having an interesting conversation about the Bread of life.  First, what is this Bread of life? Answer:  "For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”  (John 6: 33).

We know from Isaiah 25: 1 that every plan of God in salvation history is conceived "long ago." Nothing is improvised. The Eucharist is prefigured in today's first Reading from Exodus 16.
"What is this?" the people asked Moses. “It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat." (Exodus 16: 15).

The manna the Lord provided the people in the desert was to be the grandfather of the Eucharist in the fullness of time.  The Israelites greeted the manna initially with scorn, "They spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" (Numbers 21: 5).

Today some Christians sadly treat the Holy Eucharist with gross misinterpretation and levity.

"Brothers and sisters, I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds;  darkened in understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance, because of their hardness of heart." (Ephesians 4: 17 - 18).

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Seek the gift of Prophecy.

“It is not lawful for you to have her.” (Matthew 14: 4).

The speaker of the above words is the Prophet John the Baptist.  He paid supreme price for these words.  An English author wrote:  "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."  Prophets in the Bible and in history have suffered the brunt of angry women whose loves were threatened. Let's consider a few:

#1. Jezebel would have skinned the Prophet Elijah alive if she had caught him. 
#2.  "And he [Herod] had John beheaded in the prison." (Matthew 14: 10).
#3. King Henry VIII beheaded St Thomas More in order to marry Anne Boleyn.

Clearly the vocation of a Prophet would rank one of the most dangerous in the world.  The concluding verse in today's first Reading is: "But the hand of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, protected Jeremiah, so they did not hand him over to the people to be put to death."  (Jeremiah 26: 24). Yet in spite of these clear dangers, the Holy Spirit urges us:

"Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy." (1 Corinthians 14: 1).
That is, pray especially for the gift of prophecy. What is your response?

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Do not forget your ancient landmarks.

"And Jesus did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith." (Matthew 13: 58).

Familiarity amongst Jesus' kith and kin did not only breed contempt but bred unbelief as well.  Result? No faith, no miracle. Let us take stock of our faith.

Rule #1: How aware are you of all the good things God has done for you?  St John the Evangelist calls miracles signs. A sign is something that points to something else. Some modern commentators call miracle divine intervention.  I like this definition.  Scripture urges us:
"Do not forget your ancient Landmark."  (Proverbs 22: 28).
I decided recently to review the Timeline of my life to check on my ancient landmarks.  I was shocked at what I discovered. The least active decades had more than half a dozen landmarks.  Each of them, very impressive divine intervention.   Take for example when I received a major and transformative promotion which I had not expected.  I still look at it today as a miracle.

"Bless the Lord, my soul; and do not forget all his gifts." (Psalm 103: 2).
Help me gracious God never to forget any of Your benefits. I will recall the wondrous deeds You have done for me. (Cf 105: 5).

Jesus chides His disciples:
"Do you not yet understand, and do you not remember?" (Matthew 16: 9).

Remembering and understanding God's marvelous deeds in your life is the key to affluence or living the Abundant life promised by Jesus. (Cf John 10: 10).

Keep a record of God's mercies. Never forget your ancient landmarks.

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Honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus this Friday.

August 3, 2018 - First Friday.

The 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus:  Jesus promised 12 special favors to all those who will honor His Sacred Heart especially on the First Friday of every month.  In the 8th month of the year 2018, we look at Promise #8.

#8.  "Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection."

Who are fervent souls?
Are there hierarchy or grades of reward in Heaven? How would you feel to realize that although you made it to Heaven, you have not realized your fullest potential?

There are hierarchy of angels and choir.  Therefore there must be hierarchy of saints.  Some of the ministries or celebrations in Heaven are likely to be:  Choir and Intercessions.  Leading the ministries of Intercessions is Jesus our Eternal High Priest and His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven.

Saints who will have pride of place in these two Heavenly Ministries are saints who have gone extra mile while on earth to please the Lamb and had washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 22: 14).

So my friends, being fervent is good but why not aim for perfection.

Honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus this Friday by attending Holy Mass.

For the 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, click the link below:

http://sfjweb.com/?q=content/sacred-heart-12-promises

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Do you know better than God?

"Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done?—oracle of the Lord. Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel." (Jeremiah 18: 6).

God challenged the arrogant and independent minded Israelites with the reminder that their destiny is squarely in His hands.  Think about it: Aren't you happy that your destiny is in God's hands? I am.

"Whenever the vessel of clay he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making another vessel of whatever sort he pleased." (Jeremiah 18: 4).

You recognize that God is the potter.  God knows the plan He has for you and me.  He says under oath (oracle of the Lord) that this plan for our welfare is excellent.   (Jeremiah 29: 11).

Consider this:
"If that which God Himself chooses for you does not content you, from whom do you expect to obtain what you desire?.... Do you know better than God?" (Jean-Pierre de Caussade, SJ).

We are clay in the potter's hands and our attitude should be  like a weaned child in its mother’s arms. (Cf Psalm 131: 2).

These are some of the clay vessels which were transformed by the Master Potter:
Moses
Jeremiah
St Paul
St Francis of Assisi
St Louis Marie de Montfort

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Where is this Pearl of Great Value?

"Jesus said to his disciples: "The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.  When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."  (Matthew 13: 45 - 46).

Are you a seeker? Are you searching for more value in your life? More meaning? More peace and joy? More capacity for faith, hope and love?
Welcome to the the Good News of Jesus Christ.  The Pearl of Great Price.

Is it possible to find such a treasure? Let us look at some of the best of the children of men who searched and found this Pearl of Great Price:
St Mary Magdalene: Found the Great Pearl and thereafter got attached to the Pearl.
St Ignatius Loyola: Loved the Pearl passionately and abandoned everything and followed the Pearl everywhere.
St Thomas More:  Gave his life happily for the Pearl.
St Teresa of Kolkata:  Traveled the whole world spreading message about the Pearl.

How about you? What is your passion in life? Do you have any magnificent obsession? Jesus has a magnificent obsession for the Kingdom of God. He desires to get you involved in this beautiful project.
Will you say YES to Jesus?
Nobody who said YES had any regrets.

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Every knee must bend at the Name of Jesus.

"At the name of Jesus, every knee should bend of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  (Philippians 2: 10 - 11).

The Scriptures say that at the Name of Jesus, every knee should bend in worship.  This will happen at the Eschaton, the End of the Age.  When the Kingdom of God is made manifest, there will be no choice for any person but to bend the knee.  When Christ comes to take possession of His Kingdom, He will come not like a helpless poor baby but like a mighty King.  When the sun is up and shining, nobody asks "where is the sun?" You see the sun from wherever you may be.

Today is the feast of St Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits.  Ignatius contributed deep insights into the Discernment of Spirits.  His insights are still used in retreats all over the world.  Ignatius had such an intimate love for Jesus and left us this great desire of his heart:

+  To know the Heart of Jesus intimately.
+  To love Him passionately.
+   To follow Jesus everywhere.

Ignatius counsels his spiritual children to do everything for the greater glory of God.

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Where is the Kingdom of God?

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches."  (Matthew 13: 31 - 32).

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a Mustard Seed at the beginning of the Church Age.  At Pentecost about 120 disciples of Jesus were in the Upper Room, praying and waiting for the Promised of the Father, the Holy Spirit.  2000 years after, there are over 2.5 billion Christians in the world.  Is the Kingdom of God still like a Mustard Seed? Yes, it has grown but yet to reach its potential.

Jesus Christ came to the world to establish the Kingdom of God. The Church is the seed on earth.
The Kingdom is mentioned 342 times in the entire Bible.  119 or 34% in the 4 Gospels.  Jesus had a magnificent obsession about the Kingdom.  He talked of nothing as much as the Kingdom.

"Jesus presented himself alive to them [Apostles] by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God."  (Acts 1: 3).

After the Resurrection, Jesus continued His catechesis on the Kingdom.

The Kingdom is here and now.  The fullness of the Kingdom is in the future.  Until the full realization of Kingdom, it is like a Mustard Seed. Jesus wants us to be obsessed with the Kingdom just as He was in the days of His public ministry.  We participate in the the work of the Kingdom by growing daily in Faith, Hope and Charity.

"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."  (Matthew 6: 10). 
"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."  (Matthew 6: 33).

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They all ate and were satisfied.

“Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” Jesus said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do." (John 6: 5 - 6).

This is the prelude to the Miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves.  This miracle is critical to the the Mission of Jesus to establish the Kingdom of God amongst men.  Note that this is not a haphazard event since "He himself knew what he was going to do." The Multiplication of Loaves point squarely to the Miracle of the Eucharist, the subject of most of Chapter 6 of the Gospel of St John.

What did Jesus do on this occasion?
"Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted."   (John 6: 11).

On the night before He died, "Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you,  for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins." (Matthew 26: 26 - 29).

The Eucharist is not a happy chance event in the ministry of Jesus.  To use the words of Prophet Isaiah:
"O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God; you do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them, just as you said!"  (Isaiah 25: 1).

The Eucharist is the symbol of God's inexhaustible bounty and generosity.
 “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”  So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat."  (John 6: 12 - 13).

We have a foreshadowing of this miracle in today's first Reading where Prophet Elisha commanded:
“Give it to the people to eat, for thus says the Lord: You will eat and have some left over.”  He set it [20 barley loaves] before them, and when they had eaten, they had some left over, according to the word of the Lord."  (2 Kings 4: 43 - 44).

Therefore come with a joyful heart without hesitation or excuses to the Table of the Lord:

"All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, buy grain and eat;
Come, buy grain without money, wine and milk without cost!"  (Isaiah 55: 1).

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An enemy has done this.

“The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field.  While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.". (Matthew 13: 24 - 25).

The man who sowed good seed in his field in this parable is God. The enemy who sneaked in at night and sowed weeds is the devil.
The question is:  Why will an all powerful God allow the devil to spoil the work of His hands?  This and similar questions bother many people of good will.  The Church has grappled with the mystery of evil most of her history and at the end has concluded that evil is indeed a mystery.  But the question never goes away.

Why did God allow the division in the Body of Christ?
Why does God permit slavery and abuse of children?
Why did God permit the Holocaust?
Why did God allow such a horrible agony and death of Jesus on the Cross?  It goes on and on.

"While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off."  (Matthew 13: 27).

We know that God never sleeps nor slumbers.  What is going on here? When Jesus was asked what happened, "He answered, ‘An enemy has done this." (Matthew 13: 28).  An answer full of mystery.

The Church explains the difficult mystery of Evil thus:

"The fact that God permits physical and even moral evil is a mystery that God illuminates by his Son Jesus Christ who died and rose to vanquish evil. Faith gives us the certainty that God would not permit an evil if he did not cause a good to come from that very evil, by ways that we shall fully know only in eternal life." (CCC 324).

Can you find a better insight into the mystery of Evil?

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Anxiety and lure of riches choke the word.

"The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit."  (Matthew 13: 22).

The Seed is the word of God and Jesus Christ is the Sower.  You and I represent the soil where the Sower sows the seed.  Because we know the Sower, we can say the seed is good.  Those of us who are teachers know that the student's ability to learn is in direct proportion to his desire to learn and his preparation for the class.  You become a rich soil for the word in direct proportion to your desire for the word of God and preparation in ridding yourself of unnecessary baggage in the form of "worldly anxiety and the lure of riches."  Imagine your student sitting in the classroom at 8 am with so much stuff in his mind:  little sleep, junk breakfast eaten on the run, homework not done, not sure of dinner, etc.

The Sower of the word of God and our Teacher says that each person has the responsibility in making ready the soil for the word.  Only rich soil can bear fruit and yield a harvest of 100, 60 or 30 fold. I want to go for 100 fold.  Help me Jesus.

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7-27

"The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit."  (Matthew 13: 22).

The Seed is the word of God and Jesus Christ is the Sower.  You and I represent the soil where the Sower sows the seed.  Because we know the Sower, we can say the seed is good.  Those of us who are teachers know that the student's ability to learn is in direct proportion to his desire to learn and his preparation for the class.  You become a rich soil for the word in direct proportion to your desire for the word of God and preparation in ridding yourself of unnecessary baggage in the form of "worldly anxiety and the lure of riches."  Imagine your student sitting in the classroom at 8 am with so much stuff in his mind:  little sleep, junk breakfast eaten on the run, homework not done, not sure of dinner, etc.

The Sower of the word of God and our Teacher says that each person has the responsibility in making ready the soil for the word.  Only rich soil can bear fruit and yield a harvest of 100, 60 or 30 fold. I want to go for 100 fold.  Help me Jesus.

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Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God is given to the little ones.

"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike."  (Matthew 11: 25).

Have you read "THE STORY OF A SOUL?"  The autobiography of St Therese of Lisieux, the little French flower? It is one of the most delightful and popular life of Saints since it was published at the close of the 19th century.  St Therese entered Carmel at 15 and died at 24.  What made Therese one of the 35 Doctors of the Church, 4 of which are women?

St Therese was the little child of Jesus and Jesus taught His little child the simple secret of holiness.

"The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted."  (Matthew 13: 10 - 11).

What is the knowledge of the Kingdom of God?  Read on:

The mystery of the Kingdom of God is the mystery of God's unfathomable mercy.

"Lord, your mercy reaches to heaven; your fidelity, to the clouds."
"How precious is your mercy, O God!" (Psalm 36: 6, 8).

The Blessed Virgin Mary has a profound knowledge of this mystery.  She is childlike and a little one.
"And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies and exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
“For He has looked [with loving care] on the humble state of His maidservant; For behold, from now on all generations will count me blessed and happy and favored by God!...
“And His mercy is upon generation after generation
Toward those who [stand in great awe of God and] fear Him."  (Luke 1: 46 - 50). 

This knowledge is so profound that the Church uses the Magnificat of Mary every day in Vespers going back possibly to the beginning of the Church.  Mary, the Simple One is also Seat of Wisdom, one of her titles from ancient times.

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Jesus chose James, a vessel of clay.

"But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us."  (2 Corinthians 4: 7).

What a great portrayal of who we are.  We are delicate vessels of clay.  Yet, God has poured into us the word of life and made us messengers of this word and ministers of reconciliation urging us to go forth boldly and tell our brothers and sisters to reconcile with God.  Brothers and sisters, no more excuses of inadequacies.  Your inadequacy pushes you to front of the line.

"It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain."  (John 15: 16).

Jesus Christ chose us in spite of who we are.  He knows us intimately.  He is a great and generous King.  His reward is unbelievable.

"Those who sow in tears will reap with cries of joy.
Those who go forth weeping, carrying sacks of seed, will return with cries of joy, carrying their bundled sheaves."  (Psalm 126:  5 - 6).

Today is the feast of St James the Apostle.  He too was a vessel of clay.  He drank the chalice of the Lord and became the friend of Jesus.

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Who is my mother?

“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”  And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”  (Matthew 12: 48 - 50).

"Who is my mother?"  My mother is she who does the will of God.
Who are my brothers and sisters?
My brothers and sisters are they who do the will of God.

What does it mean to do the will of God? What does Scripture say?
The Bible is full of passages on the importance and benefits of doing the will of God.  (Matthew 6: 10, Matthew 7: 21, James 1: 22, Romans 12: 2, Hebrews 10: 36, 1 John 2: 3 - 6, etc.).

The will of God is the Law of God, His Commandments and all that He has decreed. This Law is written first in the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments), in the entire Bible and in the consciences of men and women of good will everywhere.  He who observes this Law is the true brother of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit who is in every true believer helps us to observe this Law and qualifies us as the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.

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God enters into trial with His people.

"For the Lord has a case against his people; he enters into trial with Israel.  (Micah 6: 2).

Every once in a while in the Journey of Faith of Israel, we see the situation we have in today's Scripture from Prophet Micah.  God has entered into litigation with His people Israel. God is both Prosecutor and Judge.  First, God lays down His case.

"My people, what have I done to you? how have I wearied you? Answer me! I brought you up from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery I ransomed you; And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam."  (Micah 6: 3 - 4).

How would you answer the above charges?  Like David? "Have mercy on me God. I have sinned." (Cf Psalm 51: 1).   Or like Saul?  "But I did obey the LORD." Saul said."

Obedience to His will is not a complicated matter.

"You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God."  (Micah 6:  8).

And one more thing:
"He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me; and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”  (Psalm 50: 23).

This is why David is a man after God's Heart.  (1 Samuel 13: 14;  Acts 13: 22).

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