"I am with you' declares Yahweh Sabaoth, 'and my spirit is present among you. Do not be afraid." ((Haggai 2: 4 – 5)
Yahweh is with me in this journey. And because Yahweh is with me, it is accomplished. I do not fear. Yahweh will rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He will arouse the spirit of men to help me.
"Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" I believe Lord. I will not fear. The spirit of Yahweh is with me. He is helping me.
"And he (Herod) was anxious to see him." (Luke 9: 9)
Why was Herod anxious to see Jesus?
Whatever motive Herod might have for wanting to see Jesus, won't be great if at the end of each day, we could say, "I was anxious to see Jesus today." The bible promises: Search for Him and you shall find Him. Another person who was anxious to see Jesus was Zachaeus.
"The wage earner gets his wages only to put them in a bag with a hole in it." (Haggai 1:6)
It is utter foolishness for a wage earner to put his hard earned money in a bag with holes in it. Yet, according to the word of God, this is what happens when we put our business first and God's business last.
The Lord says: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all these things will be given you besides." (Matthew 6:33)
When we invest our gifts of time, talent and treasure, when we promote God's business first and not the last in our priority, the return on investment is a 100 fold in this life and in the life to come, everlasting happiness.
"He called the 12 together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal." (Luke 9: 1-2)
We exercise power over devils when we reject evil in our life. When we help someone overcome the influence of evil in their life, we fulfill the injunction of Luke 9: 1 – 6. The word of God is the sword of the spirit. It is our weapon par excellence against the forces of darkness. Know the word, understand the word and use the word.
"And now, for a brief moment, the favor of Yahweh our God has allowed a remnant of us to escape and give us a stable home in his holy place, so that our God can raise our spirits and revive us a little in our slavery." (Ezra 9: 8-9)
Even in the midst of the most severe test and crisis, look for the finger of God ever ready to comfort and encourage us.
God punishes. He also revives. Our afflictions and punishment are temporary.
"On each one of us God's favor has been bestowed in whatever way Christ allotted it." (Ephesians 4:7) – Feast of St. Matthew
The choice! The call! The anointed!
What favor has God bestowed on Matthew, the tax collector? A tax recorder is now promoted to record the good news.
A marketing man now markets the good news.
"I have chosen you from the world to go and bear fruit that will last."
"No one lights a lamp to cover it with a bowl or to put it under a bed." (Luke 8: 16)
How does the Lord light up the lamp that is us?
The lamp is lighted to be put on the table to give light to the whole room. That room is our ministry field. This could be:
Lord, lead us, guide us and use us.
"Yahweh roused the spirit of Cyrus King of Persia to issue a proclamation and to have it publicly displayed throughout his kingdom." (Ezra 1: 1)
Through the agency of Cyrus, God fulfilled His promise to end the exile of His people and send them home. God is the Lord of history. He is all powerful and all sovereign. Whatever He wants, He accomplishes. Nobody can stand in His way. It gives tremendous comfort to worship such a God. Through the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we are confident to call such a God, our Father. Almighty God, I delight to call you Father.
"You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just." (From Matthew 20: 1 – 16)
There is no unemployment in the kingdom. Even for the worker who came to search for work very late in the day, there is work to be done. There is work for everybody at all times. I have found that this truth has helped me so much. God is the source of all inspiration and power. Jesus Christ is our Boss who says - "You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just." (Matthew 20: 7) If we look up to Him with trust, He will provide work even in very lean times. That work may be study time or volunteer work that helps to prepare us for paid employment.
"As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts." (Isaiah 55: 6 – 9)
God is all powerful, all wise and all sovereign. Is it surprising therefore to learn that we cannot grasp His thoughts nor wrap our mind around His providential designs? "Fear is useless; what is needed is trust." (Luke 8:50). Doubt is useless, what is needed is trust. Disputations, rationalizations are useless; what is needed is trust. Acceptance of this truth makes us receive with calmness all that happens in our life.
"Father, guide us as you guide creation according to your law of love. May we love one another and come to perfection in the eternal life prepared for use….." (Liturgical Prayer 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
God guides creation with love. What about the hurricanes, natural disasters, wars, hunger, poverty, disease, crimes? There is the finger of God in all these. The providential design of God expressly ordains or permits everything that happens in the world. God is in control of His world. God is almighty, all wise and completely sovereign. Not a hair falls from our head without His knowing and permitting it.
Father, I delight to call you Father. I am confident of your promise of protection, provision, peace, power, purpose and pardon. Watch over me like the apple of your eye.
"I am the Savior of all people, says the Lord. Whatever their troubles, I will answer their cry, and I will always be their Lord." (Entrance Antiphon, 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
God Himself is our Savior. Every man's Savior. Whatever our trouble, He will answer our cry. Most troubles in life fall into one of these categories:
I have been in many troubles all my life but God has been always good to me. But what about the troubles I had cried to God and had not received the answer I expected? I can think of when I prayed for promotion and was fired. I think of another occasion when I asked for help from another organization and was asked to leave. Did God hear my prayer? Yes, of course He did. I know because of the peace I felt at the material time. I believe that God heard my prayer and provided the best answer. I saw this clearly some years after the event.
"A sower went out to sow his seed." (Luke 8: 5)
The sower is Christ and the seed is the word of God. Today I am the sower and the seed is still the word of God. In this parable, Jesus presents a model for apostolic activity. The sower sows the good seed. The seed now needs to interact with the soil in order to yield harvest. Paul sows, Apollo waters and God provides the growth.
Lesson: do your best; do what is right and have peace. Have no anxiety at all.
"I charge you to do all that you have been told, with no faults or failures until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Timothy 6: 14)
What have I been told?
The 7-Way Plan
Persevere in this!
"Women provided for them out of their own resources." (Luke 8: 3)
Women provided for Jesus and His disciples out of their own resources. This is divine appointment. What lesson does this teach us? God's providential plan for providing for our every need is often mysterious. Sources that may appear obvious may not be used. God's faithfulness in meeting our every need is echoed in Psalm 23 and reflected in many passages in the Scripture and Church teaching. But we must believe and expect and accept.
"Religion of course, does bring large profits but only to those who are content with what they have." ( 1 Timothy 6: 6)
Three scriptures on Christian attitude on money and material things:
This is God's word on money. How amazingly different it is with the word of man on money. The word of man tells us:
Lord, help us to be content with what you have given us.
"You faith has saved you; go in peace." (Luke 7: 50)
Jesus said these words to the woman described as a "sinful woman" in Luke 7: 36 – 50. This woman's faith in Jesus brought her not only forgiveness of her many sins but spiritual healing as well. Faith is to accept God's word as true. Which word of God do I need to accept as true here and now?
Lord Jesus, I believe. Help my unbelief.
"Attend to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in both tasks, for by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you." (1 Timothy 4: 16)
Tend to your garden every day. Do everything for the sake of God. Do and say everything as if God is watching you. Persevere in doing good. Salvation comes not by tending you garden one day but through persevering in tending it every day.
"He learned obedience, Son though he was, through his suffering." (Hebrews 5: 7 – 9)
If we unite our sufferings with those of Christ, we too can learn obedience through our sufferings: pains, sickness, poverty, humiliations, delays, disappointments, obstacles or whatever suffering. Christ was perfected through suffering. We too can be perfected through suffering.
"As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up so that everyone who believes may have eternal life." (John 3: 14 – 15)
Scripture tells us that there is a divine necessity that Christ must be "lifted up", that means, suffering. His cross and death became a grave obstacle to belief for many people. But His cross is the ordained means of salvation. He who believes in Jesus must also believe in His cross. This is the means of salvation. No cross, no crown. No suffering, no salvation. Period!
