Powerful WORD

The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/011913.cfm) reminds me how powerful God’s WORD is.

In the first reading, we see how powerful and effective God’s WORD is. His Word, the truth, is able to penetrate the deepest and innermost of our being. His word makes us realize things, and assures us on our concerns in life. God’s word gives us consolation, hope and the truth.

God speaks to us through a lot of things, and one of which is his WORD,  the bible. As we read and get familiar with the bible, we learn a lot of things. There are times when we feel God talking directly to us through his word. We feel God’s messages of love, hope and call to conversion. As we see in the psalm, his words are spirit and life. His word gives life, both physically when he raised and healed people during his time, and spiritually when we are reminded to come back to him through his word.

Jesus words are effectve and powerful. In the gospels, we see him raise dead people, heal and cure with his word. And as we see in the first reading, he is one with us except sin. He can sympathize with us because he went through what we are going through. He was tempted as well, but his faithin and realtionship with God helped him overcome these temptations. May we be inspired to be like Christ, and give importance to God’s Word as he did.

Do I read the Word? Is it important to me? Do I realize that God cannot speak to me if I don’t know his voice, if I do not read up on his Word?

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another weekend. Lord, there are a lot of things I want to do this weekend. I want to rest, but at the same time, I also want to maximize the weekend by spending time with people that matter to me. Despite all these things, help me Lord to spend time with you. Help me spend time with you and get to know you, and may I give importance and read and listen to your Word. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

How Far Would You Go?

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/011813.cfm) asks me – How for would you go for faith? How far are you willing to go for other people?

In the gospel, we see a familiar story (See related reflections below). It is inspiring how four people, which may or may not be friends of the paralyzed man, had the will, the faith, and made the effort to bring the paralyzed man to Jesus. It was not easy since there were a lot of people already, but these guys went the extra mile to bring the paralytic t Jesus, in hopes of healing for the person.

I don’t know if I would have done the same.

Sometimes compassion is not translated to action. Yes, you may feel sorry for the person, but actually doing something to help a person is a whole different thing. But these guys did not just act, they acted in a different level. Probably others will try to bring him to Jesus, but after seeing the house full, will say to the person – Sorry, a lot of people already. Maybe you’re not meant to be healed today. But not these guys. These guys went all the way to the roof, and brought the man down, resulting to him being healed.

It is not always easy to serve God. It is not always easy doing things for others. Sometimes God gives us challenges not to dishearten us, but to inspire, encourage and strengthen us. May we be inspired by the four men, whose love, faith, will and determination to bring the paralyzed man to Jesus, despite the challenges brought healing to the man, and glory to God.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you that it’s the last working day of the week! =) Lord, I ask that you give me opportunities to strengthen my faith. May I be able to bring others to you, no matter how difficult or challenging it may be. It may not always be easy, but it is worth the effort to bring others to You. As I live my faith, may I not be dishearten by challenges, but take it as it is – challenges to build and develop my faith. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

Ps

See related reflections:

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/12/positive-influence.html

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-far-will-you-go.html

Result of Actions

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/011713.cfm) reminds me that our actions would always result to something, even if we do not mean it, or see it while doing the act itself.

In Science, there is such a thing called Newton’s third law – For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When you throw a ball and it hits the wall, it comes back to you. Your force on the ball it matched by the wall’s force on the ball. I believe this is true in life as well. Our actions have results and implications, which sometimes are unexpected or greater that what we thought.

Jesus told the man, whom he healed, to not tell others about his healing. For whatever reason Jesus has, we cannot be sure. But what we do know is the man disobeyed Jesus command. Probably he was just overwhelmed and very happy so he thought of sharing his healing to others. Maybe he meant no offense, but his actions had effects on Jesus – he was not able to go about freely because his fame spread.

There are times in our lives when we don’t mean harm. There are times when we don’t think our actions would cause a great effect on others or on ourselves. We are reminded to be careful, and to always follow whatever Jesus tells us, so that as we live our lives, no matter what happens, we know that we are following Jesus and we are doing our best to live lives pleasing to him and not against him.

What actions in my life caused unexpected results? Am I careful in the way I act? Do I know that even if I go against God’s will, he will still make a way for his plans to come true?

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for reminding me to check my actions. Lord, there are a lot of times I do not think well enough before I act. There are times I do not consider the implications of my actions. Sorry for those times my actions hurt you. Lord, help me become more careful with my actions. Help me follow you and not let me emotions get the best of me. And always remind me that even if I go against your will, it won’t be enough to stop your great plans, and I will always have another chance to act and serve you better. Amen.

Blessed Day!

In Christ,

-g-

Pray to be Focused

The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/011613.cfm) reminds me how important it is to pray to so we can always be focused on God’s work

Rest is very important. We need rest to recharge our body. That is why it is important to get adequate sleep every night, to rest our body from a busy day, and recharge it for a new day ahead.

In the readings, we see that Jesus is human like us. The first reading says he became like us in every way. He feels what we are feeling. So in the gospel, after healing a lot of people until late at night. If I were in his position, I would probably sleep until late in the morning, thinking that I need (and deserve) some rest for doing God’s work. But not Jesus. In fact, he did the opposite. He slept for a while, and woke up very early, before dawn, to pray. This is where he gets his strength. This is where he recharges. Imagine, the Son of God, rising early to pray! Wow, so inspiring!

Prayer is also how Jesus is able to focus on God’s work. When his disciples found him and told him there are people waiting to be cured, he did not go back, but instead went to another place to preach there. He knew he already proclaimed God’s love and power in that place, and it is time to move to another place to do the same. He did not look for the easy way – it would have been easier to go back because people already knew his power. He would be given much respect and attention – people would take care of him since he was powerful. But he chose to remain faithful to God’s task.

May we be able to realize how important and powerful prayer is, even in our busiest day =)

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for reminding me how important and powerful prayer is. Lord, I am sorry for taking prayer for granted, for not making the most out of it. It is more convenient to say that I’m tired from working, or from doing your work, and I am excused to pray. Lord, give me a heart that would love prayer. May I never be too busy or too tired to want to and actually spend time with you in prayer, for I know how much it can do to me. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

Ps

See related reflections:

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/02/he-rose-early-to-pray.html

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2013/01/recharge-and-pray.html

Saying and Doing

The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/011513.cfm) reminds me again that knowing Christ, saying He is God, is very different from doing His work.

In the first reading and psalm, we see how great God’s love is for us, that he sent his only son and made him human just like us, to save us from our sins. We also see Jesus love for God, when he obeyed and went down to our level to save us from our sins. This is one fact that not everyone during Jesus’ time did not know, could not understand and do not want to understand.

In the gospel, we see someone knowing who Jesus is. The man with unclean spirit knows who Jesus really is. “What have you to do, Jesus of Nazareth?... I know who you are – the Holy One of God.” Jesus was not happy with the man’s word. Why? Because he was not saying that out of faith and love of him. he was saying that to mock Jesus. We then saw Jesus commanding the unclean spirit to shut up come out of the man.

Knowing Jesus is not enough. Professing Jesus is not enough. Especially know, it is easy to say who Jesus is. It is easy to tell what he did for us. We know it. We study it in school. We hear it from people. What is harder, and what is more important, is living it. We need to live our faith. We need to profess our faith, not with our lips, but with our actions. As we do this, we can say that Jesus would be happy and pleased with us.

Am I living my faith in God?

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for reminding us that it is not enough to profess my faith with words. Lord, I am sorry for sometimes being complacent with my faith, for being contented with simply knowing you, simply telling others about you. I ask that you help me live my faith. May I translate my words into actions and may I live a life pleasing to you. Amen.

Blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

Too Focused?

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/011413.cfm) reminds me to not be too focused on what I am doing in this life, that I miss out on the important things.

In the gospel, Jesus called his first disciples. They were working and doing their own business when Jesus called them. However, when Jesus called them, they left everything – their work, their family, their old life - and followed Jesus.

We may not experience Jesus himself coming to us and asking us to follow him – like he did the disciples. But I believe that Jesus comes to us, everyday, in the simple and ordinary things. He comes to us as we do our work, as we study, as we live our lives. This is why it is important that we should not be too focused on what we are doing, else we miss Jesus coming to us and miss the opportunity to follow him and serve him through others.

What is my goal right now? Am I focused on it? Am I focused too much that I don’t mind other things that come my way? Am I sensitive to Jesus’ calling me everyday? When was the last time he called me, and I responded positively?

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another opportunity to love and serve you. Lord, I am sorry for not always being sensitive to you. Sorry for being too focused on my life, on my work, on my goals, that I fail to see you in my life. Help me become more sensitive to you, and when you call me, may I be like the disciples, ready and willing to leave what I am doing to do your work. Amen.

Blessed week!

In Christ,

-g-

One With Us

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/011313.cfm) reminds us that Jesus is one with us in all aspects, except sin.

The readings remind us how anointed Jesus was. He really is the Son of God, sent by God to save us from our sins as he proclaims God’s kingdom. The gospel recounts his baptism, and God affirming to everyone present that Jesus is his Son.

Jesus did not need to be baptized. He is one with God, one with him from eternity. He only had himself baptized to show us that he is really one with us. That he goes through what we go through. That he experiences that we experience. In doing so, we are reminded, and encouraged, that we can also do what Jesus can do.

Jesus was tempted several times, just like us. He was given a task to proclaim God’s kingdom, just like us. He became afraid and asked if he can be spared the pain, just like us. When he destroyed the vendors in the temple, we see him mad, just like us. He attends weddings and eats, just like us. Knowing this, we know that we can also do what he did. We can forgive, just like him. We can show compassion and help other people, just like him. We can proclaim God’s kingdom, just like Him.

May Jesus baptism remind us that he is one with us, and encourage us to live lives just like his.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for all the blessings you have generously bestowed upon me and my family. Thank you for the Word that reminded me that Jesus is also human, just like us. Help us Lord to take it into heart. Help us be inspired that we can also live a life pleasing to you, doing your work and spreading your love to other people we encounter. May today, we spread your love in a special way. Amen.

Blessed Sunday!

In Christ,

-g-