Eternity!

 

Fires raging out of control, mass destruction tornados, reservoirs dangerously low, no one seems to care.

Earthquake death tolls, tidal wave destructive blows, flash flood catastrophes, nature's force is on a tear. 

 

Wars are raging around the world, nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and so it goes.

Sons and daughters with families, of all nationalities, many become casualties; so it goes the oil flows.

 

The mighty forces rage, nothing stays the same, in a blink of an eye everything can change, so quickly.

The power of storms, the pain rages on, tears and fears never ending, the Imagery of disaster, sickening.

 

When will an era of peace find its way to us; when will the poison of hell on earth run its course...when?

Freedom from the natural order; freedom from the world order; freedom from all powers that be...Eternity!  

His Father's Glory

Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders., the chief priests, the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct."

Consideration: Peter is rebuked by Jesus for his lack of faith, trust, and understanding. Then he speaks to us about self-denial and sacrifice as a reward for eternal life. This statement is truth; if we wish to spend eternity with our Lord, we need to heed his direction to us. Amen.

God chose the weak of the World

Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God. It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written, whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.

Consideration: Saint Paul tells us that we do not need to be held in high esteem by worldly standards. The Lord calls those who are poor, weak, foolish, and despised of the world to bring the powerful and wise to their knees. God brings forth from the hearts of the humble the ability to transform the hearts of the noble, wise, and powerful; with love. Amen.

Refrain from Immorality

Brothers and sisters, we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that, as you received from us how you should conduct yourselves to please God - and as you are conducting yourselves - you do even more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. This is the will of God, your holiness; that you refrain from immorality, that each of you know how to acquire a wife for himself in holiness and honor, not lustful passion as do the Gentiles who do not know God; not to take advantage of or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, for the Lord is an avenger in all of these things, as we told you before and solemnly affirmed. For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not a human being, but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Consideration: This powerful reading from Saint Paul is as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago. The message is clear: refrain from immorality. Vice is a cross that all of mankind has to deal with. We have two choices; to give into our lustful passions that are offensive to God; or to refrain from them. The Lord told us that unless we are willing to take up our crosses on a daily basis; we are not worthy of him. It is up to us to choose...refrain from sin and please him; or give to in to sin. Pray always for the Holy Spirit to guide and protect us always. Amen.

Stay Awake

Jesus said to his disciples: Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of the night that the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? Blessed is the servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all of his property. But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is long delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."

Consideration: The Lord, Jesus, is giving us warning to be on guard always while waiting for his arrival. We must be prudent in continuing doing the will of God. To give to our Father the honor he deserves from his children, is to conduct our lives with integrity; always being fair and honest with others. Treat everyone with love and compassion; knowing that when the Lord returns, he will be truly pleased with us. Amen.

Hypocrisy and Evildoing

Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but the inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, and you say, 'if we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in the shedding of the prophets' blood.' Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out!"

Consideration: Once again, Jesus, calls out the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees. He equates them to whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but the inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth.

Lord, Jesus, grant us the grace of realism, that we may conduct our lives with honesty and integrity. Let the light within our hearts be a visible sign to those in our families, and the people we encounter on a daily basis; never to live as the hypocrites in our midst. Amen.

Blind Guides

Jesus said: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay with tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgement and mercy and fidelity. But these you should have done, without neglecting the others. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of cup, so that the outside also may be clean."

Consideration: We are not to act as the hypocrites in our midst. If we wish to shine with joy and happiness on the exterior, we must be cleansed on the interior as well. When the body, mind, heart, and soul are healthy; the outward appearance will be radiant. Maybe those with this tendency of hypocrisy will see the joy that we possess and seek to unite it into their daily lives as well. Amen.