LIVING IN THE LIGHT

If there are bible passages that should be known by heart and mind by a Christian then one of them is from today's 1st reading. It is about the fruits of the Holy Spirit. During my first Life in the Spirit Seminar (LSS) that I attended this bible passage was one of the things discussed intensively in the LSS. It was something that never left me and always served as a reminder and guideline. I am very grateful for that and feel that it should always be included in similar activities like the upcoming Living in the Light Seminar (LLS) on October 30, 2010. In this way we could always refer to it like a checklist so that we can immediately dismiss or exchange whatever it is we bear in our hearts, mind and soul that is not a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Hallelujah!

Galatians 5:18-25
...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.


Right this very moment miners are being rescued in Chile. There's one thing that caught my attention to it as I was reading today's psalm. Nobody would ever want to be trapped in a dark mine that is 2000 feet below. Although some of them have been rescued and brought up to the light they were still prevented from exposing their eyes to the light and were given dark shades to wear to protect them. This is what happens when we dare to step into the darkness and stay there too long we adapt to it and wanting to go back to the light instantly could be harmful. Let us not be led into the dark and imbibe it for too long that we find it difficult to adapt to light. Today's psalm tells us that if we follow the Lord we will not be in darkness and will have the light of life. God is true to His word and we can always hold on to it more than we can hold to our life. Let us choose to live in the light rather than stay in the dark. Amen. Hallelujah!


Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6
R: Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
...Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, 2 but delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night. (R) 3 He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers.


It is not easy to do what is right and stay in the light but it is never easier to do the wrong thing and be in the dark. Whether we know about this already or we would still have to find out sooner or later is not as important as the warning that Jesus tells us in today's gospel. The Pharisees and Scholars in the time of Jesus are the most respected and looked up to as the righteous people. We may be able to justify ourselves and fool the people around us but we can never camouflage the wrong that we do from the Lord. If we choose to do what is right all the way through as in the most genuine sense of it then we need not be bothered at all. It is like being under the guiding light of the Lord and bathing in the endless shower of His graces. God will surely endow us with true blessings rather than woe. Amen. Hallelujah!


Luke 11:42-46
42 The LORD said: “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others.
L