NO SWEAT

God never fails to amaze us of His ever mindful love and care for all of us. We need to pursue wisdom in handling the affairs in this life which seems to be not fair at times. Nevertheless, God can surely give us the wisdom to turn our life around. Amen. Hallelujah!

Wisdom 7:22-8:1

22 In Wisdom is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, agile, clear, unstained, certain, not baneful, loving the good, keen, unhampered, beneficent, 23 kindly, firm, secure, tranquil, all-powerful, all-seeing, and pervading all spirits, though they be intelligent, pure and very subtle. 24 For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion, and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity. 25 For she is an aura of the might of God and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nought that is sullied enters into her. 26 For she is the refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of his goodness. 27 And she, who is one, can do all things, and renews everything while herself perduring; and passing into holy souls from age to age, she produces friends of God and prophets. 28 For there is nought God loves, be it not one who dwells with Wisdom. 29 For she is fairer than the sun and surpasses every constellation of the stars. Compared to light, she takes precedence; 30 for that, indeed, night supplants, but wickedness prevails not over Wisdom. 8: 1 Indeed, she reaches from end to end mightily and governs all things well.

Our world is ever changing with all the new technology coming up, it's so surprising that whatever is considered the latest and gold standard today may not hold true the following day. If there's one thing we should rely and hold on to in this very dynamic world of ours, then it should be something constant and enduring. It gives us great consolation that we have a God who is true to His word. We may have heard it but we haven't learned yet. It is a lifelong journey and quest to know God better. It will always be well for us to consult the scriptures that shed light and give understanding. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalms 119:89, 90, 91, 130, 135, 175

R: Your word is forever, O Lord.
89 Your word, O LORD, endures forever; it is firm as the heavens. (R) 90 Through all generations your truth endures; you have established the earth, and it stands firm. (R) 91 According to your ordinances they still stand firm: all things serve you. (R) 130 The revelation of your words sheds light, giving understanding to the simple. (R) 135 Let your countenance shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes. (R) 175 Let my soul live to praise you, and may your ordinances help me.

Have you ever experienced looking for something like for example eyeglasses placed on top of the head and end up going round and round wasting all your energy. Isn't it funny when we tire ourselves over this kind of things when there is really no need to do that. Sometimes we are all guilty of looking for something far and wide without realizing that it is already right before our very eyes and under our noses. The same is true with God who is always with us and among us. We sometimes focus too much on the external things around us when there is obviously and absolutely nothing else we should focus on but God Himself if we want to be spared of going round and round and end up tired and confused. We are also reminded in the gospel today that we should not just go off unprepared. There is no room for excuses and we must recognize the need to be mindful of the things we do and take the right action. We should always remember that we have a gentle and compassionate God who deals with us very calmly. There is no need for us to panic or fret for God knows exactly where we are headed. Today's gospel tells us not to overreact by running in all directions not knowing where to go. We may have all been into a specific situation in life when we exhaust all means and use up our energies for something just to find out that we need not go through it at all. Sometimes we resort to a lot of needless things which eventually leave us tired and weak just to find out that in the end there was really no need for us to go through all the trouble. God wants to meet us where we are and we are in the path where God wants us for He, Himself can lead us out of it without any sweat, no matter how hopeless and desperate it may seem. All we have to do is give our full trust and confidence in Him and be at peace with whatever situation we are in at the moment by first accepting wherever we are right now and from there start to improve in our lives. The kingdom of God is among you. This statement of Jesus from the gospel urges us to get a hold of it right now for it is already among us. We've got to consciously live it every day and in whatever circumstance or situation we may be, whatever, whoever, whenever, wherever. Let's not wait for any further sign or cue. As it is written it can not be observed, we've got to act on it on our own. There's no need to wait for any stimulus or catalyst. It's got to be really coming from us to claim for ourselves this truth that is slowly taking on a downward spiral and in danger of being cast into oblivion especially now that the world today is influenced so much by things that contradict this truth or even deny its presence. It is sad that people nowadays live as if there is no God or worse they believe in God but it doesn't manifest or show in how they live. Let us not be amiss on this and fail to capture this most important truth that can impact not just a lifetime but eternity. We have become so preoccupied, lured by what the world offers and full of other things to even give room to what should really come first and be the spiritual beggar that we should be before the Lord. Let us make it clear, change this trend and take actions to make it reign in our lives dominantly for the power is already within us. We've got to empty ourselves, get rid of things that snatch away our focus on God so as not to come to a point where we end up in our worst state before we realize this truth. We can not be partying now and then regretting it later. Sometimes we hear people say, things happen for a reason but sometimes too things could not have happened the way it did if we had known the reason. God is the reason and He should always be our reason. Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 17:20-25

20 Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, “The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, 21 and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the kingdom of God is among you.” 22 Then he said to his disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23 There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’ Do not go off, do not run in pursuit. 24 For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.”