THE BEST CHOICE

Have you ever experienced being threatened? Just like Peter we should not give in but persevere to follow God rather than succumb to our fear. For as long as we've got God on our side and leaning on the promises of God our Savior then we're standing on solid immovable ground. Nothing should ever stop us from spreading the Word of God and dispelling all the heretical information being perpetrated in the whole world no matter what the cost. We should come after the example of the apostles who bravely displayed their faith and belief in Jesus. Day in and day out we are confronted with choices, big or small, all they ever amount to and what this is all about is just one important thing. Nothing should ever stop us from following their example of faith. It should inspire us to know that it was God who chose us first even before we ever came to be. His choice comes first even before we make a choice. He chose to love us first. If we believe that God loves us then we are confident in the fact that we must obey God above all. We must follow the example of obedience that Jesus showed us. It was one born out of inspiration rather than obligation. St. Thomas Aquinas said God the Father did it by inspiring the Son with so much love that Jesus did it. The obedience of Jesus to the point of death on the cross should not be seen as a rejection but the giving up of His Son for this great love of God for us who chose us first. Amen. Hallelujah!

Acts of the Apostles 5,27-33.

..."We gave you strict orders (did we not?) to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man's blood upon us."
But Peter and the apostles said in reply, "We must obey God rather than men...

We’ve got to have the right heart, mind and attitude as conveyed in the psalm reading today. Be poor in spirit and receptive to the Word of God. It doesn't make sense that despite these truths that are ever before us we still reject Jesus. Let's admit it, we do it one way or another, knowingly or unknowingly. The Light of the World already came and judgment day is coming soon. In fact, judgment is happening even now. In Deuteronomy 30:15 "Here, then, I have today set before you life and prosperity, death and doom..." God asked us to choose. It's got to be one way or another. There should be no mingling or ambiguity. It is all up to us. We can be assured that if we take God’s side then we’ll definitely taste and see His goodness. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 34:2, 9, 17-18, 19-20
R: The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
1 [2] I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. 8 [9] Taste and see how good the LORD is; blessed the man who takes refuge in him.(R) 16 [17] The LORD confronts the evildoers, to destroy remembrance of them from the earth. 17 [18] When the just cry out, the LORD hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them. (R) 18 [19] The LORD is close to the broken-hearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves. 19 [20] Many are the troubles of the just man, but out of them all the LORD delivers him.

Let us always be cautious of the things we say and do so that we reflect the values and principles that Jesus himself showed to us when He obeyed to the end. We've got to make a choice and the best one there is. Sometimes we do things that don't make sense. We prefer to stay in the dark and make a lousy choice. We think that it is better to stay in the dark rather than embrace the truth. That happens when we refuse to bring out in the light the things that we do in the dark. We prefer to remain in the darkness. There are a lot of things we can find out about what God says in the bible. In Genesis we can immediately find the 4 actions of God. In the 1st book of the bible in the first 4 verses we can find that God 1. creates 2. moves 3.speaks 4. separates The 4th and final action is needed because God loves us so much He just can't leave us the way we are. We've got to make a stand on which side we are. But according to Pope John Paul II in his book entitled, "Evangelium Vitae" the biggest problem of people nowadays is that we are no longer capable of distinguishing good from evil. We've got to have the courage to look straight in the eyes, stand up in the light and be faithful to God. Judgment is unfolding every single day. We have to make sure we are on the right side when it finally comes. Amen. Hallelujah!

John 3:31-36
31 The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. 34 For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.