We can always hold on to God’s words and promise. We will
never be disappointed if we hope in God who will surely prove that everything
about His words are true. Amen. Hallelujah!
Sirach 36:1, 4-5, 10-17
...Give evidence of your deeds of old; fulfill the
prophecies spoken in your name, 15 reward those who have hoped in you, and let
your prophets be proved true. 16 Hear the prayer of your servants, for you are
ever gracious to your people; 17 thus it will be known to the very ends of the
earth that you are the eternal God.
Most people I believe will agree with me when I say that who
we are today is the sum total of what we've done in the past and what we're
still doing in the present. But the most important part of the equation that we
should never forget to add in our life is the Multiplier, for whatever it is
that we can do, is just a small fraction of what God can do in our lives. There
is no doubt that the Lord will show us the right path if we go to Him at all
times. Sometimes we go through life not really knowing what we're missing. Let
us no longer miss out but rather benefit and enjoy in the goodness of God. We
sometimes wonder how an act of obedience to God can seem so difficult at times
even if we know for a fact that it is for our own good. It is our sins that
draw us farther away from God, bury us deeper and bind us in chains. It all
begins in just a slight act of disobedience or negligence on our part which
takes a hold of us and before we know it we've gone so far away from God. Let's
not wait any longer before it's too late. The time is now for us to repent and
go back to God. There are 2 bible verses which I consider very special and of
great importance to me. The first is from Romans 8:28 which says that, "We
know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called
according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be
conformed to the image of his Son..." The second one is from Ephesians
6:10-17, "Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to
resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So
stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a
breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all
circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all (the) flaming arrows of
the evil one.And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God." It is noteworthy that we realize the important
aspect in this bible passage about the need to wear an armor and most
especially for us to realize the need for a weapon when we engage in battle and
the only weapon mentioned is the sword which is the word of God. Sometimes we
tend to look at things in a general way and miss the important details or only
see, read and hear the things that we want and do not take the words of God in
its entirety. There are lots of prosperity preachers who present the word of
God in this manner and tend to overlook the equally important details and
instructions that God also wanted us to pay attention to. God has definitely
made it clear that everything will work for good but just the same, we have to
take note of the following words which say that we need to conform to the image
of Jesus. We definitely should not miss nor overlook this so that we can surely
be saved and delivered. It is inevitable that we always give praise to God.
Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 79:8, 9, 11, 13
R: Show us, O Lord, the light of your kindness.
8 Remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may
your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low. (R) 9 Help us,
O God our savior, because of the glory of your name; deliver us and pardon our
sins for your name’s sake. (R) 11 Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you;
with your great power free those doomed to death. 13 Then we, your people and
the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; through all
generations we will declare your praise.
Today's gospel makes it clear to us that we have to purify
our motives and intentions before we do something. Sometimes we fall into the
trap of doing something in exchange of something or we are driven to action by
the fact that there is a catch to it. These things should only come as a result
of our action but not the main driving force of our action. What should keep as
going is the truth that Jesus, the Son of God, King of all kings and Lord of
all lords came to earth to serve and became ransom for our sins. God's greatest
expression of love is a masterpiece. He suffered His only Son for our sake. Is
there anything more that God could do for us that He has not done? The least we
can do right now is to look into the life model and example that Jesus left for
us. Know everything there is to know about our God who stripped Himself of His
Kingship and Royalty to become like us. Fr. Mitch Pacwa said that what God did
for us was like that of a big tall man who knelt down on the floor so as to
look into the eye of a small baby crawling on the floor. God wanted to be able
to be with us and look at us straight into the eye while He says, "I love
you" which is directly aimed at our hearts. Once we've realized this and
done everything with the best of our efforts then there's nothing else that
could stop us from adoring and praising our One, True God who gave His all for
us. In the gospel, we find that it is the 3rd time in Mark’s that
Jesus mentioned about His prediction of His Cross. This one being the strongest
as He said, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be
handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to
death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him,
scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise.” The
whole point here is that Jesus saves the world through His passion, death and
resurrection and the disciples are to share with Him in this Paschal Mystery.
This is the point that we miss, James and John are no different for they did
not understand. They wanted to be seated in the right and left or be in a
position of authority and power. We recall in Luke 9:54, When the disciples
James and John saw this they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call down
fire from heaven to consume them?" We can see from here that they want
success and domination. Somehow we can not blame them for thinking this way.
They have been obedient servants and had witnessed the transfiguration. They
are especially close to Jesus that they had aspired for these great things.
There was a misunderstanding of Jesus’ teachings. In this particular scene,
James and John only saw the glory but failed to see the Calvary .
Aren't we all guilty of the same attitude sometimes? We only want the fame,
glory and power but dismiss the hardships that go with it. When Jesus came from
heaven to earth to show the way He did not bypass or made a short cut he went
through it all, the passion, death and resurrection. We should not want Jesus
just because of our own personal agenda. The Kingdom of God Church of God
Mark 10:32-45
35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said
to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 He
replied, “What do you wish [me] to do for you?” 37 They answered him, “Grant
that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” Jesus
said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup
that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
...whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; 44 whoever wishes
to be first among you will be the slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man did not
come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
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