TRAINING GROUND

When we have already experienced various levels of discipline in the Lord and went through what we could say the longest and most elaborate process while waiting for the answers to our prayers and thriving purely on the Divine Providence of God then this consolation from today's 1st reading assures us that in the end everything is worth it. Every trial and hardship we encounter is our training ground and could gain for us a vast amount of learning which could benefit us not only intellectually, emotionally and spiritually but most of all in unforeseen and countless ways that could only be acquired through that experience. We have to come to this realization and continue to keep our hopes up in the one and only Lord Jesus who can make all things possible for us. Amen. Hallelujah!

 Letter to the Hebrews 12,4-7.11-15.

4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood 5... "My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him;

6 for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges."

7 Endure your trials as "discipline"; God treats you as sons. For what "son" is there whom his father does not discipline? 11 At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it...

We can never fathom the wisdom of God but we can always remain confident in the truth that His kindness is perfect and everlasting. He makes all things work for good. When we feel so helpless, miserable and alone, never ever doubt that He can't help but be the loving God that He is. God loves us so much that he will adjust to our needs and make things work for good. There is no reason for us to even doubt and hold back anything from the Lord for nothing is too difficult for Him. If we are confident of God's Providence in our lives then nothing should even make us doubt that God is able to redeem us and take us out of misery. God has made known His kindness, mercy and secures justice for all. He knows exactly what we need at the precise moment and brings forth everything in its appointed time. Furthermore, God wanted to take our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. How far is the east from the west? Only God knows. We know that the distance is unfathomable, that’s what the Lord does with our sins. How much does He loves us? We know that His love and mercy is immeasurable. There is really none like our God. And reading part of the psalm reading made me remember the song "Loving and Forgiving". He is our best bet for always and there is no one or nothing else that could or should take first place in our lives more than the Lord. Whenever we receive goodness and kindness from people we meet we are very much delighted and pleased with it. How much more would we feel if we have God's favor resting upon us. There is nothing else better compared to this. We may search long and hard but we can never really find true satisfaction and remain restless unless we have God in our life. We only have to believe in God's kindness and mercy and we will surely see it happen in our life before our very eyes. He is our refuge and strength. To whom can we go but to God alone. The world’s point of view is very contradictory to the message that God wanted us to live by.  We need to pray hard for the desire to always follow what is pleasing before the Lord and not forget that it is what really matters first and foremost. We are so blessed that we did not live during the time when Christians were being persecuted and martyred and what we are enjoying right now are already the benefits of God's marvelous work wrought by His mighty hand. This is why we should stop complaining and just keep our hope if we truly believe that we have a God and Father who is full of kindness and goodness. This reminds me of the prophet Amos. He is a prosperous herdsman/farmer, well educated and traveled. His time (746-786) was an age of prosperity but severely marked with moral decay and spiritual bankruptcy. He experienced a luxurious life, lived in the garrison city a place dominated by people of power and had all the time to study the scriptures. He lived in affluence, belonged and embraced the "clan system/wisdom" which is a guild or crusade to maintain the purity of the tradition of the temple of Jerusalem which houses the "Ark of the Covenant". He saw the evil of excess in Tekoa, he witnessed the "left" (poverty) and the "right" (wealth and affluence) side. Being himself a dresser of the sycamore tree who worked with his people, he also saw the plight and injustice that is existent during that time. His prophetic mission emerged as an offshoot of his kingly and priestly status and was able to go through all these stages making him a good "nabi" hebrew word for prophet. We, too as followers of Jesus should also go through certain stages and fulfill our call or mission to be king, priest and prophet in our own personal lives. What I learned in the bible study about the very relevant and essential Hebrew word "pescher" which means repetitious study, reading and pronunciation of the word of God is a tool to achieve this goal and always be reminded about the goodness and benefits of being a genuine, equipped and well fulfilled follower of Jesus. The God of yesterday, today and forevermore. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalms 103(102),1-2.13-14.17-18.

R. The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.

Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. R. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him, For he knows how we are formed; he remembers that we are dust. R. But the kindness of the LORD is from eternity to eternity toward those who fear him, And his justice toward children’s children among those who keep his covenant.

 Sometimes the most unlikely things happen to us with people and in places where we least expect them to happen. Jesus lived and grew up for the majority of His life here on earth with his relatives and in his native place. How can it possibly be that the Most Perfect Human being who ever lived on earth was rejected by his own kin? But that's how it was for Him and could possibly be also for us. This should encourage us to become better Christians knowing that if He was rejected we should not expect a special treatment for ourselves. We are just setting ourselves up for a big disappointment if we always have big expectations from others most especially from people very close to us. It would be well for all of us if we just carry on with whatever good we can do and leave the rest to God. If we have decided to really follow Jesus then we have to be ready for trials and persecutions for even Him the Son of God, who resides in His Heavenly kingdom, All Holy, Powerful, Immortal, and Creator of heaven and earth was rejected and mocked by His own kin and household. If we haven't fully decided yet and still holding back from Him and still lack the faith then we should realize that it's really to our greatest loss and disadvantage for Jesus can not perform His mighty deeds in our lives without our cooperation. Bottom line again, it is always our choice. We should make Jesus our choice in our thoughts, words and in deeds. And it should be a firm, clear and unwavering one, no ifs and no buts. Amen. Hallelujah!

Mark 6:1-6
...And they took offense at him. 4 Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house." 5 So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith. He went around to the villages in the vicinity teaching.