A Permanent State of Mission!

 I've been thinking a lot about what's happening in Gaza. 

God chose to give the Jews His revelation. 

They were and still are His chosen people. 

He has loved them and punished them 

for thousands of years. 

In Jeremiah 1:7, YaHWeH says to them around 600 BC: 

"Reform your ways and your deeds, 

so I may remain with you. I

f each of you deals justly with your neighbor, 

if you no longer suppress the resident alien, 

the orphan, the widow; 

if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place...

I will remain with you in the land I gave 

your fathers long ago and FOREVER."

That's pretty damning for the Jews today. 

Because they are the apple of God's eye (Zech. 2:8), 

and God promised to bless those who bless them 

and curse those who curse them (Gen. 12:3), 

we should "pray for the peace of Jerusalem. 

May they prosper who love you." (Psalm 122:6) 

Jesus told a parable of a man

who sowed good seed in his field.

In spite of this, weeds grew amidst the wheat,

and the servants asked if they should pull up the weeds.

"No," the master answered,

"If you pull up the weeds, 

you might uproot the wheat along with them.

Let them grow together until harvest." (Matthew 13:30)

The reckoning will come.

Not just for the Jews or the Hamas, but for all of us.

God sometimes allows us to do what we please,

but one day, we will be judged.

The Jews rejected Jesus and His teachings.

Let us pray that we will all get to know Jesus better,

and follow Him, so that we will not get caught up

in the Old Testament "an eye for an eye" mentality!

 ​"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant 

searching for fine pearls. 

When he finds a pearl of great price, 

he goes and sells all he has and buys it." 

Matthew 13:45-46.

Yes, the Kingdom of God is priceless. 

Even if we sell everything we have, 

we can't buy entrance into Heaven. 

But you know what? 

Jesus gave up all His glory and power 

to help us get into the presence of the Father, 

to be part of His family!

When we went to Hanoi, 

we took a tour to a pearl farm. 

The guide showed us that the pearls were hidden 

in these ugly, mud encrusted shells. 

They had to dig into all that muck to find the pearl. 

We too were encased in sin and darkness 

and Jesus was willing to give His life 

to ransom us from that hopeless fate.

We are God's treasure, His pearl of great price 

and He paid for us with the life of His Son! 

Sometimes we take Jesus' great sacrifice for granted, 

but if we only realize HOW MUCH God loves us, 

it would change the way we think and change our lives!

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like

yeast that a woman took and mixed

with three measures of wheat flour

until the whole batch was leavened."

Mt. 13:33

Pope Francis in his pastoral letter,

the EVANGELII GAUDIUM,

exhorts all of us, not just the clergy,

to be "in a permanent state of mission."

That wherever we are,

in our places of work, in our school,

our neighborhoods, our organizations,

we should be able, like yeast in dough, to permeate

and affect every environment we are in.

When my mother was alive, she would spend

her Sunday mornings speaking to students

who wanted to interview her about our business

for their school requirements.

After they finished with their questions,

she would say, "Now it's my turn."

She would ask what they believed in, 

and she would tell them about 

God and His good news for all of us.

She would talk about God, not only to students,

but to our suppliers, to BIR examiners

who tried to extort money form us, etc.

When I was young, I would roll my eyes

and think, "Here we go again!"

Now I realize she was merely doing what 

Jesus commanded us to do!

Pope Francis is a good example of 

someone who is permanently on mission.

He calls random people up,

he goes out at night incognito to

feed the hungry,

he joins the Vatican employees for a meal

in their canteen.

So should we too be more creative

in thinking of ways to permeate the world

with God's goodness and faithfulness!!!

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