God Has a Plan

 

“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3

When Abram was 75 years old, he heard God tell him to leave everything that is familiar and go to a land God would show him. Back then, there was no AI, google, no waze, no newspapers even, to give Abram any answers to the many questions that he certainly would have. I am 69 years old as I delight in telling everyone who cares to know, and I cannot imagine uprooting myself and my family to leave my comfortable home, community, and friends, to start anew in a place that God calls me to. 

But Abram's obedience brings blessing not only to himself but to "all families of the earth"! Obedience seems to be the key to unlock God's many promises! Abraham's story can be ours too if we only listen and obey. For each one one of us, God has a dream, a plan, a vision, where we can use up all the talents, gifts and resources He has lavished us with. If we follow Him, He will bring us on adventures that will make us grow and bloom. 

Just as God had a plan, and continues to have a plan for His beloved people Israel, He has a plan for us too, a future full of hope (Jeremiah 29:11). As long as we stay rooted in Him, seeking His will for our lives, and obeying, we will have an identity as His special people.

Father, may we be brave enough to seek Your plan for us. May we embrace all that You have for us. May we overcome any fear we have in the unknown and place our full trust in You. 

Peculiarly His Own

 “You are to be a people peculiarly His own, as He promised you.” Deuteronomy 26:18

Does God have favorites? In 1582, St. Teresa and her companions left Ávila to establish convents in Burgos and Grenada. It was extremely hard going, the rivers were so high and they could not see the road. They decided to leave their carriage and proceed on foot. The current was so strong that St. Teresa lost her footing, and was on the point of being carried away when our Lord helped her. 

“Oh, my Lord!” she exclaimed, with her usual loving familiarity, “when will You cease from scattering obstacles in our path?” “Do not complain, daughter,” the Lord answered her, “for this is how I treat My friends.” “Ah, Lord, it is also on that account that You have so few!” was her reply.

Choosing to follow God is costly. Loving God is a decision to commit our life to Him. The first and greatest commandment is to love Him with all our heart, all our mind, all our soul and all our strength. When we make that choice, we choose good and we choose life. Our life may be difficult and uncomfortable, but the truth is that we can always depend on the promises of God. It will always be worth it to follow God who chose us first to be peculiarly His own.

The Lord’s Way is Not Fair

 "The Lord's way is not fair!" Ezekiel 18:25

I am almost certain that we have accused our parents of being unfair to us at one time or another, so it is no surprise that we have thought that God was unfair in some way. We maybe look at someone and ache to be that person who is richer, more beautiful, thinner, and seems to have no problems. We think, why did he win that car which was supposed to be mine? Why does God not answer my prayers? I've been waiting and praying for so long! 

It says here in Ezekiel that if a wicked man turns from his wicked ways, none of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him! Not even murder, plunder, drug dealing, sex trafficking, and any other heinous crime! None of them! 

In Matthew 20, Jesus tells a story where laborers in a vineyard are paid the same whether they worked the whole day or got hired in the last hour! Is that fair? In the world we live in, this is definitely not fair! But God's love and our inheritance is immeasurable. Nothing, absolutely NOTHING we can ever do will merit our receiving it. What is not fair, is that God wants to give that to each of us, and sent His Son down here to die for all our sins so we might get that one in a billion chance to get to heaven! If we read the stories in the Bible, we will realize that God longs for us, desires an intimate relationship with us. Jesus bought for us the winning ticket! His one desire is to bring us to heaven! 

Lord, we do not deserve our inheritance in Christ! Thank You for Your love and faithfulness and mercy and generosity and .... So much, Lord! I am overwhelmed! 

Memorial Stones

 

“As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathers that you, O Lord, always free those who are pleasing to you. Now help me, who am alone and have no one but you, O Lord, my God.” Esther C:14

Queen Esther's prayer in the Book of Esther, part of the Jewish Tanakh, also known in Hebrew as the “Scroll”, is beautiful, but I have one complaint.

“From birth, I have heard among my people that you, O Lord, chose Israel among all nations, as a lasting inheritance, and that you fulfilled all your promises to them," she prayed. Should not she have had personal experiences of God answering her prayers  and keeping His promises? We should all make sure we have a personal relationship with our Father, that we have stories to go back on, to remember, to relish. 

Just as I write in my diary about what happens in my day, I also make sure to put down what I want to remember about my journey with God. I have many scrapbooks of pictures and memorabilia about our travels, and my son’s growing up years. I also make sure I have a scrapbook of my adventures with my Father in heaven. These are like memorial stones, just like the Jews placed when they traveled to their promised land. From the books of Joshua, we know that the Jews left a series of monuments of stones piled up in different locations which would serve as a national reminder of God’s work in their lives. To them, this was a constant sign of Yahweh’s love, that He was working mightily on their behalf. 

How about us? Do we have this personal relationship with God? Do we make sure to remember what He has done for us, and what He has said to us?

God 2.0

 The Word of the Lord came to Jonah saying, “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will give you.” Jonah 3:1

Many people see the God of the Old Testament as a God of judgment and not a God of love. It is as if God decided He needed a makeover, and that's why Jesus came. Jesus is the meek and mild version, the loving, forgiving God. God 2.0! 

The Book of Jonah is one of the oldest books of the Bible, written in the 8th C AD. The problem of Jonah was that God wanted him to warn the Ninevites, who were fierce enemies of the Israelites, that He was going to judge them. 

The Ninevites were a violent, cruel people, known to torture their enemies. Their King would bring home the severed head of a conquered leader and display it on a pole on the gate of Nineveh to commemorate his victory. There it would stay until it rotted. Sometimes generals of the opposing army would be flayed alive and bled like a lamb. These and many more atrocities made Jonah balk at obeying God. Instead he wanted God to exact revenge upon these wicked people. 

But God insisted that Jonah announce to the Ninevites His message of judgment. When Jonah finally obeyed, the King, that same horrible King and his people, repented and put on sackcloth and sat on ashes. God relented and Jonah complained bitterly. 

“I knew You were a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding with steadfast love. I knew how easily You could cancel Your plans for destroying these people!” (Jonah 4:2) 

Is this the Old Testament God? Yes! The Father calls ALL people to Him, ESPECIALLY the wicked and the seemingly hopeless cases. Sounds exactly like Jesus. After all, they are one and the same God. Full of love and mercy. 

This Lent, let us draw close to Him who forgives any sin, and calls us back to Himself. 

You Make the Simple Wise

 "The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple." Psalm 19:8

One of my favorite saints is Saint Joseph of Cupertino. His start in life was highly inauspicious. He was mostly a nuisance to his family and other people in his village. He was simple minded and slow and he could not understand his lessons. His mother tried to get rid of him by apprenticing him to a shoemaker, then to the monks, but he was always rejected.

Finally he became the caretaker of the mule in the Franciscan monastery. After some years, he was asked to study scripture, but there was only one verse in the Bible that he managed to master, “Blessed is the womb that bore you!" (Luke 11:27) When he was being tested for the deaconate, the Bishop opened the Bible to that very passage, and Saint Joseph was able to explain it well! Eventually he became a priest passing his exam by the same grace. 

Indeed we do not need to be smart or articulate to do God's will or become a saint! Lord, thank You that You do not choose the wise, but You make the simple wise by Your Word! 

Feed On The Truth

 

Jesus said in reply, “It is written: Man does not live by bread alone, but on EVERY WORD that comes forth from the mouth of God." Mt.4:4. 

Jesus is quoting from the Book of Deuteronomy, showing us what we should do when the enemy attacks us with his many deceptions. 

“If you are the son of God," the enemy actually taunts Jesus! Just as he taunts us too! 

He hits us where it hurts because he knows insecure people hurt others, can become arrogant, and mean. So next time the devil whispers in your ear, “God does not love you!" , "You are unimportant!", “You are a failure!", we should do as Jesus did! Use the ammunition God gave us- His Word! 

Feed on the truth!

God Has Given Me wings

 Isaiah 58:14 says "I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth."

One of my favorite books is “Streams in the Desert", a compilation of quotations, poems, and spiritual inspiration that sustained Mrs. Charles Cowman during her missionary years in Japan and China. It also helped her during the 6 years she nursed her dying husband.

Let me quote from the Feb. 4 meditation: “Those who fly through the air in airships tell us that one of the first rules they learn is to turn their ship toward the wind, and fly against it. The wind lifts the ship up to higher heights. Where did they learn that? They learned it from the birds. If a bird is flying for pleasure, it goes with the wind. But if the bird meets danger, it turns right around and faces the wind, in order that it may rise higher toward the sun.

“Sufferings are God's winds, His contrary winds. They are God's hurricanes, but they take human life and lift it to higher levels and toward God's heavens."

"Be like a bird that, halting in its flight, 

Rests on a bough too slight.

And feeling it give way beneath him sings,

Knowing he hath wings."

Sometimes I feel I am that bird, and the bough beneath me is shaky and weak. But I can sing like a bird, joyfully, knowing if the bough breaks, God has given me wings!

This is the Fasting I Wish

 “This, rather, is the fasting I wish...” Isaiah 58:6

Today’s First Reading and Gospel focuses on fasting, but says nothing about abstaining from food. What kind of fasting pleases the Lord? I would think the popular meme being passed around for Lent would answer that. We should go through it one by one, and see which one hits a sore spot. 

Give up worry—— trust in the Lord.

Give up complaining----focus on gratitude.

Give up pessimism----become an optimist.

Give up harsh judgments----think kind thoughts.

Give up discouragement----be full of hope.

Give up bitterness----turn to forgiveness.

Give up hatred----return good for evil.

Give up negativism----be positive.

Give up anger----be more patient.

Give up pettiness----become mature.

Give up gloom----enjoy the beauty that is all around you.

Give up jealousy----pray for confidence.

Give up gossiping----control your tongue.

Give up sin----turn to virtue.

Give up giving up----hang in there!

Is this not more difficult than giving up a favorite food or past time? There’s more. In Isaiah 58, we learn that the fasting the Lord desires is, releasing those bound unjustly, setting free the oppressed, sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and homeless, clothing the naked, and not turning your back on your own. This can be overwhelming but Mother Teresa has always taught that we should start with just one. One hungry child, one needy family, one prisoner. We can partner with organizations that already help. Just start and do it. Then we can claim God’s promise: “You shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and He will say: Here I am!” (Isaiah 58:9a)

Choose Life

 “Choose life then that you and your descendants may live." Dt. 30:19

In Deuteronomy we find several sermons of Moses. He encouraged the Israelites to faith and obedience, and gave them many, many instructions on how to live. There were also promises that if they obeyed, God would keep His covenant of unfailing love, bless them and make them into a great nation. In Dt.30:19, God said to His people, "I'm giving you a choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Choose life that you and your descendants may live." 

I remember when Josh was young and I wanted him to go to the young adults camp included in our community youth program. It was his first time so he was naturally apprehensive. "Don't I have a choice?" he asked me plaintively. "Yes you do," I said. "You can choose to enjoy yourself or not." 

God our Father sets out His instructions to us in the Bible. In Dt.30:11, He says through Moses that these commands are not so hard to understand. He put it in our hearts so we can obey. We too, like my son, have a choice before us. Do we obey Him and enjoy the journey? Or do we struggle against every bit of rule, instruction or command? 

Lord, may I continue to get to know You more and more. May I love Your Word, and obey You with a heart set on pleasing You. I choose You. I choose life! 

Return to Me

 “Even now, return to me with your whole heart for I am gracious and merciful.” Joel 2:12-13

During Lent, the Lord reminds us to have a contrite and humble spirit. Even if our sins make us scarlet from infidelity to God, it is never too late to turn to Him. In Catherine Marshall’s book, “Beyond Ourselves”, she enumerates reasons why sin is so deadly. 

“Our sins come between us and God and make it difficult to feel His presence. They are like mud and dirt thrown up on the window pane, shutting out the sunlight.

“Even small sins narrow down the channel by which life and vitality flow to us, thus choking off creativity. But often we don’t understand the connection between our lack of productivity and sin.

“Our wrongdoings cut us off from other human beings. God reaches down to hold my hand. With my other hand I touch the lives of fellow human beings. Only as both connections are made can power flow. And sin will break the connection every time. Isn’t that why Jesus warned us that if we want forgiveness for ourselves, we’d better forgive others?” 

This Lent, let us turn back to Him who is the fount of all joy. “For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon Thee.” (Psalm 86:5)

Every Good and Perfect Gift

 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

The whole Bible is God revealing Himself to us. It is the invisible God made visible. Ultimate love observable. 

When God created man in His image, He made them the perfect environment, with everything they needed and could ever want. But alas, He also gave them the gift of choice, the gift of free will. “You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat of it you are surely doomed to die." 

Put a kid in Disneyland. It's huge. So many exciting things to do. Almost an infinite number of delights to experience. Then you say, "You can do anything, eat anything, have anything, just don't touch THIS!" All of a sudden, his desire just zooms into experiencing the forbidden! Our rebel hearts are just like that kid's! God has given us so many blessings and gifts. Do we focus on these gifts, or do we focus on what we do not have and yearn for? 

I read in The Anawim Way that the first garden we are given to cultivate and care for is our own soul. We have choices to make every single day, whether to nurture our spiritual life, or make it a desert. The Cross is the new "tree of life in the middle of the garden". 

Thank You Father that although You banished man from Paradise, You made a way for us to experience fellowship with You again through Jesus. Your love breaks through our rebelliousness, our willfulness, our sinfulness. Help us to see the garden You have placed us in through Your loving eyes. 

Consider it All Joy

 “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials...” James 1:2

Joy? Trials? The two words do not go well together at all! Joy is what we have in our heart when all is going well, no one is sick, no one is depressed, no one is undergoing financial difficulties, no one is having a hard time teaching a child with dyslexia, no one is crying because a father deserted the family... In other words, joy would be impossible in the midst of this world full of troubles! And yes, Jesus did warn we will have troubles (John 16:33) It’s inevitable! 

So why does James write, “Count it pure unadulterated joy when you are enveloped in trials of any sort. Be assured and understand that the trial brings out endurance, steadfastness, patience and perseverance. Let endurance and steadfastness have its perfect result, that you may be perfect, mature and complete, lacking in nothing.”

In the first place, my definition of joy was incorrect. Joy in the absence of suffering is not what James was talking about. I don’t think God put us on this earth to enjoy ourselves, to satiate ourselves with pleasure. We have to see ourselves as athletes running the race to the finish line. God is our coach and He puts us through our paces so that we will be victorious in the end. 

I like the story of a little boy with a basket following his dad in a supermarket. The dad picks stuff off the shelf and puts it in the basket. As the contents of the basket grows, an old lady asks the little boy, “Isn’t your basket heavy?”, and the boy answers, “My dad knows exactly how much I can carry.”

Trust. Confidence. We can only have joy beyond understanding if we know our Father loves us, has a plan for us, and knows exactly what we can carry!

The Smallest Letter of the Law

  "Until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter of the law, not the smallest part of the letter, shall be done away with until it all comes true." Matthew 5:18

Seems like I need to be a lawyer or a Greek scholar to be able to understand Jesus' words!

Hebrews 10:1 reads: "The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship."

Romans 7:6-7, "But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet."

2 Corinthians 3:6, "Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."

Sometimes it can seem like the words of Saint Paul contradict Jesus' words! But Jesus is the fulfillment of the law. The good thief who was crucified alongside Christ also reviled Christ at the beginning along with the crowd. "But one of the thieves repented and rebuked the other. 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' And he said to him, 'Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise'" (Luke 23 39:43).

I may not understand everything in the Bible. But one thing I understand is, I need to repent. I need to stand beside Jesus and defend Him. And I need to say, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom!"

Roe No More

 “My people heard not my voice, and Israel obeyed me not; So I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts; they walked according to their counsels.” Psalm 81:12-13

Here is the lament of a God who desires only our good. He is like a parent who points the right way for his child to go, but the child adamantly chooses another path. One of the greatest gifts God has given us is free will. We have the choice to listen to Him, and obey Him, or to do the opposite. 

One woman who chose a path against God was Norma McCorvey, who is more well known for her pseudonym “Jane Roe” in the infamous Roe v. Wade lawsuit that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. She challenged the Texas laws that criminalized abortion. In the 1980s, she involved herself in the abortion movement and later worked at abortion clinics. In 1995, an evangelical pro-life group, Operation Rescue, opened an office in the same building as the abortion clinic and Norma began to have conversations with the active pro-lifers. Eventually she developed friendships with them and started having serious doubts about the morality of abortion. 

It was about this time that she started going to Church and rejected her work with the abortion groups. In 1997, she started her own ministry, “Roe No More”, and in 1998, she converted to Catholicism. She continued to speak out against abortion, and worked to overturn Roe vs. Wade. This is attested to by Fr. Frank Pavone who was Norma’s spiritual guide for 22 years and spoke with her on the day she died in 2017. 

No matter how far from the right path we stray, God is always willing to take us back into His loving arms.