Inspirations at your Fingertips!

The bible and I John 15:12-17 I believe that quite analogically, my life should be the living bible of the Lord. Whatever happens to the bible happens to my life. If there are things that don't have any connection with God's word, it is not coming from the Holy Spirit. I am the embodiment of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit works in me.  I should be an instrument of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel message is so beautiful.  "Love one another as I have loved you."  Whatever love is in our hearts, it should mirror Jesus' love for us. "I call you friends, not servants..." marks our relationship with one another. "I chose you..." simply means that it is Jesus who leads us.  Every task we do in this world should arise from being chosen to do Jesus' task.

witnessing for Jesus John 6:30-35 St. Stephen mirrored Jesus in the gospel for today as he faced the Pharisees.   What is a witness?  Someone with a deep faith, even though he has not seen Jesus is a true witness as he is also giving witness to the very testimony of Jesus himself.  What are the signs to this testimony? First, Stephen gave witness to the truth as he tried to reprimand the Jews.  Jesus is faithful to the truth. Second, Stephen gave witness to the glory of Jesus.  Jesus invites the people to have faith in him as the bread of life. Third, Stephen prayed for his enemies.  Jesus' as the humble Messiah is the way to the forgiveness of sins. Let us mirror Jesus through and through!

Recognizing Jesus John 21:1-14 "The apostles did not ask, for they knew it was Jesus." At this point, who is Jesus to us? First, at this point in our lives, we should be able to see the gospel placed side by side with out lives.  The miraculous catch of fish in Jesus' time, till the apostles' after the resurrection of Jesus should manifest in the miracles of food we are receiving, enough for us to declare, "God always provides and we don't have to worry." Second, these manifestations should help us conclude that Jesus is close to us each day and he wishes us to know him more deeply and intimately. Third, these events should deepen our resolve to live, breathe, and depend on Jesus as our Lord and Messiah, giving witness to goodness of the Lord each day.

To shine like flint Matthew 26:14-25  In this last day before the Passover, we continue to know more about the Messiah - his vindicator is God himself.  God will glorify his actions.  He will let his face shine like flint. This is our destiny as Christians.  Staying close to God, He will guide us every step of the way.  He will defend us against every evil. The betrayer, on the other hand is the exact opposite. To say "Better for that man if he had never been born!" is perhaps the greatest curse considering that even before we were born, God already knows us. Let us not belittle the effects of sin.  Let us guard ourselves against doing things that do not have any connection with God.  Our faithfulness will payoff.  We shall shine like flint with light coming from the Divine Master.

Faithfulness and betrayal John 13:21-33,36-38  Everything in the Old Testament is revealed in Jesus.  Jesus is the picture of the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament.  In the book of Isaiah, the Messiah is a servant so pleasing to the Father that He himself is Israel.  His words are like sharp swords, and God alone is his strength.  The Messiah is a faithful, obedient Servant. In the Gospel, Jesus prophesied who will betray him.  But he will be glorified by the Father.  Those who are not like the Messiah are traitors; they betray the Master.  In the case of Peter, those who are opposite the Messiah live in fear.  they are not free. The marks of the Messiah become our own marks as well.  We are formed by God even before we were born.  We are given gifts so we can change the world.  And our courage is the Lord; He alone is our strength.

Memories of love John 5:31-47 What is it really in the the people of Israel that is worth loving?  According to the scriptures, "These are stiff-necked people." But Moses reminded God of his covenant.  It is God's love itself that is worth saving.  Remember the words: people are worth dying for; or in Olaf's case in "Frozen", people are worth melting for.  God relented and did not punish Israel. In the Gospel, Jesus becomes the living reminder of the Father's love for us.  He bears witness because he loves the Father and the Father loves him.  Through this "human action", Jesus is in fact saving us and sparing us from the eternal wrath of God. Apparently, study of religion is simply not enough; nor are religious practices.  As Jesus loved, do we have a concrete memory of the Father's love and we love him back?  What memories on earth are we collecting? Let us increase our encounters with Jesus.  Let us remember to the detail all...

God's love rules our lives Mark 12:28-34 It is undeniable that God's love for us is extreme, unconditional.  He waits for our coming back despite our sinfulness.  That is how God loves us.. In the gospel, Jesus affirms the the highest command: love God with all our hearts, minds, being, etc. Then love our neighbor as ourselves. God's love rules above all things.  Consequently, our love cannot be lesser than God's love for us.  Otherwise, love would be imperfect and selfish.