DOUBLE BLESSINGS

 There is some truth to the famous rap song, "Don't worry be happy" if we believe that our lives is in the hands of the Lord. The enemy of happiness is not sadness but fear. Happiness is not a mood or emotion. It is a way of life.  Here are the 7 tools of happy people I learned from Bro. Bo Sanchez.

1. They create their destiny.

2. They accept forgiveness.

3. They nurture connections.

4. They find delight everywhere.

5. They embrace change. They are eternal students.

6. They trust deeply.

7. They work their purpose daily.

The 7 tools address the different fears in our lives. Fear robs us of happiness. The 3 parts of the brain that control fear are the  brainstem, amygdale and the cortex. The brainstem and amygdale controls the endocrine glands which produces the fear hormones called the adrenaline and cortisone. Stress makes us unhappy. The antidote of fear is love. In 1 John 4:8 it is written, Perfect love casts out all fear. We have to fill our lives with love. Jesus said, I have come that you might have life and live it to the full. Happiness is part of abundance. God allows suffering only because it will bring greater happiness. As it is written, I will turn your sorrow into joy and your mourning into dancing. Happiness is not a product we can buy but a by product. We don’t look for it and find it. We need to focus on the essential part of our lives and not just on the money, job, honor and etc. Our life is just like coffee, if it is good coffee, it doesn’t matter what cup or kettle we use. If the coffee is good then it is good. If we have the 7 tools then we don’t have to look for happiness because happiness finds us. Amen. Hallelujah!

James 4:13-17

Beloved: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”– you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears. Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.” But now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.

The problem in wealth does not lie on acquiring too much of it but our response to the wealth entrusted to us. If we have been blessed with it then there is a responsibility that goes with it. We should always be driven to action by a holy and godly motivation seeking not to enrich ourselves in evil means and for evil intentions. I could never forget those times when I was not working yet and used to spend most of my time in church and in the company of the Seniors Ministry. The highlight of it all was the opportunity to talk about God and praise and thank Him for all the wonderful things He has done for us. It's like the meeting of minds, bodies and souls to exult God to the highest heavens. It was definitely a time of blessings. What's most important in life is to store up riches in heaven that we can bring with us when we die. All our material wealth will be left behind and only the good things we've done will follow us. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 49:2-3, 6-7, 8-10, 11

R: Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!

Hear this, all you peoples; hearken, all who dwell in the world, Of lowly birth or high degree, rich and poor alike. R. Why should I fear in evil days when my wicked ensnarers ring me round? They trust in their wealth; the abundance of their riches is their boast. R. Yet in no way can a man redeem himself, or pay his own ransom to God; Too high is the price to redeem one’s life; he would never have enough to remain alive always and not see destruction. R. For he can see that wise men die, and likewise the senseless and the stupid pass away, leaving to others their wealth. R.

Jesus in today’s gospel tells His disciples not to prevent those who drive out demons in His name. Although they are not part of their group, they are not doing something against them. Sometimes we get offensive and instead of attracting people to the faith we tend to drive them away. We can not claim to know everything so it is better to just give people the benefit of the doubt or not judge them outright and just entrust them to Jesus who definitely knows best.  Amen. Hallelujah!

Mark 9:38-40

John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” 39 Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. 40 For whoever is not against us is for us.”