SIGNS, WONDERS AND MIRACLES

    We will feel energized as an effect of praying first thing in the morning. It means that if we put God first in our lives then we are like light bulbs tapped to the power source, we will neither dim nor lose our shine. He is the mitochondria that drives each one of us, the power house that sustains every living cell in our bodies and gives us strength and stamina. When I was just new in the renewal, that was 20 years ago, I came across this bible passage in today's 1st reading in the LSS (Life in the Spirit Seminar) I attended and my life has always been guided by it. I should say this is one of my favorite bible passages because I can not easily remember the exact bible book, chapter and verse of my favorite passages but this one I always do. I always find myself quoting and advising this to people I encounter. In those years that have passed, I can attest to the efficacy of this advice. In Phil 2:12 Paul also encouraged us to work out our salvation with fear and tremblin...

   Today’s 1 st  reading is kind of special because it is one of the things that I first learned when I became a charismatic and it has never left my memory. It is something that I always remember especially when I encounter people who have lived very long.    It’s funny how I always ask old people if they have honored their parents well.    This promise does not just say long life but it may also go well in life. If we sometimes get disappointed with the promises that people make, we can always count on the promises of God. In everything, let us give praise and glory to God. God knows every single thing about us, nothing is hidden from Him. If we abide by    His will then we will surely find that it is the best for us, nothing else could be above or over it for whatever God wants for us is surely what is good for us if we will just do it wholeheartedly for the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah! Ephesians 6:1-9 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord,...

   Today's 1st reading specifically commands the husband to love the wife while the wife was told to respect the husband. If we are to look very closely then we'll find that it is very characteristic of a man and a woman. We can say basing from this statement that respect is primary for a husband and love for a wife in order for a marriage to really work. Basically speaking it is just as it says so and as simple as that. Let us not make things complicated, take seriously what the scriptures tell us and get down on it. This has always been an issue for married couples. Who calls the shot and who's on top of things. As suggested in Companion, the key here is for the couple to work out how the dynamic of mutual submission works! There is no ‘one rule that fits all situations.’ Such would be a denial of the individuality of the human person. It is a mystery. We get mixed up with a lot of things and just have to make things right. When we commit blunders whether it is our own do...

     I love this song. "God's got an army. It's marching through this land. Deliverance is their song. There's healing in their hands. There's everlasting joy and gladness in their hearts. And in this army I've got a part!" When I first heard it I felt like I really want to belong. Well, it is our mission and call. We should really belong. It is nice to know that we are part of a family whom we can call our own and get support from. All of us want to belong to a family which can be a source of inspiration, love and strength. Today's 1st reading tells us that we are blessed that aside from the family that we have been born with we also have a holy family in which we become members of the household of God. It can be told, we are God's children and dwelling place. Thus we ought to do everything in our power to make ourselves pleasing and holy before the Lord. When we speak of physically constructing something like a temple we've got to have all th...

    We've got to grow in our faith in God. Just as we were born infants when we came to this world but eventually grew into adults so must our spiritual body. We can not remain as baby Christians. We must develop into the full stature of Christ. Just think of a young child left all alone to take care of himself. It is not possible. There should be at least someone who could look after his needs, whereas a grown up man can live independently. We can not remain like the babies who would always be in need of someone all the time. We've got to achieve the full potential of who we are, a child of God who has fully grown up. Amen. Hallelujah!   Ephesians 4:7-16 ...And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full sta...

    We know that words are not enough to describe how great the love of God is but Paul gave it his best shot. Today's 1st reading is filled with inspiring, poetic and heartfelt words in his letter to the Ephesians. It can never capture the fullness of its meaning but we can always strive to show a tiny portion of it. As in a loving parent to a child is something we can all relate to since we are all children of our parents and could be parents too ourselves. Looking back at all those years when we were still very young made me like to honor my mother for the great sacrifice she made for us, her children. She was the only one left to our care because my father passed away at a very young age. My brothers and I were all witnesses to the great love and care she showered on us. I should say we could very much relate to that kind of love. But to suffer to a most humiliating and painful death an only Begotten Son for the sake of another is an angle that we may never come to fully u...

    We are all aware of the fact that in this world nothing is permanent, something may hold true for now but will end up different sooner or later. Nowadays, looking at the present situation around us, people are getting confused, anxious and uncertain of what to do next. We must admit that there are moments when we are guilty of those feelings. No matter how close we are to God as some people may think, we can not deny the fact that we succumb to it, too. You know why?    We are never sure of what lies ahead of us, there's only one thing we can be sure of, Jesus. For thousands of generations past, God has been attempting to reveal Himself to mankind and trying to establish a relationship with us. From the time of Adam & Eve and Noah and dates way back to 1800 BC during the time of Abraham, Moses (1200), David (means the favored one,1000), Exodus (600) to the birth of our Lord Jesus. From this time line, significant events happened from the time of Creation when...