John 8: 51-59, (Thursday, March 13, 2008)

Jesus Christ reveals himself to the people as “I Am.” They were very familiar with God’s revelation of himself to Moses as the “I Am.” For them, Jesus must be going crazy to think of himself as God. Jesus is making so many assertions that they are finding uncomfortable. He is telling them that if they keep the word, they will never die. How can they make sense of this?

Abraham kept the word, and for that it was credited to him of all righteousness. The prophets kept the word and that is the reason they continued to be the messengers of God. But these all died. For them, Jesus is making a very illogical assertion. What they failed to understand is that good logic does not always translate into good theology, neither does the word of God follow human logic. Jesus Christ was referring to the eternal life that he offers. For Christian people, death is not a total annihilation but a transition into a new life. It is in this sense that Jesus Christ was speaking to them. It is this eternal life that Jesus Christ offers everyone of us that keeps his word.

How can we keep the word of God?

John 8: 31-42, (Wednesday, March 12, 2008)

In the course of my ministry, I have come across many people who have been enslaved to sin. These are generally good people who strive to do better but they cannot. They find themselves caught up in a sin they very much enjoy and at the same time they really want to get out of. They cannot get out of the sin because the sin has held them bondage. There also have been instances where by the repercussions of getting out are very grave. It is very easy to put ourselves in situations like these. Many people who get addicted to drugs will tell me they wanted to just try it once and then they got hooked up. I have also heard something like this, “I just wanted to have casual sex with her and now she has turned to gum, she wouldn’t let me alone.”

As Christian people, Jesus has liberated us from the slavery of sin and has given us the freedom of righteousness. If we turn around and enslave ourselves, we would be ejected from his family. A slave has no permanent residency in the Master’s house. However, sons and daughters do. As Jesus tells us in John 1:12 that by virtue of our belief in him, we are his sons and daughters, let us maintain this identity.

In what ways am I a prisoner to sin?

Matthew 13: 47-53 (Thursday, August 2, 2007)

In today’s gospel, Jesus gives us a glimpse into what will happen at the end of time. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous. We live in a world in which hell is never talked about – it sounds too mean to be taught to children, we deceive ourselves. Our children grow up without knowing the consequences of living an evil life. God is all loving and all rewarding, young people think. We delude ourselves of two eternal options: heaven or nothing. It is either every one goes to heaven or nothing happens at death. The scriptures is unambiguous that there is going to be a day of reckoning, when God will separate the good from the bad; the righteous from the unrighteous. God will not only reward the righteous for a life well lived, but he will also reward the unrighteous. While the righteous will go to heaven where they shall know no pain or sorrow, the unrighteous would be thrown into an everlasting furnace of fire where they shall burn. This is the truth of the scriptures we must take seriously to heart as we continue to live our daily lives. It is not the wish of God that we go to hell fire, but if we make hell our option by not living a righteous life, God shall certainly grant us that desire.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, your plan for us is that we may live a life with you in eternity. In this world, Satan lures us with many offers that constantly lead us to a life of unrighteousness. We acknowledge you as the righteous one. Share your righteousness with us today so that we may continue to make righteous decisions that lead us to you rather than foolish decisions that make us stray from your path. Give us the graces we need to live a righteous life, so that at the end, we will be receive into your eternal kingdom where we truly belong.