Humility is a favorable attitude we learn from Jesus. Jesus often spoke about humility to his disciple and challenged them to pursue it as golden rule for greatness. If we want to get on in life, we must be prepared to contain our pride and lower ourselves before others.
St Paul gives us a model of how we may remember those in our lives. He writes to the Philippians to tell them how he remembers them regularly and thank God for them. This must be true for us also. When we take the time to remember people in our lives, it offers us the chance to be grateful to God and pray from them.
Rely on God's grace and the Christian virtues of fidelity, trust, love, forgiveness, patience, and kindness, and the mighty power of prayer and God’s word to live each day without permitting your faith and the joyful, happy Christian life you have to be truncated by any Pharisaic, Herod-like moves and threats we confront now or later.
We cannot depend only on the promises and the words we hear from politicians to determine our role in elections. What God leads us to do is far more important because it is the Lord who knows the thoughts and hearts of people. Pray for guidance about the person you should choose and pray for the country.
Christian growth also has indicators that help us determine which direction we are going with our Christian life and whether we are on track or off track. Notice how Jesus applies two brief parables about the mustard seed and yeast to proffer for our admiration the fundamental indicator of God's kingdom.
We meet Jesus teaching us about the supreme commandant of love. Asked about which commandment is the greatest, the Lord points to the double sides of love to God and neighbor. The commandment to love God (see Deut. 6:5) and neighbor (Lev 19"18) places each person (YOU) at the center. Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” …You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
We meet Jesus teaching us about the supreme commandant of love. Asked about which commandment is the greatest, the Lord points to the double sides of love to God and neighbor. The commandment to love God (see Deut. 6:5) and neighbor (Lev 19"18) places each person (YOU) at the center. Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” …You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
A vital component of the message contained in today's readings is godly performance. Performance means the execution of an action. In almost every field of life, including Christian discipleship, performance management is critical for aligning daily goals and activities with the overall mission and purpose
The human heart is of two kinds according to the Bible: one is a willing heart and the other is a hardened heart. By definition, a willing heart is obedient, docile, and prepared to obey God's commands to love God and the neighbor. On the other hand, a hardened heart is unwilling and unprepared to obey God's law about the love of God and neighbor.
Most people will probably not relish Jesus' message today because it doesn't come across as high-grade talking points or high pitch sale presentation typical of politicians and salespeople. A challenging message carrying words like blazing fire and division in families will undoubtedly lack the appeal it intends to evoke.
St. Paul's message to the Ephesians, which comes to us today, reveals how Jesus Christ set the stage for history to witness the collapse of walls by the merits of Christ's peace offering through his death to break down the dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles.
Aside from family inheritance, much of what made some people wealthy involved cultivating the habit of accumulating all they could for themselves, thinking that one's financial wealth was a measure of divine blessings.
In today's gospel, Jesus addresses a fundamental question that was intended to land in political hot water with the political authorities: Herod and Caesar. The Pharisees and the Herodians having teamed up to push him to answer a question that was so political, asked his view on the census tax do Caesar. Jesus conclusively told them to repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and God what belongs to God. To his disciples, this meant that they have both religious and civic responsibilities to honor.
In today's gospel, Jesus addresses a fundamental question that was intended to land in political hot water with the political authorities: Herod and Caesar. The Pharisees and the Herodians having teamed up to push him to answer a question that was so political, asked his view on the census tax do Caesar. Jesus conclusively told them to repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and God what belongs to God. To his disciples, this meant that they have both religious and civic responsibilities to honor.
A piece of diamond produces many beautiful colors that increase the eye's admiration when the light flashes on it from different angles. Similarly, Christianity's full treasure for the Christian increases our hope and joy of belonging to Christ as its message of good news presents what has been prepared for us.
God gives us this day for the purpose of becoming more like Him. Several opportunities will come our way to show kindness to others today that we must not let them slip by us.
The compassion, love, forgiveness, mercy, kindness, and patience of Christ, which we put on at baptism must not be stained or removed so that the Christian is always ready for the heavenly banquet. And if we stain it, has not the Lord given the remedies so that we may deal with it in the confess our sins?
The compassion, love, forgiveness, mercy, kindness, and patience of Christ, which we put on at baptism must not be stained or removed so that the Christian is always ready for the heavenly banquet. And if we stain it, has not the Lord given the remedies so that we may deal with it in the confess our sins?
In positive Psychology, experts like Luthans, and others, have recently emphasized the benefits of psychological capital: hope, optimism, self-efficacy, and resilience. However, these excellent spiritual resources that have supported Christians to stand firm and undisturbed even during the worst of times for ages to advance the progress of their families and the world. For both Jesus and St. Paul, these resources are available to us as Christians because "now that faith has come" in Jesus Christ, there are several benefits.