Am I Ready?

Revelation 16:15 Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.

This calls for spiritual preparedness. Christ will come in such a way when no one expected it. 

Most people will ask themselves, "Am I ready when Christ comes?"

So,how do we get ourselves prepared?

Carrying out the will of God is the preparation we need to do which can be made through the dedication to the purposes for which we have been placed on earth. 

How are we going to know the will of God for us? 

Jesus Heals

Gospel: Matthew 9:18-26

As he was speaking these things to them, behold, a certain ruler approached and adored him, saying: “Lord, my daughter has recently passed away. But come and impose your hand upon her, and she will live.” And Jesus, rising up, followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman, who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years, approached from behind and touched the hem of his garment. For she said within herself, “If I will touch even his garment, I shall be saved.” But Jesus, turning and seeing her, said: “Be strengthened in faith, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour. And when Jesus had arrived in the house of the ruler, and he had seen the musicians and the tumultuous crowd, he said, “Depart. For the girl is not dead, but asleep.” And they derided him. And when the crowd had been sent away, he entered. And he took her by the hand. And the girl rose up. And the news of this went out to that entire land.

Happy Laborers

Gospel: LK 10:1-9

At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit. 
He said to them,

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest. 
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. 
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way. 
Into whatever house you enter, first say,
‘Peace to this household.’
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you. 
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves his payment. 
Do not move about from one house to another. 
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,

‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’”

Matthew 9: 14-17

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.
No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,
for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.
People do not put new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.
Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Matthew 9: 9-13

As Jesus passed by,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
He heard this and said,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

What Matters Most?

I have a confession to make. I find it hard creating an article. To make it more specific, creating an English article. I'm having difficulty constructing sentences with the correct subject-verb agreement. Until now, I still get lost and confused in dealing with tenses - past, present, and future. I find it hard also to finish an article that possesses coherence.  And actually, right now, in this article, I doubt you'll finish reading without spotting errors at least one.

I have another confession. It takes me 3-7 hours to compose an article. That's true. The thought and idea of each article is actually formulated for a maximum of 1 hour. The remaining hours are for backspacing, rewriting, analyzing, choosing the right words, deleting excess "s" (for verb, you know what I mean) and all of the editing stuffs while I am still in my composing phase yet. That's why it's a big WOW for me whenever I heard someone that he can compose an article in an hour - fully edited, fully polished, ready for publication.

Yet, here I am, trying hard and giving my best to just create an article. And you might wonder why? It's pretty obvious that I am not good in English, BUT WHY IN THE WORLD I STILL CHOSE TO COMPOSE AND CREATE ARTICLES FOR GOD? Am I that ambitious trying to dream hopelessly that someday I will be someone who can write and author a novel, or whose name is in the newspapers, magazines, and in other publications?

My answer is just a partial "yes". Because my main reason is more than the reasons I have just mentioned. And what is it?

I'll answer that in a moment. But first, let me share to you a bible story..

The Unbeliever

JOHN 20: 24-29

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But Thomas said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” 

It is a Sure Thing!

Gospel: Matthew 8: 23-27

As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,
so that the boat was being swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.
They came and woke him, saying,
“Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”
Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the sea obey?”

He is Everywhere

GOSPEL: MATTHEW 8: 18-22

When Jesus saw a crowd around him,
he gave orders to cross to the other shore.
A scribe approached and said to him,
“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
Another of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But Jesus answered him, “Follow me,
and let the dead bury their dead.”

Just Pray

Gospel : Matthew 6: 7-15

Jesus said to his disciples:
“In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

“This is how you are to pray:

‘Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.’
“If you forgive others their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”