I don’t know why it even dawned to me when I wasn’t even thinking about who basically dictates our death. I was then simply sitting alone in our front yard facing the grotto of “Our Lady of Fatima” I handcrafted a few years back. After finishing a session with the Rosary, prayer for enlightenment and bible reading, I relaxed and sat there alone taking my time idly. It was during that time when it occurred to me why God would employ an untimely, tragic or horrible kind of death to some people. I wasn’t serious in my reflection, though, but it did strike me a bit.
Out of nowhere, I came into realization that death isn’t actually singly dictated by God. The thought came to me like somebody just put it there in my head at that time. I haven’t even read an in-depth spiritual philosophy about death. I wasn’t so keen to find answers. However, it came anyway, like a bird that landed from nowhere. I like to claim that it came as enlightenment. It sounds reasonable.
The thought and realization was that not all deaths are actually God’s accountability. We too, ourselves are responsible over the timing and manner of our own death. Logically, there are three dictators to our own death namely; God, our own selves and persons other than ourselves. Simply stating, any of these three dictators could cause the manner and timing of our own death.
Firstly, as an example from real-life scenarios, I may die any day, in any way according to God’s will and plan. Nobody stops Him and nobody could reverse that reality. In that case, God being the owner and giver of life is the real and irrevocable dictator of my death. Secondly, I may also be my own dictator of my death if I commit suicide, knowingly abuse my body, neglecting my health, intentionally ignoring safety traffic signs or any other irresponsible actions I take that could cause me to lose my own life sooner or later. In which case, I myself am solely to blame for my own untimely demise. Lastly, anybody other than God and me could take my life away. A friend, relative, stranger, any other third or second party could cause my death by way of murder, irresponsible actions, selfish interests, or foolishness.
In other words, God has no hand in the second and third set of scenarios exemplified above. Though He has absolute power to stop anything in this world, He allows tragedies to happen because He gave us absolute free will. That’s why, it is always unfair of us to blame everything to Him. It’s true that He knows and sees the past, present and future. However, because being a holy and perfect entity that He is, He lovingly could not take back his great gift of bestowing mankind a “free will” when He created them. He honors His intent. His greatness put all the laws of physics to make the universe function and interact by itself. He let things be as they are, unless we move his heart through our prayers for intervention and protection. That said, He could change the course of events if He wills it. Ultimately, it’s time for us to change our biased and closed perception about the reality of death and not put all the blame to God.
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Man's God-given Supernatural Power
We don't know it but I should boldly claim that, mankind have been bestowed by God supernatural faculty to change the course of events even without direct and humanly physical intervention. However, that power to change things is an indirect ability and depends on our time investment to develop, strengthen and put into constant practice the formula to make it work. The formula is somewhat challenging because it is based on spirituality, virtue and relationship with God. It is a four-action package that is easy to think or say but actually a little harder to keep up with, especially during the trying times in each of our life when we need it the most. I'm actually talking about the most commonly known act of praying.
The act of fervently praying that goes with strong faith, humility and righteousness is one formula for the power to influence things. I say it because it worked for me in too many different, major or small occasions in my life. I should find no reason why it can't work for everyone else. It works because it is even more powerful than any of the supposed mystic practices such as telekinesis, mental telepathy, magic,etc. The reason it might not work is the absence of any one of the four elements of the formula.
You can pray anytime, but without fervor you already miss one element to make it work. If you don't believe that God will make things work for you when you pray then that's another hindrance to your intentions. If you pray with pride like the the pharisee versus the tax collector in the bible, God will not be pleased. Lastly, but not the least, if you pray for the wrong reasons that is, selfishness, grudge and malice nothing will certainly happen because that goes contrary to the will of God.
The power of prayer transcends beyond the mere physical world. It is bigger than the universe because it comes from God's own hands. His love for us, his masterpiece creation, allows you to invoke that power in a disciplined and measured conditions. He only intends it to be used if it is for your good and without harming the good interest of others. You cannot fool His infinite wisdom to misuse that ability. Therefore, the great and freely available God-borrowed power of man is only as good as God intends it to be. Given that you invoke that faculty, it will often work in an unexpected, non-dictated, surprisingly beautiful and timely manner. God's ways sometimes work mysteriously and perfectly as planned.
The act of fervently praying that goes with strong faith, humility and righteousness is one formula for the power to influence things. I say it because it worked for me in too many different, major or small occasions in my life. I should find no reason why it can't work for everyone else. It works because it is even more powerful than any of the supposed mystic practices such as telekinesis, mental telepathy, magic,etc. The reason it might not work is the absence of any one of the four elements of the formula.
You can pray anytime, but without fervor you already miss one element to make it work. If you don't believe that God will make things work for you when you pray then that's another hindrance to your intentions. If you pray with pride like the the pharisee versus the tax collector in the bible, God will not be pleased. Lastly, but not the least, if you pray for the wrong reasons that is, selfishness, grudge and malice nothing will certainly happen because that goes contrary to the will of God.
The power of prayer transcends beyond the mere physical world. It is bigger than the universe because it comes from God's own hands. His love for us, his masterpiece creation, allows you to invoke that power in a disciplined and measured conditions. He only intends it to be used if it is for your good and without harming the good interest of others. You cannot fool His infinite wisdom to misuse that ability. Therefore, the great and freely available God-borrowed power of man is only as good as God intends it to be. Given that you invoke that faculty, it will often work in an unexpected, non-dictated, surprisingly beautiful and timely manner. God's ways sometimes work mysteriously and perfectly as planned.
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Not Asking God’s Help in Rough and Desperate Times
Getting through the rough and desperate times in life supposedly should be less difficult if we only invoke God’s loving grace and intervention. The hard part is in our hearts because we habitually mistrust that kindness, generosity and greatness. Our lack of faith keep us from asking. Moreover, our impatience to let Him work things out in His own time makes us resort to do things our own way. We often trivialize God’s capability.
We’ve all been too accustomed to getting things done on our own that we have gotten so much belief in ourselves. We own up our successes and achievements, small or big, because we seldom sought divine help beforehand. That feeling of grandiosity makes us think that we know better and can do things without Him. As long as things go smoothly we seem all fine with that.
However, on instances when things just don’t work out the way we want, we are left with options that may likewise not reap results. It’s in those situations that we start to panic and get frustrated with our own failures. In the worst case, we tend to submit ourselves to do desperate measures that may not be in the best interest of our morality. We tend to unnecessarily sacrifice too much of the good for the sake of getting through it all. At times, we feel left out in the dark world of depression, doubt and hopelessness. To the point, we feel as if it’s the end of the world. Sadly, some choose the wrong way to end everything once and for all, most especially if the situation is too stressful to handle.
Yet still, some manage to surrender to Divine Help as a last resort. Undoubtedly, it is the better choice. Putting to work the little faith and belief left in us helps greatly in times of desperate need. God answers in so many ways. In the end, we can only marvel at how He does things unexpectedly and in many simple ways that we don’t notice deliverance is already in the works. At the end of the day, we shamefully realize and acknowledge that “with God, nothing is impossible”. We think we would never have been battered more in the ferocious waves had we put that faith to work at the first hint of trouble. Though He sometimes tests us on troubled waters, we would’ve remained calm and still, had we known that He is God.
That said, there is good reason for us to ask God's loving intervention any moment in our lives regardless of how urgent or how trivial the issue at hand will be. As long as it is not against His will, He will always find the right way and the right timing to satisfy us. His ways are divine and oftentimes we don’t understand how He does things. He only needs us to trust and surrender everything to Him. As He says, "For the yoke I will give you is easy, and my burden is light. Come to me, and I will give you rest".
We’ve all been too accustomed to getting things done on our own that we have gotten so much belief in ourselves. We own up our successes and achievements, small or big, because we seldom sought divine help beforehand. That feeling of grandiosity makes us think that we know better and can do things without Him. As long as things go smoothly we seem all fine with that.
However, on instances when things just don’t work out the way we want, we are left with options that may likewise not reap results. It’s in those situations that we start to panic and get frustrated with our own failures. In the worst case, we tend to submit ourselves to do desperate measures that may not be in the best interest of our morality. We tend to unnecessarily sacrifice too much of the good for the sake of getting through it all. At times, we feel left out in the dark world of depression, doubt and hopelessness. To the point, we feel as if it’s the end of the world. Sadly, some choose the wrong way to end everything once and for all, most especially if the situation is too stressful to handle.
Yet still, some manage to surrender to Divine Help as a last resort. Undoubtedly, it is the better choice. Putting to work the little faith and belief left in us helps greatly in times of desperate need. God answers in so many ways. In the end, we can only marvel at how He does things unexpectedly and in many simple ways that we don’t notice deliverance is already in the works. At the end of the day, we shamefully realize and acknowledge that “with God, nothing is impossible”. We think we would never have been battered more in the ferocious waves had we put that faith to work at the first hint of trouble. Though He sometimes tests us on troubled waters, we would’ve remained calm and still, had we known that He is God.
That said, there is good reason for us to ask God's loving intervention any moment in our lives regardless of how urgent or how trivial the issue at hand will be. As long as it is not against His will, He will always find the right way and the right timing to satisfy us. His ways are divine and oftentimes we don’t understand how He does things. He only needs us to trust and surrender everything to Him. As He says, "For the yoke I will give you is easy, and my burden is light. Come to me, and I will give you rest".
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Making the Most of Boredom and Idleness
We are all too familiar with situations when boredom strikes. We’ve all been there: long distance commuting, flying to another city, or being trapped in the middle of heavy traffic, etc. Many of us today usually turn to our electronic gadgets for diversion or any other form of preoccupation.
However, for any reason we can also literally get caught anytime in any of the same scenarios above but without any help otherwise. In that case, we become helpless with boredom until things turn around favorably later. We forget to consider how much time would have been idly wasted.
Fortunately, we can still make good use of that idleness. We can make it meaningful by praying for whatever intentions we have. We can either pray for forgiveness, thanksgiving, praise, intercession or graciously for personal intentions. We always have the option to do that and it makes more sense than just wait lazily.
Attaining any of our intention by making use of our belief in prayers is productive in a spiritual sense, especially in the least likely situation. It’s better than setting aside prayer time to certain schedules, which we oftentimes fail to fulfill. It is one worthwhile time filler because we never know some things heavenly may already be at work as a result of that prayerful respite.
However, for any reason we can also literally get caught anytime in any of the same scenarios above but without any help otherwise. In that case, we become helpless with boredom until things turn around favorably later. We forget to consider how much time would have been idly wasted.
Fortunately, we can still make good use of that idleness. We can make it meaningful by praying for whatever intentions we have. We can either pray for forgiveness, thanksgiving, praise, intercession or graciously for personal intentions. We always have the option to do that and it makes more sense than just wait lazily.
Attaining any of our intention by making use of our belief in prayers is productive in a spiritual sense, especially in the least likely situation. It’s better than setting aside prayer time to certain schedules, which we oftentimes fail to fulfill. It is one worthwhile time filler because we never know some things heavenly may already be at work as a result of that prayerful respite.
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Frustrated with Bible Reading
I used to be frustrated with reading the Bible, and several attempts at sticking to the practice all but failed in the past. I wanted to gain some understanding. I followed the soundest advices from the Bible Seminar I attended some years ago. That is, pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance and spend silent moments to “listen to God” after reading. For some reasons those simply failed to serve the purpose. Maybe, there’s something wrong with me or anything for that matter. I don't know.
Then one day, I just prayed honestly and said that I would leave everything up to Him, not compelling myself to interpret the Bible as I read every time. Though, I still prayed beforehand, I just proceeded reading anyway. That change of approach gave me the same result as in the past but I didn’t mind, stayed relax, continued reading as much, and enjoyed the stories like any child reading a fantasy book.
During the course of those times I was surprised that I spontaneously gained some insights. Oftentimes, specks of understanding and enlightenment just popped in mind out of nowhere. It was during those times that a thought suddenly came to me that the Apostles of Jesus were once dumbfounded by his deeds and teachings even though they were often fully ignorant of the deeper meanings. They just kept on following him, continued to listen, though, at times being chided by Jesus for their failure to grasp the true meanings. It was only in God’s time (The Pentecost) that, un-scholarly as they were, they received full understanding and wisdom of the word.
We all may gain that understanding in God’s unexpected ways and timing. It may come in any same or different form as He sees fit. Gradually, that understanding will find root in our thinking and spirituality. It will manifest and affect us in the way we live and deal with the challenges of our own lives. Faith, perseverance and humility are what we need. Learning from the Bible is a life-long process.
Then one day, I just prayed honestly and said that I would leave everything up to Him, not compelling myself to interpret the Bible as I read every time. Though, I still prayed beforehand, I just proceeded reading anyway. That change of approach gave me the same result as in the past but I didn’t mind, stayed relax, continued reading as much, and enjoyed the stories like any child reading a fantasy book.
During the course of those times I was surprised that I spontaneously gained some insights. Oftentimes, specks of understanding and enlightenment just popped in mind out of nowhere. It was during those times that a thought suddenly came to me that the Apostles of Jesus were once dumbfounded by his deeds and teachings even though they were often fully ignorant of the deeper meanings. They just kept on following him, continued to listen, though, at times being chided by Jesus for their failure to grasp the true meanings. It was only in God’s time (The Pentecost) that, un-scholarly as they were, they received full understanding and wisdom of the word.
We all may gain that understanding in God’s unexpected ways and timing. It may come in any same or different form as He sees fit. Gradually, that understanding will find root in our thinking and spirituality. It will manifest and affect us in the way we live and deal with the challenges of our own lives. Faith, perseverance and humility are what we need. Learning from the Bible is a life-long process.
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