Spiritual blindness is not being able to see the truth of God. Spiritual enlightenment is God removing the veil of ignorance from our eyes. Let’s journey together to discover God’s truth and will for us.

God’s Plan

God has a plan for each of us. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Illness and death were not part of God’s original plan and they are not part of God’s eternal plan. Illness and death evolved out of sin not out of the divine design of Our Lord. Our Holy Lord Jesus wants to live in us and work through us and fulfill the plans He has for us, but He will not violate our free will. God’s plan may not be fulfilled if we fail to surrender to Him.

Trust

The intimacy Jesus wants with us requires trust.   We can trust in His goodness, in His kindness, in His wisdom, in His mercy for He has a character that does not change.   He will help us in every challenge; we can always rely on Jesus to be there to guide us to righteousness.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Fear

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18

Do not be afraid. For God never abandons His people!

“I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

Wisdom

And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord–that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.” Job 28:28

Don’t misunderstand. God does not want you to be afraid of Him. God desires reverence. Reverence is “fear of the Lord”. What do we fear? We should fear offending Him. Reverence is living with a spiritual understanding that God is all deserving of every honour and to deny Him honour is to deny Him the glory He so deserves. To embrace any form of evil is the equivalent to breaking our relationship with God.

Love

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” 1 John 4:16

Look at the Cross of Jesus and see Him suffering for you. That’s love!

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13

“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

Love is a choice to honour God. The harder that choice is to make the greater the love. Crucifixion was not an easy choice. Jesus asked for this cup of suffering to pass, yet He surrendered to the divine plan.

Prayer

Intimacy is always fostered by communication and prayer is our communication with God.

Let every thing in our life become a prayer for the glory of God, every word, every deed, every thought. Let’s ask Jesus for the grace to let our life become a continuous prayer for His glory 

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:

Prayer is listening to God in the silence of your heart. Make time for Him so that He can communicate His will.

“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honoured by every nation. I will be honoured throughout the world.” Psalm 46:10

 Discipleship

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24

“Denial” is often thought of in a negative context, but what I have discovered is that denial is a key that opens the door to “spiritual awareness” as we close the doors to the noise and distractions of the world. God will not scream His will to us. He waits for us to open the door to our hearts to Him. Then He will enter to teach us and guide us so we can honour Him by following Him.

 Spiritual Food

Let’s go back in time for a moment and remember what the first apostles did. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Acts 2:42

The apostles were following the Lord’s instructions. Jesus said to them “For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.” John 6:55-56

St. Paul warned the people however to receive the Holy Eucharist with reverence and understanding: “For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.” 1 Corinthians 11:29

Remember when the Priest says: “The Body of Christ” and we reply “Amen”, we are acknowledging that we believe that truly Jesus is present in this spiritual food we are receiving.

Mercy & Forgiveness

God knows we are not perfect and yet if we surrender to His love and allow Him to truly work through us all things are possible. God’s mercy can only be contemplated by meditating on the Passion of Christ. Walk the Way to Calvary and see how much Jesus wants to forgive you…all we need to do is REPENT!

“My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” Psalm 51:17

That’s what God wants from us “true contrition” and when we offer that to Him He forgives us. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

In the same way Jesus encourages us to forgive others. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7

Vengeance & Judgment

I often feel overwhelmed as I watch the international news. Last week the news showed a little girl lying paralyzed in a bed because of a bomb that struck her during a war. Her mother was not at her bedside because she was killed in the bombing.   She is precious to God as are all people. War is not the will of God. This little girl should not be lying immobile in a bed paralyzed and without her mother. I hate hearing the death toll on the news with an analysis that says today only “x” number of lives were lost. What if that one life lost was your child!? What if this little girl was your little girl?

It is God’s will that we reconcile differences with one another peacefully, without violence. There are too many people determined to kill others and avenge what they perceive is unjust! God wants us to love one another and find ways to live in peace. There is too much hatred and evil in the world and we must pray for God’s intervention.

For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” Hebrews 10:30

There will be judgment for all and each of us has to fight the “good fight” that God has destined for us, but all of us if we are truly disciples of Jesus must pray for an end to violence and war. I encourage you to join the peaceful revolution that unites in prayer every day at the time Jesus died for us, 3pm (in your local time zone), praying for all souls as we remember how much Jesus suffered to save us. Let us never be blind to the suffering Jesus endured for our salvation and let us not be blind today to the suffering of our neighbours.

Eternal Peace

However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him” 1 Corinthians 2:9  The eternal promise of Heaven, peace everlasting with Jesus, is for those who love God! Let’s love God and one another.