Ready To Believe

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." --Matther 21:21-22

 My prayers do not always reflect a faith of true believing, Lord. I find myself asking without faith in the outcome, without fully trusting that You are listening. Fill my heart with faith that leaves no room for doubt. Let my questions be those of a seeker desiring a deeper relationship with You, rather than those of a person who places obstacles between my life and the One who made it.

 As I practice the discipline of prayer, may it make me ready to receive all that is good, holy, and of You. May my lips never release words that are not lifted up in faith.

A Song Called Luck

It seems that I am still numb about what had happened last week. I just want to burry it in my remote mind but still it keeps flashing back in my forebrain. Life is not that easy for me nowadays.

I am not complaining but I am greatly affected by how life was been treating me lately. I know there is a reason why it happened but I still couldn't fathom it. I am really confused and disoriented about it. God please help me to overcome it. Yes, it hurts but I have to accept the fact that it already happen and seared my dignity and ego. I am not whole again.

I remember this song way back home popularized by a gigolo singer which really emanates a very servile lesson in me. It may serve you a lesson, too, but I don't know if it will affect you. The song is titled as "Kapalaran" which is translated in English as "Fate".

Bakit ba ganyan ang buhay ng tao? Merong mayaman, may api sa mundo. Kapalaran kung hanapin ay di matatagpuan at kung minsan lumalapit ng di mo alam. O bakit kaya may ligaya't lumbay. Sa pag-ibig may bigo't tagumpay. Di malaman, di maisip, kung anong kapalaran sa akin ay naghihintay.

Why is it that the life of man has wealthy people and oppressed one on this earth. If we searched luck we couldn't find it and sometimes it will just appear unnoticed. Oh why is it there is joy and sadness? In love there is failure and success. I just don't know, can't think, what fate is waiting for me.

Such a meaningful song asking what will happen about life because honestly we really don't know what will happen to us, what our luck and fate is. We know there is a bad and good that will happen but we don't know which one will eventually come out.

In short, we are the ones who is really instrumental in making our own destiny. Our fate lies in our own hands. And we will be lucky is we can get a positive result although the negative result can give us life intimate lessons which can make us stronger and better as we exist on this world.

Life is very unpredictable. We should be on the alert all the time because we don't know what will happen in the future. Anticipation is the best thing for us to be prepared for what is to come. If we are prepared them the intensity of the hurt that we will feel will be lessened just in case we fail in our journey.

Life is not always about good and sweet promises. Life couldn't always promise us a rose garden. We have to know that life is always a mixture of good or bad, a combination of ups and downs, and a blend of darkness and daylight. We have to be attentive about it and anticipate on what to do.

As this song had inspired me I hope it will give us a lesson that life is not that easy. Looking for our own luck in this world is a challenge because life is complicated itself. Aaaah..... this thing called life is really a challenge.

A Godly Confidence

The strength to do what's right and true

God gives when we obey.

Providing faith for future trials

Because He knows the way.

As I spoke with afriend who had just learned that his cancer had returned, I commented on his remarkably upbeat attitude. He responded by saying that the Lord always gives His people the inner strength they need to face each trial. My friend likened what the Lord was doing in his life to a car owner who makes sure that the tires have enough air pressure to enable them to carry a heavy load and roll safely over big bumps on the highway. He expects the Lord to give him exactly what he needs to face each test until He brings him safely Home.

This wonderful assurance is enjoyed by believers who live in obedience to the Lord. In Psalm 41, David said that the person who "considers the poor" is blessed with the awareness of the Lord's presence in his time of illness. In verse 12, David referred to his integrity as he spoke of his confident anticipation of God's future blessing. Was he saying that his kindness and integrity earned God's favor? No, David saw himself as a sinner in need of God's gracious forgiveness. But his awareness of God's presence now and his assurance about the future were tied to his obedience to the Lord.

Godly conduct does not earn God's favor, but it does give us a foretaste of heaven in the here and now. -HVL

You can be confident about the future

if you walk with God in the present.

Ordinary People

God uses ordinary people

to carry out His extraordinary plan.

Have you ever been in the presence of greatness/ Perhaps you shook the hand of a world leader. Maybe you got close to a famous athlete. Or you may have had a book signed by a bestselling author.

To be near such icons of popularity and prestige can almost take your breath away. You've seen them on television or read about them in the newspaper, but now you're in their presence! It can make your skin tingle.

In reality, though, it shouldn't. No offense to the most powerful politicians. No slight to the world's top athletes or  most prestigious authors, but they are all ordinary people. They may have done something great, but at the heart of it all they are just like you and me. In god's eyes they are sinners who need the grace of the only One who can truly be called grea: Our Almighty God.

Isaiah put it best when he said. "Woe is me, for I am undone!" He had seen a vision of God, and he was devastated by the contrast between himself and the Lord. Until God rescued Isaiah, the prophet was powerless.

We're all equally ordinary. But we can be lifted to incredible heights through the salvation God provides. Only an extraordinary God could do that for ordinary people like us! -JDB

Prayer of Thanksgiving for Graces Received from the Infant Jesus

I prostrate myself before Thy holy image, O most gracious Infant Jesus, to offer Thee my most fervent thanks for the blessings Thou hast bestowed upon me. I shall incessantly praise Thine ineffable mercy and confess that Thous alone art my God, my helper and my protector. Henceforth my entire confidence shall be placed in Thee! Everywhere I shall proclaim aloud Thy mercy and generosity, so that Thy great love and the great deeds which Thou dost perform through this miraculous image may be acknowledged by all. May devotion to Thy holy infancy increase more and more in the hearts of all Christians, and may all who experience Thine assistance persevere with me in showing inceasing gratitude to Thy most holy infancy, to which be praise and glory forever. Amen.

Powerful Novena to the Infant Jesus

(In cases of great urgency, a novena of nine hours may be made instead of nine days. The prayers should , if possible, be repeated at the same time every hour for nine consecutive hours.)

O Jesus, Who hast said, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened unto you," through the intercession of Mary, Thy most holy Mother, I knock, I seek, I ask that my prayer be granted.

(Mention you request here.)

O Jesus, Who hast said, "All that you ask from the Father in My Name He will grant you," through the intercession of Mary, Thy most holy Mother, I humbly and urgently ask Thy Father in Thy Name that my prayer will be granted.

(Mention your request here.)

O Jesus, Who hast said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away," through the intercession of Mary, Thy mosy holy Mother, I feel confident that my prayer will be granted.

(Mention your request here.)

And then pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

The Miracle Prayer

Lord Jesus, I come before You just as I am. I am sorry for all my sins. I repent of my sins; forgive me. In Your name, I forgive all others for what they have done against me. I renounce Satan, the evil spirits and all their works. I give You my entire self, the evil spirits and all their works, I give You my entire self, Lord Jesus, now and forever. I invite You into my life, Jesus, I accept You as my Lord, God and Saviour. Heal me, change me, strengthen me in body, soul and spirit. Come, Lord Jesus, cover me with Your Prceious Blood and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I love You, Lord Jesus, I praise You, Jesus. I thank You, Jesus, I shall follow You every day of my life. Amen.