Day 34--Oh, Susanna, don't you cry for me!

42 She cried out as loud as she could, 'Eternal God, you know all secrets and everything before it happens;

43 you know that they have given false evidence against me. And now I must die, innocent as I am of everything their malice has invented against me!'

DANIEL 13: 42-43

What a power story we read today (and what a long first reading!!). Susanna had been accused of adultery by two nasty old men who were lusting after her and were resentful because she declined their advances. She chose death over offending God! What an example for us, huh? She clamors to the Lord for justice and she is heard: God, through the prophet Daniel, saves Susanna from execution and punishes the two men. Susanna's faith is truly inspiring!

Oh, don't we all wish we were righteous and faithful like Susanna? Yet it's so easy for us to sin!!!! We don't even need to be coerced into sin by two creepy men--we manage just fine on our own, huh? Sometimes it looks easier to do bad than good things. Heck, some of us might even be like the creepy old men--peer-pressuring and manipulating and doing all kinds of things to bring people to sin! And the worst part of it all is that these 'elders' were men of authority and good standing in society, so they abused their power to get their way. Haven't we met people like that before? Yeah!! 

But do not despair--if you read today's gospel, there's also another bunch of weird old dudes, but this time actually trying to stone a woman caught in the act of adultery. These men take the woman to Jesus and--in order to put him to the test--ask him 'hey, what should we do? Moses said we should stone adulterers, but what do you think?' Notice how these guys, all in apparent good moral standing, want to catch Jesus contradicting the Law. But Jesus can outsmart anyone any day of the week--even on Monday!

Jesus says 'well, that's all right. But let someone who is sinless take the first shot'. PWNED. Yeah, these men might be a bunch of self-righteous men, but they don't dare to make the affirmation that they are sinless... so they all leave the woman alone, with Jesus. 

10 Jesus again straightened up and said, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?'

11 'No one, sir,' she replied. 'Neither do I condemn you,' said Jesus. 'Go away, and from this moment sin no more.'

JOHN 8: 10-11

That's right, you got two bible quotes today--you lucky you. In all seriousness, though... look at that! Jesus tells the woman, who was guilty as charged, that He won't condemn her!! See, that's the beauty of our Lord-- whether you are Susanna or the adulteress, God hears your cry! That's why Jesus died on the cross, not because of who we are, but because He is God and He loves us!God's justice is for all!! He saves Susanna for her faith and righteousness, but He also saves the adulteress out of pure love, to give her a second chance. The only condition? 'Go and sin no more, change your ways, convert, turn to me!' God has love for both the good and the bad, but in order to abide in that love we--the bad--must recognize that we are sinners and be contrite of heart. 

And yes, there are people in positions of power--even within the Church--that sin horribly and lead others to sin. And yes, one of the biggest illnesses attacking our Church is self-righteousness and hypocrisy (like the men in both these stories). But God is also waiting for them to turn around and truly follow Him. And look, if they don't convert, don't you worry about them and don't make them your excuse to stay away from Jesus' church because, as we saw with those two creepers, God will take care of it--on His own time and terms, but He will.

Lord, thank you for your love and forgiveness! Praise and glory to You forever!

Day 33--Fist Pumping for Jesus!

24 Martha said, 'I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day.'

25 Jesus said: I am the resurrection. Anyone who believes in me, even though that person dies, will live,

26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?

27 'Yes, Lord,' she said, 'I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.'

JOHN 11:24-27

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! I throw my hands up in the air sometimes, singing 'HE'SSSSSSS DA RESURREC--TIONNNN!' Guys, this is one of those times in scripture when Jesus is very blunt about his identity and I'm just like WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!! Jesus is the resurrection, our source of eternal life!!!

And I love Martha in this. You see, there were hundreds of women following Jesus, and Martha is one of the few that gets named in the Bible, but for all the wrong reasons. The first time we encounter Martha, Jesus scolds her for worrying too much about other things (cleaning and cooking, etc) that have nothing to do with Him. But this time Martha makes up for it as she makes a huge declaration of faith--just like when Peter tells Jesus 'you are the Christ!'. 

I always identify myself with Martha--in fact, my friends started calling me "Martha, Martha" for a while because the Lord kept telling me to stop being so much like Martha and be more like Mary (her sister) and just rest in His presence. Yes, I've tried to be less Martha and more Mary, but I've also learned to embrace my marthaness, particularly because of this passage. Martha is strong and a doer and a go-getter, and she tells Jesus straight up 'look, I'm unhappy about this and I wish you would have done this, but I trust you because you are God!' We see Martha grow in faith.

So yeah, I am a Martha. I believe, Lord! And when my faith is assaulted by doubt, help my unbelief! We are all in a process of growing in our faith, but the Lord reaches out to us and meets us where we're at, no matter if we are like Mary or like Martha.

And to hear Jesus say 'I am the resurrection' is so comforting because we have the hope of an eternity with Him in heaven, because, by his sacrifice, we live! He saves us from our spiritual death, from our sin, our dirtiness, our darkness, our tomb and gives us life everlasting! Thank you Lord for being my resurrection. Because of You, I am alive again.

Day 32--Follow through!

44 Some wanted to arrest him, but no one actually laid a hand on him.

45 The guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, 'Why haven't you brought him?'

46 The guards replied, 'No one has ever spoken like this man.'

JOHN 7:44-46

The pharisees had sent the temple guards to arrest Jesus, but when they heard Him speak, they just couldn't do it. They felt in their hearts that Jesus was truly a prophet--and could possibly be the messiah! However, they ultimately follow through with their orders when they apprehend Jesus and take Him to the chief priests. What on earth makes them change their minds? Is it their sense of duty? Is it the pressure exerted by the pharisees? Do they fear losing their jobs for becoming followers of Jesus?

We are not strangers to this type of thing. Those who follow Christ are persecuted today as they were almost 2000 years ago. I've seen people lose friends, become estranged from family members, pass on job opportunities, success, money, and fame all because of Jesus. Yes, of course it's hard, but Jesus himself rewards us for it! Don't be afraid to follow Him!! At the end of the day, if you leave Jesus to chase something else, you won't be as happy. That's the bottom line. If only these guards would have followed through. But who knows, maybe they did... maybe seeing that innocent holy man crucified changed their hearts. That's between them and God now. 

Choose Christ, first and foremost, once and for all. Seeking His Kingdom first and everything else shall be given to you! If a promotion, a relationship, or a friendship is going to put your relationship with the Lord in jeopardy, then that's indicative enough that you should drop everything and run, run to Jesus! Don't allow anything to come between you and God. Remember that you are His and everything you have is His. Keep your eyes on the cross.

Day 31---YOLO?

1 And this is the false argument they use, 'Our life is short and dreary, there is no remedy when our end comes, no one is known to have come back from Hades.

12 Let us lay traps for the upright man, since he annoys us and opposes our way of life, reproaches us for our sins against the Law, and accuses us of sins against our upbringing.

WISDOM 2: 1,12

You never thought the Bible will talk about YOLO, did you? Well, look at that! The book of Wisdom still applies to us today! The men being talked about falsely reasoned that life is 'short and hard, so let's do whatever we want and then punish those who try to tell us we are wrong and who oppose our way of life!' You only live once. Yes, this is true. Except your soul is immortal... so it's more like... 

YOLFAYDIYWTEUIHOH: You only live forever and you decide if you want to end up in Heaven or Hell.

And if you think, 'oh well, I'm a good person, I wouldn't go to hell' well, let me tell you that hell is not only the place for thieves, murderers, and rapists, but for those who willfully reject God and His grace. Like, for example, when we say 'look God, I know this is what you ask me to do, but I'm not going to do that. I'm going to do this instead' or when we have an encounter with God, He shows us His love and mercy, and we still choose our sinful life rather than to repent and be healed. 

In the words of Stephen Colbert: Yahweh or No way! Heaven will always be unattainable if it weren't for Christ's sacrifice on the cross--so it's not like only those who are absolutely perfect go there. But, like we've said before, you gotta want it, you gotta strive for it, you gotta attempt to earn it.

And look, here the book of Wisdom is telling us that those who follow the way of the Lord can expect much persecution because people are just not going to like to be reminded of what they are supposed to do. Yeah, you might lose friends over it, even family members might stop talking to you or treat you badly.   And it's going to be hard. And sometimes people will lay traps for you and will try to make you fall so they can say 'see, not so holy after all, huh?' But always keep in mind that Jesus had to go through the same thing: they tested him and couldn't make him fall, so they ended up arresting him, torturing him, and killing him. 

So when it gets rough, just remember: God is on your side! Don't be afraid! Keep your eyes on the Lord! When you are being persecuted, then remind yourself that you must be on the right track. Yours is the kingdom of Heaven! Don't believe me? Then believe Jesus, because he literally said the exact same thing:

"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10).

Day 30--One Love, One Heart

'You pore over the scriptures, believing that in them you can find eternal life; it is these scriptures that testify to me, and yet you refuse to come to me to receive life!'

JOHN 5: 39-40

Sometimes we get so caught up on the aspects of Christianity, on the "things that we believe" and the "things we are supposed to do" that we forget that Christ should be the center of our faith (and of our whole lives). This happens a lot especially when we start fighting other Christian brothers and sisters of different denominations: "you're wrong", "that's not in the Bible", "you're church is evil!". What if instead of accusing each other of what we think it's wrong in our respective denominations we realize that it is Christ who we praise and adore as our savior. We are all still his Church!!! And look, He is telling us how the Bible should be a big fat arrow that points to Him, not a motive of division among us! May we be one, just as He is one with the Father!!!! If reading the Bible is making you hard-hearted and not leading you to Jesus, then you're not getting the message!!

Always remember He is the truth, the way, and the life! May we come to Him to receive His Spirit!!!

Day 29--Mama God??????????

'Can a woman forget her baby at the breast, feel no pity for the child she has borne? Even if these were to forget, I shall not forget you.'

ISAIAH 49:15

I love this verse of the Bible, you guys. It makes me tremble!!! You know, we constantly think of God as a father figure, and many people think of Him as a God who punishes (we've talked about this more than enough). But to have God compare himself to a mother... that's weird, huh? But it's so beautiful and so reassuring. Because when I am afraid, when I am worried, when I am sad, when I feel like my life is falling apart, I tend to have this reaction: I want my mommy. And to have the all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent God of eternity tell us that even if a mother forget her baby He will never forget us is well... awe-stricking. Moms don't really need a reason to love us other than our being their kids, right? It's the same with God. Love for love's sake. 

Except God tells us that His love goes a step further because, even if you have a broken relationship or don't have a relationship at all with the person who is supposed to love you the most, He, Yahweh, will never forget you. Your name is engraved in the palms of His hands. You are forever His!!!!!!!! And God's love did go a step further when He sent Jesus to pay off the debt of our sins.

Oh, if we could fully comprehend the love of God, if we could fully understand those words, I shalll never forget you. Never ever ever ever ever ever never ever never never never never. I hope I'm getting the point across.

And if you feel like "well, God, my mom in fact did forget me" or "my mom doesn't love me" or the like, God is here for you, to heal that hurt. And if you feel like "eeh... no... I just can't see God as my mother figure... it's weird," well, guess what? He has that covered too. At the foot of the cross, when Jesus is dying for our sins, He tells his apostle John "behold, your mother", referring to Jesus' own mom, Mary. So Jesus gives John a mother and thus symbolically gives us a mother. Imagine! Mary had to see her son being killed in the most brutal way and knowing it was because of our sins. Yet she still forgives us and loves us and cares about us!

So, may you feel the overwhelming, awe-striking, revolutionizing love of God. And may you find in Mary the tender love you seek!

Day 28--God's left hook

14 After a while Jesus met him in the Temple and said, 'Now you are well again, do not sin any more, or something worse may happen to you.'

JOHN 5:14


Uuugghhhhh... this is one of those passages in the Bible that might not sit well with a lot of people. Is that a threat, Jesus? Are you saying that bad things will happen if you don't do what you ask? What happened to the God of endless mercy?! Cris, you said God wasn't a revengeful guy, that He wasn't out to get us!!!

Yeah, yeah, I know what I said. And I still stand 100% behind that statement. Look, our God is as much a God of mercy as He is a God of perfect justice. And the thing is, sometimes the things that happen to us are just consequences of our messing up really badly, you know? Not always, but sometimes... yes. Like when a drunk driver gets into an accident. Now, you are probably saying "well, but what about the person who was in the other car and had not been drinking? Why should God allow that to happen to them?!?!?" This is true, they don't deserve it. But you and I have to realize that sin has consequences and that those consequences don't always affect just us. They hurt other people too. And no, it's not fair to those people, but that's the nature of sin. It can happen to anyone, any time. And it's devastating and awful and I'm truly sorry, from the bottom of my heart, if you or one of your loved ones has been a victim of someone else's sin. May God grant you healing and peace!

Now, back to this whole threatening business. Remember, God is always trying to reach out to us, to encounter us, to show us how He loves us. But sometimes we are so blinded by our selfishness, our arrogance, and our pride that we fail to see Him or hear Him. God is beckoning you gently with His right hand and you don't listen, so what does He do? He uses his left hook to knock you out. He allows things to happen--yes, bad things--because He knows that's the only way you'll turn to Him, at least to yell at Him. Trust me, this is what happened to me. Only through a sport's injury, the loss of all my friends, and financial problems was He able to get me to turn to Him, initially to only say 'WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!?!?!?!' Before that, I just kept trying to rely on myself. So, to some of us stubborn people, God may have to be a little rougher. The solution to this is to simply surrender your life to Him, then He doesn't have to do that kind of thing, you know? I'm not saying that means nothing bad would ever happen to you--tough situations are part of life (and so is death). But when we don't give our lives to God, then we sink further and further into sin and those bad situations are basically impossible to face because we don't have the hope of having an amazing, all-powerful, all-loving God there to help us through!

So Jesus is not threatening... He's simply letting us know gently that if we decide to remain in sin our lives will only get worse. May the Lord break our chains and may we, by holding onto Him, be truly free!!!

If you are experiencing a rough time in your life or a difficult situation, don't forget that, above all, God loves you tremendously. Ask Him to get your through this and to let you see His hand in your life. May this difficulty produce good fruit in your life.