Happiness Is Free

Happiness is free. We seek happiness in the acquisition of material goods and activities to enjoy, but happiness is free and is a gift, a blessing of our heavenly Father. We have had the experience of acquiring things and be happy for a while, with nothing changed in our lives. Happiness is achieved when go from the state of beings created by God, to the state of the children of God and that is free because Christ paid a high price, so that we could receive that "Title". We all feel an inner emptiness that can not be filled by anything material. Only God and His Spirit, can fill that void and give us the happiness to which we are destined. Jesus said: Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and God will give you everything you need. Jesus did not say: God will give you everythint you want, but evetything you need and He knows what we really need. Happiness is to be children of God and act accordingly. In the Gospel of John says: To all who believed in Jesus and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. Believe in Jesus and receive Him into your heart, He paid for your happiness and for your eternal life.

You Must Say "NO"

You must say "NO". Rachel wanted to be free of her addiction and seek help from many sources, but she always fell back. What helped her out of her addiction was to recognize that her addiction was not dependent on external factors, but from her own decision and she learned to say "NO". This change in attitude made the difference and then, the help she received, gave her the tools to strengthen her will and continue saying "NO", to be free of her addiction. There are addictions to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, food and sex, among others. There is no instant or magic solution for any of them, because it requires decision, will and hard work. But you have help. Jesus said: You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.  And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. If the Son sets you free, you are truly free. He also said: Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Years later Pablo said: For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. If you have an addiction, follow these three steps: 1) Recognize your addiction. 2) Say "NO" to your addiction. 3) Ask Jesus to help you.

Paralyzed By Fear

As we walked through our neighborhood, we found a snake in the middle of the street and we become paralyzed by fear. We will never know who was more scared, if the snake to see us or we to see the snake. After a few seconds we decided to run away from the snake. Just as we become paralyzed by a situation that frightens us, we also get paralyzed by the problems that arise in life that cause us fear. But the solution is not to get paralyzed by fear, but to act on the situation that we fear and the strength to overcome fear is to know that God is on our side. When David went to confront Goliath, he said: The same God who has protected me before, will protect me from this Philistine. When the storm threatened to sink the boat, Jesus rebuked the wind and said, Why are you afraid? Why you have so little faith? If something frightens you, do not get paralyzed, but rather trust God and act.

What Do You Want?

What do you want? If you seek Jesus with strength and faith, He will ask: What do you want me to do for you? For your faith I will give it to you! And Jesus will give you what you want, if it's for your own good. Study this passage: As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. So he began shouting: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Be quiet! the people in front yelled at him. But he only shouted louder: Son of David, have mercy on me! When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him: What do you want me to do for you? Lord, he said, I want to see! And Jesus said: All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you. Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too. Luke 18:35-43

Do Not Exalt Yourself

Do not exalt yourself. Do you trust the rightness of your actions and disapprove of those who act in a wrong way? Be careful ... do not make the mistake to exalt yourself. Rather, be humble and seek God's forgiveness, because we are all imperfect children of God, who is merciful to their children who are humble. Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: Two men went to the Temple to pray. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income. But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying: O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner. I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Luke 18:9-14

You Must Persevere

You must persevere. Do not give up. Never give up. God will surely give justice to his chosen people who persevere and cry out to him day and night. But, will you have enough faith to persevere, pray and not give up? One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up: There was a judge in a certain city, who neither feared God nor cared about people.  A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, asking for justice.  The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself: I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests! Then the Lord said: Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith? Luke 18:1-8

Are You On The List?

Are you on the list? We invited a friend to our house, but before he arrived we had to call the gatehouse, because we live in a closed community and no one can enter, unless their name is registered in the list of authorized persons. The same happens in clubs and in many important and exclusive places. Those who guard the gates do not check the personal references of who wants to enter. They just check if they are registered in the list. The same happens in heaven. Those who guard the gates of heaven, will not check our personal references, they will just check if our name is registered in the list. This is why Jesus said: Rejoice because your names are registered in heaven, and He also said: Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! What to do to be registered on the list? We read in chapter 1 of John that all who believed in Jesus and accepted Him, received the right to become children of God, and it is explained in chapter 3 that God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Believe in Jesus, receive Him into your heart and register yourself in heaven.