Daily Bible Reflections June 3, 2016

WHEN ANGELS CELEBRATE

“Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.” – Luke 15:6

      Up in heaven, angels were gathered to welcome new souls. They were full of excitement at the arrival area.
       The angels welcomed a devoted Christian with joy and celebration by clapping their hands as the man entered the Pearly Gates. The man smiled, almost in tears, as he basked in their warm welcome.
       Soon afterwards, the angels erupted in even greater jubilation at the next person who was entering heaven. The angels put out banners and party poppers, and lively music blared. The man became curious and figured it must be a celebrity of some sort — the pope maybe, or a saint.
       When he couldn’t take the suspense any longer, he asked one of the angels who the newcomer would be. The angel replied, “One notorious sinner just had his last confession.” JC Libiran (CoachJCLibiran@gmail.com)

Pope Francis Says: “(Jesus) forgets, He has a very special capacity for forgetting. He forgets, He kisses you, He embraces you and He simply says to you: ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more’ (John 8:11).”

Sacred Heart of Jesus, make my heart like Yours, full of mercy and compassion. Amen.

Sts. Charles Lwanga and Companions, martyrs, pray for us.


COMPANION

1ST READING

God is the best example to follow. Ezekiel promises us that God will be our Shepherd as there is much to be desired in the leadership of the Jewish people for a few centuries. God has “had enough” and will show His love by leading His people out of exile. Does this sound familiar to you? We do not deserve His love. God’s gift of salvation is unmerited and purely gracious.

Ezekiel 34:11-16
11 Thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. 12 As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. 13 I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the foreign  lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel in the land’s ravines and all its inhabited places. 14 In good pastures will I pasture them, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing ground. There they shall lie down on good grazing ground, and in rich pastures shall they be pastured on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord God. 16 The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal but the sleek and the strong I will destroy, shepherding them rightly.

P S A L M 2

Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
R: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; 3 he refreshes my soul. (R) He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. (R) 5 You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (R) 6 Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come. (R)

2ND READING


Paul knows that none of us deserve salvation. He was even a persecutor of the Gospel before his conversion. If God can save Paul and make him a great evangelist, then He can do the same for us if we surrender to the grace God gives us. Are you willing to give up everything for the sake of the Kingdom of God? This is what God asks of us.


Romans 5:5-11
5 Brothers and sisters: The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. 6 For Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. 9 How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. 10 Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11 Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

GOSPEL

Today we celebrate the mercy of God. There is no sin that God cannot forgive. Let us embrace His mercy and love so that we can live as disciples of Jesus to the world. Let us live under the banner of Jesus’ mercy and love so that we can light the way to salvation for others.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me.

Luke 15:3-7
3 Jesus addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes: 4 “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? 5 And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy 6 and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.”

think: Are you willing to give up everything for the sake of the Kingdom of God?


SABBATH


ZEAL FOR THE LOST SHEEP

For the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus today, our Gospel reading is none other than the Parable of the Lost Sheep. It’s helpful to bear in mind the original context of this parable: Jesus addressed it to the Pharisees and the scribes. If we were to take modern-day equivalents of these, then those of us in positions of church authority might do well to heed this parable in a special way.
       In the first place, we have a perfect metaphor for God’s utter love for us sinners. It’s a stubborn kind of love, one that never gives up until the poor straying lamb has been found, even risking the other 99 left behind. That is because the lost sheep takes the first priority. It is an emergency situation and it demands more attention from the shepherd. God’s love for the lost, the least, and the last is truly indefatigable and inexhaustible.
       In other words, the Lord God will stop at nothing until He finds those who have strayed. For Him, no one must be wasted, unappreciated, obscured or overlooked. No one must ever be lost.
       Such pastoral zeal is what we are also called to assume. We simply can’t sit around while a brother or sister of ours is going astray or is in a sinful situation. His state, in fact, might worsen because of our indifference. It’s bad enough that he is lost because of a wrongdoing, but it’s even worse when people who are supposed to care for him neglect doing so.
       May the Sacred Heart of Jesus rub off a little bit of that same zeal and ardor for us. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Is there anyone you know who is lost and needs your compassion and support? What is God telling you to do today?

Lord, let me be Your heart today for the least, the lost and the last. Amen.

Special thanks to Bro Bo Sanchez for these inspiring readings!

Daily Bible Reflections June 2, 2016

POWER BANK OF LOVE

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  – Mark 12:30-31

     “When you love and give, never forget to leave something for yourself.” Maybe someone has given you this advice after you gave everything and still got hurt in the end. Maybe he or she is teaching you to love yourself more. I understand that. God’s call to love is always three-fold, involving Him, others and you.
       While I agree that you should always love yourself, I disagree with the above advice. Because I believe that loving should not be afraid to be emptied. Isn’t that what God did when He left the comforts of heaven to be a helpless little Baby in a manger? Isn’t that what Jesus did for us on the cross? He emptied Himself.
         We are like power banks, a storage of God’s love ready to give life to people running on low batt. A power bank is not afraid to be emptied. All it needs to do is to connect to the socket of God’s love, where real and unlimited love overflows. Tired of giving and loving? Get recharged by the love of God. It never runs out. Velden Lim (veldenlim@gmail.com)

Reflection: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears does not reach perfection in love. We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:18)

Jesus, disturb me when all I care about is self-preservation. Teach me to love selflessly.

Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs, pray for us.

COMPANION

1ST READING

Paul writes from prison. He does not let his imprisonment get him down. He does what he can to continue to build up the communities he has established by writing to them and encouraging them. Paul has a one-track mind — that is, to preach the Gospel no matter what situation he finds himself in.

2 Timothy 2:8-15
8 Beloved: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David: such is my Gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, even to the point of chains, like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. 10 Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory. 11 This saying is trustworthy: if we have died with him we shall also live with him; 12 if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us. 13 If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. 14 Remind people of these things and charge them before God to stop disputing about words. This serves no useful purpose since it harms those who listen. 15 Be eager to present yourself as acceptable to God, a workman who causes no disgrace, imparting the word of truth without deviation.

P S A L M

Psalm 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14
R: Teach me your ways, O Lord.
4 Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior. (R) 8 Good and upright is the Lord; thus he shows sinners the way. 9 He guides the humble to justice, he teaches the humble his way. (R) 10 All the paths of the Lord are kindness and constancy toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees. 14 The friendship of the Lord is with those who fear him, and his covenant, for their instruction. (R)


GOSPEL

The greatest commandment is to love. It underpins all the prescriptive elements of the Law. For a Christian, love is the measure of the Law. If the Law fails to call us to a deeper love of God and one another, then it is not doing what it is supposed to do. Let us measure our actions by the law of love and reject everything that does not help us to love more.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel.

Mark 12:28-34
28 One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” 29 Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! 30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. 31 The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. 33 And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

think: The greatest commandment is to love.

SABBATH

THE SECRET OF BEING NEAR
THE KINGDOM OF GOD

In contrast to that of yesterday, our Gospel today is more positive and affirmative: “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” Jesus said this to the scribe who engaged Him in a discussion regarding the greatest commandment of the Law. Jesus gave His approval to the scribe’s insight affirming Jesus’declaration.
       But Jesus actually gave two answers to the original question. While the scribe wanted to know “which is the first of all the commandments,” Jesus did not only reply to that question (the answer to which was obvious anyway). He also added a second commandment as part of His answer. The first one — the greatest commandment — should already suffice as an answer to the scribe’s question. But it was as though Jesus wanted to make it clear that the first commandment (love of God) cannot stand by itself. The second one is needed to keep the first one grounded in a concrete expression. Love of neighbor is the manifestation of the love of God.  Complementarily, love of God is the foundation for love of neighbor.
       In other words, “it takes two” to fulfill the greatest commandment. Just like in everyday life, there are many ordinary but useful objects which always go by pairs (jeans, socks, scissors, etc.). Even in our liturgy today, we have a pair of saints: Marcellinus and Peter.
       So now Jesus teaches us that the commandment of love works in tandem: love of God and love of neighbor. May we never break apart Jesus’ great commandment of love. Only then will He commend us, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTION: How do you show your love for God through your neighbor?

Help me to put my love for You in action, Lord. Create in me a compassionate and loving heart so that I may love my neighbor more. Amen.

Special thanks to Bro Bo Sanchez for these inspiring readings!

How To Multiply Your Harvest

Friend, God is your gardener. 

And God wants to prune you. 

How do I know? 

Jesus said, I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunesso that it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:1-2)

Why does God want to prune you?

If you want an adequate life, no need for pruning.

If you want an abundant life, then it comes with a price.

And that price is pruning.

If you’re content with a living a mediocre life, receiving a mediocre harvest, achieving mediocre dreams—go right ahead living the way you live…

Don’t submit to God’s pruning.

But if you want all that God wants for you, and if you want to fulfill the God-sized dreams for your life, I urge you today: Submit yourself to God’s pruning.

To have an abundant harvest in every area of your life, some things in your life will have to go.

From my experience, there are two ways God prunes you…

Two Ways Of Pruning

The first way is when God asks you to remove something from your life. The second way is when God removes something from your life without your permission.

1) When God Asks You To Remove Something

When I was a 13-year-old Preacher, I gave up TV.

I just felt inspired to do it. So while all my classmates were talking about the latest episode ofCharlie’s Angels, I felt very out of place.  (I wish I could tell you that my version of Charlie’s Angelsconsisted of Drew Barrymore, Lucy Lui, Cameron Diaz, but…)

Throughout my teenage life, I grew up without TV. Looking back, I now believe that was a huge blessing. Imagine freeing 3 hours a day to do other fantastic things. I read books, played instruments, composed songs, and most of all, served in ministry. 

Here’s something to think about: If you live until 75 and watched 3 hours of TV a day, (and you removed normal sleeping time), you would have wasted 14 years of your life. 

Would you give up 14 years of your life?  But that’s what many people do by watching TV.

When I was 21-years old, I gave up my girlfriend. Reason: I felt I needed time to discern if I was called to celibacy or marriage. And for the next 10 years, I had no romantic relationship. (You can imagine how difficult that was, not only for me, but for all the girls around me who found me irresistible. J) Again, I believe those ten years were the liberating years I stretched my wings, expanded my world, and grew my horizons.

Ask yourself: Is God asking you to remove something from your life?

But there’s another kind of pruning…

2) When God Removes Something

Without Your Permission

       My friend was working as an executive in a huge company.  I used to tell him, “Brother, ask God if He’s calling you give up your job and serve Him in ministry.”

       But he never resigned. His job was paying him well. He told me, “When I retire at 65, I’ll serve God.” But when he was only 53 years old, it happened: His company was bought by a larger company. And they eased out all their executives—including my friend.  He was now without a job.

       He could of course apply for another job. But he felt that this was God’s way of telling Him, “Serve me now in ministry.”

       I have a similar story. Once upon a time, I owned a number of food stalls. I was selling hotdog, ice cream, and squid balls… And everyday, I prayed that they succeed. But one by one, they began to fail. I was losing a lot of money. I felt very sad when they all failed.

       But today, I thank they failed.

       Because if they didn’t fail, I wouldn’t have given them up—I’d still be chugging along. And I won’t be in my present businesses now—which are twenty times more profitable.

       Sometimes, God allows failure, sickness, retrenchment, separation—so that there’ll be space in your life for new and better things.

       Did your boyfriend dump you? Thank God. Someone better is coming your way.

       Did your company retrench you? Thank God. A better job is coming your way.

       Did your business fail? Thank God. A better business is coming your way.

       Did you get sick? Thank God. You’ll learn how to live a healthier lifestyle, and better health is coming your way.

       Did a thief steal from you? Did a partner cheat from you? Thank God. You’ll learn from this painful experience, and God will return double what you have lost.

       Remember: God’s pruning isn’t God’s punishment. Yes, it feels like it. When bad things happen, you want to cry, “Lord, why? I’m a good person. Why are you doing this to me? Have I done something wrong to displease you?”

       No, God isn’t mad at you. God is madly in love with you. He’s doing something wonderful in your life. At the end of your life, you’ll tell yourself, “Thank God He pruned me!”

Let me tell you what God removes or prunes from our life…

Two Things That God Prunes

Gardeners cut away diseased and pest-ridden branches, so that the disease and the pests won’t spread to the other parts of the tree…

1. What Destroys You

Gardeners cut away sick branches.

God is a gardener. And He does the same thing in your life.

God wants to cut away sin from your life. Lying. Greed. Selfishness. Bitterness. Lust. Etcetera.

God’s focus isn’t on removing but on adding.

He just doesn’t want to remove lust. He wants to add the joy of purity. He just doesn’t want to remove greed. He wants to add happy generosity. He just doesn’t want to remove the habit of lying. He wants to give you the freedom of honesty.

Let me give you an example.

       As a single person, I wasn’t physically promiscuous. But I was mentally promiscuous. Because of porn, I was sexually active in my mind. 

It took years, but I finally cut away that part of my life.

After pruning comes abundance. I’ve experienced it.

       How? My married life is now so rich and deep and beautiful today. Because I’m mentally and emotionally monogamous. I’m faithful to my wife in my body and in my mind.

       Yes, there is power in focus. What you focus on grows! My wife has grown lovelier in my eyes because I’ve decided to focus on her.

       I’ve met married people who have fallen into emotional adultery. And then they complain why their marriages aren’t life-giving, why their spouses are terrible, and why they’ve fallen out of love.

       These are diseased branches that must be cut if you want fantastic abundance in your life.

       Are there things in your life that are destroying you?

       Alcoholism? Gambling? Materialism? Lying? Theft? Greed?

       Cut them away.

2. What Distracts You

Gardeners also cut away healthy branches, if this will make the tree bear more fruit.

Most of the time, they do it to increase light penetration. If the branches and leaves are crowded, very little light is able to enter the thick foliage. Thus, the pruning.

In the same way, your life can be so crowded with a lot of good things, you’re so busy, very little of God’s light enters your life. 

Here’s a fact. Good things can steal away your attention from the great things that God wants you to do.

Ask yourself: What good things distract you from great things?

Let me give you an example from my ministry. Each year, a lot of parishes invite me to preach. I could fill 365 days of the year just preaching in parishes.

But most of the time, I turn down parish invitations. Reason? I feel God has called me to speak to the unchurched. To people who aren’t religious. (Now you know why we hold our Feasts, our weekly spiritual gatherings, in malls and theatres.) We bring God’s Love to the people who need it the most.

By the way, preaching in parishes is fun. There’s a homecourt advantage. Everyone is open. Everyone laughs at my jokes. Everyone is willing to sing, “Lululalulalulalulalei…” and “Ang Buhay ng Kristyano ay masayang tunay…”

But I can be so busy doing this fun thing, I won’t be able to do the great thing that God wants me to do—to reach out to those who are far from God. To those who don’t even know how to pray the Our Fatherwithout missing a few words.

First things first: Identify the great thing that God wants you to do. And then prune your activities. Remove distractions that will take your time, attention, and energy from this great thing.

This includes recreation.

For 2 Months, I Became Addicted To Games

Recreation is supposed to re-create. When you do your recreation, it’s so supposed to create a new you. It recreates within you a new perspective, a new passion, and new possibilities.

For many years, I never played computer games.

I just felt it was a waste of time.

People ask me, “Bo, how can you do so much—writing, speaking, publishing, leading…”   I think one reason is that I don’t watch TV or play computer games.

I’d rather play with my kids, or write a book, or read a book, or prepare for my talk, or play the piano, or play the guitar, or making plans, or expand my business…

But something happened last year. 

One day, my friend said, “I play with my sons a computer game called Plants vs. Zombies. It’s a strategy game and we have so much fun.”

I got intrigued. So I bought the game online. And I invited my two sons to play together. Soon, my wife joined us as well.

My friend was right. It was great fun. And having my youngest son on my lap, playing the game together, was wonderful.

But I had a problem. The game was addicting.

I noticed I was getting addicted. How did I know? I usually write after the kids are in bed. I write my articles or prepare for a talk. But at 10pm, I found myself opening my computer to zap zombies with pea shooters!

There were nights when I actually slept at midnight. Or even at 1am. I actually spent two to three hours zapping zombies!

I had to make a decision. The game had to go.

I had been playing Plants vs. Zombies for two months. 

If I played 2 hours a day, that means I spent 60 hour playing that game. I could have written one book. I could have read 5 books. I could have created a business plan. Oh, I could have done so many things!

I decided to quit cold turkey.

Choose Real Re-Creation

Here’s a list of activities that nurture me:

-     Prayer and Meditation

-     Exercise

-     Reading great books

-     Listening to inspirational Talks

-     Watching really great movies

-     Being with people you love

-     Playing a musical instrument

-     Listening to uplifting music

-     Hobbies

Here’s a list of activities that I believe don’t nurture but actually drain people.  (This is my personal opinion; There may be rare individuals out there who get nurtured by these activities.):

-     Watching mindless TV

-     Playing video games for hours

-     Reading non-consequential stuff (gossip and showbiz pages)

Note: There’s nothing wrong about watching mindless TV. There’s nothing sinful about playingBejeweled and Farmville and AngryBirds.  I’m not saying we can’t play games. I think we should! But we do so with moderation and discipline.   But if you spend so much time doing them, they could be distractions, sapping your time and energy dedicated to fulfill God’s dreams for your life.

Focus On The Prize

No doubt about it. Pruning is painful.

Growth usually happens through pain. There is truth when your gym teacher says, “No pain, no gain.”

       God’s Word says, No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. (Hebrews 12:11)

But pruning doesn’t kill you; pruning heals you.

Here’s the challenge: While going through the pain of pruning, don’t focus on the pain; Focus on the prize!

St. Paul says, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)

My wife and I go to a Bikram Yoga class. (Note: No New Age stuff; Just exercise.) The class is done in a really hot room. And in that oven, we tryto do 26 postures that only Plasticman can do. 

The key word is try; I end up splattered on the floor, wondering why I’m torturing myself to become a human pretzel.

Yoga is painful for me. I’m so inflexible, when I bend, I can’t even touch my toes. 

But I don’t focus on the pain. I focus on the prize. One day, my body will become flexible, strong, and (ehem) sexy. To my wife!

Are you going through a pruning right now?

Don’t focus on your pain.

Focus on the prize that God has in store for youafter the pruning process is over.

Let me end with a story…

Submit To His Pruning, Submit To His Purpose

One day, Bill’s wife died suddenly.

       Bill was so distraught, he turned to heavy drinking. Everyday, he stayed home and tried to drown his sorrows away with alcohol. (Have you noticed? Sorrows are good swimmers.)

       Bill’s Pastor heard about it and visited Bill in his house. Seeing the mess that his house was in, he did something totally unexpected. He volunteered to do the laundry for him.

       Every week, this Pastor would visit Bill and do his laundry. 

Curiously, Bill waited for his Pastor to castigate him for his drinking. But the Pastor would not speak one word about it. Instead, the Pastor would talk about the great dreams that God has for Bill and his family. “You’ll have a wonderful life. Your kids will grow up to be wonderful adults. You’ll be playing with your grandkids….” 

One day, Bill just stopped drinking and regained his life. He was set free from alcoholism and depression because one man loved him.

God is like that Pastor.

God visits you, not to scold you, but to do your laundry. To wash your soul with His forgiveness.

And God wants to prune the things in your life that destroy you or distract you. But He won’t let you focus on the pruning. He’ll let you focus on the purpose behind the pruning. 

Friend, focus on His purpose!

Focus on your magnificent dream.

Go to God now.

Submit to His pruning.

Submit to His purpose.

-Bo Sanchez

How To Multiply Your Harvest

Friend, God is your gardener. 

And God wants to prune you. 

How do I know? 

Jesus said, I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunesso that it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:1-2)

Why does God want to prune you?

If you want an adequate life, no need for pruning.

If you want an abundant life, then it comes with a price.

And that price is pruning.

If you’re content with a living a mediocre life, receiving a mediocre harvest, achieving mediocre dreams—go right ahead living the way you live…

Don’t submit to God’s pruning.

But if you want all that God wants for you, and if you want to fulfill the God-sized dreams for your life, I urge you today: Submit yourself to God’s pruning.

To have an abundant harvest in every area of your life, some things in your life will have to go.

From my experience, there are two ways God prunes you…

Two Ways Of Pruning

The first way is when God asks you to remove something from your life. The second way is when God removes something from your life without your permission.

1) When God Asks You To Remove Something

When I was a 13-year-old Preacher, I gave up TV.

I just felt inspired to do it. So while all my classmates were talking about the latest episode ofCharlie’s Angels, I felt very out of place.  (I wish I could tell you that my version of Charlie’s Angelsconsisted of Drew Barrymore, Lucy Lui, Cameron Diaz, but…)

Throughout my teenage life, I grew up without TV. Looking back, I now believe that was a huge blessing. Imagine freeing 3 hours a day to do other fantastic things. I read books, played instruments, composed songs, and most of all, served in ministry. 

Here’s something to think about: If you live until 75 and watched 3 hours of TV a day, (and you removed normal sleeping time), you would have wasted 14 years of your life. 

Would you give up 14 years of your life?  But that’s what many people do by watching TV.

When I was 21-years old, I gave up my girlfriend. Reason: I felt I needed time to discern if I was called to celibacy or marriage. And for the next 10 years, I had no romantic relationship. (You can imagine how difficult that was, not only for me, but for all the girls around me who found me irresistible. J) Again, I believe those ten years were the liberating years I stretched my wings, expanded my world, and grew my horizons.

Ask yourself: Is God asking you to remove something from your life?

But there’s another kind of pruning…

2) When God Removes Something

Without Your Permission

       My friend was working as an executive in a huge company.  I used to tell him, “Brother, ask God if He’s calling you give up your job and serve Him in ministry.”

       But he never resigned. His job was paying him well. He told me, “When I retire at 65, I’ll serve God.” But when he was only 53 years old, it happened: His company was bought by a larger company. And they eased out all their executives—including my friend.  He was now without a job.

       He could of course apply for another job. But he felt that this was God’s way of telling Him, “Serve me now in ministry.”

       I have a similar story. Once upon a time, I owned a number of food stalls. I was selling hotdog, ice cream, and squid balls… And everyday, I prayed that they succeed. But one by one, they began to fail. I was losing a lot of money. I felt very sad when they all failed.

       But today, I thank they failed.

       Because if they didn’t fail, I wouldn’t have given them up—I’d still be chugging along. And I won’t be in my present businesses now—which are twenty times more profitable.

       Sometimes, God allows failure, sickness, retrenchment, separation—so that there’ll be space in your life for new and better things.

       Did your boyfriend dump you? Thank God. Someone better is coming your way.

       Did your company retrench you? Thank God. A better job is coming your way.

       Did your business fail? Thank God. A better business is coming your way.

       Did you get sick? Thank God. You’ll learn how to live a healthier lifestyle, and better health is coming your way.

       Did a thief steal from you? Did a partner cheat from you? Thank God. You’ll learn from this painful experience, and God will return double what you have lost.

       Remember: God’s pruning isn’t God’s punishment. Yes, it feels like it. When bad things happen, you want to cry, “Lord, why? I’m a good person. Why are you doing this to me? Have I done something wrong to displease you?”

       No, God isn’t mad at you. God is madly in love with you. He’s doing something wonderful in your life. At the end of your life, you’ll tell yourself, “Thank God He pruned me!”

Let me tell you what God removes or prunes from our life…

Two Things That God Prunes

Gardeners cut away diseased and pest-ridden branches, so that the disease and the pests won’t spread to the other parts of the tree…

1. What Destroys You

Gardeners cut away sick branches.

God is a gardener. And He does the same thing in your life.

God wants to cut away sin from your life. Lying. Greed. Selfishness. Bitterness. Lust. Etcetera.

God’s focus isn’t on removing but on adding.

He just doesn’t want to remove lust. He wants to add the joy of purity. He just doesn’t want to remove greed. He wants to add happy generosity. He just doesn’t want to remove the habit of lying. He wants to give you the freedom of honesty.

Let me give you an example.

       As a single person, I wasn’t physically promiscuous. But I was mentally promiscuous. Because of porn, I was sexually active in my mind. 

It took years, but I finally cut away that part of my life.

After pruning comes abundance. I’ve experienced it.

       How? My married life is now so rich and deep and beautiful today. Because I’m mentally and emotionally monogamous. I’m faithful to my wife in my body and in my mind.

       Yes, there is power in focus. What you focus on grows! My wife has grown lovelier in my eyes because I’ve decided to focus on her.

       I’ve met married people who have fallen into emotional adultery. And then they complain why their marriages aren’t life-giving, why their spouses are terrible, and why they’ve fallen out of love.

       These are diseased branches that must be cut if you want fantastic abundance in your life.

       Are there things in your life that are destroying you?

       Alcoholism? Gambling? Materialism? Lying? Theft? Greed?

       Cut them away.

2. What Distracts You

Gardeners also cut away healthy branches, if this will make the tree bear more fruit.

Most of the time, they do it to increase light penetration. If the branches and leaves are crowded, very little light is able to enter the thick foliage. Thus, the pruning.

In the same way, your life can be so crowded with a lot of good things, you’re so busy, very little of God’s light enters your life. 

Here’s a fact. Good things can steal away your attention from the great things that God wants you to do.

Ask yourself: What good things distract you from great things?

Let me give you an example from my ministry. Each year, a lot of parishes invite me to preach. I could fill 365 days of the year just preaching in parishes.

But most of the time, I turn down parish invitations. Reason? I feel God has called me to speak to the unchurched. To people who aren’t religious. (Now you know why we hold our Feasts, our weekly spiritual gatherings, in malls and theatres.) We bring God’s Love to the people who need it the most.

By the way, preaching in parishes is fun. There’s a homecourt advantage. Everyone is open. Everyone laughs at my jokes. Everyone is willing to sing, “Lululalulalulalulalei…” and “Ang Buhay ng Kristyano ay masayang tunay…”

But I can be so busy doing this fun thing, I won’t be able to do the great thing that God wants me to do—to reach out to those who are far from God. To those who don’t even know how to pray the Our Fatherwithout missing a few words.

First things first: Identify the great thing that God wants you to do. And then prune your activities. Remove distractions that will take your time, attention, and energy from this great thing.

This includes recreation.

For 2 Months, I Became Addicted To Games

Recreation is supposed to re-create. When you do your recreation, it’s so supposed to create a new you. It recreates within you a new perspective, a new passion, and new possibilities.

For many years, I never played computer games.

I just felt it was a waste of time.

People ask me, “Bo, how can you do so much—writing, speaking, publishing, leading…”   I think one reason is that I don’t watch TV or play computer games.

I’d rather play with my kids, or write a book, or read a book, or prepare for my talk, or play the piano, or play the guitar, or making plans, or expand my business…

But something happened last year. 

One day, my friend said, “I play with my sons a computer game called Plants vs. Zombies. It’s a strategy game and we have so much fun.”

I got intrigued. So I bought the game online. And I invited my two sons to play together. Soon, my wife joined us as well.

My friend was right. It was great fun. And having my youngest son on my lap, playing the game together, was wonderful.

But I had a problem. The game was addicting.

I noticed I was getting addicted. How did I know? I usually write after the kids are in bed. I write my articles or prepare for a talk. But at 10pm, I found myself opening my computer to zap zombies with pea shooters!

There were nights when I actually slept at midnight. Or even at 1am. I actually spent two to three hours zapping zombies!

I had to make a decision. The game had to go.

I had been playing Plants vs. Zombies for two months. 

If I played 2 hours a day, that means I spent 60 hour playing that game. I could have written one book. I could have read 5 books. I could have created a business plan. Oh, I could have done so many things!

I decided to quit cold turkey.

Choose Real Re-Creation

Here’s a list of activities that nurture me:

-     Prayer and Meditation

-     Exercise

-     Reading great books

-     Listening to inspirational Talks

-     Watching really great movies

-     Being with people you love

-     Playing a musical instrument

-     Listening to uplifting music

-     Hobbies

Here’s a list of activities that I believe don’t nurture but actually drain people.  (This is my personal opinion; There may be rare individuals out there who get nurtured by these activities.):

-     Watching mindless TV

-     Playing video games for hours

-     Reading non-consequential stuff (gossip and showbiz pages)

Note: There’s nothing wrong about watching mindless TV. There’s nothing sinful about playingBejeweled and Farmville and AngryBirds.  I’m not saying we can’t play games. I think we should! But we do so with moderation and discipline.   But if you spend so much time doing them, they could be distractions, sapping your time and energy dedicated to fulfill God’s dreams for your life.

Focus On The Prize

No doubt about it. Pruning is painful.

Growth usually happens through pain. There is truth when your gym teacher says, “No pain, no gain.”

       God’s Word says, No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. (Hebrews 12:11)

But pruning doesn’t kill you; pruning heals you.

Here’s the challenge: While going through the pain of pruning, don’t focus on the pain; Focus on the prize!

St. Paul says, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)

My wife and I go to a Bikram Yoga class. (Note: No New Age stuff; Just exercise.) The class is done in a really hot room. And in that oven, we tryto do 26 postures that only Plasticman can do. 

The key word is try; I end up splattered on the floor, wondering why I’m torturing myself to become a human pretzel.

Yoga is painful for me. I’m so inflexible, when I bend, I can’t even touch my toes. 

But I don’t focus on the pain. I focus on the prize. One day, my body will become flexible, strong, and (ehem) sexy. To my wife!

Are you going through a pruning right now?

Don’t focus on your pain.

Focus on the prize that God has in store for youafter the pruning process is over.

Let me end with a story…

Submit To His Pruning, Submit To His Purpose

One day, Bill’s wife died suddenly.

       Bill was so distraught, he turned to heavy drinking. Everyday, he stayed home and tried to drown his sorrows away with alcohol. (Have you noticed? Sorrows are good swimmers.)

       Bill’s Pastor heard about it and visited Bill in his house. Seeing the mess that his house was in, he did something totally unexpected. He volunteered to do the laundry for him.

       Every week, this Pastor would visit Bill and do his laundry. 

Curiously, Bill waited for his Pastor to castigate him for his drinking. But the Pastor would not speak one word about it. Instead, the Pastor would talk about the great dreams that God has for Bill and his family. “You’ll have a wonderful life. Your kids will grow up to be wonderful adults. You’ll be playing with your grandkids….” 

One day, Bill just stopped drinking and regained his life. He was set free from alcoholism and depression because one man loved him.

God is like that Pastor.

God visits you, not to scold you, but to do your laundry. To wash your soul with His forgiveness.

And God wants to prune the things in your life that destroy you or distract you. But He won’t let you focus on the pruning. He’ll let you focus on the purpose behind the pruning. 

Friend, focus on His purpose!

Focus on your magnificent dream.

Go to God now.

Submit to His pruning.

Submit to His purpose.

-Bo Sanchez