I am always fascinated that God's revelation concerning Himself is full of mystery and requires a deeper understanding that simplified human formulations regarding His Being and Nature will never suffice except that in His Mercy, He tolerates and forgives even the misconceptions about His Self. But as a Creator of Truth, He always cares about our knowing Him intimately so much like a friend knowing another, all considerations aside. Sometimes, our conception of God is very much like the concepts we form with fellow bloggers, but it is the Care and Love that raises this conception above the face-to-face comraderie of acquaintances that it seems that we have known each other all along and will behold each other in full glory of the truth in the times to come.

Hence, after so many millenia, when we read what Jesus said about Himself, albeit so confined in a few words, it is God's intimation of who He really Is. Only a Creator can know His own creature deeper any fellow creature. So when it comes to salvation, who saves the creature from being lost in the chaos? Jesus, God became Man to love Man in his very shoes. Simplistic, not quite, but this declaration is my way of worship and gratitude that as Josh Groban sang, "He raised me up..."

His words, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" reveals so much on who He really is. How else can we find our way as creatures returning to the great Flame of God if Jesus would not guide us as the Way and the Truth? After death, who will sustain our life if not Life Himself?

"For God so loved the World that He gave up His Only Beloved Son, that whoever so believes in Him shall not perish, but shall have Eternal Life". This is such a beautiful verse from John, that it seems, ironic as it sounds, the giving away of a part of ourselves is that which will keep us all together. How lonely are we when despite being in the company of people, we can be so isolated? Neither will God allow that, so He went from beyond Himself, in such a way that I can scarcely fathom, so that we can all be together.

I guess what really matters is that not that I would have eternal life with God, with Jesus, but that which you, me, us are with Jesus, and He will do the rest.

Mommy knows best, they say, but Jesus knows us better.

Last Tuesday I thought I was going to die. I had an asthma attack after work and it happened in my mother's house, trying to visit her after a long absence, and woe, my inhaler's at my wife's house.

It was terrible. I was not terrified at the prospect of dying, except I do recall that I could not breath without my whole frame doubling and twisting in an effort to get air in and out of my gaping mouth. My mother, she was busy watching television in the living room. Her advanced age and semi-deafness must've prevented her from hearing me.

I don't have energy at all to call for help, I was intent on catching my breath.

There were times that I thought my lungs would collapse from trying to squeeze oxygen in, my head was splitting for lack of it, and my chest and stomach muscles ached so severely from trying to breath.

When I thought I was really going to asphyxiate and die from lack of oxygen, I called on Jesus' Name, Our Lord's Name, with every breath I took, such that I pronounced Our Lord's Name as H-he-Sooh-s, He-he-sooh-s.

Hours passed into the night, my muscles ached for trying to sit, back hunched, arms stiffening in supporting my torso, I'm so dizzy that everytime I lain down, my lungs threatened to squeeze itself and quickly I sprung back to sitting position.

I prayed in my heart, still breathing Jesus' Name, I asked, "Is this it, God? Am I to die? I am ready, but how about my children? My wife? Nobody will support them save I? They need a father, Lord, am I to be taken now? Dear God, is this the bargain that we struck? That my daughter be cured and I would die in her place? Thy will be done..."

Hours later, later into the morning, my painful gasps subsided, what remained were the aches in my muscles, intestines, appendix, and my back from the sheer effort in just breathing.

I asked that I'd suffer in my daughter's place, and I have no complaints, but I also believe Jesus saved me, for it was only His Healing I called upon, recalling in my delirium how He healed many of the sick in Israel during His 3 years of ministry.

Forgive me for my blandness although I am grateful for my Lord's cure, but still I feel a bit woozy from the attack. I did not go to work the next day to just recover and wait for my aching torso to slacken a bit.

Thank You God...for every breath I take. Your Mercy is Overflowing. You have allowed this humble servant to live...I am overwhelmed my Lord, I thought I would finally meet you, hold you, ask you the final questions that nagged me since I started to think, about this life, about my purpose, about You, but something held me back, from surrendering, from yielding to the cold darkness creeping on my skin that night...I called and You answered My Lord, My Dear God, My Beautiful God, Yahweh, Yeshua, Alleluia, Lord, My God, Alleluia, Jesus, I believe, Oh MY LOrd, My Lord, My Lord. Amen. Amen. Amen. Christe Eleison. Alleluia. Praised be Your Name, My Lord, My God.

I have written about the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ in my entry before Christmas and I have also opined that only reading the Bible with love can we really discover that latent under the mystery of God's revelation, God truly came down from Heaven and "dwelt amongst Us".

Jesus said before His Passion, to his disciples, "I will be with You always" and "Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit". The former may be construed as a figurative statement other than a loving intimation of His Nature that only a loving disciple can understand, while the latter may be a fortuitous juxtaposition that has no bearing on the Equality of the Persons named in that Command, or it may be the actual and most direct statement of Jesus of the Triune Nature of the Creator, Fortifier, and the Divine Human. Such is the Beauty of the Bible, that such esoterica be worded in this way, causing dispute which hopefully arrives in synthesis of minds, hence Jesus' prayer, "That all may be one". The parable of the Employer is also an intimation that even if finite humans would not be able to fathom the Mystery that brought them into being, all will be rewarded salvation once realization is followed by belief and angelic adoration upon the final revelation of the Truth when Jesus returns in His Human and Divine Glory.

Firstly, for a person to say that he will be amongst us till the end oftime maybe scoffed at having too much to drink when we all know mortality precludes such a possibility. But for Jesus to say this after all we have witnessed just proves the Omnipresence of God, that it is within the Power of God to be at all places, and at all times, known as the Immanence of the Creator within His Creation.

Secondly, The Inclusion of the Name of the Son in the Salvation of Nations through Baptism, as well as that of the Spirit, is the direct statement of the Equality of the Three Persons in the Holy Trinity, for Only God can save Man, not man save man, from Eternal Perdition brought about the Denial of God by Adam and Eve. The sacrament of Baptism is the first act of saving a person from original sin and bringing that person back into the Fold of God. God doesn't need help from the Son or the Holy Spirit in empowering Baptism, rather They Save jointly.

The Parable of the Employer, in which workers were paid the same wages at the end of the day despite of unequal amount of work and being hired at various times of the day is again the Mercy of Jesus knowing not all can intellectually handle the Idea of God becoming Man to Save Man from himself, an Ultimate Act of Love of Partaking in our own suffering and humanity by the Creator who "So Loved the World". Falling in love with someone is no different from this. Some will believe Jesus as God in the end of the world, some believed Him early in life, it makes no difference to the "Employer", Jesus as long as one chooses Him and not lucifer in the final battle.

My Lord and My God, May WE All BE ONe before You Come AGain in Glory!

Merry Christmas! Let me begin by praying that Our Lord God Jesus Christ looks at you, smiling from Heaven, seeing that we are being His True Disciples by virtue of "Love your neighbors, as I HAVE LOVED YOU..." Amen, that you are blessed more still throughout the coming year, and feel His Presence on Christmas Day. Amen.

Man by himself cannot save himself, even if such a sacrifice is to be made, for the price of redemption included ALL MEN FOR ALL TIME. No human soul ever since the original sin can have such power to save as a sacrifice for its remission, not against such a sin as willful and direct by creature to Creator.

It takes a Divine Soul to REDEEM God's own Spiritual Justice, to exonerate all MANKIND! Yes, God's Love surpasses God's Justice, so IT WAS GOD HIMSELF IN OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST WHO LIVED THAT LOVE! WHO MADE REAL GOD'S LOVE FOR FINITE MAN! He sacrificed Himself for Us, beginning on Christmas Day, so that His Beloved Creation, Us, will not fall into nothingness. Such is the Power and Mystery and Immensity of God's Nature of Love that He Paid for the Sin He did not Commit.

Oh Yes, that joy we feel every Christmas? That is Jesus' God's Love warming us in winter from the day He donned those swaddling clothes. That is how powerful is that love, it bleeds through TIME. PRAISE BE YOU, OH GOD, WE LOVE YOU GOD, WE LOVE YOU, OH GOD, AND YOU LOVE US EVEN BEFORE WE WERE BORN, OUR NAMES WERE WRITTEN ON THE PALM OF YOUR MIGHTY HAND!

The Bible was not direct in manifesting the Divinity of Jesus Christ, as the non-trinitarian faiths so literally interpret it, as if the BIBLE WERE SOME LAW BOOK ONE READS WITH THE MIND, NOT THE HEART, AND IN EFFECT, UNDERMINING THE MEANING AND JOY OF CHRISTMAS OF LOVING CHRISTIANS.

The Bible is foremost is the Book of God's Love, hence, it must be read with love in one's heart, perfectly BEING IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF THE GOD OF LOVE, then, we could easily recognize Jesus even in his, not a guise, but actual HUMANITY, for in SAVING US, HE MUST SUFFER AS A HUMAN AND TEACH US HOW TO BE HUMAN AS WELL, HUMBLY LOWERING HIMSELF, "Something to be grasped at".

The Archangel Gabriel told Mary, "He shall be called 'Emmanuel', 'God is with Us'".

Sarah called Mary's Baby "Lord". Is it not that being inspired by the Holy Spirit, Sarah is saying the Truth about Jesus' Nature?

John the Evangelist began His Gospel with, "In the beginning was the Word...The Word became Flesh...And the Word was God..."

Thomas the Twin called Jesus, "My Lord and My God!"

The Magi brought the Infant Jesus Frankincense, Gold, and Myrrhh, in homage to just a Human King?

"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one shall not have ETERNAL LIFE EXCEPT THROUGH ME", these are Our Lord's Very Words describing Himself. Who can impart Eternal Life except Eternal God Himself?

The necessity of God as Man is so necessary as Our Existence as Humankind is necessary. God knows Man more as Jesus Christ more than ever, because "God so loved the world that He gave His Own Begotten Son (and God's True Son [the Firstborn Among Creation] is of the SAME NATURE, this thinking is ANALOGOUS AS DNA proving one's paternity of a boy.)

I am exhausted, this explaining my God's Being Man on Christmas Day has taken a lot of my energy...

Oh God My Lord, Jesus Christ, it is such a great privilege to try my best to recognize you despite of the mystery that only love can lift. You are full of love for us and like the Good Shepherd you are, you want all of us to be herded into your arms because indeed we are your children and are seeking you even in our sinfulness. We cannot thank you enough except in seeking to be like You.

We are so happy YOU CAME TO BE BORN AMONG US, DEAR LORD GOD, AMEN, ALLELUIA! OUR HEARTS SING SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT WITH ALL THE VOICES OF THE ANGELS!

PRAISE YOU JESUS, PRAISE YOU GOD, PRAISE THEE HOLY SPIRIT!

PRAISE BE TO YOU WHO CAME IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!

I PRAY FOR MY FRIENDS HERE WHO KNOW YOU AS I DO, BLESS THEM ALL THE MORE MY LORD, SO THAT THEY SHALL HAVE PLENTY OF STRENGTH TO PROCLAIM YOUR SALVATION AND LOVE, AND KNOWING THUS, WE LOVE EACH OTHER MORE AS WELL.

AMEN. AMEN. AMEN.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY BEAUTIFUL LORD JESUS CHRIST! JOY TO THE WORLD!

I confess, it is hard not to be selfish. Maybe a little of it won't harm, as long it borders on self-respect and dignity. One can't lay it all out there, give, give, give, and then when it would not be reciprocated, the sharpest pain goes to the generous heart. Sometimes, too much loving can kill, the giver or the receiver. Giving, altruism, selflessness, generosity, kindness won't amount to nothing if it is not deliberated intelligently.

However, it is difficult to draw the line between a little love for the self and all out thinking for oneself. To some people this comes naturally, born out of good family backgrounds and none-exposure to violent environments. But for those with the unfortunate experience of being treated badly or growing in a loveless home, to be selfless or to fight egocentricity is a tall order, a Gargantuan task.

Despite its difficulty, to resist being selfish is the key in being closer to God, and to live a healthy, stress-free, and full life. The Bible tells us so, "You cannot serve both God and Mamon". God is Love, God is Selflessnes Impersonified, in the mere fact that He shared His Eternal Life with Us. As a English and Lit Major, I can't help but notice that Mamon looks like a combination of the "Mah" of Southerners and Mon of the French, both linguistic sounds representing "My". Indeed, we cannot be like God if all we think of is my, my, my, my, my. Serving is God is emulating God, living the way How His Son Jesus lived. Loving is being true to the Nature of God and Ourselves, and the My Syndrome must be fought to reach this.

Giving away, surrender, letting go, sacrificing, setting aside, resisting urges, controlling emotions, these are but a few key words so as to strive to be like God, who is Love.

Selfishness pulls down, one cannot rise up with the weight of me, me, me on our shoulders.

DEAR BEAUTIFUL AND JUST AND ETERNALLY WISE AND ALL POWERFUL GOD, GIVE US THE STRENGTH TO RESIST OUR EGOS, TO STOP SERVING THAT WHICH IS SELFISH AND ISOLATIONIST WITHIN, AND TO FEEL LIGHTER IN SENSING THE NEEDS OF OTHERS TOGETHER WITH THE GRACE OF DIGNITY.

I LOVE YOU, MY LORD, I AM YET TO CONQUER MYSELF. I NEED YOU ON THIS.

AMEN.