The Holy Spirit inspired our blog.
Solemnity of All Saints
I, John, saw another angel come up from the East,
holding the seal of the living God.
He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels
who were given power to damage the land and the sea,
“Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees
until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,
one hundred and forty-four thousand marked
from every tribe of the children of Israel.
After this I had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne,
and from the Lamb.”
All the angels stood around the throne
and around the elders and the four living creatures.
They prostrated themselves before the throne,
worshiped God, and exclaimed:
“Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,
honor, power, and might
be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me,
“Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”
I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.”
He said to me,
“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.”
Emphasis mine Rv 7:2-4, 9-14
I can’t believe we are in November already. Where did the year go?
As I read the passage from Revelation, the statement Salvation comes from our God, leaped out at me, The Holy Spirit.
Why?
I believe that for the first time in my life, I yes, I now fully believe Salvation does come from our God.
My full belief may sound strange to many of you who assumed I always knew this, but sadly, that wasn’t true.
I felt subconsciously that what I was doing was helping me get into Heaven.
This is a sin!
If I am partially responsible for my salvation, I diminish what Jesus accomplished through His Life and Death on the Cross.
My life and subconscious changed irrevocably when I saw on YouTube the Sermon by Allister Beggs entitled The Man on the Middle Cross Said I Could Come.
If that statement is true, and it is, then why not go out and live life to the fullest or do anything I want?
Two reasons:
Allister was not saying all are saved.
Allister was saying that those seeking God and trying to do the will of God are saved not by their actions but by the Life and death of Jesus on the Cross.
We believe there is another reason:
By imitating Jesus on the Cross, who died filled with Love, Joy, and Peace, you are able to get a glimpse of Heaven here and now.
Therefore, Salvation starts not when we die but starts here and now.
And that Salvation comes from God.
We suggest three relationship-building prayers this quarter if you want to join and grow in Team Jesus.
- Weeeeeeeee, say this prayer every time you and God interact. For example, weeeeeee made a great meal, Weeeee played a good game of …, Weeeee didn’t handle this very well, etc.
- Thank you, Father; say this all day, every day, for all the Father is doing in your life. If something really good happens, say this multiple times with enthusiasm. When I was told my Basal Cell had disappeared, I said the Thank You prayer at least fifty times as I walked out of the doctor’s office.
- I’m Fantastic; anytime anyone asks how you are, tell them you are Fantastic. I believe you are who you say you are. You have every reason to be Fantastic and no reason not to be. If you can’t think of a reason to be Fantastic, thank God for the difficulty, and God will provide you with the reasons.
Sidebar:
Cumberland County Jail:
Last week, when we went into the jail, I met a man I had met in 2020. The first thing he said to me was Love, Joy, Peace, etc.
He Knew the “Nine” after all these years and said he prayed them daily.
We asked him, “Why are you back?”
He said, “He had a parole violation.”
We asked, “How did that happen?”
At first, he blamed the system, but we pushed, and after a few seconds, he admitted he had listened to satan.
We told him, “Acknowledging satan working in your life is the first step to getting out and staying out, and he should pat himself on the back for taking responsibility for his actions and putting the blame squarely where it belongs,
satan!
As we related at the top of the blog, we all sin; the important thing is to recognize when satan is in your life and throw him out.
“Get behind me, satan, come Holy Spirit, and fill me with your Love, Joy, and Peace.”
Mysteries of the Messiah by Rabbi Jason Sobel
I am halfway through my third reading of Rabbi Jason Sobel’s book and had to pass along an interesting piece of information: We will paraphrase what was said.
Four cups of wine are served at the Last Supper, the Passover Meal. I didn’t know this.
The first cub: The Cup of Sanctification,
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I tell you [that] from this time on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Luke 22: 17-18.
The Cup of Sanctification invested the occasion with Holiness and Spiritual meaning.
But,
The evening was being sanctified, and Jesus and His Disciples were being set apart and sanctified.
The Second Cup: The Cup of Reciting.
Here, Jesus would recall the events during the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt.
This cup is NOT mentioned in the Gospels, BUT I believe this being a Passover Meal, Jesus would not skip this important Cup because it points to what will happen next for our Passover to God through Jesus.
The Third Cup: The Cup of Redemption.
Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you. Luke 22:19-20
We are all familiar with the Third Cup, but wait, there is a fourth cup.
The Fourth Cup: The Cup of Praise.
The Fourth Cup is also NOT mentioned in the Bible, and Rabbi Sobel and other rabbis believe this cup will be drunk when we all arrive in Heaven to celebrate with Jesus our new life; Rabbi Sobel refers to Mark 14:25.
Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Comment from a reader on last week’s blog: (YouTube: Type in the search bar; Priest delivers one of the most inspiring talks!)
Fred, I have been typing and deleting and typing and deleting (for close to five minutes.) – for lack of a better way to express my gratitude to you for sharing your beliefs about our God of outrageous Love. Everyone with shaky faith needs to watch Fr. Jimmy’s testimonies! (Last week’s blog)
From today on, Fred, I, too, am FANTASTIC. How can I be Catholic and not Fantastic?
Bless you! Sunday 10/26/23
The Holy Spirit is working in Sunday’s life.
We also had four comments from readers saying they were “Fantastic.”
How about YOU?
Picture:
This snapshot was taken on a trail in Oregon near my beach house on the Oregon coast. Picture by Linda Voldengen
Please keep Snapping!
Several people from foreign countries have asked for my email address, but I am still waiting to hear back. We decided to include my email for your convenience.
If you want a copy of the prayers we discussed, email me.
fprince101@gmail.com
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, no people, please, because we have to get permission from that person to use their photograph.
By sending your picture, you consent to allow us to reprint that picture in our next book, God Thoughts 2023, with your name and any comments in the Blog.
