From the bright cloud the Father’s voice was heard:
‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.’ Mt17:5
GENESIS 22:1-2,9-13,15-18 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Your word teaches us that our response to God's call must always be, 'Here I am,' just as it was the response of the great patriarchs and prophets Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, and Ananias. There is another thing that we must be certain about after we answer Your call a divine mission will be laid on us, it could be one that entails great suffering, great trials, it involves journeying with You from Gethsamane right though to Golgotha, as Abraham was to discover. But through it all Your Spirit will be with us, You will encourage us, You will be yoked to us.
Abraham was asked to make the ultimate sacrifice - to slay his son Isaac in obedience to God's will. So great was his faith that he was prepared to give up his most precious and only son, in obedience to God's command. Isaac was a strong young man, he could have overpowered his old dad at any time during the journey to Mt. Moria, but instead, he carried the wood for the sacrifice and lay quiescent as his dad tied him and laid upon the wood to slay him.
The angel stopped Abraham before the knife could strike at the heart of his son, God our Father went through the agony of giving you up into the hands of sinful humanity You were offered up as a holocaust for the sins of the world The Father asked You to make the ultimate sacrifice and in doing so he made the same sacrifice.
My Lord and my God, grant that when suffering comes our way, the little every day crosses, disappointments, trials, temptations, persecutions, that we keep our gaze fixed on you and accept all that you send us for our greater good accepting all for Your sake and glorifying you always in all things.
PSALM 116:10,15-19
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
Suffering and sorrow are our lot, how we conduct ourselves during these times of trials makes the cross either heavier or easier to bear. We must keep our gaze fixed on You and Your passion will greatly strengthen us as we keep close to You.
Let us always keep strong in our faith that death is not the end of life but the beginning of life anew. We are grafted to You. We are members of Your Body, we are given Your Spirit, and our eternal home is in heaven we are only pilgrims on this earth. All Your faithful servants will live forever with You.
Keep us faithful to the end, my Lord, so when this life comes to a close, and You receive us in Your Kingdom, the hymn of praise and worship we have begun to sing here on earth will continue as we join our voices to that of all the angels and saints in heaven.
ROMANS 8:31-34 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
Even though we know that all flesh must perish we still wish to hold on to the ones we love so well here on earth - a spouse, a parent, a child, a friend. The separation caused by the death of a loved one is the hardest to bear.
Only a strong faith in You and Your word can offer us consolation and hope that death is not the end but only the beginning and in the end as sickness, old age etc. calls us one by one to our eternal home, we can be certain of this, that they are not lost to us forever. We will meet again. It is far better to die in the Lord than to live and die an eternal death.
The Father did not spare You great suffering and death for our sakes and for You sake, Beloved, He will gladly give us a share in Your inheritance.
We believe, my Lord, those who belong to You will remain with You in this life and forever in the life that is to come. No power can ever separate us from You for we are members of Your Body.
For Your Sake, the Father will hear all our prayers and grant us all we desire, when we ask in Your Name. Who can dare condemn the children of God who are bathed in Your Blood, and have received Your Holy Spirit? Thank You for being our most powerful intercessor before the Father.
MARK 9:2-10 © My Soul's Beloved,
Often we do not understand the things of heaven and are overcome with fear just as Peter, James, and John were at Your transfiguration.
The veil of Your humanity was briefly lifted so they could behold You in Your glorious divinity. They needed to be strengthened by this vision of heavenly things before they witnessed You given up into the hands of evil.
They saw You conversing with Elijah and Moses and Peter was so overcome with awe, wonder, as well as fear. He did not understand what the glorious vision they were privileged to witness meant and said, 'Rabbi, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ It is a most human desire to hold on to the good things of life and to seek escape from suffering, pain, sickness, sorrow, sadness, and death. Yet these are inescapable facts of life.
A cloud came over You and Your heavenly visitors, and the voice of Your Father was heard saying, 'This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.’ If we are to live in perfect joy and peace, we are to be attentive to Your voice, the voice of God, the voice of Your Holy Spirit.
You took the three disciples closest to You up the mountain where God meets us and down the mountain as well. We cannot hold on selfishly to our faith and keep ourselves aloof from our brothers and sisters. We have a divine mission to share what we have received with those around us.
You commanded the three disciples not to speak to anyone of what they had just witnessed. They were to speak of it only after Your glorious resurrection. And they did. Truly human You died and wholly divine, You rose from the dead, and as heirs to the Kingdom, we too can look forward to a share in Your glory.
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