DAILY INSPIRATIONS

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Ten Qualities of Jesus that Must motivate you to come to Him

Daily Inspiration with Fr Sanctus Mario 31

 

 

 

Many today find it very hard to pray, while a great majority hardly have time to communicate with God. Sometimes we only remember that there is God in the moments of crisis and difficulties. And after we have gotten what we want, we go back to square one. Many Christians are yet to truly understand the personality of Jesus. Knowing who Jesus is will always spur you to meet him whenever you can. Many today have lost faith in God, because they only remember God in moments of crisis and when the crisis persists, they lose faith with reasons that God is not working. It is time to know who Jesus is, when you know who he is, you will have hunger for Him. Let us see some qualities of Jesus that cannot but motivate us to seek him day in and day out.

 

1.He loves those who come to him in faith: 

 

One thing that Jesus detests is unbelief. In Mathew 13:58,Jesus did not work miracles in his hometown as He uses to do because of their unbelief. But He was amazed at the faith of the centurion (Matthew 8:5-13). He so much loves it whenever we come to Him, believing that He will do what we ask of Him. He also praised the faith of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28 who despite how Jesus treated her persisted in her request. He told Martha in John 11:25 that “Everyone who believes in me will have life”. Before you go in His presence, always remember that He loves anyone that has strong faith in Him and rewards him exceedingly.

 

  1. He wants us to be praying hard and never lose heart

 

Jesus loves those who seek God always through prayers. In Luke 18, He gave many examples of why we should pray persistently. He spent time and taught his disciples how to pray (Luke 11:1-13). He prayed for them in John 17 and even encouraged some of them to watch with Him at least for one hour at Gethsemane so as not to fall into temptation (Matthew 26:36-46). If you are tired of praying, remember He loves it whenever we pray

 

  1. He welcomes everyone

Jesus can never pursue anyone. In John 6:37 Jesus says categorically that “whoever comes to him, He will never drive away”. Jesus welcomed the Leper detested by all (Mathew 8:18, Luke 17), Jesus welcomed sinners and even dined with tax collectors (Luke 15:2, 7:34). When you think your sins are many and He may not accept you, always know that He welcomes everyone. He is ready to make you clean again. And that He has never pursued anyone that comes to Him.

 

  1. He is so loving 

In John 15:9-17, He told his apostles that He so much loved them. He says “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. So when you think He is heart hardened, always know He cannot but love.

 

5.He longs to do good: Jesus Christ always “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). He healed the sick, befriended sinners, and taught His gospel to everyone. He always longs for the good of the other. He is not selfish. He says “I come that you may have life and have it in abundance” (John 10:10). So when you are tired of going in His presence always know that he longs for your own good. Always go to him  anyway.

 

  1. He feeds even when there is little: 

 

The feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand is a sign that He longs to provide for us even in the midst of lack. David knew this when He said The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures (Psalm 23:1-2). When Jesus saw the large crowd, He first of all had compassion on them (John 14:14). Then out of compassion, he fed them. In the midst of lack, always know that Jesus longs to provide for us.

 

  1. He is very patient: He was very patient with his disciples and taught them gradually. In the midst of challenges, do not forget that He might be the one gradually working on us.

 

  1. He forgives easily: In Luke 23:29-43, He showed how easily He can forgive by forgiving the repentant thief. And despite how He was persecuted He still has the heart to forgive them at the cross. When you think that Your sins can never be forgiven again, know that Jesus easily forgives. Instead of running away from Him, run to Him.

 

  1. He is so humble and ready to serve: Jesus Himself said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). He washed his disciples’ dirty feet (John 13:5). A sign of humility and one ready to do anything for our sake. When you are tired of going before Him, know that He is ready to serve you even.

 

  1. 1 He encourages all to come to Him and eager to give us peace. He says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Mathew 11:28-30). He continues to invite us to eat his body and drink his blood. He says  “Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35). When you feel like not going to Him, always know He needs you anyway.

So stay inspired and be blessed. May God bless you.

 

Fr Okechukwu Ugwoegbu (Sanctus Mario)

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1 month ago • • Tags: , ,

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It is Time to bless Yourself

Daily Inspiration with Fr Sanctus Mario 31

 

Among all that God created, the only creatures He gave the gift of speaking are human beings. Through His spoken word, God created the world and blessed man. With the power of the word, He says in Genesis 1:28, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” With the same power of words, He blessed Noah, Abraham, Moses, David etc. We never know the power God has blessed us with, when He gave us the same gift of speaking, until we begin to speak good things into our lives. When God speaks, He brings things into existence, we do not know the good and harm we do to ourselves whenever we say something good or negative into our lives. It is not selfishness to bless your life, bless your future, and bless your engagements.

Sometimes when we go about speaking ill of ourselves, how bad we are, how inferior and incapable we have been, we do not know that we are doing ourselves great harm and this might go a long way to affect whatever we do. When we speak bad and negative words into our lives, let us not expect to reap positive outcomes. It is time to start to bless yourself even in the midst of difficulties, you can say “all I know is that God will see me through, all I know is that  God will surely uplift me. At least without any other thing, this will give you added strength. This is invoking God’s blessings on your life. When you go through psalms you will see how David filled his life with the blessings of God. In Psalm 16:1 He says “O God, in you is my refuge, in Psalms 27:1 He says “God is my light and salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, in Psalm 71 :1, He says God I take refuge in you, all I know is that I shall never be put to shame. These and many more should be our watch words. When we do this, we give life to our souls and more strength to the mind. We become energized to move on, you create a new path in your life. Sometimes we are what we are today, because of the negative words we have spoken over ourselves. Always pay attention to what you tell yourself. Other people may say something about you but nothing is more powerful than what we invoke into our lives.Proverbs 18:21 says “Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit”.  So be faithful, be inspired and be blessed. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. God bless you dearest.

 

Fr Okechukwu Ugwoegbu (Sanctus Mario)

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1 month ago • • Tags: ,

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Who is Your Almighty?

Daily Inspiration with Fr Sanctus MArio 30

 

The dictionary meaning for the word “Almighty” means having complete power. One who is almighty is one who has unlimited power. He who is able to do all things. He is all-powerful, omnipotent and unconquerable,  In fact, being almighty gives something (or someone) an infinite amount of power. The question then who and what is our Almighty? This word is only ascribed to God who we know can do all things but in practical terms most people do not believe again that God is almighty. We may say it, shout it, tell people about it but when problems come, we forget that God is still the Almighty. In Him and with Him there is nothing impossible.

If you ascribe unlimited control and power over your situation then you are making the problem or challenges your Almighty and not God. Can we pause and ask ourselves:  who is the person truly and certainly in control of  my life? When we  put our hope only in what man can do for us, that if he did not do it, we get tired and lose focus and become depressed, lose faith in God, then know that definitely the person is your Almighty not God. When we give problems and challenges an upper position in our lives that we fear them forgetting that we have a creator, then know that those problems are your omnipotent and not God. If God is your omnipotent, show it both in your actions and  words and He will definitely surprise you.

 

The Israelites in 1 Samuel 17, feared Goliath because he is a giant, they forgot that Goliath is a mere mortal and not Almighty. He has strength and skills but not all powerful. When David came to the battle ground, He refused to recognize His stature, in fact He called Goliath “an uncircumcised Philistine.” David refused to put Goliath on the throne. He knows He who is with Him can do all things and not Goliath.  He said to Goliath, “You come against me with a sword and spear, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.” David knows God is the one Omnipotent and God delivered Him. Our Creator does not disappoint.

 

You may be facing crisis. You may be facing a situation that looks impossible, in practical terms, what level of power do you ascribe to it? You may have been hated by someone, mistreated and even worked against etc, how long do you worry about it? Even if anyone has refused to help you, always know that with him or without him, your God is still on the throne, so you can still survive. Do not forget that only God is  in control of everything. When evil surrounds you, do not forget that they are not omnipotent, the problem is that we think they do and have taken God off the throne and put your problem on the throne. You are not giving God the permission to be with you, you are already worried and stressed out. God works where there is an attitude of faith. You can not have God and the problem as the omnipotent at the same time. So make your choice today and work according to your faith.  Be faithful, Be blessed, be inspired and be happy. There is always light at the end of the tunnel.

God bless you dearest.

 

Fr Sanctus MArio

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2 months ago • • Tags: ,

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Ten Reasons why You must Pray Hard

                                                              Daily Inspiration with Fr Sanctus Mario 29

 

One of the greatest gifts from Jesus to his disciples is teaching them how to pray. Jesus did not joke with prayers. Though He is God but He made prayer part and parcel of Him. Jesus continually set aside private times to communicate with the father, He also taught his disciples how to do so but today many Christians underrate the power of prayer and see it as nothing. Prayer today is often overlooked. As a child of God, we must learn how to pray. These are the reasons:

 

1.Prayer is  not an ordinary exercise. It is not like a beer parlour or meeting of brethren where we come and do whatever we like. Prayer is a spiritual exercise. It is a meeting between the physical and the spiritual. At prayers always know that you are not alone. Pray knowing fully well that you have entered into a spiritual realm.

2. Prayer is our responsibility. We do not pray to tell God what He must do or not do, always know we can never force Him, sometimes we act as if we are God and whatever we say, God must do. Prayer is not magic.Pray, because you want to converse with your Father. Prayer is what you should do as one created. It is a duty.

3. Prayer is a command. Prayer is not a condition. It is a must that we pray. God commands his people, multiple times, to pray. In  Luke 18, Jesus told his disciples many parables to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Prayer should not be forced nor be seen as a burden. Let us always devote ourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (Colossians 4:2)

4. The only way we can communicate with God is through prayers. Do not do this only when you are in need. God is not an Automated teller Machine (ATM) where we only go and withdraw money. God needs our relationship, He will be happy if we can find time to communicate with Him day in and day out. Jesus always sets aside moments to communicate with the Father. Invariably teaching us to do the same.

5. Not having time to pray weakens the soul. The only source where the soul draws its spiritual strength is through prayers. We only feed the body forgetting that the soul also needs food. Not having time to pray is putting the soul to starvation

6. The only avenue we can make our request known to God is through prayers and the easiest avenue to draw graces from God is to pray. In Philippians 4:6 Paul says Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

7. Prayer is a powerful weapon against the kingdom of darkness. In Ephesians 6: 10-18 Paul says finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. The devil fears you when he sees you are always at prayers.

8. The more we pray is the more we come close to God, the more we come close to God is the more we know Him. It is through prayers that we develop a trusting relationship with God.The more we relate with Him is the more we discover that our requests are only secondary. He knows us more than we think. What He wants is from  us is to approach Him in the spirit of relationship not only for requests.

9. God also reveals many things during prayers. He may reveal your future plan and what is going to happen to you. This is true. God has many ways of revealing a lot to us. He will continue to inspire you to do something if you can also have time for Him.

10. One of the things that prayer really does is that it gradually changes you. We can never change God but we can change ourselves through prayers. Despite how mighty we think our prayer is, always have recourse to the will of God. The more we pray is the more we understand these, the more we have faith in God, the more  we transform our thoughts, and the more we understand the mysteries of God. Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.” – Mother Teresa

 

11. Prayer carries power, Prayer heals, prayer strengthens, impossibilities can bow before it, James 5:15 states: The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. There are many instances in the Bible where men, women, and children were healed.

12. Prayer gives us peace: If you truly want to stay peaceful without fear of anyone or anything, be a constant communicator with God. Philippians 4:6-7 admonishes us ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

There are many more. If you have anything to add, you can use the reply section. So beloved, be faithful, be prayerful and be inspired. God is real.May God bless and never abandon you.

 

Fr Sanctus Mario

(Catholic Diocese of Orlu Imo State Nigeria)

 

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2 months ago • • Tags: ,

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15 Prescriptions for Anyone in the Midst of Difficulties

Daily Inspiration with Fr Sanctus Mario 28

 

We all face storms in our lives. They could be physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual. One truth I will like you to know today is that being a christian is not a way out of challenges. They are part and parcel of life. But being a christian and true lover of Jesus will help you to go through them, without losing your faith and remain victorious at the end. Consider these and let them be your guide in the midst of trouble, as you wander through the problems of life.

 

  1. When storms come into your life, do not begin to kill or worry yourself, learn how to face and survive them, you can never run away from them for the fact you are living in the world. The only place without difficulties is heaven. Understand that what you are passing through is part of life.

 

  1. When God is allowing you to pass through a lot of challenges, it might still be for your own good. It might be a preparation for something stronger. He expects you to come out stronger. I did not say He sends every storm because many of them can still be as a consequence of our sins and man’s inhumanity to man. But in all, respond positively than negatively.

 

  1. Never fear the storm, rather be calm. When Jesus in John 14:1 was preparing His apostles for the task ahead, He admonished them, “do not let your hearts be troubled”. In the midst of challenges your heart must be troubled but be quiet and calm. At this time, listen to your inner thoughts and act on them. So many great inspirations come in the midst of difficulties.

 

  1. Never rejoice that people are having pity on you. Pity will never solve a single problem. When Jesus was carrying His cross to Golgotha we are told that some women came crying and pitying Him, but He responded to them “cry for your children and for yourselves”.

 

  1. This is the time to intensify your prayers and not the time to lose it. When Peter was put in prison in Acts 12, the disciples prayed with much intensity until Peter was released. Losing faith in the midst of trouble is like losing a treasure awaiting you at the end of the tunnel. The worst thing you can do in the midst of trouble is to lose faith, never think of it.

 

  1. The best time to think in this time is early morning, wake up, say your prayers, pick up your pen and write many ways you can come out of those problems, you will be marveled how God can inspire. Never joke with a single inspiration. Many of them are coming from unknown forces.

 

  1. Focus on God and not your circumstances. Take a proper look at all great men of God in the bible from David, Joseph, the apostles etc, they remained steadfast in God. They never allowed what they are facing to keep their eyes away from God. This inspired David to say even “if I walk through the valleys of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4). Immediately Peter removed His gaze on Jesus to focus on the storm, he began to sink (Matthew 14:28-33)

 

  1. Respond positively to your storm. Even the Covid 19 would have been a nice time to develop yourself all the more. Find something positive to do with what you are passing through. Truth be told, my greatest push to go higher has been in times of challenges. I cherish whatever challenges I have passed through. Do not forget that many letters written by Paul were done when Paul was in prison. The great book by Orison Swett Marden ‘Pushing to the front’ was done when everyone was passing great challenges. Use your challenges as an advantage and not a disadvantage.

 

  1. Do not forget that not all challenges are evil or negative.Most of them are friends instead. They come to push you out from your comfort zone. They come too to make you stop a particular behaviour, to start looking for God, to teach others something, and to have rethink about your life and many more. Always look into the challenge and find out why it is there. Everything happens for a reason. It might still be for the glory of God. because without challenges, there will be no testimonies.

 

  1. Take time to reflect over your life and the type of life you are living. God has sincerely blessed many with opportunities but they misused or neglected them. Find out those things you do not do well and correct them.

 

11.Focus on the prize. Focus on the end of the tunnel. Know that you are on a journey and the journey must come to an end one day. Jesus told his disciples to see their challenges ahead like the case of a pregnant woman. She knows a baby will be born at the end, with endurance and patience she carries her baby for 9 months. When you focus your mind on the end, you lessen the pain and worries.A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.( John 16:21)

 

  1. In the midst of troubles, one thing I will so much advise you is to look for a way or ways out of it. Worrying, complaining, crying, blaming etc will never solve any single thing.Rather pray more, think more and work out your salvation.

 

  1. Praise God more in the midst of difficulties. Despite the pains of Paul and Silas in Acts 16, they sang praises to God with their hearts. God responds greatly to a faith that remains unshaken in the midst of challenges. (Daniel 3, 2nd chronicles 20).

 

  1. Finally involve the Holy Spirit in your case. Begin all your prayers with a hymn to the Holy Spirit,He is the God of impossible cases. Imagine when the Holy spirit is your guide.

 

  1. In all, never forget to keep yourself in the hands of God. Do not sin against Him at this time all the more, you do not even know what He has in place for you. To sin at this time, will be the greatest mistake you will ever do. Who knows if what you are passing through is a consequence. All you need at this hour is to seek His mercy and allow his will to be done. His will is the best.

Be faithful, be cheerful and be inspired. Drop your comments in the reply section. Do me a favour, scroll down and like my page. May God bless you dearest.

Fr. Sanctus Mario

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