Philippians 2:12-13

 All of life is a testimony of faith.  Every decision the believer makes either glorifies God or rejects Him.  Too often in life we testify through our actions or non-action that we reject David’s proclamation in Psalm 24:1 that, “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” 

It is a simple thing to acknowledge God’s sovereignty in ecclesial matters because the branches are so easily traceable to the root.  We submit to the authority of church leaders because Scripture clearly gives those persons authority to govern us.  It is that which we seemingly create by way of our own wisdom and ability that we claim ownership and dominion over with little thought of acknowledging a Creator beyond ourselves.  We have bought the fallacy that the fruit of the work of our hands is less God-inspired than the blades of grass that grow in the wilderness.  We reject the overt perversion of the “separation of church and state,” but substitute “what I do with my stuff” for “state” and we do all that is in our power to twist this lie into truth: to claim that 1+1 does not equal 2.

 If we truly believe in David’s proclamation in the Psalms, it is our duty to acknowledge God’s ownership and dominion over all of life, and specific to the content presented herein, over our finances.  If our chief end is to glorify God, we must relinquish what we perceive to be dominion over our finances and assume the role of a steward serving a Master.

Assalamu Alaikum.

What are they, you ask?

Well, tawheed is the very foundation of belief.

And shirk is the very foundation of disbelief.

Tawheed means worshipping Allah alone whereas shirk is its opposite: i.e. attributing partners to Allah.

The Shahaadah (testimony of faith) is also called the statement of tawheed.

In order to understand tawheed, we need to understand what shirk is as well. Why? Because a thing is known by its opposite. For example, you’ll never know what “hot” is unless you know “cold” is as well.

Here’s a relatively simple overview of tawheed (with a nice worksheet at the end): Tawheed, the Two Shahaadahs and their true meanings.

Also, here are two two posters that give one a simple overview of both tawheed and shirk:

[Click on the images to enlarge their sizes.]

Rain kept pouring heavily that very day, I don’t know why the sky cries heavily that moment, I can’t stop myself to go back to bed and take a quick nap because I lack sleep from our Tagaytay trip. At around 2:00pm. I hurriedly prepare myself to meet up pibi for our meet up at North Park near market market.

I left house, with a heart that is seeking for something I myself do not know yet.

As soon as arrived to our meeting place, I texted pibi but pibi and her bf gilbert is already near so off we went to the place called UNITED NATIONS, a church for the Victory Christian Fellowship, as we are about to cross from market to the church, one car passed by where I am situated and splashed water on my pants, then I said oh no, then another one came and did the same and splashed more water on me, I heard someone yelled Alleluia, and so I said Bring it on, This is my faith and conviction… I shall continue this and there’s no turning back…

So off we went to the church with pibi and his bf, gilbert. So as I went inside the church,the place looks dim, and the people are in standing while I was quietly observing everything that is happening. All the things that is happening there is really different from what I expected, the out pouring of the faith to Jesus is really present. One of the pastor there which is Jun according to pibi taught as one of the gospel and it says like be strong and very courageous. I carefully listen to every word that the pastor uttered. Then came the time that we are praying, what really hits me that very moment is when the pastor said “if this is your first time are you willing to surrender your life to God and please raise your hand” , I closed my eyes that very moment and raised up my hands, and tears fell down my face. Then after that the prayer finished.

Pibi hugged me tightly and said welcome. She also said to me, that she will let one of the pastor to pray me over, I went with her, and pibi introduced me to one lady, her name is menchit,and she let me call her tita minchit and I introduced my myself to her , and pibi and gilbert did the same thing. Then she told me, today is your birthday, you are reborn, that today you had received the best gift that God above offered you. I keep crying and crying, as I am writing this, tears fell on my face, I guess that moment, I had surrendered everything to the lord, the prayer finished, I am now happy and whole again. I am thankful that God above gave me friends and family that are following HIM

Then I went home that day feeling refreshed , I am now not only happy from within but God has awaken my soul

I would like to tell the world that God Exists … and God is with Us … Let’s get back to Him and Honor Him…

Thank You Lord for Everything

`Umar ibn Khattab (Allah be well pleased with him) said:
“As we were sitting one day before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), a man suddenly appeared. He wore pure white clothes and his hair was dark black—yet there were no signs of travel on him, and none of us knew him.

He came and sat down in front of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), placing his knees against his, and his hands on his thighs. He said, “O Muhammad! Tell me about Islam.”
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “Islam is to bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God; and to perform the prayer; pay zakat; fast Ramadan; and to perform Hajj to the House if you are able.”

The man said, “You have spoken the truth,” and we were surprised that he asked and then confirmed the answer.

Then, he asked, “Tell me about belief (iman).”

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “It is to believe in Allah; His Angels; His Books; His Messengers; the Last Day; and in destiny—its good and bad.”

The man said, “You have spoken the truth. Now, tell me about spiritual excellence (ihsan).”

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “It is to serve Allah as though you behold Him; and if you don’t behold him, (know that) He surely sees you.”

“Now, tell me of the Last Hour,” asked the man.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “The one asked knows no more of it than the one asking.”

“Then tell me about its signs,” said the man.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “That slave women give birth to their mistresses; and that you see barefoot, unclothed, beginning shepherds competing in the construction of tall buildings.”

Then the visitor left, and I waited a long time. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked me, “Do you know, Umar, who the questioner was?”

I replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best.”He said (Allah bless him and give him peace), “It was Jibril. He came to you to teach you your religion.” [Sahih Muslim]

So as a kid the assumption was that at church you got down on your knees, bowed your head a bit, put your hands together up by your head, and then thought out some prayers. In fact, most of the time, prayer just meant reciting something in your head, like the “Hail Mary” or just having a “thought conversation” with God, without physically doing anything.

For many years when I wasn’t practicing any organized religion, praying just came down to making mental comments, questions, or requests to a higher power.

Now, as a Muslim, prayer has a very definite, very physical form. And it has been very difficult to get used to and learn.

For anyone interested in joining Islam, there are a few things to keep in know.
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1) Prayer in Islam is very much a physical and spiritual effort (as are other aspects of Islam).

2) You are supposed to pray 5 times a day (though if you’re learning, I recommend on focusing on one prayer time you can regularly do).

3) Before you can even begin to pray you have to learn to do wudu, which is also a physical effort.

4) It helps to have a (clean) prayer rug to actually pray on, hopefully in a clean space.

5) Time to learn some Arabic! At the very least, enough to repeat The Shahadah, and Sura Al-Fatiha.
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For starters, a quick lesson in Arabic. Prayers are called “salat.”

Before I explain in too much (or too little) detail how to pray and all that goes with it, it would be useful t take a look at what praying looks like for Muslims.

Here is a video which I have found INFINITELY useful as a resource in learning what it looks like and sounds like to pray in Islam. This is a video of praying the Isha prayers.

This is a video that I would use every night to practice my salat.
As you can tell from the video, praying requires a series of hand movements, bowing, prostrating, more hand movements, sitting, and hand and head movements. The positions that you sit in require some getting used to for folks that were not raised Muslim, as they require special foot placement. But more on that in another blog.

Muslims are supposed to pray 5 times a day. The prayers are:

This is a prayer time table that I copied and pasted from http://www.chicagomuslims.com/ as of Sunday, September 20th, 2009.
As you can see, there are 5 daily prayers, and they are at various times of the day. The time that each prayer is performed changes on a daily basis depending on the changing periods of sunrise and sunset. So the prayer times of 09/20/09 are not the same as the prayer times for the next day, nor as the day before.

When I was first starting to learn to perform my salat, and I am still learning, I would watch the video over and over and try to become accustomed to the motions. I was a student (at the time) and a worker (always) at the time, so I found that it was easier for me to practice the nightly prayer, Isha.
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Praying will require learning to do wudu (ablution)

Wudu is the process of literally and spiritually washing oneself with water (hot or cold) to prepare for prayer. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used to say that “the key to salat is wudu. The key to Allah (SWT) is salat.“

Praying is itself one of the 5 pillars of Islam, so this is no small matter.

To perform wudu, I’m including another video from the same youtube site as before. It is much easier to show a video, than to write out all of the steps. But with that said, I would like to make a comment.

If you look at the pasted prayer time schedule for 09/20/09, you will notice that one of the prayers, Asr, also has a listing as “Asr (Hanafi).” There is no time or space to go into detail about this, but suffice it to say that not all Muslims are the same, just as all Christians are not the same. There are different “schools of thought” in Islam (Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi’i) that have slightly different variations on when to pray, how to pray, how to do wudu, etc.

Just so you know, I follow the Shafi’i school of thought. When I do wudu I begin by saying Bismillah (“in the name of Allah”). I then basically do the same thing as this video states, except that I wash my ears 3x (in the video they only do it once).

Hopefully this video helps teach you some basics. As a Latino who was raised Catholic, ALL OF THIS was completely new to me. Initially it was very cumbersome, awkward, and even annoying. But just like people can get into bad habits like swearing, being lazy, eating junk food, etc ., folks can also learn good habits like wudu and salat.
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As I mentioned in my last blog post, I bought my first prayer rug many moons ago. But before that, I would practice praying on a folded up sheet or comforter that I would place on the floor and point in the direction of the Ka’ba (in Chicago, that generally means facing in an East-Northeast direction. All Muslims pray facing the Ka’ba.

This is crucial, particularly when you actually go to pray in a Masjid (mosque) as people will look at you funny if you are in the masjid and you are facing the wrong way while you pray. Fortunately, the patters on the rugs in masjids, as well as your fellow Muslim, will generally help you figure out what to do.

Of course, it is also crucial as it is the way that Allah (SWT) instructed The Prophet (PBUH) to pray as well.
————

The last thing that you will need to really practice is learning some Arabic.

If you are interested in joining Islam, the first step is to recite The Shahada in front of another Muslim as a form of confirmation into the religion. The Shahada is roughly translated into “there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.” ROUGHLY written out phonetically in english, it would be: “Ash-hadu anla’Illeha Il’Allah wa’ash-hadu ana Muhammadan rasul’Allah.”

Depending on your school of thought, some words might be added to this phrase, but its most basic form should be as I’ve translated and phonetically transliterated it above.

The other prayer you need to learn in Arabic is Sura Al-Fatiha (The Opening Chapter). This is the very first chapter and prayer in the Qur’an. Roughly translated it reads:

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful; Praise be to Allah, the Lord, Cherisher, and Sustainer of the worlds; The All Merciful, the Ever Merciful; The Possessor of the Day of Judgement; Only You we worship and only Your help we seek; Guide us to the Straight Path; The Path of those on who You have bestowed Your Mercy, Not of those whom You have sent Your wrath, Nor of those who have erred and become lost.

ROUGHLY transliterated from Arabic into the Latin Alphabet, it would read:

Bismillah Ir-Rahman Ir-Rahim Alhamdulillah Ir-rabil’alameen. Ar-Rahman Ir-rahim Maliki yow’me-deen. Iyaka na’owboodoo wa iyaka nestareen. Ihdinas siratal moustaqueem Siratal la’deen an amta a’layhim. Whyreel maghdoubi a’layhim walad’daleen. Ameen.

THIS TOOK ME FOREVER TO MEMORIZE. This was quite the little jihad (struggle). Just because you can’t memorize it immediately should not deter you from practicing it. Nor should it stop you from practicing the physical motions of salat and wudu.

Subhan-Allah this is a lot of information to take in all at once. So please digest slowly and patiently. It can get easy to become overburdened with trying to do it all at once. It doesn’t help Allah (SWT) and it doesn’t help you to get burned out, so please take your time.
Thanks to Allah (SWT), and also to Eman00 at youtube. Insh’Allah check out his site for more info! http://www.youtube.com/user/Emaan00

As a Latino born in Chicago, I’ve only ever known Spanish and english. I’ve never been good at language acquisition, so picking up even modest amounts of Arabic has not been so easy. But for anyone interested in joining Islam, nothing will be easy, and that is part of the point.

Every aspect of Islam is a jihad (struggle). Learning Arabic is a jihad. Learning The Shahada is a jihad. Eventually trying to memorize the Qur’an is a jihad. Living in a country that oppresses racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual minorities is a jihad in it of itself. Also, racism, sexism, and homophobia are things we need to struggle against in all class socieities. But more on that in another blog.

Small struggles like this are important in helping Muslims in their submission to Allah (SWT).

The Shahada is a testament that one accepts the faith of Islam. The faith of the one and only true God, Allah (SWT). And that the final messenger of Allah (SWT) is The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The Shahada must be performed with a Muslim witness. This can be in a Masjid (mosque), or over the phone for brothers and sisters that might live too far from an Ummah (Muslim community).

The Shahada is roughly translated into english as “I testify that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.”

ROUGHLY transliterated, it would be said “Ash-hadu Anla’illeha Il’Allah, wa’ash-hadu ana Muhammadan rasul’Allah.”

One you have said your first Shahada in the presence of a fellow Muslim, you are then part of the Ummah.

Alhamdullialah!

If you are interested, you can probably look up youtube videos of people performing their first Shahada online to get a feel for what the event is like, as well as to hear what the prayer itself sounds like.

This video is one that is from a Chicago-based show called The Deen Show. It is hosted by Brother Eddie and it was incredibly beneficial for me to get a feel for what The Shahada sounds like, as well as what it is like when someone first takes The Shahada.

FYI different folks, for personal or religious reasons often add extra words into The Shahada, particularly based on what Sunni “school of thought” they belong to (if you are Sunni). More on that in another blog. I only mention it because the wording of The Shahada used in this video is not the same as what I tried to translate and transliterate above.

Insh’Allah this helps you.

Thanks to Allah (SWT), and to Brother Eddie, and The Deen Show (may Allah be pleased with them).

Fuente: Catholic.net

Tú también puedes ser santo Dios te llama a través de lo diario, de lo cotidiano, de tus compañeros y maestros, de tus tareas, de tus problemas, éxitos y fracasos Tú también puedes ser santo Los defectos de los santos Algunos libros de vidas de santos han omitido las debilidades de sus protagonistas, probablemente porque temían que nos escandalizáramos al saber que fueron hombres y mujeres como nosotros.

Pero precisamente es bueno comprobar que los que están en los altares no son de cera, ni de yeso, ni de plástico, sino, como todos los mortales, de carne y hueso, sufren dolores y tienen sus agobios; son personas comunes que tienen que tomar medicamentos o duermen mal o se distraen en la oración. Muchos libros han puesto a los canonizados tan distantes de nosotros, que lo único que podemos hacer es admirarlos. Los colocan tan lejos, tan arriba, tan cubiertos de ropajes incómodos y ostentosos, tan desligados de todo lo nuestro, que no hay forma de imitarlos. Estas biografías nos convencen que la santidad no es para nosotros. Pero las verdaderas biografías de los héroes cristianos son como nuestras vidas: ellos luchaban y ganaban, luchaban y perdían y entonces volvían a la lucha.

En la vida de las almas santas hay algunas veces cosas extraordinarias, acontecimientos sobrenaturales, intervenciones claras de Dios. Pero no son éstas las que los llevaron a ser santos, pues las acciones no eran de ellos, sino de Dios. Lo que los hizo santos fue la generosidad en la correspondencia al amor de Dios en su vida ordinaria, en todos los días, los meses, los años en los que no hubo cosas extraordinarias.

Es bueno saber que santa Teresita del Niño Jesús tenía una terquedad invencible desde niña; que san Alfonso María de Ligorio tenía un genio endemoniado; que san Agustín fue un gran pecador antes de su conversión y que santa Teresa de Jesús confesó nunca haber podido rezar un rosario completo sin distraerse. Es admirable ver a los santos: hombres muy hombres y mujeres muy mujeres, con grandes virtudes, acciones heroicas y fallos garrafales. La santidad no consiste en subirse a una columna con una palma en la mano y un crucifijo en el pecho. Los santos no son inactivos, siempre se mueven haciendo cosas tan simples como preocuparse por la enfermedad de un hermano, dar de comer al perro, cumplir con su trabajo y hacer con alegría los encargos que les piden.

Estos son los santos de hoy, los que van en el metro, rezan a la Virgen, trabajan en el campo, escriben a máquina, descansan el fin de semana y vuelven todos los lunes al mismo trabajo, preocupándose sólo de hacer extraordinariamente bien aquello que les ha tocado hacer.

por Jesús Urteaga Loidi

Tu también puedes ser santo Seguramente habrás oído a alguien decir que todos los cristianos estamos llamados a ser santos y tal vez no puedes imaginarte a ti mismo como estatua de yeso en el altar de una Iglesia, rodeado de veladoras y reliquias. Tal vez te parezca ridículo pensar que se fabriquen estampitas con tu fotografía, a la que le hayan sobrepuesto una coronilla refulgente alrededor de la cabeza. Sin embargo, ser santo no tiene nada que ver con las estatuas y las estampitas. Ser santo es llegar al cielo para estar con Dios y a eso es a lo que estás llamado desde que fuiste concebido en el seno de tu madre.

Seguramente también habrás oído a algún pesimista decir que este mundo no tiene remedio, que va directo a la perdición. Pero esto no será cierto si tú no lo permites. Es verdad que el ambiente es difícil, que la Iglesia tiene muchos problemas, que hay muchísima gente caminando por senderos equivocados, pero eso ha sucedido siempre. Desde el principio de la humanidad, han sido sólo unos cuantos los que han seguido a Dios y en ellos Él ha puesto toda su confianza. Dios, el ser supremo, el omnipotente, el omnipresente, siempre ha querido necesitar del hombre para salvar al hombre y con unos cuantos que le han respondido ha podido lograr que la Iglesia sobreviva, a pesar de todos los ataques que ha sufrido externa e internamente.

Dios llama a todos, pero sólo unos cuantos le responden. Ésos son los santos: hombres y mujeres llenos de debilidades y defectos que se han puesto a la disposición de Dios; que han estado dispuestos a darle cinco panes y dos peces para que Él pueda dar de comer a cinco mil hombres; que le han prestado una casa para que Él instaure la Eucaristía; que han quitado piedras de los sepulcros para que Él resucite a los muertos. Hombres y mujeres que se han animado a ser fermento, a ser sal, a ser luz para iluminar a los demás.

El pertenecer a esos pocos que escuchan y responden a Dios sólo depende de ti. Dios pide tu ayuda, cuenta contigo para salvar a muchísimos hombres, pero sólo tú eres el encargado de responderle positiva o negativamente. Dios te llama a través de lo diario, de lo cotidiano, de tus compañeros y maestros, de tus tareas, de tus problemas, éxitos y fracasos. Todo lo que pasa a tu alrededor es un mensaje divino que te llama a ser santo ahí donde Dios te ha puesto, en esa casa, en esa escuela, en ese trabajo, con esos compañeros y esos hermanos para que los transformes con tu luz.

 ¡Te conviene ser santo! Sin duda, la santidad es el mejor negocio en el que puedes invertir, pues te asegura la felicidad para toda la eternidad. ¡Te conviene ser santo! Sin duda, la santidad es el mejor negocio en el que puedes invertir, pues te asegura la felicidad no sólo para unos cuantos años, no sólo para toda tu vida, sino para toda la eternidad. Jesús lo dijo a los apóstoles en cierta ocasión: “No atesoréis bienes en la tierra, donde el orín y la polilla los corroen y los ladrones los roban. Atesorad más bien tesoros en el cielo, donde no hay polilla ni orín, ni ladrones. Pues donde está tu tesoro, ahí estará tu corazón.” (Mt. 6, 19-21)

Formar un tesoro en la tierra es muy complicado: requiere de tiempo, de grandes cálculos en las inversiones, de muchas angustias e inseguridades: que si las tasas de interés bajan; que si la moneda se devalúa; que si hubo un fraude en la empresa. Para colmo, cuando por fin consigues tener los bienes materiales que tanto añorabas, descubres que éstos se descomponen, se rompen, se pierden, se echan a perder o se vuelven obsoletos.

En cambio, formar un tesoro en el cielo es muy sencillo, pues no hay agentes externos que puedan influir en él: tú eres el único que puede aumentarlo o disminuirlo. Hacer un tesoro en el cielo es trabajar por ser santo y esto se consigue con buenos pensamientos y buenas acciones. Todo lo que ganes con ellos durará para siempre y nada ni nadie te lo podrá quitar, romper, perder o estropear.

Ser santo es aumentar todos los días y a cada instante ese tesoro que tienes en el cielo. Ser santo es tan sencillo como cumplir a la perfección con tus deberes ordinarios, en el momento y en el lugar en que debes cumplirlos. Reflexiones y decisiones para ser santo Imagina que escribieras una autobiografía que se titulara “La vida de san X”, que incluyera tus datos de nacimiento, familia y cómo ha sido tu vida hasta el día de hoy Reflexiones y decisiones para ser santo Para meditar personalmente

• Imagina que escribieras una autobiografía que se titulara “La vida de san X”, que incluyera tus datos de nacimiento, familia y cómo ha sido tu vida hasta el día de hoy. Imagina qué escribieras en ella cómo sería tu vida de aquí en adelante, el momento en que empezaste a trabajar por ser santo, poniendo todo lo que te gustaría hacer por el mundo y por las almas. ¿Te das cuenta de lo maravilloso que sería hacer realidad esa biografía y de que algo dentro de ti te dice que puede ser posible?

 • ¿Cómo elaborarías un plan de vida para combatir tu defecto dominante? Podrías escribir en él el nombre de tu defecto, sus principales manifestaciones, las metas que quieres conseguir a corto plazo y unos cuantos medios concretos para conseguirlas.

• ¿Qué impresión tiene la gente acerca de los santos cuando ve las estatuas en las iglesias o cuando lee sus biografías? Después de leer este artículo, ¿tú que opinas de los santos? Ideas para Recordar

• Los santos han sido hombres y mujeres con las mismas debilidades que cualquiera de nosotros. La única diferencia es que ellos han puesto esas debilidades en las manos de Dios. • Por muy extraño que parezca, cada uno de nosotros está llamado a ser santo ahí donde Dios lo ha puesto.

 • La santidad es el mejor negocio en el que podemos invertir, pues nos garantiza la felicidad, no para un día ni un año, sino para toda la eternidad.

 • Para ser santos encontraremos muchos obstáculos que debemos vencer: nuestra pasión dominante, el desánimo, el agobio, el pesimismo, la rutina, el “aborregamiento” y las omisiones.

 • Los mejores medios para alcanzar la santidad son la lucha continua, la oración y los sacramentos. Decisiones En ti está la decisión de cambiar y ser santo; para ayudarte, aquí te proponemos algunas líneas de acción:

• Pondré en práctica mi plan de vida para que no se quede en un papel, recordando siempre la frase que dice: “el infierno está lleno de gente con buenos propósitos”.

 • Empezaré a ser santo el día de hoy haciendo las cosas ordinarias extraordinariamente bien.

Medios para llegar a ser santo La oración humilde, un plan de vida y la frecuencia en los sacramentos es un buen comienzo Medios para llegar a ser santo

La oración humilde

 A estas alturas ya sabes cuán importante es la oración en la vida de un cristiano, pero justamente porque ya lo sabes y estás trabajando por ser mejor cada día, puede ser que caigas en la oración del fariseo, que daba gracias a Dios por no ser tan malo como los otros. No hacía mas que jactarse de sus avances ante Dios. Este tipo de oración no sirve para alcanzar la santidad. La oración útil es aquella en la que reconoces que sin Dios no puedes hacer nada y pones toda tu confianza en Él.

El plan de vida Consiste en trazar un plan concreto de acción para vencer tu defecto dominante. En él tendrás que incluir metas a corto y largo plazos, así como los medios que utilizarás para alcanzarlas.

 La frecuencia en los sacramentos

Como seguirás teniendo caídas, debes estar siempre cerca del sacramento de la confesión para levantarte inmediatamente. De la misma manera, necesitarás fuerzas sobrenaturales para vencer todos los obstáculos que se te presenten y sólo las encontrarás en la Eucaristía. Recuerda que la fuerza está en Dios, que tú puedes conseguir cinco panes, pero Dios, con ellos, puede alimentar a 5,000 hombres. Algunos obstáculos para ser santo Ser santo es sencillo, pero requiere de mucha valentía, coraje y fortaleza, porque no es algo que “esté de moda” y que el ambiente te ayude a conseguir Algunos obstáculos para ser santo Ser santo es sencillo, pero requiere de mucha valentía, coraje y fortaleza, porque no es algo que “esté de moda” y que el ambiente te ayude a conseguir. Por el contrario, si quieres de verdad llegar a ser santo, encontrarás miles de obstáculos en el camino, empezando por ti mismo:

• Tu pasión dominante o “talón de Aquiles”. Si observas un poco tu vida, encontrarás que miles de veces no has respondido como Dios lo esperaba de ti. Frente al llamado que te hace Dios a la perfección, encontrarás en tu vida presunciones, desesperaciones, perezas, enojos, riñas, odios, gula, impurezas, supersticiones, mentiras, venganzas y omisiones. Luchar contra todo esto a la vez puede resultar imposible, como si trataras de matar a miles de mosquitos dando golpes con una espada en el aire. Lo que tienes que encontrar es la raíz de estas caídas, tu talón de Aquiles, el nido de donde provienen los mosquitos, y arremeter contra él con todas tus fuerzas. Algunos tienen este defecto dominante en los ojos, otros en la lengua, otros en la imaginación. Si de verdad quieres ser santo, deberás descubrir cuál es el origen de tus defectos.

• El desánimo. Tal vez empieces a recorrer el camino hacia la santidad con grandes ilusiones, pero debes estar consciente de que vas a caer mil veces y vas a tener que levantarte otras tantas. El desánimo es “guillotina de santos”; no permitas que se apodere de tu vida y te haga decir o pensar que no sirves para eso, que tienes demasiados defectos, que no eres capaz. Todos los santos han tenido defectos y fallos, pero su santidad ha consistido en saber levantarse a tiempo y seguir adelante.

• El agobio del trabajo. Puede ser también que al darte cuenta de las necesidades que tiene la Iglesia, de los problemas que existen en el mundo, te sientas agobiado, como si te encontraras solo con una pala ante la misión de trasladar una montaña a otro lugar. El agobio te vuelve ineficaz y eso no lo quiere Dios. Hay mucho trabajo que hacer, pero debes empezar por lo que a ti te corresponde, en el estado y condición de vida en donde Dios te ha puesto. Si trabajas en lo que debes, Dios se encargará de lo demás. El agobio es el mismo que sintieron los apóstoles cuando Cristo les dijo que sentaran a las cinco mil personas y les dieran de comer. Los apóstoles pudieron conseguir solamente cinco panes y dos peces y Jesús hizo lo demás y todos quedaron saciados.

 • El pesimismo. Los pesimistas no pueden ser apóstoles y mucho menos santos. Los pesimistas se quejan de su trabajo, de los pocos frutos que obtienen, de sus achaques, de sus problemas, del calor y del frío… El pesimista hace insoportable la vida a los demás, pues su tristeza se contagia. Los santos son alegres y optimistas, nada puede nublar su cara, pues saben que están en las manos de Dios, que es todopoderoso y que los ama.

• La rutina. Tal vez tu vida te parezca aburrida por ser igual a la del resto de los jóvenes que pueblan el mundo: la escuela, el trabajo, los amigos, las fiestas, la familia… ¡Bah! ¿En qué se diferencia tu vida de la del resto del mundo? ¿En qué te distingues tú, que quieres ser santo? Hay una frase que dice: “Con las mismas piedras se puede adoquinar una calle o construir una catedral”. Así es tu vida, tienes las mismas herramientas que cualquier otra persona de tu edad, pero si vives con rutina solamente verás piedras en las piedras. En cambio, si desechas la rutina, podrás ver en cada piedra la posibilidad de construir una catedral; empezarás a descubrir los milagros que Dios realiza frente a ti a cada momento. El secreto está en mantenerte en contacto con Dios para ver todo con ojos de Dios.

 • El “aborregamiento”. Si observas a los borregos, verás que caminan en el anonimato: con las orejas caídas sin mirar al cielo; viendo mecánicamente al que va delante de ellos. Un santo nunca puede caminar como borrego, en medio de la multitud haciendo lo que los otros hacen. Tú eres diferente de los demás y no debes tener miedo de comportarte de manera diferente a los otros, que sólo reaccionan ante el aullido del coyote o el silbido del pastor. Para ser santo debes dejar de ser borrego; atreverte a caminar contra corriente en tu estilo de vestir, de divertirte, de hablar y de pensar, comportándote como lo que eres: un hijo de Dios.

• Las omisiones. Los santos no saben cruzar los brazos con una sonrisa y encogerse de hombros para contemplar cómo los demás caminan por senderos erróneos. Los santos están alerta para corregir, defender, enmendar los daños que otros puedan provocar; los santos buscan la ocasión de ayudar, no esperan que ésta les caiga encima, no se quejan de la situación del mundo: sino que luchan por hacerla mejor.

 Autor: Cristiandad.org

Sed perfectos como Mi Padre Celestial es perfecto Respondiendo fielmente al llamado de Dios, siendo modelos de conducta, podemos llegar a la santidad Sed perfectos como Mi Padre Celestial es perfecto A lo largo de la historia de la cristiandad, han existido personas excepcionales en las que especialmente posamos nuestra atención en la actualidad para ser guiados por ellos, para pedirles ayuda, intercesión, esclarecimiento. Por ser modelos perfectos de acción en alguno o todos los campos de su vida, por haber respondido fielmente al llamado que Dios hace a cada uno de sus hijos, siguiendo el camino que Jesús nos mostró durante su paso por la tierra, se convirtieron en hijos dignos de ser llamados cristianos, por encarnar en sí las virtudes y cualidades de Aquel a quien amaban y deseaban seguir.

En el primer capítulo, primer párrafo de “La Imitación de Cristo” de Tomás Hemerkem de Kempis, leemos la siguiente reflexión: “El que me sigue no anda en tinieblas. Son palabras de Cristo que nos exhortan a imitar su vida y costumbres, si queremos ser de veras iluminados y vernos libres de toda ceguedad del corazón”. Así comienza un libro que nos va guiando por el camino de ir despojándonos de nosotros mismos y asemejándonos cada vez más al Señor, y así es como han actuado esas resplandecientes almas de las que venimos hablando. Pero de pobre forma estaríamos ilustrando al lector sobre esas grandes personas si no explicamos un poco más sobre la forma en que la Iglesia se forma un juicio a la hora de proponernos a cada una de ellas como un modelo a seguir.

Se puede entender la denominación de “santo” en tres sentidos: 1. Todo aquel que está en el Cielo, ya que participa de la visión beatífica del Señor y está confirmado en la gracia, 2. Todos los cristianos que están en gracia de Dios participan de la Su santidad, y por eso San Pablo usa la Palabra “santos” para referirse a los fieles (2 Cor. 13,12; Ef. 1,1), ya que por el bautismo somos liberados del pecado e injertados en Cristo, que es Dios, el Santo de los Santos. y 3. Aquellos que son reconocidos por la Iglesia y se presentan como modelos de conducta e intercesores ante Dios.

The testimony (La Ilaaha Illa Allah) comprises two concepts : Denial and Affirmation

First:

Then testimony of faith denies the attribute of divnity to anyone and anything other than Allah- the Exalted. All those other than Allah, such as the angels, the propets, and the rest of mankind, let alone the idols and the political regimes in the world, are not gods and thus don’t deserve to be worshipped. Therefore, denial in this respect is not denial of the existence of the alleged gods, rather the denial of divinity which is attibuted to them.

Second:

The testimony of faith affirms and restricts divinity to Allah alone. That is, the slave must believe that Allah is the only true God, and accordingly dedicate no act of worship to any, other than Allah.

The meaning of Muhammad Rasulullah

A confession with your tongue but a heartfelt belief, “O Allah! I testify that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is Your Messenger.” That means that none has the right to be followed after Allah, but the propet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as he is the Last of His Messengers. As Allah said: ” Muhammad is not the father on any man amongst you but e is the Messenger of Allah and the last (end) of the Prophets an Allah is ever All Aware of everything.” (33:40)

“And whatsoever the Messenger Muhammad gives you, take it and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain from it.” (59:7)

And Allah said: “Say (O Muhammad) (to mankind) ‘if you really love Allah, then follow me’.” (3:31)

As for the others than Muhammad their statetments are to be taken or rejected as to whether these are in accordance with Allah’s Book (Quran) or with the Sunnah (legal ways, ordres, acts of worship, statements etc.,) of the Prophet, or not.

My parents drank and fought, cursed, committed adultery and were physically abusive to their children. I remember praying God would take me away from it all yet still I remained.

When I was 13, I was molested and it took me years to forgive the relative who did it. Afterwards, I went from one bad relationship to another. Had children out of wedlock with a married man, wasted so many good years chasing after no good men. I eventually went on to marry a man who turned out to be a bigamist, then years later, a sailor who spent his time lying, cheating and doing his best to destroy my self-esteem.

Looking back, I realized I made a mess of my youth. Wasted it and the only good things I can say I retained from those years were my children. Unfortunately, I’m short one child due to a decision to have an abortion. I’ve never forgotten that child and still wonder what he or she would have been like.

You see, no one told me that after all the ripping and running would come the regret for bad decisions. No one told me I’d one day find out that what I really needed in my life was Jesus. No man, no money, no good time could fill the void.

Lord knows I was stubborn in my search and it took losing a lifetime’s worth of worldly possessions as well as almost losing my life and my children’s lives, to make me realize that what I needed was there all the time. All I had to do was ask.

One day in October of 2005, I did just that. I asked Jesus to come in and be my Savior. I felt His presence and immediately knew a peace that passes all understanding. I had something I thought I had lost. I had joy. I was in my bedroom with a chair, a desk and a futon. I was starting over again at the age of 38 but I had peace, joy, happiness and the love I was searching for.

Now I start each day, thanking God for letting me continue to be here. I will never forget that even as a sinner, he brought me out and set my feet on a rock. The song in my heart is Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. I found it! I found the love I needed and I’m never going to live another day without it.

I tell my children constantly that they need Jesus as well and I do my best to let His light shine through me. Throughout my life, I’ve been through so much yet I’m still here. The Lord has kept me here and I’m so very grateful because I know He isn’t finished with me yet.

Now I’m looking to see what the future holds and I’ve got the promise of a home in heaven that I’m waiting to see. I’m waiting on the Lord, He is my portion an I know He will never leave me or forsake me.

In parting I leave you with the following:

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with the love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:1-5.

Oh what a mighty God we serve! Hallelujah and thank you Jesus!

Gazelle Simmons @ http://www.admnsrvcs.com/

Only God has the power to do what He does and as His children, we know that He loves us unconditionally with an everlasting love that is like no other. Being able to share our testimonies to be a blessing, encouragement and inspiration to others, while giving God the glory, is a beautiful thing. The experiences of life lessons have taught us all well; some of our experiences have led us to call on the name of Jesus and to bring us closer to God. Designed to share a closer and more personal relationship with the Lord, my trials, tribulations, hurt bestowed upon me by those I thought were friends, persecution, suffering, hardships have brought me closer to God helping me to live by His principles and isn’t this what he desires for us and I, of course, wouldn’t want it any other way.

I grew up in a very loving and nurturing environment with two of the nicest parents and people one could ever encounter. My mother and father’s love for God was apparent in our daily living. We would go to church and on some Sundays, my mother would cry; I would sit and look at her and wondered to myself why she was crying. My sister and I went to Sunday school just about every Sunday with Tina, Yvonne, Deborah and Wendy. On the way home from Sunday school, we would stop at the corner store and buy candy and other snacks or should I say junk! My parents always provided us, just as God does, with a loving home with plenty of nutritious, delicious and hot meals. We had the very best of everything it seemed, and we had an enormous amount of love in our home. Being molded and shaped by and in their love has been a tremendous and great blessing that I have passed on to my own children of which there are four.

I went to a school, Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, PA, which is located right across the street from where my mother still lives today; my father died in March 2001 and my life will never be the same, but God is good and is so very good to me. After high school I went to college for all of a second and left after one year; oh how I regret that to this day and not necessarily because I didn’t earn a degree but simply because I had left a group of wonderful young girls who were in search of pursuing their dreams through earning a college degree. The bond that I formed with them was in deed a bond I will forever cherish. After leaving college, I began experiencing real hard life lessons that would come to change my life at a very young. The storms came in the form of hurricanes and tornadoes; the hurt that I would be forced to endure, through my own fault, destroyed my self-esteem leaving me without any kind of feeling at all.

As I walked and continue to walk through my many storms, and believe me, I can’t number them, I know that God is my eyes guiding me through the torrential storms that have come to blind me from time to time. With Him guiding me through the stormy and raging seas, I praise and wait for His perfect timing and when He says the storm is over, I thank Him for the lesson that I carried out of the storm with me.

I haven’t done too much since then and at 48, soon to be 49 years old, it seems I’m just here wondering what it is I should be doing and not for me, but for God. Sometimes when I get an idea, I get so excited and then the excitement leaves me as fast as it embraced me. I’ve always loved to write and I majored in journalism in college. I still write today and believe that God is using me in this discipline as I write a little almost everyday. I have also been truly and graciously blessed by the Lord to design all kinds of things and have just started a new website entitled Creations for Christ. I am in the process of building it and hope to have it up by next week so that everyone can see my designs and writings that I do solely for His Kingdom (smile). This is one thing that I have remained excited and passionate about along with all of my short story and poetry writings.

I have been married now for almost 20 years and pray that through all that Bill and I have been through, God will continue to bless us with another 20 years and prayerfully longer. Our children are something else and they just love their mother! They love their father too, but it is something about a mother I think that makes us so special. God is special and He has truly blessed all of us with riches because we have our health and we have each other.

Be blessed in Him.

Cynthia G. Boyer @ www.momsinslippers.com

I have more than made my share of mistakes in life and chosen wrong paths to follow but thank God there is Jesus and Mercy that I could be and am forgiven for my transgressions. Although my parents didn’t attend services on a week to week basis my mother made sure that I did attended Church and hear God’s word so that when I grew the word would never depart from me and that I would always know that our God who lives loved and cared about me and that I could always rely on Him, perhaps this is why I have often said I always felt God was there and that it was as if I never not knew he existed. I accepted Jesus as my Savior and he is the Lord of my life (I don’t have an exact date but I can tell you it was in the early years of my life, I am now 45) and I know without him I am nothing, and would be a separated, unregenerate, lost soul forever.

I know that no amount of good works or good behavior would cause the gates of heaven to open up and let me in own my own merit, because my heart is futile, not acceptable unto God. It is only through the sacrificing of His Son that my debt was paid in full, and God has told me through his word, I know you can’t do it, so here is my free gift to you for the taking so you can have a relationship with me and I will carry you and when your last breath is taken here on earth and your dirt body has no more present life in it, you will come be with me forever and shall never die again.

God has blessed me with two of the most loving and sacrificing parents in the world and the even bigger blessing is that are both still in my life, thank you Jesus, Hallelujah!  He also blessed me with a wonderful husband.  We have been together a few months short of 22 years and have three children that are from day to day a blessing to us.

What good news it is to know that God loves us and made provisions for us to spend an eternity with Him, the One who is responsible for our existence, for we were not born by chance, we are His creation. He knew us before the foundation of the world. I am so happy to know who Jesus is and what he did for me and I am so grateful unto My Heavenly Father for making a way for me to be saved and to be with Him for all eternity, nothing could turn me away from God, He is my all and ALL, and all that I need! I pray HE is the same to you….

Sherri C. Walker @ www.woman2womanlounge.com

It was like the world was taken off my shoulders. I felt light, even joyful. I had hope! I knew, without a doubt, that I had made the right decision. I would love to say that it’s been an easy journey, but it hasn’t. But, it has been much easier than doing things alone and in my own strength. “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” ~ Matthew 11:30
And, “that is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” ~ 2 Corinthians 12:10
Karla Meachem @ www.empoweringchristianwomen.com