Archive of Fr. Paul's Blogs

"You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire. What difference does it make in your family relationships when you try to change someone while you are angry and out of the Grace or instead being transformed by loving them when you are in the Grace?  Read more

EPISTLE: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Literal Religion: To get out of the “Flesh” we must stop doing what we are doing that is wrong. Read this scripture literally for its religious meaning. “You are still of the flesh as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you.” Spiritual grace: “Flesh” means we must get into His Presence to stop doing what we are doing that is wrong. Now quietly move into God's Presence and read this scripture. “You are still of the flesh as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you.” Can you feel the difference?  Read more

Jesus’ teaching of the Sermon on the Mount gives us the opportunity to understand the transforming power of Grace. We only know the difference that experiencing Grace makes when it is compared with our legalistic actions to change our life. Our Legalistic response believes to receive God’s blessing we must first change our lives by doing His will. Grace promises to transform our lives through His blessing in order to do His will.   Read more

PSALM: 112:1-9 (10) Literal Religion: We praise the Lord to delight in doing His commandments. Read this scripture literally for its religious meaning. “Praise the LORD! Happy are those who fear the LORD, who greatly delight in his commandments.” Spiritual grace: We praise the Lord because we delight in doing His commandments. Now quietly move into God's Presence and read this scripture. “Praise the LORD! Happy are those who fear the LORD, who greatly delight in his commandments.” Can you feel the difference? Legalism calls the equipped. Grace equips the called!  Read more

Jesus’ teaching of the Sermon on the Mount gives us the opportunity to understand the transforming power of grace. We can only know the difference experiencing grace makes if we note how our lives change as we shift from a legalistic mode of interpreting scripture to an interpretation based on the Grace of God. Our Legalistic response to scripture is based on a belief that we receive God’s blessing by first changing our lives to do His will; something that is impossible to do through our own efforts. Grace promises to transform our lives through His blessing in order to do His will; possible in the Grace Presence of God.  Read more

OLD TESTAMENT: Micah 6:1-8 Literal Religion: The Lord requires us to follow His Commandments. Read this scripture literally for its religious meaning. “What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Spiritual grace: The Lord enables us to follow His Commandments when we are in His Love. Now quietly move into God's Presence and read this scripture. “What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Can you feel the difference?  Read more

Epiphany is about changing our thinking from outside to inside, to inside to outside. We cannot do it unless we are able to know the difference between the two ways of thinking. If we cannot tell the difference, no matter how sincere we are we will go back to the old way. This is illustrated by the word “repent”. It can be either from outside to inside thinking or from inside to outside thinking. Do you know the difference between the two? You can practice with the “Bottom Line” exercises published in this blog every Monday.  Read more

Old Testament: Isaiah 9:1-4 Literal Religion: “No gloom” refers to Israel. Read this scripture literally to find its religious meaning. “There will be no gloom for those who were in anguish.” Spiritual grace: “No gloom” refers to us when we open our hearts to the light of His Love. Now quietly move into God's Presence and read this scripture. “There will be no gloom for those who were in anguish.” Can you feel the difference?   Read more

Epiphany is a spiritual inside-out experience. The feeling of His Presence transforms our thought about the event. The rational outside-in thinking tries to change what we think about the event to transform our feelings. We find this thinking in the Gospel lesson today. It is about two disciples Andrew, and most likely John. John does not like to mention himself. Although he does not mention his name, he calls himself “The Disciple whom Jesus loved.” Outside-in thinking believes this disciple was the one that Jesus loved. It sounds pretentious that Jesus would love one more than the other. Inside-out thinking knows his name “John” means “The Beloved”. That is as close to his name you can get. The author was just referring to his name not his relationship with Jesus as a special person.  Read more

Old Testament: Isaiah 49:1-7 Literal Religion: “I will give you as a light” refers to Isaiah. Read this scripture literally for its religious meaning. “I will give you as a light to the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Spiritual grace: “I will give you as a light” refers to our experience of His Presence. Now quietly move into God's Presence and read this scripture. “I will give you as a light to the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Can you feel the difference?  Read more