Going Spiritual: Discovering, Developing and Healing a Spiritual Life Now Available

Going spiritual is the lifelong process of becoming the beloved child that God intended you to be. Fr. John shares the story of how three crisis led him to read the Bible, discover the Holy Spirit, the supernatural world and how Jesus can free people from: 

• Guilt and Shame
• Sexual Abuse
• Identity Confusion
• Addictions
• Depression and
• Demonic oppression and the mental strongholds of extreme liberalism, homosexuality and abortion that are destroying individuals, churches and cultures

Available From: Gishler Group and Better Books and Bibles (Calgary), St. Joseph's Christian Books (Kamloops), Pilgrim Christian Books and Music (Vancouver), Christian Books and Music (Victoria) $ 19.99 CDN and from Amazon.ca and Chapters ($15.99 and $ 9.95 USD for EPUB) 

Contact: jgishler@gmail.com or 403-282-5165 (Calgary)

A Christian Life of Grace Requires Commitment (Easter 3)

A Christian Life of Grace Requires Commitment

(Easter 3 Year B, 2018  teaching by Fr. John Gishler)

The Easter Readings remind us of the betrayal, confusion and lack of faith of Jesus Disciples. When they personally encounter Him after the Resurrection He opens their eyes and they are transformed into faithful believers. This is my story and it is your story. We all begin this lifelong transformation process as we develop a personal relationship with the risen Jesus. This does not happen unless we develop and make a real commitment or a Rule of Life that will give us the discipline to overcome obstacles to our Life of Grace. The song Ancient Words remind us of how to do this.

1. "We have come with open hearts"

He Is Risen! Validates The New Covenant (Easter)

Easter is a celebration of the Good News of the possibility of eternal spiritual life for believers. It was an epiphany moment for Mary and it is a personal epiphany moment for each of us. After Easter human life became incredibly richer. Easter Sunday was like a hinge in history. Before the Resurrection there was only uncertain hope of having a right relationship with God through the Covenant of Moses. After the Resurrection there was certainty that God was doing a new thing and that believers who died spiritually with Jesus would also be raised to a new form of life with Him after their physical death. He is risen was a cry of joy, love and amazement that still makes our hair stand on end over 2,000 years later. The Resurrection validates the new Covenant of Jesus.

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1. Jesus Resurrection was  God's approval of the Covenant of Jesus

How Can You Have Life Through Death? (Lent 5)

Life through death is the paradox of Christianity. Jesus gives us the example of a grain of wheat. If you plant it in the ground it dies -- then grows into a plant with more seeds. He is explaining the great mystery of Faith. If you just focus on your own life you will lose that life. If you love God and your neighbor more than your own life you will gain a richer and eternal life. The Readings, beginning with the prophecy of a new covenant relationship by Jeremiah, explain how this happens.

1. Jesus teaches that by holding on to our life we will lose it (John 12.20-33)

Why Do We Have To Have Faith and Repent? (Lent 1)

Jesus calls on us to have faith and repent. He explains that the Kingdom of God is near. The Kingdom is here in the form of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Holy Spirit is seen descending from Heaven to land on the earthly Jesus at His Baptism, so we all receive the gift of the Holy Spirit at our Baptism. God through the Holy Spirit, wants to guide our lives and be in a relationship of holy love. Since the Holy Spirit cannot bear to be around the un-holy, we must repent and seek forgiveness to be in a relationship of holy love with the divine.

1. The challenge of a holy love relationship

God had a challenge when He created us. Love is a choice. In order for us to be able to chose to love God, God had to give us free will and the possibility of not choosing to love Him. The point is that God loves us so much, and wants a holy love relationship with each of us so much that He decided to take a huge risk.

We Are Called To Be A Community of Followers of Jesus (Epiphany 3, Proper 3)

In the Readings (Jonah 3.1-5, 10) the prophet is called to go to the ancient city of Nineveh and warn them of God's plan to destroy them. They have an epiphany moment, realize they are in trouble, repent and God spares them. In the Epistle Paul is instructing the Christian community of Corinth on how to prepare for the End Times by focusing on God to the exclusion of worldly issues and relationships. This is how to respond to the Epiphany moment in the Gospel of Mark (1.14-15) when Jesus announces "The Kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the Good News." The Good News is that God is intervening in history and making a new Covenant in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus is calling individuals into a community of followers who are developing a spiritual life of love in Jesus Christ through:

Christmas or Christ's Mass Is a Celebration Of Our Forgiveness

Names are an important clue to destiny in the Bible. we need to begin by examining the name Jesus and understanding our personal need for both human and divine forgiveness. The name Jesus is a combination of Je or Yeh a shortened form of Yahweh; and “sus” the Aramaic verb to save. Many people in our secular culture are not aware of the danger of un-forgiveness as separating ourselves from both other people and God. I went through 30 years of silence and emotional darkness before experiencing the joy of forgiveness and reconciliation with my ex-wife. In our healing ministry Lucille and I have seen the joy on many faces as people come to forgiveness with others or accept forgiveness from Jesus. Un-forgiveness leads to destructive emotions of bitterness that pollute our personal spirit and separate us from God. The Good news of Jesus is that He was born to die for the sins of all people so they could be freed from what Isaiah called the "rod of the oppressor", Satan, who deceives us into rebellion against God and spiritual death. The Readings explain how this gift of forgiveness works.

1. Luke (2.1-20) Gives Us the Good News of the Forgiveness of Sins by Jesus