CON TODA TU MENTE

 

CON TODA TU MENTE

Sergio Jesús Fernández, 26 de junio de 2015.

 

“Ama al Señor tu Dios con todo tu corazón y con toda tu alma y con todas tus fuerzas.”

- Deuteronomio 6:5

 

“Ama al Señor tu Dios con todo tu corazón, con toda tu alma, con toda tu mente y con todas tus fuerzas.”

- Marcos 12:30

 

Noten que Jesús añadió la frase “con toda tu mente” al primer y más importante mandamiento. Esto se debe a que nuestra mente, que siempre está tratando de justificarlo todo, especialmente lo que no es capaz de comprender, es la más reacia a creer en lo humanamente imposible, es decir; los milagros. Los milagros son obras de Dios, y para Dios no hay imposibles. Pero nuestra mente ve el milagro como algo imposible de lograr para un ser humano, entonces, aun sin proponérselo, quizá hasta subconscientemente, duda. Dios, al hacerse hombre en la persona de Jesús, notó esta resistencia involuntaria que adquirimos los seres humanos, esta constante necesidad de buscar explicaciones a todas las cosas, en lugar de aceptar algunas de ellas, como los milagros y la voluntad de Dios. Por eso Jesús añadió esa frase “con toda tu mente”, para que entendamos que debemos someter también la mente al amor a Dios (entiéndase fe en Dios).

 

Si no fuese necesario someter también nuestra mente al amor de Dios, hoy no tendríamos ni científicos, ni médicos, ni profesionales de ningún tipo dentro de nuestra fe cristiana. Sin embargo; hoy son muchos los profesionales que reconocen que hay algo más allá del conocimiento humano, algo que aun la ciencia no ha podido probar, pero si lo ha logrado documentar. Cada vez hay más hospitales y centros médicos que reconocen el poder de la oración en el proceso curativo de las personas. Y no tienen ninguna reserva al momento de reconocer públicamente que no saben cómo funciona, pero que han podido comprobar que, en realidad, la oración y la fe ayudan considerablemente en la cura de los pacientes.

 

Como ven, en la Palabra de Dios está la respuesta a todas nuestras inquietudes, sólo hay que buscar con la insistencia y el interés con que buscamos en otros libros de texto.

 

“Porque todo el que pide, recibe; el que busca, encuentra; y al que llama, se le abre.”

- Lucas 11:10

 

 

RECETA DE SERAFÍN

 

RECETA DE SERAFÍN

Sergio Jesús Fernández, 16 de junio de 2015.

Un pote de margarina

compró el viejo Serafín,

pero en vez de usar harina

la mezcló con aserrín.

Tampoco puso sofrito

a esa mezcla tan extraña,

sólo la roció un poquito

con un veneno de araña.

 

Y preparó sus famosas

albóndigas callejeras,

que aunque lucían sabrosas

eran sólo de madera.

 

No preparó diez, ni vente,

él preparó más de cien,

pero no eran pa’la gente,

eran para el comején.
 

Moraleja: No juzgues lo que veas sin antes saber de qué se trata.

 

 

 

PRIMERO DIOS

 

PRIMERO DIOS

Sergio Jesús Fernández, 13 de junio de 2015.

 

La mejor forma de combatir el mal existente, el cáncer de crueldad, vicios e inmoralidad que está carcomiendo a nuestra sociedad, es buscando más de Dios. Debemos vivir las enseñanzas de nuestra fe cristiana, no sólo de palabra, sino de obra. Hay que predicar el evangelio del amor con amor, y desgraciadamente el amor al prójimo es lo que menos abunda en estos tiempos de tanto egoísmo.

 

La oscuridad sólo se elimina con la luz. Un sólo fósforo puede romper la oscuridad de un inmenso salón. Debemos dejar que brille la luz de Cristo en nosotros, aunque sólo sea uno a la vez, hasta que seamos más los de la luz que los de las tinieblas.

 

“Dios es amor y Dios es luz”. Eso nos enseña el evangelio de nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Tenemos que predicar esa enseñanza a nuestra gente, y vivir una vida que vaya de acuerdo con esa enseñanza. De lo contrario, serán palabras huecas, repeticiones sin sentimientos, como las de simples cotorras. Y si dejamos que eso suceda, entonces sí que estaremos perdidos.

 

El Padre nuestro dice: “Santificado sea tu nombre. Hágase Tu voluntad en la tierra como en el cielo”. Son muchos los que repiten diariamente esta oración, y posiblemente no saben, o no se han detenido a analizar, el verdadero significado de esas palabras.

 

¿Cómo una sociedad puede santificar el nombre de Dios, y al mismo tiempo permitir pasivamente que se legalicen la inmoralidad, las drogas, el juego, y otras tantas atrocidades, que no son más que abominación a los ojos de Dios? ¿Es acaso la voluntad de Dios toda la corrupción existente en la tierra?

 

La corrupción gubernamental es cada vez más galopante, y el liderazgo cada vez más escaso. Y es que; sin una buena estructura no se puede construir, y la estructura de nuestra sociedad es la fe cristiana, sin ella como base, no se puede crear liderazgo.

 

“Busquen primeramente el reino de Dios y su justicia, y todas esas cosas les serán añadidas.”

- Mateo 6:33

 

 

ASÍ ESTÁN LAS COSAS

Así están las cosas.

Sergio Jesús Fernández, 4 de junio de 2015

Si un hombre dice que es una mujer, o una mujer dice que es un hombre (lo cual, en ambos casos resulta completamente imposible, fisiológica y genéticamente hablando) las opiniones y conclusiones de la mayoría no se hacen esperar. Se les considera personas con coraje y valor para expresar sus ideas, cuando en realidad; lo que están diciendo es simplemente un disparate, un producto de sus mentes, probablemente enfermas. Sin embargo; alguien, hombre o mujer, dice que ha sido escogido por Dios para predicar el evangelio y profetizar en el nombre del Señor, lo cual puede ser perfectamente posible, y se le considera un fanático demente. Luego se preocupan por los horrores que está cometiendo "estado islámico", y quieren que el gobierno los proteja contra el terrorismo. Hipócritas.

 

"Más bien, busquen primeramente el reino de Dios y su justicia, y todas estas cosas les serán añadidas."
- Mateo 6:33

 

 

She Learned Firsthand Just How Lacking in Basic Freedoms Cuba is

 

 

She Learned Firsthand Just How Lacking in Basic Freedoms Cuba is

Julie Kay, Daily Business Review - June 1, 2015.

On the day that Cuba was officially removed from the U.S. list of state-sponsored terrorism, I was banned from writing any stories while in Cuba.

So much for change.

I was in Cuba last week with some 30 lawyers from the International Section of the Florida Bar. The trip was controversial from the start. Florida Bar officials, including president Gregory Coleman, insisted that I state that this was not a Florida Bar-sanctioned trip and was not voted on by the Bar's board of governors, but was the decision of one section of the Bar.

And the president of the Cuban American Bar Association sent a letter of protest to all the members of the International Section, pointing out all the human rights abuses still taking place there.
But I asked to go and was thrilled when Peter Quinter, head of the International Section and a partner at GrayRobinson, agreed.

I knew many of the lawyers going on the trip, including former American Bar Association president Stephen Zack, Squire Pattons Boggs attorney Barbara Alonso and St. Thomas University law professor Marcia Narine.

I had never been to Cuba, and I'm not Cuban American. But I saw the trip was a great opportunity for a Miami journalist, or any journalist for that matter, with so many changes afoot—the terrorist designation change, imminent opening of embassies and law firms clamoring to open offices in Cuba or establish relationships with Cuban law firms.

Through day two, everything was going fine. Our five-star hotel, the Parque Central, was packed with a cross section of tourists from Canada, the United States and Europe—many attending an international art show, businessmen looking for opportunities and of course, our group.

I attended a lecture by a young Cuban attorney that morning. He spoke frankly about the Cuban legal system, relating how when a Cuban is arrested, he can be jailed without the right to see a lawyer or make a phone call for 72 hours. After a week, the prosecutor decides whether to grant the person bail or not.

He called the criminal system "disgusting."

The lawyer also discussed how students become lawyers, how the decision is made by the government based on their test scores, and how 79 percent of law students are female and only 10 percent black.

He also had positive things to say about the legal system, noting that bribery and corruption of judges does not exist in Cuba.

After taking copious notes, asking the lawyer questions and snapping his picture after the lecture, I went to the lobby—the only place the Internet worked—to write my story.
That night, while our group was eating dinner at a lovely, outdoor restaurant, our tour guide approached me with his cellphone. Someone had emailed him a copy of my story, already posted online.

"This headline is going to ruin that young lawyer's life," he yelled at me. The headline related how a Cuban lawyer declared the country's legal system "disgusting."
I later found out the tour guide had failed to tell the lawyer—or any of the speakers—a reporter was in the room. WHAT?

I assume the tour guide had little experience dealing with reporters. "This was supposed to be a positive story," he said. "You need to filter everything here."

I was incredulous. I had basically regurgitated everything the lawyer had said. I did no independent research, put no "spin" on the story.

Luckily, we were able to get my web editor on the phone and he changed the headline to something innocuous: "Cuban lawyer assesses Cuban legal system."

The rest of the dinner was tense. I could see the tour guide was trying to turn the lawyers against me. One—a friend—came up to me and said tersely, "Can you change the headline? I feel so bad for this man."

Things did not improve on the bus ride home. When we pulled back into our hotel, the tour guide took the microphone and announced to the group that he was kicking me off the tour. "Julie's a good person," he said. "But her Cuban American copy editor created this headline. And I have to take a stand."

I was stunned that not one of the lawyers—some of them my friends—said a word. I later learned they were in shock and had meetings throughout the night about the situation.

Quinter tried to calm me, taking me to the rooftop pool for a chat. I went back to my room a little nervous. I felt bad for the lawyer, but I was also concerned about what might happen to me. I felt like calling a friend but was afraid to even talk openly on the phone.

I woke up that morning feeling better, if not growing a bit angry. Kick me off the tour? After I paid all that money? He better at least get me a ride to the airport, I thought. Anyway, I knew that U.S. Sen. Al Franken was in town for a press conference in Havana on the terrorism designation being lifted. I figured I'll just go cover that. I'll find my own stories, I thought.

I parked myself in the lobby to email my editor about what had happened with the tour guide, and Zack approached me. "You're back on the tour," they said. "Try to remember the spirit of this tour," added the tour guide.

I found out that the group of lawyers, instead of hearing the lecture they came to hear about investment schedule for 9 a.m., spent 45 minutes discussing whether I should be kicked off the tour. The tour guide made his best case to remove me, I'm told, and even to write a letter of complaint to the newspaper.

I'm happy to say that none of the lawyers went along with his plan. I'm told they informed him we have something called freedom of the press in our country.

They did, I'm told, agree to write some sort of letter for the young lawyer to have as cover in case the government came calling. I never saw that letter.

Phew, I thought. I emailed my editor with the good news. "We're back," I said.

I sat through another lecture about foreign investment, then returned to the lobby to write up my story. That's when I saw the tour guide approaching again. "What now?" I thought.

"We have another problem," he said. We had a Cuban tour guide accompanying us through the entire tour. After he had made such a fuss, she had notified her government bosses about the situation. They decided I was banned from writing any more stories during my trip since I had failed to obtain a journalist license.

Now I had specifically asked the guide beforehand if I needed a journalist license. "No," was the answer, "you're with a special group."

I made the decision not to post any more stories while in Cuba and just save them up for when I returned to the United States. I had no desire to see the inside of a Cuban prison.

I enjoyed the rest of the trip anyway. In addition to the interesting lectures, I got to meet taxi drivers and shopkeepers and hear their stories. Like the lawyer, they were quite candid, telling me how they pray for an end to the embargo and how they are suffering. "Socialism doesn't work," one taxi driver said. "We're just people, like you," a shopkeeper said.

My last heart-stopping moment came at the airport, when I went to check in and the lady behind the counter said, "You're not on the list." She grabbed my passport and visa and left for 20 minutes. "Please don't leave me," I said to Zack, who was standing next to me. "I'm not going anywhere," he said.

Turns out there was a snafu and I was supposed to be on an earlier flight. They found a seat for me and I was never so happy as when I heard the sound of my passport being stamped.

People keep asking me whether the young Cuban lawyer got into any trouble. As he told me, things happen slowly in Cuba. You don't get arrested so much anymore, they just make your life miserable.
"I really like that you have freedom to say what you want," he told me. "We don't."

I pray that he's OK.

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