“The owner then gave his devious employee credit for being enterprising! Why? Because the worldly take more initiative than the other-worldly when it comes to dealing with their own kind.” –Luke 16:8 The people of the world are usually charged up. They are in overdrive to make money and satisfy their carnal desires. It is nothing to work fifty, sixty, or more hours a week. They’ll stay up all night just to get a buzz. Almost no sacrifice seems too great to get ahead or feel high. Jesus says that we Christians should have that kind of initiative and drive...

“But you, how can you sit in judgment on your brother? Or you, how can you look down on your brother?” –Romans 14:10 Have you heard the old joke: “When is a door not a door?” Answer: “When it is ‘ajar.’ ” All over the world today, people will ask a similar question: “When is a person not a person?” In many cases, the answer will be: “When they are a rapist, a murderer, a bum, a fetus, a nursing home patient, a homeless person, a prostitute, etc.” In today’s Gospel parables, Jesus talks about a lost sheep and a...

“If one of you decides to build a tower, will he not first sit down and calculate the outlay to see if he has enough money to complete the project?” –Luke 14:28 Jesus commands us to “first sit down and calculate the outlay.” To be a Christian is easy and light insofar as the Lord will give us the grace to do His will (see Mt 11:30). Nevertheless, the Christian life is a yoke and a burden (Mt 11:30). We must give everything in order to live it (see Mt 13:44, 46). Are you willing to give everything to Jesus?...

“God tried them and found them worthy of Himself.”—Wisdom 3:5 According to the Bible, what happens to us when we die? The Bible seems to imply that some people immediately go to heaven after death. Jesus told the good thief: “This day you will be with Me in paradise” (Lk 23:43). It seems logical that some people also immediately go to hell, although nowhere in the Bible is this stated explicitly. The Bible does say: “It is appointed that men die once, and after death be judged” (Heb 9:27). The Bible does indicate that some of the dead do not...