Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

Matthew “got up and followed [Jesus].” –Matthew 9:9 Jesus broke into St. Matthew’s life. Matthew, a tax collector, was working at a job that, at the time, was only done by turning his back on his Jewish faith and his Jewish people. Holy and faithful Jews considered a fellow Jew who collected taxes from his own people for the occupying Roman government to be the worst of sinners, in the same category as prostitutes (see Mt 21:31-32). Jesus entered Matthew’s customs post, looked at Matthew, and called him, saying “Follow Me.” Matthew “got up and followed Him” (Mt 9:9). The...

“If Christ was not raised, your faith is worthless.” –1 Corinthians 15:17 Jesus is raised from the dead, and He has promised to also raise from the dead those who live for Him. This is the major revelation of the Christian faith. If Jesus is risen, then He is God. If He is God, then all His revelations, claims, and promises must be true. If Jesus has not risen, then He is not God, and Christianity must be a sham. We are therefore not forgiven our sins (see 1 Cor 15:17). We are not born again. We are not children...

“You are being saved by it at this very moment if you hold fast to it as I preached it to you.” –1 Corinthians 15:2 We pray God will do something for us, or thank Him for what He has done. We live in the past and in the future. However, the Lord wants us to be aware of Him at this very moment. “Now is the day of salvation!” (2 Cor 6:2) Now is the time to abandon our lives “to Him Whose power now at work in us can do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine” (Eph...

“Love is patient; love is kind.” –1 Corinthians 13:4 God is love (1 Jn 4:16). Without love, we gain nothing (1 Cor 13:3). They’ll know we are Christians by our love (Jn 13:35). Love is the essence of the Christian life. Love is an action more than a quality or condition. One translation of 1 Corinthians 13 is: “Love does patient things. Love does the kind thing,” etc. Love is not modified by an adjective but expressed by a verb. Furthermore, love does three things and does not do eight things. First, love does patient and kind things. A more...

“Jesus said to His mother, ‘Woman, there is your son.’ In turn He said to the disciple, ‘There is your mother.’ ” –John 19:26-27 When a mother cries, a special power moves in the heart of each family member. When mom cries, we feel compelled to make peace and do whatever she tells us. Mother Mary tells us to do whatever Jesus tells us (Jn 2:5). So when she cries, it results in Jesus being obeyed. When Jesus “offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to God” (Heb 5:7), His Father heard Him but most others ignored Him....