Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

THE DAY OF “WRECKONING”

The Lord “has torn down in His anger the fortresses of daughter Judah.” –Lamentations 2:2 Jesus came to proclaim and establish the kingdom of God and bring salvation to the human race by overcoming the sin of Adam. Jesus destroyed the power of Satan and overcomes him (see 1 Jn 3:8). Satan’s works cannot stand next to those of God. Anything built on a foundation based on evil must first be overturned and destroyed. Therefore, Jesus’ initial work must be that of a demolition crew. First, He needs to make a total wreck of the existing structure, if it is...

LOVE THE CHURCH

“I will build My Church, and the jaws of death shall not prevail against it.” –Matthew 16:18 Today we celebrate that Christ instituted the Church. He calls the Church His Body (e.g. Eph 1:22-23), His bride (see Eph 5:25-27), and “My Church” (Mt 16:18). The Church is the “Mystical Body of Christ” and the “new People of God” (Lumen Gentium, Vatican II, 8, 9). The Church alone is “the pillar and bulwark of truth” (1 Tm 3:15). She can attack the gates of hell, which cannot prevail against her (Mt 16:18). The Church is one, acknowledging one faith, one Lord,...

“I WISH TO KNOW CHRIST” (PHIL 3:10)

“I never knew you. Out of My sight, you evildoers.” –Matthew 7:23 Some of the Jews in exile in Babylon didn’t know God in relationship (see 2 Kgs 24:14ff), and so they didn’t change their lives as they might have had they been in a loving relationship with Him. They knew some information about God, but they didn’t know Him. Because the book of the law had been “lost” in the Temple for many years (see 2 Kgs 22:8ff), many of these Jews did not even know the basic facts about God. Learning facts about Jesus is important, but catechesis,...

FINDERS KEEPERS, LOSERS WEEPERS ?

“I have found the book of the law in the temple of the Lord.” –2 Kings 22:8 If we find the Word of God, it is a life-changing event. Jeremiah exclaimed: “When I found Your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart” (Jer 15:16). By finding God’s Word, we do not mean finding a copy of the Bible or parts of the Bible as Hilkiah did. We mean finding God’s Word from the Church and her Scriptures “not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God” (1...

THE LETTER OPENER

“Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; then he went up to the temple of the Lord, and spreading it out before Him, he prayed in the Lord’s presence.” –2 Kings 19:14-15 King Hezekiah received a letter from Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, threatening the total destruction of Judah if Hezekiah did not unconditionally surrender. Many of us have also received letters, faxes, e-mail, text messages, or memos containing devastating news. Some have received letters from attorneys in which their spouses have announced that they are suing for divorce. Many have received forms from...