Category: Bible Reading & Meditation
“My angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites; and I will wipe them out.” –Exodus 23:23 Many Christians have gotten the impression that angels are “nice guys,” but they’re not guys or gals at all. Angels are not human, although they possess some human qualities. The Lord warned us not to rebel against our guardian angel, “for he will not forgive” our sin (Ex 23:21). He also commanded us not to despise other Christians because their angels will make us wish we hadn’t made that mistake (see Mt 18:10). The...
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Jesus “said: ‘Come after Me.’ ” –Luke 9:59 Jesus calls us to follow Him not on our terms but on His. He does not preach the prosperity gospel. In fact, Jesus doesn’t even promise us a roof over our heads. The foxes and birds have better “benefits” than we do (Lk 9:58). Moreover, Jesus doesn’t let us choose our own pace but demands we jump when He says “Jump.” “Now is the acceptable time” (2 Cor 6:2), and we’ve no time to bury fathers or say good-bye to family (Lk 9:60-61). Jesus demands our “all.” It would be unreasonable for...
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“I solemnly assure you, you shall see…” –John 1:51 Several hundred years ago, the archangel Gabriel was especially recognized through the custom of praying the Angelus. In the Angelus, we think of the annunciation of the good news of Jesus’ Incarnation and our salvation. It is customary to pray the Angelus at morning, noon, and evening. Over a hundred years ago, Pope Leo XIII composed the St. Michael Prayer and thus made the archangel Michael better known and appreciated than ever before. The St. Michael Prayer is a clear statement about the reality and importance of spiritual warfare, that is,...
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“Even if this should seem impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people, shall it in those days be impossible in My eyes also, says the Lord of hosts?” –Zechariah 8:6 The Lord wants us to have an ever-increasing faith that He is the God of the impossible. He wants us to say with the Archangel Gabriel and believe with Mary that “nothing is impossible with God” (Lk 1:37). The Lord says to us what He said to Nathanael: “You will see much greater things than that” (Jn 1:50). Jesus even says: “Amen, Amen, I say to you,...
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“If your hand is your difficulty, cut it off! Better for you to enter life maimed than to keep both hands and enter Gehenna with its unquenchable fire.” –Mark 9:43 Years ago, I had to change a flat tire at night. While attempting to remove the tire, the jack shifted unexpectedly, and the car fell off the jack. My fingers were pinned underneath the tire. Because the full weight of the car kept my fingers pressed to the road, I could not pull my fingers free, no matter how hard I tried. After some time, praise God, some passersby found...
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