Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

“Every man shall turn from his evil way.” —Jonah 3:8 The people of Nineveh, wicked as they were, made the connection between their sins and the destruction to come (Jon 3:8-9). These people frequently brutalized and killed large numbers of people. They were pagans, spiritually dead, the least likely to repent. Yet the prophetic word pierced their hearts, and they repented (Jon 3:5). Jesus commended them for this (Lk 11:32). We fancy ourselves more sophisticated than the ancient Ninevites. We specialize in knowing connections, such as the connection between cholesterol and heart disease, drinking alcohol and liver disease, sanitation and...

“I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” ––Psalm 34:5 “Everything has been given over to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father and no one knows the Father except the Son –– and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him” (Lk 10:22). In today’s Gospel passage, the only begotten Son gives us a formula for praying to His Father. In fact, we’ve been given permission to call the God of the universe, “Our Father” (Mt 6:9). “You did not receive a spirit of slavery leading...

“I assure you, as often as you did it for one of My least brothers, you did it for Me.” –Matthew 25:40 The Lord says that you shall not “stand by idly when your neighbor’s life is at stake” (Lv 19:16). The Lord tells us: “I assure you, as often as you did or did not provide for the needs of the least of your brothers and sisters, you did or did not do it for Me” (see Mt 25:40, 45). The Lord expects us to recognize the Lazaruses at our doors (Lk 16:19ff) and “love in deed and in...

“The tempter approached…” –Matthew 4:3 God does not tempt (Jas 1:13). Rather, the tug and lure of our own sinful nature is what leads us to temptation (Jas 4:1ff; see also Heb 4:15; 2:18). Temptations often occur during Lent. Temptation can strengthen us, much like a drill sergeant toughens the troops for battle. We might wonder where God is during our temptations. The Lord is “with us” while we are tempted (Mt 1:23; 28:20). The devil wants us to forget that God loves us. But Satan is a liar (Jn 8:44). He lies about God’s character (see Gn 3:4-5). Jesus...

“Then you shall delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth.” –Isaiah 58:14 We are on the fourth day of a forty-day journey through the desert of Lent. Our destination is the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead. When we meet the risen Christ in a new way this Easter time, “light shall rise” for us “in the darkness, and the gloom shall become” like midday (Is 58:10). “Then the Lord will guide” us always and give us “plenty even on the parched land” (Is 58:11). “The ancient ruins shall be...