Category: Bible Study

HE LOVES EVEN MORE

“I will espouse you to Me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy.” —Hosea 2:21 Our only vengeance as followers of Jesus Christ is to love more and serve more, especially those who are harming us. This is an imitation of Jesus, Who died to save those who kept hurting Him. When St. Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus did not punish Peter or take revenge on him. Instead, Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love Me?” Jesus responded to injury by loving even more. This is how Jesus responds to us. We...

IMPOSSIBLE CHRISTIANITY

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you.” —Matthew 11:28 The Lord has made living the Christian life humanly impossible. We must be made perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect (Mt 5:48). We must become holy in every aspect of our conduct (1 Pt 1:15) or we will not see God (Heb 12:14), that is, we will not see Jesus face to face in heaven (see 1 Cor 13:12). Furthermore, we must be compassionate as our Father is compassionate (Lk 6:36) and pure as Jesus is pure (1 Jn 3:3)....

SKINNED ALIVE

“No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and in that way both are preserved.” —Matthew 9:17 Many Christians have had an outpouring of the new wine of fasting, gifts of the Spirit, Christian community, evangelization, etc. The aftermath of some of these experiences was not good. People’s lives were disrupted and the new wine lost (Mt 9:17). These people vowed they would never go to another prayer meeting, publicly share their faith, get very involved in church, etc. Because they would not change their lifestyle, that is, their wineskin, they swore off the new wine. They found the old...

CORRECTION FLUID?

“Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam, king of Israel: ‘Amos has conspired against you here within Israel; the country cannot endure all his words.’” –Amos 7:10 Are you defensive when corrected? If someone corrects you, do you make like a porcupine and stick out your quills? Is your first reaction to correction to justify yourself? It is natural to react to correction in this way. However, if we have been baptized into the Holy Trinity, we can live supernaturally. By our baptismal grace, we can react to correction with thanksgiving, humility, and growth in holiness. Being corrected...

CORRECTION FLUID?

“Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam, king of Israel: ‘Amos has conspired against you here within Israel; the country cannot endure all his words.’” –Amos 7:10 Are you defensive when corrected? If someone corrects you, do you make like a porcupine and stick out your quills? Is your first reaction to correction to justify yourself? It is natural to react to correction in this way. However, if we have been baptized into the Holy Trinity, we can live supernaturally. By our baptismal grace, we can react to correction with thanksgiving, humility, and growth in holiness. Being corrected...