Category: Bible Study

“Someone asked Him, ‘Lord, are they few in number who are to be saved?’ ” —Luke 13:23 To be saved, we must confess with our lips that Jesus is Lord (Rm 10:9). However, we human beings have trouble saying “Yes” when we mean “Yes” and “No” when we mean “No” (Mt 5:37). We have trouble telling the truth because we speak from our hearts’ abundance (Lk 6:45) and our hearts are twisted and deceitful (Jer 17:9). We must find a way to straighten out our twisted hearts so we can truly acknowledge Jesus as Lord. The Lord has given His...

“Philip sought out Nathanael…” —John 1:45 In the world of social media, the word “friend” has taken on a nebulous meaning. St. Philip shows the power of a true friend. Jesus calls Philip to follow Him (Jn 1:43). The first thing Philip does is seek out his good friend Nathanael (also called Bartholomew) (Jn 1:45). Philip tells Nathanael about Jesus, ignores his friend’s sarcastic response, and invites Nathanael to come and see for himself (Jn 1:45-46). Then Philip gets out of the way and allows Jesus to take over (see Jn 3:30). Nathanael’s friendship with Philip overcame any of his...

“Both Mahlon and Chilion died also, and the woman was left with neither her two sons nor her husband.” —Ruth 1:5 All the men in Naomi’s family died, her husband and two married sons. Under these circumstances, many would despair and their lives would fall apart. But, by God’s power, death in the family can become life-giving and lift the family to new heights of love and grace. For example, Ruth could rise above her grief at her husband’s death to exhibit a faithfulness to her mother-in-law, a prophetic example of our heavenly Father’s faithfulness. When Ruth left her homeland...

“Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the night to wail and grind his teeth.” —Matthew 22:13 We can hear the word “hell” used frequently in the workplace, on TV and radio, in all types of popular music, at the ball games — everywhere, it seems, except in church, the one place where we most need to be repeatedly taught and warned about the reality of hell, the “state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1033). Not enough people in our society have a healthy fear of ending up in hell....