Category: Bible Study

“The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.” –Deuteronomy 6:4-6 When you ask people if they’ve given their lives to Jesus, they say “yes.” When you ask if they evangelize, tithe, or read the Bible, they often say “no,” as if evangelizing, tithing, or knowing the Bible were not essential parts of our commitment to Christ. This does not mean we must be perfect in fulfilling our...

“I could even wish to be separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen the Israelites.” –Romans 9:3-4 What causes you “great grief and constant pain”? (Rm 9:2) Paul’s grief and pain were due to the fact that not all the Jewish people had accepted Jesus as their Messiah, Lord, and God. Why would you make yourself a slave — even “the slave of all”? Some people make themselves slaves to alcohol, nicotine, other drugs, money, pornography, their businesses, fears, or anxieties. Paul decided to be “the slave of all so as to win over as many...

“You form a building which rises on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the Capstone.” –Ephesians 2:20 Jesus selected twelve Jewish men to be His apostles. One of these is St. Simon, who was specifically identified as a Zealot (Lk 6:15), perhaps to distinguish him from Simon Peter, the leader among the apostles. Scholars debate whether Simon was a terrorist involved in inciting riots against the Romans, or was instead a religious Jew zealously devoted to the law of Israel. Simon certainly was passionate. St. Simon could appreciate the zeal of Jesus. He was...

“The Spirit intercedes for the saints as God Himself wills.” –Romans 8:27 For more than twenty-six years, Pope St. John Paul II called us to great, growing, and intense prayer (The Redeemer of Man, 22). The Pope taught: “A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and Lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer. Jesus Himself has shown us by...