Category: Daily Promises

“One day [Jesus] was praying in a certain place.” –Luke 11:1 “One of [Jesus’] disciples asked Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples’ ” (Lk 11:1). Jesus answered with a ‘Yes’ and a ‘No’: “Yes, I’ll teach you to pray.” “No, I won’t teach you as John taught his disciples.” Jesus teaches us not to imitate St. John’s disciples, pagans (Mt 6:8), or anyone else when we pray. We learn most things by imitation, but we cannot learn to pray this way. Prayer is not primarily an activity but a relationship. Every relationship is unique. We...

“A woman named Martha welcomed Him.” —Luke 10:38 St. Martha seems to have been a person excessively into controlling circumstances and people. She wanted everything “just so” for the dinner she was preparing for Jesus. Mary, Martha’s sister, was not cooperating, for she was more preoccupied with Jesus than with Martha’s agenda (Lk 10:39). Consequently, Martha instinctively tried to manipulate Mary into helping with the dinner. Martha did this by trying to manipulate Jesus into commanding Mary to get to work (Lk 10:40). Martha tried to move Jesus with the lever of self-pity. She complained that she had been “all...

“I am amazed that you are so soon deserting Him Who called you in accord with His gracious design in Christ, and are going over to another gospel.” —Galatians 1:6 St. Paul was amazed that the Galatian Christians were so soon deserting the Lord. Paul warned Christians: “Do not be haughty…but fearful. If God did not spare the natural branches (the Jewish people), He will certainly not spare you” (Rm 11:20, 21). “My fear is that, just as the serpent seduced Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted and you may fall away from your sincere and complete...

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.” –Psalm 119:71 The devil brought terrible misfortunes and afflictions upon Job, though he was a just and holy man (Jb 1:22; 2:10). Despite all Job’s sufferings, he continued to praise God, saying: “Blessed be the name of the Lord!” (Jb 1:21) Job struggled with the problem of why God allowed bad things to happen to an innocent person, and questioned God as to why this should be (Jb 31:4-6, 37). Although God didn’t answer the question to Job’s satisfaction, the Lord did show Himself...