Category: Daily Reflections

“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...

“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...

“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...

“Hate evil and love good, and let justice prevail.” —Amos 5:15 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil” (Is 5:20). The Lord wants us to “hate evil,” not to rename it by a more acceptable name (Am 5:15). The culture of death specializes in “spin” control, using smooth words to rename actions which are blatantly and objectively evil in the sight of God. Just because our society regards acts as acceptable and commonplace does not mean God no longer regards them as evil and wrong. Some examples of this are: • We have a legal right to...

“Indeed, the Lord God does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants, the prophets.” –Amos 3:7 Every good and bad thing that has ever happened God told us about ahead of time (Am 3:7). Yet we were surprised by world wars, the Third Reich, abortion, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and so many other catastrophes. We refused to listen to the prophets that the Father in His loving mercy sent “early and often” to warn us of evil (2 Chr 36:15). Usually prophets tell us to repent before it’s too late. Nonetheless, we refuse to return to Him,...