Category: Daily Reflections

“If anyone comes to Me without turning his back on his father and mother, his wife and his children, his brothers and sisters, indeed his very self, he cannot be My follower.” —Luke 14:26 To be a disciple of Jesus is the most radical commitment. The relationship of Jesus’ disciples with Him is in a class by itself. In comparison with our love for Jesus, all other loves seem as hatred. Our relationship with Jesus is to be supreme. It is more important than our lives. We will gladly carry daily crosses to be faithful as Jesus’ disciples (Lk 14:27;...

“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them.” —Romans 12:6, RNAB The Lord has given His children great gifts. Among the greatest of these gifts are charisms, the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. We have gifts of prophecy, faith, ministry, teaching, exhortation, almsgiving, leadership, and mercy (Rm 12:6-8). None of us has all these gifts, but we have many of them — in addition to many other charisms. By the development and use of these gifts of the Spirit, we will have the power to do even greater works than...

“You should be pleased that they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid in the resurrection of the just.” —Luke 14:14 Jesus is not against our being repaid for the good we do. His concern is when we will be repaid and by whom. God the Father plans to personally repay us at our resurrection (Lk 14:14). Upon reading this, we might feel like God has paid for our service by using a layaway plan! Will our payment ever come? In His love, God does repay us to a certain extent during our time on earth. He begins His...

“You have mercy on all, because You can do all things; and You overlook the sins of men that they may repent.” —Wisdom 11:23 Before we sin, the devil tells us that sin is “no big deal,” life is trivial, and guilt is an unnecessary hang-up. After we sin, the devil changes his tune and then tells us that we should be ashamed of ourselves, that we are monsters and perverts, and that we can’t expect to be forgiven. In contrast, the Lord tells us of His mercy. Paul proclaimed: “You can depend on this as worthy of full acceptance:...

“Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed.” —Wisdom 3:5 There is both a quantity and quality of fruit that God expects us to produce in our earthly life (see Mt 21:33ff; Lk 13:6-9; Jn 15:1ff; 15:16). Our fruit of personal holiness and “good works” (Rv 14:13) “must endure” (Jn 15:16). God is much more than “the Man upstairs” Who is our Friend. He is also our Judge, Who “will test the quality of each man’s” good works and holiness (see 1 Cor 3:13). Some of the dead who die in the Lord will not have lived a life as...