Category: Daily Reflections

“My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act upon it.” —Luke 8:21 For the Israelites, blood lines were of critical importance. The commandment that “the life is in the blood” ruled both their dietary laws (see Lv 17:11) and their entire culture. Their heritage and family lineage literally defined them as a people and a nation. Now in Jesus, the family is no longer defined by the blood line passed on from father and mother. In Jesus, the family is defined by a new blood line: the Blood of Christ. Faith in Jesus,...

“Prayer of this kind is good, and God our Savior is pleased with it, for He wants all men to be saved.” —1 Timothy 2:3-4 Jesus died on the cross so that all would be saved from sin, death, and damnation. We are saved by His grace, which we must decide to accept by faith (Eph 2:8) and live in love with all our hearts (see Lk 10:27). The decisions to accept God’s saving graces are the most important decisions of our lives. However, these decisions are extremely difficult to make, for we are strongly pressured by the world, the...

“There is but one body and one spirit.” —Ephesians 4:4 St. Matthew left his old life completely behind and began a new, totally different, life in Jesus. He died to his old life, and in his new life, Matthew lived, not for himself, but for Christ, Who died for him and loved him (see Gal 2:19-20). Christian marriage is to be like this. A man and woman leave their old life completely behind. In their new, married life, the husband and wife live not for themselves, but for their spouse (see 1 Cor 7:4). In effect, each spouse says to...

“For when he dies, he shall take none of it; his wealth shall not follow him down.” —Psalm 49:18 According to Sirach in the Old Testament, “life’s prime needs are water, bread, and clothing, a house, too, for decent privacy” (Sir 29:21). The New Testament may indicate that the basic needs of human beings have been reduced by Jesus’ coming (see Lk 9:58), for “if we have food and clothing we have all that we need” (1 Tm 6:8). Basic needs, according to the Bible, are very different from what most people today call basic needs. Today, in industrialized countries,...