Category: Memory Verse

THE TEMPTATION TO DO GOOD

“This will permit us to concentrate on prayer and the ministry of the word.” –Acts 6:4 There is no chaining the Word of God (2 Tm 2:9), but the messengers of God’s Word can be chained. We are often chained through sin, selfishness, or fear. However, we can be chained in more subtle ways. For example, the devil tried to chain the apostles by making them think they needed to cut back temporarily on prayer and the ministry of the Word to deal with a disagreement in the early Church (Acts 6:2ff). He tempted them by encouraging them to do...

LIFE IN THE WORD

“The word of the Lord was carried throughout that area.” –Acts 13:49 Mass Readings: May 13 First: Acts 13:44-52; Resp:Psalm 98:1-4; Gospel:John 14:7-14 Listen to the Mass Readings The Word of the Lord is being carried at this moment throughout your area and throughout the world. However, if there is unrepentant sin in your life, you will be manipulated into rejecting and opposing God’s Word (see Acts 13:45-46). But if you repent, you will believe in God’s Word, delight in it, and respond to it with praise (Acts 13:48). This may result in your being persecuted by those who reject...

SUBPOENAED AS A WITNESS

“These are His witnesses now before the people.” –Acts 13:31 Mass Readings: May 12 First: Acts 13:26-33;Resp: Psalm 2:6-11;Gospel: John 14:1-6 Listen to the Mass Readings Throughout Acts of the Apostles, the Lord repeatedly commands us to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8; 2:32; 3:15; 10:39; 13:31). Now that we are more than halfway through the Easter season, it is appropriate to ask ourselves whether we have obeyed the Lord’s command to be His witnesses. Hopefully, we have done this throughout our Christian lives and even more intensely in this Easter season. If you were subpoenaed as a witness by a...

DOING THE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

“There John left them and returned to Jerusalem.” –Acts 13:13 Mass Readings: May 11 First: Acts 13:13-25; Resp:Psalm 89:2-3,21-22,25,27; Gospel: John 13:16-20 Listen to the Mass Readings John Mark had accompanied Barnabas and Saul on a relief mission to help the starving Judean Christians (Acts 12:25). Next, John Mark accompanied Barnabas and Saul on the first evangelistic mission of the Church (Acts 13:5). However, John Mark dropped out of that mission (Acts 13:13). There’s a big difference between a relief mission and an evangelistic mission. Many of us have been on relief missions. We have given our time, energy, and...

THE MISSION OF LOVE

“May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear Him!” –Psalm 67:8 Mass Readings: May 10 First: Acts 12:24–13:5; Resp: Psalm 67:2-3,5-6,8; Gospel: John 12:44-50 Listen to the Mass Readings. Without believing in Jesus, we remain in the dark (Jn 12:46). If we don’t accept Jesus’ words, we are already under judgment, and we deprive ourselves of eternal life (Jn 12:47). If we don’t give our lives to Jesus, we continue to be “dead because of [our] sins and offenses” (Eph 2:1). Without Jesus, there is no hope (see Eph 2:12). Therefore, let us pray for...