Tagged: Bible Reading & Meditation

“Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan.” —Mark 1:9 At the Jordan River, God told Joshua: “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know I am with you” (Jos 3:7). Then Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River into the land of promise (Jos 3:14ff). Once in the promised land, the Israelites “ate their fill; when filled, they became proud of heart and forgot” God (Hos 13:6). In the same Jordan River, Jesus, the new Joshua, was baptized. When Jesus rose out of the waters...

“He must increase, while I must decrease.” —John 3:30 As we come to the last two days of the Christmas season, we are filled with joy. During Advent, we waited, listening for the Lord (Jn 3:29). In the Christmas season, we have been “overjoyed to hear His voice” (Jn 3:29). With John the Baptizer, we can say: “That is my joy, and it is complete” (Jn 3:29). John’s joy at hearing Jesus’ voice led him to make the resolution: “He [Jesus] must increase, while I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). We should make the same resolution. After being filled with joy...

“It is the Spirit Who testifies to this, and the Spirit is Truth.” —1 John 5:6 On this fourteenth day of Christmas, our true Love, Jesus, gives us victory. We defeat the evil one “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of (our) testimony” (Rv 12:11), that is, our witness. The water of Jesus’ baptism and the blood of His death witness that He is the Son of God (1 Jn 5:6-8). However, these witnesses are not always understood or accepted. So the Spirit witnesses for these witnesses (1 Jn 5:6). He bears witness on behalf of...

“Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee.” –Luke 4:14 Jesus inaugurated His public ministry by proclaiming: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me” (Lk 4:18). In the Spirit, Jesus preached, prophesied, taught, healed, and delivered many people from the evil one. He called us, His followers, to do the same. He even promised that we would do greater works than He did (Jn 14:12). Many Christians in our secular humanistic culture doubt whether they can have such power in the Spirit. They don’t see great conversions, healings, and deliverances. Their experiences, or lack of experiences, seem...

“Then they opened their coffers and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” —Matthew 2:11 For most of the world, today’s feast of Epiphany is the most important day of the Christmas season. It’s the day when many people exchange gifts and imitate the wise men who gave gifts to Jesus. Today the Lord is calling us to give Jesus the present of ourselves, to prostrate ourselves before Him and do Him homage (Mt 2:11). Like the wise men, we should express our giving of everything to Jesus by giving Him something — a gift that would represent...