Tagged: Bible Study

“You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” –Hebrews 7:17; Psalm 110:4 Like almost all peoples throughout history, the Jewish people believed that sacrifice was one of the essential elements for dealing with sin and setting humanity free. The person who offers sacrifices to God on behalf of the people is called a priest. Thus, priests are an essential part of God’s plan of salvation. Consequently, because Jesus is the Savior of the world, He must be a priest. For the Jews, all priests descended from the tribe of Levi. Yet Jesus was from the tribe of...

“Our desire is that each of you show the same zeal till the end.” –Hebrews 6:11 Life in Christ is like running a race (see 2 Tm 4:7; Phil 3:12; 1 Cor 9:24). We must “show the same zeal to the end” and “not grow lazy” (Heb 6:11, 12). We are able to keep running no matter what because we are loved by God and fully assured of inheriting God’s promises (Heb 6:11-12). Love keeps us running for God (see 2 Cor 5:14), and we love because God first loved us (1 Jn 4:19). He sent His Son to die...

“You are a priest forever.” – Psalm 110:4 Fr. Al Lauer, founder and long-time author of One Bread, One Body, often told this story about God’s perspective on fasting: “A man once told God in prayer that he hated the way his priest ran the parish. God responded by telling him to fast for his priest on one meal a day for three months. At the end of the first month, the man reminded God that he had kept his fast, but God hadn’t changed the priest at all. After two months, the man grumbled to God that his priest...

“Here I am. You called me.” –1 Samuel 3:5   The Lord starts this new year by calling us as He called Samuel, Andrew, and Simon Peter. He is calling us to join Him: not in a superficial way, but to love Him with all our hearts (Mt 22:37), in a Christian community of the others whom He has called, and in waking up and renewing a sleeping Church (see 1 Sm 3:2-3). We must accept all three aspects of the Lord’s call, or we have rejected His call. Some say they’ve given their lives to Jesus, but are not...

“So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor and to find help in time of need.” –Hebrews 4:16 We see others and ourselves beset with problems, which don’t get better but get worse. Then we wonder whether God cares. We pray, and our prayers are not answered as we hoped. In fact, things often get worse after we pray. If God is blessing us, it seems impossible to recognize this. We see people falling on the ice, suffering in pain, shivering in the cold, treated unjustly, and consumed with fear. Then we wonder again...