Tagged: Bible Study

“We were predestined to praise His glory by being the first to hope in Christ.” –Ephesians 1:12 Imagine how Adam and Eve felt after the first sin. For the first time, they were afraid, ashamed, and confused (Gn 3:10). They had never before experienced pain, sorrow, or death. The first death they experienced was the murder of their son Abel (Gn 4:8). How traumatized they must have felt! All they had to hold onto was God’s promise that the woman’s offspring would strike at the serpent’s head and ultimately be victorious (Gn 3:15). This was a glimmer of hope on...

“It is no part of your heavenly Father’s plan that a single one of these little ones shall ever come to grief.” –Matthew 18:14 Over four billion people in the world don’t know Jesus. Most of these people have never had an opportunity to hear of Jesus’ crucified love and glorious Resurrection. They are the poorest people in the world. They have little chance for Christmas because they don’t know Christ or Mass. Most of the people of the world do not have a new nature in Christ. They are not as yet baptized sons and daughters of God. They...

“A highway will be there, called the holy way.” –Isaiah 35:8 Advent is like walking through a desert to escape from exile and return home. How will we survive walking hundreds of miles through the desert? “The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom” (Is 35:1). The Lord will “strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak” (Is 35:3). The Lord says “to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not!” (Is 35:4) “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be...

“God will bring them back.” –Baruch 5:6 Imagine your children being “led away on foot” by your enemies (Bar 5:6). Imagine your son handcuffed and led off to prison. What if your children were exiled in a foreign land and you would probably never see them again? This is similar to what the Jewish people went through at the Babylonian exile. About forty years later, Yahweh performed one of His greatest miracles. He freed the Jewish exiles, and they returned home. The Church brings this to our attention because this Christmas the Lord wants to bring our children home to...

“The reign of God is at hand.” –Matthew 10:7 Isaiah prophesied that after the Messiah comes: “No more will you weep” (Is 30:19). “As soon as He (God) hears He will answer you” (Is 30:19). “The Lord will give you the bread you need and the water for which you thirst” (Is 30:20). “A voice shall sound in your ears: ‘This is the way; walk in it’ ” (Is 30:21). “He will give rain for the seed that you sow in the ground” (Is 30:23). “The wheat that the soil produces will be rich and abundant” (Is 30:23). “Upon every...