Tagged: daily bread

“He began to teach them that the Son of Man had to suffer much, be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, be put to death, and rise three days later. He said these things quite openly.” –Mark 8:31-32 Jesus is very open about the fact that we will have to suffer and bear our “share of the hardship which the gospel entails” (2 Tm 1:8). He bluntly states that we who follow Him must deny ourselves and take up the cross (Mk 8:34). Suffering is the way of salvation, necessary for the completion of God’s plan...

“You can depend on this as worthy of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” –1 Timothy 1:15 Paul was the worst sinner in the world (1 Tm 1:15), “an extreme case” (1 Tm 1:16). He was “a blasphemer, a persecutor, a man filled with arrogance” (1 Tm 1:13). Paul is “an example to those who would later have faith” in Jesus (1 Tm 1:16). Because the Lord changed Paul, He can change anybody – even your spouse, child, boss, enemy – even you! No matter how many abortions have been committed, how many children...

“How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye,’ yet fail yourself to see the plank lodged in your own?” –Luke 6:42 Jesus says we might have a plank lodged in our eye. If so, He’s doing us a big favor to tip us off. We need to remove this plank or we’ll blindly fall into the ditches of apathy, sin, hatred, unforgiveness, compulsive behavior, a selfish lifestyle, broken relationships, missed opportunities, or other such pitfalls (Lk 6:39). If we aren’t sure what our plank is, we must ask the Lord to identify...

“Because you are God’s chosen ones…” –Colossians 3:12 Because we are chosen by God, we are holy and beloved (Col 3:12). Because we are holy and beloved, we can cover ourselves with mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, and forgiveness (Col 3:12-13). Then, by God’s grace, we can cover this covering of virtue with the covering of love (Col 3:14). “Above all, let your love for one another be constant, for love covers a multitude of sins” and a multitude of virtues (1 Pt 4:8). Covered in virtue and love, obviously “peace must reign in your hearts” (Col 3:15). Under these...

“Blest are you poor; the reign of God is yours.” –Luke 6:20 Jesus tells us, His disciples, that we will be happy if we choose to be poor, hungry, weeping, and persecuted. Many people have tried to spiritualize these beatitudes but Jesus’ lifestyle and other passages in the Scriptures contradict that interpretation. Jesus actually meant we should choose material poverty, redemptive suffering, and persecution. We have devoted almost our whole lives to developing our lifestyle. If we chose a simple lifestyle of material poverty, it would be like throwing our lives away. Nonetheless, Jesus said: “Whoever would save his life...