Tagged: Daily Reflection

“Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” –1 Samuel 15:16 Saul “erected a trophy in his own honor” (1 Sm 15:12), though he was little in his own esteem (1 Sm 15:17). People who are proud of themselves often hate themselves. Proud people act like gods, and of course they do a very poor imitation of God. So they hate themselves for failing. If they don’t repent, they lie to themselves and others about failing. Then they hate themselves for being phonies. Proud people try to compensate for their failures by doing more of...

“For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines forth like the dawn and her victory like a burning torch.” –Isaiah 62:1 At the wedding of Cana, Mary told Jesus: “They have no more wine” (Jn 2:3). Jesus seemed to respond that He wasn’t going to do anything about it because His hour had not yet come (Jn 2:4). Then Jesus changed the water into wine (Jn 2:9). Did Jesus change His mind? Did Mary talk or pray Jesus into changing His mind? Can our prayers get God to...

“Who can forgive sins except God alone?” –Mark 2:7 When Jesus saw a paralyzed man being lowered on a stretcher through a hole in the roof, He said: “My son, your sins are forgiven” (Mk 2:5). Jesus miraculously and instantaneously healed the paralytic to show that He “has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Mk 2:10). When Jesus was criticized for eating with Levi and his friends, Jesus stated: “I have come to call sinners” (Mk 2:17). John the Baptizer introduced Jesus as “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). Paul exclaimed: “You...

“Why do You hide Your face, forgetting our woe and our oppression?” –Psalm 44:25 The Israelites, God’s chosen people, refused to repent of sin. So four thousand Israelites were killed in battle, as they were defeated by the Philistines (1 Sm 4:2). “The wages of sin is death” (Rm 6:23). Then the Israelites decided not to repent but rather to bring forth the ark of the covenant to lead them into another battle. “Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured” (1 Sm 4:10-11). God’s chosen people were made “the mockery and the scorn” of their...

“Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’ ” –1 Samuel 3:9 Because the Lord “gives to His beloved in sleep” (Ps 127:2), sleep is one of the most important aspects of our lives. Therefore, the devil tries to disturb our sleep with sexual temptations, fears, or anxieties. We are also tempted to misuse sleep to escape from our responsibilities. We can let the sloth of sleep keep us from answering God’s call (see 1 Sm 3:6ff) and from giving ourselves prime-time to pray (see 1 Sm 3:2; Mk 1:35). The devil...