Tagged: memory verse

LIFT HIGH THE CROSS

The Son of Man “must first endure many sufferings, be rejected by the elders, the high priests and the scribes, and be put to death, and then be raised up on the third day.” –Luke 9:22 Early in His public ministry, Jesus told His apostles to keep it a secret that He was the Messiah (Lk 9:21). When He healed people and set them free from the devil, He told these people to keep it secret. One explanation for this may be that Jesus wanted to reveal His sufferings and death before publicizing His messianic power. Because the crucified Jesus...

FROM VANITY INTO FULLNESS

“Nothing is new under the sun.” –Ecclesiastes 1:9 The author of the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes is a wise man named Qoheleth (Eccl 1:1). He is wise, but he lived before the revelation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. From his perspective, “all things are vanity!” (Eccl 1:2) Many people today are likewise pessimistic about living in this world filled with misery and tears. The New Testament recognizes this. Life “without God in the world” is definitely a life “without hope” (Eph 2:12). Apart from Jesus, we “can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). Yet the Good News is that...

CHAMELEON?

September 2022 | Bible Quiz – 93 ( I Thessalonians ) – [ in English ] “Now it happened that, while Jesus was at table in Matthew’s home, many tax collectors and those known as sinners came to join Jesus and His disciples at dinner.” –Matthew 9:10 The Lord may have been making a statement in choosing a businessman (and a disreputable one at that) to compile the first book of the New Testament. The Lord does not believe in the separation of faith from life, church from business, and even church from state (as we erroneously understand it). We are not to...

THE CRY OF THE POOR

“He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will himself also call and not be heard.” –Proverbs 21:13 If we don’t listen to the cry of the poor, our prayer will not be heard by God. If we give a beggar some money, have we heard his cry? If we don’t give him money, have we not heard his cry? Jesus proclaimed that His mission was to preach Good News to the poor (Lk 4:18). However, this Good News was not only about providing immediate needs but also freedom. Jesus described His Good News for the poor...

WORD-WORK

“Take heed, therefore, how you hear.” –Luke 8:18 Many Catholics in our culture have been conditioned to passively hear God’s Word and be mere spectators at Mass. However, the Lord calls His Word “seed” (Lk 8:11) and ourselves “ground.” Any farmer knows that ground is full of life, that is, organisms, nutrients, chemical processes, etc. We not only work the ground, but the ground works on anything in it — from graves to seeds. We are the ground. We work on and with the seed of God’s Word. We are to be very active in relationship to God’s Word. God’s...