Tagged: memory verse

“I assure you, it will go easier for Sodom than for you on the day of judgment.” –Matthew 11:24 Yesterday, in the first Eucharistic reading, the Lord called us “princes of Sodom” and “people of Gomorrah” (Is 1:10). Today, He says we are worse than Sodom, for if the miracles we have received would have taken place in Sodom, it would have repented (Mt 11:23-24). The Lord is likely telling us that we have not yet repented according to His standards. We naturally tend to compare ourselves with others to make ourselves feel better or even superior. So, when the...

“I have come not to bring peace, but a sword.” –Matthew 10:34, RSV-CE Peace only fully comes when the kingdom of God is established. Peace starts and builds in one human heart at a time. Until then, there is conflict — internally within a person’s heart, and externally among people. There is resistance and a civil war (see Jas 4:1). Jesus says that He came not to bring peace but rather a sword (Mt 10:34, RSV-CE). What sword does Jesus bring? He brings the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit (Heb 4:12-13; see also Eph 6:17). The Holy...

“… that primacy may be His in everything.” –Colossians 1:18 We should acknowledge Jesus as first in everything. When we wake up, the first word on our lips should be “Jesus.” Our first activity each day should be praying in the name of Jesus. Before talking to anyone else, we first talk to Him. Before we pick up the phone, answer the doorbell, or put the key in the ignition, Jesus comes first. Before turning on the TV, opening the refrigerator, or pressing a button, Jesus is first. Before we pay any other bills, we pay our tithe. Jesus has...

“At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.” –Isaiah 6:4 To become disciples of Jesus, we must answer God’s call. Like Isaiah, to answer God’s call, we must experience the fear of the Lord (Is 6:5). To serve Jesus, we must have wisdom. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps 111:10). To take up our daily cross in imitating Jesus, we must be fearless (see Mt 10:26, 28, 31). “He who fears the Lord is never alarmed, never afraid; for the Lord is his Hope”...

“Whoever holds out till the end will escape death.” –Matthew 10:22 The Lord’s words to us today are: “You will be persecuted” (see Mt 10:16ff) and “You will collapse” (see Hos 14:2). We naturally believe these words apply to people of the past or, if they apply to the present, to someone other than ourselves. However, what if the Lord is speaking to you personally? If you brush off His words, you will collapse under the weight of persecution, for you will not be prepared. To become strong enough to resist collapsing under pressure is not usually something we can...