Tagged: message of the day

THE HOME FRONT

“Jesus said to them, ‘No prophet is without honor except in his native place, indeed in his own house.’ ” –Matthew 13:57 We as Christians expect Herod (Mt 14:1ff), Hitler, and Planned Parenthood to be our enemies. We may be surprised when our own religious leaders attack and reject us (see Mt 12:1ff). And we are usually shocked when our hometown folk, even our own family, reject and persecute us (see Mt 13:57). We understand the lament of the psalmist: “If an enemy had reviled me, I could have borne it; if he who hates me had vaunted himself against...

YOUR NET WORTH

“The reign of God is also like a dragnet thrown into the lake, which collected all sorts of things.” –Matthew 13:47 What is your favorite parable? Many people especially like the first of the kingdom-parables, the parable of the sower and the seed, which is better named the parable of the types of ground. The parables of the mustard seed and the precious pearl are always favorites. Yet how many claim that the parable of the dragnet is their favorite? Nonetheless, the parable of the dragnet is the grand finale of the kingdom-parables in Matthew’s Gospel. It is the last...

HOW TO BURN-OUT

“Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth! A man of strife and contention to all the land! I neither borrow nor lend, yet all curse me.” –Jeremiah 15:10 Jeremiah wished he had never been born. He sat alone while others were partying (Jer 15:17). His pain was “continuous” and his “wound incurable” (Jer 15:18). According to the terminology of “pop-psychology,” Jeremiah was experiencing “burn-out” in his prophetic ministry. In contrast to “pop-psychology,” the Lord in the Scriptures means something very different by the term “burn-out.” “Burn-out” is a good thing. In fact, it is the meaning of life,...

“JESUS WEPT” (see Lk 19:41)

“Let my eyes stream with tears day and night.” –Jeremiah 14:17 Many people couldn’t care less about the condition of the world, the state of the Church, the destruction of human lives, the breakdown of marriage and family, etc. They just stare at the TV and try to escape from reality through constant indulgence in petty pleasures. We should love the Lord and other people enough to pray: “Let my eyes stream with tears day and night, without rest, over the great destruction which overwhelms the virgin daughter of my people, over her incurable wound” (Jer 14:17). When Jesus saw...

PRAYER CHANGES ?

“One of His disciples asked Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ ” –Luke 11:1 Sometimes our prayer is a projection of our own self-hatred rather than a communication with God. For instance, Abraham began interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah by saying: “See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes!” (Gn 18:27) Later in his prayer, Abraham begged God not to become impatient (Gn 18:30) or angry (Gn 18:32) with him, as if God could be impatient or angry. Abraham projected his own problems onto God. Eventually, Abraham quit interceding for Sodom...