Tagged: verse for the day

Jesus “was speaking of God as His own Father, thereby making Himself God’s equal.” —John 5:18 “The reason why” the religious leaders of Jesus’ time were “determined to kill [Jesus] was that He not only was breaking the sabbath but, worse still, was speaking of God as His own Father, thereby making Himself equal to God” (Jn 5:18). Jesus could have possibly spared His life had He simply told the religious authorities that He wasn’t really God, that people were misinterpreting His claims. However, Jesus made it more clear that He was God, and meant to claim that He was...

“Remember, now, you have been cured. Give up your sins so that something worse may not overtake you.” —John 5:14 There is something much worse than being sick for thirty-eight years (see Jn 5:5). There is something much worse than Job’s sufferings of going bankrupt, suffering the tragic deaths of his ten children, and becoming seriously ill (Jb 1:13ff). There is something much worse than the greatest of calamities. The worst thing that can happen to a human being is the second death (Rv 2:11), hell, which is everlasting damnation and alienation from God. However, the Lord wants all to...

“There shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create.” —Isaiah 65:18 If the Lord creates a calling for you, you can find joy in it. If He calls you to life-long celibacy, you have cause for rejoicing. If the Lord gives you and your spouse ten children, rejoice in the sacrifice of having a large family. When He calls us to repent, we share in the great joy of heaven over one sinner who repents (Lk 15:7). When the Lord gives us the privilege of being persecuted for the Gospel, we should rejoice in the measure we share...

“For our sakes God made Him Who did not know sin, to be sin, so that in Him we might become the very holiness of God.” –2 Corinthians 5:21 St. Luke is the only Evangelist who includes the parable of the prodigal son. He was also the only Gentile Christian to author a Gospel. Most of us reading this reflection are also gentile (non-Jewish) Christians; possibly we feel a special connection to this Gospel. Sadly, we assuredly relate to this parable as representative of many dysfunctional families in our midst. “The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give...

“Your piety is like a morning cloud, like the dew that early passes away.” –Hosea 6:4 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for” (Heb 11:1, our transl). The Lord wants our relationship with Him to be substantial, not superficial. He wants our relationship with Him to be like a rock and not like dew or the mist of a morning cloud (see Hos 6:4). To forge a relationship with Him solid enough to withstand the trials of life, the inevitable persecutions of life in Christ, and the challenging immediacy of death, the Lord in His mercy sends prophets to...