God's Word is a two-edged sword (Heb 4:12), which comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. When God's Word and our wills cross, we are tempted to blame the teacher, preacher, pastor, or prophet. We blame the mail-carrier for the mail.
The Israelites did this to Jeremiah. He insisted that the Israelites argument wasn't with him but with the Lord Who had sent him (Jer 26:15). The religious authorities of Jesus' day confused the messengers with the message and put the apostles in prison (see Acts 5:17-18). Likewise, Herod and Herodias tried in vain to silence the Word by beheading John the Baptizer (Mt 14:10).However, "there is no chaining the word of God!" (2 Tm 2:9)
When we're tempted to reject the messengers of God's messages, we should take the advice of Gamaliel: "You will not be able to destroy them without fighting God Himself" (Acts 5:39).
| PRAYER: | Father, may I listen to Your Word more than to the world. |
| PROMISE: | "For the Lord hears the poor, and His own who are in bonds He spurns not." –Ps 69:34 |
| PRAISE: | St. Alphonsus is a Doctor of the Church. He was a prolific author and also founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer for the salvation of the most abandoned souls (the Redemptorists). Pope Pius XII declared him patron of moral theologians. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College