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"My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism" (James 2:1). Because God is impartial, we as Christians must be impartial too. People are prone to treat others differently based upon external criteria such as looks, possessions, or social status, but God is utterly impartial. He never shows favoritism and always judges righteously. Favoritism can be defined as a preferential attitude and treatment of a person or group over another having equal claims and rights. It is unjustified partiality. James 2:1-13 confronts it as sin and admonishes us to avoid...

“Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. And he commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire” (Daniel 3:19-20). Persecution is the world’s futile attempt to silence the voice of godly integrity. King Nebuchadnezzar was a brilliant and powerful man who had built an enormous empire by bringing entire nations under his control. Yet...

June 17, 2016 Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 2 Kgs 11:1-4, 9-18, 20 When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah,saw that her son was dead,she began to kill off the whole royal family.But Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah,took Joash, his son, and spirited him away, along with his nurse,from the bedroom where the princes were about to be slain.She concealed him from Athaliah, and so he did not die.For six years he remained hidden in the temple of the LORD,while Athaliah ruled the land. But in the seventh year,Jehoiada summoned the...

"This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father . . . to keep oneself unstained by the world" (James 1:27). God doesn’t tolerate compromise with the world. Keeping yourself unstained by the world is an important test of your spiritual condition. The apostle John said, "Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15). At first glance that might sound contradictory since God Himself so loved the world that He gave His Son to die...

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up’” (Daniel 3:16-18). Unconditional obedience is the trademark of mature faith. In Matthew 13...

The Mystery of Holy Saturday Its Spiritual Significance Introduction : One could say that the "Shroud" is the Icon of this mystery, the Icon of Holy Saturday. Indeed, it is a winding - sheet that was wrapped round the body of a man who was crucified, corresponding in every way to what the Gospels tell us of Jesus Christ who was crucified at about noon, died at about 3.00 in the afternoon. At nightfall, since it was "Parasceve" that is the eve of Holy Saturday, Joseph of Arimathea, a rich and authoritative member of the Sanhedrin, courageously asked Pontius Pilate...

June 16, 2016 Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Sir 48:1-14 Like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijahwhose words were as a flaming furnace.Their staff of bread he shattered,in his zeal he reduced them to straits;By the Lord’s word he shut up the heavensand three times brought down fire.How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!Whose glory is equal to yours?You brought a dead man back to lifefrom the nether world, by the will of the LORD.You sent kings down to destruction,and easily broke their power into pieces.You brought down nobles, from their...

“[Jesus] began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly.” - Mark 8:31–32b Immediately after Peter’s confession of Christ as the Messiah, our Lord “strictly charged [the disciples] to tell no one about him” (Mark 8:30). He did not make this charge, however, because He disagreed with the confession of faith. Note that Jesus did not say, “Do not tell anyone that I am the Messiah because I am...

"This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress" (James 1:27). Sacrificial love is the hallmark of true Christianity. Recently a local newspaper reported the story of a young woman who had been brutally beaten, sexually assaulted, repeatedly stabbed, then dumped down a hillside and left for dead. Miraculously she survived the attack and crawled up the hill to a spot along the road where several people were parked enjoying the panoramic view of the city. Covered with blood from head to foot, she went from car...

“Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you will not worship, you will immediately...

Several prominent gay-rights activists took to social media to blame Christians for Sunday’s massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando. Chase Strangio, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, on Sunday said the “Christian Right” is implicated in the slaughter by passing “anti-LGBT bills.” “The Christian Right has introduced 200 anti-LGBT bills in the last six months, and people are blaming Islam for this. No,” Mr. Strangio said in a Twitter post....

June 15, 2016 Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 2 Kgs 2:1, 6-14 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind,he and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here;the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan.”“As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live,I will not leave you,” Elisha replied.And so the two went on together.Fifty of the guild prophets followed andwhen the two stopped at the Jordan,they stood facing them at a distance.Elijah took his mantle, rolled it upand struck the...

In the Gospel of Luke, one of the major signs Jesus mentions as preceding His return (aside from earthquakes, wars, and signs in the heavens) is that "nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea" (Luke 21:25).  I think that all of these record breaking hurricanes and cyclones over the past few years may play a part in the fulfillment of this prophecy.  Just in the last decade or so we've seen the most powerful, costliest, and unique cyclones on record.  In addition there was the massive December 2004 tsunami in the Indian...

“[Jesus] asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ And they told him, ‘John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.’ And he asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And he srictly charged them to tell no one about him” (vv. 27b-30) - Mark 8:27—30 Peter the Apostle is often presented in the four Gospels as the spokesman for the disciples. Apparently, he was willing to say what was on everyone’s mind, no matter how little thought had been put into it....

"This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world" (James 1:27). True religion produces holiness and sacrificial love. In this verse James continues his practical and penetrating assessment of true faith. So far he has said in effect, "Don't just study the Bible—obey it! Don't just dabble in external religion—have pure speech!" Now he adds, "Don't just say you're religious—demonstrate sacrificial love! Don't just claim to love God—live a pure life!" Shallow claims to Christianity meant nothing to him....

June 14, 2016 Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Kgs 21:17-29 After the death of Naboth the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite:“Start down to meet Ahab, king of Israel,who rules in Samaria.He will be in the vineyard of Naboth,of which he has come to take possession.This is what you shall tell him,‘The LORD says: After murdering, do you also take possession?For this, the LORD says:In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth,the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.’”Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me out, my enemy?”“Yes,”...

“[Jesus] took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, ‘Do you see anything?’ And he looked up and said, ‘I see people, but they look like trees, walking.’ Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly” (vv.23–25). - Mark 8:22–26 After Jesus’ feeding of four thousand Gentiles and His rebuke to the disciples for their failure to believe (Mark 8:1–21), our Lord...

“Then the herald loudly proclaimed: ‘To you the command is given, O peoples, nations and men of every language, that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.’ Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds...

"If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless" (James 1:26). Your speech reveals the condition of your heart. In verse 22 James talked about the delusion of hearing the Word without obeying it. Here he talks about the deception of external religious activity without internal purity of heart. That's a common deception. Many people confuse love of religious activity with love for God. They may go through the mechanics of reading the Bible, attending church, praying, giving money, or singing songs, but in reality...

Jesus Christ, the Man Jesus Christ may be the most famous man who ever lived. But how do we know he did? Most theological historians, Christian and non-Christian alike, believe that Jesus really did walk the Earth. They draw that conclusion from textual evidence in the Bible, however, rather than from the odd assortment of relics parading as physical evidence in churches all over Europe.That's because, from fragments of text written on bits of parchment to overly abundant chips of wood allegedly salvaged from his crucifix, none of the physical evidence of Jesus' life and death hold up to scientific...