Did you ever notice there has been an attempt to blacktop our country from coast to coast? There are more and more roads and parking lots. Through our parking garages, we even put layers of blacktop or concrete into the air. Where there were formerly farm lands, we now see subdivisions and shopping malls.
The attempt to blacktop this country may be a physical sign of the devil's attempt to spiritually blacktop us. He wants to make us a footpath in which it is impossible for the seed of God's word to take root (see Mk 4:15).
The devil tried to blacktop the Corinthian church. He started by getting several Corinthian Christians to keep company with people who would have a bad effect on their faith (1 Cor 15:33). This bad company corrupted the Corinthians' good morals. As they became more involved in sin, some Corinthians started to lose their faith in the resurrection of the believers. Paul said this would result in a total loss of faith (1 Cor 15:14).
Don't let the devil blacktop you through others' influence, your sins, and general confusion. Be good ground; hear "the word in a spirit of openness, retain it, and bear fruit through perseverance" (Lk 8:15).
| PRAYER: | Father, through repentance may I let You break up my hardened heart (see Ps 95:8). |
| PROMISE: | "So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown in the earth is subject to decay, what rises is incorruptible." –1 Cor 15:42 |
| PRAISE: | When in need of money, Joseph trusted in God to provide, and the money came unexpectedly through a cousin. |
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