Throughout much of our lives, many of us develop the illusion that we are naturally good-hearted, loving, and kind people. We pretend that about all we want out of life is to help people. Although various circumstances in our lives seem to indicate a self-centered, egotistical attitude in us, we ignore these details. Usually somewhere around middle age, we may realize by God's grace that we have spent our whole lives thinking about ourselves and seeking our own pleasure, even at others' expense. We now begin to realize we are egomaniacs, like most other people. Now we have the opportunity of a lifetime – the opportunity to repent.
This Advent, the Lord wants to fulfill in your life the prophecy of Zephaniah: "Then will I remove from your midst the proud braggarts, and you shall no longer exalt yourself on My holy mountain. But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly" (Zep 3:11-12). The Lord wants to clean house – your house, your heart. It may seem that He is removing everything from your heart, but He will leave behind within you a remnant "humble and lowly," which does no wrong and speaks no lies (Zep 3:12-13).
Let the Lord clean your house before Christmas. Let Him clean it as it's never been cleaned. Let Him throw out tons of self-deception, pride, and selfishness. Pray: "A clean heart create for me, O God" (Ps 51:12).
| PRAYER: | Father, may I not spend what remains of my earthly life on human desires, but on doing Your will (1 Pt 4:2). |
| PROMISE: | "When John came preaching a way of holiness, you put no faith in him." –Mt 21:32 |
| PRAISE: | David, who was physically blind, came to "see" and accept Jesus as his Savior in the last minutes of his life. |
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