We should rejoice when we "suffer the distress of many trials" (1 Pt 1:6), if these trials will help us achieve "faith's goal, [our] salvation" (1 Pt 1:9). We should be quite willing to sell everything we have and give the proceeds to the poor (Mk 10:21), if this is the way the Lord wants us to work out our salvation (Phil 2:12). We should even be willing to die at a young age "lest wickedness pervert" our minds "or deceit beguile" our souls (Wis 4:11). We have only one goal in life: to be saved. We will gladly lose everything to gain our salvation (Lk 9:24).
I invite and challenge you to pray to the Lord: "I accept salvation — no matter what it takes." By praying this prayer, you are:
Only through Jesus' name can we be saved (Acts 4:12). This is the ultimate meaning of life. Accept Jesus as your Savior.
| PRAYER: | Father, I put my life in Your hands. |
| PROMISE: | "Praised be the God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He Who in His great mercy gave us new birth." –1 Pt 1:3 |
| PRAISE: | St. Augustine of Canterbury can be called the "Apostle of England." He brought the Gospel to the English people in 597. He purified rather than destroyed pagan temples and transformed pagan rites into Christian festivals. |
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