Picture a pot of boiling water on the stove. A handful of firm spaghetti is dropped into the boiling water. Eventually, under the boiling heat of the water, the spaghetti will lose its firmness and grow soft. Likewise, the world, the flesh, and the devil (see 1 Jn 2:16) continually apply pressure to our souls, trying to break us down and soften us up.
Unlike the spaghetti, we Christians are not alone in the heat. As in the story of the three young men in the fiery furnace, there is a Son of God with us in the fire (Dn 3:92). Jesus is Emmanuel, God-with-us, always (Mt 1:23; Mt 28:20). With Jesus by our side and in our heart, our enemies and persecutors wilt, not us. "Our God is a consuming fire" (Heb 12:29). Even "the mountains melt like wax before" Him (Ps 97:5).
Jesus has baptized us in the Holy Spirit (Mk 1:8). The fire of the Spirit is stronger than the fires of this world (see Gal 5:17). "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not" yield to the fears of the flesh and this world (Gal 5:16, RSV-CE).
St. John the Baptizer is a model saint for this principle of firmness. He kept firm in the truth till the end (1 Cor 1:8), even at the cost of his life. With St. John the Baptizer, let us persevere in firmness (Eph 6:11), trusting in the Lord to the end.
| PRAYER: | Lord, by Your grace, I believe that You will keep me firm in faith during the heat of the trials I bear, even to the end. Jesus, I trust in You. |
| PROMISE: | "Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable." –Ps 145:3 |
| PRAISE: | St. John the Baptizer unceasingly worked for purity in marriages and in government until it cost him 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