trembling at his word
"A cloud came, overshadowing them, and out of the cloud a voice, 'This is My Son, My Beloved. Listen to Him.' " —Mark 9:7
I have been writing One Bread, One Body daily for about twenty years. I have been teaching divine revelation, especially the Scripture, for about thirty years. Today the Lord says to me and many of you: "Not many of you should become teachers...you should realize that those of us who do so will be called to the stricter account" (Jas 3:1).
Our speech and other forms of communication are very important, for faith comes through hearing, and what is heard is word of Christ (Rm 10:17). The Lord holds us strictly accountable for every word we speak because He holds us accountable to obey every word we hear from Him. As I write page after page, we read and hear page after page in order to obey word after word from Jesus, Who is the incarnate, eternal Word. Let us be men and women of the Word by abiding in God's word (Jn 8:31) through speaking, hearing, and obeying His word. Although God's teachers are "judged more strictly," if hearers of God's word disobey and do not repent, they are judged strictly enough to go to hell, to separate themselves from God forever. Therefore, let us be people the Lord approves, the lowly and afflicted ones who tremble at His word (Is 66:2). Let us speak, hear, and obey God's word now as if it is the first, last, or only time to give and receive His word. Abide in God's word.
Prayer: Father, I offer my tongue, ears, heart, and the rest of my body as a living sacrifice to You (Rm 12:1; 6:13).
Promise: "If a person is without fault in speech he is a man in the fullest sense because he can control his entire body." —Jas 3:2
Praise: St. Peter wrote 170 letters, 53 sermons, and seven biographies that have survived over a thousand years.
Reference: (To learn more about God's word, we have a forty audio tape series of teachings on the New Testament. To start, order the four tapes covering Matthew, #700, 701, 702, and 703.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Richard Walling, July 18, 2003
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July 24, 2003