reality hits
"God may well have overlooked bygone periods when men did not know Him; but now He calls on all men everywhere to reform their lives." —Acts 17:30
Throughout our lives, we may not have known the Lord in a deeply personal way, but our lives seemed okay. We were happy at least some of the time. We may even have gone to church and been good people on the whole. Our lack of personal relationship with the Lord was not yet strongly challenged by life or by the Lord. But the Lord will soon question us: "After I have been with you all this time, you still do not know Me?" (Jn 14:9)
Hopefully, we will respond to Jesus by surrendering our lives to Him and loving Him with all our hearts and souls (Mt 22:37). If we don't accept Jesus' invitation to know and love Him personally, we will no longer be able to continue as in the past. Life's realities will catch up with us. We will see that something's missing in our lives and that we don't have what it takes to face the realities of suffering, death, love, fear, freedom, and eternity. We will see the need for a Savior and a Lord, the need for God Himself, and for a personal relationship with Jesus.
Prayer: Jesus, I need You more than I need breath, food, water, or life. Thank You for Your merciful love.
Promise: "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. When He comes, however, being the Spirit of truth, He will guide you to all truth." —Jn 16:12-13
Praise: For years, Mary tried to be a good person and do good works, but it wasn't until the Holy Spirit touched her heart and showed her Jesus as Savior that she had empowerment beyond imagining.
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our book Living In Reality or our tapes, either a four-part audio series starting with AV 38-1 or a two-part video series starting with V-38.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 16, 2006
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