a prophetic substance
"Your piety is like a morning cloud, like the dew that early passes away." —Hosea 6:4
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for" (Heb 11:1, our transl). The Lord wants our relationship with Him to be substantial, not superficial. He wants our relationship with Him to be like a rock and not like dew or the mist of a morning cloud (see Hos 6:4).
To forge a relationship with Him solid enough to withstand the trials of life, the inevitable persecutions of life in Christ, and the challenging immediacy of death, the Lord in His mercy sends prophets to smite us (Hos 6:5). The Lord hits us hard with His prophetic word in order to crucify our "flesh with its passions and desires" (Gal 5:24). The Lord wants us crucified to the world and the world to us (Gal 6:14; see also Gal 2:19). In this dying to self, we change from the superficiality in selfishness to the substance in love.
So let us listen to the prophets and the prophetesses the Lord sends into our lives. The Lord sends us His messages through our family members, those in authority, the poor, the sick, the dying, and even through our enemies.
"Do not despise prophecies" (1 Thes 5:20). Be attentive to "the prophetic message" God is giving (2 Pt 1:19). It is God's way to enable us to have a substantial relationship with Him.
Prayer: Father, send the Holy Spirit to bear the fruit of love in my life through Your prophetic word.
Promise: "Believe Me, this man went home from the temple justified but the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled while he who humbles himself shall be exalted." —Lk 18:14
Praise: Regina works more hours now for God at a volunteer ministry position than she once worked for a salary.
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 24, 2018
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