Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Reading the New Testament

Since June 1st I have been following the 6 months daily reading program in the Confraternity Pocket Edition of The New Testament, available from Scepter Publishers, and the reading for November 8th is surely one of the most powerful and clear statements Christ made regarding the world as ruled by Satan, contrasted with the Kingdom of Heaven.

42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me.
43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? Because you cannot bear to hear my word.
44 You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me.
46 Can any of you charge me with sin? If I am telling the truth, why do you not believe me?
47 Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not listen, because you do not belong to God." (John 8:42-47)