October 6, - 2024

GRACE AND PEACE

Philippians 1:2

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Encouraging Words

Paul often started off his letters to the first century churches with greetings like this one. We must also remember that by the grace of God, these letters are also written to us. He is calling upon our God to give us grace and peace as we read through this letter. What a joy to know that this 2000-year-old greeting is still called for us. Glory be to God!

October 5, 2024

Saint of the Week

St. Paisios of Mount Athos

October 4, 2024

TRUST AND TRUTH

Wisdom of Solomon 3:9

Those who trust in Him will understand truth,
And the faithful shall continue with Him in love,
Because grace and mercy are upon His elect.

Personal Challenge

Real truth comes from the right entity that we put our trust in. If we desire to receive godly, righteous truth, then we must put our trust in God, the only source of this kind of truth. If we put our trust in men who proclaim their tainted version of the truth, then all that we receive is corrupted truth, lies painted to look like the truth. The same goes for organizations or parties or institutions that pander unfounded, ungodly lies painted as the truth. True truth only comes from God. Lord, have mercy!

October 3, 2024

BE STRONG... AND STAND

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Encouraging Words

This passage stands on its own and needs no additional commentary. We are commanded to be strong in our faithful commitment to our Lord and to stand in the breach of the spiritual battle that rages on around us. The encouraging part is that God gives all the battle gear that we need to wage this war. Glory be to God!

October 2, 2024

SINCERITY OF HEART

Wisdom of Solomon 1:1-2

Love righteousness, you who judge on the earth.
Think about the Lord in goodness
And seek Him with sincerity of heart;
Because He is found by those who do not tempt Him,
And He is manifest to those who do not disbelieve Him.

Personal Challenge

We are told here to love righteousness and to think about the Lord. Neither of these actions have any value unless they are done in goodness and in sincerity of heart. Our Lord appreciates our actions that we do for Him, but He always looks at the state of our heart to determine the intentions behind Those actions. By living this way and believing in Him. we will find Him in our lives, and He will be manifested there. Glory be to God!

September 30, 2024

OBEDIENCE

Ephesians 6:5-8

Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ;
not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,
knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

Personal Challenge

In the book of Ephesians, Paul goes through various relationships and lays out clear guidelines on how we are to behave in them from a godly perspective. Husbands and wives. Parents and children. Subordinates to their superiors, which is this passage. As subordinates we are to be obedient with sincerity of heart as if we were giving that obedience to Jesus. This means doing the will of God in that obedience. It is our responsibility as followers of Christ to emulate him in thins, and all other relationships. By doing this, we will glorify God and spread the good news of His kingdom. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

September 29, 2024

THE WHOLE MAN

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God
And keep His commandments,
For this is the whole man.
For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including everything that has been overlooked,

Whether it be good or evil.

Personal Challenge

We can hide nothing from God, so why even try? God knows all that we do and think, and He still loves us. Amazing! So, what are we to do? We are to fear Him, which does not mean to shrink away from Him as if He will squish us like an ant. It means to show Him the respect and awe that He is due. In that fear, keep His commandments. What are those commandments? To love God and to love our neighbor. Who is our neighbor? Everyone! Glory be to God!

September 28, 2024

Saint of the Week

St. Joseph the Hesychast

September 27, 2024

RAISING OUR CHILDREN

Ephesians 6:4

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Personal Challenge

Paul gives us guidance in Ephesians on how to live in our relationships as husbands and wives as well as how to treat our children. His admonitions are directed mostly to us men as husbands and fathers. Our responsibilities as fathers goes far beyond just being good providers. We must learn to not provoke our children to wrath but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. We sometimes fail at this, and it is in these times that we teach our children the lesson of repentance and forgiveness by apologizing to them and asking for their forgiveness when we do the provoking and forgiveness when they do the provoking. Lord Jesus Christ, Sof God, have mercy on me, the sinner!