October 13, 2024

LIFE OR DEATH

Philippians 1:21

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Personal Challenge

One of the beautiful things that I have come to appreciate about the Eastern Orthodox faith practice is the acceptance and veneration of the saints of Christianity. We are not alone in our journey to theosis, or being in the image of Christ. We have recognized saints and patriarchs that go all the way back to Adam and Eve who have demonstrated for us how to live our lives for our God. Paul's proclamation here is such a powerful reminder that whether I continue to live my life here on earth or God chooses to take me home to heaven to be with Him, all is for gain, if I am always focused on Him. With this mindset there is nothing to fear about death. Glory be to God!

October 12, 2024

Saint of the Week

St. Gregory of Nyssa

October 11, 2024

OUR REWARD

Wisdom of Solomon 5:15-16

But the righteous live forever,
And their reward is with the Lord;
And their care is by the Most High.
Therefore they shall receive a kingly dwelling of dignity
And a crown of beauty from the hand of the Lord,
Because He will shelter them with His right hand
And protect them with His arm.

Encouraging Words

Living a life for Christ gives us blessings that far exceed our time here on earth in our temporal bodies. We must always remember that our journey goes on through the remainder of eternity and that the choices we make on this side of eternity do have an impact on our heavenly future. Now is the time to be pursuing Christlikeness and His righteousness. Glory be to God!

October 10, 2024

PREACH CHRIST

Philippians 1:15-18

Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

Personal Challenge

In all that we do, we are to be proclaiming or preaching Christ. In most cases, it is our behavior that preaches the loudest. This is our personal challenge, to be living our lives in such a way as to glorify God. We also need to recognize, as Paul did, that sometimes others preach Christ differently than we do and that we should take joy in that because Christ is still being preached Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

October 9,2024

GRAY HAIR AND MATURITY

Wisdom of Solomon 4:7-9

But though a righteous man may die before his time,
He shall be at rest.
For old age is not honored for its length of existence,
Nor measured by its number of years;
But discernment is gray hair for mankind,
And a spotless life is the maturity of old age.

Encouraging Words

Throughout the entire history of mankind, we have spent so much time and wealth looking for that allusive fountain of youth. People do all kinds of things to stay forever young. Here is a reminder of the beautiful and glorious aspects of old age. With gray hair comes discernment, due to the many experiences of a long-lived life. With maturity of old age, if we have grown in our relationship with God, our life becomes more spotless and purer, in Him. Glory be to God!

October 8, 2024

COMPLETION OF THE GOOD WORK

Philippians 1:3-8

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy,
for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,
being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.
For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.

Encouraging Words

This set of verses from Paul, written first to the people of Philippi, and secondly to all of the followers of Christ that have the opportunity to read this letter, is such a blessing to us. I specifically call out verse six because of the power in that verse as it relates to each of us individually and collectively. When we answered the call of Jesus to follow Him, He began a work of transforming us into an image of Him. He will never abandon that work, no matter how much we resist. He will continue working within us until we are mirrors of Him to the needy world around us. Why resist? Glory be to God!

October 7, 2024

VIRTUE

Wisdom of Solomon 4:2

When virtue is present, people imitate it,
And when it goes away, they long for it.
Throughout one’s lifetime,
Virtue leads the struggle for undefiled prizes,
Wearing a crown and conquering.

Personal Challenge

What a beautiful explanation of virtue. It is such a shame that we live in a day where virtue is no longer present, especially amongst so many of our political leaders. It has become acceptable to lie, cheat, steal, verbally abuse everyone that disagrees with us, and commit many other forms of debauchery, without any remorse. We must all proclaim, "Lord, have mercy!", and seek our Father's forgiveness for falling in line behind those who perpetrate these acts. Let us, those who proclaim to be followers of Christ, seek His forgiveness and pursue those virtues that glorify Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!