April 20, 2015

For those who have given their all for our Lord!

Wisdom of Sirach 2:1-6 LXX

My son, if you draw near to serve the Lord,
Prepare your soul for temptation.
Set your heart right and be steadfast,
And do not strive anxiously in distress.
Cleave to Him and do not fall away,
That you may be honored at the end of your life.
Accept whatever is brought upon you,
And in exchange for your humiliation, be patient;
Because gold is tested in fire
And acceptable men in the furnace of abasement.
Believe in Him, and He will help you;
Make your ways straight and hope in Him.

Personal Challenge

Today, I dedicate this entry to the new martyrs in the Middle East. May they be blessed as they now share eternity in our Lord's presence. May their persecutors be touched by the love of our Lord Jesus Christ for he died for them.

As I hear more and more about the activities that are going on in the Middle East and the persecution that is being wrought upon our brothers and sisters in Christ my heart becomes more and more broken for those who do not know Jesus for who he really is. He is God Incarnate! He gave up His throne in heaven in order to become man and dwell amongst us. He gave up His physical life after healing those who were sick, raising to life those who had died, and loving the unlovable. He died for the wealthy and the poor, the clothed and the naked, those with many friends and those lonely and downcast. He died for me! And as I read through the teachings of Wisdom that Jesus ben Sirach captured and wrote down in this book I am reminded that following Christ is the only source of true joy, but also a commitment to a life of trials and tribulations, temptations and distresses, because the world does not want to see God magnified. As I pray for these new saints in our modern world, I ask that I will be able to stand firm in my projection of the image of Christ and humbly be the person that He would have me to be.