October 30, 2017

DECREASING

John 3:30

He must increase, but I must decrease.

Personal challenge

John the Baptist sets the standard for how each of us who claim to be followers of Jesus should live our lives. If we desire to grow in the image of Christ, to become more like Him, then we must decrease and He must increase. This is such an indictment of the so-called prosperity gospel that is so prevalent today. Sometimes God does choose to bless His children with earthly blessings, however, these blessings are not for our own good, but for the prudent use to help build His kingdom. If we are given financial wealth, then we have more to give to our churches or other Christian ministries that need our support. If we are given talents that we use in our occupation, then we can give them to His organizations who need these talents and cannot afford the going rate. He gives us time, which we can all use to teach Sunday School, or hold a crying baby during the church service, or vacuuming the sanctuary, or whatever else needs to be done. This is all part of decreasing so that He can increase. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

October 28, 2017

Saint of the Week

St. Ambrose of Optina

October 27, 2017

GODLY HELP

Psalms 119:37 (118:37 LXX)

Turn away my eyes that I may not see vanity;
Give me life in Your way.

Encouraging Words

This is a powerful prayer that we can all say on a regular basis. Asking God to protect our eyes, ears, and minds from those things that will draw us away from Him can help us to stay on His straight and narrow path, His way. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

October 26, 2017

TEMPTATION: SIN OR RIGHTEOUSNESS

Proverbs 13:10

Deceitful souls are led astray in sins,
But the righteous have compassion and are merciful.

Personal Challenge

Temptations that show up in our lives are not sins. It is what we do with these temptations that end up in sin or righteousness. If our hearts are not right with our Lord or focussed on Him and what He would desire of us, then the temptations will lead us to sin. We choose to give in to the sin. But if we are trying to live our lives to honor God and keep our hearts and minds focused on Him, then we will flee from the temptations and move closer to righteousness. Again, it is a choice. Lord, have mercy? Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

October 25, 2017

LOVE AND FORGIVENESS

John 3:16-17

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Encouraging Words

John 3:16! This is probably one of the most memorized verses of the Bible. This is the verse, when I fully came to understand its meaning, lead me to the point of asking Jesus to be the center of my life, over half a century ago. This verse sums up the whole gospel of why God sent His Son to be incarnated as one of us and let Him die on the cross, because of love. It was not until later in my life that I also noticed that verse 17 was needed to complete the story of Gods' love. God does not judge us like some angry judge wielding the heavy gavel of justice. God has created all of His creation with a right and a wrong. There is an order that is in place that either draws us closer to Him or pushes us farther away from Him. The thing in our lives that pushes us away from Him is our sin. God does not force us to sin. God does not set us up to sin. God created us with a free will, the ability to choose between right and wrong. When I choose wrong or sin, then I am choosing the condemnation, or separation from God, as the consequences. Then verse 16 kicks in and through Jesus, I can repent of this and be forgiven. Glory be to God! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

October 24, 2017

WHAT IS IN MY HEART?

Psalms 119:11 (118:11 LXX)

I hid Your teachings in my heart
So as not to sin against You.

Personal Challenge

The truth found in this psalm is that if I am continuing to sin, then I have not hidden enough Gods' teachings in my heart. The more that I fill up my heart with Him, the less room there is for the things of this world that draw me to sin, Jesus told the prostitute to go and ah no more after He forgave her. This means we do have the ability, through Him, to live a sinless life. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.

October 23, 2017

SWORD OR BALM

Proverbs 12:18 (12:20 LXX)
There are those who wound with a sword as they speak,
But the tongues of the wise heal.

Personal Challenge

Throughout the scriptures, both old and new, we are warned that the smallest part of our body, the tongue, can be either the most lethal part of our body or the most healing. We each have the choice to use our tongue to strike as lethally as a sword or to apply healing balm to those around us. The choice is driven by what is in our hearts. Today, I choose to be a healer. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

October 22, 2017

TURNING THE ORDINARY INTO THE EXTRAORDINARY

John 2:9-10

When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

Encouraging Words

Jesus had not yet started His ministry here on earth when He and His mother were participating in a wedding. Most likely this would have been the wedding of a family member or a close friend since Mary was so actively involved in the affairs of the host. What is so powerful about this is that Jesus chose this opportunity to perform His first miracle and also chose to take something everyday and ordinary such as water and turn it into the best wine that anyone there had ever tasted. This is how Jesus works in our lives as His children. We are ordinary human beings and He turns us into saints. He takes the ordinary things that we do and turns them into miracles, He takes the ordinary things in our lives, like the tithes and offerings that we give to our churches and ministries and turns them into resources that build the kingdom of God. What a glorious opportunity for each of us to be used by God. Glory be to Him!

October 21, 2017

Saint of the Week

The Ladder of Divine Ascent

October 20, 2017

REFOCUSING

Psalms 119:2 (118:2 LXX)

Blessed are those who search out His testimonies;
They shall search for Him with their whole heart.

Encouraging Words

Doesn't everyone want to receive blessings? We are told here by the Psalmist that if we search out the teachings and testimonies of our Lord with our whole heart then we will receive blessings. This is not some kind of prosperity gospel. The Psalmist knows that the more time that we spend seeking God and the more that we get to know Him, the more that we realize that the only blessings from God that mean anything are those that relate to Him and our spiritual lives. The things of this world such as temporal wealth, fancy toys, big houses, etc., become nothing to us as we embrace the spiritual blessings that God pours out on us. What are those spiritual blessings? Immortality and living in God's Kingdom. His grace and mercy poured out upon us. Peace and love for those around us. Our attention shifts from being focused on ourselves to focus on Him. Glory be to God!

October 19, 2017

GODLY PERCEPTION

Proverbs 12:1

He who loves instruction loves perception,
But he who hates correction is without discernment.

Personal Challenge

The early church fathers believed that Godly perception or discernment was the crown of the virtues. We are informed by the writer of the Proverbs that perception comes through instruction. Instruction is not always learning something from a teacher. More often than not instruction comes through correction and discipline. It does not always feel good, but it does produce good results. The sign of a person growing in their relationship with God is a person who cherishes the challenges that life brings them and perceives them as opportunities for growth, opportunities to develop our theosis. No parent enjoys disciplining their child, but we do enjoy immensely seeing our children learn from their mistakes and their bad choices. God is no different in His relationship with His children, which is why He gives us correction and discipline when we sin. So, the moral of this proverb is not that we should be out doing things that are sinful so that we can receive Gods' discipline, but that we should cherish the discipline that we do receive, knowing that it is coming from our loving Father. Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

October 18, 2017

RECEIVING CHRIST

John 1:12-13

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Encouraging Words

John makes it so clear that for those who receive the gift of salvation given to them by God through the incarnation of Jesus, they become children of God. Through Jesus and His work on the cross, we can be adopted into the family of God and take on the nature of Jesus. This act of receiving Jesus is so much more than just saying some prayer or walking up to the front of the church for an altar call. When we truly receive Jesus and choose to live our lives for Him, everything begins to change in our lives. We begin to feel uncomfortable in this world because it is no longer our home. We begin to feel ill at ease with the way the world functions and the expectations that the world has for us to participate in its ways. We begin to yearn for being in the presence of our God. However, just as Satan, in the form of the serpent was bent on causing Adam and Eve to sin and to fall away from their relationship with God, so too does he do everything in his power to pull us away from our relationship with God. We must choose, over and over again, consistently and persistently, to receive Christ and live for Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

October 17, 2017

REJOICE IN EVERY NEW DAY

Psalms 118:24 (117:24 LXX)

This is the day the Lord made;
Let us greatly rejoice, and be glad therein.

Encouraging Words

Every day, every breath, every beat of the heart is indeed a blessing from our living and loving God. This is indeed something to greatly rejoice about and to be glad therein. He has chosen us to be His blessed children. All we need to do is accept that and live under His loving wings. Glory be to God!

October 16, 2017

CONTROLLING OUR TONGUE

Proverbs 11:9 (11:10 LXX)

A man in need of discernment treats citizens with contempt,
But a man of discernment keeps quiet.

Personal Challenge

Once again the writer of the proverbs reminds us just how powerful the tongue can be. We are also reminded that the need for discernment and how the application of the proper discernment can make a major difference in our lives and the lives of those around us. In this case, that discernment informs us to keep our mouths shut so that we treat those around us with grace, even when there might be cause to call people out. We must always remember to think before we speak, or tweet, or instant message, or Facebook, and then act on that thinking by being quiet more often than we speak. Lord have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

October 15, 2017

A BURNING HEART?

Luke 24:32

And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

Personal challenge

Here is a question that I know that I must ask myself regularly. "Does my heart burn within me when I hear the Scriptures read taught to me?" Regretfully, I must say that this does not happen often enough. The Scriptures are God's Word captured in writing for me to cherish and fill my heart with. The teachings of His saints and the leaders of my church today are His spoken Words for me to meditate on and fill my heart and mind with. And as with so many other aspects of my life, actually all aspects of my life, this is my choice. I must choose to put Gods written and spoken Word first and foremost in my life so that my heart burns for Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

October 14, 2017

Saint of the Week

St. Mark the Ascetic

October 13, 2017

TRUST

Psalms 118:8-9 (117:8-9 LXX)

It is good to trust in the Lord
Rather than to trust in man;
It is good to hope in the Lord
Rather than to hope in rulers.

Encouraging Words

In this day of political uncertainty and a divided country, it is good to know that our God transcends all that is of this world and that we can put our trust and hope in Him rather than in the men and women who are of this world. It is God who gave them their positions of authority, to begin with. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have Mercy! Lord, have Mercy!

October 12, 2017

A HUMBLE MOUTH

Proverbs 11:2

Wherever arrogance enters, there also is dishonor,
But the mouth of the humble meditates on wisdom.

Personal Challenge

There is such a delicate balance in living your life in confidence that your Lord has you in the palm of His hand and coming across as arrogant. Maybe that is why the writer of this proverb put the trait of being humble and having a mouth that meditates on wisdom as the alternative to being arrogant and treading into disaster. As a humble person, one would speak less and put others first. Having a mouth that meditates on wisdom, that person would speak less and when they did the speech would be seasoned with the love of Jesus. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

October 11, 2017

FORGIVENESS OR JUDGMENT

Luke 23:34

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

And they divided His garments and cast lots.

Encouraging Words

It still amazes me how much of our Western Christianity views God as a mean, judgmental, hateful God. What flows out of this doctrine is a tendency to become mean, judgmental, hateful people that call ourselves Christians. We divide over petty things in our churches. We cast aspersions on people or groups that don't hold to our defined beliefs or desires. We damn people to hell when we do not have that right or the authority to do that. Here we have Jesus Christ, God Incarnate. God and man in one body who has never committed a sin in His life. He healed the blind, the lame, the deaf and those with all forms of illness, never expecting anything in return. He raised people from the dead and fed the hungry. He loved His creation unconditionally. And when they beat Him, spit on Him, and hung Him on the cross, did He call down God's judgment on them? No! He asked the Father to forgive them. That is unconditional love, Our Eastern practice of Christianity focuses on the love of God and the fact that none of us deserves it, which is why we pray regularly... Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

October 10, 2017

HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER

Psalms 118:1-4 (117:1-4 LXX)

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say that He is good,
For His mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Aaron say that He is good,
For His mercy endures forever.
Let all who fear the Lord say that He is good,
For His mercy endures forever.

Encouraging Words

The Lord is good! His mercy does endure forever! May I and my household give thanks to Him, forever. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

October 9, 2017

DISTILLING WISDOM

Proverbs 10:31 (10:32 LXX)

The mouth of a righteous man distills wisdom,
But the tongue of an unrighteous man utterly destroys.

Personal Challenge

Have you ever had one of those moments when the words that came out of your mouth utterly destroyed someone? I have. More times than I would like to remember. It has been at those times that I can look back on and see just how unrighteous I was. Definitely not something to be proud of. Having a tongue that distills wisdom and that encourages and edifies those around us is another reason to pursue righteousness in Christ. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have Mercy on me, the sinner!

October 8, 2017

GIVING BY CHOICE

Luke 21:1-4

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

Personal challenge

Giving to the church has sometimes been a reason that some people have given to me as to why they did not go to a church. The claim was that all the church did was ask for money. That is a funny excuse because that has not been my experience. And how is that any different than every single advertisement that we are bombarded with throughout our day. Granted, the church needs the giving from its membership in order to function in the world. But in most cases, the church desires our giving to be our choice. There is no required amount, like membership dues. Most importantly, what God desires is that we give with the right condition of our heart. We give out of our love for our God and a desire to give back a portion of that which He has blessed us with so that others can be blessed. The amount does not matter, but the intent does. The widow in this story pointed out by Jesus only gave a very small amount, maybe a penny or two, but Jesus indicated that she gave more than all of the wealthy contributors who gave large amounts. Why? Because she gave an abundance out of her pittance rather than a pittance out of her abundance She gave because she loved her God and not the attention that people would pay about her giving. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Land, have mercy!

October 7, 2017

Saint of the Week

St. Porphyrios

October 5, 2017

PRAISING GOD

Psalm 117 (116 LXX)

Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
Praise Him, all you peoples,
For His mercy rules over us;
And the truth of the Lord endures forever.

Encouraging Words

For centuries, even millennia, God's chosen people of the Old Testament believed that only they could lay claim to God as their God. However, the prophets and teachers throughout the Old Testament proclaimed that God was the God of all mankind. This was a significant part of the ministry and teaching of Christ, to proclaim that all peoples had access to God through Him. Thank You, Lord Jesus Christ!

October 4, 2017

JOYFUL LIVING

Proverbs 10:22 (10:23 LXX)

The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of a righteous man;
It enriches him, and grief of heart will not be added to it.

Encouraging Words

No one can be righteous on his own accord. We can, and should, strive to be righteous and godly in our lives, but it is God, through the work of Christ that bestows righteousness upon us. However, this does not stop us from pursuing righteousness and trying to be like Christ. And by doing this we are promised to be blessed by Him and that our hearts will be protected from grief. This is how we can truly live lives filled with joy. Glory be to God!

October 3, 2017

CLEARING THE TEMPLE

Luke 19:45-46

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”

Personal Challenge
So why was it so important for Jesus to clear out the courts of the temple? People needed animals to bring in for sacrifices. They needed to exchange their Roman money that had the graven image of Caesar on it for Jewish money that was "clean" for temple use. The message that Jesus was sending to everyone, including us today, is that the temple of God, our churches, and our own bodies, is no place for the business of the world to be conducted. We must strive to keep the ways of the world outside of our churches and keep them set apart for God so that they can do His work, His way, and be beacons of light to the lost world. We must strive to keep the world out of our hearts because they are the temple of God where Jesus lives. We too are supposed to be set apart for God. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Land, have mercy!

October 2, 2017

MY VOICE IS HEARD

Psalms 116:1-2 (114:1–2 LXX)

I have loved, because the Lord Shall hear the voice of my supplication;
For He inclined His ear to me,

And in my days I shall call upon Him.

Encouraging Words

God does hear our voices, each and every one of them. He does incline His ear to us, listening for us to call His name, waiting for us to reach out to Him. I believe this! I have seen Him respond to my petitions and those of others. I know that His answers can be "Yes!" or "No!" or "Be Patient?", but He answers. And it is because of His responses, His presence, and His love that I love Him and shall call upon Him all of my days. Glory be to God!

October 1, 2017

MINIMIZING WORDS

Proverbs 10:18 (10:20 LXX)

You will not escape sin by a multitude of words,
But you of discreet lips will be forbearing.

Personal Challenge

One of the parts of our bodies that gets us in more trouble than all of the other parts is our tongue. Any time that we say something to someone, those words become permanent and cannot be taken back. It is not a problem if the words spoken are loving, encouraging, and uplifting. Sometimes, however, even these words can be perceived by the recipient as mean-spirited depending on their own heart. Throughout the scriptures, both old and new, as well as many of the teachings of the Church fathers, we are instructed that minimizing the words that come out of our mouths can help to minimize arguments and upsets. This does not mean that we stop communicating altogether. It means that we develop discreet lips, lips that control what comes out of our mouths, lips that filter our thoughts so that we speak that which becomes more forbearing. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.

September 28, 2017

WHAT DO WE WANT FROM GOD?

Luke 18:40-41

So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

Personal Challenge

Reading this passage out of the context of knowing who Jesus is could lead someone to think that Jesus did not know everything. Why would Jesus have to ask an obviously blind man what he wanted Jesus to do for him? What this passage reveals is that Jesus wants us to come to Him with our issues and tell Him what we are seeking from Him. He wants us to understand what our true needs are and to address those more than our desires and wants. Jesus is not some genie in a bottle. Jesus always knows what is best for us, but He also wants us to exercise our own free will in our relationship with Him and choose those things that He would choose for us. The more time that we spend with Him, listening to Him, obeying Him, doing His work, the easier it becomes to know what He desires for us. This is all part of our journey through life. This is what we call theosis, or growing in the image of Christ. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner and help me to choose You and Your ways over myself and the ways of the flesh.

September 30, 2017

Saint of the Week

St. Justin Popovich

September 27, 2017

PRAISING GOD

Psalms 112:3

From the rising of the sun to its setting,
Praise the name of the Lord.

Personal Challenge

This verse can easily be viewed as a rigid commandment that we must follow. When we stop viewing our God as an angry and judgmental God our whole perspective about life and our relationship with Him changes. We do not do the things that we do for Him out of fear of retribution or the desire for recognition. We choose as a response to His great love and compassion for us to do those things that we know will please Him. We respond to His love in like manner, in love. This makes it much

easier, even in the midst of tough and challenging times, to praise the name of the Lord from the rising of the sun to its setting, When we find ourselves doing the work of God, saying our prayers, studying His teachings, being kind to our neighbor, feeding the poor, clothing the naked, helping the widow and the fatherless, out of a sense of compulsion or obligation, then we must stop and check the state of our heart and our relationship with our blessed Lord. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!