March 29, 2018

SET APART FROM THE WORLD

Acts 5:29

But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”

Personal Challenge

We are faced today with so many concepts of the world that people are trying to bring into the church. The church should never become aligned with the ways of the world. The church is like the ark of Noah, a place where people can come inside away from the storms of the world and seek safe and Godly passage into eternity. We have over 2,000 years of teachings and traditions that inform us of what we should and should not be doing in the church and these voices should always speak louder than the voices of the world that tell us to be like it and everyone else. It is not easy to stay true to these tried and true teachings and traditions, but we have no choice. The church is not ours, but God's. The choice that we do have as individuals is to either abide by the teachings of the church and submit to its authority or leave and not become a divider within the church. We always have a choice. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

March 28, 2018

OUR MERCIFUL GOD

Wisdom of Solomon 15:1-3

But You, our God, are kind, true, patient,
And govern all things in mercy.
For even if we sin, we belong to You and know Your might;
But we will not sin,
Because we know that we are counted as belonging to You.
For to know You is complete righteousness,
And to know Your might is the root of immortality.

Encouraging Words

Our God is merciful. He is kind. He is all truth. He is patient, and believe me, I need His patience. Even though we are a stiff-necked and rebellious people, He still pours His mercy upon us. We belong to Him and He treats us as one of His own beloved children. Through Him, and Him alone, we can know righteousness and become righteous. He is our source of immortality. Glory be to God!

March 27, 2018

RIGHT IN THE SIGHT OF GOD

Acts 4:19-20

But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

Personal Challenge

So! What do we do in our modern world when the things that we believe, and what our 2,000-year church tradition teaches us to believe, conflicts with what the world teaches us to believe? If we desire to be disciples of Christ then we stand firm on the teachings of Christ and the church even if it means persecution and abuse. Sometimes this persecution and abuse come from those whom we love and care for. God's expectations for us should always be held higher than the expectations of those around us. Peter and John were told to stop preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ by their local leaders. Even though Jesus had taught them to submit to the earthly leaders that they were subject to, He also taught them that the laws of God always take precedence over the laws of man. This is not an easy thing to do, especially when the conflict is in the midst of our own community, however, we must always align our allegiance with the teachings and expectations of our God over those of the world. In the end, our God will always win the battles and the wars. As Joshua said, "Choose this day who you will serve. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

March 26, 2018

LOVING CORRECTION

Wisdom of Solomon 12:1-2

For Your immortal Spirit is in all things.
For this reason You correct little by little those who fall away,
And You remind and warn them of the sins they commit
So they may be freed from evil and believe in You, O Lord.

Encouraging Words

God loves us so much that He will do whatever it takes to keep from losing one of His created children. Jesus is the ultimate expression of this love. But God does not stop at just loving us. He works in our lives gently loving us and correcting our sinful ways so that we come more in alignment with His ways. He never forces us to follow in His footsteps, so if we choose to continue in our evil and self-centered ways, He will continue to correct us to get us back on His path to righteousness. How much better for us, our loved ones, and the acquaintances in our lives, if we will stop being stiff-necked, rebellious, and prideful and yield to Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

March 25, 2018

TRUE BOLDNESS

Acts 4:13

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

Personal Challenge

Because of the boldness of Peter and John in the midst of oppression and attacks on the early church, the Sanhedrin, the political leaders of the day, recognized that these men had been with Jesus. Peter and John knew that their lives were at risk. They knew that their body of believers was being targeted for extinction, and yet they did not take up arms to protect themselves. They chose to follow in the footsteps of their Lord, their Leader, Jesus Christ and fight this war being waged against them with the best weapon in their arsenal, love. This is a hard message for us to accept in today's age of freedom of rights and individuality. We believe that we should be able to do what we want, how we want when we want. However, Peter and John demonstrated that in order for people to recognize, and even marvel, that we have been with Jesus, is to live how Jesus lived. It is never about me and my rights or my desires. It is always to be about Jesus! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

March 24, 2018

Saint of the Week

St. John Chrysostom

March 23, 2018

WISDOM AND IMMORTALITY

Wisdom of Solomon 8:17-20

When I considered these things within myself
And thought about them in my heart,
That in kinship with wisdom there is immortality,
And in friendship with her there is good pleasure,
And in the labors of her hands there is unfailing wealth,
And in the shared training of her company there is discernment,
And in the fellowship of her words there is good repute—
Thus I searched about that I might take her for myself.
As a child I was good by nature and received a good soul;
And much more, since I was good,
I entered an undefiled body.

Encouraging Words

The writer of these verses makes it very clear that if we enter into kinship or relationship with Wisdom (Jesus), then we will enter into immortality. In our friendship with Jesus we will find good pleasure and unfailing wealth, not the kind of pleasure and wealth that the world produces, but the kind that the kingdom of heaven produces. As we seek Him and submit to His training then we will find the discern­ment that is His and that He is willing to share with us. We will be surrounded by good repute because it will be coming from Him. Glory be to God!

March 21, 2018

REPENT?

Acts 3:19

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

Personal Challenge

Wait a minute! No one ever said anything about repenting of my ways and converting to a new way of living to have my sins forgiven and to become a Christian! Have you ever encountered this kind of a response from someone who has professed the prayer of salvation and then gone on living their lives as if nothing has changed? If our lives are not being transformed by the saving grace of God, if our desires and actions are not becoming more focused on being like Christ and loving our neighbor, then we cannot claim to be a follower of Christ. Repenting of our old ways, our individual ways, and converting to God's ways is work, a work that we will be struggling at until the day we die and join our Lord in eternity. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

March 20, 2018

PURSUE RIGHTEOUSNESS

Wisdom of Solomon 8:7

If anyone loves righteousness,
The products of righteousness are the virtues.
For wisdom teaches self-control, discernment, righteousness and courage,
Concerning which things there is nothing more valuable in the life of man.

Personal Challenge

Once again, the Wisdom teachings of the scriptures contradict the rational teachings of our modern age. If we want the virtues of God to be prevalent in our lives we must love righteousness. The world teaches us that we must love ourselves and pursue what we believe is best for us. The world also teaches us that we have individual rights and with those rights, we can not only pick and choose which virtues we want but we can define what makes up these virtues. This is not what the scriptures teach us. We cannot have it both ways. Lord, have mercy? Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

March 19, 2018

HEALING FAITH

Acts 3:16

And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Personal Challenge

The plea that is so often made, by both professing Christians and non-Christians, is "What must I do to receive Your presence in my life, God?" Peter makes it clear here is Acts that there is nothing that we must, or even can, do to receive God's presence and resulting miracles in our lives. All that we can do is believe that Jesus is who He says He is, the living son of God and put our faith in Him. And to top that off, He will give us the faith that we need to believe in Him if we will just submit to Him as our Lord and Savior. Lord, have mercy! Land, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

March 18, 2018

NOTHING RICHER THAN WISDOM

Wisdom of Solomon 8:5-6

Now if riches are a possession to be desired in life,
What is richer than wisdom, who works all things?
And if discernment shows itself in action,
Who more than wisdom is its craftsman?

Personal Challenge

What are some of the things that we hold most valuable in our lives? Is it our wealth? Is it the things that our wealth can buy us, such as homes, vehicles, jewelry, or whatever can be added to the list of stuff that we fill our lives with. Is it the prestige that is aggressively pursued? We have a tendency to fill our lives with, and our time pursing, the things that we deem most valuable. Here in the Wisdom of Solomon, we are reminded that the single most valuable thing to desire in our life is Wisdom, or in other words, Jesus Christ, There is nothing in the entire universe that is more valuable than Him. He is who we should be desiring. He is who we should proclaim as our greatest and richest possession. And from pursuing Him, we see the fruit of discernment because He is the craftsman of discernment. Jesus is in all and is all, so we need to treat Him that way. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner and forgave me for putting so many other worthless things above you.

March 17, 2018

Saint of the Week

St. Patrick

March 16, 2017

RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT

Acts 2:38

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Encouraging Words

After Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles gathered together and debated on what to do next. Soon after, the Holy Spirit descended upon these first followers of Christ in the event that we now celebrate as the Pentecost. The anointing of the Holy Spirit became the launching point of the Church and has continued ever since. In this passage we see Peter responding to the crowd in Jerusalem, the very same crowd that had crucified Jesus, who was so moved by Peter's discourse that they wanted to know what to do to be saved. Peter had become an avid and articulate champion for Christ because He had been anointed by the Holy Spirit. This is the same Holy Spirit that anoints us today when we give our lives to Christ by repenting of our sins, being baptized into Him and anointed with the Holy oil. This is the same Holy Spirit that can lead us to do what Peter and the rest of the apostles did in our lives. Glory be to God!

March 15, 2018

THEOSIS

Wisdom of Solomon 7:22-23

So in herself, wisdom is a spirit that is rational,
Holy, only-begotten, manifold, subtle, easily moved, clear,
Undefiled, manifest, invulnerable, loving what is good, keen,
Unhindered, beneficent, man-loving, steadfast, unfailing,
Free from worry, all-powerful, all-surveying,
And penetrating all spirits that are rational, pure, and most subtle.

Encouraging Words

As we continue to see these passages talk about the characteristics of Wisdom and apply these characteristics to Jesus, we get a glimpse into who God is. The beauty of all of this is that through the process of theosis or growing in the likeness of God, we too can begin to have these characteristics become manifest in our own lives. The key to this transformation is to constantly be putting our fleshly selves to death. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

March 14, 2018

A CROSS-COUNTRY HIKE

Acts 1:9-11

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

Personal Challenge

Being a Christian does not give us the right to live a sedentary spiritual life. Our Lord expects us to be actively pursuing Him by living as He would live. We must be actively loving our neighbor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and taking care of the widow, the orphan, and the poor, in order to grow in the image of Christ. Our journey to theosis is more like a cross-country hike than a train ride. The angels reminded Jesus' apostles that it was time to stop looking for Jesus and time to go and build His Church. Glory be to God!

March 13, 2018

SEEKING WISDOM

Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-16

Wisdom is radiant and unfading
And is easily perceived by those who love her;
For she is found by those who seek her.
She comes upon those who long to know her beforehand.
He who rises early in the morning to seek her
Will not grow weary,
For he will find her sitting at his gates.
For to think deeply about her
Is the perfection of discernment,
And he who keeps watch for her
Will soon be free from worry;
Because she goes about seeking those worthy of her,
And she appears to them favorably in their paths
And meets them in every thought.

Encouraging Words

In our modern and enlightened age, we have come to a place where wisdom is a thing that we can pursue. Wisdom has become an object. In our ancient Christian faith, the early Church, Wisdom was recognized as a person, that person being Jesus Christ. As our early Church fathers read back through what we call the Old Testament writings through the lens of Jesus, they saw that all teachings about Wisdom were about Jesus, the Wisdom of God. If you read this passage again and substitute "Jesus" for the word wisdom" and "him" for "being you will see the power of this teaching and the need to pursue Jesus as the source of Wisdom and not wisdom as an object. Glory be to God!

Jesus is radiant and unfading

And is easily perceived by those who love Him;

For He is found by those who seek Him.

He comes upon those who long to know Him beforehand.

He who rises early in the morning to seek Him.

Will not grow weary,

For he will find Him sitting at his gates.

For to think deeply about Him

Is the perfection of discernment,

And he who keeps watch for Him

Will soon be free from worry;

Because He goes about seeking those worthy of Him,

And He appears to them favorably in their paths

And meets them in every thought.

March 12, 2018

LOVING JESUS

John 21:7

Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.

Personal Challenge

Do I love the Lord this much? Jesus had recently been crucified by the Roman empire, He had resurrected from the dead and been seen by hundreds of people, including Peter and the rest of the apostles. I am sure that these men had many thoughts going through their heads. To process these events they went back to what they had spent their entire adult life doing, which was fishing for a living. And while they were fishing, Jesus appeared to them after a long night of unsuccessful fishing. He called to them from the distant beach and told them to lower their net one more time. This time their net was so full that they could not pull it up. This is when John recognized that this was Jesus. When Peter heard John proclaim that this was Jesus, Peter dove into the water so that he could rush back to the shore to see his beloved Lord. Do I love Him enough to drop everything and run to Him when He draws near? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner?

March 11, 2018

LEADERSHIP

Wisdom of Solomon 6:1-3

Listen therefore, O kings, and understand;
Learn, O judges of the ends of the earth.
Give ear, you that rule over multitudes,
And take pride in yourself over a multitude of nations.
For power was given to you from the Lord,
And your lordship from the Most High,
Who will make a careful search of your works
And examine closely your plans.

Personal Challenge

Once again, the teachings of the scriptures challenge the ways of the world. Our world around us teaches us that it is up to us to make our way up the ladder of success and leadership. We are to set our eyes on our goal and do whatever it takes to get there, even if it means using and abusing others along the way. But the scriptures teach differently. Sure, this passage is talking kings and judges, but it can apply to any position of leadership, whether it be executives or managers at work, or leaders in volunteer organizations, or priests, deacons, and pastors in churches, but God is the one that puts people into these roles and He expects a higher level of accountability from them for what they do in that role. Jesus highlighted this expect­ation when He said, "for everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required." Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

March 10, 2018

Saint of the Week

St. Isaac the Syrian

March 9, 2018

BLESSED

John 20:29

Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Encouraging Words

Don't we all like being blessed by someone that we love and respect? As blessed as the Apostle Thomas was, as an Apostle, as the person that established for all of us the physical and tangible proof that Jesus had indeed been resurrected from the dead, and as one who helped to spread the gospel of our Lord throughout the known world, Jesus has called use even more blessed. We have never seen Jesus in His resurrected body. We have never seen or touched His pierced side or nail-pierced hands, but we still believe that He is the risen, incarnate, Son of God. And for this, we are blessed. Glory be to God!

March 8, 2018

LIVING RIGHTEOUSLY

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

Our desire and associated attempts to live godly and righteous lives are never wasted. Our God rewards us for living this way. Some­times the reward is in this life, but it is always going to be there for us throughout eternity... an eternal life spent with God. Knowing this makes it easier to put our worries and cares at the foot of the Most High knowing that He will take care of us and crown us with the beauty of His glory. He will protect us and care for us. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy?

March 7, 2018

DOUBT THAT LEADS TO BELIEF

John 20:25

The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

Personal Challenge

Most of my life I heard it taught that Thomas was a bad person for doubting his fellow apostles. But because of Thomas seeking proof, we have had this proof to rely on for our own belief ever since that event. I love how the notes in my study Bible put it...

The doubt of Thomas is described in the Church hymns as “blessed,” for it was not a doubt of resistance to truth, but one that desperately desired a truthful answer—a “doubt which gave birth to faith” when the answer was revealed. In hymns of the Church, Christ says to Thomas, “Your doubt will teach My Passion and Resurrection to all,” and we affirm that his doubt “brought the hearts of believers to knowledge.” The conversion of Thomas' doubt into faith led him to the clearest confession of Christ's divinity, addressing Jesus as my Lord and my God.

Thank you, Thomas, for laying the groundwork for so many of us who have never had the opportunity to see Jesus face to face. Glory be to God!

March 6, 2018

GROWING OLD

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

Old age is quickly becoming a very prevalent part of our culture. With the baby boomers entering into the age of retirement our society is beginning to see a tsunami of issues related to aging. I know, I am in this generation. There are many in our culture today that would prefer it if we would just step aside and let them take over. I am not ready to do that. I may not be in my prime physically, but I can still split a cord of wood with an ax (it might take me a month or so) or do an Iron Butt motorcycle ride (Google that). But I do believe that I am in the prime of my life with what I can give to my society. Forty years of experience in the business world provides wisdom and discernment that only comes from having lived through both successes and failures, hiring and layoffs, and just plain having done it before. I still have a lot to offer whether it be teaching high school students every Sunday at my church or helping out to coach college seniors on how to run a project, or leading a team on a mission trip, or riding my motorcycle from Ohio to California with my gorgeous bride as my companion. The message here is twofold. To the young ones coming behind us, don't put us out to pasture because we are elderly, leverage what we know so that you can avoid some of the mistakes that we made and reap the benefits of some of our accomplishments. For those who are of my generation, get out of the pasture, stop resting on your laurels of retirement and give back to those who are coming behind us. Remember...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. Glory be to God!

March 5, 2018

UNIFIED

John 17:20-21

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

Encouraging Words

In the verses before these two, Jesus prays for the apostles for He knows that they will be the foundation upon which the Church will be built from that day forward. In these verses, He prays for all future generations that will be coming into His Church. His desire, His prayer, is that we will be unified in Him and in our relationship with one another. Unfortunately, we have fractured the Church with splits and personalization, but we are still His Church and covered by His prayer so that we will be lights in this dark world. Glory be to God!

March 4, 2018

PURSUING VIRTUES

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

Virtues especially godly virtues are something that we should pursue with our entire being and rejoice when we find it. Virtue, as opposed to passions, draws us closer to our God and creates an atmosphere around us that people long for. Do I desire virtues or do I try to take the shortcut? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

March 3, 2018

Saint of the Week

St. Isaac the Syrian

March 1, 2018

HATED BY THE WORLD

John 17:14-17

I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

Personal Challenge

So! For those of us who choose to give our lives to Christ and strive to be like Him, our lot has been chosen. The world will not like us. Actually, in many cases, the world will hate us. If we live like Christ did then our opinions, our practices, our morals, our entire life will be contradictory to the ways of the world and the world will hate us because it also hates Jesus Christ. The good news is that Jesus prayed for our protection from the evil one of this world and that we be able to grow in God's truth and sanctification. Buckle up, it's going to be a wild ride? Glory be to God?