May 31, 2018

DIAMONDS IN THE MUD

Romans 7:17-20

But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

Encouraging Words

So, what is encouraging about this corundum that Paul presents about his (our) struggle with sin? The encouragement comes from what the Eastern Orthodox church has taught for over 2000 years. Sin is what we do, it is not what we are or our nature. Here is a note about this passage from the Orthodox Study Bible:

“Man is not sinful by nature. The Orthodox Church rejects any teaching that man has a “sin nature” or that man's nature is depraved to the core. This passage clearly shows that sin is something distinct from our nature. Because we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), there is an indelible goodness in our nature that can never be undone. While we can become immersed in sin, we know that it is still not part of our nature, but a foreign force that dwells in us. Thus, sin is what we do, not what we are.”

Once this truth. is embraced our whole outlook on life shifts as we begin to see our lives as people created in the image of God, as diamonds covered with the filth of our sinful actions waiting to be washed clean by the blood of our precious Lord. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

May 30, 2018

FLEE!

Sirach 21:1-3

My son, have you sinned?
No longer add to them, but pray about your former sins.
Flee from sin as you would from the presence of a snake,
For if you approach it, it will bite you;
Its teeth are like lion's teeth, destroying the souls of men.
All lawlessness is like a two-edged sword,
For there is no healing from its wound.

Personal challenge

Just as I have the free will to choose to sin, so do I have the ability to choose not to sin. Sirach reminds us that if we have sinned, which we all do, we need to quickly confess our sin, repent of our wrongdoing and flee from that which draws us to sin more. The longer that we wait to do this, the more set that sin becomes within us and the harder it is to flee. We are so blessed to have the Holy Spirit available to help us through these challenges. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

May 29, 2018

GIFT VERSUS WAGES

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Encouraging Words

There are two small words in this verse that sum up the entire essence of works versus grace. These words are "wages" and "gift''. Wages are the payment that I am owed for something that I have done. Death is what I earn through the sin that I have committed. This death is both physical and spiritual. And it doesn't matter if I have committed 1 sin or billions or if it is very small or massive. Sin is sin and it perm­anently separates me from God. A gift is something that the giver chooses to bestow on me whether I deserve it or not. I cannot earn a gift. It is the grace of the given that bestows the gift upon me. God, in His infinite mercy, has given me the gift of eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the Good News. Glory be to God!

May 27, 2018

Saint of the Week

St. John Chrysostom

May 25, 2018

SLOW TO SPEAK

Sirach 20:5-7

There is a man who is silent but is found to be wise,
And there is a man who is hateful because he talks too much.
There is a man who is silent because he has no answer,
And there is a man who is silent because he knows when to speak.
A wise man will keep silent until it is the right time to speak,
But an arrogant and undiscerning man will speak out of turn.

Personal Challenge

I guess this is another way of saying, "Silence is golden." There is wisdom to be found in being silent, to listen more than we speak, and to listen before we speak. I know that my personal challenge is to let the other person finish before I speak. When this passage states that a wise man will keep silent until it is the right time to speak, but an arrogant and undiscerning man will speak out of turn cuts deep to the core of this issue. To love my neighbor means to put them first, to let them speak and complete their thoughts, to listen with the intent to understand the other, and speak lovingly when it is my turn. For all whom I have spoken over in my haste to be heard, please forgive me. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

May 24, 2018

DEAD TO SIN

Romans 6:11-12

Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

Personal Challenge

Many of the verses leading up to this passage inform us of all the work that Jesus has done to save us from the consequences of our sin. Now, Paul starts turning the spotlight on us and begins to point out those things that we can start doing with respect to sin in our lives. He reminds us that since we have been baptized into Christ that by faith in Him we can identify ourselves as dead to sin. Sin no longer has reign over us because Jesus has defeated sin. If we continue to sin, which we usually do, it is because we continue to submit our will to the lusts, the passions, of our mortal body. From baptism on we are continually working on fortifying our will to obey God and trying to diminish our will to defy God. The Christian life is a continual struggle to follow in the footsteps of our Lord. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

May 23, 2018

WORDS TO LIVE BY

Sirach 18:18-20

Before you speak, learn,
And before you get sick, take care of your health.
Before you make a judgment, examine yourself closely,
And in the hour of visitation you will find atonement.
Before you become sick, humble yourself;
And at the time of sinning, prove your conversion.

Personal Challenge

Once again, Sirach provides some powerful words of wisdom that apply to both our everyday living as well as preparation for eternity. Learn before you speak. This is so contrary to our modern, self-focused Way of thinking. Oh, how many times I would have avoided a conflict by applying this truth. Take care of yourself and humble yourself and you will avoid sickness. The first one makes sense, but what does humbling ourselves have to do with avoiding sickness? The act of humbling ourselves puts others first. By doing this We eliminate stress on our bodies and our health by always trying to be first. Examine yourself closely before making a judgment and you will find atonement. Jesus proclaimed this by saying, "Judge not, that you be not judged." Usually, the act of self-appraisal reminds us that we are in no position to judge another. Great words of wisdom. Now comes the hard part, applying them. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

May 22, 2018

ABOUNDING GRACE

Romans 5:20-21

Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Encouraging Words

"Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more". What a blessing it is to know that no matter how much I sin, no matter how big or small that sin is, God's grace will outweigh that sin. God loves me that much and then infinitely more. Sin is what brings me to death, both physical and spiritual, but Gods' grace removes the spiritual death and covers me through eternity. It is not anything related to what I do, but all related to what God has done continues to do and will do forevermore. Glory be

to God.

May 21, 2018

KNOWING GOD

Sirach 18:4-6

Who will measure His majestic power with a number,
And who will add to this measure
While describing His mercies?
There is no one who can add or subtract,
And there is no who can search out the wonders of the Lord.
When a man completes his search, then he starts over;
And when he stops, he will still be perplexed.

Personal Challenge

It is so easy to get caught up in the pursuit of knowledge about God. We truly are a gnostic form of society today. For many, knowledge is power. For many, their identity is found in their knowledge, or the number of acronyms behind their name. However, knowing God is so much different than all of this. God does not want us to know about Him. He wants us to know Him. That is what all of the wisdom writings of the Old Testament teach. Wisdom is personified in Jesus. To know wisdom we must know Jesus. To know Jesus is to know God. The challenge for us finite and limited human beings is that the more we think we know God the more we realize that we do not know Him. His greatness is beyond all that we could ever comprehend and yet He tells us that He dwells within us. The mind is certainly blown apart when it tries to know God. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

May 20, 2018

DEATH THROUGH SIN

Romans 5:12-13

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Personal Challenge

The Eastern Orthodox Church views this passage so much different than the Western Church does. Adam and Eve sinned. They defied God and chose to disobey His commandment to not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Because of their sin, they were clothed in mortal bodies by God and death was introduced into the lives of mankind. This is what we, as the children of Adam and Eve have inherited, death. As mortals, we live in a fallen world and in fallen bodies, so we sin as well. We do not inherit the sin of Adam and Eve. On the contrary, we choose to sin on our own. Where the law enters into the picture is that until Moses introduced God's law to the Jewish nation, our sin was hard to measure. in some respects, People did not know that they were sinning because there was nothing to measure it against. We have the law, both of Moses and of Jesus, so we have no excuse as to the gravity of our sin, but we also have Jesus who fulfills the law and paved the way for us to follow in His footsteps toward avoiding sin in our lives. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

May 19, 2018

Saint of the Week

St. Basil the Great

May 18, 2018

IT IS ALL ABOUT GOD

Sirach 17:24-25

How great the mercy of the Lord is,
And His atonement for those who turn to Him.
For all things are not possible for man,
Because a son of man is not immortal.

Personal Challenge

Nothing that happens in life is about us. Every­thing in life really is about God. God is our creator and He created us to be in a relationship with Him, not the other way around. He is our benefactor and Savior and we are lost and hopeless without Him. His mercy abounds above all else in our lives and He is our atonement. We can do nothing without Him for we are mere mortals, however, all things are possible for Him. God is my hope and my salvation. Glory be to God!

May 17, 2018

GOD'S LOVE

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Encouraging words

Is this not the ultimate definition and demonstration of total and unconditional love? Jesus knew while he was headed to the cross that He would not only be giving up His life for those who loved Him and desired to be like Him, but also for everyone that would reject Him and all of us who continue to sin day after day. Jesus died for us even as we were still mired in our sins. That is true love. There is no judgment in that love. There is no rejection in that love. So what should be my response to this love? Receive it. Pass it on to others around me. Live my life in a way that honors and respects that love by trying to sin no more. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

May 16, 2018

HIS BREATH OF LIFE

Sirach 17:5-8

He gave mankind the ability to deliberate,
And a tongue, eyes and ears, and a heart to think with.
He filled them with the skill of comprehension
And showed them good and evil.
He set His eye upon their hearts
To show them the majesty of His works.
They will praise His holy name
So as to fully describe the majesty of His works.

Encouraging Words

Human beings are the only part of creation that God created in His image and breathed His breath of life into. He created us to be in relationship and fellowship with Him. As part of that creation, He gave us the ability to think, to deliberate, to comprehend, and to know the difference between good and evil. And then in His divine wisdom, grace, and mercy, He gave us free will, the ability to choose or reject Him, for it is only in choosing Him that we truly reap. the benefits of His great love for us. Then we can see and understand the great majesty of His works. Glory be to God!

May 15, 2018

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH

Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Encouraging Words

Rather than penning my own thoughts on this passage, today I am presenting some notes from the Orthodox Study Bible on this issue of justification by faith...

For most of church history, salvation was seen as comprehending all of life: Christians believed in Christ, were baptized, and were nurtured in their salvation in the Church. Key doctrines of the faith centered around the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation of the Son of God, the atonement.

In Western Europe during the sixteenth century and before, however, justifiable concern arose among the Reformers over a prevailing understanding that salvation depended on human works of merit, and not on the grace and mercy of God. Their rediscovery of Romans 5 lead to the slogan sola fides: justification by faith alone.

This Reformation debate in the West raised the question for the Orthodox East: Why this new polarization of faith and works? It had been settled since the apostolic era that salvation was granted by the mercy of God to righteous men and women. Those baptized into Christ were called to believe in Him and do good works. An opposition of faith versus works was unprecedented in Orthodox thought.

The Orthodox understanding of justification differs from the Protestant in several ways.

1) Justification and the new covenant. When Orthodox Christians approach the doctrine of salvation, the discussion centers around the new covenant. Justification—being or becoming righteous—by faith in God is part of being brought into a covenant relationship with Him. Whereas Israel was under the old covenant, in which salvation came through faith as revealed in the law, the Church is under the new covenant. Salvation comes through faith in Christ, who fulfills the law. We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, leading us to the knowledge of God the Father. Rather than justification as a legal acquittal before God, Orthodox believers see justification by faith as a covenant relationship with Him, centered in union with Christ (Rom 6:1–6).

2) Justification and God’s mercy. Orthodoxy emphasizes it is first God’s mercy—not our faith—that saves us. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom 5:1, 2). It is God who initiates or makes the new covenant with us.

3) Justification by faith is dynamic, not static. For Orthodox Christians, faith is living, dynamic, continuous—never static or merely point-in-time. Faith is not something a Christian exercises only at one critical moment, expecting it to cover all the rest of his life. True faith is not just a decision, it’s a way of life. Thus, the Orthodox Christian sees salvation in at least three aspects: (a) I have been saved, being joined to Christ in Holy Baptism; (b) I am being saved, growing in Christ through the sacramental life of the Church; and (c) I will be saved, by the mercy of God at the Last Judgment.

Justification by faith, though not the major New Testament doctrine for Orthodox as it is for Protestants, poses no problem. But justification by faith alone brings up an objection. It contradicts Scripture, which says, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only” (Jam 2:24). We are “justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” (Rom 3:28), but nowhere does the Bible say we are justified by faith “alone.” On the contrary, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (Jam 2:17).

As Christians we are no longer under the demands of the Old Testament law (Rom 3:20), for Christ has fulfilled the law (Gal 2:21; 3:5, 24). By God’s mercy, we are brought into a new covenant relationship with Him. We who believe are granted entrance into His Kingdom by His grace. Through His mercy, we are justified by faith and empowered by God for good works or deeds of righteousness that bring glory to Him.

May 14, 2018

PURSUING WISDOM

Sirach 14:20-22

Blessed is the man who practices wisdom
And discourses with insight.
Whoever ponders the ways of wisdom in his heart
Will also reflect on her secrets.
Pursue wisdom like a tracker
And lie in wait on her paths.

Personal Challenge

Sirach reminds us that the most important thing to pursue in life is Wisdom and the early church fathers tell us that the wisdom referred to in the Old Testament is fully embodied in Jesus Christ. So, what we are being told here is that the most important thing to pursue in life is Jesus Christ. By doing this when we speak to others we speak with godly insight. When we dwell up Jesus and ponder His teachings and ways, we will learn the secrets of God. We need to pursue Jesus as a tracker pursues a deer, relentlessly for the life of his family depends on this pursuit. We are to lie in wait for every opportunity to grab Jesus in our lives. Glory be to God!

May 12, 2018

Saint of the Week

St. Gregory of Nazianzen

May 11, 2018

FAITH THEN WORKS

Romans 4:5-8

But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Personal Challenge

Romans is quite often the most misunderstood and misquoted book in the Bible. I am no biblical scholar so I do not claim to be able to interpret this book, as well as the rest of the scriptures, properly. That is why I rely on the teachings of the saints that have gone before me and the traditions of the church to inform me of what the scriptures say. From what I can gather, this passage is reminding is that striving to live by the law and doing works according to the law with the intent of gaining salvation will never achieve that goal. The works are futile. We can only gain salvation by putting our faith and hope in Jesus Christ, the only person that has ever fulfilled the law, or ever will.

It is through Him, and Him alone, that we are saved. He is the one who bestows the blessing of eternal life upon us. It is at this point that the work that we perform out of our love for Him and our gratitude for what He has done for us, that these works become blessed. The faith must always come first. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

May 10, 2018

DOING GOOD

Sirach 14:12-14

Remember that death does not delay,
And the covenant of Hades has not been shown to you.
Before you die, do good to a friend,
And reach out and give to him based on your ability.
Do not let a day go by without doing something good,
And do not let any of your desire for doing good escape you.

Personal Challenge

No matter how much we try to avoid it, we will have an appointment with death that we must all attend. It is inevitable that we will all physically die. The other certainty is that no one knows the time or place that this event will happen. This is why Sirach reminds us to constantly be looking for opportunities in our lives to do good to those around us. We are to love our family, our friends, our co-workers, our brothers and sisters in the faith, and the stranger amongst us as if today were the last day of our lives, for it might be. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

May 9, 2018

FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

Romans 3:23

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Personal Challenge

We have all been created in the image of God, As we live out our lives we are wired to live our lives for the glory of God. This is within us whether we know it or not, whether we desire it or not. Since we live in a fallen world and choose to sin, we will never be able to reach that state of living for the glory of God. This is where Jesus becomes critical to our lives. He too was created in the image of God when He became incarnate. He was fully man and fully God. As a fully human being, He and only He was able to live a sinless Life and therefore, as a human being succeeds at achieving the glory of God and therefore defeating the power that death had over each of us. Glory be to God.

May 8, 2018

LISTENING AND UNDERSTANDING

Sirach 11:7-8

Do not find fault before you examine a situation.
First, understand it, and then make your judgment.
Do not answer before you have listened,
And do not interrupt someone while he is talking.

Personal Challenge

Such great words of wisdom from Sirach that can be applied to every aspect of our lives. It is so easy to step into a situation and immediately begin to form opinions, make judgments, and assign fault. we are told here to start by examining the situation. This often takes a lot of time and effort but is necessary to truly understand what has gone on leading up to the situation as well as what is truly going on at this point in time. We have a tendency to jump to conclusions without all of the facts. The second instruction is one that I know needs to be worked on in my life. we need to spend more time listening to the other person and try to hear what they are saying before we open our mouths. And it is really not possible to be formulating our response and listen at the same time. It is also not treating the other person with love and respect if we interrupt them while they are speaking. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, forgive me for doing this all too often and have mercy on me, the sinner!

May 7, 2018

RIGHTEOUSNESS

Romans 3:10-12

As it is written:
“There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”

Personal Challenge

In the nine verses before these, Paul asks a whole series of questions to which he provides this quote from the Old Testament as an answer. God alone is righteous and just. God is perfect in His love for His creation. We, however, because we live in a fallen and sinful world are not righteous. We may strive to be good and holy, but yet we still stumble and sin. We continually put ourselves first. It does not matter what church we go to, what family we grew up in, or our status in life. We still need the righteousness of Jesus to cover and redeem us from our sin. We can only become righteous through Him. That is the point that Paul is driving home. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

May 5, 2018

Saint of the Week

St. Ambrose of Optina

May 4, 2018

NEVER SIN

Sirach 7:32-36

Stretch forth your hand to the poor,
That your blessing may be complete.
Let the kindness of giving be shown
In the presence of all the living,
And do not withhold kindness from the dead.
Do not withdraw yourself from those who weep,
And mourn with those who mourn.
Do not hesitate to visit a sick man,
For by such visits you will be loved.
With all your words, remember the time you will die,
And you will never sin.

Command With a Promise

Many Christians wonder what we can do in our lives to avoid sinning. First, and foremost, we must keep our eyes, minds, and hearts focused on Jesus. This passage, however, gives us some other actions that we can take that will keep us from sinning. We can reach out and help the poor. We can show kindness to those around us in so many different ways. When we have people around us who are mourning or weeping, we can come alongside them and mourn and weep with them. We can visit the sick and be encouragers to them. We can watch our words and speak loving, caring, and healing words to those around us. As we focus on meeting the needs of others we will not be distracted toward sin. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

May 3, 2018

NO PARTIALITY! NO PREJUDICE!

Romans 2:11

For there is no partiality with God.

Personal Challenge

There is no excuse for a person who claims to be a follower of Christ to also carry a prejudice, Here in Romans we are told that God does not have any partiality when it comes to loving His children. He does not care about the color of our skin or the sound of our dialect. He does not care if we are rich or poor, naked or clothed with finery, from the right side of the track or the wrong side. He even does not care if we are sinners or righteous. God loves us all and desires that we all enter into His arc of protection, the church. So, this means that I cannot hold prejudice in my heart for any of the above, or anyone else for that matter, and still proclaim to be a child of God. This is hard teaching, but it will be even harder when we stand before our God someday and have to account for all those times that we acted out our prejudices. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

May 2, 2018

LEADERSHIP

Sirach 7:29-31

Fear the Lord with all your soul
And honor His priests.
Love Him who made you
And do not forsake His ministers.
Fear the Lord and honor His priests,
And give them their portion as commanded:
The firstfruits, the trespass offering,
The gift of the shoulder offering,
The sacrifice of sanctification,
And the firstfruits of the holy things.

Encouraging Words

We have been blessed throughout the history of the Church and the teachings of the scriptures to have a leadership model to follow. Our Church is hierarchical by design and has rigorous requirements for the selection of those in leadership and expectations for their duties and responsibilities. As members of the Church, we are expected to respect those who have been called to leadership over us and support them in their roles. We should make sure that they are taken care of since they dedicate their lives to the body of Christ. God created this order of leadership so that the Church would thrive and survive in a disordered world. Glory be to God!

May 1, 2018

WE ARE NOT JUDGES

Romans 2:1

Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

Personal Challenge

There is only one who is able and has the right, to judge our hearts and actions. That is our Lord, the only Righteous Judge. There are many who proclaim Christ and believe that they have been given the authority to judge others. This becomes a dangerous ground to walk on because how we judge others becomes the ruler by which we will someday be judged. God does want us to be discerning. He wants us to assess the world around us and then to exercise our free will to make righteous and godly choices. The ultimate commandment that we have been given by our Lord is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. There is no room in there for judgment. This can be a challenge to practice in our lives, in my life, because it is so easy to take our eyes off of Jesus and start focusing on others around us in a comparative way. This always leads to judgment. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner and guide me toward loving and not judging those around me.