January 30, 2019

GRACE AND PEACE

Philippians 1:2

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Encouraging Words

Is this not the kind of greeting that we should bestow on everyone that we come into contact with, whether friend or foe? God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ have blessed us with so much. They have poured out their grace, mercy, and peace upon each one of us so abundantly. The least that we can do in response to this is to give grace and peace to those in our lives. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

January 29, 2019

MADE NEW

Ezekiel 36:25-27

I shall sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be cleansed from all your uncleanness, and I will also cleanse you from all your idols. I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I shall take the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I shall put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My requirements, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

Encouraging Words

Through the words of Ezekiel, our Lord prophetically spoke of the coming of the Savior, the Messiah. Jesus is that Savior and Messiah. He has sprinkled the water of baptism upon us to cleanse us from our sinful uncleanness. He has smashed the idols in our lives and given us the image of the one, true God in Himself. He gives us a new heart and makes us new, as we were meant to be in the beginning. He has filled us with the Holy Spirit so that we could walk in His ways on His path of righteousness. He has made us into new creations. Glory be to God!

January 28, 2019

BE STRONG

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Personal Challenge

We are told to be strong and to stand up to the wiles of the devil. Sometimes he seems like such a formidable foe and that we have no way of standing up to him. The truth is that if we do try to stand up to him and the rest of the world on our own accord, then we will not be able to do it. That is why this passage lays out an entire arsenal of weaponry that our Lord makes available to us to resist the evil around us. We are not in this struggle alone, God is our protector and provider. He equips us with everything that we will ever need to live a life that will glorify Him. We, however, must do our part by putting on His armor and using His tools to defeat the enemy and be strong in the process. Glory be to God!

January 27, 2019

HIS SHEEP

Ezekiel 34:15-16

“I shall feed My sheep and refresh them; and they will know that I am the Lord,” thus says the Lord and Master. “I shall seek the lost, bring back the misled, bind up the broken, strengthen the fallen, protect the strong, and feed them with judgment.”

Encouraging Words

Have you ever been hungry beyond what food would satisfy? Have you ever been weary beyond what a good night sleep would refresh? Have you ever been lost and off of the straight and narrow path of life that you have chosen to follow? Have you ever been broken, fallen, and weak? We all have. Some to greater levels than others. Ezekiel reminds us that our Lord, Jesus Christ, is our great and loving Shepherd, here to recover us from all of the maladies of life and hold us in His loving arms. Thank You, Sweet Jesus for loving us so much!

January 26, 2019

Saint of the Week

St. John Chrysostom

January 25, 2019

TREATMENT OF OTHERS

Ephesians 6:5-8

Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

Personal Challenge

One thing that many people do not under­stand is that Christianity is not focused on changing the social structure in which it exists. Christianity has and can continue, to exist in a democracy, a totalitarian, a communist, and even a Muslim social structure. We are charged by both Jesus and the apostles to honor our leaders and to pray for them. We are supposed to work within those structures to do the right things, like help the widow, the orphan, and the poor, even the unborn children. This means that we behave differently than those who do not profess Christ as their Lord. Here we have Paul talking about the slave and master relationship. This is a common part of the social structure within which he lives. He is not focused on changing that structure, and he is not condoning or condemning slavery but he is telling his listeners who profess Christ, how to behave. His instructions are counter to the ways of the society and therefore life changing. Our society does not have slavery anymore. We have been able to do away with that, but the same principles can apply in instances such as employer and employee relationships or elected officials and constituent relationships, We are to treat others with love and respect, with sincerity of heart, so that we can demonstrate the love of God to those around us. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 24, 2019

WORSHIP?

Ezekiel 1:27b

This was the vision of the likeness of the Lord's glory. I saw it, and I fell down on my face, and heard the voice of One speaking.

Personal Challenge

In our modern day "worship" services, we thrive on being able to stand and wave our hands and feel the music as we sing praise songs to our God. It moves us and makes us feel good. However, every time someone in the scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, find themselves in the presence of God, they immediately fall on their face before Him, knowing that they were not worthy of His presence in their lives. Even here, Ezekiel falls down on his face and this just because of the vision of the likeness of his Lord. I am pretty sure that if and when we ever are blessed to be in the presence of our Lord, we will not be waving our hands or dancing around, but falling flat on our faces before His glory and majesty. Maybe we should start focusing our worship on Him and not us. This is one of the reasons that I love the liturgical practices of the Orthodox Church. The worship is always God-centered, reverent and submissive to Him. Come and see. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy I Lord, have mercy!

January 23, 2019

FATHERS...

Ephesians 6:4

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Personal Challenge

In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul addresses how marriages and families should work. His teachings are as relevant today as they were when he wrote them. Children are instructed to obey and respect their parents. The Greek word that has been translated to obey can actually be interpreted to "listen intently", which helps us to under­stand what Paul's instruction to us fathers is geared toward. It is our responsibility to teach them in a way that passes on to them the precepts and teachings of our Lord, to bring them up with a deep love for the Lord, and to not provoke them by using harsh or demeaning words. We are to love them as Christ loves them. If they are not obeying us properly, are giving them something worthy of obedience? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of Goal, have mercy on me, the sinner!

January 22, 2019

TAKE UP OUR YOKE

Lamentations 3:24-27

It is good for a man when he takes up
A yoke in his youth.
“He will sit alone and be silent,
Because he bears it on himself.
He will give his cheek to the one who strikes him,
And he will be filled with insults.
Yet the Lord shall not reject him forever.”

Personal Challenge

Once again, the imagery of farm life is lost on those who have never had the opportunity to spend some time on a farm. We are told by the writer of Lamentations that it is good to take up a yoke in one's youth. What does this mean? Taking up a yoke is to voluntarily put on the mantle which binds us to our lifelong vocation. By vocation, I do not mean my job. By vocation, I mean that action that I will follow and grow in the remainder of my days. It could be the habit of reading my Bible and praying every day, or giving a tithe of my earnings or serving in my local church. If we choose to take up this yoke early in our lives it will shape us for the remainder of our lives. If our yoke is the yoke of Jesus, it will shape us to be like Him. Glory be to God!

January 20, 2019

AS CHRIST LOVED...

Ephesians 5:25-28

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.

Personal Challenge

"As Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her..." Jesus was never married, and yet He was able to demonstrate to us husbands how to treat our wives, with sacrificial love. In this overall passage, Paul tells the wives to submit to their husbands, but he tells us, husbands, to die for our wives, sacrificially. This is the only way that they can be expected to submit to us. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

January 19, 2019

Saint of the Week

St. John Chrysostom

January 18, 2019

WAITING AND SEEKING

Lamentations 3:22-23

"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who will seek Him, the Good One.
He will wait for and quietly expect
The salvation of the Lord."

Personal Challenge

Sometimes it is difficult being a Christian in the modern age where almost everything is available instantly. We have fast food, quick access to cash at the ATM, fast cars, unlimited amounts of information at our fingertips, and a myriad of other things in our lives delivered to us virtually instantly. We no longer have the patience to stand in line or to pause our busy schedule to help someone in need or spend time with our loved ones. We have lost the understanding of what it means to wait for someone or something, or in the case of this passage to wait quietly, expecting our Lord to show up in our lives. We have also lost the ability, or the desire, to seek that which is good for us because this takes time too. God is not playing some kind of cosmic hide-and-seek game with us. He is always present in our lives. The waiting and seeking we do are to prepare our hearts for Him. Glory be to God!

January 17, 2019

AWAKE AND ARISE

Ephesians 5:14-16

Therefore He says:
“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Personal Challenge

I am basically a night owl. I have no problem staying up and just plain enjoying the day and the evening. However, I do not like having to get up in the morning. Who cares that the early bird catches the worm. I certainly don't plan on eating any worms. And yet, I have chosen to use my mornings for my exercise time as well as my devotion and prayer time, so I must get up earlier to start my day off properly. This passage speaks to us spiritually in this area of our lives. Without Christ in our Ares, we are dead... spiritually. We are called to awake from our slumber in death and to arise at the call of Christ or that He can give us the light of eternal life. But it does not stop there. We are told to walk circumspectly as wise people in that light and redeeming the days that we have for His glory.

January 16, 2019

REDEEMED

Lamentations 3:52-54

“You heard my voice;
Do not hide Your ears from my supplication.
You drew near at my call on the day I called upon You.
You said to me, ‘Do not fear.’
O Lord, You pleaded the case for my soul;
You redeemed my life.”

Encouraging Words

Our great and merciful God hears our voices when we cry out to us. He is never deaf to our supplications. When we call out to Him, He draws near to us so that we can feel and see His love for us. He encourages us to not fear this temporal life and the aspects of it that press in upon us, for we are now members of His eternal family. He pleads our case before the holy judgment seat and redeems us, forever. Glory be to God!

September 23, 2018

A JUST JUDGMENT

Zechariah 7:9-10

“Thus says the Lord Almighty: ‘Render a just judgment; show mercy and compassion each to his brother. Do not oppress the widow, or the orphan, or the foreigner, or the poor. And let not one remember in his heart any wrong of his brother.’”

Personal Challenge

"Render a just judgment." God wants us to evaluate the world around us, including the people in our lives at any moment in time, and to discern what our behavior should be. In the process of doing this, we must assess those around us with love, mercy, and compassion, and not in a bitter, judgmental way. We are to go out of our way to not oppress the widow, or the orphan, or the foreigner, or the poor as we do that discerning assessment. To the contrary, it is our responsibility to show them God's love. We are also told to not hold a grudge against anyone that has offended us, less that cause us to sin. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

January 15, 2019

WE ARE LIGHT

Ephesians 5:8-10

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

Personal Challenge

Paul is not telling us that we transitioned from living in the darkness to living in the light when we became God's children. He is saying that before Christ we were darkness. He is saying that now that we are Christ's, we are light as He is light and that we should shine in such a way that others are blinded by God's light showing through us. As we choose to sin, we cover this light and make it dimmer. However, we can continue to run to our father to be cleansed of our sin and to be able to shine again. Glory be to God!

January 14, 2019

IN ORDER THAT OTHERS MAY KNOW

Baruch 2:14-15

O Lord, hear our prayer and our petition, and for Your own sake deliver us, and grant us mercy before those who have carried us into exile, in order that the whole earth may come to know that You are the Lord our God, for Israel and his descendants are called by Your name.

Personal Challenge

This passage in Baruch provides an interesting spin on the purpose of our prayers and their answers from God. We should not just pray for answers to our needs. God loves us and will always show His mercy to us. If we truly believe that and trust that He will always take care of us, then our prayer should be that others might see His hand at work in our lives and know Him. The answers to our prayers are temporary because we are still living in a temporal world, but if those answers show another person the way to our Father, then they can be eternal answers. Glory be to God, and may others come to know Him through the blessings He pours out on His children.

January 13, 2019

IMITATORS

Ephesians 5:1-2

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Personal Challenge

"Be imitators of God as dear children." One of my fond memories of my children, when they were young, was how they tried to imitate me. The loved me and looked up to me, wanting to be like me. This was very humbling to me and reminded me of how much responsibility I bore as a parent. Isn't this what God wants from us? He wants us to come to Him as innocent children, looking up to Him, and desiring to be like Him. And, what is it that He wants us to imitate? His love! Glory be to God!

January 12, 2019

Saint of the Week

St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain

January 11, 2019

PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS

Baruch 1:11-12

And pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his son Belshazzar, that their days on earth may be like the days of heaven. And the Lord will give us strength and enlighten our eyes, and we will live under the shelter of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and under the shelter of Belshazzar his son, and we will serve them for many days and find mercy in their sight.

Personal Challenge

Our political climate in our country has become very divisive and polarized. We have two parties that are constantly at each other's throat and willing to sacrifice the needs of their constituents to achieve their personal agendas. This division and polarization has also become pervasive amongst the citizens of our country. We are reminded here, by Baruch, that God commanded His children to pray for the king of Babylon and his son, to pray that they would have long lives. Why is this significant for us today? Because God's people had every reason to hate their new king. He had conquered their promised land and carried them off to exile in Babylonia. They are now living under his tyrannical rule, his expectations of their worship of him, and his ownership of them. Isn't this what we are also called to do? To pray for our leaders whether we voted for them or not? To support and encourage them whether we agree with them or not? It grieves me to see so many people jumping on the bandwagon of divisiveness and polarization. If we desire to live in our land with strength from our God and enlightenment in our eyes then we should pray for our leaders. If we do not like the ones that we have we have the ability to vote them out of office and rally our friends to join us, but we must start doing this positively and not negatively. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 10, 2019

WEEDING AND SEEDING

Ephesians 4:31-32

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Personal Challenge

Living a good and godly life, a righteous life, is a life long effort. In many respects, it is similar to planting and tending a garden. First, the soil must be prepared for the crop that is to be planted, This work is accomplished in our hearts and minds by our Lord and the Holy Spirit when we are baptized and chrismated into His body. Once the seeds are planted (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) then we must continue to cultivate these seeds to help them to grow and to not die. Part of this cultivation is pulling out the weeds (bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking) that continually spring up. But we do not stop there. We replace these weeds with new seeds of kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness so that the original crop can flourish and bear great fruit. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

January 9, 2019

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Jeremiah 40:6-9

‘Behold, I bring her health and healing for her wounds, and I will show them how to obey. Yes, I will heal this city and bring about peace and faithfulness. I shall return the captives of Judah and Israel and will restore them, even as before. I will cleanse them from all their wrongdoings by which they sinned against Me. I will not remember their sins by which they sinned against Me and withdrew from Me. This shall be for the gladness, praise, and majesty of all the people of the earth, who shall hear all the good things I will do. They shall fear and be provoked concerning all the good things and the peace I shall bring upon them.’

Encouraging Words

God's never-ending, unconditional love is truly amazing. Just as the Israelites of old, many of us today wander away from His side and force Him to come and rescue us from our sins. I know that I do this more often than I would like to admit. And yet, God in His great mercy, in His great love, continues to pursue us, find us, and bring us health and healing for our wounds/ He continually returns us from the captivity of death and sin that we keep selling ourselves to. He cleanses us, wiping the mud of the world off of us so that the diamond within us shines. He gives us gladness and joy over and over again. That is unconditional love. Glory be to God!

January 8, 2019

WHAT'S IN YOUR MOUTH?

Ephesians 4:29

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

Personal Challenge

Words are extremely powerful. They can build up beautiful relationships and edify both God and the hearer as well as tear down the strongest people and destroy others. If we truly desire to love our God to our fullest then we must love others. If we truly desire to love others as God would have us love than then we must have words in our mouths, thoughts in our minds, and feelings in hearts that will only edify them and impart grace to them. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 7, 2019

NOTHING HIDDEN

Jeremiah 39:27

I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Shall anything be hidden from Me?

Personal Challenge

We humans can be so dense sometimes. We worship our God whom we claim is all knowing and everywhere present and yet we choose to sin as if we can hide our actions from Him. He sees us all the time and grieves for us when we choose to sin. He loves us so much that He became a human being and chose to not to sin so that we could follow in His footsteps. Nothing is hidden from Him so we must choose to live our lives as open books for Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

January 6, 2019

ANGRY

Ephesians 4:26-27

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

Personal Challenge

God has given us all the emotion of anger for a reason. It is okay to express this emotion, but we must know who that anger needs to be addressed toward. We are not to be angry with our brothers and sisters, our fellow mankind, but at the true enemy that is trying to divide us. That true enemy is the devil and he is the one that we should express our anger at when we feel that emotion arising within us. This is the only way to be angry and to not sin. Glory be to God!

January 5, 2019

Saint of the Week

St. Clement of Alexandria

January 4, 2019

SATIATED AND FILLED

Jeremiah 38:25

For I have satiated every thirsty soul and filled every hungry soul.

Encourage Words

To receive a promise from God that our every thirst will be satiated and every hunger filled is not some kind of prosperity gospel. We are not promised anywhere in the scriptures that if we follow Jesus and obey God that we will receive everything that we desire. God's economy is so much different than man's economy. We are promised that following Jesus and obeying God will satiate the very thirst of our souls, a thirst for the only One that counts, and that hunger in our soul to be united with God will be filled by Him. This is the economy of God. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

January 3, 2019

WALK WORTHY

Ephesians 4:1-3

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Personal challenge

What do we typically envision when we think of someone who is walking worthy? Is it someone who is proud and can hold their head up high? Is it someone who has done well in their life and moved up the ladder of success and amassed great wealth? These would be definitions that the world would apply to someone that can walk worthy. However, this is not what God deems important for someone who can walk worthy of His calling. He is looking for those who are humble and gentle toward others. He is looking for those who are longsuffering and both able and willing to bear with one another in love. His desire is for us to walk this way endeavoring to keep unity with those around us. This is how to walk worthy. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 2, 2019

EVERLASTING LOVE

Jeremiah 38:3

The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I drew you in compassion.”

Encouraging Words

What does "everlasting" mean? It means that all of time is spanned, past, present, and future. It means that something has always existed and always will. Jeremiah shares with us that God told him that His love for him was everlasting and that He drew him to Himself out of that love and compassion for him. The scriptures tell us that God loves us this way too, from everlasting to everlasting. God loved us before we even existed in this temporal body and will love us throughout the entirety of eternity. He will draw us to Himself compassionately out of that great love. Glory be to God!

January 1, 2019

PRAYER FOR A NEW YEAR

Ephesians 3:14-19

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Encouraging Words

What better way is there to start off a new year than this prayer by Saint Paul for all of the believers of his day and that would come after him until the return of our Lord? There is nothing more that any of us could ever hope for than to be strengthened with might through His Spirit, that we be rooted and grounded in love, and be able to comprehend with all the saints and what is the width and length and depth and height of Gods' love for us. This love surpasses all human knowledge and understanding. Glory be to God!

December 31, 2018

HE WILL HEAL US

Jeremiah 37:13-14

Therefore, all who devour you shall be consumed, for all your enemies shall devour themselves. Your sins multiplied because of the abundance of your wrongdoings, thus they did these things to you. But those who tore you to pieces shall be as prey, and I will give all who plundered you as plunder. For I will bring about your healing from a painful wound. I will heal you,’ says the Lord. ‘For you were called Dispersed, for they said, “She is your prey, because no one seeks her.’ ”

Personal Challenge

The Israelites of old were dispersed, multiple times, from their promised land. Each time it was a result from abandoning their part of their covenant from God. Do we not do the same with our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. We get caught up in the world around us and turn our heads and hearts away from Him and toward the things of the world. We become enamored with the things of this world and begin to worship them instead of our Lord. As long as we are still alive within our temporal bodies we will be confronted by temporal temptations. We must continually turn to our loving God and seek His healing and His protection so that we can be kept pure in our relationship

with Him. We must do our part because He is always ready to do His part. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

December 30, 2018

GOOD WORKS FLOW

Ephesians 2:8-10

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Encouraging Words

There is always a great tension between different Christian faith practices around the application of works in our Christian journey through life. There have been many times in my earlier Christian journey where is warned, sometimes vehemently, to be careful to not expect that my mission trips and other activities would get me into heaven. These conversations always struck me as odd because I knew that the only reason I was doing what I did was that I was grateful for all that Jesus had done for me. It is the grace of God and the work of Jesus that is my only source of salvation. Now that I have been practicing Orthodoxy for several years it is becoming easier to see the truth of God's grace and His love for me. Here is how the Orthodox Study Bible explains this verse:

How can one get from the one kingdom to the other (vv. 1–7)? By the unity of grace, faith, and works (v. 9). Not that these are equal, for grace is uncreated and infinite, whereas our faith is limited and can grow; good works flow out of authentic faith. Works cannot earn us this great treasure—it is a pure gift—but those who receive this gift do good. We are not saved by good works, but for good works (v. 10).

Perhaps I had an Orthodox mindset before I started practicing Orthodoxy. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

December 29, 2018

Saint of the Week

St. Symeon of Daibabe