April 30, 2019

DIED IN FAITH

Hebrews 11:13-16

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

Encouraging Words

The saints that have gone before us have shown us what it is to both live and to die in faith. Many of the modern preachers teach that by putting our faith in Jesus we will get what we desire now, in this present life. This is the prosperity gospel and it is a lie, a heresy. We do not put our faith in Jesus for things of this world. We put our faith in Him for that promised Kingdom which is not of this world. We do not stop there. We also choose to not look back to the things of this world that we have left behind, for if we do, we will be drawn back to them. Our hope is in Jesus. Our hope is in His Kingdom to come. And we are willing to go to the grave knowing that this hope will be fulfilled someday after this life. We are willing to die in our faith. Glory be to God!

April 29, 2019

BY FAITH

Hebrews 11:8

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Personal Challenge

Faith is not just a state of mind. Faith is also the actions that flow from that state of mind. Abraham believed in God, but the faith that was attributed to him came from his willingness to obey God and to leave his homeland in search of the promised land of God. Our faith is not fully consummated until we put actions to it. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

April 28, 2019

PLEASING GOD

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Personal Challenge

Today, all around the world, millions of Eastern Orthodox Christians are celebrating Pascha as we have for over 2000 years. Pascha, our Easter, is the highest recognized feast and celebration of our church. We participate in the resurrection of our Lord from His death. And if we have participated in the great Lent leading up to this event, as well as our Holy Week celebrations, we will have also participated in the entire history of mankind from the creation in Genesis through to Jesus walking through the streets of Jerusalem, His betrayal, and death on the cross. But none of this means anything if we do not have faith in Jesus, who He is, and what He has done, or faith in His Father. It is this faith that changes us. It is this faith that gives us a desire to please Him. If we find that we are just going through the motions of worship, faking our love for Him, not paying attention to Him when He is calling out to us when we are in His liturgy, then we must ask ourselves if we really do have faith in Him. He will change us... if we let Him. He will draw us to Himself and we will find ourselves totally mesmerized on Him whenever we are in His presence... if we let Him. He will reward us... if we seek Him. When we truly know Him, we will be changed and we will please Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner?

April 24, 2019

FAITH 

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Encouraging Words

Most of my life, I saw this verse as the definition of faith, but in reality, it is more of a description of how faith works. Throughout the history of the church and God's chosen people, faith has been exhibited, especially in hard times, through countless people looking forward to the fulfillment of the promises of God. Entry into the promised land. A Messiah to lead them. The coming of the Kingdom of God. Most of these people did not receive or encounter what they were hoping for, but their faith kept them going. Faith perseveres because of who it is that we put our faith in. Glory be to God!

April 23, 2019

CONFIDENCE AND ENDURANCE

Hebrews 10:35-36

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

Personal challenge

If we are going to make it to the end of the race, let alone be in the lead of the pack, then we must have endurance. Endurance gets its strength from practice and exercise, but it gets its resolve from confidence. Our confidence is in our Lord and we must keep that confidence in order to endure to the end. Glory be to God!

April 22, 2019

HOLD FAST

Hebrews 10:23-25

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Personal challenge

If I have learned anything in my years of life, it is that you have to hold on tight to those things that are good and worth having. I have also learned that the process of holding on often includes the help of others in our life. We are charged by the writer of Hebrews to hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering. Our hope is Jesus. He is who we hold fast to. He is our source of hope. We are also charged to consider one another so as to stir up love and good works, assemble with others, and exhort one another. This is where these others can help us as we hold fast to our confession of hope. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

April 21, 2019

OUR MERCIFUL HIGH PRIEST

Hebrews 4:14-16

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Encouraging Words

Jesus is our High priest. He now sits beside our God representing us day in and day out throughout the remainder of eternity. And even though we all know that there will be a day of judgment, we also believe that Jesus will be merciful on that day as our merciful High Priest. No one is sinless except for Jesus and we must seek His mercy upon us. He knows what we are going through for He too was a human being and it is because of that we can boldly approach His throne of grace seeking His mercy and Grace. Praise be to Goel!

April 20, 2019

Saint of the Week

St. John of Dalyatha

April 19, 2019

NOTHING HIDDEN

Hebrews 4:13

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Personal challenge

Another aspect of the Living Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, is that being God, He is everywhere present, all of the time. There is nothing that can be hidden from Him, even our thoughts. The sooner we embrace this, the sooner we will begin to let go of those things in our lives that we try to hide from others and God. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

April 18, 2019

LIVING WORD

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Encouraging Words

We have often heard or had taught to us, that this verse is talking about the Bible. However, when this was written, the Bible as we know it did not exist the Old Testament existed in scrolls and scripts, but the New Testament was being written and none of it was compiled into the Bible that we know for hundreds of years. So what is this verse talking about? The Living Word, which is our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Word of God and He is the one that is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword and the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Glory be to God!

April 17, 2019

REST

Hebrews 4:9-10

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

Encouraging Words

We have this promise from our merciful God that there is a time of rest waiting for us, His people. A rest that is on the par with His rest after He created everything in existence. What a glorious rest that will be. Glory be to God!

April 16, 2019

EXHORTATION

Hebrews 3:13

but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

Personal challenge

We are not alone on our journey toward theosis. The early church fathers taught that our salvation through Christ only comes about in a community. We need each other to fulfill our salvation. This verse in Hebrews urges us to exhort one another, lift each other up, on a daily or ongoing basis. We are not to do this just on Sundays when we are at church but throughout the week. This is the only way that we can be given the strength and encouragement to avoid sin. Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

April 15, 2019

DEATH IS DEAD

Hebrews 2:14-15

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Encouraging words

There are some of our early church fathers that believed Adam and Eve were children of the light when they were in the garden of Eden and that when God clothed them after their sin, the clothing is the flesh and blood that we share with them as their descendants. These verses appear to allude to that thinking as well. Since they, and subsequently us, have been clothed in flesh and blood, then for Jesus to defeat the death of these bodies that comes for all, He had to put on the same flesh and blood. By doing this, He could live a perfect human life and die a death even though He was sinless. Because of this perfect life and physical death, His resurrection destroyed death itself and any power that it had on creation. As we sing in our Paschal hymn, "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and upon those in the tombs, bestowing life." Glory be to God!

April 14, 2019

AVOID THIS

Titus 3:9-11

But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.

Personal challenge

The scriptures provide us many insights into how we should live our lives as Christians. They always boil down to the two supreme commands given to us by Jesus. They are to love our God and to love our neighbor. Sometimes we are clearly taught about those things that we need to avoid in our lives. Paul lists some of those in this passage and it would be good for us to heed this in our modern day. The first four, foolish disputes, genealogies, contentiousness, and strivings about the law, all revolve around spending too much time debating, arguing, and scheming over various and sundry religious teachings. We must be careful to not let heretical or schismatic teachings into the church The second is to deal swiftly in the church with those who are divisive. What does divisive look like? We all know how to spot that person who is intentionally trying to divide the church over something obvious. It may be over someone they don't like, or the way a decision was made, or a myriad of other things, but it is obvious that they want to build a contingency of people on their side of the argument. However, it is the covert divisiveness that can be hard to spot. It may be in the form of gossip. "Did you know that so-and-so...". It may be in the form of complaining to everyone that will listen rather than going to the source of the conflict. It is usually done one-on-one and subvers­ively. Paul is really clear on this. Admonish them and then avoid them. Divisiveness will very quickly destroy the unity of the body. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

April 13, 2019

Saint of the Week

St. Isaac the Syrian

April 12, 2019

ACCORDING TO HIS MERCY

Titus 3:4-8

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

Encouraging Words

It is so good to know that God's kindness and love are shown toward mankind is not dependent upon our works or righteousness. If it was, then we would never see the salvation from eternal death that we so desperately need. It is only because of His mercy and the works and righteousness of His incarnate Son that we receive salvation. It is through Him and our baptism by water into Him and the receding of the Holy Spirit through chrismation that we become heirs in the Kingdom of God. Glory be to God!

April 11, 2019

TREATMENT OF OTHERS

Titus 3:1-2

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.

Personal Challenge

How are we as Christians supposed to treat others? In Paul's letter to Titus, we have a few more guidelines other than "love your neighbor". If we are subject to a ruler or authority (government, law enforcement, teacher, employer, etc.), which all of us are, then we are to obey them and to be ready to do good works for them. For everyone else in our lives, then we are to speak evil of no one, be peaceable with all, be gentle, and show humility to all. This is no small task, yet one that we signed up for when we chose to follow Jesus. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Loud, have mercy!

April 10, 2019

LOOKING FOR HIM

Titus 2:11-14

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

Personal challenge

So, we are being told by Paul, as he teaches Titus, to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. Doesn't this sound a bit like how we are supposed to be living during Great Lent? It does, but in reality, we should be living this way every day of our lives as we strive to be like Christ. This is a good lesson for the Lenten season. We should be trying to live the Lenten way all the time and not just the seven weeks leading up to Pascha. Maybe if we did this, Lent would not be so hard for us. And why do we do this? We do this because we are looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We live this way to be always ready for His return. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

April 9, 2019

BEHAVING WELL

Titus 2:9-10

Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.

Personal Challenge

I have heard people say that the Bible does not apply to our world today. I have also heard people complain that there are not enough clear guidelines in the Bible for how we should act in certain situations. Both of these comments baffle me. Some of the terminologies may have changed over the last 2,000 years, but the concepts are still relevant, as they have remained so for all of those years. We do not have bondservants and masters, but we do have employees and employers, subordinates and managers, students and teachers, customers and suppliers. In all of these modern-day relationships, we can apply these teachings to Titus. Be obedient to the one that is in the lead. Strive to meet their needs by being well-pleasing, not answering back, not pilfering, and showing good fidelity. We do this to please our Lord and be an adornment to His doctrine. Glory be to God!

April 8, 2019

GROUNDED IN GOOD DOCTRINE

Titus 2:6-8

Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.

Personal challenge

What is driving the direction of our country, a country founded on the principles of a loving God, to be such a judgmental, self-focused, angry, unloving country? Maybe a key contributor to this is that we have walked away from the sound doctrine of the early church. And when I say early church, I mean the one that started around AD 30. Paul was exhorting Titus, as well as us, to be sober-minded in our actions, to perform good and godly works, and to live out doctrine in our lives that produce integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, and sound speech. Instead, we have created and adhere to a doctrine that is self-focused, self-aggrandizing, angry, judgmental, and lifeless. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

April 7, 2019

A BONDSERVANT

Titus 1:1

Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,

Personal Challenge

In Paul's day, the concept of being a bondservant had two very different and strong definitions. The Jewish concept, based on the Old Testament usually meant a person who had dedicated their entire life to their master. The bondservant would often end up as the master's right hand man. In the Roman empire, the bondservant was one who had lost everything including his ability to choose for himself and who was totally submissive to his master, whether good or bad. Paul determined that his role and calling as an apostle fit both of these definitions and he was okay with that. Do we, today, put that much faith in our Lord? Are we willing to give over our entire being and our desires to do what we want to do so that God can use us to build His kingdom? Are we acting on the knowledge of the truth that He has bestowed on us? Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

April 6, 2019

Saint of the Week

St. Basil the Great

April 5, 2019

DELIVERANCE

2 Timothy 4:18

And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!

Encouraging Words

Once again we are reminded that we are not alone on our lifelong journey to theosis. Our Lord is with us on this journey and will deliver us from any evil that might come our way. We can choose to accept and receive that help or press on into the midst of the evil and receive the consequences accordingly. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

April 4, 2019

CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

2 Timothy 4:7-8

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Personal Challenge

Life is tough. Paul talks about fighting the fight and running the race. Living a godly, Christ-centered life is not for the weak or the uncommitted. It is an all or nothing decision that we must make. And when we choose to commit our all to the life of Christ we can expect to be beaten, spit upon, ostracized, and even crucified. But there is a plus side to all of this. What we choose to give up in this world turns out to be a down payment on all the treasures that God has in store for us in eternity. We believe, we know, that in that day He will give us our crown of righteousness and He will welcome us into His Kingdom and the presence of our glorious God. This may be our personal challenge, but it will definitely be worth it. Glory be to God!

April 3, 2019

DULY CHARGED

2 Timothy 4:1-4

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

Personal challenge

We have been duly charged by Apostle Paul to be ready to stand firm on the teachings of our Lord through His Church. Our charge is to preach the Word of God, Jesus Christ, to be ready at all times to give an answer with regards to whom we put our hope in, Jesus Christ, and to rebuke, exhort, and to do it all with long-suffering. We are also to be on our guard against fake teachings and doctrines that will infiltrate the body of Christ. We have our work cut out for us. Glory be to God!

April 2, 2019

INSPIRED BY GOD

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Encouraging Words

The teachings and writings that we follow have been inspired by our loving God so that we would have what we need to live Godly, Christ-centered lives. Christ, himself is the living embodiment of the Word of God. He is the Light that illumines our way. Glory be to God!

April 1, 2019

PERSECUTION

2 Timothy 3:12

Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Personal Challenge

So, after reading this simple verse, I have asked myself "Am I suffering persecution?" The answer is, "No!" So, if I am not suffering persecution, then does that mean that I am not desiring to live godly in Christ Jesus? That is a tough one. We do live in a country and a time where I am not persecuted for being a Christian. Yet! But that day may be coming. We do live in a culture, though, where if I try to live a Christlike life, people around me will get agitated. We have become so polarized in our thinking that if I try to think or behave outside of the cultural box that everyone wants to force me into, then some form of persecution is exhibited. Try it out sometime and see what happens. Be apolitical, neither Republican or Democrat and see what happens. Love those around you, no matter what their sexual preference, political leanings, social agenda, race, color, or creed and see what happens. Love and take care of the downtrodden, the widow, the orphan, the migrant, or the outcast and see what happens. Maybe the reason I am not seeing persecution in my life is that I am not following in the footsteps of Jesus. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

March 31, 2019

LIVING RIGHT

2 Timothy 2:22-26

Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

Personal challenge

This is another one of those passages that is packed full of the truths that we need to make it through every day. What should we avoid in our lives? Youthful lusts. Foolish and ignorant disputes that generate strife. Do not quarrel. We avoid these so that we can do the things that God wants us to do. What are these things? Pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, especially with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Be gentle to all, able to teach. Be patient and humble in our dealings with others. We are God's instruments in this world to show them who God is and how much He loves them. This should dictate to us the behaviors to live our lives by. Glory be to God!