January 28, 2020

ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE

Psalms 26:4

One thing I ask from the Lord; this I will seek,
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
And behold the delights of the Lord,
And visit His temple.

Personal challenge

Do I desire my God this much? Is this the one thing that I ask over and over? The house of the Lord is so much better than anything that this world can offer. Do I desire it more than everything in this world? This is the personal challenge... to desire God and His house all the days of my life. Glory be to God!

January 25, 2020

Saint of the Week

St. Silouan the Athonite

January 24, 2020

THE LORD IS

Psalms 26:1 (27:1)

The Lord is my light and my savior; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defender of my life; whom shall I dread?

Encouraging Words

The sooner that we can embrace the truth that "the Lord is and I am not", the sooner we will see our lives transformed. The Lord is our light of life. He is our salvation from death. He is our defender, our fortress, throughout life. When we embrace these truths at the core of our being and hold on to them dearly, then we will have no fear and there will be no one or no thing that we will dread. We will surely be free. Glory be to God!

January 23, 2020

THE GENTLE

Psalms 24:8-11 (25:8-11)

Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He will instruct sinners in His way.
He will guide the gentle in judgment;
He will teach the gentle His ways.
All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth
For those who seek His covenant and His testimonies.
For Your name's sake, O Lord,
Pardon my sin, for it is great.

Encouraging Words

Buried in the middle of this passage are some precious promises. In order to receive these promises, we must change our lives to be a certain way. That way is to be gentle to those around us, our loved ones, our friends, our acquaintances, our neighbors, our enemies, and the stranger amongst us. If we will humble ourselves and be gentle to others, God will guide us in judgment so that we will make decisions that glorify Him. He will teach us His ways. God does not lord it over us, so why do we do this to others? He treats us with love and compassion, so why do we not do this to others? Because we have not yet become gentle. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

January 22, 2020

HIS MERCY

Psalms 24:7 (25:7)

Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor of my ignorance;
But remember me according to Your mercy,
Because of Your loving-kindness, O Lord.

Encouraging Words

"Remember me according to Your mercy." Notice that the Psalmist does not ask God to remember him for the good and noble things that he has done. He does not do this because he knows that no matter what we do in our life, no matter how good it might be in our eyes, it never measures up to the good that God is. So we are left only with the ability to plea that God remembers us through His mercy and loving-kindness. Lord, have mercy! Lord, ham mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 21, 2020

I WAIT ALL THE DAY

Psalms 24:4-5 (25:4-5)

Make known Your ways to me, O Lord,
And teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation,
And on You I wait all the day.

Encouraging Words

God is not some far off, detached being that does not care about us. On the contrary, it is always us that creates the distance from Him which causes us to feel like He has left us. We must constantly plea to Him in our prayers to make known His ways to us, to teach us His paths, to lead us in His truth. We do not do this in order to move Him closer to us, but in order for us to draw closer to Him. He is the God of our salvation. If we call upon Him and wait on Him all the day long, then we will move toward Him and know Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy, on me, the sinner!

January 20, 2020

ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE

Psalms 22:6 (23:6)

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord to the end of my days.

Encouraging Words

Many have made the mistake of believing that God's kingdom, heaven, is something that they will see after they die. But Jesus taught the He had ushered God's kingdom into our world when He became incarnate. God's kingdom is now, and forevermore. We can dwell in the house the remainder of our days here on earth and into eternity. This is why God's goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives. Glory be to God!

January 19, 2020

TO BE DESIRED

Psalms 18:8-12 (19:7-11)

The law of the Lord is blameless, converting souls;
The testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making children wise;

The ordinances of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring unto ages of ages;
The judgments of the Lord are true, being altogether just.
More to be desired are they than gold and a very precious stone,
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
For indeed Your servant keeps them;

In keeping them there is great reward.

Encouraging Words

One of the challenges with some of the Western Christian faith practices is that they have thrown out the precepts of following the practices of discipline and obedience out of their belief system. It is believed that by doing things for our God might lead people to believe that we can earn our way into heaven. God is our salvation, our only salvation. That salvation comes through Jesus Christ and His incarnation as fully God and fully man, His sinless life, and His death, burial, and resurrection. For those of us who have been redeemed by Him, our works are our expression of our love for Him and our gratitude for His grace and mercy. We do not view them as earning anything, rather our giving back to Him. Glory be to God!

January 18, 2020

Saint of the Week

St. John Climacus

January 17, 2020

HE LIVES

Psalms 17:47 (18:46)

The Lord lives, and blessed is my God.
Let the salvation of my God be exalted,

Encouraging Words

No matter how much some people may proclaim that God does not exist, it does not change the truth. People can believe what they want, but God's truth always prevails. He loves! He and only He is blessed. Only through Him, and by Him, can mankind and creation find salvation. Glory be to God, our Salvation!

January 16, 2020

IT IS GOD

Psalms 17:33 (18:32)

It is God who girds me with power,
And He made my way blameless;

Personal Challenge

It is so easy to get caught up in the belief that we are self-made and have power on our own. God is the only true source of power. Anything else is only temporal and fleeting. God is the only one that can make our paths straight and blameless. we must pursue Him and stay close to Him if we desire to be strong and blameless for Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 15, 2020

SAVED FROM MY ENEMIES

Psalms 17:2-4 (18:1-3)

thus he said:
“I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my foundation, my refuge, my deliverer;
My God is my helper, on Him I will hope,
My champion, the horn of my salvation, and my protector.
I will call upon the Lord and praise Him,
And I shall be saved from my enemies.”

Encouraging Words

David had some pretty difficult times in his life. He loved God deeply and trusted Him completely. He slew the giant Goliath with 3 smooth stones ending the oppression of the Philistines and then was immediately hated by King Saul out of jealousy. After Saul sinned gravely, David was anointed king but pursued aggressively by Saul who wanted to kill him. He was also pursued by many others who did not want him to fulfill his role as the king. Through all of this, he remained loyal to his God because he knew his source of life nested in Him. This part of his Psalm shows how much he trusted and loved his God. We too can claim these truths about God because He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God will save us from our enemies. Glory be to God!

January 14, 2020

LISTEN, O LORD

Psalms 16:1-9 (17:1-9)

Listen, O Lord of my righteousness;
Attend to my supplication;
Give ear to my prayer that is not with deceitful lips.
From Your face let my judgment come;
Let my eyes behold uprightness.
You tested my heart, when You visited me in the night;
You tried me in the fire, and found nothing unjust in me.
That my mouth might not speak of the works of men,
I held to hard ways because of the words of Your lips.
Restore my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.
I cried out, because You listened to me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my words.
Magnify Your mercies,
O You who save those who hope in You
From those who rise up against Your right hand.
Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
In the shelter of Your wings, You will shelter me
From the face of the ungodly who trouble me.
My enemies surrounded my soul;

Personal challenge

Sometimes we need to be like David and just plea to God hoping that He will hear our petitions and supplications. He hears them, but how often do we not hear our own prayers and do what we know is right in God's eyes in order to draw close to Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 13, 2020

KNOWING

Psalms 15:11 (16:11)

You made known to me the ways of life;
You will fill me with gladness in Your presence;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Encouraging Words

One of the blessings of pursuing Christ and attempting to walk in His footsteps is that He will make known to us the ways of life. We do not cherish this knowledge because it gives us an advantage over our fellow humans but because it helps us to follow in His footsteps even more. It is all about Him and nothing about us. This is why we are filled with gladness in His presence. These are the pleasures at His right hand forevermore. Glory be to God!

January 12, 2020

MY HEART IS GLAD

Psalms 15:7-9 (16:7-9)

I will bless the Lord who caused me to understand;
Moreover, until night my reins also instructed me.
I saw the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
Therefore my heart was glad,
And my tongue rejoiced exceedingly;
My flesh also shall dwell in hope.

Encouraging Words

The Psalmist captures so well the feelings that one can have when they have a deep relationship with God. God helps us to understand. Through Him, we can understand the issues that we are facing every day in our lives and we can bless Him in those issues because we know that He is greater than them. He instructs us. He goes before us in our journey of life. He is at our right hand, a position of companionship, and we are not shaken in tribulations. Because of who He is and who He is in our relationship with Him, our heart is glad, our tongue rejoices exceedingly, and we shall dwell in hope. Glory be to God! My heart is glad!

January 11, 2020

Saint of the Week

St. John Maximovich

January 10, 2020

HIS WILL

Psalms 15:3 (16:3)

To the saints on His earth,
In them He magnified all His will.

Encouraging Words

God has a perfect will for His creation. He has a plan and a desire for it to be a particular way. He does not, however, force us to comply with His will. That is why He created us with free will. He does reveal and magnify His will to those who become His saints so that it is not a mystery to us. Glory be to God!

January 8, 2020

WHO?

Psalm 14 (15)

O Lord, who shall dwell in Your tabernacle?
Who shall live in Your holy mountain?
He who walks blamelessly, and works righteousness,
And speaks truth in his heart,
Who does not deceive with his tongue,
Neither does evil to his neighbor;
And does not find fault with those nearest him.
He disdains those who do evil in his presence,
But he holds in honor those who fear the Lord;
He swears an oath to his neighbor and does not set it aside.
He does not lend his money at interest,
And he does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be shaken.

Personal Challenge

Oh, how many times have I heard well-intended people proclaim that they wished they knew what God's will was in their lines. It really is not all that difficult. The Psalmist sums it up very succinctly in this Psalm. The result of living a godly life as laid out here is to be able to dwell with God. This is God's will for us, that we will live our lives His way. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

January 7, 2020

HOPE IN HIS MERCY

Psalms 12:6 (13:5-6)

But I hope in Your mercy;
My heart shall greatly rejoice in Your salvation;
I will sing to the Lord, who shows kindness to me;
I will sing to the name of the Lord Most High.

Encouraging Words

Maybe one of the reasons that God proclaimed David to be a man after His own heart was that David had his priorities right. He always put his hope in God's mercy first and foremost. This is such a prevalent part of the worship of the Orthodox Church. We are constantly singing, 'Lord, have mercy!" We know that we are not worthy of the grace that God chooses to bestow upon us. We do not deserve His blessings and therefore cannot get puffed up in His kindness toward us. Our hope is in God's mercy. Because of His mercy, we can rejoice in His salvation and the kindness that "He shows us. Glory be to God!

January 6, 2020

BEING UPRIGHT

Psalms 10:7 (11:7)

The righteous Lord loves righteousness;
His face beholds the upright.

Personal Challenge

We live in an age where righteousness and uprightness have been diluted because we no longer embrace truth, especially absolute truth. This does not prevent us from pursuing God and seeking His truths. By doing this we can embrace His truths as absolute regardless of what the rest of the world thinks about them. God is a righteous God and He loves righteousness. We must choose to pursue righteousness. He is upright by His very nature and beholds uprightness in those who choose to live upright lives. Glory be to God!

January 5, 2020

HE HEARS THE POOR

Psalms 9:38-39 (10:17-18)

The Lord hears the desire of the poor;
Your ear heeds the readiness of their heart,
To judge the orphan and the humble,
That man may no longer increase his great boasting upon the earth.

Encouraging Words

What does it mean to be poor in the eyes of God? Is it just about money? I don't think so. There are so many who are wealthy by the standards of our culture and yet they are extremely poor in all other aspects of their lives, especially in their relationship with God. Granted, the scriptures remind us frequently to use our wealth, our abundance, to tend to the poor, the widow, and the orphan. God cares for those that are in great physical need. But He also loves and cares for those who are poor in spirit, poor on their relationship to Him, especially if they are expressing a desire to know Him, who have a readiness is their heart for Him, and who are willing to become humble before Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 3, 2020

GOD DOES SEE

Psalms 9:35 (10:14)

But You do see, You do perceive the suffering and pain,
That You might deliver them into Your hands;
Therefore, the poor man will be left to You;
You give help to the orphan.

Personal Challenge

Sometimes we can feel like we have fallen out of God's sight and that He no longer knows the struggles that we are going through. This is never the case. He always sees what is going on in our lives, better than we do. He always perceives our suffering and pain and grieves for us. We are always in His hands. It is our own eyes that do not see Him, our own ears that do not hear Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

January 4, 2020

Saint of the Week

St. Ignatius

January 2, 2020

OUR HOPE

Psalms 9:11 (9:10)

And let those who know Your name put their hope in You;
For You, O Lord, do not forsake those who seek You

Encouraging Words

Our God does not forsake those who seek Him. He is not some kind of fickle lord or evasive leader. He is constant. He is our only hope. Glory be to God!

December 31, 2019

O MOST HIGH

Psalms 9:2-3 (1-2)

I will give thanks to You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your wondrous things;
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Personal Challenge

We are nothing without God. We would not even exist without His decision to create us in our mother's womb, Whether we believe in Him or not, this truth still exists. So, if I proclaim Him as my Lord, then I must proclaim Him to those whom I encounter every moment of every day, sometimes with words, but always with my actions. Glory be to God!

December 30, 2019

OUR HOPE

Psalms 5:12-13 (11-12)

But let all who hope in You be glad;
They will greatly rejoice forever,
For You will dwell in them;
And all who love Your name will boast in You.
For You will bless the righteous;
O Lord, You crowned us with the shield of Your goodwill.

Encouraging Words

David, a young man, was being pursued by Saul, the king of Israel who had abandoned God and was bent on killing him. David was hiding in caves and going from village to village begging for food for his survival. And yet, in the midst of this challenging and treacherous time in his life, he was writing psalms like this one proclaiming how much God will protect us if we will put our hope in Him. God is always our protector, whether we acknowledge it or not. Glory be to God!

December 29, 2019

WATCHING

Psalms 5:4 (5:3)

In the morning You shall hear my voice;
In the morning I will stand before You,
And I will watch.

Personal Challenge

In our busyness of life, we seldom take the time to arise early in the morning and wait upon the Lord to hear His voice. Life has become too full of distractions and noise. If we want to start our day with God in it, then we must be diligent in standing before Him and watching for Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

December 28, 2019

Saint of the Week

St. Anthony of the Desert

December 27, 2019

RESTING IN PEACE

Psalms 4:9 (4:8)

I will both sleep and rest in peace,
For You alone, O Lord, cause me to dwell in hope.

Encouraging Words

Our Lord loves us and cares for us. He has always been true to His promises. We can be at peace in all aspects of our lives if we truly believe this and have faith in Him rather than the world. Glory be to God!