May 31, 2020

LET ALL THE KINGS OF THE EARTH

Psalms 137:4-6 (138:4-6) 

O Lord, let all the kings of the earth give thanks to You,
For they heard all the words of Your mouth;
And let them sing in the ways of the Lord,
For the glory of the Lord is great;
For the Lord is high, and He watches over the lowly things;

But the high things He knows from afar.

Personal Challenge

It is so sad to see the state that our fallen world has come to. Has it been worse? Yes! Has it been better? Yes! Will it get worse? Yes! Will it get better? Maybe! What is critical in all of this is how will we respond. How will I respond? Are there injustices? Yes! Are people getting hurt? Yes! Are those of us who proclaim Jesus as our Lord demonstrating His love to those around us? In person? On social media? By our words? Most importantly, by our actions? Until we do this how will the kings of the earth, or anyone else for that matter, be able to hear the words from His mouth, or sing for Him, or even know Him? God's love is for His creation, all of it. He sees through the color of our skin, the age of our bodies, the preferences and choices that we make, and even the ways that we do or do not worship Him and sees the children that He created in His image. And, He asks us to see and love each other that way as well. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy on me, the sinner?

May 30, 2020

Saint of the Week

St. Joseph the Hesychast

May 29, 2020

UNITY

Psalms 132 (133)

Behold now, what is so good or so pleasant
As for brothers to dwell together in unity?
It is like fragrant oil running down upon the beard,
The beard of Aaron, Running down upon the border of his garment;
It is like the dew of Hermon, running down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing And life forever.

Encouraging Words

Again we have all these graphic images presented to us about how wonderful it is "for brothers to dwell together in unity". Without the understanding of these images, the beauty of this passage goes unnoticed. Knowing what these images portray and the beauty of this passage, it is clear that in God's eyes dwelling together in unity is of ultimate importance to Him. Think about it. The Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is the ultimate epitome of living in unity. Glory be to God!

May 28, 2020

IN VAIN

Psalms 126:1 (127:1) 

Unless the Lord builds the house,
Those who build it labor in vain;
Unless the Lord guard the city,

Those who guard it stay awake in vain.

Personal Challenge

It is so easy in our American culture to slip into the mode of the self-made, self-dependent person and go through life believing that we can do everything and anything on our own. If we do this enough we begin to believe that we do not need the Lord and delegate Him to ride in the back seat. This could not be farther from the truth. We need our Lord to be in charge, for without Him, all is in vain. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

May 27, 2020

WHERE SHALL MY HELP COME FROM?

Psalms 120:1-4 (121:1-4) 

I lifted my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
Let not your foot be moved;
Neither let Him who keeps you slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

Encouraging Words

Our help comes from the Lord! Who is He? It is He who made heaven and earth. He never slumbers. He keeps Israel, His church, in the protective palm of His hand. He is the only one that we can put our hope in, for the help that we really need in our lives comes from only Him. My help comes from the Lord. Glory be to Him!

May 26, 2020

HE HEARD ME

Psalms 119:1-4 (120:1-4)

To the Lord in my affliction
I cried out, and He heard me.
O Lord, deliver my soul from unjust lips
And from a deceitful tongue.
What should be given You, and what added to You,
Against a deceitful tongue?
The arrows of the Mighty One are sharpened

With hot coals from the desert.

Encouraging Words

We can cry out to our Lord and He will hear our voice. He will also respond to our cries, however, His response may not necessarily be the answer that we are looking for. God transcends time and space. He always knows what is best for us, both now and in the future. If we want to be His disciples and follow in His footsteps, then we must trust Him to do what is best and right in our lives and be joyful that He responds. Living this way keeps us on His straight and narrow path. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

May 24, 2020

CRY OUT

Psalms 118:147 (119:147) 

I arose at midnight and cried out; I hoped in Your words.

Encouraging Words

Have you ever had one of those nights where you could not fall off to sleep? Maybe rather than reaching out for your phone or tablet to occupy your mind, you should try crying out to your Lord in prayer and spending time with Him. We can put our hope in Him. Glory be to God!

May 23, 2020

Saint of the Week

St. Paisios

May 22, 2010

DIRECT MY STEPS

Psalms 118:133 (119:133)

Direct my steps according to Your teaching And let no lawlessness rule over me.

Personal Challenge

Whose lawlessness should we be praying to be protected from? Is it the lawlessness of those around us? Sometimes. But in most cases this prayer should be directed at ourselves. We all have the tendency to choose the path of sin and therefore create lawlessness in our own lives. By seeking God and pursuing His teaching, we can do a better job of letting Him direct our steps. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

May 21, 2020

HIS REVELATION

Psalms 118:130 (119:130)

 
The revelation of Your words gives light, And it causes children to understand.

Personal Challenge

We need God's revelation in our lives to give light to His word, His teachings. We so often pursue His wisdom from our earthly, academic, and self-focused perspective and act as if we know and understand His ways. All of our learning must be rooted in Him if it is to fill us with His light. Glory be to God!

May 20, 2020

A LAMP AND A LIGHT

Psalms 118:105 (119:105) 

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my paths.

Encouraging Words

Sometimes life can be pretty dark and lonely. We are blessed to have Jesus (the Word) in our lives to light the way and to guide us along the path of life. If it is still dark after inviting Him to be our Lord, then maybe it is time to open our eyes. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

May 19, 2020

FOREVER

Psalms 118:89 (119:89)

Forever, O Lord, Your word continues in heaven.

Personal Challenge

We are so finite. Everything in this temporal realm is finite. Even things like this pandemic, which seems to many to be with us for the rest of our lives, is also finite. It does have an end. However, the Word of Lord, which is Jesus Christ, is infinite. He has no beginning and no end. We can put our trust and hope in Him for He will never go away. Glory be to God!

May 18, 2020

HIS COMPASSIONS

Psalms 118:77 (119:77)

 
Let Your compassions come to me, and I shall live;
For Your law is my meditation.

Command with a Promise

Throughout the scriptures, we are given insights into the things that we need to do in order to receive some of God's blessings. This is not about earning God's love, mercy, or grace. These are unmerited because He chose to love us before the beginning of time. We cannot earn our way into God's grace. However, as His beloved children, we can choose to do those things that God would want us to do. We do this out of our love for Him and our desire to show Him that love. We do it because He first loved us. So,
in this verse, we learn that if we meditate on His law, His teachings, His truths, then we will see His compassions being poured out upon us and shall live. Glory be to God!

May 17, 2020

ALL IS VANITY

Psalms 118:37 (119:37)

Turn away my eyes that I may not see vanity;

Give me life in Your way.

Personal challenge

So much in this world is vain, or senseless and foolish. King Solomon ends his book of Ecclesiastes with, ‘"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "All is vanity."', reminding us that everything apart from God is vain. This is why the Psalmist calls upon his Lord to turn his eyes away from the vanity of this world so that he may receive life in God’s way. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

May 15, 2020

HIS TEACHINGS

Psalms 118:11 (119:11)

I hid Your teachings in my heart

So as not to sin against You.

Personal Challenge

Why is it so hard to say no to sin? It is because we fill our hearts with everything but God. We make choices to abandon and ignore His teachings and His precepts. We put our desires first and make them our gods. If we choose to hide His teachings in our hearts and let them completely take over our lives then we will see that we have the power to walk away from sin. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

May 13, 2020

SEARCH OUT

Psalms 118:2 (119:2)

Blessed are those who search out His testimonies; They shall search for Him with their whole heart.

Personal Challenge

God is so creative in His way of getting our attention. These postings, the daily journaling of my journey through life with my Lord, are based on scriptures that I have highlighted and saved over my life of attempting to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Each day I pick up the next one in my list, meditate on it, and journal my thoughts about it. It is fun to watch how often God brings up one that is so relevant to where I am today on my journey. Today is another one of those creative attention getters. "Blessed are those who search out His testimonies". We need to seek God's truth in everything we do, see, hear, and most importantly latch on to in the social media world that we so often spend our time in. Just today, I shared a post on Facebook of a great article from my Bishop about this very subject. As always, God's timing is impeccable. Glory be to God!

May 12, 2020

REJOICE

 

Psalms 117:24 (118:24)

This is the day the Lord made; Let us greatly rejoice, and be glad therein.

Encouraging Words

What a way to start off every day, rejoicing. Every day that God gives us the ability to breathe, is a day worth rejoicing over. We do have so much that we can be thankful for. Glory be to God!

May 11, 2020

IT IS GOOD

Psalms 117:8-9 (118:8-9)

It is good to trust in the Lord
Rather than to trust in man;
It is good to hope in the Lord

Rather than to hope in rulers.

Personal Challenge

Trust and hope could very well be two of the most important tools that we have in our toolboxes of life. God has established Himself as both the ultimate source that we can pull trust and hope from, but also the One whom we can put our trust and hope in. And yet, we continue to put our trust in man and our hope in the rulers of man to be there for us as we navigate our journey through life. This is where we so often get off track. It is good when we put our hope and trust in God alone. Glory be to God!

May 10, 2020

HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER

Psalms 117:1-4 (118:1-4)

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say that He is good,
For His mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Aaron say that He is good,
For His mercy endures forever.
Let all who fear the Lord say that He is good,
For His mercy endures forever.

Personal Challenge

God's mercy endures forever. Do we really believe this? It is easy to proclaim this when everything is going our way and we are in the midst of prosperous times. But what about during the hard times, the difficult and challenging times? Is our proclamation of God’s greatness dependent on how we like what is going on around us or is it constant, no matter what the circumstances? We still live in a fallen world, which grieves our Lord. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy, on me the sinner!

May 9, 2020

Saint of the Week

St. Paisius Athonite

May 7, 2020

PRAISE HIM

Psalm 116 (117)

Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
Praise Him, all you peoples,
For His mercy rules over us;
And the truth of the Lord endures forever.

Encouraging Words

Who should praise the Land? Everyone! Why? Because He has poured out His mercy upon us out of His never-ending love for us. He endures forever and desires that we live the remainder of eternity with Him. Glory be to God!

May 5, 2020

PRAISE HIM

Psalms 112:3 (113:3)

From the rising of the sun to its setting,
Praise the name of the Lord.

Personal Challenge

Sometimes we get so caught up in the cares of this world that we forget that it is our Lord who will see us through the dark times as well as the bright times. If we take the time to praise Him continually, we will see His hand at work at all times. Glory be to God!

May 6, 2020

I HAVE LOVED

Psalms 114:1-2 (116:1–2)

I have loved, because the Lord Shall hear the voice of my supplication;
For He inclined His ear to me,
And in my days I shall call upon Him.

Encouraging Words

We can love others the way that God wants us to because He has loved us this way. His love for us goes beyond any form of earthly love that we can summon up. By calling up Him, knowing that He will hear our voices, we can learn to love others as He loves us. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

May 4, 2020

FOR THE UPRIGHT

Psalms 111:4 (112:4)

For the upright, light springs up in darkness,

For he is merciful, compassionate, and righteous.

Encouraging Words

Are the rewards, or benefits, for trying to live an upright and godly life worth it? Absolutely. There are many, but the Psalmist points out one specific benefit here. When we choose to live our lives in ways that glorify our Lord, we will have His light spring up in those times of darkness in our lives. He will always pour His mercy and compassion on us. Glory be to God.

May 3, 2020

HIS WONDERS

Psalms 110:4 (111:4)

He made a remembrance of His wonders;
The Lord is merciful and compassionate;

Encouraging Words

Our Lord has done many great things since the dawn of creation. It is good for us to remember this for in seeing His great works and His love for His children we see how merciful and compassionate He is toward us. Glory be to God!

May 2, 2020

Saint of the Week

St. John Chrysostom

May 1, 2020

WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING

Psalms 110:10 (111:10)

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord;
A good understanding is in all who practice it.
His praise continues unto ages of ages.

Encouraging Words

True wisdom and understanding do not come from the books that we read and the scholars that we follow. These may provide us information, but unless we approach them with fear and respect of the Lord, our source of truth, we gain that information in vain. Jesus is our source of truth, He is Wisdom. Without Him, anything else that we attempt to learn is misdirected. Glory be to God!

April 30, 2020

HIS MERCY IS GOOD

Psalms 108:21-22 (109:21-22)

But You, O Lord, O Lord, deal mercifully with me for Your name's sake,
For Your mercy is good.
Save me, for I am poor and needy,
And my heart is troubled within me.

Encouraging Words

Do we have a close enough relationship with our God to ask Him to deal with us in His own way? Do we trust Him that much? We can. It is our choice to give our all to Him. His mercy is good and He will be merciful to us. Glory be to God!