November 30, 2020

RENEWED

Zephaniah 3:17

The Lord your God is with you. The Mighty One shall save you. He shall bring gladness upon you and will renew you with His love. He will delight over you with joy as in a day of feasting.

Encouraging Words

As Christians, we believe that we are never alone. We believe that God is with us always and everywhere we go. He is not only our savior but He is also our sustainer. He brings His gladness, not the world's, into our lives and renews us with His love for us. Not only does He bestow all of this upon us but He even delights in us. This is our hope. Glory be to God!

November 29, 2020

I WILL REJOICE

Habakkuk 3:18-19

Yet I will glory in the Lord;
I will rejoice in God my Savior.
The Lord God is my strength;
He will direct my feet to the end;
He will set me upon high places,
So to conquer by His song.

Encouraging Words

Our God is great! All glory belongs to Him for He has created us and blessed us with His love, mercy, and grace. We can rejoice in Him for He is our Savior. He is the source of any and all strength that we have. He promises to direct our feet in our journey through life. He will set us in the high places so that we can sing to Him of His Majesty. Glory be to God!

November 28, 2020

Saint of the Week

St. Ambrose of Milan

November 24, 2020

LIVE BY HIS FAITH

Habakkuk 2:4

If any man should shrink back, My soul will not be well pleased in him; but the righteous shall live by My faith.

Personal Challenge

This verse is quoted by Paul when he is proclaiming that we are saved by God's grace and not works. The works that Paul was referring to are the works that the Judaizers imposed on Gentiles in order to be proselytized, or in Pauls' day, to become Christians. Clearly, the argument that Paul makes is that there is no work that we can do to earn God's grace because then it would no longer be grace. It does not, however, preclude us from doing good works for our Lord out of our love and appreciation for Him and His grace bestowed upon us. This is how we live by His faith indwelling within us. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

November 23, 2020

HE KNOWS

Nahum 1:7

The Lord is merciful to those who wait on Him in the day of affliction, and He knows those who reverence Him.

Personal Challenge

God knows if our worship of Him is sincere. Do we just go through the motions of worship because it is what we have always done? Are we truly giving all reverence to Him or are we seeking an experience that makes us feel good? Do we choose to wait on Him at all costs believing that He will be merciful to us knowing that we do not deserve that mercy? God is merciful regardless of our behavior. He is worthy of worship and reverence no matter what we think or do. And through all this, He still loves us. Glory be to God!

November 21, 2020

Saint of the Week

St. John Chrysostom

November 19, 2020

HE HEARS MY VOICE

Jonah 2:2-3

And from the belly of the sea creature, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God, and said:
“I cried out in my affliction to the Lord, my God,
And He heard my voice;
Out of the belly of Hades, You heard the cry of my voice.”

Encouraging Words

God is everywhere, even in the belly of Hades. He is in the midst of our trials and tribulations. He is in the midst of our joys. He is in the midst of our questionings and our understandings. There is no place or state that we can be in where He will not hear our voice when we call out to Him. And when He hears our voice, we are with Him. Glory be to God!

November 18, 2020

INTERCESSION

Joel 2:17-18

Between the porch and the altar, the priests of the altar, ministering to the Lord, will each be weeping and will say, “O Lord, spare Your people; do not give Your inheritance to reproach, that the Gentiles should rule over them, lest they should say among the Gentiles, ‘Where is their God?’ ”

But the Lord was zealous for His land and spared His people.

Encouraging Words

We have a great High Priest who is standing on the porch between death and life. It is the death of this earthly, temporal life that we are all bound by and the eternal life that is made manifest by our Lord Jesus Christ that He is standing between. It is through Him that we receive life. It is also Him that is the great Intercessor for us. Glory be to God!

November 17, 2020

TURN TO GOD

Joel 2:12-13

Now says the Lord your God, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting and wailing and with mourning; rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and compassionate. He is longsuffering and plenteous in mercy and repents of evils.

Personal Challenge

It is the state of our hearts that is important to God. Even though our faith practice calls upon us to fast, pray, worship, and do other things in our lives in order to develop godly habits and disciplines, it is most important to discipline our hearts. God has told us through the scriptures and through the Living Word, Jesus, that God looks at the hearts of men and not their outward appearances and actions. God wants us to turn to Him with our whole heart and to have our actions, all of them, flow from that heart that belongs to Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

November 16, 2020

HE DELIGHTS IN MERCY

Micah 7:18

Who is a God like You, removing wrongdoings and passing over the ungodliness of the remnant of His inheritance? He does not keep His anger as a witness, for He delights in mercy.

Encouraging Words

It amazes me how many Christians call for God to be judgmental and apply their form of justice to those with whom they do not agree with. If we call for His justice and His judgment, we must then expect Him to apply that to us as well. Lord, have mercy! I am so thankful to be a part of the Eastern Orthodox church. Our foundations were laid long before the Western church adopted the concepts of a legalistic and judgmental God. We believe that God will exercise the judgment of all in our final day, but that He will, more importantly, exercise His mercy upon us because of the work that His Son Jesus did to redeem us. This is our hope and our plea. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

November 14, 2020

Saint of the Week

St. Ephraim the Syrian

November 15, 2020

LOOK TO THE LORD

Micah 7:7

But I will look to the Lord. I will wait for God my Savior, for my God will hear me.

Encouraging Words

Sometimes life can be tough. For some people, life feels like it is always tough. No matter whether we are in good times or in those rough times, we can always look to the Lord knowing that He will hear us. This gives us what we need to navigate these tough times and relish the good. Glory be to God!

November 13, 2020

WE HAVE BEEN SHOWN

Micah 6:8

He has shown you, O man, what is good. Or what does the Lord seek from you but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to be ready to walk with the Lord your God?

Personal Challenge

Throughout history, people have asked the question, "What must I do to be saved?" we have it wired within us that we have been separated from our creator and that we need to be saved from the grip that death has upon us. So, what must we do to be saved? It is not about what we do, but about Who we proclaim as our Savior. He has been revealed to us, so we have no excuse. We grab hold of Him and do not let go. Then the doing follows that because we love Him and want to show our gratitude to Him. He wants us to live just lives, to love mercy, and to walk in His ways. Glory be to God!

November 12, 2020

SEEK GOOD

Amos 5:14a

Seek good and not evil so that you may live, so that the Lord God Almighty will be with you.

Personal Challenge

So, what does it mean to seek good and not evil? I know that I can proclaim that I am not doing evil things like murdering someone or robbing banks or beating my wife. Is this where the definition of evil ends? Not really. Am I being disruptive and decisive in my ways and language, whether in person or on social media? Am I choosing to participate in those dirty or harmful jokes and memes? Am I lording it over other people like a bully? These are just a few of the ways that I can seek evil. If I am not truly and sincerely showing love for my neighbor, especially those that I disagree with or perceive as my enemies, then I am seeking evil. To seek good is to strive to do what Jesus would have me do. It is to desire to walk in His footprints and live as He lived, even unto death for another. This is a hard path to take but the one that leads to a life where the Almighty Lord God is with us. Glory be to God!

November 11, 2020

VICTORY OVER HELL

Hosea 13:14

“I will deliver them out of the hand of Hades
And will redeem them from death.
Where is your penalty, O death?
O Hades, where is your sting?
Pity is hidden from My eyes.”

Encouraging Words

There is no place that exceeds the reach of our Lord Jesus Christ in the redemption of His church. Even the depths of Hades have been breached by His love and mercy, redeeming the captives that were once there. So, when we proclaim that God is omni­present, present everywhere, at all times, that means that He is present in heaven, on this earth, and in hell, wielding His power, His mercy, and His grace. Glory be to God!

November 9, 2020

FRUIT

Hosea 10:12

Sow to yourselves in righteousness;
Gather in the fruit of life;
Light for yourselves the light of knowledge;
Seek the Lord till the fruits of righteousness come upon you.

Personal Challenge

We often read in the Scriptures about the fruit of our labors. We can judge the nature of a tree by the type of fruit that it produces. We are the same. What is the fruit that we are producing in our lives? Is it bitterness or sweetness? Is it division or unity? Is it falsehood or truth? And these contrasts go on and on. Hosea reminds us that if we sow ourselves as seeds in righteousness then we will produce the fruit of life. We will be measured by the fruit that we produce. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

November 6, 2020

MERCY

Hosea 6:6

For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God
More than whole burnt offerings.

Personal Challenge

Our God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is merciful. He puts up with us as we continue to seek after our own ways and our own desires. He patiently waits for us to turn to Him and to share His truths with others so that they might turn to Him as well. He desires that we show mercy to those around us. He desires this more than seeing us practice the traditions of our churches which often turn us into legalistic people. He desires that we know Him more than offering all kinds of sacrifices to Him hoping to earn His favor. Jesus left us two commands to live by. They are to love our God and to love our neighbor. This is how we learn to be merciful. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

November 5, 2020

PURSUE GOD

Hosea 6:3

Let us know, let us pursue
That we might know the Lord.
We shall find Him ready as the daybreak,
And He will come to us
As the early and latter rain to the earth.

Personal Challenge

Throughout the scriptures, we are encouraged to pursue God as if He is an evasive creature that tries to hide from us. However, the scriptures also teach us that God is ever-present and waiting for us. Which one is it? I will go back to the scripture that calls upon us to pursue God as a hunter tracks the game that he is pursuing. It is not that God is hiding from us at all. He is everywhere. He is in our loved ones. He is in our neighbor whom we are commanded to love, He is in the beauty of His creation. Just as pursuing the deer in the wilderness, the pursuit is not about the deer revealing itself to us, it is about us learning more and more about that deer, its characteristics, its behaviors, its essence, until we see the deer where it has always been. Our pursuit of God is about us changing to be able to see Him where He is already all around us. This is how we should pursue Him. Glory be to God!

November 4, 2020

BETROTHAL

Hosea 2:20-22

I will betroth you to Myself in faithfulness,
And you shall know the Lord.
“It shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord,
“That I will listen to heaven,
And it shall listen to the earth.
The earth shall listen to the corn,
And the wine, and the oil;
And they shall listen to Jezreel."

Encouraging Words

What is the most intimate and permanent relationship called out in the scriptures? Marriage! God looks upon His relationship with the Church, His people, as a marriage. It is based on and filled with, love. It is permanent, no matter how unfaithful we may be in our lives. God loves us! God desires to be in a relationship with us. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner, and forgive me for my unfaithfulness to you!

November 3, 2020

THE GOD OF ALL

Sirach 50:22-24

And now bless the God of all,
Who does great things in every way,
Who exalts our days from our birth
And deals with us according to His mercy.
May He give us gladness of heart,
And may there be peace in our days,
In Israel as in the days of old.
May He entrust with us His mercy,
And let Him redeem us in our days.

Encouraging Words

Our God is all and in all. He is the creator and sustainer of everything past, present, and future. We are His children, His beloved and we can put our trust and hope in Him, for He will give us peace in our days and redeem us for Himself. Glory be to God!

November 2, 2020

ALL IN GOOD TIME

Sirach 39:33-35

All the works of the Lord are good,
And He will supply every need in its hour.
No one can say, “This is worse than that,”
For all things will be well pleasing in their time.
So now sing praise with all your heart and voice,
And bless the name of the Lord.

Encouraging Words

We still live in the age of instant gratification, even though the COVID pandemic has forced us to put much on hold and to have to be patient. We are an inpatient people. We want things and we want them now. God has continually told us throughout the history of mankind that if we trust in Him, He will supply our needs. That trust also means that we believe that He knows best about what we need. We always want more than we need. He promises to fulfill our needs, not our wants. Now is the time to praise Him, to thank Him, to trust in Him, and to glorify Him.

November 1, 2020

DEVOTED TO THE STUDY OF GOD

Sirach 39:1-3

How different is the man who devotes himself
To the study of the law of the Most High.
He will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients And be occupied with their prophecies.
He will preserve the discourse of notable men
And penetrate the subtleties of parables.
He will seek out the hidden meanings of proverbs
And be engaged in the riddles of parables.

Personal Challenge

I have found in my journey through this life that the more that I get to know my God, the less I know Him. God is so great, so much more than us finite humans can ever be or comprehend. Every little bit more we learn about Him, the more we realize how much more there is to learn. The more that I think that I am in a relationship with Him, the more I realize how far away from Him I am. This is why we never stop being devoted to the study of Him and where we are in our relationship with Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

October 30, 2020

THE HEART OF OUR SOUL

Sirach 37:13-15

Stand firm on the counsel of your heart,
For no one is more faithful to you than it.
For a man's soul sometimes tells him more
Than seven watchmen sitting high on a watchtower.
And in all matters, pray to the Most High
That He may direct your way in truth.

Encouraging Words

Jesus promised us that if we believe in Him, then He would give us a new heart. He, through His work and the gift of the Holy Spirit, has removed our heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh, a heart that belongs to Him. That is why this passage tells us to listen to the counsel of this new heart for it is the counsel of our Lord. Glory be to God!

October 28, 2020

HAVE MERCY ON US

Sirach 36:1-4

Have mercy on us, O Lord, the God of all, and look upon us,
And put Your fear on all the nations.
Raise Your hand against foreign nations
And let them see Your power.
As in us You have been sanctified before them,
So in them may You be made great before us.
Let them know You as we also have known You,
For there is no God but You, O Lord.

Encouraging Words

When we proclaim that God loves all of His creation and that Jesus has redeemed it from death, we are not just talking about people. We are talking about all of creation. One aspect of creation that we coexist with are the nations that have formed throughout the history of mankind, the governments that have ruled in those nations, and the works that they have done. In this passage, Sirach pleads on behalf of the nations of his time and that they will submit to God. We too should be praying for the nations of our day and that they will see God for who He is and bow down before Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

October 27, 2020

GLORIFY THE LORD

Sirach 35:7-10

Glorify the Lord with your generosity,
And do not reduce the firstfruits of your hands.
In every gift let your face be cheerful,
And sanctify your tithe with gladness.
Give to the Most High as He has given to you,
And give to Him with generosity, according to your windfall.
For the Lord is He who repays,
And He will repay you sevenfold.

Encouraging Words

We are so very blessed by our Lord, whether we choose to acknowledge Him as our Lord or reject Him. No matter what, He still loves His creation and chooses to bless us. In response to Him, we can either go on enjoying those blessings and ignoring Him or use our lives and the blessings bestowed on us to bless and glorify others. This passage provides many ways that we can glorify our Lord with the blessings bestowed upon us. Glory be to God!