June 29, 2022

SWIFT TO HEAR

James 1:19-20

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Personal Challenge

It is so easy to jump straight to being upset about something without taking the time to fully understand the situation. James reminds us to move quickly to the position listening to the other person in order to hear what is going on in the situation. We add to that listening a delay in speaking so that we can hear the full story. And then we should still move to the stage of wrath or upset, very slowly, if at all. This advise works in all aspects of life and will eliminate so many upsets and arguments. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

June 28, 2022

FROM ABOVE

James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Encouraging Words

Everything that is good and perfect in our lives are truly gifts from our Father in heaven. Whether we follow Him or not, He still pours out His blessings and gifts on His creation, His beloved. He is constant in this, always has been, and always will be. If we open the eyes of our bodies, our minds, and our hearts, we will see just how much He is willing to pour into us in hope that we will turn to Him. He is the prodigal son's father and we are the prodigal sons and daughters. Glory be to God!

June 25, 2022

Saint of the Week

St. Basil the Great

June 27, 2022

OUR OWN DESIRES

James 1:14-15

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Personal Challenge

Our sin is what keeps us from being close to God. It becomes a wedge in our relationship with Him which can only be removed by Him. Sir is a result of our own desires that well up within us and that we do not deal with immediately by giving them to Christ and letting them be squashed. As we hold onto these desires they grow and ultimately result in sin. We are fortunate that we can seek God's forgiveness and be washed clean of our sins, but how much better it is to avoid the sin altogether by dealing with the desire properly when it first arises. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

June 24, 2022

WHO IS TEMPTING WHO?

James 1:13

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

Personal Challenge

It is so easy to blame God for the temptations that surface in our lives. God does not tempt us. He uses all situations in our lives to show His love for us and to teach us to be like His Son. Often times our enemy, Satan, will tempt us, but usually it is our own actions, desires, and passions that lead us into Temptations. It is like the man who has determined to go on a diet to lose weight. He loves donuts. Every morning He goes to the donut store to get his cup of coffee and wonders why he ends up eating that special donut of the day. He made the choice to step into a tempting situation, Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

June 23, 2022

BEING APPROVED

James 1:12

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

Personal Challenge

All of us have within us a desire to be blessed and receive approval for doing the right thing. We can accomplish this by enduring temptations that come our way. We must always be prepared for the fact that the more temptations that we are victors over, the greater the next round of temptations will be. We also need to be ready for when we do fail and give into a temptation, that we must return to our Lord quickly, seeking forgiveness, and get back on track. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

June 20, 2022

ASKING FOR WISDOM

James 1:5-6

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

Personal Challenge

Yesterday, I wrote about the difficulties of trials and tribulations and how they lead us to gain patience. Today, James reminds us that it takes Godly wisdom to make it through these trials and tribulations and how we can get that wisdom. Unfortunately, we so very often act as if we do not need God's wisdom. We go through life with our own concepts of wisdom or what we gain by our own means and then wonder why things are not going well. We must first acknowledge that our wisdom and the wisdom of man is not enough to deal with the spiritual warfare that will come our way. We must ask God fervently, in faith, with no doubting, in order to receive His wisdom to apply to the trials and tribulations in our lives. It is not about us, who we are, what we have done or know, that matters. It is all about God and what He liberally wants to give to those who seek Him. Lord, Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

June 19, 2022

PATIENCE THROUGH TRIALS

James 1:2-4

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Personal Challenge

None of us like trials and tribulations. It is apparent throughout the scriptures that if we desire to follow in the footsteps o Christ that we must be ready for those trials and tribulations that attempt to thwart us. How are we expected to react to these trials and tribulations? With joy. It is in this joy that we realize this promise of patience from God, which has its perfect work completed within us. Glory be to God!

June 18, 2022

Saint of the Week

St. Gabriel Urgebadze

June 17, 2022

SUBMISSION

Hebrews 13:17

Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Personal challenge

There is that difficult and challenging word again, "submission". We have all been created in the image of God. However, due to the sin in the garden of Eden where Adam and Eve were not willing to submit to the will of God we all now have the challenge of submitting to others. Here we are reminded that by submitting to those who rule over us, it will be profitable for us. It is never easy to submit to another. And sometimes the expectation of submission is wrong. In all cases we must submit to our Lord and follow His guidance to show us the right things to do. Glory be to God!

June 16, 2022

OUR SACRIFICE OF PRAISE

Hebrews 13:15-16

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Personal Challenge

What is our sacrifice of praise to God? It is the fruit of our lips. What we are saying to God as praise and giving thanks. What we are saying to others who were created in the image of God as we love our neighbor. It is the good works that we are to do at all times in His name and for the building up of His kingdom. It is the content of our hearts that need to be praising Him at all times. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

June 15, 2022

HAVING GRACE

Hebrews 12:28

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

Encouraging Words

God, in His immense Love and grace is giving us a kingdom that cannot be shaken. It is an eternal kingdom filled with His presence. Our response to this great gift should be our lives full of grace and love for those around us. This is how we show our appreciation for His great love for us. Glory be to God!

June 14, 2022

LOOKING UNTO JESUS

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Personal Challenge

Life is hard. There are challenges every step along the way, especially if you are trying to living a godly, Christ-like life. Jesus told us to be prepared for this. He told us that if the world hated Him it would also hate His followers. But, we are not alone in this journey of life. We have a great cloud of witnesses, the saints that have gone before us that we can look to for guidance and example. We can look to Jesus who has lead the way into eternal rest and showed us how to follow that path. We have our Father who desires all of us to be reunited with Him. And we have the Holy Spirit to live within us and lead us to the eternal resting place. Glory be to God!

June 12, 2022

OFFERING UP

Hebrews 11:17-19

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

Personal Challenge

Sometimes we wait and pray for something from God. Then by His grace, we receive what we ask for. Then He asks us to give it up. This happens as a test of our faith and our love for our God. Is the answer to our prayer more important than He who provides the answer? Do we trust Him enough that we believe He will restore what He gave us? This is the challenge, to love Him more than anything that He can give us. Glory be to God!

June 11, 2022

Saint of the Week

St. Anatoly of Optina

June 10, 2022

SEEING FROM AFAR

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

We have a whole host of saints and patriarchs that have gone before us who have demonstrated for us the power of faith. So many of them looked forward to the coming Messiah and never gave up on their hope. They demonstrated for us that this kind of hope can lead us to godly and fulfilled lives. We learn from these saints how much our God loves those who anxiously wait for Him and live their lives as if He will be there any moment. This is practical, working faith. Glory be to God!

June 9, 2022

FAITH TO DO

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 does not really mean a whole lot until there is some action that happens because of that faith. The example here is that Abraham had enough faith in God that when he was called to go to a place that he had never seen, or even heard of, he packed up and went. God wants us to put our faith in Him, but he also wants us to follow that faith with the willingness to do what He calls us to do. That is when we see the real power of God and the depth of His love for us. Glory be to God!

June 8, 2022

WE MUST BELIEVE

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

We cannot please God by just going through the motions of religiosity. We must live our lives by faith, faith in God, to make our actions mean anything. This is why God, through the prophet Isaiah indicated that the sacrifices of His people were mean­ingless when they did not follow Him in their hearts. It is so easy to get caught up in the trappings of "doing church" and not having a life changing relationship with our loving God. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

June 7, 2022

FAITH

Hebrews 11:1

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

Encouraging Words

What is faith? Many people make fun of those of us who put our faith in God. But every single one of them put their faith in something or someone. As humans, we were created to put our faith in some­thing other than ourselves. This verse provides a great definition of what faith is. The power in the Christian life is the Person that we have put our faith in, our God, the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. This is what makes this verse encouraging. Our God is who we put our hope in and who has demonstrated time and time again that He is our hope. He is our evidence of things not seen. Glory be to God!

June 6, 2022

REMAIN CONFIDENT

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

We can be confident in our Lord and that He will always be there for us. Unfortunately, as the pressures of this world encroach upon our lives, that confidence can be clouded and wain. We must continue to hold onto Him and His promises so that He can build up that confidence and give us the endurance that we need to push on. Glory be to God!

June 4, 2022

Saint of the Week

St. Maximos the Confessor

June 2, 2022

HE IS FAITHFUL

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.

Encouraging Words

We live in a world where we often get betrayed or disappointed by those whom we thought we could trust. This is because we are all human and continue to make mistakes. We can be encouraged though that our Lord is always faithful. He will not change and He will not abandon us. By holding on to Him and this promise it becomes easier to reach out to others and put our trust into them. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

June 1, 2022

OUR 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 did not die on the cross to turn away the anger of a judgmental God. Jesus, coming from heaven to be incarnated as a human, came to be one with us in the flesh, fully God and fully human. He lived a human life, dealing with temptations that we all deal with, but never being overtaken by them. He lived a sinless life. He willingly went to the cross so that He could die as a human. He then resurrected from that death as a human in His glorified form destroying the chains of death that were shackled to all humans. He did this to make way for us to follow Him into resurrected lives, defeating death. Glory be to God!

May 31, 2022

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

One big mistake that we humans often make is to do something that we know is wrong when no one is watching. It may be minor or even major. First of all, this calls into question our integrity. But more importantly, we must remember that our God knows all and sees all. There is no hiding anything from. He knows even our thoughts and yet He still loves us and forgives us of our sins and trespasses. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy/ Lord, have mercy!

May 30, 2022

THE WORD OF GOD

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

Our Father in heaven gave us every­thing that we need to make through every situation that life will throw at us. He gave us His word, which is three­fold. His Word is Jesus, His only begotten Son and Gods' living word. He gave us the scriptures, which we can read, study, and follow. He gave us the teachings and wisdom of the saints, those who have gone before us, who have taught us from Gods' word. This word of God is alive and all-powerful. Glory be to God!