June 23, 2023

POSSIBILITIES

Luke 18:27

But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

Encouraging Words

Life can be difficult at times. The beauty of being a follower of Christ is that we know that we follow the God of all creation. He holds all creation in the palm of His hand and that He cares for us more than we can ever understand. With Him, all things are possible. We also know that He will lead us down the right path, which sometimes means that things don't work out the way that we want. That doesn't mean that God failed, it means that He knows what is best for us. Glory be to God!

June 21, 2023

NEVER BE SHAKEN

Psalm 15 (14)

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

Jesus gave us, His followers, two commands to follow if we are to be able to proclaim that we are His followers. Love God and love our neighbor. The disciples asked as the question, "Who is my neighbor?", and to this day that question still gets asked. The answer is that everyone in this world is my neighbor. The next question is how do I treat them. This Psalm gives some great examples of how we do this. Glory be to God!

June 20, 2023

CHILDLIKE

Luke 18:15-17

Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”

Encouraging Words

We live in a world and a culture that prides itself on how much knowledge that we can access and gain. But knowledge without wisdom is worthless. Jesus does never proclaims that those with great knowledge will receive the kingdom. To the contrary, the acquisition of knowledge leads us away from Him unless He is giving it to us for His purpose. He wants us to come to Him like little children, guiltless, loving, open, and able to learn from Him. Are we still approaching Him with childlike minds and hearts? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

June 18, 2023

MERCY AND SALVATION

Psalms 13:5-6 (12:6)

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

When Adam and Eve rejected God's warning to not eat of one tree in the garden, they introduced sin into the world. The consequences of that sin has been death for all creation and the propensity to sin. As followers of Christ, we put our hope in God and His great mercy. We rejoice in the truth that Jesus became human, lived a sinless life, was crucified a quiltless man, and resurrected from death in order to provide to us salvation from death. This why why we sing to Him in joy. Glory be to God!

June 17, 2023

Saint of the Week

Monk Simeon the Athonite

June 15, 2023

GOD BE MERCIFUL

Luke 18:13

And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’

Personal Challenge

The parable of the pharisee and the tax collector reminds us that we are all sinners and in need of God;\'s great gift of mercy. This is why those of us who practice the Orthodox way of Christianity so often pray the Jesus Prayer, which is: "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!". We need God's mercy at all times in our lives. Glory be to God!

June 14, 2023

RIGHTEOUSNESS

Psalms 11:7 (10:7)

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

Encouraging Words

So, what is this righteousness that the Lord loves. The New American Oxford Dictionary defines it as: the quality of being morally right or justifiable. This is our goal as followers of Jesus Christ. We are to develop a quality in our lives that morally follows His teachings and His characteristics and to be justified in Him. This is God's desire for us. Lord have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

June 13, 2023

KINGDOM OF GOD

Luke 17:20-21

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Personal Challenge

Throughout the history of mankind, we have been looking for the kingdom of God. It is wired within us to know that when we were expelled out of the Garden of Eden that we lost our connection to God's precious kingdom. In this passage, Jesus rearranges our thoughts, and expectations, to teach us that this kingdom is here and now. His kingdom now dwells within us, His followers, and that we are to be bringing that kingdom to the lost around us. Glory be to God!

June 10, 2023

Saint of the Week

St. Philaret of Moscow

June 11, 2023

GOD CARES FOR THE POOR (HUMBLE)

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

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

God knows that the world is still fallen. He grieves for it and yet He delays the return of His Son and that last day of judgment. Why? Because He desires that as many as possible have the opportunity to turn to Him. In His great love, He hears the desires of the poor and heeds them. We can be poor in so many more ways than a wealth and all need to have a readiness of heart that is humble before Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

June 9, 2023

GIVING THANKS

Luke 17:15-16

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

Personal Challenge

Do we take the time to thank God for all that He does in our lives? In the story before these verses, Jesus had just healed ten lepers and sent them on their way.  This Samaritan was the tenth one and the only one that came back to Jesus to thank Him for His healing of the leprosy. We often get so wrapped in doing the things of religiosity that we forget to take time out to show God our appreciation for who He is and what He has done for us. Let's make this our prayer today... "Thank You, God!!" Lord have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Love, have mercy!

June 7, 2023

HE SEES

Psalms 10:14 (9:35)

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.

Encouraging Words

Our God is not some idol made by the hands of man. He is not some person who established a following and now lies decaying in a grave. He is, and always has been, alive and ever-present in our lives. He sees those who are in need and delivers His love to them through His followers. Are we heeding His call to be His hands and feet to those in need. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy

June 6, 2023

USING OUR GIFTS APPROPRIATELY

Luke 16:10

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

Personal Challenge

God's economy, how He does things and measures the results, is so much different than how the world does it. That is because the world is fallen, broken, and sinful. God blesses us all, whether we follow him or not. For those of us who follow Him, we are held accountable to His standards. These standards expect that we will use the gifts that He bestows on us wisely and for the building up of His kingdom, not just for ourselves. This is the personal challenge in this expectation, to trust that God will continue to take care of me as I use what He gives me for Him, whether that be wealth, health, or time. Glory be to God!

June 5, 2023

HOPE

Psalms 9:10 (9:11)

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

As our world becomes less and less dependable, it is a blessing to know that our God has always been dependable and He will continue to be into eternity. We can put our hope in Him and we will never be disappointed. All we need to do is to continue seeking Him and putting our hope in Him. Glory be to God!

June 4, 2023

LOST AND FOUND

Luke 15:31-32

“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

Personal Challenge

Jealousy is a very consuming and overbearing sin. If we are trying to be sincere followers of Christ then there is no room for jealousy in us. The story of the prodigal son reveals to us an image of God's great love for us, His children. Unfortunately, the story ends with the oldest son, the one who stayed with the father and did all that he expected, being jealous that his father was doting over his lost son who had returned. It is easy to focus on all the things that we do for God, reading His scriptures, praying to Him, going to all the liturgies, masses, and services that our church has to offer and yet not have the right attitude or motive in our hearts. This leads to jealousy of others who do not do all this stuff and yet appear to be blessed by God. What is in our hearts today? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

June 3, 2023

Saint of the Week

St. Pope Kyrillos VI

June 2, 2023

I WILL...

Psalms 9:1-2 (9:1-3)

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

Sometimes we get so caught up in doing the things that we believe are showing our love for our God that we forget to just show Him that love. How do we show him that love? By giving thinks to him with our whole heart. By telling others of His wondrous things. By being glad and rejoicing in Him. We must be careful to not get trapped in doing repetitious things about Him and not doing worshipful things for Him and with Him. Glory be to God!

June 1, 2023

HUMILITY

Luke 14:11

For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Personal Challenge

We all have two options in our lives when it comes to humility. We can choose to be humble and let others lift us up when they deem it appropriate. Or we can choose to exalt ourselves and then someday be humbled by someone else. I prefer the first option. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who was exalted above all humanity, and creation, chose to humble Himself and become human. He lived a perfect, sinless life and was put to death on a cross, which He humbly accepted. He then arose from that death victorious over the tomb so that we all might be resurrected when He returns. Our being humble by choice prepares us for that day of resurrection and exaltation. Lord, mercy Mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

May 31, 2023

HOPE

Psalms 5:11-12 (5:12-13)

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

What is one of the core characteristics of a follower of Christ? Hope! We place our hope in Christ and the work that He has done for us, and we are glad in that hope. We rejoice in Him because He dwells in us. In that hope we love him and boast in Him alone. He blesses us, crowns us, and shields us with His good will. Glory be to God!