July 31, 2023

HIS MERCY

Psalms 25:7 (24:7)

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

David knew the core of God's salvation... His mercy. We are all sinners. We are all ignorant of God and his ways. That is why we can call out to Him, pleading for His mercy and loving-kindness. He will always respond in love. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

July 29, 2023

Saint of the Week

St. Ephraim the Syrian

July 28, 2023

LIVING WATER

John 4:13-14

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Encouraging Words

Water is a critical element for us to sustain life. Without it, we will die. Jesus is our only source of living water that will give us everlasting and quench every thirst that we might have. Beyond that, He promises that if we drink of His living water it will not only fill us, but overflow to the point where those around us may find Him as their source of living water as well. Thanks be to God!

July 25, 2023

THE GOD OF MY SALVATION

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

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

Our God has not set down a rigorous set of rules that we must follow or milestones that we must achieve in order to receive his grace and mercy. He has poured out His grace and mercy of on us even before we have known him. We can freely come to Him asking that He make known His was to us, and He will. We can ask that He teach us His paths and He will. He will lead us in His truth and teach us. He is the God of our salvation. Glory be to God!

July 24, 2023

DECREASING

John 3:30

He must increase, but I must decrease.

Personal Challenge

Jesus proclaimed that John was the greatest of all prophets. He was the forerunner of the coming Christ. John knew, and proclaimed in this verse that he must decrease in importance and that Jesus must increase. This is true in our lives as well. If we desire to truly be followers of Christ, then He must increase within us to the point where where we no longer exist. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

July 23, 2023

DO'S AND DONT'S

Psalms 24:4-5 (23:4-5)

He who has innocent hands and a pure heart;
He who does not lift up his soul to vanity;
He who does not swear deceitfully to his neighbor.
He shall receive blessing from the Lord
And mercy from the God of his salvation.

Personal Challenge

The Psalms provide so many little pithy sayings that teach us how to live our lives in godly ways. We should strive for innocent hands and pure hearts. We should flee from vanity and being deceitful with our neighbor, meaning everyone. By doing this we will see God's blessings and mercy in our lives. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me, the sinner!

July 22, 2023

Saint of the Week

St. Maximus the Confessor

July 21, 2023

EVERLASTING LIFE

John 3:36

He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

Personal Challenge

Throughout the history of mankind, we have been seeking the fountain of life, a way to stay alive and young forever. We have it in our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our only source to eternal life, a life without pain or misery. All that we need to do to receive this everlasting life is to believe in Him. Glory be to God!

July 20, 2023

ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE

Psalms 23:6 (22:6)

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

The 23rd Psalm is such a powerful praise psalm of the loving compassion that our Lord pours out upon those who follow Him. This ending to the psalm says it all. God will pour out His goodness and mercy on us. We will dwell in His house all the days of our lives. He loves us and walks with us through the valleys of darkness that we experience in our lives. Glory be to God!

July 19, 2023

FOR GOD SO LOVED

John 3:16-17

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Encouraging Words

There is no promise in the scriptures more powerful and encouraging than the one in this passage. We are loved so much by our God that He was willing to give His all for us. And His Son was willing to go to the cross in order for us to have eternal life. This is the God that we serve. Glory be to God!

July 18, 2023

OF THE LORD

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

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

The psalmist clearly points out multiple precepts that we hold true about our Lord and the wonderful affects of them. These results of following these precepts are indeed to be more desired than all the wealth of the world. They are sweeter than honey and by keeping them, we experience great rewards in our lives. Glory be to God!

July 17, 2023

THE GOOD WINE

John 2:9-10

When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

Personal Challenge

As you read a through the gospels, you begin to see that Jesus used the timing around everything to maximize the impact of His message. We too can do this by always keeping our eyes on Him and looking for those perfect opportunities to be His vessels to receive His wine in order to spread His good news. We do this out of our love of Him and our love for our neighbor who needs Him. Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

July 16, 2023

EXALTED

Psalms 18:46 (17:47)

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

Encouraging Words

As followers of Christ, we can always claim verses like this one as truths that we can hold on to because they are promises from our living God. He does live, yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is my God. We can, and must exalt Him. Glory be to God.

July 15, 2023

Saint of the Week

St. Dionysius the Areopagite

July 14, 2023

RECEIVE HIM

John 1:12-13

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Personal Challenge

God has given all of His creation a free gift. The gift of salvation from death and the right to become His children. We must however, receive that gift in order to cherish it. By receiving it we are drown into His family and blessed by Him into eternity. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

July 13, 2023

GIRDED WITH POWER

Psalms 18:32 (17:33)

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

Encouraging Words

God never calls us to do His work without also giving us the power that we need to do it. When He sent out the apostles in groups of two, He gave them the power to heal the sick, raise the dead, and forgive sins. He continues to do the same for us. He just needs us to be willing to say "Yes!" to Him. He desires that we be intentional disciples in our journey with Him. Glory be to God!

July 12, 2023

OUR BURNING HEART

Luke 24:32

And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

Encouraging Words

Jesus is alive. He is resurrected. He is always present in our lives. We can experience those times, just like these two on the road to Emmaus, where He reveals himself to us in a way that makes our hearts burn within us. The key to being able to see Him when the does this is to be constantly looking for Him as we go through our lives. Glory be to God!

July 11, 2023

O LORD, MY STRENGTH

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

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.”

Personal Challenge

The only way to se God, our strength, our foundation, our refuge, our deliverer, our helper, our hope, our champion, our salvation, and our protector, as the Psalmist did, is to spend time with him. 100% of our time! He is always present with us. Are we present with him? He is all these things for us all the time. Do we embrace Him in faith and belief? Do we submit to him so that He can manifest himself to us this way? Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy

July 10, 2023

FORGIVENESS

Luke 23:34

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
And they divided His garments and cast lots.

Personal Challenge

Forgiveness is a difficult thing to give to another, especially when the offense cuts deep. And yet as followers of Christ, we are expected to forgive freely, asking for nothing in return. This was demonstrated to us by Jesus while He was hanging on the cross. I know that this is an area of my journey to theosis that I must continually work on. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

July 9, 2023

KEEP ME, O GOD

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

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;

Encouraging Words

The Palmist has such a beautiful way of expressing what we could do, day in and day out, to show our God how much we love Him. He also shows us here how much God loves us and does for us throughout our lives. If we are followers of Christ, then we are in a living, two-way relationship with our God. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

July 8, 2023

Saint of the Week

St. Gregory of Nyssa

July 6, 2023

TWO MITES

Luke 21:1-4

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

Encouraging Words

Does God really care about how we much we give? He holds everything in the palm of His hand. He gives us all that we have, including every breath and heartbeat. God is not concerned about how much we give, whether it be money, time, or our love. What He cares about is the state of our heart when we give. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

July 5, 2023

THE WAYS OF LIFE

Psalms 16:11 (15:11)

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

The more we spend time with our Lord, the more we get to know Him and the depth of His love for us. In that love He teaches us the ways of life. He fills us with gladness even if the world around us is slipping into chaos. He gives us the pleasures of His heavenly kingdom as we grow closer to Him. Glory be to God!

July 3, 2023

IT IS WRITTEN

Luke 19:45-46

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’

Personal Challenge

It is important for us to know wha the scriptures say, both Old and New Testaments. Jesus so often quoted the scriptures to justify his actions. If we know and follow the scriptures we can be assured that we are being obedient to that which has been given to us as our guidelines. Glory be to God!

July 2, 2023

ALWAYS BEFORE ME

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

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.

Personal Challenge

Sometimes we encounter difficult times in our lives. This past weeks have definitely been one of these times. We have a choice. We always have a choice. We can either dwell alone in the midst of the difficulty or recognize that our God is always before us and standing beside us in the midst of our hardship. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. We can claim that promise and walk through that difficulty with us as our right hand. We can watch for those people that He will bring alongside us and not take this journey alone. God is so good and we can dwell in hope in Him. Glory be to God.

July 1, 2023

Saint of the Week

St. Paisios the Athonite

June 30, 2023

WHAT DO YOU WANT?

Luke 18:40-41

So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

Personal Challenge

For those of us who follow Christ, we so often speak about how much we trust Him. Do we really? Are we willing to go to Him humbly and let him know clearly what we desire from Him? Sometimes it feels easier to beat around the bush rather than tell him what we need. Maybe it is because we are afraid that He will say, "No!" Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

June 29, 2023

HE IS MAGNIFIED

Psalms 16:3 (15:3)

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

Personal Challenge

The psalmist ends us that He uses His followers, His saints, to reveal Him to the people of earth. The personal challenge is to look at ourselves and our behaviors and assess if we are living in godly and righteous way. When we find that we are not, we can run to Him, ask for His forgiveness, and return to His way. Glory be to God!