December 22, 2024

GOD IS FAITHFUL

2 Thessalonians 3:3

But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

Encouraging Words

Prayer is a powerful tool for God's children. He does listen to our prayers. In this letter, Paul prayers for the followers of Christ and issues this reminder that God is faithful. God establishes us in our relationship with Him: He guards us from the evil one. Our responsibility is to continually rest in Him and stay close to Him. He will do the rest. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

December 21, 2024

Saint of the Week

St. Isaac the Syrian

December 20, 2024

PART OF OUR ESSENCE

Sirach 17:5-8

He gave mankind the ability to deliberate,
And a tongue, eyes and ears, and a heart to think with.
He filled them with the skill of comprehension
And showed them good and evil.
He set His eye upon their hearts
To show them the majesty of His works.
They will praise His holy name
So as to fully describe the majesty of His works.

Encouraging Words

God created us all in His image. Not the image of God that so many people have come up with, but in his true image. As part of that image, we have certain characteristics that set us apart from the rest of creation. We have the ability to deliberate. We have a tongue to speak lovingly with, eyes to see our world and to determine where we can be a blessing to someone else, ears to hear the needs and desires of others, and a heart to process all this through these actions so that it can lead us to love, compassion, and grace. We are blessed with the skill of comprehension. We have been given the ability to know the difference between good and evil. He placed within us the ability to see His majesty and desire to know Him and to praise and glorify His name. It is up to us to embrace all of this and use it for Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

December 19, 2024

THE WILL OF GOD

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Personal Challenge

Is it possible for us to know the will of God? Entirely, absolutely not. But we can know those elements of His will that He desires for us to know. Here Paul provides for us a glimpse into some of the things that we can do to align our will with God's will. We can rejoice always, no matter how our life or the world around us is playing out. We can pray without ceasing. Every breath that we breathe can carry with it a prayer to our Father. In everything give thanks. Once again, this is to be done no matter what is going on in our lives. These are clearly some things that we can all do that are the will of God as Christ Jesus lives within us. Glory be to God!

December 18, 2024

WISDOM

Sirach 14:20-22

Blessed is the man who practices wisdom
And discourses with insight.
Whoever ponders the ways of wisdom in his heart
Will also reflect on her secrets.
Pursue wisdom like a tracker
And lie in wait on her paths.

Personal Challenge

Wisdom is such an important part of a healthy and productive life. Also, it is important to remember that wisdom is not the same as knowledge or information gathering. What really helps to set wisdom apart and to help us recognize its value and importance is to understand that the early church fathers identified wisdom in the Old Testament as another name for Jesus. Substitute "Jesus" in for "wisdom" in this passage and its power becomes manifested. Glory be to God!

December 17, 2024

HOW TO TREAT OTHERS

1 Thessalonians 5:14-15

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

Personal Challenge

Paul ends up his letter to the people of Thessalonica, and us, with this exhortation on how we should treat each other. We are to warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, and to be patient with all. He goes on to exhort us to not render evil for evil to anyone and to always pursue what is good for all. Some teach that this would only apply toward the brothers and sisters in one's local church. However, align this with the teachings of Jesus and the expectation would be that we behave this way towards all people. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

December 16, 2024

DEATH DOES NOT DELAY

Sirach 14:12-14

Remember that death does not delay,
And the covenant of Hades has not been shown to you.
Before you die, do good to a friend,
And reach out and give to him based on your ability.
Do not let a day go by without doing something good,
And do not let any of your desire for doing good escape you.

Personal Challenge

I have heard that there are only two things certain in life... death and taxes. Sirach reminds that death will not delay with any of us. We all have that day out there, somewhere on our timeline, when we will die. It is inevitable. He also encourages us to do good in our lives before we die. Do good to a friend. Jesus expanded that to say that we should do good to our neighbor. We are to give to others from our abundance, whether friend or stranger. We should never let the desire for doing good escape us. Glory be to God!

December 15, 2024

OUR HOPE

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

Encouraging Words

If you were to ask me, as a follower of Christ, to prove that there is life after death, I would have to tell you that I cannot prove it to your satisfaction. As followers of Christ, we believe that Jesus died and rose again. We believe the eyewitness accounts that were recorded in the scriptures and in apocryphal writings. That is not going to be the proof that you are asking for. So be it. It is in our belief, our faith, that we have a hope for eternal life. Glory be to God!

December 14, 2024

Saint of the Week

St. Nicholas of Myra

December 13, 2024

DO NOT...

Sirach 11:9

Do not argue about a matter that does not concern you,
And do not sit together with sinners when they judge a case.

Personal Challenge

Throughout the Scriptures there are many instances of guidelines on how to live a righteous life. We must take these guidelines as boundaries to live our lives within and not absolute laws or rules. Effectively, Jesus left us with only two rules, or commandments, in order to be recognized as His followers. They are to love God and love your neighbor. These guidelines presented here in Sirach can help us through life on a smoother road. It does me no good, as well as no good to others, to enter into the argument about a matter that does not concern me. Another way to say this is, "Mind my own business!" The other guideline is not to join in with those who are in the wrong when they judge others. Great food for thought. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

December 11, 2024

BLAMELESS HEARTS

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

Encouraging Words

Paul sends this prayer for Christians to the church in Thessalonica. It is still relevant for today. Our desire as followers of Christ should always be to live our lives with blameless hearts. This passage reminds us that one thing we can do to achieve this desire is to increase and abound in love to another and to all. If we can learn to practice the two commandments that Jesus gave us, then this becomes an attainable goal. These commandments are to love God and love our neighbor. Glory be to God!

December 10, 2024

BE SLOW TO RESPOND

Sirach 11:7-8

Do not find fault before you examine a situation.
First, understand it, and then make your judgment.
Do not answer before you have listened,
And do not interrupt someone while he is talking.

Personal Challenge

There are so many tidbits of great wisdom spread throughout the scriptures. We just need to take the time to find them and then most importantly, apply them to our lives. Here we find advise from Sirach to slow down before we respond to situations. Before we pass judgment, we are to examine the situation and understand it. Before we answer someone, we should listen to them and not interrupt them with our commentary. I guess I have opportunities for improvement before me. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

December 9, 2024

PLEASING GOD

1 Thessalonians 2:3-4

For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit. But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.

Personal Challenge

As a follower of Christ, my responsibility is to say and do things that please God. I am not to worry how other people will accept my words or actions as long as I am striving to please God. We must remember to put this in the context of God's commandments to love Him and to love our neighbor. Pleasing God means saying and doing everything from these perspectives of love. By doing this my actions will show respect and love for all others. This is often a far cry from how we see those who proclaim to be Christians behaving today. Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

December 8, 2024

IN GOD'S HAND

Sirach 10:4

The authority of the earth is in the hand of the Lord,
And He will raise up the right man for an appointed time.

Encouraging Words

God is always in control. He is the creator and sustainer of all. However, He still lets humankind live their lives with their own free will. This is why so often things go awry in this world. It is not God that causes famines or wars, it is us doing things our own way for ourselves. These consequences of our bad choices grieve our God. This also bears out in the leaders that we choose to rule over us. God allows us to make choices that are contrary to His will and in His loving grace, He uses those poor choices to teach us. This is His way of raising up the right leader for an appointed time. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

December 7, 2024

Saint of the Week

St. Thadeus of Vitovnica

December 6, 2024

OUR SPEECH

Colossians 4:6

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Personal Challenge

As followers of Christ, our speech, whether verbal or written, should always be delivered with grace toward the recipient. There is no room, no excuse, for nasty ad hominins or other derisive means of hurting the other person. This is an aspect of being a Christian that seems to have been abandoned. Lord, have Mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

December 5, 2024

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR!

Sirach 7:32-36

Stretch forth your hand to the poor,
That your blessing may be complete.
Let the kindness of giving be shown
In the presence of all the living,
And do not withhold kindness from the dead.
Do not withdraw yourself from those who weep,
And mourn with those who mourn.
Do not hesitate to visit a sick man,
For by such visits you will be loved.
With all your words, remember the time you will die,
And you will never sin.

Personal Challenge

At the very beginning of Christianity, those who had been longing for their Messiah, did not recognize Him when He arrived. To use a modern term, He was too "woke" for what they were looking for. I often wonder that if Jesus were to show up today and do what He did 2,000 years ago, how many professing Christians would join the religious leaders yelling, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" Jesus would have been fully aware of this book of Sirach. His sermon on the mount and other teachings proclaims these truths in Sirach. Stretch forth your hand to the poor, which includes the widow, the orphan and the alien (migrant) amongst us. Live showing the kindness of giving, not taking and hoarding like so many wealthy, including many megachurch leaders of today. Do not withhold kindness, do not withdraw from those who weep, mourn with those who mourn, visit the sick person without hesitation, speak carefully. These are things that followers of Christ strive to do with their lives. These are the "Christians" that make up the true body of Christ. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

December 4, 2024

PRAY WITH THANKSGIVING

Colossians 4:2

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

Personal Challenge

One of the things that we, the followers of Christ, are consistently encouraged to do throughout the New Testament is to pray with thanksgiving. We do not offer up prayers to change the mind and will of God but that our mind and will might be changed to conform with His. We are to always pray with a thankful heart knowing that God hears us and that His responses will always be what is best for us. Glory be to God!

December 3, 2014

HONOR OUR SPIRITUAL LEADERS

Sirach 7:29-31

Fear the Lord with all your soul
And honor His priests.
Love Him who made you
And do not forsake His ministers.
Fear the Lord and honor His priests,
And give them their portion as commanded:
The firstfruits, the trespass offering,
The gift of the shoulder offering,
The sacrifice of sanctification,
And the firstfruits of the holy things.

Personal Challenge

Sirach admonishes us to give honor and support to our spiritual leaders. A true spiritual leader will follow many other precepts in the scriptures commensurate with the role that they have either been called to or pursued. Those precepts carry their own expectations for these leaders and the consequences for not living up to those expectations. It is not our responsibility to judge these leaders but let God do that in His way and time. We will be held accountable for what we do in our role. Glory be to God!

December 2, 2024

WHO DO WE DO WHAT WE DO FOR?

Colossians 3:23-24

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

Personal Challenge

Jesus left His glorious place in heaven to come and be one of us and live amongst us. He submitted Himself, the Son of God, to spend 9 months in the womb of His earthly mother Mary, so that He would be incarnated as one of us. He lived the life of a lowly, migrating human being to be able to fully embrace His humanity. He did this, all the while, retaining His God-ness. He was fully God and fully man. He lived a sinless life and then humbly let humankind kill Him on the cross, only to be resurrected. He did this for us, for you, for me. This is why one of the marks of a person that is truly a follower of Christ is that they do what they do for Him. They do not do their works for another person, or a religious institution, or a political party, or for any other reason but to glorify and magnify God. Keep an eye on this when people say that they are doing something for God. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

December 1, 2024

TREAT OTHERS PROPERLY

Sirach 7:20-21

Do not mistreat a servant who does his work in truth
Nor a hired worker who devotes himself to you.
Let your soul love an intelligent servant;
Do not deprive him of his freedom.

Personal Challenge

One of the problems that comes from a society that becomes so focused on the accumulation of wealth is that it results in the abuse of those who do not have wealth. We are seeing this play out today in the disparity of income between the leaders of companies and the frontline workers. As the gap grows. so does the mistreatment of those who are truly responsible for generating the wealth for the elite. This is not a new problem. It has been with us since the beginning of time. The way to change it is to shift our focus from the accumulation of wealth to sharing of our wealth with those in need. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have money!

November 30, 2024

Saint of the Week

St. Diadochos of Photiki

November 29, 2024

WHO ARE WE TO BE?

Colossians 3:12-17

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Personal Challenge

It is so frustrating that so many people claim to be Christians and yet they ignore all the teachings in the scriptures about how to live a Christlike life. It is no wonder that so many people today do not want to have anything to do with Christianity. Lord, have mercy! So, what is this passage telling us to do to be able to demonstrate to the world that we are really followers of Christ? Here is the list parsed out from this passage so that it is easy to see...

• put on...
• tender mercies
• kindness
• humility
• meekness
• long suffering
• bear with one another
• forgive one another, as Christ forgave us
• above all, put on love, the bond of perfection
• let the peace of God rule in our hearts
• be thankful
• let the word of Christ dwell in us
• teach and admonish one another with grace
• do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God

There are those of us out here in the world who desire to become like Christ in our journey to our theosis. We try our best to live this way, sometimes stumbling along the way, but always getting back up by the grace of Christ. Glory be to God!

November 28, 2024

AVOIDING WRONGDOING

Sirach 7:1-3

Do no evil things,
And evil will never overtake you.
Stay away from wrongdoing,
And it will turn away from you.
My son, do not sow on the furrows of wrongdoing,
And you will not reap the same things sevenfold.

Personal Challenge

If you do evil things (lie, cheat, steal, etc.) often enough and long enough, then you begin to believe that it is good and acceptable. We definitely see this in our culture today. Sirach teaches that if we strive to avoid doing evil things and wrongdoing, then we will not be overrun by both their consequences and the acceptance that they are okay. A great lesson for us all. Glory be to God!

November 27, 2024

BEING THE NEW PERSON

Colossians 3:8-10

But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

Personal Challenge

Paul does not pull any punches to the Christians in Colosse. He is addressing the issues that have made their way into this early church. It is interesting to see how many of these same issues have made their way into so many churches of today. If we desire to truly be followers of Christ, then it is incumbent upon us to take these same guidelines to heart in our daily lives. If I am a real follower of Christ and not just a person that has donned the moniker of "Christian", then I will be putting off these human traits: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language, lying to one another, and mistreating others in categories different than myself. If I am indeed a new person in Christ, then I will love my God and my neighbor in ways that are clearly obvious and uniquely different than the rest of the world. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

November 26, 2024

CHOOSE INSTRUCTION

Sirach 6:18-19

My son, from your youth up, choose instruction,
And you will find wisdom also into old age.
Come to her as one who plows and sows,
And wait expectantly for her good fruits;
For in her work you will labor a little while,
Then you will quickly eat of her fruit.

Personal Challenge

We live in a time where so many people believe that they are the expert and no longer need any additional instruction. We can always use more teaching and guidance in our lives. Sirach reminds us how important it is to seek that instruction from Wisdom (an image of Christ in the Old Testament). If we seek Wisdom, we will find it, even in our old age. We must come to Wisdom as a farmer, one who plows and sows the furrows of our minds and intellect, to secure the best fruits. Through our labor and hard work in Wisdom, we will be rewarded and feed at the banquet, Glory be to God!

November 25, 2024

PUT TO DEATH

Colossians 3:5

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Personal Challenge

As I navigate through various social media sites, I have become very aware of how many people have been hurt by people who proclaim that they are Christians. How sad it will be for them. when they stand before their proclaimed Lord and are reminded that they did not love their neighbor as He expected them to. Our responsibility as followers of Christ is to love God and our neighbor. Who is our neighbor? Every human being, especially the widow, the orphan, the naked, the poor, and the alien amongst us. This is what we will be judged on, not now many nasty posts we made in the virtual world or saintly hymns that we sang all the while verbally abusing those who don't think the way that we do. This is why Paul instructed the Colossians, and us, to put to death the ways of the world and to embrace a kingdom way of being. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner and help me to show that mercy to my fellow neighbor!

November 24, 2024

A FAITHFUL FRIEND

Sirach 6:14-17

A faithful friend is a strong shelter,
And he who finds one finds a treasure.
There is nothing that can take the place of a faithful friend,
And there is no way to measure his worth.
A faithful friend is a medicine of life,
And those who fear the Lord will find him.
He who fears the Lord guides his friendship rightly,
Because as he is, so also is his neighbor.

Personal Challenge

Sirach reminds us how valuable it is to have a faithful friend in our lives. It is important to remember that to have a faithful friend, we must be a faithful friend. As an introvert who has learned to live in an extroverted world, it has been difficult to find this kind of friend. I do have some friends that I am close to and trust deeply, but this depth of friendship has eluded me. My hope, and prayer is that God will help us all find a person like this in our lives. Glory be to God!

November 23, 2024

Saint of the Week

St. Maximus the Confessor

November 22, 2024

IF...

Colossians 3:1-2

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Personal Challenge

It is one thing to claim to be a Christian and an entirely different thing to actually be a follower of Christ. "What do you mean?" you might ask. This passage helps to clarify this. Am I truly seeking those things which are above, or heavenly? Am I loving my neighbor, no matter what their color, age, sex, race, sexual preference, religious preference, political party, or any other standard of measurement used in this broken world? Am I humbly trying to be like Jesus, the Jesus of 2,000 years ago and not the Jesus of this modern age. Is my mind set on things above and not on things on earth, for as a follower of Christ my citizenship is in heaven? If I am not doing these things as best as I can then labeling myself as a Christian is besmirching the name of Christ: Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

November 21, 2024

BE CONSISTENT

Sirach 5:10-11

Be established in your understanding
And let your word be consistent.
Be quick to listen
And give your answer with patience.

Personal Challenge

One thing that I have learnt, and try to adhere to, is to be consistent in my word. This applies both to what I say and what I write, especially on social media. If we are truly established in our understanding of who we are in Christ and because of that who we should be in the world, then we can work on the consistency of our word. The best place to start with this is to be quick to listen and slow to speak Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

November 20, 2024

WALK IN HIM

Colossians 2:6-7

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Personal Challenge

We live in on age where the true nature and characteristics of Jesus Christ are no longer taught. This does not mean that we need to fix our schools and teach about Him there. Our schools are secular institutions and should be where we teach the truths of reading, writing, arithmetic, science, etc. Where we need to start teaching the true nature and characteristics of Jesus Christ is in our churches and Christian homes. We have lost our way and in that have lost our relationship with our God. Heaven forbid! Jesus is fully God who became fully man. In His incarnation He left His place in heaven to be humbly born of a virgin in one of the harshest times in history. He lived the life of a wandering immigrant, without sin, and showed us how to love God and love our neighbor, without compromise. He taught His disciples the truth of God and sent them forth to spread His good news throughout the world. We, the modern-day people that claim to be Christians, must go back to His basics, confess our sins and abuses of his truths, repent and follow Him in His ways. If not, we will be accountable for blasphemous and heretical actions. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me, the sinner!

November 19, 2024

BE HUMBLE TO BE GREAT

Sirach 3:18-19

The greater you are, the more humble you must be,
And you will find grace before the Lord;
Because great is the power of the Lord,
And He is honored by the humble.

Personal Challenge

This teaching is showing the true spiritual contrast of what God expects in leaders and what man expects, especially in today's world. Humility is looked down upon· It is perceived as a weakness. However, true humility, a humility based on love for God and love for our neighbor, is the strongest force in the world. It cannot be overcome by brute force. If we want to find grace before our God, to have peace in our lives, to be truly righteous followers of Christ, then we must be humble and continually strive to love God and love our neighbor. This will be the only thing that will prevail against the tyrants of the day. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

November 18, 2024

RECONCILED

Colossians 1:19-20

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

Encouraging Words

At the beginning of mankind, having been created with free will, we chose to reject God. This propensity to sin is in our DNA and we continue to reject Him by our choices. Jesus Christ chose to incarnate as one of us so that he could live a sinless human life in order to provide a way for us all to be reconciled to God. By doing this He not only reconciled all mankind, but all of creation. Glory be to God!

November 17, 2014

SO, YOU WANT TO SERVE GOD?

Sirach 2:1-6

My son, if you draw near to serve the Lord,

Prepare your soul for temptation.
Set your heart right and be steadfast,

And do not strive anxiously in distress.
Cleave to Him and do not fall away,
That you may be honored at the end of your life.
Accept whatever is brought upon you,
And in exchange for your humiliation, be patient;
Because gold is tested in fire
And acceptable men in the furnace of abasement.
Believe in Him, and He will help you;
Make your ways straight and hope in Him.

Personal Challenge

This passage, hidden in one of our Old Testament apocryphal books, gives us clear guidance on what we must expect if we desire follow and serve our God. This guidance is so counter to the modern Christian way of thinking. First of all, we must be prepared for temptation that will swell up to prevent us from serving God properly. We must be willing to set our hearts right on His precepts of loving others and remain steadfast in that. We cannot strive anxiously in distress that comes our way. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus and loving God and our neighbor. We cleave to Him at all times and in all circumstances and do not fall away from Him and His promises. We must be willing to accept whatever is brought upon us, whether good or bad. Finally, we must be humble in our lives and accept humiliation in exchange, or response, to our patience. All of this reminds us that gold is refined in fire and that if we are to truly be followers of Christ, then we must be ready for fiery refinement: He is worth it. A righteous life is worth it. The sharing of the gospel, or good news of Christ, is worth it. Glory be to God!

November 16, 2024

Saint of the Week

St. Paisios the Athonite

November 15, 2024

DO NOT CEASE TO PRAY

Colossians 1:9-12

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

Personal Challenge

Paul shares with us here in Colossians how much he cares for the church that he has planted. His prayer is one that continues over us, the Church, even today, and is one that we can pray as well. He asks that we be filled with knowledge of God's will in wisdom and spiritual understanding. He desires that we walk worthy of our Lord, fully pleasing Him and to be fruitful in every good work as well as increasing in our knowledge of God. He petitions that we are strengthened with all might, according to God's glorious power, that we have patience and longsuffering with joy and continually give thanks to our Father. Glory be to God!

November 13, 2024

A PATIENT PERSON

Sirach 1:20-21

A patient man will hold fast until the proper time,
Then afterwards gladness shall burst forth for him.
He shall conceal his words until the proper time,
And the lips of many will tell of his understanding.

Personal Challenge

We live in such a fast paced, instant gratification world that we have forgotten of the benefits of being patient. Part of be patient is holding fast on to our expectations, desires, and promises given to us. It is not patience if we are not waiting for something. One of the rewards of this patience is the gladness that bursts forth within us when what we have been waiting for comes into fruition. Another part of being patient is holding onto or concealing our words until the proper time. The result of doing this is that the lips of others will tell of our understanding. Glory be to God!

November 11, 2024

GOD WILL SUPPLY

Philippians 4:19

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Personal Challenge

We, our nation, as a people proclaiming to be a Christian nation, have followed in the footsteps of so many nations and people groups that have come before us. We have put our trust in princes, kings, presidents, and sons of men to "save" us. Our Lord has made it clear that there is only one that we should put our trust in. The Lord God Almighty. This verse reminds us about that only God will supply our needs, and only then through Christ Jesus, not some elevated and worshipped man or group Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy? Lord, have mercy!

November 10, 2024

CROWN OF WISDOM

Sirach 1:16

The fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom,
Making peace and soundness of health to flourish.

Personal Challenge

It is so easy to proclaim that you are a Christian. This is the same with all professions of how we label ourselves. The truth is that labels mean absolutely nothing to God. Do we have a true fear of God. Not a cowering, He will punish me kind of fear, which is a clear demonstration of not knowing Him, but a deep trust, or faith, a committed conviction to follow in the footsteps of our Rabbi and to do as He does and speaks. If we truly desire a crown of wisdom in the godly things that lead to peace and soundness of health, then we must do as Jesus would have us to do. What are these things. To love God and to love our neighbor. To do as Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians: Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31-32) Living a Christian life is a life focused on Him and not the ways of this world. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

November 9, 2024

Saint of the Week

St. Joseph the Hesychast

November 8, 2024

TO BE CONTENT

Philippians 4:11-13

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Personal Challenge

This life on this earth is temporary. It is also filled with many things that can beat us down, if we let them. As followers of Christ, we know that we can count on Him to meet our every need. He can give us peace and contentment to carry us through every event. He strengthens us to fight the good fight. Glory be to God!

November 7, 2024

FEAR OF THE LORD

Sirach 1:10-11

The fear of the Lord will cheer the heart
And will give gladness, joy, and long life.
For those who fear the Lord, it shall be well to the utmost,
And on the day of his death, he will be blessed.

Personal Challenge

There is no person, organization, or thing in this earth that we need to fear. If we put our trust, our faith, a godly fear and respect in our Lord, then He will cheer our heart, give us gladness, joy, and long life, and our lives will be blessed. However, this also means that we will strive to do His will and live His ways, which may cause earthly hardships for us, for we are no longer of this world, but in it as his ambassadors. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner!

November 6, 2024

MEDIATE ON THESE THINGS

Philippians 4:8-9

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

Personal Challenge

So often in our lives, things do not go the way that we would like them to. Sometimes, it even looks like things do not go the way that God wants them to. We must remember that we still live in a fallen world and a world where free will can still take us in directions away from God. Paul reminds that if we want the peace of God in our lives then we must think on the good things of God. Glory be to God!

November 4, 2024

EXALTED AND GLORIFIED

Wisdom of Solomon 19:22

For in everything, O Lord, You have exalted and glorified Your people,
And have not neglected to be present with them in every time and place.

Encouraging Words

Throughout the history of mankind, God has honored the people of His covenants. He has continually exalted and glorified them in His heavenly realm, and He will continue to do so throughout eternity. If we are His followers, we need to look for His rewards in His kingdom and not the kingdom of this earth. Glory be to God!

November 3, 2024

REJOICE AND BE AT PEACE

Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Command with a Promise

We are told to rejoice in our Lord always, let our gentleness be known to all people, be anxious about nothing, pray in thanksgiving, and let our requests be made known to God. This is almost in the form of command, a directive. What happens when we do this? The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. That is the promise that comes with this command. Glory be to God!

November 2, 2024

Saint of the Week

St. Hilary of Poitiers

November 1, 2024

KNOWING GOD

Wisdom of Solomon 15:1-3

But You, our God, are kind, true, patient,
And govern all things in mercy.
For even if we sin, we belong to You and know Your might;
But we will not sin,
Because we know that we are counted as belonging to You.
For to know You is complete righteousness,
And to know Your might is the root of immortality.

Personal Challenge

Our God is so good. He is kind, true, patient, and merciful. He knows us better than we even know ourselves and yet He still loves us. If we truly believe this, we will strive to not sin and offend Him. But once again, He loves us so much, He will forgive those sins and count us as belonging to Him. Glory be to God!

October 31,2024

PRESS ON

Philippians 3:12-14

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Personal Challenge

As long as we reside here on earth in our temporal bodies, our journey of theosis will never be done. We must continually press on to the goal of being like Christ, following closely in His footsteps. Part of doing this is forgetting that which we have left behind and reaching forward to that which is ahead. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

October 30, 2024

IN ALL THINGS

Wisdom of Solomon 12:1-2

For Your immortal Spirit is in all things.
For this reason You correct little by little those who fall away,
And You remind and warn them of the sins they commit
So they may be freed from evil and believe in You, O Lord.

Encouraging Words

The Spirit of God is in all things. That is indeed possible because God is the creator and sustainer of all things, past, present, and future. Because of this, God can use all things to provide guidance for us to draw closer to Him, to correct us when we miss the mark, and free us from the evil of this fallen world. Sometimes our free will gets in the way, but He is patient. Glory be to God!