January 30, 2025

MORE PLEASING THAN THE LAW

Sirach 35:1-3

The man who keeps the law will abound in offerings;
He who heeds the commandments sacrifices a peace offering.
He who returns a kindness offers fine wheat flour,
And he who does alms sacrifices a praise offering.
To forsake evil is pleasing to the Lord,
And to forsake wrongdoing is atonement.

Encouraging Words

In the Old Testament, God entered into a covenant with the Jewish people and gave them a set of laws and traditions to follow. We know of the beginning of these laws as the ten commandments. Unfortunately, just as we see happening today, zealous leaders replaced their love for God with their focus on the law. Sirach reminds us that it is the nature of the laws that is important, not just the letter of the law. Heeding the essence of the law, which is loving God and loving our neighbor, as Jesus commanded us in the New Testament covenant, is the same as making a peace offering to God. Giving kindness to another is as powerful as a wheat offering. Giving alms to the poor and those in need equals a praise offering. Forsaking evil and wrongdoing is pleasing to God and helps atone us of our own wrongdoings. It is not about posting the laws on the walls or beating others over the heads with them. It is about living lives loving God and loving our neighbor. Lord, have Lord mercy! Lord, have Mercy! Lord, have merey!

January 29 ,2025

PURSUE THESE

2 Timothy 2:22-26

Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

Personal Challenge

Under the guidance of God, Paul gave Timothy some great instruction that is still valid today. First of all, to flee youthful lusts and desires and to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace out of a pure heart. These are truly signs of maturity and growth in a person unlike so many childish and vengeful behaviors that we are seeing today in our country and its leadership. Avoid foolish and ignorant disputes and quarrels. This does not mean that we stop fighting against injustice and lies. It just means that we do not get sucked into the pettiness of those who support that behavior. By being gentle to all, able to teach, patient, and humbly correcting the opposition, we can maintain our balance, our centeredness, and our integrity. We let God then convict the other that they might come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil that they are trapped in. If we truly want to win in our resistance to the opposition, we must maintain ourselves above their approaches.

January 28, 2025

WHO IS MY SUPPORT?

Sirach 34:15-17

Blessed is the soul of a man who fears the Lord.
To whom does he look? And who is his support?
The eyes of the Lord are upon those who love Him.
He is a powerful protection and a strong support:
A shelter from the burning heat,
A shelter from the noonday sun,
A guard from stumbling,
And help from a fall.
He raises up the soul
And gives light to the eyes.
He gives healing, life, and blessing.

Encouraging Words

As a follower of Christ, I trust and respect my Lord. I believe in who He is and what He stands for. I am also saddened to see so much activity in the world today that is so contradictory to His teachings and yet proclaiming to be doing these activities in His name. Lord, have mercy. As I read through this passage, I am reminded how blessed I am because I do trust and respect Him. I know that He is always watching over me. He is my powerful and strong support, even in these crazy, hostile times. He is my shelter from the burning heat and the noonday sun. He guards my feet from stumbling and falling as long as I stay on His path. He lifts me up when I do veer and stumble. And He gives me light in the darkness, healing, life, and blessing. Glory be to God!

January 27, 2025

BE DILIGENT

2 Timothy 2:14-17a

Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer.

Personal Challenge

If we are followers of Christ, then we have a responsibility to diligently represent Him in ways that will build Him and the Church up. We do this by doing His work His way! We rightly divide the word of truth, not with our interpretations, but the interpretations of the Church that has been vetted and affirmed for 2,000 years. This is how we shun profane and idle babblings that lead to heresies. We have a significant responsibility to glorify our God and not men. Lord have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 26, 2025

OUR HOPE

Sirach 34:13-14

The spirit of those who fear the Lord will live,
For their hope is in Him who saves them.
He who fears the Lord will fear nothing,
And he will not be cowardly, for the Lord is his hope.

Encouraging Words

True followers of Christ fear their God. This is not a cowering, afraid of punishment type of response, for God is loving and merciful. This is a deep awe and respect type of response to our Lord's immeasurable love for us. What flows from this is that our hope becomes anchored in our Lord. Through that hope we will fear nothing and never yield to those things, or people, that act counter to the love of our God. It is not enough to don the moniker of "Christian". To be a follower of Christ, the fruit of our labor must be Christ-like. This means loving our neighbor, protecting the alien amongst us, caring for those in need, and being Christ's example in all that we do and say, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

January 25, 2025

Saint of the Week

St. Ignatius of Antioch

January 24, 2025

WHO ARE WE IN HIM?

2 Timothy 2:11-13

This is a faithful saying:

For if we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him.
If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.
If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.

Encouraging Words

Our relationship with God through Jesus Christ is not about words or labels such as "Christian" that we apply to ourselves. It is about our hearts and the Christ-like actions that flow from our relationship with Him. We do not do our actions to garner favor from God, He gives it freely. Our actions flow from the love for God that Jesus and the Holy Spirit produce by dwelling within us. Because of this we are willing to die for Him for we know that we will live with Him. We live for Him because we know that through Him, we will endure with Him. He will always be faithful. Glory to God!

January 23, 2025

WOW!

Job 40:2

“Will anyone pervert judgment with the Mighty One?
He who rebukes God will answer for it.”

Encouraging Words

Wow! Just wow! What a powerful statement God made here to Job. We have witnessed in our current events where people in high leadership positions are rebuking a clergy member, a Bishop, for calling upon them to show mercy and concern for the people under their watch. The message was sincerely out of the beatitudes and not an offensive challenge, but an honest and humble plea. And the results have been rebuke, reprisal, hatred, and even calls for deportion of an American citizen. If this behavior is not rebuking God, then I don't know what is. Glory be to God!

January 22, 2025

ALL MEN AND WOMEN

Sirach 33:13

All His ways are according to His good pleasure.
Like clay in a potter’s hand,
Thus men are in the hand of Him who made them,
To render to them according to His judgment.

Encouraging Words

We are in the middle of a time where evil abounds and is embraced and defended by many. The encouraging aspect of this verse is that all men and women will someday be subject to our Lord's judgement. He is the one that has told us about the judgment of the sheep and the goats at the end of time. (Matthew 25: 31-46) He is the final judge and sometimes His judgment is rendered in this age, but it will always be rendered. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy!

January 21, 2025

LORD, HAVE MERCY!

2 Timothy 2:3-4

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

Personal Challenge

At what point do the affairs of the world around us that are grievously impacting the innocents, the aliens amongst us, the widows, orphans, and infirm, begin to draw us into a battle against the things of the world. We are seeing the beginning of a shift in our country from the land of freedom and opportunity to a land run by, and for, only the grossly wealthy. There is total disregard for the command that Christ gave us to love and take care of these very people being impacted. Each of us must make the choice to demonstrate the love of Christ by resisting the direction that we, as a people, are going and fight the good fight that Christ has called us to fight. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have Mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Check this out as an enforcement of my thoughts: Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde

January 20, 2025

TRUST IN THE LORD

Sirach 32:23-24

In every work entrust your soul to the Lord,
For this is the keeping of the commandments.
He who believes in the Law heeds the commandments,
And he who trusts in the Lord will not suffer loss.

Personal Challenge

We live in a day where we are watching our great country be sold to oligarchs and criminals. It is a time for mourning as well as a time for action. We, the followers of Christ, must begin by recognizing and claiming that our true citizenship is not of this country or this world. Through Christ, we are citizens of heaven who have been blessed by Him to be His emissaries where we are. As His emissaries we have all His power and authority behind us to serve Him. This means that we must live our lives, where we are in ways that magnify and glorify Him. We do this by loving Him and loving our neighbor. We show our neighbor that we love them by standing up for them when injustices are perpetrated and striving to meet their needs, both physical and spiritual. We have the responsibility to protect the freedom and rights of those who cannot do that for themselves. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 19, 2025

HOLD FAST

2 Timothy 1:12-14

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

Encouraging Words

True followers of Christ know that they will suffer for their convictions. Christ suffered and told us that if we followed Him, we would suffer too. Most of the apostles were martyred and history is full of true followers being martyred as well. So, these so-called modern-day Christians who claim their worldly ways are acceptable, are in for a big surprise some day. Along With Paul, I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ and am willing to stand firm against the false versions of Christianity springing up all over the place. Like Timothy, I am willing to hold fast to the pattern of sound words from Christ and the early fathers of the church. Glory be to God!

January 18, 2025

Saint of the Week

St. John Climacus

January 17, 2025

WISDOM VS FOLLY

Sirach 32:14-17

The man who fears the Lord will receive instruction,
And those who rise early will find His approval.
He who seeks the Law will be filled with it,
But the hypocrite will be made to stumble by it.
Those who fear the Lord will discover judgment,
And like the light they will kindle righteous deeds.
A sinful man will turn aside correction
And find a rationalization according to his will.

Personal Challenge

We live in a day and age where wisdom has been replaced by folly. Truth has been replaced with lies. We choose to follow our passions and desires because it feels good rather than pursue the truth whether we like it or not. Once again, Sirach provides some sound guidance in these times. Fear, or respect, God and receive His instruction, and sometimes His discipline. Work diligently for Him, no matter what you are doing, and you will find His approval. Seek His law, his commands, which are to love Him and to love our neighbor, and you will be blessed. By doing this, you will discover God's good judgment and will kindle righteous deeds in your life. But the opposite is true of those who choose folly. They will become hypocrites and stumble on the very commandments that draw us close to God. They will turn away from instruction and discipline and find rationalization for life in their own will and not the will of God for the good of others. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 16, 2025

NOT ASHAMED

2 Timothy 1:8-9

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

Personal Challenge

My journey through life has been full of joys and sorrows, excitement and boring times, life and death, love and enmity. I do not regret that my Lord Jesus Christ has been the central figure throughout the majority of that journey. I choose to be His follower and am not ashamed to proclaim Him and His truths, I am also not afraid to stand up to those who pervert and misalign His teachings and who He is. As our world moves farther and farther down the path of embracing false statements and outright lies for personal gain and edification, the need to fight for the Truth is ramped up. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

January 15, 2025

GLADNESS OF THE HEART

Sirach 30:21-24

Do not give yourself over to sorrow,
And do not distress yourself deliberately.
Gladness of the heart is the life of man,
And rejoicing by a man lengthens his life.
Love your soul and comfort your heart,
And put sorrow far away from you;
For sorrow has destroyed many,
And there is no profit in it.
Envy and anger will shorten your days,
And worry will bring premature old age.

Encouraging Words

We live in a world that is full of sadness and despair. Natural disasters are wreaking havoc on many innocent people. Wars and skirmishes are in full swing across the globe. Political systems and nations are quickly moving into fascism and authoritarianism. And yet, we each have the capability, and responsibility to control our own internal destiny. Sirach guides us to pursue a life of joy and peace. We can choose to not give ourselves over to sorrow. We must not distress ourselves deliberately. We can embrace a gladness in our hearts that will give us life and extend our days. We can love our soul and comfort our heart by putting sorrow far away. We can do all this through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Glory be to God!

January 13, 2025

OUR SPIRIT

2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

ENCOURAGING WORDS

As followers of Christ, we have been promised a spirit within us that is free from fear and full of power, love, and a sound mind. Sometimes we must challenge those who proclaim to be Christians and yet abuse the power available from God, spewing hatred and demeaning rhetoric, and clearly not operating with a sound mind. It is time to stand up for the true nature of our Christ and confront those who besmirch His name. Lord, have Mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 12, 2025

REASONING

Sirach 27:4-7

When a sieve is shaken, the refuse remains;
So a man’s filth remains in the way he reasons.
As a furnace tests a potter’s vessels,
So the test of a man is in the way he reasons.
As fruit reveals how a tree is cultivated,
So a man’s reasoning process reveals his heart.
Do not praise a man before he reveals the way he reasons,
For this is the way a man is tested.

Personal Challenge

I am still amazed at how the passage that comes up for me to use for my daily journal is so perfect for the events of the moment. Sirach nails the issues that we are seeing related to reasoning today. Reasoning is not happening with what appears to be about 50% of our American population. What remains when you pour a mixture of stuff into a sieve and shake it? You get everything that you did not want left in the results. Sieves are so often used to let the good, that which we see as pure, filter through the sieve and the junk, the refuse, left behind. Sirach uses this imagery to articulate that when good, godly, and truthful reasoning has been sifted out, or eliminated, then all that you have left is filth. So much of today's "reasoning "is revealing the filth of peoples thoughts and the lack of their true ability to reason. Just read through these verses and you will see how Sirach nails today's dilemma. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 11, 2025

Saint of the Week

St. Basil the Great

January 10, 2025

GUARD THE FAITH

1 Timothy 6:20-21

O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.

Personal Challenge

So many people who proclaim to be Christians act as if their version of the faith is for them to protect and defend. We do not follow a true Christian faith that meets only our personal definition or version. That is how heresy grows. True followers of Christ defend the faith that has been committed to our trust over the past 2,000 years of the church by the saints and martyrs that have gone before us. We do not yield to the whims of post-modern Christians that pervert the truths of the Gospel for their own gain. We do not submit to profane and idle babblings and contradictions like Christian nationalism because they have strayed from the true faith. Glory be to God and God alone!

January 9, 2025

BEAUTIFUL TO SEE

Sirach 25:1

There are three things beautiful to see,
And they are beautiful before the Lord and men:
The harmony of brothers, friendship between neighbors,
And a wife and husband well-adjusted together.

Encouraging Words

I love how the scriptures are full of truisms that give us encouragement in our daily lives. These truisms also give goals to strive for that impact our lives positively. This verse is one of those scriptures. Three things that are beautiful to see as well as delightful to have in our lives. Harmony of brothers. We are all one big family called humans. The more that we can live of harmony, one with another, regardless of our background, color, sex, religion, education, wealth, or any other earthly standard, the more peaceful and beautiful our lives will be. Friendship between neighbors. Who is my neighbor? Every single human being is my neighbor. Friendship between us leads to al more loving, caring, merciful, and gracious world. A wife and a husband well-adjusted together give us a home that thrives in love and compassion. All of these are worthy goals to pursue and embrace. Glory be to God!

January 8, 2025

FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT

1 Timothy 6:11-12

But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Personal Challenge

This passage starts off by telling us to flee certain things and pursue godly things. What are we to flee from? Disputes and arguments. Pride. Envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, and useless wranglings. Also, the desire to be rich, for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Sounds kind of like an indictment for the people of today, especially all those who proclaim to be Christians but pursue these things. As followers of Christ, we are to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. This is the good fight that we must engage in. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 7, 2025

GUARDING OUR MOUTH

Sirach 22:27

Who will set a guard over my mouth,
And a prudent seal over my lips,
That I may not fall because of them,
And that my tongue may not destroy me?

Personal Challenge

Our mouth (and our keyboard) can cause us much grief. It is our responsibility to be prudent in what we say and apply diligence to always speaking the truth, especially when so many others have stooped to embracing and magnifying falsehoods as truth. It is far too easy to counter back with more falsehoods, but this does not set us apart and above the level that lies descends to. Always speaking and seeking the truth is hard work but it always pays dividends in the end. Glory be to God!

January 6, 2025

CONTENTMENT

1 Timothy 6:6

Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

Personal Challenge

Isn't contentment one of the greatest issues that we are dealing with today? We are seeing the chasm between the rich and the poor growing exponentially. We see those rich hoarding more and more. We see constant attacks on the poor and the indigent. It all comes down to greed and lack of contentment with that which one does have. We have lost the love for our neighbor that compels us to care for them. Lord, have mercy! If we truly desire godliness in our lives, we must become content with what we have and share of our abundance with those in need. Again, Lord, have mercy!

January 5, 2025

WHERE OUR WORDS COME FROM?

Sirach 21:26

The heart of fools is in their mouth,
But the mouth of the wise is in their heart.

Personal Challenge

We have come to a time where we can easily generate an extremely large audience for what we say. Social media has created platforms where any common person can easily communicate to thousands of people instantly. That makes this truism ever more important· We have seen hundreds of people impacted by erroneous statements such as "they are eating people's pets". We have witnessed 49% of those who voted for president swayed by falsehoods and unsupported proclamations. Sirach reminds us that from the heart of a fool comes words through their mouth that are foolish and not representative of a loving God. If we are to have wise and uplifting words flow from our mouths (or pens or keyboards) then our hearts must first be filled with love, grace, mercy, and kindness. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 4, 2025

Saint of the Week

St. Paisios of Mount Athos

January 3, 2025

BE AN EXAMPLE

1 Timothy 4:12

Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Personal Challenge

I have often used this verse to encourage youth to be strong in their faith because God can use the youth as well as any other. However, the real power in this verse can apply to all of us who are followers of Christ. We must be examples of who Jesus was and is. Our example must be in word and conduct. Our example most show others the love of God in spirit, faith, and purity. We cannot proclaim to be Christians and treat others without love. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

January 2, 2025

RIGHT AND WRONG

Sirach 21:1-3

My son, have you sinned?
No longer add to them, but pray about your former sins.
Flee from sin as you would from the presence of a snake,
For if you approach it, it will bite you;
Its teeth are like lion’s teeth, destroying the souls of men.
All lawlessness is like a two-edged sword,
For there is no healing from its wound.

Personal Challenge

As a follower of Christ, we acknowledge wrongdoing as sin. It is missing the mark of what God would want of us. Everyone, whether they acknowledge God or not, knows that the is a difference between right and wrong. We all have a moral compass that is coded within our very being. This is what we as followers of Christ call "created in the image of God". This passage in Sirach reminds us that if we have sinned, or missed the mark, then we should seek to rectify the situation and pray for forgiveness. We are to follow that by fleeing from additional sin which will engulf us and harm us. We believe that by the grace of God our sins are forgiven, and we are redeemed by god's love. Glory be to God!

January 1, 2025

TO THIS END...

1 Timothy 4:10

For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

Personal Challenge

What end are we laboring and suffering reproach for? It is the process of living our lives to be an image of Jesus Christ that we labor for. As followers of Christ, we are striving to be like him and do that which He would do. What are these things that Jesus would do? Love our God! Love our neighbor! Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, take care of the widow and the orphan, and take in the foreigner, the stranger, the migrant amongst us. Contrary to many proclamations of modern people calling themselves Christians, we cannot abandon these expected actions as Christ followers and still call ourselves Christians. And why do we choose to follow Christ this way? Because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all mankind. Glory be to God!