January 30, 2013

Psalm 102:17-18 (103:17-18 LXX)

But the mercy of the Lord is from age to age upon those who fear Him,

And His righteousness upon children's children,
To such as keep His covenant
And remember His commandments, to do them.

Personal Challenge...

Being a child of God does not come from praying some special prayer, or just saying that you are His child, or from buying it by giving to your church or favorite ministry. It comes from an ongoing, active life of seeking His heart and striving to be like Him. He wants me to fear Him, respect Him, obey Him, living out my salvation in my everyday life His way, not mine.

January 29, 2013

Psalm 145:8-9 (144:8-9 LXX)

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
Longsuffering and abundant in mercy.
The Lord is good to all,
And His mercies are upon all His works.

Encouraging Words...

The Lord our God, the creator of all, loves His creation. That love is so deep and so wide that He was willing to give up His Son as a sacrifice so that His creation could be redeemed and restored. I cannot praise God enough for the mercies that He pours out on His creation and me.

January 28, 2013

Mark 8:11-12

Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.

Personal Challenge...

We are a part of 'this generation' that Jesus was talking about. We go to our church services looking for God to do something miraculous in our lives so that we can 'feel' His presence. We go to conferences, retreats, monasteries, even mission trips looking for that 'sign' from heaven. And what we fail to recognize is that 2,000 years ago we were given the Sign of all signs. God became man, lived amongst us, faced temptations and rejected them for holiness, gave up His life for all mankind and creation, and rose again to rule in eternity with His Father in heaven.

So why do we still seek a sign from heaven? Because we have not yet fully accepted and received the final sign given to us by God Himself. In my church we celebrate the entire liturgy as if we are standing in the presence of God. We are inviting the hosts of heaven to celebrate our God with us just as we desire to enter into the heavenly realm and celebrate our God with the hosts in heaven. We become a part of the one true Sign from heaven and go away with the ability to shine as His sign to those around us. Praise be to the Living God.

January 27, 2013

Matthew 22:37:40

Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

Personal Challenge...

As humans we always are looking for the rules...the rules of the game, the rules of the group, the rules of life. Here Jesus gives us the simplest set of rules that you could ever find: Love your God and love your neighbor. Simple rules to understand and yet very complicated to master. Isn't this what our journey to theosis is comprised of? Learning to give up ourselves and to put God and our neighbor before us...in love.

January 26, 2013

Psalm 59:16-17 (58:17-18 LXX)


But I will sing of Your power,
And greatly rejoice in Your mercy in the morning;
For You are my protector,
And my refuge in the day of my affliction.
You are my helper; I will sing to You;
For You, O God, are my protector;
You are my mercy, O my God.

Encouraging Words...

What more could I add to this proclamation from the psalmist? Nothing, except that after living 48 years under the wing of my Lord, the psalmist definitely captured the truth about my God.

January 25, 2013

1 Corinthians 12:7

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

Encouraging words...

Throughout the letters of the New Testament we are informed of the spiritual gifts that are bestowed on those of us who follow Christ and have been baptized into Him. We are also told that these gifts are not for us, but for the building up of the body of Christ. This verse highlights that the Holy Spirit is manifested in my life through the gift(s) that He bestows upon me. This is powerful and makes it all the more important for me to discern these gifts and live within them...using them for His body.

January 24, 2013

Psalm 119:37 (118:37 LXX)
Turn away my eyes that I may not see vanity;
Give me life in Your way.

Personal Challenge...

As the psalmist prays so should I. My desire should be that God will help me to look away from those things in my life that would tempt me to turn away from my pursuit of righteousness in my Lord. My prayer should be for His blessing of a life that is founded in His ways.