February 8, 2013

James 1:26-27

If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Personal Challenge...

Here are three examples of the relationship between faith and works: mastery over speech...our tongue, ministry to the needy, and moral purity in thought and deed. (Taken from the notes of the Orthodox Study Bible.) Has my involvement in my church boiled down to seeking to be entertained on Sunday mornings, or putting on great religious roles of righteousness on Sunday while treating my coworkers or family like dirt the rest of the week, or... If so, then my heart has been deceived and my religion is empty and defiled. It is my duty to my Lord to live my life in a way so as to imitate Him with the pursuit of becoming like Him. Maybe it is time that all of us who profess the name of Jesus to look at our lives and get our acts together...for our Lord and for our neighbor.

February 6 & 7, 2013

James 1:12-15

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full- grown, brings forth death.

Encouraging Words...

So much for the claim that I sin because Adam sinned first. What an excuse this has become. I fall to temptation because I allow myself to do so. It is not God, nor my circumstances, nor something that I inherited that causes me to sin, but it is my choice. If I can choose to sin then by the grace of God I can choose to not sin.

February 5, 2013

Hebrews 13:17

Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Personal Challenge...

There is that word again...SUBMIT! Why is it that in today's church we find it acceptable to second guess our pastors, priests and/or leaders and try to force them to do things our way? Aren't they the ones that have answered God's call to be our shepherd? Aren't they the ones that have sacrificed their lives for each of us? Isn't God commanding us to be submissive to them and let them lead us with joy and not grief? God have mercy on your Church.

February 4, 2013

Hebrews 11:17-19

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, In Isaac your seed shall be called, concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

Encouraging Words...

One of my quests as a new convert to Eastern Orthodoxy is to understand and embrace the eastern way of thinking. Thinking like the people in Christ's time, even Christ Himself, thought and viewed life as well as their God. Thinking like we did before the age of enlightenment and logical reasoning. Why is this important? Because the Church was founded with this mindset. Jesus, Paul, Peter, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and all of the early church fathers operated and taught from this mindset.

As I begin to acquire this mindset myself the teachings and readings in the scriptures leap off of the pages in a whole new and vibrant way. We, the Eastern Orthodox, believe that the Old Testament exists to typify (foreshadow, point to, etc.) Christ and chapter 11 of Hebrews shows this by how the writer points out all of the faith heros of the Old Testament did things that typified the King that would be coming some day. The writer of Hebrews was looking back and documenting how the text of their day was pointing forward to Jesus, His life, and His works. Praise God that He can give us new eyes to see when we ask for them.

February 3, 2013

Colossians 3:12-16

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.

Command with a Promise...

This is one of those passages that needs to be read through slowly and contemplatively...over and over. Buried in here are some wonderful promises from God...having His peace in our hearts, having the living word of Christ dwelling within us in all wisdom, and singing with grace in our hearts. What wonderful promises of what God will pour into our lives if we will follow His commands. The beginning and the end of this passage gives us our commands that we must follow in order to receive these promises. What a different world we would live in if all of us (yes, this includes me) would live this way. Lord, have mercy.

February 2, 2013

Isaiah 6:8-10

I also heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people? Then I said, Behold, here am I, send me. So He said, Go, and tell this people, You shall hear indeed, but not understand; and you shall see indeed, but not perceive. For the heart of this people has become insensitive, and their ears hear with difficulty. They have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return, and I should heal them.

Encouraging Words...

Once again I am surprised at what the Word of God speaks to me as I read it through different eyes, a different filter. This passage points out that we sin by choice, not by nature, volitionally stopping our ears and closing our eyes. We cannot go on blaming this on Adam and Eve. Yes, they did commit the first sin, but they did not curse us with a sin nature, but with the curse of sin, which is death. It is my choice to sin or not sin. It is Christ who has defeated the curse of sin...death, and demonstrated for us that a human can say, "No!" to sin.

February 1, 2013

Hebrews 11:8

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Personal Challenge...

I love Hebrews and the "Hall of Fame" that shares all of the "by faith" accounts. I believe that our modern Christian faith has become diluted because we have created so many concrete things that we now put our faith in. Whether these things are our institutions, or our denominations, or our doctrines, or dogmas, or whatever it is not these that we are to put our faith in. Our faith is to be in God, our Provider. Even our early fathers who walked with Christ, learned from Him, and laid the foundational bricks of the Church had to put their faith in the unseen and unknown. Jesus was gone. They put their faith in that unknown place that God was calling them to...just like Abraham. Should I be any different?