February 16, 2016

SEEKING WISDOM

Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-16 LXX

Wisdom is radiant and unfading
And is easily perceived by those who love her;
For she is found by those who seek her.
She comes upon those who long to know her beforehand.
He who rises early in the morning to seek her
Will not grow weary,
For he will find her sitting at his gates.
For to think deeply about her
Is the perfection of discernment,
And he who keeps watch for her
Will soon be free from worry;
Because she goes about seeking those worthy of her,
And she appears to them favorably in their paths
And meets them in every thought.

Encouraging Words

Our early Church Fathers taught that the Wisdom referred to in the Old Testament is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. If you read this passage and replace every occurrence of "Wisdom" with "Jesus" and every occurrence of "her/she" with "Him/He", then you will see the profound power in what results. Glory be to God!

     Jesus is radiant and unfading
     And is easily perceived by those who love Him;
     For He is found by those who seek Him.
     He comes upon those who long to know Him beforehand.
     He who rises early in the morning to seek Him
     Will not grow weary,
     For he will find Him sitting at his gates.
     For to think deeply about Him
     Is the perfection of discernment,
     And he who keeps watch for Him
     Will soon be free from worry;
     Because He goes about seeking those worthy of Him,
     And He appears to them favorably in their paths
     And meets them in every thought.

February 13, 2016

Saint of the Week

St. Issac the Syrian

February 12, 2016

INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE

Wisdom of Solomon 5:15-16 LXX

But the righteous live forever,
And their reward is with the Lord;
And their care is by the Most High.
Therefore they shall receive a kingly dwelling of dignity
And a crown of beauty from the hand of the Lord,
Because He will shelter them with His right hand
And protect them with His arm.

Encouraging Words

Why do we who choose to be followers of Christ live our lives the way that we do? Why do we pursue righteousness when all around us appears to be the opposite of this virtue? Why do we attempt to do good deeds, love our neighbor, give of our time and possessions, and be contrary to the ways of the world? First, and foremost, it is because we love our Lord and are grateful for His love for us and his saving grace and mercy. It is out of this gratitude that we feel compelled to serve and honor Him. He is our salvation! He is our fortress! He is our help and hope. But we also pursue righteousness and do good deeds for Him because we know, and hope, that we are investing in our future live with Him throughout eternity. We will live forever. Our reward is in Him and He will give us His care. He is preparing a place in His heavenly mansion for us. He holds our crown in His hands. We are faithful with that which we have in this life knowing that He will be faithful in the life to come. Glory be to God!

February 11, 2016

WHO IS IMITATING WHO?

Wisdom of Solomon 4:2 LXX
When virtue is present, people imitate it,
And when it goes away, they long for it.
Throughout one's lifetime,
Virtue leads the struggle for undefiled prizes,
Wearing a crown and conquering.

Personal Challenge

There are two ways for me to apply this verse to my life. First, who am I trying to imitate? Is he, or she, virtuous and showing me the right way to live my life? Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, admonishes them to imitate him because he is imitating Christ. This is why we who practice Orthodoxy are always remembering the Saints so that we can imitate them. The second, is who is imitating me? Is it my children or other family members. Is it my coworkers? How about the youth in my Sunday school class or others at my church? Is my life worthy of being imitated? Is it virtuous? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

February 10, 2016

SEEKING GOD

Wisdom of Solomon 1:1-2 LLX

Love righteousness, you who judge on the earth.
Think about the Lord in goodness
And seek Him with sincerity of heart;
Because He is found by those who do not tempt Him,
And He is manifest to those who do not disbelieve Him.

Encouraging Words

Can we truly find God in our lives? The answer is a resounding, "Yes!" Unfortunately, we often seek Him on our terms, expecting Him to show up in our lives the way that we want. Here we are reminded that we must approach our God from a heart and mind focused on goodness and sincerity. What this means is that I come to Him, seeking Him, on His conditions. I am the one who is lost and unclean, not Him. I am the one who must desire Him and pursue Him. And the result? He will always be there. He will always pour out His love and mercy. Glory be to God!

February 9, 2016

LIVING RIGHTEOUS LIVES AND DOING GOOD DEEDS

3 Maccabees 3:3-5

The Jews, though, maintained their goodwill and unswerving faith toward the throne. But because they worshiped God and lived by His precepts, they kept themselves separate from others with regard to food, and therefore appeared hateful to some. But they adorned their way of life with the good deeds of righteous people, and thus established themselves as honorable to all men.

Personal Challenge

Some things in history never change. In the days of the Maccabees, they were looked down upon and often hated because they had strong values and beliefs that they were unwilling to compromise. Even though their faith also drove them to do good deeds and to be righteous people, they were looked upon as being intolerant and exclusive. Does this not still happen to Christians today? We have a standard by which we choose to measure our own lives. We choose to give up the things of the world for the things of heaven. And we too are driven by our faith to be charitable to others and to strive for righteousness. And because of this we are labeled as intolerant and exclusive. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

February 8, 2016

OUR TRUE SOURCE OF POWER

2 Maccabees 8:18 LXX

"For they trust in arms and bold acts," he said, "but we trust in Almighty God, who with only one nod is able to overthrow both those who come against us and the entire world."

Encouraging Words

People often wonder how can a person have the ability to give up their lives, whether physical or literal, for the God that we believe in. The truth is that we do not have the power to do this on our own power. They do it by the power of Who we believe in, the Almighty God. It is this belief, and more importantly, the object in which we put our belief, that gives us our strength.