September 4, 2018

BETWEEN THE PORCH AND THE ALTAR

Joel 2:17-18

Between the porch and the altar, the priests of the altar, ministering to the Lord, will each be weeping and will say, “O Lord, spare Your people; do not give Your inheritance to reproach, that the Gentiles should rule over them, lest they should say among the Gentiles, ‘Where is their God?’ ”

But the Lord was zealous for His land and spared His people.

Encouraging Words

Up to this point, Joel has been writing about the challenges that his people have been facing and the practices of the church. The altar is where the priest would prepare and offer up the sacrificial lamb for the people of the land. This was a blood sacrifice. The porch is where the people would stand in their sin, sickness, and death, waiting and hoping on the sacrifice. The priest stood between these two worlds filled with death. At this point in the text, Joel turns to the future, the coming High Priest, who would offer up the final and ultimate sacrifice that would bring salvation to His entire creation. Jesus is both this High Priest and the Sacrificial Lamb. Glory be to God!

September 3, 2018

WISDOM?

1 Corinthians 3:18

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.

Personal Challenge

We, as a modern and "enlightened" society, act as if we are so wise. Apparently, the people of Paul's day did the same thing. We act as if we have all of the right answers. We condemn others who not believe or behave the way that we expect. However, Paul reminds us that the wisdom that we confess and praise is the wisdom of the world, which pales in comparison to God's wisdom and the wisdom that He will bestow upon us when we are willing to become fools in this world for Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

September 2, 2018

OUR WHOLE HEART

Joel 2:12-13

Now says the Lord your God, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting and wailing and with mourning; rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and compassionate. He is longsuffering and plenteous in mercy and repents of evils.

Personal Challenge

As long as we continue to live in our physical bodies, we will be tempted to sin. Sometimes the temptation comes from the outside, from the fallen and corrupt world. More often, though, the temptation comes from within. It may be a thought that we hold on to for an extended time until it festers into a sinful act. It may be a passion or a desire that we have not yet mastered by turning it over to our Lord, It may be the one thing in our life that we hide deep within our heart refusing to let go of. Joel reminds us that in order to reap the gifts that our Lord wants to pour out upon us, we must turn to Him with our whole heart, we must accompany that with actions such as fasting, wailing, and morning, which are all acts of repentance. He wants our heart, which then drives our actions, given in repentance. Then we will see His mercy and compassion and forgiveness. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

September 1, 2018

Saint of the Week

St. Porphyrios the Kapsokalyvite

August 28, 2018

KNOWING GOD

1 Corinthians 2:9

But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Encouraging Words

We have a saying in the Orthodox Church. "The more I know God, the less I know Him? No matter how much I study about God, how often I go to Him in prayer, or how much I participate in the liturgy and other church events, I will never be able to understand the depth and breadth of my Lord's love for me and His greatness. Our journey through eternity will never give us enough time or experiences to truly know Him. Glory be to God!

August 27, 2018

MERCY

Micah 7:18
Who is a God like You, removing wrongdoings and passing over the ungodliness of the remnant of His inheritance? He does not keep His anger as a witness, for He delights in mercy.

Encouraging Words

God is merciful and passes over our ungodliness because He loves us. Not only does He delight in mercy, He is mercy. And He desires that we be merciful.

August 26, 2018

FOOLISHNESS OF GOD

1 Corinthians 1:25-29

Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.

Personal Challenge

From a human perspective, it often looks like God does everything backward. But that is the point, isn't it? The human perspective is finite, or limited. The human perspective is biased and conditional. Gods' is none of these. God is eternal all-knowing, so doesn't it make more sense for us to submit to God and His way of doing things? If we were to see God's most foolish thing, it would still be immeasurably wiser than any wise person in the existence of mankind. If we were to see God's weakest aspect, it would still be far stronger than anything that mankind has ever summoned. God chooses to use the foolishness and weakness of humankind to build His kingdom so that ALL of the glory points to Him and not to us. Glory be to God, and God alone!