TRIALS
James 1:2-4
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Personal Challenge
We cannot make it through life without encountering trials and tribulations. Many times these trials are of our own doing and the consequences of our sinful behaviors. No matter what the cause is of the trial that we are going through, what does count is how we deal with it. We are told here, by James, to count our trials as joy. What? Is he crazy? Our trials are there to help us to grow in our faith in God and His power and presence in our lives. Taking on these trials with this mindset produces patience within us, patience that prepares us for the next trial and draws us closer to God. By living this way we will soon see that we do not lack anything in our Lord. Glory be to God!
OBEDIENCE
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
Obedience, something that we all struggle with all of the days of our lives. It starts with having to obey our parents, then our teachers, then our employers. Somewhere in that constant shift of who we have to obey, we also realize that we have to obey those who are governing us, whether it be the police officer enforcing traffic laws or elected government officials. It is this last group that this verse is so often applied to. But what about our religious leaders. The Orthodox church is a hierarchical church. The priest presides over the local parish and has the final say so there. But he is submissive to the bishop who presides over the diocese and the local parishes that comprise it. Finally, the bishops, collectively form the synod who collectively guide the jurisdiction. And they, like all of us in the Church, are submissive to our ultimate Head, Jesus Christ. In our modern age of individualism, we have a tendency to pick and choose who we submit to and obey. We believe that we have the right to set the rules and expect others to abide by them. In respect to this verse, we are truly mistaken if we believe this. We are told to obey those who rule over us and to be submissive to them. We do that because they are being held accountable by God to be good shepherds and spiritual fathers to us. We should not make their jobs any harder than it already is. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!
SACRIFICE OF PRAISE
Hebrews 13:15-16
Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Personal Challenge
What is one of the more critical forms of sacrifice that our Lord wants from us? It is the sacrifice of praise to Him. But we must not stop there in this verse. What qualifies as a sacrifice of praise to Him? It is not just what we do during our liturgies and worship services on Sunday's. The fruit of our lips, all of the time, is our sacrifice of praise. Does my language carry put-downs or derogatory and cutting remarks toward people, all people? Then that is not a sacrifice of praise to God. Do I express anger in my conversations, talk about others, tell off-color jokes, or anything else that I would be embarrassed about if I looked over my shower and saw Jesus standing there. Then that is not a sacrifice of praise to God. Do I do any of these things on Facebook, or Instagram, by email, or any other means by which I can say, "Nothing came out of my mouth."? Then I am still not offering a sacrifice of praise to God. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Forgive us of our sins!
Saint of the Week
St. Athanasius the Great
UNSHAKEN
Hebrews 12:28
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
Encouraging words
We believe that the Kingdom of God is unshakeable. It cannot be breached by the enemy and it cannot be infiltrated. We also believe that the Kingdom of God exists today and that we are citizens of it even though we are ambassadors in temporary tents in this world. It is this belief that drives out all fear and trepidation with the things that are happening in this world. Through this belief, we too can be unshaken. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!
CLOUD OF WITNESSES
Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Encouraging words
Every time that I step into an Orthodox church, I step into the presence of all of the saints that are presented in the icons around me. No, we do not worship these saints or the icons that are written about them. No, these are not graven images. God, Himself, is the ultimate iconographer in that when He created mankind, He created us in His image. When Jesus took on human form and became God incarnate, He became an icon of God the Father for He said, "He who has seen me, has seen the Father." The icons of the saints that we surround ourselves with bring them into our lives and us into theirs. That is what this passage is telling us. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses that are there with us while we run this race of life. They are rooting for us, coaching us, interceding for us so that we might end the race well and hear, "Well done, My good and faithful servant." Glory be to God!
FAITH SEES US THROUGH
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.
Personal challenge
Our faith is not only in God but also in the promises that He gives. We must be careful to not make those promises more important than God. God had promised Abraham that his offspring would be numbered greater than the sands on the beach. He saw the beginning of that promise when very late in his life, God gave him His only son, Isaac. Then, when Isaac was a young boy, God asked Abraham to do the unthinkable, to offer him up as a sacrifice to show God how much he loved Him. This was hard for Abraham, but he had so much faith in God and the promise that God had made to him, that he saw through the death of his son to the promise that a great nation would rise up through Isaac. His faith made it possible for him to be willing to do the impossible, just as God's love for us was able to take Him to the point of having His son die for us. Glory be to God!
