January 11, 2020

Saint of the Week

St. John Maximovich

January 10, 2020

HIS WILL

Psalms 15:3 (16:3)

To the saints on His earth,
In them He magnified all His will.

Encouraging Words

God has a perfect will for His creation. He has a plan and a desire for it to be a particular way. He does not, however, force us to comply with His will. That is why He created us with free will. He does reveal and magnify His will to those who become His saints so that it is not a mystery to us. Glory be to God!

January 8, 2020

WHO?

Psalm 14 (15)

O Lord, who shall dwell in Your tabernacle?
Who shall live in Your holy mountain?
He who walks blamelessly, and works righteousness,
And speaks truth in his heart,
Who does not deceive with his tongue,
Neither does evil to his neighbor;
And does not find fault with those nearest him.
He disdains those who do evil in his presence,
But he holds in honor those who fear the Lord;
He swears an oath to his neighbor and does not set it aside.
He does not lend his money at interest,
And he does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be shaken.

Personal Challenge

Oh, how many times have I heard well-intended people proclaim that they wished they knew what God's will was in their lines. It really is not all that difficult. The Psalmist sums it up very succinctly in this Psalm. The result of living a godly life as laid out here is to be able to dwell with God. This is God's will for us, that we will live our lives His way. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

January 7, 2020

HOPE IN HIS MERCY

Psalms 12:6 (13:5-6)

But I hope in Your mercy;
My heart shall greatly rejoice in Your salvation;
I will sing to the Lord, who shows kindness to me;
I will sing to the name of the Lord Most High.

Encouraging Words

Maybe one of the reasons that God proclaimed David to be a man after His own heart was that David had his priorities right. He always put his hope in God's mercy first and foremost. This is such a prevalent part of the worship of the Orthodox Church. We are constantly singing, 'Lord, have mercy!" We know that we are not worthy of the grace that God chooses to bestow upon us. We do not deserve His blessings and therefore cannot get puffed up in His kindness toward us. Our hope is in God's mercy. Because of His mercy, we can rejoice in His salvation and the kindness that "He shows us. Glory be to God!

January 6, 2020

BEING UPRIGHT

Psalms 10:7 (11:7)

The righteous Lord loves righteousness;
His face beholds the upright.

Personal Challenge

We live in an age where righteousness and uprightness have been diluted because we no longer embrace truth, especially absolute truth. This does not prevent us from pursuing God and seeking His truths. By doing this we can embrace His truths as absolute regardless of what the rest of the world thinks about them. God is a righteous God and He loves righteousness. We must choose to pursue righteousness. He is upright by His very nature and beholds uprightness in those who choose to live upright lives. Glory be to God!

January 5, 2020

HE HEARS THE POOR

Psalms 9:38-39 (10:17-18)

The Lord hears the desire of the poor;
Your ear heeds the readiness of their heart,
To judge the orphan and the humble,
That man may no longer increase his great boasting upon the earth.

Encouraging Words

What does it mean to be poor in the eyes of God? Is it just about money? I don't think so. There are so many who are wealthy by the standards of our culture and yet they are extremely poor in all other aspects of their lives, especially in their relationship with God. Granted, the scriptures remind us frequently to use our wealth, our abundance, to tend to the poor, the widow, and the orphan. God cares for those that are in great physical need. But He also loves and cares for those who are poor in spirit, poor on their relationship to Him, especially if they are expressing a desire to know Him, who have a readiness is their heart for Him, and who are willing to become humble before Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

January 3, 2020

GOD DOES SEE

Psalms 9:35 (10:14)

But You do see, You do perceive the suffering and pain,
That You might deliver them into Your hands;
Therefore, the poor man will be left to You;
You give help to the orphan.

Personal Challenge

Sometimes we can feel like we have fallen out of God's sight and that He no longer knows the struggles that we are going through. This is never the case. He always sees what is going on in our lives, better than we do. He always perceives our suffering and pain and grieves for us. We are always in His hands. It is our own eyes that do not see Him, our own ears that do not hear Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!