June 7, 2021

LABORERS

Luke 10:2

Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Personal Challenge

Is it necessary for us to drop everything, sell all that we have, quit our jobs, and become missionaries so that we can be God's laborers in His great harvest? Sometimes God does ask us to do this. But He also wants us to be willing to do that and to be willing to be used where we are, all of the time, as His laborers. We live in the very midst of one of the largest mission fields that exists. God wants us to be His hands, feet, and mouth everywhere that we go and in all that we do. He wants to be available to Him and to always be doing things that are harvest minded. This is the only way that the harvest will be yielded. Glory be to God!

June 6, 2021

DENY OURSELVES

Luke 9:23-24

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

Personal Challenge

A true Christian walk is a journey of constant denial. If we are to proclaim Christ as our Lord and take up our cross and follow Him, then we must deny the world around us for it is an enemy of Christ. We must deny the desires to be a part of this world and the enjoyment in the many pleasures and joys that it offers us that are contrary to what God offers us. Most importantly, and most difficult, we must deny ourselves. We put God before us. We put the love for our neighbor before love for ourselves. This is how we truly act upon a desire to follow Christ. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

June 5, 2021

Saint of the Week

St. John Chrysostom

June 4, 2021

NOTHING SECRET

Luke 8:16-18

“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

Encouraging bonds

So often this passage is interpreted in one of two ways: we are supposed to put the light of Christ on display so that everyone can see it; and there is nothing in our lives that we can hide from God. Both. of them are in there. Another one that we might consider is that there is nothing in the Christian way of life that God will hide from us. He wants us to live full lives for Him. So many misguided people are looking for that special secret that God has only for them. What is hidden behind that door? What is the special handshake? God tore down the curtain in front of the holy of holies for a reason, so that through Christ we might see God. The closer to Him that we walk the more of God we see. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

June 3, 2021

WHAT DO YOU WANT?

Luke 7:31-35

And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying:

‘We played the flute for you,
And you did not dance;
We mourned to you,
And you did not weep.’

For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

Personal challenge

Jesus was preceded by John the Baptist who lived a very ascetic life. Jesus lived His life with more freedom from the law and engaged with the common and unclean people of His day. The leaders of the church in that day condemned them both for their ministries and their lifestyles. They were so ingrained in how they had perverted the laws and covenant with God that nothing outside of their own definition of the church would satisfy them. We must be careful to not do the same in our churches and Christian walk today. We must be careful to not build institutions and rubrics that end up excluding the very people that God wants us to love, as well as God Himself, from being a central part of our life. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

June 2, 2021

COMPASSION

Luke 7:13

When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

Encouraging Words

We do not worship and serve a harsh and mean God, He is full of compassion, mercy, and grace, even to the point where He will weep over the death of a child. God loves us, His creation, so much that He was willing to give up His Son for us. Jesus became one of us so that He could fulfill the law of the first covenant and create a new covenant between us and God, a covenant based upon ultimate love. Glory be to God!

June 1, 2021

WHY?

Luke 6:46

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?"

Personal Challenge

This verse presents a real conundrum for the modern church. The modern church has in many ways become so connected with the things of this world that you cannot tell that it is a place of worship. Jesus challenged those of His day for proclaiming Him as Lord but not living their lives in a way that honors and glorifies Him and His Father. To be a follower of Christ means to be set apart from the things of this world. If this is the case in our lives then we are doing the same things that Jesus was challenging here. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!