April 7, 2023

GIVE THANKS TO GOD

Tobit 13:3-4

Give thanks to Him before the nations,
O children of Israel,
For He scattered us among them.
Make known His greatness there;
Exalt Him in the presence of all the living,
For He is our Lord and God;
He is our Father unto all the ages.

Encouraging Words

God is everywhere at all times. He knows all, throughout eternity. He is God and I am not. He has chosen us, no matter how broken we are, to be his emissaries throughout the unsaved, unredeemed, world. We can, and must, give him thanks for this. It is our responsibility to make known His greatness wherever we are blessed to be, for He is our Lord and God, our Father unto all the ages. Glory be to God!

April 6, 2023

HYPOCRISY

Luke 6:46

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

Personal Challenge

Am I consistently doing what Jesus commanded me to do? Am I loving God in such a way that I put Him before my desires and even my needs? Am I loving my neighbor as I love myself? These can be very sobering questions if I truly search my heart and my actions as I strive to answer them. If I cannot answer each of them with a resounding "Yes!", then I must question whether or not I can proclaim to those around me that I am a follower of Christ. This is the most important are if hypocrisy for me to be examining. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

April 5, 2023

PRAYER, FASTING, AND ALMSGIVING

Tobit 12:8-9

Prayer is good with fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. A few prayers with righteousness are better than many with wrongdoing. It is better to do almsgiving than to lay up gold. For almsgiving rescues one from death, and it will wash away every sin. Those who do almsgiving and are righteous will be full of life.

Personal Challenge

In the Eastern church and much of the Western church we are in the end stretch of this year's Lenten season. This year the two calendars are only one week apart. What do we do during Lent? We are asked to spend more time in prayer and do more fasting and almsgiving. For many this is perceived as living a life based on works. This could not be farther away from the truth. We choose to do prayer, fasting, and almsgiving because we are grateful for what God has done for us through His Son and we desire to be more like Christ and closer to God. We do this because we want to bring the desires and passions of the flesh under control and live lives worthy of our God. We do this out of love for Him. Glory be to God!

April 4, 2023

LOOK TO OUR OWN SINS

Luke 6:41-42

And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.

Personal Challenge

Jesus continues His teaching on our behavior in relationships by telling us that it is not our responsibility correcting another in their sin. We must focus on resolving and eliminating the sin in our own lives before we focus on calling out someone else's sin. This does not mean that we stop being there for one another and loving them through the midst of their trials. If we are to be "fixing" anyone, it is ourselves that we should be focusing on. By doing this we are freed up to be able to encourage another. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

April 3, 2023

BLESS GOD

Tobit 12:6-7

Then Raphael secretly called the two of them, and said to them, “Bless God and give Him thanks. Ascribe greatness to Him and give thanks in the presence of all the living for what He has done for you. It is good to bless God and to exalt His name. Make known the words of God's works honorably and do not delay to give thanks to Him. It is noble to keep hidden the secret of a king, but glorious to unveil the works of God. Do good, and evil will not find you.

Encouraging Words

The book of Tobit is an excellent reminder that no matter what the circumstances are that we are facing in our lives, we can always trust in God. He will always be there with us and for us. Unfortunately, most western Christians have never seen Tobit since it is an apocryphal book. In this passage we are reminded that sometimes God sends angels into our lives to guide us through our challenges. This angel, Raphael, teaches Tobit and his son, Tobias, to always give God thanks and blessings for how much He does in our lives. Glory be to God!

April 2, 2023

GIVE, AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU

Luke 6:38

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Personal Challenge

How interesting it is that the last verse that I meditated on from Tobit focused on giving and then this verse is next in line. Definitely not a coincidence. Here Jesus is teaching us one of God's natural laws. We are measured in what we receive from God by what we give to others. If we give abundantly then we receive abundantly. If we give abundantly, then we receive abundantly. If we give begrudgingly, then we receive the same. This law works both in the giving of good things as well as in the giving of bad things. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me, the sinner!

April 1, 2023

Saint of the Week

St. John Chrysostom