February 27 & 28, 2013

Proverbs 10:31 (10:32 LXX)

The mouth of a righteous man distills wisdom,
But the tongue of an unrighteous man utterly destroys.

Personal Challenge...

There He goes again...giving me a verse in my daily reading that cuts to the core of my heart and attitude and reminds me of how I should truly be living. And my response..Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Encouraging Words...

What a great verse to follow after yesterday's one. God will remind me in many ways the true nature of my heart. It is my choice as to whether or I act o that revelation and confess and repent. He will do the rest.

February 26, 2013

Psalm 119:77 (118:77 LXX)

Let Your compassions come to me, and I shall live;
For Your law is my meditation.

Encouraging Words...

My Lord, my God, my King is compassionate and merciful. I am so blessed to be a recipient of His outpouring of love.

February 25, 2013

Psalm 89:47-48 (88:48-49 LXX)

Let my substance be remembered, as to what sort it is,
For did You create all the sons of men in vain?What kind of man is there who will live and not see death?
Will he deliver his soul from the hand of Hades?

Personal Challenge...

No matter what I do, how much money I make, how many toys I accumulate, how much I get promoted at work or get known in my community or church, I will still physically die some day. The real question here, the real goal to pursue, is whether or not my substance will be remembered as a good and godly man who loved his God and his neighbor. Will I be remembered as a man who loved and took care of his wife, children, and grandchildren? Will I be remembered as a man who could be trusted to keep his word and whose word was filled with truth. Will I be remembered as a man that projected the image of Christ? A sobering thought and a worthwhile goal to pursue.

February 24, 2013

Luke 24:32

And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"

Encouraging Words...

Do the Scriptures burn within my heart? Does God speak to me and open His Scriptures to me? Through the work of my Lord and Savior and the power and presence of the Holy Spirit I can step into the presence of my living God and be in communion with Him. Isn't this the purpose of our liturgy and worship every time we do it? Isn't this the purpose of reading the Scripture and practicing the traditions of our church? None of this is dull or lifeless if my heart, mind, and soul are yearning to be in God's presence.

February 23, 2013

Titus 3:4-7

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Encouraging Words...

I have become an heir in the family and kingdom of God through His kindness and love. This was not because of anything that I have done or prayer that I have breathed, but through the work of Jesus Christ and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon me. Jesus saved me from eternal death and when I was baptized in Him and chrismated for Him I entered into the eschatological community of the Church. This baptism and chrismation are the beginning, the rite of passage toward a progressive life of renewal in Christ (Orthodox Study Bible notes). My journey into the eternal family of God did not end when I came to know Christ...it just got started.

February 21, 2013

1 Peter 5:5

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

     "God resists the proud,

      But gives grace to the
      humble."

Command with a Promise...

There is that "h" word again...humble. And once again it is coupled with that "s" word...submit. They always seem to go hand-in-hand. And this time I am told that if I submit and be humble, both choices of my will, then God will give me grace. Sounds like it is worth it to me!

February 20, 2013

1 Peter 4:10-11

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Personal Challenge...

The scripture is clear that each of us who have been baptized and chrismated into the body of Christ have received one or more gifts from the Holy Spirit. These gifts are for the building up of the Church and the edification of our Lord. We are also commanded to be diligent in using these gifts at our full potential, not with a lackadaisical, laissez-faire attitude. We should always be striving to serve our Lord better today than yesterday knowing that we can do even better tomorrow. It is wrong to apply these gifts more in the world than in our service to the King.