Ezekiel 1:29This was the vision of the likeness of the Lord's glory. I saw it, and I fell down on my face, and heard the voice of One speaking.Personal Challenge...Since I have converted to Eastern Orthodoxy I have found that my favorite service is the Canon of St. Andrew. We use this service during Lent and it is full of prostrations. My first time of going through this service I found myself being proud and not willing to bow down that way. Then it struck me that every occurrence in the scriptures of God revealing Himself into the lives of our patriarchs and prophets resulted in faces being planted on the floor before the Holy of Holies. Who am I to stand up tall in the presence of my King? I am a sinner, impure and unworthy to be in His presence, and I must bow before Him in awe and respect for He is so glorious. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
Matthew 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.Encouraging Words...I grew up in a practice of the Christian faith where much was focused on looking for the end times. So many people were so focused on the belief that Jesus is coming any moment that many opportunities to serve Him were passed up. He promises here that no matter what happens to this earth, His creation, He and His word will remain forever. I should be focusing on doing what I can for Him in the here and now knowing that time is limited. I should be loving my neighbor as He has loved me.
Zechariah 9:9"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Proclaim it aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you; He is righteous and saving; He is gentle and mounted upon a donkey, even a young foal."Personal Challenge...Throughout the scriptures I am reminded, actually commanded, to love my neighbor as myself, to be humble and to do all that I do in love. God is not asking me to do something that He Himself does not already do. Jesus, the Son of God, God incarnate in human form, the co-creator of all creation, chose to give up all that He had in heaven to be born as an infant in a lowly manger. He grew up dealing with the same issues in His life as I have, but the difference was that He chose not to sin. He did this to restore mankind, and me, to that state we were in before the fall and to defeat the power of death. He also did this to show me that I too can chose to not sin. This verse foretold that when He made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem the week before He would be crucified He again chose to do this in a humble way. He could have summoned all of the angels of heaven to escort Him in. He chose humility over pomp and circumstance and once again presents to me the example of how I am to live my life loving my neighbor...humbly, putting their needs first, speaking kindly but truthfully, magnifying Him. Glory be to God.
Hebrews 12:27Therefore, 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...This earth and all that is within it will pass away. However, God's kingdom, which has already begun through the work of Christ is and will be steadfast and unshaken. As a child of God I am now a citizen in this new kingdom and through the grace of God I can live a life that is unshaken, I too, however must live my life with grace to those around me serving my God with due reverence and respect for He is the one that is unshaken.
Habakkuk 3:18-19
Yet I will glory in the Lord;I will rejoice in God my Savior.
The Lord God is my strength;
He will direct my feet to the end;
He will set me upon high places,
So to conquer by His song.Encouraging Words...Once again I am reminded that I am not going through this journey of life alone. By choice I have given my life to Christ and He is the one who leads me, gives me strength, and sets me on high places. And even though I still choose at times to ignore Him or to do things my way...He still speaks steadfastly into my heart and mind drawing me back to Him. O God forgive me a sinner.
James 1:22-25But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.Personal Challenge...God's expectation of me in this life is so clear...actively love Him with all of my heart, soul, spirit, and body and then apply that same love to my neighbor in word and action. I need to listen to His teachings and apply them. I must be willing to give up my own good for those in need around me. He wants me to be like His Son who gave all that He had for mankind.
Isaiah 58:4-8If you fast for condemnations and quarrels, and strike a humble man with your fists, why do you fast to Me as you do today, so your voice may be heard in crying? I did not choose this fast, and such a day for a man to humble his soul; nor if you should bow your neck like a ring and spread sackcloth and ashes under yourself, could you thus call such a fast acceptable. I did not choose such a fast, says the Lord; rather, loose every bond of wrongdoing; untie the knots of violent dealings; cancel the debts of the oppressed; and tear apart every unjust contract. Break your bread for the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house. If you see a naked man, clothe him, nor shall you disregard your offspring in your own household. Then your light shall break forth as the morning, and your healing shall spring forth quickly. Your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall cover you.Personal Challenge...Being a Christian is a verb, not a noun. God does not want me to be a Christian in name only, but to be one in action. He wants me to be active in His world reaching out and helping those in need. And this does not just mean writing a check so that someone else can do it. All the things that I do to practice my Christianity, i.e. studying my Bible, going to church regularly, serving on committees, whatever, are good for nothing if I am not going God's work in His world. This is a very sobering thought.
