October 30, 2016

MERCY EVEN IN IDOLATRY

Deuteronomy 4:31

for the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not forsake you nor annihilate you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers, which He swore to them.

Encouraging Words

This verse comes after a section of the Bible that describes what will happen to those who choose to practice idolatry. We are told that because we have abandoned God that He will allow us to become consumed by the ways of the land that we are in and further separated from Him. He will allow this to happen to the point where we remember Him, remember how much He loves us and cares for us, and begin to desire to be with Him again. Through this tribulation and separation, we will choose to abandon these fake gods that we have idolized and return to Him. This passage is then ended with this verse reminding us that God is a merciful God who will never forsake us even though we have forsaken Him. He will always remain true to us and receive us, as the prodigal father, with arms wide open. We must all ask ourselves, "What idol am I worshipping in place of God?" Lord, have Mercy! Lord, have Mercy! Lord, have Mercy!

October 29, 2016

Saint of the Week,

St. John Chrysostom

October 28, 2016

SHEEP OR GOATS...NEITHER

Matthew 9:36-38

But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Encouraging Words

This passage has always encouraged me in my understanding and belief in just how much God loves us and cares for us. This is also a passage that helped to prevent me from ever embracing the doctrines of election and predestination. Jesus looked out over the whole crowd and saw a sea of sheep who were lost and looking for a shepherd. He did not say, "Look at those over there, they are my sheep and I love them, but those over there, they are goats and they don't get any of what I have to offer!" No! He saw His lost sheep throughout the entire crowd. If anything, He was angry with the leaders of the synagog, the teachers, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees for not being shepherds to His lost sheep. It would not surprise me if He is just as angry today at all of the pastors, priests, evangelists, teachers, and other leaders in the church who are selective in who they think should be receiving His salvation. The scriptures show that Christ Himself said over and over again that He came into the world to save all of His creation, all of mankind, from the ravages of spiritual death that entered into His creation through Adam and Eve. If He is claiming all of creation to be redeemed by His grace and mercy, then who am I to say who is His and who is not. I must live my life knowing that I am not worthy to receive His grace, but at the same time hope that all of us that make up the sea of mankind will receive His grace. Glory be to God.

October 27, 2016

CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, GOD IS NOT DEAD

Psalms 18:46 (17:47 LXX)

The Lord lives, and blessed is my God.
Let the salvation of my God be exalted,

Encouraging Words

The psalmist proclaims here everything that I believe about my God. God is alive, He has not disappeared as so many naysayers would like us to believe. He is both our blessed God but also the God of blessings, pouring them out upon His beloved creation. And most importantly, my salvation, my eternal salvation from death and separation from Him, rests entirely in Him and He has graciously provided that salvation to all of Ho's creation through His Son? Glory be to God!

October 26, 2016

DUTIES OF PRIESTS AND LEVITES

Numbers 18:1-3
Now the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, “You and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear the sins of the holy things, and you and your sons with you shall bear the sins of your priesthood. You shall also bring your brethren, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, to yourself, and they shall be joined and added to you, and minister liturgically with you and your sons with you before the tabernacle of testimony. They shall perform your guard duties and the duties of the tabernacle, but they shall not come near the holy vessels and the altar, lest they die—they and you also.

Personal Challenge

In the New Testament, we are told that we are a part of the priesthood of Christ. As we follow in the footsteps of our Lord we begin to step into the role of being one of His priests here on earth. Our church fathers would have been very familiar with this passage and the expectations of those who had been set apart by God to be the priests in the temple. They took this newly found role, as a follower of Christ, of being a priest to the world around them, very seriously, They knew that the holy vessels of the new covenant, given to them, were more important than their own lives. Is it any wonder that Christianity has remained intact for over 2,000 years? As a priest myself, it is imperative that I glorify my Father in all that I do, guarding and protecting the holy things, the gospel, that Jesus passed on to us, His followers. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

October 25, 2016

EVEN THE HEALER GOT REJECTED

Matthew 9:24

He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him.

Personal Challenge

Jesus had been traversing the countryside for a while before this event. He had already performed many miracles, taught many lessons, and clearly given the people many opportunities to recognize that He was someone special. He was obviously not your typical rabbi. And yet, with this preponderance of the evidence, He was not recognized as Lord as He moved into the crowd to raise this young girl from the dead. The crowd ridiculed and mocked Him. Jesus made it very clear that if the world around Him hated Him enough to brutally beat Him and crucify Him, then those of us who claim Him as our Lord and try to follow Him, will also be ridiculed and mocked. As we follow Him, we try to love our neighbor, we try to be merciful to those in need, and we try to not succumb to the ways of the world and submit to sinful thoughts and desires. It grieves us when by doing these things, we get ridiculed and mocked because we are trying to guard our hearts and minds against those images and sounds that defeat our attempts to be like Christ. Our only response is to continue to love those who God has put in our lives and yet still guard our hearts and minds. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

October 24, 2016

DON'T TELL ME GOD DOESN'T EXIST!

Psalms 18:32 (17:33 LXX)

It is God who girds me with power,
And He made my way blameless;

Encouraging Words

God is so awesome! As I look back on my I can see how Much He has always been there for me. Given the age that I am at now and the time in my life that I gave my life over to Him and decided to let Him hold the reins, that works out to be half of a century that God has girded me with His power. Even though I more often than not, scramble to grab the reins back and do things my own way, with my own feeble and misdirected power, He has always, always remained there for me. He has been there in the good times when everything has been running along smoothly. But more importantly, He has been there when things were going really rough. I have found that it is usually in these times that I doubt Him and wonder where He is, but as I look back, it is obvious that He was there guiding me, loving me, giving me the power to push through, and most importantly, making my way blameless by forgiving me of my sins and stubbornness, applying His abundance of mercy and grace to me, and showing me His unconditional love. Glory be to God! Thank you, Father!