March 25, 2020

THIRST

Psalms 62:2 (63:1)

O God, my God, I rise early to be with You;
My soul thirsts for You.
How often my flesh thirsts for You
In a desolate, impassable, and waterless land.

Personal challenge

Does my soul really the thirst for my God? Not as much as it should. Our God has given His all for us, why shouldn't we give our all to Him? Now is the time to rise early so that we can be with Him. Now is the time to thirst after Him so that He can quench that thirst. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

March 24, 2020

HOPE IN HIM

Psalms 61:9 (62:8)

Hope in Him, all you congregation of people;
Pour out your hearts before Him;
God is our helper.

Encouraging Words

Oh, how appropriate are the words of the Psalmist of old in the midst of today's pandemic. "Hope in Him, all you congregation of people." He is our only hope. He is our salvation, in this and in every other situation that we find ourselves in. What an opportune time in our lives to turn our hearts and minds to Him, to love Him, and to show His love to our neighbor. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

March 23, 2020

MY PROTECTOR

Psalms 61:7-8 (62:6-7)

For He is my God and my savior,
My protector; I shall never be moved.

In God is my salvation and my glory;
He is the God of my help, and my hope is in God.

Encouraging Words

Here we are in the midst of a pandemic with unprecedented requirements for an entire country to shelter in place and to socially distance ourselves from each other. Life is a whole lot different than we are used to. To some, this is becoming a time of worry and concern. My suggestion in times like this is to read the Psalms. Over and over and over again, we are reminded how much God cares for us, saves us, and protects us. He is my protector and I have nothing to fear. Glory be to God!

March 22, 2020

PATIENT ENDURANCE

Psalms 61:6 (62:5)

However, be submissive to God, O my soul,
For my patient endurance is from Him.

Personal Challenge

We are hearing a lot nowadays about how difficult it is to have our actions and interactions with others restricted. It is indeed challenging to not be able to do what we have always done; go where we want to go, when we want to, and just be free to do our own thing, but it is for our own good and for the good of our neighbor. Throughout the history of mankind, people have been restricted this way, not because of a global pandemic, but because they were oppressed or hated by those who ruled over them. Maybe we should learn from this to be more compassionate and caring toward the oppressed, the marginalized, the shut-ins around us, and every one of our neighbors. This is one way to be submissive to God and to receive His patient endurance.

March 21, 2020

Saint of the Week

St. Ephraim the Syrian

March 18, 2020

SUBMISSIVE

Psalms 61:2-3 (62:1-2)

Shall not my soul be submissive to God?
For from Him is my salvation.
For He is my God and my savior,
My protector; I shall be shaken no more.

Personal Challenge

Isn't this something that no one wants to do? We say that we love God, but surely He will not ask us to submit to Him. He promises to be our salvation and our protector. But do I really have to submit to Him to receive these promises? Didn't He give us free will so that we could choose to do what we want? He did give us free will, but He desires that we be submissive to Him by choice so that He can work in our lives. Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

March 17, 2020

SING PRAISE

Psalms 60:9 (61:8)

So I will sing praise to Your name unto ages of ages,
That I may pay my vows day to day.

Personal Challenge

Sometimes it is difficult to be praising the name of God, especially when the world is going crazy around us. It is imperative, however, that we keep our focus on Him at all times so that we can see Him at work in our lives. Let us sing praise to Him unto the ages of ages and to pay our rows day to day. Glory be to God!