DANCING AND GLADNESS

Psalms 29:12-13 LXX (30:11-12)

You turned my lamentation into dancing for me;
You tore up my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
That my glory may sing praise to You,
And not be pierced with sadness;
O Lord my God, I shall give thanks to You forever.

Encouraging Words

We cannot go through life without encountering times of difficulty and conflict. That is part of the consequence of living in a fallen world. However, as a follower of Christ, we know that times of lamentation will be followed by times of dancing because God loves us. There will be times, always when most needed, that the sackcloth we are wearing will be removed, torn up, and replaced with gladness. Our response to this love, grace, and mercy poured out on us will be our singing praise to our God. Thank you, Abba Father!

Saint of the Week

St. Ephraim the Syrian

Dedicated to my father, Billy, who would have been 99 today.
Memory Eternal!

WEEPING AND JOY

Psalms 29:6 LXX (30:5)

For there is wrath in His anger,
But life in His will;
Weeping will lodge at evening,
But great joy in the morning.

Encouraging Words

God desires the absolute best for us, His beloved children. So often, we choose to follow the ways of the world, turn our backs on God, and sin, or miss the mark. This upsets God but never alienates us from Him. He remains true to His love for us and ongoing efforts to draw us back to Him and His will for us. When we walk in His will, we have life. This process will cause weeping in the evening as we recognize and acknowledge our wandering from God but there will be great joy in the morning of that new day when we return to Him. Glory be to God!

MY FLESH REVIVED

Psalms 27:6-7 LXX (28:6-7)

Blessed is the Lord,
Because He heard the voice of my supplication.
The Lord is my helper and my champion;
In Him my heart hoped, and I was helped,
And my flesh revived;
And I will give thanks to Him willingly.

Encouraging Words

Living life as a follower of Christ is much more than just an intellectual venture. We must embrace Christ with our entire being; mind, heart, soul, and body. This goes to the extent that our every thought and action must be informed, and therefore transformed, by His living presence. We eat, think, sleep, walk, breathe, and everything else in Him and for Him. This means we do not proclaim Him in order to be popular or to get votes or to gain fans in our lives. We choose to live this way because we truly appreciate His grace and mercy in our corrupt lives and desire to give ourselves back to Him. This is how our flesh is revived, regardless of what the world throws at us. Glory be to God!

WAIT ON THE LORD

Psalms 26:13-14 LXX (27:13-14)

I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord;
Be courageous, and strengthen your heart,
And wait on the Lord.

Personal Challenge

We have become so spoiled in this age of instant gratification. We have fast food on practically every corner. We have high speed internet delivered into our hand wherever we are. The list of conveniences goes on. Most of us have lost the ability, or desire, to wait patiently for something good to come our way. If we desire to be followers of Christ, then we must reclaim the ability to wait on our Lord. He always knows what is best for us, as well as what is the best time for us to receive it. This applies both to the world we live in today as well as His kingdom to come. By waiting on the Lord we develop the ability to be courageous and strong at heart. Lord have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

SEEKING GOD

Psalms 26:8 LXX (27:8)

My heart speaks to You; my face seeks You;
Your face, O Lord, I will seek.

Personal Challenge

How much do we really seek God and desire to speak to Him? I must admit that I all too often allow the busyness of life to consume me and end up spending all of my time focused on me and my stuff. God wants us to spend time speaking to Him from our heart, alone, just Him and ourselves, speaking one on one. Sometimes that means just being silent in His presence and waiting, watching, seeking His fase. God loves us so much that He wants to spend that alone time with us. We need to love Him so much more and to be willing to give Him that time. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

WHAT DO WE ASK FOR?

Psalms 26:4 LXX (27:4)

One thing I ask from the Lord; this I will seek,
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
And behold the delights of the Lord,
And visit His temple.

Personal challenge

David was identified by God as a man after His own heart. This verse gives a glimpse into David’s heart and why God cherished him so much. David was a wealthy, powerful, and successful king, and yet, his life desire was to be in the presence of his God. What is it that we desire and ask for? Wealth? Power? Prestige? Success? Jesus told us that what is in our heart is what drives us. We are seeing the evidence of this in our world today with so many people, especially leaders, proclaiming to be followers of Christ but focusing all their energy, desire, and love on the things of this world. We must constantly be evaluating our lives to determine if we have replaced our love and desire for our Lord by things of this world and reset to what really matters! Lord have mercy! Lord have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

NOT AFRAID

Psalms 26:2-3 LXX (27:2-3)

When the wicked drew near against me to eat up my flesh,
Those who afflict me and are my enemies, they weakened and fell.
Though an army should array itself against me, my heart shall not be afraid;
Though war should rise up against me, in this I shall hope.

Personal Challenge

A very important aspect of life for those who are followers of Christ is that there will be times when life is really difficult. Just because we follow Him it does not mean that everything from that point on is all wine and roses. Jesus is the Son of God and His incarnate life here on earth ended with death on a cross. He destroyed the hold that death had on Him and us when He resurrected from the grave. He warned us that if the world hated Him, then it would hate us as well. That is why teachings like Christian nationalism, prosperity gospel, and dominionism are heresies. What we can know and claim, as followers of Christ, is that we do not need to be afraid of the world and its attacks on us for our Lord has conquered the world. We are residents of His eternal kingdom and nothing in, or of, this world can take that away from us. Glory be to God!

Saint of the Week

St. John Chrysostom

MY LIGHT

Psalms 26:1 LXX (27:1)

Of David; before he was anointed.
The Lord is my light and my savior; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defender of my life; whom shall I dread?

Encouraging Words

God is the source of true, revealing light. Even at the beginning of creation everything was darkness and void until God released His light into it. I am sure that was quite a “big bang”. As followers of Christ we can claim our Lord as our Light and Savior and therefore have no concerns or fears. He will be the defender of our life, therefore eliminating any dread. He is my light, I will not be fearful of enything. Glory be to God!