Author: David Short

CHOSEN AND ROYAL

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Encouraging Words

Those who choose to follow in the footsteps of Christ are identified by Him as a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and His own special people. There is nothing in the scriptures that identifies these followers as members of a particular church or faith practice, but as people who sincerely love their neighbor and their enemies. Jesus expects our actions to be in alignment with His actions. This expectation must be evident in or lives Monday through Saturday even more so than on Sunday mornings. As a reminder, here is what Jesus said He was expecting…

Matthew 25:35-36

‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord have mercy!

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON HIM

Isaiah 61:1-4

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because of which He anointed Me. He sent Me to proclaim good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to preach liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to declare the acceptable year of the Lord, the day of recompense, and to comfort all who mourn; to give those who mourn in Zion glory instead of ashes, the oil of gladness to those who mourn; the garment of glory instead of a spirit of indifference. They shall be called generations of righteousness, the planting of the Lord for glory. They shall build the ancient deserts, raise up those formerly abandoned, and renew the desert cities that laid waste for generations.”

Encouraging Words

One of the items that has come up in the news feed lately is how the Christian Nationalist movement, which is being fed by the New Apostolic Reformation group, is that they are doing what they are doing with Donald Trump, the Republican party, and Project 2025, is to usher in the second coming of Christ. Wow! Do they have it all wrong. This passage is what Jesus read in the synagogue the day that He formally announced His first coming. He came to proclaim good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to preach liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind. He came to lay the foundation for His kingdom and the actions that we see from that list above are doing everything they can to destroy what He came for. Lord, have mercy! If we desire to be followers of Christ then we must be advocates of everything in this passage and living as His ambassadors. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy on those being abused and impacted by the actions of this county. Lord, have mercy on Your loved ones, Your creation.

GROWING IN THE LORD

1 Peter 2:1-3

Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Command With a Promise

It is so easy to get caught up in the erroneous teaching that if we say the prayer of salvation and attend church on a regular basis, then we will become good and godly Christians. The error in this is that in most cases, our hearts, and therefore our behaviors, are not changed to conform to the image of Jesus, just by sitting in pew. This passage provides a promise for us, if we exercise the command. We must lay aside (give up, forgo, abandon, etc.) all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking. This means in our personal life, as well as our work life, as well as our politics, as well as our church life (especially when praying in public or wearing Christian paraphernalia). If we do this, which is following in the footsteps of Christ, then we will grow in our relationship with our Lord and His graciousness. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Saint of the Week
St. Dorotheos of Gaza

SHINE, SHINE

Isaiah 60:1-2

“Shine, shine, O Jerusalem, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Behold, darkness and gloom shall cover the earth upon the nations, but the Lord will shine on you; and His glory shall be seen upon you.”

Encouraging Words

My daily reading of the scriptures has brought me to Isaiah. Today I read Isaiah 1-5. So much in there is descriptive of what is going on today in our world and so disheartening. I suggest that you read it. Then this is the passage for today’s verse for the day. No matter how dark and gloomy our world becomes, God’s glory will shine through. We have the Russian Orthodox Church backing a horrendous invasion of Ukraine. We have Israel committing genocide in Gaza and attacking their neighbors. We have our regime in the White House destroying our democracy and treating people like animals. All of these are happening in “the name of God”! They are the darkness and gloom that Isaiah is calling out. The true God, not the one of these perpetrators, will prevail and overshadow their darkness and depravity with His shining light. Hold on to that truth. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy on the victims of these attrocities!

BE HOLY, FOR HE IS HOLY

1 Peter 1:13-16

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Personal Challenge

As followers of Christ we are expected to be living our lives in ways that imitate Him. We cannot proclaim to be His followers and at the same time treat others with disdain and contempt. Jesus loved the entire world and all who have, or ever will, inhabite it. His expection is that we will love our neighbor, especially the widow, the orphan, the naked, the poor, the sick, and the foreigner amongst us. We see so many today calling upon the name of Jesus for wealth and prosperity, for elimination of people of color or different expressions of faith, for heresies like Christian nationalism. These behaviors are not holy as He is holy. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

GOD WILL BE WITH US

Isaiah 58:11

God shall be with you continually, and you shall be satisfied as your soul desires. Your bones shall be enriched, and you shall be like a well-watered garden and like a spring of water that does not fail. Your bones will arise and be enriched like a green plant, and they shall inherit generations of generations.

Encouraging Words

So many of the promises found in the Old Testament covenant are focued on the hope of the coming Messiah. This passage talks about God being with us continually, satisfaction of our soul’s desires, enriched and healthy lives and other blessings. We are recipients of many blessings because the Messiah has a already come, fulfilled the old covenant and created a new one. A key to remember in all of this is that these blessings will be part of the new kingdom that Jesus established, which is more spiritual than physical. Our rewards have not been fully manifested yet. So we continue to hope in His return. Glory be to God!

BEGOTTEN AGAIN

1 Peter 1:3-5

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Encouraging Words

Have you ever thought about your salvation in Christ this way? We were all begotten once by God when He formed us in the womb of our mother. Then through the work of Christ in His incarnation, life, death, and resurrection, we are begotten again. We are not begotten this second time to anything on earth but to a living hope in the resurrection of Christ that we too will be resurrected. What a glorious promise. Glory be to Good!

GOD WILL HEAR YOU

Isaiah 58:9-10

Then you shall cry out, and God will hear you. While you are still speaking, He will say, ‘Behold, I am here.’ If you take away your fetter and the pointing of the finger, and the word of grumbling, and if you give bread to the hungry from your soul, and satisfy the humble soul, then your light shall rise up in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as midday.

Personal Challenge

The passage before this one admonishes us to stop “doing “our Christianity and to start “being” Christians. God does not care about how often we go to church, do church things, or proclaim pithy sayings about Him. He doesn’t even care that we wear our crosses and WWJD bracelets in publid. He cares about how we take care of our neighbor and show them His love. When we live this way, He will hear our voice when we cry out to Him. He will unbind the things of the world that hold us. He will hear us when we take the fetters off of those that we have bound, when we stop grumbling, and start feeding the humble amongst us. Only then will the darkness of this world dissipate around us. Glory be to God!

Saint of the Week
St. Joseph the Hesychast