Author: David Short

Matthew 5:3-12

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness ‘sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Personal Challenge

In the Orthodox Church, we have entered into the second half of our Lenten season. Why do we still practice Lent? As we lead up to our celebration of the resurrection of our Lord, we use this time to review our lives, our hearts, and our minds to be reminded of how much we need Jesus as our Savior. We also use this time to search our hearts and contemplate the depth of our selfishness and sin that separates us from God. It is a time for soul-searching, confession, and repentance. It can be so easy to just ramble off a list of things that I have done asking for God’s forgiveness, but the challenge for me is to dig in deep and try to see what is causing me to do the things on that list. I have found that praying through the beatitudes helps to lead me through this process.

Here are some notes from my Orthodox Study Bible that expand on this passage:

Poor in spirit – those who have the heart of the poor, the same attitude as the poor, and are totally dependent on God.
Those who mourn – sorrow over the sufferings of this life, the sufferings of others, the state of the world, and their own sins.
Meekness – an attitude of being content with both honor and dishonor.
Hunger and thirst for righteousness – see the presence of God and His Kingdom as the most important thing in life.
Mercy – love set in motion, expressed in action.
Pure in heart – completely devoted to the worship and service of God and accepting no compromises.
Peacemakers – share God’s peace with those around them, imitating Christ’s sacrificial love and participating in His work.
Persecuted for righteousness’ sake – uphold truth, refuse to compromise with the ways of the world, and give themselves to no other.

As I read through these I am so clearly reminded that my list of sins that I have committed all boil down to a heart that does not pursue these virtues presented and exhibited by Christ. And for this, I ask your forgiveness for the offenses that I have committed against you.

John 5:39-40

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

Personal Challenge

Do I really want to have the life that only Jesus can give me? I will not find this life in the Scriptures alone. I will not find it in the liturgy alone. I will not find it in my prayers and quiet times alone. I will only find true life in Christ. I must run to Him and follow Him in order to receive the life that He has for me. All of these other things point me to Him but are not Him. Glory be to God!

John 14:15-17

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

Encouraging Words

If I love Jesus then I will keep His commandments. What are those commandments that I will keep? They all boil down to tow things, love God and love my neighbor. There is nothing in these commandments about fasting, or praying, or going to church, or anything else of this sort. If I am practicing, and desiring to perfect, these two commandments, then all of the other acts of worship will flow out of my love for God and my neighbor. What is even more exciting is that the more I love Jesus and pursue Him, the more the Holy Spirit can do in my life to help me express my love to Jesus and my neighbor. Glory be to God!

Ezekiel 37:26-28

I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant, and I will establish My sanctuary in their midst forever. My tabernacle shall be among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them, when My sanctuary is among them forever.

Encouraging Words

In the Easter Orthodox Church, we just passed through our midway point of Lent leading up to Pascha (Easter). We not only celebrate the wonderful glory of the resurrection of our Lord, but we also proclaim that He has put to death the hold that physical death had on us. Through His incarnation, death, and resurrection, the power of death over us was broken and banished forevermore. By doing that, Jesus established His sanctuary and His everlasting covenant in our midsts. We have access to this tabernacle for we are His people and we are sanctified in Him. Glory be to God!

Baruch 2:14-15 LXX

O Lord, hear our prayer and our petition, and for Your own sake deliver us, and grant us mercy before those who have carried us into exile, in order that the whole earth may come to know that You are the Lord our God, for Israel and his descendants are called by Your name.

Encouraging Words

Life happens! And in that, both good things and bad things occur in our lives. Our response should be to run to our Lord in prayer and praise in order to be beacons to the world around us of His great love and mercy. The circumstances do not separate us from Him but draw us closer to Him. Glory be to God!

Baruch 1:11-12 LXX

And pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his son Belshazzar, that their days on earth may be like the days of heaven. And the Lord will give us strength and enlighten our eyes and we will live under the shelter of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon and under the shelter of Belshazzar his son,for many days and find mercy in their sight.

Personal Challenge

Just as God knew who would be the captors of his children in Israel, so does He know where we are to be born. And as He told His children to not only submit to the authority that were over them, so does He tell us to do the same today. If we keep our hearts and minds focused on the truth that we are sojourners through this earth as Israel was in Babylon and that our true home is somewhere else, then we can pray for those who lead us. It does not matter if it is Bush or Obama, Trump or Clinton, Sanders or Cruz, or anyone else, because our allegiance is to our Father in heaven and we are His representatives here on earth. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Wisdom of Sirach 50:22-24 LXX

And now bless the God of all,
Who does great things in every way,
Who exalts our days from our birth
And deals with us according to His mercy.
May He give us gladness of heart,
And may there be peace in our days,
In Israel as in the days of old.
May He entrust with us His mercy,
And let Him redeem us in our days.

Encouraging Words

Life, as we know it now, is not what God meant it to be. He created us in His image. He created us to commune with Him. He placed us in a garden where everything was perfect. We walked with Him and talked with Him. We did not need sunlight because His uncreated light was all that was needed. We lived sid by side with all of the beasts of creation with no fear or concern for our lives. We were in heaven on earth. Then we broke our relationship with God and chose to eat the forbidden fruit. The rest is history and our world around us is proof that we have fallen. But by God’s never ending grace and mercy and the incarnation of His Son, we are able to reclaim that position with God, which we had in the beginning. We must struggle and fight against the fallenness that we live in, but we are not alone. Our God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is walking with us through this life. Glory be to God!

Wisdom of Sirach 39:33-35 LXX

All the works of the Lord are good,
And He will supply every need in its hour.
No one can say, “This is worse than that,”
For all things will be well pleasing in their time.
So now sing praise with all your heart and voice,
And bless the name of the Lord.

Encouraging Words

Our God transcends time. I live in a finite world and therefore, I am constrained by time. If something transpires today, i.e. the loss of a loved one or a job, having a serious illness, being involved in an accident, or anything else that causes a major, or even a minor, impact on my life touches me in the now and can modify how I deal with the future. It is real! It is a life changing impact! But our God is outside of the bounds and constraints of time. He knows how this situation will work for my good. He knows the past, present, and future. He knows that this will someday be pleasing in its time. So with that knowledge and faith in my God, I can sing praise for my Lord with all of my heart and voice.

Wisdom of Sirach 39:1-3 LXX

How different is the man who devotes himself
To the study of the law of the Most High.
He will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients
And be occupied with their prophecies.
He will preserve the discourse of notable men
And penetrate the subtleties of parables.
He will seek out the hidden meanings of proverbs
And be engaged in the riddles of parables.

Personal Challenge

Why do we pursue our God through the writings and the teachings of His church and the saints that have gone before us? If it is for personal gain or to amass knowledge then it is for the wrong reason. We do this so that we can look outside of ourselves and embrace the great knowledge and wisdom of others and learn from them. As we do this we take our eyes off of ourselves and put them on others opening up a vista so full and rich. We do this to empty ourselves of what we think we know and who we think we are so that we can be filled with Him and His wisdom. Glory be to God!