Author: David Short

1 John 4:20

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

Mark 14:72

A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.

Personal Challenge

We are told in the scriptures and traditions of the church that God makes us strong in our weaknesses and uses us when we are broken. It is in these times that we recognize that by ourselves we can do nothing. Peter denied Christ when he was needed the most…not just once, but three times. But what Peter did after this betrayal is what set him apart from Judas who betrayed Christ. He pondered his actions and wept. He did not become despondent or belligerent in his sin but sought the Lord for forgiveness and healing. God uses us when we turn to Him in our weakness and in our repentance. Glory be to God!

Luke 15:31-32

“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”

Personal Challenge

It is so easy for me to get caught up in all of the things that I am doing for my Lord, and ultimately for what I think is for my salvation, and become like the elder brother of the prodigal son. I spend time studying the scriptures, praying, going to church, taking classes, amassing more knowledge, and yet, when a lost soul comes to the Father, I get jealous and try to lay on them the burdens that I have chosen to take upon myself. So by doing this, even though I am not the prodigal and have not left the presence of my Father, my heart is not focused on Him as my returning brother’s is. My actions, my thoughts, have clouded my love for my Father and my brother. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

1 John 3:1

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Encouraging Words

What an amazing thing…we are set apart from the world, not because of what we do or say, but because we are loved so deeply by our Lord. In our world today we see so many acts of violence and hatred being performed on a way of proclaiming allegiance to their god. How can this be when God is pure love? Glory be to God!

Luke 21:1-4

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

Personal Challenge

Oh Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, give me the heart of this wealthy, poor widow!

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Encouraging Words

The first time that I selected this verse to be added to my ongoing list of verses was on my father’s birthday. I just now noticed this. My father epitomized this verse. I fondly remember the day that he renounced his alcoholism, repented and never went back to that way of life. He demonstrated to all who would listen to his story that his Jesus was a lover of mankind, our redeemer, and a forgetter of our sins. I love you Dad and thank you for showing me what a living saint looks like. Glory be to God!

Proverbs 10:31 (10:32 LXX)

The mouth of a righteous man distills wisdom,
But the tongue of an unrighteous man utterly destroys.

Personal Challenge

What is the indicator of the state, or nature, of my heart? It is that which comes out of my mouth. How I speak to others, or more importantly about others, reveals the righteousness or unrighteousness of my heart and core essence. May it be determined to be a distiller of wisdom.

Psalm 119:117 (118:117)

Help me, and I shall be saved;
And I shall meditate always in Your ordinances

Encouraging words

Jesus is the full compassion of our God and He came to us in the incarnation. Through Him we do live. Glory be to God!

Psalm 89:47-48 (88:48-49 LXX)

Let my substance be remembered, as to what sort it is,
For did You create all the sons of men in vain?
What kind of man is there who will live and not see death?
Will he deliver his soul from the hand of Hades?

Personal Challenge

I have a substance of which I am made. I am not referring to the physical elements that define me as a human being, but of the characteristics and nature of who I am that define me. I do have a choice in this area to follow Christ and be like Him or to deny Him and be like the devil. Whatever choices I make there will be a day that I will stand before my Lord and account for them. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Luke 24:32

And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

Personal Challenge

Does my heart burn within me when I spend tiome in God’s Word? How about when I am in the midst of celebrating liturgy? Or when discussing the Scriptures with my brothers and sisters? If not, then it is time to check the state of my heart. With Jesus being in the midst of all of these activities, and so many more, them my heart should be at a place where He is causing it to burn for Him. Glory be to God!