Author: David Short

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

Personal Challenge…

What is one of the desires that all Christian faith practices hold on to? To live our lives where our hearts are blameless in holiness before God. How can we do this in our lives? By loving one another. We are called to love our God and to love our neighbor. It grieves me when I see my brothers in Christ condemning other brothers in Christ for their practices and traditions of faith. Especially when they do not take the time to truly understand these practices or traditions. One of these practices that are prevalent this time of year is Lent and we see the ramp up of rhetoric against it. Is this showing love? Is this leading to holiness? Love is an active, purposed action bestowed upon another, starting with understanding them. To God be the glory…not us!

Ezekiel 34:15-16

“I shall feed My sheep and refresh them; and they will know that I am the Lord,” thus says the Lord and Master. “I shall seek the lost, bring back the misled, bind up the broken, strengthen the fallen, protect the strong, and feed them with judgment.”

Encouraging Words…

This nugget of encouragement is sandwiched in the middle of some difficult and troubling texts. The shepherds (leaders) of Israel are being called out for how much they have misled and taken advantage of their flock, their followers. Ezekiel is prophesying that these leaders will not only be replaced by the ultimate Shepherd, Jesus Christ, but that these bad shepherds will have to pay the price for the lives that they have misled and abused. Couldn’t this text, these problems, also apply to today? We have so many people in leadership in our churches and ministries that have abandoned the truths of old, redefined God and His promises and commands to fit their agendas, and created their own empires based on the backs of their flocks…and doing it under the guise of Christianity. We must always remember that of whom much is given, much is expected. We as leaders, teachers, ministry leaders in God’s Church will be held accountable for how well we have led, nurtured, and protected His flock. We are stewards, not owners. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Encouraging Words…

No matter who we are, or what we have done in our lives…Christ died for us! He died for all of His creation so that His creation would not have to die again. What we do with this incredible love from God is what determines the course of our lives. We can choose to reject it and live lawless and unrighteous lives or we can choose to embrace it and live righteous lives striving to glorify our God. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Psalm 86:15 (85:15 LXX)

But You, O Lord, are compassionate and merciful,
Longsuffering and very merciful and truthful.

Encouraging Words…

So, how is it that we can believe that God is all love, full of grace and mercy, and still an angry, judgmental God? It is because we believe the machinations of man, steeped in juridical and legalistic beliefs that can only be satisfied with this kind of a God. If we go back to the beginnings of our faith, to the teachings of those who walked with Christ and received His teachings firsthand and then passed them on to the Church, then we will find a much different perspective of God and His love and mercy. It was not until much later in our Church history that God, the angry judge, became more prevalent. As for me and my household, we will stay with the teachings of our ancient faith.

Psalm 111:10 (110:10 LXX)

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord;
A good understanding is in all who practice it.
His praise continues unto ages of ages.

Personal Challenge…

What is knowledge without a genuine fear of the Lord? Information! What is the pursuit of knowledge without a deep fear and respect of the Lord? Folly! We are called first and foremost to love our God with our whole being, to fear Him with awe and respect, and this will set us on our journey of wisdom. It is not about me! It is not about how much I study, or read, or expound upon what I think I know, for this too becomes about me! I must first accept that only God is all-knowing and accept that if I love Him the way that He calls me to then He will give me the wisdom that He knows that I need. He knows that If I pursue Him this way that the wisdom that He gives me will be used for His glory and not my edification. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

Don’t wage your Christian struggle with sermons and arguments, but with true love. When we argue, others react. When we love people, they are moved and we win them over. When we love we think that we offer something to others, but in reality we are the first to benefit.

Psalm 145:18(144:18 LXX)

The Lord is near to all who call on Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.

Personal Challenge…

How often do we miss out on the promises of God because we fail to do all that is necessary to receive them. God is not some cosmic sugar daddy who is there at our beck and call to fulfill our every desire. If we call upon Him in truth, in His truth, grounded in our relationship with Him and His relationship with us, then He will hear us and be near to us. We are not to treat Him like some genie in a bottle and expect Him to jump to attention every time we snap our fingers. To the contrary, it is us who should be jumping through hoops doing things for Him…loving our neighbors, putting others first, and seeking Him in His church, traditions, and living Word. We cannot call upon Him in truth if we do not know His truth. Glory be to God!

Judges 6:12

And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, mighty one of the armies!”

Encouraging Words…

Even though Gideon had snuck out to gather wheat in fear of the enemy and argued with the Angel that he was small and incapable of doing anything great for the Lord he is still told that because the Lord is with him he will do great things. And the great things that he did in his humility led to the church fathers recognizing him as a prefigure of Christ. What about us? Jesus told us that He would be with us even to the end of ages. Will He not use us to do mighty things for Him and His kingdom if we will just humble ourselves before Him and be obedient to Him? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

Luke 12:48b

For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

Personal Challenge…

In the industry that I work in we often say, “That is why he gets paid the big bucks!” We, as followers of Christ, have been given much. We have been given the keys to the kingdom of God…the Good News of Jesus Christ. We have been given great love, mercy, and grace by our Lord…so that we can give it to those around us. Since we have been given so much we should know that He expects much from us. He expects us to love Him and our neighbor. He expects us to pour out His grace and mercy on those around us. He expects us to die for Him because He died for us. Living a Christian life is not a picnic, it is a banquet where we are both the provider and the server. Glory be to God! Not me!

Psalm 62:8 (61:9 LXX)

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

Encouraging Words…

Praise God for His comfort and protection. He is the one that we should always turn to for He is our helper. No matter what issues life brings up, no matter how dire they may seem, our God is whom we should turn to for guidance, protection, and love. Glory be to God!