Author: David Short

2 Chronicles 14:11 (14:10 LXX)

And Asa cried out to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, with You it is not impossible, whether with the many or with the few. Strengthen us, Lord our God, for we trust in You. And in Your name we go against this multitude. Lord our God, do not let man prevail against You!”

Encouraging Words…

No matter what battle we are fighting, what struggle we are in the midst of, what the odds are against us, if we are striving to glorify our God and His work, He will prevail and carry us along with Him in His victory. We may live in the physical, temporal world, but we also live in the spiritual world and many times the battles and struggles that we find ourselves caught up in are the consequences of these spiritual acts of warfare. The test for us is whether or note we can continue to cling to God through the tough times as tightly as we do through the good times and therefore reflect His glory, His grace, and His love in the midst of the storms. Glory be to God! May we all be Asa’s in this day of our Lord.

John 15:12-14

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

Personal Challenges…

We are called by Christ to become like Him. This can be so difficult when it comes to dealing with people and yet He tells us that if we are to be counted among His friends then we will do what He commands. That means loving our friends as well as our enemies, even to the point of laying down our lives for them. We may never be asked to lay down our physical lives for those around us but what about treating them with love and respect, or not gossiping about them when the opportunity arises, or sympathizing with them and coming alongside them in their need even when they spurn us, and the list goes on and on. I have so far to go in this area of my journey to theosis. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Amos 5:14

“Seek good and not evil so that you may live, so that the Lord God Almighty will be with you. As you have said, ‘We hated evil and loved good.’ And restore justice in the gate that the Lord God Almighty may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.”

Personal Challenge…

Every moment of every day we have choices to make…to seek good or to seek evil. We were created with the ability to make this choice (free will) and the capability to choose the good. As we look through the history of the church we see many examples (Hebrews 11 lists many of them) of men and women who have chosen good and were blessed by God. We also have the Holy Spirit to guide us on this journey. As the movie Matrix introduced, we can choose the red pill or the blue pill, but sometimes we may need to choose neither and follow another path, one that we can only see through eyes opened by God. I like the commentary on these verses offered by Ambrose of Milan (340-397 AD)…

“For when a man rules his own self—and that counts for more than to govern others—his heart is in the hand of God, and God turns it where He wills. If He turns it to the good, perfect goodness is His. And so let us be in the hand of God that we may seek the good… that you may live, and so the Lord God Almighty will be with you.” (Orthodox Study Bible, p. 1000)

Exodus 36:3-5

They received from Moses all the offerings the children of Israel brought for all the works for making the holy place, and they continued bringing him freewill offerings every morning. Then all the wise men who were doing all the work of the holy place came, each according to the work he was doing, and they spoke to Moses, saying, “The people bring much more than enough for the work the Lord commanded us to do.”

Encouraging Words…

Imagine, if you can, what the Church, and the world, would be like if we, the members of the body of Christ, gave so much from our wealth that the leaders had to say. “Stop!” We would be able to send missionaries to all parts of the earth who would not have to worry about where their support was coming from…the Great Commission. We would be able to feed the poor, clothe the naked, and take care of the widow and the orphan, our neighbors…the Great Commandment. The Church would be bringing the kingdom of God to life here on earth. This is God’s will for us, just as it was His will that the early Israelites build His tabernacle. However, He did not force them to give of their wealth, He just asked them to give of their own free will. When we, the children of God, align our free will with His, He does mighty and glorious things.

2 Samuel 22:2-3 (2 Kingdoms 22:2-3 LXX)

And he (David) sang:
“O Lord, my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
My God will be my guardian, in whom I will trust;
My defender and the horn of my salvation,
My protector and the refuge of my salvation;
You will save me from unrighteousness.”

Encouraging Words…

Why would I want to claim Jesus as my Lord, live my life in ways that would glorify Him, and strive to be different than the world around me? David makes it clear in this passage why we would put our trust in God and live for Him. He is our savior from death, He is our victory over eternal separation from God. He is our protector and source of life. Glory be to God!

Hebrews 11:13-16

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

Encouraging Words…

If we proclaim Jesus as our Lord, and God as our Father, and the Holy Spirit as our Comforter, and live our lives this way, then we are no longer residents of this world. We have become strangers and pilgrims in this land with those who have gone before us on a journey to that promised land, to that city that He has prepared for us. We too are sojourners and we too can partake in His promise to be with us on our journey. But just as for those who have gone before us we must be careful to not look back so that we might be drawn back to the land that we have left behind. We must always keep our eyes and hearts set on Him and His kingdom.

Psalm 27:8 (26:8 LXX)

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

Personal Challenge…

Is this really my way of life? Do I seek my Lord above all else? Do I speak out to Him at all times? Regretfully I do not. My time with Him is so random and sparse…and this is my own doing, my own choice. No wonder I stumble and fall and commit sin. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner and help me to breathe this prayer with every breath I take.

Exodus 19:5-6

“‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be a special people to Me above all nations; for all the earth is Mine. You shall be to Me a royal priesthood and a holy nation.’ These are the words you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

Encouraging Words…

God made His covenant with Abraham because of his faith and the special people referred to are not his physical offspring, but his spiritual ones. The nation of Israel, the physical offspring, lost their love for God and their faith in Him and through Christ God fulfilled this covenant and initiated a new one that made His church, comprised of Jews and Gentiles, the new special people. Now it is up to us to keep the covenant of faith given to us.

John 8:12

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Encouraging Words…

Once again we are reminded, this time by Jesus Himself, that the life of a Christian is not a passive, sedentary life. We are told to follow Him and walk in His footsteps. We are never told to take it easy and rest comfortably in our salvation. Because of the work of Christ we will desire to be His workers and to be active for Him. His promise to us is that if we do this He will light our way.

Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Encouraging Words…

I have often heard it said, “Hindsight is 20/20 vision.” There has been many times in my life that I have been able to look back and see how God has turned situations, both good and bad, into wonderfully miraculous events. He has always worked together those things involved in ways that I would have never imagined. And through these events He has honed by vision and taught my heart to watch as His hand guides and blesses my life. Sometimes He even gives us the opportunity to see His hand at work going before us. I may be entering into one of these times and am relishing the opportunity to watch how He unfolds His handiwork. My part is to be humble and submissive to Him and to follow His will…and at the end of this season, give all the glory to Him.