Author: David Short

Numbers 12:3

(Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all men on the face of the earth.)

Personal Challenge…

Interesting that God would slip this parenthetical comment into the midst of all that was being written about what Moses was doing for the people of God. Our vision of Moses is often the Cecile B. DeMille character played by Charlton Heston…bold, virulent, and commanding. It is easy to slip into this mindset and expect that people who do great and mighty works for God are anything but meek. But isn’t this the kind of person God wants us to be…meek and humble before our God and our fellow man. This does not mean that we are not strong when He needs us to be, but that strength must come from a heart filled with humility. If we live and operate this way, just as Moses did in his life, then any great and wonderful acts that God performs through us are His acts not our and therefore point to Him and not us. A hard lesson to take to heart when we live in a time that pushes us to look out for our own desires. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.

Isaiah 30:15

For thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel:“When you return and groan, then you will be saved and know where you were. When you trusted in vain things, vain was your strength, and you did not will to listen.”

Personal Challenge…

When we go through our lives trusting in the things of the world (material wealth, recognition, knowledge gained, etc.) then all that we will achieve will be vain and will turn us further way from our God. However, when we return to Him in a spirit of repentance, seeking His forgiveness, He will save us from the vanities of temporal life and set us on His path of righteousness. Only then will our eyes be opened to see the vanity that we were entrapped in. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom,
And there is good understanding in all who practice it;

Encouraging Words…

Why is it that so many people make the pursuit of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding their god? Is it possible that it is because the true God is all wisdom, all knowledge, and all understanding and that if we pursue Him, first by fearing, respecting, and holding Him in awe, then we will receive His wisdom, His knowledge, and His understanding? The enemy, the prince of this earth, knows this and throws up the smoke screen of earthly intellectualism distracting us from the God and leading us down his path way from God. Let us stay the course by fearing God and receiving His wisdom and understanding.

Psalm 9:10 (9:11 LXX)

And let those who know Your name put their hope in You;
For You, O Lord, do not forsake those who seek You.

Encouraging Words…

Our life here on earth is often portrayed as a journey. In a journey we are always pressing on forward toward our destination. The psalmist reminds us that the destination of our journey of life is our lord. We are to always be pressing on toward Him, seeking Him, and pursuing Him. The promise here from our god is that we will find Him, He will not forsake us, and that our hope can and should be placed in Him.

Genesis 3:11-13

Thus He said, “Who said you were naked? Have you eaten from the one tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” Then Adam said, “The woman You gave me, gave me of the tree, and I ate.” So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Personal Challenge…

We were created in the image and likeness of God. Not only at the very beginning of mankind with the creation of Adam and Eve, but every time God knits together the fabric of a newly created child He creates that child in the image and likeness of Himself. We are not created with total depravity within us because that is not part of God’s image. We are born into a broken and fallen world, and not the Garden of Eden, but nonetheless we are created in His image. Part of that image is the ability to chose between right and wrong, to sin or not to sin. It is possible to make the right choices and not sin. Jesus was fully human. He lived in this fallen world just like all of us. He dealt with trials and tribulations and temptations and desires like all of us. And yet, in all of His humanness He chose not to sin. He lived the perfect human life, the life that all of us were created to live. He is our example.

This passage fascinated me today and led me to consider the teaching of total depravity. Adam chose to eat the fruit that Eve gave him, and then when confronted with His sin blamed it on Eve. Eve blamed her choice on the serpent. Is this not also what the doctrine of total depravity does? Because of it I can say that I can’t help myself because of Adam’s sin, because of the belief that I am totally depraved. The truth of the matter is that I sin because I choose to, I see the fruit as more attractive than God. If I start here, then my confession and repentance is more real and genuine.

Hebrews 10:23-25

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Personal Challenge…

We are not on this journey of life alone. We have brothers and sisters in Christ that are a part of our journey and we are a part of theirs. There is no room for individualism in the kingdom of God. In fellowship we find unity. In unity we find the power to overcome difficulties. Through all of this we build each other up in our hope. Glory be to God!

Romans 15:4

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

Encouraging Words…

The early church did not have the writings of the New Testament as we do today. Paul refers here to the Old Testament and that we can fined mankind’s hope in the midst of them. They are full of promises and images of the coming of Christ and the hope that God’s people held onto as they patiently waited for His coming. They taught of the patience of God’s people as they waited for the fulfillment of His promises, but also of God who waited patiently for His children to return to Him. These are lessons from which we can learn today, even though we have Jesus in our presence and the fulfilled Scriptures to rely on. God still wants us to be patient and full of hope as we wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, and He continues to be patient with us as we stray from Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Personal Challenge…

It is so difficult to truly understand the teachings presented in the scriptures when staying focused on using the modern and reformed ways of thinking that most of us have grown up with. These words were penned by Paul a century before the great schism between the church of the east and the church of the west, a century and a half before the western world went through the age of enlightenment and reason, and a century and a half before the church was reformed. But through all of this history there still remained and does to this day, a branch of the church that adheres to the eastern way of thinking…pre-schism, pre-enlightenment, and pre-reformed. What a joy it is to pursue Christ, to read His scriptures, to study the early church fathers (those who walked with Christ and passed on His teachings), and to practice the traditions as they did at the beginning of the church.

This passage speaks so differently through that filter, that mindset. Our faith in Christ makes us justified, which is an ongoing state of communion with Him. Being justified refers to an ongoing state of righteousness and not merely to a one-time event. This justification requires a redemption: a sacrificial offering capable of (1) setting us free from sin and death, and (2) uniting us eternally with righteousness and life. Christ is the sacrificial offering. Because of this ongoing communion, we have peace with God which is also ongoing. Faith is more than the conviction that something is true. Genuine faithfulness is continuous loyalty and obedience to God. Such faithfulness justifies a person through God’s grace. (Notes taken from Orthodox Study Bible, pp 1528 & 1526.) Glory be to God!

Psalm 17:1-9 (16:1-9 LXX) specifically v. 8

Listen, O Lord of my righteousness;
Attend to my supplication;
Give ear to my prayer that is not with deceitful lips.

James 3:13-15

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self- seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.

Encouraging Words…

We believe that our God is never changing. We believe that He is all powerful and the supreme Healer of mankind. We believe that Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, and passed this ability on to His apostles. Then why do we not see much healing in the church today? Could it be that it is because we lack one key element…FAITH! We live in the modern world, the age of enlightenment, and have mastered the art of reasoning. But all of this denies our God who transcends modern times because He is eternal. He transcends enlightenment because He is the source of all light, truth, and wisdom. He crushes reasoning because He holds the mysteries of everything within Himself. We can pull together all of the elements listed in this passage to perform healing acts (the presbyter or priest, prayer, the work of Christ, the Holy Spirit manifested in the oil, and confession of our sins) and yet we are not healed. What is missing? The prayer must be that of faith. We must defy reason, ignore what our enlightened minds argues with us, and seek God’s hand of healing as promised. And yes, sometimes He will choose not to heal, for reasons that only He knows. However, it seems very likely that we do not see the awesome hand of God moving in our world today as it did in the first century church because we really do not believe. My prayer is as the father who asked Jesus to heal his son, “I believe, help me in my unbelief!”