Author: David Short

Psalm 118:24 (117:24 LXX)

This is the day the Lord made;Let us greatly rejoice, and be glad therein.

Encouraging Words…

Every day that I am able to get up, breath, and move around is truly a blessing. I seldom, if ever, go through a day where the hunger pains gnaw at my belly…and yet millions do this every day of their lives. I always wake up with a roof over my head, clean clothes to wear for the day, a job to go to, and loved ones that encourage me through life. So many people have none of this. So yes, these are encouraging words and I do have so much to be thankful for because my Lord, my Salvation, my Comforter, my Friend has made this day and given it to me. The real question is what will I do with this precious gift? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Psalm 94:19 (93:19 LXX)

O Lord, according to the abundance of grief in my heart,Your encouragements consoled my soul.

Encouraging Words…

We cannot grieve more than God can encourage and console us. I know that when we are in the midst of our grief that we may not be able to see God’s encouragement, but nonetheless it is there and in abundance. Jesus had to die and go into the deepest depths of hell in order to break the bondage that death held on us. He set us free. And He goes into the depths of our despair with us to break its hold on us and to set us free. Glory be to God!

Psalm 27:1 (26:1 LXX)

The Lord is my light and my savior; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defender of my life; whom shall I dread?

Encouraging Words…

When you have the Almighty God, the Creator of all, as your Lord, your Light, your salvation, your defender…and you truly believe this, then who or what can ever cause you fear or dread? Nothing! No one!

Romans 8:14-15

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Encouraging Words…

I have heard it said that the term, “Abba, Father!” would be equivalent to a little child calling out, “Daddy! Daddy!” Through the Holy Spirit I can run to my Daddy and cuddle in His loving arms because I am His son. Glory be to God!

Psalm 18:1-3 (17:2-4 LXX)

I will love You, O Lord, my strength.The Lord is my foundation, my refuge, my deliverer;
My God is my helper, on Him I will hope,
My champion, the horn of my salvation, and my protector.
I will call upon the Lord and praise Him,
And I shall be saved from my enemies.

Encouraging Words…

Oh how I desire to have a relationship with my God as intimate as the psalmist did. He is my all, my provider, my friend and on Him I can put all of my trust and hope. Glory be to God!

Psalm 10:17-18 (9:38-39 LXX)

The Lord hears the desire of the poor;
Your ear heeds the readiness of their heart,
To judge the orphan and the humble,
That man may no longer increase his great boasting upon the earth.

Personal Challenge…

Our Lord cares deeply for the poor, the orphan, the widow, and the downcast. He understands their pain because He grieves with them in their condition. I too must care deeply for those in need around me and humble myself before them and my God, because circumstances could turn at any time and I could be joining the ranks of those in need. Once again, a company that I work for has made the decision to let go of a significant number of their staff (over 450 in this case) and now these people, people with families, with bills to pay, with hopes and dreams, are in that state of uncertainty in their lives. For them I lift up the prayer, “Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!” For me I ask that I be constantly reminded by my Lord to be loving and caring, humble and respectful toward those whom He has placed in my life, and to be only dependent upon Him.

Romans 15:13

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Encouraging Words…

We have such a great host of believers who have gone before us and who have prayed for us. Here Paul lifts up the Romans, but his prayer still reaches out for us today as well. And since I believe in the resurrection of the dead, I also believe that Paul and all of those saints of the past are still issuing these petitions on our behalf today.

Romans 12:14-19

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

Command(s) with a Promise…

Wow! Another one of those awesome nuggets of gold discovered. Throughout this passage is command after command…bless my persecutors and cursers, rejoice and weep with those who do the same, be of the same mind as others and be humble while doing it, do not be wise of my own accord, and on and on. But then there is the prize, the promise, “If it is possible…” and “do not avenge myself”, because if I do the commands as much as is possible and do so humbly, then God will give out the chastisement needed to those who deserve it. This is still a very personally challenging way to live, but what a powerful promise and such a gift of freedom…”If it is possible…” Glory be to God!

Romans 12:4-5

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

Personal Challenge…

One body…multiple functions! We often hear teaching on this passage focused on the application of our spiritual gifts. Couldn’t it also be focusing on the greater body of Christ and reminding us that other true and right practicers of the Christian faith, those different from where we practice our faith every Sunday, but still grounded in the fundamental truths of Christianity, are also included in the body of Christ. Maybe this passage is reminding us to be in unity with our other brothers and sisters in Christ so that His body, His church, can function fully and completely. All truth is God’/s truth and He is more involved in the redemption of the world than I can ever comprehend.

Matthew 8:13

Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

Encouraging Words…

I have often been asked, the question, “Why doesn’t God do these kinds of miracles any more?” Well…actually He does, all the time. One of the blessings of doing missions work outside of the USA is that I have had the chance to be in places where people’s beliefs are more like this centurion’s and miracles are more visible. I have also seen the hand of God at work enough in my own life to see that He is still working these kinds of miracles. So what is the difference? Just as in the day of Jesus it is us, the people, who are of little faith. We either do not see Him working His miracles or we are so faithless that we inhibit His miraculous workings. So much for living in the “age of enlightenment.” This is one of the reasons that one of the primary focuses of my journey through life as an Orthodox Christian is to learn to think, and believe, like our early church fathers did. To think like the apostles, to believe like the apostles, to abandon the modern way of thinking and believing about God. As the father of the boy possessed by a demon said to Jesus, “I believe, help me in my unbelief!”