John 5:30
I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
Encouraging Words…
Psalm 97:10 (96:10 LXX)
You who love the Lord, hate evil;
The Lord keeps the souls of His saints;
He shall deliver them from the hand of sinners.
Personal Challenge…
Genesis 5:2-3
He made them male and female, and blessed them; and the day He made them He called his name Adam. Now Adam lived two hundred and thirty years, and begot a son according to his form and image, and named him Seth.
Encouraging Words…
What a great passage to see into the minds of our early church fathers and how they read and interpreted the Old Testament Scriptures that they had to work with. Their interpretation of this passage was that it was an illustration of the Holy Trininy. Adam was not begotten, but Seth, His son, was begotten of him. Adam was unbegotten as the Father is. Eve was neither begotten nor unbegotten, but proceeded from Adam. This is an image, to a certain extent, of the relationship of the members of the Holy Trinity. There are three distinct and unique properties — distinguishing each of the individual persons, yet all three still possessing the same nature (taken from the notes of the Orthodox Study Bible). What an awesome way to read the scriptures.
Genesis 4:25
Again Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore a son, and he named him Seth, saying, “God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.”
Encouraging Words…
Once again we see the redemptive and restorative work of our God. Through Seth we see the restoration of the lineage of mankind so that some day the Christ, the Messiah, would be born. Abel’s loss is redeemed through the birth of Seth. Is this not the image of the coming Christ.
Proverbs 5:1-2
Command with a Promise…
Here I am commanded to hold fast to Wisdom (a typification of Christ) and listen to His words. By doing this my thinking will be guarded and good. As I continued to read today of Cain this passage helps me to understand how to be able to avoid sin. Cain was admonished by God that he had a wrong heart. He could have repented and held fast to Wisdom. But he chose to dwell on his own thoughts and feelings which lead to more separation from God, more sin, and ultimately the murder of his brother. It is a slippery slope, but one we can avoid.
Genesis 4:7
“Did you not sin, even though you brought it rightly, but did not divide it rightly? Be still; his recourse shall be to you; and you shall rule over him.”
Personal Challenge…
I have always thought, deep down in my heart, that Cain got a raw deal in this part of Genesis. He gave of the first fruit of his labor just like Abel did. So why wasn’t his offering accepted? A little deeper digging shows that God loved Cain just as much as He did Abel. He praised Cain for bringing his gift rightly. But He did question the motive of Cain’s heart (did not divide it rightly). It was not that his offering was bad, but his heart was. God told him to be still, to control his emotions, and to repent and then he would be right with God. God even told him that his younger brother would be subject to him. But that was not good enough and through his choice he chose to sin even more. How often does God point out to me my sinful heart and yet I refuse to listen to Him? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
John 20:29
Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Encouraging Words…
If I am learning to do anything as I dive deeper into my Eastern Orthodox understanding it is to view things, life, the world, my faith through different eyes. We have become so much like our good friend here, Doubting Thomas. We live in the “Age of Reason” where we must look at everything through the eyes of logic and if we cannot prove something it does not exist. Everything we do or think runs through this filter. People in the time of Christ did not have this filter. It was easier to accept miracles and other supernatural events because they knew that there was a greater realm surrounding us that we could not touch, see, hear, or smell. Eastern Orthodoxy still views God and His creation this way. And I am so blessed to be one who has not seen and yet has believed.
Mark 2:27-28
And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Encouraging Words…
Why did Jesus, the Son of God, a member of the Holy Trinity, come to earth as a human being and to later be put to death on the cross as an innocent, sinless man? To pay the price for our sins and unrighteousness? Not so much so. The early church fathers taught that Jesus came to defeat death. The death that entered into God’s perfect creation through the free will choice of Adam and Ever to defy God. Yes there is so much more to this, but Jesus came, died, and was resurrected to release the grip that death had on His creation. He set everything back to the way that it was meant to be. This verse gives a little peek into that. Jesus tells us that even the Sabbath day of rest was created for man to enjoy, not for it to be a burden on us. He even set this back on its proper course. Praise be to God for the work that He has done.
Genesis 3:8
Then they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden that afternoon, and Adam and his wife hid themselves within the tree in the middle of the garden from the presence of the Lord God.
Personal Challenge…
For all the times that I have read this passage I never got the essence of this verse. Here Adam and Eve have broken the only rule that God gave them. They have sinned. And when God comes to hang out with them like He has so many times before, where do they hide? Right there in the middle of the very tree that they were not supposed to eat from. How many times have I tried to hide from God in the middle of the very sin that I am running away from God for? As if God cannot see me there. Whether it be the sin of pride, lust for the things of the world, idolatry, or whatever. What I really need to be doing is running away from that place of false protection and to my Lord God with repentance and seeking forgiveness. Lord Jesus Chist, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
Proverbs 3:11-12
My son, do not despise the instruction of the Lord,
Neither grow weary under His reproof.
For whom the Lord loves He instructs,
And chastises every son He receives.
Encouraging Words…
Parenting! It is such a blessed opportunity in life and yet one filled with challenges and heartaches. I can remember those times that I had to discipline and reprove my children and would often be in silent tears after doing so. This is just a small glimmer of the heart of God. He loves me as His own child and in that love He too disciplines, reproves, and instructs me. My role in this is to be obedient, to not despise this instruction, and to cherish the love that He has for me.
Verse of the Day 