Psalm 62:8 (61:9 LXX)
As another election spectacle comes to an end this verse reminds me that it is not in governments or political parties or elected officials that I should be putting my hope, but in God alone. His is the only kingdom, the only leadership that I am to put my hope into.
Luke 12:29-31
“And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Personal Challenge…
I have been blessed to have been able to walk through nearly 47 years with Christ as my Lord. Throughout those years I have had my good times and my bad times, I have walked close to Him and sometimes wandered away from His straight and narrow path. But in all of this I have learned the truth of this passage. God does provide for me…more than even I do myself. God does provide for me…not necessarily what I want but what I need. I have learned to be content with Him and not worry or get upset about what is going on around me or in my life. Thank You, Lord Jesus.
Unfortunately I allowed an event yesterday to really get under my skin and get me very angry. One thing that I cannot stand to see is a leader in the church misuse his position of authority for personal gain and get away with it, or worse yet, be protected by other leaders around him/her. This is a misuse and abuse of the authority provided by God and an affront to the Bride of Christ. For this anger I pray, “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” For this acto by another, one in a leadership position I pray, “Father, my Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” My plea for all involved is, “Lord, have mercy!, Lord, have mercy! Lord,have mercy!”
2 Corinthians 5:1
For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Encouraging Words…
Death! One of those inevitable events in life that so many people fear and loathe. This week has been quite a reminder for me of the fragility of life. Earlier this week my priest’s father passed away…he was of the generation of my parents, who have had quite a year dealing with physical maladies. Then Laura’s cousin passed away…she was of our generation. We went to her funeral today.
As these notes go on to explain the glory of our future and the hope that we can have in it I am comforted that i know that Jesus reigns victorious over death.
Luke 12:34
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Personal Challenge…
I must constantly be checking the state of my heart. Where my heart gets focused on is where my thoughts, my desires, my actions get targeted at. If the treasure that I truly pursue is the things above then all else will fall into place properly
Colossians 4:2
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;
Personal Challenge…
Prayer is to be an ever present part of my life. It does not mean that I have to be running to a private place to be in prayer, or in some special position with hands folded. I am to be earnestly and vigilantly pursuing the heart of God, and doing it always with a spirit of thanksgiving. I love how the Jesus prayer, “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!”, can be prayed under my breath or out loud, with my prayer beads or not, in the middle of a meeting or while riding my motorcycle. A simple prayer, that when prayed enough, becomes embedded in my very essence and brings me closer to Paul’s charge to pray without ceasing.
Colossians 3:1-2
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
Personal Challenge…
Through my baptism in Christ I have been raised up into Him. Why is it so difficult for me to take my eyes off of the things of the earth and set my heart and mind on Him? It can be done! It must be done! Lord, have mercy.
Psalm 35:22-23 (34:22-23 LXX)
Encouraging Words…
Have you ever had one of those times in our life when you felt that you were being judged by everyone around you? This is a passage that I have held onto for a long time. God is my Judge, and God alone. He sees all, He knows all…both my right choices and the wrong ones. He will judge me fairly and because of His love and the work of His Son I will still be victorious over death. So it really does not matter how others judge me as long as I stay true to my pursuit of the likeness of Christ.
Psalm 103:8 (102:8 LXX)
Encouraging words…
Luke 8:16-18
“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”
Encouraging Words…
I absolutely love it when a precious morsel of God’s Word leaps out at me, especially when it is something that I have read over and over. “Therefore take heed how you hear.” Jesus placed this statement between two sections on what is seen; the light and the lampstand on one end and what we have been given, which is physical, tangible, and therefore visible on the other end. Why did He do this? He is reminding me to be attentive in my listening and discriminating in my response. According to the notes in my Orthodox Study Bible, “I must not only hear, but hear properly.” Is this not the reason I have been given the Holy Spirit? To hear God’s spoken Word clearly, to read God’s Word precisely, to be constantly changed by God’s Word whether I receive it through the worship services and traditions that I participate in or the scriptures I read. In all of these I need to be in the Holy Spirit. In all that I do I must be intential at submitting to the Holy Spirit and His working in my life. Thanks be to God for showing me this short, six word morsel of truth.
2 Timothy 2:3-4
You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
Personal Challenge…
If I am truly living my life for the Lord, glorifying Him, spreading His message to those who do not know Him, then I am living a life at war. At war with the enemy of the kingdom of God. At war with the norms that are around me. At war with worldly desires within my own heart and fleshly body. The more that I pursue a life for Christ with the attitude and understanding of a soldier the better I will be prepared for this war.
Verse of the Day 