Author: David Short

Saint of the Week

St. John of Kronstadt

THE LORD IS WITH YOU

Judges 6:12

And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, mighty one of the armies!”

Encouraging Words

The “him” that is referred to in this verse is Gideon. Gideon lived in a time when his people were being oppressed by the people of Midia. He was hiding in a wine press and attempting to thresh some wheat for his starving people. He finds out tha he has been selected by God to lead his people out of this oppression and into the glory once promised to them. The early church fathers viewed Gideon as a prefiguration, or image, of Jesus Christ, who came to deliver His people from the oppression of sin and into the heavenly kingdom. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord have mercy!

BE CAREFUL AND DO HIS COMMANDMENTS

Joshua 22:5

“But be very careful to do the commandments and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you to do, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to adhere to Him, and to serve Him with all your mind and with all your soul.”

Personal Challenge

One of the fallacies in modern day Christian circles is that all that I need to do to be “saved” is to repeat a special prayer and I am done. It is true that we are redeemed by our belief in Christ, however, a critical part of our salvation is our sanctification in Christ. Here is a generic definition of this word:

Sanctification is the act of making something or someone holy, often understood as the process of growing in divine grace and moral purity, particularly in a Christian context. It involves being set apart for God’s special purpose and can refer to both a definitive act and a progressive journey of becoming more like Christ.

(Duck Duck Go Search assist)

In Eastern Orthodoxy, we often refer to this as theosis. The expection, as we see here in Joshua, is that my belief in God Christ in particular, is manifested by my actions. Being a Christian, a follower of Christ, is a verb and not a nown. We are to be careful in our life as we follow Jesus and do His commandments to love God and to love our neighbor. This is an active Christ-like life and not a passive one. It is action and not words or labels. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

STRONG AND COURAGEOUS

Joshua 1:6-9

“Be strong and courageous, for you will divide this land which I swore to your fathers to give them. Be strong, therefore, and courageous to guard yourself and to do as Moses My servant commanded you; then you will not turn away from them, to the right nor to the left. In this way, you will have understanding in whatever you do. The book of this law shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may have the understanding to do all the things written therein. Then you will both prosper, make your ways prosperous, and have understanding. Behold, I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be cowardly or fearful, for the Lord your God is with you in all things, wherever you go.”

Command with a Promise

Throughout the scriptures we find instructions of what
we are to do in our lives as followers of Christ which are followed with a promise of what the results will be for following those instructions. Once again, we can use this story of Joshua as an image for what we are to do. We are to be strong and courageous in our relationship with Christ as we strive to conquer sin in our lives. In this we turn from those things that will lead us astray and stay true to our calling. We can hold on to the teachings in the scriptures and the saints that have gone before us and claim the rewards of righteousness in Christ. We can do this through the help, grace, and mercy given to us by God. Glory be to Him!

NO OPPOSITION

Joshua 1:5

No man shall be able to oppose you all the days of your life, and as I was with Moses, thus I will be also with you. I will not forsake you nor disregard you.

Encouraging Words

Joshua has been considered a type, or image, of Christ in the Old Testament by the early church fathers. What does this mean? We are to look at the stories about him and his life and how they point us to the reality of Christ. Here, Moses is a representation of the old covenant, which is the law. He cannot enter into the new kingdom and is handing the baton to Joshua to conquer the new land that was promised to His children. He represents the image of the new covenant moving forward. That image points to Christ, the new covenant, who has conquered death, and is continuing to conquer sin for us as He builds His new kingdom. This is the story behind the story! Glory be to God!

GOD IS WITH US – IMMANUEL

Deuteronomy 31:23

Then Moses commanded Joshua the son of Nun and said, “Be valiant and strong; for you shall bring the sons of Israel into the land the Lord swore to them; and He shall be with you.”

Encouraging Words

Some may ask what this Old Testament verse has to do with us today. Everything! Moses sent Joshua into the promised land to claim it, occupy it, and help it to grow for God. The imagery of this applies to all of us who are followers of Christ. We are encouraged to be valiant and strong as we conquer the sinful desires of our hearts and go into the promised land of eternity that God has set aside for us. Jesus promised to be with us every moment of our walk with Him. He is Immanuel, which translated means God with us. It is not about militantly conquering others. It is about fighting our internal spiritual battles to become more righteous and more in the image of Christ…our theosis. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Saint of the Week

St. Gregory the Great

“It is better that scandals arise than THE TRUTH be suppressed”

NO FEAR

Deuteronomy 31:8

‘But the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not be afraid, nor be terrified.”

Encouraging Words

As followers of Christ, we can choose to live our lives with no fear. We trust, by faith, that God exists and will honor His commitment to be there for us. As for me, I can acknowledge that for my 72 years here on this earth, I have seen His hand at Work in my life more times than I can count. It is evidence that continues to shore up my faith. Thanks be to God!

BE VALIANT AND STRONG

Deuteronomy 31:6

“Be valiant and strong, do not fear nor be afraid of them, nor be terrified before them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes before you and with you and among you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

Encouraging Words

Throughout the Scriptures we are encouraged to be strong and to not worry about the things of this temporal life that might happen to us. How do we do this as followers of Christ? We start by not putting our hope in people or institutions of this world. We put our hope in God, believing that He goes before us, walks with us, dwells with us, and will never leave or forsake us. We believe this and live our lives accordingly. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me, the sinner!

ACCEPTING THE MYSTERIES

Deuteronomy 29:28

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Personal Challenge

One of the most comforting phrases that I heard when I converted from Protestantism to Eastern Orthodoxy is, “It’s a mystery. “. As a people who have of grown up in the Age of Reason, we have embedded in us the mindset that everything has an explanation. As followers of Christ, we can comfortably accept that God knows things the we do not and that is okay. God will always know more than we do. He is God and we are not. So when it comes to how does the trinity, one God and three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, work? It’s a mystery. How does the eucharist become, actually become, the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ: It’s a mystery. When will be the end of times with Jesus returning? It’s a mystery. We believe all of this, and much more, trusting that God knows and that that is enough. Glory be to God!