Author: David Short

Judith 5:20-21

“Now my lord and master, if there is any sin of ignorance in this people and they sin against their God, then we will identify their offense and will go up to defeat them. But if there is no lawlessness in their nation, then let my lord leave them alone, lest their Lord shield them, and their God defend them, and we will become a reproach before the whole earth.”

Personal Challenge

Achior wan an Ammonite conscripted by the Assyrian army to betray the Israelites. These were vicious times and army commanders like Holefernes were relentless in conquering people. Achior made this statement about the Israelites in order to warn the attackers that the God of Israel was invincible and that if His people were being true to Him, then they would be invincible as well. He was trying to save them from becoming is a reproach in front of the entire world of that day. We too can avoid becoming a reproach in our lives by staying true to our God. The choice is ours. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Luke 6:45

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Personal Challenge

That which comes out of our mouths truly reveals what is in our hearts. It is indeed possible to maintain a facade and convince those around us that we are good and godly people…for a while. Only if what we are presenting is what is within our hearts will we no longer be presenting a facade but our true representation. Do we make snide remarks? Do we put others down jokingly? Are use constantly complaining? Are we really grumpy and lacking joy? Do we demean others? What comes out of our mouths is what is present in our hearts. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Saint of the Week

Elder Nektary of Optina

Luke 6:46

But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?

Personal Challenge

Am I consistently doing what Jesus commanded me to do? Am I loving God in such a way that I put Him before my desires and even my needs? Am I loving my neighbor as I love myself? These can be very sobering questions if I truly search my heart and my actions as I strive to answer them. If I cannot answer each of them with a resounding “Yes!”, then I must question whether or not I can proclaim to those around me that I am a follower of Christ. This is the most important are if hypocrisy for me to be examining. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Tobit 12:8-9

Prayer is good with fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. A few prayers with righteousness are better than many with wrongdoing. It is better to do almsgiving than to lay up gold. For almsgiving rescues one from death, and it will wash away every sin. Those who do almsgiving and are righteous will be full of life.

Personal Challenge

In the Eastern church and much of the Western church we are in the end stretch of this year’s Lenten season. This year the two calendars are only one week apart. What do we do during Lent? We are asked to spend more time in prayer and do more fasting and almsgiving. For many this is perceived as living a life based on works. This could not be farther away from the truth. We choose to do prayer, fasting, and almsgiving because we are grateful for what God has done for us through His Son and we desire to be more like Christ and closer to God. We do this because we want to bring the desires and passions of the flesh under control and live lives worthy of our God. We do this out of love for Him. Glory be to God!

Luke 6:41-42

And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Personal Challenge

Jesus continues His teaching on our behavior in relationships by telling us that it is not our responsibility correcting another in their sin. We must focus on resolving and eliminating the sin in our own lives before we focus on calling out someone else’s sin. This does not mean that we stop being there for one another and loving them through the midst of their trials. If we are to be “fixing” anyone, it is ourselves that we should be focusing on. By doing this we are freed up to be able to encourage another. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Tobit 12:6-7

Then Raphael secretly called the two of them, and said to them, “Bless God and give Him thanks. Ascribe greatness to Him and give thanks in the presence of all the living for what He has done for you. It is good to bless God and to exalt His name. Make known the words of God’s works honorably and do not delay to give thanks to Him. It is noble to keep hidden the secret of a king, but glorious to unveil the works of God. Do good, and evil will not find you.

Encouraging Words

The book of Tobit is an excellent reminder that no matter what the circumstances are that we are facing in our lives, we can always trust in God. He will always be there with us and for us. Unfortunately, most western Christians have never seen Tobit since it is an apocryphal book. In this passage we are reminded that sometimes God sends angels into our lives to guide us through our challenges. This angel, Raphael, teaches Tobit and his son, Tobias, to always give God thanks and blessings for how much He does in our lives. Glory be to God!

Luke 6:38

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Personal Challenge

How interesting it is that the last verse that I meditated on from Tobit focused on giving and then this verse is next in line. Definitely not a coincidence. Here Jesus is teaching us one of God’s natural laws. We are measured in what we receive from God by what we give to others. If we give abundantly then we receive abundantly. If we give abundantly, then we receive abundantly. If we give begrudgingly, then we receive the same. This law works both in the giving of good things as well as in the giving of bad things. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me, the sinner!