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1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.

Personal Challenge

Our fallen, human nature leads us to be self-focused and self-serving. Our Lord calls us to be like Him, loving. In order to do this, we must watch ourselves and all that is going on around us, lest we fall to the worldly temptations. We must stand fast in the faith that He has planted within us and be brave and strong as we stand contrary to the ways of the world. And by doing this we do all that we do with love for our God and others. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Isaiah 26:2-4

Open the gates; let the people enter who keep righteousness and guard the truth, and who lay hold of the truth and keep peace, because they hope forever in You, O Lord, the great and eternal God,

Encouraging Words

The gates of heaven, eternal life, are opened through the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has both opened the gate and become the gate by which we can become joint heirs in the kingdom of God, something that no man on woman or principality can ever take from us. Glory be to God!

1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Personal Challenge

The life of a follower of Christ is not a passive life. We are expected to labor aboundingly in the work of the Lord. We do this knowing that none of our work, no matter how big or how small, is ever done in vain. With our Lords’ help, we can remain steadfast and immovable in our love for Him. Glory be to God.

1 Corinthians 14:33a

For God is not the author of confusion but of peace,

Encouraging Words

God is the author of peace. He is not the creator or author of confusion or disarray. We can look at the order of how His creation works and functions. We can apply this to every aspect of our lives, whether it be that which is going on in our heads and hearts or that which is going on around us in the world. If we find that we are encountering confusion or disarray we can turn to Him and seek His peace to sort things out and to give us His peace. Glory be to God!

Isaiah 9:6

Great shall be His government, and of His peace there is no end. His peace shall be upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order and establish it with righteousness and judgment, from that time forward and unto ages of ages. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.

Encouraging Words

One of the problems with taking the scripture in with only a literal translation is that you miss out on so many of the other teachings and meanings that our God wants us to receive from His living word. This verse is a great example of that. So many people see this as some future kingdom that Jesus will set up some day in the distant future. This is part of the promise of this prophecy, but Jesus Himself said that His Kingdom had arrived when He arrived. He also told us that He gives us His peace. So rereading this verse with that perspective in mind it is easy to see that His government is already great. His Church has been strong and growing for 2,000 years. There is no end to the peace that He bestows on His followers if we choose to accept it and let it permeate our lives. There is an order established in our world based on righteousness and godly judgment by the Church, the Bride, that He established. His Kingdom was established 2,000 years ago and we are members of it. Glory be to God!

1 Corinthians 13:1-8, 13

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Personal Challenge

This may be one of the most complete definitions of love. There is nothing that I could add to this passage except a prayer for forgiveness. I desire to be loved this way and to love others this way, and yet I find myself far short of loving others, even those closest to me this way. And it is for this that I seek forgiveness, both from my God and those in my life whom I should be loving this way. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Isaiah 6:8-10

I also heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people?” Then I said, “Behold, here am I, send me.” So He said, “Go, and tell this people, ‘You shall hear indeed, but not understand; and you shall see indeed, but not perceive.’ For the heart of this people has become insensitive, and their ears hear with difficulty. They have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return, and I should heal them.”

Personal Challenge

The portion of this passage that usually stands out to me is Isaiah’s willingness to be used by His God. I always have to ask myself if I would be this willing. However, today the part of the passage that struck me, is the description of the people that Isaiah is going to go preach to, God’s chosen people. They are described as having insensitive hearts toward God and their neighbor, people who know God but have chosen to close their ears and eyes to what their God would say to them and show them. As I read this I must ask myself if I am becoming this way. Am I developing an insensitive heart toward both God and my fellow human being? Am I choosing to close of my eyes and ears to what God is asking of me so that I can do my own thing? Lord, have mercy! Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

1 Corinthians 12:7-11

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Personal Challenge

We are not alone. We are part of a bigger group. In Orthodoxy, we believe that our salvation can only be worked out within a community of fellow believers, our local parish or church. It is in this setting that we have others that can model godly behaviors for us. It is here that we are stretched and challenged, guided and disciplined, and free to exercise the gifts of the Holy Spirit that have been bestowed upon us. This is why so many of our prayers speak of “we” and “us”. Glory be to God!