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Romans 11:33-36

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord?Or who has become His counselor?Or who has first given to HimAnd it shall be repaid to him?”

For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Encouraging Words

One of the beautiful things that I have been able to learn since I converted to Eastern Orthodoxy is that the more I learn about God and the closer that I get to Him, the more I realize how much I do not know about Him and the farther away from Him that I really am from Him. This is because He is so great and so expansive and I am so finite. For the last 2,000 years, our church fathers have taught, and continue to teach, that our journey to knowing God will be eternal and that we will only scratch the surface of who He is. The humbling part of this is that even though he is God and so far beyond what we will ever know, He became a human being so that we could become one with Him. Thank You, oh my God!

Sirach 34:13-14

The spirit of those who fear the Lord will live,
For their hope is in Him who saves them.
He who fears the Lord will fear nothing,
And he will not be cowardly, for the Lord is his hope.

Encouraging Words

It is not our faith, our hope, in Jesus that saves us and guides us through life. It is the One whom we put that faith and hope in that saves us. Jesus is our Lord and Savior. He is our benefactor. Through Jesus, we can do anything and have no Fear of anyone or anything. Through Him, we have eternal life. Through Him, we can live joyful lives. Glory be to God!

Romans 10:14-15

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Personal Challenge

Our salvation, our life in Christ, does not stop the moment that we put our faith in Christ. It all starts there. Our salvation is worked out as we live our lives for our Lord. One area that we can live our life for Christ is by sharing Him with those around us. We are not saved to be silent. We are saved to proclaim from the rooftops that Jesus is Lord. Glory be to God!

Sirach 33:13

All His ways are according to His good pleasure.
Like clay in a potter’s hand,
Thus men are in the hand of Him who made them,
To render to them according to His judgment.

Romans 10:8-13

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Personal Challenge

Our challenge in our journey of salvation in Christ does not begin and end with a profession of faith. Our salvation comes from receiving Christ with our whole heart and being, putting our faith in Him alone, and living our lives in ways that honor and glorify Him. Our salvation is worked out in our lives as we give our selves over to Him and let Him change us into His image. We become different than we were before our confession of faith. We become different than the rest of the world around us. We give up our citizenship in this world and seize our citizenship in heaven. We are put to death in our baptism and live the remainder of our lives here on earth as the walking dead because we are now alive in Christ. Glory be to God!

Sirach 32:23-24

In every work entrust your soul to the Lord,
For this is the keeping of the commandments.
He who believes in the Law heeds the commandments,
And he who trusts in the Lord will not suffer loss.

Personal Challenge

I remember when I was young and getting to the age where I could start working for a wage, my Father taught me that I was not working for the person paying me, but for God. He drilled into me, and my siblings, that God was my ultimate employer. With that thought in mind, then my work should be above and beyond just getting by. Whether I was mowing the lawn (my first job), hoeing weeds in the walnut orchard (my first fulltime summer job), selling shoes and doing janitorial work (my first non-agricultural job, or now being a professional employee working in information technology for 40 years), it is both my responsibility and my privilege to show who my God is to those around me by my work ethic. It is sad to see that this is no longer important to most people. Even in the church, we see that people have given up doing what they do as if they are doing it to the Lord. Why is this? You would think that in the church everyone would want to glorify the Lord in what they do, whether it be cleaning the carpet, teaching a Sunday school class, or just being nice to one another Is it because we have taken Jesus out of our lives and replaced Him with ourselves? Lord have mercy! Lord, have Mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Romans 8:35-39

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Encouraging Words

Nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from Gods’ love. Even if a person chooses to reject God, that does not eliminate God’s love for them. God so loved the entire world, His entire creation, so much throughout the past, the present, and the future, that He was willing to give up His only begotten son so that it all might have true Life. What more can we hope for than this? Glory be to God!

Sirach 32:14-17

The man who fears the Lord will receive instruction,
And those who rise early will find His approval.
He who seeks the Law will be filled with it,
But the hypocrite will be made to stumble by it.
Those who fear the Lord will discover judgment,
And like the light they will kindle righteous deeds.
A sinful man will turn aside correction
And find a rationalization according to his will.

Personal Challenge

Living a godly and righteous life is not easy, partly because of the fallen world around us, but mostly because of our own strong-willed, defiant hearts. If we desire to glorify our God and grow in His image, then here are some instructions to help us do that. Fear the Lord and receive His instruction. Spend time with Him to start our days off. Seek His teachings and let them fill our minds and hearts. Relish in His judgments and discipline. God desires the best for us, but we must be willing to pursue Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy? Lord, have mercy!