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Sirach 3:18-19

The greater you are, the more humble you must be,
And you will find grace before the Lord;
Because great is the power of the Lord,
And He is honored by the humble.

Personal Challenge

It is our human nature to strive to do well, to be great at what we do. Unfortunately, our cultural expectation is that the better I get at what I do, the more people should honor me, respect me, pay me for that greatness. This is evidenced all around us in our professional athletes, our politicians, those in the entertainment world, and our workplaces. In many cases, it has even made it into our churches. However, the scriptures inform us that the greater we are in our accomplishments, the more humble we must become if we are to find grace in our Lord. To receive His grace to its fullest extent we need to humble ourselves before Him and our fellow man. Once again, the teachings of our Lord

are so contrary to the ways of man but isn’t this what He did for us. He humbled himself being the eternal Son of God and became incarnate in the very essence of that which He created so that He might save us from the grip that death had on us. That is the ultimate gift of love and humility. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Acts 17:28

for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

Encouraging Words
The scriptures start off in Genesis with the creation story. The most valuable part of that story is the truth that we were all created in the image of God. Jesus, the pre-incarnate Son of God, was active in our creation. It is His image that we have been created, and because of this, we have Him within us. As Luke says in the Book of Acts, “for in Him we live and have our being,” we are His children, His offspring and through Him being in us we have the opportunity to be like Him, if only we will seek His presence within us with all of our hearts, Glory be to God!

Sirach 2:1-6

My son, if you draw near to serve the Lord,
Prepare your soul for temptation.
Set your heart right and be steadfast,
And do not strive anxiously in distress.
Cleave to Him and do not fall away,
That you may be honored at the end of your life.
Accept whatever is brought upon you,
And in exchange for your humiliation, be patient;
Because gold is tested in fire
And acceptable men in the furnace of abasement.
Believe in Him, and He will help you;
Make your ways straight and hope in Him.
And acceptable men in the furnace of abasement.
Believe in Him, and He will help you;
Make your ways straight and hope in Him.

Personal challenge

Sirach is reminding us that if our desire is to draw near to our Lord and serve Him, then temptations will come our way to try to prevent us from doing that. We must remain diligent and shore up our own heart for the onslaught. Part of our dealing with this is holding on to Him even tighter. Another part is accepting the struggles that come our way for what they are and continue to press forward. He will be there along the way to help us. Glory be to God!

Acts 17:6

But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”

Personal Challenge

Jason and some of his friends were dragged before the magistrates of the city because of their affiliation with Paul and Silas. The accusation was that they had turned the world upside down by their preaching about Jesus. So, here are the questions that I must ask myself. Am I living my life for Christ in such a way that I could be accused of turning the world upside down? Am I hanging out with the kind of people that could be accused of doing the same? If Jesus is truly the center of my life then I should be able to answer these questions affirmatively. If I cannot answer these questions with a, “Yes!”, then it is time that I step up and start living my life for Christ. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Sirach 1:20-21

A patient man will hold fast until the proper time,
Then afterwards gladness shall burst forth for him.
He shall conceal his words until the proper time,
And the lips of many will tell of his understanding.

Personal Challenge

I think every person desires to be perceived as a person of understanding. It appears that it is part of our nature. We often get caught up in the trap of believing that this perception comes from showing everybody around us how much we know. In reality, this usually ends up showing the opposite. We are told here in Sirach that our ability to understand that which is going on around us and how much wisdom we have related to that understanding usually shows forth in our patience, in our ability to remain silent in the midst of the chaos until the right time to speak up. This is the sign of true wisdom. Holding fast until the proper time always produces joy and gladness. Glory be to God!

Acts 16:25

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

Personal Challenge

Once again, we see saints from our past showing us how to respond to adversity. Paul and Silas had just been unjustly tried for following and proclaiming Jesus. They had been beaten and chained in stocks within the community prison. Rather than being all despondent and angry at those who had mistreated them, they immediately broke out in prayers and singing hymns. They were praising their loving God for allowing them to be witnesses for their Lord and Savior. They were also being witnesses to their fellow prisoners and the jail keeper that our joy in our Lord far surpasses any consequences that the world around us may try to oppress us with. God wants us to be joyful in Him no matter what the world throws at us. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have Mercy on me, the sinner!

Sirach 1:16

The fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom,
Making peace and soundness of health to flourish.

Encouraging Words

Aren’t we all seeking peace and sound­ness of health in our lives.? Well, here is an age-old prescription for that. Rather than pursuing earthly wealth and earthly knowledge, we should be pursuing the wisdom that our Lord will give us, that wisdom which will only come from Jesus, who is Wisdom incarnated. Then We must treat that Wisdom with the awe and respect the fear) that is deserved. What we recede in return is peace and soundness of health in our lives. Glory be to God.

English – Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!
Chinese – 基督復活了！事實上，他復活了！
Serbian – Hristos vaskrse! VAISTINU VASKRSE !
Haitian Creole – Kris la resisite! Vreman vre li leve!
Irish – Críost aiséirithe ! Go deimhin tá sé ardaigh !
Spanish – Cristo ha resucitado! Verdaderamente, ha resucitado!
Thai – Phra khris̄t̒ ca pheìm k̄hụ̂n! Thæ̂cring phraxngkh̒ thrng pĕn k̄hụ̂n!
Arabic – Al-Masih-Qam! Hakkan Qam!
Armenian – K’ristos yareaw ! Iskapes Na harut’yun arrav :
Eskimo Aleut – Kristus aq ungwektaq! Pichinuq ungwektaq!
Ethiopian – Christos Tenestaul! Awon Tenestaul!
Georgian – Kriste aghsdga! Cheshmaritad aghsdga!
German – Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden!
Greek – Christos Anesti! Aleithos Anesti!
Hawaiian – Ua ala hou ´o kristo! Ua ala ´i ´o no ´oia!
Japanese – Kirisuto wa yomigaetta! Hontōni kare wa umaremashita!
Korean – Kristo Gesso Buhwal ha sho sumnida! Chamuro Buhwal ha sho sumnida!
Latin – Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere!
Macedonian – Hristos voskresna! Navistina, toj e voskresnat!
Romanian – Hristos a înviat! Adevărat a înviat!
Russian – Khristos Voskrese! Voistinu Voskrese!
Swahili – Kristo Amefufukka! Kweli Amefufukka!