Category: Uncategorized

WHO IS JESUS?

1 John 4:15-16

Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.

Personal Challenge

The Christian faith practices of today have so many different definitions of what it means to be saved, or a Christian. Ultimately, only God knows the true nature of each of our hearts and who will be saved by Him. In the Eastern Orthodox faith practice we believe that no one “deserves” salvation. We are all separated by our sins from our God. Throughout our worship and prayers we consistently call out “Lord, have mercy!”, hoping in the grace and mercy of our God and that He will count us amongst the sheep of His flock. As part of the hope we acknowledge Jesus is the Son of God, that by this acknowledgement God remains in us and we in Him, that God loves us, and that God will love us even in our imperfections. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

OUR SACRIFICE

Daniel 3:40

So let this be our sacrifice before You today,
And may it be accomplished for those who follow You;
For there is no shame for those who trust in You.

Personal Challenge

So, what is this sacrifice that is being given to God? Azariah was one of the three young men who were thrown into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar. They had refused to worship him and his statue. God protected them in the furnace as they were joined by Jesus in His preincarnate form. These young men were willing to stand firm in their belief in their God and to accept any consequences for that behavior. This is the sacrifice that we as followers of Christ are called to make as well. It is an all or nothing commitment to follow Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

THIS IS LOVE

1 John 4:10-12

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

Personal Challenge

The true definition of love is epitimized in God’s love for mankind. He sent His son to live and die for us so that we could participate in the death of death. God wants us to love others this way, giving our lives for another. By living this way, people will see and recognize God through our loving behavior. Glory be to God!

Saint of the Week

St. Joseph the Hesychast

A GOD IN THE HEAVENS

Daniel 3:16-18

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “We have no need to answer you in regard to this thing. For there is a God in the heavens, whom we serve, and He is able to save us from the burning fiery furnace; and He will deliver us from your hands, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image you set up.”

Personal Challenge

As followers of Christ we can stand firm in our faith because we know that we are not alone. We believe in our God who is in heaven who is able to save us, no matter what the situation is. We are comfortable with the truth that our salvation may include the end of our physical life, which is okay. We know that we are not alone because of the myriad of saints that have before us, standing firm in their faith, giving their lives for our God, and receiving the prize that God had for them and has for the rest of us who follow Him. We are not afraid to stand up for our belief and stand firm on the promises of God. Glory be to Him!

OVERCOMERS

1 John 4:4

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them (spirits of the world), because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (Items in italics mine.)

Personal Challenge

As the modern church becomes more aligned with the world we will also see more alignment with spirits that are not of God. First of all, God’s Church, His body of believers, which is spread across all nations and denominations will always stay true to Him and never be defeated. It is the manmade churches that have tainted His teachings that are straying from Him. Second, and must important, God’s Church, the Bride of Christ, will overcome the world and remain true to her Groom until they are united in eternity. This overcoming is possible because He who is in us, our Groom, is greater then he who is in the world. Glory be to God!

ALL SHALL COME TO AN END

Daniel 2:45

“Whereas you saw the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, it ground to powder the clay, the iron, the copper, the silver, and the gold. Thus the great God has made known to the king what must come to pass after this. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

Encouraging Words

We live in a temporal (temporary) world. As followers of Christ, we believe this and set our hearts and minds on the future, eternal world. We do this, all the while, remembering that we have been placed here in order to represent our Lord and point others to Him. This entails living in such a way that we bless those around us and make this temporal world a better place. We live for our Lord today with our hopes set on tomorrow. When He is ready, He will usher in that new world. Glory be to God!

ACTIVE LOVE

1 John 3:18

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

Personal Challenge

When did it become acceptable to be a follower of Christ in word only? We wear our crosses and our Jesus T-shirts and expect people to treat us as special people. We talk about Jesus as we do our favorite movie or car and expect people to flock to Him. We do this, all the while being mean and nasty to our neighbors. Being a follower of Christ means being an active lover of our fellow human being, which means taking care of them, investing in their lives, showing the love of Christ to them. Anything short of that is false Christianity. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

DECISIONS! DECISIONS!

Susanna 13:22-23 (LXX only)

Then Susanna sighed deeply and said, “I am hemmed in on all sides, for if I do this thing, it is death for me; yet if I do not, I will not escape your hands. But it is better for me not to do it and to fall into your hands, than to sin against the Lord.”

Personal Challenge

Sometimes we are placed in what appears to be no win situations. In this passage, Susanna, a beautiful young woman is placed in that kind of dilemma. Two elders that have been lusting after her have told her that she either give herself to them or they will lie to the rest of the community and say that she was caught with a young man. Either way, she was sincerly compromised. She chose the right way, the moral high road, and determined that it would be better to take her chances defending herself against the lies rather than compromise her purity. Read the whole story to see what happens. Today, we are seeing this kind of dilemma playing out all across our country as we deal with corrupt leadership that is forcing people to lie or lose their jobs. We need to be praying for, and supporting, these people. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord have mercy!

Saint of the Week

St. Isaac the Syrian