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Luke 21:1-4

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

Personal challenge

Giving to the church has sometimes been a reason that some people have given to me as to why they did not go to a church. The claim was that all the church did was ask for money. That is a funny excuse because that has not been my experience. And how is that any different than every single advertisement that we are bombarded with throughout our day. Granted, the church needs the giving from its membership in order to function in the world. But in most cases, the church desires our giving to be our choice. There is no required amount, like membership dues. Most importantly, what God desires is that we give with the right condition of our heart. We give out of our love for our God and a desire to give back a portion of that which He has blessed us with so that others can be blessed. The amount does not matter, but the intent does. The widow in this story pointed out by Jesus only gave a very small amount, maybe a penny or two, but Jesus indicated that she gave more than all of the wealthy contributors who gave large amounts. Why? Because she gave an abundance out of her pittance rather than a pittance out of her abundance She gave because she loved her God and not the attention that people would pay about her giving. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Land, have mercy!

Psalm 117 (116 LXX)

Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
Praise Him, all you peoples,
For His mercy rules over us;
And the truth of the Lord endures forever.

Encouraging Words

For centuries, even millennia, God’s chosen people of the Old Testament believed that only they could lay claim to God as their God. However, the prophets and teachers throughout the Old Testament proclaimed that God was the God of all mankind. This was a significant part of the ministry and teaching of Christ, to proclaim that all peoples had access to God through Him. Thank You, Lord Jesus Christ!

Proverbs 10:22 (10:23 LXX)

The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of a righteous man;
It enriches him, and grief of heart will not be added to it.

Encouraging Words

No one can be righteous on his own accord. We can, and should, strive to be righteous and godly in our lives, but it is God, through the work of Christ that bestows righteousness upon us. However, this does not stop us from pursuing righteousness and trying to be like Christ. And by doing this we are promised to be blessed by Him and that our hearts will be protected from grief. This is how we can truly live lives filled with joy. Glory be to God!

Luke 19:45-46

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”

Personal Challenge
So why was it so important for Jesus to clear out the courts of the temple? People needed animals to bring in for sacrifices. They needed to exchange their Roman money that had the graven image of Caesar on it for Jewish money that was “clean” for temple use. The message that Jesus was sending to everyone, including us today, is that the temple of God, our churches, and our own bodies, is no place for the business of the world to be conducted. We must strive to keep the ways of the world outside of our churches and keep them set apart for God so that they can do His work, His way, and be beacons of light to the lost world. We must strive to keep the world out of our hearts because they are the temple of God where Jesus lives. We too are supposed to be set apart for God. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Land, have mercy!

Psalms 116:1-2 (114:1–2 LXX)

I have loved, because the Lord Shall hear the voice of my supplication;
For He inclined His ear to me,

Proverbs 10:18 (10:20 LXX)

You will not escape sin by a multitude of words,
But you of discreet lips will be forbearing.

Personal Challenge

One of the parts of our bodies that gets us in more trouble than all of the other parts is our tongue. Any time that we say something to someone, those words become permanent and cannot be taken back. It is not a problem if the words spoken are loving, encouraging, and uplifting. Sometimes, however, even these words can be perceived by the recipient as mean-spirited depending on their own heart. Throughout the scriptures, both old and new, as well as many of the teachings of the Church fathers, we are instructed that minimizing the words that come out of our mouths can help to minimize arguments and upsets. This does not mean that we stop communicating altogether. It means that we develop discreet lips, lips that control what comes out of our mouths, lips that filter our thoughts so that we speak that which becomes more forbearing. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.

Luke 18:40-41

So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

Personal Challenge

Reading this passage out of the context of knowing who Jesus is could lead someone to think that Jesus did not know everything. Why would Jesus have to ask an obviously blind man what he wanted Jesus to do for him? What this passage reveals is that Jesus wants us to come to Him with our issues and tell Him what we are seeking from Him. He wants us to understand what our true needs are and to address those more than our desires and wants. Jesus is not some genie in a bottle. Jesus always knows what is best for us, but He also wants us to exercise our own free will in our relationship with Him and choose those things that He would choose for us. The more time that we spend with Him, listening to Him, obeying Him, doing His work, the easier it becomes to know what He desires for us. This is all part of our journey through life. This is what we call theosis, or growing in the image of Christ. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner and help me to choose You and Your ways over myself and the ways of the flesh.

Psalms 112:3

From the rising of the sun to its setting,
Praise the name of the Lord.

Personal Challenge

This verse can easily be viewed as a rigid commandment that we must follow. When we stop viewing our God as an angry and judgmental God our whole perspective about life and our relationship with Him changes. We do not do the things that we do for Him out of fear of retribution or the desire for recognition. We choose as a response to His great love and compassion for us to do those things that we know will please Him. We respond to His love in like manner, in love. This makes it much

easier, even in the midst of tough and challenging times, to praise the name of the Lord from the rising of the sun to its setting, When we find ourselves doing the work of God, saying our prayers, studying His teachings, being kind to our neighbor, feeding the poor, clothing the naked, helping the widow and the fatherless, out of a sense of compulsion or obligation, then we must stop and check the state of our heart and our relationship with our blessed Lord. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!