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Mark 8:34-35

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

Personal Challenge

In the Eastern Orthodox church, we have just started our journey into the lenten season. Our liturgies have started to focus more on the upcoming darkness of the death of our Lord on the vicious Roman cross. We have been here year after year, and yet we begin this journey knowing that this will be a time of personal sacrifice and the taking up of the cross for our Lord. I am sure that when the disciples first heard Jesus make this statement they were a little confused, The image of the cross for them was not an image of joy or peace or glory. In their day the Romans put many people to death on the cross. Jesus had not yet given up His life to the crowds, later to be beaten and crucified on the cross, later to arise from the grave victorious over death. So for them, I am sure they were wondering what cross Jesus was referring to. But we know! And we know that Jesus is telling us to lay aside everything that we hold dearly in this world and take up His cross, His passion, His expectations, and follow Him on the journey that He has planned for us. He is telling us that if we want to be like Him then we must die to this world and the things of this world. Only through that death can we begin to receive His life. And so, we enter into Lent, following in His footsteps, step by step shedding the things of the world so that we can enter into the brightness and joy of Pascha (Easter) unencumbered by the things and burdens of this world. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the Sinner!

Psalms 39:7 (38:8 LXX)

And now what is my patience?
Is it not the Lord?
And my support is from You.

Encouraging Words

Oh God, my God, who can I count on more than you? No one or no thing is more reliable than my God. As the Psalmist cries out in this Psalm in praise to our Lord so can I for I know that my patience with this life comes from my Lord. He provides all of the support that I will ever need to make it through each and every day. Glory be to God!

2 Chronicles 1:10-12

Give me wisdom and understanding, so that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can judge this great people of Yours?”

And God said to Solomon, “Because this was in your heart and you did not ask for riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor did you ask for long life, but you asked for wisdom and understanding for yourself, that you might judge My people over whom I made you king, now I will give you this wisdom and understanding. I will also give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings before you possessed, nor shall any after you possess.”

Personal Challenge

What would I ask for if I was granted the opportunity to ask for anything that I wanted? Would I ask for great wealth? Would I ask for power? This is a question that mankind has wrestled with since the beginning of time. Here we have Solomon who is given the opportunity by the God that he loves and that many generations before him have loved and served. He could ask for anything, but he asks for wisdom. He had come to know that the most important gift that we could ever ask for is God’s wisdom. As a reminder, the early church fathers equate wisdom in the Old Testament with Jesus Christ. So, indeed, the most valuable gift any of us could ask for is Jesus Christ, for through Him and the wisdom that He gives us we can thrive in our life here on earth. Glory be to God!

Mark 8:11-12

Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.”

Personal Challenge

“Why does this generation seek a sign?” The Pharisees would have had plenty of time to observe Jesus perform many of His miracles. They had every opportunity to know, not only what He was capable of doing, but also what He had done. Then why were they demanding that He show them a sign? They did not want to believe that He was the Messiah. They wanted to have a Messiah that fit their expectations. They did not want to give up their preconceptions and assumptions. Isn’t this very similar to what goes on today? So many people seem to be quite okay with fitting Jesus, our Messiah, into their own box and when they are pointed to the truth about who Jesus really is they get offended and start pushing back or calling us intolerant or obnoxious. The truth is, that we do not, and cannot, create our own definition of who Jesus is. It is our responsibility to yield to God and His definition of who He is. This is why He has given us the Church to do this for us. Glory be to God!

Psalms 37:23-24 (36:22-24 LXX)

For those who bless Him shall inherit the earth,
But those who curse Him shall be utterly destroyed.
The steps of a man are guided aright by the Lord,
And he shall desire His way.
When he falls, he shall not be broken to pieces,
or the Lord supports him with His hand.

Encouraging Words

So many people wonder why those of us who put our trust and our hope in our Lord do what we do. From a worldly point of view that makes a lot of sense. We would all be so much better off in this world if we did not give our tithes and offerings to our church. We would have so much more time in this world if we spent less time at church or in prayer and meditation. We would have so much more fun if we did the things of the world. But that is the entire point. When we chose to follow in the footsteps of our Lord, we left this world behind. Our eyes and heart are set on the kingdom to come. We are in the presence of our Lord and He is now guiding our paths. Glory be to God!

1 Chronicles 28:9

“And now, my son Solomon, know the God of your fathers, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing soul; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you forever.”

Encouraging Words

The belief that we have in our God is not some new religion or passing fad. Our God, Himself, goes back to the beginning of time, in other words, forever. The roots of our belief in Him, our faith in Him, goes back to the beginning of mankind, Adam and Eve. Our practices of worship, the teachings of our forefathers, and all that we follow comes from our fathers and the one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that they worshiped. With this as our history, we too can pick up where our ancestors left off and serve our God with a whole heart and a willing soul. By doing this the Lord will find our heart and souls focused on Him and as we seek Him, we well find Him. Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Mark 2:27-28

And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Personal Challenge

People are always looking for a concrete set of rules to follow. This way, we know where the limits are and also know what we can do that is not included in the rule set. It is so much easier to try to follow a clearly defined set of rules than it is a guideline such as, “Love your neighbor.” With something ambiguous like that we start asking all kinds of questions. Who is my neighbor? How much do I need to love them? What if they offend me? We so often seek the clarification to the point where we end up ignoring the original rule. In Jesus’ day, the leaders of the Jewish religion had taken this to the ultimate and set up so many rules. So many rules that no one could ever follow them. In this passage, they start throwing these manmade rules at Jesus and accusing Him of not being from God because He does not follow their rules. Jesus reminds them that He is the Creator. He was the one that originally gave the ten commandments to Moses. And as such, He is above all of these rules. It is His two commandments that we are now bound by. Love your God with all of your heart, soul, and body and love your neighbor as yourself. Our duty, my duty, is to put this into practice. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have Mercy on me, the sinner!

Psalms 37:16-19 (36:16-19 LXX)

Better the little with the just man
Than the great riches of sinners;
For the arms of sinners shall be shattered,
But the Lord supports the righteous.
The Lord knows the ways of the blameless,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
They shall not be ashamed in an evil time,
And in days of famine they shall be filled.

Encouraging Words

The Psalmist proclaims the promises of or Lord in this passage and reminds us that we too can proclaim our Lord and His blessings. Our Lord lifts up and supports those who strive to live righteous lives. He is active in the lives of those who desire to live blameless lives and try to follow in His footsteps. He gives to His children, an everlasting inheritance in His kingdom as He adopts them into His royal family. As His children pursue Him and attempt to follow His pathways, they will not be ashamed by the evil around them nor be affected by the famine of the land, the famine not only of our physical needs but of spiritual deserts of this fallen world. Living our lives this way shows us that it is better to live just lives and receive little from this world than to live sinful, worldly lives and receive much from the world in return. Our Father’s way of doing things, His economy, is so much different than the world’s. Glory be to God!