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Exodus 3:5

So He said, “Do not come any closer. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”

Encouraging Words

I have always perceived this verse as calling out how holy God is and the need for me to humble myself when I come into His presence. In this case, this is done be Moses removing His shoes so that he can stand on holy ground. But there is another aspect to this action as well, Here is the note on this verse from the Orthodox Study Bible:

3:5 Moses was to remove his sandals. This indicates that nothing dead is to stand between God and man, for He is the God of the living (AmbM).

This note comes from the teachings of Ambrose of Milan, one of our early church fathers. Here I am being taught that my relationship with God can be so intimate that He wants nothing to come between Him and me. In this case, He is asking Mose to remove his sandals, which are from a dead animal, so that he can stand on the holy ground, touching it with his flesh. This could also apply to the need to take off other items that are dead in order to be fully in God’s presence. Sin is one of those garments that I wear that must be taken off and discarded through the blood of Christ so that I can stand in the presence of God. Glory be to God!

Matthew 6:14-15

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Personal Challenge

So reading this passage brings to my mind the question, “ls God’s love conditional?” Clearly, the answer to this question is a resounding, “No!”. God’s love is not conditional. Throughout the scriptures and the teachings of our church fathers, it is very clear that God loves us unconditionally, without a doubt and without any limitations. However, what this passage teaches, as well as others, is that God’s forgiveness of my sins is conditional. What? ls this heresy? It is not. Jesus teaches us that forgiveness is cooperative. I must go to God, confess my sin, seek forgiveness, and repent in order to receive His forgiveness. And, as this passage teaches, if I am unwilling to give my neighbor forgiveness when they have offended me, then the forgiveness that I am seeking from God will be hindered. How can this be? God is all powerful, isn’t we? He can overrule my unforgiveness, can’t He? Yes, in both cases, but if I am holding out on forgiving another, most likely my heart has become hardened and I am not really going to God to seek forgiveness of my own sins. Here is where that cooperative part kicks in. I must be willing to love my neighbor enough to forgive them, otherwise, I am not loving God enough to seek His forgiveness. If I cannot humble myself before another enough to forgive them, then I will not be willing to humble myself before God to seek, and receive, His forgiveness, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Genesis 24:8

And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.”

Encouraging Words

One of the teachings of the Orthodox Church that I have come to thoroughly appreciate is that of free will. From the very beginning of creation, God created us with the ability to choose freely. He does not set up things around us to force us to choose Him or His ways. He does not make up our minds for us because He wants us to choose Him. We are not destined to be sinners because Adam and Eve chose to sin. Sin entered the world because of their choice. therefore creating an environment where it is easier to sin. But because I have free will, I can choose whether or not to sin, and believe me, I usually choose wrongly more often than not. But God is still there loving me through the consequences. In this verse, we are clearly shown that Rebekah had a choice that she could make. She could refuse to accept the offer to marry Isaac and return to his homeland, This is shown throughout the scriptures even up to Mary having the choice of whether on not to be the mother of our Lord. We still have the right and the ability to choose. Glory be to God!

Matthew 5:37

But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Personal Challenge
The concept of relativity has worked its way into every aspect of our lives in this generation. Even in the broader, modern church, there is a great departure from absolutes, from right and wrong, sin and behavior that is accepted. Truth as an absolute is not tolerated by those who tell everyone around them to be tolerable. Jesus told us to be people of our word, to speak truthfully and boldly, and to stand by what we say. In this age that is more driven by the sarcasm of Jerry Seinfeld or the Simpsons we have come to accept demeaning, snarky remarks and putdowns followed with the flippant, “Just kidding!” as the normal way to talk to, or about people. This is really not acceptable in the kingdom of God. We are commanded to love our neighbor, to put them before ourselves, and to edify them in our thoughts, words, and actions. These two lifestyles do not work together. We must take back the concept of civility with our tongues, or the keyboards in today’s “Social Media” world, by speaking the truth in love and respect for our fellow human. Especially when we claim to be followers of Christ. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me, the sinner!

Psalms 9:10 (9:11 LXX)

And let those who know Your name put their hope in You;
For You, O Lord, do not forsake those who seek You.

Encouraging Words

There we go again… the random choice of my Verse of the Day brought up Psalm 9:11 (LXX) on the 15th anniversary of September 11, 2001. And what a verse this is for today. Our Living God is surely the one whom we can put our hope in, our entire hope. For He will never forsake us. Even if the events in this physical, temporal world entirely consume us, our God will never forsake us and will be with us to the end of eternity. Memory Eternal!

Genesis 22:10-12

Then Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” He then replied, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him, for now I know you fear God, since for My sake you have not spared your beloved son.”

Encouraging Words

So, why in the world would a loving God tell an old man like Abraham to kill his only son? That doesn’t sound too loving, does it? Was he just testing Abraham? Maybe, but that also doesn’t sound very loving. I am sure that there are many reasons why God took Abraham down this path. I do not understand the mysteries of God and know that I never will unless He chooses to share them with me. One thing that is clear though, when one studies the life of Abraham. He was a godly and righteous man. He was saved by his belief in God even before the Law was given and before Jesus was incarnated. But his faith looked to that day when mankind would be redeemed by God and given passage back into a promised land. Is it not possible that God gave Abraham this opportunity to demonstrate not only to himself but to all of mankind after him, that God would someday send us His only begotten Son, and that He would bind His Son’s hands and feet to the cross, and sacrifice Him so that death could be put death? Abraham was able to see the fulfilment of his faith in this prefiguration of the death and resurrection of God’s son. Glory be to God!

Matthew 5:23-24

Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Personal Challenge

The Church was created to be the Bride of Christ and to be a community that lived in unity. Christ prayed that we would live together in harmony and unity. Paul did the same. They both knew that the propensity of our fallen state would push us to division and disunity. in my recent readings about Polycarp, one of our early church fathers who was discipled by the Apostle John, he wrote about how much differently the dioceses of his day practiced fasting. He articulated that it was imperative to respect the customs of each other that was passed down by the different leaders of the church and that unity was most important. In this passage, Jesus puts the burden on me to recognize if there is a division between me and a brother or sister. If I find one, no matter how small or large, then I must go and initiate reconciliation and unity… no matter who is in the right. Without doing this I cannot truly worship. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Psalms 9:1-2 (9:2-3 LXX)

For the End; concerning the hidden things of the Son; a psalm of David.
I will give thanks to You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your wondrous things;
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Encouraging Words

Psalm 9 was written to account for the judgment of our Lord that is to come in the last days. What is so powerful about these verses that start off this psalm on judgment is the praise that the psalmist lifts up to our Lord. Even though God has the right to condemn us all because none of us has ever measured up to His righteous, He still chose to give us a way to cover up our sins and to be wiped clean of on transgressions. He has given us an eternal ark that will carry us through the tempest of life. He has given us His Son who broke down the gates of eternal judgments which is hell and eternal separation from God and freed us from the death that would have held us there. Jesus is our salvation. He is the coat around us that saves us from the judgment that the psalmist saw coming. Jesus is our Lord, our Savior our Helper, and our protector. Glory be to God!