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2 Corinthians 4:1

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.

Personal Challenge

Where I put my focus, my thoughts, and my energy is where I will be drawn. If I only focus on the challenges and difficulties of life, then they will dominate my thoughts and ultimately my attitudes and behaviors. However, God has poured out His grace on me. He has loved me dearly and given me all that I need to press through these challenges and difficulties. If I focus on Him and His grace and mercy then this is what will dominate my life. Glory be to God!

Ezra 2:2 (1 Esdras 2:2)

Thus says Cyrus the king of the Persians: Israel’s Lord, the Lord Most High, revealed and indicated to me, the king of the inhabited world, that I should build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judea.

Personal Challenge

Sometimes we Christians get prideful and boast that only we can communicate with God and hear back from Him. In this verse, we are told that God clearly communicated to someone “outside of the faith” and that they listened to Him. God can, and will, do whatever He wants to. He is the Lord Most High and knows the true state of our hearts and whether or not He can use us to build His kingdom. My responsibility in all fo this is to prepare my heart so that He can use me, be obedient to Him and love Him and my neighbor, and trust that all truth is His truth and the even those who do not appear in my eyes to love Him may have some of that truth. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

1 Corinthians 1:10

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Personal Challenge

Both Jesus and Paul iterated multiple times that we are to strive for unity in the body of Christ. If we were to do this on all accounts then the church would be so different than the rest of the world that we would not be able to have enough buildings to contain all that would want to join us. On the contrary, we have perfected division and disunity to the point that we accuse other believers of not being Christians over very petty differences. The enemy has sucked us into his net of discord. It is our responsibility, and therefore also my responsibility, to sow seeds of love and unity so that the body of Christ may be healed and reunited. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Luke 3:21-22

When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

Encouraging Words

Why did Jesus get baptized? He didn’t have sin in His life to be cleansed. Was it just to establish a symbol for us to identify with? No! Today the Orthodox Christians that follow the new calendar around the world are celebrating Theophany (God revealed), which is the blessing of water by our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a wonderful feast celebration full of teaching and remembrance. The Orthodox Study Bible sums up the purpose of this event very well:

Jesus Himself does not need baptism. In being baptized, our Lord accomplished several things:(1) He affirmed John’s ministry; (2) He was revealed by the Father and the Holy Spirit to be the Christ, God’s beloved Son; (3) He identified with His people by descending into the waters with them; (4) He prefigured His own death, giving baptism its ultimate meaning; (5) He entered the waters, sanctifying the water itself; (6) He fulfilled the many types given in the OT, as when Moses led the people from bondage through the Red Sea (Ex 14) and when the ark of the covenant was carried into the Jordan so the people could enter the Promised Land (Jos 3; 4); and (7) He opened heaven to a world separated from God through sin.

For this, we glorify our God and the work that He has done!

Matthew 21:21-22

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Encouraging Words

How is it that eleven uneducated, simple men could so radically change the world? How is it that throughout the history of the Church great and miraculous things have been done by such common people no different than me? Through faith! Proper faith! Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and the things that He has the power to do. If we have true, spiritual faith we will not ask for things that will glorify and exemplify ourselves. We will ask for things that will glorify and exemplify God. Even the apostles, with their great faith and works for the Lord, did not ask to be spared from persecution and martyrdom. They did not ask for wealth or prestige. They asked to be used by God to build His kingdom. Is this not the same behavior that we are seeing from our Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East who refuse to renounce their faith? Should I do any less? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Matthew 14:27

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

Encouraging Words

This is the reason that I can go through each day, every crisis, every challenge, without any fear or apprehension. It is not because I have everything under control because I seldom do. It is not because I am some kind of special person because I am not. It is because Jesus promised that He would always be with me and He always keeps His promises!

Psalm 85 (84 LXX)