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Romans 8:14-15

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Encouraging Words

Consider two different scenarios. One is where I am a slave to a master and one is where I have been adopted into the family and household of the same master. Would my behavior be different in these two scenarios? Absolutely! In one, I would live in fear and apprehension that I could be punished or sold off. I would do things to beat out the other slaves so that I would appear the best. In the other I would know that I was loved and cared for. I would not have worries of loosing my place in the family or the household and I would do my best to get along with the rest of the family. As a Christian, I am in the second scenario because my God has adopted me into His family. Glory be to God!

Romans 12:14-18

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

Personal Challenge

So, what is more important? To give my all for the way of life that I have been blessed with or to give my all to follow teaching such as this from Paul? My way of life as a wealthy, pampered American is not what Jesus died for. Therefore, it should not be what I live for. Jesus commanded me to take care of the orphan and the widow, to feed the hungry, and to clothe the poor. He commanded me to not fear or hate my enemy but to love them and to not retaliate against them. So how do I reconcile this with all of the rhetoric from those who claim Christ and call for acts of hatred, violence, vengeance, and judgment? Honestly, it is not my responsibility to reconcile this. For in doing that I end up doing the same thing and the enemy (Satan) has gained more ground. My responsibility is to love even more and to let my God do the reconciliation. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Matthew 8:13

Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

Personal Challenge

So many of the miracles that Jesus performed were dependent upon the faith of the recipient of His blessing. This does not mean that He does not have the power to heal or do other miracles without our faith. God created us with free will. He did not create us to be robots or toys that He controls or manipulates. And just as we have the ability to choose to follow or reject Him, or be obedient to Him or reject His commands, we have the ability to choose whether or not His touching us miraculously takes affect or not. I must ask myself how much do I really believe that He is my Lord and at the same time Lord of all creation? How much do I believe that He will meet my every need and help me to know the difference between needs and wants? How much do I believe that He should be everything in my life and that I should be nothing? This is part of my journey to theosis, learning to shift my dependence from being placed on me and the things of this world to being place on Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.

Romans 6:11-12

Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

Personal Challenge

How do I reckon myself to be dead to sins and alive to God? I cannot do this on my own accord. This process starts by being given over to Christ and letting Him be the Lord of my life. Through Him, or in Him, I cam begin the journey of being victorious over sin in my life. This is why we believe there are three phases of salvation: I have been saved, I am saved, and I will continue to be saved. My life must be a constant journey whereby I strive to be more in the image of Christ. I must decrease and He must increase. A critical part of this journey is striving to give more and more of my will over to Christ so that I choose not to sin as often. This begins by recognizing and controlling my passions, which are gluttony, lust, greed, anger, sadness, acedia, vanity, and pride. Just like every journey that we take in our temporal life, there will be bumps, breakdowns, and detours along the way, but even these are important parts of the journey. Glory be to God!

Romans 11:33-36

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”
“Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Encouraging Words

I am so finite and know so little. God is so infinite and not only knows all but is the creator and source of all. Even in this great difference, He chooses to seek me out and be in a relationship with me. He gave His Son even unto death so that I might enter into a relationship with Him that will continue on into eternity. Why? Love! I know that I am so unworthy to be loved this way. I do not deserve to be in a relationship with God and yet He continues to pour out His grace and mercy upon me. Why? Love! Oh, how blessed I am to be a recipient of this unmeasurable love. Glory be to God!

Matthew 3:36

He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

Encouraging Words

How is it that we could get to a place in some Christian faith practices where we begin to qualify who does or does not constitute as being saved by our own parameters? How do we get to that place where we put God in a box and say that He has already selected who is saved and who is not based on our own definitions. This comes from adopting teachings that are new or different from what has been taught for centuries and applying our own rationalizations and thoughts so as to create new doctrines. This is how heresies enter into the Church. Sometimes they start with small, seemingly harmless changes that take on a life of their own. Sometimes they are blatant departures from the teachings of our Fathers. Either way, they are still heresies. It is our responsibility to remain true to those truths that have been taught from the beginning and trusted for millennia within the crucible of the Church. Glory be to God!

Matthew 18:15-18

“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”

“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Encouraging Words

Much of what we get from the western version of Christianity is that I have all that I need to personally have a relationship with God, interpret His teachings, and apply guidelines such as this one about correcting a brother or sister who has offended me so that I am “unoffended”. However, the eastern version of Christianity, and therefore, the one that these verses were originally written to and interpreted by, would argue that Christianity is not a personal thing, but a collective thing. We are Christians in the fellowship and community of our church, the Church. Therefore, this process of discipline must happen in the community. It is done for the edification of the community and not just for me. It will also involve my willingness to be forgiving and loving. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Encouraging Words

What are wages? That which I receive for my labors. What is a gift? That which I receive without doing or being anything. The gift is often unmerited and yet in itself can be full of merit. Even though I continue to sin and stack up wages that are due to me, which is death, my God still has in store for me a gift that fully and completely counteracts those wages. This is the gift of eternal life. What an awesome, loving, and merciful God He is!

Romans 7:17 & 20

But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. … Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

Personal Challenge

Paul presents to us the dilemma that we all face every day of our lives We have been created in the image of God. He has breathed His life into us by giving us a soul. And we live in a fallen and sinful world. Since I have chosen to sin in my life I now have that sin dwelling within me and my entire life will be filled with the struggle of fighting against that sin and how it wants me to stray from my God. Jesus, by living the life of a human being, and living it pure and sinless, has conquered sin and provided the way for me to be victorious over sin as well. Glory be to God!