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2 Chronicles 30:18-20

Most of the people from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not cleansed themselves, but they ate the Passover contrary to what was written.

But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord provide atonement for everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, even though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.” And the Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.

Encouraging Words

In the Orthodox Church, we practice fasting. We fast from meat, dairy, and various other items every Wednesday and Friday, during Lent, and other times throughout the year. We do not do this in a legalistic way…at least it is not intended to be that way. We go so far as to teach that I am responsible for my plate only and not my brother or sister’s plate. We also teach that if a someone offers me something that would break my fast, I take it because the love for my neighbor is a high calling than keeping the fast. So, why do we fast? Just as an athlete exercises and practices to improve their skill at their game, so do we as we fast. Think about it. The original sin committed by Adam and Eve was breaking a fast. God told them to abstain from eating from the forbidden tree, and to this day we all have the challenge of putting things before God. Food can be one of those things. If I can develop my “muscles” of saying, “No!” to that which my body, or more likely my mind, craves, then I can begin to say, “No!” to the other passions in my life. By exercising one muscle I also exercise others. The fasting will not get me into the kingdom of God, only Jesus can do that. It will not earn me any brownie points with God, heaven knows that I am worthless in relationship to Him and only Jesus can host me into the presence of God. I fast so that I can focus more on my God than on me. I fast so that I have more that I can give to my neighbor who is in need. I fast so that I can sacrifice my desires and take up the cross of Jesus and glorify Him. God blesses us because of the state of our hearts, not the rules that we follow.

Isaiah 57:15

The Lord, the Most High who dwells on high forever, the Holy One among His saints, whose name is the Lord Most High, who rests among His saints, and who gives patience to the fainthearted and life to the broken-hearted,…

Encouraging Words

Our God, Our Father the Most High, does not sit on some throne somewhere separated from His subjects as is so often depicted in worldly images of Him or presented in earthly kingdoms. He is surrounded by His saints. Of course, they are worshiping Him along with the angelic hosts, but they are in His presence, which means that they are alive in the spirit. Glory be to God.

Psalm 84:1-2 (83:2-3 LXX)

How beloved are Your dwellings, O Lord of hosts.
My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh greatly rejoice in the living God.

Personal Challenge

Is this truly the case for me? Does my soul long and faint for the courts of the Lord? Do I desire to be in His presence more than anything else in my life? Do my heart and flesh greatly rejoice in Him? Unfortunately, I must answer that this is not the case most of the time. I am so caught up in the trappings of this earth and the busy-ness of life that I have become distracted from Him and the blessings the He desires to bestow on me. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Tobit 12:8-9

Prayer is good with fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. A few prayers with righteousness are better than many with wrongdoing. It is better to do almsgiving than to lay up gold. For almsgiving rescues one from death, and it will wash away every sin. Those who do almsgiving and are righteous will be full of life.

Personal Challenge

So, what exactly is almsgiving? One definition is, “to give of oneself above and beyond what is due.” This is truly a concept that has been lost over time and definitely not practiced in today’s modern culture…even by the Church. Isn’t almsgiving something that our Lord Jesus Christ did? He owed His creation, that which He spoke into existence, nothing. Especially after we turned our back on Him and ate of the forbidden fruit. And yet He gave of His abundance, even to the point of His own life, so that we could have eternal life. So, if my desire is to imitate Him, to be like Him, to be called one of His followers, then should I not do the same? Almsgiving is not tithing. We tithe from our firstfruits as a way of saying, “Thank you!” for our blessings. Almsgiving is what comes after we have tithed. Tithing goes to the Church, to support it and to build it up. Almsgiving goes to those who need what I have more than I do, many of which have never been to church and may never go there. This type of giving does not just include my wealth. I can, and must, give my time, my words, my everything that I have in abundance, to those who are in need.

One area that has become so apparent to me where I can practice almsgiving is in the social media world. I can choose to sacrifice my personal agenda and opinions and give to those in my friend’s list what they need. I can give words of encouragement. I can give blessings and make joyful noises unto the Lord. I can give of my time by listening to their stories and their passions and offering back to them words that are uplifting and free of sarcasm or innuendos or hidden (maybe not so hidden) putdowns. This too is giving out of the abundance that God has given me. Glory be to God!

1 Kings 18:17-18 (3 Kingdoms 18:17-18 LXX)

When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Are you the one who is troubling Israel?” Elijah answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but rather you and the house of your father, in that you forsook the Lord your God and followed after the Baals.

Personal Challenge

We live in a period of history that is not all that different than the days of Ahab and Elijah. A nation of people had been set apart by God and blessed for their willingness and desire to follow and obey Him. Then they start desiring to be like the rest of the world around them. They stopped recognizing God as their leader and started putting into positions of leadership men and women that gave them what they wanted. Before long, God was just one of the many gods that they worshiped. Life became very corrupt and everyone became very self-focused and sought after the desires of their flesh. Then as God sent prophets to remind them of all that tey had under the leadership of God, how much He love them, and the blessings that they had when they followed Him, they accused the prophets of being the ones causing all of the problems that they had. We have reached this state again and our world calls those who follow Christ crazy, intolerant, mean-spirited, and so many other things. So who is really troubling who? Who is really causing the troubles of today? Is it those who humbly and lovingly follow the teachings of Christ or those who seek after their own desires? The more important question for me to answer, the one that indicts me the most, is, “Do I humbly and lovingly follow the teachings of Christ or do I seek after my own desires?” Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Tobit 13:3-4

Give thanks to Him before the nations,
O children of Israel,
For He scattered us among them.
Make known His greatness there;
Exalt Him in the presence of all the living,
For He is our Lord and God;
He is our Father unto all the ages.

Personal Challenge

Tobit 12:6-7

Then Raphael secretly called the two of them, and said to them, “Bless God and give Him thanks. Ascribe greatness to Him and give thanks in the presence of all the living for what He has done for you. It is good to bless God and to exalt His name. Make known the words of God’s works honorably and do not delay to give thanks to Him. It is noble to keep hidden the secret of a king, but glorious to unveil the works of God. Do good, and evil will not find you.

Personal Challenge

It is never a good time to be quiet about God and all that He has done. He should always be on the tips of our tongue and proclaimed whenever possible. And when there is no one to hear our praises are to be directed at Him. I know that I seldom do this for my mind and heart are so easily focused on the things on this earth and on me. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Tobit 4:5-7

My son, remember the Lord our God all your days, and do not desire to sin or to disobey His commandments. Do righteousness all the days of your life, and do not walk in the ways of wrongdoing. For if you walk in the truth, you will be successful in your works. Do almsgiving from your possessions to all who do righteousness. When you do almsgiving, do not let your eye be envious. Do not turn your face away from any poor man, so the face of God will not be turned away from you.

Personal Challenge

As I was reading this passage I got to thinking about my parents and how much they admonished me with words such as Tobit did for his son. The didn’t! Honestly, I cannot think of once that my father (memory eternal) or my mother spoke words of wisdom like this to me. What I do remember is that my parents spent their lives showing me these truths by how they lived their lives. They always thought it was more important to live their lives in a righteous way and pray that their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, would do the same. I cannot thank them enough for showing me how to live my life in a Christ-centered, godly way. My only hope and prayer are that my children and grandchildren will someday look back at my life and see Christ in how I lived my life. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!