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2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

ENCOURAGING WORDS

As followers of Christ, we have been promised a spirit within us that is free from fear and full of power, love, and a sound mind. Sometimes we must challenge those who proclaim to be Christians and yet abuse the power available from God, spewing hatred and demeaning rhetoric, and clearly not operating with a sound mind. It is time to stand up for the true nature of our Christ and confront those who besmirch His name. Lord, have Mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Sirach 27:4-7

When a sieve is shaken, the refuse remains;
So a man’s filth remains in the way he reasons.
As a furnace tests a potter’s vessels,
So the test of a man is in the way he reasons.
As fruit reveals how a tree is cultivated,
So a man’s reasoning process reveals his heart.
Do not praise a man before he reveals the way he reasons,
For this is the way a man is tested.

Personal Challenge

I am still amazed at how the passage that comes up for me to use for my daily journal is so perfect for the events of the moment. Sirach nails the issues that we are seeing related to reasoning today. Reasoning is not happening with what appears to be about 50% of our American population. What remains when you pour a mixture of stuff into a sieve and shake it? You get everything that you did not want left in the results. Sieves are so often used to let the good, that which we see as pure, filter through the sieve and the junk, the refuse, left behind. Sirach uses this imagery to articulate that when good, godly, and truthful reasoning has been sifted out, or eliminated, then all that you have left is filth. So much of today’s “reasoning “is revealing the filth of peoples thoughts and the lack of their true ability to reason. Just read through these verses and you will see how Sirach nails today’s dilemma. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Sirach 25:1

There are three things beautiful to see,
And they are beautiful before the Lord and men:
The harmony of brothers, friendship between neighbors,
And a wife and husband well-adjusted together.

Encouraging Words

I love how the scriptures are full of truisms that give us encouragement in our daily lives. These truisms also give goals to strive for that impact our lives positively. This verse is one of those scriptures. Three things that are beautiful to see as well as delightful to have in our lives. Harmony of brothers. We are all one big family called humans. The more that we can live of harmony, one with another, regardless of our background, color, sex, religion, education, wealth, or any other earthly standard, the more peaceful and beautiful our lives will be. Friendship between neighbors. Who is my neighbor? Every single human being is my neighbor. Friendship between us leads to al more loving, caring, merciful, and gracious world. A wife and a husband well-adjusted together give us a home that thrives in love and compassion. All of these are worthy goals to pursue and embrace. Glory be to God!

1 Timothy 6:11-12

But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Personal Challenge

This passage starts off by telling us to flee certain things and pursue godly things. What are we to flee from? Disputes and arguments. Pride. Envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, and useless wranglings. Also, the desire to be rich, for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Sounds kind of like an indictment for the people of today, especially all those who proclaim to be Christians but pursue these things. As followers of Christ, we are to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. This is the good fight that we must engage in. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Sirach 22:27

Who will set a guard over my mouth,
And a prudent seal over my lips,
That I may not fall because of them,
And that my tongue may not destroy me?

Personal Challenge

Our mouth (and our keyboard) can cause us much grief. It is our responsibility to be prudent in what we say and apply diligence to always speaking the truth, especially when so many others have stooped to embracing and magnifying falsehoods as truth. It is far too easy to counter back with more falsehoods, but this does not set us apart and above the level that lies descends to. Always speaking and seeking the truth is hard work but it always pays dividends in the end. Glory be to God!

1 Timothy 6:6

Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

Personal Challenge

Isn’t contentment one of the greatest issues that we are dealing with today? We are seeing the chasm between the rich and the poor growing exponentially. We see those rich hoarding more and more. We see constant attacks on the poor and the indigent. It all comes down to greed and lack of contentment with that which one does have. We have lost the love for our neighbor that compels us to care for them. Lord, have mercy! If we truly desire godliness in our lives, we must become content with what we have and share of our abundance with those in need. Again, Lord, have mercy!

Sirach 21:26

The heart of fools is in their mouth,
But the mouth of the wise is in their heart.

Personal Challenge

We have come to a time where we can easily generate an extremely large audience for what we say. Social media has created platforms where any common person can easily communicate to thousands of people instantly. That makes this truism ever more important· We have seen hundreds of people impacted by erroneous statements such as “they are eating people’s pets”. We have witnessed 49% of those who voted for president swayed by falsehoods and unsupported proclamations. Sirach reminds us that from the heart of a fool comes words through their mouth that are foolish and not representative of a loving God. If we are to have wise and uplifting words flow from our mouths (or pens or keyboards) then our hearts must first be filled with love, grace, mercy, and kindness. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!