Category: Uncategorized

Genesis 1:5b

…and there was evening and morning, one day.

Encouraging Words

So, why would God, who is eternal and transcends time, make His creation so that it is bound by time? Because He loved His creation so deeply and knew that we would need cycles of work and rest. It is not so important here to get all wrapped up in the argument of whether or not this is one of our 24 hour days or a period of time chosen by God, time-sliced out of eternity. What is important is that God ordered His creation in such a way as to properly prepare it so that mankind, created in His image, could walk there and commune with Him. 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

Well, Lord, I guess you are trying to drive home your point. Contrary to what is often thought, there is more to being forgiven of my sins than just saying a prayer. God wants me to be active in bestowing forgiveness toward people who have offended me so that I can receive His forgiveness. How is this possible? If I am holding back on offering forgiveness then I am also choosing to distance myself from God. As this process continues my true requests for forgiveness become less and less, and therefore so does God’s blessing of forgiveness. Definitely something to think about.

Luke 23:34

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

Personal Challenge

Here I go again…God throwing down the gauntlet of faith and challenging me on whether or not I truly have given my life to Him and have the desire to be like my Lord and Savior, Jesus. If Jesus, being fully man, could ask His Father to forgive those who had crucified Him, then the expectation of me is that I will forgive those who have offended me or my loved ones. Talk about an “in your face” challenge. A challenge that I must not only accept, but must work through in prayer and fasting in order to practice. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner, and guide me through this process of forgiveness at all times.

Psalm 91:14-16 (90:14-16 LXX)

“For he hoped in Me, and I will deliver him;
I will shelter him, because he knew My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will hear him;
I am with him in affliction,
And I will deliver and glorify him.
With length of days I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”

Encouraging Words

Even before the beginning of time, God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, knew me and loved me. I can read this passage and replace all of the “him’s” with my name and know that this is all true for me. He is my deliver! He is my salvation! He is my listener! He is my Lord! I can call upon Him and He will always be there. Glory be to God!

Zechariah 8:7-8

Thus says the Lord Almighty: “Behold, I shall deliver My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west. I shall bring them in and settle them in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be to Me a people and I will be to them a God in truth and in righteousness.”

Encouraging Words

When Christ performed His great and wondrous works of sacrifice and redemption on the cross, His resurrection, and His ascension into heaven, He sent a shock wave throughout eternity. He set in motion the promise of this prophecy. And now He is reaching out to the people of his creation, as far as the east is from the west and bringing them in as citizens of His new and glorious Jerusalem. Glory be to God!

Joel 2:17

Between the porch and the altar, the priests of the altar, ministering to the Lord, will each be weeping and will say, “O Lord, spare Your people; do not give Your inheritance to reproach, that the Gentiles should rule over them, lest they should say among the Gentiles, ‘Where is their God?’”

Personal Challenge

In many ways, each of us who claim to be followers of Christ has the opportunity to perform this role of the priesthood. I may be the only person that stands as the conduit between someone who does not know God and God Himself. How am I living my life in this role? Am I blocking this conduit or keeping it open so that God’s love can flow to those around me? Am I a stumbling block on their journey through life or a stepping stone? It is my responsibility to live my life in such a way that everyone I come into contact with says, “There is his God!”

1 Corinthians 8:8

But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.

Encouraging Words

One of the practices of our Orthodox faith is fasting. We fast from meat and dairy on most Wednesdays and Fridays. We fast during Lent and throughout other times of the year. It is interesting how many times I am told by non-Orthodox friends that fasting is not spiritual and it is a form of works. This saddens me because we do not fast for legalistic reasons. We also know that salvation only comes through the works of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, why do we fast? First, it is because our Lord told us to fast. He fasted as well. Secondly, it is so that we can develop discipline in our lives. If I can control what I eat at certain times, and the desires that drive me to eat, then I can learn to control other aspects of my life as well. Third, it is so easy to develop a passion around eating and fasting helps me to learn how to control this passion as well as others. And this list goes on. What is important is that we are taught to do all that we do out of love for God and our neighbor. Glory be to God!

1 John 2:17

And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Personal Challenge

If the world as I know it, the broken, fallen, sinful world is someday passing away, to be replaced by a new heaven and earth, then why do I hang on so tightly to the things of this world? It is because I am choosing to and that God still needs to refine my heart and mind. Praise God for never giving up on teaching me, loving me, and pursuing me. Praise God for showing me through the life of His Son and the gift of the Holy Spirit what I must do to let go of this world…LOVE!

2 John 1:6

This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

Personal Challenge

So what is this one commandment that I have heard from the beginning and that my entire walk with Jesus hinges upon? It is to love one another. God does not demand that I follow some long list of rules in order to be His child. All that He wants from me is to be His conduit of love!