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John 17:3

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Personal Challenge…

“The knowledge of the only true God is far more than intellectual understanding. It is participation in His divine life and in communion with Him. Thus, eternal life is an ongoing, loving knowledge of God in Christ and the Holy Spirit.” Orthodox Study Bible, p. 1458.

Once again our modern, Western way of thinking has sent us down the path of pursuing intellectual understanding of God. We try to rationally deconstruct the scriptures to find God. We basically worship the scriptures and call that worshiping God. We read books about God and call that a personal relationship with Him, or a true understanding of Him. As I learn more and more about the martyrs and saints that have given their all for their Lord there is a common theme. It is a vibrant, personal relationship with their God, developed in the context of the community of the Church, and totally consuming their entire being that gives them the power to live this way for their Lord. One does not give up his life to the enemy because he knows about his Lord…He does it because he participates in His divine life and is in constant communion with Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

Luke 5:31-36

Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Then they said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?”

And He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.”

Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.”

Personal Challenge…

We are often asked why we fast in the Orthodox Church. Isn’t that something that went away centuries ago? Jesus Himself reminds us that while He was here on earth that it was a time to be with Him, celebrating His presence, and learning from Him. He also told us that there would be a time when He would leave and that that would be a time to start fasting again. Why do we fast? He gives us a reminder that our Lord, the Bridegroom, is not here, but is returning some day. The fasting helps us to remember that He is coming and to help us develop the discipline of waiting for Him. It also helps us to free up those things that hold us to this world and give them to those in greater need than ourselves. Glory be to God!

Is is this final paragraph, the parable of the new cloth being sown onto the old garment, that really struck me. The faith practice of Eastern Orthodoxy is much different than Western Christianity. It is much more in alignment with our early Church fathers and how they believed and what they taught. This was long before the age of logic and enlightenment that we live in today. As I am now participating in a class that is teaching how to read the scriptures the way they were read in the early days of the church I am reminded that the more that we try to bring in our modern ways into Eastern

Orthodoxy the more the garment tears and falls apart. I must truly embrace that which I have chosen to pursue and let go of that which keeps trying to draw me back to the former way of thinking. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Luke 6:45

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Personal Challenge…

So… what is the true state of my heart? Am I harboring good or evil? I can create an external life that appears to all around me that I am a good, loving, and godly man, but if I continue to harbor evil in my heart then I will sooner or later drop my guard and my mouth will speak what is in my heart. By the grace of God I can continually run to Him, confess my sins and the condition of my heart, and have Him cleanse it and fill it with good. This is a never ending process and one that I need dearly. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Wisdom of Solomon 3:9

Those who trust in Him will understand truth,
And the faithful shall continue with Him in love,
Because grace and mercy are upon His elect.

Personal Challenge…

We so often seek the truth of God in our own capabilities, our knowledge, other men and women of the world around us who have written texts about God, and the modern day practices of searching the scriptures for Him. What about putting our trust into the source of truth, and allowing Him to reveal it to us? Sometimes we have to let go of our excess baggage, especially the rational, logical ways of man, and grab hold of our Lord for He is the source of truth, grace, and mercy. Glory be to God!

Mark 13:31

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

Encouraging Words…

So…what words will not pass away? What was Jesus talking about? It was definitely not the written scripture as we know it today, because they did not yet exist. It would be His teachings that He shared with the 12 Apostles and that have been passed down through the ages. The written word, later codified and canonized by the Church, are a subset of the teachings. Praise God for creating the Church, His Bride, in such a way that His teachings would be preserved until He returns…when we can be taught by Him directly.

Acts 21:13

Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Personal Challenge…

Am I so close to my Lord, so committed to Him, so trusting in Him, that I would be willing to walk into the lion’s den prepared for whatever may come of my temporal body or way of life? It seems like we of the western way of thinking about God have come up with some safe images of Him and what He would do for us in these cases. This is not how Paul and the early church fathers thought at all. For them it was about what they could give to God…including their life. They saw God bigger than themselves, their enemies, and even the world. They did not have scriptures to cling to because they had not been written yet. And besides, they didn’t need them because they walked close to their Lord. So, am I ready to make a statement like this and then step out on faith? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Jeremiah 40:6-9

‘Behold, I bring her health and healing for her wounds, and I will show them how to obey. Yes, I will heal this city and bring about peace and faithfulness. I shall return the captives of Judah and Israel and will restore them, even as before. I will cleanse them from all their wrongdoings by which they sinned against Me. I will not remember their sins by which they sinned against Me and withdrew from Me. This shall be for the gladness, praise, and majesty of all the people of the earth, who shall hear all the good things I will do. They shall fear and be provoked concerning all the good things and the peace I shall bring upon them.’

Encouraging Words…

What a glorious blessing that we have been granted the privilege to live in the age of our Lord. All of these promises that God made through Jeremiah the prophet to both the Jewish nation and the Gentiles around them have come to fruition in the incarnation, death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are the Church, His Bride of the new covenant, and we are the ones that He has rescued from death, given healing to, and forgiven us of our sins. Glory be to God!

John 3:30

He must increase, but I must decrease.

Personal Challenge…

The gospel of Christ is so contradictory to our culture and indeed the entire Western way of life. In our culture the goal of life is to be elevated above all that are around us and to accumulate as much as we can during our span here on earth. However, the gospel teaches us that if we are to be followers of Christ then the opposite must be happening in our lives. We should be decreasing so that Christ becomes more evident all of the time. We should be living in a way that we are a blessing to those in need. When God blesses us with wealth we can share it with those who are less fortunate. This may not just be by giving away our wealth, but giving away ourselves, our time, a kind and loving word, a listening ear. God does not just want part of us…He wants us all. He doesn’t want the scraps, He wants the cream. None of this is possible if we are focusing on increasing. Glory be to God! Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!