Sirach 17:24-25
How great the mercy of the Lord is,
And His atonement for those who turn to Him.
For all things are not possible for man,
Because a son of man is not immortal.
Encouraging Words
Our Lord’s mercy is so great. He is merciful to His creation. His grace is all encompassing. For those who turn to Him, He blesses with His atonement. Only He can provide everlasting life to His children for only He is immortal. Glory be to God!
2 Thessalonians 3:3
But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.
Encouraging Words
Prayer is a powerful tool for God’s children. He does listen to our prayers. In this letter, Paul prayers for the followers of Christ and issues this reminder that God is faithful. God establishes us in our relationship with Him: He guards us from the evil one. Our responsibility is to continually rest in Him and stay close to Him. He will do the rest. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!
Sirach 17:5-8
He gave mankind the ability to deliberate,
And a tongue, eyes and ears, and a heart to think with.
He filled them with the skill of comprehension
And showed them good and evil.
He set His eye upon their hearts
To show them the majesty of His works.
They will praise His holy name
So as to fully describe the majesty of His works.
Encouraging Words
God created us all in His image. Not the image of God that so many people have come up with, but in his true image. As part of that image, we have certain characteristics that set us apart from the rest of creation. We have the ability to deliberate. We have a tongue to speak lovingly with, eyes to see our world and to determine where we can be a blessing to someone else, ears to hear the needs and desires of others, and a heart to process all this through these actions so that it can lead us to love, compassion, and grace. We are blessed with the skill of comprehension. We have been given the ability to know the difference between good and evil. He placed within us the ability to see His majesty and desire to know Him and to praise and glorify His name. It is up to us to embrace all of this and use it for Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Personal Challenge
Sirach 14:20-22
Blessed is the man who practices wisdom
And discourses with insight.
Whoever ponders the ways of wisdom in his heart
Will also reflect on her secrets.
Pursue wisdom like a tracker
And lie in wait on her paths.
Personal Challenge
Wisdom is such an important part of a healthy and productive life. Also, it is important to remember that wisdom is not the same as knowledge or information gathering. What really helps to set wisdom apart and to help us recognize its value and importance is to understand that the early church fathers identified wisdom in the Old Testament as another name for Jesus. Substitute “Jesus” in for “wisdom” in this passage and its power becomes manifested. Glory be to God!
1 Thessalonians 5:14-15
Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
Personal Challenge
Paul ends up his letter to the people of Thessalonica, and us, with this exhortation on how we should treat each other. We are to warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, and to be patient with all. He goes on to exhort us to not render evil for evil to anyone and to always pursue what is good for all. Some teach that this would only apply toward the brothers and sisters in one’s local church. However, align this with the teachings of Jesus and the expectation would be that we behave this way towards all people. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!
Sirach 14:12-14
Remember that death does not delay,
And the covenant of Hades has not been shown to you.
Before you die, do good to a friend,
And reach out and give to him based on your ability.
Do not let a day go by without doing something good,
And do not let any of your desire for doing good escape you.
Personal Challenge
I have heard that there are only two things certain in life… death and taxes. Sirach reminds that death will not delay with any of us. We all have that day out there, somewhere on our timeline, when we will die. It is inevitable. He also encourages us to do good in our lives before we die. Do good to a friend. Jesus expanded that to say that we should do good to our neighbor. We are to give to others from our abundance, whether friend or stranger. We should never let the desire for doing good escape us. Glory be to God!
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
Encouraging Words
If you were to ask me, as a follower of Christ, to prove that there is life after death, I would have to tell you that I cannot prove it to your satisfaction. As followers of Christ, we believe that Jesus died and rose again. We believe the eyewitness accounts that were recorded in the scriptures and in apocryphal writings. That is not going to be the proof that you are asking for. So be it. It is in our belief, our faith, that we have a hope for eternal life. Glory be to God!
Verse of the Day 