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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.

Encouraging Words…

What awesome advice given to Tobias from his father Tobit. There is no commentary needed to understand the guidance provided here in how we can live godly lives. It is too bad that so many who practice the Christian faith will never see these words because they are part of the Apocrypha. May God’s truth be spread and His name be glorified.

Proverbs 16:32 (16:30 LXX)

A patient man is better than a strong man,
And he who controls his temper is better than he who captures a city.

Personal Challenge…

Our society/culture encourages us to be strong and aggressive in all that we do. We are supposed to look out for number one…ourselves. This is so contradictory to the teachings of Christianity. As Christians we are called to be humble, to be patient, to submit to our Lord and let Him lead our lives. Living this way also helps us to develop traits and virtues that lead to righteous and godly lives. In reality, living a Christian life is always countercultural.

Ecclesiastes 10:6

The senseless man devotes himself to great heights,
And rich men shall sit in a lowly place.

Personal Challenge…

Solomon give us an important reminder that is more godly, more righteous, to seek the lower place than the higher. Jesus said the same when He told us to sit at the foot of the table and let the host elevate us if he so chooses. This is a true sign of humility when we strive to always put others before us, whether that be where we sit at the “banquet”, or where we stand in line, or how we behave in a conversation, and the list goes on and on. Doing this as our normal practice of being then it allows God to use us in ways that glorify Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

Ecclesiastes 7:16

Do not be overly righteous,
Nor be overly wise,
Lest you be confounded.

Personal Challenge…

Solomon reminds us in his great and godly wisdom that we must be very careful of how we pursue and idolize righteousness and knowledge. The pursuit of righteousness can lead us to false piety and pharisaism. Christ often spoke out against this and its folly. The pursuit and idolization of knowledge sets us up to be wise on our own account and totally miss the source of true wisdom, Jesus Christ. More important, and more difficult, is living a life of humility, submitting to our Lord and serving the needs of our neighbors. Sometimes we must walk away from our fasting and “personal” prayer times in order to serve our God in the life of another. Sometimes we must put down the books we are reading and the saints that we are trying to emulate to be God’s hands, feet, and mouths. Our lives are to be about Him and not about us. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalm 100 (99 LXX)

Shout aloud to the Lord, all the earth;
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with great joy.
Know this:the Lord, He is God;
He made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving
And into His courts with hymns;
Give thanks to Him; praise His name;
For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth is from generation to generation.

Encouraging Words…

Since the early church fathers determined that the Wisdom that the Psalms and Proverbs speak of is Jesus Christ then this entire Psalm is ins praise and thanksgiving of Jesus Christ and who He is. He is our Creator. He made us in His image. He is God. He is our Shepherd. We are to shout aloud to Him in thanksgiving. We are to serve Him with gladness and great joy. We are His people, His sheep, and we are to enter the gates of His kingdom with thanksgiving and praise and the singing of hymns. He is good and merciful for all generations. Glory be to Him!

Psalm 18:32 (17:33 LXX)

It is God who girds me with power,
And He made my way blameless;

Encouraging Words…

My power in this life here on earth, my position in eternity, has nothing to do with the position or title that I hold at work, or the rank or standing that I have in society, but everything to do with who I am in Christ. All of these worldly things are just that…worldly. The desires of my heart, the goals of my mind, should all be focused on my Lord for it is He who girds me with the power to make it through each day and lays out the path to righteousness before me. Glory be to God!

2 Chronicles 7:14

if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will be merciful to their sins and heal their land.

Encouraging Words…

So…does this verse say that if all of us who claim Christ as our King were to humble ourselves, pray, seek the face of God, and turn from our wicked ways that He will heal our country…America. Maybe! Maybe not! Maybe the land that will be healed is that of His kingdom here on earth. Maybe it is that spiritual realm that we coexist in. I am not sure. But I am sure that we are called to live this life for Him in whatever land we live in. We are called to be in unity and not the many divisions that we have today. We are called to put Him first, others second, and ourselves last. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

1 John 4:12-16

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Encouraging Words…

One of the many wonderful truths of Christianity is that God abides within us. We do not have to strive to become something different, or do some prescribed tasks or rituals, or wait until we die and hope that we are reincarnated at a higher level. How can we know God lives in us? John gives a fourfold answer: (1) if we love one another (v. 12); (2) if we have been given His Spirit (v. 13); (3) if we can confess Jesus is the Son of God (v. 15); and (4) if we abide in the love of God (v. 16). Jesus is our Lord and He will dwell within us and lead us through our journey of life to be like Him. Glory be to God!