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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!

Romans 5:12-13

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.)

Encouraging Words…

The early church fathers taught that because of Adam’s sin death became a regular part of every man’s life. Because of sin…we die. They also taught that we sin because of the death, because when death entered the world we became mortal and in that mortality we sin. They did not teach that Adam’s sin was imputed to us. We are responsible and accountable for our own sin. But the good part of this is that when Jesus was incarnated as a man, taking on fully our human nature, lived a sinless life, was crucified as an innocent man, and rose again the third day, He defeated death and therefore the sin that death brings into our lives. Through Christ our sins are forgiven and we can begin the process of living sinless lives. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Psalm 147:3 (146:3 LXX)

He heals the brokenhearted
And He binds up all their wounds.

Encouraging Words…

Only in our brokenness can we truly receive the healing power of our Lord. This is why David and so many of the godly, righteous saints that have gone before us so often ask God for a broken and contrite heart and spirit. The hold that the flesh has upon us must be broken. That is the first stop in our journey and starts with confession and repentance. But what comes next is the most important step…letting our Lord heal that which is broken and bind it all back together in His way, in His likeness. He is the great Physician. We are His patients. Gory be to God!

1 Timothy 2:1-4

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Encouraging Words…

We are exhorted to pray for others at all times, especially those in civic authority. I love how we pray multiple times throughout our liturgy for the people in our lives…those who love us and those who hate us, those in civil authority and those traveling, those who have departed this life and for the faithful members of the community. By praying for others we take our eyes off of ourselves and put them on others and their needs. Part and parcel with this is how clear this passage makes it that God loves all of mankind and desires that all come to Him. He has not pre-determined who will be saved and who will not. He does not have this big list of who will get His gift this “Christmas”, for His gift is for all of creation…past, present, and future. Glory be to God!

Proverbs 19:20

Hear, my son, the instruction of your father,
That you may become wise in your last days.

Encouraging Words…

We do not make it through this journey of life on our own. Our guidance and direction begins with our parents and eventually continues on to other teachers in our lives. But no matter how young or how old we are there is always someone that has something that we can be taught. Part of our responsibility in this journey is to be humble and listen to the instruction of others. Glory be to God!