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Proverbs 8:17

I love those who love me,
And those who seek me shall find me.

Encouraging Words…

Jesus is not some unattainable, elusive mystery. He is real. He lived on this earth fully as a human being. He laughed, He cried, He died. But He was also fully God. He did not sin; He allowed His life to be taken from Him as the Sacrificial Lamb. And then He rose again from that death breaking the bonds of death on every person who ever lived and ever will live. And He promises us that if we love Him He will love us and that if we seek Him we will find Him. Glory be to God!

Psalm 18:46 (17:47 LXX)

The Lord lives, and blessed is my God.
Let the salvation of my God be exalted,

Encouraging Words…

As we celebrate this day of freedom in the United States we must remember that our true freedom, our eternal freedom, comes from our Lord Jesus Christ and His victory over death.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8

So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

Personal Challenge…

There is always this tension in the life of the Christian…to be fully present here on this earth in this temporal body versus the desire to be in our new bodies with our Lord. In His wisdom He still has us here in this world and we should live our lives confidently for Him, knowing through our faith in Him, that He will be with us until that day we leave this physical realm. We can choose to live for Him in ways that bring us closer to that future reality. This is easier said than done, but indeed a part of our journey to theosis.

Luke 10:2

Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

Personal Challenge…

There are basically three ways that we can get involved in God’s harvest…His mission field. First, we can all be “pray-ers” and pray for the laborers as well as those being witnessed to. Second, we can be “senders” giving of our resources so that more laborers can go out to do God’s work. Finally, we can be “go-ers” and be those laborers in the harvest for God. In our prayers for laborers and the harvest we must listen carefully for the voice of our Lord for we never know when He might start telling us to “send” or to “go”.

Isaiah 33:13-16

“Those afar off will hear what I have done; and those near will know My strength.” The lawless in Zion departed; trembling will seize the ungodly. Who will tell you a fire is burning? Who will tell you about the eternal place? He who walks in righteousness and speaks uprightly, he who hates lawlessness and wrongdoing, who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, he who stops his ears from hearing the judgment of blood, and he who shuts his eyes from seeing wrongdoing. He will dwell in a high cave of a mighty rock. Bread will be given him, and his water will be plentiful.

Personal Challenge…

We are called as followers of Christ to live pure and righteous lives in the midst of a fallen, lawless, and ungodly world. God does not expect us to live this way without His help, but He does expect action on our part. We must choose this life and then continue to make choices that lead us to Him and protect us from the influences around us. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Psalm 86:12 (25:12 LXX)

I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
And I shall glorify Your name forever;

Personal Challenge…

No matter what is going on in our lives, whether good or bad, we still have so much to be thankful for. Here the Psalmist reminds us to pour our whole heart, our whole being into thanks for what the Lord has done, and continues to do in our lives. We are to glorify Him at all times. This helps to take our minds and hearts off of us and our circumstances and put them on Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Hebrews 10:35-36

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

Encouraging Words…

Living the Christian life is not for the weak of heart or those satisfied with the status quo. It is a marathon, an iron man, a climb up Mount Everest just to find another taller mountain on the other side. Why do we press through all of this? Because God promises us that there will be a reward in the life to come. And how do we press on? By holding on to the confidence, the faith, that He is Who He says He is, the “I AM!”, and that He holds the future in His hands. Glory be to God!

1 Corinthians 2:9

But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Encouraging Words…

In our modern day culture we spend so much of our time, energy, and resources putting away for that future dream. And if we are not careful our whole life passes and we are either gone or too frail to enjoy that which we saved for. We also miss so much of what God has put in our lives…especially our loved ones. Here we are reminded that our true “retirement”, the true rewards for our labors of life, is held in the hand of our God and it exceedingly surpasses anything that we will ever be able to achieve or acquire in this earthly realm. Glory be to God!

Psalm 133 (132 LXX)

Behold now, what is so good or so pleasant
As for brothers to dwell together in unity?
It is like fragrant oil running down upon the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down upon the border of his garment;
It is like the dew of Hermon, running down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing
And life forever.

Personal Challenge…

Unity! What a blessing to strive for. It is so important to pursue unity in the life of a Christian that Christ and Paul both prayed that we would have it. We should be seeking it, building it, and protecting it in our homes, in our churches, where we work, in our communities, and throughout our world. We must be the initiators and sustainers of it as followers of Christ. And in order to do this we will most likely have to live sacrificial lives, putting others first. Glory be to God!

Philippians 4:8-9

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

Encouraging Words…

Paul makes it clear here that we are to be observant of the practices and traditions of our Church and to follow them. This command was given before the written Bible was collected and therefore reminds us that our walk in Christ is not only to be formed and informed by the Scriptures but also the traditions and teachings established and handed down farom those Godly saints that have gone before us.