Category: Uncategorized

Galatians 5:13

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Personal Challenge…

By the grace of God the Father, the work of God the Son, and the presence of God the Holy Spirit in our lives we have been set free from the shackles of the law. In this freedom, this liberty, our sins are forgiven and we are no longer constrained. In this freedom, however, we are admonished to not use it for our own good, meeting our own fleshly desires, but to use it to love our neighbor and seek their good.

Psalm 42:1-2 (41:2-3)

As the deer longs for the springs of waters,
So my soul longs for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for the living God;
When shall I come and appear before the face of God?

Personal Challenge…

Shouldn’t this be the desire of our every thought and breath…to long for our God and thirst for Him above all else? As we progress on our journey through life and in our growth in theosis our desire to be with God should grow more deeply and pervasive in everything we think and do. As we grow this way our actions will reflect Him more and more. Glory be to God!

Psalm 62:6-7 (61:7-8)

For He is my God and my savior,
My protector; I shall never be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory;
He is the God of my help, and my hope is in God.

Encouraging Words…

We do not need to rely on our own capabilities or resources to make it through life. We do not need to rely on others or institutions either. We can rely on God who is our protector, our salvation, our glory, our help, and our hope. Through Him and His presence in our lives we will know how to make it through times of bad as well as good and how to deal in godly ways with others and the institutions that we share our lives with. Glory be to God!

Psalm 62:1-2 (61:2-3 LXX)

Shall not my soul be submissive to God?
For from Him is my salvation.
For He is my God and my savior,
My protector; I shall be shaken no more

Personal Challenge…

We live in an age where everything is temporary and thrown away. It is so easy then to put our trust into these temporary things; our job, our knowledge, our pension, you name it, and look to the temporary for permanence. All of this will some day be burnt up as chaff. It is our God, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end that is the only one that we can put our trust in and give our submission to.

Proverbs 25:4

Beat drossy silver,
And it will be made entirely clean.

Personal Challenge…

Silver is a beautiful, precious metal when it has ben purified and all of the dross, or foreign material, pounded out of it. We humans, formed in the image of God, are beautiful, precious beings and must also have the dross, or in our case, sinful passions, pounded out of us. We are not totally depraved. We are beautiful diamonds covered in the slime and muck of sin and impurities from living in a fallen world. Our Lord is the perfect silversmith, or diamond cutter, who is constantly cleaning us up and chipping away at the dross in our lives. We can do our part in this refinement as well by being spiritual athletes, running the race, and practicing by prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and loving our neighbor. Glory be to God!

Psalm 51:17 (50:19 LXX)

A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit,
A broken and humbled heart God will not despise.

Personal Challenge…

God desires that we offer up to Him our heart more than the works of our hands. It is from the humble heart and the broken spirit that our true actions come. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Isaiah 12:2

Behold, God is my Savior and Lord. I will trust in Him and be saved by Him. I will not be afraid, for the Lord is my glory and my praise. He has become my salvation.

Encouraging Words…

Just as Isaiah could call out to His Lord in praise thousands of years ago so can we today for He is the same God from ages to ages. The difference is that we have the hope that Isaiah looked forward to in the incarnation of God as man…Jesus Christ. We have the hope realized in God as man and are a part of the new covenant with God our Father. Glory be to God!

Psalm 4:2

You heard me when I called, O God of my righteousness.
You strengthened my heart when I was in distress;
Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

Encouraging Words…

God is always there for His children. Even in the midst of trials, tribulations, and even persecution, He is there. Since we live in two worlds His presence may not change the situation or condition of our physical world, but it does change the spiritual one. Glory be to God!

Proverbs 10:22 (10:23 LXX)

The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of a righteous man;
It enriches him, and grief of heart will not be added to it.

Encouraging Words…

We often slip into the frame of mind that trying to live a righteous life is all about doing things. In reality it is more about the state of our heart and mind, for it is from there that righteous acts come willingly. We do not do what we do to earn God’s blessings, but we do them because we are blessed by God.

Psalm 51:1-4 (50:3-6 LXX)

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy;
And according to the abundance of Your compassion, blot out my transgression.
Wash me thoroughly from my lawlessness
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my lawlessness,
And my sin is always before me.
Against You only have I sinned
And done evil in Your sight;
That You may be justified in Your words,
And overcome when You are judged.

Encouraging Words…

Our God is a loving and compassionate God. He is not judgmental as He is often depicted. He does judge, but this judgment is that of a loving Father desiring to discipline and correct His children. It is not surprising that as people build their religious practices around a judgmental god that the result is hostilities and divisions. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!