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1 Corinthians 1:18

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Encouraging Words…

Today in the Orthodox Church we celebrated the Elevation of the Precious and Life giving Cross. Without the cross there is no life. Without the cross there is no restoration of God’s creation. But why does God do things the way that He does; elevating the humble, giving us life through the death of His Son, and many other things that appear to be contradictory to our way of thinking? And that is the answer right there. God does not do things the way that we would do them. And we do not do things the way that God does. The early church fathers taught that God is humble. How could the God of all, the Creator of all, be humble? I cannot answer that, but I can point to His acts of humility… becoming His own creation, being born in a manger, living a lowly and humble life, giving up His life on a cross. So it becomes clearer that He is humble because He humbles Himself. And this makes no sense to us. This is why the message of the cross is foolishness to those who do not know Him. But once we truly meet Him and become His, this message becomes more dear and our hearts begin to yearn to follow Him, to take up His cross, to become humble as He is humble, to love others more than ourselves, to become like Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

2 Corinthians 4:7-10

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard- pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

Encouraging Words…

I love plants, plants in the garden, plants in pots, plants all around the house. In this love I have the opportunity to work with earthen vessels, clay pots. By themselves they are very fragile and easily broken. Filled with the incorrect material they can still be very fragile. But filled with the right material they can take a lot of “abuse” and still hold their precious package. God uses us in the same way. We are earthen vessels, fragile and easily broken. But when we are filled with Christ and the Holy Spirit we are transformed. We can be hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down, but by the grace of God and because of His power and not ours we can make it through this not crushed, not forsaken, not destroyed. Glory be to God! It is because of Him and the work of Jesus Christ on the cross that we can magnify God through our trials and ordeals as well as our accomplishments and successes.

Mark 1:35

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

Personal Challenge…

Once again, Jesus does not tell us what we are to do, but He demonstrates it by doing it Himself. Here we have Jesus, a part of the Godhead, committing a significant part of His day to prayer and solitude  He is God and yet He shows us that it is imperative to spend time alone with God the Father…lots of time. Jesus was also fully human, which means He had temptations and spiritual attacks coming at Him all of the time. Is it possible that one of the key contributors to His being able to submit His human will entirely to God and not sin was because of the time that He spent in prayer and solitude? If so, then wouldn’t this also be of benefit to me? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

1 Peter 5:8-10

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

Command with a Promise…

We do not live in a singular universe. We live both in the physical and the spiritual realms all of the time. We are commanded to be serious about this, to live our lives sober and vigilant, looking for the attacks from the spiritual realm that flow into the physical realm. We cannot resist our enemy and be steadfast in our faith without focusing on both of these realms. And even if we do this there will still be suffering, but if we persist the promise is that we will be perfected, established, strengthened, and settled in our Lord. Glory be to God!

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Encouraging Words…

“Behold, all things have become new.” What a powerful promise. In Adam I was a victim to death. In the New Adam, Christ, death has been defeated, i have been set free from the bondage of death and sin, and I can lead a new life, a full life, a sinless life. Even though I still choose to sin, in Christ my sins are forgiven, I am renewed and cleansed through Him. Glory be to God!

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus:that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

Personal Challenge…

Our belief as Christians is so different than all other religions. We are not just commanded to live our lives a certain way, to meet a set of rules and requirements, but we are shown by the example of our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, what sacrificial living is like. He died so that we might live. He gave His all for us. My challenge is to follow in His footsteps and die both for Him and for my neighbor.

Luke 10:41-42

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Personal Challenge…

Jesus wants us to serve Him, to do good works for Him, but more importantly He wants us to love Him. It is so easy to get wrapped up in our acts of service that we forget the reason we are serving…to spread the Good News about Jesus and His love and sacrifice for mankind. All acts of service should be leading to this. All acts of service also need periods of rest and rejuvenation in Christ.

James 4:10

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Command with a Promise…

What an interesting God we serve. If I am weak He makes me strong. If I am poor He makes me rich. If I lower myself before Him, humble myself before His grandeur then He will lift me up. The important thing for me to remember here is that His economy is different than mankind’s. The strength, the richness, the lifting up, will be in His realm, in those areas He deems of value and not in the realm of mankind. My eyes must be looking toward His kingdom to see this.

2 Corinthians 4:16

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

Encouraging Words…

What a great promise this is. As I grow older I am watching this come to fruition. And as a child of God it is encouraging to know that He is at work renewing my inner man even as my physical body is deteriorating.

2 Corinthians 4:1

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.

Personal Challenge…

It is so easy to forget that if we are attempting to live our lives to glorify Christ, our ministry, then there will be difficulties along the way. It is also easy to forget that often these difficulties will actually be spiritual warfare. All the more reason to be constantly aware that we have received God’s mercy and to not lose heart, for He is with us in the midst of these difficulties and warfare.