Proverbs 17:29 (17:30 LXX)
Wisdom shall be imputed to a man without understanding who asks for wisdom,
Encouraging Words…
If I go to Christ, the source of all wisdom, seeking the wisdom that only He can give, I will receive it. Wisdom such as this will enable me to know when to speak and when to hold my peace. It will enable me to speak in love and not to lose my temper. Oh, how sorely do I need this wisdom.
Proverbs 16:20 (16:18 LXX)
A man wise in his deeds is a discoverer of good things,But he who trusts in God is the most blessed.
Personal Challenge…
If I try to live a life of wisdom, godly wisdom, I will discover, experience, good things. But if I add to this living a life of trust in God, then I will see His blessings in my life and be a blessing in other’s lives.
Proverbs 16:7 (16:4 LXX)
He who seeks the Lord will find knowledge with righteousness,
And those who seek Him rightly will find peace.
Encouraging Words…
How can I find true peace in my life? By rightly seeking the Lord. The Lord is the Author of the virtues of knowledge and righteousness. I cannot have the Lord in my life without these virtues and since He is the Author of these virtues I cannot have them without Him. If I seek Him, earnestly and rightly (knowing and believing these truths), then I will find Him and receive these virtues as well as the peace that He also Authors.
Isaiah 40:29-31
He gives strength to the hungry, and sorrow to those who do not grieve. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the elect shall be without strength. But those who wait on God shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not hunger.
Encouraging Words…
I love it how God does this…in the midst of the craziness of life, the challenges and difficulties that have begun to wear me down, the weariness…He presents this, my favorite passage, as part of the daily Orthodox readings. Chance…no way! Coincidence…they don’t exist in His realm! Purposed and planned…YES! Thank You, Abba Father, for reminding me that You will renew my strength, that You will mount me up on wings of eagles, that You will sustain me at all times, through all seasons.
1 Peter 2:19-20
For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.
Personal Challenge…
As a Christian I am asked, actually commanded, to endure hardship gracefully and patiently, especially if the hardship is aimed at me for not doing anything wrong. This is another way of saying that I am to love my neighbor even when my neighbor is persecuting me. All I know is that I cannot do this on my own. I do not have the power or the ability to live this way on my own…but I do in Christ.
2 Timothy 1:12-14
Encouraging Words…
Paul reminds us through his letter to Timothy that even though he has gone through many ordeals for his Lord his belief has not waned. He has been able to keep his commitment to his Lord going steadfastly. He also makes it clear here that he is able to stay steadfast because of both the written and the oral traditions that had been handed down to him and that he was passing on to Timothy. What a rich past we have in our church through these traditions.
2 Timothy 2:11-13
This is a faithful saying:
For if we died with Him,We shall also live with Him.
If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.
If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.
Unless I deny Christ He will be with me through thick and thin. He always remains faithful even in those times when I become faithless. He is life, abundant life. Glory be to God!
Isaiah 29:13
So the Lord said, These people draw near to Me and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and they worship Me in vain, teaching the commandments and doctrines of men.
Personal Challenge…
Who is my practice of worship truly for? Is it for God or is it for me? Am I participating in my weekly “worship” service looking to be “moved” so that I can experience something “special” or am I entering into worship to submit to my God, to enter into His presence and join the host of angels worshiping His majesty? Am I continually looking for that special sermon, that wonderful oratory, which enlightens, blesses, and entertains me, or am I content stepping into the presence of my living God willing to give my all and desiring to receive nothing? The doctrines of man, the great oratory feats, the warm, fuzzy feelings from entertaining music and lyrics will all pass away…but the love of God, His peace, His kingdom will remain forever. What or Whom am I really worshiping?
Isaiah 28:16
therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, I lay for the foundations of Zion a costly stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone for its foundations, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.
Encouraging Words…
The early church fathers viewed this cornerstone as a symbol of Jesus and the work that He would do. As the cornerstone in the foundation of His new church He would join two walls, the Jews and the Gentiles into a unified and glorious building, His church. In Jesus we have a chosen and precious foundation.
2 Peter 3:9
Verse of the Day 