Category: Uncategorized

September 23, 2012

For He says:

    “In an acceptable time I have heard you,
    And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Personal Challenge…

What are we waiting for? What am I waiting for? God as heard our cries for salvation, our calling out of the wilderness for His leading out of lostness and darkness. He has answered our calls and yet we continue to look for our help elsewhere; in the offerings of the world, in ourselves, everywhere but in Him. What am I waiting for? Now is the acceptable time!

1 Corinthians 10:24

Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.

Personal Challenge…

Is my desire to be like Christ? Is my goal in life to be a righteous man? Am I trying to glorify God in all that I do? Then here is the place to start…do all that I do in love and for the other’s well-being. Again, it is not about me, but is about those around me that are the living icons of God.

My life motto has been:
   To be and do…
      All that I can…
         With others…
            For God!

Maybe it is time to step up and do this with all my energy.

Psalm 118:8-9 (117:8-9 LXX)

It is good to trust in the Lord
Rather than to trust in man;
It is good to hope in the Lord
Rather than to hope in rulers.

Encouraging Words…

Every political season I am amazed at how many Christians begin to proclaim their party and their candidate as the symbol of their faith. “You are not really a Christian unless you vote for…”. The psalmist reminds us clearly that our trust and hope are to be in none other than our Lord, our true Ruler. Yes, we should exercise our right as citizens in this world but we should not equate faith in Christ to the things of this world.

Ephesians 1:3-6

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Encouraging Words…

Our Father, the Creator of all, is truly sovereign over His creation. We are His and His love for us is eternal. As my journey through life has transitioned along the path of Orthodoxy I continue to be blessed by the explanations and teachings of the early church fathers that date back to the beginnings of Christianity. These notes from the Orthodox Study Bible help to explain these verse from their perspective.
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Everything comes from God, and everything should be drawn back to Him. God’s original intent for the Incarnation was not redemption from the Fall but adoption as sons of God (v. 5), that is, deification. For when God contemplated creating the world, He planned on bringing it into union with Himself through the Incarnation of His Son, that is, through the Son’s union with human nature. That is why St. Athanasius can say, “God became man that man might become god.”

The Father chose us (v. 4) in Him, the Son. Christ, who is God by nature, became Man by choice. If we choose Him, we, who are human by nature, become “gods” by grace. If we are in Christ, the Son of God, we are sons of God. Paul is not addressing individuals as such but us, the community, the Church. And he is not addressing the issue of human will in salvation but the will of God, which is that all are chosen (see Rom 11: 32; 1Ti 2: 4; 2Pt 3: 9). But being predestined (v. 5) by God does not nullify human will: in everything, God is the originator, the initiator; we merely respond, but our response is necessary. Becoming a Christian is not so much inviting Christ into one’s life as getting oneself into Christ’s life. What is true of Christ must become true of one who is in Him.

Galatians 6:2-5

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load.

Personal Challenge…

Christianity is an active faith that produces works that glorify God and touch the lives of those around us. I am reminded by these verses to examine my life, my relationships with my loved ones, my actions around my coworkers, even my thoughts about those whom God has placed in my life, and whether or not I am doing what I do for my God. Or, as is far more often the case, am I looking out for my own interests? The study Bible that I am using explains these verses this way:

     “Paul admonishes us to bear one another’s burdens. But moments later, he notes

Galatians 5:24-26

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Personal Challenge…

Wow! What an indictment fo the true condition of my heart. Have I ever really crucified my flesh with its passions and desires? Do I purposely, regularly walk in the Spirit, or do I choose to walk in the flesh? Do I go through life conceited, provoking and envying? If I am truly pursuing Christ, striving to grow in His image, then there must be radical changes in my life. I must be set apart for Him.

Psalm 111:4 (110:4 LXX)

He made a remembrance of His wonders; the Lord is merciful and compassionate.

Personal Challenge…

No matter how hard I try I can find no reason for every man, woman or child to not know of God. He has placed His essence in every aspect of creation. This may not mean that everyone expresses their belief in God the same way that I do, but who am I to judge others on their belief and even better yet, who am I to judge God on how He has chosen to touch others hearts. The Lord is merciful and compassionate.

Galatians 6:14

But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Personal Challenge…

I am nothing without Christ, I am everything in Him through the work that He did on the cross. Through His crucifixion, burial and resurrection I can be crucified to the world and its pull on me toward worldliness and sin. If I live my life in this power then I will only want to boast in Him.

Psalm 104:33-34 (103:33-34 LXX)

I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing to my God as long as I exist;
May my words be pleasing to Him,
And I shall be glad in the Lord.

Personal Challenge…

My God and Lord has taken such good and loving care of me throughout my life. My desire is to sing of Him to those around me. My prayer is that my words will always be pleasing to Him.

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.

Personal Challenge…

In light of this week’s events (the release of a film slandering Islam and the following response that took innocent lives) I was moved by this verse to ask myself a question, “Am I a fool for Christ? Am I willing to defend and proclaim the message of the Cross even unto my death?” I do not condone either of the actions in this chain of events, but I am moved to assess my own commitment to my God and what He has done to save mankind, which includes me. Am I willing to be a radical for Him as those whom we often condemn are for their beliefs? Would I be willing to walk up to a man with a bomb strapped around himself and give him a hug in the name of Christ?