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Wisdom of Solomon 4:7-9

But though a righteous man may die before his time,
He shall be at rest.
For old age is not honored for its length of existence,
Nor measured by its number of years;
But discernment is gray hair for mankind,
And a spotless life is the maturity of old age.

Encouraging Words

Throughout the entire history of mankind, we have spent so much time and wealth looking for that allusive fountain of youth. People do all kinds of things to stay forever young. Here is a reminder of the beautiful and glorious aspects of old age. With gray hair comes discernment, due to the many experiences of a long-lived life. With maturity of old age, if we have grown in our relationship with God, our life becomes more spotless and purer, in Him. Glory be to God!

Philippians 1:3-8

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy,
for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,
being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.
For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.

Encouraging Words

This set of verses from Paul, written first to the people of Philippi, and secondly to all of the followers of Christ that have the opportunity to read this letter, is such a blessing to us. I specifically call out verse six because of the power in that verse as it relates to each of us individually and collectively. When we answered the call of Jesus to follow Him, He began a work of transforming us into an image of Him. He will never abandon that work, no matter how much we resist. He will continue working within us until we are mirrors of Him to the needy world around us. Why resist? Glory be to God!

Wisdom of Solomon 4:2

When virtue is present, people imitate it,
And when it goes away, they long for it.
Throughout one’s lifetime,
Virtue leads the struggle for undefiled prizes,
Wearing a crown and conquering.

Personal Challenge

What a beautiful explanation of virtue. It is such a shame that we live in a day where virtue is no longer present, especially amongst so many of our political leaders. It has become acceptable to lie, cheat, steal, verbally abuse everyone that disagrees with us, and commit many other forms of debauchery, without any remorse. We must all proclaim, “Lord, have mercy!”, and seek our Father’s forgiveness for falling in line behind those who perpetrate these acts. Let us, those who proclaim to be followers of Christ, seek His forgiveness and pursue those virtues that glorify Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Philippians 1:2

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Encouraging Words

Paul often started off his letters to the first century churches with greetings like this one. We must also remember that by the grace of God, these letters are also written to us. He is calling upon our God to give us grace and peace as we read through this letter. What a joy to know that this 2000-year-old greeting is still called for us. Glory be to God!

Wisdom of Solomon 3:9

Those who trust in Him will understand truth,
And the faithful shall continue with Him in love,
Because grace and mercy are upon His elect.

Personal Challenge

Real truth comes from the right entity that we put our trust in. If we desire to receive godly, righteous truth, then we must put our trust in God, the only source of this kind of truth. If we put our trust in men who proclaim their tainted version of the truth, then all that we receive is corrupted truth, lies painted to look like the truth. The same goes for organizations or parties or institutions that pander unfounded, ungodly lies painted as the truth. True truth only comes from God. Lord, have mercy!

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Encouraging Words

This passage stands on its own and needs no additional commentary. We are commanded to be strong in our faithful commitment to our Lord and to stand in the breach of the spiritual battle that rages on around us. The encouraging part is that God gives all the battle gear that we need to wage this war. Glory be to God!

Wisdom of Solomon 1:1-2

Love righteousness, you who judge on the earth.
Think about the Lord in goodness
And seek Him with sincerity of heart;
Because He is found by those who do not tempt Him,
And He is manifest to those who do not disbelieve Him.

Personal Challenge

We are told here to love righteousness and to think about the Lord. Neither of these actions have any value unless they are done in goodness and in sincerity of heart. Our Lord appreciates our actions that we do for Him, but He always looks at the state of our heart to determine the intentions behind Those actions. By living this way and believing in Him. we will find Him in our lives, and He will be manifested there. Glory be to God!

Ephesians 6:5-8

Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ;
not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,
knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

Personal Challenge

In the book of Ephesians, Paul goes through various relationships and lays out clear guidelines on how we are to behave in them from a godly perspective. Husbands and wives. Parents and children. Subordinates to their superiors, which is this passage. As subordinates we are to be obedient with sincerity of heart as if we were giving that obedience to Jesus. This means doing the will of God in that obedience. It is our responsibility as followers of Christ to emulate him in thins, and all other relationships. By doing this, we will glorify God and spread the good news of His kingdom. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!