Category: Uncategorized

HOLY GROUND

Exodus 3:5

So He said, “Do not come any closer. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”

Personal Challenge

Throughout the scriptures we see account after account of people falling on their faces when they encounter God. Here we have Moses being told to take his sandals off because he we was standing on holy ground in the presence of God. We have replaced that sense of reverence for God with a sense of familiarity that ends up with us just treating Him like any other person. We approach the eucharistic meal without awe and respect. We enter our places of worship flippantly and without seeking God. Is this not part of the reason that the world around us has lost it’s perspective on God. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have merey on me, the sinner and forgive me for taking you for granted and not revering you as I should.

GOD MAKES IT GOOD

Genesis 50:19-20

So Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for I belong to God. But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”

Personal Challenge

There are so many things in our lives that can end up going so many different ways. Sometimes things can go really sideways. Our attitude, our belief system, is the most effective tool that we have to deal with these situations. We can turn hostile and nasty, which will always make things worse or we can hold outo our faith in our God and look for His hand in the situation. God will always provide a path through every situation that ends up good for all involved. It is up to us to look for that path and to follow it. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

ALL FOR GOOD

Genesis 45:4-8

But Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now therefore, do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to save life. For this is the second year of famine in the land, and five years still remain in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. For God sent me before you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth, and to sustain you as a great remnant. So now, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.”

Personal Challenge

As a follower of Christ. part of my ongoing challenge is to watch for God’s hand (will) at work in my life. Because of His commitment to free will, I can make choices that result in either positive or negative consequences. So can everyone else in the world that I end up interacting with. My challenge, or more realistically, my opportunity, is to see where God is showing up in these consequences and pursue Him. Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. Joseph kept his eyes and heart focused on God and many years later ended up in a position to save his brothers and the entire Israelite nation from starvation and death. He saw this as God showing up in the consequences of his brothers’ choice. We can do the same. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

FREE WILL

Genesis 24:8

“And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.”

Encouraging Words

God created all humans with the ability to choose. He gave us free will. Even though His unending desire is to be in fellowship with us, He will not force us to do anything. This verse is in the midst of the story of Abraham sending his servant to a neighboring land to find a wife for His son, Lot. The servant takes an oath to do this. Abraham gives him a way out of the oath. If he finds the potential bride but she refuses to return with him, the oath is cancelled. She, as well as the servant, has the ability to exercise their free will. This is an image of God’s love for us. Glory be to God!

Saint of the Week

St. John Chrysostom

FEARING GOD, NOT MAN

Genesis 22:10-12

Then Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” He then replied, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him, for now I know you fear God, since for My sake you have not spared your beloved son.”

Personal Challenge

It is our responsibility as followers of Christ to put Him above all else in our lives. This is what it means to fear God. This does not mean that we cower before Him because we are afraid of Him. God is love. He is merciful and graceful towards us. We love and respect Him and are willing to do anything for Him. We cannot, however, both follow Him and follow, almost to the point of worship, people of this world who contradict God’s love, mercy, and grace. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

HE BELIEVED GOD

Genesis 15:6

And Abram believed God, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Personal Challenge

A core component of a follower of Christ is belief. We must believe in our God even though we have not seen Him or heard His voice. Just as we recognize that the wind is blowing by the rustling of leaves and the movement of the trees, we believe in a living and loving God because of what we see happening in our lives that can only be from Him. This is faith. This is what God uses to account as righteousness in our lives. Glory be to God!

WHAT DOES GOD COMMAND?

Genesis 6:22

Thus Noah did according to all the Lord God commanded him, so he did.

Personal Challenge

We are living in an age where prominent people proclaim to be Christians and yet they do everything they can that opposes the commands of Jesus. Rounding up people because of their color or accent is not Christian. Killing innocent (until proven guilty) fishermen in the ocean is not Christian. Covering up for pedophiles and taking money as bribes is not Christian. Treating women as less than you is not Christian. Christian is loving our neighbor, taking in the foreigner amongst us, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving of our weath to the needy and the poor. Noah got it right. When God told him to do something that made no sense, he did it with no hesitation and no questions. This is what God wants from His followers. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Love, have mercy!

MALE AND FEMALE

Genesis 5:2-3

He made them male and female, and blessed them; and the day He made them He called his name Adam. Now Adam lived two hundred and thirty years, and begot a son according to his form and image, and named him Seth.

Encouraging Words

We, male and female, were created in God’s image and immediately blessed by Him. We are equal in God’s sight. Dominionism, complimentarianism, and any other doctrine that elevates a male above a female is a heresy. God’s intention is that all people, regardless of sex or color or nationality are equal in His sight. This is why Christian nationality is also a heresy. If we are followers of Christ then our citizenship, our nationality, is not of any nation or kingdom of this earth. Glory be to God alone!

GOD HAS GIVEN

Genesis 4:25

Again Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore a son, and he named him Seth, saying, “God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.”

Encouraging Words

Life is full of twists and turns, ups and downs, and many surprises and challenges. God is always there with us, whether we see Him or not. Those times that we do not see Him are so often because our eyes and hearts are focused on the things of this world. The more that we strive to remain close to God, the more we can see His hand at work in our lives. In this continuing story of Adam, Eve, and their sons Cain and Abel, we see God blessing them with a new son to replace Abel who was killed by Cain. It is through this new line that Jesus is someday born. It is the birth of Seth that we see an image of the resurrection of Christ after His death. As we follow Christ and put our trust in Him, we find God’s plans for us. Glory be to God!