Category: Uncategorized

Saint of the Week

St. Paisios of Mt. Athos

SERVING GOD

Esther 4:13-16

And Mordecai said to Hathach, “Go and say to Esther, ‘Do not say to yourself that you alone will be saved in the kingdom apart from all the other Jews. For if you choose not to heed this request at this time, help and deliverance for the Jews will arise elsewhere, but you and your father’s house will perish. Besides, who knows whether it is for this occasion you reign as queen?’ ” Then Esther dispatched the one who came to her to Mordecai, saying, “Go and assemble together the Jews in Susa. Fast for me; do not eat or drink for three full days and three full nights. I and my maids will also fast. Then I will go to the king, contrary to the law, even if I am to perish.”

Personal Challenge

God accomplishes His will for mankind through His followers here on earth. He never forces us to do His work. He gives us opportunities to serve Him and lets us choose whether or not we want to act. If we choose not to He will ask another until He finds someone willing. This story in Esther is one of those cases. Mordecei, Esther’s uncle, has found out about a plan to kill all the Jews in the kingdom. Esther is the queen of the kingdom. It is unknown that she is a Jew. Mordecai is asking her to go to the king to reveal the plan and save the Jews. There is one problem. The law of the land is that anyone, including the queen, who seeks to see the king without his asking for it, is immediately sentenced to death. Esther chooses to do this regardless of the consequences. It is an awesome story… read it. Our personal challenge is to determine how God is calling us today to serve Him. It may be to stand between and ICE agent and an immigrant. Are you, am I, willing to do that? It may be standing up for someone being harrassed or bullied. What will be our response? Our relationship with God is reflected in our willingness to serve Him when He calls upon us. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

HE IS…

Judith 9:11 (not in the Protestant Bible)

“For Your might is not in numbers, nor Your power in men who are strong, but You are the God of the lowly; You are the helper of the oppressed, the defender of the weak, the protector of those who are forsaken, the savior of those without hope.”

Encouraging Words

After challenging the leaders of her community for putting God to a test, Judith chose to take it upon herself to rescue the community and ultimately all of Israel, from Holerfenes and his vast army. This verse is part of her prayer uttered before going into the enemy’s camp to slay their leader. Judith reminds us that God always does His miracles outside of our scope of thinking and understanding. God does not need great numbers of military might or powerful men to do His work. He uses common people like you and me to accomplish great miracles. He is the God of the lowly, the helper of the oppressed, the defend of the weak, the protector of the forsaken, the savior of those without hope. If we are to proclaim that we are followers of Christ, then these are the people that we need to be serving in humility. Glory be to God!

BE AN EXAMPLE

Judith 8:24-25 (not in the Protestant Bible)

“Now my brothers, let us set an example for our people, for their very lives depend upon us. Furthermore, the sanctuary, the temple, and the altar rest upon us. Besides all this, let us be thankful to the Lord our God, who is testing us just as He did our fathers.”

Personal Challenge

Judith admonishes the leaders of her community to be an example to the people that live there and to submit to the test that God has brought upon them. This is so important for those of us who choose to be followers of Christ. As His representatives in this world we must submit to Him and live in a way that demonstrates who Jesus is and that He loves everyone. We are seeing the opposite of this so much today by so many people who proclaim to be Christians. You cannot cheer when the foreigners amongst us get arrested and deported and proclim Christ. You cannot delight in wars and abuses and insurrections and proclaim Christ. You cannot cover up or participate in peclophilia, rape, theft, corruption, and acts of hatred and proclaim Christ. Lord have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

WHILE WE WAIT

Judith 8:17 (not in the Protestant Bible)

“Therefore, while we await His deliverance, let us call upon Him to help us, and if it pleases Him He will hear our voice.”

Personal Challenge

We are so used to instant gratification that we live our relationship with God with the expectation that He will answer our prayer as soon as we finish uttering it. It does not work that way. God is not our supernatural vending machine. He is also not a genie in the bottle waiting to grant our wishes. Why does God wait to answer our prayers? He knows that so often what we are asking for is not in our best interest. By waiting it gives time to reconsider our options, our needs versus our wants, and to understand what might be in our best interest. His waiting gives us time to change our minds, our will, to be in alignment with His. Glory be to God!

WHO CAN SEARCH OUT GOD?

Judith 8:14 (not in the Protestant Bible)

You cannot plumb the depths of the heart of man, nor grasp the thoughts of his mind. How then do you expect to search out God, who made all these things, and come to understand His mind or comprehend His purpose? No, brothers! Do not provoke the Lord our God to anger.

Personal Challenge

No one, no matter how well educated or equipped with life experiences, can plumb the depths of the heart of man. Only God can. No one can grasp the thoughts within another man’s mind. Only God can. God is eternal and infinite. We are finite and limited. When we attempt to act or speak as if we believe we are God, we provoke His anger. Lord, have menrcy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Saint of the Week

St. John Chrysostom

TESTING GOD

Judith 8:11-13 (not in the Protestant Bible)

They came to her, and she said to them, “Listen to me now, rulers of the people of Bethulia! Your words spoken today to the people are not right, nor is the oath you have sworn and pronounced between God and yourselves, promising to surrender the city to our adversaries unless the Lord turns and helps you in so many days.”

“Now who are you to have put God to the test this day, setting yourselves up as God’s equal among the sons of men? You are testing the Lord Almighty, but you will never come to know anything!”

Personal Challenge

As the story of Judith continues, we come to a place where Holofernes, a ruthless Assyrian general, has surrounded Bethulia , in Israel, and trapped the Israelites there. They had run out of food and water and were becoming desperate to survive. The elders, leaders of the city, went to God in prayer and bargained with Him. They gave Him five more days to rescue them or they would submit to Holofernes and surrender.

Here is where Judith enters the picture. She is young, beautiful, and godly widow. Her life has been above reproach. She is recognized as one of the supreme citizens in Bethulia. She calls a meeting with the elders and confronts them for testing God and making an unholy decision. This is where the story gets interesting. How does this apply to us? How often do we test God? If you do X for me God, I will go to church regularly or give my tithe, or fill in the blank. God is not our patsy to bargain with. It is our responsibility to submit to Him and trust that He will do what is right in our lives. We are seeing far too many instances in purveyors of Christianity today where God is being used to justify and glorify their own preferences. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, havew mercy!

SIN AGAINST GOD

Judith 5:20-21 (not in the Protestant Bible)

“Now my lord and master, if there is any sin of ignorance in this people and they sin against their God, then we will identify their offense and will go up to defeat them. But if there is no lawlessness in their nation, then let my lord leave them alone, lest their Lord shield them, and their God defend them, and we will become a reproach before the whole earth.”

Personal Challenge

Judith is another one of the great apocryphal books that will not be typically found in the Protestant Bible. This is such a loss. This passage falls in the midst of the account of Holefernes, a ruthless general in the Assyrian army. He has been ordered by King Nebuchadnezzar to take the nation of Israel and destroy their military. Prior to invading, he captures an Ammonite, a neighboring people to the Israelites, and seeks to gain insights about his enemy. He is told that if the Israelites have remained true to their God, then they will be invincible. On the contrary, if their is sin in their nation, then they will be conquered. How does this inform us today? It has nothing to do with Christion Nationalism. God’s only kingdom is not of this world. It has everything to do with those who proclaim to be His followers. Our lives will be impacted by how we follow Him. Are we loving Him and doing what He wants us to do? Are we loving our neighbor by taking care of those in need, caring for the foreigner amongst us, providing for the widow, the orphan, and the poor? We are seeing for too many things happen today that brings tears to the eyes of God and saying that we are doing them for Him. This is the true lawlessness in our nation. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

RETURNING VERSUS TURNING

Tobit 13:6 (not in the Protestant Bible)

If you return to Him with all your heart
And with all your soul,
To do the truth before Him,
Then He will turn to you
And not hide His presence from you.

Personal Challenge

This verse makes it very clear what happens between God and His followers. Sometimes we walk away from Him. Whether it is pursuing our desires and passions or getting distracted from our relationship with Him, the answer is for us to return to Him with our whole heart and soul. This is the act of repentance. Notice here that God will turn to us. He had never left us even though we had left Him. When we turned our back on Him, He remained with us. When we return to Him, He makes His presence known to us. Glory be to God!