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

Every great structure, profound idea that matures into something great, or accompl­ishment is founded upon a strong cornerstone. For Christians, that cornerstone is Jesus Christ. When we choose to follow Him, we allow Him to rip out from under every aspect of our lives, those cornerstones that we have built upon, and replaces them with Himself. Our journey to theosis is then built upon that foundation. Glory be to God!

Isaiah 26:7

The way of the godly is straight; and the way of the godly is prepared.

Personal challenge

We are all on a journey called life. This is one short piece of the rest of eternity in which we find ourselves. It is important that all of us determine where we want to continue our journey after we repose here in this temporal realm. Jesus has given us the path to eternal life in the presence of God. It is through Him that we enter that realm. Part of what we can do in this stage of our journey is to strive to be godly and live for Him. This helps to make this path straight and to prepare us for Him. Glory be to God!

Isaiah 26:2-4

Open the gates; let the people enter who keep righteousness and guard the truth, and who lay hold of the truth and keep peace, because they hope forever in You, O Lord, the great and eternal God,

Encouraging Words

The gates to heaven have been opened by our Lord Jesus Christ. He welcomes all who believe in Him, who keep His righteousness, who guard His truth, and who hold onto that truth and keep His peace to enter in. Our hope is in Him and it is because of this hope that our lives are changed so that we desire to live for Him and walk in His footsteps. Our Lord is the great and eternal God and we are His children. Glory be to God!

Isaiah 12:2

Behold, God is my Savior and Lord. I will trust in Him and be saved by Him. I will not be afraid, for the Lord is my glory and my praise. He has become my salvation.

Personal Challenge

It is indeed one thing to proclaim these types of things about our Lord and yet an entirely different thing to live out our lives demonstrating this belief. Do we submit our all to Him as if He truly was our Lord? Do we trust Him and go through both the challenges and the victories of life as if we are convinced that He will save and protect us? Or do we rely on ourselves and the things of this world for our salvation? Do we go through every day without fear because we see God as our glory and praise? He is our salvation! He is our Lord! And we are blessed to be His children! Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Isaiah 9:6

Great shall be His government, and of His peace there is no end. His peace shall be upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order and establish it with righteousness and judgment, from that time forward and unto ages of ages. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.

Encouraging Words

I have spent most of my Christian journey being taught, and believing, that God’s Kingdom was coming, someday after Jesus returns. However, if you read the scriptures through the eyes of Eastern Orthodoxy, eyes similar to those of our Apostles and Jesus himself, you will see that Jesus ushered in His Kingdom and His government with His incarnation. We believe that we are living as members of His Kingdom and under the rule of His government today. The key here is that we are living this out in this temporal world as His ambassadors, representing Him to the world around us. We do not put our hope in some future Kingdom but in the one that belongs to Him today. Glory be to God!

Isaiah 6:8-10

Isaiah 1:16-20

Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean. Put away the evils from your souls before My eyes. Cease from your evils. Learn to do good. Seek judgment and redeem the wronged. Defend the orphan and justify the widow. Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “although your sins are like crimson, I shall make them white like snow, and although they are as scarlet, I shall make them white like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good things of the land. But if you are unwilling and disobedient, you shall be devoured by the sword,” for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Command with a promise

We are told that we must make the effort to cleanse ourselves, put away evil from all aspects of our lives, stop doing evil, do good, seek out justice for those who have been wronged, and defend those who cannot defend themselves. As Christians, we know that we are no longer bound by the Law because Jesus fulfilled the Law. We also know that there is nothing that we can do to earn, or even deserve, the mercy, grace, and love of God. He gives it to us freely. So why do all these things that really manifest the Lord? We do them out of our gratefulness to our Lord, out of our love for Him. We also know that by living for Him, His way, we will more deeply experience the promises that came with these commands. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Malachi 3:1-5

“Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come into His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom you desire. Behold, He is coming,” says the Lord Almighty. “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can withstand His appearance? For He enters like a refiner’s fire and as soap in one’s wash. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver and gold. He will purify the sons of Levi and pour them out as purified gold and silver, and they will bring an offering to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old, as in former years.

“And I will draw near to you in judgment, a swift witness against sorcerers, adulterers, those who swear falsely by My name, those who exploit wage-earners, those who oppress widows and afflict orphans, those who pervert the justice due foreigners, and those who do not fear Me,” says the Lord Almighty.

Personal Challenge

Malachi prophesied that there would be two very important messengers coming in the future. These messengers would totally upend the state of their religious beliefs that they practiced. The first messenger was John the Baptist who was sent to announce the coming of the Messenger of God, the Messiah. John challenged the leaders of his religious practices for being deadened to the voice of God and creating a religion of men. Jesus picked up that challenge to the leaders and then extended it to every person. He called us to Himself and challenged us to abandon this world and to take up His cross as ours and follow Him. Through Him, we are now His messengers taking His word out to the world around us. Are we living up to that responsibility as His messengers? Am I? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Malachi 1:6a

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then, I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is the reverence due to me?” says the Lord Almighty.

Personal Challenge

As Christians, we must always be looking at our lives and making sure that we are honoring God above ourselves and the things of this world. It is so easy nowadays to be distracted and take our eyes off of God and that which He wants us to focus on. Sometimes it is a thing that distracts us. Sometimes it is a person that we set up on a pedestal. Sometimes it is our material positions or our desires for them. No matter what is going on in our lives, there is always an opportunity to honor God more than yesterday. Glory be to God!