BE HOLY, FOR HE IS HOLY

1 Peter 1:13-16

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Personal Challenge

As followers of Christ we are expected to be living our lives in ways that imitate Him. We cannot proclaim to be His followers and at the same time treat others with disdain and contempt. Jesus loved the entire world and all who have, or ever will, inhabite it. His expection is that we will love our neighbor, especially the widow, the orphan, the naked, the poor, the sick, and the foreigner amongst us. We see so many today calling upon the name of Jesus for wealth and prosperity, for elimination of people of color or different expressions of faith, for heresies like Christian nationalism. These behaviors are not holy as He is holy. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

GOD WILL BE WITH US

Isaiah 58:11

God shall be with you continually, and you shall be satisfied as your soul desires. Your bones shall be enriched, and you shall be like a well-watered garden and like a spring of water that does not fail. Your bones will arise and be enriched like a green plant, and they shall inherit generations of generations.

Encouraging Words

So many of the promises found in the Old Testament covenant are focued on the hope of the coming Messiah. This passage talks about God being with us continually, satisfaction of our soul’s desires, enriched and healthy lives and other blessings. We are recipients of many blessings because the Messiah has a already come, fulfilled the old covenant and created a new one. A key to remember in all of this is that these blessings will be part of the new kingdom that Jesus established, which is more spiritual than physical. Our rewards have not been fully manifested yet. So we continue to hope in His return. Glory be to God!

BEGOTTEN AGAIN

1 Peter 1:3-5

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Encouraging Words

Have you ever thought about your salvation in Christ this way? We were all begotten once by God when He formed us in the womb of our mother. Then through the work of Christ in His incarnation, life, death, and resurrection, we are begotten again. We are not begotten this second time to anything on earth but to a living hope in the resurrection of Christ that we too will be resurrected. What a glorious promise. Glory be to Good!

GOD WILL HEAR YOU

Isaiah 58:9-10

Then you shall cry out, and God will hear you. While you are still speaking, He will say, ‘Behold, I am here.’ If you take away your fetter and the pointing of the finger, and the word of grumbling, and if you give bread to the hungry from your soul, and satisfy the humble soul, then your light shall rise up in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as midday.

Personal Challenge

The passage before this one admonishes us to stop “doing “our Christianity and to start “being” Christians. God does not care about how often we go to church, do church things, or proclaim pithy sayings about Him. He doesn’t even care that we wear our crosses and WWJD bracelets in publid. He cares about how we take care of our neighbor and show them His love. When we live this way, He will hear our voice when we cry out to Him. He will unbind the things of the world that hold us. He will hear us when we take the fetters off of those that we have bound, when we stop grumbling, and start feeding the humble amongst us. Only then will the darkness of this world dissipate around us. Glory be to God!

Saint of the Week
St. Joseph the Hesychast

FAITH IN COMMUNITY

James 5:16

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Personal Challenge

The bride of Christ is represented in His church. We are meant to be in fellowship, communion, with fellow believers. It is in these communities, our churches, that we can encourage and support each other in our journeys through life. We can confess our sins and issues to one another seeking prayer and support, which leads to healing. We can avail much in each other’s life through fervent prayer. God himself is a community three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He desires that we exercise our faith in community as well. Glory be to God!

WHY?

Isaiah 58:3-8

saying, ‘Why have we fasted, but You did not see it? Why have we humbled our souls, but You did not know it?’ Because in the days of your fasts, you seek your own wills, and mistreat those under your authority. If you fast for condemnations and quarrels, and strike a humble man with your fists, why do you fast to Me as you do today, so your voice may be heard in crying? I did not choose this fast, and such a day for a man to humble his soul; nor if you should bow your neck like a ring and spread sackcloth and ashes under yourself, could you thus call such a fast acceptable. I did not choose such a fast,” says the Lord; “rather, loose every bond of wrongdoing; untie the knots of violent dealings; cancel the debts of the oppressed; and tear apart every unjust contract. Break your bread for the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house. If you see a naked man, clothe him, nor shall you disregard your offspring in your own household. Then your light shall break forth as the morning, and your healing shall spring forth quickly. Your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall cover you.

Personal Challenge

Long passage today, yet so necessary in what we are seeing in our world today. So many people are proclaiming to be Christians and yet behaving worse than heathens. In Russia we have the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill proclaiming Russky Mir, the Russian World Order, as the ideology of the church and blessing the war in Ukraine. In America we have leadership brandishing crosses and the ten commandments, all the while doing things that would make Jesus flip the tables over. We also have Christian nationalism that has abandoned the truth of the Gospel. The list goes on and on. Read this passage multiple times to really understand how much God hates these false expressions of faith in Him. If we are not loving our neighbor, protecting those who cannot protect themselves, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, taking in the foreigner, then we are not living as Christians. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

HEALING OF THE SICK

James 5:13-15

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Encouraging Words

Our lives as followers of Christ are not just about attending services and reading scriptures. Those are things that we do to build and strengthen our failth, but Christianity goes much farther than that. We are to be holistic in our faith practice. We offer up prayer for those who are suffering. We sing and rejoice with those who are cheerful. When one amongst us is sick, we come together, including the leaders of the church, pay over them, anoint them with oil, and call upon God for their healing. We are not to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world in some errant form of false piety, but are to engage with one another in God’s love. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

THE LORD MOST HIGH

Isaiah 57:15

The Lord, the Most High who dwells on high forever, the Holy One among His saints, whose name is the Lord Most High, who rests among His saints, and who gives patience to the fainthearted and life to the broken-hearted, says this:

Encouraging Words

As followers of Christ, we believe these things about our God. He is the most high and dwells forever. He is eternal. He both gives rest to His saints, His followers, and rests with us. He gives patience to the fainthearted and life to the broken-hearted. He loves us. Glory be to God!

BE PATIENT

James 5:7-11

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

Personal Challenge

One of the most difficult virtues to learn is to be patient, especially when we are waiting on God for something. Our timeline on this earth is finite and yet, all that we have to reference. We desire that things move at a pace that fits us. God’s timeline is infinite and He sees the entire picture. We can learn to be patient as we wait upon Him and live a much fuller life. However, being patient does not just mean waiting. It means establishing our hearts for the wait. It means not grumbling and complaining about the wait. It sometimes includes suffering as we wait. It will always be worth it. Glory be to God!