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!

GIVE THANKS BEFORE THE NATIONS

Tobit 13:3-4 (not in the Protestant Bible)

Give thanks to Him before the nations,
O children of Israel,
For He scattered us among them.
Make known His greatness there;
Exalt Him in the presence of all the living,
For He is our Lord and God;
He is our Father unto all the ages.

Personal Challenge

In the Old Testament, under the old covenant, God dispersed His people, the Jewish nation, throughout the other nations of the world. They were dispersed as a discipline for not following their part of the covenant. God’s expectation was that they would be beacons of light to these nations to draw people to Him. Today, we, as followers of Christ, are members of His heavenly kingdom under the new covenant. We are His ambassadors wherever we live in the world today. We are still tasked with being His beacons of light. This does not happen through striving to create a Christian nation or spewing hatred of those who are different than us or applauding the mistreatment of the foreigners amongst us. Our kingdom is not of this world. Our King is not of this world. Our neighbors and our enemies are those whom we are to love, pray for, and take care of. Lord, have mercy! Lord have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

FULL OF LIFE

Tobit 12:8-9 (not in the Protestant Bible)

Prayer is good with fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. A few prayers with righteousness are better than many with wrongdoing. It is better to do almsgiving than to lay up gold. For almsgiving rescues one from death, and it will wash away every sin. Those who do almsgiving and are righteous will be full of life.

Personal Challenge

Raphael, the archangel continues his lesson on how to achieve full life and righteousness in this passage. If we desire for our prayers to carry more power, add to them fasting, almsgiving, and righteous living. This does not mean that by doing these things we earn God’s favor. We already have that in His grace and mercy. What comes from fasting, almsgiving, and righteous living is a discipline in our relationships with God and a cleansing in our lives. Because of this our prayers will be more aligned with God’s will. What happens here is that we are changed, not God. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lood, have mercy!

GIVE THANKS

Tobit 12:6-7 (not in the Protestant Bible)

Then Raphael secretly called the two of them, and said to them, “Bless God and give Him thanks. Ascribe greatness to Him and give thanks in the presence of all the living for what He has done for you. It is good to bless God and to exalt His name. Make known the words of God’s works honorably and do not delay to give thanks to Him. It is noble to keep hidden the secret of a king, but glorious to unveil the works of God. Do good, and evil will not find you.”

Personal Challenge

The book of Tobit, an Old Testament apocryphal book, provides a very special story about how God works in the lives of those who not only put their trust in Him, but also live their lives according to His principles and precepts. In the end, Tobit and his son, Tobias, are reminded to bless God and give Him thanks in all aspects of their lives. The works of men, whether kings or presidents, mean nothing with respect to mankind and eternity, for it is the works of God alone that counts. Glory be to God!

Saint of the Week

St. Gabriel Urgebadze

GIVE!

Tobit 4:16 (not in the Protestant Bible)

From your bread, give to him who is hungry, and from your clothing, give to the naked. If you have more than you need, do almsgiving, and do not let your eye envy the almsgiving when you do it.

Personal Challenge

What a great verse to come up on this day where we celebrate giving. As followers of Christ, it is expected that we will give to those in need, and give generously and joyfully. Our society today has gotten caught up too much in receiving. And to make it much worse, our current elected leadership has chosen to take so much away from so many in desperate need, all in the name of Christian Nationalism. This is why we all must find ways to share of our wealth with those in need, again generousley and joyfully. We should also do what we can to turn around the direction that we are going as a country and a culture. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord have mercy!

REMEMBER

Tobit 4:5-7(not in the Protestant Bible)

My son, remember the Lord our God all your days, and do not desire to sin or to disobey His commandments. Do righteousness all the days of your life, and do not walk in the ways of wrongdoing. For if you walk in the truth, you will be successful in your works. Do almsgiving from your possessions to all who do righteousness. When you do almsgiving, do not let your eye be envious. Do not turn your face away from any poor man, so the face of God will not be turned away from you.

Personal Challenge

Tobit gives very wise advise to his son, and therefore to all of us who desire to follow in the footsteps of Christ. Remember the Lord all your days. Do not desire to sin. Do not disobey His commandments. Do almsgiving and do not do it reluctantly. Do not turn away from any poor person. Christianity is always other focused, if it is done right. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!