Romans 6:3-4

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Personal Challenge

Do you profess to be a Christian? Were you baptized in Christ? Are you dead to the world? This is what our Scriptures teach us. If we were baptized into Christ, then we were baptized into His death and our own death to this world and raised up with Him so that we could walk in newness of life. If we are still living in love with the world, then we are betraying Christ. Lord, have mercy!

Romans 2:28-29

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

Personal Challenge

The true depth of our relationship with Jesus Christ is not measured by our outward appearances. We live in an age where false personas are not only accepted but glorified. People, even those in the church have mastered the ability to be one thing when you are around them and entirely the opposite thing when they think no one else is watching. Paul is calling out all of those early Christians who have gone through all of the external motions and observances, but who are inwardly not changed at all. We must all ask ourselves, I must ask myself, have I mastered the image of a good and godly person, and yet on the inside of my heart betray God over and over again? It is what is on the inside that really counts. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Acts 8:30-31

So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.

Encouraging Words

One of the significant differences between the Orthodox Church and the modern church is in how we address the interpretation of the scriptures. Orthodoxy teaches that the interpretation must be grounded in the church, her saints and teachings for 2,000 years, Gen traditions, and her sacraments. The enrich in this passage was trying to understand what he was reading. Philip, who had walked with Jesus and learned from Him, as well as being one of the apostolic leaders of the early chord, interpreted this reading in the context of that setting. So many, today, believe that as long as I have a printed version of the Bible, then they can interpret it by themselves. This is not so according to the teachings of the Church. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Luke 12:35-36

“Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.”

Personal Challenge

God does not want any of His children to be lazy. We have been adopted into a family of doers, a family that is asked to stand ready at all times for when our Father calls upon us to act, our waist is girded, our lamps are burning, and we are ready to do whatever He asks. This passage is often interpreted to mean that we must be ready for when He comes on that last day of judgment, but it can also mean that we stand ready to respond whenever He calls upon us to do His work, which means we’re listening for His voice and living close enough to Him to be able to hear it. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Luke 12:32-33

“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.”

Encouraging Words

It is our Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. God does not begrudgingly let us into heaven. He is eager for all of us to be participants in His love and residents in His Kingdom. Part of living in the Kingdom of heaven in this life is letting go of the stuff of this world and investing in that Kingdom where our treasure will never grow old and never be stolen or destroyed. Glory be to God!

Luke 12:22-23

Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.”

Personal challenge

There is a difference between worrying and planning. It is prudent to start saving for our retirement when we are young so that we will not be a burden to others when we are old. But if we slip into a mindset of hoarding because we are fearful that we will not have enough, then we are in a state of worry and not trusting God. This applies to every aspect of our lives. Do we worry about our job? It is in God’s hands. Do we worry about our finances and stuff? It all belongs to God anyway. Maybe we should give it back to Him. Are we worried about our health? What can we learn from God in times of sickness? The bottom line is that there is no room or excuse in the Christian’s life to worry, for we are to be trusting God and looking to Him for our all. Glory be to God!

Luke 10:9

And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

Personal Challenge

One of the errors that we have grabbed on to in the church is that the Kingdom of God is coming… someday. Jesus taught us that with His incarnation, His being God and then becoming a human being, He threw open the gates to the Kingdom of God and made it possible for all of us to enter into it and experience it now, not sometime in the distant future. That is why He tells us to proclaim to the lost world that His Kingdom is here and that they too can participate in it. We too can heal the sick because we are residents in the Kingdom of God. Glory be to God!

Luke 7:13

When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

Encouraging Words

Jesus is not some idle, out of reach, god that has been conceived in the mind of men. He walked upon this earth and changed the course of eternity by being both fully God and fully man. And while He was walking here amongst us He never lorded it over us. To the contrary, He had compassion for those whom He came into contact with and showed them God’s love for them. He did what He asks us to do. Just as He told this widow whose only son had just died, to not weep, He tells us to not weep, to not be sad because this world is harsh and spiteful towards us. Just as He raised her son back up to life, He raises us up to life day after day. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Luke 6:46

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?”

Personal Challenge

If we really want to change our world for the better by introducing everyone to Christ, then we need to change our ways. We have become a people that proclaim Christ as our Lord, but don’t do any of His commandments, like loving our neighbor in word and deed. God does not want just our words, He also wants our actions. Lord, have mercy!