Philippians 1:3-8

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.

Encouraging Words

In the middle of Paul’s exclamation of thanksgiving, we find this precious nugget of truth, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” This is truly something to be thankful for. We are not a completed work. God will continue His work in our lives until that day when Jesus returns. He has us in His hands. Glory be to God?

Ezekiel 37:26-28

I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant, and I will establish My sanctuary in their midst forever. My tabernacle shall be among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them, when My sanctuary is among them forever.

Encouraging Words

In approximately AD 33, our Lord established His sanctuary in the midst of His people. That sanctuary is the Church, the Church universal, that exists still to this day. Even though there have been divisions and splits through the millennia, His church still thrives and permeates His world, His creation. As members of that church, we are a part of His covenant of peace, an everlasting covenant. He continues to sanctify us and to provide us with a sanctuary, His sanctuary. And we know that even the gates of hell cannot prevail against us as we take refuge in this sanctuary. Glory be to God!

Philippians 1:2

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Encouraging Words

Is this not the kind of greeting that we should bestow on everyone that we come into contact with, whether friend or foe? God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ have blessed us with so much. They have poured out their grace, mercy, and peace upon each one of us so abundantly. The least that we can do in response to this is to give grace and peace to those in our lives. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Ezekiel 36:25-27

I shall sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be cleansed from all your uncleanness, and I will also cleanse you from all your idols. I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I shall take the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I shall put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My requirements, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

Encouraging Words

Through the words of Ezekiel, our Lord prophetically spoke of the coming of the Savior, the Messiah. Jesus is that Savior and Messiah. He has sprinkled the water of baptism upon us to cleanse us from our sinful uncleanness. He has smashed the idols in our lives and given us the image of the one, true God in Himself. He gives us a new heart and makes us new, as we were meant to be in the beginning. He has filled us with the Holy Spirit so that we could walk in His ways on His path of righteousness. He has made us into new creations. Glory be to God!

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Personal Challenge

We are told to be strong and to stand up to the wiles of the devil. Sometimes he seems like such a formidable foe and that we have no way of standing up to him. The truth is that if we do try to stand up to him and the rest of the world on our own accord, then we will not be able to do it. That is why this passage lays out an entire arsenal of weaponry that our Lord makes available to us to resist the evil around us. We are not in this struggle alone, God is our protector and provider. He equips us with everything that we will ever need to live a life that will glorify Him. We, however, must do our part by putting on His armor and using His tools to defeat the enemy and be strong in the process. Glory be to God!

Ezekiel 34:15-16

“I shall feed My sheep and refresh them; and they will know that I am the Lord,” thus says the Lord and Master. “I shall seek the lost, bring back the misled, bind up the broken, strengthen the fallen, protect the strong, and feed them with judgment.”

Encouraging Words

Have you ever been hungry beyond what food would satisfy? Have you ever been weary beyond what a good night sleep would refresh? Have you ever been lost and off of the straight and narrow path of life that you have chosen to follow? Have you ever been broken, fallen, and weak? We all have. Some to greater levels than others. Ezekiel reminds us that our Lord, Jesus Christ, is our great and loving Shepherd, here to recover us from all of the maladies of life and hold us in His loving arms. Thank You, Sweet Jesus for loving us so much!

Ephesians 6:5-8

Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

Personal Challenge

One thing that many people do not under­stand is that Christianity is not focused on changing the social structure in which it exists. Christianity has and can continue, to exist in a democracy, a totalitarian, a communist, and even a Muslim social structure. We are charged by both Jesus and the apostles to honor our leaders and to pray for them. We are supposed to work within those structures to do the right things, like help the widow, the orphan, and the poor, even the unborn children. This means that we behave differently than those who do not profess Christ as their Lord. Here we have Paul talking about the slave and master relationship. This is a common part of the social structure within which he lives. He is not focused on changing that structure, and he is not condoning or condemning slavery but he is telling his listeners who profess Christ, how to behave. His instructions are counter to the ways of the society and therefore life changing. Our society does not have slavery anymore. We have been able to do away with that, but the same principles can apply in instances such as employer and employee relationships or elected officials and constituent relationships, We are to treat others with love and respect, with sincerity of heart, so that we can demonstrate the love of God to those around us. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Ezekiel 1:27b

This was the vision of the likeness of the Lord’s glory. I saw it, and I fell down on my face, and heard the voice of One speaking.

Personal Challenge

In our modern day “worship” services, we thrive on being able to stand and wave our hands and feel the music as we sing praise songs to our God. It moves us and makes us feel good. However, every time someone in the scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, find themselves in the presence of God, they immediately fall on their face before Him, knowing that they were not worthy of His presence in their lives. Even here, Ezekiel falls down on his face and this just because of the vision of the likeness of his Lord. I am pretty sure that if and when we ever are blessed to be in the presence of our Lord, we will not be waving our hands or dancing around, but falling flat on our faces before His glory and majesty. Maybe we should start focusing our worship on Him and not us. This is one of the reasons that I love the liturgical practices of the Orthodox Church. The worship is always God-centered, reverent and submissive to Him. Come and see. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy I Lord, have mercy!

Ephesians 6:4

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Personal Challenge

In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul addresses how marriages and families should work. His teachings are as relevant today as they were when he wrote them. Children are instructed to obey and respect their parents. The Greek word that has been translated to obey can actually be interpreted to “listen intently”, which helps us to under­stand what Paul’s instruction to us fathers is geared toward. It is our responsibility to teach them in a way that passes on to them the precepts and teachings of our Lord, to bring them up with a deep love for the Lord, and to not provoke them by using harsh or demeaning words. We are to love them as Christ loves them. If they are not obeying us properly, are giving them something worthy of obedience? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of Goal, have mercy on me, the sinner!