Isaiah 55:1-2

“You who are thirsty, go to the water, and all who have no money, go and buy wine and fat, and eat and drink without money and price. Why do you value at the price of money, and give your toil for what does not satisfy? Listen to Me and eat good things, and your soul will delight in good things.”

Encouraging Words

When the Messiah comes and sets up His kingdom there will be no need for money, for our Lord will meet our every need. He will feed us what is good for us and satisfies completely. In Orthodoxy we believe that Jesus established His kingdom when He became incarnate. We also believe that every time that we partake of the eucharist, that we are partaking of the flesh and blood of our Lord, and that our every need will be met by Him. Glory be to God!

A prayer from the Didache, a first-century writing of the church.

And after you have been filled, give thanks as follows:We thank you, Holy Father, for your holy Namewhich you have made to dwell in our heartsand for the knowledge and faith and immortalitywhich you have made known to us through Jesus your Servant.Glory to you forever!You, Almighty Master, created everything for Your Name’s sake;You have given food and drink to men for their pleasure,so that they might give you thanks.and to us you have graciously given spiritual food and drinkand life eternal through Jesus your Servant.Most of all, we thank you because you are mighty.Glory to you forever!

2 Corinthians 9:6

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Personal Challenge

God has blessed us with so much. He has given us our health, our wealth, our time, and our abilities. Everything that we have comes from Him. His desire for us is that we use these blessings to build His kingdom. Whether we sow these seeds of our time, of our money, or of ourselves, the more that we sow, the more blessings that our God will bestow upon us so that we can sow even more. This is not some kind of prosperity gospel, it is the gospel of giving away what we have so that we can have more to give away. Glory be to God!

Isaiah 45:25

All the seed of the children of Israel shall be made righteous by the Lord, and glorified in God.

Encouraging Words

The children of Israel were those who had descended from Israel, the bloodline of the Jewish nation. The seed of these children were the apostles and the church that sprang up from Jesus Christ. We are the seed of the children of Israel and we have been made righteous through our Lord Jesus Christ and given the task of glorifying our God. Glory be to Him!

2 Corinthians 8:9

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

Encouraging Words

We often speak of grace as a gift given to someone who does not deserve it. This is indeed a true aspect of grace, especially God’s grace given to us while we were yet sinners. This verse speaks of another aspect of grace. Through the process of giving a gift, the giver is passing on to the recipient something that is theirs and of importance to them. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that is bestowed upon us comes at a price to Him, the giver. He was rich. He was in the presence of His Father in heaven. He relinquished His position on His throne so that He could become one of us, His creation by His own hands. He became poor so that we might become rich through His grace, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner and a recipient of your blessed grace!

Isaiah 43:18

“Do not remember the former things, nor reason about the things of old.”

Encouraging Words

In this part of Isaiah the people of Israel are being told of the coming Messiah and how He will restore them to the glory that He had in store for them. As part of this encouragement, He is telling them that they will be able to walk away from their years of captivity and exile and look forward to their future with the King, the Messiah. He tells them to forget their hard times and to remember them no more. This is a message that could also apply to us today. Our Messiah has come, He has set us free from our exile on this sinful world. We can look to Him, and our future with Him, and not remember former, sinful lives, for He has forgiven us and made us new. Glory be to God!

2 Corinthians 5:20-21

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Personal Challenge

“As though God were pleading through us”. What is Paul telling us here? What does an ambassador do? They represent their home country to a distant, foreign country. Part of that representation is to speak on behalf of the leader of the country that is their home. As Christians, God is speaking through us, pleading with the lost of the world to come home to Him. This is why we must first be reconciled to God before we can call others to be reconciled to Him. This is why He made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we can be reconciled to Him and become righteous in Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner?

2 Corinthians 6:2

For He says:
“In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Encouraging Words

Our Lord has made it clear that now is the time of our Lord, the time of our salvation. We do not have to keep looking for some future date when we will be saved, or some future kingdom of heaven to arrive. Because of Jesus, our salvation is now and the kingdom of heaven is among us. It is up to us to seize this day. Glory be to God!

Isaiah 43:1-2

And now, thus says the Lord God who made you, O Jacob, and who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I redeemed you. I called you by your name, for you are Mine. If you pass through water, I am with you; and the rivers shall not overflow you. If you pass through fire, you shall not be burned up, nor shall the flame consume you.

Encouraging Words

Not only have we been made by God, but even after we reject or ignore Him, He still redeems us. He calls us by our names because we are His, whether we admit it or not. But He does not stop there, with our redemption. No matter what trial or tribulation we encounter in our lives, even those of our own making, He will be with us, protecting us, loving us, and bringing us through unscathed. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!