1 Corinthians 7:3-4

Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

Personal Challenge

The scriptures are very clear, marriage is a relationship where the husband and the wife choose to live the rest of their lives as servants to the other person. Neither one has any more authority over the other, but both submit 100% to the other. This is so contrary to the way that the world wants marriage to be, but it works. The Orthodox Church captures this in their marriage ceremony with the crowning ceremony, which recognizes that the husband and wife an now living as joint martyrs for each other and for Christ. Glory be to God!

Zephaniah 3:17

The Lord your God is with you. The Mighty One shall save you. He shall bring gladness upon you and will renew you with His love. He will delight over you with joy as in a day of feasting.

Encouraging Words

We are never alone. We may feel pretty lonely at points in our life. We may feel abandoned and as if we must fight all of our struggles on our own. But that is not the truth. The Lord our God is always with us. We are always in His presence. He is the Mighty One and He has already saved us for eternity. He is the one that will fill our lives with gladness and His love. He is the One that delights over us. It is never Him that withdraws from us so that we feel lonely. It is us who withdraw from Him and create our own loneliness. He is still present and waiting for us to call out to Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Encouraging Words

Most, if not all, of the world religions, other than Christianity, leave it up to the individual to do the works necessary to measure up to some standard. They have to do it on their own. Christianity, however, proclaims that when Christ becomes the Lord of our life, we are given the Holy Spirit to dwell within us and guide us through our journey of life. Our body becomes a living temple that is the home of the Holy Spirit and we can choose to either listen to Him or resist Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Habakkuk 3:18-19

Yet I will glory in the Lord;
I will rejoice in God my Savior.
The Lord God is my strength;
He will direct my feet to the end;
He will set me upon high places,
So to conquer by His song.

1 Corinthians 6:12

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

Personal Challenge

Paul is reminding us through this letter to the Corinthians that we are no longer bound by the law because Jesus fulfilled the law. The law was given so that we might recognize how much we need Jesus. However, just because I have been freed from the constraints of the law, that doesn’t mean I should live a lawless life. Living this way quickly puts me under the control of my passions, which will pull me away from my God. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Habakkuk 2:4

If any man should shrink back, My soul will not be well pleased in him; but the righteous shall live by My faith.

Personal Challenge

Habakkuk was having to deal with a similar issue to what Paul had to deal with many years later. The problem was those followers of God who were putting more value and credence into practicing the law than living a life of faith in God, driven by faith and a heart focused on Him. Paul’s challenge was the Judaizers that were trying to pull the new Christians back to practicing the law. God wants us to live by faith in Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

1 Corinthians 6:11


And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.


Encouraging Words


Paul reminds us that before we became children of God through the work of Christ we were living vile and contemptible lives. Through our baptism into Christ, the dirt of this world was washed off of us. Through our chrismation, we received the Holy Spirit and were sanctified. Through the faith of Jesus and the faith that He gives us, we are becoming justified. We are no longer what we were. Glory be to God!

Nahum 1:7

The Lord is merciful to those who wait on Him in the day of affliction, and He knows those who reverence Him.

Personal Challenge

God knows everything, especially that which we think is hidden in our hearts. Even after knowing the true nature of our hearts, He still shows us mercy, because He loves us unconditionally. How much more could we encounter His love and mercy in our lives if we were to strive to wait on Him and reverence Him the way that He deserves? Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!