Sirach 35:7-10

Glorify the Lord with your generosity,
And do not reduce the firstfruits of your hands.
In every gift let your face be cheerful,
And sanctify your tithe with gladness.
Give to the Most High as He has given to you,
And give to Him with generosity, according to your windfall.
For the Lord is He who repays,
And He will repay you sevenfold.

Personal Challenge

In old testament times, the people of Israel were expected to tithe their earnings. That tithe was 10% and it always applied to their first fruits, their first earnings or harvest When Christ became incarnate He fulfilled the law, including the law of tithing. However, He did initiate a new covenant, one by which we recognize that every­thing that we have belongs to God and that we are His stewards. With that in mind, We are to cheerfully give all that we have back to Him. In that act of cheerful giving, we know that God will continue to bless us as we walk with Him. This is not some kind of prosperity gospel. It is God’s grace and mercy being poured out on His children. Glory be to God!

Romans 12:4-5

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

Personal Challenge

God created us to be a part of a community. Even if we feel like it is best to be alone, we always end up realizing that we need others in our lives to live full lives. The Church is our ultimate community where individuals can come together to form a living and vibrant entity in, and of itself. In order to make this new entity function effectively, the individual parts, each and every one of us, must realize that we all have different functions in the community and that all of these functions are needed. We live in a symbiotic relationship to one another and our community thrives in Christ. Glory be to God!

Sirach 35:1-3

The man who keeps the law will abound in offerings;
He who heeds the commandments sacrifices a peace offering.
He who returns a kindness offers fine wheat flour,
And he who does alms sacrifices a praise offering.
To forsake evil is pleasing to the Lord,
And to forsake wrongdoing is atonement.

Personal Challenge

Ben Sirach lived in the time before Christ when the nation of Israel still practiced the sacrificial system for the forgiveness and atonement of sins. Even with the rigor of this system, he reminds us that our actions speak loudly to our Lord and to others around us. If we try to live our lives according to the teachings, precepts, and commandments of our Lord, then that is equivalent to making a peace offering. If we give out kindness to those around us it is as if we made a sacrificial offering of fine wheat flour to our Lord. If we practice giving alms to the poor and taking care of their needs over our own then we are making a praise offering to our Lord. Doing things that put others first is part of being living sacrifices as Paul challenges us to become. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Romans 12:1-2

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Personal Challenge

There is so much that could be unpacked from these two verses. We are being asked, actually beseeched, by Paul, to present our bodies as living sacrifices to our God. Jesus put an end to the old sacrificial system by being the ultimate sacrifice. We are now the only sacrifices that God wants, living sacrifices that have chosen to be dead to the world, holy sacrifices striving to be acceptable to God, transformed sacrifices that are no longer conformed to this world, sacrifices that have renewed minds that are focused on being acceptable to God and seeking His perfect and glorious will. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Sirach 34:15-17

Blessed is the soul of a man who fears the Lord.
To whom does he look? And who is his support?
The eyes of the Lord are upon those who love Him.
He is a powerful protection and a strong support:
A shelter from the burning heat,
A shelter from the noonday sun,
A guard from stumbling,
And help from a fall.
He raises up the soul
And gives light to the eyes.
He gives healing, life, and blessing.

Encouraging Words

Even though we do not deserve it, our God pours out this unconditional love on us. He blesses us. He supports us. He watches over us and protects us. He provides us shelter. He gives us healing, life, and blessing; of both the body and the soul. Why would I not put my trust and hope in Him? Glory be to God!

Romans 11:33-36

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

“For who has known the mind of the Lord?Or who has become His counselor?Or who has first given to HimAnd it shall be repaid to him?”

For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Encouraging Words

One of the beautiful things that I have been able to learn since I converted to Eastern Orthodoxy is that the more I learn about God and the closer that I get to Him, the more I realize how much I do not know about Him and the farther away from Him that I really am from Him. This is because He is so great and so expansive and I am so finite. For the last 2,000 years, our church fathers have taught, and continue to teach, that our journey to knowing God will be eternal and that we will only scratch the surface of who He is. The humbling part of this is that even though he is God and so far beyond what we will ever know, He became a human being so that we could become one with Him. Thank You, oh my God!

Sirach 34:13-14

The spirit of those who fear the Lord will live,
For their hope is in Him who saves them.
He who fears the Lord will fear nothing,
And he will not be cowardly, for the Lord is his hope.

Encouraging Words

It is not our faith, our hope, in Jesus that saves us and guides us through life. It is the One whom we put that faith and hope in that saves us. Jesus is our Lord and Savior. He is our benefactor. Through Jesus, we can do anything and have no Fear of anyone or anything. Through Him, we have eternal life. Through Him, we can live joyful lives. Glory be to God!

Romans 10:14-15

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Personal Challenge

Our salvation, our life in Christ, does not stop the moment that we put our faith in Christ. It all starts there. Our salvation is worked out as we live our lives for our Lord. One area that we can live our life for Christ is by sharing Him with those around us. We are not saved to be silent. We are saved to proclaim from the rooftops that Jesus is Lord. Glory be to God!