Acts 21:13

Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Personal Challenge

Just as Jesus was resolute the week before Palm Sunday to go to Jerusalem, knowing full well that He would be put to death, Paul was resolute to return to Jerusalem to preach the gospel of his Lord knowing full well that the people there wanted to take his life. This is the level of commitment that our Lord desires of us, to be willing to give our lives for Him and His message of the good news about eternal life. Living a spiritual life that is grounded in Jesus Christ is not going to be a walk in the park. If we are striving to be like Christ then we will be despised by the world like He was. We will lose friends like He lost friends. We will be persecuted like He was. Am I willing to follow my Lord this way and have my heart broken by all of my loved ones who try to talk me out of it? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Sirach 5:10-11

Be established in your understanding
And let your word be consistent.
Be quick to listen
And give your answer with patience.

Personal Challenge

We were encouraged by our Lord to live our lives openly and honestly. He told us to speak such that our “Yes!” was “Yes!” and our “No!” was “No!”. This is a way of being that is getting lost in this age of individualism and the acceptance of relativism. Here the writer of Sirach reminds us to always be consistent in our speech and to let it be driven and established in the understanding that we can only get from our Lord. He also reminds us to be quick to listen, not just to hear the other, but to truly listen to the other in a patient, loving, and humble way so that we can only respond when it is necessary, and then to respond with love. My Lord knows how far I need to go in my life to be able to act this way. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have Mercy on me, the sinner!

Acts 20:29

For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

Personal Challenge

In our modern, self-reliant age, not only are humans focused on being self-reliant but so are our modern-day churches. By being this way, we actually begin to shut God out of our lives and believe that we can do things without Him. Paul was reminding the other early church members and us that we need to be aware that there will be savage attempts to destroy the church and some of those attacks will come from within the church. We cannot resist these attacks on our own. We need to depend on God at all times and trust in Him only and follow His guidance. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Sirach 3:18-19

The greater you are, the more humble you must be,
And you will find grace before the Lord;
Because great is the power of the Lord,
And He is honored by the humble.

Personal Challenge

It is our human nature to strive to do well, to be great at what we do. Unfortunately, our cultural expectation is that the better I get at what I do, the more people should honor me, respect me, pay me for that greatness. This is evidenced all around us in our professional athletes, our politicians, those in the entertainment world, and our workplaces. In many cases, it has even made it into our churches. However, the scriptures inform us that the greater we are in our accomplishments, the more humble we must become if we are to find grace in our Lord. To receive His grace to its fullest extent we need to humble ourselves before Him and our fellow man. Once again, the teachings of our Lord

are so contrary to the ways of man but isn’t this what He did for us. He humbled himself being the eternal Son of God and became incarnate in the very essence of that which He created so that He might save us from the grip that death had on us. That is the ultimate gift of love and humility. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Acts 17:28

for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

Encouraging Words
The scriptures start off in Genesis with the creation story. The most valuable part of that story is the truth that we were all created in the image of God. Jesus, the pre-incarnate Son of God, was active in our creation. It is His image that we have been created, and because of this, we have Him within us. As Luke says in the Book of Acts, “for in Him we live and have our being,” we are His children, His offspring and through Him being in us we have the opportunity to be like Him, if only we will seek His presence within us with all of our hearts, Glory be to God!

Sirach 2:1-6

My son, if you draw near to serve the Lord,
Prepare your soul for temptation.
Set your heart right and be steadfast,
And do not strive anxiously in distress.
Cleave to Him and do not fall away,
That you may be honored at the end of your life.
Accept whatever is brought upon you,
And in exchange for your humiliation, be patient;
Because gold is tested in fire
And acceptable men in the furnace of abasement.
Believe in Him, and He will help you;
Make your ways straight and hope in Him.
And acceptable men in the furnace of abasement.
Believe in Him, and He will help you;
Make your ways straight and hope in Him.

Personal challenge

Sirach is reminding us that if our desire is to draw near to our Lord and serve Him, then temptations will come our way to try to prevent us from doing that. We must remain diligent and shore up our own heart for the onslaught. Part of our dealing with this is holding on to Him even tighter. Another part is accepting the struggles that come our way for what they are and continue to press forward. He will be there along the way to help us. Glory be to God!

Acts 17:6

But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”

Personal Challenge

Jason and some of his friends were dragged before the magistrates of the city because of their affiliation with Paul and Silas. The accusation was that they had turned the world upside down by their preaching about Jesus. So, here are the questions that I must ask myself. Am I living my life for Christ in such a way that I could be accused of turning the world upside down? Am I hanging out with the kind of people that could be accused of doing the same? If Jesus is truly the center of my life then I should be able to answer these questions affirmatively. If I cannot answer these questions with a, “Yes!”, then it is time that I step up and start living my life for Christ. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Sirach 1:20-21

A patient man will hold fast until the proper time,
Then afterwards gladness shall burst forth for him.
He shall conceal his words until the proper time,
And the lips of many will tell of his understanding.

Personal Challenge

I think every person desires to be perceived as a person of understanding. It appears that it is part of our nature. We often get caught up in the trap of believing that this perception comes from showing everybody around us how much we know. In reality, this usually ends up showing the opposite. We are told here in Sirach that our ability to understand that which is going on around us and how much wisdom we have related to that understanding usually shows forth in our patience, in our ability to remain silent in the midst of the chaos until the right time to speak up. This is the sign of true wisdom. Holding fast until the proper time always produces joy and gladness. Glory be to God!