Psalms 118:8-9 (117:8-9 LXX)

It is good to trust in the Lord
Rather than to trust in man;
It is good to hope in the Lord
Rather than to hope in rulers.

Encouraging Words

In this day of political uncertainty and a divided country, it is good to know that our God transcends all that is of this world and that we can put our trust and hope in Him rather than in the men and women who are of this world. It is God who gave them their positions of authority, to begin with. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have Mercy! Lord, have Mercy!

Proverbs 11:2

Wherever arrogance enters, there also is dishonor,
But the mouth of the humble meditates on wisdom.

Personal Challenge

There is such a delicate balance in living your life in confidence that your Lord has you in the palm of His hand and coming across as arrogant. Maybe that is why the writer of this proverb put the trait of being humble and having a mouth that meditates on wisdom as the alternative to being arrogant and treading into disaster. As a humble person, one would speak less and put others first. Having a mouth that meditates on wisdom, that person would speak less and when they did the speech would be seasoned with the love of Jesus. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Luke 23:34

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

And they divided His garments and cast lots.

Encouraging Words

It still amazes me how much of our Western Christianity views God as a mean, judgmental, hateful God. What flows out of this doctrine is a tendency to become mean, judgmental, hateful people that call ourselves Christians. We divide over petty things in our churches. We cast aspersions on people or groups that don’t hold to our defined beliefs or desires. We damn people to hell when we do not have that right or the authority to do that. Here we have Jesus Christ, God Incarnate. God and man in one body who has never committed a sin in His life. He healed the blind, the lame, the deaf and those with all forms of illness, never expecting anything in return. He raised people from the dead and fed the hungry. He loved His creation unconditionally. And when they beat Him, spit on Him, and hung Him on the cross, did He call down God’s judgment on them? No! He asked the Father to forgive them. That is unconditional love, Our Eastern practice of Christianity focuses on the love of God and the fact that none of us deserves it, which is why we pray regularly… Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalms 118:1-4 (117:1-4 LXX)

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say that He is good,
For His mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Aaron say that He is good,
For His mercy endures forever.
Let all who fear the Lord say that He is good,
For His mercy endures forever.

Encouraging Words

The Lord is good! His mercy does endure forever! May I and my household give thanks to Him, forever. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Proverbs 10:31 (10:32 LXX)

The mouth of a righteous man distills wisdom,
But the tongue of an unrighteous man utterly destroys.

Personal Challenge

Have you ever had one of those moments when the words that came out of your mouth utterly destroyed someone? I have. More times than I would like to remember. It has been at those times that I can look back on and see just how unrighteous I was. Definitely not something to be proud of. Having a tongue that distills wisdom and that encourages and edifies those around us is another reason to pursue righteousness in Christ. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have Mercy on me, the sinner!

Luke 21:1-4

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

Personal challenge

Giving to the church has sometimes been a reason that some people have given to me as to why they did not go to a church. The claim was that all the church did was ask for money. That is a funny excuse because that has not been my experience. And how is that any different than every single advertisement that we are bombarded with throughout our day. Granted, the church needs the giving from its membership in order to function in the world. But in most cases, the church desires our giving to be our choice. There is no required amount, like membership dues. Most importantly, what God desires is that we give with the right condition of our heart. We give out of our love for our God and a desire to give back a portion of that which He has blessed us with so that others can be blessed. The amount does not matter, but the intent does. The widow in this story pointed out by Jesus only gave a very small amount, maybe a penny or two, but Jesus indicated that she gave more than all of the wealthy contributors who gave large amounts. Why? Because she gave an abundance out of her pittance rather than a pittance out of her abundance She gave because she loved her God and not the attention that people would pay about her giving. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Land, have mercy!

Psalm 117 (116 LXX)

Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
Praise Him, all you peoples,
For His mercy rules over us;
And the truth of the Lord endures forever.

Encouraging Words

For centuries, even millennia, God’s chosen people of the Old Testament believed that only they could lay claim to God as their God. However, the prophets and teachers throughout the Old Testament proclaimed that God was the God of all mankind. This was a significant part of the ministry and teaching of Christ, to proclaim that all peoples had access to God through Him. Thank You, Lord Jesus Christ!

Proverbs 10:22 (10:23 LXX)

The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of a righteous man;
It enriches him, and grief of heart will not be added to it.

Encouraging Words

No one can be righteous on his own accord. We can, and should, strive to be righteous and godly in our lives, but it is God, through the work of Christ that bestows righteousness upon us. However, this does not stop us from pursuing righteousness and trying to be like Christ. And by doing this we are promised to be blessed by Him and that our hearts will be protected from grief. This is how we can truly live lives filled with joy. Glory be to God!