Luke 19:45-46

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”

Personal Challenge
So why was it so important for Jesus to clear out the courts of the temple? People needed animals to bring in for sacrifices. They needed to exchange their Roman money that had the graven image of Caesar on it for Jewish money that was “clean” for temple use. The message that Jesus was sending to everyone, including us today, is that the temple of God, our churches, and our own bodies, is no place for the business of the world to be conducted. We must strive to keep the ways of the world outside of our churches and keep them set apart for God so that they can do His work, His way, and be beacons of light to the lost world. We must strive to keep the world out of our hearts because they are the temple of God where Jesus lives. We too are supposed to be set apart for God. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Land, have mercy!

Psalms 116:1-2 (114:1–2 LXX)

I have loved, because the Lord Shall hear the voice of my supplication;
For He inclined His ear to me,

Proverbs 10:18 (10:20 LXX)

You will not escape sin by a multitude of words,
But you of discreet lips will be forbearing.

Personal Challenge

One of the parts of our bodies that gets us in more trouble than all of the other parts is our tongue. Any time that we say something to someone, those words become permanent and cannot be taken back. It is not a problem if the words spoken are loving, encouraging, and uplifting. Sometimes, however, even these words can be perceived by the recipient as mean-spirited depending on their own heart. Throughout the scriptures, both old and new, as well as many of the teachings of the Church fathers, we are instructed that minimizing the words that come out of our mouths can help to minimize arguments and upsets. This does not mean that we stop communicating altogether. It means that we develop discreet lips, lips that control what comes out of our mouths, lips that filter our thoughts so that we speak that which becomes more forbearing. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.

Luke 18:40-41

So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

Personal Challenge

Reading this passage out of the context of knowing who Jesus is could lead someone to think that Jesus did not know everything. Why would Jesus have to ask an obviously blind man what he wanted Jesus to do for him? What this passage reveals is that Jesus wants us to come to Him with our issues and tell Him what we are seeking from Him. He wants us to understand what our true needs are and to address those more than our desires and wants. Jesus is not some genie in a bottle. Jesus always knows what is best for us, but He also wants us to exercise our own free will in our relationship with Him and choose those things that He would choose for us. The more time that we spend with Him, listening to Him, obeying Him, doing His work, the easier it becomes to know what He desires for us. This is all part of our journey through life. This is what we call theosis, or growing in the image of Christ. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner and help me to choose You and Your ways over myself and the ways of the flesh.

Psalms 112:3

From the rising of the sun to its setting,
Praise the name of the Lord.

Personal Challenge

This verse can easily be viewed as a rigid commandment that we must follow. When we stop viewing our God as an angry and judgmental God our whole perspective about life and our relationship with Him changes. We do not do the things that we do for Him out of fear of retribution or the desire for recognition. We choose as a response to His great love and compassion for us to do those things that we know will please Him. We respond to His love in like manner, in love. This makes it much

easier, even in the midst of tough and challenging times, to praise the name of the Lord from the rising of the sun to its setting, When we find ourselves doing the work of God, saying our prayers, studying His teachings, being kind to our neighbor, feeding the poor, clothing the naked, helping the widow and the fatherless, out of a sense of compulsion or obligation, then we must stop and check the state of our heart and our relationship with our blessed Lord. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Proverbs 9:9-12

Give the opportunity to a wise man, and he will be wiser;
Instruct a righteous man, and he shall continue to receive it.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the counsel of saints is understanding;
For to know the law is characteristic of a good mind.
For in this manner you will live a long time,
And the years of your life shall be increased.
My son, if you become wise in yourself,
you shall also be wise toward your neighbor;
But if you prove to be evil, you alone will go through troubles.

Personal Challenge

Wisdom and righteousness are both worthy aspects of life to pursue, however, we cannot achieve these on our own. We need our Lord to provide these to us or we will always come up short. How does God get these into our lives? When we give our lives over to Him as our Lord and submit our wills to Him, He fills us with His Son and Holy Spirit which begins the process of gaining godly wisdom. He has provided to us centuries of saints that have gone before us that we can learn from. He has given us His living Word, both in the incarnation of His Son and the canonization by the Church of the written word, so that we can know His precepts. He has given as our neighbor to love and meet the needs of giving us humility. He remains active in our lives leading us in the path of wisdom and righteousness. Glory be to God!

Luke 18:27

But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

Encouraging Words

What kinds of things are impossible for men to accomplish on their own? Being healed of an incurable disease? Being spared in the midst of a significant natural disaster? Having someone anonymously meet your financial need when there is nothing left to pay even buy food? We often think of these big things as miracles and neglect the small things that God does over and over again in our lives. What kind of small things does God make possible in our lives? How about every breath

that we are able to take in? Every beat of our heart? The miracle of modern medicine that provides us medications or treatments for things like cancer? The miracle of birth? And this list goes on and on. God is in every aspect of our lives, whether big or small. His ability to make the impossible possible in our life is there all the time. So, how does this affect my life? By living my life, moment by moment looking for Gods’ active participation in my life, I am blessed to see His hand at work, time and time again. By doing this I find myself looking for ways to submit myself to Him. Glory be to God!

Psalms 111:10 (110:10 LXX)

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord;
A good understanding is in all who practice it.
His praise continues unto ages of ages.

Encouraging Words

Since Jesus is who the word wisdom in the Psalms refers to, then this verse is telling us that the beginning of our relationship with Him comes from fearing our Lord. The concept of fearing someone in our modern day language and culture has become a bad thing. The true nature of this kind of fear is to view our God with a great sense of awe and respect, knowing that He holds the universe, and therefore our very existence, in the palm of His hand. This kind of fear drives us to live our lives in a way that honors and adores Him, not that we are afraid He will angrily punish is, but because we desire to please Him as a child does for his parent. Fearing God this way sets our minds and hearts into a state where we can receive His good understanding, apply it in our lives, and praise Him all the more. In a sense, this creates a symbiotic relationship with our Lord, especially since He dwells within our hearts. Glory be to God!

Proverbs 8:32-34

Now therefore, my son, hear me:
Blessed is the man who shall hearken to me
And the man who shall guard my ways;
Who watches daily at my doors,
Who keeps watch at the doors of my entryways;
For my issues are the issues of life,
And grace is prepared from the Lord.

Command with a Promise

We are told that if we listen to our God, hearken to His voice, guard the ways of our God, and keep watch daily at His doors and entryways, then His grace will be prepared for us. What does this mean? Our Lord has told us that His kingdom has arrived. Jesus established God’s kingdom in our hearts when He came to dwell amongst us. So, doesn’t it make sense that the doors and the entryways that we are being told to keep watch over are the doors of our hearts? It is so easy to get distracted by the things of this world and drop our guard allowing the world to creep into our hearts and lead us into sin. That is why the ability to effectively watch over our heart is to keep listening for His voice and hearkening to His instruction. This is the beginning of receiving His grace and blessings. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!