Proverbs 3:7-8

Do not rely on your own discernment,
But fear God, and turn away from every evil.
Then there shall be healing for your body
And care for your bones.

Personal challenge

So, right after the writer of Proverbs tells us that if we trust in God that He will make our paths straight, he tells us to not rely on our own discernment but to fear God and to turn away from evil. Doing things our own way, on our own power, pulls us away from our dependency on God and leads us to evil. It is one thing to trust in God so that He will make our paths straight, but we must also humble ourselves on a constant basis and release our earthly discernment unto God so that He can give us His discernment, His Wisdom. Living this way not only keeps us on the straight path of life that He has laid out for us, but it will also bring healing to our bodies, both physical and spiritual, and care and rest for our bones, Glory be to God!

Luke 14:11

For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Personal Challenge

This is such a valuable rule to learn in life. Jesus taught us when we pump ourselves up with pride and try to raise ourselves above those around us, then we set ourselves up to be greatly humbled. This kind of humility is always painful. When we choose the path of humility on our own accord, to put God and the people that we encounter throughout our day above ourselves, then we will avoid those times of being knocked off of our false pedestals. Humility, like so many aspects of our lives, is a choice. It is a choice that we must make over and over again. We must also be careful to not project false humility, for this form of humility is only projected to draw attention to ourselves. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Psalms 103:1-6 (102:1-6 LXX)

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And everything within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His rewards:
Who is merciful to all your transgressions,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from corruption,
Who crowns you with mercy and compassion,
Who satisfies your desire with good things;
And your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord shows mercies
And judgment to all who are wronged.

Encouraging Words

Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me. I choose to praise His holy name and His greatness, for He is my God, my Father, my protector, and my Provider and I am His adopted child. Thank you, oh my Lord!

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in God with all your heart,
And do not exalt your own wisdom.
In all your ways know wisdom,
That she may cut a straight path for you;
And your foot will not stumble.

Encouraging Words

This has long been one of my favorite passages. Like many of the proverbs, it is presented as a command followed by a promise. If we live our lives trusting God, setting aside our own worldly wisdom, and pursuing the wisdom of Jesus, then He will cut a straight path through life for us and help us not to stumble. This verse does not promise that all of the obstacles in life will be removed. It is these obstacles that teach us to be more like Jesus. This it what the Orthodox teachers call, theosis, or growing in the image of Jesus. Glory be to God!

Luke 12:48b

For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

Personal Challenge

Every single one of us has been given so much from our God. We are given talents in order to do the many different works of God that need to be accomplished here on earth. We are given material wealth that we can use in order to help with the building up of the Church Some of us are given positions of leadership or authority in the church in order that it can be led in the path of righteousness for our God. As we live our lives and attempt to grow in the image of Christ, God may give us more responsibilities in His body, the Church. He does not do this lightly. He expects us to use what He has given us to build up and to grow the Church, to be lamps unto the world and encouragers to our fellow Christians. The more that He gives us, the more that He expects from us in how we use our gifts. This is why we must always question our motives and intents when others come to us and ask us to take on leadership roles in the Church. We should not take this lightly for as we lead more people we become more responsible for the welfare of the Church. Much more is expected of us as we become more responsible for others. Lord Jesus Chris, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Psalms 101:2 (100:2 LXX)

I will sing and understand in a blameless way;
When will You come to me?
I walked in the innocence of my heart in the midst of my house.

Personal Challenge

It is clear to me that our enemy does not want us to spend time with our Lord. Whether it be in the middle of our worship service on Sunday or the times in our lives that we try to have quiet time or when we are reading His scriptures, it is so easy to be distracted by things around us and within our Hearts and minds. Sometimes this is just me letting my mind wander and sometimes it is the enemy trying to take our focus off of our God. One way to win out over these distractions is to come back to the place of innocence and blamelessness that Jesus gave us when He entered our hearts. This begins by humbling ourselves before Him and resting in the fact that He loves us so much and desires so much more for us than we will ever know. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Proverbs 3:3-4

Do not let almsgiving and faithfulness forsake you,
But hang them upon your neck;
And you will find grace
And provide good things before the Lord and men.

Command with a Promise

In the New Testament, Jesus ushered in a new covenant between God and mankind. The Old Testament covenant was based on the law and was given so that mankind would know how much we needed God and how far from Him we really are. When Jesus became the incarnation of God, He taught that He fulfilled the fullness of the law and summed the law up for us in two commands, which are to love God and love our neighbor. He never taught that the Old Testament law was no longer valid, but actually made it contingent upon His followers to live by even stricter expectations. So, when we read the commandments and laws of the Old Testament we should still apply them to our lives in the context of loving God and loving our neighbor. In this passage, we are reminded that almsgiving and faithfulness should always be present in our minds and hearts. Almsgiving targets our neighbor and meeting their needs above our own needs. Almsgiving means going above and beyond that which is normally expected. Faithfulness targets our God and reminds us to constantly be living our lives so that He is the center of our focus. The promise comes in where we are told that living our lives this way will bring grace and good things in our lives that God provides for us. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Luke 12:34

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Personal challenge

It is not very difficult to see why the modern world has become such a distracter for the growth of the Church. We have so much wealth, so many toys purchased with that wealth, and such busy lives that we keep our hearts and minds focused on everything but our Lord. It really is not possible to build a deep and lasting relationship with our Lord only once a week for about an hour and a half while we spend much of that time being entertained because we believe that worship is for our edification. God desires that we hold Him in our hearts as our treasure, If we treasure God and His majesty, if we put Him before all the stuff of this world, then our heart will be focused on Him and all that we say and do will be to glorify Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner?