Psalms 59:16-17 (58:17-18 LXX)

But I will sing of Your power,
And greatly rejoice in Your mercy in the morning;
For You are my protector,
And my refuge in the day of my affliction.
You are my helper; I will sing to You;
For You, O God, are my protector;
You are my mercy, O my God.

Encouraging Words

I absolutely love the depth of the love that the psalmist has for his God and the breadth of his relationship. In some passages such as this one it is so clear how much He sees God actively and intimately involved in his life and in others we see him crying out to God in anger, frustration, and confession because he cannot see or feel God’s presence in his life. This kind of relationship is only possible after many years of intimacy with another, working together through the good times as well as the bad. My desire is to live my life in such a way that I too can be this close to my Lord. I know that if there is any kind of distance between Him and me it is there because I have pulled away for He is always pouring out His power, money, and grace upon me. He is always my protector, refuge, and helper. Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Nehemiah 6:16

And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.

Encouraging Words

Once again, we see the power of living our lives in submission to God, Nehemiah took on the task of rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem. This was a daunting task, to say the least, especially with all of the opposition from their enemies. And yet, Nehemiah lead his people to be humble before the Lord and focus on the task at hand. They worked with mason’s trowels in one hand and a sword or a spear in the other, constantly at the ready for any opposition from their enemies. The wall was fully rebuilt in 52 days, clearly a miracle from their God. This miracle was so obvious that all the people around them, including their enemies, proclaimed that this could have only been done by their God, God will do these things in our lives if we will just submit to Him and focus on His work. Glory be to God!

Luke 1:37

For with God nothing will be impossible.

Encouraging Words

Imagine, if you can, that you are a young woman that has spent most of your life living in the Jewish temple with the priests. You were dedicated to God as an infant and when you were old enough to walk your mother and father, who was also a priest, presented you to the priests of the temple and the older women serving there to raise you as a godly woman. Then when you entered into your teenage years your body began to change and you began to transition into womanhood. You can no longer remain in the temple because your monthly issue will defile it. But this is the only life that you have ever known. Then somewhere around the age of 13-16, the priests make arrangements for you to be betrothed to a Godly man in the community. He is an older man whose wife has passed away and his children are older than you. This betrothal is not one of a sexual nature, but one to give you a safe home to live in the rest of your life. Then, before your wedding has taken place, an angel appears and tells you that you are going to have a child, a son. Now can this be, you have never had a relationship with a man? And this verse is what He tells you. Thank you, Holy Theotokos (God Bearer) for saying “Yes!”, when you could have said “No!”, and for being the gateway for the incarnation of our God. Holy Theotokos, full of grace, we magnify You!

Psalms 57:1-3 (56:2-4 LXX)

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me,
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will hope,
Until lawlessness shall pass away.
I will cry out to God most High;
My God who is my benefactor.
He sent from heaven and saved me;
He gave over to disgrace those who trample me down.

Nehemiah 4:7-8

Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall in the sheltered areas, and I positioned the people by families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember our God, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

Personal Challenge

Even though those of us who follow our Lord and desire to be like His Son acknowledge that He is the one that is always there for us and that as the Creator holds everything in the palm of His hand, we also acknowledge that we must work together with Him. Our relationship with God is a synergistic relationship. We can do nothing without Him and He will never force us to do anything against our free will. As Nehemiah pursues building the walls of the temple he makes it clear that God’s work can only be completed as the people work together with Him to do His work. Our lives are made complete as we work in synergy with our Father in heaven. Glory be to God!

Mark 14:72

A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.

Personal Challenge

So many of us are familiar with the story of Peter and his denial of his beloved Lord, but how many of us recognize the times that we too have betrayed our beloved Lord. I must confess that all too often I do this throughout my life. It may come in the form of refusing to be a witness for Him when the opportunity arises. It may be in those times that I respond to a loved one or even a stranger in a harsh or angry tone. It may be when I do not do all that I do for the glory of God but for my own good. It always happens when I choose to submit to my fleshly will and sin against my loving Lord. But as Paul Harvey used to always say, “Now for the rest of the story.” Just as Jesus later approached Peter on the beach after His resurrection and gave him the opportunity to proclaim his love for his Lord three times, once for each denial, so too does He provide me chance after chance to return to Him and have my denials forgiven. Glory be to God!

Psalms 56:3-4 (55:4-5 LXX)

I will not fear by day,
But I will hope in You.
I will praise God with my words all day long;
In God I hope; I will not be afraid; what will flesh do to me?

Encouraging Wands

Hope! What a powerful word and an even more powerful aspect of life. There are so many things that people put their hope into nowadays. As we become more and more affluent in our lives and our culture, the more things that we end up putting our hope in. Unfortunately, these things are fleeting and our hope is betrayed. However, as the Psalmist proclaims here that his hope is in the Lord, so too do I choose to put my hope in my Lord and not in the things of this world, The more that I live my life with this hope in my Lord, the more I realise that nothing in this world can overpower my Lord and the love that He has for me and my loved ones. Glory be to God!

Ezra 9:54-55 (1 Esdras 9:54-55 LXX)

Then everyone went on their way to eat and drink, to gladden themselves, to give gifts to those who were lacking, and to heartily rejoice. For they were inspired by the words which were taught to them, and they gathered together.

Personal Challenge

So often, in our modern churches, the practice of worship has become more of a form of entertainment than a form of worship and adoration of our God. Many times it is not any different than going to the movies or to a play where we walk out afterward happy that we were entertained by robust singing or articulate oratories. However, before we know it we are back into our everyday lives waiting for the next entertainment to consume. However, as this passage in Esdras (Ezra) points out we should always walk away from our times of worship of our living God changed. We should be reminded of how undeserving we are of His love, filled with love for those around us, eager to give to those in need, and inspired to the point that we do not want to leave the presence of our Lord and our fellow celebrants. Worship is of God and for God. It is not for my personal edification, but His. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner?