Psalms 26:4

One thing I ask from the Lord; this I will seek,
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
And behold the delights of the Lord,
And visit His temple.

Personal Challenge

We are taught so often that the kingdom of God is something that will be here at some future time. Maybe we will see it after we fall asleep in the Lord. Or maybe we will see it when Jesus returns. However, the early church fathers taught us that the kingdom of God is here, it is now. They taught this because it is what Jesus taught. So, if I believe that this is true, then I too can claim as the psalmist did so long ago that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. In order to do this, however, I must live my life according to His teachings and His precepts. I cannot be both in His house and the house of the world at the same time. They are not only mutually exclusive but they are diametrically opposed. To live this way means that I must continually strive to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, spirit, and body. It also means that I must love my neighbor, whether they are loved ones or enemies, as Christ does. This is indeed living otherworldly. Lord, have Mercy! Lord, have Mercy! Lord, have Mercy!

Deuteronomy 10:12-13

“So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and His ordinances I command you today for your good?”

Encouraging Words

The concept of love has become so misunderstood and misconstrued in our society. In this age of broken marriages, non-committed relationships, prenuptial agreements, and the such, most people no longer value the concept of unconditional love. This passage was a clear statement by God as to how much He loved His people and it applies to His New Covenant people today. Here is what Saint John Chrysostom said about this passage:

“God needs nothing we have to give Him, and this especially proves sincere love, when one who needs nothing and is not in any necessity, does everything for the sake of being loved by us. So when He bids you to love Him, He then most of all shows He loves you. For nothing secures our salvation more than loving Him” Orthodox Study Bible

If we would all choose to apply this type of love to our spouses, or would be/could be spouses, then we would see a change in our lives and the lives of everyone around us that would change the course of history. It is our choice, not the other’s that makes this happen! I choose to love my wife unconditionally for she deserves it.

Matthew 11:28-30

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Encouraging Words

The God that I follow, the God that I love, is a loving God. He asks me to come to Him and to submit my free will to Him. In doing this, He will give me rest, He will take off of my back the yoke that the world has put upon me and place upon me His yoke, which is easy so that my burden will be light. He does this because He is gentle and humble in His greatness. So, why does it seem sometimes that His yoke is heavy and burdensome? That is because it is both the world and my stubborn, hard heart that keeps piling on the burdens of the world. If I will continually turn to Him, every moment of every day, and purposely cast off the yoke of the world and put on the yoke of the King, I will see just how much rest He will give me. I will see how much I can learn from Him and begin to be like Him. I will see how light His burden is to carry and look forward to putting on His yoke. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.

Psalms 27:1 (26:1 LXX)

The Lord is my light and my savior; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defender of my life; whom shall I dread?

Encouraging Words

So many religions through the history of mankind have been based upon belief in a mean and vicious god. Our faith is not. We see our God as a loving and caring Father. He is our light in the darkness of this godless world. He is our salvation from eternal death. He is our defender against evil. We do not fear or dread Him. Our God is not judgmental as so many faith practices today base their doctrine on. He does not desire to have any of His creation separated from Him, which is most likely the reason Jesus has waited to return. He is the source and essence of love, which is why the only two commandments that He gave us are to love Him and to love our neighbor. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner and forgive me for not loving this way.

Deuteronomy 8:18


Then you shall remember the Lord your God, for He it is who gives you strength, that you may gain power, and He may establish His covenant the Lord swore to your fathers, as it is today.


Encouraging Words


I have had the opportunity, and blessing, to read through the Scriptures multiple times. One of the things blatantly apparent is that God never does the same thing, the same way, twice. He always shakes things up and often uses the strangest, most illogical (by human standards) to accomplish His miracles. For example, in the Old Testament, there are never two battles fought the same way. We have everything from marching around Jericho for seven days and then blowing the trumpets for victory to Gideon having to whittle his army down to a handful of men and then go into battle with horns and pitchers over torches in order to destroy the enemy. And in the New Testament, we have Jesus healing the blind in a myriad of ways. why? God does this for two basic reasons. First, so that we don’t get haughty and think that we have Him all figured out. This can never be done. Second, so that both we and the world, will clearly know that only God can do what He can do. Only God can treat the blind and the crippled, feed the hungry masses and raise the dead, especially those of us who are the living dead. Glory be to God!

Matthew 11:25

At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.”

Encouraging Words

It is so refreshing to know that I do not need to be some grand theologian or sequestered monastic to have God reveal to me His hidden things. Now, having said that I must confess that God has not started revealing His secrets to me yet. The reason for this absence of revelation is that I have not truly approached Him on a consistent basis as a child, Jesus made it clear multiple times that the kingdom of heaven belonged to those who approached Him and His Father with a childlike attitude and demeanor. What is this way of being? This means that we live our lives in total trust of our Father, knowing that everything will be right and good as long as we stay in His arms. It means letting go of my preconceptions and personal expectations of what I think is intellectually accurate. It means living my life loving those around my unconditionally as a child does. This all was evidenced to me this last weekend as I was able to spend time with my two 3-year-old grandchildren and watch them exhibit all of these characteristics…childlike, not childish.

Psalms 25:8-11 (24:8-11 LXX)
Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He will instruct sinners in His way.
He will guide the gentle in judgment;
He will teach the gentle His ways.
All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth
For those who seek His covenant and His testimonies.
For Your name’s sake, O Lord,
Pardon my sin, for it is great.

Personal Challenge

This passage tells us so much about our God that is encouraging. He is good and upright. He instructs us in our ways, even when we live our lives in sinful ways. He guides us and teaches us. His ways are merciful and truthful. He pardons our sins. However, what this passage shows is how we should live our lives is what makes it a personal challenge. He is calling us to live gentle lives. This means humbling ourselves before Him, loving Him, and loving our neighbor. it also asks us to seek Him throughout our lives in order to receive all that He promises us. Once again, this reminds me that my salvation is an interactive journey including God, my neighbor, and myself. Glory be to God!

Deuteronomy 8:2-5

Now you shall remember the whole way the Lord your God led you in the desert, to deal harshly with you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He dealt harshly with you and weakened you with hunger, and fed you with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word proceeding from the mouth of God man shall live. Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your feet become callused these forty years. You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.

Matthew 10:38-39

And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

Personal Challenge

Today we are all faced with another historical day. Our country has once again exercised our right to vote, and like every other post-election day that I have been blessed to live through (and there have been many), we are hearing that it is the end of the world or the opposite, that our country’s savior just got elected. Either way, our process has worked again, as it has for 240 years. And I believe it is a good process compared to so many others out there. Is it perfect? Far from it. I have, however, had the opportunity to see up close and personal other ways to do this and I am not willing to give up what we have. I was in Thailand 2 months after the military coup in 2006 and praise God, we have never had a coup in this country. I was in Haiti in 2011 when the Martelly railroad ran through the country and once again, praise God that our leaders and system are not as corrupt as they are there. Debatable, I know, but you have to experience it to understand it. I can go on with other countries, but that is not the point. The point is that we have a system that is working better than many others out there. I, for one, believe that I have been blessed to be able to live where I do and when I do. And that blessing for me goes back many generations. As I have been working on my ancestry, I have found that over 90% of my 9th Great Grandparents were born here on this great pre-American soil. Their parents came here as the first settlers of this vast country. We are talking about the mid-1600’s, 176 years before the foundation of our country. That is some pretty deep roots. What I am learning from this election cycle is to be thankful for the heritage that we have here and to trust the system, At least we have the opportunity to work within the system, even if it takes the rest of our lives to affect any change. The other and the most important lesson in all of this is that I must always remember that my true citizenship is not of this world and that my real responsibility in my life is to take up my cross, moment by moment, and follow my Lord. That is where I will find true life, true liberty, and true peace. Glory be to God!