TURN TO GOD

Joel 2:12-13

Now says the Lord your God, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting and wailing and with mourning; rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and compassionate. He is longsuffering and plenteous in mercy and repents of evils.

Personal Challenge

Some people believe, erroneously, that God wants us to militantly force those around us to belive in Him the way that we do and to practice worshipping Him the way that we do. That is not what God wants from His true followers, which is why Joel tells us to rend our heart and not our garments. God knows that our outward actions, or inactions, are what show the true nature of our heart. He wants our heart to be focused on Him and filled with love for our neighbor, a love that drives us to give food to the hungry, to clothe the naked, to shelter the alien amongst us, and to support those will do this as well. God’s expectations are almost always 180 degrees opposite of what the world’s are. Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me ,the sinner and forgive me of taking my eyes, and heart off of you!

A REMAINING REST

Hebrews 4:9-10

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

Encouraging Words

Life is that period of time in our lives for work and activities. We are given a period of time in which we can grow in our understanding of God and the ways of the world. At some point, we will all enter into that final rest where our labors will end and we will follow Christ into the place of eternal rest that he established for us. This is encouraging for we know that our earthly labor is not in vain. This is why those of us who choose to be followers of Christ also choose to strive to do His labors by loving our neighbor and living to show them God’s love. Glory be to God!

WHO?

Micah 7:18

Who is a God like You, removing wrongdoings and passing over the ungodliness of the remnant of His inheritance? He does not keep His anger as a witness, for He delights in mercy.

Encouraging Words

Our God is so loving and merciful. It is such a shame that so many people misunderstand Him and that so many who proclaim to know Him do things that He is so against. God is love. He is mercy. He desires, actually expects, that if we are to be His followers, then we must show love and mercy to our neighbor. It grieves Him when people who proclaim to be His followers show contempt for those who are in need or who are different than they are. If we truly love Him, then we will love others. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Saint of the Week
St. Maria Skobtsova

EXHORT ONE ANOTHER

Hebrews 3:13

but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

Personal Challenge

We need each other in our lives. Our salvation, our relationship with Christ, gets worked out and grows in community. We were not created to go through life alone. This is becoming especially relevent in today’s political climate where everyone is trying to divide and isolate groups and individuals. It is even happening in our churches. We must fight the movement toward isolation and separation and keep pulling people together and encouraging one another. Lord have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

I WILL…

Micah 7:7

But I will look to the Lord. I will wait for God my Savior, for my God will hear me.

Personal Challenge

We live in a day where contention with one another is the norm. It has not only become acceptible to press upon another your beliefs and expectations, it has almost become mandatory by society for people to do this. I choose not to do this. It is not my responsibility, and certainly not my right to make another believe what I believe However, it is my right to believe what I believe and to live my life accordingly. I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I strive to understand His teachings and live by them. Contrary to a lot of expectations in the world today, living by the sermon on the mount, the beatitudes, the commands to love our neighbor, are not what we are seeing from so many who claim the label of Christian. Lord, have mercy! So, please talk to those of us who proclaim to be followers of Christ and see if we are loving and caring as He expects us to be, before you judge us. I will look to the Lord. I will wait for God my savior for He will hear me.

ABLE TO AID

Hebrews 2:17-18

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

Encouraging Words

Why did Jesus choose to become a human? In order to truly redeem humanity from the grip of death, a human had to be able to defeat death. Jesus became that human and life a perfect, sinless life as a human so that by His death and resurrection, death would be defected. Through Him we have been redeemed. Since he lived His life as a human, tempted and yet not sinning, He can aid us when we are tempted. Glory be to God!

HE HAS SHOWN US

Micah 6:8

He has shown you, O man, what is good. Or what does the Lord seek from you but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to be ready to walk with the Lord your God?

Personal Challenge

Jesus told us to judge not that we be not judged. Micah reminds us that God, throughout the entire Old Testament, has shown us what is good. Judging another for their choices that are different from ours is not good. We are reminded here to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk with the Lord our God. This is how Christians are to behave. We are not to delight in the misfortunes of others. We are not to withhold help from those in need. We are not to support those who would do these things. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

RELEASED FROM DEATH

Hebrews 2:14-15

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Encouraging Words

The perspective of Easter, or Pascha as we call it in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is quite a bit different than the Western Church. We do not believe that God had to kill His Son in order to forgive us of our sins. When Adam sinned, the world and all of its inhabitants became slaves to the consequences of sin, which is death. We sin because we fear death. Jesus became human like all of us and also retained His God-ness. He lived a perfect, sinless life, and allowed Himself to die like every other human being. The end game here is that He came back to life, preparing the way for the rest of humanity to be able to rise from death as well. He died in order to break the bondage that death had on all of us. We, the Orthodox Christians, proclaim this every year at our Paschal celebration when we sing, “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!” Hallellujah!

THAT YOU MAY LIVE

Amos 5:14

Seek good and not evil so that you may live, so that the Lord God Almighty will be with you. As you have said,

Personal Challenge

Amos was a prophet who was called upon by God to press the people to repent of their evil ways and to return to worshipping God in the right way. What was this right way? Jesus made it very clear when He summed up the entire law in the Old Testament with two commands: Love God and love your neighbor. If anyone is
going to label themselves as a Christian, then the fruit of their labors must show that they are abiding by these commandments. So much of what we are seeing today in the politics of our country is so much about claiming the false label of being “Christian” and behaving as pagans by abandoning those who cannot defend themselves. This is not Christian. This is not seeking good over evil. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!