Genesis 24:8

And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.”

Encouraging Words

One of the teachings of the Orthodox Church that I have come to thoroughly appreciate is that of free will. From the very beginning of creation, God created us with the ability to choose freely. He does not set up things around us to force us to choose Him or His ways. He does not make up our minds for us because He wants us to choose Him. We are not destined to be sinners because Adam and Eve chose to sin. Sin entered the world because of their choice. therefore creating an environment where it is easier to sin. But because I have free will, I can choose whether or not to sin, and believe me, I usually choose wrongly more often than not. But God is still there loving me through the consequences. In this verse, we are clearly shown that Rebekah had a choice that she could make. She could refuse to accept the offer to marry Isaac and return to his homeland, This is shown throughout the scriptures even up to Mary having the choice of whether on not to be the mother of our Lord. We still have the right and the ability to choose. Glory be to God!

Matthew 5:37

But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Personal Challenge
The concept of relativity has worked its way into every aspect of our lives in this generation. Even in the broader, modern church, there is a great departure from absolutes, from right and wrong, sin and behavior that is accepted. Truth as an absolute is not tolerated by those who tell everyone around them to be tolerable. Jesus told us to be people of our word, to speak truthfully and boldly, and to stand by what we say. In this age that is more driven by the sarcasm of Jerry Seinfeld or the Simpsons we have come to accept demeaning, snarky remarks and putdowns followed with the flippant, “Just kidding!” as the normal way to talk to, or about people. This is really not acceptable in the kingdom of God. We are commanded to love our neighbor, to put them before ourselves, and to edify them in our thoughts, words, and actions. These two lifestyles do not work together. We must take back the concept of civility with our tongues, or the keyboards in today’s “Social Media” world, by speaking the truth in love and respect for our fellow human. Especially when we claim to be followers of Christ. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me, the sinner!

Psalms 9:10 (9:11 LXX)

And let those who know Your name put their hope in You;
For You, O Lord, do not forsake those who seek You.

Encouraging Words

There we go again… the random choice of my Verse of the Day brought up Psalm 9:11 (LXX) on the 15th anniversary of September 11, 2001. And what a verse this is for today. Our Living God is surely the one whom we can put our hope in, our entire hope. For He will never forsake us. Even if the events in this physical, temporal world entirely consume us, our God will never forsake us and will be with us to the end of eternity. Memory Eternal!

Genesis 22:10-12

Then Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” He then replied, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him, for now I know you fear God, since for My sake you have not spared your beloved son.”

Encouraging Words

So, why in the world would a loving God tell an old man like Abraham to kill his only son? That doesn’t sound too loving, does it? Was he just testing Abraham? Maybe, but that also doesn’t sound very loving. I am sure that there are many reasons why God took Abraham down this path. I do not understand the mysteries of God and know that I never will unless He chooses to share them with me. One thing that is clear though, when one studies the life of Abraham. He was a godly and righteous man. He was saved by his belief in God even before the Law was given and before Jesus was incarnated. But his faith looked to that day when mankind would be redeemed by God and given passage back into a promised land. Is it not possible that God gave Abraham this opportunity to demonstrate not only to himself but to all of mankind after him, that God would someday send us His only begotten Son, and that He would bind His Son’s hands and feet to the cross, and sacrifice Him so that death could be put death? Abraham was able to see the fulfilment of his faith in this prefiguration of the death and resurrection of God’s son. Glory be to God!

Matthew 5:23-24

Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Personal Challenge

The Church was created to be the Bride of Christ and to be a community that lived in unity. Christ prayed that we would live together in harmony and unity. Paul did the same. They both knew that the propensity of our fallen state would push us to division and disunity. in my recent readings about Polycarp, one of our early church fathers who was discipled by the Apostle John, he wrote about how much differently the dioceses of his day practiced fasting. He articulated that it was imperative to respect the customs of each other that was passed down by the different leaders of the church and that unity was most important. In this passage, Jesus puts the burden on me to recognize if there is a division between me and a brother or sister. If I find one, no matter how small or large, then I must go and initiate reconciliation and unity… no matter who is in the right. Without doing this I cannot truly worship. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Psalms 9:1-2 (9:2-3 LXX)

For the End; concerning the hidden things of the Son; a psalm of David.
I will give thanks to You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your wondrous things;
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Encouraging Words

Psalm 9 was written to account for the judgment of our Lord that is to come in the last days. What is so powerful about these verses that start off this psalm on judgment is the praise that the psalmist lifts up to our Lord. Even though God has the right to condemn us all because none of us has ever measured up to His righteous, He still chose to give us a way to cover up our sins and to be wiped clean of on transgressions. He has given us an eternal ark that will carry us through the tempest of life. He has given us His Son who broke down the gates of eternal judgments which is hell and eternal separation from God and freed us from the death that would have held us there. Jesus is our salvation. He is the coat around us that saves us from the judgment that the psalmist saw coming. Jesus is our Lord, our Savior our Helper, and our protector. Glory be to God!

Genesis 6:22

Thus Noah did according to all the Lord God commanded him, so he did.

Personal Challenge

Wait a minute! I am a modern American! I am free and I have inalienable rights to pursue happiness and whatever I want! But, is this really true if I choose to claim that I am a follower of Christ? Part of being a true follower of someone is that you go where they go and you do what they do and ask you to do. Jesus not only loved those around Him and put their needs first, but He also let those same people put Him to death on the cross. Surely He doesn’t want me to follow Him there. Noah was Chosen out of all of the people of his day because God knew his heart. God knew that Noah would listen to His commands and do them. Would God choose me today if He needed someone to do a task for Him? I would have to reluctantly say, “No!” I have at my fingertips so many different versions of God’s living Word. I have heard His teachings for most of my life. Do I do what He has commanded me? Seldom! Do I practice what my leader shows me to do? Seldom! Do I follow Him where He leads me? Nope! Then maybe it is time to truly assess my life using His measuring stick and see what I must do to be His follower. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Matthew 5:17

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”

Encouraging Words

Sometimes it feels like many of us who claim to be followers of Christ believe it is our responsibility to destroy the beliefs of others so that they will believe what we believe. Even Jesus did not do this with His fellow Jews and their practices and beliefs. He confronted them when they were in error, but even in that He did that in love for their lostness, Jesus wants us to be loving and caring to those around us so that as we demonstrate His love to all, all may come to know Him. This can be much more difficult, but is so much more fulfilling. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!