Exodus 8:11

But when Pharaoh saw there was relief, his heart was hardened; and he did not heed them, as the Lord said.

Personal Challenge

Using today’s logic and English language we record the story of Moses and Pharaoh as God hardening Pharaoh’s heart and not giving him a chance. This is not how God operates. God created us with free will and gives us the ability to choose how we want to respond to everything in our lives. So how do we reconcile this interpretation? We go back in time to where those who were closer to the original writings of the texts that have been handed down to us. John of Damascus (675-749 CE) shared in one of his commentaries on this passage that “It is customary for Holy Scripture to call Gods’ permission His action” (taken from the Orthodox Study Bible). Pharaoh consistently chose to harden his heart, even though God, working through Moses, gave him multiple opportunities to change his mind. And because God cannot violate His own creation, His own laws that He has put in place, He allowed Pharaoh to harden his own heart. The lesson in this for me is to continually ask the question, “Am I hardening my heart?” Do I consistently ignore the warnings that God lovingly gives me so that I can have my own way? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner?

Matthew 6:30

Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Personal Challenge

Faith is so much more than just believing in who Jesus is. We have come to a place in our Christian practices that all that I have to do to be a Christian is to say that I believe that Jesus existed. There is so much more to being a Christian than this. Practicing a living, working faith in our lives is one of those things. Here we are told by Jesus that I must trust God in every aspect of my life, every minute detail. God promises to take care of me and to meet my every need. Do I truly believe that or do I strive on my own to meet all of my needs? Do I give of my abundance to those who need it more than I do or do I save it for a rainy day? Do I tithe and give back to God first or hold out until I have done everything that I want to do and give what is left over to God. Faith of this sort means being willing to take risks, to go on that short-term mission trip, to be loving and friendly to that offensive neighbor, to stand out in the crowd because I am willing to proclaim my Lord’s name. Faith is a verb, not a noun! To God be the glory.

Psalms 10:17-18 (9:38-39 LXX)

The Lord hears the desire of the poor;
Your ear heeds the readiness of their heart,
To judge the orphan and the humble,
That man may no longer increase his great boasting upon the earth.

Encouraging Words

Have you ever wondered why people always seem to gravitate to the underdog and root for those who are in a place of desperation? Well, we are erected in the image of God and this is where His heart and His attention is constantly focused. Even though He is the God of all and holds all of His creation in the palm of His hand, He still hears the desire of the poor and heeds the readiness of their heart. And as the beatitudes teach us, this poorness is not just poorness in physical wealth and possessions, but also poorness in spirit. This poorness in spirit reminds us that we are nothing without Christ. It teaches us that even though we have great physical wealth in this temporal world, if we do not have the living Son in our lives, then we are truly poor. His desire is for us to replace that poorness with His eternal wealth and then to share that abundantly. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Exodus 3:5

So He said, “Do not come any closer. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”

Encouraging Words

I have always perceived this verse as calling out how holy God is and the need for me to humble myself when I come into His presence. In this case, this is done be Moses removing His shoes so that he can stand on holy ground. But there is another aspect to this action as well, Here is the note on this verse from the Orthodox Study Bible:

3:5 Moses was to remove his sandals. This indicates that nothing dead is to stand between God and man, for He is the God of the living (AmbM).

This note comes from the teachings of Ambrose of Milan, one of our early church fathers. Here I am being taught that my relationship with God can be so intimate that He wants nothing to come between Him and me. In this case, He is asking Mose to remove his sandals, which are from a dead animal, so that he can stand on the holy ground, touching it with his flesh. This could also apply to the need to take off other items that are dead in order to be fully in God’s presence. Sin is one of those garments that I wear that must be taken off and discarded through the blood of Christ so that I can stand in the presence of God. Glory be to God!

Matthew 6:14-15

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Personal Challenge

So reading this passage brings to my mind the question, “ls God’s love conditional?” Clearly, the answer to this question is a resounding, “No!”. God’s love is not conditional. Throughout the scriptures and the teachings of our church fathers, it is very clear that God loves us unconditionally, without a doubt and without any limitations. However, what this passage teaches, as well as others, is that God’s forgiveness of my sins is conditional. What? ls this heresy? It is not. Jesus teaches us that forgiveness is cooperative. I must go to God, confess my sin, seek forgiveness, and repent in order to receive His forgiveness. And, as this passage teaches, if I am unwilling to give my neighbor forgiveness when they have offended me, then the forgiveness that I am seeking from God will be hindered. How can this be? God is all powerful, isn’t we? He can overrule my unforgiveness, can’t He? Yes, in both cases, but if I am holding out on forgiving another, most likely my heart has become hardened and I am not really going to God to seek forgiveness of my own sins. Here is where that cooperative part kicks in. I must be willing to love my neighbor enough to forgive them, otherwise, I am not loving God enough to seek His forgiveness. If I cannot humble myself before another enough to forgive them, then I will not be willing to humble myself before God to seek, and receive, His forgiveness, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

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!