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!

Psalms 5:11-12 (5:12-13 LXX)

But let all who hope in You be glad;
They will greatly rejoice forever,
For You will dwell in them;
And all who love Your name will boast in You.
For You will bless the righteous;
O Lord, You crowned us with the shield of Your goodwill.

Encouraging Words

Contrary to what a lot of people may think, God does truly exist and He does love us, His creation. That is why the psalmist, and those of who believe as he did, know that we can put our hope in our God and greatly rejoice forever. We believe that not only does He dwell amongst us, but thanks to the incarnation of His Son, He also dwells within us. We do not boast on any of things in our lives as if we are responsible for them, but because we know that all glory and honor belong to Him. It is through Him, and His work within our lives that we can ever hope to be righteous, and through that righteousness receive His blessings. He and He alone has crowned us with His shield of goodwill and guards and protects us throughout our lives. This is who I put my hope in! Glory be to God!

Genesis 5:2-3

He made them male and female, and blessed them; and the day He made them He called his name Adam. Now Adam lived two hundred and thirty years, and begot a son according to his form and image, and named him Seth.

Encouraging Words

The scripture is clear that mankind was, and is created in the image of God. This is always thought of as meaning our form. But according to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, this image goes all the way to the image of the Holy Trinity. Check out this note from the Orthodox study Bible…

Seth was begotten from Adam and Eve. This threefold relationship illustrates, to a certain extent, the Holy Trinity. Adam had no human father. He was begotten by no one. Thus, he was unbegotten. Seth was begotten from Adam. Eve was neither unbegotten nor begotten. Instead she proceeded from Adam (2:21). Therefore, Eve and Seth were related to the unbegotten Adam, but each in a unique manner—Eve proceeded from Adam, but Seth was begotten from him. Each person had his or her own distinct and unique properties—unbegotten, begotten, and proceeding—but all three possessed the same human nature.Similarly, the manner in which these three existed images the Holy Trinity. God the Father is Unbegotten; God the Son is Begotten from the Father; and God the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. These distinct and unique properties—unbegotten, begotten, and proceeding—distinguish each of the individual Persons of the Holy Trinity from each other; yet, They are one in nature (St. John of Damascus).

This is so exciting to me because it shows that God goes to every extent to show us His love for us. Glory be to God?

Matthew 5:16

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Personal Challenge

I have often heard how important it is for me as a Christian to let my light shine so that others might glorify God, This can be challenging on several fronts. First, we are told to do this so that people may see our good works being done for God and then glorify Hm. Am I doing good works for God? Is it obvious that they are for Him and not so that I look good? Second, what about the works that I am doing that are not glorifying to God? What do people think about God when they see me doing these? Third, what about this light that I am shining before men? Is it a good light, a bright light, an encouraging light? Or is it a light that shows the glory of my God dimly? Fourth, what about my propensity to pride. Do I seek to let my light shine before my fellow man, pretending that it is pointing to God so that I look good? This is perhaps the worst of the cases from this list, God gives me the ability to do good works for Him. He creates the opportunities and then gives me what I need to do them. He is the one who should be at the center of these activities and not me. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!