Psalm 127:1 (126:1 LXX)

Unless the Lord builds the house,
Those who build it labor in vain;
Unless the Lord guard the city,
Those who guard it stay awake in vain.

Personal Challenge

There has been so much commotion lately about Black Lives Matter, Police Lives Matter, and everything in between. But really, which lives matter? As the psalmist so clearly points out in this verse, unless our Lord is in the middle of all of our endeavors for unity, peace, and the building up of our community,then ALL of our labor is in vain. We have taken God out of our lives. Yes, we have taken Him out of our schools, our government, and our society. In many cases, we have taken Him out of our churches. When we teach that we were not created in the image of God, but evolved from primordial ooze, then what do we end up with? When we choose to take innocent lives of unborn children in the name of choice, then what do we end up with? When we elevate the almighty dollar and the stuff that it can buy above everything and everyone else and make it our God, then what do we end up with? When we destroy marriage and the family by redefining what marriage is, creating and encouraging fatherless homes, and treating marriage as something that can be easily thrown away, then what to we end up with? We end up with the chaos and anarchy that we are seeing rampant today. Now I know that I must admit that I too am guilty of being a part of this situation so I am pointing my finger at me here.

So, what is the answer? We have been reminded in the scriptures and the teachings of our church fathers that we are not of this world but in this world. If all of us who claim to be Christians would stop jumping on all of the social, political, and cultural wagons and started living our lives as Christ expects us to, then our world would change. If I truly give my life to Christ and follow Him, then I am no longer an American. I am no longer a Democrat or a Republican. I am not pro-Black Lives Matters or Police Lives Matters. Pick your thing of this world and I am not a part of it anymore. If I am truly a Christian as Jesus described it, then I must become a person that loves the Lord my God with all of my heart, soul, and spirit and my neighbor as myself. In other words. ALL LIVES MATTER, and the matter more than my own. It is no longer about whether or not God has been taken out of the institutions of this world as much as it is about whether or not I have taken God out of my life. Have I made the things of this world more important than Him? If I truly live my life the way that Jesus wants me to, then I will not only begin to see my world change, but I will be a part of that change.

Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Nehemiah 4:7-8

Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall in the sheltered areas, and I positioned the people by families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember our God, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

Personal Challenge

God calls us regularly to step up and do His work for Him. As we heed this call we will be met by resistance because the world does not want God’s work to be accomplished. Sometimes we must be willing to stand up for our God and our fellow brothers and sisters and fight for His kingdom. In all cases, we are once again called to work with God in unity and synergy to build His kingdom. The life of a Christian is not a sedate, non-active life. Glory be to God!

Zechariah 4:6

And he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by mighty power nor by strength, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

Personal Challenge

If I desire to see God’s handiwork in my life and the lives around me, then I must work in a synergistic relationship with Him. God does supernatural things in this world. Sometimes they come in the form of miracles. Usually, however, they come in the form of someone just like me, yielding to the Holy Spirit and allowing themselves to be used by God for His edification. I can do nothing on my own that amounts to very much. But if I yield to God, trust Him, obey Him, and let Him be the one that gets the glory, then I can be a part of the great works that He does. Glory be to God!

Daniel 6:5-6

The administrators and governors sought to find some charge against Daniel, but they could find no charge or wrongdoing or fault against him because he was faithful. Then the administrators said, “We will find nothing against Daniel unless we find it in the laws of his God.”

Personal Challenge

I look at Daniel and the life that he lived for his God and then examine mine to see if no fault could be found. Unfortunately, I find that there are many holes in my life both past and present that would make it easy for an accuser to discredit my relationship with my God. Fortunately, I have the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ to cover my sins, but it is not too late to start living the rest of my life where no fault could be found in my faithfulness to my God. Will this be easy? No way! But I do have the Holy Spirit to help me on that journey. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Daniel 3:40

So let this be our sacrifice before You today,
And may it be accomplished for those who follow You;
For there is no shame for those who trust in You.

Encouraging Words

No matter what I do, whether good or bad. No matter whether I sin throughout the day or make it through living a godly life. No matter what, my God still loves me beyond any level of love that I can imagine. And in that love, He is not ashamed of me. So too, can I try to live my life for Him, loving Him, honoring Him, and not being ashamed to proclaim Him as my Lord.

Susanna 22-23

Then Susanna sighed deeply and said, “I am hemmed in on all sides, for if I do this thing, it is death for me; yet if I do not, I will not escape your hands. But it is better for me not to do it and to fall into your hands, than to sin against the Lord.”

Personal Challenge

This verse today poses an interesting dilemma that is very similar to dilemmas that we might face in our lives. The situations might be different but the fact that we are forced into situations where we must make difficult decisions has not. In this story, we find that Susanna, a beautiful woman of nobility has been trapped in a position where two nefarious noblemen are trying to force her to submit to them sexually or they will tell a lie that will condemn her to be stoned to death. It is a lose-lose situation for her. She does not choose the lesser of the two evils. She chooses to do the right thing, tell them “No!” to their threats, and take her chances with the process of proving her innocence in the courts against two witnesses. Her choice was to be obedient to God and trust that He would acquit her. This is such an awesome story and one worth reading over and over again.

So, how does this tie to difficult decisions that we must make today? There are many times that we find ourselves in situations that look like we will lose no matter which way we decide. What we often do, though, is choose the option with the least pain or the least impact on our lives. In other words, we choose the lesser of two evils. A case in point here is our current climate for political candidates. We are told by mainstream media that we only have two candidates. I hear over and over again that people are choosing to vote for the lesser of two evils, whomever that might be because they have no other choice. But in reality, there are other candidates, other options. We do have choices that might be more in line with our moral expectations. If that is the case, then the right thing to do is to vote that way rather than settle for the lesser of the two evils. We do have choices. We must study our options and choose what we think God would have us do and let Him do the rest.

Ezekiel 34:15-16

I shall feed My sheep and refresh them; and they will know that I am the Lord,” thus says the Lord and Master. “I shall seek the lost, bring back the misled, bind up the broken, strengthen the fallen, protect the strong, and feed them with judgment.”

Encouraging Words

It is such a blessing to know that we are loved so deeply by our Father in heaven. As a father myself, with children, step-children, and their children spread all around the world, I definitely appreciate the joy of bringing those who have been spread across the lands back together again. I know how much I love and miss those who are so special to me. It boggles my mind to think how much more my Father feels His love for us. Glory be to God!

Lamentations 3:52-54

“You heard my voice;
Do not hide Your ears from my supplication.
You drew near at my call on the day I called upon You.
You said to me, ‘Do not fear.’
O Lord, You pleaded the case for my soul;
You redeemed my life.”

Personal Challenge

It often amazes me how often people act like they speak for God and condemn others who don’t act, think, or live like they do. In doing so they call out these different people as being condemned and even hated by God. However, the scriptures and teachings of our church fathers clearly point our that our loving and merciful God hears the voices of those who sincerely call out to Him. He has throughout the history of mankind redeemed men and women who have committed every manner of sin. Sin is sin and it separates us from the love of our God. That is why He came to us and became one of us. He lived as a man in a sinful world and did not sin so that we can call out to Him and have Him hear us. That is true love and I am commanded to love those around me with this kind of love. It is not for me to judge another person’s sin for mine is bad enough. It is for me to love my neighbor and show them God’s love. Glory be to God!

Judith 8:14

You cannot plumb the depths of the heart of man, nor grasp the thoughts of his mind. How then do you expect to search out God, who made all these things, and come to understand His mind or comprehend His purpose? No, brothers! Do not provoke the Lord our God to anger.

Personal Challenge

We have reached a place in our modern culture where we act as is we know what goes on in the mind of God. Wait! This verse was written over 2,000 years ago and was dealing with the same problem then. Solomon reminded us when he wrote Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun. Just as the author of Judith was trying to inform his readers that God is so far beyond us that we will never be able to understand His ways, so must we be reminded that our modern expression of what God thinks or what God would do is so far from the truth. We are not God and we must not try to dictate what God thinks about the conditions of our world or the state of the hearts of people around us. What we must do is live our lives in accordance with the teachings that He has given us. And the way that I understand these teachings, they boil down to two things: love God and love my neighbor. If I can master these then I will be much closer to seeing knowing God. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!