Baruch 2:14-15 LXX

O Lord, hear our prayer and our petition, and for Your own sake deliver us, and grant us mercy before those who have carried us into exile, in order that the whole earth may come to know that You are the Lord our God, for Israel and his descendants are called by Your name.

Encouraging Words

Life happens! And in that, both good things and bad things occur in our lives. Our response should be to run to our Lord in prayer and praise in order to be beacons to the world around us of His great love and mercy. The circumstances do not separate us from Him but draw us closer to Him. Glory be to God!

Baruch 1:11-12 LXX

And pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his son Belshazzar, that their days on earth may be like the days of heaven. And the Lord will give us strength and enlighten our eyes and we will live under the shelter of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon and under the shelter of Belshazzar his son,for many days and find mercy in their sight.

Personal Challenge

Just as God knew who would be the captors of his children in Israel, so does He know where we are to be born. And as He told His children to not only submit to the authority that were over them, so does He tell us to do the same today. If we keep our hearts and minds focused on the truth that we are sojourners through this earth as Israel was in Babylon and that our true home is somewhere else, then we can pray for those who lead us. It does not matter if it is Bush or Obama, Trump or Clinton, Sanders or Cruz, or anyone else, because our allegiance is to our Father in heaven and we are His representatives here on earth. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Wisdom of Sirach 50:22-24 LXX

And now bless the God of all,
Who does great things in every way,
Who exalts our days from our birth
And deals with us according to His mercy.
May He give us gladness of heart,
And may there be peace in our days,
In Israel as in the days of old.
May He entrust with us His mercy,
And let Him redeem us in our days.

Encouraging Words

Life, as we know it now, is not what God meant it to be. He created us in His image. He created us to commune with Him. He placed us in a garden where everything was perfect. We walked with Him and talked with Him. We did not need sunlight because His uncreated light was all that was needed. We lived sid by side with all of the beasts of creation with no fear or concern for our lives. We were in heaven on earth. Then we broke our relationship with God and chose to eat the forbidden fruit. The rest is history and our world around us is proof that we have fallen. But by God’s never ending grace and mercy and the incarnation of His Son, we are able to reclaim that position with God, which we had in the beginning. We must struggle and fight against the fallenness that we live in, but we are not alone. Our God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is walking with us through this life. Glory be to God!

Wisdom of Sirach 39:33-35 LXX

All the works of the Lord are good,
And He will supply every need in its hour.
No one can say, “This is worse than that,”
For all things will be well pleasing in their time.
So now sing praise with all your heart and voice,
And bless the name of the Lord.

Encouraging Words

Our God transcends time. I live in a finite world and therefore, I am constrained by time. If something transpires today, i.e. the loss of a loved one or a job, having a serious illness, being involved in an accident, or anything else that causes a major, or even a minor, impact on my life touches me in the now and can modify how I deal with the future. It is real! It is a life changing impact! But our God is outside of the bounds and constraints of time. He knows how this situation will work for my good. He knows the past, present, and future. He knows that this will someday be pleasing in its time. So with that knowledge and faith in my God, I can sing praise for my Lord with all of my heart and voice.

Wisdom of Sirach 39:1-3 LXX

How different is the man who devotes himself
To the study of the law of the Most High.
He will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients
And be occupied with their prophecies.
He will preserve the discourse of notable men
And penetrate the subtleties of parables.
He will seek out the hidden meanings of proverbs
And be engaged in the riddles of parables.

Personal Challenge

Why do we pursue our God through the writings and the teachings of His church and the saints that have gone before us? If it is for personal gain or to amass knowledge then it is for the wrong reason. We do this so that we can look outside of ourselves and embrace the great knowledge and wisdom of others and learn from them. As we do this we take our eyes off of ourselves and put them on others opening up a vista so full and rich. We do this to empty ourselves of what we think we know and who we think we are so that we can be filled with Him and His wisdom. Glory be to God!

Wisdom of Sirach 37:13-15 LXX

Stand firm on the counsel of your heart,
For no one is more faithful to you than it.
For a man’s soul sometimes tells him more
Than seven watchmen sitting high on a watchtower.
And in all matters, pray to the Most High
That He may direct your way in truth.

Encouraging Words

I cannot count the number of times that I have been told by well-meaning Christians that I can never trust my heart because its nature is bad and sinful. I always had a hard time with this because I took Christ at His word that He lived in my heart. So, here we have a word of wisdom from Ben Sirach that reminds us to stand firm on the counsel of our heart because no one is more faithful than it. Isn’t this awesome! If Jesus dwells within my heart and I am striving to live my life in a way that honors and glorifies Him then He will speak to me more through my heart than He will through my mind. Again, awesome! Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner and please direct my way in your truth.

Wisdom of Sirach 35:7-10 LXX

Glorify the Lord with your generosity,
And do not reduce the firstfruits of your hands.
In every gift let your face be cheerful,
And sanctify your tithe with gladness.
Give to the Most High as He has given to you,
And give to Him with generosity, according to your windfall.
For the Lord is He who repays,
And He will repay you sevenfold.

Encouraging Words

Why do we give to our Lord? Is it because we are commanded to? No! Is it so that we get more back or earn our way into heaven? No! Is it because we feel guilty for our sins? No! We give because we are grateful for all that has been given to us and we desire to return the firstfruits of it so that others can be touched by His love. What do we give? We give of our material wealth, which is money, or goods, or the things that money can buy, like bringing a dish to the fellowship hour. But God also enjoys other firstfruits of our lives, such as our time, our ability to reach out to those in need, our love for another, and anything else that is a result of His blessings poured out on us. We give because our love for Him is greater than our love for what we are giving up. Glory be to God!

Wisdom of Sirach 35:1-3 LXX

The man who keeps the law will abound in offerings;
He who heeds the commandments sacrifices a peace offering.
He who returns a kindness offers fine wheat flour,
And he who does alms sacrifices a praise offering.
To forsake evil is pleasing to the Lord,
And to forsake wrongdoing is atonement.

Personal Challenge

One of the erroneous teachings of modern Christianity is that we do not need to do any works for God. This has resulted in a consumer-based practice of Christianity. We go to church expecting to be entertained. We look to God to be our great sugar-daddy who will meet our every need, desire, want, or desire. It is true, our salvation is in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. There is nothing that I can do to earn it because I am a sinner and undeserving of His love, grace, and mercy. But once He bestows His love upon me, and I know Him and all that He has done for me, then I cannot stop desiring to serve Him, to be obedient to His commandments, to be kind and loving to those in my life, to give alms, and to forsake evil and wrongdoing. My works become a result of my salvation. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!