Wisdom of Solomon 8:17-18 LXX

When I considered these things within myself
And thought about them in my heart,
That in kinship with wisdom there is immortality,
And in friendship with her there is good pleasure,
And in the labors of her hands there is unfailing wealth,
And in the shared training of her company there is discernment,
And in the fellowship of her words there is good repute—
Thus I searched about that I might take her for myself.

Encouraging Words

Since the early church fathers taught that the wisdom spoken of in the Old Testament writings was Jesus, replacing the word “wisdom” with “Jesus” shows the power and glory of who Jesus ios and why we pursue Him. Glory be to God!

When I considered these things within myself
And thought about them in my heart,
That in kinship with Jesus there is immortality,
And in friendship with Him there is good pleasure,
And in the labors of His hands there is unfailing wealth,
And in the shared training of His company there is discernment,
And in the fellowship of His words there is good repute—
Thus I searched about that I might take Him for myself.

Psalm 27:4 (26:4 LXX)

One thing I ask from the Lord; this I will seek,
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
And behold the delights of the Lord,
And visit His temple.

Encouraging Words

One of the most powerful things that the human race has at our disposal to guide us through every day of our lives is hope. No other creature has this capability. To be able to put our hope in our God, the creator of all, the sustainer of all, the giver of both temporal and eternal life to all, is the ultimate exercising of hope. It is no wonder that the psalmist only asked for one thing, to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. This too is my desire. Glory be to God!

Matthew 5:3-12

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness ‘sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Personal Challenge

In the Orthodox Church, we have entered into the second half of our Lenten season. Why do we still practice Lent? As we lead up to our celebration of the resurrection of our Lord, we use this time to review our lives, our hearts, and our minds to be reminded of how much we need Jesus as our Savior. We also use this time to search our hearts and contemplate the depth of our selfishness and sin that separates us from God. It is a time for soul-searching, confession, and repentance. It can be so easy to just ramble off a list of things that I have done asking for God’s forgiveness, but the challenge for me is to dig in deep and try to see what is causing me to do the things on that list. I have found that praying through the beatitudes helps to lead me through this process.

Here are some notes from my Orthodox Study Bible that expand on this passage:

Poor in spirit – those who have the heart of the poor, the same attitude as the poor, and are totally dependent on God.
Those who mourn – sorrow over the sufferings of this life, the sufferings of others, the state of the world, and their own sins.
Meekness – an attitude of being content with both honor and dishonor.
Hunger and thirst for righteousness – see the presence of God and His Kingdom as the most important thing in life.
Mercy – love set in motion, expressed in action.
Pure in heart – completely devoted to the worship and service of God and accepting no compromises.
Peacemakers – share God’s peace with those around them, imitating Christ’s sacrificial love and participating in His work.
Persecuted for righteousness’ sake – uphold truth, refuse to compromise with the ways of the world, and give themselves to no other.

As I read through these I am so clearly reminded that my list of sins that I have committed all boil down to a heart that does not pursue these virtues presented and exhibited by Christ. And for this, I ask your forgiveness for the offenses that I have committed against you.

John 5:39-40

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

Personal Challenge

Do I really want to have the life that only Jesus can give me? I will not find this life in the Scriptures alone. I will not find it in the liturgy alone. I will not find it in my prayers and quiet times alone. I will only find true life in Christ. I must run to Him and follow Him in order to receive the life that He has for me. All of these other things point me to Him but are not Him. Glory be to God!

John 14:15-17

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

Encouraging Words

If I love Jesus then I will keep His commandments. What are those commandments that I will keep? They all boil down to tow things, love God and love my neighbor. There is nothing in these commandments about fasting, or praying, or going to church, or anything else of this sort. If I am practicing, and desiring to perfect, these two commandments, then all of the other acts of worship will flow out of my love for God and my neighbor. What is even more exciting is that the more I love Jesus and pursue Him, the more the Holy Spirit can do in my life to help me express my love to Jesus and my neighbor. Glory be to God!

Ezekiel 37:26-28

I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant, and I will establish My sanctuary in their midst forever. My tabernacle shall be among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them, when My sanctuary is among them forever.

Encouraging Words

In the Easter Orthodox Church, we just passed through our midway point of Lent leading up to Pascha (Easter). We not only celebrate the wonderful glory of the resurrection of our Lord, but we also proclaim that He has put to death the hold that physical death had on us. Through His incarnation, death, and resurrection, the power of death over us was broken and banished forevermore. By doing that, Jesus established His sanctuary and His everlasting covenant in our midsts. We have access to this tabernacle for we are His people and we are sanctified in Him. Glory be to God!

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!