Sirach 37:13-15

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.

Personal Challenge

Complacency is a serious illness that can easily affect us all. We have all been given a conscience to know the difference between right and wrong. Unfortunately, if we have continually supressed that conscience, we will no longer hear it speaking to us. Being complacent about what is going on around us is one way of supressing that conscience. Complaceny is a dangerous thing in our lives and will lead us to accept those things that are harmful to us and others. If we will stay alert and seek our God, He will help us in ways to fight complacency and do the right things. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

2 Timothy 4:1-4

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

Personal Challenge

What time is now? Read the second half of the above passage. Paul warned Timothy, a young leader in the Church, that a time was coming when people would not endure sound, Christ-centered doctrine. He warned that they would seek, or create, variations of the doctrine of Christ that fit their own desires because they had itching ears for the commentary that would align with their personal beliefs and desires. They would heap up teachers and leaders that would shore them up. Worst of all, they would turn their ears away from the truth, and treat these fables that support them as the truth. This has happened before in the last 2,000 years and is happening in force today with things like Project 2025, Christian nationality and the gutting of the American government and systems as we have known them, all in the name of God. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Sirach 36:1-4

Have mercy on us, O Lord, the God of all, and look upon us,
And put Your fear on all the nations.
Raise Your hand against foreign nations
And let them see Your power.
As in us You have been sanctified before them,
So in them may You be made great before us.
Let them know You as we also have known You,
For there is no God but You, O Lord.

Personal Challenge

This prayer from Sirach was that God would let the rest of the world know Him as Israel did. God’s intention when He entered into a covenant with Israel was that they would be His light to the world for the salvation of all. They failed miserably by becoming nationalistically focused and exclusive of anyone that did not match their definition of being God’s chosen. Jesus fulfilled the law and created a new covenant for His followers to share His Gospel throughout the world and be His light to all. Today we see people using the label Christian to support nationalistic rhetoric and excluding anyone who does not match their definition of being Christian Americans. Here we go again. Lord, have mercy on us!

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Personal Challenge

In our post-modern, post-Christian day we are facing quite a conundrum related to the inspired Scripture of God. In the early church, and continuing today in the Eastern Church, the interpretation of the scripture was/is always validated by the Church and it’s 2,000-year history and ownership of the scriptures. Any teaching or interpretation that does not align with this validation is considered heresy. Fast forward to today and we have the practices of individuals and institutions that believe that they have the right and authority to teach whatever they choose as their interpretation. In many cases they are teaching heresy. God’s Scripture is indeed inspired by Him and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction, but only when applied under the auspices of His Church. We must resist the teachings that we are seeing today that go against Christ’s fundamental commands to love God and love our neighbor. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Sirach 35:7-10

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.

Personal Challenge

We are blessed by God with many things. It may be as simple and essential as the breath that we take or the beat of our heart. It may be as extensive as the wealth that we have or the possesions in our hands. God is generous to us and His expectation is that we will use His generosity to be generous to others. We are to share from the first fruits of our work with others in need, tithing and giving cheerfully and with gladness. We do this out of our gratitude and not to earn any favor with God or others. There is no reason to hoard when we know God will hold us in His hands and take care of us. Glory be to God!

2 Timothy 3:12

Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Personal Challenge

Jesus made it clear to His followers that if they follow Him, they will be persecuted because He was persecuted. This is still the case today. The sad part of what is happening today is that those who are professing to be Christians are persecuting those who are actually behaving the way the Christ would. This does not mean that we stop doing the work of Christ, which is loving God and loving our neighbor. We have a dark time before us and must be deligent to love one another as He has loved us. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Sirach 35:1-3

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.

Encouraging Words

In the Old Testament, God entered into a covenant with the Jewish people and gave them a set of laws and traditions to follow. We know of the beginning of these laws as the ten commandments. Unfortunately, just as we see happening today, zealous leaders replaced their love for God with their focus on the law. Sirach reminds us that it is the nature of the laws that is important, not just the letter of the law. Heeding the essence of the law, which is loving God and loving our neighbor, as Jesus commanded us in the New Testament covenant, is the same as making a peace offering to God. Giving kindness to another is as powerful as a wheat offering. Giving alms to the poor and those in need equals a praise offering. Forsaking evil and wrongdoing is pleasing to God and helps atone us of our own wrongdoings. It is not about posting the laws on the walls or beating others over the heads with them. It is about living lives loving God and loving our neighbor. Lord, have Lord mercy! Lord, have Mercy! Lord, have merey!

2 Timothy 2:22-26

Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

Personal Challenge

Under the guidance of God, Paul gave Timothy some great instruction that is still valid today. First of all, to flee youthful lusts and desires and to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace out of a pure heart. These are truly signs of maturity and growth in a person unlike so many childish and vengeful behaviors that we are seeing today in our country and its leadership. Avoid foolish and ignorant disputes and quarrels. This does not mean that we stop fighting against injustice and lies. It just means that we do not get sucked into the pettiness of those who support that behavior. By being gentle to all, able to teach, patient, and humbly correcting the opposition, we can maintain our balance, our centeredness, and our integrity. We let God then convict the other that they might come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil that they are trapped in. If we truly want to win in our resistance to the opposition, we must maintain ourselves above their approaches.