Hebrews 13:15-16

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Personal Challenge

As children of God, we are commanded to take up our crosses and follow Christ and to live sacrificial lives for Him. We are told here that we do this by continually praising God as the fruit of our lips and not forgetting to do good and share with those around us. Our occupation in Christ leaves no room for doubt about what He wants from us. Glory be to God!

Philippians 4:19

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Encouraging Words

Once again, God is not fickle in His promise to us. If we live our lives in Him, being submissive to Him, and loving Him and our neighbor as He has commanded us to do, then our every need will be met. The important part of to understand here is that if we live our lives His way our needs will be much more different than what we and the world, think our needs are. We become transformed into His likeness and our needs become transformed accordingly. Glory be to God!

Ephesians 5:8-10

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

Personal Challenge

As followers of Christ, we have been removed from the dark of this world and made to be children of light through the fruit of the Spirit. However, this does not mean that we can absolve ourselves from our responsibilities to walk as children of light exercising good judgment and doing that which is right and acceptable to the Lord. We still have our freedom to exercise our free will. The righteous choice is to do what God desires. 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…

What makes us think that we can fight the battles of our life on our own accord? Pride! Arrogance! Ignorance! Vainglory! In the days before Christ, the people had to wait for the Spirit of God to join them in their battles against the principalities of this world. That is why they so often attempted to do everything on their own accord, in their own strength and power. However, for us, who are blessed by the new covenant, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us and always present to fight our battles for us. However, we still get caught up in our pride, arrogance, ignorance, and vainglory, and try to fight these battles on our own. Is it no wonder that we never win? We must heed this call to humble ourselves before the cross of Christ and submit ourselves, entirely, to our Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Glory be to God!

1 Peter 4:7-9

But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.

Personal Challenge

All Christians would agree that God poured out the ultimate love on all of us when His Son became incarnate and gave up His life for us. Then it is no wonder that he desires that we follow in His footsteps and pour out our love on all who are in our lives, especially our Christian brothers and sisters. There is no room in the body of Christ for holding on to another’s sins when ours is always more grievous. If we are to love our neighbor, If I am to love my neighbor, then this love must start with those closest to us; our brothers and sisters in Christ. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Acts 2:38

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Personal Challenge…

Our journey into the body of Christ begins with repentance and renouncement of the world. This is not just a one-time event in our lives. We must live our lives in constant repentance for our sins, regularly renouncing the world, and running into the protective arms of our Lord and Savior. As long as we are on this earth, living in a fallen world we will sin and need to repent. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Matthew 16:24-28

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Personal Challenge…

This passage is so full of rich jewels that it would take many days to fully unpack. The first piece to look at is the command to deny ourselves and to take up our cross and follow Jesus. In the Orthodox Church, we cross ourselves with the sign of the cross regularly. Making the sign of the cross is a physical reminder to take up the cross of Christ and to live our lives for Him. We invocate it on the pronouncement of the members of the Holy Trinity and at other times which refer to the sovereignty of our Lord Jesus Christ and the celebration of His communion elements and written gospels.In all cases, it is the reminder that is what counts. The reminder that if I am to be a true disciple of my Lord I will regularly set myself aside and take up His cross. Glory be to God!

2 Corinthians 8:9

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

Personal Challenge…

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the co-creator of Heaven and earth, gave up His place in Heaven so that He might become man. He lived amongst us as a man, fasting from the glories of Heaven for us, for our sakes that we might become rich in Him. What a wonderful example for us to follow. To fast from the things of this world so that we might have more to give to those around us, whether it be of our resources or our time. We do this fasting so that our minds and hearts will be focused on our Lord and our new home. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

2 Timothy 2:3-4

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

Personal Challenge…

So much of the scriptures are filled with metaphors. Without living in the society where these metaphors are based on everyday occurrences, then their meaning sometimes gets lost, if not at least watered down. If I had been enlisted into an army such as the one that the Romans had then this verse would have meant a lot to me. In order to survive, especially in times of war, I would have to commit 100% of my energy and focus on the affairs at hand and totally ignore the rest of the world around me. In doing this, I would not only survive, but would also please my commanding officer. Being that I am no longer a citizen of this world, and that I have been enlisted in the army of the kingdom of heaven, then it is imperative that my heart, soul, and mind be focused on that kingdom and the defense against the warfare that would attack it. This would mean that I must endure the hardship of the battles for the goal is exceedingly more priceless than where I am today. What a great verse to help us press through Great Lent toward the goal of Pascha (Easter).