Jeremiah 15:16

Make an end to them, and Your word shall be the gladness and joy of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord, the Almighty.

Encouraging Words…

Our Almighty Lord will put an end to those who persecute His Church. He is our gladness and joy and we can rest assured in His almighty hands. Glory be to God!

John 12:46

I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.

Encouraging Words…

No matter how dark things become we always have the source of all light as our Lord and Savior. No matter how bad things get He is there to shed His light and love on us and those around us. What a blessing He is on not only us, but the entire world.

Acts 5:29

But Peter and the other apostles answered and said:“We ought to obey God rather than men.

Personal Challenge…

We live in a day when the overarching rule is to live our lives being politically correct. What does this really mean? We are expected to follow the social norms and expectations. This is contrary to what our living and loving scriptures and teachings of the church tells us to do. Jesus told us that we must live our live under two laws…love our God and love our neighbor. We cannot do this and also adopt as acceptable the ways of the world. This can be a conundrum on a regular basis. How do I live a godly life amongst my neighbors and at the same time deny the practices of the world? How do I live in the world and at the same time not be of the world? How do I love my neighbor and at the same time show him, or her, by my actions how much they need Christ? I cannot do any of this on my own accord. I must do it all by allowing the Holy Spirt to do His work fully within me. I do it by striving to be humble, submissive, loving, and obedient. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

2 Chronicles 33:12-13

Now when he was in affliction, he sought the face of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him. And the Lord received his entreaty, heard his cry, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.

Encouraging Words…

When we truly confess our sins with a contrite, broken, and repentant heart our God hears us and forgives us. He restores us to fellowship with Him. But our work does not stop here. Full repentance includes turning away from our sin and pursuing righteousness. Through this our restoration becomes complete. Glory be to God!

2 Chronicles 32:7-8

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid of the king of Assyria, nor before all the nation with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him are arms of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to save us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Encouraging Words…

Who is our Lord? The creator of everything! The Lord of Lords! The ruler of the heavenly hosts! The Almighty! Knowing and believing this empowers us to take on the strongest enemies and worst situations with confidence and assurance that we will prevail. It does no good, however,to just believe this. We must act on this belief and walk through life with the assurance that we have more on our side than the opposition in any situation. Glory be to God!

Luke 11:23

He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

Personal Challenge…

Am I living my life in such a way so as to show people who Jesus is and that He loves them? Am I setting aside my personal agenda, my political agenda, my ethnic agenda, and just pushing out His agenda? If I am doing anything, saying anything, that takes someone’s eyes off of Jesus then I am working against Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

John 11:25-26

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Encouraging Words…

It is taught in the Orthodox church that we sin because we are afraid to die. If we go back to the first sin, it was all wrapped around death. If I am afraid that someday I will die then I will do whatever I can to get as much out of life as I possible can. And in doing this I feed my passions, turn my back on God, and trample on my neighbor. However, Jesus tells us that He came to destroy death, which He did in His incarnation, sinless life, death, and resurrection. Because of His work we too can seize this promise that He made to Martha…we shall never die. Through Christ we will live forever! Through Christ we can choose to sin no more…and when we do He will be there to cleanse us and forgive us. Glory be to God!

Daniel 3:28 (3:95 LXX)

So King Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed is the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent His Angel and saved His servants who trusted in Him; for they altered the word of the king and handed over their bodies to be burned, so as not to serve and worship any god other than their God.

Personal Challenge…

Oh to be able, and willing, to live a life like these three young men were willing to live. They were willing to respectfully refuse to follow the decree of the most powerful man in their world. They did not do civil disobedience, or rebel aggressively, or anything of that sort. They willingly submitted to the consequences of saying, “No!” to this ungodly law and willingly walked into the fiery furnace. Do I trust my God that much? Do I love those around me that much? Am I willing to stand firm on the teachings of Christ and those who have gone before us even at the cost of my own life? To not be rebellious and resistant, but submissive in love for my God and my neighbor? Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Isaiah 58:9-10

Then you shall cry out, and God will hear you. While you are still speaking, He will say, ‘Behold, I am here. ‘ If you take away your fetter and the pointing of the finger, and the word of grumbling, and if you give bread to the hungry from your soul, and satisfy the humble soul, then your light shall rise up in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as midday.

Encouraging Words…

When we live righteous lives, or at least strive to, we are promised that God will hear our prayers immediately. Makes sense because the more we live our lives God’s way the closer we are to Him. What does it take to live our lives this way? To love the Lord our God with all of our being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. And, to take care of the needs of our neighbor above our own. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner and help me to grow in your image.