Psalm 40:4-5 (39:5-6)

Blessed is the man whose hope is the name of the Lord,
And who did not look into vanities and false frenzies.
Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders You performed,
And in Your thoughts there is no one who shall be likened to You;
I declared and said, “They are multiplied beyond number.”

Personal Challenge…

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the live which I now live int he flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Encouraging Words…

If we have given our lives to Christ, been baptized and chrismated unto Him, then we are no longer a part of this world. We have been crucified with Christ into His royal family and called to do His good works all the days of our lives through eternity. This can be accomplished because of Christ living within us and being filled by Him and His Holy Spirit. Glory be to God!

Isaiah 43:18

“Do not remember the former things, nor reason about the things of old.”

Encouraging Words…

Life with the Lord our god is always a forward looking life. The early Israelites looked forward to the promised land and their coming Messiah when Moses lead them out of Egypt. Those in captivity in Babylon looked forward to return to their home land as well as their coming Messiah. We, in the present day Church, look forward to the coming kingdom of our God and the return of our Messiah. Life is to be lived in a forward motion leaving behind the things of our past that come between us and God and bringing with us those things that glorify Him.

Proverbs 12:18 (12:20 LXX)

There are those who wound with a sword as they speak,
But the tongues of the wise heal.

Personal Challenge…

The words that come out of my mouth can either offer up healing and comfort or strike down like a sword. This is even move true today with the advent of the Internet because I am removed from the presence of the one that I am speaking to or about. That removal often gives me a sense that I am doing nothing wrong to another and therefore emboldens me to speak even more harshly and abruptly. So, I must not only guard my tongue in today’s age, but also my fingertips as well. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Job 1:21

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. As it seemed good to the Lord, so also it came to pass. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Personal Challenge…

I often wonder if I could be as submissive to the Lord as Job was. He held on to his material possessions, even his health and his loved ones, lightly…knowing that his time here on earth was short and that his real home was where all that he held dear really was. He still grieved over his lose but he never gave up on His God. What a lesson for all of us to trust God completely and to always have our vision set on our true home and our true wealth. Glory be to God!

Matthew 26:41

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Personal Challenge…

There is no opportunity for us to claim, “The devil made me do it!” We are responsible for our choices to sin. If we want to avoid and/or defeat temptations in our lives we must be diligent and on the guard against them. Once again, the Christian life is not a lackadaisical life, but a life of diligence, waiting, and prayer.

1 Peter 3:13-17

And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

Personal Challenge…

As followers of Christ we will be asked what we are putting out hope in and why. Sometimes this will come from genuinely interested people who desire the same peace that we have. Sometimes it will come from those who want to drive us away from our Lord. In all cases we are to be prepared to give a response in meekness and fear, yet truthful and informed. In order to do this we must spend time with our Lord, studying His teachings and preparing ourselves to give a good answer. We will also encounter times when those around us will want to persecute us for our beliefs and our hope. We still must be prepared to give a good response from a position of meekness and fear so that our accusers will be ashamed because there is not wrong found in our lives. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Luke 6:32-36

But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Personal Challenge…

Living the Christian life is not for the faint of heart. We are called to be merciful and loving…to everyone. We are called to be giving…to everyone and expecting nothing in return. We are called to be merciful as our Father is merciful. There is no room for judgment and legalism in our Christian lives, just as our God is not judgmental and legalistic with us. This is part of the reason that we practice traditions like Great Lent and fasting…to develop the habit of giving up of ourselves so that we can give to others. It is a discipline to help us to become more like our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord have mercy! Lord have mercy! Lord have mercy!

Leviticus 18:1-3

Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘I am the Lord your God. According to the way of life in the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the way of life in the land of Canaan, where I bring you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances.’”

Personal Challenge…

When we give our lives to Christ and choose to follow Him as a member of His body He plucks us out of this world and puts us into His world, His kingdom. These verses are an image of how we are to live our lives. We are not to go back to the old ways that we lived before, but are to live as new creations under His new covenant. That old life is now the Egypt that He has rescued us from and that we are to leave behind. And since His new kingdom still exists in the midst of the temporal world as it is today, Canaan typifies the physical world around us that we are living in now while being members of His royal family. We are commanded to not take on the practices and beliefs of this world, this Canaan, as well. We are called to be set aside, set apart, living our lives for Him and for His kingdom. If we as individuals, or collectively as churches and bodies of fellowship, do not act and look any different than the world around us (Canaan), then we are not living for Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Nehemiah 6:16

And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.

Personal Challenge…

When people look at my life do they become disheartened in their own eyes? Why? Just as in the day of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall, God is active in our lives. He is performing miracles and great things in and through us. He has granted us eternal life. He has filled us with the Holy Spirit and bestowed upon us both the fruit of the Spirit as well as our own unique spiritual gifts. Am I living my life (rebuilding the wall) in a way that when people look at my life they only see the mighty hand of God at work and become disheartened because they don’t see Him doing the same in their lives? Oh, how I pray for the ability to live my life this way, to manifest Him in everything that I do and say, to become nothing so that He can become everything. Is this not His desire for us as well? Glory be to God!