Hosea 13:14

“I will deliver them out of the hand of Hades
And will redeem them from death.
Where is your penalty, O death?
O Hades, where is your sting?
Pity is hidden from My eyes.”

Encouraging Words…

What a wonderful way to start off a new year…being reminded that our Lord trampled down the power of death upon us by His own death. As Jerome (c. 347) put it: “Moreover the Lord liberated everyone, and redeemed them through the suffering of the Cross and the shedding of His blood, when His soul descended into Hades, and He did not experience corruption to His flesh; and He speaks of the death itself as well as Hades:‘I will be your death, O Death! ’ For that reason I have died so that you may die through My death. ‘I will be your sting, O Hades’ for you devoured all with your throat.” Glory be to God.

Wisdom of Solomon 8:17-20

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.
As a child I was good by nature and received a good soul;
And much more, since I was good,
I entered an undefiled body.

Encouraging Words…

Wisdom (Christ as taught by the early church fathers) is to be sought and pursued by all of us. In Wisdom we find immortality, we are given good pleasure and godly wealth, and we receive training and discernment. God gives us so much in Christ. This passage, plus the following verses also reminds us that when God created us and joins our fleshly body with our soul, He gives us a good soul and a good nature, created in His image. It is as we grow up and make sinful choices that our body, our flesh, becomes defiled and corrupted. This is why it is so important for us to continually pursue Wisdom in our days of living.

Hosea 10:12

Sow to yourselves in righteousness;
Gather in the fruit of life;
Light for yourselves the light of knowledge;
Seek the Lord till the fruits of righteousness come upon you.

Personal Challenge…

Works…such a virulent subject to talk about in many church circles. Because of the works of Christ we have our claim to eternity. Through His works, and His alone, we are saved from spiritual death. But it is expected of us, that once we are brought into His royal family, to perform good works for Him. We are commanded to feed the hungry, provide shelter for the homeless, clothe the poor, take care of the widows and the orphans, and do so many more acts of charity. But more importantly we are commanded to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, spirit, and body, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. All of this comes down to works. Not works to win God’s favor, but works because God has already poured His favor out upon us. What so often gets in our way of doing this is the sin in our lives. I love how this verse shows us actions that we can take to protect ourselves from sin and to build up our ability to live righteous lives. We are to plant seeds of righteousness purposely in our lives, gather in the fruit of life that we have had planted in our lives by the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc.), continually light up our lives with the light of knowledge that is found in God’s word, the teachings and traditions of our church, and practices of living God-centered lives. If we do all of this (works) while seeking the Lord we will see His fruits of righteousness growing in our lives. Glory be to God!

1 Corinthians 13:1-8; 13

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Encouraging Words…

I have always read this passage as a charter for how I am to live my life…and rightly so. It is so clear and concise on how I must do everything from the position of love. But today as I was writing this out I began to read this as a definition, or image, of God and how He loves us. Try it, go back and read this from the perspective of a written icon of God and see just how much He loves His creation.

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…

It always amazes me, confounds me, and then convicts me, when I see in the Scriptures how much God’s economy is the opposite of our economy. Poor in spirit, mourning, meekness, hungering and thirsting, being merciful to others, being persecuted and reviled…are not consequences that I want in my life for being part of royalty as a member of God’s family. I want to be treated like royalty. And yet this is the way that our Lord lived His life. He gave up everything for His Father and ultimately for me, a part of His creation. Maybe it is time for me to stop expecting to be treated with greater respect, whether it be at work, or in my church, or in my family and start living the kind of life that Jesus calls me to…humble, lowly, submissive, supportive, loving, caring, obedient, thankful, joyful, peaceful, long-suffering, good, faithful, gentle, self-controlled…and the list goes on. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Two are better than one
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For there is not a second one to help him up!
If two lie down together, both stay warm,
But how can one stay warm alone?
If one is added strength, two will stand before him,
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Encouraging Words…

Here we are encouraged to be in relationship with others, because it is when we are living our lives alone that we fall and cannot easily get up. The church is one of those significant institutions that our Lord created and encouraged so that as a body of believers we can encourage and support one another. Unfortunately we live in a society that fosters a culture of individuality, which contradicts the charter of the church to draw people together and develop intimate relationships with each other. Maybe it is time that we reclaim this value and begin to build and maintain close friendships and relationships with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

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…

Have we developed religious practices that have caused us to become modern day pharisees as the Jewish leaders in the day of Christ? We are often taught that all we need to know is found in the written text of the Scriptures and spend our entire lives pouring thorough them, memorizing them, expounding upon them, and beating our enemies up with them…all the while neglecting to seek Christ and His Father everywhere else. Yes, the Scriptures are God’s inspired and holy Word given to us. We are commanded to study them and to put them into practice. But He also reveals Himself in His creation, in the living icons of Himself whom we run into every day…our fellow mankind. He is in the traditions of our church and the teachings of the early church fathers and saints that have gone before us. If we open our minds, our eyes, and our hearts, we will see God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in every aspect of existence and will experience eternal life in Him.

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…

So much was set in motion on that Christmas day over 2,000 years ago. God himself came to mankind taking on the fullness of man, living amongst us, being like us, and yet exercising His free will as a man choosing not to sin and therefore being acceptable as the final sacrificial lamb of the old covenant. Then on Pentecost, once again God Himself comes as the Holy Spirit to dwell with us and within us, to be our Comforter, our Counselor, and to lead us in God’s ways. Thank You God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the gifts that You poured out on mankind, of which I am fortunate to be part…Your love, grace, and mercy.

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…

Tomorrow, on Christmas Day, we celebrate the beginning of this new covenant of peace where God promised to establish His sanctuary, His tabernacle, amongst His people. The Incarnation of God as man, Jesus, was born of a virgin, Mary, who bore Him in her own body as a temple of life, the kingdom of God, where we who know Him and follow Him are now citizens through the remainder of eternity. Glory be to god! May we who are of this new kingdom live our lives in a way so as to be beacons to the nations broadcasting His love for mankind.

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.