James 1:12-15

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full- grown, brings forth death.

Encouraging Words…

So much for the claim that I sin because Adam sinned first. What an excuse this has become. I fall to temptation because I allow myself to do so. It is not God, nor my circumstances, nor something that I inherited that causes me to sin, but it is my choice. If I can choose to sin then by the grace of God I can choose to not sin.

Hebrews 13:17

Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

Personal Challenge…

There is that word again…SUBMIT! Why is it that in today’s church we find it acceptable to second guess our pastors, priests and/or leaders and try to force them to do things our way? Aren’t they the ones that have answered God’s call to be our shepherd? Aren’t they the ones that have sacrificed their lives for each of us? Isn’t God commanding us to be submissive to them and let them lead us with joy and not grief? God have mercy on your Church.

Hebrews 11:17-19

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, In Isaac your seed shall be called, concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

Encouraging Words…

One of my quests as a new convert to Eastern Orthodoxy is to understand and embrace the eastern way of thinking. Thinking like the people in Christ’s time, even Christ Himself, thought and viewed life as well as their God. Thinking like we did before the age of enlightenment and logical reasoning. Why is this important? Because the Church was founded with this mindset. Jesus, Paul, Peter, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and all of the early church fathers operated and taught from this mindset.

As I begin to acquire this mindset myself the teachings and readings in the scriptures leap off of the pages in a whole new and vibrant way. We, the Eastern Orthodox, believe that the Old Testament exists to typify (foreshadow, point to, etc.) Christ and chapter 11 of Hebrews shows this by how the writer points out all of the faith heros of the Old Testament did things that typified the King that would be coming some day. The writer of Hebrews was looking back and documenting how the text of their day was pointing forward to Jesus, His life, and His works. Praise God that He can give us new eyes to see when we ask for them.

Colossians 3:12-16

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Command with a Promise…

This is one of those passages that needs to be read through slowly and contemplatively…over and over. Buried in here are some wonderful promises from God…having His peace in our hearts, having the living word of Christ dwelling within us in all wisdom, and singing with grace in our hearts. What wonderful promises of what God will pour into our lives if we will follow His commands. The beginning and the end of this passage gives us our commands that we must follow in order to receive these promises. What a different world we would live in if all of us (yes, this includes me) would live this way. Lord, have mercy.

Isaiah 6:8-10

I also heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people? Then I said, Behold, here am I, send me. So He said, Go, and tell this people, You shall hear indeed, but not understand; and you shall see indeed, but not perceive. For the heart of this people has become insensitive, and their ears hear with difficulty. They have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return, and I should heal them.

Encouraging Words…

Once again I am surprised at what the Word of God speaks to me as I read it through different eyes, a different filter. This passage points out that we sin by choice, not by nature, volitionally stopping our ears and closing our eyes. We cannot go on blaming this on Adam and Eve. Yes, they did commit the first sin, but they did not curse us with a sin nature, but with the curse of sin, which is death. It is my choice to sin or not sin. It is Christ who has defeated the curse of sin…death, and demonstrated for us that a human can say, “No!” to sin.

Hebrews 11:8

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Personal Challenge…

I love Hebrews and the “Hall of Fame” that shares all of the “by faith” accounts. I believe that our modern Christian faith has become diluted because we have created so many concrete things that we now put our faith in. Whether these things are our institutions, or our denominations, or our doctrines, or dogmas, or whatever it is not these that we are to put our faith in. Our faith is to be in God, our Provider. Even our early fathers who walked with Christ, learned from Him, and laid the foundational bricks of the Church had to put their faith in the unseen and unknown. Jesus was gone. They put their faith in that unknown place that God was calling them to…just like Abraham. Should I be any different?

Psalm 104:33-34 (103:33-34 LXX)

I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing to my God as long as I exist;
May my words be pleasing to Him,
And I shall be glad in the Lord.

Personal Challenge…

“And I shall be glad in the Lord.” Joy…that elusive state of life that so many are pursuing. Joy does not come from the stuff I own, for if that is where I am seeking our joy I will be coveting what everyone else has because I think that what they have gives them joy. Joy does not come from my position in life, for if I look closely enough I will find that there are many in higher positions than me who have no joy and many more below me that have much more joy. True joy that is saturated with peace and contentment does not come from anything in this world that I can acquire or attain. It comes from the pursuit of the heart of God, living a life of humility and sacrifice, putting others around us first. True joy can only come from the One True God and not the god that I have created in His image. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

Psalm 102:17-18 (103:17-18 LXX)


But the mercy of the Lord is from age to age upon those who fear Him,

Psalm 145:8-9 (144:8-9 LXX)

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
Longsuffering and abundant in mercy.
The Lord is good to all,
And His mercies are upon all His works.

Encouraging Words…

The Lord our God, the creator of all, loves His creation. That love is so deep and so wide that He was willing to give up His Son as a sacrifice so that His creation could be redeemed and restored. I cannot praise God enough for the mercies that He pours out on His creation and me.

Mark 8:11-12

Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.

Personal Challenge…

We are a part of ‘this generation’ that Jesus was talking about. We go to our church services looking for God to do something miraculous in our lives so that we can ‘feel’ His presence. We go to conferences, retreats, monasteries, even mission trips looking for that ‘sign’ from heaven. And what we fail to recognize is that 2,000 years ago we were given the Sign of all signs. God became man, lived amongst us, faced temptations and rejected them for holiness, gave up His life for all mankind and creation, and rose again to rule in eternity with His Father in heaven.

So why do we still seek a sign from heaven? Because we have not yet fully accepted and received the final sign given to us by God Himself. In my church we celebrate the entire liturgy as if we are standing in the presence of God. We are inviting the hosts of heaven to celebrate our God with us just as we desire to enter into the heavenly realm and celebrate our God with the hosts in heaven. We become a part of the one true Sign from heaven and go away with the ability to shine as His sign to those around us. Praise be to the Living God.