Psalm 119:11 (118:11 LXX)
I hid Your teachings in my heart
So as not to sin against You.
Personal Challenge…
The Christian life is not one lived in a vacuum or lived according to my ways, but it is a life that is a lived out by pursuing the heart of God, reading His scriptures, listening to His teachers, practicing His traditions. It is a life that is a journey and not just a destination.
Psalm 145:18 (144:18 LXX)
The Lord is near to all who call on Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
Encouraging Words…
Truth…such a much misaligned word or concept in today’s world. How often have I heard in the corporate world the belief of not telling the customer all of the story of what we can actually deliver (i.e. withholding details) is telling the truth, or fudging on what our company can actually do is telling the truth. When did the white lie become so acceptable. Now we are seeing organizations, educational institutions, churches and ministries doing cover ups (financial scandals, sexual improprieties and on and on) in the name of protecting the image of their precious cause and calling it truth. I do not believe that any of this aligns with God’s definition of truth. And here in this verse we are reminded that the Lord is near to all who call on Him, but He does give us a caveat…we must call upon Him in truth, His truth not ours. Maybe this is why we are seeing so many exposures of hidden lies in His Church today. If God beginning to clean His house.
Judges 6:12
And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, mighty one of the armies!”
Encouraging Words…
I love how the Lord reveals to us in the scriptures His true heart and nature…as well as ours. Here we see Gideon hiding from his enemies so that he can sneak together some wheat for himself and his family. An Angel fo the Lord appears to him and speaks of his true character…”a mighty one of the armies.” God knows our heart better than we do. He knows me better than I know myself. Doesn’t it make sense that the closer I draw to Him the more the true me will be revealed. I love how the early church fathers state this in my daily prayer for the acceptance of God’s will.
O Lord, I do not know what to ask of You.
You alone know what are my true needs.
You love me more than I myself know how to love.
Help me to see my real needs which are concealed from me.
I do not dare to ask either for a cross or for consolation.
I can only wait on You. My heart is open to You.
Visit and help me, for the sake of Your great mercy.
Strike me and heal me; cast me down and raise me up.
I worship in silence Your holy will and Your unsearchable ways.
I offer myself as a sacrifice to You.
I have no other desire than to fulfill Your will.
Teach me to pray. Pray You Yourself in me. Amen.
God is God and I am not.
Luke 12:48b
For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
Personal Challenge…
This verse should be very sobering to anyone who takes on a leadership position in the church. Whether it be Sunday school teacher, choir member, pastor, priest, elder, bishop, committee member, or whatever…once we willingly accept the role of leadership we step into the reality that God will expect more from us. And the higher up in leadership that we go, i.e. the more people that my decisions and actions affect, the more that God will expect of me. I often wonder why it is that so many times one moves up in his/her leadership role the more they forget this truth. My prayer is that I will remember it all the more and become more humble each time that God chooses to give me more responsibility.
Psalm 62:8 (61:9 LXX)
As another election spectacle comes to an end this verse reminds me that it is not in governments or political parties or elected officials that I should be putting my hope, but in God alone. His is the only kingdom, the only leadership that I am to put my hope into.
Luke 12:29-31
“And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Personal Challenge…
I have been blessed to have been able to walk through nearly 47 years with Christ as my Lord. Throughout those years I have had my good times and my bad times, I have walked close to Him and sometimes wandered away from His straight and narrow path. But in all of this I have learned the truth of this passage. God does provide for me…more than even I do myself. God does provide for me…not necessarily what I want but what I need. I have learned to be content with Him and not worry or get upset about what is going on around me or in my life. Thank You, Lord Jesus.
Unfortunately I allowed an event yesterday to really get under my skin and get me very angry. One thing that I cannot stand to see is a leader in the church misuse his position of authority for personal gain and get away with it, or worse yet, be protected by other leaders around him/her. This is a misuse and abuse of the authority provided by God and an affront to the Bride of Christ. For this anger I pray, “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” For this acto by another, one in a leadership position I pray, “Father, my Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” My plea for all involved is, “Lord, have mercy!, Lord, have mercy! Lord,have mercy!”
2 Corinthians 5:1
For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Encouraging Words…
Death! One of those inevitable events in life that so many people fear and loathe. This week has been quite a reminder for me of the fragility of life. Earlier this week my priest’s father passed away…he was of the generation of my parents, who have had quite a year dealing with physical maladies. Then Laura’s cousin passed away…she was of our generation. We went to her funeral today.
As these notes go on to explain the glory of our future and the hope that we can have in it I am comforted that i know that Jesus reigns victorious over death.
Luke 12:34
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Personal Challenge…
I must constantly be checking the state of my heart. Where my heart gets focused on is where my thoughts, my desires, my actions get targeted at. If the treasure that I truly pursue is the things above then all else will fall into place properly
Colossians 4:2
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;
Personal Challenge…
Prayer is to be an ever present part of my life. It does not mean that I have to be running to a private place to be in prayer, or in some special position with hands folded. I am to be earnestly and vigilantly pursuing the heart of God, and doing it always with a spirit of thanksgiving. I love how the Jesus prayer, “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!”, can be prayed under my breath or out loud, with my prayer beads or not, in the middle of a meeting or while riding my motorcycle. A simple prayer, that when prayed enough, becomes embedded in my very essence and brings me closer to Paul’s charge to pray without ceasing.
Colossians 3:1-2
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
Personal Challenge…
Through my baptism in Christ I have been raised up into Him. Why is it so difficult for me to take my eyes off of the things of the earth and set my heart and mind on Him? It can be done! It must be done! Lord, have mercy.
Verse of the Day 