Wisdom of Solomon 6:1-3

Listen therefore, O kings, and understand;
Learn, O judges of the ends of the earth.
Give ear, you that rule over multitudes,
And take pride in yourself over a multitude of nations.
For power was given to you from the Lord,
And your lordship from the Most High,
Who will make a careful search of your works
And examine closely your plans.

Personal Challenge…

My initial thoughts on this passage was to call out the leaders of our country and remind them that they will be accountable for their actions, especially in this political season. This is still true, but this passage is also aimed at me. I am the leader of my household; how am I treating my wife? I am a leader in different aspects at my church: how am I being as a leader there? I am in a leadership position in my workplace; how am I glorifying God there? He is watching, He will examine my actions, and I will be accountable for how I represented Him here on earth in my lifetime.

Psalm 119:2 (118:2 LXX)

Blessed are those who search out His testimonies;
They shall search for Him with their whole heart.

Personal Challenge…

Sometimes I wonder where God’s blessings are in my life. And then I am led to a verse like this one and reminded that those blessings come from my pursuit of God. He will not pour out His blessing when I just sit around waiting for Him to heap them on. He wants me to search for Him; in His Word, in the teachings and traditions of the church, in fellowship with my brothers and sisters in His family. Christianity is an active faith that is always outward focused.

1 John 4:4

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them (the false spirits and teachers of the world), because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (Italics added)

Encouraging Words…

By the grace of God who dwells within us by the work of Jesus Christ we have the Holy Spirit bestowed upon us. Through this mystery we can overcome the world.

Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Personal Challenge…

Have you ever had that feeling that you are out there all alone? Working. Doing what you think is what God wants you to do. All the while feeling like no one else is in the mix to help. But I must remember that it is not up to me to determine what work I am supposed to be doing. It is up to my Lord and my job is to listen to His leading and doing what He wants me to do. And the results of living this way? Rest! A lightened burden! Why do I keep trying to do it my way on my own>

Wisdom of Solomon 3:9

Those who trust in Him will understand truth, and the faithful shall continue with Him in love, because grace and mercy are upon His elect.

Encouraging Words…

Through Christ and His work truth, love grace and mercy are truly fulfilled and bestowed upon those who are faithful to Him.

September 23, 2012

For He says:

    “In an acceptable time I have heard you,
    And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Personal Challenge…

What are we waiting for? What am I waiting for? God as heard our cries for salvation, our calling out of the wilderness for His leading out of lostness and darkness. He has answered our calls and yet we continue to look for our help elsewhere; in the offerings of the world, in ourselves, everywhere but in Him. What am I waiting for? Now is the acceptable time!

1 Corinthians 10:24

Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.

Personal Challenge…

Is my desire to be like Christ? Is my goal in life to be a righteous man? Am I trying to glorify God in all that I do? Then here is the place to start…do all that I do in love and for the other’s well-being. Again, it is not about me, but is about those around me that are the living icons of God.

My life motto has been:
   To be and do…
      All that I can…
         With others…
            For God!

Maybe it is time to step up and do this with all my energy.

Psalm 118:8-9 (117:8-9 LXX)

It is good to trust in the Lord
Rather than to trust in man;
It is good to hope in the Lord
Rather than to hope in rulers.

Encouraging Words…

Every political season I am amazed at how many Christians begin to proclaim their party and their candidate as the symbol of their faith. “You are not really a Christian unless you vote for…”. The psalmist reminds us clearly that our trust and hope are to be in none other than our Lord, our true Ruler. Yes, we should exercise our right as citizens in this world but we should not equate faith in Christ to the things of this world.

Ephesians 1:3-6

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Encouraging Words…

Our Father, the Creator of all, is truly sovereign over His creation. We are His and His love for us is eternal. As my journey through life has transitioned along the path of Orthodoxy I continue to be blessed by the explanations and teachings of the early church fathers that date back to the beginnings of Christianity. These notes from the Orthodox Study Bible help to explain these verse from their perspective.
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Everything comes from God, and everything should be drawn back to Him. God’s original intent for the Incarnation was not redemption from the Fall but adoption as sons of God (v. 5), that is, deification. For when God contemplated creating the world, He planned on bringing it into union with Himself through the Incarnation of His Son, that is, through the Son’s union with human nature. That is why St. Athanasius can say, “God became man that man might become god.”

The Father chose us (v. 4) in Him, the Son. Christ, who is God by nature, became Man by choice. If we choose Him, we, who are human by nature, become “gods” by grace. If we are in Christ, the Son of God, we are sons of God. Paul is not addressing individuals as such but us, the community, the Church. And he is not addressing the issue of human will in salvation but the will of God, which is that all are chosen (see Rom 11: 32; 1Ti 2: 4; 2Pt 3: 9). But being predestined (v. 5) by God does not nullify human will: in everything, God is the originator, the initiator; we merely respond, but our response is necessary. Becoming a Christian is not so much inviting Christ into one’s life as getting oneself into Christ’s life. What is true of Christ must become true of one who is in Him.

Galatians 6:2-5

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load.

Personal Challenge…

Christianity is an active faith that produces works that glorify God and touch the lives of those around us. I am reminded by these verses to examine my life, my relationships with my loved ones, my actions around my coworkers, even my thoughts about those whom God has placed in my life, and whether or not I am doing what I do for my God. Or, as is far more often the case, am I looking out for my own interests? The study Bible that I am using explains these verses this way:

     “Paul admonishes us to bear one another’s burdens. But moments later, he notes