Psalms 30:5 (29:6)

For there is wrath in His anger,
But life in His will;
Weeping will lodge at evening,
But great joy in the morning.

Encouraging Words

God is characterized as angry against sin and unrighteousness. His desire for His creation, His beloved, is that we live in alignment with His will. This is where we find life. However, another characteristic of God is love. His love for His creation gives us a means by which we can live in alignment with his will. It is His only begotten Son who paved the way for us to have life eternal and the gift of the Holy Spirit to live that life for God and experience His God great joy in the morning. Glory be to God!

John 6:68-69

But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Encouraging Words

As we get to a place in our walk with Christ where we truly see Him as the Son of the living God, and fully give our lives over to Him, we too reach this place where we see that there are no other options but Jesus. He is our Lord and Savior. He is our of life, and life to the fullest. Praise be to God!

Psalms 27:13-14 (26:13-14)

I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord;
Be courageous, and strengthen your heart,
And wait on the Lord.

Living in a culture where everything is expected instantly, it becomes easy to apply this mindset to everything including waiting on God to meet our needs. God wants us to rely on Him for all that transpires in our lives. We can choose to believe that we shall see Lords goodness in our lives. We can live our lives on the Lord. We can be courages knowing that He will strengthen our hearts. Glory be to God!

John 6:35

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

Encouraging Words

Jesus promises us that He will away be with us and feed us the spiritual food that we need to be sustained in Him. He is the bread of life. We have the blessing of partaking, physically, in that meal during every service that we eat and drink the eucharistic meal. As we believe in our Orthodox practice, that which is bread and wine, gets transformed into the body and blood of Christ for us to partake of and to be sustained by. Glory be to God!

Psalms 27:8 (26:8)

John 6:14

Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Personal Challenge

Jesus had just finished the miracle of feeding the 5,000 with five loves of bread and two fish. However. He had already performed many more miracles healing. Sometimes we go through life watching everything that Jesus is doing in every one else’s lives, but do not recognize Him as Lord and Savior until He does something for us. He wants us to believe in Him regardless of whose life He is touching and blessing. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Psalms 27:4 (26:4)

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.

Encouraging Words

David requested one very important thing in this psalm. He requested that he be able to dwell in the house of his Lord all the days of his life. Through Jesus, this request can be fulfilled for all of us. Jesus ushered in the kingdom of God with His incarnation and work on the cross. He made it possible for all who follow Him to dwell in the house of the Lord, His temple, all the days of our lives and on into eternity. Praise be to God!

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

It has become so easy for people to search for Christ, and ultimately eternal life, every where but at the foot of Christ. Books have been written. Websites have been set up. Podcasts have been recorded. All of these by people professing their “knowledge” of Christ. None of this is of any value unless we start our journey to eternal life at the feet of Jesus. We must come to Him before we can be a follower of Him Lord have mercy! Lord, have merely! Lord, have mercy!