Monday. [II Cor. 8:7-15; Mark 3:6-12]

   The Lord forbade both people and demons to praise Him when he was on the earth, but required that they believe in Him and fulfil God’s commandments. The same law is with the Lord now, and will be at the judgment: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). This is why in church the [doxology] begins with, “Glory to God in the highest,” and toward the end it says, “heal my soul…teach me to do Thy will.” Without this, praise of God has no worth. For then it does not proceed from the soul, but is only sent up from the tongue in alien words, and that is why the Lord pays no attention to it. One must arrange things so that others see our deeds and praise the Lord, so that our life will be praise to God, for He acts all in all, if only you do not hinder; it is to Him that praise for one’s deeds ascends. Each person must become the fragrance of Christ; then even without praise there will be unceasing glorification of the Lord. The flower of a rose does not utter a voice, but its fragrance spreads far in silence; this is how all Christians ought to live.

Tuesday. [II Cor. 8:16-9:5; Mark 3:13-19]

   The Lord chose the apostles, that they should be with Him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. Every Christian is chosen—chosen for similar deeds, namely: to be with the Lord, through unceasing remembrance of Him and awareness of His omnipresence, through the preaching and fulfilment of His commandments, and through a readiness to confess one’s faith in Him. In those circles where such a confession is made, it is a loud sermon for all to hear. Every Christian has the power to heal infirmities—not of others, but his own, and not of the body, but of the soul—that is, sins and sinful habits—and to cast out devils, rejecting evil thoughts sown by them, and extinguishing the excitement of passions enflamed by them. Do this and you will be an apostle, a fulfiller of what the Lord chose you for, an accomplisher of your calling as messenger. When at first you succeed in all this, then perhaps the Lord will appoint you as a special ambassador—to save others after you have saved yourself; and to help those who are tempted, after you yourself pass through all temptations, and through all experiences in good and evil. But your job is to work upon yourself: for this you are chosen; the rest is in the hands of God. He who humbles himself shall be exalted.