SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Within the tragedy of a loss or crisis there is a real possibility to move away from the limited God we have created, and a life we may be merely existing within, to an experience of God and life that can be real and transforming in nature. Still, admitting this and believing it at such a deep level that one can boldly act upon it are two completely different things! A life of true covenant is simple… but not easy. How do you reconcile an all-loving God with the tragedy and

“Social scientists have been telling us that people are more and more interested in being spiritual, and less and less interested in following organized religion. Many want to have a relationship with God, but on their own terms. They want lots of nice feelings, assurance of some kind of salvation and a comfort in an enlightenment that they can control. In such a system, every one chooses how to be spiritual and makes up the rules. Christian societies seem to have begun with

“A strange illness has appeared in our days – the passion for distractions. Never before was there such a desire for distractions; people have forgotten how to lead a serious life for the good of others; they have no spiritual life and are bored. They exchange the profound content of a spiritual life for distractions! What madness! It is here that pastors must deploy their strength: they must re-introduce into life its lost meaning and give back to the people the knowledge of

“Saint Luke observes the Sanhedrin members marveling at the apostles’ boldness (Acts 4:13). They are intimidated, but not because they are faced with superior students of Scripture. Indeed, the council members are highly trained. Lacking illumination by the Holy Spirit, however, they hesitate before the truth. The council sees that the apostles are uneducated – they lack the refinements of learning, as their speech and manners reveal (vs. 13). On the other hand, these fisherm

“What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement “I do not judge anyone”? [John 8:15] It is clear that Jesus did judge (even in the next verse) [John 8:16). The point is that he didn’t practice the same kind of judgment that the Pharisees did. Their kind of judgment was condemnatory. They tried to condemn people. Jesus did not come to judge the world, but to save it (John 3:17). Nevertheless, and not contradictory to this, the coming of Jesus did bring judgment because it forced peop

“The signs of God’s grace surround us and lie within us. But we have our own idols that blind us to all the signs that witness to the steadfast love of God. God is good. Yet the troubles of this world, the suffering of illness and grief, the attractions of this age, the temptations of greed, jealousy, and avarice, and the press of daily affairs conspire to hide the goodness of God from us. And in times of distress, we might even blame the Almighty and All-Merciful for our tro

“One thing is for sure, the Holy Spirit, “who is everywhere and fills all things” hates limitations. If you doubt it, just test Him, for the Lord Jesus said, “…with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26)…When Jesus asked Philip where they could buy a great amount of bread, Philip started assessing the probable cost. Jesus wanted to teach him that financial resources are not the most important ones. We can limit what God does in us by assuming what is and is not possible…

“The Christian life is not easy, but it actually is simple. When we clearly understand what sin and holiness are, then our choice to turn away from sin and be holy becomes clear, too. As we are tempted to sin, we should remember the words of Jesus, that our sin will bring us into paralysis and worse, because sin is participation with the alien demonic power that destroys human nature. And as we see opportunities to be faithful to the holiness of God, then we see that this fai

“Reading the Scriptures, studying the church fathers, attending worship, praying, and meditating are all good and godly things. But they are not ends in themselves. When we engage in these holy activities, our sincere and fervent goal should be to encounter the Lord Jesus Christ. We may be the most informed and even enthusiastic students of the Word. We may be devoted to the teachings of the church. We may excel in Christianity as Paul excelled in Judaism. But everything that

“Is your life a series of accidental occurrences? Do things happen to you by chance? The Book of Acts denies these suppositions. In today’s reading [Acts 8:26-39], we found that the Holy Spirit was the prime mover of the life and growth of the church. He was the inspiration and power that lead the church and its individual members to accomplish the will of God. Our secular age believes that life began and developed by random incidents. But for those who look at the world thro