SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Being renewed by God’s power, we become partakers of the divine nature. This does not mean we become divine by nature. If we participated in God's essence, the distinction between God and man would be abolished. What this does mean is that we participate in God's energy, described by a number of terms in scripture, such as glory, life, love, virtue, and power. We are to become like God by His grace…” (Orthodox Study Bible, 2 Peter 1:4) “…the apostle [Peter] writes, “… that y

“The Church is not merely a refuge from the troubles and sorrow of the world, though it can be that. Its real purpose is to equip us to go out of the church and into the world to be witnesses to the Gospel (Luke 24:48), to be a light to the world (Matthew 5:14), and the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). We don’t go to church to escape the world or to withdraw from it. When Jesus prayed for us to His Father, he petitioned: I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but

“With supernatural authority, Christ our God rebukes the wind and calms the sea (Mark 4:39). He intends to awaken his disciples from their trembling and bring them to a righteous fear – a holy awe and dread of God. In this passage the Evangelist Mark uses the word delia, meaning timidity or fright, and also phobos, meaning “fear of the Lord.” The disciples’ initial fright is delia, while their Master’s control over the elements evokes phobos: “Who can this be, that even the w

“Our quest for communion with the everlasting God reorients our vision, directing it toward the eternal destiny of all mankind. We understand history and each person’s life from the perspective of our ultimate goal of union with Him.” (Dynamis 4/11/2014) “Our surrender to the Lord must include our whole heart, soul, and mind (Mt 22:37), if we are to unite our spirits to Christ our God. When we are truly joined to Him, He gives us the grace to obey Him. We are to strive to be

“The most portentous fact about any person is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like...” (A.W. Tozer) “The nous is the deep part of our spiritual being, where we know and meet God...the dividing line between those who are truly righteous and on the path to life and those who are nowhere near that path lies within each human heart…God’s principle work is always within the human heart” (Dynamis 7/18/2015, Father Barnaba

“Ongoing sin tolerated in a believer’s life is one of the main things that blocks effective prayer and hinders growth…The one who loves God cultivates pure prayer and throws off every hindering passion.” (Foundation Study Bible, Psalms 66:18, St. Maximos the Confessor) “God is not content with our doing what is right some of the time. He wants us to do what is right all the time. We are under His orders to eliminate any thoughts, practices, or possessions that hinder our devo

“…modern believers may know that God is real, but He is real…only at defined moments. …In none of them is God steadily the dominant factor in life; in none of them does one live in a permanent awareness of God; in none of them is one permanently turned in the direction of God; in none of them is God at the center of life.” (OCPM, 8/8/2017, Dr. Lewis Patsavos) “Within the Christianity of our time, the great spiritual conflict, unknown to almost all, is between a naturalistic/s

"…Jesus re-defines what many people understand as “greatness” or, in modern-day terms, “success.” The measure of greatness, according to Him, is service; the extent to which one serves; gives of oneself." (Sr. Dr. Vassa Larin) “The measure of greatness is not position, power, or prestige. It is service…Our care for others is the measure of our greatness.” (Foundation Study Bible, Matthew 20:26-27, Life Application Study Bible, Luke 9:48) “The Bible teaches us that we were cre

“...hell is often referred to as the"place where God is not.” But God is everywhere, no? So, how can God be absent from any place? The answer is that the human heart, and only the human heart, is able to create a space where God is not permitted to enter. And if God cannot enter, then no human being in his or her full human dignity as a child of God will be able to enter, either.” (Bishop John Michael Botean) “God’s silence doesn’t mean His absence. Just because you can’t see