Spiritual Growth and Maturity
“…this is how the path of religious life begins. As the holy fathers write, the soul passes through three stages: slave, hireling, and son. The stage of the slave—a person does not yet love God, but fears hell. He keeps the commandments because he has been horrified by the description of fiery gehenna. This is faith expressing the religious instinct of self-preservation. The stage of the hireling—a person already hopes for reward. He fasts in order to receive the Kingdom of H
Trust
“On some level we feel that we can’t trust others, that we can’t trust God to do what is right, and that we have to be in control by...
Abide
“The language of abiding is very profound and widespread in the New Testament and especially in the Gospel of John where it’s a major...
Failure
“…we see in Paul’s words, “Scripture confined all under sin” (Galatians 3:22). The Greek word “confined” comes from the root “to shut up...
Setbacks
“We will ultimately all suffer setbacks—probably many of them. The difference between faith (salvation) and no faith (condemnation) is...
Refuge
“God is our refuge and power, a help in afflictions that severely befall us…Be still and know that I am God…God is a refuge for His...