SACRAMENTAL LIVING

Understanding Christianity as a Way of Life

God's Nature/Our Nature

“Seth was begotten from Adam and Eve. This threefold relationship illustrates, to a certain extent, the Holy Trinity. Adam had no human father. He was begotten by no one. Thus, he was unbegotten. Seth was begotten from Adam. Eve was neither unbegotten nor begotten. Instead she proceeded from Adam (Genesis 2:21). Therefore, Eve and Seth were related to the unbegotten Adam, but each in a unique manner—Eve proceeded from Adam, but Seth was begotten from him. Each person had his

Desire

“Desire is transformed into lust when we exclude God from the picture. Without God, the natural powers of our soul become corrupt…the problem with desire is not something inherent in the order of creation. Rather, the difficulty arises from our enslavement to the things of this world and to our physical being (1 Jn 2:15-16). God made the world, forming our very flesh and our eyes, yet sin turns even our natural desires into lust.” (Dynamis 2/26/2021) “…the word for “passion”

Fire (Divine and Spiritual Fire)

“God is fire. God is love. God is a self-propagating emotional power, a fire that shares itself. Centuries after Moses beheld the flames of the burning bush, this same fire merged with the tongues of flame at Pentecost, and with the fire that burned within the hearts of the disciples at Emmaus. In saying that God is a fire of love we are certainly stating a truth that plays havoc with many of our ideas, in fact almost all our ideas. (Fr. Lev Gillet) “There is no accident in G

Salvation

“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13)....we work out our own salvation (v. 12) while it is God who works in us to do His will (v. 13).” (Orthodox Study Bible, Philippians 2:12-13) “We should not suppose, because he said, “For it is God that works in you both the willing and the doing,” that he has taken away free will. For if that were so he would not have said

Kingdom of God/Heaven

“The things which are highly esteemed among men include money, power, position, and praise…Jesus emphasizes the virtues required for entrance into the kingdom of heaven: humility, dependence, lowliness, simplicity, obedience, and a willingness to love and be loved.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Luke 16:15, Matthew 18:1-4) “The Lord teaches that we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless we revert to the nature of children, that is, we must recall into the simplicity of children t

Good and Evil

“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive” (Genesis 50:20). Joseph spoke to the heart of his brothers, for the heart has spiritual eyes to see the things of God (Eph 1:18). If their eyes were clear, they would be able to see God's forgiveness expressed through Joseph (Genesis 50:17), and that He worked their evil for good, in order to save many people alive (Genesis 50:20). Th

Repentance (Opportunities for)

“Repentance is a complete turning of one’s heart toward Absolute Goodness, and not only of the heart but also of the mind, the feelings, the body, and one’s whole being. Repentance is the unbreakable union of love with our Father and Creator.” (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica) “Repentance . . . in deep mourning and joined with confession is what unveils the eyes of the soul to see the great things of God.” (Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos) “…let us see these trying times as allow

Merit

“What is meant by, ‘according to Measure”? It means not according to our merit, for then would no one have received what he has received: but of the free gift we have all received. And why then one more, and another less? There is nothing to cause this, he [St. Paul] would say, but the matter itself is indifferent; for everyone jointly contributes towards ‘the building.’ And on this account he shows that it is not of his own intrinsic merit that one has received more and anot

Life and Death

“When a seed dies, it produces fruit. Life comes by death. This principle is not only true in nature, but it is also true spiritually.” (Foundation Study Bible, John 12:24) “Every year we have autumn and winter when things begin to die and then die, and spring and summer when things begin to come back to life and then come back to life fully. What we see in physical nature is part of spiritual nature too. Often something about our lives and ourselves must begin to die and the

Nature

“When Barnabas and Paul are mistaken as gods by the gentiles in Lystra because Paul healed a crippled man, they remind these gentiles of a simple truth: ‘He [God] did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness’ (Acts 14:17). Paul wrote something similar in Romans 1:20: ‘For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the thin

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