SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“At times we humans playfully indulge in deep questions or dawdle in idle speculation. Some of us devote weeks and months to profound soul-searching, reading and discussing the great issues. However, it is suffering which forces us to meditate on issues of ultimate meaning. Pain thrusts questions into our consciousness concerning the purpose of life, the nature of God, and our relationship with Him. Often, pain does this when we, like Job, are distressed at heart and “weary a

“By holding on so tightly to our sense of self, we choked God, strangling him, and put him to death. ‘But,’ you might ask, ‘can God die?’ He can die to us. He can be dead to each and everyone of us. ‘But can He rise again?’ Yes, when you change your mind, when you repent. When you do this, God comes to life within you, He rises up within you, and then you celebrate the Resurrection of Christ: you are baptized again, born again, and you give him the right to take away your pas

“The gospel is the report of the victory of God achieved by Jesus Christ over the hostile spiritual powers arrayed against humanity…The true gospel, the story of Christ’s victory, begins with Yahweh, God the Son, descending from the glory He shared with the Father eternally (John 17:5) to be made man. The incarnate Son of God then waged war against the hostile spiritual powers oppressing humanity, against the power of sin, and against death itself. Arising victorious, He asce

“There is within every human person gold and silver and mud and dross. Life in this age has been given to us for repentance and the pursuit of holiness. As a person draws near to God, the fire of His holiness purges away all that is sinful, wicked, and unclean to reveal, purify, and bring to full beauty what is precious that lies within. The process of growth in repentance and holiness is painful and difficult, as is coming to physical maturity. It is necessary, however, if o

“God’s love is without bias or favor and is not subject to influence. He loves each person He has created without taint of partiality such as exists among men and women.” (Dynamis 9/26/2020) “Favoritism is the way of the world. Human society is so ordered that some are more advantaged, favored, and honored than others. However, the Gospel opposes and reverses this preferential treatment of the privileged. In our reading of James 2:1-13, we read, “My Brethren, do not hold the

"Paradox and mystery are everywhere…and are part of the very essence of Christianity itself. Jesus Christ died to defeat death. Through death He gave us life. He who humbles himself will be exalted. If one tries to save his life, he will lose it. The Christian faith is built on paradoxes such as these.” (Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou) “The Book of Revelation takes its name from the first verse, identifying the text as “the Revelation (Apokalypsis) of Jesus Christ” This i

“Especially in times of trial, we might think that God’s Word is uncertain, and His good will for us is in doubt. But then we should realize that our uncertainty is not the fault of the Almighty. Instead, it is that we have mixed thoughts and feelings. Along with the voice of Christ, we are listening to other influences. Their messages swirl around in our minds, and the siren songs of the world confuse the call of Christ. In these times of hesitation, we should return to the

“Do you wish to love more? Forgive more deeply! All healing flows from forgiveness. The love of God is demonstrated to the extreme in Jesus, the sinless One, taking our sins upon Himself and giving His life for us The one who loves deeply is the one who knows the significance of that love and becomes a vessel of forgiveness to others. What is love if it is not the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (see Romans 5:5)? Love is the gift of God.” (Neal Lozano) “

“None of us can entirely separate ourselves from who we are. Our culture, education, family, nation, and religious background affect the way we view the world. We all accept as true many common presumptions of our era and culture. They are so deeply ingrained that we do not recognize them as cultural presumptions that may in fact not be true.” (Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou) “There is a model of what it means to be human that is simply wrong, regardless of its elements o

“Questions about the problem of evil and God's commands are really asking about character of God. The real question is, "Can God be trusted?” (John Njoroge) “I am struck by the preponderance of unbelief in our day and time. Frequently, the “problem of evil” is cited as an overwhelming obstacle to belief. I think of this in particular when I consider that antiquity was dominated by far more suffering on a daily basis than our present age. Our lives would seem magical in their