SACRAMENTAL LIVING

Understanding Christianity as a Way of Life

Spiritual Fruit

“…let us heed Jesus’ warning to the fig tree. When He finds a lush but fruitless tree, He curses it to wither away (Matthew 21:19) and continues searching for those of true worship who will bear fruit from their hearts. This stark message is also full of hope: He gives life to those who seek Him and He withdraws life from us only if we turn away, investing in our own thriving businesses and thus failing to bear Him fruit.” (Dynamis 8/7/2020) “The word hell in the Bible comes

Attentiveness

“Most of us do not think we are in a constant battle. Most of us, rightly so, recognize the ugliness of evil when we see it on full display, for example, in the horrible events of the news. However, most of us miss the daily evil of the enemy because we think certain things are benign and miss the malevolence behind them. The thoughts we are pummeled with on a daily basis that cause so much distraction from what is truly important are of the enemy. That is why Christ, St. Pau

Force

“According to St. John Chrysostom, the violent who take the Kingdom by force are those who have such earnest desire for Christ that they let nothing stand between themselves and faith in Him.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Matthew 11:12) “If you do not feel like praying, you have to force yourself. The Holy Fathers say that prayer with force is higher than prayer unforced. You do not want to but force yourself: “The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force” (Matt. 11:12). (St. Ambrose o

Liberation

“The first evangelist was Jesus Christ. He is still the model. He set the standard for all evangelists. We read in Luke 4:18 how the Lord connected preaching the Gospel to the anointing of the Holy Spirit: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel. He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." (Father Eusebius Stephano

Prune/Pruning

“Life in Christ is never a bed of roses. He promised pruning. But if we respond to the Gardener’s tending as fruitful branches, yielding the sweet wine of virtue, we have the joy of knowing that He chose and appointed us to go and bear fruit—in good times, in bad times, and in eternity…The most fruitful and the most joy-filled Christians are the most pruned Christians." (Fr. Mark Sietsema, Bruce Wilkinson) “Jesus makes a distinction between two kinds of pruning: (1) cutting o

Judgment Seat of Christ

“Although Saint John’s Gospel also records the Lord Jesus’ warning that “in the last day” all shall be judged by God John 12:48), His purpose is to save: “I did not come to judge the world but to save the world” (John 12:47). Why, then, does He begin today’s passage with the words, “For judgment I have come into this world” (John 9:39)? For those who repudiate the Lord, His coming will be judgment; for those who turn to Him, He works their salvation. In John 9:39-41, He descr

Ordinary versus Extraordinary

“We are to try to become ordinary Christians, not mimic astounding feats described in the lives of the saints. Ordinary Christianity is hard enough for any of us and it is sufficient for our salvation. If we ever find ourselves longing for exalted states we must immediately repent and seek guidance from someone wiser than ourselves in these matters. Such longing is an obvious sign that something is wrong with us spiritually." (Father Spyridon Baily) “We can only appreciate o

Intent

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13). The word of God and the sword here are living and powerful. The phrase His sight (v. 13) tells us this refere

Kindness

“We can be sure that we also come in contact every day with many people who are carrying heavy burdens, facing trying situations, or worrying about the future. Oftentimes, they can unknowingly be the very people closest to us. They need and long for a kind word, a sympathetic ear, and a warm smile that reflects a caring heart.” (Rev. Andrew Demotses) “Sometimes it is easy to get so overwhelmed with all of the problems we see around us that we can slip into a mindset of what c

Christmas

“You and I have been trained by our culture to not believe in the supernatural…as a Jewish woman, Mary had been trained by her culture to not believe that God could ever become a human being. So, though they are different, the barriers she faced against belief in the Christmas message were every bit as big as the barriers you may be facing.” (Pastor Timothy Keller) …if you take a step back and look at how we’ve come to celebrate Christmas, we’re getting it all wrong. Christma

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