SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“If we begin with Christ Himself, what then do we know of God? We know that God loves us, that He is utterly committed to our true well-being, that His love is self-emptying and sacrificial. We know, in Christ, what the “image” of God looks like, and what it means to be created in that image. We know that the self-emptying love of God, shown forth on the Cross, is the “wisdom, word, and power” of God. In Christ, we know the nature of the “good.” (Father Stephen Freeman) “God

“One test of spiritual attainment is peace. Those who are truly advanced in the Spirit have peace of mind and share the peace of God… “Wherever God is — there is peace. And the opposite is self-evident: where there is envy, enmity, impatience, self-love — there is the devil. Wherever the devil is — there, everything is ruinous, proud and hostile.” (Fr. Basil, St. Anatoly of Optina) “How do we attain peace? We put aside all…pride and hostility and destructiveness. And we acqui

“Due to significantly painful experiences, we may even lose trust in God. Many struggle to make sense of the trials and tribulations in their lives. As a result, we may find ourselves believing that God is punishing us, that we have done something wrong. We struggle with the deep feeling that God has withdrawn His providence from us, or that somehow we are unworthy of His love and protection. If we believe that God is punishing us, then how can we receive the love of God full

“…our own sometimes shaky self-esteem, neediness, and failure to believe that we are really unique in the eyes of God often prevent us from loving and nurturing the presence of God in ourselves. This, in turn, makes it difficult to reach out to others.” (Robert J. Wicks) “Knowledge of Christ, constantly supported and nurtured by the grace of God, grows quietly but steadily and becomes a unique and precious characteristic of an authentic Christian. As he/she grows and matures,

“Faith is not a matter of “belief,” an act of intellectual willing. Faith is a perception of things that do not necessarily appear obvious. In the language of Scripture – “faith is the evidence of things not seen.” But the perception of faith is similar to the perception of objects beneath the surface of a lake. If the surface is disturbed, the objects disappear. The objects do not go away – but we can no longer perceive them. In a world of manifold complication – the surface

“Within the tragedy of a loss or crisis there is a real possibility to move away from the limited God we have created, and a life we may be merely existing within, to an experience of God and life that can be real and transforming in nature. Still, admitting this and believing it at such a deep level that one can boldly act upon it are two completely different things! A life of true covenant is simple… but not easy. How do you reconcile an all-loving God with the tragedy and

“One thing is for sure, the Holy Spirit, “who is everywhere and fills all things” hates limitations. If you doubt it, just test Him, for the Lord Jesus said, “…with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26)…When Jesus asked Philip where they could buy a great amount of bread, Philip started assessing the probable cost. Jesus wanted to teach him that financial resources are not the most important ones. We can limit what God does in us by assuming what is and is not possible…

“Reading the Scriptures, studying the church fathers, attending worship, praying, and meditating are all good and godly things. But they are not ends in themselves. When we engage in these holy activities, our sincere and fervent goal should be to encounter the Lord Jesus Christ. We may be the most informed and even enthusiastic students of the Word. We may be devoted to the teachings of the church. We may excel in Christianity as Paul excelled in Judaism. But everything that

“In the Trisagion Prayers, we invoke the Spirit of God who is “present everywhere and fills all things.” Thus, we believe that the Spirit works in all and through all. And so we affirm what Paul declared in Philippians: “It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). But where and when are we to will and do what God desires? Surely the Spirit is present in times and places other than worship. Surely the Spirit is active in and thro

“ ‘The fear of the Lord leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil’ (Proverbs 19:23). There are two kinds of fear in this verse. One is the fear of the Lord, which nourishes spiritual life in a man. The other is fear in places where knowledge is not examined. What place is this where Wisdom's knowledge is not examined? In this fallen world where many refuse to examine such knowledge. Failure to examine Wisdom's knowledge nour