SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“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

“The list of heretics using their logical and rational minds goes on and on, with many still at work today. Simply using our rational and logical minds to understand a God that is far beyond our comprehension are the very things heresies are made of... and how they continue to exist today. If you sit through a presentation from certain heretical groups, they will continually ask you: “Doesn’t this make sense to you?” They learned long ago the best approach is to appeal to rat

“In child development, there is something called Object Permanency. It is the child’s ability to grasp that even though they cannot see an object (such as a parent), they still exist. Until this ability is mastered, if the child cannot see their parent, then they don’t exist and the child goes into distress. However, this milestone is achieved as they grow and they become secure in the fact that even though they cannot see a parent, they still exist and are there for them. In

“Prove yourself a god to the unfortunate by imitating the mercy of God. There is nothing so godly in human beings as to do good works…When you have done something good, remember [Christ’s] words, “without me you can do nothing” [John 15:5].” (St. Gregory the Theologian, St. Mark the Hermit) “The branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains connected to the vine [John 15:4] , from which its life and sustenance flows. As far as the disciples were concerned, they would p

“The word of the day is “freedom.” What do people have in mind when they seek freedom? They seek release from whatever controls or threatens to restrain them. And yet, in the name of freedom, many let themselves be dominated by all sorts of indulgences: the pursuit of fame, wealth, adventure, comfort, lust, and power…St. Philaret of Moscow spoke about the person who thinks freedom means the ability to do whatever he wants. He writes, “But such a man uses external freedom only

“The Lord said, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). Note: what must we do for the Father and the Son to come to us and make their home with us? We must love the Lord (above all else) and follow His teaching instead of anything else. Worldly distractions are other loves. Earthly agendas are other pursuits. The aims and ambitions of this world are other desires…It may be that we

“Even if we cannot find much assistance in a culture of self-indulgence, comfort and luxury, finding little help from others, at least “I will behave in my home with heartfelt integrity…Heartfelt integrity” means one doesn’t play head games with those we claim to love. Integrity means honesty and more—a person whose whole self is filled with inner peace, openness and unity in mind, soul and body. He or she radiates sincerity without a trace of doubt or duplicity. To be sincer

“To come face to face with the living God…is a humbling, wondrous, life-changing experience…In Saint Paul’s case, a face-to-face confrontation with God enlightened his inner being and illumined the darkness of his hatred and self-righteousness. God changed Saul of Tarsus from a mere man into a holy apostle. After his baptism, Saint Paul withdrew into Arabia and avoided the centers of Christian activity. He had faced the Lord Jesus, and he needed time to assimilate all that ha

“All that we read in holy Scripture for our instruction and salvation demands an attentive ear. You have just heard [Luke 24:13-35] how the eyes of those two disciples whom the Lord joined on their way were kept from recognizing Him. He found them in despair of the redemption that was in Christ, supposing Him now to have suffered and died as a man, not imagining Him to live forever as the Son of God. So He opened to them the Scriptures and showed them that it was necessary fo

“ ‘…Christ died for the ungodly’ (Romans 5:6). The ungodly are all of us. Because of sin, everyone stands in alienation from God, and we do not have the capacity to become righteous on our own. Because of God's love, Christ died for our sins to bring us the gift of righteousness…Christ is the offering for all sin—voluntary and involuntary—which demonstrates God's incomparable grace toward us.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Romans 5:6, Hebrews 10:26-27) “There is no one who will save