Archive for October 2023
Be Orthodox or Not
A disturbing trend recently has been for people to ‘argue’ about what the Church teaches. I understand non-Orthodox not agreeing with our teachings. They would be Orthodox if they agreed, naturally. What is disturbing is when professing Orthodox Christians would ‘rather’ choose non-Orthodox teachings and argue ‘their’ Church is wrong. Admittedly the Church hasn’t done…
Read MoreFancy Words
As a college student during the first Gulf War in 1990 I recall all my friends and I being ‘glued’ to the TV watching CNN reporting nonstop from across the globe. Every time we had the chance, we would watch the reports and speeches about the war. I remember that we had to watch the…
Read MoreAncient Faith
Living in most cities in America, the oldest building we are likely to encounter is between 100 and 150 years old. Sure, there are a few rare buildings that have survived here and there, but for the most part we live in a very ‘new and young’ society. The vast majority of buildings we see…
Read MoreAsk Rightly
There is only one way to guarantee that the answer from God to every prayer is ‘yes’. We have to learn to ask for the right things from God. When we ask for the right things, He will always say yes. The Lord said to his disciples, “Ask, and it will be given you; seek,…
Read MoreHow to Pray
The Church tells us we must pray. Our friends tell us we must pray. The saints and the Scriptures tell us we must pray. Every believer wants to pray. We just don’t always know how to pray. Don’t feel bad. Some of the earliest followers of Christ had the same problem. At that time, Jesus…
Read MoreKnowledge Requires Trust
We all grow up learning to trust our teachers. We trust that George Washington was the first president of the United States. We trust that Ben Franklin was the first Postmaster General. Go back even further. We trust there was a Pharaoh named Tutankhamen. We learned to trust this information because we weren’t there to…
Read MoreEpisode 408 – God is all we Need
When we are surrounded and tormented by demons in our life, God has the power to the send them away. In the world there are many tempting alternatives to in which we place our trust in these times, such as the “Evil Eye”. Real power is Christ, no blue glass eye. Don’t waste your energy…
Read MoreWhat Jesus Has Done
In the Gospel lesson for the 6th Sunday of Luke, we hear how Jesus cast out many demons from a man who had been tormented for years. The demons were so fierce, they “had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was…
Read MoreRepentance of the Mind
You’ve heard me in my sermons. You’ve read my words in this blog. Repentance comes from the Greek word μετάνοια (metania) which literally translates to change of mind. Although we think of repentance in terms of changing our behavior, until we change our mind our behavior will always remain. Brethren, I count everything as loss…
Read MoreSpeak with a Little Salt
I like to cook, so I find myself watching a lot of cooking shows. I used to use cookbooks, but now after so many years I have learned how different spices work together to bring a delicious flavor to food. I have never used or seen a recipe that does not include salt. Even baking…
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