Don’t Allow Yourself to be Tripped Up

I was once taught the first step to any sin is to believe I would always be able to ‘say no’ to temptation. Instead of counting on my willpower, I was taught to do whatever I could to set up protections against temptation. That way I would increase my chances of avoiding sin. Brethren, God…

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Sign of the Times

With modern technology it is just about impossible to not know where you are located. GPS in our phones and even our watches leave us with a false sense of security that we can never be lost. If you’re like me, you have found yourself in that one place with no signal and no location.…

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Never Good Enough

Here is one saying nobody ever wants to hear, but always needs to hear. You can never be good enough to ‘get in’ to heaven. You are never good enough isn’t a judgment. It is an honest expression of the truth. Even the saints knew it about themselves. We need to know it too. Brethren,…

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The Work Goes On

Part of every person’s personal mission is to accomplish something in life. Whether it be some rare scientific discovery or merely being known for great art, all human beings are driven by accomplishment. The problem is, we are so focused on our accomplishments that we forget God’s work. In those days, the apostles returned to…

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Remain or Repent; Which is it?

It has become popular to use the expression, “God made me who I am,” as an excuse toward all sorts of behaviors the Church teaches against. “God doesn’t make mistakes,” is another excuse. I say excuse, because we never want to remain how we are if we don’t like who we are. Brethren, in whatever…

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It is Good News for a Reason

There are two things that indicate a growing Church. First, the people are excited about their Church. Some even produce bumper stickers to share their joy with the world around them. The second indication of a growing Church is how many new people come to stay. If we are not excited enough to share our…

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Mind Your Business

We all like to think we are successful Christians. We all like to think we ‘know what we’re doing’ when it comes to how to live our Orthodox Christian Faith. If that weren’t bad enough, we all also like to think we ‘know better’ than other people how to be ‘good’ Orthodox Christians. The sad…

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What Would You Pay for Heaven?

What is the value of a bag of groceries? How much is a gallon of gas? These are questions that plague our modern society. These are questions that establish our priorities. The more important something is, the more we are willing to pay. What are you willing to pay for heaven? The value of anything…

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Gift for the Future

For most Christians, at least for most Christians living in America, dwelling on the past is considered closed minded. We are taught to look to the future. Sayings such as “The youth are the future of the church,” draw our attention to the future but we cannot have a future without a past. Brethren, all…

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