Posts Tagged ‘Church’
Do What He Tells You
Every Orthodox Christian is taught that obedience is a blessing. We are taught to be obedient first to God, then to the Church through our spiritual father. There are many stories of blessings that come from obedience, not the last of which is eternal life. In today’s readings I was reminded of obedience. Take a…
Read More2026 Daily Lenten Journey Day 19 – Calling All People to God
I’m blessed to live in a place where the Church is made visible to the entire city. Our host parish of Saint Nicholas Cathedral offers Church services daily during Great Lent (almost daily year-round) and the sound of Church bells calls all people to God, daily. This image of calling all people to God is…
Read More2026 Daily Lenten Journey Day 18 – Always a Way Back
Our Daily Lenten Journey this year has been about changing our hearts and returning to God. It has been about remembering that God is still trying to save us. Today I just want to remind you, no matter how lost you may feel, there is always a way back to God. After the Flood Noah…
Read More2026 Daily Lenten Journey Day 15 – A Tent of Protection
When I was a much younger man I used to enjoy the outdoors. I grew up participating in the Boy Scout program and eventually as an adult leader supervised many camping trips. One thing that was always comforting to have was a good tent. When I read today’s readings I was reminded of my youth,…
Read More2026 Daily Lenten Journey Day 4
One of my favorite realities of Great Lent is sharing strategies with other Orthodox Christians. I exchange recipes and share stories of success and failures over the years. The joy of the Church is more than just gathering for worship. It is helping each other live life. We’re barely into Great Lent and much has…
Read MoreIgnoring Authority
As ‘good Americans’ we love our independence. Freedom is the backbone of our society. We do what we want. We believe what we want. We say what we want. We condemn anyone who tries to limit us. This might be the ‘American way’ but it is not the Christian way. The elder to the beloved…
Read MoreStruggling Against Passions
I hear it all the time. Christians are accused of being hypocrites because we don’t live sinless lives. Some of us even struggle against the Church. In my experience, the Church isn’t filled with hypocrites. The Church is filled with Christians struggling against their passions. Seen from the outside of the Church, I understand the…
Read MoreA Different Kingdom
Many non-believers accuse the Church of wanting to control our lives. They believe our ‘rules and traditions’ are designed to keep us down in the world. It would be much easier if we just gave in to the world and ‘blended in’ more to those around us. Then we would succeed. This logic is lacking…
Read MoreIn my Prayers
I blog about prayer often. It is, after all, a central part of our Orthodox life. It is also one of the most underutilized spiritual tools in our Orthodox tool kit. Even when we pray, we rarely give our prayers the attention they deserve. Worse, we rarely give others the attention of our prayers. One…
Read MoreAll Authority is from God
In our human understanding, authority is equal to power. Whoever has authority has power. Since we like power, we love when we have authority over others. The sad truth is that we have no authority that was not given to us by God. Let’s face it. We barely have authority over ourselves. At that time,…
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