Everything is Forgiven

Forgiveness engraved on wet sand

One day I was speaking with someone who was very angry with God. His life had taken some very painful turns. Some of the turns were his fault, but others were ‘just’ circumstances of life. He felt that God wasn’t there for him. He didn’t want to go to Church. He didn’t want to pray.…

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Avoid Temptation

Temptation Ahead sign

Every day we pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Sit back and ponder over this verse of the Lord’s Prayer. We are asking God the Father, not just to keep us free from temptation, but to lead us away from temptation. God knows how much temptation we can handle. He…

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Orthodox Bucket List

Whats On Your Bucket list Written On Front OF A Notebook

Christ is Risen! The other day I saw a meme about aging. It said something to the effect of, “With age every day becomes more urgent to get right with God.” I laughed, because today we normally associate fewer days ‘left’ in life as fewer days to have fun. We are encouraged to have bucket…

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2023 Daily Lenten Journey – Day 24

A golden abstract artwork of the Jesus

Many do not know the original practice of Holy Confession was public in the Church. That meant that people would publicly admit to each other their sins. This was important because of our union in the Church. When we sin, we bring sin into the body of the Church. Of course, pretty quickly this practice…

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2023 Daily Lenten Journey – Day 20

A golden abstract artwork of the Jesus

Every Friday during Great Lent I make myself available for the sacrament of Holy Confession. It gives me a chance to pray while I wait, and to pray with those who offer their confession to God. One thing is consistent with everyone who comes for Holy Confession. Everyone is a sinner. With all the attention…

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True Forgiveness Begins with Coexistence

Forgiveness engraved on wet sand

As you can imagine I meet many who struggle in the art of forgiveness. Many say they can’t seem to forgive no matter how much they try. We’ve been wronged! We can’t get over what they did to us. I’m still angry. I know I should forgive them, but I just can’t. These are all…

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Minimizing Sin

It can ‘be cute’ when a little child looks straight at his mother who is holding a broken lamp, “Nope! It wasn’t me.” Forgetting there is nobody else in the house, and that his mother watched the whole episode on the baby-cam, the little child insists he did nothing wrong. It may be cute to…

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Count the Cost

A bundle of 100 dollars on a table

Our society is infatuated with debt. We borrow money to purchase ‘what we want, when we want it’ no matter how much it costs. With Christmas still on our minds, many are dreading the coming credit card bill to discover just how much they spent this year on the holidays. Many will never know. They…

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You Can’t Get There by Yourself

A cross sign in the middle of a sunset

We live in a society that prides itself on independence. The very fabric of our great Nation is woven by the threads of self-government and self-accomplishments. Awards are given for “Person of the Year”, not “Group of the Year.” But we all know there are just sometimes we need help. There are just some things…

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Just Hold on and Climb!

A group of men raising their hands together in the air

I believe it is part of the ‘fallen’ human condition. Generally speaking, we do not like to take blame for our shortcomings, let alone our mistakes. Take any young child caught eating something forbidden. With total confidence in the ‘blame,’ a typical child with either blame the dog, claim that what was eaten was not…

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