Thanks for What?

We are told as Christians to be thankful. Even the act of communing with God is called Divine Thanksgiving, or Holy Eucharist. We know that God has come to save us, but our lives on earth are filled with temptations and struggles. What exactly are we supposed to be thankful for? Brethren, whatever you do,…

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God Knows You

Three words that can either terrify you or comfort you. When we are told “God knows you” we often turn our minds to guilt and sin. While we may indeed be guilty of sin, there is something much better in these three words. God has known us since creation, and He is waiting for us.…

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We Long for Each Other

Throughout human history we have lived in groups and families. This is by design from God. “It is not good that man should be alone.” (Genesis 2.18) God wasn’t talking about super bowl parties. He wants us to help each other find God. We are meant for Communion. Brethren, God is my witness, how I…

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Eternal Union

It is easy to talk about forgiveness when it doesn’t matter. Too often I hear, “Sure I forgive them. God will take get them. I don’t have to.” I’m sorry to tell you, this is not forgiveness. This is vengeance. The problem isn’t now. The problem comes later when we are eternally together. There are…

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Common Life

In every Divine Liturgy we proclaim our common life in Christ when we pray, “Let us commend ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God.” We do not commend our unison lives to Christ. We commend our life, singular, to Christ. That should mean something. Brethren, let any one who thinks…

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To Convert or Not to Convert

Are you searching for a Church to attend? Maybe you have come across this blog searching about Orthodox Christianity. Maybe you are already Orthodox but reading this blog because you have a friend who is searching. Maybe you are considering becoming Orthodox. Maybe not. Brethren, do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah,…

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Spiritual Maturity

There is an old joke that says, “Everything I needed to know, I learned in kindergarten.” It is a joke because even teenagers know they didn’t know enough after kindergarten to ‘get along’ in the world. How much is enough? High school? College? It isn’t about learning. It is about maturity. If all we needed…

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Separation is Death

It’s just one Sunday. I’ll go to Church next week. Weeks become months. Months become years. The next thing you know, you can’t remember the last time you were in Church. Sound familiar? May as well be true if you just replace attendance with Holy Communion. The Lord said to his disciples, “Let not your…

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Remain or Depart

Free will has been given by God to every human being. We are free to choose to do good or to do evil. We are free to love God or that hate Him. We are free to remain close to Him, or to depart far from Him. The choice is ours to make. Not everyone…

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The Awesome God

As human beings we are constantly surrounded by examples of power and authority. Just turn on the TV for any brief moment and you will find countless examples of earthly power. Politicians and celebrities are all vying for your attention. The one thing missing in every example of earthly authority is lasting power. Every example…

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