Posts Tagged ‘Saints’
Great Expectations
We all wonder what God expects of us. We also wonder if we can ever meet His expectations. As Orthodox Christians we struggle to live a life that we believe God desires, or at least that He expects. To eliminate any doubt, He has proven to us that He doesn’t expect anything more than He…
Read MoreWWMD
I’m sure you remember the fad in the 90’s when just about everyone was asking, “WWJD – What Would Jesus Do?” We wore the four letters on bracelets, around our neck, even had them printed on t-shirts. It was supposed to inspire us to live like Christ. Like so many fads, it faded. I have…
Read MoreFor the Sake of the Elect
It is a common line of thought on this blog that the world is against the Christ and His Church. We often talk about how we are called to endure to the end. We often talk about persecution being a real thing not only in the lives of the martyrs, but in the lives of…
Read MoreWhy Do You Believe?
It always intrigued me to hear what people believed and what they chose not to believe. Belief isn’t about physical proof. We believe things every day we have proof of. They say ‘seeing is believing’ but we believe things every day we do not see. As I wrote the other day, we also choose not…
Read MoreSpiritual Glasses
The past couple of days I have been focusing on the choice between the world and the Church. For some people, it can be difficult to distinguish between the world and the Church. Temptation is experienced. It is not imagined. What the world uses to tempt us can be so convincing, we are blinded to…
Read MoreThe Saints are Working
I am often asked why we Orthodox pray to dead people. Besides thinking we should only pray directly to God, the implication is that a dead person do nothing for us. Yet, for Orthodox Christians the Saints are still working. They are still praying for us. They are still interacting with us. Why? Because the…
Read MoreAmerican Saints for Tomorrow
As Orthodox Christians we read the daily calendar and learn about the great saints of old. Martyrs and confessors by the thousands inspire us to live courageous lives for Christ. These names can feel ‘far off’ when we read them in the daily synaxarion. Some don’t even know we have American Saints that can inspire…
Read MoreNever Give Up
It is easier said than done. It doesn’t matter whether we are talking about secular or spiritual matters. One reason for this is that we witness so many ‘doing it wrong’ that we forget there is a right way to do something. What makes things worse is when the wrong way ‘seems’ to be rewarded…
Read MoreEpisode 399 – Living as Saints
When we accept the invitation to become saints, we must also accept the challenge of a life willing to give it all up for God. We must live the life of the Church which has been guided by the Holy Spirit since Pentecost. A life of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is meant to help us…
Read MoreNothing Worth Anything is Easy
Whether it is going to the fitness center for a good workout, or studying for the bar exam, we can all agree that hard work is part of success. We often don’t value what is easy. There is no sense of accomplishment when something comes too easy for us. So, why do we think our…
Read More