Posts Tagged ‘salvation’
Orthros Prayer Five
We all know that ‘one person’ who is always over-the-top in everything. Is there something nice to say? That one person never stops at just one good thing. Need a comforting hug? That one person let us ‘melt’ into their loving arms. Nothing is done without excess. This is the image that comes to my…
Read MoreOrthros Prayer Four
As we make our way through the Orthros Prayers, we can’t ever forget the purpose of prayer in the first place. We pray to ‘talk’ to God and share our heart with Him. Morning, noon or night, our prayers remain for the same purpose. We are talking to God and He is listening. When we…
Read MoreOrthros Prayer Two
Yesterday we prayed for God to always have compassion on us because we can’t do with without Him. In our Orthros Prayer series, we now turn our attention to the commandments of God. His commandments light the way through the darkness to heaven. The problem is we fail to follow His commandments and have been…
Read MoreEpisode 444 – Loving Others As Christ
The Parable of the Last Judgment in Matthew 25 can confuse us into believing that our actions will save us. Our judgment isn’t about the works that we do, but our ability to love others as if we are loving Christ. Even our giving to the Church should be out of love for God and…
Read MoreWanted Dead or Alive!
As you may know I was raised in the west, sometimes called the wild west, where legends of famous outlaws blanketed history. In every small town you could always find a sign to purchase to hassle your best friends. The saying was for outlaws, but Christ wants us alive, not dead. Brethren, all who have…
Read MoreEpisode 440 – Not Sinless but Holy
When we hear the human lineage of Christ in Matthew 1.1-25, we hear about our human ancestors. The ‘list of names’ reminds us that God has never walked away from us, no matter how far we have strayed away from Him. The Feast of Christmas is a celebration of God’s saving act of becoming human…
Read MoreCoexist
There is a popular bumper sticker which uses symbols of different religions and cultures to spell the word ‘coexist’ that I see often on the road. On the one hand, the bumper sticker expresses the desire to be ‘left alone’ to ‘live and let live’ those around us. On the other hand, it is truth.…
Read MoreEveryone’s Savior
Are you saved? Orthodox Christians have been struggling over this question for years. We struggle not because we fear judgment. We struggle because confuse judgment with salvation. We are all saved and yet we are all judged. Before you get upset that I am teaching ‘universal salvation’ take a moment and read what Saint Paul…
Read MoreNo Guarantees
Our consumer society has a way of convincing us to purchase products we don’t even desire. Retailers and manufacturers proudly assert a money back guarantee if we are not satisfied. All we need to do is change our mind. Salvation does not come with a money back guarantee. The Lord said, “Not every one who…
Read MoreSaved by Grace
Do you believe? Do you have to ‘do works’ to be saved? Why do we have to go to Church? Why do we have to fast? Why are there so many rules in the Orthodox Church? Aren’t we supposed to be saved by grace? What’s the deal? IN THOSE DAYS, some believers who belonged to…
Read More