Posts Tagged ‘spiritual father’
Chained Down by Sin
The Devil made me do it. I couldn’t help myself. You have no idea how strong the temptation was that made me sin. These are all common excuses for sin. We have all used them because we have all been weak. We have all sinned, but there is a better way. About that time, Herod…
Read MoreEvery Question has a Motive
We live in a society that seems to feed on negativity. Turn on any cable news program and reporters and panels are constantly trying to trap people into making statements they will later regret. It is done mostly with politicians, but I have noticed lately that nobody is immune to this treatment. Even young athletes…
Read MoreHow to Pray
The Church tells us we must pray. Our friends tell us we must pray. The saints and the Scriptures tell us we must pray. Every believer wants to pray. We just don’t always know how to pray. Don’t feel bad. Some of the earliest followers of Christ had the same problem. At that time, Jesus…
Read MoreSpeak with a Little Salt
I like to cook, so I find myself watching a lot of cooking shows. I used to use cookbooks, but now after so many years I have learned how different spices work together to bring a delicious flavor to food. I have never used or seen a recipe that does not include salt. Even baking…
Read MoreGreat 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 MoreEpisode 405 – Having a Spiritual Father
We are all at different stages of our spiritual journey. The Orthodox way of life can be complex and difficult to determine just is the best way to practice our Orthodox Life. We cannot just ‘pick and choose’ like a cafeteria. The Tradition of our Church is to have a spiritual father who is guiding…
Read MoreWatch Your Roots
Whether we are ‘born’ into the Church or come to the Church later in life, one thing remains constant. We must have faith deep enough to hold us up against the battles with Satan and his angels. Our lives are spent on Earth, faced daily with temptations and burdens. Shallow faith is not enough to…
Read MoreMan of Your Word
Integrity is ‘everything’ today. If people cannot trust that we will do what we say we will do, things begin to collapse. We see this to be true, especially in politics. Politicians rarely do what they say. Instead, they say what they think we want to hear, then do what they want to do. It…
Read MoreFlesh and Spirit
Many people struggle to understand the spiritual benefits of fasting. Food is blessed by God, so why does the Church ‘punish’ us by not letting us eat? There is so much suffering in the world. It would be nice if food wasn’t the source of our suffering. Fasting is not about suffering. Fasting is about…
Read MoreBeing Taught
Christ is Risen! As you can imagine I regularly meet individuals who express a desire to become Orthodox. Sometimes they have never been baptized. Other times they are fleeing from one ‘version’ of Christianity or another. Sometimes even, as was likely the case in the ancient world, some want to be Orthodox because it comes…
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