August 30, 2021

HE WILL COME AGAIN

Acts 1:9-11

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

Encouraging Words

I am quite sure that the apostles' minds and hearts were spinning when this event happened. They had just finished three very full years with our Lord. They had seen Him do miracles, die on the cross, be resurrected, and now ascend into heaven. Even after all of this, the angels were there to tell them to not loose heart because Jesus would be coming again. They lived out the remainder of their lives proclaiming this truth and the hope for everyone of us. We will see Jesus again. He will come again and take us to our heavenly home. This is our hope that drives us through every day and every trial. Glory be to God!

August 29, 2021

HOW IMPORTANT?

John 21:7

Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.

Personal Challenge

Is Jesus so important to me that when He shows up in my life that I drop everything and run to be with Him? Peter was informed that his resurrected Lord was standing on the beach calling out to them. He immediately jump into the sea and headed to the beach to be with His Lord. Do we do this? Do I do this? Jesus does show up in our lives. It might be in the form of a fellow human in need. It might be in the opportunity to serve Him. It might be in the need to offer someone a kind word, a cup of water, or a morsel of food. He wants us to drop everything and meet Him there. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

August 28, 2021

Saint of the Week

St. Paisios

August 27, 2021

WE ARE BLESSED

John 20:29

Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Encouraging Words

Faith is a very important part of every human's life. We all have faith in something. Sometimes we have had tangible evidence to support that faith, but most of the time that faith is in something unseen and often unprovable to the doubter. Thomas put his faith in the resurrected Jesus only after he was able to touch Jesus and validate His return to life did he believe. Jesus, however, proclaimed His blessing on all of us who put our faith in Him because we have not seen Him and yet have believed. Glory be to God!

August 26, 2021

DOUBTING

John 20:25

The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”

So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.

Personal Challenge

How much do we truly believe in what our close friends and family tell us. Thomas had spent the last three years hanging out with the other apostles 24 hours a day. They must have been a very close knit group of men. Along with them, he had seen the miracles of Jesus, including the resurrection of Lazarus, and heard the teachings of Jesus. And yet, now after Jesus had been crucified and buried for three days, he did not believe his brothers when they proclaimed that Jesus was alive. It is good for us to be prudent in what we believe in and what we hear from others, however, if they are trusted people and there is a preponderance of truth in what they say, then we should trust them. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner and surround me with godly brothers and sisters that I can trust.

August 25, 2021

ALL MAY BE ONE

John 17:20-21

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

Personal Challenge

The American way is to be strong and inde­pendent. The Marlboro Man. John Wayne. The pioneers of old. This psyche has permeated our way of thinking and acting. But this is not what Jesus prayed for, and not how the Church behaved in its early centuries. Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are one and a community all the same time. As Christians we are to be in unity with one another acting in one accord as a community. This is what Jesus prayed for. That unity was not just amongst those of us who come together on Sunday's, but with all that have come before us and passed down the word of God through the millennia. We are not alone. We have each other, if we are willing to follow Jesus and submit to Him and to one another. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

August 24, 2021

HATED BY THE WORLD

John 17:14-17

I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

Personal Challenge

If we are living Godly Christian lives, loving our God and loving our neighbor in a way that it is apparent to those around us, then we will be mistreated by those that are of the world. Jesus knew this and prayed for us. He did not pray that we would be removed from the world, because it is through His followers that His light shines into the darkness. He prayed for our protection and sanctification. This does mean that we need to be living lives that are Christlike. We are citizens of His Kingdom and no longer of earth. If we live apolitical lives, people from both sides will be angry and accusatory. If we love our neighbors, all of them, then we will be accused of not upholding God's standards. If we give of our time and possessions on a sacrificial basis, then we will be labeled foolish. If we abide by His moral standards we will be labeled old fashioned and discriminatory, We live this way because we love Him. Glory be to God!

August 23, 2021

KNOWING GOD

John 17:3

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Personal Challenge

One must notice in this verse that the challenge in life is to know God, not know about God. Our pursuit throughout our Christian life should be to know God more deeply and more personally, rather than to spend all our time learning about Him. We can easily get caught up in everyone else's experience or understanding about God by reading their accounts and expositions or listening to their stories on podcasts. Not that any of this is bad, unless it begins to become our perception of a relationship with the only true God. He wants us to walk with Him, talk to Him, know Him, so that He can be manifested in our lives. Glory be to Him!

August 22, 2021

HAVING PEACE

John 16:33

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Encouraging Words

Once again, Jesus tells us how to have peace in our lives. It does not come from our job, or even the positions that we hold in our church. Not from all the stuff that we accumulate throughout life. Not from our health, even if we work out all the time and have a chiseled body. Peace comes from a relationship with Him. If we proclaim to be His follower and yet do not have His peace in our lives, then we must question if we really do have a relationship with Him. His peace will not eliminate the trials and tribulations that we will have in life, but it will alter how we make it through them. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner and thank you for a peace that passes all understanding.

August 21, 2021

Saint of the Week

St. Amphilochios of Patmos

August 20, 2021

IN HIS NAME

John 16:23-24

“And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Encouraging Words

What day is Jesus referring to when He says, "In that day"? Jesus has just informed His disciples that He would soon be leaving them, referring to His death on the cross. He is telling them, and us, that after His departure, His ascension into heaven, that our petitions to the Father will be answered by the Father, if we pray in the name of Jesus, our intercessor. Jesus has also inferred that if we are following Him as our Lord then our petitions will be similar to His and that they will be answered. Glory be to God!

August 19, 2021

OUR GUIDE

John 16:13

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

Encouraging Words

We have been promised the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, to be our guide through life into all truth, God's truth. As Christians we have no excuse for being wrapped up in the falsehoods of this world, and especially our local society. In order to live in this world we must first thwart the Holy Spirit and ignore His guidance in our lives. I, for one, do not want to stand before my Lord and have to defend why I chose to ignore the guidance provided to me. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

August 18, 2021

NO LONGER OF THE WORLD

John 15:19

If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Personal Challenge

Have you ever been confronted because of your relationship with Jesus? Do you find yourself at odds with the politics of this world, not able to agree or side with any party or platform? Do you feel out of sorts with the world around you because you long for the "Promised Laud"? Jesus told His followers, and us, that if we are following Him, living the way that He wants us to live, then all of these things will be true because through Him, we are no longer residents in this world. He has brought us into His Kingdom and the world around us hates us for this. As Christians we should be uncomfortable in this earthly realm. We should be at odds with the things of this earth. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

August 17, 2021

FRIENDS OF JESUS

John 15:15-17

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.

Encouraging Words

Jesus tells us that if we are following Him and loving our neighbor then we are no longer His servants but His friends. Friends get invited to the banquet table, servants cater to those friends. Friends get to hang out together while the servants observe from afar. Friends get to share in the details of each others lives. Jesus wants us to be close to Him and to do His work, which is loving one another. Glory be to God!

August 16, 2021

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

John 15:12-14

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

Personal Challenge

Immediately following Jesus' explanation about how our lives can be full of joy, He gives us the command to love one another. This is a very important part of being a true follower of Him. Today we have the opportunity to both see and participate in the practical application of laying down our life for one another. Our world is being ravaged by a pandemic. Whether people believe it is real or not, thousands of people are dying because of it. We all have the opportunity to be vaccinated against it and be inconvenienced by wearing masks so that we can prevent its spread. Do we make the choice to follow these practical and readily available options out of our love for one another or stomp our feet in defiance and refuse on the grounds that our personal freedom is being infringed upon? At what point does our worship of our personal freedom betray our love for Jesus Christ? Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

August 15, 2021

JOY OF CHRIST

John 15:9-11

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.

These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Encouraging Words

Jesus loves us. The Father loves us. These are undeniable truths. If we abide, or live, in the midst of this love, believing it, cherishing it, and sharing it, then we will have the joy of Jesus within us. This is a promise from our Lord. If we do not see this fullness of joy in our lives then it is time to see where we are in our relationship with Jesus. His truth is absolute truth and He will fill us with His absolute joy. Glory be to God!

August 14, 2021

Saint of the Week

St. Ignatius of Loyola

August 12, 2021

VINE AND BRANCHES

John 15:5

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

Encouraging Words

I am so thankful that I grew up in an agricultural environment. There is so much in the scriptures that uses agricultural pictures to explain our relationship with God through Jesus. When we become followers of Christ we are grafted into His vine. This vine supplies all of the life blood and nutrients that we need to survive. Without the vine as our connection to God we will wither and die. As we stay connected to the vine we will begin to produce fruit. If we are not seeing this fruit in our lives then we should be running to Jesus to see what is restricting His life in us. Glory be to God!

August 11, 2021

PEACE

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Encouraging Words

One thing that is common among all people is the desire for inner peace So many people that I have talked to, many of which who proclaim to be Christians, share that they do not have joy or peace in their lives. This is very sad. Jesus promised us that He gives us peace. What are people doing in their lives to prevent that peace from being manifested? His peace starts in our hearts. If our hearts are filled with malice, hatred, anger, or contempt, then we are not walking with Him and His peace will not be found. If we are pursuing the things of this earth and not the things of heaven, then His peace will not have room in our lives. If we are always jockeying for position and stepping on others to get there, we will not see peace. Jesus gives us His peace, which passes all understanding. What are we doing with our lives, our hearts, to receive. and cherish that peace? Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

August 10, 2021

KEEPING HIS WORD

John 14:23-24

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.”

Personal Challenge

In Thailand, everyone proclaims themselves to be Buddhist strictly by the fact that they were born Thai. The country has been Buddhist for so long that being Thai and Buddhist are synonymous. We are quickly becoming the same way here in America. I am an American, so I am Christian because all true Americans are Christians. It doesn't work that way in Gods' eyes. A Christian loves Jesus and keeps His word, and lives by that word. We are not Christians by birth or proclamation, but by being changed by Jesus and living lives that glorify Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us!

August 9, 2021

WE ARE NOT ALONE

John 14:15-17

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

Encouraging Words

Jesus knows us very well. He was fully man and fully God. He knows that in our temporal state we need help. This is why He not only promised, but sent us the Holy Spirit to dwell with us and in us. We can rely upon the Holy Spirit to direct our thoughts and our actions. Our challenge is to listen to the Holy Spirit and obey Him rather than thwart Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

August 8, 2021

WORKS OF GOD

John 14:12

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

Personal Challenge

For those of us who believe Jesus is truly the son of God and that He performed awesome miracles while in the flesh, this verse is a promise. He tells us that if we believe in Him that we will be able to do the works that He did and even greater ones. If this is true, then what has happened? We have let the mindset of the world infiltrate our belief and cause us to doubt. Reading further into the scriptures we see the apostles doing the same miracles that Jesus did. Why? Because of their belief. We can do the same. Maybe it is time to reclaim our rightful and annotated abilities from this physical and doubting world and let God do His works through us. Glory be to God!

August 6, 2021

THROUGH HIM

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Personal challenge

Jesus has made it very clear that there is only one way to come to the Father. We must go through Jesus. Having life, eternal life, can only be achieved through the work of Christ. He is the only door into heaven. I cannot achieve this by my attendance at church events. or the number of times that I go to the monastery or on a retreat, or how well I keep the fast, or anything else that I do. I need Jesus! He is my way. He is my truth. He is my life. Glory be to God!

August 5, 2021

LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER

John 13:34-35

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Personal Challenge

The entire life of a Christian should be able to be boiled down to two things, evident love for God and active and observable love for one another. It does not matter how many services I go to or how many prostrations I make or how well I keep the fast or how often I visit the monastery or any other pious activities that I do. If I am not loving God and my neighbor, then as Paul proclaims, I am nothing but a noisy clanging cymbal. Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me the sinner, and forgive me for not loving my neighbor.

August 4, 2021

LIGHT OR DARK

John 12:46

I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.

Personal Challenge

The world around us can be very dark at times. Throughout our history as inhabitants of this earth we have seen some pretty dark periods. As Christians we not only have the opportunity to live in the light that our God wants us to live in but we can also bring that light into the darkness around us. We cannot do this if we are living our lives like everyone else that is stumbling in the darkness. We must embrace our Lord and His teachings. We must live differently and separate from the world if we want to experience God's light in our lives. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

August 3, 2021

LOVE OF LIFE

John 12:25-26

He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

Personal challenge

What is the most important thing to almost everyone who walks upon this earth? Our life. We spend billions of dollars on it all the time. We pamper it. We injure others around us to make our lives first and foremost. However, Jesus tells us to hate our life if we are to receive and keep eternal life. What He is telling us is that we must pursue the godly, heaven focused life over the temporary earthly life. This means loving Him above ourselves, loving our neighbor and putting their needs first. It means investing in His Kingdom and sharing His good news with others. The eternal life that we gain by living for God far outweighs anything that we can achieve in this earthly body. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

August 2, 2021

NEVER DIE

John 11:25-26

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Encouraging Words

Throughout the history of humankind, we have been searching for the fountain of youth. Humankind is continually fleeing from the prospect of aging and then ultimately dying. Jesus, in this passage, has made it clear that there is only one fountain of youth. It is Him! His promise of eternal life is not in this earthly, limited body, but in our resurrected body that we will receive in His Kingdom. Our fear of death is the reason we sin. We sin because we desire to beat the hold that death has on us or at least get the most out of our earthly life before we die. Jesus also is the answer to this problem. He destroyed the gates of hell and put to death death as we proclaim in our Orthodox Paschal hymn, "Christ has risen from the dead, trampling death by death, and upon those in the tombs, bestowing life!" If we walk with Jesus, believing in Him, then we will never die, Glory be to God!

August 1, 2021

ABUNDANT LIFE

John 10:10

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Encouraging Words

Every human being has been given the gift of life. This gift comes from none other than God, whether they acknowledge it or not. However, we can only achieve a full and abundant life through Jesus Christ, a life that is as it was meant to be before sin entered into the world. This is the good news. The bad news is that so many people reject the source of this abundant life completely, and many of us who have claimed it, minimize its affect in our lives by continuing to sin. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

July 31, 2021

Saint of the Week

St. John Climacus

July 30, 2021

TRUTH

John 8:31-32

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Encouraging Words

What is truth? This is a question that has been asked since the beginning of time. It has become so evident in our modern times the question still stands because we have become a society that is divided over truths and falsehoods parading as truths. True truth only comes from our Lord Jesus Christ. That is all that matters. If we choose to put the proclamations of truth by our fellow human beings over His proclamations of truth then we are denying Him. It is His truth that will make us free. It is by abiding in Him and living by His commandments that we will find that truth. Those commandments are to love God and to love our neighbor. Do we truly desire truth or do we prefer to stay slaves to doing our own thing? Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

July 29, 2021

LIVING IN THE LIGHT

John 8:12

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Encouraging Words

We hear a lot nowadays about exercising our personal rights and freedoms. Do we really know what it means to be free? Is it really just about personal rights? What if exercising those personal rights causes injury to another person? The expectation of our Lord is that we give up our personal rights and submit to Him. This is not an optional thing if we want to be bathed in His light of life. Following Jesus is not having Him do what we want to do. It is letting go of everything in our lives, including our personal rights and freedoms and letting Him take over full control of us. Can we as modern, American Christians actually do this? Can we choose to love God with all of our mind, heart, soul, and body? Can we choose to love our neighbor more than ourselves and put them before us? I know that I cannot do this without God's help. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

July 28, 2021

CASTING STONES

John 8:7-9

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

Personal challenge

Jesus had such a way of making people look into their own hearts and determine their shortcomings without being in their face about it. He still has that capability, if we let Him live in our hearts. If we do not have this soul searching going on, and are continually casting stones, then we should be asking ourselves if He dwells within us. This is hard. This is painful. But He does ask us to drop the stones and to show love to our neighbor. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!