Author: ramez

Prayer that Moves Mountains

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Yacoub Magdy

Passage Luke 11:1-13, Psalm 143:10,8

One of the blessings of our church is that every liturgy has a special meaning for each of us personally. It would be a shame if we didn’t search out this message from God from day to day.

The message from the gospel of today is that prayers are answered. St Luke starts the narrative with a question the disciples ask of Christ. They have seen Him praying on a number of occasions already now and this moved theirs hearts. They ask Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” – Like 11:1.

Jesus gave them a model of prayer. The beauty of the Lord’s prayer is that it starts with, “Our Father.” He encourages them to call Him, Father.  

Not many people appreciate this or understand fully. Those that convert to Chrisitianity from a different religion have an unique appreciation of calling God, Father. The Creator of all wants us to call Him Father.

 In the book, “I dared to call Him Father,” it took tremendous courage to call our Lord, Father. When I think about it, who am I to call Him Father?

This is the cornerstone to how we come to God with prayers answered. Jesus gives His disciples examples of persistence in prayer. When you pray, don’t stop until you receive. This is the treasure and beauty we can have as Christians – as children of the Almighty.

If a judge tells you lodge an appeal and I’ll support you. You have tremendous confidence that your appeal will be received because of the support you have from the judge. The One that answers prayer is telling us to ask, to seek, to knock, and He is the One that will answer us.

There is a famous comment of Pope Kyrillos from those who knew him well, “whatever God can do, prayer can do.” Prayer elevates our capabilities to God’s level. We can move the hand of God through our prayers.

St Basilios once said, “people climb and when they are two steps away from the top, they return back.” When you have something you need from God, don’t stop until you hear His answer.

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!

Luke 11:13

We, being normal people, with our limitations, would give to a friend in need. When a child asks for something, a parent rushes to give it to them straight away. God is our Father, and responds in the same way, if not, more. Each word is a step toward perseverance. Ask. Seek. Knock.

The first level is easy, you ask from what you want. The next is a bit more difficult because you start seeking it out. The final level is the height of persistence when you knock, and keep knocking until the door is opened.

This is how we approach God. Not to ask our request over and over again, God knows our needs, but if you have something at your work, home, health, with your children, God knows your needs.

As His child, God can never let us down. If the gospel is ever unclear, we have a Psalm attached for clarity. The fathers that put together the gospels hint toward the meaning by choice of psalms. The Psalm attached read;

Lead me in the land of uprightness. For in You do I trust

Psalm 143:10, 8.

I cannot trust God if I am not on the path of righteousness. St Isaac the Syrian once said, “The trust of the beggar compels the giver.” When you approach God, knowing He is all-capable yet all knowing, this confidence shines through your prayers. It is not a matter of, “God, can You help?” but “God, I know You can help, but let it be according to Your will.”

You cannot let someone down that comes to you in full assurance and trust. My conscious tells me that I won’t be let down. If you work for an honourable boss, you never think that he won’t pay your due wages.

If I am on the path of righteousness, I trust that I won’t be let down. This trust compels the Lord to give me. The beggar’s trust forces the giver to give. There is so much power given to the one that trusts God. It is available to us all, Fr Makary Younan says, “my hand can’t move a mountain, but my prayer can move the Hand of God that moves mountains.”

I recall a story when I was asked to speak to the youth about the consequences of purity. At the end of the talk, I left them with a challenge. The challenge was to spend six weeks (forty days) in complete purity, without a hint of impurity, no screens or looking twice at temptation. A period of six weeks is typically how long it takes to form a habit, so if they were motivated for this time, they could conquer any bad habits.

One of the youth was very afraid of failing a certain subject at university but upon hearing this challenge, he called upon the Lord to help him pass his subject if he maintained his purity. His confession father later told me this story because not only had he passed but he received a high distinction.

When I bow to temptation, I miss the point of my prayers, I forget the Lord and His promises.

“Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called upon His name; They called upon the Lord, and He answered them. He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar; They kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them.”

Psalm 99:6-7

 It is all in our hands.  Ask, seek, knock. We have to be His sons and daughters by first acting in such a way.

Fr Daoud Lamei says while you are absent minded, see where your thoughts catch you. Is it God and His Name? Do we long to spend time with Him? Or is getting even, sexual desires, revenge? If this is the case, wee are excluding ourselves from sonhood. If you belong to God, you are implanted in Him, ask and you will receive. Your rank will intercede on you. Let God say this is My son or daughter. Wear this title with honour and then you have nothing to worry about.

⛰ Full Sermon ⛰

Put Off Anger, Put on Patience

The New Man: Part 1

By Myrna Ishak

Picture this – you’re seven-ish years old, sitting on the floor while your school teacher reads a book aloud. Something about a boy living in a peach. The carpet is scratchy and it makes your legs itch; why do you even have to sit here – the lunch bell rings! Your train of thought is cut short as you, and about twenty other children, scramble madly outside. You make a beeline for your favourite playground spot, systematically dodging and weaving between those in your way. You clutch your lunch tightly to your chest – a ham sandwich, an apple, and a bag of Cheetos-equivalent chips. This isn’t working, the thronging crowd of students isn’t even close to dispersing. So, you take a short cut. It’s a risky move, running past the principal’s office when no one’s supposed to be indoors, but really, when is she ever actually in her office?

“And where do you think you’re going?”

Your heart sinks as you turn to face the voice’s source. Her face is pinched, arms crossed, and you feel like a bug under a microscope. To make a long story short, you’ve earned a detention. But so what if you were indoors? You were just passing by – how else were you supposed to get outside with enough time to enjoy your lunch? Your sheepishness and embarrassment are replaced by another feeling and you see red. Time slows down. An orange blur flies through the air, colliding with Mrs Jones’ back as she walks away from of you. Her brown jacket is now pelleted with orange cheese dust where the individual Cheetos made contact, and your single detention has suddenly turned into several.

Over a decade later, I can finally look back at this memory with some amusement. It comes as no surprise that anger has been confirmed to temporarily impact cognition and the way we process external stimuli. I’m sure everyone has a similar story where anger has caused rash behaviour, as Solomon so frankly states:

“For anger rests in the bosom of senseless men” – Ecc 7:9

To put it simply, anger is an emotional state often secondary to a perceived threat. We know it is an inevitable feeling as a range of Biblical figures, from Cain to Jesus, encounter it – but what separates the passion that would cause a man to slaughter his own brother and that which drove our Lord to overturn vendors’ tables in the temple?

Motive and result.

Anger is only justified if its root cause is love of God. If my anger is triggered by my desire for self-preservation, driven by my ego, or in defence of my values or beliefs – it is unjustified.

And what becomes of unjustified anger? There are essentially only a few ways this can go:

  1. My anger is aggressive – I hurt those who hurt me, be it verbally, physically, or with Cheetos. Choose your weapon.
  2. My anger is assertive – I call out those who hurt me and hold them accountable.
  3. My anger is passive – I redirect my anger through other mediums; I ignore, I feign disinterest, I manipulate.
  4. My anger is suppressed – I’m fine, really! The rejection I suffered will only gnaw at my insides until it evolves into bitterness and malice; maybe it’ll even impact my physical health. But I really am just fine.

“An angry man digs up strife, but a furious man digs up sins” – Proverbs 29:22

HH Pope Shenouda III suggests a beautifully practical strategy for dealing with anger:

1. Avoid circumstances known to provoke your anger –

“Do not be a companion to an angry man and do not associate with a quick-tempered friend, lest you learn his ways and receive a snare for your soul” – Proverbs 22:27-28

2. Do not make decisions, be it by thought, word, or action, during a time of anger –

“He who refrains from uttering a harsh word is intelligent, and a longsuffering man has discernment” – Proverbs 17:29

3. And finally, take off the old man and put on the new – put off anger and put on patience. Confess the weaknesses that may have caused you to sin in anger, and train yourself to adopt a disposition of love, long-suffering, and self control.

“But now, you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him …” – Colossians 3:8-10

The Fullness of Life

The Fullness of Life

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily

Passage: John 15:26-16:15

We celebrate the feast of the Pentecost, 50 days after the crucifixion. The day after Pentecost, we start fasting again. On a day like this our minds consider, what are we going to eat tonight? What do we want to eat just before the fast? How much can we eat?

We get really full as though what we eat will sustain us for the next month or so of fasting. There is another kind of fullness that is taking place of this feast day, beyond eating. St Luke gives the entire passage of his description of what took place on the day of Pentecost.

He says, “When the day of Pentecost had fully come” (Acts 2:2). He mentions Pentecost as though the reader knew what is was. This was because Pentecost was a Jewish feast, celebrated 50 days after the Passover. Pentecost meant 50, like a pentagon has 5 sides, the Pentecost was celebrated 50 days after the Passover.

On the day of Pentecost, it was a celebration of the day that they received the law on Mount Sinai. It was also a time that they would bring the first fruits of the harvest. Many of the major Christian events take place on major Jewish dates. On these dates, Jews would travel to Jerusalem to partake of the feast. The Crucifixion took place on the day of Passover. This was to fulfil the law firstly. Also, there were thousands of people gathered from the surrounding villages to celebrate the Passover. When everyone is there and everyone can see, Christ is crucified.

Again, thousands of people flocking into Jerusalem for Pentecost to offer the fruit fruits of their harvest, and then, the Holy Spirit descends. Everyone is there to see, everyone can hear the message. This is why it was essential that the disciples could speak in different languages to cater for all the people that had come from surrounding villages. God uses prime time events for everyone to see and witness. St Luke says, “When the day of Pentecost had fully come. Why not just when the day had Pentecost had come? Why use the word fully?

Scholars suggest that St Luke was deliberately using this word as a running theme throughout his entire book of Acts;

  • Acts 2: 4. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
  • Acts 2:28. You will make me full of joy in Your presence.
  • Acts 4:8. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit
  • Acts 4:31. and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
  • Acts 5:3. why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?
  • Acts 6:5. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit
  • Acts 13:52. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

These, among other examples, were St Luke’s way of emphasising the fullness of the Holy Spirit. That the Holy Spirit would fill them, would fill their lives, would fill their church.

This is the fullness we need to search for in our lives. To be filled with the Holy Spirit. St Seraphim of Sarov, a famous Russian monk of the 20th century, wrote a beautiful book called Acquiring the Holy Spirit.

 He says, “the aim of your Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit.”

“What do you mean by acquiring?” I asked St. Seraphim. “Somehow I don’t understand that.”

“Acquiring is the same as obtaining,” he replied. “Do you understand, what acquiring money means? Acquiring the Spirit of God is exactly the same. You know very well enough what it means to acquire in a worldly sense, your Godliness. The aim of ordinary worldly people is to acquire or make money; and for the nobility, it is in addition to receive honors, distinctions and other rewards for their services to the government. The acquisition of God’s Spirit is also capital, but grace-giving and eternal, and it is obtained in very similar ways, almost the same ways as monetary, social and temporal capital.

“God the Word, the God-Man, our Lord Jesus Christ, compares our life with the market, and the work of our life on earth He calls trading. He says to us all: “Trade till I come” (Lk. 19:13), “buying up every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). In other words, make the most of your time getting heavenly blessings through earthly goods. Earthly goods are good works done for Christ’s sake that confer the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, on us.”

Before we can even begin to obtain or acquire, we must know – who is the Holy Spirit? Mark Sidhom once asked a group of pre-servants to describe the characteristics of the Holy Spirit.

One said, “It’s the Comforter.” To which he responded, “Wrong.”

Another said, “It is the Spirit of God that fills your heart.” Again, wrong.

Something that makes you feel peaceful? Wrong.

This continued until finally he explained that the problem was that all these answers began with, “It’s.” The Holy Spirit is a Person. He is the Comforter. He is God’s Spirit that fills your heart. He is what gives you peace. He is a Person of the Holy Trinity. He is One whom we can have a relationship with. He is the One that we can be filled with. The Holy Spirit dwells in us that we can acquire Him, obtain Him, be filled with Him and live with Him.

This coming period of the Apostles fast in the time in which we acquire the Holy Spirit. Let us consider what a church that is full of the Holy Spirit looks like. What does a home that is filled with the Holy Spirit look like? What does a father that is filled with the Holy Spirit look like? A wife, a youth, a child? What do I look like when I am filled with the Holy Spirit. Let us spend this Apostles’ fast asking these questions.

? Full sermon ?

Seaing is Believing: The Tides of Belief

Living by the Sea: Part 1 – Seaing is Believing: the Tides of Belief

By Monica Monir

Have you ever wanted to live by the sea?

I have, for my entire life. In fact, I still remember my first trip to Cronulla beach at the ripe old age of four (it was love at first sight, no big deal). My motto quickly became “If there’s H2O, then it’s time to go!”

Maybe some of you already live by the sea (um, sick invite). Or at least, you think you do…

What if I told you living by the sea wasn’t about your postcode? What if I told you living by the sea simply meant living out your belief in everyday life? Hear me out for a second…

We all go through cycles in our belief, in the same way the tide rises and falls, and when they said you have to “sea” to believe they weren’t kidding…

Seek

Encounter

Adjust

This is the cycle of belief. We seek Him, we encounter Him and we adjust our ways…we seek Him, we encounter Him and we adjust our ways. SEAing is believing. Over the next few posts in this series we’ll dive deep into how to apply each of these three letters into our lives, but for now, what does seaing even look like?

Seaing is the woman who sought the healing of her demon-possessed child (Mt 15:27), it’s the bleeding woman who touched the border of Jesus’ garment in faith (Lk 8:43), it’s when Mary kissed Jesus’ feet and washed them with her tears (Lk 7:37) and it’s the healing of the paralytic man at Capernaum because his friends lowered him through the roof in faith, knowing that they must get to Jesus (Lk 5:19). All of these people lived by the sea because they not only sought after Jesus, but they let Him change their lives.

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” – He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.” – Luke 5:24-25 (emphasis added) The man sought Jesus, he encountered Him and he adjusted his ways, glorifying God as he went home.

And in the words of St. Augustine of Hippo, “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement.”

Well that’s all well and good in theory, but does this all still apply today? 100% yes. Nick Vujicic is an Aussie born with no arms and no legs. During childhood he attempted to take his own life, it’s the darkest place anyone could end up. Today he shares the message of Christianity on a global scale, saying, “Adjustments are necessary along the way because life isn’t always rosy, but it is always worth living.”

Whatever the problem, whatever the cause, the solution is the same. We seek Him, we encounter Him and we adjust our ways…we live by the sea.

So how do we live by the sea? Well there are a number of ways, most of which will be discussed in upcoming posts, so stay tuned! But for now just know that we seek Him in prayer, we encounter Him in the Bible and during the Liturgy and we adjust our ways by being humble enough to hear His quiet voice amidst the screams of tribulation.

Life has its twists and turns and the forecast doesn’t always tell us what we want to hear. We can get caught up in a swell and pretty soon our life seems shipwrecked as we wash up on the shore cold, isolated and lonely. We’ve all been there, we’ve all felt beaten down by the storm at sea. It’s in these moments we must remember that seaing is believing, and continue to live by the sea (seek, encounter, adjust). Because let me ask you this, if seaing wasn’t believing, then why does the deceiver always send a storm to capsize us?

“And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”

Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, “Where is your faith?”” – Luke 8:24-25

Don’t be deceived, continue to believe.

So, do you live by the sea?

Waiting On The Spirit

Waiting On the Spirit

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Daniel Fanous

Passage John 16: 23-33

Last Thursday we celebrated the Ascension of Christ, and next Sunday we celebrate the feast of the Pentecost.

Today we are in between, Christ has ascended, and we still are awaiting the Holy Spirit. And the Gospel chosen to read today can be very confusing. It begins with some very confusing statements from the middle of John 16;

“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 be full.”

John 16:23-24

But it is important that we read this Gospel in the context of the entire Gospel, especially the few previous verses;

 “A little while, and you will not see Me; and again, a little while, and you will see Me because I go to the Father.” Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is this that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?”  They said, therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is saying.” Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’?” (Verses 16-19)

So, at this point the disciples are confused, then Christ says to them;

 “Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.  A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for the joy that a human being has been born into the world.  Therefore, you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.”

John 16: 20-22

Then we start the Gospel of today;

“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 be full…”

So, within the context of the chapter, we see that Christ is speaking about His ascent to the Father, that they will be sorrowful because He is leaving them, but they will be joyful once again. Just like a woman who forgets her anguish of labor after giving birth. Soon they will receive the Holy Spirit in them, and this is the presence of God within them. But the disciples in this period are still confused, and this is why the Gospel starts here;

“in that day,” As Christ is ascending, the Holy Spirit descends and fills their hearts and “you will ask Me nothing”

However, this makes no sense, its contradictory. Christ says you will not ask anything, but if you ask, He will give you. So, should we ask or not ask?

So, there is confusion. But we find that the problem is translation. In the first sentence, “you will ask” is in fact translated to interrogate or question. In the second sentence, it means to make a request or petition. One speaks about interrogation and another about petition; so two different things are happening.

So, what Christ is saying here is that “in that day, you will no longer question Me,” as a response to their confusion. The Spirit will be given to them and they will lose this confusion as God will dwell in them. Then we see another fault in translation in, “Most assuredly.” This weakens the meaning, in Greek, it is “Amen, Amen, I say to you.” Similar to how people respond to how a preacher may say something, “Amen.” It is almost like an affirmation or acceptance of what someone is saying. So, this is unique in that Christ starts the sentence with ‘Amen.’ He does this so often as He doesn’t need us to confirm His words or accept them as they are the words of God. So, there is no contradiction in these sentences.

Origen, one of the early church fathers, comments on this verse;

“He didn’t say ‘when you ask’, or simply ‘when you ask the Father’. But rather ‘When you ask the Father, in my name’”

Christ says in the Gospel of the matins of this morning that “I am The way, The Truth & The life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. And if you had known Me, you had known My Father also and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

So, Philip hearing these words says;

“Ok Lord show us the Father,” then Jesus replies, “Have I been with you so long that, yet You have not known Me, Philip. He who has seen Me, has seen the Father, so how could you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

Only through Christ, do we see and know the Father. Christ becomes man to show us the way back to God; that’s the meaning of the prayer of reconciliation that we pray in the mass. The Lord becomes man in order to reconcile us to God. So, we know Christ, so we have access to the Father.

It reminds of me of something that happened a long time ago, in 2012, before I was a priest. I was on a trip with Fr Sam, Fr Paul, and Fr David. None of us were ordained, and we were in Egypt just visiting the monasteries. And it happened that as we were planning our trip, Pope Shenouda III died and they were finding a new Patriarch. So, it happened that as we were going it would be the enthronement of Pope Tawadros. One of the monks had extra tickets and offered that we go, so of course, we went. We found that when we got there it was so organized, but when they saw our tickets, they didn’t believe that a bishop would give his tickets to people from another country he didn’t know. So, we kept getting lead around in circles unable to enter; until one of them said, ‘It’s ok, captain sheriff is going to get you in,’ we said, ‘who is captain sheriff?’, ‘He’s the head of the scouts.’ We then weren’t allowed to enter, until, a man came saying, ‘Do you know who these guys are?! Captain sheriff said let them in!’ They were startled and proceeded to put us into the 2nd row. We know Captain Sheriff and therefore we got access through him.

It’s a similar situation with Christ, we know Him, His name gives access to the Father and the capacity to look to the Father. Christ has resurrected a path back to God for us.

St Cyril of Alexandria says;

“Having blessed them and gone ahead a little, He was carried up into heaven, so that He might share His Father’s throne; even with the flesh (us), that was united to Him. Christ made this new pathway for us when He appeared in human form. After this in due time, He will come again in glory with His Father and His angels and will take us up to be with Him, let us glorify God.”

So, Christ creates a pathway for us when we are lost. When lost in a forest, there would be nothing more assuring than seeing footprints or a path. Christ shows us how to live, love, and forgive. He is “the way, the truth and the life” as He says, He resurrected a path, but He also treads that path so that we would know the way back to the Father.

As St John Chrysostom says;

“As Christ ascends, we as humanity ascend with Him,” because we know Christ and now have access to the Father.

⛪️ Full Sermon Here ⛪️

Patience

Patience

By John

Original post by Becoming Fully Alive blog site

Patience is a virtue.

I hate clichés with a passion, but I have a particular distaste for that one, and not because it’s not true – it is true.

I don’t like it for the same reason I hate it when people say “when you pray for patience, God will teach it to you by putting you in a situation that requires you to keep a cool head and endure an unpleasant experience.” This statement is not untrue, but it is not nearly the whole truth. It is almost so watered down that the virtue of patience has come to mean nothing more than being able to stay calm sitting in traffic or being able to stand behind an exceptionally slow old lady using coupons in line at the grocery store, when you are in a rush. While these are desirable characteristics in every human being, mastering these feats does not prove that you know anything about this fruit of the Spirit.

An Introduction to Patience

Many of the parables and teachings of Jesus incorporated the theme of farming/agriculture. Some examples include the Parable of the Sower casting seed on various types of soil, the story of the workers in the vineyard, or the many verses like:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches” (Matthew 13:31-32).

He continually references this process of planting, watering, watching the seed grow and bear fruit, and pruning so that the plant would bear more fruit. This process of planting a seed and eventually reaping its fruit takes a LONG time. Living in the era of the microwave and fast-food, we often times take this for granted – we probably never even think about how long it took a seed to grow into a tree to produce that apple we are biting into.

Jesus was a carpenter by occupation, so why did He reference farming so much? I believe it was because He wanted to emphasize the way God made the world, in the sense that everything has a process, and things take time to develop. A seed doesn’t produce fruit overnight in the same way that it takes time for a boy to develop into a man. These things require patience.

“See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient” (James 5:7-8)

Patience in Tribulation

Trials and tribulations are going to come into your life if you’ve decided to man up and follow after Christ. It’s not a matter of ‘if’ it’s a matter of ‘when.’ The Bible says so:

“and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

The question therefore becomes, not ‘why is this happening to me’ but ‘how am I going to respond to this.’ The Book of James has this to say:

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

Did you get that? Count it joy. Rejoice! Throw a party. Smile on the inside.

Why?

Because your patience is developing! And what’s going to happen when that happens? You will be perfect and complete… lacking nothing. That’s how important this whole patience thing is. Furthermore, the fire of tribulations burn away our imperfections, and the longer it takes, the better off we are in the end because He will have had more time to refine us.

God is always at work in us, especially in the tough times.

“Jesus said to them, My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” (John 5:17)

I encourage you to allow Him to work on you – to mold and purify you to become the man He created you to be.

Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. (James 5:11)

Patience in Prayer

So, you’re crying out to God in prayer and holding onto the verses like:

“If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:14)

And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? (Luke 18:7)

…and nothing is happening…

You’re confused. You’re hurt. You’re lost.

You thought God said He would come through. You thought God would answer your prayer. I’ve been there. Actually, I am there, but I want to share something God has told me time and time again- the story is not over yet.

Who are we to put a timeline on God and His perfect plans? In the fullness of time He will act according to His good pleasure for our good and for His glory. We just have to keep going to Him in prayer. We cannot and should not be satisfied with an ‘unanswered prayer.’ Many people would interject at this point and argue: “Oh, if you pray for it and it doesn’t happen then it’s not His will.” This is such a cop out. It’s a phrase used to wrestle the conscience into submission so that you no longer feel the need to pray about this particular subject.

Instead of saying this, let’s wrestle like Jacob did to receive his blessing, let’s pour out our emotions before Him like King David did, and let’s not be afraid to call down fire from heaven like Elijah did. Let’s not give up … for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart (Galatians 6:9).

Our God is one that comes through – exceedingly abundantly above all we can even imagine (Ephesians 3:20). Zacharias and Elizabeth prayed for a child their entire lives, and it wasn’t until he was an ‘old man’, she was ‘well advanced in years’ that God finally blessed them with a baby boy. However, this was not any baby boy; this was John the Baptist, the one about whom Christ said “For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist” (Luke 7:28). Zacharias and Elizabeth got a pretty good deal, but would the story have been the same if they had given up praying?

God hears each and every single prayer, and there are no words prayed in vain if prayed with sincerity. In my heart I know that the longer you pray for something, the better it’ll be when He answers it. He stores up goodness for those who fear Him.

Patience with People

This is the most straightforward section there is, and probably the most difficult to practice.The first word used to describe love in the famous Corinthians passage is that it is patient. In order to have good relationships and really show our love to each other the way God intended; we need to be patient with one another. This is easier said than done, especially when it comes to our family and friends – with those we are most comfortable with.

When Jesus taught his disciples, He would sometimes express disappointment that they didn’t know something:

So, Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? (Matthew 15:16)

And again:

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? (John 14:9)

But the key is, He would always finish by explaining what He meant to them. He left us this example to follow: even though we might get frustrated with how slow, different, or just plain dumb we may think people are we need to bear these burdens with patience.

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).

The world would be a different place if we learned to love each other as consistently and as patiently as God loves us.

Original blog found at- https://becomingfullyalive.com/patience/

The Greatest Gift of All

Prayer

Lord, please set my heart aflame with love for You. Let not my heart desire anything before You. Please grant me purity of heart that I may see You, feast upon Your beautiful countenance, and grow in love for You each day.

Lord, who can ever comprehend the height of Your love? For You loved me and died for me, even though I hurt You and continue to sin against You.

I love You, Lord, for you first loved me. To even see Your back, like Moses, would be enough for my cup to run over with the tremendous love You have for Your creation. Even when I am overwhelmed with Your love, I know it is still but a glimpse, a shadow, of Your limitless love.

Lord please grant me a heart like Yours – a heart over-flowing with love for my neighbour, even those who hurt and persecute me. Remove any trace of hatred or pride dear Lord, but rather grant me sacrificial love that seeks the comfort of others before my own, a love that would lay down its life for the sake of its friends. Amen.

The Greatest Gift of All

Focus Quote

“The Lord wants us to love one another. Here is freedom: in love for God and neighbour. In this freedom, there is equality. In earthly orders, there may not be equality, but this is not important for the soul. Not everyone can be a king, not everyone a patriarch or a boss. But in any position, it is possible to love God and to please Him, and only this is important. And whoever loves God more on this earth will be in greater glory in His Kingdom.”

St Silouan the Athonite

Love

The Greatest Gift of All

New Testament Passage

1 Corinthians 13

1Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Discussion Questions

  1. Even the greatest sacrifices are worth nothing without love. It is not what we give, or how much we give, that matters, but rather the love that compels us to give what we can. How then, does that affect the way we give and receive?
  2. Love bears all things, regardless of how burdensome or grievous they may be. How does that affect our relationships and the way we interact with others?
  3. In what ways do we “show” people love rather than just saying, “I love you?”

Old Testament Passage

1 Samuel 18: 1-4

Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 Saul took him that day and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. 3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armour, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

Discussion Questions

  1. “… having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” (John 13:1). How can we love God and our neighbours every day?
  2. According to Gary Chapman, there are five ways we express and experience love. These five languages of love include: words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time and physical touch. Is it necessary to demonstrate all five languages of love?
  3. How important is it to understand our partners / friends preferred language(s)?