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Focus Quote: Staying Connected

Staying Connected

Striving toward a life of Unceasing Prayer

Focus Quote

“We are not commanded to work, keep vigil or fast without ceasing, but we are commanded to pray without ceasing. For prayer purifies and strengthens the mind which was created to pray and to fight the demons for the protection of all the powers of the soul.”
Evagrius Ponticus

St Paul calls us to ‘unceasing prayer’. How are we to understand how to do this? Are we always to have a word to God on our lips and minds or is this impossible and too hard-line a task? Could, perhaps, prayer take multiple forms?

There are two traditions for understanding this teaching (along with Romans 12:12 “be constant in prayer”). The first is mentioned by Origen (c.184-253 AD):

“Now, since the performance of actions enjoined by virtue or by the commandments is also a constituent part of prayer, he prays without ceasing who combines prayer with right actions, and becoming actions with prayer. For the saying “pray without ceasing” can only be accepted by us as a possibility if we may speak of the whole life of a saint as one great continuous prayer.”

Importantly, he also writes “Of such prayer what is usually termed ‘prayer’ is indeed a part.” This is to say, that although my life has become a prayer, this doesn’t exonerate me from performing ‘actual prayer.’ In fact, one could perform ‘actual prayer’ always. This is common among monastics (though we are all called to an ascetic life and so this doesn’t exclude lay persons from participating). This is commonly accomplished by constant recitation of a short prayer, the most famous of which is called the Jesus Prayer: “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Another, made common by St John Cassian (360-435 AD), is “Come to my help, O God; Lord, hurry to my rescue.” Both are good interpretations. Perhaps we who are weak should strive to live out the latter interpretation via the former.

WHAT’S YOUR WAITING STYLE?

Originally seen on Fr Anthony’s blog (11 March. 2020)

“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:25-26)

I HATE WAITING! I’m not alone am I? We all hate waiting don’t we? Raise your hand if you’ve done any of these in the past week…

Honked at the car in front of you the second that the light turns green if they don’t start moving immediately?
Put a plate of food in the microwave for 30 seconds and then stopped it after 27 ½ seconds – unable to wait any longer?
Pushed the elevator button 15 times while waiting for it come – somehow thinking that if you push it more, it’ll come faster (makes perfect sense in our heads doesn’t it?)

WE HATE WAITING! We hate waiting at the grocery store. We hate waiting in traffic. And we hate waiting on God.

It seems like such a waste of time, doesn’t it? Life would be soooooo much better if we didn’t have to wait. If we had WHAT we wanted WHEN we wanted it. Right here…right now… no waiting. Give it to me NOW NOW NOW!!!

If that’s how you feel sometimes, take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. Impatience is the plague of our generation – it’s the fruit of living in a fast food, instant coffee, on demand world. We all struggle with it. And we see its ugly fruit all over our lives – in the form of worry, anxiety, complaining, negativity, fear, and a general lack of peace.

Unfortunately for us, God likes waiting. It’s one of His favorite tools to use in making us better people and more like Him.

“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)

Like a farmer, God is trying to produce a harvest in our lives. He’s trying to give His children good things and produce in them fruits worthy of a child of the King. And as a farmer, He produces those fruits by planting seeds – not full grown trees. And seeds take time to produce fruit.

In other words, a farmer knows that FRUIT REQUIRES WAITING. No waiting = no fruit. It’s that simple.

Examine your own life. Surely there isn’t a soul out there today who isn’t waiting on God for something? An answer to a prayer…a solution to a problem…a light to shine in the midst of a dark dark situation. We’re all waiting for something.

The question isn’t WHAT you’re waiting for, but HOW you’re waiting for it?

Are you waiting patiently – as a farmer knowing that it will take time to produce fruit?

Or are you waiting impatiently – like the maniac pushing the elevator button 15 times thinking that the more he pushes it, the more the little elevator elves inside will realize that he’s really in a hurry and bring the elevator faster?

The prophet Jeremiah says that our waiting on God should be characterized by hope and quietness:

“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:25-26)

How are you waiting? Patiently or impatiently? Quietly or complainingly? With hope or with despair? It might just be that HOW you’re waiting will impact HOW LONG you’re waiting as well.

(read that sentence again and let that one sink in – it’s pretty deep)

I just read a nice quote the other day that said that “even when our problems are over our head, they’re still under His feet.” No doubt about that. That’s the spirit that should characterize our waiting.

How would you characterize your “waiting” style? How do you think God feels when He sees His child (YOU) waiting in that way?

(c) Fr Anthony Messeh (2020). What’s Your Waiting Style? by Anonymous. Available at http://www.franthony.com/blog/whats-your-waiting-style.

WHO IS YOUR SAUL/PAUL?

September 15, 2017

Originally seen on Fr Anthony’s blog (15 Sept. 2017)

Today’s guest post comes from Bradley – a graduate of George Mason University’s School of Conflict Analysis & Resolution, who currently works for the government and volunteers in his community. Bradley is also a proud member of St. Timothy & St. Athanasius church in Arlington, VA who has guest posted before. You can follow him on Facebook as well. If you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.

“By day the banished sun circles the earth like a grieving mother with a lamp.”

Even for those of us that seek to avoid it, these days it seems the brokenness of the world is inescapable. We are divided in our nations, our communities, and even our families. Old wounds reopen, buried grievances resurface, hidden tragedies are revealed. The way we communicate and engage with each other is changing faster than we can process.

Every debate seems like a matter of survival, everyone who sees the world differently can seem like the enemy, every fight must be won decisively and in an instant, and we feel tasked with defending what is good, just, and right. And often, in the momentum and noise of such things, I don’t stop to ask, “Lord, what would You have me do?”

Cormac McCarthy, writer of the words above, is known for imagining beautiful, but bleak landscapes. The quote is pulled from a book depicting a father and son trying to survive in an American wasteland after some catastrophic event. McCarthy is known for trying to capture our most dark parts, but often leaves his readers with little hope when his narratives end. We as Christians are called to see this darkness, and, armed with justice and mercy, to walk into real stories like these, humbly, beside our God (Micah 6:8).

When God writes, like McCarthy, He doesn’t ignore brokenness; but instead, using ordinary and broken, He finishes the story with redemption. When God writes the story the sun is not banished, it is His rejoicing champion (Psalm 19:5). When God writes the story he reminds us our grieving mother is not only holding a lamp, but interceding for us, each day. And more than that, he reminds us that we too are His champions; we too are given light (Matthew 5:14-16).

It is easy to live like Saul’s trip to Damascus was just a nice story. I consider how few times I have prayed for individuals, candidates, neighbors I like—much less those I find myself in conflict with—I wonder, “Do I really believe God changed Saul or can change me? Do I really believe that Christ was light at the beginning, that light humbled Saul, and that light was entrusted to him and to me?” Do I really believe 22 verses: a flash of light, a question, and a second chance, the world forever changed (Acts 9:1-22).

This change does not come easy. We need only look to the Apostles themselves to see that, even full of the Spirit, they still faced disagreements, still had to confront each other’s humanness. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to listen to Saul—because I can’t bring myself to call him Paul—as he tells me how I should live when I know he gave the blessing for my cousin to be murdered.

As a black man, I imagine it would be similar to hearing a homily on stewardship from a former Neo-Nazi—why should I, have to listen to him. But as the Body of Christ, we are not given a choice in believing in the redemptive power of God’s love or new creations (Ephesians 4:20-24).

I lose sight of the big, world changing—often less tangible, less visible—miracles God has given us. I take for granted Christ calling us the Body (1 Corinthians 12:12); that among all the gifts, miracles, God has entrusted us with, the greatest is love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13). I read love is patient and kind, and imagine how romantic this is to hear recited at engagements or in Nicholas Sparks novels, and I lose sight of its power.

But it is powerful. As a black man that has spent much of his life in parts of the world and country where being a black man is not always a great thing, I have learned to love—and be loved—by those I once thought were my enemies. It is scary, because it does not always “work” predictably. If I only curse someone, I know how that will turn out. But love opens up an entire universe of possibilities that can end in heartbreak, pain, or things more beautiful than we can imagine.

To conclude, a challenge and question to myself and the reader: Who is your “Saul/Paul?”

Pick someone from Facebook, someone delusional, someone hate-filled, someone your dumb neighbor voted for, and pray for them. Don’t pray for their worldview, but pray for them. For their child with cancer, for their dog they have to put down, for their anxiety and depression, for their abusive father, for them to see the light—not as you see it, but as God would have them see it; and then, if we’re feeling really bold: how can we be love and light to them?

(c) Fr Anthony Messeh (2018). WHO IS YOUR SAUL/PAUL? by Bradley. Available at http://www.franthony.com/blog/who-is-your-saulpaul?rq=who%20is%20your%20saul.

A Subtle Snare

By Fr Antonios Kaldas

Originally seen on Fr Antonios Kaldas blog site, 11 June 2012

“There have been men before now who got so interested in proving the existence of God that they came to care nothing for God Himself … as if the good Lord had nothing to do but exist! There have been some who were so occupied in spreading Christianity that they never gave a thought to Christ. Man! Ye see it in small matters. Did ye never know a lover of books that with all his first editions and signed copies has lost the power to read them? Or an organiser of charities that had lost all love for the poor? It is the subtlest of all the snares.”

CS Lewis. The Great Divorce.

We live in an age of knowledge and of great power, and the individual citizen today can do things that the most powerful of heads of state could only dream of fifty years ago. This power brings with it opportunities unimagined, but also a raft of new temptations, or rather old temptations adapted to new situations (is there ever anything new under the sun?)

Today, I can sit in my living room and order a rare book from London or read a paper written by a scholar in Zurich at the click of a button. I have access to a marketplace of ideas that is so huge its very size smothers me if I stop to think about it. For the curious mind, this is intoxicating! How easy to lose oneself in an ocean of stimulating knowledge and new ideas! How wonderful to acquire new understanding, to see old things in new ways, to penetrate the depths of ignorance and shine the light of comprehension upon their previously dark treasures!

Apologetics is a marvellous revelation for those whose mind is so inclined. We drink the heady mead of rationality and find that the logic of this world points to its Creator! How wonderful! How sweet! And yet, apologetics is only medicine for the doubting soul; and no one can live on medicine alone. One needs heavenly bread and living water. Apologetics points the way, it heals the wounds of confusion, but then it is time for the daily bread of communion with the existent to carry out the process of nourishment.

Service in the house of the Lord is honourable and fulfilling. It provides the servant with a deep sense of belonging and achievement, whatever the nature of that service may be. I am doing something good for the Lord! Yet it is so easy for that “for the Lord” to turn quietly into “for me”. The very satisfaction and fulfillment one derives from service can become in itself an end, usurping its proper role as a means for the crucifixion of the ego and the losing of the self in the ocean of love that is God. And soon, God Himself is forgotten.

Intoxication is a dangerous thing. It has a life of its own, and unless it is tamed and subdued to the will, it will take over in its own right. It is so easy for us to fall into the trap of mistaking the means for the end. So simple is this trap that one wonders how anyone could ever fall into it all, and yet, it daily claims its thousands and ten thousands of victims. The quote above from CS Lewis’ imaginative little classic describes this temptation perfectly. If the devil cannot keep you away from doing good, he will engross you in it and turn it into a lust. Yes, even serving God can become a sinful lust.

We are all susceptible. The priest and the deacon are susceptible to being so caught up in the beauty of the tunes of the service that they forget the One whom those tunes honour. The Sunday School or Youth servant can be so engrossed in lessons and activities that they lose sight of the Friend to whom they are supposed to introduce those they serve. The person praying in her room behind a closed door can become so concerned with fulfilling her duty to pray this prayer and that prayer that she can no longer see the Lord listening to her empty words with sadness.

And the subtleness of this pernicious trap is that it doesn’t look like a trap. From the outside, it looks for all the world as though you are doing everything right; more than right in fact. How many empty vessels like this are praised constantly in our churches for all the wonderful work they are doing? Which only goes to reinforce this cycle of emptiness.

“From the outside” – that’s where the illusion lives. The solution, on the other hand, is to be found on the inside. In the solitude of one’s heart, in that place where the heart is laid mercilessly bare and naked before God, where truth can no longer be hidden and pride has no substance to give it form, there is where a person awakes from his false dream to the reality of God.

And there, one discovers the true purpose for which intoxication was invented by God. Here is the addiction that truly adds life instead of taking it away. It is the intoxication with the Lord of Joy and Love, of which all earthly intoxications are just shadows and corruptions, cheap and nasty imitations that take away life rather than bestowing it. When one is intoxicated with the love and joy of God, every ‘drug’ loses its attraction. There is no longer any danger of mistaking the means for the end.

Original blog available at- http://www.frantonios.org.au/2012/06/11/a-subtle-snare/

Who Is My Enemy?

By Monica

Originally seen on Becoming Fully Alive blog site, 26 Nov 2015.

I believe in a common humanity. Practically, that means that we are not individuals, but persons who are in relationship with each other. Most importantly, it means that there is a common thread that is stitched through the bone and sinew of us all; a knot anywhere, affects us all. As Martin Luther King once said,“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Beyond race, culture and religion, we are all made in the image and likeness of God. We all possess frail hearts, we all desire to love and be loved. We all long to find safety and belonging in the world. We all hurt and we fear, we stumble into awkward moments, into our own chaos and anger. We are the same beneath these beautiful layers of skin and confusion. We are all the same kind of broken. And in our broken, common humanity, redemption desires to tell the tale of us all, because there is no one beyond grace.

Yet how many people have we deemed unworthy of grace? How many souls have we too easily condemned?

“Enemy” is a strong word. Strong enough to make us distance ourselves from it and deny that it plays a part in our lives. But when Christ spoke of enemies, he spoke simply; an enemy is someone who stands in the way of our freedom, dignity, our capacity to grow and love, someone who attacks us or our country. An enemy most commonly exists within the person whom we are avoiding.

When the lawyer spoke to Jesus asking how he was to enter the kingdom of heaven, He answered him simply; “love your neighbour as yourself.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10:29). Though the words of the Bible are clear and simple, just like the lawyer, we seek justification. Love my enemy? Who is my enemy? Surely Jesus didn’t mean ISIS, surely He didn’t mean the human responsible for my deepest hurts?

But what if the ones we name offenders can be freed to love?

‘They are people who, if loved, helped, and trusted, can in some small way recognize their faults and their brokenness and can grow in humanity and in inner freedom.” -Jean Vanier

What if humanity rose up to forgive? Like the sacred hearts of Katja Rosenberg, Antoine Leiris and Arturo Martinez. What if we extended forgiveness regardless of our hurts and our rights, and followed the sacred Word that brings all healing? For us to forgive, we must yearn for unity and peace, yearn for the oneness to be united in mind, in heart and in spirit. If we love and desire for all to be free to bear fruit, we will be a people heavy for forgiveness. We will live full and whole that we are no longer driven by our desire to be filled and prove ourselves worthy but we will yearn for the growth of all people in peace and in unity. To be a peacemaker, we must make peace with ourselves and we must make peace with those around us. We must believe that we are all a part of the suffering. We have all hurt and been hurt. When we point out darkness, we must remember to point back at our own souls. It is not easy to see beyond our own suffering, sometimes it is blinding. It is not easy to accept forgiveness or to forgive; it is a struggle.

‘ When we dare to care, then we discover that nothing human is foreign to us, but that all the hatred and love, cruelty and compassion, fear and joy can be found in our own hearts. When we dare to care, we have to confess that when others kill, I could have killed too. When others torture, I could have done the same. When others heal, I could have healed too.’ -Henri Nouwen

The truth is our enemies can often tell us a lot more about us than our friends can. The way we respond to our enemies will tell us the true state of our hearts; if we are hearts walking in forgiveness or if we walk in resentment.

Prayer for my Enemies

“Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless and do not curse them. They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world. They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself. They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments. They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself. They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish. Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a fly. Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background. Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand. Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep. Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out. Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of your garment. Bless my enemies, O Lord.

Even I bless them and do not curse them. Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitterly against me: So that my fleeing will have no return; So that all my hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs; So that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul; So that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins: arrogance and anger; So that I might amass all my treasure in heaven; Ah, so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life. Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world except himself.

One hates his enemies only when he fails to realise that they are not enemies, but cruel friends. It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies. Therefore bless, O Lord, both my friends and my enemies. A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them, for he understands. For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life. Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.”

–Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic

Original blog post available at- https://becomingfullyalive.com/who-is-my-enemy/

Discontentment with Prayer

By Fr Antonios Kaldas

Originally seen on Fr Antonios Kaldas blogsite, 27 June 2012

It strikes me that many people in the Coptic tradition spend a lot of their lives being discontented with their prayer life. “I don’t pray enough”; “I don’t focus”; “I don’t feel much”.

Now there’s nothing wrong with desiring a deeper, more genuine dialogue with God. What is more important to our being than this? But it is also true that human nature is to shy away from things with which we are discontented. They make us feel bad, and so we avoid them if we can. Hence the struggle that many face to pray. It is not that they do not wish to be with God – it is that in their minds, prayer has become solidly attached to an uncomfortable feeling of failure or guilt or vague restlessness, a tone that makes them avoid prayer whenever possible.

This has to be one of the cleverer tricks of the devil to keep those who sincerely desire the presence of God away from experiencing it. Imagine the opposite. Imagine if prayer were instead attached to feelings of joy, peace and love. Who in their right minds would avoid that?

The question then becomes how one is to rescue prayer from the muddy negative attitudes that so easily encrust it and hide its true beauty. Here are some musings from a fellow struggler…

Don’t think of prayer as a duty. Duties are things we just have to do, whether we like it or not. Prayer just shouldn’t be like that in a relationship of love. Imagine how a wife would feel if her husband felt that spending time with her was a duty.
Don’t watch the clock. Don’t count the words. Let it be a natural thing. Here I am, and here is God. Let us meet. He is in me and surrounds me. God is here. Who needs a clock?
Enjoy your prayers. Sweeten them with your favourite tunes. Pray with a smile on your face. Rejoice that you have the opportunity to connect with your Creator.
Focus on God, not yourself. Who do you think about when praying? It is so easy to be focused on oneself – God help ME. God forgive ME. God change ME. These are not bad prayers, it’s just that if these are the only prayers you pray, that’s a pretty one-sided relationship. Try to forget the ME sometimes and just focus on HIM. It is in losing ourselves that we find our true selves. The best way to see yourself is reflected in the loving eyes of Christ.
Don’t get bogged down in repeating the same things mechanically every day. Sure, there are some things we need to share with God every day, like expressing our gratitude and confessing our sins. But every day brings new things to be grateful for, and new sins to confess. Your own inner life is constantly changing every day, so share that dynamic life with Him who never changes. He is your rock, your immovable point of reference in a confusingly liquid world.
Study the formal prayers. Many people go through their whole life having only ever encountered the formal prayers like the tasbeha, the Agbia and the liturgy in “quick mode”. In other words, they only ever use their words in praying them at normal speed. But you can’t really get into the deep meaning of those prayers at this speed. You remember your English lessons at school (with at least some fondness, I hope)? Reading a poem the first time often only gave you a vague sense of what it was about, but it was only when you read through again more carefully, stopped to think about individual phrases and how the whole thing hangs together, discussed it with teacher and classmates, and wrote your interpretations of it that your really discovered its profound meaning and beauty. Formal prayers are no different. If you want to enjoy them, then study them, think about them, discuss them and write about them. Then every time you pray them at normal speed, they will mean so much more.
Every thought is a prayer. Remember that God is He “in whom we live and move and have our being”. Every thought you think is visible before God, and therefore every thought you think is a kind of prayer, if only you realised it. Realise it! The person who constantly shares their inner life with God throughout the day finds it so much easier to pray when they shut off all distractions to focus solely on that dialogue with God. Indeed, prayer becomes something you crave, for you find the distractions annoying and rejoice when you can escape them and be focused. (Of course, that may just be my male brain talking – women are so much better at multi-tasking!)

I genuinely believe that there is nothing sweeter in this life than those times when we connect with the Infinite, Eternal, All-loving I AM; the sole and perfect Truth from which all reality flows. Or on another level, we connect with the loving Father who cares for us with such minute care that He even counts the hairs of our heads. How could we ever allow negative feelings attach to such a beautiful experience?

Original blog available at- http://www.frantonios.org.au/2012/06/27/discontentment-with-prayer/#more-648

A Model of Repentance

By BFA Team

Originally seen on Becoming Fully Alive blog site, 12^th October 2016

This post is a homily by St Ephraim the Syrian on the sinful woman. May her story encourage us in our repentance!

Hear and be comforted, beloved, how merciful is God. To the sinful woman He forgave her offenses; yea, He upheld her when she was afflicted. With clay He opened the eyes of the blind, so that the eyeballs beheld the light. To the palsied He granted healing, who arose and walked and carried his bed. And to us He has given the pearls; His holy Body and Blood. He brought His medicines secretly; and with them He heals openly. And He wandered round in the land of Judea, like a physician, bearing his medicines. Simon invited Him to the feast, to eat bread in his house. The sinful woman rejoiced when she heard that He sat and was feasting in Simon’s house; her thoughts gathered together like the sea, and like the billows her love surged. She beheld the Sea of Grace, how it had forced itself into one place; and she resolved to go and drown all her wickedness in its billows.

She bound her heart, because it had offended, with chains and tears of suffering; and she began weeping (with herself): What avails me this fornication? What avails this lewdness? I have defiled the innocent ones without shame; I have corrupted the orphan; and without fear I have robbed the merchants of merchandise, and my rapacity was not satisfied. I have been as a bow in war, and have slain the good and the bad. I have been as a storm on the sea, and have sunk the ships of many. Why did I not win me one man, who might have corrected my lewdness? For one man is of God, but many are of Satan.

These things she inwardly said; then began she to do outwardly. She washed and put away from her eyes the dye that blinded them that saw it. And tears gushed forth from her eyes over that deadly eyepaint. She drew off and cast from her hands the enticing bracelets of her youth. She put off and cast away from her body the tunic of fine linen of whoredom, and resolved to go and attire herself in the tunic the garment of reconciliation. She drew off and cast from her feet the adorned sandals of lewdness; and directed the steps of her going in the path of the heavenly Eagle. She took up her gold in her palm and held it up to the face of heaven, and began to cry secretly, to Him who hears openly: This, O Lord, that I have gained from iniquity, with it will I purchase to myself redemption. This which was gathered from orphans, with it will I win the Lord of orphans.

These things she said secretly; then began to do openly. She took up the gold in her palm, and carried the alabaster box in her hands. Then hastily went she forth in sadness to the perfumer. The perfumer saw her and wondered, and fell into questioning with her; and thus he began to say to the harlot in the first words he spoke: Was it not enough for you, harlot, that you have corrupted all our town? What means this fashion that you show today to your lovers— that you have put off your wantonness and hast clothed yourself in modesty? Heretofore, when you came to me, your aspect was different from today’s. You were clothed in goodly raiment, and brought little gold; and asked for precious ointment, to make your lewdness pleasant. But lo! Today your vesture is mean, and you have brought much gold. Your change I understand not; wherefore is this fashion of yours? Either clothe you in raiment according to your ability, or buy ointment according to your clothing. For this ointment becomes not or is suited to this attire. Can it be that a merchant has met you, and brings great wealth; and you have seen that he loves it not, the fashion of your lewdness? So you have put off your lewdness and hast clothed yourself in meekness, that by various fashions you may capture much wealth. But if he loves this fashion because he is a chaste man in truth, then woe to him! Into what has he fallen? Into a gulf that has swallowed up his merchandise. But I give you advice, as a man that desires your welfare, that you send away your many lovers who have helped you nought from your youth, and henceforth seek out one husband who may correct your lewdness.

These things spoke the perfumer, in wisdom, to the harlot. The sinful woman answered and said to him, to the perfumer after his discourse, Hinder me not, O man, and stop me not by your questioning. I have asked of you ointment, not freely, but I will pay you its value not grudgingly. Take you the gold, as much as you demand, and give me the precious ointment; take you that which endures not and give me that which endures; and I will go to Him who endures, and will buy that which endures. And as to that you said, about a merchant; a Man has met me today Who bears riches in abundance. He has robbed me and I have robbed Him; He has robbed me of my transgressions and sins, and I have robbed Him of His wealth. And as to that you said of a husband; I have won me a Husband in heaven, Whose dominion stands for ever, and His kingdom shall not be dissolved. She took up the ointment and went forth.

In haste went she forth; as Satan saw her and was enraged; and was greatly grieved in his mind. At one time he rejoiced, and again at another he was grieved. That she carried the perfumed oil, he rejoiced in his inward mind; but that she was clad in mean raiment— at this doing of hers he was afraid. He clave then to her and followed her, as a robber follows a merchant. He listened to the murmurs of her lips, to hear the voice of her words. He closely watched her eyeballs (to mark) whither the glance of her eyes was directed; and as he went he moved by her feet (to mark) whither her goings were directed. Very full of craft is Satan, from our words to learn our aim. Therefore, our Lord has taught us not to raise our voice when we pray, that the Devil may not hear our words and draw near and become our adversary. So then, when Satan saw that he could not change her mind, he clothed himself in the fashion of a man, and drew to himself a crowd of youths, like her lovers of former times; and then began he thus to address her: By your life, O woman, tell me whither are your footsteps directed? What means this haste? For you hastes more than other days. What means this your meekness, for your soul is meek like a handmaid’s? Instead of garments of fine linen, lo! You are clothed in sordid weeds; instead of bracelets of gold and silver, there are not even rings on your fingers; instead of goodly sandals for your feet, not even worn shoes are on your feet. Disclose to me all your doing, for I understand not your change. Is it that some one of your lovers has died, and you go to bury him? We will go with you to the funeral, and with you will (take part with you) in sorrow.

The sinful woman answered and said to him, (even) to Satan, after his speech: Well have you said that I go to inter the dead, one that has died to me. The sin of my thoughts has died, and I go to bury it. Satan answered and said to her, (even) to the sinful woman after her words: Go to, O woman, I tell you that I am the first of your lovers. I am not such as you, and I place my hands upon you. I will give you again more gold than before.

The sinful woman answered and said to him, even to Satan after his discourse: I am wearied of you, O man, and you are no more my lover. I have won me a husband in heaven, Who is God, that is over all, and His dominion stands for ever, and His kingdom shall not be dissolved. For lo! In your presence I say; I say it again and I lie not. I was a handmaid to Satan from my childhood unto this day. I was a bridge, and he trode upon me, and I destroyed thousands of men. The eyepaint blinded my eyes, and (I was) blind among many whom I blinded. I became sightless and knew not that there is One Who gives light to the sightless. Lo! I go to get light for my eyes, and by that light to give light to many. I was fast bound, and knew not that there is One Who overthrows idols. Lo! I go to have my idols destroyed, and so to destroy the follies of many. I was wounded and knew not that there is One Who binds up wounds; and lo! I go to have my wounds bound. These things the harlot spoke to Satan in her wisdom; and he groaned and was grieved and wept; and he cried aloud and thus he spoke:— I am conquered by you, O woman, and what I shall do I know not.

As soon as Satan perceived that he could not change her mind, he began to weep for himself and thus it was that he spoke: Henceforth is my boasting perished, and the pride of all my days. How shall I lay for her a snare, for her who is ascending on high? How shall I shoot arrows at her, (even) at her whose wall is unshaken? Therefore, I go into Jesus’ presence; lo! she is about to enter His presence; and I shall say to Him thus: This woman is an harlot. Perchance He may reject and not receive her. And I shall say to Him thus: This woman who comes into Your presence is a woman that is an harlot. She has led captive men by her whoredom; she is polluted from her youth. But You, O Lord, are righteous; all men throng to see You. And if mankind see You that You have speech with the harlot, they all will flee from Your presence, and no man will salute You.

These things Satan spoke within himself, nor was he moved. Then he changed the course of his thought, and thus it was that he spoke. How shall I enter into Jesus’ presence, for to Him the secret things are manifest? He knows me, who I am, that no good office is my purpose. If haply He rebuke me I am undone, and all my wiles will be wasted. I will go to the house of Simon, for secret things are not manifest to him. And into his heart I will put it; perchance on that hook he may be caught. And thus, will I say unto him: By your life, O Simon, tell me; this man that sojourns in your house is he a man that is righteous, or a friend of the doers of wickedness? I am a wealthy man, and a man that has possessions, and I wish like you to invite him that he may come in and bless my possessions.

Simon answered and thus he said to the Evil One after his words: From the day that (first) I saw Him I have seen no lewdness in Him, but rather quietness and peace, humility and seemliness. The sick He heals without reward, the diseased He freely cures. He approaches and stands by the grave, and calls, and the dead arise. Jairus called Him to raise his daughter to life, trusting that He could raise her to life. And as He went with him in the way, He gave healing to the woman diseased, who laid hold of the hem of His garment and stole healing from Him, and her pain which was hard and bitter at once departed from her. He went forth to the desert and saw the hungry, how they were fainting with famine. He made them sit down on the grass, and fed them in His mercy. In the ship He slept as He willed, and the sea swelled against the disciples. He arose and rebuked the billows, and there was a great calm. The widow, the desolate one who was following her only son, on the way to the grave He consoled her. He gave him to her and gladdened her heart. To one man who was dumb and blind, by His voice He brought healing. The lepers He cleansed by His word; to the limbs of the palsied He restored strength. For the blind man, afflicted and weary, He opened his eyes and he saw the light. And for two others who besought Him, at once He opened their eyes. As for me, thus have I heard the fame of the man from afar; and I called Him to bless my possessions, and to bless all my flocks and herds.

Satan answered and said to him, to Simon after his words: Praise not a man at his beginning, until you learn his end; hitherto this man is sober and his soul takes not pleasure in wine. If he shall go forth from your house, and holds not converse with an harlot, then he is a righteous man and no friend of them that do wickedness. Such things did Satan speak in his craftiness to Simon. Then he approached and stood afar off, to see what should come to pass.

The sinful woman full of transgressions stood clinging by the door. She clasped her arms in prayer, and thus she spoke beseeching:— Blessed Son Who hast descended to earth for the sake of man’s redemption, close not Your door in my face; for You have called me and lo! I come. I know that You have not rejected me; open for me the door of Your mercy, that I may come in, O my Lord, and find refuge in You, from the Evil One and his hosts! I was a sparrow, and the hawk pursued me, and I have fled and taken refuge in Your nest. I was a heifer, and the yoke galled me, and I will turn back my wanderings to You. Lay upon me the shoulder of Your yoke that I may take it on me, and work with Your oxen. Thus did the harlot speak at the door with much weeping. The master of the house looked and saw her, and the colour of his visage was changed; and he began thus to address her, (even) the harlot, in the opening of his words:— Depart hence, O harlot, for this man who abides in our house is a man that is righteous, and they that are of his companions are blameless. Is it not enough for you, harlot, that you have corrupted the whole town? You have corrupted the chaste without shame; you have robbed the orphans, and have not blushed, and have plundered the merchants’ wares, and your countenance is not abashed. From him your heart [and soul] labour [to take]. But from him your net takes no spoil. For this man is righteous indeed, and they of his company are blameless.

The sinful woman answered and said to him, even to Simon when he had ceased: You surely are the guardian of the door, O you that know things that are secret! I will propose the matter in the feast, and you shall be free from blame. And if there be any that wills me to come in, he will bid me and I will come in. Simon ran and closed the door, and approached and stood afar off. And he tarried a long time and proposed not the matter in the feast. But He, Who knows what is secret, beckoned to Simon and said to him:— Come hither, Simon, I bid you; does anyone stand at the door? Whosoever he be, open to him that he may come in; let him receive what he needs, and go. If he be hungry and hunger for bread, lo! In your house is the table of life; and if he be thirsty, and thirst for water, lo! The blessed fountain is in your dwelling. And if he be sick and ask for healing, lo! The great Physician is in your house. Allow sinners to look upon Me, for their sakes have I abased Myself. I will not ascend to heaven, to the dwelling whence I came down, until I bear back the sheep that has wandered from its Father’s house, and lift it up on My shoulders and bear it aloft to heaven. Simon answered and thus he said to Jesus, when He had done speaking:— My Lord, this woman that stands in the doorway is a harlot: she is lewd and not free-born, polluted from her childhood. And You, my Lord, are a righteous man, and all are eager to see You; and if men see You having speech with the harlot, all men will flee from beside You, and no man will salute You. Jesus answered, and thus He said to Simon when he was done speaking:— Whosoever it be, open for him to come in, and you shall be free from blame; and though his offenses be many, without rebuke I bid you [receive him].

Simon approached and opened the door, and began thus to speak:— Come, enter, fulfil that you will, to him who is even as you. The sinful woman, full of transgressions, passed forward and stood by His feet, and clasped her arms in prayer, and with these words she spoke:— My eyes have become watercourses that cease not from [watering] the fields, and today they wash the feet of Him Who follows after sinners. This hair, abundant in locks from my childhood till this day, let it not grieve You that it should wipe this holy body. The mouth that has kissed the lewd, forbid it not to kiss the body that remits transgressions and sins. These things the harlot spoke to Jesus, with much weeping. And Simon stood afar off to see what He would do to her. But He Who knows the things that are secret, beckoned to Simon and said to him:— Lo! I will tell you, O Simon, what your meditation is, concerning the harlot. Within your mind you imagine and within your soul you said, ‘I have called this man righteous, but lo! The harlot kisses Him. I have called Him to bless my possessions, and lo! The harlot embraces Him.’ O Simon, there were two debtors, whose creditor was one only; one owed him five-hundred [pence], and the other owed fifty. And when the creditor saw that neither of these two had anything, the creditor pardoned and forgave them both their debt. Which of them ought to render the greater thanks? He who was forgiven five hundred, or he who was forgiven fifty? Simon answered, and thus he said to Jesus, when He had done speaking:— He who was forgiven five hundred ought to render the greater thanks. Jesus answered and thus He said: You are he that owes five hundred, and this woman owes fifty. Lo! I came into your house, O Simon; and water for My feet you brought not; and this woman, of whom you said that she was an harlot, one from her childhood defiled, has washed My feet with her tears, and with her hair she has wiped them. Ought I to send her away, O Simon, without receiving forgiveness? Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will write of her in the Gospel. Go, O woman, your sins are forgiven you and all your transgression is covered; henceforth and to the end of the world.

May our Lord account us worthy of hearing this word of His:— Come, enter, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom made ready for all who shall do My will, and observe all My commandments. To Him be glory; on us be mercy; at all times. Amen!

Original blog available at- https://becomingfullyalive.com/a-model-of-repentance/

My Potter’s Clay

By Michael

Originally seen on Becoming Fully Alive blog site, October 2^nd, 2013.

Dear Self,

There’s something that I’ve been meaning to speak to you about for some time now. It’s a lesson that you started to learn a little while ago but have already started forgetting. Let me recap your memory…

I want to remind you of a couple of verses that once pierced your heart and woke you up. “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:8-10. Self, who chose you to be a servant? Who called you? Who promised to strengthen you and help you? Was it not The Lord… Was it not He that gave you your gifts…? Are you not His vessel?

“Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay; you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Isaiah 64:8. Recently you’ve forgotten that all you are is clay in the hands of the potter. You’ve forgotten that it’s not you who ‘earned’ the gifts you have but that you’ve been granted them graciously by your potter – as St. Paul says “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to us…” Romans 12:6. It’s not you who’s in control, it’s Him. You’ve forgotten that it’s not your service, It’s His service. “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.” Jeremiah 18:6-10. You’ve become so concerned with being a ‘good’ servant on the outside. Do you not remember that God can only work in the vacancy of your heart?

It’s time for you to wake up Self and realise that you’re merely a vessel that He can choose to use for His glory. Whenever you feel that you’re a ‘good’ and ‘righteous’ servant deserving the praise of people around you, humble yourself. Remember that it is God’s name you want to bring the glory and praise to, not your own. Remind yourself of how unworthy you are to be called to be God the Almighty’s servant – that even though you are covered in so much sin He still chooses to use you. Pray that God instils in your heart the desire to have people look at you and say ‘wow, God is so amazing’ not ‘wow you’re so amazing’. You’re like a small box containing an incredible diamond ring; if the box is fancy but opaque, people will look at it and admire it but not see the prize inside at first glance. But if the box is made out of cheap plastic but is clear, people will look at it and instantly gasp in admiration of the diamond ring inside. Self, you need to desire to be clear/ transparent/ invisible so that it is not you ‘using’ God to shine in-front of people but God shining through you to His people.

“He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30

Repent and examine yourself O my soul. If people’s praise is what’s driving you to serve, then you are not serving at all. If showcasing and utilising your gifts is what’s driving you to serve, then you are not serving at all. Even if it’s love towards the people you’re serving that’s driving you to serve, then the root of your service is wrong. St. Augustine says, “If the intention is unclean, the deed that follows from it will also be evil, even if it seems good.” When you serve, you do so out of love for your Creator – you desire to be nothing so He can be everything – you want everything that you say/ do to glorify His name not yours. In Exodus “…if the [Hebrew] servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.” Exodus 21:5-6. It was the Hebrew servant’s personal choice in the seventh year of service whether to go free or willingly choose to serve his master forever. Ask yourself: “Do I really love my Master so much that I’m willing to be His servant for life?”.

In order to serve your Master you need to love Him; and in order to love Him, you need to know Him. Self, do you know your God? Do you know what His personality’s like? What He loves and hates? How can you trust Him or ask for His will in service if you don’t know Him?

The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught… You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing?” Isaiah 29:13-16. Self, God loves you and wants you to serve Him but you have to spend time in His presence reading His word, getting to know who it is that you’re serving. Join King David in saying: “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name” Psalm 86:11 for you hurt God when you don’t give Him the honour He deserves. “A son honours his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honour due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty.” Malachi 1:6.

“No matter how much we may study, it is not possible to come to know God unless we live according to His commandments, for God is not known by science, but by the Holy Spirit. Many philosophers and learned men came to the belief that God exists, but they did not know God. It is one thing to believe that God exists and another to know Him. If someone has come to know God by the Holy Spirit, his soul will burn with love for God day and night, and his soul cannot be bound to any earthly thing.” St. Silouan the Athonite

So Self, repent and ask forgiveness for your sins. Ask the Lord to introduce Himself to you once more, that you may again understand how insignificant you are and how almighty He is; how it’s He, the King of Kings, who deserves all glory and honour. Persevere in prayer and reading His word that you may know your Creator and love Him abundantly, offering Him praise and service in return. Let not Satan trick you and fool you into thinking that you accomplish anything with your gifts or talents for “man’s life is a period of time which the devil tries to waste” H.H. Pope Shenouda III. Instead, remember in your heart that …”Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.’ says the Lord Almighty” Zechariah 4:6. Finally stand before your gracious God and thank Him that in your brokenness His strength is perfect, and in your weakness He uses you as an empty vessel to serve Him.

Love,
Self

Original blog available at- https://becomingfullyalive.com/my-potters-clay/

Contentment

By Fr Antonios Kaldas

Originally seen on Fr Antonios Kaldas blog site, Jan 23, 2009.

Life will always have its ups and downs, as I am quite sure you know by now. One of my favourite passages in the Bible is the bit that comes before the famous verse: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. It reads:

Philippians 4:11-13
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.
Everywhere and in all things
I have learned both to be full and to be hungry,
both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

St Paul says a lot of things like that, and it always strikes me that that is the only way a human being can be truly invincible. When your treasure is in Heaven, no one can take it away from you, and no earthly troubles can take away your joy.

I find this to be one of the ways I can tell how sincere my faith in Christ is at any given time. If tribulations come along and I find myself disturbed by them and restless, it is a sure sign that there is something wrong in my relationship with God. It is a message for me to turn back to Him in abject repentance and implore Him for His mercy and forgiveness, and His aid in my weakness.

And yet, we need to distinguish between what is a purely human reaction to life and what is a spiritual state. As humans, our brains are made of cells and chemicals and electrical impulses, and sometimes these physical systems run ahead of our conscious, spiritual mind. Our reaction to pain is a case in point. A person can be totally and utterly convinced that the needle the doctor is about to poke into her skin is for her own good, and will not hurt that much, and yet, she may still flinch and sweat and feel her heart race at the sight of it.

Human brains can sometimes run off on their own into anxiety, or depression, or fear, or anger; all by themselves. So what is the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian? The Christian doesn’t suddenly become super-human and beyond human physical instincts and frailty. Even the Lord Christ Himself, when He became human, suffered this kind of reaction in the Garden of Gethsemane. That is what it means to be human.

But to be Christian means to subject the body to the spirit. In Gethsemane, after the weeping and pain came surrender and peace. For the Christian, after the internal battle with the flesh comes surrender to God’s will, and all that this surrender bestows. Love, Joy, Peace. The fruits of the Holy spirit (Galatians 5:22ff) are the gift of God to His children. These are fruits that are practical treasures – not treasures to be locked up in a safe and never seen, but treasures that transform our lives daily and bring fulfilment and contentment to us, we humans whose instincts and desires might never allow us to experience true contentment otherwise.

To follow in the path of Christ is to find this true contentment, in whatever state one is. “If you love Me,” He said, “You will keep My commandments”. Sinners and tax collectors who loved Him in humility and offered a genuine repentance found acceptance and forgiveness with Christ. Their lives were transformed and Love, Joy and Peace became their treasure. The Chief Priests, Scribes and Pharisees practiced a legalistic obedience to God, and yet were always willing to disobey Him in their hearts, seeking their own wills above God’s, trusting to their own wisdom rather than simply obeying the Truth of God. You will recall what Christ said to them…

True contentment is never found in one’s external situation, for that can never be perfect so long as we dwell on earth, nor should we expect it to be. Nor should we set our hopes on making our lives perfect in this world. No, true contentment comes from winning the battle of the ego within, from sincere surrender to God, unconditionally and totally. It begins inside, and works its way out to one’s external life.

It is the seed of Surrender that bears the Fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Original blog available at – http://www.frantonios.org.au/2009/01/23/contentment/

Every Effort

By Michael

Originally seen on Becoming Fully Alive blog site, 6 March 2014

So the other day I was reading Hebrews 4 and came across this verse;

“Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.”
Hebrews 4:11

I didn’t think much of it at first but then the Holy Spirit spoke loudly to me and has had me thinking deeply about it since.

As you know every word in the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit – nothing’s just there haphazardly. But I couldn’t help but feel like those words “every effort” were a little daunting. Every time I read this verse, this is exactly what I pictured;

St. Paul did says “every effort to enter that rest,” right?! So surely this is the “every effort” he’s referring to… I have to push the huge boulder that is the world to enter God’s rest… I have to overcome temptation, pride, anger and all the sins that entangle me to enter that rest, and realistically that’s just never going to happen… I have to toil and labour and I should just accept the fact that this spiritual journey is going to be difficult and tiresome… I’m probably going to give up soon and get completely crushed by this boulder which means I’ll never enter His rest. I allowed a chain reaction of these negative thoughts to continue to infest my mind for a while but the Holy Spirit quickly came to my rescue (as He always does!) and lifted me higher so I can view the situation from a bird’s-eye view.

Fast forward to verse 15 in the exact same chapter and it says “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:15. Wow. Isn’t Jesus just amazing? Our high priest, the King of kings, my Creator the Almighty God empathizes with my weakness. He understands! He gets the struggle I have with sin. Because He himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted (Hebrews 2:18). He’s not asking me to do something that He’s never had to go through – He was tempted too except He completely overcame sin. I’m in awe at the level of humility my Creator must have in order to allow Himself to be tempted by Satan. And not only can He 100% relate to my struggle. Verse 12 says “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow…” Hebrews 4:12. He tells me that His word can penetrate absolutely anything, even the filthiest innermost parts of my soul that I’ve successfully hidden from everyone else – yes even those parts! His word is active and has power to terminate once and for all the sin I’ve so willingly allowed to grow in my soul.

I went to liturgy today and the Gospel reading was about our Lord Jesus feeding the four thousand. You know that overwhelming, warm, peaceful feeling that you get when you’re in the presence of the Lord and He whispers sweet words to your soul… yep I got that wonderful feeling through the following verse; “Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.’” Matthew 15:32. I instantly heard the Holy Spirit whisper in my ear “remember Hebrews 4:11? do you still think that asking you to make every effort to enter My rest is daunting?”. When Jesus saw these people following him for three days straight, He had compassion on them. Our God is a God who feels. He didn’t want to send them away hungry so they don’t collapse on the way home – how loving!! He really, really cared for the well-being of these people. He knew their needs and out of His sweetness provided them with food that they hadn’t even asked for! ….Then it clicked.

Yes, God does ask me to make every effort to enter His rest… but every effort through Him! Of course the image in my mind was me really struggling to push this giant boulder…I completely took God out of the equation – I removed Jesus from Hebrews 4:11. I thought that I was going to have to struggle on my own so I can reach His rest and forgot that Jesus, my God who loves me abundantly, is walking right beside me through every spiritual struggle. My loving Jesus will look at my effort to walk with Him and straight-away provide me with the nourishment I need so I don’t collapse. I know that He’ll do that because He, being perfect, allowed Himself to be tempted by Satan – He empathizes with my weakness and knows that I need His support. I’m not on my own, I simply need to run into the arms of Love. And in those arms, I discover His word that is alive and active, able to penetrate my soul and rid me of my sin.

I’m not making every effort by myself. I’m making every effort through my God’s power.
Now there’s a new image engraved in my mind;

“The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me; your love, Lord, endures forever.”
Psalm 138:8

Original blog available at- https://becomingfullyalive.com/every-effort/