God’s will – Upper Room Media Blogs

Society’s Will or God’s Will

Society’s Will or God’s wills

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Daniel Fanous

Passage Mark 3:22-35

In this Gospel, we read about Christ’s rebuttal against the scribes who claimed He was Beelzebub. This was due to Christ making himself known. After all, who is this carpenter who claims to be the Son of God. We read that even his family felt emotions such as embarrassment, shame, dishonour. Similarly, are we, being sons and daughters of God, ashamed or embarrassed to call God our Father? Are we embarrassed to go out and fast? Are we embarrassed that each Sunday we go out to church whereas the rest of the world sleeps in?

Embarrassment may also come in the form of our morals. The secular world says that some things are okay whereas the Church explicitly tells us that it is not. Thus, we encounter this tension between the secularly accepted views and morals and the morals of the Church. Do I live according to society’s will or God’s will? Embarrassment may also be found in our ritualistic worship or that we even believe in a God to begin with.

Perhaps the biggest embarrassment is that we are unable to live according to our own will. We submit to God’s will and thus give up our freedom. Nowadays, freedom and rights are some of the most important values of society and often we are told that no one should be able to take these away from us. My family cannot tell me how to live. God cannot tell me how to live. However, perhaps it is the other way around. Perhaps, freedom is found in Christ, and lost when we reject him.

Often, we pray to see God or to encounter him,

“Just reveal yourself once in a dream and I will never commit this sin again.”

“Just give me a sign that this is the right path for me.”

“Just provide me with this promotion or job and I will serve you every day.”

However, if we are embarrassed to follow in His path or His teachings, how can we see Christ who is a stranger to us. How can we encounter Him if even his own family felt ashamed of His teachings? If we are unwilling to become the outcasts, to act abnormally to society, to follow His will instead of our own; If we are unable to do all these, then how can we possibly encounter Him. Instead, we should find joy and confidence in His word, knowing that He is indeed the Son of God.

Put Off Self Will, Put On God’s Will

The New Man: Part 5

By Sandra Salib

Walking into an Orthodox church is an overwhelming experience – the incense, the candles and architecture never fail to grab your attention, transporting you to another place – a heavenly sanctuary, the House of God. Slightly elevated, ornamenting the walls of the church are icons, saints who are the exemplars of the spirituality we strive for, seemingly peering at the people entering. It is often said that these saints are amidst the church congregation, praising and praying with us, but they appear to reflect a spirituality which seems so above us, so distant and out-of-reach. We sit in church pews, longing for change, yet as soon as we walk out of the heavy, wooden doors, we are back in the world, as if returning to reality from a dream, unscathed.

It wouldn’t be contentious to say that our world today is a busy one. We’re occupied – working, studying, going out, getting fit – and while all these pursuits seem to be for our own growth and development, it puts us in a selfish oblivion, so distracted that we fail to consider anything that lies outside of our personal bubble.

The saints we see in icons are amidst us. To this day, 260 million Christians around the world are persecuted for their faith. They are martyrs of the present day. Needless to say, improving their lives isn’t in the question. Having a life at all is what consumes their minds.

Everything they’ve wanted – their desires, passions, hobbies – are all trivial. Their own will means nothing – they are subject to the will of another without question.

We are lucky enough, in the Western world, to have the liberty of choice. We have the freedom to believe what we want to believe and do what we want to do.

But to choose to submit your will to another?

In a world that upholds the autonomy of the individual, that can be hard. Very hard. It’s almost like social suicide. You are fortunate enough to get to choose what you want, lay out your whole life for yourself, and then you’re going to let someone dictate your life for you? It doesn’t make sense. And who are you going to listen to? A supernatural being in the sky who you’ve never seen? It’s a hard pass.

But is this who our God is? Is this how we, as his children, see him?

Our God is a loving, kind Father. Our God is all-knowing and all-powerful. Our God shepherds us and guides us to the path where we should go. He cares for us, and knows the details of our futures more than we could imagine.

This isn’t how we see His Son. Jesus, begotten of the Father, came down from heaven so that we may have a personal relationship with him. He lived a life of humility, and submitted His life to the Father as an example for us.

This isn’t how we see the Holy Spirit, who moves through our hearts like the wind, leading and guiding us as a soft breeze, whispering where we should go.

Of course, we know God is a mighty, powerful being. But the way in which he so freely loves, and gives, and has compassion, surely does not characterise a fire-and-brimstone, wrathful entity. It illustrates an image of a God who walked upon a fork in the road and, like us, had a choice. There wasn’t even much of a choice at all – He knew the journey would be difficult. He knew he would be spited and spat upon by generations upon generations of these creatures whom He loved and created. But this God, who we push to the side, this very God took the narrow path, and submitted His power and glory for us.

When we put on God’s will, we put on the armour of God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.

But we must also feel protected by this armour and let our guard down, to let God’s Spirit move through us and guide us. So that we can be still, and listen. To put away our pride and to feel prepared, as the five wise virgins, as the faithful servant waiting for his masters’ arrival, as the wedding guests dressed appropriately for the great banquet. We need to take off our self will, to let go of the wheel and trust that God will lead us to the path where we should go.

To live as God intended us to will always be one of the greatest struggles for man. But our life is a path full of decisions. And when we come across a fork in the road, we should see Christ running, without hesitation, down a rocky, narrow path and never looking back. With His hands raised, calling out your name, running to bring you in His fatherly embrace. For He, a deity, submitted all for our weak, mortal selves so that we could have salvation. Is submitting to Him for our own selfish good not the least we could do in return?

God’s Timing is the Perfect Timing

God’s Timing is the Perfect Timing

By Lilyan Andrews

Original post by Lilies and Thorns Blog

In some cultures (like mine), you are faced with two extremes as you mature. First, “Don’t date or even look at boys until you’re old enough for marriage.” Second, “Why aren’t you married yet? What are you waiting for?” There was no transition time in between the two. Dating somehow disappeared between you’re interested in someone and asking for the family’s blessing for marriage. Pursuing someone was hush-hush, and you only knew a couple was together when they announced their engagement. Maybe that’s because dating was perceived negatively, but there is definitely a healthy and Christian way to date, or court [be involved with romantically, typically with the intention of marrying], as some like to call it.

When I was younger I always imagined my life to play out like this: Finish college, land a great job, make some money and use it to travel the world. Then sometime in my late 20’s I would settle down, get married, and eventually have kids. Boy, was I wrong.

Have you ever heard that saying, “We plan and God laughs.” Well, that’s exactly how I felt when my perfect plan got all jumbled up when I started dating a man who later became my husband. I met Mina (who is now Fr. Antony) my freshman year at NJIT. We started dating, or as he likes to call it, courting, after he graduated from NJIT. He was very intentional from day one, and made it very clear that the whole purpose of us getting to know each other was for the purpose of marriage. His frankness was a breath of fresh air in comparison to all the uncertainty that could come with dating.

If you knew Fr. Antony when he was in college you’d know he was a complete introvert, very different from the vibrant extrovert he is now. My friends and I had a nickname for him, behind his back of course, we called him “peaceful Mina.” He had a certain calm demeanor that drew you to him. Whenever we would be sitting down in groups around the campus center he would always start some kind of spiritual conversation. He would share a nice spiritual book he was reading, or talk about church services, overall they were fruitful discussions. Something really attracted me to him, maybe it was his leadership qualities that I wanted in a husband and father to my future kids. His kindness and gentle spirit were great attributes that I admired.

Our timeline wasn’t your typical timeline. We started seeing each other when I was still a senior in college, he had just started a full-time masters degree in theology. Both of us were only working part-time or interning, but that did not matter. After about a year of dating, then a year of engagement, we found ourselves in marriage bliss. I was 22 and he was 23. Two youngins who had no idea what the heck they were doing, but so excited for what God had in store for them. Looking back on it, God sure took us for a wild ride those first couple of years of marriage (and He still is).

What are you looking for in a partner? Good looks that are fading? A sense of humor that might grow dull? Or wealth and status that can be gone in a split second? Look for a man that can help lead you and your children to the kingdom.

Put God in the center of your marriage. In a country where the divorce rate is very high you have a difficult time making it if you do not invite God to be the pivotal point of your relationship. Understand what St. Paul preaches in 1 Corinthians 13 and you’ll be on the right track.

Many people asked us how we were so sure of this big commitment we were taking at such a young age. As much as I would like to just say, “when you know, you know.” The answer is a much more elaborate one.

First, we prayed about it, a lot. We sought guidance from our fathers of confession, people who knew us sometimes better than we knew ourselves. We were open with our parents and family and had their blessing along the way. We talked to our mentors who had way more years of experience under their belt. We listened to every Orthodox talk you could find on dating and marriage, and even took an engagement class offered by the church. Most importantly, we put God in the center of our relationship and watched Him do wonders with us. St. John Chrysostom says, “When husband and wife are united in marriage they no longer seem like something earthly, but rather like the image of God Himself.” Don’t forget that marriage is a wonderful sacrament, full of mystery, and ultimately should reflect God’s image. St. John also says, “Marriage is the sacrament of love.”

From the moment we got together to the moment we walked down the aisle to the altar of our holy matrimony, I had one constant prayer. I always pleaded, “God if this is not your will please take it away.” By asking for “God’s will” I was asking for the best partner I could have in my journey that would lead me to Him (I do believe there could be more than one person that could fulfill this, but that’s besides the point). As hard as that ultimatum would have been, it would have been much worse if I stayed in a relationship that was not meant for me.

Whatever stage you are in right now. Whether you are seeing someone, about to get married, or praying for the right person to come along. First and foremost, you have to truly seek Him.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29: 11-13

The way God answers everyone’s prayer is different. To some, He will close doors, and place obstacles not meant to be overcome. To some, He will make the journey easy to navigate. He speaks to us in many different ways, and this is where a strong relationship with Him is crucial, so you can identify His voice when He speaks.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”
John 10:27

Know Him. Trust Him. Trust in His perfect timing. Put Him as the center of your relationship, and everything will beautifully unfold as He meant it to.

To wrap up this four-part series, remember that whether you’re a virgin, or have slept with someone and have repented, you can still have a great sex life. Whether you are single for years or decades, you can still end up in a beautiful relationship. Whether you’ve never dated before, or if you’ve dated plenty of guys and were in sinful relationships and have repented, you can still have a great marriage. By God’s grace anything is possible.

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 37:4

For more –

“On Marriage And Family Life” by St. John Chrysostom

“Choose Your Spouse” by Bishop Youssef

Embracing Singleness

Embracing Singleness

By Lilyan Andrews

Original post by Lilies and Thorns Blog

When I was attending a High School ECCYC (East Coast Coptic Youth Convention) Q&A session I sent a silly question up to the panel. “What is the right age to start dating?” Giggling trickled through the audience at the anonymous question. My technical little spirit wanted a magical number to look forward to, but little did I know that this question does not have a “right” answer. Now I give talks to youth groups about dating, and I always get the same question. I smile and remember the younger me who was just as curious to find an age to look forward to. Now I realize I was looking forward in the wrong way, and that I should have focused on the present.

How many days and nights do we spend daydreaming, hoping and praying that Mr. Right would come along? How much effort goes into chasing our crush and stalking them on social media? How many moments do we waste just waiting around to be in a relationship?

If I answered those questions honestly, my responses would make you cringe. There were countless moments that I spent doing all those things instead of enjoying my singleness. I saw my single days as lonely sad days, instead of seeing them for what they could have been: time to invest in myself.

“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come.”
Ecclesiastes 12:1

I wish I could tell my younger self to use every ounce of free time I had to focus on myself. To give extra attention to my relationship with God, because it is the one relationship that surpasses all. It is timeless and eternal. I should have used the time to build a strong foundation that can withstand any spiritual storm to come (and many storms did come). I should have gone on every retreat and monastery trip I could find to spend that special quiet time with Him. I should have attended all the available church services to spend more time in His house. I now have two little girls, and if I want any alone with God it’s at 5:00 AM before they wake up. Also, going to church with them is more work than I ever imagined, forget trying to pay attention in liturgy. I can go on forever about how kids flip your life upside down, but I hope this is convincing enough for you to take advantage of the gift of singleness.

I wish I could have used the time and energy I wasted on those passing feelings on fruitful relationships instead. I could have gotten closer to my family. Served my parents more. Spent quality time with my brother. Bonded with my girlfriends more.

If I had the chance to talk to my younger self I would tell her to stop living for the future, and start living for the present!

I always used my prayers to pray for the right person to come along, and for God’s perfect timing. I prayed for my future spouse and children, years before any of them came along. I’m not saying to ignore those things or to not pray about them, I’m saying also pray about your singleness too. Pray for yourself individually and struggle in your own spiritual journey.

There are many direct and indirect messages in the media that might lead us to believe that we are incomplete without someone. Can we please take that idea and throw it out the window?! You are a strong, spiritually mature, beautiful (inside and out), bold young woman wrapped in His grace! All on your own. Do not ever forget that you were made in His image and according to His likeness (Genesis 1:26).

You can live a deeply fulfilling life, enriched with spiritual adventure, thrilling experiences, quiet moments that lead to aha moments, friendships that bring out the very best in you, journeys that take you deep into yourself and bring you back stronger, smarter, and wiser than you ever were. Being preoccupied with another can distract you from fully processing all of the awesomeness that is you.

If you find yourself only hanging out with couples the majority of the time, and seeing relationships all around you makes you feel insecure about being single, then it’s time to change your environment. Find a few single gals you can hang out with. People who share the same struggles and can encourage you to be the best version of yourself.

Or if you are the type of person who likes to jump from relationship to relationship, then maybe it’s time to break that cycle. If you are uncomfortable with being alone, then you must confront that feeling and become comfortable in your own skin. You must be whole before you bring another person into your life. I don’t believe in the “he completes me” mentality.

I know it also doesn’t help when every taunt [older Egyptian woman] is always asking if you’re single so she can set you up with her son. Or always hearing “obalek” at every wedding occasion; that word doesn’t even have an English translation. It’s essentially wishing you to be next. The next graduate, bride, mother, etc. It’s proof that people are always looking to what’s next, and not focusing on the now. The Egyptian culture sometimes doesn’t know what to do with single women. Unfortunately, it tends to value those who are married, and pities those who aren’t. (I’m making a general statement here, of course this is not true in every situation.) This is not a standard you should live by. Live by seeking the kingdom first, and trust that God will take care of the rest.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Matthew 6:33

We know that marriage is created for the sake of our salvation, but it is not the only way to salvation. God gave Adam a helper comparable to him so that he should not remain alone (Genesis 2). It was a gift given from God, and I would argue, not a gift meant for everyone. St. Paul starts 1 Corinthians chapter 7 talking about marriage, then he says, “But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment. For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.” (1 Corinthians 7: 6-7) St. Paul is referring to his singleness and celibacy when he wishes that everyone would be like him, but also explains that this is not for everyone.

You might have to embrace singleness for a temporary time, but might have to also embrace it for a lifetime. Either way, the end goal is your salvation. Always focus your eyes on the prize: that is Christ. Whether He leads you to marriage or singleness, you should be following Him regardless of the season and the circumstance.

So take a deep breath, set aside any obsessive tendencies you have around relationships, and just focus on you and Him. Embrace it all!

Ask In My Name

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily

Passage John 16:23-33

“Ask in My Name” – a phrase repeated by Christ throughout this passage. This is a promise from our Lord – Christ is saying, “I promise if you ask the Father in My Name, you will receive.”

That’s a very bold promise. This is a huge commitment to make.

“Until now, you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” – John 16:24.

What does this actually mean? What are we allowed to ask for? Can I ask for materialistic things, a car, a phone? What is the Lord promising us today?

The four key words He says are, “Ask in My Name.” If we take each of those words individually, we understand His promise.

ASK

He wants us to ask! We shouldn’t assume that He knows what we want already. He knows what we need but He still wants us to ask for it. When we ask for it, we are admitting that we need Him. We ask and when we receive, we are thankful for we know it came from Him. If I don’t ask, I will never realise that He is the source. I will never truly realise that I need Him. The important step that He asks first, is to ask. This is not a burden, but a privilege. We are given the opportunity to ask of God.

I remember a time when one of our students was going through hardship and he came to me and asked me to speak with the Dean of his university to explain his situation. I called the secretary of the dean and she told me I couldn’t speak to him without an appointment. I asked to make an appointment, she came back and told me that he wouldn’t speak with me, but I could write him a letter. I wrote him a letter and never heard back from him. It was unlikely that he even read my letter.

This made me realise that if the Dean of a University was too important that he couldn’t make time to speak to me, let alone read my letter, but where does he stand in comparison to God? Today, Christ is telling us to just come to Him! Come talk to Me, I’m here, I’m ready, you don’t need an appointment. This is our God. He is the King of all kings but He humbles Himself to hear MY prayers. When Christ says, ask, it is an honour, a blessing, a gift, to ask the Creator of the Universe, and we should take full advantage of this.

What are we in? We are in Christ. When we ask, we belong to Christ. When we belong to Him, we stand before the Father, in Christ. Imagine Christ is the One asking, and we are in Him. Could the Father say no to Christ? Never, so we ask IN Christ. When we belong to Him and are a part of Him, there is nothing that we cannot ask of the Father.

My kids have been asking for a Nintendo Switch. I don’t want them to become addicted to games and screens. They beg and plead but I know this is not good for them. I explained to them saying, “I want you to understand that if you ask for something that is good for you, I will always say yes. Ask me for something that is bad for you, I will say no. If you want a book to read, I will go to the bookshop for you right now and get it for you. If you want a soccer ball, that’s good for your fitness, we’ll go get a soccer ball. If you want a new bike, that good for you to exercise, we’ll go get a new bike. Ask me things that are good for you.” Now, they ask according to what is good for them. My will for them, to be good and well-rounded children. God has a will for us, and He wants us to ask according to His will, and not our will.

If I ask God to give me the strength to fight temptation, what will He answer? His answer will be yes, it’s a given. If I ask for peace, His answer will be yes, given. If I ask God for holiness, yes here it is.

We ask according to His Name and according to His will for our lives. When we are in Him, we begin to know His word. When we are in Christ, we know Him, we know His will for us, we know if the answer will be yes or no, this is good for you or this is not good for you.

NAME

The name of Jesus is powerful. In Jewish tradition, the name of somebody held significance. It was not just a nice sounding name. The name held significant meaning, and God changed a person’s name based on significant events. Abram to Abraham. Sarai to Sarah. Jacob to Israel. God has changed people’s name for a reason. The Jews would not refer to God as YHWH. The Hebrew word was too holy to utter, so they used Adonai (which meant Lord). They used this as a substitute. So, we know that just the name of Jesus Christ is powerful.

We say not to use the Lord’s name in vain for it is powerful. There is a beautiful prayer called the Jesus prayer that goes like this, “My Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner.”

It’s a simple prayer that has come from the repetition. The monks of the early church would repeat this. They called it the Arrow Prayer, because in uttering the name of Jesus Christ, we invoke the power of the name of Jesus Christ to have mercy upon us.

This is a reminder of the gift of asking, anytime, anywhere, anything. All we need to do is to be in Him, to know Him, to belong to Him, to know His will. When we ask in His name, we ask according to His will, and His will becomes ours.

The Goods of God and Man

The Goods of God and Man

By Fr Antonios Kaldas

Original post by Fr Antonios Kaldas blog site

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, Cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9
I gave a talk on this verse yesterday at Sydney Uni Coptic Society and it made me think. Allow me to share some thoughts with you.

The thing that struck me most was the command for us to be ONE, to be whole. I am not speaking about a congregation or a family being united here, I am speaking about the individual not being divided against him/herself.

The words are very strong: ABHOR … CLING – there is no wavering here! My interpretation is that St Paul is asking us, “Who are you?” What kind of a person are you? What motivates you, and what moves you? What repels you and what sets your heart on fire?

One of the main ways we define ourselves, or think about who we are, is by what we believe, what we value, or what we think to be important or true. If I try to make up a list of these values I personally hold, I wonder what they would be? Would they all fall under the category of “good”?

Of course they would! I wouldn’t hold those values unless I thought they were good … good for ME, that is. But that’s not necessarily ‘good’ in the sense St Paul was talking about. For him, ‘good’ is not what any individual thinks to be good, but what God thinks to be good, and there can be a very big difference between the two, and often is.

So to fulfil this verse, I have to find out what God thinks is good. That’s not so hard – it’s all in the Bible. What is hard is to let go of my own concept of good. A simple example: Someone annoys me really badly. My good: teach the idiot a lesson he’ll never forget – he deserves it, and it will make me feel so much better. God’s good: Blessed are you when men revile and persecute you … and if he strikes you on the cheek, turn to him the other … do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Which one I choose out of those two determines who I am. To CLING to what is good is not easy. There are many, many forces, both within and without me, that are trying to prise me away from what is good. This verse informs me what it takes to hang on: CLING!!! Hang on tight! Never let go! Never give up! If your grip slips, clamber it back on again quick!

And on the other side of the coin: ABHOR!!! Hate! (yes, hate!) This is what hatred was made for – for things that are evil. We are not only allowed to hate evil, we are commanded to hate evil. We must hate evil. We must shun evil, and fight it and escape it with all our mind, strength, heart and soul.

To do anything less than this is to allow oneself to be a divided person. You can’t go for two goals at the same time, when they are at opposite ends of the field! You’ve got to make up your mind whose side you’re on, and then play for that side, aim for that goal.

Only then can love truly be without hypocrisy. Hypocrisy comes from a divided soul. One part of me wants to say and teach nice things. Another part of me wants to practice sins. The two cannot be in harmony. I find I have become a hypocrite.

The Teaching of the 12 Apostles (Didache) (2nd century AD) begins with the famous words: There are two ways, one of life and one of death: but a great difference between the two ways.

And we will give the last word to Joshua: choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve … But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Original blog found at- http://www.frantonios.org.au/2007/10/11/17/

Faith and Works

Faith and Works

by Shenouda Girgis

“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”– James 2:5.

The opening chapters of St James’ epistle reveal the importance of being a doer of the Word and not just a hearer. We strive for a strong and steadfast faith to guide our Christian life. We must be genuine; What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? (James 2:14)

In the beginning, God, out of His great love, created us, everything around us and set us over all His other creations. And as if such a gesture of love wasn’t enough, He blessed us with free will – the ability to make our own decisions – but simply asked that we be obedient to His word.

As we all know, it was this very ability to make our own decisions that led to the demise of humankind as we know it. Surely God knew that His gift of free will would be abused and that we would disobey and fall from grace.

Why did He allow this to happen knowing the consequences of sin was death? Why would He allow such a void to form between us and Him? The answer for this is God Himself, love. What we sometimes don’t understand is that our relationship with God is unlike any other relationship – the strongest relationships are the ones that are not one sided – where there is mutual love. That’s why God gave us our free will, He wants us to chose to be in a relationship with Him and not force us into just doing the right thing.

His love for us is unique in that, despite our numerous and infinite infidelities, He is always willing to accept us and is waiting for the day that we consciously choose Him with the free will He gave us. As Christians, our faith is established on the very thing makes God, God: love! Surprised?

Out of His love, He sent His Only Son to bear the punishment of our sins and through the death and resurrection of Christ we have been given eternal life. But just like our fall, our fate is in our own hands and the hands of the free will that God blessed us with. All of this is important to know because this is the foundation from which the strength of our faith can grow.

Our works are the true measure of our faith. But what do the Saints mean when they say works? Put simply, works are the proof of faith; it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to dedicate your entire life to service but if our faith is strong then we naturally have ‘works’, when out actions reflect Christ and people can see Christ in you then these are the true works that the saints are referring to. Are you inclusive of others as Christ was inclusive? Are you quick to anger or do you have the patience we are taught to have? I think St Francis of Assisi says it perfectly:

“Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words.”

Further reading: James 1-3, Romans 4-5, Galatians 3, Ephesians 2 & Proverbs 1

Did I Make The Right Choice?

by Sandra
Original post by Becoming Fully Alive blog site

“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantine and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn’t quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”― Sylvia Plath

Last September I had a pretty big decision to make about where I was going to accept a job. I called up the people who knew me best to get their insight, asked my father of confession for his wisdom and spoke to people working in the same field for their perspective.

Whether it’s deciding over relationships, colleges, schools or jobs, sometimes we might find ourselves with two seemingly great choices, and so we find ourselves in a dilemma. Each choice will come at a cost; each choice will have positives and negatives, and ultimately no choice will be perfect.

I’ve never been a fan of pros and cons lists – I find that life can’t be categorised that easily. However, a friend gave me advice that helped. I was told to assign a value to each point under my two options. When I started writing the values I held, I started to see that while both choices were in line with the vision I had for my life, there were some values that were more significant than others. And while one option had way more values than the other, the other which only had a couple were much more fundamental to me.

A few of the things I’ve learned this season…

“We don’t know what to do but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12). In the midst of his crisis, King Jehoshaphat acted by praising God. We also in the midst of our confusion and turmoil over decisions, need to learn the art laying our anxieties and restless thoughts down, being still and opening our heart in worship. The voice of the Holy Spirit can be so gentle that it’s only when we spend time in his presence that we can discern His Voice from all the noise.

Pray and learn from whatever happens on the other side. No matter what you choose, there will be struggle, and there will be trials for we know “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Sometimes those are a result of our choices, but in the end, they will be used by God to sanctify us and purify us. Living with our eyes on eternity is important in those seasons to understand that nothing is outside of His never-ending and unfailing love and mercy. There is no such thing as Plan B or Z with Christ. He will use all for our deification; it might take us longer on certain paths but even then, all we need to do is repent, and we are restored.

There’s a principle in radiology that says even if you find the fracture on an x-ray you should keep looking for other signs because you don’t want to be blindsided. Bring your decision before the Lord in prayer and meditation but challenge yourself to be curious and look deeper into your intentions, motivations and reasons for each choice. Give yourself time, patience and space and trust that the Holy Spirit will examine you, try you and reveal what is in depths of your heart.

Sometimes God’s will is clear and other times, most times, God allows us the freedom to choose and become whoever we want, though He may certainly have a direction for you. Submission is hard as we deny our self that we may be dedicated to Another. The hardest part in all of this is asking God “Who do you want me to be?” I think of Mary, called to be Mother of God; Abraham called to be Father of Nations and the disciples called to be Fishers of Men. God revealed to them who they were in His eyes and with that promise He gave them the strength and grace to become. Sometimes we don’t know how to choose because we don’t know who God is asking us to be. That may not be a question that gets answered overnight, it needs silence and self-awareness and time alone with Him. Sometimes it’s a process – it takes making one choice faithfully, and waiting faithfully and then making another and waiting to see what is revealed. But it’s a question we all desperately need the answer to – more than what we do God wants us to know who we are. It is only in knowing that, can we then make the decisions about what we do, how we spend our time, money and emotions. Because where we invest our heart, there we invest our life.

What if there is no such thing as the perfect choice? Because choosing means we can’t have everything. Because we don’t know how things will change and how those things that change will change us. Because we don’t know who we will be or what we will need in the future? Because we can sit here and play “what if the the grass is greener over there?” all day and it won’t bring us any closer to an answer – only further from being satisfied. And what if none of that matters because the point is to grow and seek His kingdom regardless of our choices?

So trust yourself. Most of our choices are not made in isolation. Where we are now and the choices we are making today is a culmination of all the choices and experiences in the past that have led up to this point. Trust that the God who has knit you from birth, has been guiding you and shaping you like clay can lead you today in this choice. Sometimes it’s fear of not having the perfect picture of our future figured out that holds us back.

A year later I’m fighting to find peace in the unknown road I’m on, but I want to continue to fight and continue to hope in Him because when I put the pieces in front of me, they don’t fit. Before me lays the back of a colourful tapestry and I have little idea what the canvas is going to look like. There are some dark threads from the past and some strange shapes from the present. But if I let Him just take all the colours, threads and pieces, I don’t have to sit and stare at them. The root of every untrusting feeling is the fear that He is not in fact good and that His love will end, especially when I feel I have no clue or answers about what to do. But if I forfeit my desire to know every outcome, if I forfeit the need to have physical evidence or feeling as evidence, then I will trust in His Word that He is with me, and that He is weaving stars and gold from what looks like odd patterns to me. And doesn’t that make all the difference?

C.S. Lewis — ‘I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?’

One choice we can always make, even in the midst of painful uncertainty, the simplest place to start is with this: “Love the Lord your God … and love your neighbour as yourself. No other commandment is greater…” You will always be where you need to be as long as Love is your aim.

Original blog found at – http://becomingfullyalive.com/did-i-make-the-right-choice/

Finding God’s Will in Humility

Finding God’s Will in Humility

Transcribed sermon by Fr Samuel Fanous

Passage: Luke 1:26-38

What is God’s will and how do I accept His will in my life? The story of the Annunciation of the birth of Jesus Christ to Saint Mary is a beautiful and practical answer to this question that many of us have asked. God could have chosen a multitude of ways to send His Son to the earth, yet He chose St Mary, of all the billions of people. The Annunciation gospel gives us a glimpse into why she was the greatest of all time.

The Archangel Gabriel greets her saying, “Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” (Luke 1:28)

What a greeting this was! Saint Mary lived in the temple so we can presume that she lived and breathed the Scriptures. At the appearance of the angel with a greeting as such, surely she would have known that big news was coming.

When the angel appeared to Gideon in the Old Testament to tell him that he would conquer an army of ten thousand with 300 men, he said, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour”(Judges 6:12). In the seemingly impossible, the assurance of this phrase was more than enough. Again, when God spoke to Moses to guide the Israelites out of the Egypt, He greets him saying, “I will certainly be with you” (Exodus 3:12).

In this moment, St Mary would have known that when the phrase, “the Lord is with you,”is used that a great mission and a great honour is to come, but this is not without suffering. St Mary was troubled at this greeting, she was twelve years old and spent her life praying in the temple and expected to live the rest of her life similarly.

The angel is now telling her that God has more planned for her. In her supreme humility, Mary is troubled because she can’t see how something so great will be achieved by someone so insignificant. Sometimes, we exercise false humility when we turn down a service because we’re not worthy, or we don’t think we’re good enough. This is very different to what St Mary says for her humility was sincere. She was troubled internally by the great responsibility but she knew that it was not her who was achieving this great act, but God.

She could have said, “No, I can’t do it, this is too much for me. I’m just a sinful person, how can I carry Jesus Christ?”But St Mary did not look to herself, she looked to God. It was not a matter of her unworthiness but God’s worthiness. She was not the one enacting the miracle but God was. She was simply the vessel, and that is the greatest display of humility that we hear when she says, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”

The first step to humility is recognising that no one is worthy. If there is any good within us, we don’t deny it but attribute it to the goodness of God. If I’m smart, I know that God gave me intelligence. If I’m good looking, I know that it was God that created me that way. Humility is not to say that I am the worst person and there is nothing good in me – that is all lip service. True humility is knowing that anything we have cannot be ascribed to ourselves. It can only be ascribed to God.

St Mary asks a question that may sound like she is doubting what the angel is saying when she says, “How can this be since I do not know a man?”

Zachariah asks a similar question, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years,”and is rebuked and made mute until the birth of his son, but St Mary is praised. There is a subtle difference however, Zachariah’s question is almost asking the angel to prove himself, while Mary is asking how it will happen. Mary is saying, “I believe you, explain it to me, if I have taken a vow of virginity, how shall I fall pregnant?”

Mary was filled with faith, which Zachariah was lacking. Her faith was one of the reasons why she was the greatest that ever lived. She placed her trust completely in the Lord, and we see glimpses of St Mary as an enigma in the gospel. Later when the wise men and shepherds come to Bethlehem to see Jesus, St Mary doesn’t say much, but ponders these things in her heart. Her entire life was devoted to serving God, with very little thought into the part she played. Many of our own problems stem from the fact that we are firmly attached to our own will. God cannot penetrate a heart that is insistent on its own will. God gave us freewill and will not fight us for what’s best for us, we need to want His will above our own.

No matter what happened to St Mary, she pondered these things in her heart and said, “let it be according to Your Word.” She may not have understood what was happening but that was not a concern, for she was the clay in the Potter’s hand. No one could accomplish the will of God quite like St Mary, for she was the most obedient in existence.

How did she attain such faith and obedience? Because she had spent her life in the temple, pondering the Word of God. She lived with Jesus, the Son God for 30 years, she experienced Him and she pondered His words in her heart.

We live differently. We live outside the Word God. We live outside of a relationship with God and we have agendas that we are trying to complete. For some, it’s their career, for others it’s their lifestyle, their happiness or their families. We all have an agenda and when God’s will presents itself before me, I am forced to make a decision – will I follow God’s will or will I follow my own?

When you’ve lived your entire life satisfying your own will, it becomes nearly impossible to choose God’s will rather than your own will. For example, I know that it is God’s will for me to live in harmony with others and harbour no hatred in my heart, but there may be a grudge that I’m holding against someone. For as long as that grudge stands, I choose to put God’s will aside for my own.

God’s will be for me to spend time with Him in prayer, but that conflicts with my desire for sleep and my fatigue. So again, God’s will must be put to one side. There’s a conflict in our hearts night and day between my will and God’s will, and every time I give in to my own will, I am making it stronger. I entrench it further and it becomes more and more to see clearly.

If God asks you for something, surrender yourself to His will, just like St Mary who didn’t know what was to come. If you are called to serve, surrender yourself to His will and do it not because you are great, but because you are simply a vessel that will carry greatness.

So how do we know God’s will? Do we expect that we’re going to get a letter from Heaven to say take this job, or marry this girl? It will never happen that way. We can only know God’s will in our life when we subject ourselves to His will in the small things.

When you don’t want to pray and you pray anyway that is subjecting yourself to God’s will, or when you don’t want to fast, or serve, or forgive, and you do it anyway, you strengthen the will of God in the little things. God’s will then grow in your life and it becomes easy to recognize that the steps you are taking are in line with God’s will. If you’ve lived your own will your whole life but then want to get married, how will you ever know, if you have not lived God’s will?

Let us learn to live our lives like St Mary, as a vessel for the Master’s use so that His will becomes clear in my life in the little things so that the big things are under His control entirely.

Covenant Thursday

Lead me to the Cross

Covenant Thursday

by Marc Eskander

So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

Genesis 32:27-28

Wrestling. It’s one of the oldest documented sports. It has existed since Creation, maybe not in the same format that UFC takes these days, but nevertheless violence has existed ever since Lucifer was cast out of heaven.

Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Job, Moses, David, Solomon St Paul, St Peter…the list goes on…they all had one thing in common – they all wrestled. They wrestled with their faith in God, with the devil, with their own will and ultimately God Himself.

Jacob, probably the most infamous of these ‘wrestlers,’ tussled with God physically, “face-to-face,” as we are told in Genesis, and subseuently walked away with a permanent limp. A stark reminder of his one-on-one encounter with the Almighty. However, something else changed – his identity. He became Israel, meaning, to struggle or to strive and became a father to the nation of Israel. This nation was one that would wrestle with God.

Fast forward a few thousand years and it’s a chilly Thursday night in Jerusalem. Jesus has just finished the Passover with His twelve disciples and makes His way to the Mount of Olives, specifically the Garden of Gethsemane, to pray… to wrestle?

The Garden

Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

Matthew 26:38

Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, came face-to-face with God the Father. He was about to realise the task that lay ahead of him and the immense weight about to be laid on his shoulders, but ultimately, His willingness to take it all.

Why was the Garden necessary? Surely Jesus knew what was going to happen? Surely He had accepted it in His heart and was ready to do it…

The Garden represents a very important part of our life in Christ. It is a place where we come face to face with the prospect of pain and suffering in our journey with God. Where we are left alone to work out who we are and where we’re going. It is sometimes cold, dark and unfamiliar. In the garden you will be deserted by those who love you, it will be lonely. However, Christ gives us the strength to endure this.

The last week of Christ’s life on earth was a battle – against public opinion and His closest friends, a battle with the impending suffering, and ultimately a victorious battle with death.

Gethsemane is the place where Our Lord came to count the cost of this battle. He had come to reconcile His dread and fear of the immense suffering He was about to undertake with God’s will for Him and for our salvation. We need to enter our own personal Gethsemane. A place where seeds of prayer, tears, and watchfulness are planted. Where we can discover firstly our own malevolent and fleshly will, and then, learn to crucify that will and align it to God’s.

A place where we can sit down, and really think about what it’s going to take for us to follow Him. We cannot embark on this path with uncertainty or inner conflict. Our pursuit of Christ and His will must be done with all our “heart, soul, strength and mind” (Mark 12:30-31)and be fully united in this journey. The bible is explicit about that from beginning to end,“…every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” (Matt 12:25) While this verse can be applied to many situations and virtues, I think the most poignant is our own house. Our house must be fully and wholeheartedly united in its resolve to follow Christ. Otherwise “the rains [will] descend, the floods [will] come, and the winds [will] blow and beat on that house; and it [will] fall.” (Matt 7:24-27)

Throughout His ministry, Christ showed us the importance of regular prayer, exemplified in Gethsemane. Those remarkable words that Christ offered in His pain, “nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). Christ’s request was to remove this cup of suffering, however, He didn’t have a Plan B. He didn’t ask for the suffering to be removed and then proceed to do His own thing. His request was immediately followed by His desire to align His will to God’s. That is how we should be. We cannot pray “thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” if our heart desires the will of our flesh. This is a double minded prayer, lacking integrity.

He also taught us the importance of solitude and watchfulness. These two go hand in hand in our journey with God. Finding time for solitude allows us to shut out the invading thoughts of this world and of ourselves and the many distractions that we constantly encounter. Through this process, we can learn to be watchful. To be watchful so that the door of our heart is tightly shut to the enemy, and we can concentrate on the task at hand. This task is coming face to face with our sinfulness, with our repentance, and with God.

The Enemy

“The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Matthew 26:40

This fight is one that we must learn to apply in our lives. The verse above embodies this battle well. God breathed His own breath into us to give us life so that we constantly yearn to be united with Him, our Creator and Giver of all good things. While our spirit yearns for Him, the flesh remains to seek its own. We constantly question the direction we’re going and what God’s plan for our life is. Instead, we should question whether our determination to finding out what God’s Will is, may be actually sabotaged by following our own will.

A life with Christ certainly isn’t a sweet pill. It is not a life with no problems and no worries, a life with no negative emotions or unhappiness. It is a constant struggle. A “daily death” as St Paul said in 1 Corinthians. A daily death of our desires, will, passions, lusts, and anything else that draws us away from that narrow way.

It is difficult, no doubt about it. However it is this daily death of ourselves, that allows a new creation to grow in its place. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:14, “narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Facing up to God’s Will is hard, and countless times in the Bible people have tried to escape. It can be terrifying, illogical, painful and filled with doubt. Yet one thing is certain and that is the fact that God isn’t unsure about His Will.

We sometimes try and negotiate with God: “why can’t it be done this way? Shouldn’t we consider the other options? I don’t think I can do this.”

Our unwillingness to accept only prolongs our pain, and instead of struggling with God to come closer to and love Him, we are resisting and running away from Him. The next question that we logically ask, what is God’s will for your life? I don’t know. No one does but God. However…

Abraham learnt about it in his pain of being childless.

Job found it in his suffering and extreme loss.

St Paul discovered it in his blindness.

Moses uncovered it in his 40 years leading the disobedient tribe of Israel.

And Christ accepted it in the Garden, sweating blood and bearing the weight of infinite iniquity.

I think we can see here clearly that our submission to Him, the suffering and pain in our lives, our constant struggle within ourselves to reconcile our will to His, to know him further and to become closer to him- are victories in themselves. However, they are the keys to discovering where God wants us to go.

Jesus and Jacob both struggled with God, and both were wounded. Both asked requests of our Father. Jacob received his blessing while Christ was asked to yield to God’s plan for our salvation.

Both ‘wrestles’ brought forth new identities. Jacob, in his name change to Israel, and Christ through the transformation of our identity from lost to found, and from dead to alive. Christ improved on the example of Jacob in that His struggle and suffering redeemed us, and gave us the blessings that are rightfully His. He took on the wounds that we deserved as “ He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities”. (Isaiah 53:5)

In Christ, our struggles become our defining moments. They shape our Christ-like identity, they allow us to know ourselves and therefore to know our Creator.