Where would I be without Christ

Today’s bible study was one of a kind. The good Lord has revealed so much and has filled and sown his kind words to harvest my heart. As I sat there in the old pews listening to the words of God, I kept think where I am going? Where would I be with out Christ as my guide through life? How will I get through life without Christ? Surely I am not prepared to answer all this now. Perhaps I should have thought my life long and hard and should be careful when making important decisions. How do you carry yourself in the world while trying to place God before anything you choose? It is important to think about the consequences of your action, as they will follow you in your life. But how do we relate this to the bible, what can we learn from the bible that gives us reason to be careful and to choose carefully. In the Old Testament a humble and God fearing man called Lot who was a nephew of Abraham lived a simple life until one day a question of choice was to be answer. Lot did not see what was coming and how his life would be influenced by his choice. We read in Genesis 13:7 "and there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lots cattle". Because Abram (as he was called before his covenant with God) saw this was problematic he reasoned with his nephew Lot and asked him to choose a place to rest his cattle so that they would not be in disagreement anymore. We read further that Lot chooses to rest in the further land of Jordan where the area was surrounded with water and seemed life the unimaginable garden of Eden. Lot choose the place that seems most beautiful and suitable to make a comfortable living with his family. However, he did not know what awaited him as the place he had chosen would be the one God would destroy because of the sinful acts present in that place. Still in this world as our human nature we want to live good eat well and be merry, we ask for this things in our lives and we ask to have all the pleasure of life without realizing these things may draw us further from God’s intended spiritual home the church that is so beneficial for our souls. So when asking God to better our lives should we not ask him to better our spiritual live instead. Christ thought us to seek the Kingdom of God first “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you” Mathew 7: 33. So why is it that we run to get something from the world and slow down when it comes to church. Christ tell us not to think and worry of what we shall eat and drink or aspire in our live for he know what we have less and more and what we need the right amount of in our lives. “For your heavenly father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” Mathew 7:32. Should we not ask God for our daily bread first knowing that everything else will follow, surely this does not mean we should sit at home doing nothing but it should mean that we work hard with honesty yet still put our trust and hope in God because without him nothing is possible, and with his power anything is POSSIBLE.   

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was with God in the beginning."
John 1

Book Of Easther: How God saves through people

Esther was a simple unfortunate Jewish girl who lived with her uncle Mordecai in a city called Shushan. As both her parents died Mordecai gave refuge to Esther who was his uncles daughter. In his home he looked after her as his own child and cared for her  with the help of God’s hands. Esther was fortunate enough to have been chosen as a maiden from other maidens that have been overlooked when the King Ahasuerus asked for a new wife to join his palace. But it was through Gods power and guidance that King Ahasuerus’ service men found Esther therein with her uncle Mordecai in the city of Shushan. It was from this instance that Esther’s future had changed and had a greater purpose only given by God’s Grace. As Esther settled in king Ahasuerus’ palace there had been conspiracy planned in the palace. Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite was an enemy of the Jews. Haman conspired against the Jews, he gave misleading information to the King with the intention of destroying the Jews. Thus, Haman wrote an ordered for the Jews to be killed. It was after the killing of her people the news came to Queen Esther and knowing that her uncle had been standing at the palace gate trying to speak with her she gave him the message of fasting so that their wish may be answered. Although Esther was not allowed to see the King before she had been fully purified and made ready for the King as the laws intends. Esther stressed that she may be breaking the laws as she says to Mordecai her uncle “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.” Esther 4:11. Fearing of her death Esther did not hesitate she immediately acted and told her uncle this message “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” Esther 4: 16. Esther went forth to invite the King and Haman to a banquet and she did not know that Haman was planning to execute her uncle by hanging him on the day of the banquet.

As the night fell and day was present Haman prepared for the execution and the King was confused to find that Mordecai had saved him and it was written in the book of Chronics. King Ahasuerus wanted to honor Mordecai for the kindness he showed towards him and asked Haman what should be given to those who honor and protect the king. Haman though the king was referring to him and answered “For the man whom the king delights to honor, let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head.”Esther 6:7. The King ordered Haman to do as he said for Mordecai and Haman was ashamed as he though he would be honored. After this queen Esther held the banquet and told the King of the conspiracies Haman had been planning, when the King Heard about this he was shocked and order for Haman to be hanged where Haman himself intended to hang Mordecai.

With the belief and trust in God the Jews were fasting with the intent of finding an answer. Esther in her royal throne did not forget her people because she knows that her royalty was a gift given to her by God. There is a lot to learn from the Old Testament and the stories that are told have hidden messages just as the Gospels have hidden message underlining in the parable Christ teaches in the New Testament. Through these stories we are able to find the answer when looking inside and reading the metaphors that lie within the text and with the intention of knowing God and asking that he may reveal to us the true meaning and the wonderful mysteries of the Holy Trinity.

True Light of the world

True Light of the world

In this world many people are blind by the temporary material happiness that may bring light to their home whether it be the well-paid job the latest car and all the movies you can watch on your television screen. But what is the true meaning of happiness, do we ever stop to think of what will happen as soon as we lose our possessions and when we get old and die gracefully. We certainly know the worldly material goods will not follow us to the next life. The light of the world Jesus Christ came and died for us on the cross so that we may be able to repent and save our souls by taking his precious Blood and Holy Body which will bring us closer to knowing him and the mystery God. As we once again approach the celebration of the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ we fast and pray, in remembrance we celebrate every week the miracles Christ showed every Sunday of the Sabbath as he walked in this world. At the end of these we will come to the light (Berhan): the birth of our Lord Saviour.

 

When our Lord was with us he healed the sick and gave sight to the blind, we are all certainly blinded by the world and do not comprehend the truth until we have brought ourselves closer to the Lord. We may come to the house of God looking through our eyes but our heart is not opening up and sacrificing to God without limits. When Christ gave sight to the blind man, he did not only give him sight to see the world but he also opened his heart. The true sight Christ gave him was the gift to knowing in his heart that Christ saved him and at that moment he believed in Christ. Jesus himself said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:5. It is better to be blind and know God than to have sight and forget his existence, because we are blinded by the world we only see the world and to see the world means to have access to sins. “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” John 9. When our Lord refers to those who ‘see’ he means those in sins, therefore, when he says ‘those who see may be made blind’ he means those who are already in sins to be blind from the world so they can see the light in their hearts.

The Pharisees had doubted the miraculous sight Christ gave to the blind man and asked him if they were blind also, but Jesus replied to the Pharisees by saying “If you were blind, you would have no sin: but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.” John 9:41. We must also remember that when Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eden they were sinless and when they had broken the rules of God they sinned and therefore they saw each other and were ashamed, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked” Genesis 3:7. The key notion in both the biblical references is to notice that seeing something with your eyes leads to sins and it is because of Adam’s original sin that mankind has suffered for years until Christ came for our salvation. It was also Satan who tempted Eve by saying “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4. This is precisely the job of Satan, he whispers in our ears and tells us the shiny expensive materials of the world will make us happy as he whispered to Eve ‘your eyes will be opened’ he also whispers to us that everything will be better if we have that ridiculously expensive car or that shiny diamond ring a trap to make you sin in any possible way. As we approach the celebration of the birth of our Lord we must all pray so that our eyes may be blinded from the world and our hearts may see the true light of God. All this is impossible without the prayers and intercessions of our blessed mother Virgin Mary and all Angels and saints. Remember me in your prayer as I remember you in mine everyday. Amen.

To Seek out for the lost sheep

In a world where religion is almost becoming a fashion statement it’s a wonder how Orthodox Christians find the time to attend church and pray to our lord Jesus Christ and our mother dengel Mariam every Sunday. Contemporary lifestyle is truly and silently suppressing our society little by little. Many youngsters are forgetting the Tewahido Orthodox way of live and are getting close to becoming the lost sheep looking elsewhere for answer as opposed to seeking to know what is already prepared for them in our beloved church. Some may be lost because of curiosity but more are lost because of ignorance, which makes them an easy target to fall under the trap of the non-believers. The Orthodox Church still stands the strongest and oldest church and the only true church given to us by our forefathers who died for her in times of suffering so that we may not lose the true way of life and pass the secrets of the church to generation still to come. ‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?’ (Luke 15:4). For the sake of that lost sheep the shepherd came to her rescue and give salvation. Christ also said ‘there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.’(Luke 15:7).