“God doesn’t remove darkness; He enters into it with us.”
If you’ve ever struggled with the question, “why does a good God allow so much bad?”, then this week’s message is what you need to listen to. It’s the finale of our Blind Faith series and in it, we see how Jesus approached pain, suffering and death in the life of His dear friends Lazarus, Mary and Martha.
What you find might surprise you as Jesus doesn’t remove the pain from their lives; instead He enters into with them.
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Christ is risen!!!! Yes, He is risen indeed!!!! And in case you didn’t realize it, that is the greatest news ever!
Why? Because it means that death has been defeated! Through His own death and resurrection, Jesus abolished the power of death and granted us victory over the one enemy that we thought could never be conquered...DEATH!
Therefore we will/must REJOICE! WOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Below is a slightly more eloquent way of saying what I just said – an excerpt from a sermon preached by the great St. Athanasius (patron saint of STSA):
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Sadly, this story has become all too common. Another mass shooting - this time in Las Vegas. Another senseless killing, taking the lives of several innocent victims and bringing anger and fear into the hearts of even more.
As I was reflecting upon these recent events, I remembered a post I wrote last year after a similar tragedy in Orlando. Prior to this week, the Orlando shooting was the largest in US history, but the Las Vegas tragedy has now surpassed it - with 58 dead and more than 500 wounded.
The post below was my way of processing what happened and answering the question, "Where do we go from here?" The details may be different, but the message is the same.
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By now, most of the world is aware of the horrific act of terrorism that took place three days ago in a Coptic church in Egypt. Someone went into a crowded church on a Sunday morning during the time of worship and set off a bomb that killed at least 25 people and injured 50 more – the majority of whom were women and children.
Awful awful awful. Makes me sick to my stomach. Another senseless tragedy to add to the list that was already too long to begin with.
What I want to talk about today is how we can make sense out of tragedies and disasters like this. How do we process the event and move forward – not forgetting what happened but also not letting it consume us and fill us with fear and/or anger?
Whether it’s across the world or across the street… whether it’s terrorism or racism… whether it’s called an act of God or an act of the devil…
…how can we make sense of the inevitable tragedies in our lives?
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One afterlife experience by a contemporary Egyptian Christian monk altered my life and allowed me to regain an eternal perspective on living. Formerly, as I busied myself satisfying my sinful desires, I knew God existed, but He was not relevant. Yet, as I heard my mom read to me the monk’s afterlife experience (translating it from Arabic to English), I imagined myself in his place having to face the repercussions of my decisions in life. It was then that my heart and mind flooded with the feeling expressed by the wise Solomon: “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed,all is vanity and grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14).
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By now, everyone is fully aware of the horrific events that took place in Orlando, FL last weekend where a man opened fire at a nightclub, killing 49 people. The attack was “the deadliest mass shooting in the United States and the nation’s worst terror attack since 9/11” according to this CNN article.
When things like this happen, I find myself needing to process the event internally and find an answer “what happened here?”
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I don't know about you, but if there's one thing I long for it's this: the biggest, fattest hug from God and for Him to look us deep in the eye and say "Well done – welcome home, my daughter (or son)!" I don’t know about you, but I can imagine myself crying oceans on that day.
Every time I think about it, it makes me feel kind of sad that we actually have to live life with all its hardships to get there, but I found myself thinking: Why not live heaven on earth?
I came across recently that says "God is not where heaven is, heaven is where God is."
And that made me think...
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Yesterday marked the four year anniversary of the departure from this world of a true spiritual giant, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III. I therefore thought it fitting to honor this saintly man with a post I wrote back in 2012, just days after his death, speaking about some of my experiences with the departed Pope and some lessons learned as well. May the Lord accept the prayers of this righteous man on behalf of us all and on behalf of His Beloved Church.
Over the past few days, a lot has been written about the life and legacy of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III. As is often the case with a righteous man, it isn’t until after his departure from this world that we realize the true greatness of the man that was in our midst
Read More“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12
It's Part 2 in the Burnt Out: Finding Peace on Earth series and our topic this week is margin in our SCHEDULES.
How do we do that when life is so hectic and busy? It's less about a technique and more about a principle - a principle that gives us the proper context for every decision when it comes to scheduling our time.
What is that principle? You're gonna have to check out the video above and see for yourself.
Spoiler alert: about 2/3 of the way through this message, there is some real wisdom that every person needs to hear concerning the top regrets people have before dying. Trust me - that part alone is worth watching this video. Trust me.
As promised, each week I will dedicate one or two blog posts to the idea of “Living on Purpose, not by Accident.” Why? Because we all end up somewhere, but few people end up somewhere on purpose.”
Imagine this scene. You’re in a big church sanctuary about to attend one of the most important occasions in your life. You’re surrounded by hundreds of people that you know well – family, friends, colleagues, neighbors – anyone who you consider an important part of your life. The church is packed but there’s no talking – only sounds of sniffling. There’s a big box in the front and everyone seems to be focused on that box. You know what’s in the box right???
YOU! This is your funeral and it’s about to begin. Here’s the question you need to answer today while you still can: WHAT DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WILL SAY ABOUT YOU?
What will your spouse say? What will your parents say? What will your friends say? What will your neighbors or co-workers say? What do you want them to say? How about God Himself – the True Judge – what do you think He’d want to say at the end of your life?
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“Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father… But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:21-24
Those were the words Jesus spoke to the Samaritan Woman thousands of years ago. They were also the words that were not coincidentally read this past Sunday in church – just one day after we learned about the death of the Pope and Patriarch of the Coptic church, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III.
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