Saturday, October 14, 2017

Pentecost XIX! Pray without Ceasing!













      
     Greetings in Christ Jesus
            Sunday October 15, 2017



Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 5: 9-28
Gospel: Luke 12: 2-12
Psalm: Psalm 108/109



Friends,

God has not made us for wrath, but purchasing of salvation through Jesus Christ; whether we watch or sleep we may live together with Him. [Pray without ceasing] Jesus Christ is faithful to you and will do it. Friends what does it mean ‘whether we watch or sleep’? Scripture is speaking of the living and the dead here. Whether Christ comes while we live or are in the grave doesn’t matter, if we are His then we are His eternally.

Understand that there is order in the church, this epistle tells us to rebuke the unquiet, and that is those who are disorderly. Another reading is to rebuke the unruly, so within the church there are those who call themselves Christian and yet their lives are disorderly or unruly and not conformed to the teachings of our Lord, for these we are to rebuke. It is up to those Christians to heed the rebuke, love everyone; as this epistle says to comfort the feebleminded or fainthearted, support those who are weak; this could be said for both the physically weak but even more so for those who are spiritually weak. We all have faults and we need to support one another.

Do not commit an evil act to someone because that one has committed an evil act against you. Follow that which is good towards one another, rejoice always, and be constantly in prayer and do not extinguish the spirit that was given to you. Prove and hold fast to that which is good, in today’s world just as in the days of the apostles the false prophets abound, many people are deceived or end up in endless debates that are fruitless and waste time that should be spent seeking Jesus, these endless debates are most often things that have nothing to do with salvation and serve no real purpose but are given some purpose by the deceiver and spread throughout Christendom as a means to take up that precious time.

Hear the prophets but investigate and prove all things whether they are true. Give thanks for all things and stay away from anything that even has the appearance of evil. How many Christians do this today? We have so many excuses and we can come up with any number of reasons why something is o.k. that has every appearance of evil. We are told to stay away. May the God of peace Himself sanctify you in all things: that your whole spirit, and soul, and body, may be preserved blameless in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. How will this happen when we do not abstain from the evil?

There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed. Do not fear those who can kill the body. But I will shew you who you shall fear: fear him, who after he has killed, has power to cast into hell. Yea, I say to you, fear him. Confess me before men, him shall the son of Man also confess before the angels of God. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him: but to him that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven. The Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what you must say.

How much is needed to be explained here? Confess Jesus and Jesus will confess us. Be careful in one’s judgment, as the Pharisees claimed that Jesus was working through the spirit of the evil one they were condemned. Be very careful in one’s condemnation of another and of the words used; choose one’s words carefully as we all shall answer for every word spoken by us. If we do indeed depend on the spirit alone then we shall be given wisdom and the words that we must speak. There are many among us who earn a good living by condemning others and calling them the antichrist. Be careful. Those who constantly speak in this manner may very well be condemning themselves. I am speaking of the condemnation of those who claim to be speaking in the name of Jesus. Truth and falseness must be proven not just conjectured by and through prejudice and pride.

O God, be not silent in my praise: for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful man is opened against me. As this Psalm states; God will take care of all who would speak against the spirit. God will have mercy on all who call upon His name in truth and love, all others will be as dead, even now as they attack the Holy Spirit by attacking Jesus they are already dead, they are a dead man walking until such time as they repent and confess, on the other hand it is us who must pray for them so that by the mercy of God they may believe and become saved through Christ.

If one does not have love for the soul of mankind and the desire that all come to the truth than one does not have Christ in them fully.

Little children, love one another; because this is our Lord’s command and if you fulfill this, nothing else is needed. Through love and because of love we will follow all of the commandments that we have been given. They are written on our hearts by the hand of Almighty God. We simply need to see them within us and follow.


Remember; if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.


In Christ.







Member of the Autocephalous Orthodox Catholic Church of the Americas







Monk Michael's videos; http://www.youtube.com/user/HieroMonkMichael

Many Blessings!
+William

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