Greetings to all!
I pray that this new year will bring peace into the heart of all regardless of circumstances. I also pray that for all who are in dire straights that their lot will greatly improve and that during the time of bad circumstance their faith shall increase rather than decrease.
Amen!
I am perplexed over the excitement of the year 2012 and the end of life on earth. So much of the world including Christians seem to be fixated on the end times. Scientists, self-proclaimed prophets, astrologers and philosophers are all abuzz over this issue that is to occur on December 21, 2012. There are several things wrong with this fixation;
1. Jesus Christ Himself stated that we cannot know the time of the end of ages, even He Himself, the Son of God, the Word of God, the great I AM said that he doe not know, only the Father knows the time. As Christians we should already know this and not be concerned.
2. If the world is about to end and in fact does end, what are we, you, or I going to do about it? Nothing! Almighty God is in control.
3. On a personal level, in our own daily life, we cannot know from one breath to the next whether we will draw another, we cannot know from one blink of the eye to the next if we will blink again. Our own personal end of times can happen in our very next heartbeat.
Should not these things be our concern? Should we not be preparing our salvation with every breath? The scriptures that we read tell us that if everything that Jesus Christ taught was written down, the books would fill up the world. However, there is quite a bit of information that is written and contained within all of this information is in my humble opinion a very simple message that we must at all cost pay heed to and it is this;
1. Love God first.
2. Love your neighbor a yourself.
3. Repent and be baptized.
4. If you do not eat my flesh and drink my blood you will have no part in me.
5. I pray that they will be one as we are one. Do you know who prayed these words?
The very last words that the Apostle John spoke to anyone in public when he was carried out in a chair to speak were these;
My brothers, remember to love one another.
I don't care what group you belong to, I don't care how elite you think your group is, the message is still simple, heed it. It is your very life.
In Christ,
Monk Michael
Rev. FR. Michael Valentine
American Orthodox Church/North American Orthodox Church
New Warrior Ministries
