Calling Sinners to Repentance!

XVI Pentecost! Calling Sinners to Repentance!

                                      

Greetings in Christ Jesus,

Sunday September 24, 2017

Epistle: Philippians 1: 12-20

Gospel: Luke 5: 27-32

Psalm:  Psalm 102/103

Friends,

People say that the Lord works in mysterious ways. This is in fact truer than many realize. In today’s epistle we see that the Apostle St. Paul is writing while in chains. While imprisonment was meant to stop his preaching it only allowed him to continue and along with his continuing while in chains others received courage to begin preaching as well as others continuing their own preaching. Some preach the gospel out of love for Jesus and the preaching of the gospel while others preach the gospel out of envy and contention not from sincerity but under the idea that their preaching will only infuriate the authorities even more against Paul. But what does Paul think about this? His heart is glad about it, he rejoices in this, if those who are preaching out of contention are preaching the truth then in fact the truth is still being preached which continues to spread the true gospel.

In today’s gospel we see that Jesus has called a publican, a tax collector, a position that was much hated by most Jews and considered these people to be great sinners. Yet Jesus calls this man to follow Him. So the man does, we can see that we cannot ever judge the heart of any one person by this example. We do not know at any time who will hear and take the word to heart and who will not hear and take the word to heart. We are not the ones who decide this. We preach the word for al to hear but as Paul says to the Corinthians; I give you milk still because you are not yet ready for meat. We are told to not cast our pearls before the swine. This does not mean that we do not simply preach the truth to all, but there is meaning in depth here; in the Eucharist or Holy Communion, in the partaking of the Body and Blood we need to be careful. Those who hear but do not understand, those who refuse to believe the truth as in the fact that Jesus was indeed the Word of God in the flesh, true God of true God, begotten not made, has no part in the Body and Blood. They participate to their own downfall. These pearls we do not cast before the swine who are those in this saying are the ones who preach that Jesus is not God from God.

So in today’s Psalm we see that we are to bless the Lord in all things with all that we have, our very being is to bless the Lord. Regardless of our circumstances we are to bless the Lord. Paul blessed the Lord and continued preaching and serving even though in persecution, chains, and in prison. What is our excuse today? The world continues to degenerate, spiraling downhill and going out of control. How many will believe or who will believe? We do not know these answers. We know only this; in living out our lives here we are to be examples of the love of Almighty God. When the opportunity is there we are to speak on the saving grace of our Lord Jesus the Christ. Back biting in the Body of Christ is not acceptable. It is a disgrace and needs to stop. Love for humanity is the only way.

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

Stand Strong in the Lord!

XV Pentecost! Stand Strong in the Lord!  

                                    

Greetings in Christ Jesus,

Sunday September 17, 2017

Epistle: Ephesians 6: 10-24

Gospel: Mark 13: 14-37

Psalm:  Psalm 100/101

Friends,

Stand strong in the Lord Jesus Christ. Today’s epistle says:

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 

Be strong friends, the devil has many schemes running at once even within the church, the Body of Christ. So many teachings, so many denominations and doctrines. So many groups claim to be the one true church while they espouse their own peculiar doctrine.

Whosoever calls upon me I will in no wise cast out. What can this mean? Calling on Jesus is not a one time event but all of the day and night we call upon and rely on Jesus. He is our salvation, He is our life and we must put on the whole armor to understand this. Faith, Hope, and Charity or Love that is active. We do not rely on our physical eyes or senses to see the truth or to live the truth for our battles are spiritual and not physical, even the one who attempts to mug you or rape you is guided spiritually by a demon. This is what we must recognize.

We will fight these battles until the coming of the Lord even though He is among us in spirit guiding us He will return alive in the new body in which we shall all receive. His angels are also among us guiding us, I have seen them, I have seen their protection in times of distress and danger. However, we must also take action starting with our faith because it is our faith that allows the us to get through the trying times of the world.

Our gospel today speaks of prophecies, some of which has come true, the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the Abomination of Desolation standing where it does not belong; these things have taken place. But do not be deceived, we do not know when the return of our Lord will be. You must stay away from anyone who predicts a time or day or hour of the return. Jesus said to watch for you do not know. Jesus is the final word on any subject. Watch for we do not know. Prophets do not speak in timelines, often they can be mixed up with the immediate future and a future that is centuries away. In the reading of these prophecies they may give the appearance of following some time order or to be very near.  

Jesus said to not be fooled; there will be no doubt when Jesus has returned, anyone else who comes and performs what appear to be miracles and says that he is the Christ is a liar and a thief. We will know, we will not have to be told, we will not need to see any miracles, there will be no doubt, and the whole world will know and bow to His majesty immediately.

As in the psalms; sing to the Lord, praise His name regardless of circumstances in life. Praise the Lord. Never cease to pray and above all; love. God is love and my brothers and sisters we must love one another. Do not be put off by those who claim to be the only true ones. Love, this is from Almighty God.

Little children, love one another; because this is our Lord’s command and if you fulfill this, nothing else is needed.

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

VIII Pentecost! Alive in Christ?

VIII Pentecost! Alive in Christ?

                                      

Greetings in Christ Jesus,

Sunday July 30, 2017

Epistle: II Corinthians 12:20-13:2

Gospel: Mark 4: 24-34

Psalm:  Psalm 86/87

Friends,

II Corinthians 12:20-13:2

20 For I fear lest perhaps when I come I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found by you such as you would not. Lest perhaps contentions, envyings, animosities, dissensions, detractions, whisperings, swellings, seditions, be among you. 21 Lest again, when I come, God humble me among you: and I mourn many of them that sinned before, and have not done penance for the uncleanness, and fornication, and lasciviousness, that they have committed. 1 Behold, this is the third time I am coming to you: In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word stand. 2 I have told before, and foretell, as present, and now absent, to them that sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again, I will not spare.

Mark 4:24-34

24 And he said to them: Take heed what you hear. In what measure you shall mete, it shall be measured to you again, and more shall be given to you. 25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, that also which he hath shall be taken away from him.

26 And he said: So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the earth, 27 And should sleep, and rise, night and day, and the seed should spring, and grow up while he knows not. 28 For the earth of itself brings forth fruit, first the blade, then the ear, afterwards the full corn in the ear. 29 And when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest is come. 30 And he said: To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? or to what parable shall we compare it? 31 It is as a grain of mustard seed: which when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that are in the earth: 32 And when it is sown, it grows up, and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out great branches, so that the birds of the air may dwell under the shadow thereof. 33 And with many such parables, he spoke to them the word, according as they were able to hear. 34 And without parable he did not speak unto them; but apart, he explained all things to his disciples.

Oh friends how pitiful we are as Christians, in the second epistle to the Corinthians St. Paul was defending himself from among the accusations against him from the legalists, one of the accusations he had been accused of was skimming money from the contributions, in today’s epistle he went on from defending himself to begin pointing out the sins of the Corinthian church that he may still find there when he arrives. How easily do we fall while raising ourselves in our own mind? How easily are we blinded by our own sins and yet accuse others?

Our Lord Jesus Himself spoke out in parables so that those who thought that they could see and hear actually could not as they were blinded by their own pride, lust, envying, and arrogance as they believed that they already knew it all and yet knew little. My friends, we can never stop seeking, we must never become complacent in our intellect, this is when we begin to fool ourselves, we must prove all things, the spirit does not simply give but we must seek, do we not remember the story of the old woman before the judge when the judge granted her petition only because she appeared daily before him and would not let it rest?

Did not our Lord say that we are to be the same before the Father? (Luke 18:1-8). We must never stop seeking spiritual growth by the shedding of our own corruption and gaining the spirit of truth and love for one another. Did Jesus say; “forgive them Father for they know not what they do?” or did He say; forgive those whom you have given me because they believed me and should be saved? You know the answer. Love your enemies and pray for them, if your enemy thirsts give him water, if he is hungry give him bread.

Do you not ask a departed saint to pray for you while another Christian does? Do you accuse that one? The Christian church has done this from the beginning and nowhere was it condemned. The bones of the prophet Elisha brought a dead man back to life and yet while all call this scripture there are those who bring accusation against those who still believe that this can happen. Why do we accuse one another? There is no law that says to believe or not to believe either of these things, so why accuse? Can either side prove either position?

Love one another, this is the command. If one says that Jesus did not come from the Father then this we know is untrue and this person is not truly Christian. If one says that Jesus did not rise from the dead then this we know is not true and this person is not a true Christian. From these things we stay away from and yet we pray for those who make these statements.

Today’s Psalm speaks of the gates of Zion and how the Lord loves them, it speaks of those who are born there and the Lord loves them. The new Zion, the New Jerusalem is being built, it is built by those who belong to the Christ Jesus, and we are all building blocks of the living Jerusalem. Do not remove yourself from the walls by hate and pride, arrogance and envy; keep yourself alive in Christ through the love of others and living the word of Christ in this world.

Little children, love one another; because this is our Lord’s command and if you fulfill this, nothing else is needed.

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

3rd Sunday After Pentecost. Walk in Faith!

3rd Sunday after Pentecost!

                                      

Greetings in Christ Jesus,

Sunday June 25, 2017

Epistle: Romans 3: 21-4:3

Gospel: Matthew 7: 7-11

Psalm:  Psalm 76/77

Friends,

Justified by faith! What does this mean to us today? We are still looking at Justification by Faith today and not our works but the works of God for God’s works are greater than man’s. Friends we can do nothing to earn our salvation, there is no works that we can do to gain heaven and yet by our faith and belief in our Lord and savior Jesus the Christ we will begin a life of works. If we say that there is no God and yet we help people who need help and give money to non-profit organizations who claim to help others; will we see heaven? No! We will not see heaven, we may do some good here but by denying God, claiming that He does not exist we have already separated ourselves from Him and therefore we have no part in Him.

By claiming that Christ Jesus was a good man full of wisdom and good teachings and denying His sacrifice for our salvation, denying that He came from God, taught, died, was buried, rose, and ascended back to God then we have separated ourselves from our Lord and therefore if we do not claim Him how can He claim us? We are not His by our own admission.

It is only by our faith in our Lord Jesus that we can be saved. Our labors are in vain when it comes to our eternity. Even though we may have helped some on earth we have not helped our own eternal soul. This is an issue for today because the saying is; ‘I can do good things all on my own I do not need some god to tell me to be good’, so, my friends, I know that you have seen this written and possibly even heard some speak these words. If possible you may attempt to correct this understanding but if it is not possible it is on them. It is a rare place in what is considered to be the civilized world that the name of Jesus has not been heard.

We must live our faith in spite of the goody two shoes who make the statement that they do not need God in their life to do good. We who believe still need our Savior because we sin everyday whether in thought, word or deed. There is no amount of good that we can do that will erase our sin once we have committed it. There is only our faith in Christ Jesus, our recognition of our sin, our confession, and repentance. This is our faith.

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

2nd Sunday after Pentecost

2nd Sunday after Pentecost!

                                       

Greetings in Christ Jesus,

Sunday June 18, 2017

Epistle: Romans 5: 1-10

Gospel: Matthew 6: 19-25

Psalm:  Psalm 74/75

Friends,

Justified by faith! What does this mean to us today? According to today’s epistle we will not be neglected in suffering, we will suffer. We are told to glory or boast in our suffering as well as in our hope of sharing the glory of God. We are told to store up treasure in heaven and not here on this earth. Our heart will be wherever our treasure is, according to the gospel. We have a warning here; 22 the light of your body is your eye. If your eye be single, your whole body shall be lightsome. 23 But if your eye be evil your whole body shall be darksome. If then the light that is in you, be darkness: the darkness itself how great shall it be!

So what is this “justified by faith” meaning? We simply believe and that is it? Regardless of what comes upon us and regardless of our reaction to it; we are justified simply because we believe?  In another scripture we are told that even the demons believe and tremble, are they justified by their belief as well? What does it mean to store up treasure in heaven? Is this simply a matter of believing? I say that it is not.

We believe and have faith that Jesus is true to His word and that we have salvation through Him unto everlasting life in the light of Almighty God, we store up our treasures in heaven by being faithful to the commandments of Jesus; love God first with all of our heart, with all of our mind, with all of our soul, and with all of our strength. Secondly we love our neighbor as our self. It is by doing these two commandments that we begin to store up treasure in heaven by doing for others. Care for people, clothe them, feed them, give them water, pray for them, and comfort them. This is storing up treasure in heaven. By loving and acting out of true love.

It need not be difficult through many rituals, care for one another as our Lord Jesus cared for us. Carry each other’s burdens as best as we can. Of course we are limited often times in what we can actually do but we do what we can and never, ever, neglect prayer for others, this is free to all of us.

Remember that it is Almighty God who judges us; rejoice in His love and care of and for us and do not be so quick to judge, discern what is right and wrong and stay away from the wrong but it is not ours to judge, judgment and discernment are not the same and are often times confused with each other, by discernment we may keep our hearts and our souls pure, by judgment we cast judgment on ourselves as well. By this I mean that we do not determine who goes into eternal damnation and who does not, we discern one who is on the road to eternal damnation but we do not send that one there. That is God’s decision alone.

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

 

Member of the 

Autocephalous Orthodox Catholic 

Church of the Americas

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

Many Blessings!

+William

I Pentecost. 1st Sunday after Pentecost.

1st Sunday after Pentecost!

                                      

 Greetings in Christ Jesus,

Sunday June 11, 2017

This day is also one of two All Saints Days’ in the year.

Epistle: Galatians 6: 8-14

Gospel: Matthew 16: 24-27

Psalm 147/148

Friends,

We reap what we sow! If we sow to the flesh we will also reap to the flesh. Therefore we have made no heavenly or spiritual gain. If we want heavenly or spiritual gain we must not sow to the flesh, we must become followers of Jesus; deny ourselves and take up our cross.

If we sow to the flesh in order to gain the whole world and in this we lose our own life, how have we made profit? We must lose our life in the flesh in order to gain our life in the heavenly realm. This is the basic teaching of today’s readings.

Praise the Lord; in all things give glory to God through our Lord and savior Jesus the Christ. All of creation praises the Lord. Man who has a mind and free will has chosen to not praise the Lord but to seek power and glory for himself and to lord himself over all that he is able to lord himself over.

These are the ones who are sowing to the flesh. They seek riches at the expense of others. They care nothing for the struggles of anyone else. Some even say; I can do good all by myself I do not need a god to tell me to help others. Look and see how much I give to the many foundations. I am a good person, I need no one to tell me and I answer to no one.

We must be different than this, love God first with all of your heart, with all of your mind, with all of your soul, with all of your strength. Then love your neighbor as yourself. Then we will be sowing to the spiritual things. Do this in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus. Give up yourself when needed to help someone in need. Do what you are able to do, we all do not have money but we may have bread, we may have a bed, sometimes we may only be able to just simply be there for someone who is in pain whether physical, emotional, or spiritual.

If you are married then give up yourself to care for your family, this means also to instruct them in the ways of the Lord and not to neglect their proper upbringing. Work to support them, love them. If you are single then you must be celibate, you will then have even more time to help others who are not within your family.

Pray always, do not chase after entertainment at the expense of time with the Lord. We will become what we begin and strive for here. If we choose to neglect God then we have taken ourselves away from Him today and in the new world we will be separated from Him because we have separated ourselves from Him here today.

Strive for the true prize that awaits us with patience, faith, perseverance, and diligence. Do not neglect the time here today, it will determine the time tomorrow.

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