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Lent Day 19: Cyprian: On the Unity of the Church: 10-18

...ples from Scripture based on this, such as; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being in one accord with their prayers in the fiery furnace, and Christ came among them to deliver them; and again in Acts 5:17-20 (or Acts 16:25-26) when the Apostles were arrested and put in prison, but then were delivered miraculously delivered because they, or the Church, were “simple-minded and of one mind” in what they asked. This single-minded unity of prayer and purpose is asked of by Jesus because “He is rather with two or three who pray with one mind, than with a great many who differ”. A powerful statement indeed, I think. But not only this, to ensure full unity wit...

Lent Day 22: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 11-20

... “the Scriptures are enough for instruction, but it is a good thing to encourage one another in the faith, and to stir up with words”, and to take what you learn and pass it on to others and to keep strong in their devotion to God so that they may gain their inheritance of eternal life when they pass from this life. Nor let us think, as we look at the world, that we have renounced anything of much consequence, for the whole earth is very small compared with all the heaven …  Therefore let the desire of possession take hold of no one, for what gain is it to acquire these things which we cannot take with us? He encouraged his followers to not grow w...

Lent Day 24: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 31-40

...we see in Scripture, when the angels came to give messages, they started with “fear not” and removed all fear on those listening, despite being in the presence of God and powerful beings. To discern the spirits is to do so as follows: If your fear is immediately taken away and in place of it comes joy unspeakable, cheerfulness, courage, renewed strength, calmness of thought ... then is it surely the Lord! But, to the contrary: …. whenever the soul remains fearful there is a presence of the enemies. For the demons do not take away the fear of their presence as the great archangel Gabriel did for Mary and Zacharias Rebuking the enemy Just as Je...

Lent Day 26: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 51-60

...dments of Scripture; be mindful of the works of the saints that your souls being put in remembrance of the commandments may be brought into harmony with the zeal of the saints. He also encouraged them to live by the words of Paul in Ephesians 4:26, where he said not to let the sun go down on your anger. Anthony interpreted this further to mean not just anger, but any sin which was committed so that before the end of the day you have set things right with others or have prayed and repented to the Lord. Even further still, he would teach that in order to control our thoughts so that we let nothing sinful enter our mind (ie. “take every thought captive” –...

Lent Day 32: Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XXI

...assage of Scripture this lecture is based on, I guessed it was something to do with anointing and on looking it up I found that it's actually a type of oil used in baptism: “a mixture of oil of olives and balsam”. Roman Catholics still use it today too for anointing the sick and in baptism. What Cyril describes in this lecture is the practice of anointing the recently baptised with this special oil as a sign of the Holy Spirit's sealing upon them, since they have “put on Christ” (Gal 3:27) and are adopted as sons (Eph 1:5) and are now partakers of Christ also (Heb 3:14). Because Jesus “was in reality crucified, and buried, and raised” and they, in...

The Temptations of Jesus: Complacency

...So now we are at the end of the temptations that Jesus endured in the desert, and I wanted to look at what happens at the end. So often I think this aspect is overlooked when we read of this time in Scripture. Let’s take a look at the text: Matthew 4:11Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. Luke 4:13When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. The two Gospel accounts both give us a varying perspective with different details. Afterwards, the devil leaves and angels “suddenly” come. This is almost a temptation in itself; one to think we are all good and safe now we've won the battl...