Blog Search Results

Great is the Mystery of Faith!

...of faith: Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again!”. What we believe and live by in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is a mystery! It is a strange and powerful thing that God did by sending his Son in the form of a human to grow, teach and ultimately die for us so that we can be made righteous and adopted into the family of God. I don’t think we’ll ever quite wrap our heads around it all fully. I’m going to end this with another poetic excerpt from Melito. I find this to be a very powerful image of what Jesus did for us. I get chills every time I read it. Take a moment to really ponder on these words as you read them and cons...

Four Blood Moons and everyone loses their minds

...According to NASA, there are about two lunar eclipses per year. This time there happens to be four all within 18 months - something astronomers call a tetrad. I'm slightly surprised I've not seen much about this yet (maybe a good thing?), but it does seem as though this is an event certain Christians have been waiting for - and writing books about! I came across this on a recent Huffington Post article which gives this story also about church leaders saying these moons are "an omen of Armageddon and Second Coming of Christ", but I'm not so sure about that. I did recognise one of the names mentioned, though: John Hagee, a Texas megachurch pastor. It was p...

The Coming of Jesus: Coming on the clouds

...daism and Christianity encapsulating prophetic texts of this nature. Likewise, "Armageddon" is a Hebrew word which is the name of a place in Israel. Only in modern culture have these words taken on the meaning "end of the world." With that in mind, let's look at the other references to God coming on the clouds through the Old Testament, and what it means. I'll add some emphasis to some of the verses just so you can see what I'm pointing out. Isaiah 19:1-2 An oracle concerning Egypt. See, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud    and comes to Egypt;the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,    and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within t...

What is Contemplative Prayer?

...In the quiet, still silence, I await my God.   There seems to be some misgivings about the idea of “contemplative prayer” (also referred to as Christian Meditation) and in some of the descriptions I've read, I would agree that it can seem iffy. Contemplation, or sometimes known as Lectio Divina, is in its most basic form, the idea and practice of waiting on the Lord. Often in silence or while you ponder on scripture or when you seek an answer or just to rest in his presence and have your strength renewed. There are some people who think that this means “emptying your mind” and doing something akin to occultism, and ope...

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

...nace, 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 within the Church body, Cyprian then says that when Jesus “gave the law of prayer”, he made sure to add a prerequisite, so that ev...

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

...Day Twenty-six: St. Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 51-60 Who: Bishop of Alexandria; Confessor and Doctor of the Church; born c. 296; died 2 May, 373 AD. He was the main defender of orthodoxy in the 4th-century battle against the Arianism heresy. Certain writers received the title “Doctor” on account of the great advantage their doctrine had on the whole Church, Athanasius especially for his doctrine on the incarnation. What: The biography of Anthony the Great’s life, which helped to spread the concept of Christian monasticism, particularly in Western Europe. Why: From the letter’s own prologue: “The life and conversation of our holy Father,...