Personality
“The spiritual value of prayer has to do with the fact that it is the dominant force in the shaping of our personality. Through the...
Prune/Pruning
“Life in Christ is never a bed of roses. He promised pruning. But if we respond to the Gardener’s tending as fruitful branches, yielding...
Permit/Permission
“God permits the devil, our fellow men, and even ourselves to make wrong and evil choices (2 Thes 2:11). Let us not be shocked at this...
Love (Reciprocal)
“The primary vector in this complex of relationships [God and man] is vertical, that is, the relationship of man to God. Yet this...
Immersion
“The baptismal font becomes at once a tomb and a womb: "at the self-same moment you die and are born; the water of salvation is at once...
Heart (Illumination)
“What is the heart? In biblical and patristic usage, the term “heart” does not correspond to the emotions. Rather, it is synonymous with...
Praise and Popularity
“When we do something well, we want to tell others and be recognized. But recognition is dangerous—it can lead to inflated pride…Often...
March 25 Significance
“…March 25, which is traditionally considered in Christendom to be the date of the first Good Friday, the Fall of Adam and Eve, and also...
Love (Nature of)
“Among human beings, love appears to spring from feelings and emotions. Thus some mistakenly characterize love as irrational. But love...
Panic
“…it is easy to forget the sober truth of God’s eternal love and care for us. But history shows we humans have faced epidemics and...