Devotional | VirtueOnline – The Voice for Global Orthodox Anglicanism

February 12 2015 By dvirtue DELIVERANCE FROM DEPRESSION: 2 Corinthians 1:8-11

So how did St. Paul deal with his depression? He writes "But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God who raises the dead." (v.9) Was Paul's depression affected by self-reliance? Had he gotten too self-confident? Was he relying too much on his gifts, his contacts, his abilities, his contacts, his physical strength, his knowledge, his past successes, his reputation, and his track record? Spurgeon talks about the disease of self-trust -- the tendency to trust in ourselves.

February 06 2015 By dvirtue THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

God is to be praised because the Father, Son and Holy Spirit comforts us in all our troubles. Paul praised God despite his troubles. He never let his troubles make him bitter. He anticipated blessing which took his thoughts off his trials.

January 29 2015 By dvirtue THE TRUE LIGHT: John 1:9

Justin Martyr (100-165 A.D.) was born of pagan parents in what is now Nablus, Palestine. As a young man he searched energetically for truth in a variety of philosophical schools: the Stoics, Aristotle, Pythagoras and Plato. One day while meditating by the seashore he met an old man who exposed the weaknesses of his confident thinking. The stranger then pointed him to the Jewish prophets who bore witness to Christ.

January 20 2015 By dvirtue SHEPHERD'S DELIGHT: (Luke 2 ; 1-20)

Shepherds were rugged, roving men. They were frequently transferring their flocks to where fresh fields of fodder could be found. Where there was no meadow remaining they became nomadic. They had to pass to greener grass. Because they were nomadic they often found and kept things that were not their own. They had a reputation for theft.

January 16 2015 By dvirtue The Parable of the Neighbor: Luke 10:25-37

The second set of people are represented by the priest and the Levite who see the victim and pass by on the other side of the road. They are religious people. They are church people. They are leaders in their congregations. They are teachers and academics and journalists, people of influence in society. Can we say that they are like us? They do not want to stop and help this victim for fear of getting involved. They would rather avert their eyes from the sight of this wreck of humanity.

January 08 2015 By dvirtue Maximizing Your Future Benefits

My task is to recommend other ways of maximizing your future benefits. I want you to be able to claim your eternal benefits in all their great fullness. I want you to be able to "take hold of the life that is truly life" -- "eternal life". I want you to "lay up treasure for yourself as a firm foundation for the coming age." I want you to invest in that which will last no matter what happens in this life.

December 31 2014 By dvirtue The Unchangeable Jesus Christ: Hebrews 13:8

We need something permanent and stable to rely upon. We need something or someone dependable as a rock on which to build our lives if we are to endure with hope. The word of the Lord gives us that unchangeable foundation. "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8)

December 24 2014 By dvirtue THE VULNERABILITY OF GOD

A newborn baby is helpless, completely dependent on others for the maintenance of life: food, drink, warmth, safety, love. It is that helplessness, that perfection in miniature, the tiny body, the fingers, toes, nose, ears and mouth that tugs at our heartstrings so that we are arrested, we admire, we touch and we want to protect. The baby enters our hearts, captures our attention through his littleness, like the small key that opens the great door to the mystery of human existence.

December 17 2014 By dvirtue THE ANNUNCIATION: Luke 1:26-45

These are astounding claims that are unique to Christianity. What is the truth of them for us? No other religion makes these claims. These claims are not made about Muhammed, or about Buddha, or about Confucius, or about any of the Atavars of the Hindu pantheon of gods. One thing you cannot say about the message of Gabriel is that all religions are alike. Tim Keller makes the point that people who claim that all religions are alike are motivated by an underlying fear.

December 11 2014 By dvirtue How to be Encouraged and have Hope: Romans 15:4

The Bible is pre-eminently God's book and must be approached spiritually if we are gain any benefit from it. We need to seek the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit who inspired the authors in order to understand its meaning. "No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us" (1 Cor.2:11,12).

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