Barnabas Powell's Blog, page 163
January 23, 2018
You MUST Be Grateful
St. Paisios said “Sometimes the devil deceives us and makes us unable to be pleased with anything; however, one can celebrate all things in a spiritual manner, with doxology, and secure God’s constant blessing.” The older I get, the more I see gratitude and the cultivation of gratitude that is the key to spiritual peace. The ability to be grateful is in direct proportion to humility and honesty. But how do we…
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January 22, 2018
The Spirit of Fear
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” This is the litany Paul Atreides recites in the book “Dune” as he is being tested. A…
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This Week at St. Paul’s Parish in North Royalton, OH!
Everyone’s invited THIS WEEK! Go to www.stpaulgoc.org for registration and information!
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January 19, 2018
Help! Our Computer Died!
Ain’t it just the way? Surprises happen in life and we here at Faith Encouraged just experienced one! But, before I get to that, I want to say “Thank you” for all you do with us! What you’ve made possible for the growth of this ministry is at the heart of why we get messages like this: “Father Powell is awesome!!! I’m going through a very tough time, of my own doing;…
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January 5, 2018
I Have Become All Things to All People
Christ is born! It was arrogant of me, I know. I thought I knew how to communicate deep Orthodox wisdom to everyone. But, here I am in front of these folks who are very different from me. They weren’t from my country. They didn’t speak my language. They didn’t know any of the references to the Bible I was making because they had never read the Bible! And I knew I was…
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January 4, 2018
To Make the Invisible Visible!
Christ is born! “To Make the Invisible Visible.” These were the words of a catechist to a catechumen when he was asked why would God become a man? The Christian Faith is unique among all world religions in this mystery of God in the Flesh. Oh, to be sure some religions have gods they can see, and other religions insist their god can never be seen, even going so far as to…
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January 3, 2018
In The Last Days Some Will Depart
Christ is born! Why do people stop practicing the faith? Why are we seeing so many young people abandon the faith of their youth? Countless studies have been done trying to answer this question. Every time I travel to speak around the country in parishes big and small, I get asked this question as well. And there are as many answers as there are studies. All of these articles and writers usually…
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January 2, 2018
In the Days of His Flesh
Christ is born! “But why does it matter?” With that question, I was stumped. I thought I had a pretty good grasp of the subject we were discussing and had made some strong points as to why I was right about this. Then came that question: “But why does it matter?” And a very good question it is. I remember speaking to a group of young seminarians about the importance of Preaching…
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January 1, 2018
The Whole Fullness of Deity Dwells
Christ is born! And Happy New Year! There’s no getting around this. The identity of Jesus Christ is the crux on which human history rests. He’s either merely an itinerant Jewish rabbi that fell afoul of the Roman occupiers; a gifted religious teacher and philosopher and “ascended master”; a figment of the imagination of gullible people; a “great prophet” that had some good things to say; or He’s actually what the Historic…
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December 29, 2017
A New Year Without Fear!
Christ is born! Fear is an emotion that has both a psychological and physical response. When I am afraid, my knees knock; my hands sweat; my mind races; and my heart beats faster, all in response to fear! Funny how my body reacts the same way to being in love! I’m just teasing. But, seriously, fear motivates so many of our actions and reactions. I know people who spend their whole lives…
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