Barnabas Powell's Blog, page 38
July 11, 2022
Just Flirting With God
“There’s no time like the present.” This and many other “time” quotes really get to a pearl of central wisdom we humans have learned: Timing is everything. I have a dear couple who are dating. And, on top of that, they are exploring becoming Orthodox. Talk about a double whammy! Their relationship is growing with each other and the Faith. They recently asked me a question I get a lot from folks…
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July 9, 2022
The Deposit of Faith – What Does It Mean to Be a Disciple?
https://www.orthodoxservantleaders.co... What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? When the Lord ascended into heaven, He told His Church to “make disciples” and not just converts! But what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? Here’s an interview I just did with Hollie Benton on that very subject.
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July 8, 2022
Be An Example To Believers
I never will forget what a wise, old pastor once told me about being a leader in a church: “Son” he said, “You can say anything you need to to a group of people who know you love them.” Wow, how I’ve learned the truth of this over the years. If a group of people knows you love them, have confidence you want what’s best for them, and believe you know that…
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July 7, 2022
Temporary VS. Timeless
Have you ever thought about all those people Jesus healed during His ministry here on earth? They were so happy, grateful, and changed. In some cases (the illness of leprosy) they were now free to rejoin society, be reunited with their families, and finally, get their life back. They went on to live their lives. Some became great saints of the Church. And every one of them eventually died. Hey, why do…
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July 6, 2022
The Elect Obtained It!
“Don’t watch them make the sausage!” Good advice if you have a bit of a squeezy stomach. Having been exposed to farm life as a boy, I can tell you what my grandmother said about raising pigs: “Honey when it comes to pigs; we use everything from the rooter to the tooter!” She told me the only thing we don’t use from the pig is the “oink.” Yeah, it made me smile…
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July 5, 2022
Against Such There Is No Law
There ought to be a law! Isn’t it fascinating that the first thing most people think about when there is some conflict or some disagreement or some unwanted actions in our society is that there should be some governmental control issued to make people “behave” the way they “should?” Why is “passing a law” or getting the government to exercise their power in some way our default answer to conflicts in society?…
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July 4, 2022
Let (TRUE) Freedom Ring (For Everyone!)
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” That’s what Janice Joplin sang. But is that what freedom is? Not according to the timeless Faith. Freedom, for the wisdom of the Faith, has everything to do with actually disciplining my passions in such a way that I discover and become who I was made to be in the first place. Sadly, in our culture, “freedom” has been misdefined as “being able…
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July 1, 2022
Love – More Than A Feeling, More Than Desire
The Apostle Paul says that love is the “more excellent way.” But we have allowed the word “love” to be dumbed down to little more than “feelings of desire.” But the Faith does not allow us to reduce “love” to anything less than God Himself. St. John insists that “God is love.” With that standard, we Orthodox have no room to allow for the reduction of love to that which enslaves people…
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June 30, 2022
Fatherhood and True Leadership = Service
My friend, Bill Mariannes, recently published a post on social media that, frankly, scared me. I think I had a sense that these statistics were real, but the combination of all of them shook me up. He was writing on the crisis of fatherlessness in current society. As a man raised by a single mom in my early years, this looks all too familiar! Look at this: And the research showed that…
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