Thank you. I went to school for a master's degree and never finished because of the pandemic and now I'm in 90, 000$ loan. I know it will take me the rest of my life to pay it off. All to try and make a name for myself because I am so insecure. I learn a valuable lesson recently. If you don't put God Jesus Christ first in your life anything you do means nothing. Put the kingdom of God first and all else will be given to you. I am beginning to understand this. I don't even want the degree anymore. I don't even want to do it because it is for me putting myself before God.
why would you work for others and pay taxes to others? Didn't Jesus say give back to the Caesar what belongs to the Caesar, meaning, do not use his stuff? Didn't you know the government is evil? I tried too with one hickup: being honest (that everyone else plays by the rules, namely I did not engage in corruption), and I was spit out by the government (satan's "system"), sold out then persecuted for demanding justice, up to torture and assasination. Now I'm a political refugee and UN human rights defender (because I don't trust the church to speak the truth against the government, it's sold out, idolatrous, it's priests practice simony and are Judases - they rat you and your confession to the secret police, and it kicks out refugees "for tourism" meaning money, especially the monasteries... and much, much more but I don't care about the church corporation, there are bigger fish to fry in the world namely my personal enemies. The Master's degree is the devil's mark (as many other things) that only allow you to be "integrated" into the devil's society. Actually more of a distinction than a pass. If you are smarter, autodidact, why aren't you allowed to work if not certified by being put in debt? Because devilry, that's why, simple. It's entirely possible to learn on your own, even if mimicing being in university, and you may learn the most important skill of all: being self reliant, and how to learn anything
Nice to see my brothers/sisters in the Faith from Georgia watching Fr. Josiah's talks! Georgia has so much to share with us in the English-speaking world!
@@georgethakur I meant the country Georgia. I saw GE, which is the usual abbreviation for the country. (My dad is from the South, so not trying to start/say something here, haha).
I'm brand new.. i noticed I have tried to get recognition for things. It's hard. I'm learning, but I see now how pride really leads nowhere. Now I have to watch myself about it. I'm glad it's hard to do. Otherwise it wouldn't be worth much.
Once you die your book is closed and prayer no longer can help in any way! You either die saved or unsaved! That is why the bible says such things as "Today if you hear His voice harden not your heart" "Today is the day of salvation" This is the truth of the Bible.
@@andrajulie By believing that, you deny the very Word of God! So sad that many who think they are saved are going to hear from the Lord on the judgment day "Depart from me ye workers of iniquity, I never knew you" You are on the path that leads to eternal destruction!
Youre right all the people who made the bible and worshipped that way for 1500 years were wrong. Wow good thing the evangelicals that have no Normative authority came to clear that up @pilgrimpassingthrough2228
This is good and i don’t hear it ever “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” Serve those in need and have no way to repay you anything, and don’t care for glories and vanities from the world . The last part is tough:/ Thank you for the video
Dear Father, could you do a teaching on how to stay focused in prayer, and develop an art of attention please ? To help souls who suffer from distraction in prayer...
Might I help by saying that distracting thoughts are not you or of the life of your spirit but of the flesh. Simply observe them pass by as you continue to practice bringing your attention back to your time with the Lord. Exercise this like any other muscle in your body. It will never be perfect as we remain corrupted by Sin but you will find peace in this journey as you keep your heart steadfastly devoted to Christ, Father and Holy Spirit. God bless.
I struggle with the issue of serving without the intention of being praised. Even writing this comment right now, part of me is looking for some type of validation. May the Lord have mercy on me, Amen.
Dear Abouna we all are useless servants, even in our best effort we still can NOT do what we should. SO yes I say that we always go to serve the Divine Liturgy and come back enriched way beyond our capacity. As always beautiful words.
*God bless Fr. Josiah. We both know the Devil is a reality. So, there's no point in chasing utopias, really. Catch them off-line, act without any moral doubt. Catch them again, act again... And so on.*
Thank you for this channel. Im am floundering trying to find the truth. Actually, all my life. I dont know what to believe anymore! They all say they're the truth! I will listen and pray for discernment, although He's never answered.😢
Another great and rich reflection!! Thank you for posting it and not keeping it for the few. We have much to do. Indeed, it’s later than we think!!! I wonder if we imitate our Lord when we attend Orthodox conferences and only sit among fellow clergy for meals or close ourselves off from mingling with lay people? I wonder if we serve the Lord when converts come eager to serve the Lord and love others but not before they get a few years of cultural and linguistic studies. I wonder if we serve the Lord when our house is divided. I wonder if we serve the Lord when we shut off our people from the medicine of immortality. I wonder if we serve the Lord when we tell our priests to stay silent about abortion or homosexuality or transgenderism. I wonder if we need more action and less reflection. May God help us to serve Him above all gods and Him alone and love the neighbor who lives in our neighborhood. Indeed, this is doing the bare minimum. Oh that we do just that. May God give us strength and the courage to do just that.
GOD IS A SPIRIT AND THOSE WHO PRAYED TO GOD MUST PRAY IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH BY LOVING HIM LIKE NO OTHER LOVE EVER NOTHING ELSE AND ASK HIM TO GUIDE US TO ENLIGHTEN US AND FILL US WITH HIS HOLY SPIRIT TO SERVE HIM TO PLEASE HIM TO DO HIS WILL NOT OURS SO CHRIST HIS BELOVED SON SAID TO HIS FATHER IN HEAVEN WHEN HE WAS PRAYING IN THE MOUNT OF OLIVES HE SAID TO HIS FATHER YOUR WILL BE DONE NOT MINE WE MUST FOLLOW IN JESUS STEPS TO PLEASE GOD AND HAVE HIS BLESSINGS ALL TO HIS GLORY IN JESUS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR MIGHTY HOLY POWERFUL NAME WE PRAY WE MUST LOVE GOD WITH ALL OF OUR HEARTS ALL OF OUR MINDS ALL OF OUR STRENGTH ALL OF OUR SOULS AND SPIRITS LOVE HIM TRUST HIM PLEASE HIM LIKE HE LOVED US DO HIS WILL THEN HE IS PLEASED TO GIVE US HIS KINGDOM BY SAYING WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT
A suggestion if I may, something that helped me a lot. When giving who are you giving to? Whenever I give now, whatever it may be, I don’t do it for the person I’m serving, I do it for God. This way everybody is off the hook, I expect nothing from anyone in return. I’m never exhausted & I know God values it & He always appreciates it & my actions are filled with His grace which transmits to others. This was a game changer for me. Hope it helps.
@@Georgia-d3o Thanks but just think different does not cure the exhausted patient. Without social/emotional/spiritual fuel from others no cure outside a spiritual theophany from the great physician.
the way is to follow Jesus Christ "I am the way, the truth and the life". My love for God is love of the truth. If anything isn't truth, I do no love it, be it god itself. Good is consistently in (knowledge of) the truth. Believing in God because he has power (supposedly) is hypocrite, it means you are looking to receive and would bail on god likely when there is no way you'ld receive anything, instead of loving justice (and therefore acting for it, therefore giving because you are just, and a god). Power which can't be used doesn't exist, that's why belief without deeds is dead Here is how you serve your enemy: 1. killing is a sin 2. stopping your enemy from killing you is saving your enemy from hell by committing a sin (and yourself for comitting suicide by letting yourself be killed 3. therefore arm yourself 4. death is not simply cessation of brain function, it's everythink that shortens your life like a cold or ciggarettes (if someone poisons you and you die tomorrow it's murder, but if you die a year earlier than if not being poisoned, it's also murder). Furthermore anything that chips away your identity, from drugs, to disease, to worry, to laziness, neglect, stupidity etc., is destroying your physical and psychic integrity, therefore, fight against everything that would make you less, and fight for everything that makes you more The church is not obsolete, it became corrupt and failed to grow, and shamed God instead of adding to his glory. It's up to you to lead by example. Make yourself and life a monument to god, and that is the shrine of your prayer Do not wait for God to give you, take, that is the way. God helps those who help themselves
the lord Jesus teaches many things, and showed us they way to the father. meekness (restrained strength) has its place... but it can not be our only attribute in our walk and life in him. The apostles in their teaching's showed with Gods holy Spirit, the need for strength and boldness in preaching his truth, and exercising the Power of God Evangelism is non existent in the church, thus the church is dead. Strength and boldness that the Lord Jesus exhibited and required of his disciples, in preaching the Gospel, to bring people into his wonderful life, is lacking. Instead forms, rituals, traditions have been worshipped, As Jesus in strength and boldness rebuked the Pharisees, because of their forms, rituals, traditions being and worshipped, and insisted upon. It nullified the word of God. Church leaders be warned
Good evening all. Anyone know of an online forum or is interested in creating one for Orthodox fathers who have been forcefully separated from their home and children, to fraternise and to share helpful advice etc?
God has two statutes good and evil, the good statute is life for good works, but death for evil. I have a Ytube video series 'Myths in so-called Christianity' for NT truth.
After making research in many different Christian religions I reached a point when I became confused. Indeed: the vast majority of religions were Protestant - everyone says they have the truth. Also there many Bible versions (translations) and instead of clarifying things and most important drawing you close to God, they create more confusion. Debate, debate and debate and fight upon words. Where is the true spirituality that heals the souls and refreshes the mind?
I implore and beseech you, go to Divine Liturgy and leave the intellectual side away for a moment. Try to experience God, that is how you will actually know Him. I don't need to convince you why you should go, you've already said yourself everything is confusing, that is why I beg you to go to Divine Liturgy.
NIV and ESV bibles are copyrighted and to copyright a work it has to be a certain amount of difference from other works. Thus protestant bibles have added or taken away verses...up to 10 percent in some cases
Human kindness does not exist. We are kind because God is kind. The kindness of an atheist is an echo the Lord’s love. Regardless of their personal beliefs, when they love their neighbor as their self without a thought for thanks or praise, they are following the most Holy Command. So yes, they can serve God without recognizing His existence, because His kindness is not dependent on their belief.
I become very happy and interested to listen to your sermons, but I can’t hide that your gaze to your left hand side frequently makes me not to concentrate or district me much. Can you please reduce to see that side as if there is some thing there?! Sorry for being petty
Thank you Fr. Please pray for me, I've been struggling with parish life and attendance and when I'm there it's a struggle to get my kids to pay attention or keep quiet. My young son wants to play with everything in the Church during service lol
Everyone with kids is going through the same thing, Im right there with ya. It does feel like you can’t really tune in because all you can do is wrangle young ones the whole time. It does get better, my 4 year old has improved a lot the longer I keep taking her to liturgies. Hang in there bud. ☦️
It is always good to take young kids to the liturgical services, to get them accustomed to them, and especially to the Eucharist. If they're being loud, remember that they're kids. It's what they do. Always teach them that Church is about showing love and respect to God, and remember that eventually they will grow out of it. God bless❤☦.
Thank you, father. I wanted to share something I wrote here that I think is relevant to your reflection. Christ is risen. The Lifeboat Parable - You’re a passenger on something like the Titanic or, you were, but now you’re alone on a lifeboat near the wreckage. You begrudgingly but fervently fend off drowning people that almost capsize you with their desperate clamoring. Sure, you could fit a few people on the boat but certainly not all of them and letting even one on will lure the rest toward you with redoubled efforts. A mile out, you are assuredly alone now and what luck! You drift near an identical boat that has many rations on it. You, of course porter the goods to your own vessel and continue onward. Again, you come across an abandoned vessel that has yet even more supplies for your journey. You load its’ bounty onto your boat, but not all of it for the boat seems to be unable to carry more weight. Shortly after finding the supplies, your boat begins to sink. You frantically make haste of tossing items overboard but alas, water has made it onboard and its weight is enough to seal your demise. It’s a bummer because land was only another mile. Do not be like this person and fill your boats as if you were going to always be in it, and realize that your situation is transitional, and that if you hoard the things you either need, or don’t need in this world, you will not make it to safety, if safety is indeed before you.
I had no idea that there are Orthodox Christians in the States. Usually Orthodox christians are in the East. Americans are so lucky to have this father in their country 🙏
I don't know if you read these for suggestions, but I am wanting to understand these words: "of whom I am chief". I understand their literal meaning, but there is so much depth to everything you hear and say in Church. Please expand upon them. Let me know what it means to call and understand myself as chief among sinners. It would help me greatly where I am now, because I would like to break the barrier that makes me think of those words as just embellishment.
Fr Josiah gives the answer to your question in a short over @ OE (Orthodox Ethos). It's not an embellishment at all. It's profound. Do go over to OE & listen. It's in the Shorts tab.
@@agiasf7330 Thank you for introducing me to this channel. Already found lots of useful things. But I didn't find the short you were talking about -- at least I don't think I did.
I am the chief of sinners from my perspective in relation to God, this is directly related to our requirement to emulate the publican and on the Pharisee. When the Publican prayed 'God have mercy on me a sinner" he focused on his own sin and no one elses. Chief of sinners.
Such awash of clarity I received in this round of meted nectar, Fr. Josiah. Blessings. I pray I properly meditate, not only, but use this tool to build and implement daily in my tasks as His servant. 🙏🛠💧💪🩵✝️
