MEN WHO LIVE IN PROSPERITY 

DO NOT LISTEN

“I spoke to you in your prosperity and you would not listen”

(Jer. 22;21).

    The Lord addressed King  Jehoiakim and the Jews as He chastized the Jewish people, saying: “I spoke to you in your prosperity and you would not listen.”  Concerning these words God still speaks today to express the same thoughts against His own people, that is the Orthodox Christians. When we feel ourselves, content doing very well and living prosperously, then we forget or are ignorant of God and focus our full attention on everything else. God says the same thing  to all of us today: “I spoke to you in your prosperity and you would not listen.” What will be our response to God? This is very important: to completely ignore God our Creator is certain death for our souls

     The Lord created us from matter and created matter from nothing, and every human being is very special and extremely precious, for to no other creature did He bestow such precious gifts as upon man. He bestowed on man life, intelligence, freedom, conscience and the ability to love in his heart. He breathed His own divine spirit into man thereby elevated him to the heights, destined to progreess and become His own image and likeness. No higher destiny could be bestowed upon man or any other creature. Therefore, man is the ruler of all creation and has the highest and most noble destiny of any creature.

     “I spoke to you in your prosperity and you would not listen.” Today God continues to speak to man and says “ ”I am the light of the world; he follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.” Man was created by God as a free and moral creature. He is able to distinguish choose good and reject evil. He has a conscience which reminds him of the differences so that he may always make proper moral decisions. Christ the Light of the world is the Savior and only Lover of man.

     Good and evil is been clearly distinguished by both God’s law and man’s conscience Man must choose only good and avoid every form of evil. Both the Old and New Testaments confirm these things, the Commandments are a perfect example, for they forbid every evil deed. The law also commands us to “do to others as we would have others do to us.” The commands of Jesus Christ and His Church exist not to control evil deeds but to guide man, leading him to become the image and likeness of God which is his proper destination.

    

J     esus Christ is our mediator, our rabbi and teacher, our ruler and our king. He is our savior,  redeemer and mediator. He is the only Godman and our great high priest. This is the most important  truth about the Church of Christ, Holy Orthodoxy. God speaks these things to you in your prosperity.

Will you listen? 

     We cannot depend on our bishops to teach us these things, although it is their sacred duty as rulers and teachers of the Church. Thr Church is much motr than the collection of money topay for  the institution of the Church. The Church is the living Body of its only Head Jesus Christ. Its function is to preach the Gospel and baptize everyone outside the Church, and spread knowledge of salvation everywhere. Conducting the the many religious aspects of the Church is extremely important and is among the many functions of the clergy, and for this reason we bestow honor on our Orthodox clergymen at all times. The Church however is led but not headed by various bishops but Jesus Christ is its only Head. And it is His will that must always be done in the Church. Every Orthodox Christian is obligated to work out his own salvation with fear and trembling for we are all destined by the Lord to everlasting life. But we are also obliged and expected to spread this important knowledge among men.

 IDOLATRY AND ADULTERY

“Judah and Israel have defiled the land, and

have committed adultery with stone and with wood.”

(Jer. 3:9)

     The adultery committed by Judah and Israel accomplished by using stone and wood is the  idolatry or worshiping of God by use of man made idols.  But before turning away from God in order to worship idols they first turned away from worshiping the true God the Creator of heaven and earth who is the only living God. Why is idolatry called adultery? Because they worshiped idols were first linked in love of the true and living God whom they abandoned in their adultery, for they indulged in the worship of man-made gods or idols made of stone and wood.

     Sadly today there is persistent adultery and the unfaithfulness persists and abounds among men, for the true God is either recognized and ignored or His very existence is denied.  Many of the reigning gods of today are man himself, followed by money and other material things.

     Idolatry of our days exalts man above God and the world, for man is now hailed as the greatest of all. There are many other forms of idolatry but man is the focus, for men are superiorly exalted with much knowledge which they have accumulated, yet they lack any knowledge of God.

     They cast the laws of God aside as useless and meaningless and the result is that this society kills its own babies, and impure and sodomic sins they now recognized as being marriage. Thus they greatly insult the nature of the sacramental institution of marriage established by God to be between one man and one woman. But this is the terrible sin of Sodom and Gomorah which God completely destroyed with the rain of fire and brimstone. The killing of infants and and of homoesexual marriage will be the cause of the great punishment. They also brazenly commit every form of adultery, nor do they believe or accept any of the divine laws, nor of their originator, who is the Lawmaker; they also ignore the dire consequences of their violation.

     In earlier times the idolaters formed their idols out of stone and wood and worshiped them offering worship as though they were gods. It didn.t bother them that there were many different gods among them, for they replaced true worship of God with false worship. What type of god is worshiped today in this country? Many do not make believe and form gods of stone and wood, but, among other things they proclaim that they recognize true God but fail to recognize His divine laws. 

     Although among men there is this lone voice loudly  crying out the warning– danger! For God is true to Himself and will severely punish all those who deny Him and who ignore His commandments, and by their actions they invite the greatest of evils upon themselves. To escape these evils men must turn from following the wayward ideas of other men and return to the living and true God, the God of Orthodoxy who will joyously embrace them upon their repentance accepting them as His own children as He saves them from the terrible evils which are scheduled to come. Those who respond will quickly feel the benefit of all those who choose to live under God’s authority for they will experience true happiness and the joy of the angels. 

     God’s reproach was very strong in days of old,  but today even after the appearance and divine teaching of the Son of God Jesus Christ, God’s reproach will be even more severe and much stronger, for after Christ’s coming and divine teaching man still continues in every form of fornication and adultery. These have spread over the entire earth and continues  increasing in darkness and few are those who respond and turn away. So we must all unite against the many who surround us, and devote our lives to the glory of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

CURSED BE THE MAN WHO 

                       TRUSTS IN MAN                                                              

“Thus says the Lord; cursed be the man 

who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, 

and whose heart departs from the Lord” 

(Jer. 17:5).       

     If a man turns away from God after placing all his trust in Him, as he turns away he will then place his trust in himself or in some other persons, for whom else can he go or to whom shall he turn? For when he fails to turn to God or turns away from him, he places himself in a very dangerous and hazardous position and he has few choices after abandoning his trust in the Lord.   He brings curses upon himself and confuses his stability and his whole purpose in life. So he turns to neighbors and friends who only lead him further astray from his goal into their own sickness. Previously he was under the protection of God’s benevolent care which he abandoned and he suffered a great loss.

     Faith in God and putting our trust in Him is one of the greatest blessings, but placing our trust in man separates us from God and leads us far astray. We ought to love the Lord our God, worship Him and keep all His commandments.  For when we lose our faith in God and only hope in ourselves or in some other men, we will be far away from our entire purpose in life.

     But why do we turn away from the Lord and fail to follow His commandments?  It is because the desires of our hearts are not firmly established in love for Him. Above it is written: “Cursed be the man . . . whose heart departs from the Lord.” It is the desire of our  hearts which diminishes resulting  in our turning from the Lord. We do not love Him completely with all our minds and hearts. There are only two ways to go  in this present life; we either love the Lord and follow Him or we submit to the world and its desires and follow after them. When we have chosen to follow the Lord we enter the good path and abandon all evil thoughts, desires and deeds.                     .   

     In Holy Scripture the Lord commands that we love the Lord our God with all our minds and hearts and with all our souls and this love will grow increasingly stronger. Let us not love anyone as much as we love God for in His love we also partake of His divinity which leads to the perfection of man.

For we are all images of God and with His grace will also become His likeness. The first man in the image and likeness of God is Jesus Christ and He is the perfect example of what we must become, as it is written: Let us create man in our own image and likeness.”

     There are many that reject the teaching of the Lord in Scriptures and fail to accept that we are created  to become like God. They go far away from their noble destination and become the opposite causing evil to dwell among men. They take on the nature of evil one and doing evil they become his image and are being led by him into eternal perdition. It is our most fervent desire that many will change their ways and become the image and likeness of God which is the most noble destination. 

     The man wh trusts in man is called cursed, but the man who trusts in God is indeed most blessed, for he spreads joy, exultation  and gladness throughout the world. Knowledge of God and of His plans for us is most valuable and brings joy to all heed His call to eternal life.

     Jesus Christ, being the first man in the image and likeness of God, by His own example of life and teaching shows us the way to salvation and everlasting life.  Blessed is he who puts His confidence and faith in the Lord and who spreads knowledge of salvation to all.                                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

UNDERSTANDING BY DOING

“If any man will do His will, he will understand 

whether the teaching is from God” (John 7:17).

     It does little good to attempt to prove by human reasoning and words that the teachings of Christ are derived from God. The way to prove this is by each of us to actually do the will of God by putting His words into action. Christ speaks of this saying: “Whoever does His will he will also understand.” When we offer our assistance to the poor, we will begin to understand God’s great generosity. When we show compassion to others we will understand God’s compassion toward us all. When we help others with gifts of food we will understand God’s care for the foods we need. If we make peace between others we will know how to become a son of God. We will learn of God’s forgiveness when we forgive others.

     No man can ever understand that Christ’s teaching is from God unless he himself does the will of God. Doing God’s will is more difficult than reading about it in Scripture, but putting His words into our actions will bring about our understanding and it will become less difficult.

     When we forgive other’s their offenses we will know God’s forgiveness of our offenses. The way into Paradise is accomplished by performance of the will of God and by keeping His commandments. When reading we should recognize the good and the evil, adopting the former and ridding ourselves of the latter. When we put God’s will into action we will see that it is the most important thing and leads to our understanding.

     St. Basil the Great says: 

“Purity of life is necessary in order to recognize what is hidden from us in Holy Scripture.”  We lose a lot when we fail to put God’s commandments into action in our lives, and in failing to do this many things will remain hidden from us in Holy Scripture. If we weep for the sake of God we will know that God is consolation. God desires that we are convinced of His divine teaching by our actions.

     Those of us who seek to understand Holy Scripture by reading and contemplation will better reach our objective by the putting what we read into action which will increase our comprehension. Doing the will of God will not only lead to a better understanding but will also lead to the salvation of our souls in everlasting life. The Lord does not desire to convince us by the easiest means, but by the most difficult, that we may be convinced by placing what we read into action.

     In order to accomplish anything good requires first our reading and understanding and then our putting it into action. We have this choice and although it is the best way it is more difficult and involved than just reading about it. However taking action is the best method of understanding as we can see in everyday life. For example, we can read in a book concerning the  repair of a lawnmower and then put what we read into action by doing the actual repair. Having done this we will better comprehend a clearer meaning of the text in the book.

     As you need to read about the lawn mower to fix it, it is even more necessary to read about and understand God’s will by reading and absorbing what He commands. God speaks through Holy Scripture and we should read them each day of our lives. For we cannot properly do the will of God without  thorough understanding. 

     As we comprehend the will of God we will better understand who God is and the wondrous things He has prepared for those who know Him and love Him. For this is beautiful knowledge and elevates us to the realm of joy and happiness. We must learn and put into action his commandments for this should be what our lives are  about. Our lives ought to demonstrate that we are different than others. For when we keep God’s commandments our lives change and the darkness that surrounds us becomes a brilliant light which our soul radiates to those around us filling them with light.

                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                            

VICTORY OVER THE WORLD

“In the world you shall have tribulation, 

but be of good cheer. 

I have conquered the world” (John 16:330).

     Christ is the only author of life and the Victor over the world and death and declares: “I have conquered the world,” and He teaches us not to fear the world which He has conquered for the former tyrant of the world has been displaced. This world can still lead to disaster those who do not have Jesus Christ as their   Savior, Deliverer and Guide. Tribulation and difficulties make it difficult for all, not only for the acquisition of necessities but even more important, for the preparation of our immortal souls for the ultimate end of our lives. Then we will face the fearful day of judgment, where we will each be judged according to our faith and deeds.

    Our lives in this world appears to many to be of little consequence, for we are all born, reach adulthood and finally we die, but the litle known main purpose of our lives is of great importance.  For the day of our death is the end of time and trial and every one of us must submit to the fearful judgment of God the Creator.  God has established the whole existing world, given laws, with promises of eternal life, and threats of unhappiness, sickness and eternal death. 

   However rulers of this country who officially declare God to be dethroned and no longer the Ruler and Guide of people. They established a new and godless society where people foolishly say: “You are born, you live and enjoy yourself,  and then you die, and that the end for you go out of existence.”  But our consciences say something quite different. We are all born from parents and we are all aware that we are completely free to make our own decisions. We know we are under written and unwritten laws and that we are free to obey or disobey all laws of both God and man. Among men are many laws promising good to those who obey and punishments or even  death to those who disobey. We have laws, lawyers, and judges who deal with these laws.  Laws can only be given to those who are free and man being an image of God enjoys complete freedom, and is subject to legislation. In America we frequently speak of our freedom and liberty and extol its wonderful benefits. In this country we praise our great God-given freedom as we sing: “from every mountainside, let freedom ring!” “My country ’tis of thee sweet land of liberty, of you we sing.” “Give me liberty or give me death!” Liberty and freedom are so extremely important that they become cries when in battle.

   It is impossible to understand our freedom and then deny the ultimate accounting of the actions of our our lives while on earth. Considering this, together with man’s laws are proof enough of God’s ultimate judgment concerning what we did with our lives.  He sent His son Jesus Christ to teach the world, by words and example. Christ called to all men: “Learn from me for I am meek and humble in my heart.” 

     Christ established His Church which is today known as the holy Orthodox Church, wherein all that men need to know is available, for the Church, headed by Christ is His living Body. Through the Church we obtain victory and reward, but without the Church there is only defeat and punishment. There is much tribulation in the world but in the Church there is found peace and tranquility.

     Let us Orthodox Christians rejoice in our blessed inheritance and bear witness to these truths before all men, a task which we must assign to ourselves. Saving ourselves is good, but bringing others to salvation is a blessing with an extremely generous reward.

     But if we keep our faith only to ourselves we will derive little or no benefit, for  It is an attribute of the freedom we enjoy to inform as many as possible about our treasure, the wonderful and glorious holy Orthodox Church wherein alone is victory possible.

     Victory is not our own achievement but is granted to us due to our faith in Jesus Christ the Conqueror. He is both God and man who came to save the souls of all those who in faith follow Him and keep His commandments. His commandments are not grievous or a burden but they relieve us from the heavy burden of pernicious sin. This is the victory that we must always seek, to rid ourselves of all sin.

     With Christ the tribulations of this world will not afflict us for He has conquered the world and made it useful tfor the salvation of our souls. That is why it is written, that we must not love the world and the spirit of the world. Our love must be totally directed to Christ who embraces us with His perfect love. Christ gained victory over the world and we must do the same. The world is not evil, but the spirit of the world is harmful to our souls. Victory is ours if we keep His commandments and love Christ with all our hearts and minds, for He alone is good and the only Lover of man.

VISION OF THE UNSEEN WORLD

“We look not at the things which are seen 

but at the things which are not seen” (2 Cor. 4:18)

   Our physical vision is limited to certain portions of the visible world we live in, which we observe everyday having no doubts concerning its reality. Not only do weh have a fairly clear vision of the material world, but we also have a clear vision of the spiritual world. Though we see many sad things and failures in this present world, we can also see with our spiritual vision, the spiritual gladness on earth and in heaven among the angels and saints which fill our souls with delight. We see many apparent successes and the great honor poured out upon them but we also clearly see the eternal punishment and torment that awaits the unjust. We see the suffering which many  righteous ones willingly endure and we clearly see their great reward in heaven. They willingly underwent much torment and punishment and were awarded with everlasting delight in the heavenly kingdom. 

     We see wicked tyrants and unjust leaders mocking and tormenting those who choose to follow Christ with love and devotion. By every means possible, they repeatedly sought to force these martyrs to deny Christ. But we see these tyrants failing in their wickedness and are now are undergoing severe punishment for their deeds. This physical world which we can see is clearly visible to our physical eyes, but the spiritual world which is  not visible to our physical eyes is also clearly visible to healthy spiritual eyes. Spiritual vision is far superior and more refined and efficient than physical vision. This spiritual vision which may enable us to see God and the angelic powers with whom we rejoice together with a plentitude of saints.  Generally many people see only what their physical eyes observe and if they remain spiritually blind and they will be unable to see the existence of the entire spiritual world, nevertheless man remains both physical and spiritual and his two visions are both most useful to him. 

     If someone were to close his physical eyes and so fails to see the visible world, the world of course will continue to exist even though his vision was cut off by his deliberately closed eyes..   Also if someone willingly deliberately shuts his spiritual eyes he will fail to see the spiritual world. We must ask the Lord to open our spiritual eyes, so that we may clearly behold the treasures that lie before us. When we do observe the things which our spiritual eyes reveal the entire kingdom of heaven will  also will be seen.  We will see the saints standing before us in a delightful vision; we will see Christ, the Theotokos and the angels with all the saints, which are clearly depicted on the holy icons both in Church and in our homes. 

THE WONDERFUL AND PRECIOUS STONE IN SION

“Behold I lay in Sion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, 

a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; 

he that believes in it shall not be ashamed” (Is. 28:16).

     This stone, as described, is .precious and wonderful for it is a prophecy concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, the most precious cornerstone of the Church. The Prophet speaks not of any ordinary stone but of the foundation stone which is the Lord himself. Daniel the Prophet says:  “You saw a stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands, and it smote the image upon its feet of iron . . .”                                                                                                                                                                

     “The foundation stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation” refers to Jesus Christ and He is the one and only rock and cornerstone  of the Church. It is Jesus Christ and not Peter contrary to what the popes of Rome claim, who invented false claims regarding the rock. For Scripture  adds: “He who believes in him shall not be ashamed.”  It is only in the Lord Jesus Christ in whom we believe that we will never be ashamed for it is only Him in whom we believe in as the Godman and our eternal Savior and Redeemer. It is important to remember that the popes of Rome are extremely fraudulent, for they falsely claim that Peter is the rock upon which Christ’s Church is built, and that popes of Rome are Peter’s only successors. Then they foolishly proclaimed the popes to be infallible and unable to err!  But we see that Christ alone can be the  precious stone, and He is the main cornerstone of the Church.

     Christ is the precious cornerstone and foundation for He is the only Godman and the mightiest person who exists. He is precious and there can be no other like Him for He alone is the Savior. The second person of the Holy Trinity came down from heaven and became a man.  This wonderful and precious Stone introduced His Gospel to His disciples and through them it spread to the entire world.

     The Lord showed himself to be the most beautiful and wonderful of men, and He is the only sinless one. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and snatched the dead from the jaws of death. The paralytics were given all their functions by the Lord, rejoicing and giving thanks to the Almighty One.

     Christ appeared before us as a man but He is the almighty Logos of God, and the Lord of all creation; He is glorified, and will be glorified unto the ages of ages. We believe that Christ eternally comes forth, begotten, of the Father while always remaining within Him. Christ is God united with man and is one person having two natures, the divine from His Father and the human from His Mother, therefore He is the Godman. He is one and the same Christ, one person with two natures, unconfused, indivisible and inseparable.’

                                                                                                               Christ did the works of God, giving sight to the blind and bestowing life on the dead. He also did  the works of man for He suffered and was crucified dying on the Cross, showing Him to be one man, Then on the third day He arose in His glorious Resurrection, having destroyed the power of death by His death.                                            

                                                                                                                                                               

1. CONCERNING GOD

“I believe in one God the Father almighty, creator of 

heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.”

     The sacred Creed of the holy Orthodox Church is a wonderful foundation for all other knowledge concerning God, man and the world.  The Creed begins with: “I believe in one God the Father almighty . . .” This a prime dogma concerning our faith in the one triune God and Creator of everything.. We believe in one God who is self-existing, always exists, is holy just,  and knows everything. He knows himself and is all-wise, all-powerful, all good, perfect, self-sufficient. beautiful, in need of nothing, and He is the  Lord of everything.

     The human race usually believed in a god or gods, but then through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the patriarchs, faith and knowledge of the one true God was more firmly established among these men and their descendants, who eventually received the divine law through Moses.  The firm idea of one God, His communication and divine law contradicts the erroneous idea of a plurality of gods.  The one God can be somewhat known by all that He teaches us through our intellects and consciences. 

     The name Father signifies the first person of the one  God.  The name Son signifies the second person of the one God. The name Holy Spirit signifies the third person of the same God. The Father is called Father because He begets the Son, the Son is called Son because he is begotten of the Father. The Spirit is called Spirit because he is breathed and moved by the Father and rests in the Son.  The Father Son and Holy Spirit are undivided and of the same essence. The Father is not begotten, is uncaused and without origin. The Son is begotten and the cause of his existence is the Father. The Holy Spirit proceeds and comes forth from the Father, who is the Cause of His existence, but He does not also proceed and come forth from the Son as the heretical Papal  dogma proclaims and teaches.

     The mind and creation of the one God can be partly understood by His works.  He has done and continues to do these works in heaven and on earth all being for the  sake of man. The earthly population started with but one man and one woman, and today is populated with billions of people all who need food and water and air to survive, with thousands of other things, for every man needs food, water and air. Man needs the sun with its heat and light and other healthy benefits. He also needs rest from sleep and shelter against the elements. He needs to work for himself or someone else in order to obtain his required necessities. When he gets sick he eventually acquires from medical people the various remedies. Gravity keeps many things well balanced and in good order. As a race, mankind has been well provided for and is richly endowed with many things to keep it functioning. 

      These truths regarding the Holy Trinity are dogmas of the Church. So if anyone believes in one God but not in the Holy Trinity, he is in heresy and an atheist. In the beginning God created heaven and earth, and all things physical and spiritual and visible and indivisible .

     When we  examine man and the many requirements he needs to survive, we realize almighty God as the Creator has  provided for He has created all things. It also means that He has a distinct purpose and plan which He has made known to man. His all knowing mind is infinite and filled with beauty, and is perfect and beyond all possible description.

     Concerning the world:

     Man takes for granted the gifts of God , such as the rain,  dew, snow, the hail and frost, the oceans and lakes, the rivers and streams all are just a part of God’s immense creation and everything is self-replenishing and well systematized. Crowning all God’s creation is man whom He formed in His own image, and so some blessed men offer Him thanksgiving and greatly glorifies Him for His kindness and many benefactions upon him. Yet man cannot understand God for His mind is small and his limitations are extremely restricted. For he is  unable to understand and comprehend the many created things, and thus he cannot comprehend the uncreated.  But every man is capable of recognizing and glorifying Him for He is invisible to the eye but visible in spirit, yet if we men lived for a million years we would not understand His works and His extremely great love for mankind.

ONE GOD ONE FAITH ONE CHURCH

“There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God 

and Father of all” (Eph. 4: 5-6).

     The Orthodox belief and the dogma of the Church is that there is one God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible. He is the one true God in Trinity, Father Son/Logos and Holy Spirit, one God in three persons with one nature and one essence. He is the Holy Trinity. The Father eternally begets the Son and emits the Holy Spirit. The Son is the eternal Logos of the Father who became incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and He became Jesus Christ the Godman. He founded the Church on Peter’s confession: “You are the Christ Son of God.” Being both God and man, He became the Head of the Church which is His own body. As there is one God so there is one faith in the one Church, which today is known as the holy Orthodox Church. That faith is totally directed toward the Holy Trinity.

     The one Godman founded one church, which is one holy catholic and apostolic– the Body of Christ.

In the Church where there is that one faith there is also one baptism.  This baptism is performed with three immersions and emmersions. The believer is then totally immersed in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, this immersion is repeated three times. No other baptism can exist outside of the Church, for there is one Orthodox baptism done with three immersions.

     The one Faith is preserved by all Orthodox Christians wherein we worship one God in three persons, glorifying the Holy Trinity one in essence, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We sign ourselves frequently with the sign of the Cross going from the forehead to the abdomen and then to the right  and the left shoulders, having joined our thumb and next the two fingers together with the remaining two fingers pointing downward. If we bless anybody or anything, we always use the joined thumb and next two fingers and make the sign of the Cross over the person or thing. During the Divine Liturgy and during all private prayers we make the sign of the Cross on our persons. The sign of the Cross guards our souls and bodies and is an effective protection against dangers and many evils.

     When we enter or exit our cars is an ideal time to sign ourselves for constant protection and help Also before going for a walk and upon returning, for the sign of the Cross is both a protection and help at all times for everything. Also it is becomes to us a frequent spiritual reminder of him to whom we belong for we are not our own. So it  is good to use the sign of the Cross for every and any protection of person, animals or thing.

     There is one God and Father of all who we worship and reverence together with the Son and Holy Spirit, for He is one who made us and elevated us to the heights out of His goodness and love for man whom He created with His own hands. It is important to greatly honor the God who formed us and honored us first! For He is greatly worthy of all veneration and of our lasting thankfulness for His great mercy and generosity, and we can never offer enough thanks.

     We are nothing and God is everything! God is the Creator and we are created by Him. Man is so greatly honored by God that it is difficult for anyone to try to describe, for how can we compare the nothingness of man with God who is everything ? We did not even exist and God is always self existent. God is without beginning and has always existed, being perfect and the source and origin of everything good. He is all-knowing and all-powerful, filled with love and generosity. But we come from nothing and are not only made into something by God, but His plan is to make us equal to him in honor and glory! This is his plan and it is not possible for us to fully realize what this means for  it is beyond our understanding. 

     God said:  “Let us make man according to our own image and likeness.” These words should not be read over lightly. Their meaning is all important. God forms everything from nothing, and He formed man from the same source. So we are nothing but God decided to form man who would by dedicating his life become like God. This is the most beautiful thing that could ever happen! This too great to be throughly understood but is nevertheless true and accurate. No destination can be greater than to become just like God! Glory to Him may His mercy be upon us all.

THE LOVE OF CHRIST

“That you may be able to comprehend with all the saints, 

what is the breadth and length, what is  the depth and height, 

and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge 

that you may be filled with the fulness of God” (Eph. 3:18-19).

     The love of Christ is beyond knowledge and it is not possible by only reading about it and thus acquire that love. But when Christ comes and dwells within us by our decision to welcome Him then we will experience His great love which is beyond all knowledge. As one who has never tasted honey cannot have an idea of its sweetness and taste. So when Christ comes and enters the heart of a man, he by experience tastes the inexpressible flavor of Christ’s love. His love is sweet and utterrly inebriates our hearts in its embrace.

     The attempts to speak of Christ’s love are not simple to express, but many have at least made the attempt. We can see the effects of God’s great love for man in His actions which we can more easily speak about. God creates out of love, He became an incarnate man like us out of love. He underwent great suffering and much abuse out of His love for us.  His immense love discloses to us our future honor and glory which He wills out of love to bestow upon us. In the future eternal life death will not exist, but beautiful eternal life will fill its partakers with ever divine delight.

     He demonstrated his eternal love especially by his great suffering and sacrifice on the Cross. But this sacrifice perpetually continues in the entire Church of Christ, for His sacrifice was not once only, but is continuous and perpetual and is celebrated as the Holy Eucharist in the Divine Liturgy. There is nothing greater than the immense love of Christ and its delightful fragrance pours into into the souls of the faithful ones, and like a mighty river the souls delight in its great abundance.

     “That you may be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth and length, what is  the depth and height, and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge” 

   It says: “That you may be able to comprehend”;  but how are we made able to comprehend except by our own experience the love of Christ? It is by approaching him with firm and determined faith, realizing our misery and the greatness of the God of all, who out of His extreme love bestows upon  us our spirits and our formation and existence. We live in His world, we eat His food, drink His water, we breath His air, and He continually  nourishes our bodies and souls. How can we show Him our gratitude? By honoring our Father in heaven, and keep all the commandments of His Son Jesus Christ.

     “That you might be filled with the fulness of God”, indeed for God is the our fulness and the source and originator of everything and all that we possess or ever will possess are from His bounty. If we have God and nothing else we have everything. But if we have everything else and not God we are already dying and soon will have nothing but suffering and torment, for all matter is already dead, but the spirit given by God within us is eternal life!

     The love of Christ has no bounds for it spreads over all creation filling it with beauty and happiness. When we are filled with the love of God we have everything good and beautiful and in need of nothing. God is love and He delightfully pours out His love into our hearts and souls. God is compassionate and merciful and bestows His many blessings upon our souls. God is life and  fills our souls himself who is  everlasting life. Truly we are blessed to have knowledge of God and to experience His love which is the  source of all happiness. But to really love God and bask in His love is to become filled with Him, for then our souls will become delightfully enriched.  We will be enabled to more readily observe what is the breadth and length, what is  the depth and height of God’s love for us?  Blessed are those who come to realize an give priority and importance to these things for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Shining over all His works is the bright and beautiful love which God bestows on His personally created man.  What honor can a man desire that attempts to substitute the honor given Him by God? 

THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH 

AND THE BODY OF CHRIST

“And gave Him to be the Head of the Church 

which is His Body; 

the fulness of Him that fills all” (Eph. 1:22-23)

     The above verse from Holy Scripture completely crashes down all papal claims right onto the heads of the papists who falsely claim that their popes are heads of the church and that they own the church. For the Father gave Christ to be the Head of the Church which is His Body. There is only one Body of Christ and only one Head of the Church.  The papacy is fraudulent for it denies the truth spoken by Scripture that Christ is the one and only Head of the one Church. Instead of following Scripture they distort the words of Christ. For example, when Christ asked His disciples, Who do men say that I am? After various answers, Peter spoke and said: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Christ replied and said, that Peter’s reply was from the Father in heaven and then said: “Upon this rock I will build my Church.” The Papacy then goes on twist the words saying that the Church would be built upon Peter and that Peter is the rock and head of salvation. But this contradicts the words of Scripture. The Papacy is not a Church for they broke away and established a pseudo-church and intrduced many heresies.

     The true Church is alive and is filled with holiness and truth having been in existence for almost 2,000 years. There is one Body of Christ and one Head of the Body. The Church remains the same through the years and Christ our Head is the only Godman, the only sinless one and He is uniquely above and beyond all men that ever lived.

     The holy Orthodox Church headed by Christ is guided by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. Not all men are part of His Body, but only those who respond to Christ’s call: “Come unto me . . . ”, for he welcomes all who hear His words and desire to enter His Holy Church. God highly exalts His Church just as He exalts Christ. In the future life the whole Church will be standing next to the Holy Trinity, for as Christ  its head is highly exalted so is His Body the Church to be highly exalted. Such glory and greatness will repentant sinners attain in the holy Church.

     Christ the Godman changed many things and does not condemn sinners but calls them to repentance and into the glory of His Church. It is most difficult to properly exalt Him, but let us just say, Glory to Jesus Christ our Savior and God, who gave himself to be crucified out of His perfect love for each of one of us. His judgments and generosity exalts and will exalt the human race for all eternity and His light shines brilliantly in the glory of the All-Holy Trinity.

     Knowing our blessed and noble destination which has been prepared by the Lord, we must respond to it quickly and fervently. Our hearts must respond to His love, for no one can ever love us as does Jesus Christ, no one could ever accomplish what He did on the Cross with His terrible suffering and death. We know that following His terrible suffering and death, He arose on the third day and will never die again.

     We the Church and His Body, are most blessed having such a Head as the Godman, who keeps us on course and on the road to everlasting life. Christ is  the “fulness of Him that fills all”, for Christ is everything and the God who brought everything into existence. All heaven and earth will glorify His holy name for ever and unto the ages.

     Christ being the Head cares much for His Body, the Church, and keeps it is under His care and protection. There are always evil minded men who try to change the truths of the Church but they will certainly fail though they could possibly harm weaker brethren. But the history of the Church triumphantly declares itself to all, for it has been kept pure and incorrupt for almost 2,000 years. But we must be vigilant and protect ourselves from attacks will come, and we must respond to these attacks for ourselves and for our families.

      For example, it is forbidden by both the Bible and the Church to intermarry Orthodox with those outside of the Church but unruly hierarchs allow this. They will have to answer but if it happens to us and our friends we have a responsibility to speak up. Again, there is no baptism possible outside the Church; but  the same type of hierarch accepts the heretical and ineffective baptisms which the Church forbids and our Creed declares, saying:“I believe in one baptism for the remission of sins.” Entrance to the Church is correctly done through baptism with three immersions.The great blessing of triune baptism is denied to converts coming into the Church. These things need to be corrected as soon as possible.

CALLED TO BE SAINTS

     All Orthodox Christians are called to become holy, that is, (“saints” in Greek), for they partake of the holy Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion in the Eucharist. In Holy Scripture, the Apostle Paul addresses the Christians in the city of Ephesus saying: “To the saints which are at Ephesus” confirming their calling was to become  saints. In order to partake of Holy Communion we first must first rid ourselves from all sins and violations of the divine law and thus do away with vices and then we can adorn ourselves with virtues. For the Holy Mysteries are offered to us in the Divine Liturgy with these words: “The holy things to the holy (saints.” For there is no other way to become holy but to partake of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. For we cannot take Communion unworthily which is a sin.

     To become saints is not for a few or small group,  but for all who will to partake for they bear the name of Christ are Christians, called to holiness and sanctity. The heavenly kingdom of God is filled with saints and those who were martyred for Christ. We certainly can clean our mouths and speak only good things and we can cleanse our minds so that they will contain only clean and good thoughts. Our bodies will humbly follow our minds and hearts..

     We pray to God repeatedly with this prayer: “Heavenly King and Comforter, Spirit of truth, who are everywhere present and fills all things, Treasury of good things and Giver of life: Come and dwell within us, cleanse us from every impurity and save our souls, O Good One. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal have mercy upon us. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal have mercy upon us. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal have mercy upon us. 

Lord cleanse us from our sins; Master pardon our iniquities. Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for your name’s sake.” Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy. Glory to the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and unto the ages of ages, Amen. 

These words indicate a holy attitude which is the only way to address our Lord, with praise and doxology. In the churches looking at the Holy Doors leading into the altar, we always see in the left side the icon of the Theotokos and Christ, and on the right side an icon of Christ. The Priest celebrates and intercedes for us and we realize that only through Christ and His Mother can we elevate our souls to the kingdom of God

    Instead of preaching the wicked nonsense and heresy of ecumenism, the Orthodox clergy ought to be teaching the faithful how to live their lives as saints, for this is possible for all those who make the effort. The early Church was made up of such sinless and sanctified saints This caused the Church to increase continually in members as it spread Christianity throughout the world.  In the early holy Church Saints were the norm and the unholy were the exception.

     If some would consider this objective to be out of reach, there are methods to return to such a beautiful heritage through the doors of repentance. We live in sins and iniquties because we sin and do not repent We ask God to give us a clean heart containing good feelings, and this will  inspire the mind to do the same, then the body will follow and such action, and this will  fills such souls with great happiness for they are doing the will of God Each and every one of us  are called to become saints!

     In our daily prayers we continually call God holy, also the Theotokos and the angels. We seek them as our companions and solicit their help in all things. We are called “sons and daughters of God” and we call God the Father in heaven addressing him as Christ taught: “Our Father”! We call the Kingdom of heaven holy, for who else but the holy ones can occupy heaven but the saints. Heaven is the dwelling place of all the saints and martyrs and hopefully we will all reach that perfect and eternal joy!

     Help for accomplishing our goal of becoming saints is readily provided by the Lord for He delights in those who seek to do His will and strive to become saints. Saints have become the minority in modern times, but more help than ever will be supplied to those who at least try.

     Living without God and being disinterested is without excuse, for if we don’t pray and give God glory and are not faithful, why do we tell people that we are followers of Christ with the name Christians. If we take the name Christian in place of atheism or paganism we should at least struggle to live a holy life. A vile and evil life is a sure ticket to eternal torment which we should bear in mind as we seek the mercy of God.

     Can married men and women become saints? Many early saints were unmarried and today’s married have just as good an opportunity to become saints if they make the effort. Our lives become good or bad as we choose them to be.  Let us consider a person who uses bad language. Surely with effort he can change and fight against it using only good language. Another may commit dishonest acts, but he can decide to change and perform only honest actions, accomplished through repentance by our choice.

     We all have the ability to go from worse to better or better to worse, to improve ourselves is naturally possible for men, otherwise the Lord would not have given us such ability and the law. If we choose to improve our lives we will find that every improvement gives us more self respect and causes happiness to begin to raise up  our souls. For the first one who will greatly rejoice in our future good behavior is ourselves. 

     We are certainly going to depart from this world andentering the next world we will be judged according to our deeds and faith in Christ and the keeping of His commandments. If we ignore Him and turn our faces away, we can expect Him to do the same to us, for as we sow so shall we reap.

“TRULY THIS WAS THE SON OF GOD”

“Now when the centurion and they who were 

with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake, and 

those things that were done, they feared greatly.  

saying, truly this was the Son of God” (Matt. 27:54).

     As Christ expired on the Cross, one of those who were gazing at Him was the centurion who spoke out saying, “truly this was the Son of God”. He was head of the some Roman soldiers and had been an idolater, but he saw everything and hence his faithful outcry before all. He was able to grasp what the chief priests and Pharisees could not understand, that this wicked group was had cried out to Pontius Pilate to crucify Jesus Christ who was God in the flesh. Those who crucified Christ were blinded by the evil one and were rendered unable to see what was really taking place, but the centurion, doing his duty, began to receive spiritual sight.

     The Jewish elders saw the sun as it darkened, felt the earth tremble and quake, observed the rent rocks, and they saw the curtain of the temple as it divided in two. They saw all this but were blinded and their hearts were hardened, for they viciously called for the crucifixion of the Godman.

     The centurion, whose name was Longinus, spoke from his heart which led him to believe in Jesus Christ and sfter fasting and prayer he underwent martyrdom and became a witness with deep  love for Christ. The Jews bribed many soldiers and unsuccessfully attempted to bribe Longinus to prevent him from giving his testimony of what He saw and heard.

     We cry out with Longinus. truly Christ is the Son of God!  This testimony can never leave mankind for it is truth and truth remains for ever. How few people in our days believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? How many follow His commandments and do His will? There is no other way of life but in Jesus Christ the eternal Son of God who became incarnate of the Theotokos. How manyare there who love Him above father or mother, wife or children as He demands? He is meant to be the all important one and He entered our lives, for He is the God who created us! How do those who know Him not express their gratification and love? 

     We have all sinned against God    And broken his commandments. Therefore all of us without exception or question deserve punishment and  death – that is eternal death which the unworthy will experience following this temporary life. God himself chose the way of delivering all of us from this terrible eternal suffering which was by sacrificing himself on the Cross Then after much suffering and  by His death He made it possible for every human being to escape eternal death and acquire everlasting life. There is no other way to escape eternal death and suffering except through Jesus Christ. He did this out of His great love for man so how is it possible for us not love Him in return glorifying His suffering for our deliverance? How is it possible for us to ignore such great love and sacrifice?

     God is love and we have learned how to love through Him who is the source of love and who loves us first and foremost. We show our love for our own beloved ones here on earth, how can we not show our love to the all-good and all-merciful Lord Jesus Christ?  God is life and goodness so how can we not realize that all the goodness we experience in our lives comes from Him alone, God is merciful and forgives us our sins as soon as we turn to Him with sincere repentance. To live this life without knowing and loving God is the greatest of all tragedies.

     Sadly there is a self-centered selfishness which we harbor within us that fails to give thanks to the one who gives us life, gives us food and well being. This selfishness in men causes them to dismiss God as either non existant or just not worth the effort. Woe to them! It would have been better if they had never been born.

     Let us join the centurion Longinus and with him cry out: “Truly this was the Son of God. Let every day of our lives be filled with thanksgiving and relentless prayer to our most glorious Creator and God. Then in this world which quickly passes and comes to an unknowable end with our death. Let us love and cherish our Lord and thus enter into eternal life while we are still here  on earth, Then we will in a constant state of joy and delight in His extreme beauty and great mercy for ever and ever. Amen.

NEVER TASTE OF DEATH!

“If a man keeps my words, he shall never taste death” (Jn 8:52).

     This promise can only be made by God who alone has all authority over live and death. Because this promise is so wonderful, many would question it. Truth is that every word from the Lord is important, but unless we keep His words we will not escape death. 

     But what is death? It is the result man’s of disobedience of our Creator. It is not simply a penalty due to disobedience. Death stands over all men who know for certain that they will die, but death is not the end of anything but the beginning of something.

     Lazarus was dead for four days, and his death caused much distress and sadness among his family and friends. Being separated by death greatly saddens those left behind who are wounded by their loss.  Just as death is the result of disobedience, obedience is the cause of life, for there is no threat for obedience which is the cause of life. Christ arrived at the burial place where Lazarus had been laying, and after communicating with his sisters and others, He did what only God can do. He called Lazarus to “come forth” out of death into life.

     Many have written about this subject, but it always good to hear over and over.  Death is about reward and punishment, but why the fear of death among mankind? Both in the Holy Bibles and among the Church Fathers many have dealt with death. After death life continues but there is a separation of the good and evil.  Those who have kept the word of God, says John the Theologian above shall never taste death. Before Christ, both the upright and sinners were dead and their souls were in Hades, with the faithful and unfaithful were hoping for a deliverer. When Christ called Lazarus, those in Hades saw him leaving death and Hades behind when he was called by Christ to “come forth”. They were afraid, amazed and greatly hoping in the possibility of their deliverance.

     With the raising of four-days dead Lazarus, firmly established in the minds of all present that there is life after death. Lazarus, a good friend of Christ with his sisters, died a second time and is glorified in the Church with the title: “Four-day dead Lazarus.”

     Christ accomplished His great work of putting death to death by His own death, which is a life-giving death. The Church sings over and over about Christ’s Crucifixion, death and third-day Resurrection.

     “If a man keeps my words he shall never taste death.” Keeping the words of Christ means that those who do this will not taste death. Death is not feared by the great saints and martyrs because they well understood Christ’s triumph over death and nullifting its effect on His followers. Death for those who keep His words and love Him go through the door of death to the next life and escape judgment and condemnation, entering into eternal life, not by their works, but out of God’s great mercy. The bitter taste of death therefore is changed into the sweetness of everlasting life in the kingdom of heaven. But to those who remain sinners and unbelievers death is followed by judgment and is therefore bitter and there is no escape.

     Those who will not experience the  taste death have chosen to keep Christ’s commandments and so they lived. even in this sinful world, in His glorious resurrection, and they will not experience any bitterness nor have any regrets.  The righteous, looking forward to death with the sincere hope of God’s mercy causes the fear of God to be present in their souls. This fear is not overbearing for it is a logical fear, for no one can consider himself worthy of everlasting life, even though he keeps Christ’s words and love Him, so they look to His great mercy and compassion hoping for eternal life.

     Keeping Christ’s words not only results in not tasting death. The more we endeavor to keep His commandments, the more do we live as God intended us to live, using the gracious freedom He granted us to fulfill His will. Sin is death and Christ taught us to abandon all sin and proclaims: “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believes in me, though he were dead yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” nor taste death.

“THE VERY HAIRS OF YOUR HEAD ARE NUMBERED”

“THE VERY HAIRS OF YOUR HEAD ARE NUMBERED”

“Not one sparrow falls to the ground 

without your Father. But the very hairs 

of your head are all numbered” (Mat.10: 29-30).

      From God comes every drop of rain, every snow flake, every bird, and every man, in fact there are no exclusions, for God created and governs everything that He has formed, therefore nothing is accidental or incidental. Not only is each hair of our head numbered but also there is the number of the days of our souls on the earth! Just as God appointed the day of our birth, so He establishes the day of our departure to the next world. No one can increase or decrease the days which God has set for our souls in this present life.

     Therefore there is no reason to be concerned that we may depart from this life before God’s appointed time, nor can we  by any means add even a single day to our lives. For the Lord will decide the day when we will leave this world and go to our final destination.

     We are given a number of days in this temporary life and these days are not given us only for the pursuit of enjoying pleasure until we die, lacking any purpose or goal; this is the thinking of unbelievers.  God created everything and told us what was for a specific the purpose to us, which is to obey His commandments and strive to become God’s image and likeness.  Christ is our Savior, our Teacher and our Guide and He is the perfect example of what we must struggle to become. He is the Godman, and He wills that all of us become man-gods. This is the purpose of this life to work with God for our salvation in His Church always keeping the goal of our lives before us. Moreover, as we accomplish our personal goals we must also do all we can to bring many others into the true Church wherein they will acquire eternal life. 

When we see the rain or snow falling we can see the perfect providence of God, who controls everything that exists and has a purpose for their existence.  That perfect providence is what every hair is numbered implies, for God is uncreated and all of creation is entirely His design governed by His providence.

     Man sees much of what happens yet remains ignorant of why, and many show no interest in He who created all. Why are we able to see so much and yet understand so little, for the rain drops, the snow and ice, the bright sun and the moon and stars are before our eyes, but there is so much more that our eyes are not able to see. We talk, we walk, we drive, we sail and we fly, but this is but a very small fraction, for we cannot see or grasp all that exists. But as God does not ignore us we certainly should not ignore God, for to do so is the greatest of insults and will result in eternal punishment.

     We know that God does not ignore us for  “the very hairs of our head are numbered”, we should not think that God ever fails to hear us when we pray to Him for even if we exchange thoughts with another person God hears the thoughts of both for nothing can escape the all-knowing Mind. Every word spoken to God by us is always received and welcomed! It delights God when we seek to know Him and follow His commandments. For this reason the prophets, patriarchs, apostles and the Theotokos who loved and obeyed Him also share in His glory.

     A little sparrow falls to the ground but not without the heavenly Father who controls all life and death.  We know so little about the Lord, but He taught us much by His revelations. He spoke through the prophet concerning the hairs on our heads, but He also says of himself:  “I am the way and the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but through me.” Jesus is the only way in heaven or on earth, He is also the only truth and the author of all life, for He is God the Eternal Logos equal to the Father and the Spirit. Jesus, who dwelled among us is the only Truth who came down from heaven and dwells within us, continually nourishing us and He gives Himself to the faithful as food and drink. He is the source of all life and the only Giver of life. The phrase: the very hairs of your head are numbered, is an indication of the great concern that God has for each and every one of us, for the soul and spirit within us are most precious and blessed and destined to be with God forever! To respond is our greatest responsibility for response will determine our eternal life or eternal punishment. God shows His concern and it is up to arouse our interest and to turn to God in repentance and compunction seeking forgiveness for our sins with the hope of everlasting life.

This is a treasure to save and keep readily available for in these verses Christ describes His nature!

JESUS CHRIST PROCLAIMS HIS NATURE

     “I am the Christ the Son of the living God.”

     “All things are delivered to me of my Father, and no man knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal Him.”

     “I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.”

     “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham was I am.”

     “No man has ascended into heaven, but He who came down from heaven, even the Son of man who is in heaven.”

     “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again I leave the world, and go to the Father.”

     “I and my Father are one.”

     “He that has seen me has seen the Father.”

     “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”

     “As the Father knows me, in the same way I know the Father, and I lay down my soul for my sheep.”

      “I am the light of the world; he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

     “I am the way and the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but through me.”

     “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.”

     “I am the bread of life; he that comes to me shall never hunger and he that believes on me shall never thirst.”

     “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever.”

     “If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. He that believes on me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

     “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”

     “I am the first and the last; He that lives and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore. And have the keys of Hades and of death.”

     “I am the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.”

     “I am He that is holy, he that is true, he that has the key of David, He that opens and no man shuts, and shuts and no man opens.”

     “I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”

     “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

     “To this end was I born. And for this cause I came into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Every one that is of the truth hears my voice.”