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The mystery of our resurrection with Christ
Post date: 2023-04-19Autor: BCP
God’s Word says that we were raised together with Christ. It is a certain mystery to us. Jesus was raised two thousand years ago in Jerusalem. I am not in Jerusalem, but in another place and in another time. I was not in the tomb with Jesus to be raised with Him. I was not even born yet. So what does it mean that “we were raised together with Him”? Let us think what happened at Christ’s resurrection: Christ’s dead body, which was lying in the tomb, was not only raised to life but also transformed. Christ was raised from the dead with a glorified body. He passed through the stone tomb in spite of a large stone rolled in front of the entrance to the tomb. After that, He appeared to the apostles in different places during forty days. Through the resurrection, new life entered the physical body of Jesus, and His body was glorified.
Reflection on Mt 7:15
Post date: 2023-04-15Autor: BCP
This warning of Christ is highly topical too. Today many shepherds of the Church are no longer servants of Christ, but servants of the antichrist. Naturally, this is not outwardly recognized. They really wear sheep’s clothing and use psychological methods to manipulate people. They speak of love, compassion, listening, discerning, welcoming, accompanying, and all this is actually a trap of ravenous wolves baring their fangs and tearing up naïve and often sincere deluded souls. These shepherds only talk about love, but they avoid true love – the cross of Christ.
Jesus Appears to the Disciples at Emmaus
Post date: 2023-04-15Autor: BCP
Jesus Appears to the Disciples at Emmaus
The souls of those who are in union with Jesus are filled with peace
Post date: 2023-04-11Autor: BCP
We die with Jesus and rise with Him again. In the Letter to the Romans, we find essential truths about us being grafted into Jesus through faith – this union is given us in baptism. “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” (Rom 6:8) Here the emphasis is on the words “we believe”. We need to put into practice our union with Jesus. If we abide in ourselves, troubles arise. If we are in union with Christ, our soul is always filled with peace. We feel peace regardless of whether someone scolds us or we fall ill. You can even be a cripple confined to a wheelchair for some 40 years, or you can even be sentenced to death, and you can be happy because you have Jesus. If you are in union with Jesus, you are filled with peace that the world cannot give. This is a law that works: Whenever a problem comes, you experience inner peace. God gives it to a soul that opens to Him. Anyone can try it.
“Peace to you!”
Post date: 2023-04-11Autor: BCP
When the Risen Jesus appeared to the apostles, He said to them three times: “Peace be with you!” In what situation did Jesus say these words? We read in the Gospel: “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” (Jn 20:19) The Gospel continues: “When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you!’” (v.20-21) On Sunday a week later, Jesus appeared to them the third time, and Thomas was with them: “And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace to you!’” (v.26)
God gives victory (video)
Post date: 2023-04-08Autor: BCP
God gives victory. + Elijah Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate
Reflection on Mt 7:13
Post date: 2023-04-05Autor: BCP
Jesus’ advice is very serious. It concerns each of us. Heeding this earnest counsel brings forth the fruit of eternal life and eternal happiness in the kingdom of heaven. The gate which leads to life, however, is narrow, and unfortunately many do not know it, do not want to seek it, and if it is pointed out to them, they boycott it to their temporal and eternal detriment. On the other hand, Jesus warns of the wide gate and the broad way that leads to eternal destruction. It is a tragedy and a painful reality that there are many who have chosen this broad path of life that ends in destruction. This broad way does not bring true happiness and true peace in this life, but unrest of the soul and uncertainty. Then at the hour of death comes despair which is followed by eternal damnation. This is not an exaggeration or just some scaremongering; this is a serious warning from our Saviour to walk the narrow way of which He said: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
BCP: Diagnosis of the time and mission of prayer (video)
Post date: 2023-03-28Autor: BCP
Contemporary Christianity with the spirit of the world is a barren fig tree. The condition for it not to be cut down is to start bearing the fruit of genuine repentance. Let us briefly consider the diagnosis of the time we live in. Modern man not only is unable to perceive sin, but often does not perceive the very reality itself. Many live in unreality or virtual reality. They are overwhelmed by the endless flow of information from the television, internet or smartphones. Nowadays the spirit of the world has a particularly demoralizing, disruptive, even self-destructive influence. One must resist it. It has manipulated public opinion to the point of a secret diktat. Children are also entrapped. The current laws absurdly stipulate that children aged 12 and over can undergo drastic gender reassignment surgery, in other words be mutilated for life, and their parents cannot even warn them.
Reflection on Mt 7:12
Post date: 2023-03-26Autor: BCP
These words remind us of a very important rule for our personal life, for our relationships with those closest to us as well as for our relationships with other people. We usually want others to do something and we are sad when they do not do what we would like them to do or we reproach them for it. Or we even make a gloomy face because they are unable to guess our wishes. This is the picture of the old self. We should learn our lessons from this unsound thinking, and learn true self-criticism instead. We have to assume that the other person is just as unsound in his thinking. If our thinking was vertical, in other words if we sought first the kingdom of God and the salvation of our soul and communicated with God in prayer, we would also seek the kingdom of God within us first and prefer it to temporal and passing values such as human glory, recognition, excessive wealth, vanities, etc.
Asbury Revival (USA) What are the five principles that can retain and transmit the Spirit of revival? (video)
Post date: 2023-03-08Autor: BCP
Dear Asbury University students, the whole Christian world is watching with hope the spiritual awakening that God has given in your university. This awakening is a great hope not only for America. It has affected the spiritual world and its fruits will be manifested both in the renewal of families and in the renewal of society. Surely you are familiar with David Wilkerson’s warning prophecy about the disaster that threatens America. But you are the hope! God can change even a just punishment, just as He changed it when Nineveh repented. Therefore, the revival at your university is the hope for saving America.
BCP: The spiritual root of the ego and the life journey of man (video)
Post date: 2023-01-25Autor: BCP
Man does not only have the material side, which he receives through his father and mother. Man is essentially a spiritual being. God created man by using matter – the dust of the ground – and breathed His spirit into him. Man became a living soul, i.e. a mental, thinking being, unlike animals (comp. Gen 1-3). Original sin, a spiritual poison, entered the soul of man through the violation of God’s commandment. Man became guilty of disobeying God, the Supreme Being. At the same time, he opened himself to another spiritual being, the devil. Redeeming faith is rooted in the truth revealed by God. “Whoever believes (in Christ) and is baptized will be saved.” (Mk 16:16) This is the foundation. But it must be followed by a way, which is Jesus Christ. He who endures on this way till the end will be saved. (Mt 24:13) A person needs especially a daily prayer routine when walking this way. Ideally, one tenth of the time of day. Those who will give God 2.5 hours every day will become free from the addiction to the spirit of the world and deception, which is active in mainstream media and social networks. In this way they will prefer vertical communication to a horizontal one or, in other words, they will prefer redeeming truth to deception, half-truths, and vanity. Redeeming faith is manifested primarily in interior prayer and in a personal relationship with the Saviour. It unites us to Him. We unite our sufferings and our crosses with Him, that is, we experience co-crucifixion with Christ. Our goal after this short life is eternal life. There is only one true way leading there, and that is Jesus Christ. He is the Way and the Truth, but also the Life – eternal life (Jn 14:6).
Reflection on Mt 6:34
Post date: 2023-01-11Autor: BCP
Jesus lays down principles even for the mundane matters of our daily life. These are common worries, worries about the future, about food, about finances, about health, about yourself and your family, worries about your house, etc. Jesus gives a simple instruction that we should not worry about tomorrow, because each day has enough trouble of its own. So we should focus on the day that is given to us and live it according to the will of God. Jesus says, “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” In another place, Jesus says that we should watch because we do not know when death will come. Death will relieve us of all worries. Scripture tells us to redeem the time. Worries rob us of peace. If we are overwhelmed by worries, we need to set proper priorities and distinguish what needs to be done first in a given situation, and then do it, and put aside what is not so relevant or even what is unnecessary.
Reflection on Mt 6:22
Post date: 2022-12-01Autor: BCP
If you have bad eyes, or your eyesight is failing, you suffer. If you lose your sight, you are in complete darkness and see nothing of the material world. A particular kind of look or facial expression may reflect an inner harmony or disharmony. A gloomy face, an evil look, an envious or lustful eye conveys sin and disharmony or spiritual bondage that enslaves man. Nowadays, with the help of so-called modern psychologies, even the greatest criminal can easily create an artificial smile or pretend kindness, but it is unnatural and fake. Sooner or later it will be unmasked. We have three kinds of sight or eyes – physical, mental and spiritual. With our physical eyes we see the material world. Mental sight is our reason and we can use it to discover the invisible realities, such as abstract, mathematical or even logical truths. In the light of reason, we can also recognize moral laws, which are reflected in the sphere of mutual relationships.
BCP: Modern psychological and spiritual warfare /Part two/
Post date: 2022-11-25Autor: BCP
Analysis of spiritual warfare In part one, we reflected on the reality of spiritual and psychological warfare that is currently taking place on a global scale. In part two, we give an analysis of the spiritual war that takes place in the life of every person during his lifetime. Psychological and spiritual warfare begins when two people hate each other. Every form of war has not only a horizontal but also a vertical dimension, behind which is rebellion against God and rejection of His laws and commandments. This rebellion has its origin in the spirit of lies and evil. The source of evil in us, i.e. original sin, suppresses the awareness of truth and our conscience, which is the voice of God in the heart of man. The very fact that a person separates himself from God – the vertical – through sin has a negative impact on the horizontal as well, that is, on the relationship with another person. This is the cause of every war and every evil that has ever been committed by mankind. The Bible gives us an illustrative example in the description of the first fratricide. Cain first turned away from God, and then was filled with envy and jealousy of his brother. His holding onto hateful thoughts and the resulting emotions eventually led him to kill his brother.
BCP: Modern psychological and spiritual warfare /Part one/
Post date: 2022-11-17Autor: BCP
There is currently a psychological and spiritual war going on worldwide. This war is not primarily a war of armies, a war of people, but a war of the spirit. This war is primarily in the human mind. We can therefore talk about the realm of ideas, that is, about ideology. Our minds are influenced by spiritual forces, both positive and negative, that is, angels and demons. In his recent speech, a certain President has pointed to the satanic nature of Western civilization when he mentioned the Satanism associated with gender propaganda and gender reassignment. A hidden being, the devil, inspires those who have fallen away from God and rejected both natural and divine laws. Today, they are mainly represented by a worldwide semi-secret elite organization. The Bible testifies that the spiritual battle is fought with the demonic forces of fallen angels who exercise their world domination in space (see Eph 6:12). However, if we are in inner union with the Son of God and our Saviour, we have power even over the spiritual forces of evil (Lk 10:19).
Reflection on Mt 6:19
Post date: 2022-10-31Autor: BCP
Our nature corrupted by original sin is not concerned with treasures in heaven, where rust does not destroy and where thieves do not steal, but rather is inclined to materialism. It believes material things will provide for our future, and it even indulges the pride of life and looks down on the “have-nots”. Jesus says in the parable of the rich fool who wanted to pull down his barns and build greater: “You fool! This very night your soul will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” Naturally, such people are not mindful of death or the end. Finally, in time of serious illness, and especially in the hour of death, they receive quite a shock. They may even keep the Christian faith, but if their heart clings to possessions, they will hardly get rid of the demon of mammon at the hour of death. Jesus says clearly: “You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Implementation of prayer acc. Mk 11:23
Post date: 2022-10-07Autor: BCP
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Our sins proceed from the source of evil in us, original sin. Therefore, each of us now acknowledges: I am an egoist who does not seek the will of God, but my own. I am a hedonist who seeks pleasure even at the cost of sin. I am a critic who condemns others, but I refuse to see or admit my fault. May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. Lord, have mercy! Christ, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Jesus died for me and my sins. I look in spirit at the cross of Christ, at His five wounds, and call on the name of Jesus in Hebrew: “YE-HO-SHU-AA-AA-AA” (5 times).
Reflection on Mt 6:6
Post date: 2022-10-07Autor: BCP
Jesus continues in verse 7: “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases like pagans, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them…” Jesus then tells us how to pray, and teaches us the Our Father (vv.9-13). The word of life assures us: “… your Father (God) who sees in secret will reward you.” Verse 8 adds: “For your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Prayer requires favourable conditions. One of them is to go into your room and shut the door, that is, to quieten your heart and not be immersed in your plans or worries. Today, the Internet, mass media, mobile phones, and thus constant communication with people, are major obstacles to silence of heart. There is no need to go into your room for such communication. But if you are to communicate with God, this requires outward separation from the world, but also inward silence of thoughts.
BCP: Through whom will God liberate the USA, Russia and Europe from mountains of demons? (video)
Post date: 2022-10-07Autor: BCP
Dear brother and sister in Christ, God is waiting for your obedience of faith to liberate America, Russia and Europe from mountains of demons. Demonic forces today control the thinking of people who have trampled on God’s laws, suppressed their conscience, and serve the spirit of lies and death. An army with the most modern weapons is not enough against Satan and his demons; they can only be overcome by the almighty power of God. It is here that biblical faith is decisive which unites us to the holy name of God – Jesus (Yehoshua). Our Savior promised: “If you say to this mountain (specifically, the mountain of demons): ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will happen, it will be done for you.” (Mk 11:23)
Reflection on Mt 6:3
Post date: 2022-09-17Autor: BCP
In connection with this statement, Jesus says: “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” And next, Jesus explains: “Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.” (Mt 6:1-2) And He continues: “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” So, Jesus emphasizes that we should not seek recognition, or even glory, from people. If we apply this counsel of Christ, we are spared many disappointments. Jesus points out that we should do good deeds in secret with the motivation to please God. In addition, it is true that we thus store up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy them and thieves do not steal them. Such motivation requires faith. This involves sacrifice, and you can even expect that people will slander and discredit you for that. But you have all the more credit with God if you endure all this out of love for Him.