A New Years View

"People are going to judge you. People are going to condemn you. You know- a matter of fact- it seems as though, some people, that's exactly what they are looking for.

  

I would rather live on the verge of falling and let my security be found in the all sufficiency of the grace of God than to live in some kind of pietistic illusion of moral excellency.

 I guess I'd say, Go out and live real good. I promise you'll get beat up real bad, but, in a little while after you're dead, you'll be rolled away anyway. It's not going to matter if you have a few scars. But it will matter if you didn't live." Rich Mullens

Are You A Ragamuffin?

Definition of ragamuffin: a ragged often disreputable person; especially :  a poorly clothed often dirty child 

In spiritual terms, 

"ragamuffins are the unsung assembly of saved sinners who are little in their own sight and aware of their brokenness and powerlessness before God... A ragamuffin knows that he is only a beggar at the door of God's mercy."

 God Loves ragamuffins.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13

Do You Really Believe God Loves You?

"...I am now utterly convinced that on Judgement Day the Lord Jesus will ask one question, and only one question,  

'Did you believe that I loved you, that I desired you, that I waited for you day after day, that I longed to hear the sound of your voice?'

The real believers will respond and say, 'I believed in your love and I tried to shape my life as a response to it.' But many of us who are faithful in our ministry, our practice, our church-going are going to answer, 'Well frankly, no sir. I never really believed it.' And there's the difference between the real believers and the nominal Christians that abound in our churches across the land. No one can measure, like a believer, the depth and intensity of God's love. But, then again, no one can measure, like a believer, the effectiveness of our gloom, our pessimism, our low self-esteem, our self-hatred and despair, that block God's way to us. 

You see, now, why it is so important to lay hold of this basic truth of our faith. Because you are only going to be as big as your own concept of God. We make God in our own image and he winds up being as fussy, as rude, and narrow-minded, and judgmental. and legalistic, and unloving, and unforgiving as we are.

...So many Christians I meet, [God] is too small. Because he is not the God of the Word. He is not the God who is revealed in and by Jesus Christ, who at this moment comes to your seat and says,  

'I have a word for you. I know your whole life story. I know every skeleton in your closet. I know every moment of sin and shame, dishonesty and degraded love that's darkened your path. Right now, I know your shattered faith, your feeble prayer life, your inconsistent discipleship, and my word to you is this, I dare you to trust that I love you as you are, not as you should be.'

Because none of us are as we should be." Brennan Manning

Top Ten JTO Posts December 2014...So far...

Understanding the Christian Artist

I recommend this book by Orthodox filmmaker and author, Franky Schaeffer. It is out of print but can be found used. It is a must read for those who have questions about the mission of the Church in the entertainment and arts industries and the Christian missionaries who must endure both the rejection of non-Christians and the resistance of uninformed Christians.

You May Order It Here

Related Article: Brass and Cymbals

The Mystery of Art

 Jonathan Jackson- Orthodox Actor/Musician

"Emmy Award-winning actor and musician Jonathan Jackson explores the profound implications of human creativity in the image of God, along with the process of becoming an artist (of any sort) dedicated to practicing his or her art from the context of a deep relationship with God. The true Christian artist is not necessarily one who treats religious themes, but one who creates through the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God."

 Order Book Here

St. Nikolai Velimirovich: Bless My Enemies O Lord

Enemies have driven me into your embrace more than friends have.

Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world.

Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world.

They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself.

They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments.

They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself.

They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.

Bless my enemies, O Lord, Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish.

Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf.

Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background.

Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand.

Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep.

Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out.

Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of your garment.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitterly against me:

so that my fleeing to You may have no return;

so that all hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs;

so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul;

so that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins, arrogance and anger;

so that I might amass all my treasure in heaven;

ah, so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life.

Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world except himself.

One hates his enemies only when he fails to realize that they are not enemies, but cruel friends. It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies.

Therefore bless, O Lord, both my friends and enemies.

A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them, for he understands. For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life. Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them.

+ St. Nikolai Velimirovich, Prayers By the Lake (A Treasury of Serbian Orthodox Spirituality, Volume 5)

How to Guarantee Victory Over Your Enemy

"Do not be vengeful; do not return evil for evil. 

The evil of your neighbor is sufficient. If you return evil for evil, you double the amount of evil in the world; but if you do not return him evil, he may yet burn out his own evil through repentance, and you will have lessened the evil in the world by your patience and forgiveness...

Wait on the Lord. 

...In due time both you and he who wishes evil to you will realized that He sees and remembers. You may wonder what you have accomplished in not returning evil for evil. You have accomplished the wisest possible thing in any given circumstances, namely: you have renounced your battle to the One stronger than you, and He who is stronger will win the victory for you. If you engage in battle with the evildoer, you may be overcome. 

Renounce your fight, therefore, and hand it over to the One who is victorious and unconquerable, and wait with patience.

Learn from a little child: when he is attacked by someone in the presence of his parents, he does not return to the attack but runs to his parents and bursts into tears. He knows that his parents will protect him. How do you not know that which a little child knows? ...Therefore, do not be vengeful. do not return evil for evil, but look to your Father and cry to Him. 

Only in this way will you guarantee victory for 

yourself in the clash with evil men."  

Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic'

Love Everyone!

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice... Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you... But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips... Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.

Love One Another

 

Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Ephesians 4:2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

1 Peter 1:22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

 

Love Your Enemies

 

Matt. 5:43-48 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

...and armed forces everywhere, let us pray to the Lord.

 

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the Republic
for which it stands,
one Nation under God,  

indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all