I’m not a part of the Orthodox Church. I have always attended a Protestant Evangelical Church. But over the course of my seminary study, I have gained a great appreciation for the Orthodox Church and its doctrine and liturgy.
Having said that, a friend of mine sent this to me via facebook today. It is a video of a newly consecrated Orthodox bishop who was asked to speak to a group of priests during a time of crisis on the Orthodox Church of America. Listen to what he has to say. You may not relate to the liturgy and ritual of the OCA and you may not understand the naming conventions they use for the church’s hierarchy, but if you listen you will hear the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to a church in crisis. Somehow, I don’t believe this word is just for the OCA.
Take a look when you have time – it’s about 30 minutes. Leave me a comment and let me know what you hear.
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“Show me a man who can comprehend God and I will show you a worm that can comprehend a man.” J0hn Wesley
I just spent a weekend with Perry Stone who came and preached for three days at River of Life Church where I am the lead pastor. Perry and I have been friends for several years now and I have had many fascinating conversations with him about things like the origins of evil, the rapture of the Church, the book of Revelation, etc. Over the years and through my course of study as a Divinity Student I have come to the conclusion there are some things about God we will not be able to explain or completely understand. I’m like the priest on the movie “Rudy” who said “after a lifetime of theological study I have come to two conclusions – one, there is a God; and two, I’m not Him.” Frankly, I like that. I mean if we ever got to the place where we completely understood God – He wouldn’t be God anymore would He?
But the same thing is true about how God works in our every day lives. I’m sitting in an airport right now delayed one hour and forty-five minutes after having the flight completely canceled last night. I sometimes get frustrated by these things – but God is in control of that too isn’t He? Of course He is! Sometimes things don’t go according to plan. Sometimes you don’t get to do that thing you wanted to do, or buy that thing you wanted to buy, or get that job you were certain was meant for you. But when things don’t go just like you want them to go – it’s not because God has dropped the ball. You just don’t have enough information. Have you considered the possibility that God knows something you don’t? I think in theory we know that’s true, its just hard sometimes to put it into practice.
I challenge you to rest in the Lord. He is working on your behalf if you are in covenant with Him. That means you are living in obedience to His word and have surrendered your life to Christ as Savior. No matter what is going on in your life God has things well in hand. And His will is good, perfect, and acceptable (Romans 12:2). Trust that He knows what is best and relax in the knowledge that all you have to do is obey Him. He’s got it covered.
