Saint Isaac the Syrian, Bishop of Ninevah, lived during the sixth century. He and his brother entered the monastery of Mar Matthew near Ninevah and received the monastic tonsure. His learning, virtue, and ascetic manner of life attracted the notice of the brethren, and they proposed that he head the monastery. Saint Issac did not want this burden, preferring a life of silence, so he left the monastery to live alone in the desert.
His brother urged him more than once to return to the monastery, but he would not agree. However, when the fame of Saint Isaac’s holy life had spread, he was made Bishop of Ninevah. Seeing the crude manners and disobedience of the inhabitants of the city, the saint felt that it was beyond his ability to guide them, and moreover, he yearned for solitude.
Once, two Christians came to him, asking him to settle a dispute. One man acknowledged that he owed money to the other, but asked for a short extension. The lender threatened to bring his debtor to court to force him to pay. Saint Isaac, citing the Gospel, asked him to be merciful and give the debtor more time to pay. The man said, “Leave your Gospel out of this!” Saint Isaac replied, “If you will not submit to Lord’s commandments in the Gospel, then what remains for me to do here?” After only five months as bishop, Saint Isaac resigned his office and went into the mountains to live with the hermits. Later, he went to the monastery of Rabban Shabur, where he lived until his death, attaining a high degree of spiritual perfection.
From the early eighth century until the beginning of the eighteenth century, nothing was known about Saint Isaac of Syria in Europe except for his name and works. Only in 1719 was a biography of the saint published at Rome, compiled by an anonymous Arab author. In 1896, more information on Saint Isaac came to light. The learned French soteriologist Abbot Chabot published some eighth century works on Syrian history by Iezudena, bishop of Barsa, where the account of Saint Isaac the Syrian was found.
We will read the Gospel of Mathew, chapter four, verses one to two, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry.” (Mathew 4:1-2.)
Lent is forty days leading up to the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, which is “Easter.” The length of Lent represents the forty days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness before beginning His ministry. The question that always comes to our minds is, why did Jesus fast? The Gospel says that after Jesus’ baptism, He was Led by the Holy Spirit to go into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Jesus fasted to confront the temptation of Satan. He wants to teach us that fasting is one of our most essential weapons in spiritual warfare and our battle with Satan. We can notice that Satan’s first temptation to Jesus revolved around life and death. Satan the tempter came to Jesus, who was fasting and hungry. He said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” The word “to become bread” here means that Satan was tempting Jesus with His need for earthly bread to live and not die. But Jesus answered him and said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Hence, we see Christ’s victory over Satan’s temptation by declaring to him that man’s life is not only dependent on earthly bread, which he can control, but depends primarily on the life of God and His living word, which he cannot control. So, the main goal of fasting is not to change one type of food with another or abstain from eating for several hours, but to replace the earthly bread with the living bread, that is to say, to feed and nourish on the living word of God that is full of His life and love. And man’s life and his survival is not dependent on earthly bread, but on God, the source of life. Satan’s temptation to Jesus was the first confrontation between the spirit of death which is Satan’s spirit and the eternal life which is the life of Jesus, which has resulted in the triumph of Jesus’ life over Satan’s death. So, the purpose of Lent, that is to say fasting, is to draw closer to God through prayer, repentance, and self-examination. During Lent, many Christians give up certain indulgences as a form of self-discipline and penance. It is a time to open the doors of our hearts and let the life of Jesus dwells in us in the Holy Spirit. We seek God's forgiveness, accept his love and mercy, repent and turn from our sins. Prayer also is a significant focus during this time. It is a time of spiritual renewal and reflection in preparation for celebrating the resurrection of Jesus.
The other question which most people ask is, why did Jesus fast for forty days and not fifty or sixty? The Early Church Fathers answered this question by saying that forty days is when a person can live without food but with water. But Jesus stayed without food and water; how? They answered that the divinity had preserved the humanity of Christ from perishing. We know that His divinity did not leave His humanity for a single moment, not even in the blink of an eye, as we declare in the faith decree. Jesus said in the Gospel of Mathew, chapter seventeen, verse twenty-one, “this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Amen
SAINT PLOYCARP – ON FASTING
Wherefore let us forsake the vain doing of the many and their false teachings, and turn unto the word which was delivered unto us from the beginning, being sober unto prayer and constant in fasting, entreating the all-seeing God with supplications that He bring us not into temptation, according as the Lord said, The Spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak. [Polycarp 7:2].
God can help in the most challenging and impossible circumstances, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Mathew 19:26). He can break through in your life and show you His mighty hand and strength to do the impossible in your life. Don’t doubt but have faith in Him. There is an ability of God that you haven’t yet experienced in your life. Remember that the Lord Jesus is with you when you ask Him and permit Him to permeate your life. God has the miraculous ability to do the impossible. In the letter to the Hebrews, chapter eleven, we read that without faith we cannot please God. It shows how important it is to cast our impossibilities in God’s hands,“But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” ( Hebrews11:6).
Two vital points let you not experience God’s interference in your life to change the impossible situation to the possible. The first point is your weak faith, doubt, and mistrust in the Lord’s love for you and His unlimited powerful strength to change the impossible; The Second point is you living enslaved to sin, which separates you from God’s life and light. Your focus is on your finite self all the time and its limited capabilities and not on Jesus. You have to focus on God, the creator of the universe who is the source of life and strength. He will enlighten you with all the ways to make the impossible possible. Know that when you call Him, He will interfere but in His right time and will change all your dire circumstances and switch it to your good, “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Your part of the responsibility is to trust and obey the word of God. To look at your inabilities is a trap to get depressed and discouraged, but instead of doing this negative attitude, praise God as long as you live and uplift up your hands in prayer. The Gospel teaches us that in order to get answers to our prayers, our beliefs and our desires have to be in line with the will of God; that’s how Jesus lived His life and how He taught His disciples to live, “My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me”(John 5:30). When our lives are lived in obedience to God’s will, nothing is impossible.
Whenever you are facing something fearful and horrible in your life, such as a financial disaster, the loss of a family member, problems with a child, serious illness, or anything that may happen and you do not see how you can ever rise above it, or get through it, pray with trust and confidence in God’s abundant love and his unlimited power and ability to do something in your situation that your mind cannot even grasp or never thought possible. You must trust in His miraculous power to change the situation. In times of trouble and trial, you must abide in Jesus and take Him at His word; He says that all things work out for good to those who love Him and are submitted to His purpose in their lives.
Do not let your prayers be just words uttered out of your mouth but let them be filled with that kind of faith that moves the mountains. Free yourself from everything that entangles your thoughts and lean into your prayer life. Pray every time and anytime while you are at work, driving your car, or cooking food. Also, thank God and praise Him with every breath of your life. We must surrender ourselves and our thoughts to His sovereign plan, trusting Him to do what is best for us and leaning on His everlasting arms to see all the impossible in our lives be changed and become possible.
The relationship between God the Father and man, whether before his creation or after his creation, was based on God’s special and sincere love to him. And that He loved him with the same love for His Son Jesus Christ. God the Father called us out of nowhere to exist because of His love to us. He loved us just as much as He loved His Son Jesus Christ. Therefore, the loving relationship between us and God the Father must reach the image and likeness of love between the Father and His Son Jesus. I must love Him as Jesus loved Him. To have a relationship with God means to enter into this circle of love.
The Heavenly Father expresses His love for us with an abundance of endless giving, and we express our love for Him in complete submission to His will, like Jesus. We cannot enter into unity with God except with love. To be submissive to God’s will means to be united by His will. Just as Christ does nothing of Himself except what the Father wills, so too should we. We must say like David “I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.”
When I unite with my Heavenly Father and focus on His will, I find that He loves my brother, so I choose to love my brother as He loves him and loves me. I find that He forgives my brother, so I submit to Him and forgive my brother as He forgives me. I see Him loving my brother and giving His only begotten Son to save him, so I also strive for my brother’s salvation. And this is the real meaning of the church, a body that has many organs all united by the head, Jesus Christ.
On the contrary, the fake love that Satan made is the self-love and selfishness. It is the love of consumption. The love of the world and its desires does separate us from the true love, the love of God. And that is why the Gospel says, “friendship with the world is enmity with God?”, why? Because it separates us from the essence of the true love, which is the love of giving, submission, and unity with God.
Do you know that love is the first and greatest commandment in the Gospel “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27). Also, Christ’s commandment to us is that we love one another as He has loved us. (John15:12.) Love is the essence of the Gospel.
So, sisters and brothers we must submit to God’s will because it is light and life. We have to obey Christ’s commandment so that He may dwell in us and pour out His Holy Spirit, to free us from ourselves and our selfishness and open us to receive His eternal life and His glory. Amen
Lord,
Deprive me not of Your heavenly joys. Lord, deliver me from eternal torments. Lord, if I have sinned in mind or thought, in word or deed, forgive me. Lord, deliver me from all ignorance, forgetfulness, cowardice, and stony insensibility. Lord, deliver me from every temptation. Lord, enlighten my heart which evil desires have darkened. Lord, I being human have sinned, but You being the generous God, have mercy on me, knowing the sickness of my soul. Lord, send Your grace to my help, that I may glorify Your holy Name. Lord Jesus Christ, write me Your servant in the Book of Life, and grant me a good end. O Lord my God, even though I have done nothing good in Your sight, yet grant me by Your grace to make a good start. Lord, sprinkle into my heart the dew of Your grace. Lord of heaven and earth remember me in Your Kingdom. Amen.
“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.”
IS BORN OF GOD.
WHEN we LOVE God
BY KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS
HOW we overcome the world?
BY OUR FAITH (in Jesus Christ),
Faith means that we accept Jesus in us and so we OVERCOME THE WORLD as HE did OVERCOME the devil on the cross.
1- The Father
2- The Word
3- The Holy Spirit
2 Peter 1:17 “For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”
John 8: 18 “I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”
John 10:25 “Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.”
John 8: 18 “I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”
John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”
The 3 witnesses on earth are:
1- The HOLY SPIRIT
(Mathew 3:16-17) “ ….. the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying,” This is My Son, in whom I am well pleased”.
2- The WATER
(Mathew 3:16) “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. “
(Mathew 26:27 -28) “Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
(Mark 14:24) “And He said to them, “This is My blood of the [g]new covenant, which is shed for many.
