St. Ignatius, otherwise known as Theophorus, which in Greek means "God-Bearer,"
led the Christian Church during a critical period of her history. Orthodox tradition had maintained that he was the little child Christ held on His lap when he spoke the words, "Let the children come unto me." What is known for certain is that he grew up to be a disciple of St. John, and St. Peter personally ordained him a Bishop.
Bishop of Antioch, Syria (now in Turkey), known mainly from seven highly regarded letters that he wrote during a trip to Rome, as a prisoner condemned to be executed for his beliefs. He was apparently eager to counteract the teachings of two groups, the Judaizers, who did not accept the authority of the New Testament, and Docetists, who held that Christ's sufferings and death were apparent but not real. Ignatius untiringly affirmed that the New Testament was the fulfillment of the Old Testament and insisted upon the reality of Christ's human nature. For him, Christ's Passion, death, and Resurrection were a vital guarantee of "life everlasting" in the risen Christ. Ignatius believed that, had Christ died only in appearance, his own suffering and his readiness to sacrifice his life for Christ would have no meaning. The letters have often been cited as a source of knowledge of the Christian church at the beginning of the 2nd century.
The letters of Ignatius abound in warnings against false doctrines and false teachers and in admonitions to preserve peace and concord by willing subordination in all religious matters to the clergy and, above all, to the bishop. Nevertheless, he frequently assures his readers that their own church gives no cause for concern and that his words are prompted merely by pastoral solicitude.
"Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken." (Psalm 55:22)
There are times in our lives when we take our problems to God in prayer, then hear clear direction from Him on which path to take.
There are also those other times when we pray continually but feel like God doesn’t hear us.
We may think He’s letting us figure it out on our own, which is not the case. We must trust in God’s promise that He will never leave us or forsake us.
We know He has a plan for us and is with us as long as we keep Him at the center of our lives. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but the Lord’s purpose prevails.
When we bring our decisions to Him, God assures us of His steady, guiding hand, and He will help us decide.
Let us take those cares to Him in prayer. We can trust Him with the decision, the direction, and the outcome.
But we have to ask Him humbly, obediently, believing, and waiting with confidence that He will respond in His time.
Talk to Him continuously and wait with obedience and trust to hear His answers.
Sometimes we want Him to answer us with what we have in mind, our plan, not His plan. That is why we feel like he does not answer.
But the Lord answers whom he asks Him, and He will never leave us or forsake us.
We need to clear our minds and be ready and assured to hear His answers and directions in His perfect time and way.
Amen
“Through the Holy Spirit comes our restoration to paradise, our ascension into the kingdom of heaven, our return to the adoption of sons, our liberty to call God our Father, our being made partakers of the grace of Christ, our being called children of light, our sharing in eternal glory, and, in a word, our being brought into a state of all “fullness of blessing,” both in this world and in the world to come, of all the good gifts that are in store for us, by promise hereof, through faith, beholding the reflection of their grace as though they were already present, we await the full enjoyment.”
What are the significances of the dwelling of the Holy Spirit in us?
And why was the Holy Spirit given to the people of the New Testament and not to the people of the Old Testament?
The Holy Spirit had not been given to mankind before the resurrection of Christ, and what was happening to the prophets in ancient times is a kind of inspiration and guidance without the state of dwelling. We read this in the Gospel of John chapter seven verse thirty-nine “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”.
And thus, those who received christ became the temple of the Holy Spirit as we read in the first epistle to the Corinthians chapter three verse sixteen “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? “.
For those who received the Holy Spirit, the love of God has been poured out into them as we read in the epistle to the Romans chapter five, verse five, ”Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” .
Therefore, the first sign that the Holy Spirit dwelt in us is to love one another as we read in the Gospel of John chapter thirteen, verse thirty-five, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another”.
The second sign, it is the life of piety, holiness and docility by the Holy Spirit, “ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God”.
The third sign is the obedience to the commandments of Christ “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me”.
Whenever the Holy Spirit dwells in a man he became a partaker in the divine nature, so he must be fruitful in love, holiness and obedience to Christ’s commandments.
Without the resurrection of Christ and His overcoming power over death and the spirits of sin, it would not have been possible for the Holy Spirit to be given to man. As for the Old Testament people, they had the gift of the Holy Spirit and the power of resurrection with retrospective effect because the human spirit of Christ descended to them in the abyss, and brought them out and they rose from the tombs after the resurrection of Christ and also entered with Christ into heaven after His ascension.
People have been convinced that the Old and New Testaments were one book from the Age of the Apostles. The truth is that they were first gathered into one book in the year 1455 in the Gothenburg press in Germany and named the Holy Bible. They are two different books and two different covenants that differ in their theology. The Old Testament is based on Moses’ law, the law of sin and death, while the New Testament is based on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and His law of the Spirit of life, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2.)
The priesthood has been changed too from Aaron to Christ, “For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.” (HEBREWS 7 :12).
They only agree that God, the creator of the universe, is one and omnipotent, with the far big difference in understanding God’s image, nature, and even His commandments.
The comparison between the Two Testaments is obvious and evident in the New Testament. First, in the Gospel of John, chapter one, verse seventeen, we read, “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Second, in verse eighteen of the same chapter, we read,”No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
Third, In chapter seven, verse thirty-nine, we read, “…for the Holy Spirit was not yet given (i.,e. to anyone), because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
Fourth, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapter nine, verses eight, eleven and twelve, we read, “….. the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing……..”But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption,” (Hebrews 9:8,11,12.)
These are simply the keys to the comparison between the Old Testament and Christ and His new covenant to humanity.
The New Testament offered to the whole world Christ’s salvation from the bondage of sin and death, the grace of adoption, and the gift of the new nature, which anyone can attain by accepting and uniting with Christ. Through Christ, we earn the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the fullness of the truth, His eternal life, and the glorious liberty of the children of God, “ because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God,” (Romans 8:21).
Dear Jesus,
Clothe me with your robe of righteousness, making me fit for your kingdom. I belong to you and I delight in you. I focus in you Jesus instead of focusing on my inadequacy, working on staying close to you. I rely on you in all things I do and all things I need. I spend time basking in your holy light. Please hear my supplication and shine upon me and lead me along the path of eternal life.
Amen.
We can perceive the word of God.
only with the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit working in us.
Glory to the Father, Son & the Holy Spirit
JAMES 1:5-8
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
St. James is telling us what to do if lacking anything?
WHO gives to all of us LIBERALLY & WITHOUT REPROACH
BUT
Let in order for that request be effective answered, let it be asked in
1- FAITH
2- WITH NO DOUBTING
WHY?
WHY?
Because he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
