Church Fathers V3 - Fr George Grube - Saint Mina Coptic Orthodox ...
Church Fathers V3 - Fr George Grube - Saint Mina Coptic Orthodox ...
Church Fathers V3 - Fr George Grube - Saint Mina Coptic Orthodox ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
PRAYER BEFORE STUDY:<br />
We bless You, O most high God and Lord of mercy. You are ever doing<br />
numberless, great and inscrutable things for us, most glorious and wonderful.<br />
You grant to us sleep and rest from our infirmities, and repose from the burdens<br />
of our much- toiling flesh. We give thanks that You have not destroyed us<br />
with our sins, but have loved us as ever. And though we are sunk in despair,<br />
You have raised us up to glorify Your power. Therefore, we implore Your<br />
incomparable goodness, enlighten the eyes of our understanding and<br />
raise our mind from the heavy sleep of indolence; open our mouths and fill<br />
them with Your praise, that we may be able undistracted to sing and confess<br />
You. You are God, glorified in all and by all, the eternal Father, with Your only-<br />
begotten Son, and Your all-holy and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and to the<br />
ages of ages. Amen.<br />
- <strong>Fr</strong>om the Prayer Book<br />
SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES:<br />
> Job 12:12-17<br />
> James 1:5<br />
> Romans 11:25, 16:27<br />
> Ephesians 4:17-19<br />
> 2 Peter 3:8<br />
> 2 Corinthians 7:1<br />
> Romans 11:20-25<br />
> Titus 2:2-5<br />
> Colossians 3:22-25<br />
REFLECTION:<br />
In today's "enlightened" philosophy of life it is not "cool" to be afraid-even to<br />
have a healthy fear of God. Man has become a god unto himself and has no<br />
need of a heavenly "bogeyman".<br />
Yet, to the poor souls who espouse this philosophy-the fact that God is love,<br />
and perfect love casts out fear, is elusive. So, building on their secular and<br />
empty philosophy of self, the "Evil One" does everything in his power to create<br />
an unhealthy fear of God in mankind.<br />
To this end, Satan makes us afraid in several ways:<br />
> Proverbs 2:1-9, 3:13-18, 10:31<br />
> 1 Corinthians 1:17-25, 3:19-23<br />
> Acts 3:17-18, 17:30-31<br />
> 1 Peter 2:15-17<br />
> 1 Corinthians 14:36-38<br />
> St. Luke 1:50, 18:2-8, 23:40-42<br />
> Acts 9:31, 10:22, 10:35, 13:16<br />
> Ephesians 5:17-21<br />
1) He instills in us anxiety over the future-and we cannot argue for or against it,<br />
because we do not know the outcome of events in advance. This paralyzes us<br />
with fear at times and if we decide to worry about it then no amount of logic will<br />
help. Therefore, we are bound by an unhealthy, irrational fear.<br />
- 170 -