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 ...
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2) Satan fears those who know God, and His gracious plan for our salvation, so<br />
the Evil One gravitates towards those who live alienated from God's love. Satan<br />
knows they will be fearful of everything. He understands that those who are<br />
ignorant of God's love will be fearful of everything. He understands that those<br />
who are ignorant of God's forgiveness and grace will live in terror of dying, of<br />
conflicts, of loneliness and being forgotten. After all, nothing is more frightening<br />
than fear of the unknown.<br />
3) Satan instills rebellion. Rebellion grips those who do not know God and they<br />
become fearful of what is, or may be, while pursuing lives alienated from God's<br />
immense love. Those who live in sin know they will eventually have to suffer<br />
consequences. These people keep putting off the eventual day of reckoning.<br />
They do not seek forgiveness because they do not know how to approach a<br />
loving God. Fear and ignorance stifle any movement to God and His loving<br />
care. They reject the truth that a good healthy "fear of the Lord'-which means a<br />
fear of losing God-makes us knowing, secure and blessed.<br />
Satan hates a security grounded in God's love so he sows confusion and<br />
ignorance to keep us in fear, rather than permitting us to trust in God's<br />
providence and care.<br />
Are you held in captivity by any of these irrational fears? If so, you will fear God<br />
in an unhealthy manner, which will keep you from receiving the abundant riches<br />
of His gracious love.<br />
WRITINGS OF THE FATHERS:<br />
++++++++++<br />
+ The power of Divine wisdom is so great that, when infused into one's heart, it<br />
expels foolishness (the mother of all faults) by one impulse, once and for all.<br />
This wisdom doesn't need payment, books, or nightly studies, to come about.<br />
But the results are accomplished freely, easily and quickly, if only the ears are<br />
opened and the heart thirsts for wisdom. Don't be afraid, we don't sell water or<br />
offer the Sun as a reward.<br />
- Lactantius<br />
+ Epiphanius, the bishop, said: "The acquisition of Christian books is necessary<br />
for those who can use them, for the very sight of them renders us less inclined<br />
to sin and incites us to believe more firmly in righteousness."<br />
- The Desert <strong>Fathers</strong><br />
+ The Kingdom of God is within. The goodness that is in us asks only the<br />
human mind.<br />
- The Desert <strong>Fathers</strong><br />
- 171 -