Go to: => TOP Page; What's New?; ROAD MAP; Contact Us; Search Page; Emmaus Ministries Page
The Christian spiritual life is not so much about climbing great heights as it is about the redemption of the ordinary, finding God in our back yard, in our common relationships. Perfection is not leaping to the ceiling and sticking there, it is standing squarely with both feet on the ground, learning to be the person God created me to be.
The spiritual life is about learning to be creatures rather than independent, autonomous decision-makers (the secular/pagan goal of life). The only place creatures can live is in creation. So the spiritual life is learning how to live in creation, to be successful creatures.
"If you do not believe in miracles, you are not a realist...!" -- From a friend. Yes, indeed. See PEG
|
CONTENTS: |
|---|
Spiritual warfare, which has its own library, is one segment of the spiritual life.
** God is showing up... E. Fox
** Roller Coaster Ride -- my trip to Connecticut
** from God: a Bargain You Cannot Refuse... a parable
** Lex orandi - Lex credendi -- Prayers for our national life -- a lesson in Godly politics. See also the Prayer Library. Prayer is not an optional extra for Christians. Comment by E. Fox.
** The Rise of Christianity - comment on Rodney Stark's book by E. Fox
** Penthouse, the Minutemen, & the Best of all Possible... E. Fox Sermon
** The Evolution of Justice -- a sermon by E. Fox at the Mustard Tree 9/25/05 How do we resolve the tensions between freewill, compassion, and justice?
** Salvation, the Church, & the State --- a sermon preached at Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Placentia, CA.
** The Tragic & Disastrous Failure of Western Christendom -- and what lies ahead.... E. Fox
** The Labyrinth & the Bible -- Turning the tables on Satan.... E. Fox
** Good & Evil -- Right & Wrong -- & Pragmatism -- E. Fox Sorting out the collapse of moral language -- and discovering that God is the Original Pragmatist.
** Putting TRUTH ahead of GOD -- Do we have a conflict here??? E. Fox
** Vigorous Fellowship in the Body of Christ -- How do we speak the hard truth in love to one another? E. Fox
The Charles Schultz Philosophy --
IN THE NAME OF JESUS, Anno Domini 2007
-- HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
The "Happy New Year" greeting, like "Have a good day!", is a bit like a
shot in the dark, or an "I hope the best for you...," where hope has not
much substance in reality. Most people will experience the same ol' same
ol'. Not much different from the previous procession of days and years.
But in Christ, there is a substance
to the wish, a solid promise of the two basic requirements of a good life -- the
two foundations of salvation: first, ontological security, security of
being, and second, moral stability, direction, purpose, and meaning in one's
life. With those two securities, one can deal with anything.
When all the forces of Sai Nippon surrendered to the Allies aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo
Bay, Douglas MacArthur spoke these words which were beamed to the American
homeland. They are not as famous as "I shall return," the "Old
soldiers never speak to Congress," or the "Duty, honor, country" motif of his
final address at West Point -- but they are relevant nevertheless to us today:
"Men since the beginning of time
have sought peace, but military alliances, balances of power, leagues of
nations, all in turned failed, leaving only the path to be by the way of the
crucible of war... We have had our last chance. If we do not now
devise some greater and more equitable system, Amageddon will be at our door.
The problem is basically theological and invokes a spiritual recrudescence... It
must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh."
Thank God for Douglas MacArthur -- but the answer, as he indirectly suggests, is a person -- Jesus Christ, not a "more equitable system". Jesus alone can give us the more equitable system. Only the living God can turn us around. We will never do it ourselves. That is a logical impossibility. If we do not get an understanding of the logic of being dependent persons, we will probably not see the sense of submitting ourselves to the law and grace of God. A dependent person, by definition, cannot save himself. He must find that upon which he can safely depend. Other than God, there is no choice.
St. Chrysostom's Resurrection Day Sermon
Christian Classics Ethereal Library -- link to a resource for early Christian history and thought
Christianity & the 12 Steps (from AA)
God, Freewill, & the Dialogue of Creation - Almighty Power stops short at our freewill and consciousness. A testimony on receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Mary: Grace & Hope in Christ - Fr. Samuel Edwards on new Anglican/Roman Catholic document
Where are all the Men??? -- not in churches, but why??
Keep Playing.... Humor or reality??? A child on stage with Paderewski.
The Passion & the Talmud by Terry Mattingly -- an Orthodox Jewish view on the "Passion of the Christ"
A Talk on Pain - Marjorie Avery - Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Placentia, CA
On Loving God -- St. Bernard of Clairvaux ...
TV Show Turns Trollops into Genteel Ladies --- Amazing evidence on power of imagination and inner healing
Youth Ministry Stunner in Gatlinburg -- Would you believe----?
"There were no BMX demonstrations, no rock bands, no
dancing girls, no smoke machines, and no gross-out games. In a move that would
horrify most modern day youth experts, the sponsor of this youth event lined up
pastors and teachers to do something that is increasingly rare--preach the Word
of God to teenagers. At this conference there were also some people present who
have been marginalized right out of most youth ministry today—parents."
Yes! and you can bet this will take off.
Thousands of young folks are HUNGRY for something substantial, and fed up to the
gills with the silly froth handed out to them. E. Fox
Little White Excuses -- Rev. Jesse Lee Paterson -- the hard word from a Black to Whites -- "Get honest with us!".
The Secret Curse of Hollywood "Stars" -- David Kupelian. Kupelian is one of the best Christian writers in the public arena. May his tribe increase.
The Man who 'Murdered' Slavery -- Mark Steyn & Eric Metaxas.
Patton on Prayer -- Prayer in the trenches -- from WW II. And thoughts on prayer from one of the best generals.
John Rankin - apologist - His testimony....
Eternal Questions: on Heaven & Hell -- Why do people go to hell -- from an Orthodox perspective -- and right in line with C. S. Lewis in his book, The Great Divorce. PDF file
Shay Day -- What would you have done?
An 11-day Motherboard/Software Saga
-- About 2 weeks ago (3/31/08), I tried Registry Booster, a software for cleaning up your
Windows Registry, and it caused severe problems (beware of people who think they
can fix your registry - several of my applications stopped working).
In the process of fixing that,
restoring the whole C: harddrive from a backup file (a long story not worth
telling), the Motherboard BIOS got corrupted. It was an old Mb, and the
BIOS was not "flashable", so I got a new one which runs much faster. But
then
when I tried to restore again from the same backup files (of which I had about
ten on a different harddrive, going back several months), it turned out that all
the backup files but one, the earliest (with just XP and a few applications on
it), had gotten corrupted also. All this took several days to get
straightened out, but with Acronis tech support (the backup software can be
found at www.acronis.com - highly
recommended, especially "Workstation" with "Universal Restore"), things
gradually got back in shape, and my harddrive is just about completed again with
all software reinstalled (about a 3-day job).
Lesson: backup, backup, backup
-- on a different harddrive. I did, but even then, "the best laid
plans of mice and men often go astray..." (Thank you Robert Burns -- I think).
The Lord has used such events with my computer more than once to test my
patience and trust in Him, and to teach me that I can stand even when the world
seems to be crashing -- on my head. Deo Gratia! Back in
the saddle again...! More fully committed to Jesus...
He keeps reminding me that He has me
right where I need to be to do my growing. Yikes! But knowing
that will turn any event, no matter how bad, into a growing situation rather
than a disaster. Spiritual warfare... is for turning the tide
back against the Enemy, whose primary weapons are deceit and self-condemnation
(vs. Jesus' primary weapons -- truth, forgiveness, and salvation).
With Jesus, there is nothing that can make you lose. You, in the end,
always win through to stability and sanity and purpose. Most of spiritual
warfare is fought in the trenches of one's own personal life.
Water from His Side -- by Edward John Craig -- National Review Online -- an essay on the water flowing from Jesus' side at His death on the cross.
Thanksgiving - (see US History)
Christmas - (see Church Year)
** Dying a Successful Death -- Palm Sunday sermon by Earle Fox.
** Over His dead body.... commentary by E. Fox on essay by Anthony Esolen in Touchstone Magazine
** Meditation on Death at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier -- E. Fox
** Astonishing account of 800 martyrs at the hands of Islam -- 800 men of Otranto, who knew how to die well --- Italy, 1480 AD, probably saving Rome from capture by the Muslims. E. Fox commentary.
** The Amish and the Cross Life -- What happened there in Lancaster, Pennsylvania? Commentary - E. Fox.
Amish Exhibit Model to Follow -- Bob Barr -- This is superb. The Amish are by far a greater threat to "the American Way of Life" than are the Muslims. But we know how to deal with the Amish, do we not? We nod politely and ignore them. The threat to the contemporary American way is the Way of the Cross.
Sermons by Earle Fox
** Dying a Successful Death -- Palm Sunday sermon by Earle Fox.
** Penthouse, the Minutemen, & the Best of all Possible... E. Fox Sermon
** The Evolution of Justice -- a sermon by E. Fox at the Mustard Tree 9/25/05 How do we resolve the tensions between freewill, compassion, and justice?
** Salvation, the Church, & the State --- a sermon preached at Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Placentia, CA.
** 5 Decisions -- & the Best of All Possible Worlds -- a sermon preached Sunday, January 27, at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Placentia, CA.
** Make Your Body a Living Sacrifice -- Sermon by Earle Fox at St. Luke's REC Church, Santa Anna, CA
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Go to:=> TOP Page; Christianity; Spiritual Warfare; ROAD MAP