The Triple Dose of Divine Truth: Wisdom, Warning, and Welcome
It all begins with an idea.
Our spiritual journey requires constant vigilance and awareness. As we navigate life's complexities, God provides us with three essential truths that guide our path: wisdom that prevents wandering, mercy that welcomes us back, and faithfulness that sustains us when we stand.
Our Complete Dependence on God's Grace
We cannot think or do what is right without God. This fundamental truth acknowledges our utter dependence on divine grace to live righteously. While we are entirely dependent on God, we are also called to actively participate in the life of grace. This beautiful tension forms the foundation of our spiritual walk.
What Does Lady Wisdom Teach Us?
In Proverbs 8, Lady Wisdom cries out at the city gates, positioning herself precisely where decisions must be made - at crossroads, gates, and entrances. She doesn't hide in obscurity but proclaims truth openly and persistently.
Wisdom operates through Scripture, tradition, and reason - often called the three-legged stool of theology. It's not merely intellectual knowledge but divine insight accessible to anyone willing to pay attention.
Is Wisdom More Valuable Than Wealth?
"Receive my instruction and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it."
This striking contrast between material wealth and spiritual wisdom challenges our consumer culture where possessions often define worth. Lady Wisdom boldly declares herself more valuable than precious metals and gems.
Are we chasing fleeting treasures with blinders on to the eternal wisdom freely given by God? How often do we pour our time, energy, and resources into things that can never truly fulfill us?
Warnings About Wandering from St. Paul
In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul issues a sobering warning by recalling Israel's wilderness wanderings. The Israelites had everything they needed - divine guidance, miraculous deliverance, and spiritual nourishment. Yet "with many of them God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness."
Despite their privileges, many fell into idolatry, sexual immorality, testing God, and grumbling. Paul makes clear that these accounts were written for our admonition.
Can Spiritual Blessings Guarantee Spiritual Dedication?
The answer is clearly no. The Israelites had extraordinary blessings yet stumbled repeatedly. We too have extraordinary blessings - our liturgical heritage, our community, our ancient faith expressing real love. Yet we are not immune to wandering.
Paul concludes with both warning and promise: "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able."
Spiritual slumber leads to wandering, and wandering leads to falling. Yet God's faithfulness provides a way through every temptation.
The Prodigal Son: A Story of Wandering and Welcome
Perhaps Jesus' most beloved parable illustrates the consequences of ignoring wisdom and the reality of wandering. The younger son demands his inheritance prematurely, journeys to a far country, and squanders everything in riotous living.
When famine strikes, he finds himself feeding pigs - for a Jewish man, no occupation could be more degrading. He becomes so hungry he longs to eat the pods meant for the pigs.
What Does "Coming to Himself" Mean?
"When he came to himself" suggests he was not his true self and had awakened from spiritual slumber. Sin is always a distortion of our created nature, never an expression of it. In wandering, we don't find ourselves - we lose ourselves.
The son rehearses his confession: "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants."
This is genuine repentance - acknowledging sin, accepting consequences, abandoning pride.
How Does the Father Respond to the Prodigal's Return?
"But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him."
In Middle Eastern culture, dignified men did not run. Yet this father casts aside decorum, hitches up his robes, and races toward his wayward son. Before the son can even complete his rehearsed confession, the father interrupts with commands for restoration - the best robe, a ring, shoes, and a feast.
The father doesn't say, "You've learned your lesson, now earn back my trust." Instead, he immediately reinstates the son to his position in the family. This isn't just forgiveness but complete restoration - a perfect illustration of justification by faith.
What About the Elder Brother?
The parable doesn't end with celebration. The older brother returns from the field, hears the music and dancing, and refuses to enter the feast. His complaint reveals his heart: "Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment; and yet thou never gavest me a kid that I might make merry with my friends."
This reveals the elder son's self-righteousness. He outwardly remained faithful but inwardly harbored resentment and entitlement. He never physically left home, but his heart was far from his father's heart.
This represents a particular danger for long-time faithful believers - "elder brother syndrome." Being outwardly observant but inwardly cold, technically obedient but lacking joy, physically present but spiritually asleep.
Life Application
Wisdom still calls out at the crossroads of our decisions. The warnings about wandering still echo through Scripture. Our Father in heaven still watches the horizon for returning prodigals.
How might we live this out practically?
Commit to daily engagement with Scripture and prayer. Even 10 minutes of morning prayer can orient your entire day toward God's presence.
Recognize warning signs of spiritual wandering in your own life. These might include diminished prayer, growing comfort with sin, increased worldliness, or a critical spirit toward others. Remember Paul's warning: "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."
Practice both receiving and extending the Father's welcome. Come to God not based on your worthiness but on His mercy. Then extend that same mercy to others who have wandered.
Questions for Reflection:
In what areas of my life am I ignoring Lady Wisdom's call and pursuing things of lesser value?
Am I more like the prodigal son or the elder brother in my relationship with God right now?
How can I better position myself to receive God's wisdom daily?
Is there someone in my life who needs to experience the Father's welcome through me?
Remember these three essential truths: Wisdom keeps us from wandering. Mercy welcomes us when we return. Faithfulness holds us when we stand.
Spiritual Awakening: Recognizing God's Glory in Our Lives
It all begins with an idea.
In our daily lives, we often move through the world half-asleep spiritually. Like the disciples on Mount Tabor who were "heavy with sleep," we miss the divine glory surrounding us. The transfiguration reminds us that God's presence is constant, but our awareness of it fluctuates. The glory was always there, but the disciples couldn't recognize it until they were fully awake.
What Does It Mean to Be Spiritually Awake?
Spiritual awakening is both mystical and practical. According to Proverbs, it means "to know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding." It involves receiving instruction in wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity.
The foundation of spiritual awakening is found in Proverbs 1:7: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." This holy fear isn't terror but reverence—a profound awareness of God's presence that transforms how we see the world.
How Can We Recognize When We're Spiritually Asleep?
Those who are spiritually asleep lack holy fear and awareness of God's presence. They may:
Walk through life without noticing divine glory in creation
Miss God's presence in their brothers and sisters
Stumble through life as if in darkness despite the light all around
Focus on worldly concerns rather than eternal truths
Offer lip service rather than heartfelt obedience
How Does Prayer Connect to Spiritual Awakening?
On Mount Tabor, Christ's transfiguration occurred while He was praying: "As he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered." Prayer serves as the gateway to spiritual awakening, opening our eyes to behold God's glory.
The Psalmist understood this connection, pleading: "Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes... Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law." These prayers reflect a longing for spiritual awakening—for eyes to see and a heart to understand God's ways.
What Are the Fruits of Spiritual Awakening?
Jesus teaches us that "ye shall know them by their fruits." True spiritual awakening manifests in outward evidence:
Wisdom in action: Living according to God's instruction
Love for God's law: Not legalism, but delight in God's guidance
Spiritual discernment: Distinguishing between authentic and counterfeit spirituality
Spirit-led living: Being led by the Spirit as children of God
Mission and service: Coming down from the mountain to serve a suffering world
As Jesus said, "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father." Spiritual awakening leads to obedience, not mere words.
How Does Suffering Connect to Spiritual Awakening?
The transfiguration reveals a profound truth: even in Christ's moment of glory, the conversation turned to His coming sacrifice. Spiritual awakening always leads us to the cross. To be truly awake is to behold both Christ's glory and His sacrifice.
The Psalmist understood this: "It is good for me that I have been in trouble, that I may learn thy statutes." Spiritual awakening often comes through suffering. In our darkest valleys, we may see most clearly the light of God's presence.
What Does a Spiritually Awake Life Look Like?
A spiritually awake person:
Heeds wisdom's instruction: Proverbs describes wisdom as "an ornament of grace and chains about thy neck"—there's beauty in a life lived wisely.
Loves God's law: The Psalmist declares, "Oh, how I love thy law. It is my meditation all the day." God's commandments are loving guardrails keeping us on the path of life.
Exercises discernment: The awakened soul can distinguish between authentic and counterfeit spirituality, grounded in God's word.
Lives by the Spirit: As Paul writes, "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." We relate to God not as a distant deity but as a beloved Father.
Engages in mission: After the transfiguration, Jesus and His disciples descended the mountain to serve. Glory always leads to service.
How Does Tradition Support Spiritual Awakening?
Proverbs instructs us to "hear thy Father's instruction and forsake not thy Mother's teaching." Spiritual awakening doesn't mean abandoning tradition but receiving wisdom passed through generations.
The sacred still speaks through ancient liturgy, theological heritage, and Scripture. The God who transfigured before Peter, James, and John is "the same yesterday, today, and forever." The wisdom Solomon extolled continues to guide us, and the law the Psalmist loved continues to direct our paths.
Life Application
Christ calls us to awaken—to behold His glory, be transformed by His presence, and bear lasting fruit. Like the disciples, we're often "heavy with sleep," burdened by anxieties, distracted by worldly concerns, and numbed by routine. Yet God's glory surrounds us, waiting to be recognized.
This week, practice spiritual wakefulness through these steps:
Begin each day asking God to open your spiritual eyes to His presence
Look for God's glory in creation, in others, and in Scripture
Spend time in prayer, the gateway to spiritual awakening
Examine your life for the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control
Ask yourself:
Where have I been spiritually asleep in my life?
What distractions keep me from recognizing God's glory around me?
How can I translate spiritual insights into faithful action this week?
Am I bearing good fruit that demonstrates my spiritual awakening?
May our lives become living testimonies that we have been awake to glory, bearing the fruit of the Spirit in all we do.
Living a Sacramental Life: Ancient Faith, Real Love
It all begins with an idea.
In a world constantly seeking the new and innovative, our hearts often yearn for something deeper—something that connects us to the communion of saints across time and space. This yearning is our soul's recognition that the sacred still speaks, and that ancient faith offers real love in our present moment.
What Are Sacraments and Why Do They Matter?
At the heart of Anglican worship lies a sacramental theology. The catechism defines a sacrament as "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given to us, ordained by Christ himself as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof."
The term "sacrament" comes from the Latin word "sacramentum," which in ancient Rome referred to an oath that soldiers would take. Early Christians adopted this term to describe sacred mysteries through which we pledge our allegiance to Christ and receive his grace.
Anglican understanding of sacraments represents a distinctive "via media" or middle way. We recognize two Gospel sacraments—Baptism and the Lord's Supper—because Christ Himself explicitly ordained them. This balance of scripture, tradition, and reason remains the hallmark of Anglican theology.
When we participate in sacraments, we join countless faithful Christians from the past 20 centuries who have met the living Christ through these sacred acts.
How Does Baptism Transform Our Identity?
In Romans 6, St. Paul reminds us that in baptism we have died to sin and risen to new life in Christ: "Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
Baptism is more than just a ritual to become Christian—it's the beginning of a lifelong journey of transformation. Through baptism, we receive a threefold identity that shapes everything about who we are and how we live:
Member of Christ - We're incorporated into Christ's mystical body, the Church. "Member" here doesn't mean simply being added to a list of names; it means being connected to Christ as a hand is to an arm, drawing our very life from Him.
Child of God - We're adopted into God's family through Christ. The spirit of adoption dwells within us, enabling us to cry "Abba, Father."
Inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven - We're given a share of Christ's eternal inheritance.
In baptism, we promise to renounce the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, and the sinful desires of the flesh. We commit to obediently keep God's holy will and commandments.
The grace of baptism continues to work in us, enabling us to die daily to sin and rise to righteousness. Each time we witness a baptism, recite the Creed, or renew our baptismal vows, we reconnect with this foundational sacrament and allow its grace to flow anew in our lives.
What Happens in the Eucharist?
If baptism initiates us into Christ's body, the Holy Eucharist sustains us on our journey. In the Office of Instruction, we learn that "the inward part or thing signified in the Lord's Supper is the Body and Blood of Christ, which are spiritually taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper."
This reflects the Anglican understanding that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, though we don't attempt to define precisely how this mystery occurs. As Queen Elizabeth I put it: "'Twas God the Word that spake it, He took the bread and brake it, and what the Word did make it, that I believe and take it."
The Eucharist connects us to multiple dimensions:
To the Last Supper, the Cross, the Resurrection, and Pentecost
To each other, for as St. Paul reminds us, "We, being many, are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread"
To the heavenly banquet, as we join our voices "with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven" in praising God
To Christ's return, as each celebration is both a remembrance of His sacrifice and an anticipation of His glorious return
How Can We Live a Sacramental Life Today?
What does it mean to live a sacramental life in the 21st century? How do these ancient practices speak to our modern condition?
1. Recognizing that the Material World Matters to God
In an age increasingly dominated by the virtual and digital, the sacraments remind us that God works through physical reality to reach us spiritually. Water and bread, wine and oil, and the laying on of hands are all physical signs of spiritual grace.
2. Embracing Bodily Practices in Our Spiritual Lives
Many today are rediscovering the value of embodied worship—kneeling in prayer, making the sign of the cross, processing with palms, receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday. These practices engage our whole selves—body, mind, and spirit—in the worship of God.
In a culture where so much of life happens through screens, the sacraments call us back to presence—to being fully present to God and to one another in worship. This hunger for immersive experience explains in part why many families are drawn to traditional liturgical worship.
3. Becoming Living Sacraments in the World
Having been nourished by word and sacrament, we're sent into the world to be Christ's hands and feet—to be living sacraments that make His love visible and tangible to others. This is our vocation: to demonstrate that "the sacred still speaks, ancient faith, real love."
What's Required of Those Who Participate in the Sacraments?
The Office of Instruction asks what's required of those who come to the Lord's Supper. The answer encapsulates the Christian life:
To examine ourselves whether we truly repent of our former sins
To steadfastly purpose to lead a new life
To have a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ
To maintain a thankful remembrance of His death
To be in charity with all people
These are the ongoing fruits of sacramental grace in our lives. The sacraments are not performances or magic rituals that work automatically—they require our faithful response. They are mysteries that the human mind struggles to comprehend, and their value doesn't depend on our complete understanding.
In these sacred mysteries, Christ Himself is the principal actor, offering His grace to all who receive Him in faith.
Life Application
This week, consider how you might live more sacramentally in your everyday life:
Look for the sacred in the ordinary. Where might God be using physical things to communicate spiritual truths in your daily experience?
Engage your whole self in worship. How might bodily practices—kneeling, bowing, making the sign of the cross—deepen your connection to God?
Be a living sacrament. In what ways can you be an "outward and visible sign" of Christ's love to those around you this week?
Ask yourself: Am I approaching the sacraments with true repentance, faith, gratitude, and love? How might a deeper understanding of baptism and Eucharist transform how I see myself and my place in God's story?
Through water and word, through bread and wine, through the gathered community, Christ continues to make Himself known. May we have ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts to respond.
From Death to Life: Understanding Our True Identity in Christ
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.