The Parable of the Talents

Jesus told a story reminding his followers that the wise should always remain ready for the Kingdom of Heaven because they will never know when the Groom (Christ) will come for his Bride (the Church). To those who are foolishly unprepared, Christ declared, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you” (Matthew 25:12). He followed that story with this Sunday’s Bible passage, the Parable of the Talents.

Jesus tells us of a man who planned to take a long journey. He gathered His slaves and entrusted his property to them while he was gone. To one slave he gave five talents, to another he gave two and to the third he gave one talent. A talent is a sum of money, which some calculate to be equivalent to 20 years’ worth of wages. The servant with the five talents immediately went and used the money in trade earning an additional five talents. The one with the two talents did the same and earned two additional talents. The servant with one talent feared his master, so he dug a hole in the ground and buried the money.

When the property owner returned from his journey, he summoned them to settle his accounts. The first two slaves, who were given five and two talents, respectively, proudly offered their master his property doubled. “His master said to (them) him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master’” (Matthew 25:21). To the third slave, who buried the one talent, “his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave…you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return, I would have received what was my own with interest. So, take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents” (Matthew 25:27-28).

It is ironic that today the word talent refers to one’s abilities and special gifts, since Christ was teaching us about stewardship in this parable. Everything in this life and on this earth belongs to our Master, God. We speak of “my house” and “my car” and “my money, but it all belongs to God. When we depart from this life, none of our possessions go with us. While we are alive, we are simply stewards, those responsible for God’s possessions. Just as the master in the parable put his slaves in charge of his property, God puts us in charge of the gifts He has bestowed upon us, whether they are possessions or abilities or talents. He expects us to use our gifts wisely to bring light into this world by glorifying Him. He does not want us to bury our gifts.

Another story, which illustrates this concept, is the fig tree. Jesus was hungry and saw a fig tree in the distance. He approached it and found nothing but leaves. He cursed the tree, saying, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again” (Mark 11:14). Christ cursed the fig tree because it was not bearing fruit. Later, as they passed the tree, once again, the disciples noticed that it was withered. God expects us to bear fruit, to be a light in the world. He expects us to live our lives revealing the image of Christ, being witnesses of our faith by sharing God’s love to all. We are living icons, images of Christ.

Whatever gifts and talents we have received from God, we are to share them with others in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When we do, God bestows greater gifts on our lives.  When the disciples noticed the withered fig tree, Christ responded, “Have faith in God.  Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11: 22-24). When we do anything and everything to please God, He will reward us beyond what we can imagine. When we go to work and give it all we can, we will experience joy and contentment. Work will not be a drudgery. Even one who does the most menial type of work will experience joy in being able to reveal Christ to others.

St. Nektarios of Aegina worked for a cruel master when he was but a young boy. His master beat him and berated him. There was nothing St. Nektarios could do to please his master. Nevertheless, the young boy would copy passages of scripture and hide them in the packages he delivered for his master. With joy, he would painstakingly copy scripture and spread God’s word to all of his master’s patrons. His joy in Christ could not be quenched. Today, he is a saint of the church who is called upon to intercede on behalf of multitudes of believers, especially cancer patients. Countless miracles are attributed to his intercessions. I, too, prayed to St. Nektarios to intercede on my behalf when I had cancer six years ago.        

It is our responsibility, as Christians, to be ambassadors for Christ. We do not have to knock on doors or take to the streets to spread the word of God. We utilized the gifts God has granted us in our everyday lives. According to Paul (1 Corinthians 12:28), “God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues,” but the greatest gifts are “faith, hope, and love…and the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Those three are gifts we all possess!

We, as Christians are to be known by our fruits, the effects our faith, hope and love have on others and on ourselves. These are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). These bring great joy to Christ and glorify Him! Not only are we to share our gifts with the world around us, but more importantly, these are necessities to the flourishing of our Church. They are intended to strengthen us and our faith. They are to supply the needs of all the members of the Church, the body of Christ. We possess the Holy Spirit within us which unites us. We utilize our gifts to build each other up, to deepen our relationship with Christ, to raise our spirits and to support one another in suffering. “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26).

If we are suffering in any way, we seek comfort in one another. We empathize with one another because we have all suffered in one way or another. We forgive one another, knowing that God will forgive us, as well. This is the way of the Church. “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25). Do not withhold the gifts you have to offer the church. Become an active part of your church. Let us become a blessing to one another. I have found that every single time I have asked God to allow be to be a blessing to others, I have received blessings in greater measure. We cannot out-give God.     

© 2018  Helen Kamenos  All rights reserved

http://www.helenkamenos.com/

Loss of Innocence

    Painting by constantdoodler on DeviantArt

I clearly remember a time in my young life losing my innocence, at least, that’s what I call it. I always wanted to please people, so I made an effort to always be kind, compassionate, and forgiving. I paid close attention to those who seemed to need a friend, and I tried to become a friend to them. I got along with everyone, especially because I do not like conflict. I avoided confrontation at all costs. I loved helping others. I became a great listener because most people just need someone to listen to them and empathize with them. They do not really want advice. Occasionally, some would ask for advice, and I would do my best with the limited experience I had at that point. Many considered me a sort of psychologist for them. I always tried to be encouraging and to point out valuable qualities in them that I admired.

As I grew into adulthood, I realized that no matter how kind you are to some people, they are not always kind in return. This was a great disappointment to me because I believed that if you were kind to someone, they would naturally wish to be kind in return. The joy of being kind to others disappeared. I remember consciously coming to the conclusion that being kind to someone was, sometimes, not worth it. The experience of betrayal and rejection caused more pain than I was willing to accept at the time. In addition, I began believing that it was because I somehow had less value. I wondered if it was my fault. Consequently, I became more reserved and more introverted.

Now, many, many years later, with more God in my life, I learned something different. I learned about God’s kind of love, what the Bible calls “charity” or “agape.” This kind of love is completely unselfish and is not affected by what treatment we receive from others. It is given unconditionally, expecting nothing in return. Therefore, if I lend a friend $5,000, I offer it not expecting to be paid back in return. This is rather unusual, since allowing someone to borrow money generally means that he/she is expected to pay it back. Charity results in greater rewards than ordinary kindness. Rather than being proud of ourselves for performing acts of kindness, charity is offered as a sacrifice. That $5,000 really hurt my pocketbook. I couldn’t really afford it, so I must make due with less for a while. However, I do not mind it because I want to make this sacrifice to help a friend and to glorify God. I am fully aware that it is God who wants me to give the loan and so in loving God, I obey. He will be glorified in this act of charity “because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5). That means that I will experience God’s love in my heart, and the Holy Spirit will work on my friend’s heart, as well.  

What happens when I offer love that involves a sacrifice? The Holy Spirit awakens in us. He fills with an inexpressible joy. The greater the sacrifice involved in an act of charity, the greater elation we experience. It seems that the Holy Spirit replaces the pain of sacrifice with an equal degree of happiness. When I experienced the greatest sacrifice in giving, I also experienced a supernatural kind of ecstasy, which can only be attributed to the Holy Spirit. I now understand what Christ meant when He said, “If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that?” (Matthew 5:46). 

© 2018  Helen Kamenos  All rights reserved

http://www.helenkamenos.com/

  

 

            

Death Is So Unreal

Recently, words have failed me. It is difficult to express the magnitude of the loss of a loved one. A year ago, I lost my wonderful father, and a few weeks ago, I also lost my dear mother.  Death is so unreal. My mind cannot comprehend it, yet my heart senses the great loss. Each time I hear the phone ring, my memory tells me it must be mom. Each time I visit my mom’s and dad’s home, I feel their presence. There is an overwhelming flood of memories. I see her in her favorite chair on her tablet watching YouTube videos of Greek music. I can hear dad singing his favorite song to my mom. When I visit their home, I don’t want to leave. When I come home from work, I have an urge to call mom and see how she is doing. When I went grocery shopping a couple of days ago, I recognized items that she liked and that I would have bought for her. My heart has a piece missing. I miss all the things I enjoyed doing for them, and even though I had a lifetime with them, I wish I could have had a greater appreciation of the time we had together.

When life becomes difficult to comprehend, I always look to God. I ask God to help me understand the unexplainable. Experience teaches us more than what we can grasp with our minds. Experience teaches our hearts. The Holy Spirit guides us in times of suffering. So far, through this experience, I have learned three important lessons. First, I have learned that God grieves deeply at the loss of any of His children who have rejected Him and refused to accept the love He offers us. He grieves over our separation and rejoices when we accept the Holy Spirit into our hearts because through the Holy Spirit, we are no longer separated. Christ made this possible through His sacrifice on the cross. The Holy Spirit reunites us to our heavenly Father. The loss of a loved one helps us to understand God’s grief at our separation and His joy at our reunion. It is the same kind of grief we experience at the loss of a loved one and the same kind of joy we will experience when we are reunited with them in paradise.

I know that God created us to love. He created us to give of ourselves. When our love is received and returned to us, we experience ultimate joy. We are complete. The second lesson I learned is that the loss of our loved ones is experienced more deeply at those moments when we wish we could show our love to them by talking to them, caring for them, buying them their favorite ice cream or sharing the enjoyment of their favorite song. It is the memory of those moments when we were able to act on our love for them that we miss the most. We long to, once again, give ourselves to them, but our separation makes that impossible. This is why we feel loss, why we feel that a piece of our heart is missing. We do not miss them simply because they loved us. We miss them because we loved them.  

The third lesson I learned is that death feels unreal because it is not real. It is not permanent. It is a separation, but not a permanent separation. That is why we are in denial. In truth, there are two realities, the physical and the spiritual. This physical existence is temporal. It had a beginning, and it will have an end. Death is simply the end of our physical existence, but our eternal existence is spiritual. Our soul or spirit was created to continue after our physical death in our resurrected bodies in the presence of God. Even in death, the Holy Spirit spiritually unites us to our loved ones, at least those who are with God. My mom and dad loved God and lived to love others. Therefore, I am confident that they are with the Lord. When my time comes, I will no longer be separated from them. We will be reunited in an infinitely joyous celebration. However, while I remain in this life, I feel their presence and their love through the Holy Spirit. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit, which gives us hope. It is the hope of our future life, eternal life with God and with our loved ones, where there is no pain, no loss, where there is only love freely given and freely received.

In this life, I will continue to miss my father and mother. I will grieve our separation. But, I can relieve some of the pain by keeping their memories alive in the way I live my life, by honoring their legacy. I hope I can honor them by loving as selflessly as they did. 

  

© 2018  Helen Kamenos  All rights reserved

http://www.helenkamenos.com/

      

Acquiring the Holy Spirit

This month we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ on May 17. After Christ rose from the dead, He revealed Himself and spent time with those He loved, such as His mother Mary, His disciples, Paul, James, and was seen by “more than 500 brothers and sisters at one time” (1 Corinthians 15:6). Forty days after Jesus rose from the dead, the disciples watched as Christ “was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9).

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He instructed the disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8). Fifty days after Christ rose from the dead, the disciples gathered together and “suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (Acts 2:2-4). The crowd that gathered were astonished and asked one another, “how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?” (Acts 2:8). After the disciples spoke, the crowd was so moved that those present were “cut to the heart” and 3,000 of them were baptized.

The day of Pentecost, to be celebrated this year on May 27, was the birth of Christ’s church, and even to this day, the followers of Jesus receive the Holy Spirit within them to guide them, comfort them and be with them always. However, Christians do not always appreciate or understand who lives within them. The Holy Spirit is God, one part of the Trinity. It is the Holy Spirit that speaks to us and allows us to know God. It is the Holy Spirit that operates within us to guard us from evil and protect us. It is the Holy Spirit, who slowly removes the veil of ignorance from our minds and hearts. God’s love for us is revealed by Him and works through us. The Holy Spirit within us makes God real to us, increases our faith and strengthens us.

According to St. Seraphim of Sarov (2018), “the true aim of the Christian life consists of the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God…only good deeds done for Christ’s sake brings us the fruits of the Holy Spirit.” St. Seraphim rightly places the focus of good works on our motivation because good works done for self-interest’s sake are not worthy of a true Christian, nor do they benefit us in what he calls “the work of our salvation.” The virtuous deeds for Christ’s sake require sacrifice. It is when it is difficult to act in love that our works bear the fruits of the Spirit, acting in genuine humility, setting aside our pride and doing what we would rather not do. As Christ taught in Matthew 5:38-43, it is when one strikes you on the cheek and you turn to him your other cheek. It is when someone sues you for your shirt and you give him your coat, as well. It is when someone forces you to walk with him one mile and you choose to walk with him a second mile. When your enemies hate you, you show them love. These are examples of what it means to “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Denying yourself requires a sacrifice for Christ’s sake, which may cause suffering or may challenge our weaknesses.

What are the rewards of acquiring the Holy Spirit? Firstly, Christ will not say to us “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:23). It is easy to deceive ourselves that we are worthy when we compare ourselves to one another, rather than comparing ourselves to Christ. The greatest quality we can strive toward is genuine humility. When we perform good works in humility for Christ’s sake, we will experience the fruits of the Holy Spirit, “love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). These are the fruits that transform us, that create in us the attributes of Christ. As we acquire the Holy Spirit, we become more Christ-like.

In this life, God has placed a veil over our hearts and minds to conceal the spiritual reality of God’s dimension of existence. God’s truth is veiled from our understanding, unless we are baptized in the Holy Spirit and become faithful followers of Christ. As we mature in our Christian faith, that veil is removed. “Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:16-18). In other words, the veil is removed as we are transformed by the Holy Spirit into the image or likeness of Christ, little by little or from “glory to glory.” This is what St. Seraphim meant by acquiring the Holy Spirit, who is the grace of God.

St. Seraphim compared the acquisition of the Holy Spirit to obtaining money. As we obtain money by trading for goods and services, so we can obtain the Holy Spirit by trading our good works done for Christ’s sake, such as prayer, fasting, almsgiving and loving our fellow man. We will know when our good works are properly motivated by the fruits they produce. This is only possible if we remain humble, knowing that it is the Holy Spirit who works through us. We must take great care to avoid taking credit for our good works and thus nullify our deeds by pride. He also explains that prayer gives us the grace of the Holy Spirit most of all because it is always readily available. St Seraphim (2018) describes prayer as a conversation with God, which implies a two-way dialogue. “The soul speaks and converses during prayer, but at the descent of the Holy Spirit, we must remain in complete silence, in order to hear clearly and intelligibly all the words of eternal life which He will then deign to communicate.”

On the day of Pentecost, we should be reminded that not only are we saved by the death and resurrection of Christ, but as Christians, we also receive the grace of the Holy Spirit within us, the Holy presence of the all-powerful God. We are infinitely grateful and profoundly awed at such a gift, for we cannot fully fathom the spiritual reality of God living somewhere within our own being. St. Seraphim (2018) questioned, “What on earth can be higher and what can be more precious than the gifts of the Holy Spirit?” He laments that we increase in stature, but not in the grace and knowledge of God. Instead, we gradually become more and more “depraved,” losing the grace of the Holy Spirit in varying degrees, unless we actively practice the virtues for Christ’s sake, including faith, hope, love, knowledge of God, wisdom, honesty, humility, meekness, self-control, courage, obedience to the will of God, patience, kindness, compassion, and gratitude for every blessing in our lives.

Xristos Anesti! Christ is Risen! God bless you!   

St. Seraphim of Sarov. 2018. On Acquisition of the Holy Spirit. San Bernadino, CA: Sergius Nilus (pgs. 9, 24, 48)

© 2018  Helen Kamenos  All rights reserved

http://www.helenkamenos.com/

Has Anything Unexpected Happened to You Lately?

Does God speak to us? Yes, of course! How do we know, if he does? Well, that is the real question, isn’t it? As Christians, we are told to develop a relationship with Christ, but how can we relate to God? Christ declared, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). We know when God speaks to us because He speaks truth, love and goodness. That is how we recognize His voice.

There are many ways we can communicate with God. The obvious way is through prayer. Prayer is simply talking to God, just as you would talk to a good friend, except He knows everything about you. He knows your needs. He knows what is good for you and what is not. He knows what to do to lead you closer to Him. He knows your doubts, your worries, and your deepest and darkest secrets. We are all familiar with prayer, but how do we listen to God? How do we take that next step? The Holy Spirit within us facilitates our ability to hear God. Let me relay to you a couple of my recent experiences as examples.

I fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, so I can take communion on Sundays. On Friday I opened my freezer to decide what to eat. The hotdogs, my favorites, looked very appealing, and I thought to myself, I will not be able to go to church this week, so I will have a couple of hotdogs! But, as soon as that thought entered my mind, the hotdogs no longer seemed appetizing, so I had fish instead. It turned out that I was able to go to church, after all, and was therefore able to have communion. Was that a coincidence? In addition, on Sunday morning I found myself getting ready for church, realizing that I had forgotten my contacts at my mom’s house. I am very self-conscious about going out wearing my glasses. I have always hated wearing glasses. It is my vanity, one of my weaknesses! For a moment, I thought to myself that I can’t go to church without my contacts! Then I realized that it was my vanity speaking to me and I laughed to myself. God arranged it so that I would have to overcome my self-consciousness and go to church in my glasses. Was this a coincidence? Such a seemingly little insignificant thing, yet I knew what God was saying to me.  

On Saturday, I had a very antagonizing experience with my cell provider, which will remain unnamed. A couple of months ago, I had purchased a phone for my mother. The salesperson told me he would try to make me a great deal. He would give me a tablet and a few accessories for free. I asked him what the catch was. He said there was no catch. He threw the tablet in my bag with my new phone, and then threw in a couple more items, telling me everything was free. He had me sign a contract on his tablet, which only allowed me to see the signature line. Stupid me! I was not given a receipt or a copy of my contract. My cell phone provider did not mail me a bill for the next month, since I signed up for auto pay, but finally sent me a bill the following month! Now, it turns out that I am paying $20/month for unlimited data on my tablet, which I do not use, and $9/month for the accessories on an installment plan. The only accessory I used was the car charger, and I finally used that last week. I didn’t need any of this free stuff! In addition, the signature on the contract for the accessories was copied and pasted into that contract, so I never actually signed it. I knew the old adage, “nothing is ever really free,” but I trusted that a company employee would not flat out lie to me! Silly me!

So, Saturday I went to my cell provider’s store to remedy the situation. I was not appeased. I called the company and was again mislead and lied to, compounding the situation. I spent five hours trying to resolve the issue on that day, I came away dissatisfied and no solution. I resolved to return to the store and give them a piece of my mind, which was already frazzled. I had planned to tell them a thing or two about their company practices, about integrity and honesty. But before I did, I decided to check my account on the internet. While I was checking the contracts I had supposedly signed, the power in my house went out. Was that a coincidence? I took that as a message that God did not want me to go to the store and vent my frustrations in anger. As I stopped to think how I should behave as a Christian, it came to me that I should forgive them. Yes, that’s right! Forgive!

So…I will pay $250 for the free items I do not use, just to get out of that contract and look for another cell provider. I cannot deal with a company that apparently encourages such misleading and blatantly dishonest business dealings. Most likely, many other companies do the same thing, but what choice do I have. I must, at least, try to find another company and hope that they will have more integrity. Should I mistrust everyone because of this? No! I will still believe the best in people. Soon after all this, I did finally sign up with another cell provider after spending a week trying to get my phones unlocked by the previous provider! I never knew that they could hold your fully paid phones as hostage! So far, all is well. My phone works well, I have not had any dropped calls and people can hear me when I speak to them.

Was God speaking to me? Of course, He was! There are no coincidences, only unexpected events orchestrated by God, events that are meant to get our attention, to change our way of thinking, and to make God’s will known to us. There are no coincidences, only events which increase our faith and bring us closer to God. Has anything unexpected happened to you lately? 

© 2017  Helen Kamenos  All rights reserved 

http://www.helenkamenos.com/

Does God Speak to Us?

The Holy Spirit dwells inside of us. God lives within us. The Holy Spirit facilitates our relationship with God and our ability to communicate with Him. Generally, Christians understand this to refer to prayer. We spend time with God praying to Him. We thank Him, we ask for forgiveness, and then we ask for what we want or what believe we need. This can include blessings or healings for our loved ones and for ourselves. We may request a promotion or a raise. We may also ask for things, like a home or a car. Often, our prayers become a laundry list of things we would like God to do. Keep in mind, God knows what we truly need more than we do. If that is the case, then what can we talk about with God. How do we pray?

First, we come to God in humility, understanding that He is the all-powerful holy one who created us, and He knows what is best for us. We can contemplate Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for us. We can be in awe of the Holy Spirit who facilitates our communication with God and who lives within us. We can talk to God about our sins and think about how He has blessed us recently. However, all this talk and prayer is simply a one-way communication. Our relationship with God can most benefit us, if we can engage in a two-way communication, and if we can hear from God. Is that possible? Of course, it is! All things are possible with God, so how do we listen?

When we think about God speaking to us or listening to God, most of us understand the concept of listening to our conscience. Messages from our conscience are never good news. Those guilty feelings in our conscience remind us that we have sinned or are about to sin. However, there are other ways in which God speaks to us. We just need to learn how to listen. There are actually five other ways the Holy Spirit communicates with us; through our intuition, our hearts, our minds, through the Bible, and through the events which occur in our lives.

Excerpts from A Journey Toward Perfection:

           “Our intuition is a gut feeling, and we do not know from where that feeling originated. We cannot explain why we have that gut feeling, but we do. Our intuition operates mystically. The Holy Spirit speaks to us in a whisper, but we recognize it as truth. If we were pressed to explain our gut feeling, we may be able to stumble through an explanation as to why we feel the way we do, but we could not explain how that feeling got there.  It appeared in lightning speed without the awareness of our conscious mind. We did not go through the normal logical steps of reasoning in our mind. Our hearts arrived at a conclusion without the reassuring processes of our mind…

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). The Holy Spirit speaks to us through our hearts, where love is the language spoken. If we are His sheep, we recognize His voice. Hearing God’s voice through our hearts is the most joyous experience. When we act in kindness and compassion, when we forgive those who are difficult to forgive, when we give of ourselves, He pours His perfect love into our hearts. This is where His love becomes so real to us, particularly when we contemplate Christ’s love for us and His sacrifice for us. He touches the emotional center of our beings. Our spirit can overflow with God’s love, manifesting through tears of joy and compassion. Listening to the Holy Spirit with our hearts is a very powerful form of communication with God…

God can also speak to us through our minds, where language is stored, where we make connections and understand symbolism, where revelation occurs. If we seek knowledge or wisdom or answers to our questions, God may reply to us through our minds. For example, an experience in our lives can bring to mind specific words from scripture to reveal a deeper understanding of God’s truth. This is why it is so important to immerse ourselves in the Bible. God does answer us in words, but this communication may occur in our minds. We know it is God’s voice because the words are filled with His truth. God’s words connect with our hearts, our conscience, and our intuition to declare His truth to us. It is an experience, which involves our total being. We recognize God’s truth through the Holy Spirit. The light bulb turns on…

The Bible, God’s word, is His most powerful means of communicating to us. No matter how many times we may read a particular passage, we can learn something new each time. God can reveal new truths to us for specific situations in our lives through His own words. This is especially true as we go through various phases in our lives or are in various stages of our journey toward Him. His words speak to our conscience, intuition, our hearts and our minds. His words connect to our spirit through the Holy Spirit who reveals all truth to us. It is the Holy Spirit who helps our hearts or minds discern the truth.”

God also communicates to us through coincidental events which may occur. God may place people in our lives to guide us and to lead us to wisdom. It may be a transitory encounter with someone who blesses us in some way. He may arrange circumstances in such a way that they may appear to be a coincidence, so pay attention. With God, there are no coincidences. For example, Sunday morning I found myself getting ready for church, realizing that I had forgotten my contacts at my mom’s house. I am very self-conscious about going out wearing my glasses. I have always hated wearing glasses. It is my vanity, one of my weaknesses! For a moment, I thought to myself that I can’t go to church without my contacts! Then I realized that it was my vanity speaking and I laughed to myself. God arranged it so that I would have to overcome my self-consciousness and go to church in my glasses. Was this a coincidence? Such a seemingly little insignificant thing, yet I knew what God was saying to me.

A two-way dialogue with God must be cultivated. It does not just happen. We must be alert, expecting a response from Him. We must look for reasons why coincidences occur. We must be attentive to our intuition and our hearts. We know when God is communicating with us because it is personal. It is filled with truth and love. We just know that we know. Perhaps, a Bible verse comes to mind or we realize that there is an answer to a question we asked. This is where faith becomes activated. We trust God, and we know that He loves us and wants the best for us. We have faith that His will is to transform us into the people we were created to be. His will is to teach us how to love. We know love when we encounter the genuine article. This is how we know God when we encounter Him. He lovingly guides us through the Holy Spirit. All we must do is be alert and listen! 

© 2018  Helen Kamenos  All rights reserved

http://www.helenkamenos.com/

Happy Epiphany Day!

And Merry Christmas to those celebrating on the old calendar!

The Feast of Holy Theophany (Epiphany) is celebrated on January 6. For the Greek Orthodox, it commemorates the divine revelation of the Holy Trinity at the Baptism of Jesus Christ, where all the persons of the Trinity were manifest, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:13-17):

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John (the Baptist) at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

As Christians, we too, are baptized for the remission of sins and to be initiated into Christ’s church. Our baptism is symbolic of Christ’s death and resurrection. When we are immersed in the water we die to our old sinful selves, and when we are raised out of the water, we are raised into our new selves or born again into Christ. During baptism we renounce the works of the devil and dedicate ourselves to a life with Christ. For the Orthodox, baptism is a supernatural transformation, which mystically unites us to Christ through the Holy Spirit who takes residence within us.

The Baptism of Christ initiated His three-year ministry. Immediately after Jesus was baptized, He was “led by the Spirit to go into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted 40 days and 40 nights” (Matthew 4:1-2).  After this time of trial and suffering, the devil left Him and the angels came and ministered to Him.

© 2017  Helen Kamenos  All rights reserved

http://www.helenkamenos.com/

Something Holy Lives Within Us

Paul often talked about living in the Spirit as opposed to living in the flesh. He said that the Spirit of God lives within each Christian. This deserves some contemplation. What does this really mean? One part of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit, holy and pure, lives within each one of us. As Christians, somewhere deep within us, some part of us is Holy! For me, this thought inspires awe and fear! It is astounding that God would choose to give us such an incredible gift, the gift of Himself within us. At the same time, that Holy part of me is living so near to those dark recesses that shrink in shame in the presence of a Holy God. Yet, at this very moment, I realize that this is how the Holy Spirit brings light to the dark places of my soul. By shedding holy light on my sins, I become humbled in the presence of God within me. I mourn the sad state of my sinful condition, and I comprehend the need for mercy and forgiveness. All this overwhelms my emotions, as I realize I have just experienced God’s presence!

How can we know, if we have experienced God’s presence? For me, I am brought to tears. I feel His love overflowing. I feel humble. I can actually feel my Spirit filling up with something that I cannot put into words, something deep within me. However, I know that when I pray in God’s will, when I visualize our suffering Christ on the cross dying for me, when my heart fills with love for Christ, I experience God’s presence. The Holy Spirit stirs within me. This immediately causes me to feel grateful that He is such a loving and merciful God. This is living in the Spirit.

On the other hand, living in the flesh is filling our hearts and minds with earthly desires, thoughts of physical pleasure and self-gratification. They are transitory. They involve our physical senses, and once that sensation has ceased, the pleasure is gone. To experience that pleasure again, one must feed the desire repeatedly. If I take pleasure in the taste of a piece of chocolate, I must have another piece of chocolate to relive that pleasurable experience. How many pieces of chocolate can I eat before I begin to feel sick? When we live in the flesh, we are preoccupied by what we can get, rather than what we can give.

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are filled with His divine love. As Christians, it is God’s love, which motivates us, not our pursuit for selfish pleasures. It is the Holy Spirit who strengthens us in our weaknesses and comforts us in the midst of our suffering. Through the Holy Spirit, we are blessed with spiritual knowledge of God. We develop a more profound understanding that He is our all-mighty and all-knowing eternal Creator, who gave His Only Son, sinless, full of love and goodness, to die in our place and take the punishment for our sins. It is the Holy Spirit who reveals God to us and thereby increases our faith. He reveals spiritual truths to us and allows us to be in the presence of a Holy God.

According to Paul, when we live in the Spirit, we utilize our free will to do the will of God. Therefore, we are confident that “all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). In this passage, the Greek word “synergy” is translated as “work together.” Synergy was a term used by the early church fathers to describe our cooperation with God’s will. In other words, we work in cooperation with God’s will to produce good in our lives. Who are called? Everyone is called, but those who love God “are called according to His purpose.” What is God’s purpose? “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family” (Romans 8:29). We comprehend that God has preplanned for us to ultimately become like Christ, pure, righteous, and holy. We become part of the family of God, “When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8: 15-17). How do we suffer with Christ? We suffer by denying ourselves, denying our fleshly desires, by seeking not to receive, but rather to give.  This is how we live in the Spirit.

To live in the Spirit, Paul instructs us, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9). We are to keep our minds and hearts on those things which are good. We are to keep our minds and hearts on God. Paul also instructs us to “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Praying is just talking to God. We can talk to God at any time in any place, at home, at work, or even in the car as we are driving. This is also how we develop our relationship with Christ. We talk to Him, and we must also listen to Him. It is a two-way communication that allows a relationship to flourish.   

As we contemplate the presence of the Holy Spirit within us, Paul eloquently concludes in Romans 8:31-39: 

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, 

“For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” 

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

© 2017  Helen Kamenos  All rights reserved

http://www.helenkamenos.com/

Our True Selves

 

God created us to love. Our true natural selves were created pure, holy, with a deep desire to give of ourselves. We were created humble, desiring to put others first. We were created to be compassionate and kind, empathetic and merciful. Our true selves are honest, patient, courageous, with a respect for others. We were created to love God, who is the source of light, life and love. Deep down inside, we know we were made to love. We know this because when we experience genuine love for others, our whole beings are lifted up. Our hearts are filled. We experience joy! We know that we know it is right! Somewhere deep inside of ourselves, we know that we were meant to love. When someone loves us in return, we experience a fulfillment that transcends our ordinary existence. We feel complete. This is what God intended for us to experience every moment of our lives. 

However, God also gave us the gift of free will. We are the masters of our own destinies. What happens when we choose to act contrary to our true nature? Yes, that’s right. Our conscience kicks in. Because God loves us so much, He does not want us to experience pain and suffering, so He gave us a conscience to act as a warning when we contemplate actions that may cause us grief, sorrow and regret. What happens when we act on a temptation? What happens when we sin? Yep! Our conscience causes us pain and suffering, but not as much pain as the consequences of our sinful actions may cause us. 

Have you ever told a little lie, one that wouldn’t hurt anyone but benefitted you in some way? Maybe it was to cover up for something you did, which you knew was wrong. What happens? We end up compounding that little lie with a multitude of other lies just to cover up the first lie. Often, the lies spiral out of control. If our lie is uncovered, we become embarrassed or ashamed. We lose credibility. Others do not trust us. Have you ever become so angry that you said things you regretted? Have you ever done something to please yourself at the expense of another?  We have all experienced the consequences of sin. More serious sins have more profound consequences that may cause us greater pain and suffering.  

What happens when we continue to act in opposition to our true nature, contrary to our true selves? We lose ourselves. First, we experience the initial pangs of conscience. If we disregard these warnings, we experience regret, shame and guilt. If we ignore these responses, we may convince ourselves that our actions were justified. Our thinking becomes impaired and begins to deceive us. We dull the warning signals. Our conscience, God, is silenced. We slip farther and farther away from our true nature. We forget how to love God and love others. We lose the joy in life. Our peace is disturbed by conflicting desires, which do not fulfill us, do not make us complete. Eventually, we lose self-respect because deep down inside, we know that we know we are acting against our true nature. We suffer from the consequences of actions that are not in sync with our true selves. 

Our society is obsessed with building up self-esteem. We embark on new diets and exercise programs. We set goals for ourselves and busy ourselves in trying to accomplish them. We fill our calendars with things to do, and we take pride in achieving our goals. We seek the approval of others and are disappointed when others do not acknowledge our endeavors. If we cannot keep up with our to-do list, we become stressed. Slowly, we lose momentum, and our self-esteem erodes once again. Self-esteem is not nurtured by our accomplishments, but rather by the condition of our hearts. If our hearts are open, generous, and loving, we are at peace with ourselves.

Remembering Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross reminds us how much He loves us. Knowing how much God loves us strengthens our love for Him. When we love God, He fills us with His love in return. He fills us with Himself, the Holy Spirit, the source of love. When our hearts are filled with His love, we return to our natural selves, our true selves. We are no longer focused on our to-do list. We stop and live in the moment. We notice those around us, who God has placed in our lives, those who support and encourage us, as well as those who need our encouragement. Rather than focusing on our accomplishments, we concentrate on our relationships, our relationship with God, as well as with others. Building our relationship with Christ and with those God has place in our lives builds our self-esteem. Discovering the gifts God has bestowed upon us to share with others builds our self-esteem. Developing compassion and kindness, generosity and love brings us closer to our true selves.

According to King David in Psalms 139:14, each of us was uniquely, “fearfully and wonderfully made.” In this context, “fearfully” means “awesomely” made. In other words, we should be in awe or amazement because “it was you (God) who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb…intricately woven…In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed” (Psalms 139:14-16). To Jeremiah, God said “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5). God takes great care in creating each of us, and He knows us better than we know ourselves. Through Christ and the Holy Spirit, we are able to discover our true selves. The Holy Spirit will reveal to us our extraordinary gifts, our purpose in life, and He will guide our path. When we embrace our true selves, when we share our gifts and live out our purpose in life, we will experience joy and peace. In Christ, we are complete. Our self-esteem is not determined by how others see us. Our self-image is rooted in Christ, and only He can reveal to us our true nature, our true selves. 

© 2017  Helen Kamenos  All rights reserved

http://www.helenkamenos.com/

The Surprising cure to Business failure!

Have you been there? I’m sure we all have.

The all too familiar light bulb moment pops up in our mind from nowhere.

You want to start a business.

And with unbridled enthusiasm you want to share your talents and skills to the world. Suddenly boom! Crash! Something happens.

And you start getting that queasy feeling inside the walls of your stomach.

Could it be from last night’s re-heated dinner? Somehow I don't think so. So instead of getting closer to your dreams you start seeing nightmares in the form of not one , but two or three unforeseen obstacles.

Meaning you struggle to get things happening. And you lose your energy, your passion, and your desire to succeed. Suddenly you hit a road bump, and grind to a halt.

It’s almost feels like it’s Game! Set and match!

Worse still those little voices inside your head keep whispering “it’s now time to give up”. You know what if you love what you do there’s always going to be days when you want to throw in the towel.

Trick is not to listen those little inner voices because your next success could be just around the corner.

Truth is ... whilst it’s tempting to throw in the towel , it’s far more satisfying when you push through those walls of resistance and make that breakthrough.

P.S Running a Business is not a bright shiny object pastime

Best Carlo

Direct Response Copywriter 

Believe It or Not, You Are Like God!

According to Genesis 1:26-28, God made us in His image, in His likeness. Nothing else in God’s creation was made in His image. If we were made in God’s image, there is something about us that is distinctive, exceptional, and even Holy. In what ways are we like God? Unlike any other creature in the world, we possess the gift of free will. We are capable of choosing our actions, choosing between good and evil. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden was placed there by God, so that we would be able to exercise our free will. Why did God give us the gift of free will, when He knew we would succumb to temptation and choose evil? It is only through free will that we can express love. God loves us infinitely, and all He asks of us is to love Him in return and to love one another. This is God’s purpose for us. This is why we were created. There is no greater gift we could have been given than the ability to choose to love.

God placed in us all the qualities necessary for us to act in love. Christ revealed to us the attributes required to love as He loves us in the Beatitudes of Matthew 5. We all possess the potential to develop these attributes. However, we must exercise our free will and choose to become what God intended us to be. If we cannot love a God who died for us, who loves us so much that “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8), how can we love anyone?

Although it is our God-given nature to be good, we often choose evil. Evil is the lack of love. In essence, when we sin we choose to withhold love. Instead, we choose to love ourselves. For example, when we steal, we choose to consider our needs or desires greater than another’s. When we gossip, we delight in portraying another as more flawed than ourselves, and thereby, making ourselves to feel we are better in some way. When we engage in sexual activity for the sake of sex, we use the other person as an object simply for our transitory physical pleasure, without respect or regard for him/her as a loving human being. When we allow ourselves to fall into alcoholism or drug addiction, we do not regard the consequences this has on our families and friends. It is purely the quest for our own transitory pleasure, which ultimately destroys us. Selfishness and the lack of love destroy us. We were made to love.  

We cannot experience God’s kind of love, infinite love, divine love, apart from Him. We cannot resist the temptation of evil without Him. Christ implants the Holy Spirit within us to teach us and guide us, to help us develop those attributes that allow us to act in love. Humility teaches us to deny ourselves and allows us to open the door to love. Meekness is required to control our negative emotions and desires. It teaches us patience and helps us deny the desire for instant gratification. Mournfulness reminds us that we are flawed and that we are no better than anyone else. It allows us to be honest with ourselves. It teaches us that becoming like Christ is our goal. Mercifulness teaches us kindness and compassion for all human beings. Forgiveness is the greatest gift we can give to others. Our ability to have mercy on others is tested daily. These are only some examples.

God created us to love and He placed in us the attributes necessary to truly love others as ourselves. However, He also gave us the ability to choose to act in love. Every day, we have numerous opportunities to love or withhold love, to love God or reject Him, to love others or love ourselves. We are able to love others as God loves us through the Holy Spirit within us who reveals Christ to us and who allows us to know God. Saint Seraphim of Sarov says "the true goal of our Christian life consists in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit." We have the ability to acquire the Holy Spirit by knowing and loving God.

St. Clement of Alexandria said that "The greatest of all lessons is to know oneself; for if one knows himself, he will know God; and if he knows God, he will become like God." Because we were made in the image of God, we have the ability to know God and love as He loves. We have the potential of becoming like Christ. It is a process, a daily journey we take with God at our side, until He calls us out of this world. At that moment, we will experience a metamorphosis. We will be like Christ, pure and sanctified, filled with His divine love.

Discover who you are in Christ. The attributes given to us by Jesus in the Beatitudes are those valued by God. Developing these traits teaches us how to love and helps us live happier lives with more fulfilled relationships. They unlock our potential. Do you possess these traits and to what degree? Find out what attributes you need to develop in order to reach your potential. The FREE workbook, “Who Am I? Discover Yourself” also includes “8 Steps to Healing Wounded Relationships” as taught by Christ through the Beatitudes.

We often spend time caring for our physical health, exercising or watching what we eat, but we do not always spend enough time on our spiritual or emotional well-being. Often, ignoring our emotional health leads to anxiety and stress. Our physical well-being may extend our lives, but our spiritual welfare determines the quality of our lives. Take the time to reflect on your spiritual and emotional development in order to realize your potential and help you improve your relationships.

      

This 14 page workbook in pdf format includes:

• 3 questionnaires to help you discover yourself
• A chart to help you analyze the traits you possess, which are valued by God
• Opportunities for reflection
• Identify which attributes you admire in yourself and others
• Determine which characteristics are your strengths and weaknesses in developing better relationships

Follow this link to receive your FREE workbook TODAY: http://www.helenkamenos.com/free_workbook/