www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall SATAN'S MEETING:

This gave me pause to stop and think when I opened it today. I am homebound most of the time and I still dont spend enough time with Jesus. The distractions of this world, draw us away from His world. Maybe it will help someone else.

rose

SATAN'S MEETING:

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he
said, "We can't keep Christians from going to church. We can't keep them
from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them
from forming an intimate relationship with their savior. Once they gain
that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken."

"So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish
dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a
relationship with Jesus Christ."

"This is what I want you to do," said the devil, "Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted.

"Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles."

"Keep them from spending time with their children. As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work! Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice."

"Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive. To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."

"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with
billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes."

"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become
dissatisfied with their wives. Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night. Give them headaches too! If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere. That will fragment their families quickly!"

"Give them Santa Clause to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas. Give them an Easter bunny so they won't
talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death. Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation
exhausted. Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts,
and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy!"

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences. Crowd their
lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health
and family for the good of the cause. It will work! It will work!"

It was quite a plan!

The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there. Having little time for their God or their families. Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.

I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes?

You be the judge!

Does "BUSY" mean:

B-eing
U-nder
S-atan's
Y-oke?

Dear Rose:

But if some of us didn't work 10-12 hour days, we wouldn't have the resourses to contribute to our parishes and churches. Where would we be then?

Even the psalmist recognizes that, as the sun comes up, man emerges for his work and tends to his business until evening.

Yours,

kl

Dear Rose,

Thanks for the reminder that we need to keep our priorities and focus in proper perspective. It's by taking the time to focus as best we can that we can come to see God at work in those busy times. Without taking the time, it's hard to see Him at all.

But that's what you wanted us to remember, wasn't it?

Thanks again!

Steve

Well � here is your answer�

God has plenty of money and resources. In fact, he could change stones to bread and feed everyone at any moment he wishes too. So the poor and the parish do not lack someone who can provide for them.

The reason God wishes you to do some support - is that He wishes you to throw yourself upon Providence. When He said �Sell all you have, give the money to the poor and come follow me.� what He wants you to walk behind is Himself as the Logos - the Providing. If you do the goal - you need not worry too much about the methods. The church does not need the support - it is you who needs to give up some of your self-providing and throw your trust back upon God and his Providence.

Why was it that the poor woman who gave what little she had - gave more than the rich man who gave from his abudant wealth? - because he yet had even more money to feel secure with while the woman - by giving what little she had - in that act was throwing herself completly upon Providence for her present and future.

Of all the things of this life, when you die, you will take only one thing with you (�and it shall never be taken from her�) what you have gained in contemplation and prayer and your daily cooperation with Providence. That alone - goes with you and remains with you forever as if a mansion that you shall live in forever. If you say "I have no time for rest with God" then I say you have no time to do anything else - before you know it all time will be gone and your mansion will not be built.

Seeing as life is so short (the span of one lightening flash in the night sky) it seems to me that your imperative is - taking the time for restful and relaxed prayer. Jesus did not act first and pray about it later - he always set himself aside for a time - and then acted. No matter how busy with crowds pressing forward for him to heal them - he would set off and seperate himself for time in which to rest with his God.

Trusting Providence is done in steps. We look back on life and see that our plans seldom worked out - but somehow - things did work out so that we are provided for. Life is what happened to you while you were busy planning it.

�Watch with me one hour� is the request. A good exercise is to - for that hour - sit and say �Lord - what I am not able to do during this hour - I put into your hands. You requested I sit like this and you said - See how the father provides for the birds - and I am more important than a bird. It is my imagination that makes me think it is my efforts that provide for myself and my family. For this one hour - I will take you at your word, For this one hour I will not do or think of anything to do with providing for myself. For this one hour, I will totally put myself and my future - into your hands. I expect nothing.. I ask nothing.. I will have no anxiety� But for you and I to sit quietly like two friends. And I, will do my part, in the friendship.�

This is just my suggestion on how to look at it.

I am reminded right now that - in the Catholic Mass as well as the Orthodox - while it is the priest speaking - it is really Jesus himself speaking - the priest is like the appearance of bread and wine. In the Catholic mass Christ speaks and tells us to be without anxiety. This is probably the most important thing Jesus tells us week after week - to live life without anxiety. For it is our anxiety over what and how to gather and provide for ourselves - that stands in the way of our getting to know what God is trying to Provide for us if we would only cease being so busy trying to do things another way. Anxiety is that inner task master - it is the Egyptian task master - and we should have already left Egypt - do not pay anymore attention to it. Just do what your vocation in life reasonably requires - and meet the situations that God places you in day to day - and leave the habit of not trusting Providence - to die out from lack of use. If you whole time at prayer each night is spent slipping away from anxiety and sitting at peace with yourself, your conscience, and a general awareness of God - then you need not read even one more book on contemplation - your there.
Be less attentive to how you would like life to be and a bit more patient in order to recognise what arrangements God is making for you in life. Do not listen to the emoty voice of fears over what you shall eat, what you shall wear, or how you shall live. It is being provided for you and your anxiety is needless noise. Did this - ring a bell?

-ray

I think you make a good point. God should come first. When He does, all other things fall into place.

I have a couple of friends who realized they were too broke to go on. He worked three jobs, she had one and two small children. They weren't making ends meet.

Being a very devout woman, she placed her trust in God. She decided to tithe, to show the Lord that she was surrendering to Him. She didn't just give 10% of what she had. She gave 10% of what she needed.

That week, $1000 arrived in the mail. Her estranged father had felt "something"--something tell him that she might need the money...

Since she began to do this, things have looked up. Her little business took off--he is down to one job, and they've had another baby and a new house.

I know, it sounds like one of those stories you get in the e-mail. It's not. I went to high school with this girl, I attended her child's baptism. I have stood in her living-room.

Just a thought.

Neil

Glory to Jesus Christ!

As Blessed Augustine wrote in De Doctrina Christiana, the "holy and just life" is one in which our loves are properly ordered: first, love of God (amor Dei); then, love of self (amor sui); and, from these, love of others (caritas).

We can, in other words, understand this ideal as a return to Eden, where one �neither loves what he ought not to love, nor fails to love what he ought to love, nor loves that more which ought to be loved less, nor loves that equally which ought to be loved either less or more, nor loves that less or more which ought to be loved equally.�

To reverse the order of the first two loves, setting self-love atop this hierarchy of loves, is to repeat the original sin of placing oneself at the center of the universe. It is to cut oneself off, once again, from the Tree of Life.

Of course, this remedy for the human condition is not, according to the Bishop of Hippo, made universally available to all but only to those who have been chosen by God and received the free gift of His grace... that's another discussion altogether, however.

It's really not about being busy. It's about what you desire/will/love.

In Christ,
Theophilos

Dear Ray:

First of all, please do not presume to lecture me on giving of myself. You do not know what or how how much of myself I give to God, my Church, or my parish. The very fact that I am here should probably say something as to my involvement.

As for the rest, I assume from your post that God somehow pays your parish's electric bills, turns stones into food for the poor in your community, etc. etc. etc.

Until this happens here in the Ukrainian Village of Chicago, I will continue to work at my job and my profession so that I can have the resources to support the Church's work as well as maintain a position of respect in the general society in which we live. From this I myself will be able to work for the benefit of Christ's Church.

Yours,

kl

Dear KL,

In working for a living, you are following St Paul's directives - the Apostle preached during the day and sewed tents at night.

St Basil the Great advised Christians to work "night and day."

I think all Catholic priests should have a secular job - many do, such as teaching - like the monks.

St Benedict ordered his monks to work at least two hours daily and more.

Hard work never killed anyone and it is especially profitable for clergy.

Alex

Greetings.

I am still a bit new to this site and new to the faith (I am getting baptized into the Ruthenian Byzantine Church tomorrow at 1pm!) My name is Michelle, 35 yrs old, from southern California.

Anyhow, I mostly agree with the sentiments of the 'Satan's Meeting' story though it is a bit extreme. I think it's a bit exaggerated in order to get across the idea that people have put too many things before God (in direct violation of the 1st Commandment). Most of the things mentioned are not evil in and of themselves. "Moderation is the key."

I work over 40hrs/wk and have a social life. I love to play on the computer and I have my TV or radio on during the remaining time, if I'm not reading a book. What I always try to do, however, is talk to God throughout my day. Even at work I will chat with God when I have a moment that doesn't require 100% concentration. I'm not trying to make myself look good but only offering an example of how I am trying to live according to the 1st Commandment.

Even if someone doesn't think of doing that, I think the crime is when we do something like choosing to go to a baseball game instead of Church. If you go to Church and then the game, that's fine. Just don't cut out Church all together.

Work is good. Amusement parks are good. TV, radio, and computers CAN have enriching material. Putting all of those things before God is bad. Really bad.

Anyhow, that's my little input.

Your soon-to-be sister in Christ,
Michelle

Dear Michelle:

You who being are baptized in Christ are clothing yourself in Christ. Alleluia!

Truly a day to rejoice.

You are most correct. "Things" are not evil. It is the use to which they are put that may be.

Television, radio, sports, music, they all are capable of great good.

Our careers, whatever we do and whatever we contribute to society, are capable of great good.

Of course, "good" does not need to mean "religious" in the narrow sence. It is worthy to keep in mind that the Gospel of Matthew says abotut the last judgment.

It's not about how much we pray (although prayer is important) it's how we influcence the lives of those around us.

Welcome to the faith - and drop the "soon to be." We were born as brothers and sisters.

Yours,

kl

Dear Michelle,

Welcome to the family!

Your baptism enriches all of the Churches of God. May you always find us ready to walk the pilgrimage with you.

Pray for us in your Baptismal innocence as we do for you.

Steve

KL and Steve,

Thank you for your words of welcome! I am counting down the hours, I tell ya! How exciting! My sponsor/godmother is planning a mini-pilgrimage to our local Holy Resurrection Monastery soon (hi, Fr Moses!) to celebrate my rebirth.

Wow, to think I will become a "new creature" tomorrow. Thank God! ;o)

Blessings to one and all!

Michelle

You have misunderstood my intentions and taken the discussion too personally.

Bye.

-ray

Michelle,

We rejoice with you, and what a weekend, that of Pentecost, to receive baptism and the annointing of the Holy Spirit.

Go with God and rejoice in the precious meal He is going to set before you.

May our Risen Lord, bless you and grant you many years of peace, health, and happiness!

Rose

Thanks to all for the interesting discussion on the subject. There is much food for thought and many words of wisdom.

Rose

Three years ago I had a heart attack and the clergy from my church were at my bedside w/i 2 hrs to give me communion. Glad they didn't have a secular job!