1. Faith is the foundation of all goodness
you need both in this life and to secure a good fate in the future everlasting
eternity.
2. When
our autocratic volition, guided by reason, wants to do good, i.e., to fulfil
God’s will, and proves it by deed, it is pleasing unto God, and God helps us in
performing those actions. When our foolishness wants to do something contrary
to God’s will and insists on committing it, God allows it to happen because he
doesn’t restrict our volition. However, He awards us for the first choice and
punishes us for the second choice.
3. Our salvation is in our neighbour, and
the Lord commands us to seek not our own benefit but the benefit of our
neighbour.
4. Pride is the reason for all our
disasters and alienation from God… It hides in the heart so well that a person
who has it doesn’t notice or understand it unless God sends him a temptation to
make it visible.
5. When we make God angry at our sins, we
will not succeed in our worldly affairs, either.
6. Teach your children moral values and,
when they are worth it and when it’s useful for them, God is able to enrich
them or grant them things that they need and that will suffice them.
7. Our
Lord Jesus Christ has revealed to us what the love of God consists of: “He that
hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me” (John 14:21).
That is why when we trespass God’s commandments, there is no love of God in us
any longer.
8. When you don’t have a lot of time for
prayer, use the time that you have. God will accept your will; remember: the
publican’s repentance in prayer is pleasing unto God. Be careful not to put a
price tag on your prayer: it’s God’s business, not ours.
9. If our thoughts are pure, we see
everyone as holy and good. When we see that people are bad, it is caused by our
own disposition.
10. You must be aware that every failure is
preceded by pride; which is why you have to look at your heart closely and not
let that serpent to creep into your heart. Our downfalls make us humble, so you
should know that and you will be made free of those passions.
11. You should teach yourself to be patient
not when you are rebuked for your actual guilt but when you are innocent and
nevertheless scolded and admonished.
12. You have to
struggle with your passions both if you live together with other people and if
you live alone. However, secluded living is not for everyone,
especially those who haven’t defeated their passions—abstract theorizing, rage,
guile, and the like. Such people have to learn to defeat their passions through
interaction with other people first.
13. Reading spiritual books enlightens our
minds and shows us the road to salvation. It nurtures the soul in the same
manner as physical food nurtures the body.
14. All our actions are not enough if they
are not enlightened by consideration. Consideration is caused by humility.
Humility in turn is born out of sorrows.
15. The Kingdom of God is within you, the Lord
said (Luke 17:21), i.e., in your heart; so you must look for it in your heart
by cleansing it from passions and temptations of the enemy, and by refraining
from judgment or finding faults with anyone…
September 20, 2018
Translated by The Catalog of Good Deeds
CONVERSATION