"Fasting to save my life" (Part II) What does fasting achieve?

Last week we discussed how God, The Apostles, The Church and the Bible are all clear in teaching that fasting is a required practice among Christians. When we look to these resources, we realize the absolute relevance of fasting for everyone who considers themself to be a Christian who lives and abides by the Holy Spirit.

Now that we understand the obvious need for fasting among faithful, let us further explore the struggles we can face while fasting and also learn of the spiritual gain we can receive when we overcome these struggles by faithfully abstaining from eating certain foods and partaking in sinful practises. Of course fasting and prayer go hand-in-hand so we will also briefly discuss our need for prayer specifically during a fasting period.

Many of us would be familiar with past examples of fasting taking place by God’s people for various reasons. For the most part, people fasted from food out of their repentant desire to draw closer to God (Rogation of the Ninevites Jonah 1-4), to strengthen themselves against the temptations of the flesh (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13) and to help them faithfully live by the Holy Spirit abiding within them. (Mark 9:29 NKJV, Galatians 5:16)

During the Great Fast (Soma Raba) which is canonically observed in our Church for fifty days preceding Resurrection Sunday, we look to our Lord Jesus Christ’s example of fasting in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights and try to imitate His humility and Godly strength during this time. (We hold the fast with an extended nine days and break it on the fiftieth day). The significance of this fast alone opens our ‘spiritual eyes’ up to a wealth of knowledge and understanding about what fasting can truly achieve for us when we study the details in depth.

Firstly, we see that Christ was lead into the wilderness alone by the Holy Spirit immediately after His baptism. The wilderness was a place without walking paths, without protection from the elements and as Mark states, was populated by wild beasts (Mark 1:13).

And see whither the Spirit led Him up, when He had taken Him; not into a city and forum, but into a wilderness. That is, He being minded to attract the devil, gives him a handle not only by His hunger, but also by the place. For then most especially doth the devil assail, when he sees men left alone, and by themselves.¹ (St. John Chrysostom)

It is here that we can relate to Christ being alone in the wilderness, as we His followers who have also received baptism in His name, are also living in the wilderness of this unruly, sinful world. When we are distant from God because we desire the things of this world more than God (James 4:4), the tempter, satan tries to catch us off guard and lure us in through our fleshly weaknesses. Today these temptations have become that much easier to see and access through widespread international media and alluring marketing campaigns that make us believe we cannot live without these fleshly indulgences in our lives.

The 21^st Century wilderness we are living in and surrounded by today is a world that is governed by satan (1 John 5:19), the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4). The very same temptations that tempted Christ in the wilderness are the temptations that this world throws in our faces every single day; from the moment we wake up, leave our homes and return back and go to sleep.

When we read Matthew 4:1-11, we learn how the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness alone to fast for forty days and forty nights. It is at the end of His fast when Christ is hungry and His flesh is awaiting the fore coming temptations. While Christ is in this state, satan finds the opportune moment to try to tempt Him with the first of three temptations. 

Firstly, satan purposely questions Christ’s identity as the ‘Son of God’ after witnessing Christ’s baptism and hearing God call Jesus His Son (Matthew 3:17).  He then tries to tempt Him to break His fast (Matthew 4:3) to prove that He is the Son of God, and to influence Him to disobey the Father’s will.

“behold with how much craft he draws near, and wickedness; and for what sort of opportunity he watches. For not in his fast, but in his hunger he approaches Him; to instruct thee how great a good fasting is, and how it is a most powerful shield against the devil, and that after the font [of baptism] men should give themselves up, not to luxury and drunkenness, and a full table, but to fasting.” ² (St. John Chrysostom)

For us baptised Christians today, this is the equivalent of being tempted by fleshly desires (things that make our bodies feel good) such as: fornication, adultery, vanity, food indulgences (top restaurants, various fast food chains, watching recipe show after recipe show), gluttony and basically making food and our physical pleasures our priority in life. We see how Christ here adheres to His fast, and rebukes satan with powerful scripture (Deuteronomy 8:3)

The second temptation Christ receives is to test God. When satan sees Christ use scripture to fight him off, he also tries to use scripture (Psalm 91:11-12) out of context, to tempt Christ again by assuring Him that God will protect Him if He jumps off the highest point of the temple (Matthew 4:5-6). Today, we also test God in our wilderness by limiting Him with our own thoughts on how He can work in our lives. (Refer to blog article: Limiting God). Christ again rebukes satan by replying with scripture (Deuteronomy 6:16).

The third and final temptation Christ experiences in the wilderness is that of idolatry, power and greed (the love of money). Satan tells Jesus to bow down and worship him in order to receive abundant wealth and power (Matthew 4:8-9). Unfortunately today, people’s ignorance toward God and His ways in order to gain wealth, prosperity and power is very evident. We see how people like celebrities go against their ethics and morals in order to become wealthy. We see how gaining some money makes people greedily want more. We see people cheating, lying, stealing and gambling out of their greedy desires to attain wealth and power. And this is how the ruler of this world – satan successfully uses our weaknesses to shift our focus away from God and follow his ways (or bow down and worship him). This is especially what he wants for us who have been baptised into Christ. Jesus’ final rebuke of satan here uses scripture again. “Fear the Lord your God and worship Him only”. (Deuteronomy 6:13)

Every verse of scripture that Jesus quotes in His defence are from Moses’ words in Deuteronomy when the Israelites were being tested in the wilderness for forty years and were disobedient to God and His word during this period. Jesus’ righteous actions here reverse the sinful actions of the Israelites... While the Israelites grumbled against God during His gracious providence, here we see Christ uphold God’s word during His forty days in the wilderness during a period of fasting and need.

Glory be to Christ our Lord who by the power of the Holy Spirit, the mighty word of God and His faithful fast, defeated satan’s attacks that were intended to make Him fall. For, for this cause even He fasted, not as needing it Himself, but to instruct us.³ (St John Chrysostom) Christ teaches and leads us by perfect example. (Hebrews 4:15)

To gain strength in times of temptation in our “wilderness” and during times of fasting, we must look to our Lord’s perfect example by observing our Church fasts; being vigilant in prayer and reading God’s word the Bible. (Ephesians 6:13-19) These all go together with fasting to keep ourselves spiritually alert and strengthen us from physical and spiritual attacks of the enemy who as St. Peter mentions is prowling around like a roaring lion waiting to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

Let us undertake this fast to conquer our fleshly desires that can lead to sin and instead allow our bodies to submit to the Holy Spirit of God within us and live (Galatians5:16).

Recommended reading: St Ephrem's homily on the Lord's fast

Continued next week… Part III and Final

How and why fasting was practised by our forefathers and Our Church today

This week’s song: Malka d’Malkeh – Bishop Mar Odisho Oraham

1.        NPNF1-10. St. Chrysostom: Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chrysostom, Saint, Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library (1886) pp. 134

2.        NPNF1-10. St. Chrysostom: Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chrysostom, Saint, Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library (1886) pp. 135

3.        NPNF1-10. St. Chrysostom: Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chrysostom, Saint, Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library (1886) pp. 135

Fasting to save my life (Part I) Non-Apostolic versus Apostolic view

When you think of the concept of “fasting” some may envision juice fasts and detox fasts that are becoming more popular these days for being proven to help people lose weight and save lives by healing the body from disease and even some cancers! On the other hand, the concept of “fasting” for some may automatically bring to mind the Church and their faith in Christ.

The current world-Christian view on the relevance of fasting hit me rather ironically the other night when I was watching the concluding part of a documentary called “Juicing to save my life.” Quite literally, a man undertook a juice fast for 2 months and it helped save his life. This non-Christian man, with a new outlook on life actually stated, “THE BIBLE says that Jesus fasted, so we should do it too!” Such a clear and simple message to even non-Christians, so why has this matter become such a controversial subject among people who claim to be Christians who stand by the ‘Bible’s teachings alone’?

Fasting is not a commonly discussed topic among western Christian circles. It is hard to come by literature, books, devotionals and media that mention our need to fast as Christians. In fact, most western versions of the Bible have actually omitted the word “fast” from some important verses of the translated text.

So as we enter into the time of our canonized Church fast; the 50 day Great Fast (Soma Raba) commencing 19^th February, I’d like to draw our attention to the reasons for spiritual fasting, and also investigate the belief of some Christians who feel there is no need to fast or hold to Church Calendar fasts at all!

Over the years of reading various Christ-centred literature, hearing sermons and having many conversations with leaders and lay-men from non-Apostolic Christian denominations, I have learned that the vast majority of them hold to the belief that Christians do not need to fast. They concede that this is a man-made “legalistic” tradition that should be abolished because we are now living in the grace of Christ. Unfortunately, like many other of their reformed doctrines, they stand with an ignorant view toward the necessity of fasting among many other Apostolic teachings and traditions we hold to.

Because of the widespread teachings of these reformed beliefs through international media, and a well-structured evangelical system, some members of our own Holy and Apostolic Church have become confused or ignorantly wandered away from the Orthodox (original) faith, doctrines and traditions which are founded on Christ’s teachings and have been passed down through the generations from Christ Himself and His Apostles.

Now, these non-Apostolic friends of ours who preach ‘Sola Scriptura’, (BIBLE ONLY), are either too ignorant to see what the BIBLE truly teaches about fasting, or their ironically “man-made” reformed teachings which have been passed down from their Church founders since the 16^th Century have clearly misinterpreted the Bible.

If in fact we look to the Bible alone, starting from the Old Testament, the very first fast that God enforced was on the first man. He commanded Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden saying "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17). Of course we see man here sin against God by disobeying His command after giving in to the temptations of satan.


In the New Testament, it was the Lord Jesus who set the law of fasting in Christianity when He fasted forty days and forty nights (Matthew. 4:2). "He did eat nothing, and when they were ended, he afterward hungered." (Luke 4:2). The Lord Jesus was not in need of fasting but fasted as an example for us. He imposed fasting to show us its powerful spiritual impact especially when coupled with prayer.


Our Lord’s authoritive words again deemed fasting necessary when He replied to the question of John's disciples, who wondered why His disciples did not fast. Our Lord said, "Can the children of the bride chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them and then shall they fast in those days." (Matthew 9:14-15 &; Luke 5:35)

Again we see Our Lord clearly command His followers to fast during His Sermon on the Mount. Jesus Himself commands them, WHEN you fast, you should do it in this way. (Matthew 6:16) He doesn’t say, if you feel like it, or if you think it’s right… But Christ teaches us how to fast because it is for the good of our salvation.

Among the many verses in the Bible which directly address salvation, one in particular is often drawn out by Reformists and magnified out of its Biblical context to speak against Apostolic traditions; Ephesians 2:8-9. Their interpretation is we are saved or justified by grace through faith alone and works are not necessary. Through these and similar verses, both Apostolic and non- Apostolic believers can come to a unified agreement that we are indeed living in the grace of Christ now. But we come to a difference of opinion when our Apostolic faith teaches us that to live in the grace of Christ we are justified through our faith and works such as partaking in the Church Sacraments and adhering to the canon laws of the Church (Fasting is one of them).

As St. James clearly states in James 2:26, faith and works are equally important for our salvation. Namely, the acceptance of God’s grace in our lives through faith and works together, help us to continue to work out our salvation (Philippians2:12) as we  hold to and grow in our faith in Jesus Christ through His Church and Church teachings which encourage faithful and edifying deeds among her members.

The simple truth is God’s inspired word and the true interpretation of the original meaning is unchangeable. His Word should be applied to everybody and every era without being superseded, maligned or taken out of its context. God taught His people to fast and God’s people fasted. Jesus taught His Apostles and His followers to fast, and Jesus and His followers fasted. Some of our early church history books which were written before the Bible was even put together, also teach of how our blessed saints and Church forefathers fasted regularly and as a result of their great faith performed amazing miracles. The Church has subsequently set canon laws for us their children to continue to do the same.

As members of this Holy and blessed Church, we must hold to its teachings, practise them, teach them and always remember that our teachings and traditions are instated by Christ Himself and His Apostles; as stated in our Church Catechism:

The Apostle St Paul writes, “ . . . therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught whether by word or our epistle ...”(II Thes 2:15)

We have been taught to reject those who teach to the contrary, or they are outside that of the Apostles teachings. ¹

So let us look to Our Lord Jesus, His Holy Church, The Apostle’s teachings and the Bible which are all very clear in stipulating the need for God’s people to fast.  Let us imitate Christ, the Prophets, Apostles and saints who taught us by way of example. If we long to unworthily follow in their faithful footsteps, we must stand fast in our faith and traditions and endeavour to do the same.

Part II continued next week…  How do we fast and what does fasting achieve?

1         A Catechism of the Assyrian Church of the East, the Revd. C H Klutz, B.A., B.Th., M.Th. and the Revd. George Toma, B.A., M.A., D.Min,P.p. 116 (2006)

This week’s song: Orthodox Psalm 104 (English)

Limiting God

 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, 

Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. 
 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 
So are My ways higher than your ways 
And My thoughts than your thoughts
Isaiah 55:8-9

Have you ever indirectly told God how to do His job by expecting Him to react or work in your life or in the lives of others in a way that you think would be best? Many Christians can get caught in the trap of thinking they “know how God works”, purely because they have been reading the Bible, going to church and generally being “good Christians”. By thinking in this precarious way, we are in fact limiting God, or “putting God in a box”, so to speak. This is simply and unconsciously done when we place a boundary around God and His capabilities, based on our own limited knowledge and expectations of how we think He should work in our lives.

Based on precedent experiences we can think of numerous scenarios of how we think God should work in our lives or perhaps even in the lives of others. But do we ever stop to contemplate that “God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways? (Isaiah 55:8-9) He affirms this to us through His word to humble us, and remind us that we are merely His creation and His perfect ways for us are beyond our own understanding. St. Paul tells us clearly in Romans 9:20, “shall what is created question (or think they know better than) its creator?”

It seems silly to put limitations on the creator of all things. But when we think we've got God ‘figured out’, that’s essentially what we are doing. Through past experiences we liken God to somewhat of a formula of expectations; If I do this, then God will react this way, if I do that He will react that way. Or, God’s worked in this person’s life this way, so surely He will work in my life the same way. What many of us do not realise or sometimes forget is that God has an individual plan and purpose for each and every one of us. The closer we draw near to Him by faith and witness His presence through the Church, the more we are able to open up our hearts to accept His will for our life and our life’s purpose.

Through fear of the unknown however, or lack of faith, it’s easier for us to trust in our own knowledge and life experiences rather than to wholeheartedly trust that God can work in new, wondrous and incomprehensible ways for our betterment. This mindset simply reveals that our knowledge of God is limited, our faith and trust in Him is limited and we need to draw closer to Him by faith, in order to grow and overcome these fears and uncertainties.

If or when we realise that we are actually limiting God in our life, there is a way to overcome and grow from this. Firstly, we have assurance from His word that, “nothing is impossible with God” as the Archangel Gabriel stated to St Mary in Luke1:37. We should also know that when we seek Him through His word and His Church we can also begin to learn who this infinite, immeasurable being is. God is beyond time (omniscient), God is beyond strength (omnipotent) and God is everywhere (omnipresent)!!! He has a proven track record of working in the lives of faithful people over history by various and numerous means, to fulfil His individual will and purpose in them for His glory.

Imagine if the young Virgin Mary had trusted in her own knowledge, and not faithfully believed the incredible notion that she, a dedicated virgin would miraculously conceive the Messiah of the world through the Holy Spirit? (Luke 1:26-38)

Where would we stand today by means of salvation if her faith in God’s might and incomprehensible ways had failed?

Or Abraham, had he not trusted in God’s word and His sovereignty, would he have moved his entire family and livelihood away from the only country he had known, to travel to a foreign country at God’s first command? (Genesis 12:1-5) And would he have received the abundant blessings had he not willingly attempted to sacrifice his only promised son Isaac on the altar at God’s seemingly contradicting command? (Genesis 22:1-19)

Let us look to Church history and learn from St George the Martyr... If he had shrunk back in fear and denounced his faith in Christ instead of believing that this was God’s good and perfect will for him, would he have valiantly marched forward to receive the numerous tortures by his persecutors unto his ultimate death? Where would he have stood right now if he thought God could not possibly work through these painful circumstances? And what would be of the many people who took courage from his faith in that era of Christian persecution and even today?

Just like these faithful saints before us who rested in the assurance of God’s love and providence (Jeremiah 29:11-13), the Lord wants us to respond to Him in faith by means of trusting in His power, in His promises and in His purposes. It means we should be able to lay whatever problems we have faithfully at the altar, ready and willing to sacrifice them to Him and believe that His ways are best for us, even if we can’t see the final outcome yet. It means we confess to Him that we are weak, unworthy sinners who are in need of His perfect guidance and are willing to accept whatever challenges come our way, knowing that our good God can use them for our good when we trust Him. (Romans 8:28)

What personal knowledge or “wisdom” is limiting your faith on how God can work in your life? What is stopping you from surrendering all of your fears and uncertainties and giving them to the Almighty who cannot be contained or limited, but is the only one who can lead you onto the right path He knows is good for you? Proverbs 3:5-6

This Week's Song- Francesca Battistelli: I’m letting go

Noticeable Women

Genealogies, to some who are not too familiar with their significance in the Bible, may just seem like a boring list of endless names that are too hard to pronounce or may even seem irrelevant. New readers of the Bible may ask, “What's the use of listing someone's family tree (essentially what a genealogy is), in the Bible?” We may even be tempted to turn the genealogy pages all together and get into the ‘real stuff’.

But when we realize that the Holy Bible is God's inspired word to us 2Tim 3:16, we should know that every single page of the Bible is important for reading and shares important information about God and His plans and purposes for us, even if it may be hard to understand sometimes.

There are numerous genealogies in the Bible which all bear importance of their own. Starting from the Old Testament and leading into the New Testament. As a matter of fact, the very first book in the New Testament starts off with a very important genealogy... The direct linage of Jesus Christ. And this genealogy is the one we will shed some more light on.

The book of Matthew was written to a Jewish audience. Matthew, being a Jewish Apostle and eyewitness of Christ, was inspired by God to write the gospel of his eye-witnessed accounts of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and share them in a way that the Jews who were living under the Mosaic Law would be able to understand and relate to. So we see as we turn to Matthew Chapter 1 verse 1, of how the writer traces Christ's linage all the way back to their Father Abraham, the Patriarch of the promises and King David, the shadow of the coming Messiah. It was through these men that God had promised to bless the world and the many generations to follow through the coming Saviour.

There is much to learn about Christ’s incarnate nature and purpose through Matthew’s recorded genealogy here. But today, we will focus on the significance of the four women that Matthew thought necessary to single out and mention as belonging to Our Lord Jesus Christ's family linage.

Firstly, it should be noted that the mentioning and documentation of women’s names in a genealogy was not a normal custom, in fact it went against the Jewish traditions and culture of the day. However, Matthew purposely moves in this somewhat controversial direction to illustrate an important point to his Jewish audience and for us readers today...

We learn of Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah, and mother of Perez and Zerah, who used conniving ways to avenge Judah's mistreatment of her, by fooling him into sleeping with her while she disguised herself as a prostitute. God showed Tamar His mercy by allowing her to fall pregnant with Judah's twin sons, which saved her from being lawfully executed for her misdeeds. Genesis 38:1-30.

Matthew makes clear mention of Rahab, a Gentile prostitute who knew of the One and Only God of the Israelites, and faithfully feared Him. God showed her favour by saving her and her family from death at the hands of the Israelites when she helped the Israelite spies escape Jericho unharmed. It was agreed that as long as Rahab and all who wanted to be saved remained in her house, they would not see death. Joshua 2, 6:22-25. Rahab’s significant faithfulness is also mentioned by St. Paul in the book of Hebrews 11:31 and by St. James in James 2:25.

Ruth, of whom a whole book in the Old Testament is dedicated to (Ruth1-4),  is a young Moabite (Gentile) widow who selflessly continues to live with her Israelite mother-in-law after the passing of her husband. Despite the advice to go back to her father’s home in Moab and re-marry, she proclaims to go wherever her mother-in-law goes, and worship the God her mother-in-law worships. Ruth risks the lack of providence and security that only a husband can give her and places her trust and hope in God.

Ruth exemplifies the characteristics of a Godly woman, even though she is a Gentile, Moabitess who would ordinarily be looked upon as an outcast. God rewards Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi by blessing the young woman with a marriage to her Israelite kinsmen redeemer, Boaz, who together have a son Obed, who becomes the grandfather of King David. 

Uriah's wife Bathsheba the Hittite, is famously known to have committed adultery with King David while her husband was away at war (2 Samuel 11). Though her sinful actions and those of King David were displeasing to God, they were both shown mercy and grace when God later allowed Bathsheba to become the mother of King Solomon - King David's successor. 28 generations later we see this same linage beget Christ the Messiah who is prophetically called the "Son of David".

The common pattern seen among these four women is that although they were unworthy of God’s blessings because of their sinful lives or because they were Gentiles, they were shown grace and mercy from God and responded in faith. God saved them from the detrimental circumstances in their lives and used them as chosen vessels to bring about the birth of His one and only Son and their saving redeemer – Jesus Christ.

We see Matthew make deliberate mention of these sinful, Gentile women, to prove that Christ who is perfect God, took on the nature of a man Philippians 2:5-7, and came from a linage of sinful Jewish and Gentile men and women, to die for and save all sinners; Jews, Gentiles, Men and women who respond to Him by faith and righteous deeds. (Galatians 3:25-29)

The last woman mentioned in the genealogy is a complete and utter contrast to the four women above… The Blessed Virgin Mary; a faithful Israelite girl from the family of King David, who was brought up worshiping in God’s temple and was chosen to open up a new chapter through her blessed character. When we look to the Virgin Mary, we see the special place she was given in bringing about God’s salvific plan through the miraculous conception and birth of Jesus Christ; the prophesied Messiah and saviour of the world.

So if we Christian women and daughters of God believe that we too are faithful, Godly women in Christ... What noticeable things are we doing to show for our faith? For just as St. James writes: For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. James 2:26.

Or if we are admittedly unfaithful women, what is stopping us from turning to the one and only loving God who will mercifully forgive us when we unworthily reach out to Him? When we turn to Christ in faith will He not use us for His glorious purposes as He did to these women before us? (Ephesians 2:10)

These women, whom God blessed in His grace and mercy were allowed the extraordinary privilege to be called ancestors of His Son and will forever be remembered in history. How will you accept the grace that God is showing you through Jesus Christ and His Church today? Make history in your life. Offer your heart to Christ in faith today, and consider yourself blessed to be a part of His family...His Church family (2 Corinthians 6:2).

This week’s Song – Beautiful Beautiful, Francesca Battistelli

The Rogation of the Ninevites: Pookhin or Piety?

As members of the Assyrian Church of the East, we hold to many wonderful traditions that have been passed down through the generations leading back to the time of Christ and the Apostles and even before the birth of Christ. One of the many faithful traditions we have grown up practising is that of holding a three day fast for the Rogation of the Ninevites. But another well-known tradition that has been adhered to by women in particular is eating Pookhin (ground grains and salt resembling powdery sand) on the last night of the Rogation, before we break our fast with the Holy Eucharist the next day.  This is done with a hope that we will see the man we will marry in a dream, giving us a glass of water to quench our thirst.

These are great traditions we have held for many centuries. But for some of us, we let the latter tradition of dreaming of a future husband during the Rogation, take priority over the first and more important canonized church tradition of fasting and repentance. This is the service that God is truly pleased with and expects from us as we imitate the strong faith of our ancestors.

The Rogation (beseeching) of the Ninevites or Baouta d’ Ninwayeh (Fast of the Ninevites) has had nationalistic and spiritual importance to Assyrian Christians throughout the centuries. The fast originally occurred and is documented in the short, four chapter book of Jonah the Prophet. The Assyrian Church of the East has canonized this feast where her members are faithfully required to partake in a three day fast every year (commencing three weeks before The Great Fast), in remembrance of its nationalistic significance, but more importantly, to remember the grace and mercy that God had bestowed upon the repentant Ninevites at the time of Jonah and for all the grace and mercy that He bestows upon us today.

As we take the time to read through the book of Jonah in the Old Testament, we can draw upon many parallels between rebellious Jonah and a merciful God; and we, sinful/rebellious mankind and Jesus Christ our saving redeemer.

It is here that we learn of an Israelite man living in post Assyrian exile times, who God calls upon to go to the wicked city of Nineveh to preach the message of repentance to the pagan Assyrian inhabitants, and teach them to believe in the One true God.

Jonah hears God’s calling but instead of obeying, begrudgingly attempts to run away from the presence of the Lord – foolishly thinking that this is possible! He boards a ship, to escape and heads to Tarshish in the opposite direction of Nineveh, wanting to distance himself from God as much as possible. In retort to Jonah’s disobedience, God causes a mighty tempest to brew in the sea causing the ship to almost sink. The sailors and Jonah realize that this is the work of God, and Jonah asks them to throw him overboard so that they will be spared.

It is when Jonah is thrown overboard to face his imminent death, that we witness God’s love and mercy, as He causes a big fish to swallow him, and he remains alive in its belly for three days and three nights, protected from the raging seas around him. Jonah spends this time in the fishes belly praying to God, beseeching His forgiveness and vowing to offer his service to God. (Jonah’s prayer Jonah 2:3-10)

When the fish regurgitates Jonah onto a dry sandy shore, Jonah is left in a humbled and lowly state, knowing very well that the mighty God he had refused to obey had mercifully saved him from death. And thus, God commands Jonah a second time to go and preach to the mighty city of Nineveh…

Upon entering the great city, Jonah proclaims publicly to all the Assyrian inhabitants that God will destroy their nation after forty days if they do not repent and believe in the One true God.

After heeding the convicting words of God through Jonah the prophet, all the people of Nineveh believed in God, and repented. From the greatest of them; the King, to the least of them. They proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth and sat in ashes. This was a symbol of mourning and repentance for their sins. The king proclaimed “Let not the men, cattle, oxen or sheep taste anything, eat or drink water.” Jonah 3:7-9

And God saw their deeds that they turned from their evil ways. And God had a change of heart about the just punishment which He said He would inflict on them. And He did not do it. Jonah3:10

In an amazingly faithful response to Jonah’s preaching, the Ninevites show us the true meaning of repentance that we should emulate in our lives today:

1.       By the practise of fasting (Matthew 6:16-18)

2.       By wearing sackcloth and ashes. This symbolized mourning and repentance (Matthew3:8, Acts 17:30)

3.       By prayer (Matthew 7:7-12)

4.       By changing their behaviour. Their repentant acts stemming from their faithful heart. (James 2:14-26)

In Jonah’s weaknesses and rebellion, we see our own fallen humanity. But as he turns to God, we begin to see a rebirth in Jonah and a longing to serve the God who saved him from death. His deliverance from the belly of the fish foreshadows the deliverance from death and of spiritual rebirth in the waters of baptism. Just as Jonah’s “rebirth” makes possible the repentance and salvation of the Ninevites, so our Lord’s death and burial in the earth for three days and three nights before His resurrection from the dead makes possible our salvation. (Matthew 12:40-41)

This salvation that we receive from baptism, believing in Christ, and living a repentant life of service to God is the only way that we can imitate the faithful Ninevites and have the assurance that God will mercifully look upon us to forgive our debts and sins… through a life of faith and repentant deeds. (James 2:26).

The fast of the Ninevites (Baouta d’Ninwayeh) was not practised again until it was revived as a 'Three day fast' in the 6th century AD by Mar Sawrisho (hope in Christ), the Metropolitan of Kirkuk who sought God's help when an epidemic struck Nineveh and its surrounding regions. The tradition of fasting and praying has been  faithfully observed ever since by the Assyrian Church of the East and other Orthodox Churches.

St. Ephrem the Great has written spiritual hymns and homilies to commemorate the faithful repentance of the Ninevite Nation. Many of these hymns were sung by the clergy in The Church of the East to commemorate the Rogation from the time it was first commemorated in our Church and until this day, hymns and prayers are reverently chanted in the Church as a humble reminder of mankind’s sinful state and Gods loving mercy.

As we approach the Rogation of the Ninevites this coming Monday, set your sights on the Lord Jesus, the One who has superseded Jonah, and is to us an eternal saviour. Come to Him in petition, repentance and fasting, knowing that God the Father is pleased with the humble and contrite spirit these works will produce in you, for this life and for your promised eternity. Isaiah 66:2

Reading: Excerpt from The Rogation of theNinevites by St Ephrem

The Rogation of the NinevitesPart I – Spoken by H.G. Mar Awa Royel

The Rogation of the NinevitesPart II – Spoken by H.G. Mar Awa Royel

This weeks song: Rogation of the Ninevites – Qasha Eilosh Azizyan

Who am I? Who is God?

Have you ever asked yourself that age old question... Who am I and what is the meaning of life? I remember asking myself this very question when I was a 20 a year old girl with a yearning for self-discovery. I decided to search for the answer by packing my backpack and heading for a solo journey around Europe determined to find out "who I was". It cost me a plane ticket, and travel expenses, but what I found there was priceless... Instead of finding myself, I found the "real God!" My life's journey and the path to my life destiny had only just begun.

These days we see how the world has generally stereotyped who or what they perceive God to be. You may be familiar with the T.V. portrayal of God as a giant angry man with a long white beard, dressed in a white robe? Or perhaps you’ve viewed some renaissance paintings and ceiling frescoes which illustrate the same. In today’s liberal thinking society people are also confused as to whether God is a he or a she (khaslee), and then there are Atheists who BELIEVE there is no God at all... This is a faith or belief in and of itself!

Unfortunately, these stereotypical examples that bombard our T.V.’s and media have influenced some believer’s understanding of who God truly is. This false imagery may even cause people to believe that God is an angry, vengeful man who throws lightning bolts and brimstones down on people who do not do His bidding. This may be a far-fetched example of who you believe God to be, but the reality is, if everyone knew the REAL GOD, His character and His purpose for His creation, we would see more and more people making every effort to draw closer to Him and have the desire to share their faith with others.

When we willingly search for God ourselves, He unveils our eyes to see God the creator, Father and lover of mankind. We see a God who is reaching out to His beloved creation in order to restore and heal the broken relationship we have caused with Him. His desire is for us to draw near to Him even though we continually push Him away through a life of self-satisfaction and ignorance of Him. James 4:8

To this day I remember the very first time I acknowledged God as the awesome, loving creator and Father He is. Having grown up believing that God is for the most part a disciplinary God who will harm you if you do something bad (I realize now this was to keep me from misbehaving), for the first time as an adult, I witnessed God's presence in His creation and was in awe of Him. As I overlooked the glistening Aegean Sea from a roof-top of a renowned white, blue domed church in Santorini, I gazed over the cliffs overlooking the majestic sea and the magnificently painted blue sky surrounding me with the sunset starting to hide itself behind the perfectly straight horizon… I could not help but acknowledge an intelligent designer and loving creator had made all of this perfection for me! That was the first time I stopped and praised God for His creation, and thanked Him for making me.

So how can we search for God to ultimately get to know Him, and consequently know ourselves?...God has made His presence and love known to us through making a perfect creation Romans 1:20-21 by creating mankind in His own image and likeness Genesis 1:26-27 and by speaking through the Prophets and Apostles in documented history 2 Tim 3:16. This One and Only God has revealed Himself to us in the form of The Holy Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit which Jesus Christ (The Son) first made known to us while He was ministering on earth.

Today, and until Christ’s awaited return, God reveals Himself to us through the Church Sacraments, the Bible and Apostolic teachings and through His Holy Spirit which we receive through baptism. Though He continually avails Himself to us through these different means, we, His creation repeatedly turn our backs on Him and continue to live life own way... Essentially, we want to be our own “gods”.

You may be thinking, “But I do believe in God and I’m a good person.” But the truth as God states first through Isaiah the prophet Isaiah 53:6 and again reiterates and confirms to us through St. Paul is that, “all have sinned, and all fall short of the glory of God”, Romans 3:23. Which means we, mankind are all looked upon as sinners in need of salvation from the just punishment that God has faithfully promised to His rebellious creation from the time the very first sin entered the world. Romans 6:23

This death that Paul speaks of in the last verse above can be seen in this perishing, suffering world around us; from incurable diseases, famine, wars and extinction of forests and animals. Above all, it can be seen in the ultimate death and judgement that awaits every single person… including you and me.

So where do we fit into this equation? If we can see and understand that our created world and we ourselves are dying, how do we go about living? Who are we? And how are we to live a meaningful, purposeful life?

Our post-modern society answers with glamorous distractions and marketing ploys to convince us that our lives are unfulfilled or we are unsuccessful without possessing certain wealth, social standing or a certain image etc. We are unconsciously indoctrinated to view that the meaning of life is about enjoying its pleasures, living to please ourselves and to conform to the liberal minded society in which we live.

But if and when we realize that we are made in God’s image and likeness, for His good and perfect purposes Ephesians 2:10, it is clear that to find our life’s purpose and our individual identity in this world, we must seek our creator; who made us and knows us better than we know ourselves! Jesus says “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me” John14:6. And He also tells us that we will see and know God the Father, through knowing Him (God the Son). John 14:7-11

So, whether you are a male or female, single or married, old or young. God has a purpose for you. Your Heavenly Father has been patiently waiting for you to realize that you need to turn to Him out of your own free will, to receive the forgiveness and love He offers to all who believe in His Son, Jesus Christ.

God wants you to come to Him today and get to know “THE REAL” Him, whether it is for the first time, or whether you are a daughter that wants to re-ignite her faith in her Heavenly Father again.

If you want to learn more about God your creator, and want to know where you stand with Him, save yourself an expensive plane ticket, come to at least one or all of the church ministries, speak to a Priest, read the Bible, and ask God in prayer to open up the true path that will guide you to Him. The Church, The Bible and His Saints prove that God is faithful to His promises. So take that leap of faith, and see God for who He really is. He is waiting for you. Revelation 3:20-22

N.B. For more information about your local Apostolic Church, Church ministries, or if you have any personal questions you’re seeking answers for, please contact me by clicking on the ‘contact me’ button on this page and I will do my best to provide you with the information you need or refer you to people who can help.

This week’s song: Who am I – Casting Crowns

“Why God? Why?”

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6

Have you ever noticed in life how God sometimes re-directs our path when we seem to think we are walking in the right direction?  Just as Saint Paul was impacted by God’s saving grace on the road to Damascus, where he was ironically blinded by God in order to see the true path that He wanted him to take… Could God be re-directing you?

God’s mighty hand is seen more clearly in hindsight when we look back at a time before a trial enters our life and realise it may have come when we were searching for God, or trying to draw nearer to Him. Maybe you had been praying for God’s will to be done in your life, or asking for His perfect guidance, or even asking Him to make you a better, more pleasing person in His sight?

During a trial, you may find yourself feeling helpless, anxious, or out of your depth and comfort because you’re experiencing any kind of pain, suffering or fear. We may start to have feelings of resentment or doubt towards God creeping up on us.  And the first question we may ask God when we turn to Him in prayer is, “Why God? Why?” or “What did I ever do to deserve this?” These are normal and valid questions to ask God. And the simple answer is that we are living in a sinful, fallen, and dying world that is trying to push God out of the picture…and pain is inevitable.

Depression, fear and anxiety are very real occurrences among Christian women. Although some people might draw a rosy picture and have us believe that because we are followers of Christ, we are “SUPERWOMEN”… This black and white view is actually a very unrealistic way of looking at ourselves, and indeed the Christian faith.

Today, we see women suffering from Post Natal Depression, fear, anxiety, feelings of prolonged sadness and even depression due to sickness, disease, losing a loved one and unfortunately there are too many to mention.

When we turn through the pages of the Bible, we can also relate to the long suffering and pain endured by faithful women and men. Such as the barren Sarah and Hannah, Job who lost all of his family, possessions and health, Mary and Martha whose brother died, Saint Mary who witnessed her Son’s torturous death before her eyes, Saint Paul who suffered for the spreading of the gospel, and ultimately Jesus Christ our Lord – who endured the most painful suffering like no other… Being God incarnate, perfect man, without sin, who lived with the burden of His overshadowing and inevitable death for mankind, until the day He experienced that cruel and shameful kind of death on the cross, for our sake.

We look to these historical figures in the Bible with the gift of hindsight, and learn how God intervened in their lives at the just right time, to deliver them from all of their suffering. So much so, that we recognise and take courage from these people over 2000 years later, as we place our trust and hope in the same God who bestows His awesome love and grace upon the people who persevere in their faith when faced with different kinds of trials and suffering. James1:2-4

Are you suffering from pain, fear, anxiety or even depression because God hasn’t answered your prayers? Don’t be. God has heard your prayers of faith, and He sent His one and only Son to take the punishment for your sins, so that you can live in the freedom of His grace and love, not in fear. 1 John 4:16-18 Believe in Christ’s redeeming death for you on the cross, and wait for the right time for God to deliver you in His perfect way, and according to His perfect will… Be it in this world, or in the promised Kingdom of Heaven to come. Matthew 11:28-29

Refer to Church Fathers page to read an excerpt by Mar Isaac regarding trials and temptations.

NB. If you are suffering depression of any kind, please do not keep silent. Share your feelings with an understanding Christian that you trust and feel comfortable confiding in. (Preferably another woman). God has also gifted counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists to help His daughters who are struggling (Christian counsellors are also an option).

For more help and information on depression / anxiety visit: http://christianwomenwithdepression.com

http://www.beyondblue.org/

Or Visit the Christian Counsellors Association of Australia to search for a Christian therapist in your area: http://www.ccaa.net.au

Call the Lifeline Crisis support Centre on 13 11 14 to chat to someone on the phone about your crisis

Or visit http://www.lifeline.org.au

This weeks song: Before the Morning - Josh Wilson