Be Transfigured Ministries

The Touch of God

Many people think they don’t need to walk into a Church to encounter God, but you can only touch God in His Church. God could have called down from Heaven and forgiven all sins and welcomed humanity back into Paradise, but He chose instead to take on flesh and touch humanity. There are many ways to call out to God, but only one way to touch Him. When the Precious Body and Blood of Christ touches your lips, your sins are forgiven and you are healed, because the touch of God heals and you live forever.

We Hold Ourselves to a Higher Standard

We live in a world, much like the Christians of the first century, in which morality is based not on the teachings of Christ, but the teachings of darkness. Daily, it seems, our world is stepping further away from the way of life of Christ and His Church, as is evidenced in the daily news reports. In a world in which the terminally ill are invited to take their own lives with “dignity,” or in which there is no longer a distinction between males and females, we must strive to hold ourselves to a higher standard. We are encouraged by Saint Paul to coexist peacefully in this world, all the while never faltering in our commitment to live a life worthy of Christ. Holding ourselves to a higher standard doesn’t mean abandoning nonbelievers to hell; rather it means being in a constant state of prayer that their hearts may be softened. Of course, we understand the Gospel message will fall sometimes on deaf ears, but that does not give us license to live according to the same fallen standards of the world. We hold ourselves to a higher standard. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

It’s All About Family

When you were baptized and chrismated into the Church, you became a child of God. Our God is the only God who allows His people to call Him Father, and He has given us a Mother, the Church, to guide, protect, and comfort us as we grow perfecting holiness as sons and daughters of God. Christ invites us, “Be merciful like your Father is merciful.” Are you willing to live as a child of God?

It isn’t about Doing More; it’s about Being More

You wake up every morning running at full speed even before getting out of bed because you already know there are more things you need to accomplish today than you have time to finish. But every day you wake up committed to working hard for your family’s needs, and you don’t stop until the moment your head hits the pillow, and the next day begins all over again before you are even finished with today. The sense of exhaustion is real. Just when we are at our most exhausted moment, the Christ calls to us, “Let’s go, there’s more to do.” Just then you beg God, “Please, don’t ask me to do more.”

Desire, Struggle & The Cross

The Christian path to salvation is freely given and must be freely embraced. Jesus said, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.” (Mark 8.34) In this invitation, Jesus grants us the ability to choose to follow Him. For two thousand years, holy men and women have desired Christ, struggled to deny themselves and followed Christ. Orthodox Christianity is a “tried and tested” way of life that will lead us to see God....IF we desire it.

There is Power in the Cross of Christ

Ever since finding the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ in 327 C.E. the Christian world has lifted it high for all to venerate as a sign of victory and power. The Power of the Cross defeated death two thousand years ago, and the Power of the Cross is sufficient for you to defeat your temptations and struggles. All you need is to accept the Power of the Cross into your life, and live a new life in Christ.

Don't Allow Pain and Suffering to Distract You from God

Sometimes the pain of life can seem unbearable. Sometimes you are tempted to dwell upon your pain and suffering rather than the promise of God that you will live forever. The reality is, despite all the pain and suffering in this life, God promised that so long as you keep your focus on Him, you will not only be healed, but will live forever. Are you ready to trust God enough to not allow your pain and suffering to distract you from His promise?

The Forgiveness Challenge

It isn’t every day the Lord gives us such a clear description of Judgment Day. In answering the question, “How many times shall I forgive others?” Jesus explains the centrality of forgiveness to our future in heaven. Forgiveness is at the core of our salvation, and we will be held to the same standard with which we are able to forgive others. Are you ready to take The Forgiveness Challenge?

Courage and Hope

The media coverage this week presents us with the opportunity to witness true Christian courage and hope. In the face of struggle and illness, our faith is challenged, sometimes to the extreme. We may even find ourselves at the end of the line. It is at those moments that Jesus reminds us that faith the size of a mustard seed is enough to move mountains. It will be enough to get you through the struggles your face.

What do the Fathers say about mental illness?

In the final episode of our special questions and answers summer sermon series, we have attempted to share with you a brief introduction to how the Church Fathers may be able to guide us in understanding, or at least coping with, mental illness. Taken from the perspective of science as informer to the Church in terms of how we understand the human brain, the Fathers offer us the vantage point of understanding our original state, namely that humans were created in the image and likeness o God. In the case of mental illness as “not the normal” we may better understand the affect of sin on the human soul and mind, and work toward healing which is only possible in Christ.