Voices from the Desert

Have you ever felt as if you have to measure up to something? Have you ever questioned who God is as your Father? Do you have some unquenched need to compete with those around you? Encountering the heart of the Father begins to bring rest to the life of the orphan. Jesus said that he would not leave us as orphans, and in that He reveals His relationship with the Abba. When we see Him we see how He and the Father relate. 

Join Joshua Hoffert and Murray Dueck as they welcome guest Steve Schroeder to talk about encountering the Father's heart and becoming like Him. 

Steve Schroeder is the president of CMA (https://canadacma.org/).

For more about Murray Dueck, visit: https://www.samuelsmantle.com/
For more about Joshua Hoffert, visit: https://www.windministries.ca/

Join Josh and Murray for the second episode with Father Michael Gillis. This is the second episode wherein Father Mike talks about humility in the patristics, how we are both sinner and one being saved, that spiritual warfare is the battle between those two. Join us as we dive in yet again!

Father Mike is the parish priest of Holy Nativity Orthodox Church (https://www.holynativitychurch.ca/) and the genius behind the podcast Praying in the Rain hosted by Ancient Faith Radio (https://www.ancientfaith.com/contributors/michael_gillis).

For more about Josh, visit: https://www.windministries.ca/
For more about Murray, visit: https://www.samuelsmantle.com/

Today, Josh and Murray are joined by Father Michael Gillis. Father Mike is the parish priest of Holy Nativity Orthodox Church (https://www.holynativitychurch.ca/) and the genius behind the podcast Praying in the Rain hosted by Ancient Faith Radio (https://www.ancientfaith.com/contributors/michael_gillis).

In this episode, Father Mike talks about Theosis as the invitation for the church to walk with Christ. From the poorest of poor to the most excellent member, Theosis is the journey of each Christian. Join us as we dive in!

For more about Josh, visit: https://www.windministries.ca/
For more about Murray, visit: https://www.samuelsmantle.com/

"As I walk, my sins follow behind me and I do not see them yet I've been asked to judge the sins of another." Abba Moses

In the Beatitudes, Jesus lays out the schema of the spiritual life. Jesus did not lay out a seven mountain mandate to conquer the world, but he laid out a way of conquering the heart. What Jesus spoke to is, "How do you go about conquering the heart?" Because that work is so difficult, it is far easier for us to get caught up in political transformation rather than the transformation of the inner man. The whole point of redemption is about God coming and conquering our heart. If we were just to give attention to the journey of the inner way we would be far more focused on Him than the sins of others.

"...those who love Jesus and who hope in Him, whose souls have become brides adorned with every kind of virtue, having within themselves a holy mirror, in which they look carefully at themselves, lest they find any stain in the animate image of God and not be pleasing to their Bridegroom. In this mirror they unceasingly behold the reflection of the glory of the Bridegroom, as the Apostle Paul says: But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." Abba Isaac

Join Josh and Murray as they dive into the inner journey of the heart and the way of Jesus.

For more about Murray Dueck, visit: https://www.samuelsmantle.com/
For more about Joshua Hoffert, visit: https://www.windministries.ca/

A theology of salvation cannot base itself on mental consent. Transformation does not happen because your mind has been changed. How do we go about discovering the deep place of our heart? Bishop Kallistos Ware, when asked if he was saved, responded by saying: "I am in the process of being saved." Salvation as a theory must touch the deep places of who we are. We are being saved and there is a practical reality to that. Tune in as Josh and Murray dive deep into the teaching of the early church fathers and how they approached the transformation of the inner man.

For more about Murray Dueck, visit https://www.samuelsmantle.com/

For more about Joshua Hoffert, visit https://www.windministries.ca/

What does it look like to walk the journey of union with the heart of God? Union is the beginning and the end of the journey, but we can't mistake the entry point for the destination. 

Isaiah the Solitary said, "In a word, all the works of a monastic will be in vain without such hard labor and without the remembrance of God. This work is both the beginning and the end for one living in stillness, for the sake of the Lord. This much-longed-for Name is the inner essence of stillness and silence."

All of our labor is to preserve the state granted to us by the grace of God. That means that all of life is about encountering the presence of Christ and becoming like Him. The goal and utility is the name of Jesus. Join Murray and Josh as they dive in to the simple and profound journey of union with Christ called Theosis.

For more about Murray Dueck, visit: https://www.samuelsmantle.com/
For more about Joshua Hoffert, visit: https://www.windministries.ca/

The Book of Mystical Chapters: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/111671/the-book-of-mystical-chapters-by-john-anthony-mcguckin/9781590300077

Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him:

"Abba, as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?"

Then the old man stood up and stretched his hands towards heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him"

"If you will, you can become all flame."

This little story serves to point out the journey of becoming is not so much about trying harder, but a journey of the heart. Join Joshua and Murray as they discuss how theosis is not something you do but a person you become. 

For more about Joshua Hoffert, visit: https://www.windministries.ca/
For more about Murray Dueck, visit: https://www.samuelsmantle.com/

For info and to register for the ConteXtus conference, visit: https://www.windtrainingacademy.com/contextus-online-leadership-conference

What did the early fathers of Christianity say about the life of union with Christ? The term  Theosis comes up consistently in patristic writing about the transformation of the Christian life. That term seems foreign to the average Christian. The contemplative authors, the Desert Fathers, and the Eastern Christian mystics were well acquainted with the concept. What kind of wisdom might they have for us today? Join Joshua Hoffert and Murray Dueck as they begin a deep dive into the theory of Theosis.

"The soul is like iron, which rusts when neglected, but is purified when fired. As long as it remains in the fire, it becomes like the fire, and no one can handle it, because it is red hot from the fire. So it is with the soul. To the extent that it remains close to God and communes with Him, it becomes fire and consumes all of its adversaries, who have caused it to rust during the time of its neglect." Isaiah of Scetis

For more about Joshua Hoffert, visit: https://www.windministries.ca/
For more about Murray Dueck, visit: https://www.samuelsmantle.com/

For the ConteXtus Leadership conference, visit: https://www.windtrainingacademy.com/contextus-online-leadership-conference

Macarius the great was one of the most profound teachers on the spiritual life in the egyptian desert. From conversations with the devil to a contemporary model from prophetic ministry, Macarius has a lot to teach us today. Join Joshua and Murray as they dive deep into Macarian spirituality. 

For info on the ConteXtus Online Leadership conference, visit: https://www.windtrainingacademy.com/contextus-online-leadership-conference

What kind of language can we use when we talk about the God-man Jesus? And what does it mean to us practically that Christ was fully man and fully God? These concepts were central to early Christianity, but they are rarely explored to the same depth today. A renewed interest in the nature of Jesus and how He reveals God would do us well today. Our understanding has ramifications towards redemption, the in-filling of the Spirit, the mystery of prayer, and the nature of God. Join Josh and Murray as they work through what the early fathers taught on the nature of Christ and why it is so important for us to think through the same.

For more about Murray Dueck, visit: https://www.samuelsmantle.com/
For more about Joshua Hoffert, visit: https://www.windministries.ca/