Category: Tales from the Desert

You shall have what is His...

3/8/2023
You shall have what is His...

Abba Euprepius (a fourth century A. D.  desert monk) taught: knowing that God is mighty and faithful, have faith in Him and you shall share what is His.

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5 Wise Desert Streams

1/12/2022
5 Wise Desert Streams

The wisdom of ancient Christian desert-dwellers, these fathers of asceticism still glistens as water in the sun. Christian monasticism was birthed in the fourth century.

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A Hermit's Sweet Lesson

4/9/2022
A Hermit's Sweet Lesson

Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:16) A hermit possesses nothing save solitude and the presence of the Lord.

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Radical Speech Therapy

7/7/2022
Radical Speech Therapy

Too often what we say is heard wrongly, or we regret our words almost as quickly as we speak them. Jesus always had His tongue tamed.

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Choose your refuge carefully...

2/7/2019
Choose your refuge carefully...

The time to re-set thinking is never too soon.   There are vital and life-giving thoughts belonging to those who would re-script and even resist mankind's processes of thinking.

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CONTENTMENT

31/5/2018
CONTENTMENT

Our minds dance around the delights of the eyes, or spend the lottery win before it is ever drawn. And so our soul only rolls further into restlessness.

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Redeeming My Tomorrow

28/4/2018
Redeeming My Tomorrow

Man cannot discover anything about his future. (Ecclesiastes 7:14c) That day dawns when men finally apprehend they have chased after the wind and grasped at vapor.

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Impure Thoughts Therapy

23/4/2018
Impure Thoughts Therapy

Deserts are dry, demanding and hot. That is the nature of deserts. Yet, the wisdom from the Desert Fathers is refreshing, simple and cooling to the soul.

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Prayer Is...

22/4/2018
Prayer Is...

Prayer is: the seed of gentlenessthe spirit of trustthe seeking of peacethe absence of angera remedy against griefa salve to depressionthe unbinding of shackles andfreedom to the heart.

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4 Desert Breezes

15/11/2017
4 Desert Breezes

Breezes that criss-cross a desert can be as welcome as rain. Any refreshment from the arid heat pleases its chastened bodies and souls.

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The Mother of all Passions#

14/11/2017
The Mother of all Passions#

A disciple once approached Abba Agathon in his 'cell' (a hut or a cave where the desert monks lived) and inquired - I want to live with other brothers, tell me how...

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A Parable of an Old Man#

11/11/2017
A Parable of an Old Man#

An old man was sitting in his 'cell' (a hut or a cave where the desert monks lived) and a voice came to him which invited: come and I will show...

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My Sins Run Out Behind Me

23/10/2017
My Sins Run Out Behind Me

Sadly, I am a skilled gardener. Too often I have potted life in the rich soils of poor judgements. This dirt I have watered well and fertilized frequently.

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