First Steps – June 22, 2020

Gregory of Nazianzus was often known as Gregory the Theologian. He studied in Caesarea, Alexandria, and finally in Athens.  For the ancient world, he had an excellent education and was highly respected because of it.  A Bishop of The Church in the 4th Century, he is most known for his teachings concerning the nature of the Godhead and his stress of the oneness of the Trinity.  Saying that, he was heavily concerned with personal holiness and how one lived faithfully day-to-day.

He said, “These three things God requires of all the baptized:  right faith in the heart, truth on the tongue, and temperance of the body.”

Here are what followers of Christ need to constantly remember: Faith, thoughts, words, and actions are connected.  What one believes determines how one thinks, speaks, and acts. For us, we are people of the Kingdom of God.  We live by faith, we adopt a standard of life, ethics, and structure that is conducive to Christ’s teachings.

Draw strength from knowing that you are connected to God. Know that you are connected to a long line of believers whom have lived the same journey of faith under the God of grace and mercy.

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This Week’s Readings:

• Monday – 2 Peter 3
• Tuesday – 1 John 1
• Wednesday – 1 John 2
• Thursday – 1 John 3
• Friday – 1 John 4

Please Pray for:

• Our ministers and their families.
• Those who are unwillingly absent.
• The United Methodist Church family.
• Our nation and our leaders.
• The World.
• The Lost.
• The lives of those touched by the Coronavirus.