Addis Ethiopia Weblog

Ethiopia's World / የኢትዮጵያ ዓለም

  • June 2023
    M T W T F S S
     1234
    567891011
    12131415161718
    19202122232425
    2627282930  
  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Recent Posts

Posts Tagged ‘Spiritual Battle’

‘White Ethiopians’ Singing Hymn to St. Michael in Ethiopic/ Geez | የቅዱስ ሚካኤል ግዕዝ መዝሙር በነጭ ኢትዮጵያውያን አንደበት

Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on November 21, 2022

❖ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ክርስትናን የተቀበለ ሁሉ የክርስቶስ ቤተሰብ ነው፤ ኢትዮጵያዊ ነው!

የኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ክርስትናን የሚቀበል ሁሉ የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አካል ነው፤ ስለዚህ ኢትዮጵያዊ ነው! የእግዚአብሔር ልጅ መባል እና የቤተሰቡ አባል መሆን ትልቅ ክብር ነው። የትም ብትሄድ ወይም ማን ብትሆን ሁልጊዜም የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አካል ትሆናለህ። ሁሉም አማኞች የቸሩ ጌታ የልዑል እግዚአብሔር ልጆች ናቸው።

በኢየሱስ የሚያምኑ ብቻ የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አካል ይሆናሉ። የዮሐንስ ወንጌል ምዕራፍ ፩፥፲፪፡፲፫፤

ለተቀበሉት ሁሉ ግን፥ በስሙ ለሚያምኑት ለእነርሱ የእግዚአብሔር ልጆች ይሆኑ ዘንድ ሥልጣንን ሰጣቸው፤ እነርሱም ከእግዚአብሔር ተወለዱ እንጂ ከደም ወይም ከሥጋ ፈቃድ ወይም ከወንድ ፈቃድ አልተወለዱም።”

በዓለም ላይ ያለ ማንኛውም ክርስቲያን የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አካል ነው። አማኞቹ በአፍሪካ፣ በአሜሪካ፣ በአውሮፓ፣ በእስያ ወይም በአውስትራሊያ ቢኖሩ የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አካል ናቸው። የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ በማንኛውም ባህል፣ ጎሣ፣ ዕድሜ፣ ወይም ጾታ የተገደበ አይደለም (ገላትያ ፫፥፳፰)። በእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ ውስጥ ያለ ሰው ሁሉ እኩል ነው (ሮሜ ፪፲፩)

የማያምኑ ሰዎች በክርስቶስ ስቅለት፣ ቀብር እና ትንሣኤ ላይ እምነት ስላላደረጉ የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አባል አይደሉም። አማኝ ከሆኑ ግን እነሱም የእግዚአብሔር አምላክ ቤተሰብ አባላት መሆን ይችላሉ። የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አባል መሆን ድንቅ ነገር ነው። የእግዚአብሔር ቤተሰብ አካል ከመሆን የበለጠ ምንም ነገር የለም።

እነዚህ ፈረንጅ ወንድሞች ኢትዮጵያን፣ ተዋሕዶ ክርስትናን እና የግዕዝ ቋንቋን ለመክዳት ከወሰኑት ጋላኦሮሞዎች ይልቅ የክርስቶስ አምላክ ቤተሰብ አካል ለመሆን በመብቃታቸው በጣም የታደሉ ናቸው። ከሃዲዎቹ ግን ወዮላቸው!

❖ Everyone who accepts Orthodox Tewahedo Christianity is part of the Family of God Egziabher, and He or She is Ethiopian! It is a great honor to be called a child of God Egziabher and to be a part of His family. No matter where you go or who you are, you will always be part of God’s family. All believers are children of the Good Lord God Almighty Egziabher.

Only those who place faith in Jesus become part of God’s family. John 1:12-13 says;

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

If you are a Christian, then you are a child of God and you are part of God’s family. You will never lose your place in God’s family as once a person is saved; they are always saved. Nobody can lose their salvation as salvation is a gift from God. Salvation is not based on anything we do, but rather on placing faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Unbelievers are not part of the family of God because they have not placed faith in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. If they become a believer, then they too can become members of God’s family. Becoming a member of the family of God is a wonderful thing. There is nothing greater than being part of the family of God.

It is a great honor and privilege to know God as your Father. Being a member of the family of God includes knowing that you are eternally and forever loved by God Almighty. It means that you can never lose your place in His family. The concept of being part of “a family” can be foreign to many of us.

Broken homes, hatred between family members, or never knowing your parents can cause an individual to be skeptical of the idea of a “family.” In God’s family, there is no abandonment, hatred, or abuse. Only love, forgiveness, and grace abide within God’s family. He will never cast you out or turn you away (Isaiah 41:10).

Since we have God as our Father, we can freely talk to Him in prayer any time we want. God is the Holy Trinity, which is the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Three distinct Persons — One God. As children of God, we can pray to Him anytime, anywhere.

You do not have to use eloquent words, lengthy prayers, or rehearse your words in order for God to hear you. Jesus’ death on the cross enabled us to become children of God. If it was not for Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, we would not be children of God. This is something worth reflecting on as we owe our entire beings to God.

It is only by His mercy that we are privileged to spend eternity with Him. God loves us so much that He willingly sent His Son to die for us (John 3:16-17). There is no greater love than the love God has for His children.

Maybe your father, mother, or siblings did not treat you very well growing up. Even if our earthly families have hurt us or abandoned us, we know God never will. Psalm 27:10 tells us, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.” God will never forsake you. He can be fully trusted.

We Are the Family of God

Every Christian in the world is part of the family of God. Whether the believer lives in Africa, America, Europe, Asia, or Australia, they are part of the family of God. God’s family is not restricted to any culture, ethnicity, age, or gender (Galatians 3:28). Every person within the family of God is equal (Romans 2:11).

Likewise, each person is strongly beloved by God, and He wants all people to know Him. Once we accept Jesus as our Savior, we become eternally part of God’s family. As part of God’s family, we inherit thousands of brothers and sisters in Christ.

😇 Commemoration of the Archangel Saint Michael- የሕዳር ሚካኤል

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church honors Saint Michael (Kidus Mikael); the Angel of mercy; on the 12th of each month of which two of them are great annual feasts of the saint – on Hidar 12 (November 21) and Senie 12 (June 19). His name Michael means “who is like God”.

Saint Michael is one of the seven Archangels, who is always standing besides God’s throne and is honored for defeating Devil at God’s command (Rev.12:7-9).

In addition to the Holy Bible, “Dersane Michael” contains the miracles of St. Michael. Archangel Saint Michael is powerful and the guardian of the souls and fighter against evil. He is often painted in the walls of every Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church followers with a flaming sword and spear, which pierces the devil.

❖ On Hidar / ሕዳር ፲፪/ 12 (November 21):

1. Crowned and became the Arch of the Archangel’s

Saint Michael is one of the seven Archangels, who is always standing besides God’s throne and is honored for leading the army of Holy Angels and defeated Satan and the rebellious angels into Hell. Revelation 12:7 On this day God crowned him with his glory and mercy and become the Arch of the the Archangel’s

2. The Commander of the Lord’s Army

Joshua, the son of Nun, saw him in great glory and was frightened by him and fell on his face to the earth and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” So he said, “No; but as Commander of the army of the Lord… I have given Jericho into your hand, … and its king.” (Joshua 5:13-15, 6:2)

3. The Exodus of Israel from Egypt through the help of the Arch Angle Michael

Exodus 14:19-22:

19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He jammed[a] the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward[b] it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Michael, is the commander of the angels, came down from heaven, and rolled back the stone from the mouth of the tomb, and announced the women “Christ is risen from the dead”.

St. Paul observes that the Hebrews “ all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Cor. 10:1-4; Rom. 6:3-4; Gal. 3:27).

There is a common ritual practiced by the devotees in order to commemorate, worship and give thanks. Ethiopian traditional bread – Difo Dabo, roasted barley – Kolo in the name of St. Michael are being prepared and shared in the church.

May the prayer of Archangel Saint Michael be up on us!

______________

Posted in Ethiopia, Faith, Saints/ቅዱሳን | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

“በዚያ ወራት ስለ ሕዝብ ልጆች የሚቆመው ታላቁ አለቃ ሚካኤል ይነሣል” [ዳን ፲፪.፩]

Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on November 21, 2022

✞✞✞

እያንዳንዱ ክርስቲያን በእግዚአብሔር ፊት የሚቆሙ ቅዱሳን መላእክት አሉት

የእግዚአብሔር መልአክ ስሙ ድንቅ ነው … ኃያሉ ሚካኤል ድንቅን አደረገ

😇 ፈጣኑ መልአክ ቅዱስ ሚካኤል ሆይ፤ አስቀድሞ የተጣላህን በቀል ባለመርሳት ጋሻህን አንሣ፤ ፈጣኑ መልአክ ሆይ ነበልባላዊ ሰይፍህን በጠላታችን በዲያብሎስ ላይ መዘህ ተነሣሣበት።

ኃያሉ መልአክ ቅዱስ ሚካኤል ሆይ፤ ኃይልህን የስው ኃይል ሊተካከለው አይችልምና የክርስቶስን ልጆች ጽዮናውያንን፤ “እንግደላቸው፣ ከምድረ ገጽ እናጥፋቸው ብለው በአባቶቼና እናቶቼ ላይ፣ በወንድሞቼና እኅቶቼ እና ልጆቻቸው ሁሉ ላይ የዘመቱትን የዋቄዮ-አላህ-ዲያብሎስ ጭፍሮች ጠላቶቻችንን ጭጋን በቀላቀለ ዓውሎ ነፋስ በታትነህ ከገጸ ምድር አጥፋቸው። ሕፃናትን በርሃብ ለመፍጀት የጨከኑትን እነዚህን አውሬዎች በእሳት ጠራርጋቸው። ድል አድራጊው መልአክ ሆይ፤ ያ የቀድሞ አመፀኛው አውሬ ዲያብሎስ የጥንት ተንኰሉ ሊተው አልቻለምና የጦር መሣሪያህን ታጥቀህ፣ መጥተህ እነ ግራኝ አብዮት አህመድ አሊንና ጭፍሮቹን ሁሉ ድምጥማጣቸውን አጥፋቸው።

😇 እንኳን ለሊቀ መላዕክት ቅዱስ ሚካኤል አመታዊ የንግስ በዓል አደረሳችሁ። በዓሉን የበረከት በዓል ያድርግልን።

😇 ሊቀ መላእክ ቅዱስ ሚካኤል ይጠብቅን

______________

Posted in Ethiopia, Faith, War & Crisis | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Elder Paisios – The Holy War

Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on June 7, 2014

The spirit of lukewarmness reigns. There’s no manliness at all! We’ve been spoiled for good! How does God still tolerate us? Today’s generation is the generation of indifference. There are no warriors The majority are fit only for parades.”

 
SpiritualBattle
 
There’s a war on today, a holy war…”
 
If the Metropolitans are silent, then who will speak?”
 
That unsettles me is the reigning mood of tranquility. Something is in the works. We still haven’t understood properly either what’s going on, or the fact that we will die. I don’t know what will come of this. The situation is very complicated. The fate of the world depends on just a few people, but God is still putting on the brakes. We have to pray a lot, and with pain in our hearts, so that God will intervene: our times are very hard to understand. A lot of ash, rubbish, and indifference has accumulated, and a strong wind will be needed to blow it all away.
 
It’s frightening! The Tower of Babel is upon us! Divine intervention is needed: Great upheavals are happening. What a bedlam! The minds of whole nations are in confusion. But in spite of the ferment I feel a certain consolation inside, a certain confidence. God still dwells in a part of the Christians. God’s people, people of prayer, still remain, and God in his all-goodness still tolerates us and will put everything in order. Don’t be afraid! We’ve gone through many storms, and still haven’t perished. So should we be afraid of the storm which is now gathering? We’ll not perish this time either”
 
God loves us. In Man there’s a hidden power which comes out when necessary. The difficult years will be few. Just a lot of thunder.
 
Don’t get upset in the least, for God is above everything. He rules everyone and will bring all to the defendant’s bench to answer for what they’ve done, according to which each will receive his just desserts from God. Those who’ve in some way helped the cause of good will be rewarded, and those who do evil will be punished. God will put everyone in their place in the end, but each of us will answer for what they did in these difficult years, both in prayer and in deeds.
 
Today they’re trying to destroy faith, and for the edifice of faith to fall they quietly pull out one stone, then another. But we’re all responsible for the destruction; not just those who destroy but we who see how faith is being undermined and make no effort to strengthen it. As a result the seducers are emboldened to create even greater difficulties for us, and their rage against the Church and the monastic life increases.
 
Today’s situation can be resisted only spiritually, not by worldly means. The storm will continue to rage a bit, will throw all the flotsam, everything unnecessary, onto the shore, and then the situation will become clearer. Some will receive their reward, while others will have to pay their debts.
 
Today there are many who strive to corrupt everything: the family, the youth, the Church. In our day it’s a true witness to speak up for one’s people, for the state is waging war against divine law. It’s laws are directed against the Law of God.
 
But we are responsible for not letting the enemies of the Church corrupt everything. Though I’ve heard even priests say: “Don’t get involved in that. It’s none of your business!” If they had reached such a non-striving condition through prayer I would kiss their feet. But no! They’re indifferent because they want to please everyone and live in comfort.
 
Indifference is unacceptable even for laymen, and all the more so for the clergy. An honest, spiritual man doesn’t do anything with indifference. “Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully”, says the Prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 48:10). There’s a war on today, a holy war. I must be on the front lines. There are so many Marxists, so many Masons, so many Satanists and assorted others! So many possessed, anarchists and seduced ones! I see what awaits us, and it’s painful for me. The bitter taste of human pain is in my mouth.
 
The spirit of lukewarmness reigns. There’s no manliness at all! We’ve been spoiled for good! How does God still tolerate us? Today’s generation is the generation of indifference. There are no warriors The majority are fit only for parades.
 
Godlessness and blasphemy are allowed to appear on television. And the Church is silent and doesn’t excommunicate the blasphemers. And they need to be excommunicated. What are they waiting for? Let’s not wait for someone else to pull the snake out from its hole so that we can live in peace.
 
They’re silent out of indifference. What’s bad is that even people who’ve got something inside have begun to grow cool, saying: “Can I really do anything to change the situation?” We have to witness our faith with boldness, because if we continue to be silent we’ll have to answer in the end. In these difficult days each must do what’s in their power. And leave what’s out of their power to the will of God. In this way our conscience will be clear.
 
If we don’t resist, then our ancestors will arise from their graves. They suffered so much for the Fatherland, and we? What are we doing for it?.. If Christians don’t begin to witness their faith, to resist evil, then the destroyers will become even more insolent. But today’s Christians are no warriors. If the Church keeps silent, to avoid conflict with the government, if the metropolitans are silent, if the monks hold their peace, then who will speak up?
 
Give thanks to God for everything. Try to be manly. Pull yourself together a bit. Do you know what Christians are suffering in other countries? There are such difficulties in Russia! But here many exhibit indifference. There’s not enough disposition to kindness, love of devotion.
 
You see, if we don’t begin to make war against evil, to expose those who tempt believers, then the evil will grow larger. If we throw aside fear then the faithful will be emboldened a bit. And those who wage war against the Church will have a harder time.
 
In the past our nation lived spiritually, so God blessed her, and the saints helped us in miraculous fashion. And we were victorious against our enemies, who always outnumbered us. Today we continue to call ourselves Orthodox Christians, but we don’t live Orthodox lives.
 
A lukewarm clergy lulls the people to sleep, leaves them in their former condition so they won’t be upset. “Look”, they say. “By all means don’t say that there’ll be a war, or the Second Coming, that one must prepare oneself for death. We must not make people alarmed!”
 
And others speak with a false kindness, saying: “We mustn’t expose heretics and their delusions, so as to show our love for them.” Today’s people are water-soluble. There’s no leaven in them.
 
If I avoid upsetting myself to protect my fleshly comfort then I’m indifferent to holiness! Spiritual meekness is one thing, and softness and indifference are quite another. Some say: “I’m a Christian and therefore I have to be joyful and calm.” But they’re not Christian. They’re simply indifferent. And their joy is only a worldly joy.
 
He in whom these worldly seeds are present is no spiritual person. A spiritual person consists of nothing but pain. In other words, he’s in pain at what’s going on, he’s in pain for people’s condition. And divine comfort is bestowed upon him for his pain.
 
Elder Paisios was a gentle ascetic who lived out his monastic life, until he became ill, on Mount Athos. After a few days of suffering following surgery, he gave up his spirit on July 12, 1994.
 
Source
 
Pentecost / ጰራቅሊጦስ Reading

__

 

Posted in Ethiopia, Faith | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

 
%d bloggers like this: