Searching for Hope

June 12, 2020

HOPE. What is it? Where do I find it? How do I get it? And if I do get it, how do I keep it? Why does that guy seem to have so much of it and I have so little of it? Is there really such a thing as hope in my situation?

Of course we all know the “right” answers to these questions. It’s easy to rattle off some Bible verses and spew out a few stories and then declare “so just hope in God.” But do we really believe that? Do you really believe that?

The honest answer for me? Yes and no. At times, yes. And at other times, no. There are those times when life seems to be going well – not perfect, but at least moving in the right direction. Economy is up, career is progressing, and relationships are stable. Life is good. At times like that, it’s easy to talk about hope and tell others about hope as well. Hope is ours.

But those “good” times seem to occur much less frequently than the “bad” times don’t they? The economy seems to be down more than it’s up. My career has more bumps than I expected. And my relationships (or lack thereof) seem to be a constant source of stress and anxiety in my life. Where’s hope then?

The Power of An Empty Tomb

May 6, 2020

“But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” (John 20:11-13)

That was the scene just moments before Mary became the first witness to the greatest miracle to ever take place – the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus from dead. Try to imagine the scene – she is standing outside the tomb and sees the stone has been rolled away (a feat that no human could have done alone). She’s weeping. She’s sobbing. Her emotions are going from bad to worse – not only is He dead, but they’ve gotten rid of His Body too (something very disgraceful in the ancient Hebrew culture).

A bad day just became worse and you can imagine her feeling standing inside that tomb – that empty tomb. Crushed. Depressed. Defeated. Hopeless. The tomb was the worst place ever.

But then it all changed. It all changed when she saw Jesus. He appeared to her and called her by name, “Mary.” She recognized Him immediately and that was it. That changed everything.

What's Your Waiting Style?

March 11, 2020

“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:25-26)

I HATE WAITING! I’m not alone am I? We all hate waiting don’t we? Raise your hand if you’ve done any of these in the past week…

Honked at the car in front of you the second that the light turns green if they don’t start moving immediately?
Put a plate of food in the microwave for 30 seconds and then stopped it after 27 ½ seconds – unable to wait any longer?
Pushed the elevator button 15 times while waiting for it come – somehow thinking that if you push it more, it’ll come faster (makes perfect sense in our heads doesn’t it?)

WE HATE WAITING! We hate waiting at the grocery store. We hate waiting in traffic. And we hate waiting on God.

It seems like such a waste of time, doesn’t it? Life would be soooooo much better if we didn’t have to wait. If we had WHAT we wanted WHEN we wanted it. Right here…right now… no waiting. Give it to me NOW NOW NOW!!!

Blind Faith, Part 1 - WATER TO WINE

October 21, 2019

What is faith? And where does it come from? Is faith truly “blind”? Or is it based on evidence and the witness of reliable sources?

These are some of the questions that we hope to address in our latest series, BLIND FAITH. We’ll take a closer look at the 7 “signs” documented in the gospel according to St. John and we’ll see that faith is so much more than blind optimism or wishful thinking. Faith is based on who Jesus showed Himself to be.

HAPPY Part 2 - Blessed are Those Who Mourn

June 10, 2019

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)

We’re in Part 2 of our series HAPPY and this week’s topic is a hard one to grasp. That’s because - according to Jesus (pretty reliable source) - we discovered that MOURNING can actually be a pathway to HAPPINESS. Who knew?

It's Time to Get Out of the Pit

April 10, 2019

Ever been in a pit? Ever been stuck in the miry clay? Ever felt like you are sinking deeper and deeper as the days passed by?

I’m not talking about a dirt pit on the side of the road. As bad as it would be to get stuck in one of those, the pit I’m talking about is much scarier and much more dangerous. It’s the pit that King David speaks about in Psalm 40.

When Life Doesn't Cooperate

December 19, 2018

Below is a blog post that I originally wrote almost five years ago. I wrote it at a time when it seemed like a lot of people were going through "a hard time" and I found myself struggling with what to say and how to guide them. Below is what I came up with.

I feel that we might be in another one of those seasons now - where many are going through difficult times and struggling with questions like "what do I do now?" and "where do I go from here?"

Because of that, I am reposting my three-step strategy of what to do when there's nothing you can do... and where to go when you've got nowhere to go.

ON-DEMAND GOD - Meeting (again) for the First Time, Part 2

July 17, 2017

It's Part 2 in our latest series, Meeting (again) for the First Time and this week, we hear from a very dear friend of mine, Maryan Farag. Maryan shares her personal journey into discovering the truth about God and answered prayer. Is God there to simply give us what we ask for? Or is there more to the story?

Check out the video above and listen for yourself and Maryan candidly reveals what God has taught her about this subject.

The Grass is Greener on the Other Side

July 7, 2017

This is a guest post from Marina Abdel Malak – a FrAnthony.com guest post favorite. In her previous posts, Marina spoke about her battle with ANOREXIA NERVOSA and how God helped her overcome it. Now, thanks to God, Marina is preparing for a career in helping others overcome their illnesses in medical school. If you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.

NEVER ENOUGH - I Thought It Was Just Me, Part 1

January 16, 2017

"Not good enough... not pretty enough... not smart enough... not spiritual enough... not patient enough... not loving enough... I AM NEVER ENOUGH!"

My guess is that everyone knows what it feels like to be "not enough." That's exactly why I'm so excited about the new series that we kicked off yesterday, "I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME."

We're talking about the silent killer that we all must deal with... the enemy of all that God wants to do in you and for you and through you this year and all the days of your life... INSECURITY.

We all go through it… we all try to hide it… and we all think we're alone. But in this series, we’ll see what God’s Word says about some of the common struggles we all face.

Making Sense Out of Tragedy

December 14, 2016

By now, most of the world is aware of the horrific act of terrorism that took place three days ago in a Coptic church in Egypt. Someone went into a crowded church on a Sunday morning during the time of worship and set off a bomb that killed at least 25 people and injured 50 more – the majority of whom were women and children.

Awful awful awful. Makes me sick to my stomach. Another senseless tragedy to add to the list that was already too long to begin with.

What I want to talk about today is how we can make sense out of tragedies and disasters like this. How do we process the event and move forward – not forgetting what happened but also not letting it consume us and fill us with fear and/or anger?

Whether it’s across the world or across the street… whether it’s terrorism or racism… whether it’s called an act of God or an act of the devil…

…how can we make sense of the inevitable tragedies in our lives?

A Modern Example of Life After Death

May 6, 2015

In the midst of a devastating tragedy, the Nepalese people hold their breath and burst into cheers when a fifteen year-old boy was rescued from the rubble of a multistory residential building in Kathmandu on Thursday. This young man is alive despite being hidden in the debris caused by an earthquake which took the life of more than seven thousand people.

As I was listening to the news this morning, goosebumps gathered along my skin. What an amazing scene. In the midst of death life can be found! I started to think about that boy some more, and I wonder if he will ever live life the same way again? He saw his own death, and lived through the misery of five full days and nights of darkness and hopelessness in the pits of despair.

How much more of a modern-day reminder can God give us during these days where we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord for 50 glorious days?

In the Synagogue with Jesus

March 27, 2015

I woke up this morning with a really heavy heart, overwhelmed by a lot of things. I could feel my Spirit longing to nourish himself with the word of God and I knew I just needed to vent out so much emotion to Jesus. I felt like a balloon about to pop!

Fortunately my friend the Holy Spirit pushed me to pop in His presence and not on my own, otherwise I would have sunk in a deep cycle of negativity and self-pity. Nothing feels better or more intimate than pouring your heart out to your God, raw emotions and all. After a few seconds of silence I begged the Holy Spirit to speak loudly to me, to hush all the noise in my head, and I opened my Bible.

How Long, O Lord?

March 20, 2015

I'll be honest; the past few weeks have been tough for me. Have you ever had one of those weeks when everything seems dim and nothing seems to go your way?

You're tired and lacking sleep. You forgot to pay a bill and now have to pay interest. Your friends are angry with you because you don’t have the time to sit and talk with them. Your family is dismayed at your inability to complete daily tasks at home. Your boss and coworkers are making you feel inferior. Your next assignment is due tomorrow and you have no idea how it will get done in time.

You feel exhausted and long to get away from everything…forever. And on top of all that, just when you don't need to add anything else to your plate, you feel that God isn't there either! You're tired and frustrated and you just want to complain and let out a loud SCREAM!

AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In The Waiting Room - Part 1

December 8, 2014

What do you do when there's nothing you can do?

When you're waiting for solutions that don't seem to be coming? When the problems just won't seem to get any better? When the more you try to fix them, the worse they get? What do you do when there's nothing you can do?

That's goal of our newest series at The Well called IN THE WAITING ROOM. What do you do when you're in the "waiting room" seasons of life - waiting for an answer that doesn't seem to be coming?

If you (or someone you know) is going through one of those waiting room seasons of life, check out the video above. I won't say that it'll solve all your problems; but hopefully it will help you find hope within them.

Hot and Humid on Christmas?

December 5, 2014

For most of you, the journey to Christmas will be a cold one. I’ve been reading that parts of the USA have been received immense amounts of snow, much earlier than usual. Also, throughout Europe, it’s been a cold and wet winter so far as well.

But that isn’t a problem for me. That’s because I live in Sydney, Australia. And especially with the "climate change" that everyone’s talking about, it’s even hotter this year than usual. So all we can do is dream of having a “white Christmas.”

But here’s the thing: even though it doesn’t look like Christmas or feel like Christmas, it’s still Christmas.

God Who Heals

November 21, 2014

Do you ever get tired of waking up tired? Sounds like a silly question right? Well, about two months ago I decided that I was tired of waking up feeling like life was somehow too hard. I know in my head that, as a follower of Jesus, my life SHOULD look different, feel different, and make a difference, right?

But instead, I felt tired, distracted, and very broken. Where was the joy? The strength? The healing? I felt like I was missing something important, and that even though I might have had it once… I lost it, whatever IT was.

I struggled to pray, to read my Bible, or to serve othes in any capacity. In the brief moments I actually tried to pray, I had nothing to say. All I could muster up was someting along the lines of: “Lord, I need healing – I don’t know why I feel so defeated, like life is too hard and I’m too broken to do anything about it…I need to be healed.”

That single prayer carried me for what seemed like forever.

The Power of God’s Promise

September 4, 2014

Ladies and gentlemen…I am BACK! Fr. Anthony is now in the building and it’s time to get back to turning the world upside down for the glory of God!

In case you didn’t notice, I was off from blogging for the past two months (pleeeeeease tell me you noticed!). I took the summer off in order to concentrate on two other projects – two HUGE, ginormous, God-sized, set-the-world-on-fire projects which you’ll be hearing about very soon.

But before I tell you about those projects (sorry, but trust me, it’s coming, check back here on Monday morning), I wanted to share a verse that has become very special to me over the past few months. It’s actually my “promise for 2014” – a verse that I randomly selected at our New Year’s Eve party as we all chose a verse from the Bible as our promise for the new year.

How God Used My Illness as my Cure

August 22, 2014

Sickness is one of the very few things in life that can push you face down into the mud—even when you are already on your knees. I distinctly remember my doctor scribbling something in my patient folder, then gravely lifting her head and giving me a clear diagnosis. I was 23 and optimistic about treatment; 10 months later, I went into remission.

During the recovery process, I learned that enduring any kind of illness is truly a journey. Some ailments may be cured through a regiment of fluids, chicken soup, and aspirin. Others require a more intensive, long-term treatment plan. Unfortunately, I experienced the latter.

The illness spared me no mercy: my body and mind were both diseased. Yet in the midst of my struggle and on the path to recovery, I also discovered my soul and spirit were just as ill. I knew better than to question God about my circumstances, so I didn’t. I simply expected to get better and trusted that God would bring me through the fire. What I did not expect was that the heat of the fire would melt away my spiritual bondage and renew my mind, soul and spirit in a powerful and dramatic way.

How Could Robin Williams Be Depressed?

August 15, 2014

The news of the passing of Robin Williams took the world by surprise. How is it possible for one of the most iconic and brilliant comedians of our childhood to commit suicide? How could someone who brought us so much JOY, have so much hidden PAIN? When the explanation is "he had depression," we sometimes can't help but trivialize it by pointing out irrelevant things like..."But he had it all!", "He was so funny!" or "He was so involved in charity!"

There are realities that the death of Robin Williams will hopefully force us to face.