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2026-10-26: God is the Center of My Life [St Reweis - Wesley Chapel, FL]

Salutation

It is a great blessing to be in St Reweis with my beloved fathers Abouna Matthew and Abouna Teji, Pason Mark and the blessed deacons and congregation of St Reweis. 

Just two days ago we celebrated 16 years of Abouna Matthew's faithful priesthood, and as you may know, before he was ordained he used to serve in St Rebekah for several years. We grew up under his hand and learned from him especially the hymns and the deaconship and how to be a leader. May the Lord preserve your priesthood and keep you for us and benefit us by your prayers, Abouna

Introduction

"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:1-3)

What does it mean to "set your mind on things above?"

  • I was talking to someone who said "I wish I could just leave my job and pray all day" - that is NOT what "set your mind on things above" means.
  • St Antony, himself, who had gone into the desert and lived in a cave an ascetic life; who lived his life in prayer and fasting and scripture and meditation... got bored. And then the angel appeared to him wearing the monastic garbs and sat and weaved palms into baskets. Then the angel stood up to pray, and then returned to his work. And he kept repeating the process. Then, the angel said to him "Do this, and you will find rest for your soul."

We are living in the world with many responsibilities... work and career, school and education, service, relationship, family. On top of that, I want to have some leisure, some relaxation, I need time for myself. How do I fit all of this in 24 hours? How do I fit God in with all of this? Even harder, how do I PRIORITIZE God in all of this?

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Actually, this is a backwards way of thinking. And we need to change the way we think about it.

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In the Christian life, God is at the center and not only that, but He permeates everything else. He is seen in my relationships, He is seen in my work, He is seen in my family, in my service, in my schooling, and in my leisure. Everywhere I go, everything I do, everyone I am with... God is there.

But how? How do I prioritize God in my life? How can God be the center of my life?

We will look at our life as three different levels, with three Rs...

  • Routine: Time Set Apart for God
  • Responsibilities: Time Offered to God
  • Rest: Time Received from God

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If you look at the Routine Circle, what's in the center? God.
If you look at the Responsibilities Circle what's in the center? God!
If you look at the Rest Circle, what's in the center? God.

Routine

Routine is time set-apart for God. And the Christian NEEDS to have routine in his life. And here we want to talk about prioritizing some time specifically for God.

For example, on a weekly basis, Sunday Morning is set apart for God. It's the Day of the Lord. It's the day of going to liturgy and taking communion. Even if I go to liturgy another day of the week - that's extra. Sunday is the Day of the Lord. Part of my routine as a Christian is to go to Church on Sunday and receive the Eucharist.

Faithful in the Routine

And even in this, I need to be faithful. It's not just an item on my checklist. Imagine if I come to the liturgy five minutes before communion and receive communion. Then I can say "I took communion this week" - what is this? Is God the center of my life? Am I truly abiding in Him? Or am I using Him to appease my conscience?

Or the Church is somewhere I go if it's convenient, or if my schedule allows, or if I have nothing else going on

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