Dr Kelly Fleming

Orthodox Christians begin the “countdown” to the Feast of the Nativity of Christ (Christmas), with a 40 day Fast.

This is not extraordinary, as we have a number of 40 day Fasts in Orthodox, especially before Pascha (Passover/Easter).

Since we are going to begin the Nativity Fast on November 15th, I thought it would be good to introduce some basic things that we do.

Let’s start with READ THE BIBLE! Yes, Orthodox Christians read the Bible and the teachings or sayings of the Early Church Fathers as part of their everyday Orthodox life. Many Christians read the Bible everyday and have devotionals, etc.

How do Orthodox Christians read the Bible?

ALOUD—Read it aloud;
APPLY it to yourself;
ACT on it immediately.

We must not just “read” the Bible as if we were reading any book. The Bible is our Handbook to Living. In order for it to become our Handbook, we must apply what we read to ourselves and act on it.

If you do this, I guarantee that you will see vast improvements in yourself. In your speech, your conduct, your interactions with others and so much more. You will see your life changing. No self-help book, no matter how well it is written can give you the life-changing guidance that you can receive from the Bible.

As a Disabled person, the things I learn from the Bible help me to deal with issues such as discrimination, feelings of loneliness in a world that seems to ignore me or put up barriers against me.

My challenge this year going into the Nativity Fast is to read and learn how to apply the WORD to my life in a way that makes me handle current issues related to my disabilities in a better way. To make me a better person. A person that Jesus is proud to say “She’s my daughter!”