Things to be thankful for - and something to think about

There are many things to be thankful for. But the greatest of these is God's mercy. Despite the fact that we disobey Him time after time, God always gives us another chance. He knows all our strengths and our weaknesses. It would be wrong however to think that this gives us the right to sin as much as we wish. Once you have identified your sin, God expects you to make a proper effort to correct it.

There are many people (myself sometimes included) who make a small effort to correct sin and then happily give up the attempt, as if this will fool the Lord. I feel that, although we are the grateful recipients of God's divine mercy, we abuse this gift at our soul's mortal peril.

God bless you - N

Being Positive

I realised that my last post 'A sick World' was a little negative. It is often the way, after a bad day, that I become a little gloomy. I should, at those times, remind myself that God loves me - despite the fact that I sometimes feel unlovable.

Thank you Lord for persevering with me,
I am not worthy of your love yet you give it freely.
Please Lord help me to be more deserving of your love,
I ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ.

Amen

God Bless - N

A sick world

We are living in a sick world where much that we do, and aspire to do, is out of keeping with God's will. God is patient, and God is good. But He has demonstrated before that He is prepared to wipe the slate clean and start again.

Repent now before it is too late.

And may God bless you - N

Prayer is the answer - The Lord's Prayer

I am often tempted to sin. We all are. And at those times, our lord Jesus Christ is far from my thoughts. The Devil has a way of pushing Jesus from our minds when he tempts us. This is a problem. At the very time we most need God's strength he is absent. As far as I can see, the only way to remedy this is through prayer. We must pray regularly that we are not led into temptation.

Fortunately, Jesus told us how to do this. And he even told us the words to use. Many of us have known these words from childhood; but I'll repeat them here.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

Such a simple prayer, but it is the only prayer you need.

May God go with you - N

Prayer for a colleague who committed suicide

A few days ago I heard that a colleague has committed suicide. He worked across the hall from me. He was a quiet unassuming young(ish) man. He had an estranged wife and two children. Although I did not really know him very well (none of us did) It still came as a shock when I was given the news of his death.

Suicide is, I know, a sin. However it would be callous not to feel sympathy for the man and, even more so, for the family he leaves behind. On the day that I heard of his death I went to a local church in my lunchbreak and lit a candle for him and said a short prayer. This is my prayer for him.

Dear Father,
Please receive this man into heaven,
Please forgive him for the harm that he has done to others and to himself,
Let him now find the solace with You that, it seems, eluded him in life,
Also Lord I ask you to bring comfort to his family and those that loved him,
I ask this in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ
Thank you Lord.

Amen.

God bless you - N

Merry Chrismas 2005

Hello Readers. I cannot believe it is a year since I posted my last Christmas blog. Quite a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then. My attempts at resisting temptation were not as successful as I had hoped. But I remain optimistic (no, 'determined') that I can conquer my personal demons this coming year. I must remember to pray more regularly. It is easy to underestimate the power of prayer.

I hope all of you have a happy new year, and, God willing, I shall blog more frequently in 2006.

God bless - N

C S Lewis

It has been a while since I last posted on my blog.  I have been on a bit of a spiritual journey since then.  Part of this has involved reacquainting myself with the works of C S Lewis.  His work goes in and out of fashion, but the truth of it never diminishes. I believe that The Screwtape Letters was the first book I ever read of his. It was given to me by my late mother (God rest her soul) when I was a teenager.  My mother, by the way, was not a Christian.  Yet she tried, for reasons I don’t clearly understand to make sure that I got some sort of Christian teaching.  She sent me to a Methodist Sunday school, and she occasionally gave me the odd ‘Christian classic’ to read.

My real love for Lewis’s Christian writing was kindled by a book of Lewis quotations that I borrowed from our local library.  It was full of marvellous quotes and insights, and very soon I wanted to read the works that were quoted there.  The first that I chose was Mere Christianity.  The phrase “that book changed my life” is perhaps overused.  But this is true, in my case, of Mere Christianity.  There is something in the tone of Lewis’s writing that makes one feel that he is talking perfect sense.  His 1950s style of discourse has a quality that transcends its era and makes it ‘timeless’.  I would strongly recommend that you read this book if you have not already done so.

At the moment, I am halfway through reading his science fiction trilogy; Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength.  I shall post again when I have finished these to give you an update.

N

Temptation

It is uncommon now to talk about the Devil.  But sadly he is very real.  The Devil is usually thought of as a grotesque 'Hellboy' looking character.  Instantly recognisable and terrifying to behold.  The promotion of this (false) image is, in fact, one of his cleverest strategies.  The Devil is far more subtle.

The Devil is discreet but he is easy to find if you know what to look for.  The Devil exists in you most powerful temptations.  Temptation has always been the Devils province.  In the Bible we read how Satan tempted Christ in the wilderness.  This story, at first glance, seems harmless enough.  We are always sure that Jesus will not succumb, why would he? The temptation to show his power was not that great - or was it?

Perhaps for Jesus the temptation to display His great power (to turn stones into bread, to defy death) was the greatest temptation of all.  How much easier to control the world than to die for it?

The Devil attacks us in the same way that he attacked Jesus: by finding our most powerful temptations and using them against us.  Big temptations, to commit unspeakable crimes, are easy to spot and resist.  But some temptations seem too trivial to bother resisting - but those are the most dangerous ones!  The temptations to make us mean in a petty way, or lustful, or boastful, or unkind, or selfish.  These are the real dangers because they ‘slip in under our guard’.

We must always be aware of the workings of the Devil lest he should turn us aside from heaven, which has always been his intention.

N
    

Merry Christmas 2004

This is just a post to say Merry Christmas to anybody reading my Blog. This is special time for many people both Christians and non-Christians. For some it's simply a 'family' time when family members are reacquainted with each other (even if they seldom meet at any other time of year) For others it is a religious time when their thoughts are turned toward the Lord.

I, Nicodemus, like to treat it as time of 'new beginnings' where resolutions can be made. I realise this is traditionally a New Years thing, but for me it seems more fitting to seal a resolution with a promise to Jesus on his birthday. So if you have any part of yourself that you wish could be improved why not take this opportunity to promise the Lord that you shall do so.

Christmas greetings again my friends - N

Believing you're a Prophet

It seems to me that there are three reasons that anyone would claim to be a prophet. In his epistle to the Corinthians, Paul tells us that it is good to have the gift of tongues, but that it is far better to be a Prophet. The reasons that anyone might claim to be a prophet now can be listed as follows:

1. They believe they are a prophet but are, in fact, deluded.
2. They do not actually believe they are a prophet but wish to convince others that they are.
3. They are a genuine prophet.

Those that fall into the first category are perhaps the most numerous. It is a feature of some types of mental illness that the patient becomes the 'center of their own world'. Because they are the most important thing in their world it seems natural to them that they are the bearer of God's message to all the other lesser folk. These people truly deserve our sympathy.

Those that fall into the second category are confidence tricksters. They claim to have the power of prophesy in order to line their own pockets. What sort of insane short-sighted behaviour! They risk the wrath of the Almighty for ephemeral fame and a few transient creature comforts.

I truly do not know if any of the third type exist. Does God even now send prophets to us? Have we been unable to hear Him for the last 2000 years, or has he simply been silent?

Perhaps having sent his Son he simply waits, and watches.

God bless - N