Are we able to resist temptations?

Some think that they are already programmed to fall for temptations or that they are created naturally weak as not to be able to withstand temptations.I have even heard a line from a scene in a film that says something to the effect that the best way to resist temptation is to fall for it!

Can these views be correct?

We can be tempted - yes.Lucifer can inflict anybody with inner struggles that in its intensity can be likened to a battle!We can be deceived, cajoled and tricked to tread the path that should never be attempted. We can be presented with fanciful propositions that appear quite harmless. Behind all these also stands our flesh and its weaknesses.

However as human beings we have been endowed by our Creator with an inner core - the human spirit. This spirit is our real self.It has its origin in the Kingdom of God. It is pure, without guile and with its perceptive capacities will only choose that which is right.Man only has to follow the ways chosen by his spirit also called the inner voice and nothing wrong can ever develop.Our flesh may wish to follow the broad and easy road offered by temptations; it lies with man however to resist this, and let his spirit lead the way.The flesh after all is meant to serve the spirit and help it carry out its wishes on this planet.

Where however, we give dominion to the flesh, it usurps the throne and yes can become a master and an unscrupulous master it can be, robbing man of all nobility and degrading him to the level of an animal and regrettably and judging by present day happenings even below the level of any animal.This slave master drives its servants to acts of greed, avarice, sordid sensuality,murders and other irritable behaviour.

May we be imbued with strength from above to resist temptations from out of the darkness. May we be able once again to listen within to our inner voice and do only what is right in the sight of our Lord God. Amen.

The story of the two thieves

At Calvary on that momentous Friday afternoon, two thieves were crucified along with the Holy One. Most are familiar with this story of the unrepentant and the sober thief. One said to Christ, are you not the Son of God? Deliver yourself and us too! The other rebuked the loquacious one and admitted that they are indeed paying dearly for their misdeeds while Jesus was innocent, he went further to ask that Christ remember him in His Kingdom. Let's label them the wise and foolish thieves.

We stand to learn a lot from this event. It appears the two of them know something about the reputation of Jesus as miracle worker. Do they really? The foolish thief believed that Jesus can do the unnatural - suddenly coming down physically from the cross to which his body was firmly nailed unaided and extending the same "miracle" to him too. It can also be said that his remarks smacked of a challenge to Jesus-do it if you are indeed the Son of God. Veiled under that is - if you don't perform, then you are not!

The wise thief on the other hand recognised humbly that he was in the wrong and was paying back for his wrongful behaviour. He did not stay back and watch the foolish thief get away with his rudeness but told him off. He did not demand any quick fix to his problem or seek a temporary earthly advantage. (e.g possible release from his pains on the cross just like the expectation of the foolish thief) Instead he longed for the Heavenly Kingdom reminding one of that admonition - seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and all the rest will be added unto you.

In the end, the foolish thief got no visible advantage while the wise thief got a firm promise of a place in paradise! One can decide the path to follow. The path of those who make self serving earthly demands and expect arbitrary actions from the Creator, or the path of repentance that pleads humbly for God's forgiveness and strength for spiritual ascent.May we have the strength to take the right path of seeking at all times what is really of true benefit to us.

What are Miracles?

Miracles are generally believed to be occurrences that happen out of the ordinary. They are supposed to be the stuff that make up tales of the unexpected.Some extremists will only use this word to describe happenings that are naturally impossible. They assume that when the impossible happens then a miracle has occurred.But such thoughts are mere imaginations because the fact that the event occurred already is proof that such occurrence is possible!

Many believers in God imagine that miracles are things that happen outside the Laws of Nature.They think it is something brought about arbitrarily by the Almighty in order to demonstrate His omnipotence. Such miracles however are anything but Divine and indeed do not exist! One does not give honour to God by blindly believing that He acts arbitrarily!

Divine Activity is always logical, perfect, consistent, and without faults or gaps. Miracles happen in the usual way but the only difference is that the process of development, which according to earthly conceptions should take a longer time, occurs with such immense rapidity,speed and concentrated power! Miracles also occur when diseases which man regards as incurable are healed. This does not mean that the Natural Laws are overturned but it only shows the deficiencies of present human knowledge. In any case, miracles will never occur outside or contrary to God's firmly established Laws of Nature!

When Christ performed miracles that are quite beyond man's ability this does not justify the thought that He did not need to follow His Father's Will resting in the Laws of Nature, that He reached out beyond them. Even with miracles He acted in complete accordance with the Laws of God, and not arbitrarily!He only proved thereby that He worked in Divine Power, not in spiritual power,and naturally the effects also far surpassed what is possible to men.

We should give thanks to our Creator when here and there He endows some human beings with special powers which they can use for the benefit of suffering humanity.

Our attitude to wealth

Should someone who seeks spiritual gain shun earthly possessions? Is money by itself evil? Must one take the vow of poverty in order to be pleasing to our Creator? Are the rich condemned just on account of their worldly acquisitions?Well, what should be our attitude towards wealth?

These are pertinent questions in this world of the modern man who proudly proclaim himself as "practical". On the other extreme are also the others who shun earthly possessions and consider it irrelevant for those striving towards the ideal.

Of course it will be foolhardy to throw away ones wealth as soon as one starts the upwards journey. Man is free to enjoy all that is proffered through the Grace of God. He should however not cling to the idea that the accumulation of wealth should form the basis of his entire existence. That kind of attitude will be a distraction from his higher goal of spiritual ascent.

In this age of the materialists, those striving for spiritual goals will do well not to shun earthly possessions which is the main weapon in the hands of their unscrupulous adversaries!

It is good to know that earthly possessions are made through the Will of God. True believers are to take care however, that the comforts of such things do not lull them to sleep.

We are to make sound use of wealth or any special gifts entrusted to us by our Lord.

What is Faith?

Does it mean having the Name of the Almighty on our lips all the time? Do we exhibit faith by praying and believing that our Creator can do just anything, thus acting arbitrarily in order to fulfil our wishes which most of the time are self serving? Many may also be under the delusion that being a member of a religious group confers on them the title of "the faithfuls".

Faith is none of these!

Faith in all simplicity is the absorption of Divine Messages and making them a part and parcel of daily living. The Lord speaks to us in His Holy Word and also through His creation. Everything bears witness to Him and how we are to conduct ourselves in order to be pleasing to Him. As soon as man is able to come to terms with the Laws of God and swing with them,all his intuitions, thoughts and deeds will unite in joyful affirmation of God. Faith therefore is not only being convinced of the Laws of God and professing this loudly and hanging it out as a mask but this conviction must become deed. Conviction becomes a deed when it translates to visible actions. In this case, every breathe one takes reflects the fact that one is living in accordance with the Will of the Most High.

May we be blessed with faith - true and living faith!

Being true to the moment!

Can we really live in full consciousness of the happenings that belong to the here and now? Do we just race through life as if in a daze?Do we give our neighbour a warm look and offer them only words that come from deep within us? Do we mean all we say? Are the words we speak frivolous, sincere or false?

Our answers to these and similar questions will determine how we fare in our quest for happiness and true peace.It is what we do now that will pass and form our past.The same content forms the tapestry for our future.So in addition to learning from the past and looking into the future with hope, we need to live in the here and now and be true to the moment.

We need to experience the present fully,fill it with genuine content,perceive, think, say and do only what will form a guilty-free past and construct a beautiful future.It is easy and yet so difficult for many... simply to be simple and true!

Diligence

Diligence is a virtue that is worthy of our aspirations.It is easy to say that the spirit is willing but the body is weak.However it behoves us to see to it that what we feel deep inside is carried out .It is no excuse to say that our body is weak. The spirit has to take its place as leader and the flesh has to do what the spirit demands.

The spirit which has its origin in luminous regions cannot but wish that which is good and noble.The fact that there is so much ugliness in the world today only poiints to the fact that the spirit of man takes little part in world affairs.The flesh rules and alas what chaos is brought about!

Diligence must awaken the spirit to its duties and the flesh made surbodineate to the spirit.This way,progress and beauty will once more flourish in this troubled earth.