You are visitor: Give my love to Zoe
Dear J - - ,
Thankyou for your lovely letter. I am really glad that at last the light of God is beginning to find its way into your life. (Maybe now you will give up smoking!). Some of the points you raise could take a book or two to answer but others are pretty straightforward. I am glad to hear you are praying. I am glad too that you are praying for guidance but you also say that you are seeking the strength to change. I have to tell you, you will fail in this (Depressed? wait till you read the rest!). You don’t need to change, to be OK with God. There is an old hymn we love to sing in the UK. It was written a long time ago and is just as valid today as when it was written. Verses 2 & 3 read
:Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt
Fightings and fears within, without
O lamb of God, I come
Just as I am – thou wilt receive
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because thy promise I believe
O Lamb of God, I come.
You see J- - - , God accepts us as we are.
HE gives us his Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit joins with us and HE changes us to be the kind of people HE wants us to be. So don’t waste your breath trying to be a good Christian all at once, you will fail and the Devil will laugh and laugh (you asked about him too but I am getting to him).
Nicodemus a really intelligent and highly knowledgeable Rabbi went to see Jesus at night. (Do you know all this already? Am I teaching my Granny to suck eggs?) Jesus told him he needed to be born again. This greatly puzzled Nicodemus and he was even more puzzled when Jesus said "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit."
What does that mean?
(I can hear you ask that and my mental picture is of Zoe on your lap pawing on the keyboard). The water referred to here by Jesus has little or nothing to do with baptism as we see it done in our churches. It has everything however to with cleansing. Washing clean. And that’s part of the role of the Holy Spirit. But it has a deeper meaning (are you OK with this so far?). John the Baptist baptised with water. It was symbolic of repentance. Giving up the old life entirely. Turning your back on life as it was. Literally turning 180 degrees to face the other way. That’s our job. We turn around and say to God, "Right I am looking your way now…. What’s next?"
The rest is the Holy Spirit’s job, but we must cooperate!
So you see when you wrote about attempting to change your attitude to life and look for more positive things that’s a good motivation but let God be God. He’ll give you new eyes and ears. He’ll show what is good in the world. Really good. In some ways I envy you a great deal, you will soon experience seeing the world in a new way and it will be so good. There will be a time soon when your heart will be filled to bursting with joy in the presence of the Lord.
However be warned. Once you give your life to Christ the "old you" is dead. Really. Gone for good. Forever. But and there is always a but… the Devil and your old ways will still haunt you. And the Devil who is very real will stir up all sorts of things inside you and try to blind you, confuse you and pull you away from God. He will constantly remind you of the old days and the old ways. Thoughts big enough to scare you and horrible enough to shame you may soon come into your mind unbidden. The Bible calls this spiritual warfare. And forget TV, film and book images of the devil they have nothing to do with this nasty spirit we read about in the Bible.
1 Peter 5:8-11
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Ephes. 6:11-12
Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Do you get the idea?
Let me quote to you a little from a Book called the "Youth Alpha Manual"
"…he (the devil) accuses and points the finger
At God: blaming Him for everything, saying we can’t trust Him.
At us: trying to convince us we are failures and that God won’t go on forgiving us. He highlights the things we can’t do, making us forget the good stuff we can do. He puts temptation in our way – then says "go on, go a bit further, do it again" until we become addicted to sin."
The most important thing is to keep your eyes focussed on Jesus, (The Lord! The Big Man!) who is God and nothing can stop you!
I hope this hasn’t been too long for you. I hope it makes sense. Please ask. It’s important we grow together. There is no possibility of you becoming as you suggest the oldest member of my church. I have a lovely Elder in his early nineties who walks to church every Sunday straight as a die, bowler hat and no coat or stick. I guess you still have a bit to go to reach that stage!
Did I tell you the story of the Highlander, the Southern Baptist preacher, the bottle of Islay Malt whisky and the baseball game? No? Ah well more on that later!
Take care, God bless, be in touch soon,
Stuart