The NU Blog Page

Last week I attended a conference on an island in the Mediterranean Sea.  The meeting included a series of lessons delivered by a highly thought of preacher from California who spoke five times over four days; all on the twelfth chapter of Romans.  That amounts to a total of five hours on one chapter!  This…

Though it may not seem like it, you will rise up again. Many are the times when a fervent believer of Jesus Christ is subjected to trials, suffering, and tribulations. Life itself it’s a test, and therefore, a Christian test can be of different forms. This may include economic hardships, chronic illness, termination of a…

What is evangelistic success? An evangelist in western Nigeria recently sent me an intriguing question. “Many a times we in the third world are faced with different challenges during evangelism.  One of such is, ‘What can your Christ do for me?’ It seems the message of eternal life and the peace within no longer work.…

Staying with Jesus and following in his footsteps. By Guest Contributor Fr. Carlos Rodriguez, OCSO and Chaplain, Abbey of Gethsemani (Fr. Carlos Rodriguez is a Trappist Monk who came originally from the Philippines.  I have personally visited with him several times during the past few years.  He preached this homily on January 14, one day…

What is fearful courage? By Lifeline Chaplaincy’s Dr. Virgil Fry I know fear. Low-grade or full-blown anxiety. Fretful worry. Recently I cleared out a stash of papers from 2006, the year my wife, Caryl, was on dialysis. Reviewing the list of multiple doctor visits, hospitalizations, and medications surfaced intense feelings deeply buried in my psyche.…

I am listening to Hebrews these days. Each morning I’ve been listening to an audio recording of the letter to the Hebrews, usually while shaving and doing my ‘morning routine.’  After a month of this, the text is rolling around in my head like a song that won’t go away!  That’s a good thing, and…

“DIVINE DISTRACTION” by Guest Author Scott Gilliam, Haiku poet Another Advent. It’s start for me delayed by Attention to work. Fleeting time to pray. Airports and hotels my church. But God won’t give up. He knows I’m stressed out. He knows I’m at my wits end. So He tries “Plan B.” “B” for Bethlehem? I…

Many are the times a Christian faith is put to test. Genesis 21: 8-21 talks about an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar together with her son Ishmael and how they were sent away from Abraham’s family. Uncertain about her future life, Hagar and Ishmael ended up as wanderers in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. Life…

So, what is God up to? Sea shells line the beach in meandering five-foot threads that stretch hundreds of yards ahead. Shells of every size, geometry and colorful hue. Pristine, unbroken specimens intermixed with crushed remnants of what had been. All waiting for the morning waves to lap over them in nature’s caressing but never…

The truth about unity. Chris Tomlin is a famous contemporary composer of Christian hymns.  It seems he is also a gifted writer as evidenced by this week’s guest Reflection on “The Truth About Unity in the Church”.  I’m not sure I would buy every last word he has written but he certainly gets down to…