Merry Christmas

To all who read this blog.
My prayer for you is, whoever you are, May the love of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you this Christmas and throughout the coming year.

What is a Christian

What is a Christian

Over the years I’ve met and heard in the Media and other places people who call themselves Christians. Yet to hear them talk you’d think they were the most judgmental even bigoted and people you’d ever met.
A lot has been said and done in the name of Christianity. Many people zealous for the faith have forgotten the fundamentals of the faith, leaving a lot of wreckage in their wake.
These people potentially have by their words and deeds sentenced many people to hell.
A great burden is placed upon the Christian, one that involves the eternal well being of all they come in contact with.
For me the following is what I believe a true Christian must believe and follow.
I could write a book on each scripture reference and at a later date I just might. Still here as brief as I could make it is what I believe makes a Christian a Christian.

First they we must believe.

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; 

bind them around your neck, 

write them on the tablet of your heart. 

Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 

in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” 

                                                                                            Proverbs 3:3-6  

Second,

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.

 No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

                                                                                              John 14:6

Third

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, 

that whoever believes in him shall not perish 

but have eternal life

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

 but to save the world through him”.

                                                                                John 3:16,17
Fourth

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—

and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 

not by works, so that no one can boast.  

For we are God’s workmanship, 

created in Christ Jesus to do good works, 

which God prepared in advance for us to do”. 

                                                                           Ephesians 2:8-10

Fifth,

Then Jesus came to them and said, 

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,

 baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  

and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

                                                                                                    Matthew 28:18-20
Sixth,

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. 

Therefore be as shrewd as snakes 

and as innocent as doves.”

                                                                      Matthew 10:16
Seventh

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, 

and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you”. 

                                                                                              Matthew 7:1
Eighth,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 

that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. 

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain 

on the righteous and the unrighteous. 

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? 

Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  

And if you greet only your brothers, 

what are you doing more than others? 

Do not even pagans do that? 

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

                                                                                         Matthew 5:43-48
Ninth

Love is patient, love is kind.

 It does not envy, it does not boast, 

it is not proud. It is not rude,

 it is not self-seeking, 

it is not easily angered, 

it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love does not delight in evil 

but rejoices with the truth. 

It always protects, always trusts, 

always hopes, always perseveres. 

Love never fails.”  

                                                                       1Corinthians 13:4-8a
If Christians follow these scripture I feel strongly that they can and will reach those around them.
Living in North America I as a Christian have unprecedented freedoms to talk to people about my faith.
There are entire Christian television networks. Millions of people watch daily various evangelist and pastors preaching the word of God.
Sadly there are many that while preaching have put their own biases on that word. In doing so they have turned people off.
Standing in a pulpit be that in a church building or in the media and spitting hell fire and brimstone I’ve found doesn’t win people to Christ, especially in the twenty-first century.
People know there’s sin in the world. They may call it by other names but they know the world and the people in it are far from perfect. They know there is a need to change for the better.
But screaming judgmental dogma from the pulpit will only push people away potentially sentencing them to hell.
The Apostle Paul once had a unique pulpit. He stood before a bunch of what the bible would define as sinners and those of other faiths. In fact he was asked by those men, Epicurean and Stoic philosophers  to speak to them in the Areopagus in Athens,
What he said should be a model to us on how to speak to those of other faiths and beliefs.
This is what he said,
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.  For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 

“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” 

                                                                             Acts 17:22-31

Paul presented the Gospel plain and simple. Not your condemned to hell, no you vile sinners. He simple presented the word of God. As should every Christian believer.
If you are a Christian I would ask you to examine yourself and see if the way you present yourself and the gospel to others is positive or negative.
Look at it from the none believers eyes. If you were a none-believer would you receive the message you are presenting?
If you do not believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, God incarnate. The saviour of the world, consider what was said above.
I truly believe Jesus came to save the world and I believe he wants to come into your life today. And he doesn’t care who you are. His first thought is for you as a person. It is not contingent on anything you do.
The basic premise of Christianity is God reaching down to man because man is not tall enough or good enough to reach up to God.
Think about it.
If you have any questions contact me at. Nealbelieves@gmail.com

The birth that had to be

‘In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)   And everyone went to his own town to register. 
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,   and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” 
                                                                                                                                          Luke 2:1-7
Imagine this. You are a multi billionaire with everything you’ve ever wanted at your finger tips. You have servants aplenty. All you ever had to do to get anything was to snap your fingers and someone would get it for you.
Additionally you’ve been very healthy. You’ve never known what it was to be sick in your life.
Now in all honesty how can you relate to someone who is just the opposite? Someone who is so poor they are living from day to day. Every penny they have has to be carefully spent. They live from pay check to pay check and quite often they have to choose weather to spend the money on food for themselves and their children or pay the electric bill.
When they are sick they worry that they can get the right health care and drugs to help get them better. They also worry that they will miss too much time at work and thus have even less money for food and shelter.
Can a multi billionaire even stand in judgement of someone this poor?
In all honesty I think a multi billionaire can intellectually say he understands but having not experienced that kind of poverty and the physical and mental strains it puts on a person he can’t truly relate.
At the same time while he knows what it is to be human judging a man of humble means can also be difficult.
I think that’s what God realized after he created man. It goes without saying that God the creator of mankind has the right to stand in judgement of his creation, especially if it isn’t going in the direction He expects.
Still when a man stands before God he could in his defence justly say ‘you don’t know what it is to be human. What it is to face the day to day temptations and trials a man or woman has.’
But God can. He can do it because He chose to send His one and only Son, Jesus Christ into this world.
Jesus in his lifetime experienced what it was to be human. He felt the sun against his face,and the rain. He had friends, attended weddings and funerals.
He taught the truths of God to thousands and was regarded as a great teacher. At the same time he was despised by many of those in authority amongst his people.
From his earliest days he knew what it was like to be a political refuge, his parents had to flee to Egypt, to escape Herod’s wrath.
Jesus showed us and taught us what God wanted us to do.
While he spoke out against the Jewish leaders, the leaders of his people to correct them. He never spoke out against the ruling secular authorities of Rome.
Still he was falsely accused of breaking the law. Even the Roman governor of his day said Jesus had done nothing deserving of death.
At the same time for political expediency he let Jesus be flogged and put to death on a Roman cross.
Because of all of this Jesus can justly judge the individual. He understands everything about being human.
Now all of that being said we know that the sole purpose for Jesus coming to earth was to save the world. John 3:17 stating, “ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world would be saved through Him.”
God fully understands that we cannot live a perfect life that’s why He sent His Son to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
John 3:16-17 put it this way,
Jn 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
The bible makes it clear that it is God that is reaching down to man to offer eternal life.
Ephesians 2:8,9 states,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.”
God simply wants us to admit we are sinners to confess our sins to Him directly and to ask him to come into our hearts and lives.
If we do this with a sincere heart he will come in and direct us along the paths of righteousness.
The choice is yours. You can do it right now. Simply say this prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I admit that I am a sinner and fall short of what you want for my life.
Please come into my life today and take away my sins.
Guide me and direct me in the way you would have me go.
                         In Jesus name I pray
                                              Amen.
If you’ve prayed this prayer I would suggest that you start reading the bible. You can’t learn about God unless you do.
The other thing you should do is find a church that teaches directly from the bible and attend it.
We all need encouragement from other Christians it helps us grow in our faith.
Pray and ask God to help you find such a church in your area and He will reply.

Because

Because

Because... “...He (God first loved us.”
      1 John 4:19

I will... love God

Because... “...God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16

I will... love God

Because... Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this shall all know that you are My disciples.  If you have love for one another.  John 13:34,35

I will... love my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Because... Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.”   Luke 6:27,28

I will... love my enemies.

Because... The Bible says, “Love suffers long and is kind: love does not envy; loves does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things; believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  I Corinthians 13:4-7

I will... I will love.

Because... The Bible says, “Now abides faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.  1 Corinthians 13:13

I will... Have faith in God..
     For according to Ephesians 2:8,9:
“...by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is a gift of God, not of works; lest anyone should boast.”
Have hope in Christ...
For according to Romans 5:1,2: “...having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our LORD Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace which we stand, and rejoice in hope of glory of God.”

Have love... For Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40:
“...you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Because of this and much more
I will love.

On being Christian

Read Luke 11:37-54

“Jesus replied, 

‘And you experts in the law, 

woe to you, 

because you load people down

 with burdens they can hardly carry

 and you yourselves

 will not lift one finger to help them.’”

                                                                                   Luke 11:46 Niv
One friend of mine looked at this verse and quipped jokingly “proof lawyers have never changed.”
Here’s another trivia statistic the majority of lawyers in the world are in North America and most of them in the United States.
Sometimes I look at our churches and wonder if they are not all in them.
Take a quick look around at church culture. I’ve seen churches filled with you must do this or you can’t do that, or this is wrong, or only this is right.
In two thousand years the Church has picked up a lot of baggage. Within every denomination there are things that are of men not of God. Likewise there are men and women within the church who wish to enforce these things.
The early church had this dilemma the leaders then deciding in acts 15 that the law was burdensome and in Acts 15: 29 made things simple.

“You are to abstain from foods sacrificed to idols.

 From blood from the meat of strangled animals

 and from sexual immorality.

 You will do well to avoid these things.”

That being said the Apostle Paul makes it clear how we obtain our salvation.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, 

through faith–

and this not from yourselves,

it is a gift of God-

not by works 

so that no one can boast.

                                                                                   Ephesians 2:8,9
Paul in his writing in Romans makes it clear that
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
                                                        Romans 3:21
John writing,

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins 

and purify us from all unrighteousnes,”

                                                                                                             John 1:8,9

We have no need to go through a mediator such as a priest or minister. We can confess our sins directly to God and He will forgive us.

That’s why Jesus paid the ultimate price.

Something to think about.

The key to a Christian life is simple.
 First with a sincere heart we must come to Christ and confess our sins and be willing to change our life. To one that reflects Christ.

 Second we must be willing to put Christ first in our lives always remembering that God will not call us to do anything we are not capable of doing.

 Thirdly and while this is not a prerequisite for getting into heaven, we should read and study the word of God. The Bible. Always remembering that the more we know of God the more we can do for him and the less chance we have of falling away from Him.

It’s really that simple.

Obligation

“They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”                                                                                                        Acts 16:31
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” 
                                                                                           Ephesians 2:8-10
“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” 
                                                                                         James 2:26
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ 
                                 Matthew 25:34-40
First of all Christians are saved through faith in Jesus Christ. However James makes it clear that “faith without deeds is dead.”
While our faith may save us, as someone once said we live in our deeds.
Christians have obligations to God, and to their fellow man. Matthew 25:40 “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine you did for me.” makes that very clear.
As Christians we have an obligation to tell the world about the salvation Jesus offers. However we must remember that we are Christ’s representative. And Jesus didn’t just meet spiritual needs. He looked to the physical need of the individual.
Jesus upon seeing the crowds hungry in Matthew 14 performed a miracle feeding them with five loaves and two fish. He also healed the sick.
We are to do likewise. The early church certainly did.
Acts chapter two records,
“They (the believers) devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” Acts 2:42-45
The Talmud while a Jewish holy book and not a recognized Christian holy book has a point when it states,

“When a man [a believer] appears before the Throne of Judgment, the first question he is asked is not, “Have you believed in God?”  Or “Have you prayed and observed the ritual?  “He is asked: “have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?”
This is what Jesus is saying here in Matthew 25. We as Christians have an obligation to our fellow man.
How we deal with those around us tells a lot about us. To quote again from the Talmud,
“Rabbi Akiba was asked by a Roman general, “Why does your God who loves the needy not provide for their support Himself?”  He answered, “God the Father of both the rich and poor, wants the one to help the other so as to make the world a household of love.”
I as a Christian do not believe we can separate our faith from our life. Christianity is a way of life. As such our faith must be very much a part of our every day actions.
We should not have to tell people we are Christians they should know we are as a result of our actions.
Dwight L. Moody the great evangelist of the nineteenth century wrote,
“We are called to let our light shine, and if we do we wont need to tell anyone it does. Lighthouses do not fire cannons to call attention to their shining.”
We have an obligation to do what Jesus would do. Not only to share our faith but to meet the needs of the needy. It is my opinion that when Jesus said in Luke 12:48, “...From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”  He meant what he said.
All of us will be held accountable to God to the extent that we could help people. A person of humble means who can only offer a cup of water will be rewarded by God for giving that cup to someone in need.
Likewise I believe a person a who is in a position of power with the ability to give millions or pass legislation in government that will help ease the burdens of many will be held accountable for their actions also.
I know our American friends like to speak about the separation of church and state and perhaps there is some merit to the concept. Certainly after hearing some Christians in the media, I a Christian would not want them ruling me.
However what I am saying here has nothing to do with ruling and everything to do with giving each and every human being basic human rights.
We as Christians cannot hide in the idea “it is not my affair” It is our affair!
If we claim to be of the household of Christ we have an obligation not only to offer salvation but to as far as possible meet the needs of our fellow man.
We who claim to have Christ living within us are Christ’s representatives in this world. We are under an obligation to show God’s love to the world.
Love as defined by the Apostle Paul,
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.... And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1Corinthians 13:4-8a,13
The results of us not doing so can and will have eternal consequences,
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 
 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” 
                                                                                                                  Matthew 25:41-46
Think about it.

Query

“Ask, and it will be given to you; 

seek and you will find; 

knock, and it will be opened to you.

“For everyone who asks receives,

 and he who seeks finds,

 and to him who knocks it will be opened.

“Or what man is there among you who,

 if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

“Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent.

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,

 how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who 

ask Him!

“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you,

 do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

                                                                                             Matthew 7:7-12
God does not want robots.   He want’s people with a free will. People who ask questions, seek out answers.
While it is true that we are saved through faith and that according to Hebrews 11:1 faith is :“...the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” God does not want us to be robots, following blindly without thinking.
One of the signs of a cult is that the leadership demands that the followers follow blindly. That they don’t ask questions. That they just follow the teachings of the leader.
Jesus makes it clear that we are to ask questions. “Ask...seek... knock...” He states. Ask questions about what you believe, seek out the answers in the Scriptures, knock on God’s door through prayer to get the answers.
If we do these things God will show us.
Seek out good council in a good church, a pastor and  other Christians who study directly from the Word of God.
Don’t  rely exclusively on study books and commentaries.
Question the commentaries and study books by looking at the Scriptures to see if they are taken in context or whether the author is taking liberties with Scripture to prove a biassed point of view he or she may have.
It’s fine to have a healthy scepticism about what you’re being taught, if it makes you seek out God’s will.  
Always, always remember no church congregation is perfect. Nor are pastors, Bible teachers or theologians. We all make mistakes.

The Bible is, however, the divinely inspired Word of God. It was written to the early church to teach them what God wanted. By studying it and seeking out God’s guidance in prayer we will get answers, but it is important that we study the scriptures. It is important that we let God show us the remarkable truths that are in them, for our day to day life.
“Study to show thy self approved ...” Paul tells Timothy and through his second letter to him he states the same thing to us.
Study the word of God learn what you believe and why you believe what you do.
Ask God for wisdom, guidance and knowledge. Seek God’s truths and will for your life. Knock on God’s door, for the Scripture tells us,

“For everyone who asks receives,

 and he who seeks finds,

 and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

                                                                                   Matthew 7:8

Right and Wrong

Right and Wrong

•  Ex 20:13 “You shall not murder. 
•  Ex 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery. 
•  Ex 20:15 “You shall not steal. 
•  Ex 20:16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 
•  Ex 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” 

“If there is no master creator of the Universe, then who’s to say Hitler did anything wrong. 
For that reason there has to be a creator of the universe who writes upon the hearts of all humanity irrefutable laws of right and wrong.”
                                                                      Author unknown

The last five of the ten commandments deal with man’s relationship to man. They are the basic moral code all humanity lives by even if they are not a Christian, Jew or Muslim.
Those five rules You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor, You shall not covet, are necessary rules to stop civilization from slipping into anarchy or worse extinction.
Hitler showed what happens when these rules for living are disobeyed. The death count was in the tens of millions.
No matter where you go in the world. No matter who a person is or their status within a community. No matter what their religious beliefs are, or if they’ve read the Bible or not, each person knows instinctively the last five laws of the ten commandments.
I as a believer in the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. A believer in Christ cannot believe that these laws simply evolved by chance.
If they were not there from the day man walked upon the earth we would have gone extinct before civilization had a chance to get started.
I cannot believe that Homo habilis, and Homo erectus or for that matter Homo sapiens sat down in committee and said these are the moral laws we are going to live by.
Nor can I believe moral laws evolved.
I know there is a God that wrote these laws on the hearts of all mankind I firmly believe the words of the gospel of John 1:1-3
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. 
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

The Quintessence of Christian Love

"Jesus said to him, ‘you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment and the second is like it you shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’”

                                            Matthew 22:37- 40

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you”

The words of Jesus Matthew 5:44

“Now abides faith hope and love but the greatest of these is love.” 

                                                                                1 Corinthians 13:13

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, 

I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, 

and if I have a faith that can move mountains, 

but have not love, I am nothing.   

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, 

I gain nothing. 

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 

it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

Love never fails.” 

I Corinthians 13:1-8a

The verses quoted above say it all. God set an example, He loved the world so much he sent His one and only Son to die for us.
There are no records of Jesus ever complaining about the treatment He received here on earth.
He spoke out against those within his own Jewish community that would misinterpret scripture or were hypocritical in their ways. But he never spoke against the secular authorities or those of other faiths or beliefs.
  He showed only love to even His worst persecutors.
The same is true throughout the New Testament with regards to the apostles. They followed the example of Jesus. They never criticised or berated anyone. They presented the Gospel to their world in obedience to the command of Christ. In so doing they built the early church. They reached out to hundreds of ethnic groups and brought many to Christ.
The apostle Paul wrote this in Romans 12:9-21

“Let love be without hypocrisy.  

Abhor what is evil. 

 Cling to what is good.

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love,

 in honour giving preference to one another;

 not lagging in diligence,

 fervent in spirit,

 serving the LORD, rejoicing in hope,

 patient in tribulation,

 continuing steadfastly in prayer,

 distributing to the needs of the saints,

 given to hospitality.

 Bless those who persecute you, 

bless and do not curse. 

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 

Be of the same mind toward one another. 

 Do not set your mind on high things,

 but associate with the humble. 

 Do not be wise in your own opinion. 

Repay no one evil for evil.  

Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 

If it is possible, as much as depends on you,

 live peaceably with all men. 

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath, for it is written:

 “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the LORD. 

Therefore“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; 

 If he is thirsty, give him a drink;  

For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

 Do not be overcome by evil, 

but overcome evil with good.”

The Eleven O Clock Prayer

It’s eleven o clock. Inside the court house a judge is about to make his ruling. A community, a nation waits.
Will the new law be legal?
Outside the court house men and women with placards chant.
On one side of the street stand a group of gay men and women. All in favour of the new law.
On the other side of the street separated by a line of police stand radical evangelicals, denouncing the new law.
One man among them screams angrily . “HOMOSEXUALS ARE GOING TO HELL!!!”
Approached by the media he says it again, “homosexuals are going to Hell.”
From my office window I watch asking myself the question, ‘is this man an Christian?”
Wasn’t it Christ who told us not only to love our neighbour but our enemy also?
Wasn’t it Christ who told us not to judge, lest we be judged likewise?
Wasn’t it Christ who said go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation?
Is this man showing love?
Is this man judging another?
Can this man be effective in reaching the whole world of which a percentage are homosexual?
Is this man even a Christian?
A question keeps rolling through my mind for which I know the answer, “Can we truly know what is in someone else’s head?
Do we really know why a person is like they are?”
For a moment I stare down at the crowd. All the time asking myself who is on the way to Hell this day, and how can I reach them for my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ?
Turning away from my window I kneel down and pray, “Lord guide me this day. Let me make the right decision on this law.”

A comment

Jesus never said a gay man or woman couldn’t get to heaven. He didn’t say a bigot couldn’t either.
The Bible makes it clear that only sin separates us from God. And God through the Holy Spirit convicts people of their sins.
Salvation is a very personal thing. It is between you and God no one can tell you if you are saved or not.
Salvation is not conditional on your life style, your race of ethnicity.
It is conditional on your accepting the free gift of salvation from God.

The Way to Heaven

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” 
                      John 3:16-18.
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
The above verses make it abundantly clear what Christians believe with respect to getting to heaven. There is only one way to get to heaven, through Jesus Christ the One and Only Son of God.
The Apostle Paul writing to the Romans states,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and (those who believe Jesus is God’s One and Only Son) are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”
          Romans 3:23,24
John’s epistle quoting Jesus, makes it clear that,
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” 
                              John 10:10
Paul writing to the Corinthians said,
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,”  
                              1 Corinthians 15:3,4
John writes,
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
                            John 1:12
Paul makes it clear that we do not have to work for our salvation it is a free gift from God himself to mankind.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” 
                                                                        Ephesians 2:8,9
Knowing you are going to heaven is as simple as a prayer. I have included such a prayer below,

A Salvation prayer
Dear Heavenly Father.
I recognize I am a sinner. That I fall short of what you want for my life. Please forgive my sins. I recognize and believe that Jesus Christ is your One and Only Son. That he died for my sins.
I ask Him now to come into my life and show me how I can love and serve you better. 
Amen. 

Think about it.

Images of a Woman

Images of a Woman

That morning, Margaret Elizabeth got up extra early, readying herself for the day.  She would get only one chance to make an impression.  To that end, she applied her makeup with extra care.  Chose the black ankle length wraparound skirt, white turtle neck top and black jacket, her children had given her as a gift, while in hospital.  She limited her jewelry to a simple pair of diamond studied earrings, that had been her grandmother’s and small bracelet given to her by her daughter-in-law.
That done she took the ten minute drive to the modest size church she attended. Meeting with the pastor in the office.
For a few minutes they talked and passed the time of day. Then seeing the time she proceeded to the pulpit.
Leaving that office, to walk to the pulpit was the hardest step, she ever had to make.  Her heart pounded and by the time, she stood behind the pulpit she was visibly shaking.
“Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Margaret Elizabeth Williamson and just before Christmas, I underwent Sexual Reassignment Surgery.” she said relief surging through her body, as silence engulfed the assembly.  I know that many of you, maybe uncomfortable with that.  That is why I have asked to speak to you, to give you my testimony and then allow you to ask questions.
I have felt like a woman trapped in a man’s body for my entire life.  I was married for over thirty years to a wonderful and accepting woman, who died several years prior to my coming to this assembly.  I have a wonderful family, all of whom support me and are here today.
Believe me, I did not choose this course of action lightly.  I did so after much personal anguish and a great deal of prayer.
For a little over two years prior to my complete transition, I have lived my life as a woman: I was doing so when I came to this church and I think I did it well enough that no one knew.  If they did no one commented.
I have no apologies to give for what I did, or who I am, because I do not believe I did anything wrong.
I accepted Jesus as my Saviour over thirty-five years ago, and asked Him to remove from me what at times, has been a difficult burden.  He has chosen not to and thus, I have accepted that I am what I am.  A child of God, who knew me according to the Psalms in my mother’s womb.
I have no intentions of preaching a sermon here today, only to ask you to accept me as I am.  In fact, the only reason I stand before you today, is because I was asked to come onto the staff of this church and wish to be completely honest with you.
Now, I will open the door to all questions and endeavor to answer them to the best of my ability.  After which, I will ask for a vote and abide by your decision.”
There were many questions answered. Then finally the pastor came to the front.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now time to take a vote.”  He said.  “If you wish Margaret Elizabeth to become a part of our pastoral staff, please rise to your feet.”