Faith, the Atheist the Believer and God.
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
The above statement is as true for the atheist as for the believer. An atheist looks around and because he can’t see feel or touch God, his faith tells him there is no God.
The believer on the other hand looks around him sees the universe from the largest galaxies to the smallest sub atomic particles in perfect order and says there has to be a God who created all of this.
Whether you are a Christian or an Atheist you must act on faith. When an atheist says there is no God he assumes that simply because he can’t see God he doesn’t exist. Such assumptions can lead down the wrong path.
It is possible for something to exist without being able to feel see or touch it. Scientist for centuries have postulated something exists before they actually find it. That’s true of many things from the smallest sub atomic particle to black holes. Just because we can’t see them doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
So it is with God. We many not be able to see Him but if we look carefully at the world around us we can see his handiwork.
The Psalmist wrote,
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.”
Psalm 19:1-3
Ben Zion Bosker wrote,
“I have not seen the robin but I know he is there because I heard him singing through my window from the tree-top outside.
I have not seen God. But I have looked at my child’s eyes, and have been overwhelmed by the miracle of unfolding life.
I have watched the trees bedeck themselves with new garbs of green in the spring, and have been stirred by the miracle of continual rebirth.
I have looked at the stars, and have been overcome by the miracle of the grandeur and majesty of the universe.
I know that God exists, because I have heard the song of His presence from all the tree-tops of creation.”
Ben Zion Bokser
Ultimately neither I or any believer will ever be able to sway the most ardent atheist. No matter what we say or what we present will change them. They have their beliefs and I have mine.
I would however leave this suggestion for any Atheist or for that matter anyone be they Christian or of another faith. I would ask them to pick up a copy of the book Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. It’s in paper back and inexpensive. All major book stores, even if it’s not on their selves can get it for you.
I would ask that you read it and consider what Lewis says.
Please think about it.
Friday, 31 July 2015
Thursday, 30 July 2015
Of Great Price
Of Great Price
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
Matthew 13:44-46.
The above quotation is what knowing Christ is like for me. I have found in the life and teachings of Christ and the Bible truth and rest for my soul.
Jesus said,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30.
I found the words of Jesus to be true. That no matter the circumstances I have found myself in God has been their for me.
The nice thing about coming to know Jesus is that his saving grace is entirely free. The apostle Paul stating,
“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.
We do not have to work our way to haven. We simply have to by faith accept Christ into our heart and life.
Please think about it.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
Matthew 13:44-46.
The above quotation is what knowing Christ is like for me. I have found in the life and teachings of Christ and the Bible truth and rest for my soul.
Jesus said,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30.
I found the words of Jesus to be true. That no matter the circumstances I have found myself in God has been their for me.
The nice thing about coming to know Jesus is that his saving grace is entirely free. The apostle Paul stating,
“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.
We do not have to work our way to haven. We simply have to by faith accept Christ into our heart and life.
Please think about it.
Wednesday, 29 July 2015
A Lunatic
A lunatic?
C. S. Lewis wrote,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
There are many in the world today who would dismiss Jesus as simply a man. There are some that even say Jesus is a myth. These people are mistaken. Jesus is a real person who lived on this earth. A turning point in human history.
C. S. Lewis in the above statement from his book Mere Christianity, makes a valid point. For Jesus to say what he did, at the time he did it, in the culture he was living in meant would be crazy. No sain man would have done it.
Kenneth Scott Latourette, former President of American Historic Society
In A History of Christianity wrote,
“It is evidence of His importance, of the effect that He has had upon history and presumably, of the baffling mystery of His being that no other life ever lived on this planet has evoked so huge a volume of literature among so many people and languages, and that, far from ebbing, the flood continues to mount.”
“As the centuries pass by, the evidence is accumulating that measured by its effect on history, Jesus is the most influential life ever lived on this planet. The influence appears to be mounting.”
“No other life lived on this planet has so widely and deeply affected mankind.”
Kenneth Scott Latourette
Napoleon Bonaparte said,
"You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power.”
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
“I search in vain history to find similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel. Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”
Napoleon Bonaparte,
Jesus is no man he is God incarnate, God in the flesh.
Jesus said of Himself,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
Quite a bold statement. Saying that He is the only way to heaven.
The gospel of John states,
“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. In him was life, and that life was the light of men....
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:1-4, 12-14
Again quite the claim John stating Jesus is the creator of the world. AND that he came into the world He created.
If even this claim is wrong then people have nothing to fear. If however the claims of Jesus are correct people everywhere have at the very least something to think carefully about.
Please think about it.
C. S. Lewis wrote,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
There are many in the world today who would dismiss Jesus as simply a man. There are some that even say Jesus is a myth. These people are mistaken. Jesus is a real person who lived on this earth. A turning point in human history.
C. S. Lewis in the above statement from his book Mere Christianity, makes a valid point. For Jesus to say what he did, at the time he did it, in the culture he was living in meant would be crazy. No sain man would have done it.
Kenneth Scott Latourette, former President of American Historic Society
In A History of Christianity wrote,
“It is evidence of His importance, of the effect that He has had upon history and presumably, of the baffling mystery of His being that no other life ever lived on this planet has evoked so huge a volume of literature among so many people and languages, and that, far from ebbing, the flood continues to mount.”
“As the centuries pass by, the evidence is accumulating that measured by its effect on history, Jesus is the most influential life ever lived on this planet. The influence appears to be mounting.”
“No other life lived on this planet has so widely and deeply affected mankind.”
Kenneth Scott Latourette
Napoleon Bonaparte said,
"You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power.”
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
“I search in vain history to find similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel. Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”
Napoleon Bonaparte,
Jesus is no man he is God incarnate, God in the flesh.
Jesus said of Himself,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
Quite a bold statement. Saying that He is the only way to heaven.
The gospel of John states,
“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. In him was life, and that life was the light of men....
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:1-4, 12-14
Again quite the claim John stating Jesus is the creator of the world. AND that he came into the world He created.
If even this claim is wrong then people have nothing to fear. If however the claims of Jesus are correct people everywhere have at the very least something to think carefully about.
Please think about it.
Tuesday, 28 July 2015
What makes a Christian
What makes a Christian
I look quite often with indignation at men and women in the media calling themselves Christians, who in my opinion are Christians in name only. Their actions and the theology they preach in the media tells me they are not interpreting the Bible correctly. As a result I am offended and I firmly believe the will one day hear the words of Christ who will say,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Matthew 7:21-23
Christianity is not alone when it comes to people misrepresenting organizations, institutions or other groups. When it comes to other groups I can change nothing. However as a Christian I have the right to address things within my own faith. Thus my reason for writing this.
I attend a very small church. As a result we are a tight group. And to be honest I can safely say we are all somewhat off beat.
The one thing however we from our pastor to the board members to the congregation is to present the gospel of Jesus Christ in as pure a form as possible. We want to hear those words “well done thou good and faithful servant.” at the end of our lives.
As a result we read and listen to a wide range of evangelist and preachers. BUT we do not hold them in higher authority than the Bible.
In the adult Bible study I teach we use a wide range of commentaries in an effort to find the truth in the scriptures.
The result quite is we can at times have lively discussions as to what a particular scripture means. The reason for the lively discussion is because we take scripture seriously. We want to know the truth.
When I asked the group the simple question Who is a Christian? We made this list of criteria.
Strictly speaking a Christian is someone who believes Jesus is the one and Only Son of God. That He is God Incarnate. That he died for the sins of each and every man and woman. That we are saved by God’s Grace through our faith, and not by our works. By accepting Jesus into our heart and life.
What is referred to as “The apostles Creed” (not written by the apostles incidently) defines the basic beliefs of Christians when it states,
1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:
5. The third day he rose again from the dead:
6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:
9. I believe in the holy catholic church: (meaning the church universal made up of all believers from all walks of life and denominations.) the communion of saints: (saints being all who believe in Christ.)
10. The forgiveness of sins:
11. The resurrection of the body:
12. And the life everlasting. Amen.”
Jesus made things perfectly clear when he said,
“....“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6.
Jesus also said,
“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
Believers believe this statement. They do not believe you have to work your way to heaven the apostle Paul made that clear when he wrote,
“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.
The Writer of Hebrews states,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6
The Writer of Hebrews defining faith as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
Christians do not believe you will become rich materially or you will double your money or triple it by giving to your church or to an evangelist. As some false teachers would say. Giving money to the church or an evangelist will not get you to heaven. Faith in Christ is the only thing that will get you to heaven.
Christians give money to the cause of Christ because they know it is the right thing to do. They do not however give to the point that they become a burden on anyone.
Christianity is a walk of faith in Christ.
A true Christian asks nothing of the unbeliever except that they least listen to the salvation message. They believe God wants them to present to the world.
This is what I believe a true Christian is.
Please think about it.
I look quite often with indignation at men and women in the media calling themselves Christians, who in my opinion are Christians in name only. Their actions and the theology they preach in the media tells me they are not interpreting the Bible correctly. As a result I am offended and I firmly believe the will one day hear the words of Christ who will say,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Matthew 7:21-23
Christianity is not alone when it comes to people misrepresenting organizations, institutions or other groups. When it comes to other groups I can change nothing. However as a Christian I have the right to address things within my own faith. Thus my reason for writing this.
I attend a very small church. As a result we are a tight group. And to be honest I can safely say we are all somewhat off beat.
The one thing however we from our pastor to the board members to the congregation is to present the gospel of Jesus Christ in as pure a form as possible. We want to hear those words “well done thou good and faithful servant.” at the end of our lives.
As a result we read and listen to a wide range of evangelist and preachers. BUT we do not hold them in higher authority than the Bible.
In the adult Bible study I teach we use a wide range of commentaries in an effort to find the truth in the scriptures.
The result quite is we can at times have lively discussions as to what a particular scripture means. The reason for the lively discussion is because we take scripture seriously. We want to know the truth.
When I asked the group the simple question Who is a Christian? We made this list of criteria.
Strictly speaking a Christian is someone who believes Jesus is the one and Only Son of God. That He is God Incarnate. That he died for the sins of each and every man and woman. That we are saved by God’s Grace through our faith, and not by our works. By accepting Jesus into our heart and life.
What is referred to as “The apostles Creed” (not written by the apostles incidently) defines the basic beliefs of Christians when it states,
1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:
5. The third day he rose again from the dead:
6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:
9. I believe in the holy catholic church: (meaning the church universal made up of all believers from all walks of life and denominations.) the communion of saints: (saints being all who believe in Christ.)
10. The forgiveness of sins:
11. The resurrection of the body:
12. And the life everlasting. Amen.”
Jesus made things perfectly clear when he said,
“....“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6.
Jesus also said,
“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
Believers believe this statement. They do not believe you have to work your way to heaven the apostle Paul made that clear when he wrote,
“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.
The Writer of Hebrews states,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6
The Writer of Hebrews defining faith as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
Christians do not believe you will become rich materially or you will double your money or triple it by giving to your church or to an evangelist. As some false teachers would say. Giving money to the church or an evangelist will not get you to heaven. Faith in Christ is the only thing that will get you to heaven.
Christians give money to the cause of Christ because they know it is the right thing to do. They do not however give to the point that they become a burden on anyone.
Christianity is a walk of faith in Christ.
A true Christian asks nothing of the unbeliever except that they least listen to the salvation message. They believe God wants them to present to the world.
This is what I believe a true Christian is.
Please think about it.
Monday, 27 July 2015
A word from an apostle
A word from an apostle
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
‘ But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”
1 Timothy 1:15,16.
The apostle Paul was big in pointing out all have sinned. Writing to the Romans he said,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Romans 3:23,24
Notice when writing to the Romans Paul states, All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. BUT we are justified freely by his grace.
Keep in mind Paul was writing to Christians. Believers in Christ. He’s telling Christians that they are saved through grace.
In writing to the Ephesians he 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.”
Ephesians 2:8,9.
As a Christian I feel obligation to God to present the salvation message of Christ to anyone who will listen to me.
I will never force that message on them or even force them to listen to me. I however feel that I must tell people that through Jesus, God reached down to man and offered salvation and eternal life with Him. Jesus making it clear when he said,
“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
Please dear reader think about it.
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
‘ But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”
1 Timothy 1:15,16.
The apostle Paul was big in pointing out all have sinned. Writing to the Romans he said,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Romans 3:23,24
Notice when writing to the Romans Paul states, All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. BUT we are justified freely by his grace.
Keep in mind Paul was writing to Christians. Believers in Christ. He’s telling Christians that they are saved through grace.
In writing to the Ephesians he 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.”
Ephesians 2:8,9.
As a Christian I feel obligation to God to present the salvation message of Christ to anyone who will listen to me.
I will never force that message on them or even force them to listen to me. I however feel that I must tell people that through Jesus, God reached down to man and offered salvation and eternal life with Him. Jesus making it clear when he said,
“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
Please dear reader think about it.
Sunday, 26 July 2015
Something Christians want you to know
Something Christians want you to know
The Apostle Paul wrote,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”
Romans 10:9-13
The God who created the heavens and the earth is not a God of just one group of people. He is God of all humanity. And He wants all people everywhere to have a personal relationship with Him.
I as a Christian believe that God gave man a choice, to follow God or to reject God. He made that abundantly clear when He sent Jesus to this earth.
Jesus said,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6.
You the reader and everyone else on this earth have the choice of believing that statement or not.
The Apostle Paul make it clear however what happens if you do believe what Jesus said
when he wrote,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”
Romans 10:9-13.
Please think about it.
The Apostle Paul wrote,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”
Romans 10:9-13
The God who created the heavens and the earth is not a God of just one group of people. He is God of all humanity. And He wants all people everywhere to have a personal relationship with Him.
I as a Christian believe that God gave man a choice, to follow God or to reject God. He made that abundantly clear when He sent Jesus to this earth.
Jesus said,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6.
You the reader and everyone else on this earth have the choice of believing that statement or not.
The Apostle Paul make it clear however what happens if you do believe what Jesus said
when he wrote,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”
Romans 10:9-13.
Please think about it.
Saturday, 25 July 2015
It may seem odd but its true
It may seem odd but its true
“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. In him was life, and that life was the light of men....
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:1-4, 11-14.
Here is a claim Christians make if not true makes no difference at all. The “Word”, Jesus became flesh, God in the form of Jesus came into this world. If true however it gives a lot of people something to think about.
I as a Christian believe that He came to experience what it is like to be human. So that no man or woman could stand before Him on judgement day and say “you do not understand what it is like to be human.”
In coming to the world Jesus knows everything it is to be human.
He grew up in an average family. Most likely religious, because his mothers cousin was the wife of a priest and gave birth to John the Baptist. It is also recorded when he was in his early teens he went up to the Jerusalem with his parents and was found sitting with the learned men of his day discussing scripture.
He would have experienced the day to day things of life at that time. Everything from the sun and rain on his face. He most likely helped his earthly father work at his carpenters shop.
We know he attended a wedding. We know as an enfant his parents had to take him to Egypt so that he wouldn’t be killed. That strictly speaking makes him a political refugee.
Then on top of all of this when he spoke the truth from the scriptures religious leaders of his day disagreed with him. They seen him as a threat to their authority had him arrested placed before what amounted to a kangaroo court. An illegally convened court. Turned over to the occupying power Rome, where he was flogged. With the Roman governor ordering his execution for political expediency.
I believe in a just God and you can’t get any more just than the God who created heaven and earth entering his creation to experience what it is like to be human.
This God I worship is a God of Love who tells me why he came to earth. Why people should believe in Him and the consequences of unbelief when Jesus said,
“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
Please think about it.
“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. In him was life, and that life was the light of men....
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:1-4, 11-14.
Here is a claim Christians make if not true makes no difference at all. The “Word”, Jesus became flesh, God in the form of Jesus came into this world. If true however it gives a lot of people something to think about.
I as a Christian believe that He came to experience what it is like to be human. So that no man or woman could stand before Him on judgement day and say “you do not understand what it is like to be human.”
In coming to the world Jesus knows everything it is to be human.
He grew up in an average family. Most likely religious, because his mothers cousin was the wife of a priest and gave birth to John the Baptist. It is also recorded when he was in his early teens he went up to the Jerusalem with his parents and was found sitting with the learned men of his day discussing scripture.
He would have experienced the day to day things of life at that time. Everything from the sun and rain on his face. He most likely helped his earthly father work at his carpenters shop.
We know he attended a wedding. We know as an enfant his parents had to take him to Egypt so that he wouldn’t be killed. That strictly speaking makes him a political refugee.
Then on top of all of this when he spoke the truth from the scriptures religious leaders of his day disagreed with him. They seen him as a threat to their authority had him arrested placed before what amounted to a kangaroo court. An illegally convened court. Turned over to the occupying power Rome, where he was flogged. With the Roman governor ordering his execution for political expediency.
I believe in a just God and you can’t get any more just than the God who created heaven and earth entering his creation to experience what it is like to be human.
This God I worship is a God of Love who tells me why he came to earth. Why people should believe in Him and the consequences of unbelief when Jesus said,
“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
Please think about it.
Friday, 24 July 2015
Why?
Why
Why be born.
If all we’re to do is die.
Why live
If all there is, is nothingness after?
The writer writes,
“I have seen all the things
that are done under the sun;
all of them are meaningless,
a chasing after the wind.”
Ecclesiastes 1:14
Why?
if all things are meaningless live?
Why?
Why live?
Why.
Because,
the writer writes.
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
Ecclesiastes12:13,14
Jesus said,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you
and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:28,29
Jesus said,
“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
This is why we live,
We live because there is a God,
A God who loves us,
Please think about it.
Thursday, 23 July 2015
That empty hole
That empty hole
I believe that everyone on earth has, if you will, a whole inside them. A hole that they are trying to fill be it with material things or philosophy. This is I believe is a hole that only Christ can fill.
Today we here of young people and old going to join terrorist groups. They are in my opinion going because the world around them offers little or nothing.
Materialism and our secular society has good things within but ultimately it offers little fulfilment for those who are truly looking for meaning to life.
Pope John Paul II wrote,
“It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is He who provoked you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is He who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is He who reads in your heart your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle.”
Pope John Paul II.
Please think about it.
I believe that everyone on earth has, if you will, a whole inside them. A hole that they are trying to fill be it with material things or philosophy. This is I believe is a hole that only Christ can fill.
Today we here of young people and old going to join terrorist groups. They are in my opinion going because the world around them offers little or nothing.
Materialism and our secular society has good things within but ultimately it offers little fulfilment for those who are truly looking for meaning to life.
Pope John Paul II wrote,
“It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is He who provoked you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is He who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is He who reads in your heart your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle.”
Pope John Paul II.
Please think about it.
Wednesday, 22 July 2015
The Eleven O Clock Prayer
The eleven O Clock Prayer
“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....”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
I live in North America and at times I wonder where the love went. We hear all the time of the hate that comes from terrorist groups and racist groups. But do we show love. Dose our love show to all men or do we put conditions on our love?
The writer wrote,
“It’s eleven o clock. Inside the court house a judge is about to make his ruling. A community, a nation, awaits.
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. Holding placards that denounce the other side as intolerant.
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 BURN IN HELL!!!”
Approached by the media he says it again, “homosexuals are sinners.”
Hasn’t he read the words of Paul that ALL are sinners no matter who you are? That we are saved through faith in Christ. By the grace of God not by our works.
From my office window I watch asking myself the question, ‘is this man a 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?
Hasn’t this man read the words of the apostle Paul who wrote,
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”
1 Corinthians 5:12,13
Has he not read,
“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....”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
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?
Will someone be turned from God and Christ because of the actions of these few calling themselves believers?
Turning away from my window I kneel down and pray, “Lord guide me this day. Let me make the right decision on this law.”
Francis of Assisi wrote,
Please think about it.
Post Script to none believers. Jesus said,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Matthew 7:21-23
Just because someone calls themselves Christians doesn’t make them a Christian any more than standing in a fire engine makes them a fire truck.
Please think about it.
“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....”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
I live in North America and at times I wonder where the love went. We hear all the time of the hate that comes from terrorist groups and racist groups. But do we show love. Dose our love show to all men or do we put conditions on our love?
The writer wrote,
“It’s eleven o clock. Inside the court house a judge is about to make his ruling. A community, a nation, awaits.
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. Holding placards that denounce the other side as intolerant.
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 BURN IN HELL!!!”
Approached by the media he says it again, “homosexuals are sinners.”
Hasn’t he read the words of Paul that ALL are sinners no matter who you are? That we are saved through faith in Christ. By the grace of God not by our works.
From my office window I watch asking myself the question, ‘is this man a 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?
Hasn’t this man read the words of the apostle Paul who wrote,
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”
1 Corinthians 5:12,13
Has he not read,
“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....”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
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?
Will someone be turned from God and Christ because of the actions of these few calling themselves believers?
Turning away from my window I kneel down and pray, “Lord guide me this day. Let me make the right decision on this law.”
Francis of Assisi wrote,
“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where these is hatred, let me sow love.”
Francis of AssisiPlease think about it.
Post Script to none believers. Jesus said,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Matthew 7:21-23
Just because someone calls themselves Christians doesn’t make them a Christian any more than standing in a fire engine makes them a fire truck.
Please think about it.
Tuesday, 21 July 2015
A God of Love
A God of Love
“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.
Here’s a simple truth. If God truly is a God of Love, He will warn us what our actions will result in.
Just like a father who tells his child not to touch a hot burner on the stove, God will warn us of the consequences of our actions. That is what Jesus is doing here in John 3:16-18.
He makes it clear that God loved the world so much He sent his son into the world to save the world through Him. That whoever believes in Him will not be condemned but whoever does not believe is condemned already because of unbelief in the one and only Son of God.
In doing so he gives mankind a choice a choice that will determine our eternal resting place be it in heaven or hell.
The choice dear reader is yours.
Please think about it.
“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.
Here’s a simple truth. If God truly is a God of Love, He will warn us what our actions will result in.
Just like a father who tells his child not to touch a hot burner on the stove, God will warn us of the consequences of our actions. That is what Jesus is doing here in John 3:16-18.
He makes it clear that God loved the world so much He sent his son into the world to save the world through Him. That whoever believes in Him will not be condemned but whoever does not believe is condemned already because of unbelief in the one and only Son of God.
In doing so he gives mankind a choice a choice that will determine our eternal resting place be it in heaven or hell.
The choice dear reader is yours.
Please think about it.
Monday, 20 July 2015
Seven things
Seven things
“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.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13
The Bible does not attempt to argue the existence of God. Instead it emphasise God’s love.
The above quoted Scripture written by the apostle Paul to my mind defines God’s love. The kind of love we all should be showing to even our enemies.
The bible asks of man to do seven important things. The first two are spoken of by Jesus, Matthew recording,
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40
Matthew also records Jesus as saying,
“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.”
Matthew 5:43-45
In these two quotes from Jesus we are told the important things in life, to love God, Love our neighbour, and even love our enemy.
The fourth thing the Bible asks us to have is faith. The writer of Hebrews stating,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6.
Faith being defined in the book of Hebrews as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
The fifth thing the Bible asks is to believe the word of Jesus when he said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
The sixth thing we are asked to believe is, believe God loved the world and gives each and every person a choice where they will spend eternity. The apostle John recording Jesus as saying,
“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
Finally the seventh thing the Bible and Jesus asks you to believe is,
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25,26
Do you believe these things?
Please think about it.
“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.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13
The Bible does not attempt to argue the existence of God. Instead it emphasise God’s love.
The above quoted Scripture written by the apostle Paul to my mind defines God’s love. The kind of love we all should be showing to even our enemies.
The bible asks of man to do seven important things. The first two are spoken of by Jesus, Matthew recording,
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40
Matthew also records Jesus as saying,
“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.”
Matthew 5:43-45
In these two quotes from Jesus we are told the important things in life, to love God, Love our neighbour, and even love our enemy.
The fourth thing the Bible asks us to have is faith. The writer of Hebrews stating,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6.
Faith being defined in the book of Hebrews as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
The fifth thing the Bible asks is to believe the word of Jesus when he said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
The sixth thing we are asked to believe is, believe God loved the world and gives each and every person a choice where they will spend eternity. The apostle John recording Jesus as saying,
“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
Finally the seventh thing the Bible and Jesus asks you to believe is,
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25,26
Do you believe these things?
Please think about it.
Sunday, 19 July 2015
Salvation, Eternity, and You
Salvation, Eternity and You,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 10:9-13
Here in his letter to the Romans the apostle Paul makes it clear how we are saved. How we get to heaven. He states,
“...if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
This is the message Christians want people of the world to know today.
Salvation is first of all an act of faith. It is believing Jesus is Lord, the Son of God, God incarnate. That Jesus is the Saviour of man and that God raised Him from the dead. That is what gets us to heaven.
Each person in their hearts must believe in their heart the words of Jesus who said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6.
Each person must answer the question Jesus asked Martha,
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25,26
It doesn’t matter who we are Jew or Gentile we have the same Lord, the same God. God loves all mankind equally.
All we have to do is call on the name of the Lord to be saved. God couldn’t have made things any easier.
Since the dawn of time mankind has know there is life after death. As a result he has devised various way he thought you got to God. Mankind tried to reach up to God. Reaching up to God cannot be done.
God realized this and instead God chose to reach down to mankind in the form of Jesus Christ.
He made getting into heaven as simple as believing on Him.
The book of acts records the apostle Paul as telling the Greeks the way to heaven. It is the same today. The book of Acts records,
“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.”
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”
At that, Paul left the Council.
A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others"
Acts 17:17-34
This is the message we a Christians want all people everywhere to know.
We want them to answer the question spoken by Jesus to Martha when he said,
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25,26
Please think about it.
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 10:9-13
Here in his letter to the Romans the apostle Paul makes it clear how we are saved. How we get to heaven. He states,
“...if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
This is the message Christians want people of the world to know today.
Salvation is first of all an act of faith. It is believing Jesus is Lord, the Son of God, God incarnate. That Jesus is the Saviour of man and that God raised Him from the dead. That is what gets us to heaven.
Each person in their hearts must believe in their heart the words of Jesus who said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6.
Each person must answer the question Jesus asked Martha,
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25,26
It doesn’t matter who we are Jew or Gentile we have the same Lord, the same God. God loves all mankind equally.
All we have to do is call on the name of the Lord to be saved. God couldn’t have made things any easier.
Since the dawn of time mankind has know there is life after death. As a result he has devised various way he thought you got to God. Mankind tried to reach up to God. Reaching up to God cannot be done.
God realized this and instead God chose to reach down to mankind in the form of Jesus Christ.
He made getting into heaven as simple as believing on Him.
The book of acts records the apostle Paul as telling the Greeks the way to heaven. It is the same today. The book of Acts records,
“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.”
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”
At that, Paul left the Council.
A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others"
Acts 17:17-34
This is the message we a Christians want all people everywhere to know.
We want them to answer the question spoken by Jesus to Martha when he said,
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25,26
Please think about it.
Friday, 17 July 2015
God Knows and Understands
God knows and understands
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Psalm 139:13-16.
God knows everything about you. He understands your very genetic make up and why you do what you do.
God dose not care who you are, what your lifestyle is like, what religion you are, or your race. God simply cares for you.
God also realizes that each and every day we as human beings fall short of what God wants for our lives. That we sin and fall short of God’s ideals.
God realized that we could never be good enough for him therefore he sent His one and Only to earth to die for our sins.
Paul writing to the Romans states,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
God offers his salvation as a free gift. The apostle Paul writing,
“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
I know it sound illogical even the apostle Paul admits that writing,
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:18.
God does not do things the way man thinks things should be done. He does things His way and asks that we follow in faith. The writer of Hebrews saying,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6.
One of those thing we must accept by faith is a statement by Jesus who said,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
Another statement Jesus made about Himself is,
“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.
These are key things God wants us to realize.
1/He knows what makes up your very being.
2/He realizes that you can’t get to heaven by yourself. Therefore he sent Jesus as an atoning sacrifice for your sins.
3/ He makes it clear that it is through his grace not our works that we get to heaven.
4/ And God asks you to accept by faith that Jesus is the way the truth and the life, that no one gets to heave except through Him.
If what I believe is wrong no one has a thing to worry about. However if what I believe is correct there is a great deal to consider.
Please think about it.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Psalm 139:13-16.
God knows everything about you. He understands your very genetic make up and why you do what you do.
God dose not care who you are, what your lifestyle is like, what religion you are, or your race. God simply cares for you.
God also realizes that each and every day we as human beings fall short of what God wants for our lives. That we sin and fall short of God’s ideals.
God realized that we could never be good enough for him therefore he sent His one and Only to earth to die for our sins.
Paul writing to the Romans states,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
God offers his salvation as a free gift. The apostle Paul writing,
“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
I know it sound illogical even the apostle Paul admits that writing,
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:18.
God does not do things the way man thinks things should be done. He does things His way and asks that we follow in faith. The writer of Hebrews saying,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6.
One of those thing we must accept by faith is a statement by Jesus who said,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
Another statement Jesus made about Himself is,
“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.
These are key things God wants us to realize.
1/He knows what makes up your very being.
2/He realizes that you can’t get to heaven by yourself. Therefore he sent Jesus as an atoning sacrifice for your sins.
3/ He makes it clear that it is through his grace not our works that we get to heaven.
4/ And God asks you to accept by faith that Jesus is the way the truth and the life, that no one gets to heave except through Him.
If what I believe is wrong no one has a thing to worry about. However if what I believe is correct there is a great deal to consider.
Please think about it.
Why we do it
Why we do it
Many non-Christians wonder quite often why we Christians are so firm in our beliefs? Why do we want to convert people?
Today Christianity is the largest religion in the world. It is also the most persecuted.
According to a report given to the British Parliament, one Christian dies for their faith every eleven minutes somewhere in the world. Never-the-less we Christians persist on taking our message to the world.
The reason we persist is simple we believe we have a great treasure.
Jesus said,
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
Matthew 13:44-46.
Jesus also said,
“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
We believe that God reached down to earth in love through His one and only Son Jesus Christ to reconcile us to himself.
I know to hear a lot of evangelist on television today one would think that God is a God that wheels a big stick ready to crack unbelievers over the head and toss them into hell.
To hear some preachers in the Media everyone is a dirty sinner going to hell. Well the Apostle Paul writing to the Romans states,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:23
But that preacher spouting hell fire and brimstone is as guilty of sin as anyone else in the world.
In fact it could be worse for him or her, because they may be judging the world something Jesus tells us not to do.
The Apostle Paul also issuing a warning to Christians saying,
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”
1 Corinthians 5:12,13
You See it’s not the Christians job to judge people. It’s the Christians to go into all the world and present the love and mercy of God.
It is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict man of sin. NOT A PREACHER. God may use the preachers words to convict men of sin. Still it is not the preachers job to convict people of sin.
We as Christians believe that we are on the right road. We believe the words of Jesus who said,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:6
We believe that he died and rose again and lives forever. That He will one day judge the world.
He will judge it with justice for he, and only he knows what goes on in a mans heart mind and soul.
The Psalmist wrote,
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
Psalm 139:13.
God understands why we fall short of him and he offers us salvation as a free gift.
Paul writing to the Ephesians 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.”
Ephesians 2:8,9.
God knows there are many things in our lives that we cannot change by ourselves that is why He sent Jesus into this world to pay the price for our falling short.
That’s why he didn’t ask us to do anything for our salvation except through faith believe in Him.
Do you believe in that Jesus is the Saviour of the world.
Think about it.
Many non-Christians wonder quite often why we Christians are so firm in our beliefs? Why do we want to convert people?
Today Christianity is the largest religion in the world. It is also the most persecuted.
According to a report given to the British Parliament, one Christian dies for their faith every eleven minutes somewhere in the world. Never-the-less we Christians persist on taking our message to the world.
The reason we persist is simple we believe we have a great treasure.
Jesus said,
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
Matthew 13:44-46.
Jesus also said,
“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
We believe that God reached down to earth in love through His one and only Son Jesus Christ to reconcile us to himself.
I know to hear a lot of evangelist on television today one would think that God is a God that wheels a big stick ready to crack unbelievers over the head and toss them into hell.
To hear some preachers in the Media everyone is a dirty sinner going to hell. Well the Apostle Paul writing to the Romans states,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:23
But that preacher spouting hell fire and brimstone is as guilty of sin as anyone else in the world.
In fact it could be worse for him or her, because they may be judging the world something Jesus tells us not to do.
The Apostle Paul also issuing a warning to Christians saying,
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”
1 Corinthians 5:12,13
You See it’s not the Christians job to judge people. It’s the Christians to go into all the world and present the love and mercy of God.
It is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict man of sin. NOT A PREACHER. God may use the preachers words to convict men of sin. Still it is not the preachers job to convict people of sin.
We as Christians believe that we are on the right road. We believe the words of Jesus who said,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:6
We believe that he died and rose again and lives forever. That He will one day judge the world.
He will judge it with justice for he, and only he knows what goes on in a mans heart mind and soul.
The Psalmist wrote,
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
Psalm 139:13.
God understands why we fall short of him and he offers us salvation as a free gift.
Paul writing to the Ephesians 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.”
Ephesians 2:8,9.
God knows there are many things in our lives that we cannot change by ourselves that is why He sent Jesus into this world to pay the price for our falling short.
That’s why he didn’t ask us to do anything for our salvation except through faith believe in Him.
Do you believe in that Jesus is the Saviour of the world.
Think about it.
Thursday, 16 July 2015
Honourably
Honourably
“When a man 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?”
The Talmud.
The above is somewhat how I imagine it when it comes to standing before God.
The Atheist can’t exactly say to God you don’t exist because he is standing before God. The theist can’t say that either because he or she believes God exists even before they got there.
So the question becomes “have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all hour dealings with your fellow man?”
This question applies to everyone from the poorest person living in the poorest neighbourhood on earth to the greatest politician to the richest person on earth and everyone in between.
God I believe will ask this question, not because he doesn’t know how we’ve dealt with our fellow man, because he does, but because he want’s an honest answer from us.
Will you be able to answer yes to that question?
I believe the further our society drifts from God and the fear of God’s ultimate judgement the worse our society becomes,
Aba Hillel Silver wrote
“Faith in God is the strongest bulwark of a free society. Human freedom began when men became conscious that over and above society and nature there is a God who created them...who fashioned them in His likeness, and that they are, therefore, possessed of intrinsic and independent significance and are endowed, as individuals, with original and irrevocable rights and authority.”
Abba Hillel Silver.
Please think about it.
“When a man 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?”
The Talmud.
The above is somewhat how I imagine it when it comes to standing before God.
The Atheist can’t exactly say to God you don’t exist because he is standing before God. The theist can’t say that either because he or she believes God exists even before they got there.
So the question becomes “have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all hour dealings with your fellow man?”
This question applies to everyone from the poorest person living in the poorest neighbourhood on earth to the greatest politician to the richest person on earth and everyone in between.
God I believe will ask this question, not because he doesn’t know how we’ve dealt with our fellow man, because he does, but because he want’s an honest answer from us.
Will you be able to answer yes to that question?
I believe the further our society drifts from God and the fear of God’s ultimate judgement the worse our society becomes,
Aba Hillel Silver wrote
“Faith in God is the strongest bulwark of a free society. Human freedom began when men became conscious that over and above society and nature there is a God who created them...who fashioned them in His likeness, and that they are, therefore, possessed of intrinsic and independent significance and are endowed, as individuals, with original and irrevocable rights and authority.”
Abba Hillel Silver.
Please think about it.
Wednesday, 15 July 2015
On God
On God
Peter John Kreeft states,
“Atheism treats people cheaply. Also, it robs death of meaning, and if death has no meaning, how can life ultimately have meaning? Atheism cheapens everything it touches, look at the results of communism, the most powerful form of atheism on earth.
And in the end, when the atheist dies and encounters God instead of nothingness he had predicted he’ll recognize that atheism was a cheap answer because it refused the only thing that’s not cheap the God of infinite value”
Peter John Kreeft ph.d
Kreeft is right if death has no meaning then life cannot have meaning. If there is no God then what is stopping mankind from doing as they wish.
What’s the point in having moral values. if there is no one to enforce them or to make the individual account for their breaking them.
The Bible does not at any time debate the fact there is a God who created the universe and everything in it. It does not debate the fact that God instilled in the heart of every man a moral code that is the same all over the world.
The Bible simply says.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1.
Later in the New Testament in the Gospel of John it states,
“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. In him was life, and that life was the light of men....
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:1-4, 12-14.
It makes it clear that God took a small part of himself and entered the world He created as the God the Son.
None of this is up for debate according to the Bible. The Bible simply asks you accept these things by faith. The writer of Hebrews stating,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1.
Simply put the choice to believe in God is up to each and every individual. The consequences of what they believe will determine where they will spend eternity.
Please think about it.
Peter John Kreeft states,
“Atheism treats people cheaply. Also, it robs death of meaning, and if death has no meaning, how can life ultimately have meaning? Atheism cheapens everything it touches, look at the results of communism, the most powerful form of atheism on earth.
And in the end, when the atheist dies and encounters God instead of nothingness he had predicted he’ll recognize that atheism was a cheap answer because it refused the only thing that’s not cheap the God of infinite value”
Peter John Kreeft ph.d
Kreeft is right if death has no meaning then life cannot have meaning. If there is no God then what is stopping mankind from doing as they wish.
What’s the point in having moral values. if there is no one to enforce them or to make the individual account for their breaking them.
The Bible does not at any time debate the fact there is a God who created the universe and everything in it. It does not debate the fact that God instilled in the heart of every man a moral code that is the same all over the world.
The Bible simply says.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1.
Later in the New Testament in the Gospel of John it states,
“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. In him was life, and that life was the light of men....
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:1-4, 12-14.
It makes it clear that God took a small part of himself and entered the world He created as the God the Son.
None of this is up for debate according to the Bible. The Bible simply asks you accept these things by faith. The writer of Hebrews stating,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1.
Simply put the choice to believe in God is up to each and every individual. The consequences of what they believe will determine where they will spend eternity.
Please think about it.
Tuesday, 14 July 2015
Rights and Freedoms
Rights and Freedoms
Tony Campolo the American evangelist wrote,
“I contend the state ought to do its thing and provide legal rights for all couples who want to be joined together for life. The church should bless unions that it sees fit to bless, and they should be called marriages.”
Tony Campolo.
Campolo makes a compelling point, after all we live in a secular democracy. And it is the government and people of that democracy that choose what is called what under the law.
The democracies we live in, in the west are at least as diverse as the Roman Empire and they as such do their best to accommodate all their citizens.
The Roman Empire had things going on that Christians and Jews would have found contrary to their moral and ethical standards. Yet the Bible does not mention anywhere that the disciples or Jesus spoke out against Rome’s authority.
In fact with the Emperor Nero in power and persecuting Christians the apostle Paul wrote,
“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”
Romans 13:1
The Gospel of John records this exchange at the trial of Jesus between Pilate and Jesus,
“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above...”
John 19:10,11a
As Christians I believe we Christians need to respect the government and the beliefs and lifestyles of those around us.
Only when governments or others start to restrict our rights or the rights of others should we be speaking out against the government or other groups.
Tony Campolo also makes another important point,
“These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change.”
Tony Campolo.
I as a Christian extend the hand of friendship to those of different faiths and lifestyles. I believe Jesus died for each and every individual irrespective of who they are. That Jesus offers redemption from sin to everyone.
I believe it is my duty to God to present all who will listen to me of the salvation message Jesus has to offer, not force it on them. I do it because I believe it is the most important thing I can present to those I encounter.
Jesus said,
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
Paul writing to the Romans said,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
Paul also writes,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Romans 3:23
That all means just that all. Every man and woman that has ever lived has sinned. Have fallen short of what God wants for their life and Jesus died for those sins.
C. S. Lewis stated of Jesus,
“He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.”
C.S. Lewis.
Jesus said,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30.
When Jesus said all he meant all. All who believe in Him can enter into his eternal rest.
Jesus never said it was a select group that could enter His eternal rest. That could obtain salvation. He made it clear all could.
The apostle Paul writes,
“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.
Christians believe that it is God who reached down in the form of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. That salvation and eternal life with God is a choice and an act of faith.
A person must believe that Jesus is the Son of God. That he died for their sins. That you must confess your sins directly to God. That it is the Holy Spirit that convicts men of their sins not man.
We also believe the Salvation is a personal thing between the individual and God that only God knows the heart of the individual. That no one on this earth can judge whether or not you are saved. You and God alone know that.
Please think about it.
Tony Campolo the American evangelist wrote,
“I contend the state ought to do its thing and provide legal rights for all couples who want to be joined together for life. The church should bless unions that it sees fit to bless, and they should be called marriages.”
Tony Campolo.
Campolo makes a compelling point, after all we live in a secular democracy. And it is the government and people of that democracy that choose what is called what under the law.
The democracies we live in, in the west are at least as diverse as the Roman Empire and they as such do their best to accommodate all their citizens.
The Roman Empire had things going on that Christians and Jews would have found contrary to their moral and ethical standards. Yet the Bible does not mention anywhere that the disciples or Jesus spoke out against Rome’s authority.
In fact with the Emperor Nero in power and persecuting Christians the apostle Paul wrote,
“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”
Romans 13:1
The Gospel of John records this exchange at the trial of Jesus between Pilate and Jesus,
“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above...”
John 19:10,11a
As Christians I believe we Christians need to respect the government and the beliefs and lifestyles of those around us.
Only when governments or others start to restrict our rights or the rights of others should we be speaking out against the government or other groups.
Tony Campolo also makes another important point,
“These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change.”
Tony Campolo.
I as a Christian extend the hand of friendship to those of different faiths and lifestyles. I believe Jesus died for each and every individual irrespective of who they are. That Jesus offers redemption from sin to everyone.
I believe it is my duty to God to present all who will listen to me of the salvation message Jesus has to offer, not force it on them. I do it because I believe it is the most important thing I can present to those I encounter.
Jesus said,
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
Paul writing to the Romans said,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
Paul also writes,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Romans 3:23
That all means just that all. Every man and woman that has ever lived has sinned. Have fallen short of what God wants for their life and Jesus died for those sins.
C. S. Lewis stated of Jesus,
“He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.”
C.S. Lewis.
Jesus said,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30.
When Jesus said all he meant all. All who believe in Him can enter into his eternal rest.
Jesus never said it was a select group that could enter His eternal rest. That could obtain salvation. He made it clear all could.
The apostle Paul writes,
“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.
Christians believe that it is God who reached down in the form of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. That salvation and eternal life with God is a choice and an act of faith.
A person must believe that Jesus is the Son of God. That he died for their sins. That you must confess your sins directly to God. That it is the Holy Spirit that convicts men of their sins not man.
We also believe the Salvation is a personal thing between the individual and God that only God knows the heart of the individual. That no one on this earth can judge whether or not you are saved. You and God alone know that.
Please think about it.
Monday, 13 July 2015
A Legacy
A Legacy
"You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power.”
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
“I search in vain history to find similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel. Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”
Napoleon Bonaparte
Politicians and others, even terrorist groups want to leave a legacy to the world. Sadly all too many times that legacy is negative. Hitler and his henchmen left a legacy of genocide and destruction in their attempt to build the thousand year Reich. In today’s world the Islamic state are doing the same.
There are of course men and women who have left positive legacies. Churchill who stood up to Hitler. Mother Teresa who cared for the poor. These are legacies that will be remembered in history.
But no legacy is greater than that of Jesus Christ. He literally changed the world. His legacy is eternal. James Alan Francis in the 1920's wrote of Jesus,
“Nearly two thousand years ago in an obscure village, a child was born of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village where He worked as a carpenter until He was thirty. Then for three years He became an itinerant preacher.
This man never went to college or seminary. He never wrote a book. He never held a public office. He never had a family nor owned a home. He never put His foot inside a big city nor travelled even 200 miles from His birthplace. And though He never did any of the things that usually accompany greatness, throngs of people followed Him. He had no credentials but Himself.
While He was still young, the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His followers ran away. He was turned over to His enemies and sentenced to death on a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth – the simple coat He had worn. His body was laid in a borrowed grave provided by a compassionate friend.
But three days later this Man arose from the dead – living proof that He was, as He had claimed, the Saviour whom God had sent, the Incarnate Son of God.
Nineteen centuries have come and gone and today the risen Lord Jesus Christ is the central figure of the human race. On our calendars His birth divides history into two eras. One day of every week is set aside in remembrance of Him. And our two most important holidays celebrate His birth and resurrection. On church steeples around the world, His cross has become the symbol of victory over sin and death.”
Dr James Allan Francis
Think of it Jesus never raised a sword in anger yet today approximately two and a half billion people believe in him.
Napoleon got it right when he said,
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
Napoleon
Force of arms does not change the hearts of men only love can do that.
Jesus said,
“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
The Apostle Paul writing to the Romans said,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8.
This is the difference between Jesus and the leaders of any movement. Christ died for those He knew were sinners. Not only that He died for the sins of those sinners. He could do this because He was the one and only Son of God.
C. S. Lewis said,
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”
C.S. Lewis.
Lewis also points out,
“He (Jesus) died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.”
C.S. Lewis.
This is something no leader of any terrorist group today I’m sure would ever do. Jesus however proved he loved us by dying for us. For each and every man and woman.
Jesus died for you.
The Apostle Paul wrote,
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:6-8
Please think about it.
"You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power.”
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
“I search in vain history to find similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel. Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”
Napoleon Bonaparte
Politicians and others, even terrorist groups want to leave a legacy to the world. Sadly all too many times that legacy is negative. Hitler and his henchmen left a legacy of genocide and destruction in their attempt to build the thousand year Reich. In today’s world the Islamic state are doing the same.
There are of course men and women who have left positive legacies. Churchill who stood up to Hitler. Mother Teresa who cared for the poor. These are legacies that will be remembered in history.
But no legacy is greater than that of Jesus Christ. He literally changed the world. His legacy is eternal. James Alan Francis in the 1920's wrote of Jesus,
“Nearly two thousand years ago in an obscure village, a child was born of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village where He worked as a carpenter until He was thirty. Then for three years He became an itinerant preacher.
This man never went to college or seminary. He never wrote a book. He never held a public office. He never had a family nor owned a home. He never put His foot inside a big city nor travelled even 200 miles from His birthplace. And though He never did any of the things that usually accompany greatness, throngs of people followed Him. He had no credentials but Himself.
While He was still young, the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His followers ran away. He was turned over to His enemies and sentenced to death on a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth – the simple coat He had worn. His body was laid in a borrowed grave provided by a compassionate friend.
But three days later this Man arose from the dead – living proof that He was, as He had claimed, the Saviour whom God had sent, the Incarnate Son of God.
Nineteen centuries have come and gone and today the risen Lord Jesus Christ is the central figure of the human race. On our calendars His birth divides history into two eras. One day of every week is set aside in remembrance of Him. And our two most important holidays celebrate His birth and resurrection. On church steeples around the world, His cross has become the symbol of victory over sin and death.”
Dr James Allan Francis
Think of it Jesus never raised a sword in anger yet today approximately two and a half billion people believe in him.
Napoleon got it right when he said,
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
Napoleon
Force of arms does not change the hearts of men only love can do that.
Jesus said,
“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
The Apostle Paul writing to the Romans said,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8.
This is the difference between Jesus and the leaders of any movement. Christ died for those He knew were sinners. Not only that He died for the sins of those sinners. He could do this because He was the one and only Son of God.
C. S. Lewis said,
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”
C.S. Lewis.
Lewis also points out,
“He (Jesus) died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.”
C.S. Lewis.
This is something no leader of any terrorist group today I’m sure would ever do. Jesus however proved he loved us by dying for us. For each and every man and woman.
Jesus died for you.
The Apostle Paul wrote,
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:6-8
Please think about it.
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