The Christian message
Every so often I like to make clear to people the way I believe you get to heaven. This is one of those times.
The Bible also makes it clear how we get to heaven. Still it come down to who you think Jesus is and what his purpose on this earth was for.
Jesus said,
...“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
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
Ephesians 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
Christians believe that it is God who reached down to mankind to show him the way to heaven because it is impossible for mankind to reach God any other way. We cannot live lives good enough or holy enough to get to heaven on our own.
Paul writing to the Romans said,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:23,
Sinning is falling short of what God wants for you life. Sin separates us from God.
Isaiah telling us,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
Isaiah 64:6
John noting,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
1 John 1:9,10.
We need to admit our short falls and sin to God. We need to ask Him to help us live lives that are acceptable to God.
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.
The decision ultimately however is yours. Salvation is an act of 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 defined as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1.
Please think about it.
Monday, 31 August 2015
Sunday, 30 August 2015
A declaration
A declaration
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Words from the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America July 4 1776.
Noble words. Words much of the world aspire to.
Words while not from the Bible echo it’s sentiments.
Under God all men are equal. They have a freewill. That freewill allows them to believe in God or not. To do with their life as they wish. To follow a path they feel is right for them even if it is contrary to what God wishes.
Abba 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.
One of those rights is to reject God.
As a Christian I have no right to force my beliefs on anyone. All I can do is present what I believe to people. It is their right to accept or reject it.
God it is true wants all people everywhere to turn to Him. To have a personal relationship with Him. But He wants them to come into that relationship of their own freewill. A person forced to make a decision will not necessarily make a sincere decision.
I as a Christian believe that we must make our decision in this life where we will spend eternity. As a result I feel I am obligated to tell the world about Jesus.
Perhaps the best message ever presented to non-Christians was presented by the Apostle Paul while in Athens. A place in the ancient world where people were free to think as they wished and exchanged views on just about everything.
The Book of acts records,
“So he (Paul) reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”
(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
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.
That message is as important today as it was when Paul spoke it. It is a message for all people of all ages.
Please think about it.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Words from the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America July 4 1776.
Noble words. Words much of the world aspire to.
Words while not from the Bible echo it’s sentiments.
Under God all men are equal. They have a freewill. That freewill allows them to believe in God or not. To do with their life as they wish. To follow a path they feel is right for them even if it is contrary to what God wishes.
Abba 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.
One of those rights is to reject God.
As a Christian I have no right to force my beliefs on anyone. All I can do is present what I believe to people. It is their right to accept or reject it.
God it is true wants all people everywhere to turn to Him. To have a personal relationship with Him. But He wants them to come into that relationship of their own freewill. A person forced to make a decision will not necessarily make a sincere decision.
I as a Christian believe that we must make our decision in this life where we will spend eternity. As a result I feel I am obligated to tell the world about Jesus.
Perhaps the best message ever presented to non-Christians was presented by the Apostle Paul while in Athens. A place in the ancient world where people were free to think as they wished and exchanged views on just about everything.
The Book of acts records,
“So he (Paul) reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”
(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
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.
That message is as important today as it was when Paul spoke it. It is a message for all people of all ages.
Please think about it.
Saturday, 29 August 2015
The Universe, God and You
The Universe, God & you
“The grandeur of the Universe is always commensurate with the grandeur of the soul that surveys it.”
Henrich Heine
The Bible says,
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1.
Job without the benefit of modern science said,
“He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.”
Job 26:7
The Psalmist wrote,
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
Psalm 19:1.
For me there is a God who created the universe and everything in it. He made it orderly and that order proves there is a God.
Mathematicians, physicist, astronomers, and scientist of all types realize there is an order. Mathematics proves the order. Using math science has been able to discover everything from planets orbiting distant stars, to the smallest subatomic particle.
I cannot believe this order simply happened randomly.
Additionally when we look at moral values of people around the world. The basic moral values of do not kill do not steal and so forth are common values. These values have existed for millennia in all societies world wide. This to, to me proves there is a God who placed in the hearts and minds of all men these moral values.
What to me however is more amazing is the God that created the universe actually came and entered His creation in the form of Jesus Christ.
The gospel of John recording,
“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.
This I know is a remarkable statement. A belief held only by Christians. The God of creation, almighty, all powerful God, chose to enter the universe, the world that he created.
Its quite a statement but if not true it destroys the Christian faith because Christians believe that God took a small part of his infiniteness made it corporeal and entered the world. Not only that He did it to reconcile man to Himself.
In other words God reached down to the man. He reached down I believe to give each and every person a choice.
When God created man He had already gave man a freewill and for that will to be truly free it had to include the ability to believe there is a God or not to believe.
Choosing not to believe in God and falling short of what God would have for your life is what is referred to as sinning. And since we are as human beings far from prefect we all sin.
The apostle Paul wrote,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:23,
That’s why Jesus came. He came to show each and every person how far He would go to reconcile man to himself.
If Jesus had not come we would have had to follow closely the laws laid down in the Old Testament. However Jesus came to be the Saviour of mankind.
Not only that but if Jesus had not entered this world we on the day we stand before God to be judged could I believe honestly say to God, “you don’t understand what it is to be human, because all you have ever known is absolute power.”
However since Jesus came to the world and lived life as an ordinary man. We cannot do that.
Jesus understands fully what it is to be a man. He experienced the mundane things like the sun and rain against his skin, he attended at least one wedding that we know of. He experienced the love of family and friends, temptation, the fleeting glory of fame as a great teacher. At the same time he experienced the wrath of his enemies who tried him in what amounted to a kangaroo court and passed him on to the secular Roman authorities.
Authorities who found no wrong in what he was doing, yet for political expediency had him brutally flogged and put to death on a cross.
This is the Jesus we all will one day stand before and be judged, because death did not hold Him. Jesus rose from the dead walked briefly on this earth again then ascended to be with God the Father. Where he will all one day stand before him as either Judge or Saviour.
Until that day we all have a choice to make. The gospel of John records the choice Jesus himself gave us 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.
The choice dear reader is yours. C. S. Lewis said,
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
C. S. Lewis
Please think about it.
“The grandeur of the Universe is always commensurate with the grandeur of the soul that surveys it.”
Henrich Heine
The Bible says,
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1.
Job without the benefit of modern science said,
“He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.”
Job 26:7
The Psalmist wrote,
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
Psalm 19:1.
For me there is a God who created the universe and everything in it. He made it orderly and that order proves there is a God.
Mathematicians, physicist, astronomers, and scientist of all types realize there is an order. Mathematics proves the order. Using math science has been able to discover everything from planets orbiting distant stars, to the smallest subatomic particle.
I cannot believe this order simply happened randomly.
Additionally when we look at moral values of people around the world. The basic moral values of do not kill do not steal and so forth are common values. These values have existed for millennia in all societies world wide. This to, to me proves there is a God who placed in the hearts and minds of all men these moral values.
What to me however is more amazing is the God that created the universe actually came and entered His creation in the form of Jesus Christ.
The gospel of John recording,
“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.
This I know is a remarkable statement. A belief held only by Christians. The God of creation, almighty, all powerful God, chose to enter the universe, the world that he created.
Its quite a statement but if not true it destroys the Christian faith because Christians believe that God took a small part of his infiniteness made it corporeal and entered the world. Not only that He did it to reconcile man to Himself.
In other words God reached down to the man. He reached down I believe to give each and every person a choice.
When God created man He had already gave man a freewill and for that will to be truly free it had to include the ability to believe there is a God or not to believe.
Choosing not to believe in God and falling short of what God would have for your life is what is referred to as sinning. And since we are as human beings far from prefect we all sin.
The apostle Paul wrote,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:23,
That’s why Jesus came. He came to show each and every person how far He would go to reconcile man to himself.
If Jesus had not come we would have had to follow closely the laws laid down in the Old Testament. However Jesus came to be the Saviour of mankind.
Not only that but if Jesus had not entered this world we on the day we stand before God to be judged could I believe honestly say to God, “you don’t understand what it is to be human, because all you have ever known is absolute power.”
However since Jesus came to the world and lived life as an ordinary man. We cannot do that.
Jesus understands fully what it is to be a man. He experienced the mundane things like the sun and rain against his skin, he attended at least one wedding that we know of. He experienced the love of family and friends, temptation, the fleeting glory of fame as a great teacher. At the same time he experienced the wrath of his enemies who tried him in what amounted to a kangaroo court and passed him on to the secular Roman authorities.
Authorities who found no wrong in what he was doing, yet for political expediency had him brutally flogged and put to death on a cross.
This is the Jesus we all will one day stand before and be judged, because death did not hold Him. Jesus rose from the dead walked briefly on this earth again then ascended to be with God the Father. Where he will all one day stand before him as either Judge or Saviour.
Until that day we all have a choice to make. The gospel of John records the choice Jesus himself gave us 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.
The choice dear reader is yours. C. S. Lewis said,
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
C. S. Lewis
Please think about it.
Friday, 28 August 2015
A Universal Truth
A universal truth
Jesus said,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 7:12.
This is one thing Christian and non-Christian can I believe agree on. If everyone treated others the way they would want to be treated this world would be a much better place to live in.
Anne Frank a young girl living in hiding from the Nazis in Holland during world war two wrote,
“Give of yourself, give as much as you can? And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness! If everyone were to do this and not be as mean with a kindly word, then there would be much more justice and love in the world. Give and you shall receive, much more than you would have ever thought possible. Give, give again and again, don’t lose courage, keep it up and go on giving! No one has ever become poor from giving!” Anne Frank.
Love and kindness are what makes the world a better place. Unfortunately Anne Frank experienced the opposite of kindness, hate. She was betrayed and died in one of Hitler’s concentration camps.
Around the world today there seems to be a lack of love. We see it in the extreme with the Islamic State and other terrorist groups. We see it on the streets of North American cities with the rise of gun violence and murders.
We see it also to a lesser degree when politicians fail to help the most vulnerable of our society.
We see it when we as individuals fail to do all we can do to help others. When we fail to show love.
The apostle Paul wrote what to be is the best definition of love. Something all people everywhere can identify with. He wrote,
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13.
Love is the one thing we all appreciate. Love is the one thing we should be showing to others at all times in word and most especially in deed.
Do you practice this kind of love?
Please think about it.
Jesus said,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 7:12.
This is one thing Christian and non-Christian can I believe agree on. If everyone treated others the way they would want to be treated this world would be a much better place to live in.
Anne Frank a young girl living in hiding from the Nazis in Holland during world war two wrote,
“Give of yourself, give as much as you can? And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness! If everyone were to do this and not be as mean with a kindly word, then there would be much more justice and love in the world. Give and you shall receive, much more than you would have ever thought possible. Give, give again and again, don’t lose courage, keep it up and go on giving! No one has ever become poor from giving!” Anne Frank.
Love and kindness are what makes the world a better place. Unfortunately Anne Frank experienced the opposite of kindness, hate. She was betrayed and died in one of Hitler’s concentration camps.
Around the world today there seems to be a lack of love. We see it in the extreme with the Islamic State and other terrorist groups. We see it on the streets of North American cities with the rise of gun violence and murders.
We see it also to a lesser degree when politicians fail to help the most vulnerable of our society.
We see it when we as individuals fail to do all we can do to help others. When we fail to show love.
The apostle Paul wrote what to be is the best definition of love. Something all people everywhere can identify with. He wrote,
“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.
Love is the one thing we all appreciate. Love is the one thing we should be showing to others at all times in word and most especially in deed.
Do you practice this kind of love?
Please think about it.
Thursday, 27 August 2015
An Explanation
An explanation
Someone pointed out that I from time to time mention when I speak to Christians or write my blogs to Christians that I speak of what as been called a “fundamental truth” an obvious truth. Thus I am asked why write such obvious truths to Christians.
The fact is a good percentage of those who attend church or who call themselves Christians don’t believe the fundamentals of Christianity. I know of several ministers that deny the deity of Christ among other things. They to me are not Christians, because you cannot deny the deity of Christ and be a Christian.
I know of others who are out there protesting against everything they disagree with, wishing to restrict the rights of others. This was something Christ and the apostles never did. Christians that protest in a democracy to restrict the rights of others need to read the Bible more carefully. It tells us,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Romans 12:18.
We cannot live at peace with everyone if we are protesting against someone’s rights.
Thus I write to express what I believe makes one a Christian. The apostles creed while not written by the apostles dose express the basics of Christianity when it says,
APOSTLES' CREED
"I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting."
Amen.
*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places
I believe as the Apostle Paul did 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
I also believe the writer of the book of Hebrews who said,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
“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.
I believe 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 14:6b.
I believe the words of the Apostle Paul who wrote,
“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
I believe the words of the Apostle John who wrote,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
1John 1:9-10.
John also said,
“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."
John 1:12,13
John also wrote,
“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....
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, 12-14
God actually entered this world because I believe because if he didn’t we could perhaps quite justly say to Him, “you don’t understand what it is to be human.” you have only experienced absolute power.
With God in the form of Jesus Christ, entering his creation to experience all it is to be human we cannot on the day he will judge us stand be for Him and say that He doesn’t understand.
Christians also believe one very crucial statement made by Jesus who 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.
Someone pointed out that I from time to time mention when I speak to Christians or write my blogs to Christians that I speak of what as been called a “fundamental truth” an obvious truth. Thus I am asked why write such obvious truths to Christians.
The fact is a good percentage of those who attend church or who call themselves Christians don’t believe the fundamentals of Christianity. I know of several ministers that deny the deity of Christ among other things. They to me are not Christians, because you cannot deny the deity of Christ and be a Christian.
I know of others who are out there protesting against everything they disagree with, wishing to restrict the rights of others. This was something Christ and the apostles never did. Christians that protest in a democracy to restrict the rights of others need to read the Bible more carefully. It tells us,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Romans 12:18.
We cannot live at peace with everyone if we are protesting against someone’s rights.
Thus I write to express what I believe makes one a Christian. The apostles creed while not written by the apostles dose express the basics of Christianity when it says,
APOSTLES' CREED
"I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting."
Amen.
*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places
I believe as the Apostle Paul did 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
I also believe the writer of the book of Hebrews who said,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
“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.
I believe 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 14:6b.
I believe the words of the Apostle Paul who wrote,
“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
I believe the words of the Apostle John who wrote,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
1John 1:9-10.
John also said,
“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."
John 1:12,13
John also wrote,
“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....
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, 12-14
God actually entered this world because I believe because if he didn’t we could perhaps quite justly say to Him, “you don’t understand what it is to be human.” you have only experienced absolute power.
With God in the form of Jesus Christ, entering his creation to experience all it is to be human we cannot on the day he will judge us stand be for Him and say that He doesn’t understand.
Christians also believe one very crucial statement made by Jesus who 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.
Wednesday, 26 August 2015
An unknown known God
An unknown known God
“The Jesus of the Scripture transcends all nations and calls all nations into judgment.”
American evangelist Tony Campolo
I as a Christian believe that not only every nation but every individual will be called to judgement. I believe that we will stand before God and asked to give account for our lives.
The Apostle Paul while in Athens was asked to speak about his beliefs by a group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. The book of acts records,
“So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”
(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
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
The choice for you the reader is the same today as it was that day in Athens. It is a call to repent of ones sins and turn to God.
The apostle John wrote,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
1John 1:9-10
So the Choice is yours, you can either believe that Jesus is the Son of God the Saviour of mankind or you can reject Jesus.
Please think about it.
“The Jesus of the Scripture transcends all nations and calls all nations into judgment.”
American evangelist Tony Campolo
I as a Christian believe that not only every nation but every individual will be called to judgement. I believe that we will stand before God and asked to give account for our lives.
The Apostle Paul while in Athens was asked to speak about his beliefs by a group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. The book of acts records,
“So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”
(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
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
The choice for you the reader is the same today as it was that day in Athens. It is a call to repent of ones sins and turn to God.
The apostle John wrote,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
1John 1:9-10
So the Choice is yours, you can either believe that Jesus is the Son of God the Saviour of mankind or you can reject Jesus.
Please think about it.
Tuesday, 25 August 2015
The Christianity I know
The Christianity I know
Tony Campolo the American evangelist wrote,
“These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed.”
Tony Campolo
I a Christian admit all too many people calling themselves Christians these days in North America are protesting against things. They are cementing in the minds of non-believers that Christianity is a religion of “do not’s”.
In protesting against the rights of someone in a secular democracy such as we have in the west these people are at the very least being perceived as intolerant bigots.
This is not the Christianity I know.
Christianity to me is God reaching down to mankind and saying “I love you. Let me show you the way to heaven.”
Jesus met with people of every strata in every circumstance of the society in which he lived. And even though He was the Christ and had the right to judge, he did not judge anyone while on this earth. Nor should Christians.
As a Christian I believe that Christians should be showing presenting the love of God to both our neighbour and our enemy that is what Jesus told us to do. He said,
“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,”
Matthew 5:43,44.
When asked the question,
“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.
This is what Christians are called to do.
Also because Christians are showing the love of God we would be remiss in our duty if we didn’t in Love present the warning God gave to all people everywhere. The warning Jesus spoke recorded by the apostle John.
“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.
This is the fundamental belief of Christians. We believe everyone must believe that Jesus is the one and only Son of God. The Saviour of mankind. That each person must come into a personal relationship with Jesus in order to get to heaven.
As Christians we are told to present this belief, not force it on anyone. Simply give each person the choice to believe it or not.
God gave each and every person a freewill to choose what they believe and the path of their life even if it is to reject Him.
So dear reader the choice is yours.
Please think about it.
Tony Campolo the American evangelist wrote,
“These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed.”
Tony Campolo
I a Christian admit all too many people calling themselves Christians these days in North America are protesting against things. They are cementing in the minds of non-believers that Christianity is a religion of “do not’s”.
In protesting against the rights of someone in a secular democracy such as we have in the west these people are at the very least being perceived as intolerant bigots.
This is not the Christianity I know.
Christianity to me is God reaching down to mankind and saying “I love you. Let me show you the way to heaven.”
Jesus met with people of every strata in every circumstance of the society in which he lived. And even though He was the Christ and had the right to judge, he did not judge anyone while on this earth. Nor should Christians.
As a Christian I believe that Christians should be showing presenting the love of God to both our neighbour and our enemy that is what Jesus told us to do. He said,
“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,”
Matthew 5:43,44.
When asked the question,
“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.
This is what Christians are called to do.
Also because Christians are showing the love of God we would be remiss in our duty if we didn’t in Love present the warning God gave to all people everywhere. The warning Jesus spoke recorded by the apostle John.
“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.
This is the fundamental belief of Christians. We believe everyone must believe that Jesus is the one and only Son of God. The Saviour of mankind. That each person must come into a personal relationship with Jesus in order to get to heaven.
As Christians we are told to present this belief, not force it on anyone. Simply give each person the choice to believe it or not.
God gave each and every person a freewill to choose what they believe and the path of their life even if it is to reject Him.
So dear reader the choice is yours.
Please think about it.
Monday, 24 August 2015
Your Choice
Your Choice
To my mind as a Christian there is no more important matter in life to consider than who you the individual thinks Jesus is.
The book of John records Jesus speaking to 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?”
“Yes Lord” she told Him, “I believe you are the Christ the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
John 11:25,-27
The question is do you believe.
Below are a few quotes from the New Testament regarding Jesus. I put them here for you to consider.
The Apostle John records in his gospel,
“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 1:1-4,14
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
The apostle John records while Jesus was at Solomon’s Colonnade,
“The Jews gathered around him,(Jesus) saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
I and the Father are one.”
John10: 34-30.
Jesus speaking to one of his disciples is recorded as saying,
....“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
The above quotes show three important claims Jesus and His disciples made.
One Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is God incarnate, God in the flesh.
Two, Jesus is God. He was in the beginning when the universe was made and the universe was made by Him.
Thirdly, Jesus is the way to heaven. He makes it clear that He is the resurrection and the life. That no one can come to the Father except through Him.
These claims for their day were radical. Claiming to be God or even the Son of God was under Jewish law at the time a crime punishable by death.
C. S. Lewis states,
“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.
Lewis also made the following statement I leave with you.
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
C. S. Lewis.
The decision is yours to make.
Please think about it.
To my mind as a Christian there is no more important matter in life to consider than who you the individual thinks Jesus is.
The book of John records Jesus speaking to 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?”
“Yes Lord” she told Him, “I believe you are the Christ the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
John 11:25,-27
The question is do you believe.
Below are a few quotes from the New Testament regarding Jesus. I put them here for you to consider.
The Apostle John records in his gospel,
“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 1:1-4,14
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
The apostle John records while Jesus was at Solomon’s Colonnade,
“The Jews gathered around him,(Jesus) saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
I and the Father are one.”
John10: 34-30.
Jesus speaking to one of his disciples is recorded as saying,
....“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
The above quotes show three important claims Jesus and His disciples made.
One Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is God incarnate, God in the flesh.
Two, Jesus is God. He was in the beginning when the universe was made and the universe was made by Him.
Thirdly, Jesus is the way to heaven. He makes it clear that He is the resurrection and the life. That no one can come to the Father except through Him.
These claims for their day were radical. Claiming to be God or even the Son of God was under Jewish law at the time a crime punishable by death.
C. S. Lewis states,
“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.
Lewis also made the following statement I leave with you.
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
C. S. Lewis.
The decision is yours to make.
Please think about it.
Sunday, 23 August 2015
Where will you end up?
Where will you end up?
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote,
It’s a fact the day you’re born is the day you start dying. We will not get out of this life alive. The question is where will you spend eternity?
I have said many times I cannot believe that this life is all there is. That the spark that is you, your soul, has to live on forever. If it’s not so, then why live? There has to be more than this life.
The poet wrote,
“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.
The choice is yours to make. If I am wrong you have nothing to fear if I am right you have a lot to fear and a serious choice to make.
Please think carefully about it.
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote,
Requiem
“Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies were he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.”
By Robert Louis StevensonIt’s a fact the day you’re born is the day you start dying. We will not get out of this life alive. The question is where will you spend eternity?
I have said many times I cannot believe that this life is all there is. That the spark that is you, your soul, has to live on forever. If it’s not so, then why live? There has to be more than this life.
The poet wrote,
Where are the people?
Where?
Are they but shadows in the mall?
Are they?
Are they shadows in time,
Shadows wandering looking for the latest trinkets, bobbles or beads.
What is life?
What?
Is life but a wisp of smoke carried in the air?
A wisp in the eternal aether
Are people wisps of smoke?
What of man’s, or woman’s! accomplishments?
What of them?
Is the sum total of all ones life simply a pile of shinny tin, brass, and wood?
Is that life?
Is life simply a cacophony of sounds travelling through endless time?
Is it?
Or
Is life.
Yours and mine, more?
Is it a divine opera?
An opera played out on a high mesa
On a stage suspended between heaven and hell.
Are we as Shakespear said “simply actors”?
Actors who write our own script?
I think,
No,... I truly believe!
Life is an opera played out before God.
On a high mesa between heaven and hell.
We are actors in a play?
Actors who write our own script awaiting the final curtain call?
Are you ready for the final curtain call?
Are you?
What is the sum total of your life?
What?
What will “they” say about you as you pass on?
What will God say?
I firmly believe it is here and now that we determine where we will spend eternity. 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.
The choice is yours to make. If I am wrong you have nothing to fear if I am right you have a lot to fear and a serious choice to make.
Please think carefully about it.
Saturday, 22 August 2015
Freedom and Christians
Freedom and Christians
Nelson Mandela said,
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
Nelson Mandela.
From the outset let me make things clear I am a Christian. I accepted Christ as my Saviour over forty years ago. I currently teach the adult midweek bible study at my church. Throughout the years I have done everything from ushering in the church to talking to people on the street about Christ and everything in the middle.
I however look with dismay at those calling themselves Christians who are protesting against gay marriage and gay rights in general, as well as anything else it seems they object to. Which lately seems to be a lot of things.
This in a free and democratic society should not be.
Over the years, indeed over the centuries, men and women calling themselves Christians have used the Bible, WRONGLY, to support everything from the crusades, to slavery, to segregation to anti-Semitism.
Now people are using it again wrongly, against homosexuals and those in the transgendered community.
While some of those protesting against Gay rights and other things may be Christians by the slimmest of margins I believe they are wrong in protesting against anything.
The only thing I believe Christians should be protesting in a democracy is when an elected government tries to restrict the rights of Christians or any other group without good reason.
Tony Campolo the American evangelist made a good point when he said,
“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
As Christians we are called to love God, our neighbour, and even our enemy. If we attempt to restrict the freedom of even one person simply because we disagree with them it is wrong and not acting in love.
We live in a secular democracy quite similar in some ways to that of the Roman empire Jesus and the apostles lived in. I’m sure Paul and the other apostles saw a great many things they disagreed with in the society in which they lived. Yet they never spoke against the Roman government, laws or Roman society in general. In fact 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.
Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.”
Romans 13:1-3.
Here in North America and in western democracies elected secular governments set the laws. They, because they are secular, do their best to cater to everyone from every faith, race and lifestyle. This is the way it should be.
I as a Christian believe God gave man a free will to go his own way and do his own thing. That free will even gives him the right to believe in God or not.
It does not give anyone the right to restrict the rights of others who are living in peace and doing no harm to others.
It is my wish as a Christian that everyone irrespective of who they are or their lifestyle would come to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Still I cannot and will not force my beliefs on them. Like I said, God has given each person the freedom to choose the direction of their life.
As for me I believe the words of Jesus when asked,
“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 neighbour as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40.
I believe all men are my neighbours and I have the responsibility to give them the option Jesus gives all men 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 think about it.
Nelson Mandela said,
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
Nelson Mandela.
From the outset let me make things clear I am a Christian. I accepted Christ as my Saviour over forty years ago. I currently teach the adult midweek bible study at my church. Throughout the years I have done everything from ushering in the church to talking to people on the street about Christ and everything in the middle.
I however look with dismay at those calling themselves Christians who are protesting against gay marriage and gay rights in general, as well as anything else it seems they object to. Which lately seems to be a lot of things.
This in a free and democratic society should not be.
Over the years, indeed over the centuries, men and women calling themselves Christians have used the Bible, WRONGLY, to support everything from the crusades, to slavery, to segregation to anti-Semitism.
Now people are using it again wrongly, against homosexuals and those in the transgendered community.
While some of those protesting against Gay rights and other things may be Christians by the slimmest of margins I believe they are wrong in protesting against anything.
The only thing I believe Christians should be protesting in a democracy is when an elected government tries to restrict the rights of Christians or any other group without good reason.
Tony Campolo the American evangelist made a good point when he said,
“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
As Christians we are called to love God, our neighbour, and even our enemy. If we attempt to restrict the freedom of even one person simply because we disagree with them it is wrong and not acting in love.
We live in a secular democracy quite similar in some ways to that of the Roman empire Jesus and the apostles lived in. I’m sure Paul and the other apostles saw a great many things they disagreed with in the society in which they lived. Yet they never spoke against the Roman government, laws or Roman society in general. In fact 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.
Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.”
Romans 13:1-3.
Here in North America and in western democracies elected secular governments set the laws. They, because they are secular, do their best to cater to everyone from every faith, race and lifestyle. This is the way it should be.
I as a Christian believe God gave man a free will to go his own way and do his own thing. That free will even gives him the right to believe in God or not.
It does not give anyone the right to restrict the rights of others who are living in peace and doing no harm to others.
It is my wish as a Christian that everyone irrespective of who they are or their lifestyle would come to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Still I cannot and will not force my beliefs on them. Like I said, God has given each person the freedom to choose the direction of their life.
As for me I believe the words of Jesus when asked,
“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 neighbour as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40.
I believe all men are my neighbours and I have the responsibility to give them the option Jesus gives all men 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 think about it.
Friday, 21 August 2015
The Way to Heaven
The way to heaven
The apostle Paul wrote,
“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.
Paul referred to himself as the worst of sinners, but according to the New Testament writers we are all sinners,
The apostle Paul says,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:23.
The apostle John Wrote,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
1 John 1:9-10.
We as people fall short everyday of our lives of what God wants for our lives. Falling short of what God wants for us is sinning. Sinning is missing the mark.
We are human we make mistakes. God understands that. That’s why God provided away for us to have our sins forgiven.
God realizing we couldn’t live lives perfect enough for us to be with him so he reached down to us in the form of Jesus. Through Jesus he showed how far in human terms He would go to reconcile each and every person to himself.
The apostle Paul writes,
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”
Romans 5:6.
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.
Ultimately salvation is based on two things.
The first is who you think Jesus is. Jesus asks us to believe the following statements,
“...“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
“....“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
The second is we are asked to act in faith,
The apostle Paul make it clear salvation is not something we can work for. Paul writing to the Ephesians 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.
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 defined as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1.
So the choice is yours.
Please think about it.
The apostle Paul wrote,
“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.
Paul referred to himself as the worst of sinners, but according to the New Testament writers we are all sinners,
The apostle Paul says,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:23.
The apostle John Wrote,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”
1 John 1:9-10.
We as people fall short everyday of our lives of what God wants for our lives. Falling short of what God wants for us is sinning. Sinning is missing the mark.
We are human we make mistakes. God understands that. That’s why God provided away for us to have our sins forgiven.
God realizing we couldn’t live lives perfect enough for us to be with him so he reached down to us in the form of Jesus. Through Jesus he showed how far in human terms He would go to reconcile each and every person to himself.
The apostle Paul writes,
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”
Romans 5:6.
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.
Ultimately salvation is based on two things.
The first is who you think Jesus is. Jesus asks us to believe the following statements,
“...“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
“....“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
The second is we are asked to act in faith,
The apostle Paul make it clear salvation is not something we can work for. Paul writing to the Ephesians 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.
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 defined as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1.
So the choice is yours.
Please think about it.
Thursday, 20 August 2015
The greatest thing
The greatest thing
Here is a universal truth that everyone can understand irrespective of their faith, Love.
The apostle Paul wrote,
The world today lacks love in many ways. Especially here in the west and in North America were all too many people bow down to the dollar bill, love is lacking.
You walk through any major city in North America and you might as well be an emotionless, faceless automaton. Commuters pass the same people day after day and yet never know their name.
Even when we conduct our business we do so by Email or through an emotionless computer. It’s be come a press one for this, press two for that society. Personal contact is lacking. People are simply becoming figures on a ledger.
Is it any wonder our young people are turning to terrorist groups to find meaning and love in their life?
We as individuals need to show more love. We need to reach out and embrace someone once in a while. To tell people we love them.
Businesses need to step up to the plate and show more compassion for their workers cater as much as possible to their workers needs. Show them that they are appreciated.
When I was younger there was a movie musical came out called Good by Mr Chips. It’s theme music had the title “In the morning of my life” the lyrics say,
Question: At the end of your life will you be able to say “I filled the world with Love?”
Will God say that?
Please think about it.
Here is a universal truth that everyone can understand irrespective of their faith, Love.
The apostle Paul wrote,
“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. Reliant
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.
Is this the kind of love you have?The world today lacks love in many ways. Especially here in the west and in North America were all too many people bow down to the dollar bill, love is lacking.
You walk through any major city in North America and you might as well be an emotionless, faceless automaton. Commuters pass the same people day after day and yet never know their name.
Even when we conduct our business we do so by Email or through an emotionless computer. It’s be come a press one for this, press two for that society. Personal contact is lacking. People are simply becoming figures on a ledger.
Is it any wonder our young people are turning to terrorist groups to find meaning and love in their life?
We as individuals need to show more love. We need to reach out and embrace someone once in a while. To tell people we love them.
Businesses need to step up to the plate and show more compassion for their workers cater as much as possible to their workers needs. Show them that they are appreciated.
When I was younger there was a movie musical came out called Good by Mr Chips. It’s theme music had the title “In the morning of my life” the lyrics say,
In the morning of my life
I will look to the Sunrise
At a moment in my life
When the world is new.
And the Question
I shall ask only God can answer.
Will I be brave and strong and true,
Will I fill the world with love my whole life through?
Will I fill the world with love my whole life through?
In the evening of my life
I will look to the sunset
At a moment in my life
When my life is through.
And the question I shall ask only I can answer
Was I brave and strong and true.
Did I fill the world with love my whole life through?
Did I fill the world with love my whole life through?
From the movie Good by Mr. Chips.Question: At the end of your life will you be able to say “I filled the world with Love?”
Will God say that?
Please think about it.
Wednesday, 19 August 2015
A Christian Thing
A Christian thing
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father’” ?
Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son” ?
And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.”
But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
Hebrews 1:1-9.
Here is sound Christian belief. The writer of Hebrews telling us several important things about Jesus,
1/“but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”
2/“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
3/ The writer notes that the Son (Jesus), provided purification for our sins.
“After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
4/ Jesus is superior to the angels.
“So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.”
5/The writer noting that God said,
“I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”
6/The writer saying,
“And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7/Then finally the writer says,
“...about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
In conclusion
Jesus is the Son of God, the creator of the universe, the Saviour of the world. The one who died for our sins. And His throne will last for ever and ever.
You cannot be a Christian if you do not believe this.
You cannot enter heaven if you do not believe in Jesus.
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 past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father’” ?
Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son” ?
And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.”
But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
Hebrews 1:1-9.
Here is sound Christian belief. The writer of Hebrews telling us several important things about Jesus,
1/“but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”
2/“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
3/ The writer notes that the Son (Jesus), provided purification for our sins.
“After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
4/ Jesus is superior to the angels.
“So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.”
5/The writer noting that God said,
“I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”
6/The writer saying,
“And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7/Then finally the writer says,
“...about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
In conclusion
Jesus is the Son of God, the creator of the universe, the Saviour of the world. The one who died for our sins. And His throne will last for ever and ever.
You cannot be a Christian if you do not believe this.
You cannot enter heaven if you do not believe in Jesus.
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
Tuesday, 18 August 2015
Christian Belief
Christian belief
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father’” ?
Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son” ?
And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.”
But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
Hebrews 1:1-9.
Here is sound Christian belief. The writer of Hebrews telling us several important things about Jesus,
1/“but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”
2/“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
3/ The writer notes that the Son (Jesus), provided purification for our sins.
“After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
4/ Jesus is superior to the angels.
“So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.”
5/The writer noting that God said,
“I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”
6/The writer saying,
“And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7/Then finally the writer says,
“...about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
In conclusion
Jesus is the Son of God, the creator of the universe, the Saviour of the world. The one who died for our sins. And His throne will last for ever and ever.
You cannot be a Christian if you do not believe this.
You cannot enter heaven if you do not believe in Jesus.
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 past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father’” ?
Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son” ?
And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.”
But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
Hebrews 1:1-9.
Here is sound Christian belief. The writer of Hebrews telling us several important things about Jesus,
1/“but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”
2/“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
3/ The writer notes that the Son (Jesus), provided purification for our sins.
“After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
4/ Jesus is superior to the angels.
“So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.”
5/The writer noting that God said,
“I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”
6/The writer saying,
“And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
7/Then finally the writer says,
“...about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”
In conclusion
Jesus is the Son of God, the creator of the universe, the Saviour of the world. The one who died for our sins. And His throne will last for ever and ever.
You cannot be a Christian if you do not believe this.
You cannot enter heaven if you do not believe in Jesus.
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.
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