Sound Advice

Sound Advice
The apostle Peter writes,
“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.  
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.  
For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. 
He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. 
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 1 Peter 3:8-12.
Here to my mind is some good and logical advice to all who would believe in Christ Jesus. Peter tells us,
1. Live in harmony with one another,
2. Love as brothers,
3. Be compassionate and humble
4. Do not repay evil with evil, insult with insult, but with blessing.
5. Keep your tongue from evil speech.
6. Seek peace and pursue it.
Peter then adds a seventh point, “the eyes of the Lord are no the righteous and he ears are attentive t their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
Even if you are not a believer in Christ Jesus. Living your life by these ideals is a good way to live your life.
Please think about it.

Sound Advice

Sound Advice
The writer of Proverbs states,

“Train a child in the way he should go,

 and when he is old he will not turn from it.” 

Proverbs 22:6.

My parents were not what some evangelical Christians would call Christian. Mom was Roman Catholic, Dad was Church of England. They attended church sporadically to say the least. However dad especially knew the Bible. He and my mother lived by Christian principles and they brought us up by those principles.
They never really said they were Christian principles, it was just that they brought us up the way they were brought up.
They key thing they taught us was one sentence that said,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,”
It was many years later when I gave my life to Christ and started studying the Bible for myself that I learned the last half of the sentence. The full quote is,
“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.
It is something I have passed on to my children.
For some memorizing or taking to heart large portions of the Bible is hard. However Jesus made God’s principles to live by easy when he 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.
Jesus made things very simple. So simple a child can understand.
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 neighbor as yourself.’  
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40.
Even the smallest child knows what true love is instinctively.
The apostle Paul defined it this way,

“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

If we, be we Christians or not, teach our children and our grandchildren to follow only one thing one teaching of Jesus said. That being
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.”
We would be at least one step closer to making the world around us a better place.
Please think about it.