The Christian Life

The Christian Life
Someone said to me a few days ago,
“I have a feeling the new decade 2020 will be a time of revival.” They are not the first. Such feelings happen a lot in Christian circles at the end of decades, centuries and millennia.
That being said I thought it only right to address the issue. So for my next few blogs I am writing about what I believe God expects of Christians, believers in Christ Jesus. At the same time I am taking a look at the various types of churches that exist today through the lense of the churches mentioned in the book of revelations.
In this blog however I would like to look at what the apostle Peter says Christians are and should be doing.
The apostle Peter states,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
Dear friends,
 I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9-12.
Do you do this?
Many years ago I was told by my first pastor to memorize the words of Jesus who 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.

He told me if you sincerely believe what Jesus is saying you will always remember to present the gospel of Christ in a respectful manner to all who will listen.
In following these words of Christ you will find yourself respecting those of different faiths, lifestyles, and positions in life.
Not only that you will find yourself being respected by others. And those who have the respect of others find it easier to present the gospel of Christ to non-believers.
The writer of Hebrews states,

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men

 and to be holy; 

without holiness no one will see the Lord.” 

                                                                                       Hebrews 12:14.

Please think about it.

The Christian life

The Christian Life,
The apostle Paul writing to the Romans tells believers in plane language how they are to live. I place it hear without commentary for you to read for yourself. What I would ask is, is what Paul outlines here reflective of your life, Paul writes,
“‘Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.  
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  
Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  
Live in harmony with one another. 
Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. 
Do not be conceited. 
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. 
Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.  
On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."Romans 12:9-21.
So if you claim to be a believer in Christ Jesus is this how you are living.
Please think about it

The Christian Life

The Christian life
The apostle Paul writes,
“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  
gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:18-25.
If you are claiming to be a follower of Jesus Christ are you measuring up to what the apostle Paul is saying here?
As believers in Christ we are called to live to a higher standard.
If we are living up to the Christ’s standard we are obeying Jesus who 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.
Jesus who told us to

“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.

If we are truly following the teachings of Christ we will exhibit the fruits of the spirit that the apostle Paul mentions.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control...”  Galatians  5: 22,23a
If we are truly followers of Jesus we will be acting like the apostle Peter states
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
Dear friends,
 I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9-12.
If we are truly following Christ we will obey the words of the writer of Hebrews who said,

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men

 and to be holy; 

without holiness no one will see the Lord.” 

Hebrews 12:14

Thus the question becomes, are you truly honouring God by your words and deeds?
Please think about it.

The Christian life

The Christian life
Dear friends,
 “I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9-12.
If you claim to be Christian do you realize that you are an alien and a stranger here on earth? That you are called to abstain from “sinful desires”?
Do you realize that you are to “live such good lives among the people around you that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us”?
There are many Christians in the world today who are suffering for their faith. For simply believing in Jesus they are being put into prison, tortured, even put to death because of it. Yet still they stand up for Christ.
Sadly here in North America where I live many calling themselves Christians are looked on as being prejudice and even bigoted. People who would attempt to restrict the freedoms of those they disagree with. Who look down on those who have a different lifestyle or faith.
These are men and women calling themselves Christians that are not. They are not following the teaching of the apostle Peter who said,
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”James 2:12,13.
These are people who will one day hear the words of Jesus who said,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:21-23.
If we claim to be Christians we must live a good and holy life. A life that reaches out to others in love. We must remember that Jesus sat down with people of all walks of life, tax collectors, Roman soldiers, Samaritans all people looked down on by the religious leaders of his day. Men and women who truly needed to know God.
We must follow Christ’s example.
We as Christians must heed the words of the writer of Hebrews who said,

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men

 and to be holy; 

without holiness no one will see the Lord.” 

                                                                                        Hebrews 12:14.
Francis of Assisi wrote,

“The deeds you do

 may be the only sermon 

some persons will hear today” 

                                                                         Francis of Assisi
If you claim to be Christian what is your sermon telling the people around you about Jesus.
Please think about it.

The Christian Life, Smyrna's Example

The Christian Life Smyrna’s Example
John writing in the book of Revelations records these words of Jesus,
“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.
   I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.  
Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. 
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. Revelations 2:8-11.
The church at Smyrna apparently had it hard. Smyrna was major sea port. It was one of the places Roman imperial cult was present. That along with a large Jewish population who probably didn’t agree with believers in Christ made it hard for these Christians.
What is notable about the church of Smyrna is despite the persecution these early believers kept the faith,
Jesus does not say anything against them. He warns them that there will be what most commentators say is a short period of persecution. Then encourages them saying,
“Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
This is the way it is for true believers today. We may from time to time undergo persecution, and certainly there are many places in the world today where believers in Christ are being persecuted. However no matter what we go through if we keep the faith, Jesus promises us a crown of life.
There is something we should however note here. There are many in North America where I live who say they are being persecuted when they are not. They are simply breaking the law.
It’s one thing to be persecuted for what we believe in. If we suffer in such a way we will inherit a crown of life.
However if we deliberately break a law passed by a secular government that does not prevent us from practising our faith as we wish, or restrict our rights or rights of others then that I believe is sin.
We should not be protesting against anything that is lawful unless it brings harm to ourselves or others. Even then we should be doing so peacefully and with respect to those who disagree with us.
The apostle Peter tells us,
“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.   For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 
Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.  1Peter 2:13-16
The writer of Hebrews tells us,

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men

 and to be holy; 

without holiness no one will see the Lord.” 

Hebrews 12:14

If we are doing as the writer of Hebrews is telling us to do, and are still being persecuted then we are doing things the way God intended us to do. And we will inherit a crown of life.
Please think about it.

The Christian Life

The Christian life.
“If, then, you are looking for the way by which you should go, take Christ, because He Himself is the way.” Thomas Aquinas.
Jesus said,
“...I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6. 
The call of Jesus to the world is,
“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.
All too often living here in North America I hear non-Christians saying Christianity is a bunch of do’s and do not’s. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Christianity is as much a lifestyle as it is a faith. It is living by a set of moral values set down by God in the Bible.
Following the moral rules for Christian living is no different than if you are playing a football game.
In a football match one needs to follow the rules in order to have good honest and fair game for all participating.
So it with Christian living. God lays out a set of moral rules for us to live by so that all can have a good life.
The call of Jesus is to Love God, your neighbour, your enemy and pray for those who persecute you.
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.
Making things even simpler 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 what Christian living is all about.
The writer of Hebrews states,
“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14.
This is what it is to live a Christian life.
Please think about it.