Only Love Can

Only Love Can
Martin Luther King Jr. One of the leaders of the civil rights movement in the 1960's said,
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
I heard a disturbing statistic today. In the city of Chicago in the United State more people have died through gun violence between 2001 and 2016 than American soldiers died in the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts combined. That is only one city in the United States.
Gun violence has reached has reached epidemic proportions in the United States all fuelled by hate. Love seems to be forgotten. The teachings of Dr. King, of non-violence seems to be lost to history.
Around the world love is lacking. Terrorist seek to impose their will on populations using violence, promoting hate wherever they can. They fail to learn the lessons of history. No person or group has ever conquered the world and kept it through the use of hate.
Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver during the early years of World War two said,
“There is one other fundamental difference between love and hate.  Love is always a refuge.  Hate is never a refuge.  Only a mentally sick person can find refuge in his hates.  But love is the enduring sanctuary of life.  Life may rob you of many things.  It often does.  But it can never bereave us of love itself.  That remains. -Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, rabbinic leader, from a December 22, 1940, sermon.
   If one wants to conquer the world hate is not the way. If one wants to end the violence in American cities and for that matter any city around the world there is only one way. The promotion of Love.
The apostle Paul defined love 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.
Love is the chief lesson Jesus and his followers strived to promote. 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.
Jesus also 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, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  
  And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?  Matthew 5:43-47.
The Love of God, your neighbour and even your enemy is something that needs to be taught in our homes, in our schools from the very beginning.
The words of Jesus and the apostle Paul are universal truths all faiths can understand.
We need to teach our children what 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.
I think it is no coincidence that as our society has moved away from God violence in all its forms has increased globally.
The writer of Proverbs states,
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 
Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” Proverbs 3:3,4.
This is something we need to be teaching our children. Words we need to be living in front of our children.
Laws no matter how strict they may be will not stem violence. Strict laws have been around since before biblical times and those who commit violence have not been deterred by them.
Only a dynamic change in our thinking can pull our society away from the pit filled with brimstone, that if it keeps going as it is will one day fall into.
Only by teaching our children from the day they are born to Love and forgive unconditionally will society start to change.
Please think about it.

Christ is divine

Christ is divine
Henry Ward Beecher wrote,
“If Christ is not divine, every impulse of the Christian world falls to a lower octave, and light and love and hope decline.”  Henry Ward Beecher.
C. S. Lewis wrote,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”  C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
Both Lewis and Beecher express what Christians believe about Jesus. He is divine. He is the one and Only Son of God. He is God incarnate. He is the Saviour of Mankind.
I know to non-Christians Jesus may be at best a good man and moral teacher. That however is not the way Christians see Him.
The New Testament quotes Jesus as saying,
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.
The writer of Hebrews tells us,
“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.” Hebrews 1:1-3.
Note the writer states Jesus is the exact representation of God’s being.
The apostle Paul states,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13.
Early Christians believed and true Christians today believe that Jesus is the Lord and Saviour of mankind. That by believing in Him we will have our sins forgiven and get to heaven. The apostle John stating,
“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
The apostle Paul also notes,
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18.
I as a Christian admit that some of what Christians believe may seem at times hard to believe but I believe that, that is what God wants.
God wants people to follow Him by faith, but not blind faith.
 God and all true believers in Christ would ask people to study the New Testament and indeed the whole Bible for themselves and make their own decision.. For it is in studying the Bible that one will find the truth about God and Jesus.
Please think about it.

On Love

On Love

Corrie ten Boom said
“Surely there is no more wretched sight that the human body unloved and uncared for.” 
Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place
Miss ten Boom was right and she should know. Corrie spent time in a Nazi concentration camp and seen the worst mankind could inflict on another human being.
Hitler and his henchmen certainly within living memory inflicted more pain and suffering on humanity than any other group, perhaps even in human history.
Rabbi Benjamin Blech said,
“In the aftermath of Nazi Germany we must once and for all understand that culture and crematoria are not mutually exclusive.  Scientific progress does not ensure moral protection, nor can secular humanism produce saints.  People will always find reasons to justify any kind of behaviour.”
-Rabbi Benjamin Blech, congregational rabbi and ancient professor of Talmud, Understanding Judaism.  The Basics of Deed and Creed (1991)
He was right. Even the most cultured nation, the most intellectually advanced nation can do horrible things against its people. Jews have suffered discrimination in all nations throughout history.
It doesn’t stop with the Jews however in the United States segregation of African Americans and restriction on other ethnic groups stands as a blot on their history.
Even in Canada there were laws that restricted some minorities from entering the country. Canada’s record toward it’s indigenous peoples is far from stellar to say the least.
All major western nations from time to time throughout history have embraced slavery and persecuted people be it in their homeland or in their colonies.
Today we point to terrorist and see extreme disregard for the dignity and basic human rights of the individual.
All this proves to me there is a need for the Christian message to go forth to all nations. The need to recognize there is a God who will one day call each person to account.
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
The writer of Ecclesiastes said,
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole  duty  of man. 
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” 
Ecclesiastes12:13,14.
It is when man does not recognize God or loses his fear of God that the society falls apart.  If man has no fear of judgment then many will do as they please. This is true as much for a terrorist, as for serial killer, a thief or for that matter a corrupt politician or preacher or anyone who thinks they can get away with evil.
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.
Jesus however did not stop there 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, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  
 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?’ Matthew 5:43-47.
The apostle Paul set the standard for love when he said,
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 
Love never fails....
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”  
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13.
The truth of what Jesus and Paul said is universal. You don’t have to be a Christian to appreciate what they say.
Anne Frank a young Jewish girl while in hiding from the Nazis 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
Anne Frank was right. If we as individuals showed love and kindness to those around us the world would be a much better place.
Why not express love to someone you meet today.
Please think about it.

Let Love

Let Love

“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.” 

                                                                                                              Romans 12:9-18.
Do you Love? If you claim to be Christian do you love in the way the Bible intended you to love?
The apostle Paul gave Christians the standard for Christian love in 1 Corinthians 13 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.
It seems our society is becoming less loving. As connected as we are through technology we are I think a less loving society. One just has to look at the murder rate. One figure I heard was ninety-nine people die from gun violence in the United States every day. On top of that there are thousands of other violent crimes that show a lack of love.
Politicians argue in the United States about whether to give affordable universal  health care to all, something considered a human right in all other western democracies. While they themselves have good health care.
In Canada as I write this there are several Native communities in Canada’s north that have declared a state of emergency due to a rise in suicides. Many Native communities lack safe drinking water, and adequate housing. Again something considered a human right.
All of this could be solved by a government who acted swiftly out of true love for their citizens.
Canada and the United States are not alone. Every country around the world has their problems. Places where if only Love is shown the problem could end quickly.
The Talmud has a story I like to quote. One which I can see happening to all people eventually it states,
“When a man appears before the Throne of Judgment, the first question he is asked is not, “Have you believed in God?”  Or “Have you prayed and observed the ritual?  “He is asked: “have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?”
                                                                                                              The Talmud.
I believe not only politicians but all people will one day be held accountable to God for all we do. For our lack of love toward our fellow man.
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.
I believe all of us want to be loved therefor we should be doing to others as we would have others do to us.
Please think about it.

My Shepherd

My Shepherd

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures, 

He leads me beside quiet waters, 

He restores my soul. 

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I will fear no evil, for You are with me; 

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. 

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

 and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. 

                                                                                                            Psalm 23.
Psalm twenty-three. All I can say about this is that I have found what it says to be true. In my life I have gone through many good times and many bad times.
I have found that God has been for me in both the good and the bad.
It is something I want everyone to know about.
I know God is real. I know that Jesus is Gods one and only Son. That he came to die for my sins and short comings.
I know that in the darkest days of my life I have been able to rely on Him.
I have never regretted choosing to follow Jesus.
I have heard the call of Jesus,
“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.
And through my life I have proven it to be true.
I hope anyone reading this will at least start to look at and read the New Testament at the very least and see the truth about Jesus and how he can make your life richer.
Please think about it.

A Truth

A truth

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun”...
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
Ecclesiastes 1:9,14.
Does your life seem like you are chasing after the wind? Does your life have meaning?
I would go as far as saying most people live their life in relative obscurity. They are born and die within a few hundred kilometres of where they were they were born. Throughout their life they may travel to different places but they are known to few.
The accomplishments of the average person are minor and although they may have brought a great deal of joy and happiness into the lives of those around them. Within a hundred years of their death they are only remembered if they are lucky by a name on a tombstone.
 A few years ago as the Voyager space craft was billions of Kilometres  from our solar system, NASA turned it around and it took a picture of Earth. It was described as a pail blue dot. That dot is not much bigger than the head of a pin.
It shows that in the vastness of space earth is very small yet it is where we live. It is where all of mankind since the dawn of time have lived.
If there is no God we as a species could pass into eternity and no one would ever know.
I believe there is however a God who loves and cares for us. A God who created not only that pale blue dot but he universe and everything in it.
He is a God who cares so much He, in the form of Jesus Christ, entered the world to show the world that he cared for each and every person.
John’s gospel records,
“In the beginning was the Word,(Jesus) 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.
It was this 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
It is through Jesus we can have a fulfilling life.
 Jesus said,
“...I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
                                                                                      John 10:10.
I as a Christian have found those words to be true.
The word I quoted above I believe to be completely true. The apostle John saying,
“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.”
I know that this may not make sense to those who don’t know Christ but the apostle Paul even noted,
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
                        1 Corinthians 1:18
Ultimately it comes down to an act of faith. Either you believe Jesus is all he said he is or you do not it is your choice. The writer of Hebrews stating,
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him"
                                  Hebrews 11:6
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." 
                                                                                                                        Hebrews 11:1
Please think about it.

A Truth

A Truth

Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith’s door,

And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;

Then, looking in, I saw upon the floor

Old hammers, worn with beating years of time.

“How many anvils have you had,” said I,

“To wear and bater all these hammers so?”

“Just one,” said he, and then, with twinkling eye,

The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.”

And so, thought I, the anvil of God’s Word,

For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;

Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,

The anvil is unharmed - and hammers gone.

                                                                                               Anonymous
For me the poem rings true. Many people have throughout the centuries from ancient Roman emperors, to modern dictators, to communism and Atheist have come against the Bible and the teachings of God.
Some have predicted that Christianity would pass away. The thing is just the opposite has happened it’s opponents have passed on.
Today in the twenty-first century there are many who would deny God exists. They in my opinion are wrong.
Peter John Kreeft said,
“Atheism treats people cheaply. Also, it robs death of meaning, and if death has no meaning, how can life ultimately have meaning? Atheism cheapens everything it touches, look at the results of communism, the most powerful form of atheism on earth.
And in the end, when the atheist dies and encounters God instead of nothingness he had predicted he’ll recognize that atheism was a cheap answer because it refused the only thing that’s not cheap the God of infinite value”
                     Peter John Kreeft ph.d 
For me the evidence that there is a God who created everything is all around me, the universe from the largest galaxies to the smallest subatomic particles are in perfect harmony. The world we live in is in is positioned perfectly in space to allow life as we know it to exist. I cannot believe this is by chance.
Further more all men recognise there are moral absolutes a civilized society must live by in order to survive.
This is something that could not have simply happened randomly. It had to have been there from the beginning in man’s hart. If this were not so, those who did not share the common morals, especially if they were violent, would dominate and potentially have driven mankind to extinction before now.
All of this points to there being a God.
Ultimately however belief in God and Christ is an act of faith. The writer of Hebrews saying,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
                                                                                                               Hebrews 11:6
Faith defined as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” 
                                                                                                                             Hebrews 11:1.
If I am wrong in my thinking I have lost nothing. I have simply lived a good life that for me has had purpose and meaning.
If I am right as I know I am, then those who would deny God and the truths in the Bible have a great deal to consider. For what they believe will determine their eternal resting place.
Please think about it.