A Common Truth

A common truth
John Wesley the famous evangelist wrote,

Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can

In all the ways you can

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can.

                                                                                           John Wesley
Wesley’s words echo the teachings 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.
This is a truth everyone, everywhere can understand. It is a truth that if followed by everyone would make the world a better place.
Basic Christian lifestyle principles are universal truths, 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 even went one step further saying,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,...”  
                                                                                   Matthew 5:43,44.
Anne Frank a young Jewish girl in hiding from the Nazis in the occupied Netherlands during world war two, knew what it was to experience hate. She 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.
What Anne said is true. You cannot become poor from giving.
Both Christians and non-Christians alike can understand love and kindness.
As I see it the world around us is getting it seems worse and worse. Even in the United States a country that prides itself of being the bastion of freedom a political candidate is permitted to spew hate and no one seems to want to stop him.
I believe it’s time for people everywhere be they in the United States, Canada, or other places around the world to hold high the banner of love and kindness. To oppose repression and hate.
Such a thing must start on an individual level. As Wesley said,

Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can

In all the ways you can

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can.

                                                                                             John Wesley.
Creating a better world is not impossible if we try. All it take is the will to do so. Francis of Assisi wrote,
“Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” 
Francis of Assisi
Please think about it.

He didn't fire a Shot

He didn’t fire a shot

He didn’t fire a shot in anger. Yet He changed the world. He never carried a gun, or a sword, yet He changed the hearts of men. He never led a rebellion yet today He has a following numbering in the billions.
Napoleon Bonaparte said of Him,
"You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? 
My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power.”
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
“I search in vain history to find similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel.  Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”
                                                                                              Napoleon Bonaparte,
Billy Graham said of the men who followed Jesus,
“The men who followed Him were unique in their generation. They turned the world upside down because their hearts had been turned right side up. The world has never been the same.”
                                                                                                                                        Billy Graham.
Throughout history many men have tried to conquer the word. The Romans, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Hitler, IS as well as other terrorist groups and crack pot dictators.
Dozens of men thinking their way will make a better society. All are now or soon will be footnotes in history. Force does not change people hearts.
T. H. White wrote,
“There was just such a man when I was young—an Austrian who invented a new way of life and convinced himself that he was the chap to make it work. He tried to impose his reformation by the sword, and plunged the civilized world into misery and chaos. 
But the thing which this fellow had overlooked, my friend, was that he had a predecessor in the reformation business, called Jesus Christ. 
Perhaps we may assume that Jesus knew as much as the Austrian did about saving people. But the odd thing is that Jesus did not turn the disciples into storm troopers, burn down the Temple at Jerusalem, and fix the blame on Pontius Pilate. 
On the contrary, he made it clear that the business of the philosopher was to make ideas available, and not to impose them on people.” 
                                  T. H. White, The Once and Future King.
Jesus showed how to change the world. That way being by love. Today there are close to three billion Christians in the world and the number is growing despite being persecuted.
Only true love can truly change the hearts of men. Only true love can change society for the better.
It is only when we love others and respect their rights and freedoms can we truly change the individual.
The apostle Paul writes,
“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.
Those who do not espouse to what Paul writes about will never win a true following among men.
Ultimately I believe those who try to force themselves on people by force of arms and fear will one day be judged by God and it will not go well for them.
I believe the words of Jesus who said,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 
                                                      Matthew 11:28-30.
I believe that the way to heaven and the way to a better world is to follow the teachings of Christ. Something violent, evil men will never understand.
Please think about it.

How to change the world

How to Change the World

T.H. White wrote,
“There was just such a man when I was young—an Austrian who invented a new way of life and convinced himself that he was the chap to make it work.
 He tried to impose his reformation by the sword, and plunged the civilized world into misery and chaos. 
But the thing which this fellow had overlooked, my friend, was that he had a predecessor in the reformation business, called Jesus Christ. 
Perhaps we may assume that Jesus knew as much as the Austrian did about saving people. 
But the odd thing is that Jesus did not turn the disciples into Strom troopers, burn down the Temple at Jerusalem, and fix the blame on Pontius Pilate. 
On the contrary, he made it clear that the business of the philosopher was to make ideas available, and not to impose them on people.” 
                                                                         T.H. White. 
T. H. White was obviously eluding to Hitler in the quote above. He however could have been talking about any dictator or tyrannical group in history.
Today as I write this extremist groups in the middle east are beheading people simply because they do not agree with them. They are waging war on innocent men women and children.
These tyrants are no different from Hitler or any other despot that has ever arisen. They believe they can change the world by force.
 They have not learned that one cannot change the world by the edge of the sword. Every leader in human history that has tried to do so has eventually failed.
All I believe, if they all ready haven’t, will stand before a just God who will condemn them to hell for their actions.
There is but one way to change the world for the better through the Love of Jesus Christ.
Napoleon Bonaparte said,
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. 
Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
Napoleon was right today there are about 2.2billion Christians in the world. About one third of the worlds population. Yet through the centuries Christians have suffered persecution and death at the hands of those who disagree with us.
Even today in countries where Christianity is banned completely Christianity continues to grow.
This growth is not by force of arms but by the actions of love.
Jesus said,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’  
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous...”
                                                          Matthew 43-45.
Loving one’s enemies and praying for our persecutors is what has helped Christians reach a third of the worlds population. No tyrant or dictator in all of history has ever done such a thing.
The apostle Paul says of love,
“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
This is the kind of love that can change the world, for it is a love that come from God and only God's love can change the world.
Think about it.