Freedom

Freedom
Erich Fromm said,
“I believe in freedom, in man’s right to be himself, to assert himself and to fight all those who try to prevent him from being himself.  But freedom is more than the absence of violent oppression.  It is more than “freedom from.”  It is “freedom to”“—the freedom to become independent; the freedom to be much, rather than to have much, or to use things and people.”
                                                                                                                       Erich Fromm
Fromm is right. What he says lines up with what God intended for man to be. God did not create robots. He created man and intended for man to be free irrespective of the consequences.
That freedom included mans right to believe in his creator or not.
The bible states
“He (God) has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men....”  
Ecclesiastes 3:11a.
I believe man is born with a sense of eternity. Man instinctively knows there is a more than this life. That he lives on through eternity.
Individuals may choose to ignore this fact but it doesn’t change anything. C. S. Lewis wrote,
“A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.” 
                                                                                C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain.
Still the freedom to deny God and the fact man lives on beyond this world is a God given right. A necessary right in order that man should be truly free.
Like Fromm said, true freedom “is the freedom to become independent; the freedom to be much...”
We can choose to live a life independent of God. We have the freedom to mould our life the way we want it to, even be “much” by our own standard.
At the same time we can also choose to follow God and do be much in His sight.
Some people have told me many times that the Bible is a book of do’s and do not’s. That may be the way some Christians make it out to be but it is not so.
Following the moral code and lifestyle Christ wants us to follow is no more difficult that following the rules in a Football game.
In order for the came to be enjoyable and rewarding to all who play it you must follow the rules. However once you’ve learned the rules you don’t give them a second thought. You simply play the game.
That’s the way it is when you accept Christ into your life. When you ask God to direct your life. You still have complete freedom but you are playing within God’s rules and you ultimately, once you’ve learned the rules don’t give things a second thought.
The bottom line however when it come to the individual is that you have the freedom to live your life your way or God’s way. That is a freedom granted to you by God. You can choose to believe in God or not.
So do you believe in God?
Please think about it.

God and you

God and you

“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.” 
Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.
Do you believe in God? As I post this Christmas, one of the two most holy days in the Christian calender is almost upon us. Yet there are many in the world that would deny there is a God.
The writer of Ecclesiastes makes it clear that there is a God and He will bring every deed to judgment.
The Bible does not debate there is a God. It makes it clear to God exists and that He gave man a freewill. That freewill in order to be truly free meant that man has the choice to believe in the existence of God or not.
The writer of Hebrews states,
“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
Defining faith as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” 
                                                                                                          Hebrews 11:1.
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.
I believe God has laid on the hearts of all men a moral code. That is only when men turn from that moral code and lack any fear of God and His judgement that things in our society go wrong.
Hitler and the Nazi party during world war two proved that. Terrorist around the world are proving it.
Hitler and the modern terrorist do not fear God. Modern terrorist are not following the will of God.
The apostle Paul writing to Timothy wrote,
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” 
                                                                                                            2Timothy 4:3,4.
We are in such a time. A time when men are not following God or fail to recognize He exists at all. The result is a world moving to the abyss.
If ever there is a need for people to turn to God it is now.
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.
It see,s the call of Jesus to love God our neighbour, and even our enemies seems to be lost in the cacophony of sounds that make up the modern world.
Yet the call of Christ is needed more than ever before.
To the reader I would ask that you at least consider reading about Jesus and the actions and beliefs of the early Church in the New Testament this Christmas.
Then decide for yourself who Jesus is.
Please think about it.

Foolishness or the way to Heaven?

Foolishness or the way to Heaven?
“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.  
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.  
Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. 
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
                                          1 Corinthians 1:18-27.
Christians if you think about it have a peculiar message. We first of all believe that God in the form of His Son Jesus, came into the world He created to reconcile mankind to Himself.
Not only that but he did it the opposite way we as men would think. God did not send a heavenly army into the world to force himself on man. Instead he chose Jesus to be born to parents of low status, common people.
God gave Jesus a ministry that lasted just three years and allowed him to die on a Roman cross.
The story of Jesus does not however end at the grave because Jesus rose from the grave walked on the earth for a short while then ascended up to heaven where He sits at the right hand of God the Father and will one day judge both the living and the dead.
To many in the world today and throughout ages past this does not seem the right way to do things. But God dose not do things mans way.
God wants us to accept Him by 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
Defining faith as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” 
                                                                                                               Hebrews 11:1
Jesus asked Martha a question we all must answer for ourselves,
“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 11:25,26
Please think about it.

A thought for the ages

A thought for the ages

It can be said we live in as multicultural a society as Greece or Rome, if not more. Today we may not have as many temples around our cities as Rome or Athens but we certainly have many Gods.
Secular society today bows to the god of the stock market, the dollar bill, and the latest gadget. While people today are looking for the same thing every person since the dawn of man has looked for, fulfilment in life.
There is I believe in the very soul of each person a hole that we throughout our lives strive to fill. Secular society tries to fill it with material things. Some people turn to various god’s, religions or philosophies. Still others turn to drugs and alcohol. Most find little fulfilment at all in life even though they may have a very good life.
The Apostle Paul knew people were looking for meaning in life that’s why he preached the Gospel.
The book of acts record the time Paul spoke in Athens to philosophers and learned men. It is a message for the ages. A message for everyone who is truly seeking meaning in life.
The book of acts states,
“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
Please think about it.

Honourably

Honourably

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.”
   Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.
I believe it. I also believe God will ask us something similar to what the Talmud 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
God wants to hear from our own mouths the truth as to how we feel we dealt with our fellow man. Jesus tells this parable,
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.  
“At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores  and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.  
In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.  
So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ 
“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.  
And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ 
“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house,  for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 
“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 
“ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 
“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” 
                                            Luke 16:19-31.
Today I would ask you when you stand before God will you be able to say you “have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?”
If you are a business owner do you pay your employees a good living wage and benefits? To you do you best to even help them from time to time. An example would be allowing a parent to take time off to care for a sick child or family member.
If you are a politician do you do what is right for the individual in your constituency. Do you help pass legislation that specifically benefits the poorest in your constituency rather than simply pass tax breaks.
As an individual do you respect others and do what you can to help the poor and less fortunate in your community?
When you stand before God what will he say to you?
Please think about it.

The Way to Heaven

The way to heaven
The following is what I believe is the way to heaven. I believe it is simple and open to anyone, and I mean anyone to follow.
Ultimately salvation is an act of faith, 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
Next it come down to who you think Jesus is and what his purpose on this earth was for, The gospel of John states,
“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.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
            John 14:6
   Paul writing to the Romans said,
“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.
Sinning is falling short of what God wants for you life. Sin separates us from God and everyone no matter who they are sins,
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.
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
Ultimately however like I said, salvation is an act of faith, 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
Will you accept Christ into your life today. If you are willing, you can pray this prayer,
Dear Heavenly Father,
I believe in You. I believe that Jesus is your one and only Son. That he came to earth to die for my sins.
Please forgive my sins this day and come into my life. That I may spend eternity with you.
In Jesus name I pray amen.
If you have prayed that prayer in all sincerity I would suggest that you now find a copy of the Bible. There is a free down load called the ‘you version’ bible app that allows you to download various version of the bible. It’s a good app.
When it comes to the Bible there are a lot of translations, I personally use the New International version and the New King James versions. They are in modern English and easy to read.
I recommend starting in the New Testament. You don’t have to read a lot each day. A chapter is good.
When you come to a genealogy such as in the first chapter of Matthew you might want to skip it, although it shows the link between Jesus and those in the Old Testament.
 Before you read, pray and ask God to show you the truths within the scriptures, ask him to open your understanding to what is written.
Also pray and ask God to direct you to a good church congregation. One that you are comfortable in.
Congregations vary even within denominations and where you may not be comfortable in one you may in another. So look around.
As these blogs are read all over the world I cannot recommend a specific church. I tend to recommend Baptist churches as they in my opinion tend to interpret the scriptures correctly and their method of worship is fairly consistent around the world, as is the Salvation Army.
In Canada I also know that the Pentecostal Assemblies of God are a good organization as are the Assemblies of God in the United States.
Please take sometime and consider what I have written above.
Ultimately the decision to accept Christ into your life is between you and God. All I have done here is place before you what I believe.
Please think about it.

A quick note

A quick note,

Here is what I believe is the most important message the world needs.

1/

 Jesus said

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

 I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” 

                                                                                         John10:10

2

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

3

The Apostle Paul 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

4

The Writer of Hebrews wrote,

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

                                5                                       

Jesus said 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 11:25,26

The above are quotations from the bible that I believe everyone needs to consider irrespective of who they are.
Christianity to my knowledge is the only faith in the world that claims God the creator of the universe came into the world to show mankind the way to heaven.
I know to some this concept is hard to believe but it is at least something each individual needs to think about.
C. S. Lewis said,
“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.
The decision is yours.
Please think about it.

True Happiness

True Happiness
Over the years I’ve met many people from the very wealthy to the very poor. Within those groups I’ve seen some happy and content people as well as some truly miserable people.  The  one thing I’ve found is  happiness did not depend on the size of their bank account.
The writer of Ecclesiastes states, 
“To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” 
                                                   Ecclesiastes 2:26.
God gives wisdom Knowledge and happiness to believers even if we are not wealthy. True happiness is not dependent on wealth.
When I first met my mother in law she was by far one of the poorest people I had ever met outside of a third world country.  She lived well below the poverty line, even though she worked long hours at minimum wage jobs. While her children would help her out of poverty when they became adults she never became what you would call rich.
This lady as poor as she was always had the family over for Christmas, New years and Thanksgiving meals as well as at Easter. Somehow there was always lot of food for all there was even extra just incase someone dropped in unexpectedly.
My mother in law was not well educated she didn’t finish fifth grade yet she loved God and while her life was at times hard I can never remember her having a harsh word for anyone.
At the other end of the economic spectrum, I’ve met people who have abundant wealth in their lives, yet are unhappy.
These people I’ve met, work long hours to get all the “toys” and luxuries life has to offer yet they are never satisfied. They are well educated yet even have good families, yet they always seem unhappy.
Jesus said,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
                                                                         Matthew 6:19-21.
This I believe is a key to being happy in life. Not having to worry about your wealth. Loving God and serving him to the best of your ability.
There’s nothing wrong with wealth. Money, jewels and luxurious houses in themselves are not evil in themselves. It’s when they become the first in our lives that things go wrong. It’s when the acquiring of wealth becomes your god.
The apostle Paul wrote,
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 
                                                                                          1 Timothy 6:10.
Even if you do not believe in God or Christ, what good is it having great wealth and all the luxuries life has to offer if you are spending vast amounts of time working. Working to the point you can’t enjoy them.
True happiness to me is not necessarily having all the luxuries as good as they may be. It’s having family and true friends that love you.
Above all it’s knowing there is a God who loves you. Who sent His one and only Son to this earth to reach out to you, Jesus, who calls out to all men
“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.
Please think about it
   

Hanging on nothing

Hanging on nothing

“He spreads out the northern  skies  over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.” 
                                             Job26:7                                                                                    .
Job to my mind had to have insight from God. He realized that the earth was if you will hovering over nothing.
Job was not a scientist yet he realized that the earth hung in space.
I enjoy science and in particularly astronomy. I watch with interest the space program. The latest pictures from Pluto fascinated me.
I remember as a teenager watching Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon for the first time.
As I look back at pictures of that day. Of the bulky space suites they had to wear just to survive on the moon, I’m reminded that we here on earth are blessed.
Scientist tell us that the earth is at the perfect place not only in the solar system but in the galaxy as a whole. Everything around the earth from the sun to the moon, the stars and a myriad of other factors are in prefect balance allowing life to exist.
I cannot believe this is by chance. There has to be a creator. The Bible tells me,
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” 
                                                                                              Genesis 1:1.
I know it takes a leap of faith on my part. But to my way of thinking believing that things came together by chance takes more faith.
I see a mathematically perfect universe from the biggest Galaxy to the smallest subatomic particle all are in prefect order.
I also believe that the God who created it all loved man so much that he entered his creation in the form of Jesus.
The gospel of John stating,
“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.... 
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  
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 1:1-4,10-14.
I believe God gave man a freewill to do and believe what he wanted. That freedom in order to be truly free had to extend to the point of believing whether or not God exists.
So what do you believe?
Please think about it.

?

?

“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received--only what you have given.” 
                                           Francis of Assisi.
The other day it came to light about a man in the United States that bought the patent on an important drug and jacked the price up astronomically. It reportedly made him the most hated person in America if not the world.
He’s an example of how greed can possess men.
There are many people out there that as they say “like their toys.” They love money and possessions. They spend all their lives accumulating wealth but to what end.
The writer of Ecclesiastes states,
“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. 
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” 
                                                                                  Ecclesiastes 2:10,11
Later on in the same chapter he writes,
“To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” 
                                      Ecclesiastes 2:26.
That man who’s greed jacked up the price of an essential drug obviously had no fear of God. He and others who do not recognize or fear God. Men and women who think this life is all there is, will one day be surprised. When they find themselves before God.
The writer of Ecclesiastes saying.
“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.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13,14 
Please think about it.

The Only

The Only
Napoleon Bonaparte said,
"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.
Jesus is unique in history. He’s unique because he is God incarnate, God in the flesh. The God who created the universe and everything in it chose to come into this world to reconcile man to himself.
The apostle John 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....
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 
Jesus made several statements about himself he said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
                                                                                                                                                  John 14:6
John’s Gospel also records,
“The Jews gathered around him, 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.” 
                            John 10: 24-30.
I believe Jesus had to come into this world to prove to mankind how far God would go to reconcile man to Himself.
He had to do it to experience all that it was to be a man. Everything from the mundane things such as rain against his face to the smell of a dusty road. Jesus also knew what it was like to have enemies that disliked what he said. He knew what it was like to be falsely accused and put to death in a most hideous way for a crime he didn’t commit.
Thus we cannot stand before him on judgement day and say you didn’t understand because all you know is absolute power.
When Jesus came to this earth he acted as nothing more than a normal man. Thus he knows what it is like to human. Thus he has the right to judge us fairly.
Jesus has given each and every person on this earth a choice 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.

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.

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.

Where will you end up?

Where will you end up?

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 Stevenson
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,

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.

You and God

You and God
“God is more interested in your future and your relationships than you are.”
                                                                                                            Billy Graham.
Billy Graham is right.
I was with a group of very secular people not so long ago. I was the only person of any faith with them. We were having lunch when the topic of God was brought up by one of them who’d gone to a large church and seen a presentation there.
She was impressed with the professionalism of the presentation and the message. The others however said they didn’t think much about religion and sloughed faith off as insignificant.
Everyone knew where I stood and I pointed out that it was a sad thing that they thought so little about faith. Even just from a cultural stand point Christianity had contributed a great deal of positive things.
I think however the reaction of this group who were all well educated, all of whom had at least one degree from university, is not uncommon in our western society.
Sadly people don’t think beyond the here and now. Beyond this life. Yet we all know the ultimate statistic is death. We will all one day pass from this life into eternity.
That is why God sent His One and Only Son into this world because he cared for us. The most famous word in the Bible state,
“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.
The apostle Paul tells us,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 
Romans 5:8.
Before we realized our need for God Christ died for us.
As a Christian I believe it is important that everyone consider what Jesus taught. Consider who Jesus is. If for nothing else than the warning Jesus gave when he said,
“Whoever believes in him (Jesus) 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 3:18.
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.
The decision is up to the individual because in creating man with a free will God actually gave man the choice to believe in Him or not.
Please think about it.

A Personal God

A personal God

Genesis states,
“the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” 
                                                                            Genesis 2:7
When God made man, He created man that He could have a personal relationship with man. Not as one has with a pet or a robot. God gave man the ability to think logically. He also gave man a freewill. Man the right to choose between right and wrong.
Man chose wrong in disobeying God’s and thus was banished from the garden.
God however still wants to have a personal relationship with man. That’s why He chose the Abraham. Through Abraham all the world would be blessed.
That’s why God instituted the practice of sacrifices to cover the sins of man. That each and every man would realize they are sinners in need of God’s forgiveness.
Today Jews all over the world celebrate Yom Kippur the day of atonement.
Yom Kippur as I understand it was instituted as a time each year when each person confesses their sins to God asking His forgiveness.  It is as I understand a persons last appeal, a last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate their repentance and make amends.
As a Christian I believe God took things one step further.
God in the form of Jesus entered this world to show not just mankind in general how far he would go to have that personal relationship with him. But to show each and every person how far He would go to have a personal relationship with them.
The other reason I believe God in the form of Jesus had to enter the world was to prove he was a just God.
A God who is everything Christians and Jews believe, all powerful, all knowing omnipresent etc. I believe, realized that man could stand in front of him and quite rightly say, “you do not understand fully understand what it is to be human. Intellectually you may understand, but because you have only experienced absolute power you don’t fully understand.”
In coming to this world in the form of Jesus, God experienced from a human prospective what it is like to be human. He felt everything from the mundane things such as sun on His face to the rain. He experienced the joys of life, the love of devout parents and friends. At the same time he experienced what it was like to be rejected, persecuted, brutally beaten and put to death for a crime he didn’t commit. Put to death for simply political expediency.
And he did all this that we may be reconciled to God.
The Apostle Paul states,
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!  
For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  
Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
                                              Romans 5:6-11
Jesus himself 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.
Now I know those who are not Christians will disagree with what I have said. And I personally cannot change anyone’s mind. I as a believer in Jesus believe however have an obligation to say what I have said.
It is between God and the individual reading this to decide for themselves if what I have said is right or wrong.
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.
It is up to you the reader to decide for yourself the importance of Christianity. The importance of Jesus.
Please think about it.