Winning favour

 Winning favour

In the book of Proverbs we read,

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you;

 bind them around your neck, 

write them on the tablet of your heart. 

Then you will win favour and a good name

 in the sight of God and man."

                                                       Proverbs 3:3,4.

As believers in Christ Jesus we must remember that Love of God, and love for our fellow man, be they family, friend, or foe, should take first place in our heart.

Godly Love defined by the apostle Paul as,

“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

As for faith we read in 1 Corinthians,

"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.

The writer of Hebrews telling us,

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see...  

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 11:1,6

The results of love and faithfulness will, the writer of proverbs tells us,

“...win favour and a good name 

in the sight of God and man.”

So if you consider yourself as a Christian. A true believer in Christ Jesus, is this something you are doing?

Please think about it.

A Lifestyle

A Lifestyle

The apostle Paul wrote,

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” 2 Timothy 3:1-4

I firmly believe we are in the time the apostle Paul spoke about and have been for some time. 

In his book "Essentials in Christian Faith" John B. Harrington, published in 1958, there is a quote that could have been written yesterday.

It's from Paul Gallico in Esquire Magazine in 1948:

"A writer in a popular magazine has written the following words; 'We are all, if you will pardon the expression, Headed for Hell in a handbarrow. If, ever the people of the world stood in need of a spiritual revival, it is now. We are beginning to poison the face of the earth with our miserable presence. The brakes are off. The cart of the world is sliding down the way greased with hatred, ambition, lies, self-seeking and avarice toward the pit.'"

Harrington notes that Gallico makes no pretense of being "a religious man" noting that "...for him it is precisely religion in its organized forms which has in part caused the situation he deplores. He is careful to state that it is not "religion" for which he is looking. For in his opinion, religion throughout the history of our culture has advanced its control over human beings by the investment of bigotry and persecution. 

Yet, out of despair over the current human situation he says; ‘The voice for which my heavy spirit is yearning must reach us all... For if it is not heard, we are lost. Something beyond our material enrichment and lust for power and position, some rewards founded on good will, selflessness, and the innate dignity of the human spirit...honour, humility, decency courage."

What Gallico is speaking about is what the apostle Paul predicted. And the solution to the problem. The only solution is the Love of God.

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 neighbour as yourself.'  

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40.

Sadly many calling themselves Christians today especially where I live in North America are not showing love toward their fellow man.

They have mixed their faith with politics which as someone has said is like mixing water and gasoline. “The water in undrinkable, the gasoline unusable and the whole thing is explosive.”

I firmly believe that Paul Gallico and many in the world today are looking for what true Christianity offers. A life style love. The apostle Paul noting a Christians lifestyle is defined by

"...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,   gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:22-25.

If you claim to be a Christian, a true follower of Christ Jesus. Are you living what the apostle says in Galatians?” 

If you are not a Christian looking for answers to the meaning of life. Take time to read the Bible, pray and ask God to direct you the a church that is truly following the word of God.

Please think about it.

About Prayer

About Prayer 

Jesus said,

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:6.

If you claim to be a Christian, a true follower of Christ, how and why do you pray? While I believe we can ask God for what we need. We need to be careful to ask in the right way. 

In the book of James we read,

"When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." James 4:3.

When we pray we must pray with the right motives.

A lot of people sadly are always asking God for things they want and nothing else. I found this cartoon on the internet that I think makes my point. 

While we can pray openly in public and God will hear those prayers. We need with right motives to pray in secret, for others, and for ourselves. And I think most importantly we must use our prayer time to thank God for what He has done for us.

Do you do this?

Please think about it.

Christian Principles #2 Deeds

Christian Principles #2 Deeds
James the half brother of Jesus states,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” James 2:14-20.
There are many Christians who will tell you, you are saved by faith. That is true. However James here make it clear our faith needs to be accompanied by works. Good deeds.
    If we indeed have true faith in Jesus it well spur us on to good deeds. Simply believing in God should never be enough for the believer in Christ Jesus. We need to put our faith into action.
Jesus made this clear when he said,
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ 
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  
I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 
“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:34-46.
If you claim to be a believer in Christ Jesus are you putting your faith into action?
Please think about it.