Rest

Rest
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.
We live in a fast paced world a world that can be cold. It is easy for people to be lost in the crowd. With all western society offers many people are still not satisfied. Suicide rates are on the rise. The result of many seeing no hope in our society.
Sadly as I wrote in a previous blog many churches are failing to present the hope to those around them that Christ offers.
That being said the hope that Christ offers is still there for anyone who is truly looking.
Jesus made it clear that if you believe in him. “You will find rest for your soul.” In Psalm 23 we read,

“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.

I think any true Christian will tell you that by making the Lord the Shepherd of their soul they have found rest for their soul despite going through hardships and personal loss.
The thing is you must be willing to believe there is a God who loves you. Who sent Jesus to pay the ultimate price for your soul. You must be willing to put your trust in Christ. Put your trust in God. Something that is hard for many individuals to do.
Still C. S. Lewis said,

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future

 to a known God.” 

                              C. S. Lewis.

One of my favourite quotes from Blaise Pascal is,
“Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists.” Blaise Pascal.
Please think about it.

Peace and Rest

Peace and Rest

“I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; 

all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

Ecclesiastes 1:14

Over the years I have met many men and women who are looking for meaning in life.
People it seems look for meaning in life, in wealth, in science, in the arts, even in drugs and alcohol. Some have even gone off to join extremists and terrorist groups all in the hopes of finding meaning for their lives.
Sadly many unable to find meaning in the things of this life and what our secular society has to offer have even committed suicide.
They concluded that what the writer of Ecclesiastes stated was right when he said,

“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.

And looking at it from man’s prospective. From a secular prospective where all there is, is this life, I can see how someone would think that way.
However Rick Warren said,

"You were made by God and for God, 

and until you understand that, 

life will never make sense.” 

                                                                                     Rick Warren.
Rick Warren is right until you understand that you were made by God and for God, life will never make sense.
It is only when we realize that life does not end in death. That man is an eternal being who was created by God to live on through eternity that we can truly find meaning in life.
The writer of Ecclesiastes comes to this conclusion,
“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
I firmly believe we will stand before God to be judged. However I firmly believe God loves us and wants to have fellowship with us.  That is why He sent Jesus.
Jesus speaking of 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. 
The apostle John telling us.
“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.” John 1:12,13. 
By accepting Jesus into our lives we can find the peace and rest I believe all people are looking for.
In Matthews Gospel Jesus is recorded as saying,
“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.
Jesus offers to all who will believe in him peace. A peace that reaches to a persons soul. A peace the world cannot take away.
It is a peace that anyone can have if they would simply turn to Jesus in prayer and truly ask them into their life.
Are you willing to ask Jesus into your life today?
Please think about it.

Storms

Storms
“Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.  
Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.  
The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” 
He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. 
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” Matthew 8:23-27.
Here is one of those things I often ask those who don’t believe in Christ about and it goes for all miraculous things mentioned in the Bible. Why put the miraculous in the New Testament? If not true they would take away from the truth of the scriptures.
The answer is they are true. Sometimes truth can be harder to believe than fiction.
Here we have a story of Jesus sleeping when a storm come up. The disciples some of whom were fishermen were afraid, so it must have been severe. Jesus then wakes up and calms the storm.
This incident showed the power of Jesus.
The incident can also be a metaphor to the storms in our life. We all have them at one time or another. Such storms can cause us to have great fear as regards to the outcome.
As a Christian however I have found that no matter the storms that come in my life, and I have had numerous very serious storms, I can get through them with the peace of mind that Jesus is there with me. That God is with me.
Jesus truly is a port in a storm. The one who gives me strength to go through the problems of life.
He is also there for me in the good times.
I as a Christian can say with the Psalmist,

"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.

Can you?
Please think about it.

There was a Man

There was a Man
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.
As I look around the world at terrorist groups seeking to convert people to their faith by force of arms. I think of that misguided Austrian that caused the death of in excess of fifty-six million plus people, military and civilian.
He did not succeed nor did anyone who has ever tried to conquer the world by force. All such people are but footnotes in history.
The glory that was Rome is simple ruins. There are no followers of the Roman caesars to day. Nero who persecuted Christians mercilessly is no more. While the followers of Jesus Christ the very group of people he tried to destroy numbers in the Billions.
A group that grew to be that way, not by force of arms, but through showing the Love of God.
Should our Lord tarry the terrorist groups of our day and age will be also footnotes in history very soon.
Jesus speaking to Peter said,
“... Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.  Matthew 26:52b.
Napoleon 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 truly is extraordinary.  He is extraordinary because He is the Son of God, God incarnate.
His call to the world is,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.
No dictator, no terrorist has ever said those words to the world. Yet they are words that have truly transformed individuals since the day Jesus spoke them.
Please think about it.

Jesus

Jesus
St. Augustine said,

“I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are very wise and very beautiful;

 but I never read in either of them: 

 "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden."  

                                                                                                 St Augustine.
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

This is the call of Jesus to the world. Jesus offers peace for your soul even in the middle of turmoil and strife.
There are many good programs in the world today that tell you how to live a good moral and ethical life. But non offer true rest for your soul. Only Jesus makes that statement. Only Jesus can offer it.
Jesus said,
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.  
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:9,10.
Having Jesus in your life does bring peace even in the worst of times.
Speaking for myself I am glad that I have Jesus in my life. For many years I had undiagnosed Bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder or manic depression causes you to have vast mood swings from very high highs, the manic phase. A time when you feel better than superman. When you feel you can do it faster, better than anyone around you. You do multiple tasks at the same time and get nothing done. All the time you feel fantastic. It’s a real emotional high.
At the other end of the cycle the depression stage you sink into very low, lows that in many case caused me to think of suicide. And many people do commit suicide when they are in the depression phase.
I firmly believe it was my faith in God, that stopped me from committing suicide. It was God who gave me peace and assurance that I could get through it.
I also believe it was God who directed me to the right doctors to get the right treatment that has made me stable today.
I believe Jesus can and does give rest to all those who would accept Him into their lives.
Still the choice is yours. Please take sometime and read what Jesus and the apostles said in the New Testament. And even though you may not believe in praying. Take time and pray and ask God to show himself to you. You will never know if prayer works or not unless you try.
I would also ask that you take time to visit a church. I recommend Baptist churches around the world. Go in during the week and ask to talk to the pastor. Visit on a Sunday and see what is being said about Jesus and about God.
Ask as many questions as you wish of the pastor. A good honest pastor will take time to speak with you and answer your questions.
If they don’t have nothing to do with them and go and talk to a pastor at another church.
They key is to read the Bible ask questions. It is only through doing so that you will truly find the truth about Jesus and the rest for your soul He can bring.
Please think about it.

God and you

God and you

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” C.S. Lewis.
I have met many people over the years that have been very successful only to find for all their success they still feel empty inside. It doesn’t seem to matter what field they are successful in they still have this need inside that isn’t filled by success.
People no matter who they are have this need. They may try to suppress the need. They may try to fill it with drugs, alcohol, fast cars philosophy or many other things legal and illegal  but they never seem to fill it.
Blaise Pascal said, 
“There is a God-shaped vacuum in every heart.”
This vacuum can not be filled with anything other than God.”
 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.
Those of us who have accepted Jesus into our hearts and lives can testify that having Jesus in our life does indeed bring peace.
But all my words may not convince some people.
Still I would ask that if you don’t believe me. Take time to read the New Testament for yourself. Pray and ask God, that if He is real, and I know He is, to show himself to you.
 Please at least think about it.

Meaningless?

Meaningless?

“A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” 
“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 
The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”    Isaiah 40:6-8.
The other day I was thinking about my mother she died young of cancer in her fifties.
My grandmother, her mother lived until her late nineties. Out living my mother by some twenty almost thirty years.
When I think of them I realize their lives were but a mist in time.
They were ordinary people. They didn’t accomplish great things but they had a good full life with family and friends around them. And that is all most people can expect.
Throughout the years I’ve read about and heard of talented musicians in particular, that have died by their own hand or of drug overdoses. For all their success they found it seems little meaning in life.
I know of people from various strata of society that simply find life meaningless. Sadly I know many who have attempted suicide.
Some can identify with the words of  William Wordsworth who wrote,

“We poets in our youth begin in gladness;      

but therefore came in the end to despondency and madness.’

Even the writer of Ecclesiastes wrote,
“I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” Ecclesiastes 1:14.
And from a strictly human prospective its easy to think life has no meaning.
As someone who lives with Bipolar disorder (Manic depression)I understand what it is to look around and find everything meaningless. When I’m in deep depression everything seems meaningless.
However I know there is a God who loves me. A God who is there for me in my darkest hour. A God whom I believe has connected me with the right doctors, Psychiatrist and others who have helped me through some of the darkest days of my life.
Without God in my life my life would be meaningless.
However I know that no matter how deep the valley or how high the mountain top, my God is with me. That there is always hope.
Sadly all too many people in this world do not have that hope. They to paraphrase Wordsworth in their youth begin in gladness but their life ends in despondency and madness.
This should not be so because the voice of Jesus echos through the centuries saying,
“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.” Matthew 11:28,29.
I have found these words of Jesus to be true. He does give those who truly believe in Him rest for their souls no matter how dark the valley they may be going through.
Please think about it?
Post Script.
I mentioned I have a mental health issue. I am not alone it is estimated here in Canada and the United States one in five people have mental health issues.
Mental health issues are as real as any physical ailment. If you or someone you know is going through periods of deep depression for long periods at a time, hearing voices, hallucinating, or acting strangely, contact your family doctor and get help.
Sadly most people with a mental health issue will suffer in silence and not get help.
In Canada all provincial health plans cover treatment for mental health problems. If you need help in Canada you can also contact the Canadian Mental Health Association who will help you get help.
Other western countries have similar organizations.
Don’t wait to get help. The sooner you get help the better things will be.  

Of Philosophers

Of Philosophers
          St. Augustine wrote,
“I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are very wise and very beautiful; but I never read in either of them:  "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden."  
                                                                                                               St Augustine.
There are many very good philosophers in the world today. Many men and women who are espousing good ways in which to live. I see that as a good thing. BUT. All the good philosophers in the world cannot get you into heaven.
Only 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.
Jesus and His disciple spoke in absolutes.
In the above scripture Jesus makes it clear that He will give you rest. All we have to do is have faith in Him.
I personally can attest to this. Over the years I have gone thorough many very serious problems in my life. Yet through it all I have been able to go to Christ in prayer and find peace that got me through all of it.
I also know many people who have also found rest in Christ as they have gone through extreme hardships.
Philosophers as good as their teachings may be cannot match the teachings of Jesus. They cannot do this because Jesus is God. The teachings of Jesus are directly form God.
Jesus said,
“I and the Father are one.”
                                John 10:30.
Jesus also said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. 
                                                                                                                                              John 14:6.
These are radical statements for his day. For that matter they are radical statements for today. Christianity to my knowledge is the only religion in the world in which it’s founder claimed to be God incarnate.
C. S. Lewis said of Jesus.
 “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.
Thus it comes down to the choice of each individual who reads or hears about the teachings of Jesus. Each individual must make their own choice.
Before you the reader make any decision about Jesus I would ask that you take time and read the New Testament honesty asking God to show you His reality.
Please think about it.

A Truth

A Truth
“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.”
                                                                                                                                          Buddha.
I believe truth is truth no matter where it is found and the Buddha got it right when he said,
“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.”
By my way of thinking each person on this earth is made up of body mind and soul.
Our soul is the essence of our being. It is who we are. It is the thing that will continue on throughout eternity when our body has turned to dust.
The soul like the body needs feeding not physical food but spiritual food.
A secular person, one who fails to recognize there is a soul that needs to be fed at some point I believe in there life, realizes they have an emptiness inside.
Some try to fill this using drugs, illegal and legal. Some try to fill it by doing good even great humanitarian works. And while these things may give one a good feeling they do not fulfill the needs of the soul.
People do day and throughout history have tried to fill their souls with philosophies both good and bad. Yet all too often they still feel empty inside.
St. Augustine said,
“I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are very wise and very beautiful; but I never read in either of them:  "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden."  
                                                                                                                St Augustine.
Philosophers and others have searched for centuries for millennia for the meaning of life. Seeking rest for the soul. Yet they have not found what Jesus offers.
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. 
Jesus does in deed offer rest for your soul. I and other Christians know this that is why we want people to hear about Christ.
Henry Drummond wrote,
“Every character has an inward spring; let Christ be that spring.  Every action has a keynote; let Christ be that note, to which your whole life is attuned.” 
                                                                                  Henry Drummond.
What I would ask of you the reader, is to read the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. Let his words speak to your mind and soul. Let Jesus show you who He truly is. It cannot hurt.
At the very least you will be enriched by His teaching of universal truths that apply to all mankind.
At the very best you will find true rest for your soul and an assurance of going to heaven to be with God.
 Please think about it.

Images of Love

Images of Love

Today is Easter Sunday the day Christians celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and the peace He brings to all who would accept Him as their Lord and Saviour.
The poet wrote,
                                                                   Images of Love
                                          

                                    Mary:                                         

What would she do now?  

Her mind vacillated, uncontrollably between joy and uncertainty.  

She could hide it, at least for a while.  

But, then tongues would wag.  

It was a small village.  Everyone knew everyone.  

Word of her condition would spread along the gossip highway.  

She’d be disgraced!  And...And what of her fiancé? 

What of Joseph?

 He’d have no choice, but to let her go.  

He hadn’t done a thing, yet, he’d get the blame.  

Just for the sake of his reputation, she’d have to go. 

She’d have to face this alone.

For a moment, her racing mind slowed, as she thought about what she’d been told. ELIZABETH!

Elizabeth.

 The angel had said Elizabeth was with child. 

 She would understand, she would know what to do.  

She’d go to Elizabeth.

Joseph:

PREGNANT!  

What has she done!  

How could she have done such a thing!  

He loved her.  

He thought she loved him...

For a moment, his mind became a whirling dervish of thoughts and emotions out of control.

How could she bring such a disgrace down on both of them, like this.

  How was it possible...

Then as suddenly as it started, the tirade in his mind abated, 

allowing the love he felt for her to surface.  

Despite what she had apparently done, he still loved her.  

Yet, her condition seemed to say, she did not love him.  

Perhaps, by divorcing her quietly, it would make it easier for her. 

 Joseph lay back on his bed and fell asleep.

O what joyous night!  

What blessed revelation!  

What blessed assurance!  

He would make  Mary, his wife!  

Just as the angel had commanded.  

Together, they would rejoice that Mary had been chosen to give birth to the Messiah.

The Two:

Together, they would rejoice with the shepherds, 

as they told of the visit from the heavenly host.

They would give praises to God with Simeon and Anna,

 as they gave thanks for the fulfillment of His promise to Israel!

They would make haste fleeing along the dusty roads to Egypt 

and weep with the mothers of Rama as their children died.  

Mary,

 would feel the anguish of a mother 

 watching her own son die in agony on a Gentile cross 

under a blackened sky.

She would also experience the elation of 

the empty tomb!

the resurrection of her LORD !

and the love of her God.

Have you?
Jesus speaking of 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
The apostle John states,
“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.” 
                     John 1:12,13.
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
On this day Easter Sunday 2016 would you consider accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour That you may have rest for your soul?
Please think about it.

The Christian Message

The Christian message
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.
The Christian message in it’s simplest form is this. 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 5: 43-45
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 22:37-40.
The Bible also makes it clear how we get to heaven. It come down to who you think Jesus is and what his purpose on this earth was for,
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.” 
   John 3:16,17.
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.
Isaiah telling us,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” 
                                                                                                                 Isaiah 64:6
  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 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
What do you believe?        
Think about it.

A message for today

A message for today

Two thousand years ago give or take a few years, the Apostle Paul was invited by the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers of Athens to speak to them about Christ. The book of Acts records the incident.
The message he gave is as relevant for today’s audience as it was back then. I put it hear for you to think about.

“While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.  
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 17:16-34

Life

Life

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun”
Ecclesiastes 1:9

“I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
Ecclesiastes 1:14

I know what it’s like to be depressed. I know what it’s like to feel like life has no meaning.
I live with Bipolar affective disorder and when I’m very depressed life can seem like it has no meaning.
I look at the words of Ecclesiastes above and can relate at times. But that is only when I’m depressed and not thinking strait.
Sadly many I know who have committed suicide because they see life as one endless meaningless journey of emotional and physical pain.
This is not so. Life has meaning. There is always hope.
Jesus said,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”                                                                                                                                                       Matthew 11:28.
I believe those words. Through the darkest days of my life, and believe me there have been extremely dark days in my life when it is only my faith in Jesus, in God that has got me through.
The writer of Ecclesiastes after examining his world dose come to the right conclusion. He states,
“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.
God gives meaning to life. He showed me that there is more. That pain and suffering is temporary. That there is alway light at the end of every dark tunnel.
I came to know the Lord long before I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. I undoubtedly was suffering from it because I was having times of deep depression an manic highs. But it would be over twenty years after my accepting Christ that I would be formally diagnosed.
During that time prior to my diagnosis I knew little of what was happing to me I knew only that I’d become despondent and depressed. The highs I put off to a burst of energy that lasted days at a time.
When I was down however I had learned to turn to God. To lean on him for comfort. I do believe it was God who showed me the good in life, and in my wife and family.
Suicide did cross my mind occasionally. But my love of God and his laws prevented it.
When I finally did have my big emotional collapse on the side of a major highway on the way home from work. I believe God was there for me.
I firmly believe the right people were set up to help me. I was able to get in with a good psychiatrist who offered me hope. When he unfortunately passed away I was able to get in with a second good Psychiatrist and when he retired with my current one. All of this in a area that was short of Psychiatrist.
I was able to get into group therapy sessions and after a lot of trial and error the right medications that have helped stabilize my mood swings.
Today I live with my Bipolar disorder there is no cure only medication to help you cope.
I have adjusted my life and lifestyle to help me live with it.
I have what I call my pillars that I rest on. My doctors both family and psychiatrist, the medications I take,  my family (my wife and children) and my faith in God who is there for me no matter what.
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
I believe this. Having Jesus in my life has given me meaning and I have rest knowing that even in my darkest hour I can turn to him.
It is the same hope he offers all people even you dear reader. Will you consider letting Jesus into you life.
Please think about it.