That you may have fellowship with us

 That you also may have fellowship with us.

The apostle John writes,

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.  

The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.  

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.  

We write this to make our joy complete.” 1John 1:1-4.

The apostle John here tells why he is writing to the church of his day and by extension to us. He tells us that he heard, he seen, he touched “that which was from the beginning”. From the creation of the world.

John and all the apostles truly believed that Jesus was the Son of God, the Creator of the world.

        So the question becomes was he telling the truth or lying?

Please think about it. 

You are a Branch

 You are a branch

Jesus said,

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  

If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. " John 15:4-6.

As Christians, believers in Christ Jesus it is imperative that we draw and stay close to God. Unless we seek out God in prayer and by studying His word we run the risk of falling

away. That’s why it is important for us to meet with other believers either in Church, house fellowships or wherever believers meet.

In the book of Hebrews we read,

"...let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.    Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:22,23.

Please think about it.

Th God Conundrum

 The God Conundrum 

The Psalmist writes,

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” 

                                                            Psalm 14:1.

Think about this carefully. If you believe that there is no God then you must be God. Which nullifies your belief there is no God.

In order to fully prove that there is no God you need to have been everywhere and know everything. Which are attributes of God.

In order to prove there is no God you must have gone beyond the grave. Because if you have not gone beyond the grave. God might well be there. Which I believe He is.

Making the assertion that God dose not exist means you know all things. Which is an attribute of God.

So a true Atheist must be God. Which means he is not an atheist.

Please think about it. 

One of them

  One of them

"Jesus wept." 

                  John 11:35

The great evangelist Charles H. Spurgeon said,

"A Jesus who never wept

 could never wipe away my tears."

                                            Charles H. Spurgeon.

As Christians, believers in Christ Jesus we believe that Jesus is God incarnate, God in the flesh. We believe that God in the form of Jesus came down from heaven to show us how far He would go in human terms to point us to heaven.

The apostle Paul wrote,

“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.

No one can ever stand before God on judgement day and say “you don’t understand what it is like to be human” because He does.

Jesus came to this earth as the child of an ordinary couple. Thus Jesus experienced the full range of what it is to be human. Jesus was a political refugee. His family having to flee to Egypt to avoid being killed by Herod. Jesus sat in the temple and discussed the scripture with learned men of his day. 

He undoubtedly had friends as he was growing up that he played with. He felt the everyday things like the sun on his face, rain. 

We know He attended a wedding probably one of a number of social events in his life.

At the other end of the spectrum Jesus felt the worst of what mankind could do. He felt what it was like to fall into the hands of evil men. To be mocked and beaten before being hung on a cross to die.

So when we stand before God we can never say you don’t understand because he does. 

Not only that to all who would believe in Him scripture tells us,

"For the Lamb (Jesus) at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Revelations 7:17.

Thus the question becomes; Will you be one of them?

Please think about it.

Are you one of those?

  Are you one of those?

The apostle Paul wrote,

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4:1-6.

Here’s something to consider. No church congregation, or denomination is one hundred percent Christian. There are however true Christians. True believers in Christ Jesus, in all church congregations and denominations.

Thus the question becomes are you one of those true believers in Christ Jesus?

Please think about it.

Is everything meaningless?

 Is everything meaningless?

In the book of Ecclesiastes we read,

“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 labour. 

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.

If there is no God then the above statement is true. “everything is meaningless, a chasing after the wind;...”

Some atheist say when we die we will live on in the memories of others. A statement that is not completely true. Perhaps if we have made a great discovery we may be remembered in some history book. But most of us will be forgotten within a generation or so.

Ask yourself, where was your great, great, great grandmother or father born? What was the colour of their eyes? What was their favourite piece of music? Where is their grave? What was their greatest achievement? Few people can answer these questions.

So my question to anyone who does not believe in God is where is the purpose in life if we are forgotten within a few generations? If all our achievements are only remembered in some dusty history book?

The way I see it without God life is meaningless. God’s existence makes life worthwhile. God gives us something to look forward to when this life is over.

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.

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.

This statement of Jesus if right, and I believe it is. It is God’s offer to each individual of eternal life with Him. While at the same time giving a warning to all who would not believe.

It is a statement that all who hear about Jesus must consider carefully.

Please think about it.

Unless

Unless
The Psalmist writes,

“Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain....”

                                                                                       Psalm 127:1a.

If you claim to be a believer in Christ Jesus, do you let God build your house?
Jesus said,
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27.
Sadly not everyone who claims to be a believer in Christ builds their house on teachings of Christ. Instead they base what they believe on the teachings and interpretations of various preachers and evangelist.
Now for the most part I think preachers and evangelist around the world are in general good men and women who do their best to present the gospel message truthfully. They base what they teach on the teachings of Jesus.
Still however there are many both in the pulpit and in the pew claiming to be followers of Jesus who do not follow the teaching of Christ.
The apostle Paul warns
“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.
I firmly believe we as individual believers in Christ need to be careful who we listen to. We have an obligation at the very least to ourselves to make sure the ministers and evangelist we are listening to are truly teaching the word of God.
We have an obligation to ourselves to make sure that we are building our spiritual house on the teachings of Jesus.
We have this obligation, because what we believe, will ultimately determine where we will spent eternity.
Please think about it. 

Faith, the Atheist, the Believer and God

Faith, the Atheist the Believer and God.

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” 
                                                                                                               Hebrews 11:1
The above statement is as true for the atheist as for the believer. An atheist looks around and because he can’t see feel or touch God, his faith tells him there is no God.
The believer on the other hand looks around him sees the universe from the largest galaxies to the smallest sub atomic particles in perfect order and says there has to be a God who created all of this.
Whether you are a Christian or an Atheist you must act on faith. When an atheist says there is no God he assumes that simply because he can’t see God he doesn’t exist. Such assumptions can lead down the wrong path.
It is possible for something to exist without being able to feel see or touch it. Scientist for centuries have postulated something exists before they actually find it. That’s true of many things from the smallest sub atomic particle to black holes. Just because we can’t see them doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
So it is with God. We many not be able to see Him but if we look carefully at the world around us we can see his handiwork.
The Psalmist wrote,
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. 
There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” 
                                                                                    Psalm 19:1-3
Ben Zion Bosker wrote,
“I have not seen the robin but I know he is there because I heard him singing through my window from the tree-top outside.
I have not seen God.  But I have looked at my child’s eyes, and have been overwhelmed by the miracle of unfolding life.
I have watched the trees bedeck themselves with new garbs of green in the spring, and have been stirred by the miracle of continual rebirth.
I have looked at the stars, and have been overcome by the miracle of the grandeur and majesty of the universe.
I know that God exists, because I have heard the song of His presence from all the tree-tops of creation.”
             Ben Zion Bokser
Ultimately neither I or any believer will ever be able to sway the most ardent atheist. No matter what we say or what we present will change them. They have their beliefs and I have mine.
I would however leave this suggestion for any Atheist or for that matter anyone be they Christian or of another faith. I would ask them to pick up a copy of the book Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. It’s in paper back and inexpensive.  All major book stores, even if it’s not on their selves can get it for you.
I would ask that you read it and consider what Lewis says.
Please think about it.