Enjoy Safe Pastures

Enjoy safe pasture
The Psalmist writes,

“Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; 

for like the grass they will soon wither, 

like green plants they will soon die away. 

Trust in the LORD and do good;

 dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.”

                                                                  Psalm 37:1-3.

There is a lot of evil in the world today. Men and women who succeed by lying, cheating, stealing. And those who are succeeding by evil methods are not just organized crime, or the common criminal who robs a bank, or corner store, or even someone who murders and doesn’t get caught.
There are men and women who are in the business sector, sports and even politics who have become successful by doing things that are against the law or morally wrong.
The psalmist here tells us not to be envious of those people. He states,

“for like the grass they will soon wither, 

like green plants they will soon die away.”

                                                                 Psalm 37:2

James the half brother of Jesus states,
“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.  Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.  
Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.  
Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.  
You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.  
You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.” James 5:1-6.
Ultimately all who do evil of any kind will answer to God. The writer of Ecclesiastes 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. 
Thus all who believe in Christ Jesus. All who believe in God, should not envy those who are succeeding by doing wrong. Instead they should follow the advice the Psalmist gives,

“Trust in the LORD and do good;

 dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture”

                                                                   Psalm 37:3.

The should follow the advice of the writer of proverbs who said,
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."Proverbs 3:5,6.
                         Please think about it.

The Christian Life

The Christian Life
Someone said to me a few days ago,
“I have a feeling the new decade 2020 will be a time of revival.” They are not the first. Such feelings happen a lot in Christian circles at the end of decades, centuries and millennia.
That being said I thought it only right to address the issue. So for my next few blogs I am writing about what I believe God expects of Christians, believers in Christ Jesus. At the same time I am taking a look at the various types of churches that exist today through the lense of the churches mentioned in the book of revelations.
In this blog however I would like to look at what the apostle Peter says Christians are and should be doing.
The apostle Peter states,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
Dear friends,
 I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9-12.
Do you do this?
Many years ago I was told by my first pastor to memorize the words of Jesus who said,

“So in everything,

 do to others what you would have them do to you,

 for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” 

                                                                                         Matthew 7:12.

He told me if you sincerely believe what Jesus is saying you will always remember to present the gospel of Christ in a respectful manner to all who will listen.
In following these words of Christ you will find yourself respecting those of different faiths, lifestyles, and positions in life.
Not only that you will find yourself being respected by others. And those who have the respect of others find it easier to present the gospel of Christ to non-believers.
The writer of Hebrews states,

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men

 and to be holy; 

without holiness no one will see the Lord.” 

                                                                                       Hebrews 12:14.

Please think about it.

The Believers Obligation

The Believers Obligation
The great evangelist John Wesley wrote,

Do All the Good You Can

Do all the good you can,

By any means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can.

                             John Wesley.

James the half brother of Jesus wrote to the Church,
“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.
Helping the poor is a Christian precept. There are 2000 verses in the Bible that tell us to care for the poor. Thus if we consider ourselves believers in Christ Jesus we should be helping the poor. It should be part of our lifestyle.
As individuals we should be contributing what we can to food banks and other charities that help the poor.
I firmly believe that we who live in western democracies should even be looking at the politicians we vote for. A politician has a great deal of power. Power that can be used for helping the poor, the homeless and those less fortunate in our society.
As for individual believers in Christ Jesus what better way to serve the Lord and win souls for Christ than helping the poor in the name of Jesus?
The poem I quoted at the top of this article is essentially a sermon in a nutshell urging believers in Christ Jesus to do what is right in the sight of God. Please read it again

Do all the good you can,

By any means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can.

                             John Wesley.

Please think about it.

To those in Power

To those in power
James the half brother of Jesus wrote,
“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.  
Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.  
Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.  
Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.  
You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.  
You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.” James 5:1-6.
When I read this I am reminded of a parable Jesus spoke. Jesus said,
“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.
The way I see this is it is a warning to all those not just own businesses but to anyone in power. especially political power.
Political power is the ultimate power because a politician has the ability to change the lives of those they govern for the good or the bad.
The warning is here make sure if you have the power over anyone that you do all in your power to do good for those under you. As Jesus said,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 7:12. 
The writer of Ecclesiastes 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.
Please think about it.