Live good lives

Live good lives
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.

What is Life?

The Poet wrote,

What is life?

What?

Is life but a wisp of smoke carried in the air?

A wisp in the eternal aether 

Are people wisps?

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 

A stage suspended between,

Heaven and Hell.

Are we as Shakespear said,

Simply actors?

Life,

I believe. 

Is an opera played out before God.

Live!

On a high mesa,

Between Heaven and Hell.

And we,

We, Are, partakers in a play.

Individuals, who write our own script.

Awaiting the final curtain call

Sending us to eternity

Are you ready for the final curtain call?

What is the sum total of your life?

What?

What will “they” say about you as you pass on?

What will God say?

Where will you spend eternity?”

The Psalmist wrote,

“Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; 

let me know how fleeting is my life. 

You have made my days a mere handbreadth; 

the span of my years is as nothing before you. 

Each man’s life is but a breath. 

Psalms 39:4,5

Jesus said,

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. 

No one comes to the Father 

except through me.”

 John 14:6

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— 

Ephesians 2:8

The writer of Hebrews wrote, 

“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.

Where,

Where will you spend eternity? 

Are you sure you know where you will be?

Please think about it.

Our Choice and an All Powerful God

Our Choice and an all powerful God
“The evidence is that God is all-powerful. The point to remember is that creating a world where there’s free will and no possibility of sin is self contradiction and opens the door to people choosing evil over God, with suffering being the result. The overwhelming majority of pain in the world is cause by our choices to kill, to slander, to be selfish, to stray sexually, to break our promises, to be reckless.”
                          Peter John Kreeft ph.d
In my years, within the evangelical movement, I’ve heard lots of wild things.  Everything from “you’re sick, so you must have sin in your life” “to your faith isn’t strong enough or God would have healed you.”
Is it any wonder people are turned away from some churches with people saying things like this?
To my mind there is a purpose in us getting sick.  It could be something as simple as us needing to build antibodies, so that we can better fight the next cold. It could be the results of something we’ve been exposed to or that we are genetically predisposed to.  Then again it could simply be a sign that we are pushing ourselves too much and just need a rest.
If the illness takes us into hospital, it maybe to help us get fully healed, or simply, an opportunity to show and share our faith, or as one of my comedian  friends once said, “maybe the surgeon just needs the practice.”
 Either way it should be a call to our spirit to draw closer to God.
All great men and women of God, have gone through test and trials.  Abraham, Noah, David, Joseph, Paul, all of the Disciples, Job, even Jesus.
Some of my Charismatic friends would say God wants us to be healthy all the time. I am sure that is true. What father wouldn’t want his child to be healthy all the time.
The thing is we live in a fallen world.
Genesis records,
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 
                   Genesis 1:27-28
The problem is man over the centuries has not been a good steward of the world God has given him.
Man has partly out of ignorance, partly out of avarice, and at times deliberately damaged the world we live in.
In so doing he has set in motion things that make us sick, or that even kill us outright.
Case in point.
One place I lived in Northern Ontario, a once gold mining village sits by a lake you can not drink from. The reason it is filled with arsenic, a deadly poison that was used to refine the gold. A lot of the land around that lake is also polluted with arsenic also making it unusable. All because someone was so focussed on getting a few gold nuggets from the land and the government didn’t regulate what was happening. With neither party bothering to look after land.
This is happening all over the world. Man has fallen far from the ideals God set out for him. He has gone his own way and fallen into sin.
Sin is simply falling short of what God wants for you. The thing is we have to acknowledge God and our sin. We have to go before him and admit we are human and fall short of his perfect will every day.
God in sending Jesus to this earth understands what it is to be a human being. What it is to live on this earth with all its temptations. He knows we cannot be good enough to stand in front of him. That’s why he sent Jesus.
Jesus himself left us with this statement,
“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.
Think about it.

I Believe

I Believe

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 
a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 
a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” 
                                                                               Ecclesiastes 3:2-8
The writer of Ecclesiastes is right. There is a time for everything. You don’t have to be a wise man to necessarily realize this. The writer is just stating the obvious. There is a time and a season for everything.
In my sixty years on this earth I have seen and experienced a lot. Everything from war, to the death of loved ones, to serious illnesses of both my wife and myself.
I have felt the joy of the birth of my children and been amazed as they grew to manhood going on to serve their Lord and Saviour.
I have rejoiced and danced at the wedding of my son. Praising God for the love he and his wife have for each other.
And through it all I am amazed at the Love God has shown to both me and my family.
In our life we have had more than our share of tragedy, the near death of one of my sons,  A serious injuries to another that could have crippled him for life. 
Both my wife and I almost dying in separate incidents just months apart. A diagnosis of Bipolar disorder that did change my life forever. Even a house fire that took all our earthly possessions.
Yet through it all I can truly praise God. Even when we lost our house, on which we had no insurance, we never went homeless. There was one waiting for us, in a better location no less.
God is truly good.
After the loss of our house we were also able to attend a wonderful bible based evangelical church. A family place in which we could bring up our children.
It was a place my wife and now our sons can serve the Lord. And that for my family and I that is important.
The events of my life have for me proven there is a loving God who cares for the individual. Who cares for those love him.
I know there are many out there that would deny God exists but I cannot believe this. I believe the word of the apostle John who wrote,
"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.
I believe the writer of the Apostles creed who wrote,

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

      who was conceived by the Holy Spirit

      and born of the virgin Mary.

      He suffered under Pontius Pilate,

      was crucified, died, and was buried;

      he descended to hell.

      The third day he rose again from the dead.

      He ascended to heaven

      and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.

      From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

      the holy catholic* church,

      the communion of saints,

      the forgiveness of sins,

      the resurrection of the body,

      and the life everlasting. Amen.

(*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places)
I believe the writer of Ecclesiastes was right when he 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 judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
   Ecclesiastes 12:13,14
For me there is no debate. What you the reader believes is entirely up to you. It is my prayer that you at least examine the Bible and make up your own mind. Still ultimately belief in God is an act of faith.
Think about it

Creation

Creation
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
                                                                                     Genesis 1:1

A Nebula taken from Hubble space telescope

                                                                     A  day old human embryo

The surface of Mars a planet too far from the sun it has no life as we know it.

                                                                       Earth our home. Just the
                                             right distance from the sun for life to exist.
                                                   With all the elements necessary for life.
The book of Job states,
“He spreads out the northern  skies  over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.”
                                       Job 26:7
Not a bad description for a man who had never seen an image from space. Who had only seen the world around him.
The more I look into the heavens or through a microscope the more I see the hand of God. Everything is in balance. Everything we need to sustain life as we know it is there. Contrast earth to Mars. Earth has everything necessary for life Mars has as far as we know has some water and little else.
We are a divine creation. Created by God to have fellowship with Him. God did not want robots. Quite the contrary he wanted people who could think. Thus he gave us the ability to choose knowing full well that we may choose to turn away from him, as many people have done.
Never the less he has seen fit to show us the way back to him. He did so by sending his one and only son into the world.
Jesus came into the world I believe to experience everything a man could possibly experience.
Jesus as far as we know grew up in a devout family and had a relatively normal childhood. He did however have to become a political refugee while still an infant. He and his parents escaping to Egypt to avoid the wrath of a despot who wished to kill him.
Jesus also studied the scriptures. His parents finding him in his early teens talking with the scholars of his day, who marveled at his knowledge.
Throughout his ministry he spoke to the average person about God and the way to heaven.
He made things clear about himself saying,
... “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
                                                                                                                                                 John 14:6.
After a three year ministry he suffered the indignity of an illegal trial, was flogged and put to death in a most hideous way.
In between all of this he lived an exemplary life and understood all was to be human. Everything from the rain against his face. To the heat of the sun, to the pleasing scent of a flower.
He even understood what it was like to be tempted and go his own way, away from God. That is why when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ we can never say to Him you don’t understand what it is to be human.
Over the years many ideas about God have arisen. Many ideas about how we get to heaven but non have made the claims Christians make.
The apostle Paul while speaking to the Athenians said of Christ,
“‘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.”
                                                                            Acts 17:28-31.
There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus will one day judge mankind. The question is will you meet him as your Judge or you Saviour?
The apostle John in his Gospel writes,
“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.” 
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 1:1-4,12,13.
Think about it



a

Where

Where

Where are the people?

Where?

Are they but shadows in the mall?

Shadows wandering, looking for the latest trinkets, bobbles or beads.

Are they?

Are they but shadows in time,

What is life?

Yours or mine?

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 molecules and atoms,

Sound and energy travelling through endless time?

Is it?

Or 

Is a life.

Yours and mine,... more?

Is it a divine opera?

An opera played out on a high mesa 

A stage suspended between heaven and hell.

Are we as Shakespear said, simply actors?

Are we but actors in a play?

Actors awaiting the final curtain call,

Sending us to eternity?

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 when you pass on?

What will God say?

The Psalmist wrote

“Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; 

let me know how fleeting is my life. 

You have made my days a mere handbreadth; 

the span of my years is as nothing before you. 

Each man’s life is but a breath. 

                                                 Psalms 39:4,5

Jesus said,

‘Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. 

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, 

I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.’ 

                                                               Revelations 3:20

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— 

Ephesians 2:8

The writer of Hebrews wrote, 

“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

Jesus said,

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. 

No one comes to the Father 

except through me.” John 14:6

Life is more than a wisp of smoke in the eternal aether. 

Shadows wandering, looking for the latest trinkets, bobbles and beads.

Shadows in time.

Life is a divine opera.

An opera played out on a high mesa.

A stage suspended between heaven and hell.

An opera with a twist.

A play who’s final ending is determined by you and me.

A play deciding where we will spend eternity.

Where will you spend eternity?

Will you accept Jesus Christ into your heart and life today?

Will you pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I recognize that Jesus is your one and only Son.
That he came to earth to die for my sins.
I confess I am a sinner and that I fall short of what you want for my life.
Please forgive me of my sins and come into my life.
That I may spend eternity with you

                                      In Jesus name I pray
                                                   Amen.