You and Christ

You and Christ
Henry Drummond said,
“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.
Irrespective of who you think Jesus is you cannot deny that His teachings are words to live by.
Jesus makes it clear we are to love God, our neighbour, and even our enemy. If each person took the principle of Love as Jesus taught them this world would be a far better place.
Sadly over the centuries millions if not billions of people have died because of lack of love.    Wars and violence of all types permeate our society be in on an individual level on the streets of any city anywhere in the world, or on an industrial scale through war.
I know many do not believe in the concept of original sin or that man has a sinful nature but events around the world seem to prove that man is sinful by nature.
There is no society free from crime. No century that has gone by without war. And all of this while man knows in his heart you shall not kill, or steal.
 Sadly as the centuries have gone by man has turned away from God. Secular humanism seems to be taking its place.
Rabbi Benjamin Blech said,
“In the aftermath of Nazi Germany we must once and for all understand that culture and crematoria are not mutually exclusive.  Scientific progress does not ensure moral protection, nor can secular humanism produce saints.  People will always find reasons to justify any kind of behaviour.”
-Rabbi Benjamin Blech, congregational rabbi and ancient professor of Talmud, Understanding Judaism.  The Basics of Deed and Creed (1991)
Our world may be at the tipping point. Man in his greed has not taken care of this world. With all the scientific evidence seeming to point to global warming there is still reluctance to correct the problem.
The world is growing enough food to feed its people yet millions die of starvation.
Around the world people are dying of curable illnesses.
Men women and children are dying on our streets due to violence and war be it conventional war or as terrorism.
This all tells me that man has a sinful nature. That man needs to turn to God to the teachings of Christ. Who called us to love unconditionally.
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 neighbor as yourself.’  
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 
                                                                                 Matthew 22:36-40
Jesus also said,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor 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.
If mankind were to follow these simple teaching the world would be a far better place. Sadly man chooses to go his own way. A way that if he does not turn around that leads to destruction.
Please think about it.

Our Society

Our Society

“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.” 
Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.
I am a firm believer in God. A God, both believers in Him and those who do not, will answer too.
Abba Hillel Silver wrote,
“Faith in God is the strongest bulwark of a free society.  Human freedom began when men became conscious that over and above society and nature there is a God who created them...who fashioned them in His likeness, and that they are, therefore, possessed of intrinsic and independent significance and are endowed, as individuals, with original and irrevocable rights and authority.”
                                                                                                                Abba Hillel Silver
It is only when men ignore there is a God who will one day judge them, or twist God’s truths to suit their own way of thinking, that society sinks into conflict.  Sadly when this happens innocent people die. We only have to look at world war two to see this.
Ten million plus dying in death camps fifty-six million plus dying overall in the war, soldiers and civilians.
It is happening to day as Terrorist groups around the world are twisting the truths of God to justify what they are doing.
But it doesn’t stop there. Men, women and children are dying in various kinds of violence on the streets of towns and cities around the world. The result of people who could care less about the consequences and God.
Governments pass laws, imprison law breakers but it seems to no avail. Many countries still have the death penalty yet crime still continues on.
Millions if not billions of dollars are spent on counter terrorism yet the terrorist groups continue their evil ways.
Despite all our scientific and social advancements over the centuries man still has a propensity to find ways and justify ways to cause harm to his fellow man.
Rabbi Benjamin Blech wrote,
“In the aftermath of Nazi Germany we must once and for all understand that culture and crematoria are not mutually exclusive.  Scientific progress does not ensure moral protection, nor can secular humanism produce saints.  People will always find reasons to justify any kind of behaviour.”
Rabbi Benjamin Blech, congregational rabbi and ancient professor of Talmud, Understanding Judaism.  The Basics of Deed and Creed (1991)
To my mind this is what happens when God is pushed out of the picture. When people turn from the moral teachings of God.
Man needs moral absolutes and to realize that there is more to life than this world. That life does not end in the death of the body.
That what a person does here will be judged ultimately by God.
Throughout the centuries man has slowly turned from God. Man has set himself up as the supreme being. The result is the world as we know it is slowly heading down hill toward a lake filled with fire and brimstone.
Sadly I believe that until the world turns back to God that decline will continue to happen.
Christians believe that one day Jesus will return to judge the world. That he will return to rule and reign bringing peace to the world.
Until then I believe the only way we have even the slightest hope for any kind of peace is by obeying the words of Ecclesiastes who wrote,
“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.” 
Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.
Please think about it.

A gentle slope

A gentle slope
“The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”
                                                                                     C. S. Lewis.
I strongly believe many people in out society are on the road to hell. That’s one of the reasons I write these blogs.
Our society here in North America is full of diversions. Things that misdirect us. We are challenged to go for the “American or Canadian Dream” a good life of prosperity, and health. Something that in itself is good.
We are told by advertisers that we need this gadget or that gadget. We need the nice home with all the amenities. Again in proper prospective there is nothing wrong with having the latest gadgets, toys and luxury items.
However we are even led to believe by popular culture, that there are many ways to heaven. Some would even have you believe there is not a heaven or hell at all.
I as a Christian cannot force nor would I ever try to force what I believe on anyone. They have a free will to choose what they wish.
I would however state that I believe there is a Heaven we need to reach for and a Hell to shun.
I believe that getting to heaven cost us nothing. It is strictly an act of faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
                                                                                                                                              John 14:6.
“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.
The apostle Paul notes,
“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 Hebrew stating,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” 
                                                                                                                              Hebrews 11:1
“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
Christians believe that God fully understood that we could not live a life good enough for Him so God reached down to man in the form of Jesus Christ. The apostle John noting,
“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.....  
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  
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, 10-13.
If I am right and I strongly believe that I am a lot of people today in our society have a lot to fear.
C. S. Lewis said,
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
                                                            C. S. Lewis.
Please think about it.

Our Society

Our society

“I would recommend that we straighten out a few things before we contemplate any interplanetary transportation system.  Suppose a man from Mars should suddenly appear on Earth?  I think it would be terribly embarrassing if he learned that a second-rate singer in a night club makes four thousand dollars a week, and a high-school teacher makes three thousand eight hundred and ninety dollars a year.  This and many other things should be straightened out first if we intend to maintain our dignity when planet folks start visiting us.”
                                                                                                 Harry Golden.
Harry Golden is right. The Americans have a statement that stays “all men are created equal.” a good and noble statement. Yet when it comes to healthcare some people cannot afford it while their elected government officials all of whom are wealthy get excellent healthcare benefits.
People in one of the richest and most powerful nations in history go without food. Men and women who work all their lives end up with pensions that are below the poverty line.
And it’s not just the Americans. I live in Canada and while our healthcare system in far better than the American system there are some very serious deficiencies.
Pensions too are below the poverty line. Even private pensions governments urged people to sign onto are being lost because companies are backing out of them. While elected government officials after only a few years in office get a gold plated pension plan far more than the average Canadian can hope for.
Here in Canada also people are still living on the street. Men women and children go hungry. This in one of the richest countries in the world.
Think about it some guy who pushes a frozen piece of rubber around the ice or runs around a few bases earns more than a doctor, a policeman, fireman, or for that matter a garbage collector.
Tell me who would they notice first if they went on strike the baseball player or the garbage collector? I know from past strikes people scream pretty quickly when garbage collectors go on strike.
Our society has its priorities all mixed up. Now there is nothing wrong with paying professional sports players millions. It, after all is a business, and in a free society people can charge for their services what they feel other people are willing to pay.
However it is wrong to let people go hungry. To deny them adequate healthcare, pensions and other necessities of life.
The Talmud makes two interesting points. It states,
“Rabbi Akiba was asked by a Roman general, “Why does your God who loves the needy not provide for their support Himself?”  He answered, “God the Father of both the rich and poor, wants the one to help the other so as to make the world a household of love.”
                                                                                                             The Talmud.
In this world there are always going to be poor. People who need help. Not everyone can be rich. After all as someone has said if everyone was rich who’d do the jobs considered menial.
Still I believe it is the duty of those who can help the poor and needy of our society to do so.
I do believe God will hold people accountable when it comes to dealing with ones fellow man.
The Talmud stating,
“When a man appears before the Throne of Judgment, the first question he is asked is not, “Have you believed in God?”  Or “Have you prayed and observed the ritual?  “He is asked: “have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?”
                                                                                                               The Talmud.
I believe the writer of Ecclesiastes who 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 judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.

Please think about it.