A message from the apostle Paul

 A message from the Apostle Paul

I firmly believe that from time to time we need to let scripture speak for itself. This occasion is one of them. What follows are Pauls words (sermon) to the Athenians. Words that are as relevant today as they were when he spoke them.

The book of acts records,

"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 17:17-34.

The question I have for you dear reader is, In which group do you fall? Those who sneered at him? The ones who wanted to hear more? Or the ones who accepted what he had to say?

Please think about it.

God's word or yourself?

God’s word or yourself?
The Apostle Paul writes,
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2Corinthians 5:17.
Are you a new creation?
Billy Graham the American evangelist in a reference to Christ’ disciples said, 
"The men who followed Him (Christ), were unique in their generation. They turned the world upside down because their hearts had been turned right side up. The world has never been the same." Billy Graham.
If you claim to be a follower of Christ Jesus is your life turned right side up? OR are you mixing your old life and the things of this world with the teachings of Jesus?
The more I look at people who are claiming to be Christians here in North America, be they in the pulpit, in the media or in the pew, I sadly see a mixing of secularism and Christianity. This is true of all denominations.
Even those claiming to be evangelical fundamentalist are mixing their faith, their politics and secular teachings. Twisting God’s word to conform to their beliefs. Believing only what they want to believe. Making God’s word of little or no effect. This is something the apostle Paul warned about when he wrote,
"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.
St. Augustine wrote,

“If you believe what you like in the gospels, 

and reject what you don't like,

 it is not the gospel you believe,

 but yourself.” 

                                   St Augustine.

So if you claim to be a Christian a follower of Christ Jesus, are you believing the Bible or only what you what to believe in it?
Please think about it.

Give Account

Give account
The writer of Hebrews states,
“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:12,13.
I believe the Bible has two purposes. One to show us the way to heaven and two to show us how God expects us to live.
Many in today’s culture do not want to hear how God expects us to live. They take  heed of only the portions of the Bible they want to listen to and disregard the rest.
St. Augustine said,
“If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.” St Augustine.
The choice however is always ours. God has given us a freewill to do as we wish. That being said,
The book of Ecclesiastes reminds us,
“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.