Showing posts with label seek God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seek God. Show all posts

Monday, 2 July 2018

Proclaim God

Proclaim God
Jesus speaking to his disciples said,
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20.
Long before Jesus spoke these words the writer of Chronicles said,
“Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 
Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. 
Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. 
Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,...” 1 Chronicles 16:8-12.
As believers in Christ Jesus. As believers in God. We are to tell the nations about Him. We are to sing God’s praises. To glorify God in word and in deed. It is only by doing this that the nations and the peoples of the world will come to know the Living God.
It is important as we do this, to remember the world is watching us. That it is through the lense of our lives that those around us will see God.
The apostle Peter telling us,
“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 2:11,12
The writer of Hebrews noting,
“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.
Francis of Assisi wrote a prayer I believe we as believers in Christ Jesus should put into practice. He wrote,
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, 
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; 
to be understood as to understand; 
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive; 
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; 
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
                                                     The Prayer of St Francis of Assisi
It is my opinion that if we do this many people will see God working in us and come to know Him in a personal way.
Please think about it.

Monday, 30 April 2018

You and God

You & God
In the book of Proverbs we read,
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.
Faith in God, for some, perhaps even for most people, is something that is difficult to have. Especially in something unseen. Yet God requires his followers to have faith.
 The writer of Hebrews states,
“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
Martin Luther King Jr. the American civil rights leader said,
Faith is taking the first step 
even when you don't see the whole staircase.
                                                        Martin Luther King, Jr.
God essentially asks each individual to take that first step even though they can’t see the whole stair case.
Have you taken that first step of faith with regards to believing in God?
The apostle Paul tells us,
“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.
Put simply we get to heaven by putting our faith in the Grace of God.
Writing to the Romans the apostle Paul states,
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8.
What Christianity asks the individual to believe by faith is expressed in what is called the Apostles Creed. While it was not written by an apostle of Jesus. It does express the core beliefs of Christianity. It reads,
I believe in God the Father the almighty maker of heaven and earth
I believe in Jesus Christ God’s on and only Son, our Lord and Saviour.
I believe Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary
I believe Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate; 
That He was Crucified, died, was buried. That he descended in hell.
I believe He rose again on the third day from the dead.
I believe that he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
I believe Jesus will one day Judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost
I believe in the Church which is the communion of the saints,
 I believe in the forgiveness of sin.
I believe in the resurrection of the body.
I believe in life everlasting.
Do you believe this?
Please think about it.