Of God’s love,
“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.
Here is perhaps one of he best known quotes from the bible. It expresses God’s love and a warning to mankind.
The choice is yours. It is an act of faith.
I’ve heard it said that salvation is like a free meal. It’s there for the taking. All you have to do to receive it’s nourishment is eat it. Take it in.
Paul makes this very clear when he states,
“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
Still many cannot accept this gift, Paul stating,
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
The way I look at it if what I believe as a Christian is foolish then I have lost nothing.
But if I am right those who don’t believe in Jesus have a lot to worry about.
Think about it.
Sunday, 18 May 2014
Saturday, 17 May 2014
A matter of faith
A matter of Faith
“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.
Christianity is a religion strictly based on faith. I cannot for all my words instil faith in someone each person must ultimately decide where their faith lies.
Paul states,
“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.
Jesus said,
“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.”
John 3:16,17
Jesus also gives a warning as to what lack of faith in him does,
“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 3:18.
The choice is up to the individual either you believe Jesus is who he says he is, the One and Only Son of God, Saviour of mankind or he is not.
If the latter is true Christianity is the greatest fraud ever committed on mankind.
If true it is the way to life eternal free to all who have faith in Jesus Christ.
The choice is yours.
Think about it.
“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.
Christianity is a religion strictly based on faith. I cannot for all my words instil faith in someone each person must ultimately decide where their faith lies.
Paul states,
“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.
Jesus said,
“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.”
John 3:16,17
Jesus also gives a warning as to what lack of faith in him does,
“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 3:18.
The choice is up to the individual either you believe Jesus is who he says he is, the One and Only Son of God, Saviour of mankind or he is not.
If the latter is true Christianity is the greatest fraud ever committed on mankind.
If true it is the way to life eternal free to all who have faith in Jesus Christ.
The choice is yours.
Think about it.
Friday, 16 May 2014
Hope
Hope
There is a verse I am fond of quoting it’s the words of Jesus who said,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30.
The other day I was watching a television program I believe called Final twenty-four. It portrayed the final twenty-four hours in a famous persons life. The person despite all the fame and fortune they had committed suicide.
The person simply couldn’t find peace in his life. He’d tried it all including drugs sex and alcohol.
He seemed to echo the words of the writer of Ecclesiastes who wrote,
"I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
Ecclesiastes 1:14.
As I’ve mentioned in other writings, I live with Bi-polar effective disorder. I volunteer as a speaker with the Canadian Mental Health Association here were I live. Telling various groups what it is like to live with a mental illness.
Let me tell you my story,
As I said I have Bipolar Affective dissorder,
Bipolar disorder is characterized by alternating manic episodes in which the individual feels abnormally euphoric, optimistic, and energetic and depressive periods in which the individual feels sad, hopeless, guilty, and sometimes suicidal. Manic or depressive periods may last for days, weeks, or months and run the spectrum from mild to severe. These episodes may be separated by periods of emotional stability in which the individual functions normally.
For me my journey started as I headed home from work. I’d been working long hours and travelling over a hundred k one way to work. When suddenly without warning a fear of dread welled up inside of me, tears filled my eyes and I was forced to pull over to the side of the road.
When I gained enough of my equilibrium to go down to the next rest stop where I pulled into a far corner of the parking lot and cried for half an hour.
My doctor told me I was stressed out and to take time off work. Which I did going back just before Christmas.
Things went well then one night on my way to work in a snow storm, my car had spun out and my moods went out of control.
On that occasion my fathers house being nearest I’d pulled in and called in to work sick.
On that day my world shattered. Life would never be the same.
I went back to see my doctor the next day and it was then he suggested I see my first psychiatrist.
At the time I had my preconceived idea of psychiatrist was a witch doctor who pushed pills.
Still I trusted my family doctor and began fighting the dragon in my head.
My first psychiatrist was a strong believer in trying to change things by changing lifestyle and eating habits. But after a while he diagnosed me with Bipolar affective disorder and placed me on a low dose of Lithium the gold standard at the time.
Unfortunately he passed away as a result of cancer before I was stabilized and my care went briefly back to my family doctor. Who eventually got me in with my second Psychiatrist.
He agreed with the Bipolar diagnosis and started me on a trial and error treatment trying various combination of drugs. (There is no definitive test at this time for Bipolar, no single drug treatment that works for every one. Thus the need to try various combinations)
Some worked briefly others had side effects I couldn’t handle.
I at one point began to believe the words of William, Wordsworth who said
"We poets in our youth begin in gladness: but therefore come in the end to despondency and madness”
My second Psychiatrist got me reasonably stabilised then retired my treatment going back to my family doctor then to my current psychiatrist. An excellent doctor well versed in her pharmacology.
Someone who had worked with to help me through some very hard times.
That’s the key finding a good Psychologist that works with you and understands you.
Bipolar is like being in a storm a massive storm that billows all around you.
All you can do at times is to try and out run it but you never seem to be able too.
Another way to describe it is imagine you’re in a snow globe, simultaneously you’re holding the snow globe and inside it.
You’re shaking it in causing the storm rage all around you.
Intellectually you know you’re shaking it causing the storm but you’re powerless to stop it. So you continue with that storm pounding to the very roots of your inner psyche.
Yet another way of putting it is imagine your in a high powered sports car, you’re flying down the road with the wind whipping your hair. The adrenaline rush is fantastic.
Then all of a sudden you stop and jump into a pool of mud up to your neck and just wallow their until you think you can’t take it any more.
Then without warning the cycle repeats.
For me and I think even for the processionals there are a lot of things that are not understood. Goblins if you will in your mind.
Then in my case there’s the anxiety. Anxiety is faceless anamatons that wander through your mind causing irrational fear. Trying to control your life.
But there is hope. For me, almost without me realizing it I put together a team consisting of my psychiatrist, my family doctor, my pastor and church family and equally important my wife and family.
All of whom are there for me when I need them.
My faith means a lot to me and I am convinced that it has saved me on many occasion from doing something stupid, because suicide at times has lurked in the back of my mind.
Today I am on a magnificent journey. I still have some very bad days, day, I can’t
fully function. But I take things one day sometimes one moment at a time.
Through all the highs and lows I’ve gone through with this illness I firmly believe God has been there for me giving me reassurance and hope in what at times has been a very darkened world.
If you recognize the symptoms above in your life talk to a health care professional. It never hurts.
In Canada all provincial health care systems cover Psychiatrist.
In Canada you can also go speak to the Canadian Mental Health Association who can steer you in the right direction if you have any doubts.
Please remember Mental Illness is very real don’t try to go it alone.
There is help. There is hope.
There is a verse I am fond of quoting it’s the words of Jesus who said,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30.
The other day I was watching a television program I believe called Final twenty-four. It portrayed the final twenty-four hours in a famous persons life. The person despite all the fame and fortune they had committed suicide.
The person simply couldn’t find peace in his life. He’d tried it all including drugs sex and alcohol.
He seemed to echo the words of the writer of Ecclesiastes who wrote,
"I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
Ecclesiastes 1:14.
As I’ve mentioned in other writings, I live with Bi-polar effective disorder. I volunteer as a speaker with the Canadian Mental Health Association here were I live. Telling various groups what it is like to live with a mental illness.
Let me tell you my story,
As I said I have Bipolar Affective dissorder,
Bipolar disorder is characterized by alternating manic episodes in which the individual feels abnormally euphoric, optimistic, and energetic and depressive periods in which the individual feels sad, hopeless, guilty, and sometimes suicidal. Manic or depressive periods may last for days, weeks, or months and run the spectrum from mild to severe. These episodes may be separated by periods of emotional stability in which the individual functions normally.
For me my journey started as I headed home from work. I’d been working long hours and travelling over a hundred k one way to work. When suddenly without warning a fear of dread welled up inside of me, tears filled my eyes and I was forced to pull over to the side of the road.
When I gained enough of my equilibrium to go down to the next rest stop where I pulled into a far corner of the parking lot and cried for half an hour.
My doctor told me I was stressed out and to take time off work. Which I did going back just before Christmas.
Things went well then one night on my way to work in a snow storm, my car had spun out and my moods went out of control.
On that occasion my fathers house being nearest I’d pulled in and called in to work sick.
On that day my world shattered. Life would never be the same.
I went back to see my doctor the next day and it was then he suggested I see my first psychiatrist.
At the time I had my preconceived idea of psychiatrist was a witch doctor who pushed pills.
Still I trusted my family doctor and began fighting the dragon in my head.
My first psychiatrist was a strong believer in trying to change things by changing lifestyle and eating habits. But after a while he diagnosed me with Bipolar affective disorder and placed me on a low dose of Lithium the gold standard at the time.
Unfortunately he passed away as a result of cancer before I was stabilized and my care went briefly back to my family doctor. Who eventually got me in with my second Psychiatrist.
He agreed with the Bipolar diagnosis and started me on a trial and error treatment trying various combination of drugs. (There is no definitive test at this time for Bipolar, no single drug treatment that works for every one. Thus the need to try various combinations)
Some worked briefly others had side effects I couldn’t handle.
I at one point began to believe the words of William, Wordsworth who said
"We poets in our youth begin in gladness: but therefore come in the end to despondency and madness”
My second Psychiatrist got me reasonably stabilised then retired my treatment going back to my family doctor then to my current psychiatrist. An excellent doctor well versed in her pharmacology.
Someone who had worked with to help me through some very hard times.
That’s the key finding a good Psychologist that works with you and understands you.
Bipolar is like being in a storm a massive storm that billows all around you.
All you can do at times is to try and out run it but you never seem to be able too.
Another way to describe it is imagine you’re in a snow globe, simultaneously you’re holding the snow globe and inside it.
You’re shaking it in causing the storm rage all around you.
Intellectually you know you’re shaking it causing the storm but you’re powerless to stop it. So you continue with that storm pounding to the very roots of your inner psyche.
Yet another way of putting it is imagine your in a high powered sports car, you’re flying down the road with the wind whipping your hair. The adrenaline rush is fantastic.
Then all of a sudden you stop and jump into a pool of mud up to your neck and just wallow their until you think you can’t take it any more.
Then without warning the cycle repeats.
For me and I think even for the processionals there are a lot of things that are not understood. Goblins if you will in your mind.
Then in my case there’s the anxiety. Anxiety is faceless anamatons that wander through your mind causing irrational fear. Trying to control your life.
But there is hope. For me, almost without me realizing it I put together a team consisting of my psychiatrist, my family doctor, my pastor and church family and equally important my wife and family.
All of whom are there for me when I need them.
My faith means a lot to me and I am convinced that it has saved me on many occasion from doing something stupid, because suicide at times has lurked in the back of my mind.
Today I am on a magnificent journey. I still have some very bad days, day, I can’t
fully function. But I take things one day sometimes one moment at a time.
Reinhold Niebuhr once wrote,
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time...
The key for me is not just the successful cocktail of medications I’m on, which is absolutely necessary. But it’s also my faith.Through all the highs and lows I’ve gone through with this illness I firmly believe God has been there for me giving me reassurance and hope in what at times has been a very darkened world.
If you recognize the symptoms above in your life talk to a health care professional. It never hurts.
In Canada all provincial health care systems cover Psychiatrist.
In Canada you can also go speak to the Canadian Mental Health Association who can steer you in the right direction if you have any doubts.
Please remember Mental Illness is very real don’t try to go it alone.
There is help. There is hope.
Thursday, 15 May 2014
Is it only a toothpaste tube
Is it only a toothpaste tube
“When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan.
Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ ?
So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.
I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.
For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
Matthew 19:1-12.
I know a couple who got divorced sighting irreconcilable differences. Later I was talking to the wife who told me very seriously, “I couldn’t stand the way that man left the toothpaste tube.”
They had known each other only six months prior to getting married and their marriage had lasted just under two years. They had found out that they were not at all compatible. That their little quirks drove each other around the bend.
I think the problem was they entered into marriage too lightly which ultimately made divorce inevitable.
Now let me make things perfectly clear here. There are times when divorce is necessary.
Over the years I’ve heard pastors and evangelist make extreme statements everything from only a man can divorce his wife. The wife cannot divorce her husband, to Adultery is the only reason for divorce. They even quote the above passage Matthew 19:1-12.
THOSE WHO PREACH SUCH DOCTRINE ARE IN MY OPINION WRONG.
We are in the twenty-first century and all credible scholars accept that first, divorce is a two way street. A woman can divorce her husband for just cause in the same way a man can divorce his wife, infidelity (adultery) and especially abuse are the two reasons that stand out in my mind.
All to many marriages these days are entered into far too lightly. Marriage should be a love relationship.
By love I don’t mean sexual. It has been my experience that marriages based on sexual attraction and fascination is doomed to fail.
When the fascination ends and you enter into a valley in your relationship or other trials come it will fall apart.
The Apostle Paul gives what I think is the ideal definition of Love when he writes,
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails....”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a.
Paul writing to the Ephesians explains what I believe should happen in a marriage when he writes,
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”
Ephesians 5:25
A husband should love, defend, and protect his wife to the point of giving up his own life.
Paul also makes it clear what it should be like in a marriage arrangement when he writes to the Corinthians,
"But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.
The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.
Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control."
1 Corinthians 7:2-5.
No marriage is perfect. There will be big ups and downs from time to time. Times when you disagree and argue.
In the thirty-five years I’ve been married I know this is true but when I was dating my wife we read the above scriptures believed them and evaluated our relationship with respect to them.
There was also one other scripture we read that makes perfect sense if you truly love your spouse it’s Paul writing to the Ephesians. He writes,
“In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,”
Ephesians 4:26.
My wife and I have practised this principle since before we were married and it works.
I know others who have read and practice the above principles and their marriages too are solid.
Still relationships from time to time do go wrong. But it is up to the husband and the wife as far as possible to work on their relationship.
To carefully examine themselves and their relationship with their spouse. Then ask the question is divorce really necessary.
Or is it only a toothpaste tube.
Think about it.
“When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan.
Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ ?
So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.
I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.
For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
Matthew 19:1-12.
I know a couple who got divorced sighting irreconcilable differences. Later I was talking to the wife who told me very seriously, “I couldn’t stand the way that man left the toothpaste tube.”
They had known each other only six months prior to getting married and their marriage had lasted just under two years. They had found out that they were not at all compatible. That their little quirks drove each other around the bend.
I think the problem was they entered into marriage too lightly which ultimately made divorce inevitable.
Now let me make things perfectly clear here. There are times when divorce is necessary.
Over the years I’ve heard pastors and evangelist make extreme statements everything from only a man can divorce his wife. The wife cannot divorce her husband, to Adultery is the only reason for divorce. They even quote the above passage Matthew 19:1-12.
THOSE WHO PREACH SUCH DOCTRINE ARE IN MY OPINION WRONG.
We are in the twenty-first century and all credible scholars accept that first, divorce is a two way street. A woman can divorce her husband for just cause in the same way a man can divorce his wife, infidelity (adultery) and especially abuse are the two reasons that stand out in my mind.
All to many marriages these days are entered into far too lightly. Marriage should be a love relationship.
By love I don’t mean sexual. It has been my experience that marriages based on sexual attraction and fascination is doomed to fail.
When the fascination ends and you enter into a valley in your relationship or other trials come it will fall apart.
The Apostle Paul gives what I think is the ideal definition of Love when he writes,
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails....”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a.
Paul writing to the Ephesians explains what I believe should happen in a marriage when he writes,
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”
Ephesians 5:25
A husband should love, defend, and protect his wife to the point of giving up his own life.
Paul also makes it clear what it should be like in a marriage arrangement when he writes to the Corinthians,
"But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.
The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.
Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control."
1 Corinthians 7:2-5.
No marriage is perfect. There will be big ups and downs from time to time. Times when you disagree and argue.
In the thirty-five years I’ve been married I know this is true but when I was dating my wife we read the above scriptures believed them and evaluated our relationship with respect to them.
There was also one other scripture we read that makes perfect sense if you truly love your spouse it’s Paul writing to the Ephesians. He writes,
“In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,”
Ephesians 4:26.
My wife and I have practised this principle since before we were married and it works.
I know others who have read and practice the above principles and their marriages too are solid.
Still relationships from time to time do go wrong. But it is up to the husband and the wife as far as possible to work on their relationship.
To carefully examine themselves and their relationship with their spouse. Then ask the question is divorce really necessary.
Or is it only a toothpaste tube.
Think about it.
Wednesday, 14 May 2014
A Proclamation
A Proclamation
“Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people.
He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Revelations 14:6,7.
I firmly believe what is said here in Revelations 14:6,7. God will one day judge the world.
Peter is recorded in the book of Acts as saying,
“He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.
All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Acts 10:42,43.
This is the reason I write these Blogs. I firmly believe everyone, everywhere needs to know of the love of God.
They need to know that God is a God of mercy and love and that he has reached down to mankind in the form of Jesus Christ to offer salvation and eternal life to all who believe in Him.
Jesus said,
“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.
John 3:16,17.
God couldn’t have made salvation and the eternal life it brings any easier Paul writing,
“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.
It all comes down to faith. What you believe. Do you believe Jesus is the one and Only Son of God, the Saviour of the world or not.
Faith is a very personal thing between the individual and God.
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.
The choice is yours.
Think about it.
“Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people.
He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Revelations 14:6,7.
I firmly believe what is said here in Revelations 14:6,7. God will one day judge the world.
Peter is recorded in the book of Acts as saying,
“He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.
All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Acts 10:42,43.
This is the reason I write these Blogs. I firmly believe everyone, everywhere needs to know of the love of God.
They need to know that God is a God of mercy and love and that he has reached down to mankind in the form of Jesus Christ to offer salvation and eternal life to all who believe in Him.
Jesus said,
“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.
John 3:16,17.
God couldn’t have made salvation and the eternal life it brings any easier Paul writing,
“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.
It all comes down to faith. What you believe. Do you believe Jesus is the one and Only Son of God, the Saviour of the world or not.
Faith is a very personal thing between the individual and God.
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.
The choice is yours.
Think about it.
Tuesday, 13 May 2014
Judgement is coming
Judgement is coming
“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
I am a firm believer that the oppressors of this world will one day be held to account. They will be punished for every wrong they have done.
I look around at mankind today and I see a world slowly falling apart. I see the poor of many countries oppressed. Not just in the third world but in the west.
I see politicians doing nothing to substantially help the poor. That in itself is oppression by omission.
These people will also I believe stand before God one day and be held to account.
I watched in utter amazement from my perch here in Canada at American politicians fighting against a national health care program for all its citizens. Something considered a basic human right in almost all other western countries.
To make it I think worse many of these politicians called themselves Christians. Isn’t affordable universal healthcare a good way to spend the peoples tax money?
Jesus said,
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,”
Matthew 25:40-42.
There is a quote from the Talmud that goes like this,
“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.”
These words are not just for Christians they are for our all of us. It’s just basic humanitarianism. We need to help our fellow man.
We as individuals l need to look at what we and our leaders are doing for the individuals in this world.
Are we helping our fellow man or are we oppressing them.
Think about it.
“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
I am a firm believer that the oppressors of this world will one day be held to account. They will be punished for every wrong they have done.
I look around at mankind today and I see a world slowly falling apart. I see the poor of many countries oppressed. Not just in the third world but in the west.
I see politicians doing nothing to substantially help the poor. That in itself is oppression by omission.
These people will also I believe stand before God one day and be held to account.
I watched in utter amazement from my perch here in Canada at American politicians fighting against a national health care program for all its citizens. Something considered a basic human right in almost all other western countries.
To make it I think worse many of these politicians called themselves Christians. Isn’t affordable universal healthcare a good way to spend the peoples tax money?
Jesus said,
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,”
Matthew 25:40-42.
There is a quote from the Talmud that goes like this,
“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.”
These words are not just for Christians they are for our all of us. It’s just basic humanitarianism. We need to help our fellow man.
We as individuals l need to look at what we and our leaders are doing for the individuals in this world.
Are we helping our fellow man or are we oppressing them.
Think about it.
Monday, 12 May 2014
What Jesus said about himself
What Jesus said of himself
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.
For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
John 6:32-40
The Bible does not hide who Jesus is. It reports clearly here in John 6:32-40 what he says about himself.
He admits he came down from heaven. That those who come to him he will not cast away.
He says he has come to do the will of his Heavenly Father, God.
And he make one very clear statement,
“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Such a statement can in my mind only be taken in two ways. Either they are the words of a lunatic who has fooled to date two point two billion people (the number of estimated Christians in the world today).
Or he is who he says he is the One and Only Son of God the Saviour of mankind.
The choice is up to each person individually to decide.
Is Jesus the Son of God or not.
Think about it?
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.
For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
John 6:32-40
The Bible does not hide who Jesus is. It reports clearly here in John 6:32-40 what he says about himself.
He admits he came down from heaven. That those who come to him he will not cast away.
He says he has come to do the will of his Heavenly Father, God.
And he make one very clear statement,
“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Such a statement can in my mind only be taken in two ways. Either they are the words of a lunatic who has fooled to date two point two billion people (the number of estimated Christians in the world today).
Or he is who he says he is the One and Only Son of God the Saviour of mankind.
The choice is up to each person individually to decide.
Is Jesus the Son of God or not.
Think about it?
Sunday, 11 May 2014
A Question Answered
A questions answered
“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?
And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.
In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.”
Matthew 18:10-14
Here’s something short and simple.
The Apostle John wrote,
“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.” John 3:16,17.
This is what the above parable from Matthew eighteen is saying.
That is why Jesus came to earth.
I know it’s hard for many people to understand but it’s true. It is because of God’s love that we, if we would only believe in Jesus can have eternal life. Paul saying,
“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 whole premise of Christianity is God reaching down in mercy to mankind, Jesus saying,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30.
Think about it
“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?
And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.
In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.”
Matthew 18:10-14
Here’s something short and simple.
The Apostle John wrote,
“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.” John 3:16,17.
This is what the above parable from Matthew eighteen is saying.
That is why Jesus came to earth.
I know it’s hard for many people to understand but it’s true. It is because of God’s love that we, if we would only believe in Jesus can have eternal life. Paul saying,
“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 whole premise of Christianity is God reaching down in mercy to mankind, Jesus saying,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30.
Think about it
Saturday, 10 May 2014
Getting to heaven
Getting to heaven
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Matthew 7 :13,14.
There are many today who reject the teachings of Jesus. Who say he is not the Messiah of the Jews.
Many who would have you believe there many ways to heaven. This is not what the New Testament says,
Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian, became a Pharisee at 19, later commander, of the Jewish forces in Galilee. Captured by Romans and attached to their headquarters. Born: 34AD
“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first, did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.”
Julian the Apostate, Roman Emperor from 361-363 A.D. and one of the most gifted ancient adversaries to Christianity. In his work against Christianity wrote,
“Jesus…has now been celebrated about three hundred years having done nothing in his lifetime worthy of fame, unless anyone thinks it is a very great work to heal lame and blind people and exorcise demoniacs in the villages of Bethsaida and Bethany.”
But at the end of his life was forced to say: “Thou has conquered, O Galilean!”
If these independent witnesses to the truth of Jesus are correct then I believe the teachings of Jesus are correct.
“Therefore the words of Jesus when he 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.
I know such a teaching is hard to comprehend. After all why would God not make many avenues to heaven.
The only answer I have is that he wanted to make it as simple for every man woman and childe to reach heaven as possible.
Paul writing to the Ephesians wrote,
“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.
We don’t have to work our way to heaven we only have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died for our sins. That he rose again and ascended into heaven.
This perhaps for many is too hard to understand. Perhaps that is why Jesus said,
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Matthew 7 :13,14.
Think about it.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Matthew 7 :13,14.
There are many today who reject the teachings of Jesus. Who say he is not the Messiah of the Jews.
Many who would have you believe there many ways to heaven. This is not what the New Testament says,
Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian, became a Pharisee at 19, later commander, of the Jewish forces in Galilee. Captured by Romans and attached to their headquarters. Born: 34AD
“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first, did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.”
Julian the Apostate, Roman Emperor from 361-363 A.D. and one of the most gifted ancient adversaries to Christianity. In his work against Christianity wrote,
“Jesus…has now been celebrated about three hundred years having done nothing in his lifetime worthy of fame, unless anyone thinks it is a very great work to heal lame and blind people and exorcise demoniacs in the villages of Bethsaida and Bethany.”
But at the end of his life was forced to say: “Thou has conquered, O Galilean!”
If these independent witnesses to the truth of Jesus are correct then I believe the teachings of Jesus are correct.
“Therefore the words of Jesus when he 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.
I know such a teaching is hard to comprehend. After all why would God not make many avenues to heaven.
The only answer I have is that he wanted to make it as simple for every man woman and childe to reach heaven as possible.
Paul writing to the Ephesians wrote,
“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.
We don’t have to work our way to heaven we only have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died for our sins. That he rose again and ascended into heaven.
This perhaps for many is too hard to understand. Perhaps that is why Jesus said,
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Matthew 7 :13,14.
Think about it.
Friday, 9 May 2014
Who is the Greatest
Who is greatest
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
He called a little child and had him stand among them.
And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:1-4.
What makes a person great, Education, being a great orator, Power, being a mighty hero, What?
Most people when they hear the names of great leaders may have heard the name but few know much about the person.
I watched a documentary that asked young people, the twenty or so group who Winston Churchill was. Sadly most didn’t know. Some were able to say he was a British prime minister but little else.
I doubt if most Americans could name more than one of the signatories on the constitution.
Canadians are the same unable to name the fathers of confederation. Most have never heard of Thomas D'Arcy Etienne Hughes McGee.
In the motion picture Patton, General George C. Patton is attributed as saying,
"For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honour of triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeteers, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting."
Patton, arguably one of the greatest generals in history knew about such things. Being a conquering hero means little. He knew about greatness. Yet today few people know much about Patton.
One man’s name however is known around the earth. Jesus of Nazareth. Two point two billion people still follow him today.
Dr. James Allan Francis in 1926 wrote’
Jesus humbled himself to the point of washing the feet of his disciples.
Humility is in short supply among most people today. How many politicians have fallen because they refused to humble themselves and admit what they were doing was wrong.
How many wars have started because the leaders of a country have refused to back down because it was a case of honour. And to back down would be a disgrace.
Jesus the Son of God who was there on the day of creation. Who created the world. Humbled himself to become a man and to die for the sins of man. To die for crimes he didn’t commit.
We as individuals need to look at the teachings of Christ. We need to look at his life, learn the lesson of humility he taught and put that lessons into action in our life.
In doing so I believe we will make the world a far better place.
Think About it.
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
He called a little child and had him stand among them.
And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:1-4.
What makes a person great, Education, being a great orator, Power, being a mighty hero, What?
Most people when they hear the names of great leaders may have heard the name but few know much about the person.
I watched a documentary that asked young people, the twenty or so group who Winston Churchill was. Sadly most didn’t know. Some were able to say he was a British prime minister but little else.
I doubt if most Americans could name more than one of the signatories on the constitution.
Canadians are the same unable to name the fathers of confederation. Most have never heard of Thomas D'Arcy Etienne Hughes McGee.
In the motion picture Patton, General George C. Patton is attributed as saying,
"For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honour of triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeteers, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting."
Patton, arguably one of the greatest generals in history knew about such things. Being a conquering hero means little. He knew about greatness. Yet today few people know much about Patton.
One man’s name however is known around the earth. Jesus of Nazareth. Two point two billion people still follow him today.
Dr. James Allan Francis in 1926 wrote’
He never wrote a book
He never held an office
He never went to college
He never visited a big city
He never travelled more than two hundred miles
From the place where he was born
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness...
Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And the leader of mankind's progress
All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life
Jesus taught us what it was to be humble. He came to do the work of God. To do the will of his Heavenly Father. In doing so he showed us what it was to be humble.Jesus humbled himself to the point of washing the feet of his disciples.
Humility is in short supply among most people today. How many politicians have fallen because they refused to humble themselves and admit what they were doing was wrong.
How many wars have started because the leaders of a country have refused to back down because it was a case of honour. And to back down would be a disgrace.
Jesus the Son of God who was there on the day of creation. Who created the world. Humbled himself to become a man and to die for the sins of man. To die for crimes he didn’t commit.
We as individuals need to look at the teachings of Christ. We need to look at his life, learn the lesson of humility he taught and put that lessons into action in our life.
In doing so I believe we will make the world a far better place.
Think About it.
Thursday, 8 May 2014
Think about it
Think about this.
This message is written to believers by the Apostle John but it is the message Christians want the world to know,
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
1 John 1:5-2:2
Jesus did in deed pay the price for our sins. Paul writes,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8.
Jesus offers us eternal life. It is a free gift to all who would believe. We do not have to work for it.
Paul states,
“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.
“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.
We Christians believe that you can indeed become Children of God. By simply believing that Jesus is indeed the Son of God and by confessing our sins to Him.
It’s that simple. Yet sadly people can’t accept this.
Can you.
Think about it.
This message is written to believers by the Apostle John but it is the message Christians want the world to know,
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
1 John 1:5-2:2
Jesus did in deed pay the price for our sins. Paul writes,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8.
Jesus offers us eternal life. It is a free gift to all who would believe. We do not have to work for it.
Paul states,
“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.
“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.
We Christians believe that you can indeed become Children of God. By simply believing that Jesus is indeed the Son of God and by confessing our sins to Him.
It’s that simple. Yet sadly people can’t accept this.
Can you.
Think about it.
Wednesday, 7 May 2014
You are a Mist
You are a mist
“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”
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Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
James 4:13,14
The above picture was taken in 1990 by the space probe voyager I. At the time it was four billion miles away from earth. The furthest any space craft today had gone.
It shows if you think about it the potential insignificance of mankind in the vastness of space. Carl Sagan wrote,
“Consider that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, every human being who ever was lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religious, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there- on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam....
To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”
From Carl Sagan,(1934-1996) Pale Blue Dot A Vision of the Human Future in Space.
Mr. Sagan couldn’t be more right. We are if you think about it are space dust and this world is all we have.
Albert Einstein wrote,
“Human beings vegetables or cosmic dust. We all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible player.”
That invisible player I believe is God. I believe Genesis 1:1 when it says,
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1
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.”
As I look around the world today I see mankind pulling away from God or perverting what he wants for mankind.
I see so called religious groups around the world killing supposedly in the name of God. These people are misguided and far from God.
I believe God loves all mankind irrespective of who they are, there way of life or their lifestyle.
I believe John when he wrote,
“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
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:1-4,14.
I firmly believe that the God that created the universe and everything in it entered the history of man because he loved him so much.
That Jesus is God’s one and only Son and that in following his teachings we can make this world a better place.
Think about it.
“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”
Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”James 4:13,14
The above picture was taken in 1990 by the space probe voyager I. At the time it was four billion miles away from earth. The furthest any space craft today had gone.
It shows if you think about it the potential insignificance of mankind in the vastness of space. Carl Sagan wrote,
“Consider that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, every human being who ever was lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religious, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there- on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam....
To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”
From Carl Sagan,(1934-1996) Pale Blue Dot A Vision of the Human Future in Space.
Mr. Sagan couldn’t be more right. We are if you think about it are space dust and this world is all we have.
Albert Einstein wrote,
“Human beings vegetables or cosmic dust. We all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible player.”
That invisible player I believe is God. I believe Genesis 1:1 when it says,
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1
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.”
As I look around the world today I see mankind pulling away from God or perverting what he wants for mankind.
I see so called religious groups around the world killing supposedly in the name of God. These people are misguided and far from God.
I believe God loves all mankind irrespective of who they are, there way of life or their lifestyle.
I believe John when he wrote,
“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
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:1-4,14.
I firmly believe that the God that created the universe and everything in it entered the history of man because he loved him so much.
That Jesus is God’s one and only Son and that in following his teachings we can make this world a better place.
Think about it.
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