Christian Conduct

Christian conduct.

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
 Matthew 7:12
As I originally  wrote this there was an extremist minister of a small Florida church congregation threatening to burn the Koran on September 11th.
Both Christian leaders and politicians of every stripe around the globe are angered at what he is about to do.
It was said that his actions could lead to more attacks on N. A. T. O. soldiers in Afghanistan. And there were protests in that country.
Christian leaders around the world from the Pope on down are saying this could lead to more persecution of Christians in, particularly in Muslim countries.
This pastor may think he is doing the will of God. He is not.
Sadly he is not the only extremist claiming to be a Christian out there who are not. Other pastors and evangelist have attacked other groups, the homosexual community being a frequent target.
People who do this are not Christians in my opinion.
Jesus clearly states in Matthew,
“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” 
                                                                                            Matthew 7:22,23
Neither Jesus or any of his apostles ever spoke out against any other religion or group of people in the Roman world.
True Jesus a Jew, said things about the practices of Jewish religious leaders but he was a Jewish teacher speaking to other Jews. In the same way Christians have the right to correct and debate our teachings with other Christians.
Jesus went as far as giving Christians some basic rules to live by.

1/So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums  up the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12
2/“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1,2.
3/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: 44,45
Love is the key to Christianity. Jesus said,

“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 22:37-40 
Paul defines what true love is in Corinthians 13 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
In my mind anyone who claims to be a Christian and is spouting hate toward any individual or group is not a Christian.
Christ went to the cross asking God to forgive his persecutors.
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.
To the none Christian reading this I would admit there has been a lot of negative things done in the name of Christianity over the years. Everything from the crusades to attacks in the Media on various groups and individuals by those claiming to be Christians who are not.
Jesus warned about such people when he said,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” 
                                                                                              Matthew 7:21-23
Sadly Christianity suffers from the same problem all large groups do. We are filled with humans and humans make mistakes.
Not only that but there are many that have their own agenda and prejudges that are contrary to the teachings of Christ.
These people misinterpret the bible to further their own ends. They are not Christians they are sinners who if remain unrepentant will hear Christ say, “‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” 
Think about it.

Grave Yards

Grave Yards

“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
Isaiah 40:6b

I went through a cemetery the other day. A small one. By Canadian standards its old. From the few headstones I believe it was just one family buried there.
I noticed that all the headstones gave the date of birth and death. Some even gave the age of the person in years months weeks and days. Nothing more.
I assumed that these people were average although one name stood out to me. If I’m right he’s at least related to a prominent man in Canadian history. But still a man few Canadians even know.
Grave yards are cold quiet places. Places our relatives will place our bodies when we shed them.
When you come into our town from a certain direction you pass through two large grave yards.
It’s interesting that as you walk through them you can hear the traffic. Every now and then you hear a high powered car with its deep throated muffler rumbling through. It’s almost as though they’re trying to get away. A sort of acknowledgment that one day they will end there.
Sadly several in those high powered cars have ended their days after trying to take a bend mid way through at too high rate of speed.
Their bodies making only a slight detour through a funeral home or church before resting in the quiet yard.
The prophet Isaiah wrote,
“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” 
Isaiah 40:6b-8
As I looked through the small grave yard and the two big ones not one name did I recognize as doing anything great.
The walk reminded me of when I was younger. We lived in a house that was a thousand years old.
Near by was the ruins of an old Abbey of which our house had been a part centuries before. On the grounds of the Abbey was an old grave yard.
It’s occupants starting to take up residency around 1000 AD. The Abbey at one point being one of the richest in England. Some famous historical people were buried there although I can’t seem to remember them now.
I guess that’s what it’s like for all of us. Some day the body our soul calls home will end it’s days in a the quiet yard. To be eventually forgotten by men.
I believe it’s the grave of the unknown soldier that has the inscription “known only to God” on it.
Eventually that’s how it will be for all of us. We will be known only to God.
Ultimately I think that’s all that is important. That we are known only to God.
Sadly both non-Christians and some who call themselves Christians will here the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew,
“Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” 
                                                                                                          Matthew 7:23
Which begs the question dear reader do you know God?
Do you know where you will spend eternity?
Think about it.

Who can Get to Heaven?

Who Can Get to Heaven.

Someone asked me not to long ago a very simple question, “Who can get to heaven?”
My simple answer anyone.
Sadly I see in the media some evangelist and pastors acting like the Pharisees of old Jesus said of these men,
“Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.” 
Luke 11:46.
In Jesus day the teachers of the law were so worried about breaking the law of God that they had placed around those laws their own so that God’s law could not be broken.
It resulted in a huge burden being placed on the individual. A burden God never intended.
A good example comes from Matthew,
“At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them.  
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” 
                    Matthew 12:1,2
The Pharisees interpreted what the disciples were doing as harvesting, preparing the food and eating it. Harvesting being considered work and not permitted on the Sabbath.
This is not what God had intended.
In the same way many evangelist in the media today are quick to point out the sin in the world. After all the world has a lot of sin it’s easy to point it out.
But God want’s Christians to point the people of this world to him. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict men of their sin. Not ours.
Only God knows the heart of men. That’s why we as Christians are told by Jesus in Matthew seven not to Judge.
We are to present the gospel to every one who will listen to us and let God do the rest.
Acts records Paul and Silas being put in prison when and earth quake hit opening the prison doors. The Jailor fearing the prisoners had escaped was ready to commit suicide.
But they hadn’t escaped the were there and called out to the Jailer. Acts record,
“The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.  
He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
                                                                                                           Acts 16:30,31.
Salvation is that simple. The thieves on the cross with Jesus shows how its done.
Luke records,
“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?  
We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’” 
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” 
Luke 23:39-43
The second criminal did all that was necessary to enter the kingdom of heaven. To inherit eternal life.
He admitted he was a sinner. He believed Jesus was the Son of God sentenced to death innocently and he asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom.
Jesus replied. “I tell you the truth today you will be with me in paradise.”
It’s that simple.
Think about it.

An Invisible Player

An Invisible Player?

“Human beings vegetables  or cosmic dust. We all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible player.”
                                                   Albert Einstein 
I don’t know whether Albert Einstein believed in God. He was Jewish so I assume he at least learned of God in some way.
I think his statement that I quoted above has relevance. We do indeed “dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible player.” 
The tune I believe is life and the invisible player God.
I believe God created the universe and everything in it. I believe it because the universe is governed by it seems immutable laws. The mathematics of the universe seems to be perfect.
Scientist may not have all of the mathematical formula for it yet but I believe there is.
Thing that seem random may not be all that random. We don’t have computers big enough for example to chart the effect of the gravity  from all its sources on all the bits of space material out there.
If it were possible to do so astronomers  would have an incredible tool to predict the movement of things is space.
As I understand it, science is still trying to figure out a ‘grand unification theory.’
I believe one day that if science is done correctly and given enough time they will find that there is such a theory. That there is a mathematical formula to predict even what we now call random.
I believe this because I believe the words of Genesis and the words of the Apostle John,
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” 
                                                                                 Genesis 1:1
“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.... 
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 1:1-3,14
How long it took to create the universe matters little to me. Whether it took sixty billion years, sixty million, sixty thousand or six days. Means nothing. Time means nothing to God. He lives in eternity. It’s men that tend to get hung up on time, perhaps because we have so little of it available to us.
It takes more faith as far as I am concerned to say there is no God than to believe there is a God.
I firmly believe that our society without the morality God has imparted to every man could not have survived.
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
Think about it.

Does Jesus Exist?

Does Jesus Exist?

Does Jesus exist? Yes he does. There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus exists, but then I’m a Christian.
I know there are Atheist that claim he didn’t. There are people out there that dismiss out of hand all the historical evidence of Jesus both inside the Bible and outside.
That being said from all that I’ve read from credible historians the majority of Christian and Atheist historians believe Jesus existed.
It I believe is easy to say Jesus didn’t exist and say that the historical evidence is flawed. It’s much harder to believe he existed because once you admit he existed then you have to admit that what the bible says about him has to have some merit.
I believe Jesus existed not only because of the evidence inside the Bible but outside also.
I also believe the fastest way to turn people away from something is to make outrageous claims that if not true would turn people away and thus become counter productive to the movement one is starting.
Jesus made what to man’s way of thinking could be considered outrageous.
John in his gospel records this incident,
"The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 
Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me,  but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.  
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  
I and the Father are one.” 
Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” 
John 10:24-32  
Notice Jesus says “I and the Father are one”
That’s quite a statement considering in Jewish culture of the time making oneself equivalent to God was considered a heresy and punishable by death.
  John also record an other incident this time with the apostle philip,
"Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  
Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 
                                        John 14:8-11
C.S. Lewis wrote of Jesus,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” 
                                                                                                        C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
In the end the choice to believe Jesus is all he said his or to reject him comes down to an act of informed faith.
You can read the evidence that Jesus existed from sources outside the bible and from that evidence can see some of the basic beliefs of Christians.
You can read the Bible, and I believe God will, if you have an open mind, show you the truth about Jesus.
Think about it.

Notes about Jesus

Notes about Jesus

“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.”
                          Julian the Apostate, Roman Emperor (361-363 A.D.)
Julian the Apostate was one of history’s most fervent enemies of Christ and Christianity yet in the end even he said,
“Thou has conquered, O Galilean!”
William Durant, popular American modern historian and philosopher (1885-1981) When asked what he felt the apex of history was: “the three years that Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth.”
Jesus is a turning point in history. A time when God himself, the creator of the universe reached down to man.
C. S. Lewis said of Jesus,
“He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.”
The apostle Paul put it this way,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
 Romans 5:8.
That is the key to Christianity, God reaching to man. All that is required is faith in Jesus Christ. To believe that he came to this earth for the individual.
That he came to give that individual eternal life.
Jesus himself 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.
As to who Jesus is and why he came to this earth is up to the individual to decide.  Is his message the message presented in the New Testament true or not.
You dear reader must decide.
Think about it.

God's Wisdom

God’s Wisdom

“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. 
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  
He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,  so that no one may boast before him.  
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  
Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” 
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.  
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  
I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.  
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,  so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. 
1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5
Here we have Paul pointing out that Christianity, and the preaching of the cross is foolishness to both Jew and Greeks.
The Jews were looking for a conquering Messiah not a suffering one. The Greeks by their way of thinking could not understand that a great man who claimed to be all Jesus did, would let himself go to the cross.
Even today one has to admit that for a someone who is to be saviour of the world to be put to death is illogical at least to man’s way of thinking. But then God does not do things the way man does them.
God did not have is son born to high birth. He chose a poor girl and her carpenter husband to look after his child. And while the message of Jesus is for all. His ministry reached the average person on the street first.

The message of the Gospel requires nothing from the individual but faith.
Kenneth L Barker states,
“The Corinthian Christians themselves were living proof that salvation does not depend on anything in themselves, so that those who are saved can only “boast in the Lord” (v. 31). Their salvation did not spring from the cleverness of human intellect or the centers of human power but from the free grace of God." 
( Zondervan’s NIV Study Bible copy right 2002)
Paul makes it clear,
“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  
Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” 
                                                                        1 Corinthians 1:30,31.
That is the beauty of Christianity it is God reaching down to man. Saying you are saved by My Grace not by your works.
In sending Jesus down to this earth to be born of parents of low birth, to live among and preach to average people, means God fully understands all that man is going through.
Think about it. Jesus experienced everything it is to be a man. Everything from the mundane such as walking along a dusty road. To feeling the sun and rain. To constantly being harassed by his enemies and ultimately suffering and dying for a crime he didn’t commit.
Man’s logic would be to come in power wipe out his enemies and attempt by force to convert those who didn’t believe.
I like the words of Napoleon when it came to Jesus he got it right saying,
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
“I search in vain history to find similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel.  Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”
  Think about it.

Who is Jesus

Who is Jesus

"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.  
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.  
So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. 
For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your 
Father’” ? 
Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son” ? 
 And again, when God brings his first born into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” 
In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.” 
But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. 
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” 
                                                                         Hebrews 1:1-9.
Here the writer of Hebrews makes several important points about Jesus.
1/ Jesus is he Son of God.
2/ The universe was made by Him.
3/”The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.”
4/ He (Jesus) provided purification for sins
6/ He is superior to the angels
7/ God’s angels worship Jesus
8/ Jesus’s thrown will last for ever
9/ righteousness will be the scepter of His Kingdom
10/ Jesus love loves righteousness and hates wickedness.
These are in a nut shell what true Christians believe about Jesus. He is indeed God. He is not ‘a god’ he is God the creator of the universe.
There are some that claim to be Christians that do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he is an angel. This is not so. Here the writer of Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus is indeed God.
John in his gospel records this conversation between Jesus and the apostle Philip,
“Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  
Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves."                   
                        John 14:8-11.
Jesus is indeed God according to the New Testament. This is what all true Christians believe. It is the foundation stone of our very faith.
Think about it.

Not Perfect perhaps not even Christian

Not Perfect perhaps not even Christian

“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Matthew 7:22,23

Here’s an admission from a Christian of forty-one years. The church today especially her in the west is a long way from perfect. There is a lot of misinterpretation of the Bible to conform with the prejudges of the individual.
It’s the same in any large movement. There are always factions with in any movement be it a religious movement or secular movement, that move away from the central beliefs of the movement. It just seems to be human nature.
Still with Christianity it is a major problem one the fledgling church recognized and addressed.  The majority of the New Testament is given over to correcting the errors developing in the fledgling church as it expanded.
These corrections sadly are corrections not listened to by many Church congregations, denominations, as well as pastors and evangelist today.
For me the following is in a nut shell what makes up a Christian.
First and foremost a Christian is someone who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. They believe his words when he says
 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 
John 14:6
We believe that it is by grace that we are saved it is a gift of God not by our works. 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.
That being said I believe a true Christian should also be,
None Judgmental. Jesus said,
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” 
Matthew 7:1,2.
A true Christian will not judge, that is God’s job. A true Christian will let the Holy Spirit convict men of their sin.
A true Christian will simply present their faith to anyone who will listen.
A True Christian will do their best to follow the words of Paul to the Romans,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.  
On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” 
                                                                    Romans 12:18-21
A true Christian will love, Jesus said,
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 neighbour as yourself.’  
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 
                                                                      Matthew 22:37-40.
Paul writing to the Corinthians defines love this way,
“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.
These are the traits that truly typify a Christian.
I know there are many who say they are Christians in the world today, especially it seems in the media that are not.
They are spouting judgement against and individual or group this is not being Christian. A Christian will not judge.
 I do not believe messages that judge people, promote hatred or prejudice are messages from God.
While I admit there are many things within Christianity that those outside our faith may find controversial, our core values that I have listed in brief above I believe are not controversial.
The key thing I would tell anyone who is listening to someone who calls themselves Christian is remember the words of Jesus who said,
“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
                                                                                                                  Matthew 7:22,23
Think about it.

Truth or Lie

Truth or Lie

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’” 
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise
Luke 23:42,43

The following is a an inscription found on the linen wrappings of the Egyptian Mummy Thothmes II 1493-1479 B.C.
“Hail to thee, O my father Osiris, I have come and I have embalmed this my flesh so that my body may not decay.”
For thousands of years mankind has believed in an afterlife and a God or gods. Today if surveys are correct the majority of people around the world still believe in an afterlife.
The Egyptians created great pyramids for their kings laying in them vast amounts of grave goods thought to be needed in the afterlife.
About four thousand seven hundred years ago the Bronze age Beaker people buried their dead in the crouched position accompanied by grave goods that included food and drinking vessels and body ornamentation and even weapons.
In the middle Iron age Britain some bodies were even laid along side carts to speed them into the afterlife.
We all must die as Seneca the Younger said in 65A.D.
“Anyone can stop a man’s life, but no one his death: a thousand doors open onto it.”
The question is where will we spend eternity. I as a Christian do not believe we can live a life good enough to stand before a holy God.
Isaiah said,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” 
                                                                                             Isaiah 64:6
I believe God knew this that is why he reached down to us through his one and only Son Jesus Christ.
I believe Jesus when he said,
 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
                                                                                                                            John 14:6
I don’t think God cares too much about our way of life, our lifestyle, our social economic status or whether we are a pauper, prince or king.
I believe God only care for us as individuals. The apostle Paul writing to the Ephesians 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.
At the beginning of this article I quoted a conversation recorded in the book of Luke between one of the criminals crucified with Jesus and Jesus.
“Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’” 
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:42,43
That man did what I as a Christian believe all men must do. He recognized that Jesus was innocent of what he was being crucified for and that he was the Son of God. He then confessed his sins to Christ, who forgave those sins.
Jesus making it clear saying “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
At this point Jesus was either lying or telling the truth.
If he is telling the truth and I believe he is. Then he must be the one and only Son of God. For only God can forgive sin.
If he is telling the truth then what the John states,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
 And what I have quoted from John 14:6 is true,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
                                                                                                                            John 14:6
No other faith in the world makes that claim. No other founder of any faith in the world makes that claim.
Therefore it comes down to the individual. Do you believe the claims of Jesus or not.
Think about it.

The Way to Heaven

The Way to Heaven
The way to heaven is I believe simple and open to anyone, and I mean anyone to follow.
It come down to who you think Jesus is and what his purpose on this earth was for,
        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 answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
                 John 14:6
   Paul writing to the Romans said,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23,
Sinning is falling short of what God wants for you life. Sin separates us from God.
Isaiah telling us,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” 
                                                                                             Isaiah 64:6
  John noting,
“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.” 
       1 John 1:9,10.
Paul make it clear salvation is not something we can work for. Paul writing to the Ephesians stating,
“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
Ultimately salvation is an act of faith, Hebrews stating,
“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
Faith defined as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” 
                                                                                                              Hebrews 11:1
What do you believe?
Think about it.

The Great Commission

The Great Commission

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.  
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 28:16-20.
Here is the commission given by Jesus to his disciples and passed on to us. It is something many people of other faiths do not like. Yet it is the most important part of Christianity.
Christianity is if you think about it evangelical Judaism. The Jews were the first to worship the one true God creator of the universe by faith.
For thousands of years they kept that faith. They followed by faith the one true God. The writer of Hebrews saying,
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.  
By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  
For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 
By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.  
And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.  
People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.  
If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.  
Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." 
                                                                           Hebrews 11:8-16.
This is what we as Christians are proclaiming. We believe one must have faith in the one true God. That we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. It is the same faith Abraham and the Jewish patriarchs had.
I believe God’s plan all along was for the world to know Him on a personal level that’s why at just the right time Christ came into this world.
We who believe in Jesus want every individual in the world to know that they can meet God on a personal level.
We believe its only through faith in Jesus Christ that one can enter heaven. 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
Salvation and eternal life with God are a gift from God through Jesus Christ.
It is as if God placed a free meal for us to have. A banquet that is free to all who will come. All we have to do is partake.
The decision is up to us. To believe that Jesus is the Christ, the one and only Son of God who takes away our sins, or he is not.
The choice is always left to the individual.
The choice is yours.
John writes,
“Yet to all who received him,(Jesus) 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
Jesus himself make things clear saying,
“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
He also 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
These statements are bold and I know controversial but they never the less are what Jesus taught His disciples and it is what Christians today believe.
Think about it.