The Golden Rule
“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.
This is a statement that is echoed in other faiths, the so called golden rule.
I find it is something Christians at times forget.
They in the name of God go around preaching and judging others. They try to force what they believe on others.
Many Christian groups have tried over the years to restrict the rights of others. This should not be so.
We should be helping preserve the rights of others whether we are in a democracy or not.
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.”
We as Christians owe it to ourselves and to others to treat all people in the way we wish to be treated.
We should always take time to think before we act and ask ourselves the question would I like this being done to me.
Think about it.
Sunday, 2 March 2014
Saturday, 1 March 2014
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 at a bend mid way through.
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 Abby of which our house had been a part centuries before. On the grounds of the Abby was an old grave yard.
It’s occupants starting to take up residency around 1000 AD. The Abby 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.
“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 at a bend mid way through.
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 Abby of which our house had been a part centuries before. On the grounds of the Abby was an old grave yard.
It’s occupants starting to take up residency around 1000 AD. The Abby 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.
Friday, 28 February 2014
Do not Judge
“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.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5
Here is a truth that transcends Christianity. A truth everyone needs to adhere to.
We do not know the circumstances in someone’s life. We do not know why people do what they do.
It’s easy to find fault with people. It can be hard to find the good in people at times but we need to look for the good in people.
Here Jesus is saying don’t judge another person especially don’t be a hypocrite when you judge someone.
Remember you do things wrong from time to time.
Now Jesus is not ruling out discernment here. He’s not saying to trust people no matter what.
We need to be careful in our business dealings. We need to look carefully when someone is trying to sell us something.
There are all types of people out there trying to conn people out of money or lead us down the garden path.
We need to exercise good judgment when it comes to that.
What Jesus is saying we shouldn’t berate someone for something they did wrong.
The classic example is when someone cuts us off in their car. At times we want to wring their neck. We yell and curse them. But you must remember you do things wrong when your driving. You speed. I’m sure most drivers have run red lights, even stop signs.
We need to be a little more understanding when someone wrongs us and not judge them harshly.
Remember we are far from perfect.
Think about it.
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5
Here is a truth that transcends Christianity. A truth everyone needs to adhere to.
We do not know the circumstances in someone’s life. We do not know why people do what they do.
It’s easy to find fault with people. It can be hard to find the good in people at times but we need to look for the good in people.
Here Jesus is saying don’t judge another person especially don’t be a hypocrite when you judge someone.
Remember you do things wrong from time to time.
Now Jesus is not ruling out discernment here. He’s not saying to trust people no matter what.
We need to be careful in our business dealings. We need to look carefully when someone is trying to sell us something.
There are all types of people out there trying to conn people out of money or lead us down the garden path.
We need to exercise good judgment when it comes to that.
What Jesus is saying we shouldn’t berate someone for something they did wrong.
The classic example is when someone cuts us off in their car. At times we want to wring their neck. We yell and curse them. But you must remember you do things wrong when your driving. You speed. I’m sure most drivers have run red lights, even stop signs.
We need to be a little more understanding when someone wrongs us and not judge them harshly.
Remember we are far from perfect.
Think about it.
Thursday, 27 February 2014
Of God and Man
Of God and Man
“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:26,27.
Man was created not in the physical likeness of God because God is spirit and doesn’t have a physical body as such. But man was made in the psychological, emotional and spiritual likeness of God.
Man’s body is only temporary the moment he is born his body is destined to return to dust.
However that spark inside the body. The soul that is man. The thing that separates him from the animals and gives him self awareness lives on through eternity.
Martin Luther King Jr. in one of his famous speeches said,
“We thank thee, O God, for the spiritual nature of man. We are in nature but we live above nature.”
Man’s original purpose was to live on forever and have fellowship with God. However God gave man a free will to choose what he wants to do.
God through the Bible shows man how he can live eternally with God. It has been described as a narrow way and it is certainly the only way.
Sadly some say there are many ways to God and eternal life. While others deny there is a God. That is there choice.
I as a Christian look at it this way. If those who deny there is a God are right and if those who say there are many ways to heaven are right, I have nothing to fear.
However if I am right and I am certain I am, then they have a lot to fear.
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.
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.
Think about it.
“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:26,27.
Man was created not in the physical likeness of God because God is spirit and doesn’t have a physical body as such. But man was made in the psychological, emotional and spiritual likeness of God.
Man’s body is only temporary the moment he is born his body is destined to return to dust.
However that spark inside the body. The soul that is man. The thing that separates him from the animals and gives him self awareness lives on through eternity.
Martin Luther King Jr. in one of his famous speeches said,
“We thank thee, O God, for the spiritual nature of man. We are in nature but we live above nature.”
Man’s original purpose was to live on forever and have fellowship with God. However God gave man a free will to choose what he wants to do.
God through the Bible shows man how he can live eternally with God. It has been described as a narrow way and it is certainly the only way.
Sadly some say there are many ways to God and eternal life. While others deny there is a God. That is there choice.
I as a Christian look at it this way. If those who deny there is a God are right and if those who say there are many ways to heaven are right, I have nothing to fear.
However if I am right and I am certain I am, then they have a lot to fear.
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.
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.
Think about it.
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
The Love of Money
The Love of Money
“People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
1 Timothy 6:9,10.
Here is something that is a universal truth for both Christians and non-Christians.
Let me underscore here that being wealthy is not a sin. It’s “the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil.”
Think of how many people over the years have fallen for get rich quick schemes. People who have been conned out of their life savings.
The people who are taking advantage of others by running the get rich quick schemes are themselves looking to get rich quick themselves by stealing others money.
Most get caught and end up in jail. Still there is always someone out their willing to help someone wanting to make a quick buck part with their money.
Lets face it being rich comes with prestige attached to it.
It supposedly give you time to enjoy life. But does it?
There are lots of stories of people who have won millions in lotteries only to blow through it in a few years leaving them worst off than they were before the win.
The apostle Paul notes,
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
I’ve known lots of people over the years who almost live at work. They work and they work to get the money to get the good things in life, yet they can’t enjoy it. They have no time.
Conversely I know several people who are church mouse poor yet enjoy life to the fullest.
I’m reminded today of my sister-in-law Shirley who passed away exactly two years ago today.
She was indeed church mouse poor. She struggled with alcohol addiction but managed to remain sober for the last fifteen years of her life.
Still she never had a lot of money but she managed.
She was the kind of person that would give you the shirt of her back. She helped everyone.
She volunteered her time at church and with organization that helped the poor and those fighting alcohol addiction.
Shirley was one of the happiest people I have ever met. Yet most times she didn’t have a dime to her name.
People still come up to my wife and I saying how much they miss her and telling us of how she helped them.
Proof you don’t need to be rich to bring a little joy and happiness into someone’s life.
Jesus said,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19,20.
Think about it.
“People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
1 Timothy 6:9,10.
Here is something that is a universal truth for both Christians and non-Christians.
Let me underscore here that being wealthy is not a sin. It’s “the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil.”
Think of how many people over the years have fallen for get rich quick schemes. People who have been conned out of their life savings.
The people who are taking advantage of others by running the get rich quick schemes are themselves looking to get rich quick themselves by stealing others money.
Most get caught and end up in jail. Still there is always someone out their willing to help someone wanting to make a quick buck part with their money.
Lets face it being rich comes with prestige attached to it.
It supposedly give you time to enjoy life. But does it?
There are lots of stories of people who have won millions in lotteries only to blow through it in a few years leaving them worst off than they were before the win.
The apostle Paul notes,
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
I’ve known lots of people over the years who almost live at work. They work and they work to get the money to get the good things in life, yet they can’t enjoy it. They have no time.
Conversely I know several people who are church mouse poor yet enjoy life to the fullest.
I’m reminded today of my sister-in-law Shirley who passed away exactly two years ago today.
She was indeed church mouse poor. She struggled with alcohol addiction but managed to remain sober for the last fifteen years of her life.
Still she never had a lot of money but she managed.
She was the kind of person that would give you the shirt of her back. She helped everyone.
She volunteered her time at church and with organization that helped the poor and those fighting alcohol addiction.
Shirley was one of the happiest people I have ever met. Yet most times she didn’t have a dime to her name.
People still come up to my wife and I saying how much they miss her and telling us of how she helped them.
Proof you don’t need to be rich to bring a little joy and happiness into someone’s life.
Jesus said,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19,20.
Think about it.
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Misguided pastor
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:36-40.
Yesterday on the news I heard that Uganda had passed laws that put homosexuals in prison for fifteen years for a first offence. And life for a second offence. How awful.
What was more disturbing was the fact that they interviewed an American educated Ugandan pastor that was supposedly instrumental in helping get the law passed.
How totally detestable!
This man to me is not living up to the ideals Christ.
Jesus and his disciples never got involved in politics. Not once did they try to change Roman law or have laws enacted that favoured them.
Jesus, and his disciples had one goal in life to point people to heaven.
It was Jesus who said, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
You cannot do that an restrict the rights of any individual or group of people and say you love them.
This pastor may think homosexuality is a sin, that is his right in a free democracy BUT he has no right nor has any government the right to restrict the freedoms of any group of people.
I am what my brother describes as a card carrying charismatic evangelical Christian. And I am appalled at what this pastor did and what the Ugandan Government did.
How can we show homosexuals the way to heaven when we are sending them to prison. Prison will no more change a homosexual than that pastor standing in garage will turn into a car.
Sadly however I feel he is the extreme tip of a group saying they are Christians in the United States and Canada that want to restrict the rights of those they disagree with.
Such thinking is not Christian.
When did Jesus ever say restrict the rights of the Samaritans, or gentiles or other groups. He didn’t.
He reached out to a Samaritan woman, Roman Centurions, tax collectors and others that in his day were considered sinners.
The only way Christians are going to reach the world is by reaching out to those we disagree with and present in a spirit of peace the gospel of Peace.
Jesus said,
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
Matthew 10:16.
We cannot be innocent if we are helping pass laws that restrict the rights of others.
Our role on this earth is not to judge others of sin but to win the world for Christ and thus make it a better place for all mankind.
Martin Niemoller wrote,
“When they came for the Communists, I did not stand up, because I was not a Communist. When they came for the Jews, I did not stand up, because I was not Jewish. When they came for the Catholics, I did not stand up, because I was not a Catholic. When they came for me, there was no one left to stand up.”
Martin Niemoller was a German pastor during the time of Adolf Hilter. Originally he supported Hitler then turned away becoming a strong opponent of the Nazis.
Niemöller was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937 to 1945. He narrowly escaped execution and survived imprisonment. After his imprisonment, he expressed his deep regret about not having done enough to help the victims of the Nazis.
I know that one day this pastor and those who enacted the anti gay laws in Uganda and anywhere else in the world will have to stand before God and be judged.
I pray that before they are they will have a change of heart and reach out in Love to the members of the gay and lesbian community.
To the members of the LBGT community I ask that you do not judge Christians on the actions of these misguided individuals.
There are many of us within the Christian community that wish to reach out in love with the one message we believe not only the gay and lesbian community need to hear but the whole world.
The message that Jesus does indeed love you and want very much to be a part of your life.
Jesus 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.”
John 3:16,17.
Think about it.
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:36-40.
Yesterday on the news I heard that Uganda had passed laws that put homosexuals in prison for fifteen years for a first offence. And life for a second offence. How awful.
What was more disturbing was the fact that they interviewed an American educated Ugandan pastor that was supposedly instrumental in helping get the law passed.
How totally detestable!
This man to me is not living up to the ideals Christ.
Jesus and his disciples never got involved in politics. Not once did they try to change Roman law or have laws enacted that favoured them.
Jesus, and his disciples had one goal in life to point people to heaven.
It was Jesus who said, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
You cannot do that an restrict the rights of any individual or group of people and say you love them.
This pastor may think homosexuality is a sin, that is his right in a free democracy BUT he has no right nor has any government the right to restrict the freedoms of any group of people.
I am what my brother describes as a card carrying charismatic evangelical Christian. And I am appalled at what this pastor did and what the Ugandan Government did.
How can we show homosexuals the way to heaven when we are sending them to prison. Prison will no more change a homosexual than that pastor standing in garage will turn into a car.
Sadly however I feel he is the extreme tip of a group saying they are Christians in the United States and Canada that want to restrict the rights of those they disagree with.
Such thinking is not Christian.
When did Jesus ever say restrict the rights of the Samaritans, or gentiles or other groups. He didn’t.
He reached out to a Samaritan woman, Roman Centurions, tax collectors and others that in his day were considered sinners.
The only way Christians are going to reach the world is by reaching out to those we disagree with and present in a spirit of peace the gospel of Peace.
Jesus said,
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
Matthew 10:16.
We cannot be innocent if we are helping pass laws that restrict the rights of others.
Our role on this earth is not to judge others of sin but to win the world for Christ and thus make it a better place for all mankind.
Martin Niemoller wrote,
“When they came for the Communists, I did not stand up, because I was not a Communist. When they came for the Jews, I did not stand up, because I was not Jewish. When they came for the Catholics, I did not stand up, because I was not a Catholic. When they came for me, there was no one left to stand up.”
Martin Niemoller was a German pastor during the time of Adolf Hilter. Originally he supported Hitler then turned away becoming a strong opponent of the Nazis.
Niemöller was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937 to 1945. He narrowly escaped execution and survived imprisonment. After his imprisonment, he expressed his deep regret about not having done enough to help the victims of the Nazis.
I know that one day this pastor and those who enacted the anti gay laws in Uganda and anywhere else in the world will have to stand before God and be judged.
I pray that before they are they will have a change of heart and reach out in Love to the members of the gay and lesbian community.
To the members of the LBGT community I ask that you do not judge Christians on the actions of these misguided individuals.
There are many of us within the Christian community that wish to reach out in love with the one message we believe not only the gay and lesbian community need to hear but the whole world.
The message that Jesus does indeed love you and want very much to be a part of your life.
Jesus 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.”
John 3:16,17.
Think about it.
Monday, 24 February 2014
God is Real
God is real
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
Genesis 1:1,2
“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.”
John 1:1-3.
The things I have written in this blog and others are Christian truths that can be used by Christian and non-Christian alike.
They speak of the teachings of Jesus what he claimed to be and what he called Christians to do.
I believe much of this proves God exists. Still I know the sceptic will say God does not exist.
M. E Anders in his book 30 days to understanding the Christian life 1994 published by T. Nelson states,
The Bible offers itself as the source of truth. The Bible presents itself as the great, cosmic “instrument panel.” It tells us where we came from, where we are, and where we are going. It is up to us to decide whether we accept the “readings” we get from it.
The Bible does not defend itself. It was written to people who accepted its message and therefore spends little time convincing its readers of its authenticity. Charles Spurgeon once said, “The Bible does not need to be defended any more than a caged lion needs to be defended. All we need to do is let it out of its cage, and it will defend itself.”
The fundamental assertion that the Bible makes concerning itself is that, in spite of the human collaboration in the writing of it, the Bible is a revelation of God to man, it was written without error, and it can be trusted to reveal truth to us regarding God, man, life, and death....
God is not to be found in the laboratory. He cannot be proved. But then, love is not to be found in the laboratory. Neither is courage, nor longing, nor hope.
God is to be found in the courtroom. While data cannot be garnered to prove His existence, evidence can be amassed to demonstrate the probability of His existence. There is a gap between the probable and the proved. But then, few things can be proved to the unbelieving mind. Unbelief never has enough proof.”
Dear reader do you believe in God. Ultimately it comes down to looking at the evidence as one would in a court. There may be no hard and fact forensic evidence, although that’s debatable.
There is however a very strong circumstantial case.
Ultimately it comes down to an act of faith
“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
Think about it.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
Genesis 1:1,2
“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.”
John 1:1-3.
The things I have written in this blog and others are Christian truths that can be used by Christian and non-Christian alike.
They speak of the teachings of Jesus what he claimed to be and what he called Christians to do.
I believe much of this proves God exists. Still I know the sceptic will say God does not exist.
M. E Anders in his book 30 days to understanding the Christian life 1994 published by T. Nelson states,
The Bible offers itself as the source of truth. The Bible presents itself as the great, cosmic “instrument panel.” It tells us where we came from, where we are, and where we are going. It is up to us to decide whether we accept the “readings” we get from it.
The Bible does not defend itself. It was written to people who accepted its message and therefore spends little time convincing its readers of its authenticity. Charles Spurgeon once said, “The Bible does not need to be defended any more than a caged lion needs to be defended. All we need to do is let it out of its cage, and it will defend itself.”
The fundamental assertion that the Bible makes concerning itself is that, in spite of the human collaboration in the writing of it, the Bible is a revelation of God to man, it was written without error, and it can be trusted to reveal truth to us regarding God, man, life, and death....
God is not to be found in the laboratory. He cannot be proved. But then, love is not to be found in the laboratory. Neither is courage, nor longing, nor hope.
God is to be found in the courtroom. While data cannot be garnered to prove His existence, evidence can be amassed to demonstrate the probability of His existence. There is a gap between the probable and the proved. But then, few things can be proved to the unbelieving mind. Unbelief never has enough proof.”
Dear reader do you believe in God. Ultimately it comes down to looking at the evidence as one would in a court. There may be no hard and fact forensic evidence, although that’s debatable.
There is however a very strong circumstantial case.
Ultimately it comes down to an act of faith
“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
Think about it.
Sunday, 23 February 2014
Paul gives The Answer
Paul gives the Answer
"Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.
For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill.
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”
At that, Paul left the Council.
A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others."
Acts 17:22-34
Paul had been speaking in the synagogues and in the market place to people about Christ, when the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers heard what he was saying and invited him to speak at the Areopagus, the Athenian equivalent of a modern day chat room.
The Athenians were interested in new philosophies and religions and the Areopagus was the place they debated them.
It was the ideal place for Paul to present the gospel.
It is there in this august meeting place that Paul not only tells Athenians about Jesus but us today.
His message then is as relevant today. Thus I would ask that you read it carefully and think about it.
"Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.
For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill.
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”
At that, Paul left the Council.
A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others."
Acts 17:22-34
Paul had been speaking in the synagogues and in the market place to people about Christ, when the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers heard what he was saying and invited him to speak at the Areopagus, the Athenian equivalent of a modern day chat room.
The Athenians were interested in new philosophies and religions and the Areopagus was the place they debated them.
It was the ideal place for Paul to present the gospel.
It is there in this august meeting place that Paul not only tells Athenians about Jesus but us today.
His message then is as relevant today. Thus I would ask that you read it carefully and think about it.
Saturday, 22 February 2014
Hey got'a love those enemies
Hey got’a love those enemies
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?
And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:43-48
It’s easy to love lovable people, family friends even acquaintances, particularly if they have never wronged you.
But it takes something else to love an enemy. Someone who has wronged you. When I was a young Christian we use to say to those who did wrong to us, “Lord love them with a brick.” WE WERE WRONG!
Back when I was a young Christian, back in the 1970's (yes I’m that ancient), there was two people that use to drive me crazy at work.
Both hated the fact that I was a Christian. One was the son of a Baptist minister that was in a state of total rebellion against everything his parents believed.
The other was a mean character who was into the martial arts and simply didn’t like Christians.
I suffered a fair bit of abuse from them for several years. I thought of leaving the job because of it. It was only the good pay and benefits that kept me there.
But God told me to pray about those two men.
I didn’t know what to say so I simply said Lord please change them. It was a prayer I said often over the period of some months.
One day the son of the Baptist preacher went on vacation. He hitchhiked down to the southern states and back.
On his way back he was mugged and it almost cost him his life.
The incident became a turning point in his life and he gave himself to the Lord accepting Jesus as his saviour.
I could tell the moment he returned to work he was changed. He came over to me and apologised for what he’d done to me.
The other person met a girl he liked. She introduced him to Christ and he accepted Jesus as his saviour.
The change was instantaneous and he came to me and apologised to me for what he’d done.
Both these men went on to bible school and to pastor churches.
It was quite a lesson for me as a young Christian one I have never forgot.
Question when was the last time you prayed for your enemies?
Think about it.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?
And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:43-48
It’s easy to love lovable people, family friends even acquaintances, particularly if they have never wronged you.
But it takes something else to love an enemy. Someone who has wronged you. When I was a young Christian we use to say to those who did wrong to us, “Lord love them with a brick.” WE WERE WRONG!
Back when I was a young Christian, back in the 1970's (yes I’m that ancient), there was two people that use to drive me crazy at work.
Both hated the fact that I was a Christian. One was the son of a Baptist minister that was in a state of total rebellion against everything his parents believed.
The other was a mean character who was into the martial arts and simply didn’t like Christians.
I suffered a fair bit of abuse from them for several years. I thought of leaving the job because of it. It was only the good pay and benefits that kept me there.
But God told me to pray about those two men.
I didn’t know what to say so I simply said Lord please change them. It was a prayer I said often over the period of some months.
One day the son of the Baptist preacher went on vacation. He hitchhiked down to the southern states and back.
On his way back he was mugged and it almost cost him his life.
The incident became a turning point in his life and he gave himself to the Lord accepting Jesus as his saviour.
I could tell the moment he returned to work he was changed. He came over to me and apologised for what he’d done to me.
The other person met a girl he liked. She introduced him to Christ and he accepted Jesus as his saviour.
The change was instantaneous and he came to me and apologised to me for what he’d done.
Both these men went on to bible school and to pastor churches.
It was quite a lesson for me as a young Christian one I have never forgot.
Question when was the last time you prayed for your enemies?
Think about it.
Friday, 21 February 2014
On Telling the Truth
Truth
“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’
But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.
And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
Matthew 5:33-37
Simply put Jesus is saying here. You have no need to take an oath. You must always speak the truth.
It’s interesting to note that early Christians practised this.
Piliny the Younger Roman governor of Bithynia in Asia minor writing to Emperor Trajan wrote,
"They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to do any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food--but food of an ordinary and innocent kind..."
Although Piliny uses the term solemn oath Piliny is speaking in Roman terms, it simply means they promise never to do wicked deeds, commit fraud, theft, adultery or falsify their word.
This is what it should be like for Christians today.
When we stand before magistrates we should not sware an oath but our words should be one hundred percent truthful.
Believe it or not it works.
A young man I know took his fathers car out to of all things a youth meeting at the church. After it ended he and another friend decided to race each other down a main street.
It was raining and at the last minute he decided that he wanted to turn into a hamburger place.
The car slipped and ended up wrapping itself around a light pole.
No one was hurt but the car was a right off.
When the police came he told the truth. The officer was amazed.
He was charged with careless driving and had to face his father about the car.
His father much to his relief didn’t lecture him but made him pay for the car.
Incredibly there was a car for sale for five hundred dollars just a few houses down from where he lived. He bought it and it required no work to become road worthy. The person was simply selling it because of it’s age.
On top of all of this he received a letter from the crown prosecutor, stating that due to lack of evidence the police were dropping the charge.
Some say the young man should have had to face the judge. But I know this boy he’d learned his lesson and has never done anything like that in the fifteen years since it happened.
You see he was my son. Only sixteen at the time.
We had always taught him to tell the truth even if it was to his detriment. And I believe God honoured him that day.
The five hundred dollars he paid for the car was all his savings at the time and he did learn his lesson.
Him losing his driving licence, paying a fine or having to pay higher insurance rates would not have achieved any better of a result.
Additionally the police officer said to me that he was amazed at the boy’s honesty. That he could have simply said he lost control in the rain and it would have been believable and most likely no charges would have been laid.
Still he chose to tell the truth and as a result was a witness to the officer.
Do you tell even when it’s to your detriment?
Think about it.
“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’
But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.
And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
Matthew 5:33-37
Simply put Jesus is saying here. You have no need to take an oath. You must always speak the truth.
It’s interesting to note that early Christians practised this.
Piliny the Younger Roman governor of Bithynia in Asia minor writing to Emperor Trajan wrote,
"They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to do any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food--but food of an ordinary and innocent kind..."
Although Piliny uses the term solemn oath Piliny is speaking in Roman terms, it simply means they promise never to do wicked deeds, commit fraud, theft, adultery or falsify their word.
This is what it should be like for Christians today.
When we stand before magistrates we should not sware an oath but our words should be one hundred percent truthful.
Believe it or not it works.
A young man I know took his fathers car out to of all things a youth meeting at the church. After it ended he and another friend decided to race each other down a main street.
It was raining and at the last minute he decided that he wanted to turn into a hamburger place.
The car slipped and ended up wrapping itself around a light pole.
No one was hurt but the car was a right off.
When the police came he told the truth. The officer was amazed.
He was charged with careless driving and had to face his father about the car.
His father much to his relief didn’t lecture him but made him pay for the car.
Incredibly there was a car for sale for five hundred dollars just a few houses down from where he lived. He bought it and it required no work to become road worthy. The person was simply selling it because of it’s age.
On top of all of this he received a letter from the crown prosecutor, stating that due to lack of evidence the police were dropping the charge.
Some say the young man should have had to face the judge. But I know this boy he’d learned his lesson and has never done anything like that in the fifteen years since it happened.
You see he was my son. Only sixteen at the time.
We had always taught him to tell the truth even if it was to his detriment. And I believe God honoured him that day.
The five hundred dollars he paid for the car was all his savings at the time and he did learn his lesson.
Him losing his driving licence, paying a fine or having to pay higher insurance rates would not have achieved any better of a result.
Additionally the police officer said to me that he was amazed at the boy’s honesty. That he could have simply said he lost control in the rain and it would have been believable and most likely no charges would have been laid.
Still he chose to tell the truth and as a result was a witness to the officer.
Do you tell even when it’s to your detriment?
Think about it.
Thursday, 20 February 2014
Divorce
Divorce
“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’
But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery”
Matthew 5:31,32.
Here is a scripture that some people point to and say no divorce in any situation.
Jesus uses this it is believed to point out that the practices of the teachers of the law were wrong.
They would allow a man to divorce his wife if she displeased him even for something as simple as burning his food. This is not what God intended.
Paul writing to the Ephesians states,
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”
Ephesians 5:25.
Husbands are called to love and cherish their wives.
I’ve heard some ministers say a wife should stay with her husband even in an abusive situation this is totally wrong.
Look again at what Paul told husbands to do
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
Ephesians 5:25.
A husband should give his entire life for his wife. Not abuse her.
Abuse in my opinion is violation of the marriage covenant. She is not his servant but his help mate. His equal partner under God.
Any man that abuses a woman is not a Christian. He is not living in accordance to scripture.
It is the place of a man to love his wife. The apostle Paul giving us a description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
“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.”
1Corinthians 13:4-8a.
Corinthians 13:4-8 needs to be everyone’s definition of love. It should be the bench mark that we use when measuring if we truly love.
Think about it.
Post script
The above is as relevant in a same sex marriage as it is in a heterosexual marriage. Spouses are to love and honour one another unconditionally.
“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’
But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery”
Matthew 5:31,32.
Here is a scripture that some people point to and say no divorce in any situation.
Jesus uses this it is believed to point out that the practices of the teachers of the law were wrong.
They would allow a man to divorce his wife if she displeased him even for something as simple as burning his food. This is not what God intended.
Paul writing to the Ephesians states,
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”
Ephesians 5:25.
Husbands are called to love and cherish their wives.
I’ve heard some ministers say a wife should stay with her husband even in an abusive situation this is totally wrong.
Look again at what Paul told husbands to do
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
Ephesians 5:25.
A husband should give his entire life for his wife. Not abuse her.
Abuse in my opinion is violation of the marriage covenant. She is not his servant but his help mate. His equal partner under God.
Any man that abuses a woman is not a Christian. He is not living in accordance to scripture.
It is the place of a man to love his wife. The apostle Paul giving us a description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
“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.”
1Corinthians 13:4-8a.
Corinthians 13:4-8 needs to be everyone’s definition of love. It should be the bench mark that we use when measuring if we truly love.
Think about it.
Post script
The above is as relevant in a same sex marriage as it is in a heterosexual marriage. Spouses are to love and honour one another unconditionally.
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
Helping the poor
“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Matthew 6:1-4
There are some Christian ideals that whether or not you are a Christian are just the right thing to do.
Giving to the needy is one of them.
I’ve heard people in the secular world and preachers say that people on welfare are simply “lazy bums”. That they should just get out there and get a job.
I admit there are people that play the system. But I know a lot of people on social assistance that would love to get off it. It’s subsistence living at best.
The trouble is many don’t have the skills or education to get a good paying job. And for the most part there are few programs to help get educated or get a skill.
As compassionate human beings we should be asking our government to put more training programs at the disposal of those on welfare.
After all isn’t the government suppose to be of the people, and for the people? What better way to spend our taxes than helping another human being get out of poverty.
The Talmud tells a story 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.”
I believe, we need to look at how we see those in need. We need to reach out to them and help them in any way that we can.
Businessmen and women need to look at what kind of wages and benefits they are paying their employees. Asking themselves could I live on the wages I pay those who work for me.
I believe Christians should be leading the way in benevolence. The Jews have a word for it its called Tzedakah.
Philip Bernstein explains it this way,
“If there is one area that identifies and unites Jews, no matter what their personal beliefs and practices, it is Tzedakah. Tzedakah is more that charity or philanthropy, noble as they are, more than man’s humanity to man, exalted as that is, more truly it is righteousness and justice. Without these qualities civilization would perish.
It is the highest ideal in Jewish teaching—for it is the highest application of Jewish ethical values. It is Judaism in action—and Judaism is inherently and deeply a religion of action, a way of life, a way of living.”
Jews are encouraged to give ten percent of their income to helping the poor. Even someone who is poor themselves is asked to give although they may give less than ten precent.
And there is an admonishing not to give so much as for you to become a burden on society yourself.
One Jewish teacher gave the levels of Tzedakah
1.Giving begrudgingly
2.Giving less that you should, but giving it cheerfully.
3.Giving after being asked
4.Giving before being asked
5.Giving when you do not know the recipient's identity, but the recipient knows your identity
6.Giving when you know the recipient's identity, but the recipient doesn't know your identity
7.Giving when neither party knows the other's identity
8.Enabling the recipient to become self-reliant
I think the above list is something Christians and non-Christians need to look at carefully. Asking ourselves what can I do to make even one needy persons life better.
Think about it.
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