The Lord is my Shepherd

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures, 

he leads me beside quiet waters, 

he restores my soul. 

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

 I will fear no evil, for you are with me; 

your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. 

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

 and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. 

                                                                                                  Psalm 23

What more can we want than the Lord as our Shepherd?
With God in our life we can go through anything. Even in the midst of sorrow and trials God is there for us.
Psalm 139:13-18 states,
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 
 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.”
To put your trust in God is a wonderful thing.
We will go through a lot in life but if we know the Jesus as our Lord and Saviour we have nothing to fear.
A few years ago I was found to have a cancerous tumour on my leg. Worse yet it had spread to the lymph nodes in my groin.
As a result I had underwent an operation to remove the tumour and the affected Lymph nodes.
Thirty nine days later I was rushed to hospital with two massive blood clots in my lungs and one in my groin, the result of the cancer surgery.
I could have died. Yet I felt no fear.
I honestly can’t say I quoted any particular scripture. Although both Psalm 23 and 139 did come to mind.
I can however remember being completely calm. I had no fear because I knew God was with me. And Christians always win.
Were I to die I knew I would be in the arms of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Were I to live, which obviously I did. I would have a wonderful testimony of how God was there for me.
 God has always been there for me. Letting God into my life was the best decision I have ever made.
Over the fifty-nine years I have lived, sadly, I have witnessed a lot of personal tragedy. Yet I know God has always been their for me.
And he can be for you. Will you at least consider making Jesus Lord of your life today.
Think about it.

Weeds

“He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.  
The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,  and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 
“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.  
The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.  
They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” 
            Matthew 13:37-43 Jesus explaining the parable of the weeds.

Jesus in explaining the parable of the weeds makes it clear that one day there will be judgment on the earth.
That weeds, the “sons of the evil one” will be plucked up and burned in the fire. In other words the world will be cleaned up once and for all. The evil of the world removed leaving the true believer to “shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”
Weeds can infest everything. They grow easily even when the good seed cannot.
The church is not immune from weeds and sin creeping in.
Over the years we have heard of many prominent evangelist who have let sin enter their lives and thus has destroyed their ministry.
There are also ministers and evangelist out their who are out their perverting the word of God for their own gain.
We must as Christians be careful about who we put our trust in.
We need to look long and hard at what the minister or evangelist is saying. We need from time to time question what they are saying. Asking does what they are saying truly line up with the overall word of God. Or is the person just ‘cherry’ picking. Putting together verses that make what the preacher is saying sound correct, when it really isn’t.
We need to examine what is being said.
Look at all the verses quoted in the context they were used in the chapters they were taken from.
As Christians we need to be asking hard questions of our pastors, teachers and evangelist.
It is essential that we ask them to explain anything we don’t understand or seems like it is being misinterpreted.
An honest preacher will never shy away from questions.
My pastor and I jointly teach a bible study every Wednesday. We have an agenda. We study various books of the bible and biblical topics systematically.
We are however open at any time to questions about anything.
For us a typical bible study opens by asking if anyone has any questions about anything before we start the study. People are also encouraged to stop us at any time during the study to ask questions.
The questions asked particularly prior to the start of the study have been from a wide range of topics, usually unrelated to our study. They are questions people have about what they have read during the week to what they have heard on television, radio or other forms of media.
We do our best to answer all the questions then and there.  Which praise God we have nearly always been able to do so.
Every now and then while we can quote the verse pertaining to the answer we sometimes can’t find it. At that point we tell the person we’ll have the quote for the following week or for Sunday.
This I believe is how it should be.
We are even going to the point of bringing a lap top computer to our studies in the new year as one more resource in helping us study better.
I truly believe the individual should be able to question the pastor or priest of their own church. They should be able to write and expect an answer from evangelist about what they have spoken.
I believe it is up to the individual to pray and read the scriptures asking God for guidance. It is up to us to read commentaries on the scriptures from reputable sources as well as read some church history.
We in the west particularly here in North America have a great deal of resources at our finger tips. Be it from the library, Christian book stores, or the internet, the ability to inform ourselves on what is right doctrinally is there.
  By being well informed we can see for ourselves when a church leader, be they a bible study teacher, priest, pastor, or evangelist is wrong and can take appropriate action to avoid the false teaching.
In a world of mass media it is easy for false teaching to enter the church. It is easy for sinful men to masquerade as honest teachers.
Jesus makes it clear that all those who do evil will one day be plucked up and cast into the fire. Until then however we need to be aware. Asking God to lead us to all that is truth.
So going into this new year of 2014 let us all pray that God will show His glorious truth through His people wherever they may be.
May this year truly be a year when all Christians everywhere reach a record number of people for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

A Saviour that is Christ the Lord

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” 
                                                                                   Luke 2:8-11

On this day when we as Christians celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, may you find the Peace, Joy and Love that only Christ can give.
Merry Christmas and a very Happy new year to all.

Salvation

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  
Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,  
Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 
For my eyes have seen your salvation, 
which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 
a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” 
                                                                                                           Luke 2:25-32

“For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”  The words of Simeon upon seeing Jesus.
Proof Christianity is about God reaching down to man.
Throughout the centuries every culture has believed in an afterlife. They have prepared the bodies of their dead for the afterlife in various ways. Everything from building the pyramids of Egypt to placing simple items people deemed important into graves.
In every case religions of the world have tried to reach up to God. To be as good as they could be.
To meditate to find ultimate enlightenment in the hopes of attaining nirvana or true perfect enlightenment.
Only in Christianity and Judaism, do we see God reaching down to mankind.
God started it all off when he reached down to Abram,
“The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” 
                        Genesis 12:1,2
Because Abram followed God in faith, from his"Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  
Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,  
Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 
For my eyes have seen your salvation, 
which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 
a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” 
                                                                                                           Luke 2:25-32

“For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”  The words of Simeon upon seeing Jesus.
Proof Christianity is about God reaching down to man.
Throughout the centuries every culture has believed in an afterlife. They have prepared the bodies of their dead for the afterlife in various ways. Everything from building the pyramids of Egypt to placing simple items people deemed important into graves.
In every case religions of the world have tried to reach up to God. To be as good as they could be.
To meditate to find ultimate enlightenment in the hopes of attaining nirvana or true perfect enlightenment.
Only in Christianity and Judaism, do we see God reaching down to mankind.
God started it all off when he reached down to Abram,
“The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” 
                        Genesis 12:1,2
Because Abram followed God in faith, from his  descendants came the ultimate blessing of salvation to all people through Jesus.
In Jesus we have the infinite God, the creator of the universe enter His own creation and show in purely human terms his love for mankind and just how far He would go to redeem sinful man.
Jesus came into the world to live a perfect life and to die for the sins of every individual that has ever lived or will live.
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
 Salvation is a free gift from God all one has to do is accept it.
It’s like being invited to a fine feast. The perfect meal that is beneficial to you in all ways. Yet if you do not eat it, it is of no use to you.
Jesus in John 3:18 issues a warning to those who refuse His salvation when he says   “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” 
                                                                                           John 3:18.
There is no grey areas when it comes to salvation one must accept it as Christ points out or reject it and accept the consequences.
The choice dear reader is yours.
Think about it.  came the ultimate blessing of salvation to all people through Jesus.
In Jesus we have the infinite God, the creator of the universe enter His own creation and show in purely human terms his love for mankind and just how far He would go to redeem sinful man.
Jesus came into the world to live a perfect life and to die for the sins of every individual that has ever lived or will live.
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
Salvation is a free gift from God all one has to do is accept it.
It’s like being invited to a fine feast. The perfect meal that is beneficial to you in all ways. Yet if you do not eat it, it is of no use to you.
Jesus in John 3:18 issues a warning to those who refuse His salvation when he says   “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” 
                                                                                            John 3:18.
There is no grey areas when it comes to salvation one must accept it as Christ points out or reject it and accept the consequences.
The choice dear reader is yours.
Think about it.

Christ and Christians

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem  
and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” 
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.  
When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.  
“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 
“ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’’” 
                                                                                                                Matthew 2:1-6

It is believed the Magi mentioned here were from Persia. They had travelled possibly for weeks to reach Jerusalem where they ask Herod  “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews.”
Herod must have been furious on the inside. Although he obviously didn’t indicate it to the Magi.
Herod the Great (37-4BC) was a ruthless ruler appointed by the Romans. He murdered his wife, his three sons, mother-in-law, brother-in-law and many, many more. Including the babies of Bethlehem.
Herod would have immediately wanted to know the whereabouts of this king whom he would perceive as a threat to his authority.
What Herod didn’t realize was he was fighting God.
God warned the Magi not to return to Herod and they returned to their homeland by another rout.
Mary and Joseph were also warned and slipped away to the safety of Egypt making Jesus technically a political refugee.
With nothing more to go on than the fact that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, Herod took his wrath out on the innocent babies of Bethlehem.
Herod like all despots failed to see the obvious, that if the prophesy was true he would be fighting God Almighty. A fight he couldn’t win.
Over the centuries many rulers have arisen and tried to take down the church. Today according to humanitarian groups Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world.
These persecutors like Herod fail to see that if indeed Christianity is the way to God. They are fighting God Himself.
The Christians over the centuries have suffered horrendous deaths. They died in the death camps of Hitler. They died for doing what was right protecting God’s people and anyone else that faced persecution under the Nazis.
Christians have died in the gulag’s of the Communist. Simply because they were Christians.
Likewise they have been crucified and tortured  under the regime of Pol Pot in Cambodia and under countless other dictators and despotic regimes.
Christian churches and their houses have been burned by their opponents in riots around the world.
Yet the church still continues on with the message of God’s love and mercy to all mankind.
Perhaps of all of the great Christian leaders in my lifetime Martin Luther King jr. expressed best Christian ideals when he said,

"We thank thee, O God, for the spiritual nature of man.

We are in nature but we live above nature.

Help us never to let anybody or

any condition pull us so low as to cause us to hate.

Give us strength to love our enemies and to do good

to those who despitefully use us and persecute us.

We thank thee for thy Church,

founded upon thy Word, that challenges us to do more

than sing and pray, but go out and work as though

the very answer to our prayers depended on us and not upon thee.

Then, finally, help us to realize that man was created to shine like stars and live on through all eternity.

Keep us, we pray, in perfect peace;

help us to walk together, pray together, sing together,

and live together until that day when all God’s children,

Black, White, Red, and Yellow will rejoice

in one common bond of humanity in the kingdom

of our LORD and of our God, we pray.

Amen."

Jesus came onto the world to offer salvation to all mankind. From the most despotic dictators such as Herod to the most innocent of children.
His message over the centuries is simple,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, 

for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

Matthew 11:28-30 

Will you consider giving your life to Christ?

If you have any questions please feel free to Email me at nealbelieves@gmail.com

Christmas

Any educated Christian will agree with you that the 25th of December is not the actual birthday of Jesus. Pope Julius I, in the fourth century set the date for Christmas in an effort to Christianise pagan celebrations.
The Puritans in England banned the celebration of Christmas from the time of Elizabeth I (1558-1603) to the middle of the 1800's.
They believed in a strict moral code consisting of prayer and close adherence to the New Testament scriptures.
They believed that since the actual date of Jesus’s birth is not known it should not be celebrated. Especially since the celebration closely resembled the drunken celebration of the Saturnalia of the Romans. The very thing Pope Julius I had tried to change by fixing the date of Christmas on December 25th.
The result was to ban all celebratory activities including decorating houses with evergreens and even the eating of mince pies.
Banning something never works. The result was that when the Victorian era broke Christmas as we know it today came with it.
The Victorians saw the rise of the middle class who had money to spare and at first made it a time of family events with presents and feasting.
They were inspired by the writings of Dickens and his ideals.
Today in the twenty-first century admittedly Christmas celebrations have started to move far away from what the Victorians envisioned Christmas to be. Back some would say to the Saturnalia.
Let’s face it when stores can make forty percent of their years profits in the weeks leading up to Christmas it should tell us we are moving far away from that birth in a Bethlehem stable.
Do people really need an extra gadget. Do they have to spend two hundred, three hundred, a thousand dollars on Christmas gifts?
I like celebrating Christmas. I like my family around me. I even like getting gifts, who doesn’t. But I’m content with what I have.
To me Christmas is sharing and listening to the Christmas story all over again.
In our house we have a tradition. Christmas day morning we get up and read the Christmas story from Luke. It’s a tradition we’ve had since our children were young.
Today my youngest is in his late twenties and still we read the story.
The story means a lot to us. It is the day when God the creator of heaven and earth chose to come into his creation and experience all that it is to be human.

To present us personally with a choice. A choice Jesus spoke of in John 3:16-17 when He is recorded as 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.”  

The choice is yours dear reader. Do you believe that Jesus truly in the one and only Son of God?
That he came to earth to die for your sins?
Think about it.
Email me with what you think at nealsbeliefs@gmail.com.

Christmas

Christmas
And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.
So al went to be registered everyone to his own city.
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
And she brought forth her first born Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
                                                                                       Luke 2:1-7
Christmas. I have been asked why we celebrate Christmas, especially since the bible gives no date for his birth and experts say it more than likely wasn’t December 25th.
Pope Julius I set the date in the fourth century with the best of intents. Hoping to Christianise the Saturnalia a pagan celebration.
According to what I’ve read by 529 December 25th was a civic holiday.
Throughout the history of Christianity Christian fathers in their wisdom have tried to put Christian meaning to pagan things, the Christmas tree, mistletoe, holly, even carols.
For the most part they succeeded. Not many people in the twenty-first century know what mistletoe or holly meant to the Druids or other pagan groups.
Christians have also been responsible for banning Christmas celebrations.
During the reign of Elizabeth I of England (1558-1603) the puritans banned Christmas celebrations right down to the eating of mince pies. Partly because such celebrations tended to be quite raucous and drunken affairs.
The puritans believed in a strict moral code with copious amounts of prayer.
This ban on Christmas lasted until the Victorian era who broke the ban with a vengeance. Giving us what is essentially our modern Christmas an odd combination of Christian and pagan ways.
Looking at Christmas as we approach Christmas 2013 it seems like in the west the pagan ways are winning.
The world has really stepped in with its call to give bigger, brighter and more expensive presents. Forgetting altogether that it is Jesus’s birthday we are celebrating and it is to him we should be giving our gifts of praise.
I as a Christian for over forty years like Christmas. I don’t like the consumerism force upon us in the western world.
Do we in the west really need another gadget in our home? Do our children need designer toys that cost way too much?
I like my family around me, it’s a feel good thing. We exchange gifts but shun the expensive.
I know my wife and children love me and just as importantly love and serve the Lord their God with all their hart and soul.
And that’s what Christmas is all about. Remembering who Jesus is. Serving Him to the best of our ability and rejoicing over the God of our salvation with our family and friends.
So as we enter the Christmas season we need to heed the words of one of the founders of the Greek Church St Gregory Nazianzen who in 389AD warned us about going to excesses in our celebration.
We need to join with the psalmist who wrote,

Praise the LORD. 

Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. 

Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. 

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 

praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, 

praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. 

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. 

Praise the LORD. 

                                                                                          Psalm 150: 1-6
Think about it.

My Beliefs

Someone asked me what I believe here in its simplest form is what I believe,

I believe Jesus as recorded by the apostle John when he says, 

“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 2:16-18
I believe Jesus is the only way to heaven. Jesus saying,

“Jesus answered, 

“I am the way and the truth and the life. 

No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

                                                                                              John 14:6

I believe we are saved through faith. The words of the apostle Paul 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

I believe the words of the writer of Hebrews when he writes,

“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
I believe Faith is,

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for 

and certain of what we do not see.” 

                                                                                Hebrews 11:1
I believe,

“If we confess our sins, he (Jesus) is faithful and just

         and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 

                                                                                                              1John 1:9
Think about it.

Questions? email me at nealsbeliefs@gmail.com

Faith

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  

This is what the ancients were commended for." 

                                                                                                            Hebrews 11:1,2

Faith in God perhaps the hardest thing for anyone to have. It’s hard for most people to follow someone or something they can’t feel, see or touch.
Yet that is exactly what God asks us to do. 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
God presents for us in the Bible the way to salvation. He shows us through the works of the patriarchs and the apostles how to get to heaven and it all comes down to one word, 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 
The question always come down to faith but not necessarily blind faith. The Bible gives us enough facts that we can make an informed decision. All we have to do is examine them.
Have you? Have you actually taken time to read the Bible?
I’m told it takes between eight-eight and a hundred hours for the average person just to read the bible. But just reading it is not enough. One needs to study it and make ones own conclusions.
I truly believe that if a person studies the bible with out putting any preconditions on what is being read that person cannot help but come to the conclusion that there is a God and that He truly loves them and wants them to spend eternity with Him.
So here’s my challenge. Take time to read the Bible. Read and study it for what it is, a book of faith that points the way to heaven and make your own decision.

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” ? "
                           Hebrews 1:1-5
Who is Jesus?
He is the very Son of God. “
”The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” states the writer of Hebrews.
It is he who provided purification of our sins. Sitting down at the right hand of God.
Over the years I have heard of some religious groups saying Jesus was an angel. The writer of Hebrews here puts that argument to rest by saying
“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” ? 
Angels are flawed. An angel could not have paid the price for our sins. The only one who could come to earth and live a perfect life despite all the temptations and could pay the price for our sins is the very Son of God. The second person of the trinity.
The writer of Hebrews noting that it was “through whom he made the universe.” Again angels did not create the universe they themselves are created beings.
John wrote,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  
He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” John 1:1-3.
Jesus was there on the day of creation. He took part in the very creation of the universe. Therefore it is obvious that he was God.
Genesis 1:26a states, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,...” the “in our image” is a further reference to the trinity of which Jesus is a part.
He had part in creating man.
The facts with respect to who Jesus are very clear, Jesus is God incarnate. The whole New Testament testifies to this. John 1:14 stating,
“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.”
The apostles and the various writers of the New Testament all agree on this.
Jesus himself stating “I and the Father are one.” John 10:30.
There is therefore no room for us to question who Jesus is. The Bible makes it clear that He indeed is God and asks us to believe also.
Think about it.

Pray, Pray, Pray

“Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,  
because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’ “Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’  
I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” 
       Luke 11:5-10.

Here Jesus gives a simple statement of truth about prayer. He urges believers to be persistent in their prayers to God. Assuring them that their prayers will be answered by God.
I think however there must be a caution here.
When we pray we must pray for the right things and we must pray in accordance with God’s will.
All too often I have seen Christians praying to be millionaires or for fancy cars or luxuries they don’t need. And when God doesn’t answer their prayers they wonder why.
Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with asking God to provide a good income for us. It’s when we get greedy and start asking for things in excess.
The Lords prayer states, “Give us each day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3). 
What Jesus is saying here in Luke 11:5-10 is that we need to pray continually asking for what we need. Keeping the lines of communication open between ourselves and God.
God knows if we need a Rolls Royce. He also knows that most times all we need is small sub compact  or for that matter no car at all, allowing the extra money to go into ministry or other things of importance in our life.
  God  also knows what we can handle. All one has to do is listen to the horror stories of some people who won millions in the lottery, only to find themselves unable to handle the money and end up broke.
We serve a good God. Who answers our prayers according to His will.
And we as Christians need to draw near to God. Through prayer and studying the Bible. Thus when we pray it will be more in tune to God’s will than our own.
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” states Jesus.
So the lesson is this we need to be continually asking God for what is best for our lives. We need to seek after God’s perfect will for our lives, and we need to be continually knocking on heavens door in order that it will be opened and we will receive full measure of what God has for our lives.
Think about it.

Praise the Lord

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 

he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, 

for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and

 I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. "

                                                                                                         Psalm 23

Over the last couple of years my wife and I have gone through a lot with respect to our health. I had cancer surgery that was successful. However I developed to quote the doctor, “large blood clots on my lungs and in my groin” I should have died but by the grace of God I didn’t.
My wife already having some minor health problems ended up in hospital, in intensive care for a week then six more weeks in hospital. When she came out she couldn’t walk. Today she get around using a walker for short distances and a wheel chair for longer distances.
Someone asked me why would God let you go through such things. I told him that it was simply a part of life.
We live in a world filled with illnesses. I know over the years I’ve been exposed to carcinogens. And at times my wife and I don’t eat right.
The food we eat depending on where it comes from has been in contact with chemical fertilizers or pesticides. We over the years have breathed in our fair share of pollution. Such is life in the twenty-first century.
Still God has been good to us. He has been their for us in our darkest days.  
Years ago when our then eight year old son let go of my wife’s hand and dashed across a highway and was hit by a car doing eighty kilometres an hour God was their.
My son was in a coma for a week. All we could do was pray and have our friends pray.
The doctors told us the longer in the coma the worse the potential outcome. Today he’s in his mid thirties and normal. No one can tell that he was in such a serious accident.
My younger son earlier this year was helping build an orphanage in Kenya. He fell from a ladder and broke both bones in his left leg.
Amazingly he was near what some have called the finest hospital in Africa. Not only that there was a top bone specialist from England there for other reasons. He fixed my son’s leg.
The Canadian doctors telling him it couldn’t have been done any better here in Canada.
God is truly good and no one can convince me otherwise.
I know that as long as I continue to follow Him he will lead me by those still waters even in the midst of adversity.
As a result I will echo the words of the psalmist when he says,

“Praise the LORD. 

Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. 

Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. 

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 

praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, 

praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. 

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.”

                                                                                           Psalm 150

November 11th

Today is remembrance day in Canada. The day when we remember not only those who paid the ultimate price in war, but those who served in the armed forces in two world wars, Korea, Afghanistan and as peacekeepers around the world.
On a plaque at a Korean War memorial in Peel County Ontario Canada there is a quote from Romans 14:19

“Let us therefor follow after things which make for peace.”

We remember them by wearing a red poppy.
However I noticed there are people out there passing out white poppies claiming to be for peace. Claiming the red poppy stands for war.
These people, as sincere as they are, are misguided and miss the true meaning of the poppy.
Any soldier will tell you they hate war. War brings about only suffering and death. No one in there right mind would want such a thing.
I would go as far as saying those involved with the white poppy campaign have done little more than protest about war and injustice.
The veterans on the other had put their lives on the line, some even giving the final sacrifice to ensure the freedoms we have today.
They by giving selflessly of their lives, have done more than any protest or letter writing campaign no matter how well meaning to further the cause of peace.
Hitler was not, nor could he be defeated by demonstrations. Many did demonstrate against him only to find themselves in concentration camps or murdered.
Neville Chamberlain the British prime minister of the day, with the best of intentions returned home with a piece of paper signed by Hitler and proclaimed "I have returned from Germany with peace for our time."  While behind his back Hitler is reported to have said it is only a piece of paper, and within a year had plunged the world into world war two.
Sometimes sadly there is no alternative than to go to war.
Can you imagine what it would have been like had those, then young Allied men and women refused to go to war against such evil or failed in their endeavour?
Winston Churchill the man that replaced Chamberlain put it this way,
“But if we fall, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science.” 
The ramifications of the Allies losing the second world war are almost impossible to comprehend.
Certainly those who are giving out the white poppy and indeed many of us born after the second world war may never have been born.
Dear reader,
on this day let us give thanks to God for our freedoms and for the men and women who served and those who serve today in our armed forces.
For it is to them, every man woman and child in this country and every country that enjoys freedom owes an unimaginable debt of thanks.
May God bless them in all they do.

Greater Works

Read John 14

"Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going,

so how can we know the way?"

     Jesus answered, 

"I am the way and the truth and the life.

 No one comes to the Father except through me.

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. 

 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.

 He will do even greater things than these, 

because I am going to the Father." 

                                                                                              John 14:5,6,11,12
Here Jesus makes it clear, once again, who He is:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.

  No one comes to the Father except through Me... "

                                                                                                                 John 14:6

He can’t make it any clearer than that.  According to this statement Jesus is the only way to get to the Heavenly Father.
He tells Thomas to believe Him for what He is saying or at the very least believe Him for the works that were done.  The miracles he seen.
This is a choice that we all must make, even today.  There is no grey area about Jesus, we must either accept Him for what He is or reject Him.  The choice is yours.
Later  on, in the chapter in verse eleven Jesus states clearly that:

 "he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also;

 and greater works than these he will do,

 because I go to My Father."

Here is another potentially controversial statement.  “and greater works than these he will do,” How can we do greater works than the miracles Jesus did?  It comes down to what you think are greater works.
In my mind, the greatest work any Christian can do, is presenting the Gospel of salvation to someone.  To see that person receive Christ as LORD and Saviour.
After all, if a person is healed, then, they are going to die eventually, and if they are not saved, they are not going to heaven.
Even Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Christ, would one day die.  He like us, had to make the choice to believe or not.
Presenting the Gospel to anyone is probably the greatest work, anyone can do and not only getting the person saved, but teaching  them in the Word of God, so that they grow strong in the LORD and bear fruit themselves.

Something to think about:

All the other works a Christian's do, do have their place, and they prove the power of God.  But giving an individual the opportunity to receive eternal life in Christ Jesus is the greatest work a Christian can do.
1 Corinthians 13:8 states,
“Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues they will cease;  whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.”
Verse 13 of 1 Corinthians 13 goes onto state:
“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
    The greatest gift of love is offering to all those we know the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus.
Think about it.

Read Matthew 19

Now, behold, one came and said to him, 

“Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

So He said to Him,

 “Why do you call me good. No one is good but One, that is, God.  

But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

He said to Him, 

“Which ones?” 

Jesus said, 

“You shall not murder.’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’

 ‘You shall not bear false witness. ‘Honour your father and your mother, 

and ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’”

The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. 

What do I still lack?”

Jesus said to him, 

“If you want to be perfect go, sell what you have and give to the poor, 

and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, 

for he had great possessions.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, 

“Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man 

to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:16-23

The point of the passage is where the heart is.
This man came to Jesus asking Him, “what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”  Jesus told him to obey the commandments and the man said he had since his youth.
So Jesus told him to give everything he owned and follow Him.
Scripture tells us the man, “...went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
Jesus knew this man’s heart.  He knew that intellectually, he believed there was a God all his life, he’d been told there was.  I don’t think the man doubted that.
He, from the conversation, appears to have obeyed the laws of Moses.  And God seems to have blessed him materially.
Quite often, what we own keeps us away from God.
Having  wealth is often a sign of complete self reliance.  A good thing in many ways.
Still, it’s easy to follow the commandments of God if you’re financially well off.  But to give up everything and become totally reliant on God for even your most basic needs that takes faith.
Hebrews 11:6 states

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him,

 for he who comes to God most believe that He is,

 and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” 

Something to think about

Jesus knew where this man’s faith was at and He knows where we are at.

Are you willing to “sell what you have and give to the poor, also?

Are you willing to rely on God for even your most basic of needs?

God may never ask you to do this.

Still be honest with yourself.

Are you willing to give up all you have to follow God by faith?

On Being Christian

On Being Christian

C. C. Montefore said something  of Jews that can also be said of Christians,
“We Jews (Christians) have a more pressing responsibility for our lives and beliefs that perhaps any other religious community.
Don’t shelter yourself in any course of action by the idea that ‘it is my affair.’  It is your affair, but it is also mine and the community.  Nor can we neglect the world beyond.  A fierce light bears upon the Jew (the Christian).  It is a grave responsibility this—to be a Jew,(Christian) and you can’t escape from it, even if you choose to ignore it.  Ethically or religiously, we can be and do nothing light-heartedly."
Salvation comes from the Jews through Christ.
Christianity is not a religion it is a lifestyle we choose to follow. A lifestyle we should not choose lightly.
Christianity is not a Sunday morning go to church thing.
We do not become Christians simply because our parents and grandparents were Christians.
It is a personal choice we make when we are old enough to understand what we are doing.
It is a moment by moment way of living in word and in deed. Following in the footsteps of Christ.
And people are watching us.
Non-Christians that know us, know we go to church and claim to be Christians but do they see Christ in us. It is imperative that they see and hear, in both our words and our deeds the message we have for the world.
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

“I am the way and the truth and the life. 

No one comes to the Father 

except through me.” 

                                                                      John 14:6
In Matthew 7:1 He says,

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” 

He also states,

“....“ ‘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
These are the basic pillars of Christianity. These are the beliefs we are to take to the world.
Our God is an all inclusive God that has provided a way for all mankind to come to know him personally.
As Christians this must be what we want to do most of all. And it must beyond a shadow of a doubt be what we present to the world by our lifestyle.
Someone once said to me we should always be a witness for Christ no matter where we are even if we don’t use words.
                          Think about it.

Tribute to a Faithful man

“Then Jesus came to them and said, 

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, 

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  

and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. 

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 

                                                                                      Matthew 28:18-20

He said to them, 

“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.  

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, 

but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 

                                                                                      Matthew 16:15,16
On October 19th 2013 a faithful man died. He never became a household name but I’m sure today heaven is rejoicing.
His name Konstantin Vladianu. He was born in Pinzaran Moldova in the former Soviet Union. He died in Hamilton Ontario Canada.
His obituary reads in part.
“Konstantin’s faith in God was the most central thing in his life. He was very involved in the secret underground church, and he was a gifted preacher, blessed with dreams and visions from God which directed his life. He led his family by example in sacrificial giving of his time and resources.”
Konstantin truly knew what it was to serve God. To go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation and he did it under pain of imprisonment. Something few people here in the western world have ever experienced.
He did this because his first love was God and he was obedient to God’s word.
As Christians particularly here in the west we need to from time to time evaluate what we are doing for God.
Are we truly going into all the world our world, be that world within our country, our city, town or simply to our neighbour.
Think about it will you as a Christian one day stand before God and hear him say well done thou good and faithful servant?

Christians Beware

Read Acts 25

“I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him.  

Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, 

so that after the examination has taken place 

I may have something to write.

“For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner

 and not to specify the charges against him.”

                                                                                                                  Acts 25:26,27
Porcius Festus had a problem.  He couldn’t find anything that Paul had done wrong, and Paul had appealed to Caesar.  From what Festus says here he seemed like a fair man in an awkward spot.
That’s how all government officials should be, when people accuse a Christian of something.  We must not give those who are against us a chance to turn the civil authority against us.
We must expect to be taken before councils, judges and various civil authorities, Jesus said this in Matthew 10:17,18:
“But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.“You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
In the verse prior to that in Matthew 10:16 he states:
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and as harmless as doves".
We must be wise, when talking to those who are to hold judgment over us.  We must chose our words carefully and listen for God’s leading.  We can’t go in there shouting and screaming, “I have Rights.”
There is a reason, we will be brought before governors and kings.  Listen to what Jesus said in verse 19 of Matthew 10:
“You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.”
It is for Jesus’ sake, we will be brought before the civil authorities to give testimony.  If we give that testimony in a non judgmental, non threatening way then we have no complaint against us.
The men that brought Paul before the Roman Governor had a political agenda.  They seen him as a threat to what they believed, and wanted a civil court to settle their problem.

Something to think about
Sadly today I think there are many within the Christian community that have a political agenda. They are the ones that are in a fashion taking people before magistrates.
They are objecting to laws passed for one minority group or another that opposes what they see as their Christian rights.
They are imposing on a secular society Christian values that an unsaved person does not understand or feels they should have to obey.
They question the right of civil authorities to make laws that protect groups Christians morally oppose.
We as Christian are told to obey civil laws. (Romans 13:1-5) That the civil authorities are no threat to us. That they are put there by God.
We as Christian should remember that unless we find ourselves to be fighting God.

Forgivness

Read Matthew 18:21-35

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, 

as we forgive our debtors.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, 

your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

                                                                                  Matthew 6:11,12,14
Then Peter came to Him and said,

“LORD, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  

Up to seven times?”

Jesus said to him,

 “I do not say to you, up to seven times,

 but up to seventy times seven.

                                                                                              Matthew 18:21,22
Do you forgive?  Do you truly forgive?  Do you practice forgiveness even to the one who has wronged you the most.
As Christians, we can’t afford not to forgive.  If as Christians, we truly believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the light, that no one can come to the Father but by Him, then we can’t afford not to forgive.  The eternal resting place of those around us, depends on us.
If we have unforgiveness in our hearts, then it becomes very difficult to witness.  We might even become a stumbling block to those whom we don’t forgive.
To be a Christian is to be like Christ.  We must do as He did.  Although, He had the right to judge as God, He didn’t.
Jesus forgave the very people responsible for crucifying Him.  What more of an example can we have?
Our call is to love even our enemies, listen to the words of Jesus:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

“that you maybe sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise

 on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

“For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? 

 Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

“And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? 

 Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

"Therefore you shall be perfect just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

                                                                                            Matthew 5:43-48
In order to love someone, we must be able to forgive them.  Thus, Jesus said we must forgive and not keep track of how many times we forgive.
Paul states,

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though Io give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Something to think about:
Love is the key to forgiving.
Do you love? Do you love even when you hurts.  Christ did, he went to the cross.