Wednesday 12 October 2016

The Christian LIfe

The Christian Life
The writer of Ecclesiastes said,
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: 
Fear God and keep his commandments, 
for this is the whole  duty  of man. 
For God will bring every deed into judgment, 
including every hidden thing, 
whether it is good or evil.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13,14 .
Christians think about this. Here in North America there are many who call themselves Christians who are not. They have fallen far from the teachings of Christ, who taught love for God, your neighbour and even your enemy. They have mixed politics and their faith and have become confrontational.
As someone once said, “mixing faith and politics is like mixing water and gasoline. The gasoline is unusable, the water undrinkable and the whole mixture explosive.”
To my mind this tells me that the words of Jesus is true when he said,
“Many will say to me  on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:22,23.
Unfortunately those outside Christianity see the negative actions of those who claim to be Christian and are not and paint all Christianity with the same brush.
We as Christians I believe must do our best to turn back to the fundamentals of our faith. The love of God, our neighbour and our enemy. We must refrain from judging those around us who are not Christian. The apostle Paul writes,
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
Tony Campolo once said,
“Let us preach Christ, let us be faithful to proclaiming the Gospel, but let's leave judgment in the hands of God.” Tony Campolo
I agree with him.
If you consider yourself a Christian then consider your actions. Do you truly love God, your neighbour and your enemy?
The apostle Paul defines love this way,
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy,
 it does not boast, it is not proud.  
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, 
it keeps no record of wrongs. 
Love does not delight in evil 
but rejoices with the truth.  
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 
Love never fails....
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”  
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13.
The writer of Hebrews tells us,
“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14.
We must remember what the writer of Ecclesiastes said,
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole  duty  of man. 
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.
God will judge everyone of us. Thus the question becomes will he find you living in peace with all man and living a life of holiness?
Please think about it.

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