The Reason

The Reason
The Gospel of John states,
“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30,31.
John who knew Jesus personally make it clear why he wrote his gospel. It is written to you the reader
”that you may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31.
This is the reason all of the gospels were written. They were written by men who knew Jesus. They are true accounts of what they believed.
Throughout the generations these words have gone forth giving the reader a choice. To believe what was written by them or not.
What I would ask you the reader of this blog, is to read the New Testament. Read for yourself what those first century Church leaders believe. Then decide for yourself if you believe them or not.
Please think about it.

Two Groups

Two Groups
The book of Acts records these two incidents in the life of the apostle Paul.
“When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.  
As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,  explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,’” he said.  
Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women. 
But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.  
But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”  
When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil.  Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go. 
As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.  
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.  
Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. 
When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up.  
The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea.  
The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. Acts 17:1-15.
Here is an illustration of how two types of people receive the message of Jesus Christ even today.
In Thessolonica as was his custom when in any city the apostle Paul went on the Sabbath to the synagogue and presented the message of Christ. As a result both Jew and God fearing Greeks believed what he had to say including some prominent people.
However there were those who it seems, vehemently opposed what Paul said. Thus they resorted to violence. Which in turn caused Paul and his companion Silas to leave the city.
Paul and his companion Silas then went to Berea where the book of Acts notes,
    “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.  
Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.”Acts 17:11,12.
The Bereans not only welcomed Paul and Silas, but they received the message of the Gospel of Christ Jesus with eagerness and they “examined the Scriptures every day to see what Paul said was true”
The Bereans set an example for all who would hear the message of Jesus Christ.
While Christianity is a religion of faith. It does not require blind faith. True believers in Christ be they evangelist, pastors, teachers, or simply people sitting in the pew do not expect those they present Christ to, to have blind faith.
They challenge the one who hears the message of Jesus to read the scriptures for themselves to see for themselves if it is true or not. Then make an informed decision whether or not to follow Jesus.
By contrast there were those in Thessalonians that  believed that the message of Jesus Christ was wrong and resorted to violence to prevent Christ message from being spread. And not content to stop them in their own city they went to Berea. The book of Acts recording,
“When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up.” Acts 17:13.
Such things are still happening today. There is a wide spectrum of people in the world that are opposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
At one extreme are radical religious, terrorist, and even political groups that persecute and even murder believers in Christ for their beliefs.
At the other end of that same spectrum are those who for the most part, speak peacefully but strongly against believers in Jesus Christ  Atheist groups and others who mock and decry believers in Christ in the media. They say they know what is right, and try in a peaceful but forceful way to prevent the salvation message of Jesus Christ from spreading. Even at times resorting to the court system to get their way.
Ultimately however it is up to the individual to decide for themselves the truth about Jesus Christ and the Salvation He offers. In order to do that the individual needs to read particularly the New Testament for themselves. To look at what the early believers in Christ believed and what true believers in Christ today believe. Then make an informed decision for themselves.
Please think about it.

Freedom of Judgement

Freedom of judgement
“It is imperative that freedom of judgment should be granted, so that men may live together in harmony, however diverse, or even openly contradictory their opinions maybe.  In proportion as the power of free judgment is withheld, we depart from the natural condition of mankind.” Baruch Spinoza.
I as a Christian believe God has instilled in each and every person a freewill to do as they wish. That freedom even extends to whether the individual believes in God or not. Each individual must have the freedom to judge for themselves what they believe.
God did not make robots. God crated human beings with a free will.
I believe that no matter who you are Christian, Muslim, Jew, or those of other faiths, even Atheist must have the right to choose what they believe.
I also believe it is important to be able to sit with those of different philosophies and faiths and discuss openly our opinions without fear.
I as a Christian do not fear may faith being questioned by others. I know what I believe and I am convinced that I am right. I welcome others who wish to present their faith to me. I welcome exchanges in ideas. This I believe is the way God intended it to be.
Jesus when on this earth spoke to those outside his faith. Jesus had contact with Romans, Samaritans, and others. He sat down with those looked down upon by religious leaders of His day.
This is what I believe Christians should be doing today. Jesus tells us,
“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.
We cannot do this if we are not willing to accept the differences in our society and reach out to them in love.
The writer of Hebrews tells Christians,
“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.
Part of living at peace with all men involves listening to them allowing them to judge for themselves what they believe without fear or reprisal or judgement from anyone.
Please think about it. 

Presenting the Gospel

Presenting the Gospel

Luke the writer of the book of acts tells us about the apostle Paul’s actions and the sermon he spoke while in Athens.
In doing so God through Luke and Paul is showing Christians how to act around none believers.
Luke records.
“So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.  
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.   Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?  
You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”  
(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) 
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 17:17-34.
The message the apostle Paul delivered that day to the Athenians is the same message God wants the people of the world to here today.
Christians especially here in North America need to look carefully at Paul's words and his actions.
First of all Paul was reasoning with people around him publicly. He was speaking to people in a non-confrontational way. I believe it can be inferred that he listened to the arguments against his belief as much as he presented his beliefs.
He must have been doing things the right way because Luke records,
“A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
   Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?” 
Notice it was the Philosophers not Jews or Christians that invited Paul to speak at the Areopagus a place where ideas were exchanged. The ancient equivalent of a Ted Talk, a chat room or public form such as today’s media today.
When he spoke there he never once told the Athenians they were sinners. He never once attacked their beliefs or there practices.
Paul simply presented the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Salvation only Jesus can give.
This dear Christian is how we should be presenting the gospel.
Please think about it.

About Jesus

About Jesus
A lot has been said about Jesus through the centuries now with Christmas day just a week away I’d like to present to you these words by Dr James Allan Francis

One Solitary Life

He was born in an obscure village 

The child of a peasant woman 

He grew up in another obscure village 

Where he worked in a carpenter shop 

Until he was thirty when public opinion turned against him

He never wrote a book 

He never held an office 

He never went to college 

He never visited a big city 

He never travelled more than two hundred miles 

From the place where he was born 

He did none of the things 

Usually associated with greatness 

He had no credentials but himself 

He was only thirty three 

His friends ran away 

One of them denied him 

He was turned over to his enemies 

And went through the mockery of a trial 

He was nailed to a cross between two thieves 

While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing 

The only property he had on earth 

When he was dead 

He was laid in a borrowed grave 

Through the pity of a friend 

Nineteen centuries have come and gone 

And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race 

And the leader of mankind's progress 

All the armies that have ever marched 

All the navies that have ever sailed 

All the parliaments that have ever sat 

All the kings that ever reigned put together 

Have not affected the life of mankind on earth 

As powerfully as that one solitary life 

                                                                                  Dr James Allan Francis.
Today the followers of Jesus number close to 2,500,000,000 and the number is still growing despite persecution.
His true followers are winning souls for Christ not by force of arms but by love. 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.
The call of Jesus to the whole world is,
“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.
Please think about it.

On Jesus

On Jesus

At this writing Christmas eve not that far away. And the eternal question is who do you believe Jesus to be?
The gospel of John records this,
“The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 
Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.  
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  
I and the Father are one.” 
Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” 
                                                                                                            John 10:24-32.
C. S. Lewis said,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” 
                                                                                   C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
What Lewis is saying is reflected in the above account from John 10:24-32. The people were going to stone Jesus because he claimed to be one with God. This was something punishable by death at the time. Only an insane man would say such a thing and Jesus was not insane.
I believe each and every person on this earth needs to make a decision as to who they think Jesus is. Jesus is recorded as saying this to a woman called Martha. He said,
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 
“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” 
           John 11:25-27
This is the question we all must answer one way or the other. There is no middle ground.
The reward for believing in Jesus is an eternity with God. The apostle John writing,
Yet to all who received him,(Jesus) to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God." 
                                      John 1:12,13.
Please think about it.

The answer is not forty-two

The answer is not forty-two

In his sifi spoof The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams tells of a super computer built for some mice, determines the answer to life, the universe and everything is “forty-two”
Adams in his book spoofs everything in society. It’s an interesting book to read just for fun, there was even a movie made of it as well as a BBC television program.
That being said the Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy assumption that the meaning of life is forty-two as we know is not true.
A individual is far more than that whatever it means.
Philosophers through the ages have argued over what the meaning of life is. Today people are drawn to various religious, philosophies and ways of life in the hope of finding true meaning and purpose in their life. Some are even turning to terrorist organisations to find purpose in life.
The Greeks in the days of the Apostles and Jesus were looking for meaning. They built temples to various Gods. They talked endlessly trying to find true meaning and were constantly on the lookout for new ideas.
One of those new ideas, at least to the ancient Greeks in Athens, was the belief the apostle Paul was talking about. Belief in Jesus. His speech to the Athenians then is as relevant today as it was then. The book of Acts records,
“So he(Paul) reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.  
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.”    They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.  
Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?  
You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”  
(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) 
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 17:17-34
Jesus said,
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” 
          John10:10.
“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.
As someone who has know Jesus as my Lord and Saviour for over forty years now I know that all the Bible says about Him is true.
My life as a Christian has meaning and purpose. In Christ I have lived a full and rich life. What more can I ask?
I would ask you dear reader to consider accepting Jesus into your life today.
Please think about it.

Who can get to heaven?

Who can get to heaven?
“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.” 
                                                                                        Psalm 139:13-16.
Someone trying to put me on the spot in front of my pastor and others, asked me, “Can a Gay man get to heaven.”
I quoted the above verses from Psalm 139. It says,
“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.” 
                                                                                        Psalm 139:13-16.
I informed the man that God knows us intimately that according to the Psalmist God created our inmost being. The He knitted us together in our mothers womb. To me that means God knows our very genetic code and what makes us, us.
God does not discriminate against anyone be they gay or strait, from Canada or from anywhere else in the world. God Loves all people equally and knows why they are like they are.
When 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.”
                                                 John 3:16.
He did not put limits on God’s love. He did not discriminate between races or sexual orientation. He simply said, “whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
So yes anyone can get to heaven. They simply have to listen to the words of Jesus who gives all people everywhere a choice when He 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.
The apostle Paul wrote,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” 
                                                                         Ephesians 2:8,9.
Salvation is a free gift from God open to all who will believe in Jesus Christ no matter who they are.
Please think about it.

The Message for Christians

The Message for Christian
Jesus said,
“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
In a rather large nutshell the message is this,
The apostle Paul while writing to Christians in Rome made the statement,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
                                                                                                                                  Romans 10:9-13.
Jesus as quoted in the Gospel of John makes it clear the decision anyone who here’s about Jesus must make he 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.
This is the message of Jesus Christ in it’s most basic form. This is the message we as Christians must take to the world.
Please Think about it.

Spoiled Brat Christians?

Spoiled Brat Christians?

I admit from the outset that this is about one of my pet problems with those who would call themselves “fundamentalist evangelical Christians” in North America. Sometimes I think they are spoiled brats.
I see and hear them all the time wanting revival. They want revival to come to the church. At the same time they are complaining that the government and other groups are trying to restrict what they can do in public.
Perhaps the solution to both problems the need for revival and the need to have people stop picking on them is one in the same.
Those calling themselves evangelicals and indeed the Christian Church as a whole need to return to “The Church” of the Bible. We need to be following the example of the founding fathers.
Remember when the church was founded it first of all was not part of the officially recognized religions of Rome and therefore susceptible to persecution and members could be arrest and put to death. The church underwent a lot of persecution in the first three centuries in particular.
Christians suffered a lot under Roman rule from time to time. Yet as we know the church not only survived but grew. It survived and grew for one very important reason. IT STAYED TRUE TO IT’S PURPOSE!
Jesus said,
“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.
Jesus did not say criticize other faiths. Jesus did not say demonstrate against anything you disagree with (anything that is not Christian is origin). He did not say speak out against those who have a different lifestyle.
He never told us to speak out against the government. He never told us to take sides in political events.
Jesus said,
“...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...”
He said,
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
            Matthew 10:16.
The apostle Peter said,
“Dear friends,
I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
                                                                                     1 Peter 2:11,12.
The Apostle Paul said,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.  
On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” 
                                                                               Romans 12:18-21
The apostle Paul made things clear,
“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.
James the brother of Christ said,
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,  
because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” 
                          James 2:12,13.
We must remember the words of the Apostle Paul to the Romans who said,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 
Romans 5:8
We must remember that we were indeed sinners far from God at one time.
We must remember the message of the Church is summed up in the gospel of John when John quotes Jesus 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”. 
                                                                                                            John 3:16-18.
We cannot get this message out if we are protesting. If we are criticizing others. If we are judging those outside the church.
We are blessed here in North America with freedoms other nations long for. We cannot afford to misuse those freedoms. We must use them to reach out in love with the purest form of the gospel we know. Reach out those around us and let God do the rest.
We must return to the example the first century Church set out for us.
Please Christians think carefully about it.

An Apostles Example

An Apostles Example.

“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.”
                                                                    Acts 17:22-31.
This is how we as Christians need to be. We need to meet people where they are, not looking at their sin or lifestyle. We need to simply see each and every person as just that, a person in need of the love and saving grace Christ.
And like Paul we need to present to them the salvation message. Letting them decide for themselves whether to accept that message or not.
Please think about it.

I Want

I Want

I am a Christian.

 And want the world to know,

Jesus said,

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

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, 

and you will find rest for your souls.  

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

                                                        Matthew 11:28-30.

I am a Christian. 

And I want the world to know,

The Christian message in it’s simplest form is this. 

Jesus said,

“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...”

Matthew5: 43-45

When asked,

“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 22:37-40.

I am a Christian.

And I want the world to know,

Jesus said,

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,

 that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, 

but to save the world through him.” 

                                                                                           John 3:16,17.

 Jesus also said,

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

No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

                                                            John 14:6

I am a Christian.

And I want the world to know,

 The apostle Paul writing to the Romans said,

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” 

                                                                                Romans 3:23,24.

Sinning is falling short of what God wants for you life. Sin separates us from God.

I am a Christian.

And I want the world to know,

The apostle John wrote,

John noting,

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

 and will forgive us our sins

 and purify us from all unrighteousness.  

If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” 

                                                                                                            1 John 1:9,10.

I am a Christian.

And I want the world to know,

The apostle Paul wrote,

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—

and this not from yourselves,

 it is the gift of God—  

not by works, so that no one can boast.” 

                                                                  Ephesians 2:8,9

I am a Christian.

And I want the world to know,

Salvation, belief in Jesus Christ, and God,

 is an act of faith. 

The writer of Hebrews saying,

“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 am a Christian.

And I want the world to 

think about what I have written

because 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 

Please think about it.

True love and the message of Christ

True love and the message of Christ

“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.

Someone has said that we as Christians should be expressing the Love of Christ to the world. Showing the unconditional Love of God.  We shouldn’t be telling a contemporary audience that they have sin in their life. That Jesus is the only way to heaven.
For me as a Christian not telling people they have sin in their life that needs dealing with or that Jesus is the only way to heaven is not showing love.
The apostle Paul in the above quote expresses what love is. Love is also telling the truth to the person you love.
The New Testament makes it clear that
“all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” 
                                                                          Romans 3:23.
The apostle John states,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” 
1John 1:9-10
I would be remiss if I didn’t tell people this.
Sinning is falling short of what God wants for our life. That can be everything from a so called ‘white lie’ to committing a theft or murdering someone all are sins. Sin is simply falling short of what God want’s for our life. And as humans we all have our failings and fall short of God’s ideal.
This is an admission we need to admit directly to God.
Jesus also made it clear that He is the only way to heaven. Jesus said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
                                                                                                                                            John 14:6.
For me not to tell this to someone, is to me at least lying by omission.
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.
This to me is a truth that must be spoken to all I know and all who will listen to me.
For me to do anything less is not showing love.
Please think about it.

An unknown known God

An unknown known God

“The Jesus of the Scripture transcends all nations and calls all nations into judgment.”
                                                                                          American evangelist Tony Campolo
I as a Christian believe that not only every nation but every individual will be called to judgement. I believe that we will stand before God and asked to give account for our lives.
There are many within out there today who call themselves Christians but don’t recognize the need for each and every person to repent of their sins. That each and every person will one day stand before God to be judged. This is not what the early church believed.
The Apostle Paul while in Athens was asked to speak about his beliefs by a group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. The book of acts records,
“So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.  
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.  
Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?  
You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”  
(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) 
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 17:17-34
The choice for you the reader is the same today as it was that day in Athens. It is a call to repent of ones sins and turn to God.
The apostle John wrote,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” 
1John 1:9-10
You can either believe that Jesus is the Son of God the Saviour of mankind who paid the price for your sins or you can reject Him.
 Please think about it.

Salvation, Eternity, and the Christian

Salvation, Eternity and the Christian
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
                                                                                                                                 Romans 10:9-13
Here in his letter to the Romans the apostle Paul makes it clear how we are saved. How we get to heaven. He states,
“...if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
This is the message Christians need to be taking to the world today.
Salvation is first of all an act of faith. It is believing Jesus is Lord, the Son of God, God incarnate. That Jesus is the Saviour of man and that God raised Him from the dead. That is what gets us to heaven.
Each person in their hearts must believe in their heart the words of Jesus who said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
                                                                                                                                              John 14:6.
Each person must answer the question Jesus asked Martha,
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 
                                                                                                                                  John 11:25,26
  It doesn’t matter who we are Jew or Gentile we have the same Lord, the same God. God loves all mankind equally.
All we have to do is call on the name of the Lord to be saved. God couldn’t have made things any easier.
Since the dawn of time mankind has know there is life after death. As a result he has devised various way he thought you got to God. Mankind tried to reach up to God. Reaching up to God cannot be done.  
  God realized this and instead God chose to reach down to mankind in the form of Jesus Christ.
He made getting into heaven is as simple as believing on Him.
The book of acts records the apostle Paul as telling the Greeks the way to heaven. It is the same today. The book of Acts records,
“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 17:17-34
This is the message we as Christians need to be presenting to the world.
We need to be asking people to answer Christ’s question to Martha when He said,
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 
                                                                                                    John 11:25,26
Please think about it.