Glorify and Praise

Glorify and Praise

Lukes gospel records Mary as glorifying God for the blessing He has given her to bear His one and Only Son,

"And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. Luke 1:46-50.

Christmas is one of the holiest days of the year for Christians. A time for praising God for the gift of His one and Only Son Christ Jesus.

It is a time when we can rejoice with the Psalmist who wrote,

"I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. 

My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 

Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together."

                                                                                           Psalm 34:1-3.

If you truly believe in Christ Jesus, will you take some time this Christmas day to glorify and praise God for sending His Son into the world?

Please think about it.

Do you even believe?

 Do you even believe?

In Lukes Gospel we read,

Simeon took him (Jesus) 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 2:28-32.

Mary and Joseph had taken Jesus to the temple as was required by law to dedicate him to God. While there Simeon the prophet came over took the child in his arms and proclaimed that, Jesus was the long awaited Messiah. Proclaiming, 

  "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 29-32.

Christmas is but a few days away as I write this. For me Christmas and Easter are the most important days on the Christian calendar. One, Christmas, is the day God through His one and Only Son Jesus Christ came into the world. Beginning the process that would end at Easter thirty-three years later with Christs death and resurrection. For the salvation of all who would believe in Him.

In Jesus we see God in his grace reaching down to His creation. The apostle Paul pointing out,

"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

As Jesus put it,

"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.

Thus the questions I have for you dear reader is,

Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? 

Do you believe that Jesus came into this world to Give you eternal life?

Do you even believe in Jesus?

Please think about it.

We Christians Celebrate

We Christians Celebrate
December 25th

We Celebrate!

God’s Love for mankind.

We Celebrate

God’s Messiah!

The birth 

Of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Saviour of Mankind.

We celebrate

A Saviour!

A Saviour who died for us.

“You see, at just the right time,

when we were still powerless, 

Christ died for the ungodly”

                             Romans 5:6

We Celebrate,

“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.

This is why we celebrate,

Christmas

Christmas
The apostle Luke records,
“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  
And everyone went to his own town to register. 
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  
He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.... 
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. 
When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord  (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord” ),  and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” 
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 2:1-7, 21-31.
The Apostle John put things this way,
“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.  
In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  
The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. ...
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  
Yet to all who received him, 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. 
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 
                                                                                                     John 1:1-5, 10-14.
God became a man. The God that created the heavens and the earth became a man. This is the most fundamental belief of Christianity.
I personally believe it.
I believe the apostle John who wrote,
“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
God loved man so much that He came to this world in the form of Jesus that all who believe in Him should have eternal life.
The Apostle Paul reminds us that eternal life is free. That salvation is through faith in God, faith in Christ. Writing,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” 
                                                          Ephesians 2:8,9.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us,
“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 this.
 So at this Christmas time as I do every day throughout the year I will worship God.
And as it is Christmas time when we, my family, friends, and all Christians celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I will praise Him all the more.
And while I may not have all the instruments mentioned I will as the Psalmist did,

“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.
And that I do not have to think about.
So to all who reads this Christian, or not, may God bless you richly and show you the truth about Jesus Christ this Christmas day, and throughout the coming year.

Consider Jesus

Consider Jesus
             John's Gospel records
"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.  
If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  
Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.  
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.”
                                              John 14:5-11.
Here is a truth. The writers of the New Testament didn’t hide anything. They told of the miracles of Jesus however fantastic they may have sounded. They told of Jesus’ claim to be God. They did not back down on what they believed. They did not sugar coat it to make things easier to accept.
They said Jesus performed miracles, he healed the sick, forgave sins and said plainly that he and God the Father are one.
They said all of this, and ask the reader to believe them.
If all that is said in the New Testament about Jesus is untrue. If even a portion of it is untrue, why would men who want people to believe in Jesus write what they did.
The writers of the New Testament want people to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind. They could only expect people to believe in Jesus if they told the truth.
Thus I a Christian. Who believes Jesus is God in incarnate, God the flesh, the Saviour of mankind ask you the reader to make your decision.
Please take time to read the New Testament and decide for yourself who Jesus is.
Please think about it.

Christ

Christ.

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  
(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  
And everyone went to his own town to register. 
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  
He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,  and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.... 
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 2:1-7, 28-32
Christmas is God reaching down to man to say “I love you.”
Christmas is about Love and Peace.
Today around the world there is tremendous suffering. The twentieth century was considered the bloodiest century in the history of man, and the twenty-first seems to be continuing the bloodshed.
Mankind it seems can’t get it’s act together. By the time you have finished reading this hundreds of people will have died from violence somewhere in the world.
The dictators, terrorist and evil men our day of our world are not new. They like Hannibal, Caesar, Alexander the great, Napoleon and Hitler all think they can impose their will on people by force.
Nothing could be further from the truth. No dictator has ever ruled over more than a few hundred million ever. Most don’t rule over more than a handful of people.
Yet Jesus, who never wrote a book, never ventured far from his place of birth, who spoke of peace and love. Who came to reconcile man to God has a following today that spans over two billion people about a third of the worlds population, and the number of his followers continues to grow.
This man who’s teachings of love for one’s neighbours, and even one’s enemies seems to scare dictators and terrorist alike.
Today one Christian dies every four to seven minutes. Why? Because they are presenting the Love of God?
Jesus never spoke against the civil secular society of Rome. He never carried a weapon or once claimed that his kingdom was of this world.
It was Jesus who said,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour 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.”  
                                                               Matthew 5:43-45.
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 neighbour as yourself.’  
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 
                                                                                      Matthew 22:37-40.
Yet dictators and terrorist the world over fear his teachings. If they didn’t why would they restrict Christianity or continue to murder Christians.
Here in North America Atheist while they don’t attack Christians. They demand that Christian symbols and sayings be taken out of public buildings.
Does the ten commandments, or words of love really offend them that much?
Here in North America thankfully we don’t have to contend with violence just a clash of rights. My rights, your rights.
How sad that we have to be offended by where words or symbols of love come from. And I say that to both Christians and non-Christians, because Christians here in the United States and Canad can be just as demanding about their rights as non-Christians are.
Anne Frank a Jewish girl who lived in hiding until she was caught and died in a Nazi death camp said,
“Give of yourself, give as much as you can?  And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness!  If everyone were to do this and not be as mean with a kindly word, then there would be much more justice and love in the world.  Give and you shall receive, much more than you would have ever thought possible.  Give, give again and again, don’t lose courage, keep it up and go on giving!  No one has ever become poor from giving!”                                                                                                                                                 Anne Frank
If we to follow these words of advice and give of our selves instead of demanding our rights. Life would be so much better.
The apostle Paul wrote,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone...”
                                                                                                                Romans 12:18
This is a truth both Christians and non-Christians I think can agree on.
Think about it.

Christmas

Christmas from John’s Gospel.

“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.  
In him was life, and that life was the light of men.... 
Yet to all who received him, 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. 
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 
                                                                 John 1:1-4, 12-14.
The apostle John testified to who Jesus was. He makes it clear “He was with God in the beginning, Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
Jesus was there on the day of creation.
John goes on to say “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” that he and the other apostles “have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Christmas is God reaching down to man to say “I love you.”
A time he sent Jesus to point us to God and to show us how to live with our fellow man.
Christmas is about Love and Peace. It was Jesus who 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.
It’s about taking to heart the teachings of Jesus. Be you a Christian or not what Jesus taught is still the right thing to do from a humanitarian aspect.
Jesus 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
He also said,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour 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.”  
                                                               Matthew 5:43-45.
The Apostle Paul defined true love when writing to the Corinthians,
“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
Paul writing to the Romans also said,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
                                                                                                           Romans 12:18.
If we all Christian or not followed these simple principles of Love the world would indeed be a far better place.
Think about it.

The Reason for the Season

The Reason for the Season

"Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him(Jesus) to be executed.  
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.  
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” 
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar  and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 
There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?  
We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’” 
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” 
                                                                                          Luke 23:32-43.
Today is Christmas eve. Tomorrow the 2.2billion Christians around the world will be celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is one of the two most holy days in the Christian year.
At Christmas we get the image of this little child placed in a manger because there was no room for his family in the inn.  Yet this is just the beginning.
This Jesus would grow up quietly out of the limelight in a small backwater village of a back water area of the Roman empire.
Thirty three years later he would become what most historians say is the most important figure in human history.
His ministry on this earth lasted only three years and he would never move far from his place of birth.
In that time however he taught a group of men that would go out and literally change the world without lifting a sword.
A group of men and women that would change the world through love and love alone.
Producing followers that now equal close to a third of the worlds population and the number is still growing.
Jesus himself was crucified for a crime he did not commit. Yet even in death we see a microcosm of the world.
He was put to death for political reasons by religious leaders that should have supported him. He was put to death with the full consent of ruling secular authorities who admitted he had done nothing wrong deserving death.
Even as he hung on the cross flanked by two criminals we seen the choice every man and woman in the world must make.
Luke records,
“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 
He doubted who Jesus was even as he was dying.
Luke goes on to say,
“But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?  
We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
The man believed who Jesus was, the Christ, the one and only Son of God. The saviour of the world.
All to often at Christmas Christians and non-Christians alike forget the “reason for the season”.
The reason for Christmas is Easter a time when Jesus died for our sins. When God reached down and said this is how far I will go to reconcile you to me.
It is my hope that this Christmas you will consider your relationship to Jesus who 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.
That you will decide for yourself just who Jesus is. Is he simply a good man or is he God’s One and Only son who died for your sins. Who died that you might have life eternal with God.
Think about it

You are a Light

You are the light

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” 
                       Matthew 5:14-16
Christmas is just days away. This is one of two days in the year when our churches here in North America are full, quite often to overflowing.
We are also told by psychologist and sociologist that it is a time of high stress for people. That many people go into deep depression. Suicides even go up. This shouldn’t be so.
We as Christians at least not only on this one day of the year but on everyday need to reach out to people in need.
The apostle James wrote,
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”  
                                James 2:14-18.
At the same time we need to be witnessing not only to the needy but to those in our society who are not needy in physical or financial way. Quite often these people are overlooked.
I know of several people who do not like Christmas who are well off in a material sense. They don’t like it because it depresses them.
They see it as a very stressful time. They see others happy but can’t seem to get in the mood themselves. Some people I know have even tried to take their own life.
These people quite often focus on the secular Christmas. The one pushed by the shops. They see the message ‘you must buy this. The latest and the greatest. Without it you’re not cool’
They feel if you don’t do things that way you’re not a good person. If you don’t give someone a fifty of hundred dollar gift your looked down on.
This shouldn’t be so.
We as Christians need to be reaching out to these people to show them the true meaning of Christmas. The Love of God.
Each year my wife and I have continued a tradition that her mother started decades ago. If we know of someone who’s going to be spending Christmas alone. We invite them to our house.
Our house is very small and we don’t have a lot of money usually, but we can squeeze in four or five in addition to our family. It’s not many but we feel we are doing something to make people’s lives better, while at the same time showing God’s love.
Everyone who comes gets a small present. Usually a scarf of gloves, occasionally a trinket of some kind.
They also partake in a Christmas meal and watch video’s anything from the classic musicals to the latest releases as well as play games.
We don’t spend a lot of money. We can’t we’re not well off by any means, but God provides.
Interestingly enough we don’t talk a lot about God. We say grace before the meal and whatever topic comes up during the course of the day we talk about.
The result has been over the years we have seen people’s eyes sparkle and weights lift from their shoulders. Some have as a result decided to go to church either ours or others.
We do our best to bring a little joy and laughter into the hearts of those who celebrate with us.
We also tend to not only live up to what God would want for our lives but according to the teaching of Francis of Assisi who wrote,
“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”
                                                                                Francis of Assisi.
As Christians I believe this is what we should be doing.
Think about it.