Our focus

  Our focus

The apostle Paul writes,

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."  Galatians 2:20.

In this statement the apostle Paul makes it clear that once we have accepted Christ as our saviour it is no longer we who live but Christ in us.

Upon accepting Christ into our lives our focus should change form ourselves and what is good for us. To one of doing the will of Christ.

If we claim to be a Christian a true follower of Christ Jesus we should be studying the scriptures to see what God requires of us. 

We must do this in order to grow in Christ Jesus. To become Christ like. Because wether we like it or not when we claim to be a Christian people will look at our lives and judge Christ by our words and deeds. As Francis of Assisi wrote,

"The deeds you do 

may be the only sermon some persons will hear today" 

                                                                             Francis of Assisi

Please think about it.

A way of life

  A way of life.

"Here, O Israel: The Lord our God is one.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

These commandments that I give to you today are to be upon your hearts.

Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, and when you lie down and when you get up.

Tie them as a symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

Write them on the doorframes of your house and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

The way I read this those who believe in God are to make Him a part of their lifestyle. We are to love God and honour God in all that we do. We are to impart our beliefs in God to our Children in word and in deed.

If you consider yourself a believer in God, a believer in Christ Jesus, God’s one and only Son are you doing this?

Please think about it.

Truths

Truths

Jesus said,

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,  bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.... 

Do to others as you would have them do to you." Luke 6:27,28,31 

The great American civil rights leader 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.

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Both the words of Jesus and Martin Luther King jr. are universal truths, both Christian and non-Christian alike need to put into practice. 

Please think about it.

How important is your faith?

How important is your faith?
Matthew’s gospel records this interaction between Jesus and a rich young man.
“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” 
“Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,  honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’’” 
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” Matthew 19:16-22.
Let me state from the outset, being rich is not a sin. The apostle Paul tells us
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10.
Many wealthy people have helped and continue to help spread the gospel of Christ. Money is simply and inanimate object that is not evil. It’s what we do with money and the emphasis we put on it in our lives that can cause us to sin.  As the apostle Paul states, “Some people eager for money have wondered from the faith...”
This is apparently what was happening with this young man. He said he believed in God. He kept the commandments. Yet he was unwilling to give up his wealth and rely on God to provide for him. This showed a lack of faith.
Jesus said,
“Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34.
While God may never ask us to give up everything in our lives. To be a true believer in Christ we must be willing to give everything up and rely in God to provide our day to day needs.
Thus my question to those who claim to be Christians is.
Are you willing to give up everything for Christ?
Please think about it.

Do you drive people away?

Do you drive people away?
There are many things in Judaism that are very relevant to Christians. One such thing comes from the Talmud.
Now I know the Talmud is not a Christian book but truth is truth wherever it is found. Thus this example given in a story about Abraham.
“An aged man, whom Abraham hospitality invited to his tent, refused to join him in prayer to the one spiritual God.  Learning that he was a fire-worshipper.   Abraham drove him from his door.  That night God appeared to Abraham in a vision and said: ‘I have borne with that ignorant man for seventy years: could you not have patiently suffered him one night?” The Talmud.
Do you drive people away from God. It is very easy to do so. Christians I think do it all the time, many times without realizing it. One way is Christians object very vocally to things they disagree with. Be it a persons moral beliefs, religion, or even lifestyle. Put simply many Christians judge others. Something we shouldn’t do.
Jesus said,
Matthew recording,
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1,2.
The apostle Paul states,
"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.” 1Corinthians 5:12,13.
We live in a secular society, with a secular government. It is that government that God allows to govern, that gives us our rights and freedoms. It is that same government that allows other groups we disagree with to have the freedoms they have.
Christians must also remember that God gives each and every person complete freedom to do as they like with their life. Even if they do things God is not happy with. Even if they refuse to accept the existence of God.
Billy Graham the great American evangelist said,

It is the Holy Spirits Job to Convict, 

God’s job to judge

 and 

my job to love, 

                            Billy Graham.

As Christians we must be careful about what we say and do. We must never judge anyone outside our faith. AND even if we judge someone within our faith it should only be to make sure they are teaching sound doctrine. We have no right to say if any person is going to Heaven or Hell. That is not our job.
In fact we have an obligation to open dialogue between ourselves and others no matter who they are, what religion they are, or what their lifestyle is.
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 said we are to evangelize. Jesus did not say to judge anyone. He said,
 ...“ ‘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 neighbor and hate your enemy.’  
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,...” Matthew 5:43,44.
Thus as Christians, believers in Christ Jesus. We must love. We must be ever cautious that our words and deeds are not pushing people away from God.
Please think about it.

A Christian Thing

A Christian Thing

  “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 
Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.... 
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”— and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”
                                                                                        Psalm 32:1,2,5
Here is the central theme that rings through the entire Bible both New and Old Testaments.
The confession of sin and God’s forgiveness of our confessed sin.
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
  The apostle Paul writing to the Romans 5:6-9 explains:
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” 
                Romans 5:6-9.
C.S. Lewis notes,
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.” 
                                          C.S. Lewis
Lewis also said,
“He(Jesus) died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.” 
                                C.S. Lewis

In accepting Christ as our Saviour, we are saved from the wrath of God. We as Christians are confident before we shed our mortal bodies that we will be with God.
John writing in his 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.” 
                          John 1:1-4,12,13
For those outside the Christian faith I know it is hard to believe but it is what we believe.
We believe one can have a personal relationship with God. That you can become a child God. All we must is accept that Jesus is the Son of God, admit we fall short of God’s ideal for our life, confess our sins to him and accept the Salvation He offers freely to every individual.
If we are wrong we as Christians have nothing to fear because at the very least correctly following a Christian lifestyle is a good upright and moral way to live.
However if we are right there is a lot to worry about.
Think about it.