Would you?

Would you?
The apostle Paul writes,
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.  
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:5,6.
Are you wise when you deal with those around you, especially when it comes to your faith. I have found over the decades that I have been a Christian that there are many claiming to be Christians who are not wise.
They are as one friend aptly put it “bible thumpers”. They point out the sins of the world. They point to groups they disagree with and call them sinners. Worse still they try to take away or restrict the rights of some groups they disagree with. This should not be so.
Screaming and yelling at people telling them they are sinners is a waste of time. It will only push people away from God. Trying to restrict or take away rights of those you disagree with will push them away from Christ closing all dialogue completely. Not only that it may lead to a backlash that will cause the rights of Christians to be restricted.
No one wants to be told they are a sinner. And frankly I don’t believe it is our job as believers in Christ Jesus to tell people they are sinners. That is the job of the Holy spirit.
Billy Graham the American evangelist once said,

“It is the Holy Spirits Job to Convict, 

God's job to judge

 and my job to love,” 

                                  Billy Graham.

Another American evangelist Tony Campolo said,
“We ought to get out of the judging business. We should leave it up to God to determine who belongs in one arena or another when it comes to eternity. What we are obligated to do is to tell people about Jesus, and that's what I do.” Tony Campolo.
The apostle Paul tells us,
"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?” 1 Corinthians 5:12.
It is the job of believers in Christ Jesus to present the gospel to anyone who will listen. 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 told us,
"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.
We as believers in Christ Jesus need to remember this.
Think of it this way Jesus said,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12.
If someone came to you and tried to restrict your rights, or told you bluntly you were wrong and they were right and wouldn’t listen to your explanation, would you listen to that person. Probably not.
Thus we as Christians are called to present what we believe and not to judge anyone, especially when it comes to where anyone will spend eternity.
Please think about it.

The Dead Church

The Dead Church
The book of revelations speaks of the Church at Sardis. It states,
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: 
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.  
Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.  
Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. 
Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.  
He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.  
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelations 3:1-6. 
Here is a church that appears to be alive but is in fact dead.
It is possible for a church to seem to be doing all the right things yet not be doing what God wants them to do.
There are many churches that hold great orchestrated praise and worship services. That follow a systematic study of the Bible. That even have prayer meetings. These churches on the outside look fine but all they are doing is following an empty scripted program. They are ministering to their congregation but not doing what God wants them to do.
That’s true for people to. An individual can seem like they have got it all together. They attend church both on Sunday and during the week. They go to prayer meetings even go to other Christian events. The trouble is they are simply doing it because they feel this is what a person should do. They are not doing what God wants them to do.
Matthews Gospel records,
“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.
The church has a duty to perform. That is presenting the gospel to all the world and to teach new converts all that Jesus taught them.
If a church or individuals are not doing so they are dead. Thus the  call of Christ to such churches, is to waken up and serve Him to the fullest.
We must always remember that the job of evangelism will not end until Christ returns to earth. That we must continually work for Christ until His return. We must strive to reach people with the message of salvation. We must make disciples of people not only on the outside of the church, but those who are inside the church and not saved.
Thus my questions.
Are you dead or alive in Christ?
Are you doing what God wants you to do?
Please think about it.

Sound Doctrine

Sound Doctrine
The apostle Paul writes,
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” 2Timothy 4:3,4.
This is a warning not just for Paul’s day but for every generation of believers. Sadly too many people in the Christian community only listen to what they want to hear. This does not necessarily lead to the truth.
St. Augustine said,
“If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.” St Augustine.
From time to time I believe we need what we believe questioned. We should not live in a bubble. We should do as Paul writing to Timothy states,
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”  2 Timothy 2:15.
At the same time we need to discuss our beliefs with others. Even question what we believe.
It was by questioning their own beliefs, by questioning what they had been taught, that Martin Luther and John Calvin realized that some of what they believed was not scriptural. This triggered what we know today as the Reform or Protestant movement.
Those who believe in Christ Jesus. Those who are truly rooted in the truth of Christ’s teachings need not fear their faith being questioned.
Quite the contrary if what we believe is true, questioning what we believe will only make us stronger in our faith.
So the question I would ask you, if you espouse to be a believer in Christ Jesus do you from time to time question what you are being taught? Or, Do you simply blindly trust those who are teaching you?
Please think about it.

Slow to Speak

Slow to speak
James the half brother of Jesus wrote,
“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. ” James 1:19, 20.
James here is speaking to believers in Christ Jesus. So I ask the question to believers in Christ Jesus. Do you get easily upset? Do you lash out in anger? If you are a true follower of Christ Jesus this should not be so.
The writer of Proverbs tells us,
“ A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1.
There is a lot of things in this world that can and do get us upset but we should never lash out in anger against anyone.
I was given some good advice many years ago. I was told when someone makes us angry we need to take the whole incident to the Lord in prayer right away. Even if it’s only a quick prayer. We need to ask the Lord to calm us down and bring us peace.
We need to heed the words of James when he said,
“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”
Whether you like it or not if you claim to be a follower of Christ Jesus people do expect you to live your life differently.
As believers in Christ Jesus our lives should be founded on love. Love for God, Love for our neighbour and even love for our enemy.
  We need to nurture the fruits of the Spirit as expressed by the apostle Paul who wrote,
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  
gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22,23.
If we nurture these fruits our lives will be much better, and, ultimately these fruits will open doors to present the word of God to those around us.
Please think about it.