What we must do

  What we must do.

  The apostle Peter said,

"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." 

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." Acts 2:36-39.

The Apostle Peter makes it clear that Jesus is both Lord and Christ.

He goes on to say that everyone of us must repent of our sins and be baptized.

The best definition of sin I have found is, “sin is falling short of Gods ideal for your life.” Something we all do everyday. Thus our need to ask Gods forgiveness. 

The apostle Paul states,

“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.

Will you acknowledge that you have sinned, that you fall short of the glory of God?

Are you willing to go to God now, ask for His forgiveness and receive by faith Christ as you Saviour?

Here’s a simple prayer that you might want to consider praying.

Dear Heavenly Father

I admit that I fall short of your glory. I admit that I am a sinner. I repent of my sins. I acknowledge that Jesus paid the price for my sins. 

Please come into my life this day.

I ask this in the name of Jesus.

Always remember that the prayer does not save you. It is you faith in Christ Jesus that saves you.

So if you have prayed this prayer and meant it. Please consider finding a church near you that truly teaches the Bible.

As this blog is read all over the world. It is impossible for me to recommend a specific church. But I do recommend the Mennonite-Brethren or Baptist churches.

All I would ask is that you pray believing that God will lead you to the right church.

Ultimately however, when it come to Jesus, salvation and the way to heaven it is up to you to decide if what I am saying is true.

I would however encourage you to read for yourself the New Testament and see what the writers who knew Jesus believed Him to be.

Please think about it.

A Call to Repentance

  A call to repentance

In the book of Revelations we read,

"To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: 

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.  

I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. 

Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.  

Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  

Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” Revelations 2:12-17.

Here we have Christ speaking to the church at Pergamum a city that was full of emperor worship among other things. A church surrounded by paganism. 

Christ points out that one of the things He has against them is they tolerate the teachings of Balaam. A reference to the old testament were Balaam advised the king of Moab to seduce the Israelites into sexual sin and spiritual adultery.

At the same time the Nicolaitans while opposed in Ephesus, were spreading sexual and spiritual adultery in Pergamum.

Christs call is to get rid of such teachings or He will intervene.

There are many churches here in the western democracies today that tolerate false teaching in their midst. The call to the church at Pergamum is a call to those churches who allow false teaching in their midst without correcting it.

Thus the question becomes to anyone reading this; Take a few minutes to assess the church and denomination that you are part of. Do they allow false teaching. Teaching that is not from the bible. Teaching that is not from Christ?

Is there a need for the church or denomination that you attend or support to repent? 

Do you need to repent of false teachings?

Please think about it.

The Lukewarm Church

The Lukewarm Church
The book of Revelations records Christ speaking to the Church at Laodicea. A Church referred to as the Lukewarm Church.
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.  
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!  
So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  
You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  
I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.  
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.  
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelations 3:14-22
Here Jesus addresses a church that thinks it is doing well. It is a rich church that thinks it needs nothing. In reality it is as Jesus puts it, it is,
“Wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”
As someone once told me Laodicea was “in deep need of spiritual healing.”
The call of Jesus is to turn to Him that they may receive that healing.
Churches and individuals today especially I find here in North America think they are rich. They may be in a material sense rich. They are however if you look closer at them spiritually “Wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” They need deep spiritual healing.
They need to turn to God. To pray and study God’s word as often as they can. They need to take the teachings of the Scriptures to heart.
Jesus tells us,
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelations 3:20.
One thing I have learned over the years is that no matter how close we think we are to Jesus we can get even closer. We must never think because we appear to be rich that we are.
Just because we may appear to be rich especially in a material sense does not mean we are spiritually rich.
Our cry to God should always be “Draw me closer to you Lord.”
Please think about it.

On Immorality

On Immorality
Here in the book of Revelations we read a letter to the church at Thyatira
“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: 
These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.  
I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. 
Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.  
I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.  
So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.  
I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.  
Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): Only hold on to what you have until I come. 
To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery’— 
just as I have received authority from my Father.  
I will also give him the morning star.  
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Revelations 2:18-29
The churches in the book of Revelations as I have said in previous blogs can be taken as relating symbolically to individual church congregations, denominations, and Christian movements today and throughout history.
The church at Thyatira is commended for their love, faith, service and perseverance in the faith. That they were even doing more that when they first believed in Christ.
That being said, Jesus states,
“...I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality...” 
This church is tolerating a woman named Jezebel. Some say that may be a real name or a nickname equating her to Jezebel in first and second Kings in the Old Testament. Either way it doesn’t matter if it was her name or a nickname. What this person is doing is teaching leading people into sexual immorality.
As believers in Christ Jesus we cannot tolerate sexual morality in any form.
Sadly for many years churches and denominations have covered up sexual immorality in their ranks. This should not be so.
Our church congregations, denominations, our pastors, evangelist and teachers should as far as is humanly possible be examples of good moral behavior.
The apostle Paul tells us,
“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. 2Timothy 2:15.
The apostle Paul also makes it 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 half brother of Jesus wrote,
“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” James 1:21.
The reward for following the moral path and keeping our faith strongly rooted in Christ Jesus is that we will rule with him. Jesus saying the Church at Thyatira
“To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations” Revelations 2:26.
Thus I would ask this question.
Do you or your church tolerate immorality in any form?
Please think about it.

To the Church at Ephesus

The Church at Ephesus

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: 
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lamp stands:  
I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.  
You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.  
Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.  
But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” 
                                                                                      Revelations 2:1-7
The church at Ephesus. Christ notes their perseverance. That they cannot tolerate wicked men. That they have tested those who claim to be apostles or believers and are not. They have also endured hardship for Christ.
Then he notes what they are doing wrong saying, “You have forsaken your first love.”  In other words they have wondered away from God.
His call to them is to return to their first love. To return to Christ and doing his work.
I get the impression that they were doing what some churches are doing today. They are on a judgmental crusade quite often without really knowing it.
I have heard many non-Christians point to ministers and churches in the media and say all some churches do is point out the evil in the world.
They heap condemnation on people. They are more worried about their rights and restricting the rights of others than showing the love of God.
I had one gay man tell me that he sees some preachers in the media as bigots who would refuse him the right to marry. And if it were possible they’d put him in jail.
He pointed out that one evangelist even said back in the nineties that God was going to strike all homosexuals dead. I checked sadly he was right.
How can churches and preachers doing such things reach not only the gay and LGBT community but others also by making statements like that.
They can’t.
This is what I believe Jesus is talking about here. The need for the church to turn back to their first love Jesus. The same 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...”
                                                                 Matthew5: 43-45.
If a person truly has the spirit of God in them they will show true love. They will not condemn of judge. That is a command from Jesus himself.
A person with the true spirit of God will exhibit the fruits of the Spirit which Paul defines as,
“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.
It’s easy for not only preacher and churches but individual believers to, to wander away from what the true duty of a Christian is, especially in a society that gives us the right to free speech.
The church in Ephesus was doing some things correctly. They were questioning and standing up to those who called themselves apostles and were not.
They even hated the practices of the Nicolaitans who were compromising the teachings of Christ and the apostles.
Unfortunately at the same time they’d turned away from their first love, Christ.
Christ who 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
That includes every man woman and child on this earth irrespective of who they are or their life style.
Think about it.