Through the Lense

Through the Lense
Jesus said,
“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.
If you claim to be a follower of Christ Jesus, a Christian, does your light shine before men? If so, what does your light show the world about Jesus.
The world is watching. If you claim to be a follower of Christ then what you say and do will be the standard by which people see Jesus.
It is therefor imperative that we remember the words of the apostle Peter who wrote,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
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 2:9-12.
Please think about it.

Your words and deeds

Your words and deeds
The apostle Peter writes,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
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 2:9-12.
Here is some simple truths that anyone who claims to be a follower of Christ Jesus needs to keep in mind.
1. We “are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.”
2. We are to “...declare the praises of him (God) who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
3. We are “ aliens and strangers in the world,”
4. We are to “to abstain from sinful desires.”
5. We are to “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.” 
We as Christians must remember the world is watching us. That it is through the lense of our words and deed that the people around us will see Christ Jesus.
 As Francis of Assisi said,

“The deeds you do 

may be the only sermon 

some persons will hear today” 

                                             Francis of Assisi 

Question, What are your words and deeds telling the world around you?
  Please think about it.

Render to Caesar

Render to Caesar
“Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words.  
They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.  
Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?  Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius,  and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” 
“Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” 
When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.” Matthew 22:15-22.
Here the Pharisees and the Herodians were trying to trap Jesus into saying something against Rome. That would cause Jesus to be jailed or put to death. Instead Jesus turned it to his favour and gave Christians an example to live by.
They asked Jesus is it right to pay taxes to Caesar. For Jesus to say no would be against Roman law. To say no could have brought a charge of insurrection against Jesus.
To say yes would be to possibly loose favour with the people who followed him.
Instead Jesus turned things around on them. He noted the head on the coin. The head being Caesar’s and said, “Give (or render, give back to) Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”
This is how we as Christians must be today. We are not citizens of this world our home is in heaven. However we live in this world and must follow the laws of the land in which we live.
It is only when the law of the land requires us to break God’s laws that we must disobey the law of the land and follow God’s law.
That being said, as long as the nation and government in who’s jurisdiction we live in does not casus us to violate God’s law, we must obey the laws of that nation.
The apostle Peter states,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
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 2:9-12.
Please think about it.

Servants of Christ

Servants of Christ
The Apostle Paul states,
“So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.”  1 Corinthians 4:1.
The Apostle Peter writes,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
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 2:9-12.
According to New Testament Scripture we as believers in Christ are servants of God. Not only that the apostle Peter calls us a,
“...a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,...”
People around us should see this without us even saying a word. Francis of Assisi said,

“The deeds you do 

may be the only sermon some persons will hear today” 

                                                                     Francis of Assisi

To that end 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.

We as believers in Christ I believe from time to time need to take a look at our lives. We need to go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him how we can better represent Him. How we can serve Him better.
There is a famous prayer called the Prayer of St. Francis that I think every believer in Christ needs to pray. It reads,

“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love,

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” 

                                                             Francis of Assisi

Please think about it.

You Are

You are
Here is a portion of Scripture I have quoted many times in my blogs over the years. It is something all Christians need to realize and take to heart. The apostle Peter writes,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
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 2:9-12
Peter makes clear believer in Christ are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful love.”
We are a royal priesthood. However that sadly is not what some groups see Christians as. Sadly as I heard one person say “some calling themselves Christians, act more like street thugs determined to get their way no matter what.”
When I looked at it from the point of view of a woman having to walk through the lines of protestors at an abortion clinic, or from the standpoint of those in the LBGTQ community, who see those claiming to be Christians protesting against them, wanting to take away their rights. I can see where the person is coming from.
As Christians we should not be protesting against anything that does not take away our rights or the rights of others.
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.” 
If statistics are right Christians are the most persecuted faith on the planet. It is estimated a Christian dies for his faith every three to seven minutes somewhere in the world.
We as Christians are “aliens and strangers in the world...” we have no right to protest or judge those outside our faith. The apostle Paul wrote,

“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

Christians have no right to judge. We are God’s messengers in this world. The job given to believes in Christ is simple 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 also 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.
I know as a follower of Christ, I with all I know about Jesus and God. I would want others to tell me about all God has to offer if I didn’t already know.
I would not want people to judge me, to force their faith or way of life on me. I would not want them demonstrating against me if I am doing something lawful.
I would want to have free and open dialogue with them something that cannot be done while holding placards in a protest.
As Christians we must remember the words of the writer of Hebrews who said,

“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.

Please think about it.