In whom you hope.
In Psalms we read,
"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long." Psalm 25:4,5.
If you consider yourself a Christian a true follower of Christ Jesus do you go to the Lord and as him to teach his path? Do you ask him to guide you in his truth? Do you ask God to teach you what he wants to do in your life?
Is God truly your Saviour in whom you hope?
Please think about it.
My God
In the book of Psalms we read,
“You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalm 118:28,29.
As Christians. As believers in Christ Jesus. I think sometimes we forget to give thanks to God. Our prayers constantly ask him for things. And there is nothing wrong about asking God for things we need. But amid the hustle and bustle of everyday life we need to take time to stop and thank him for all we have. We need to thank the LORD for his goodness toward us. Remembering Gods love lasts forever.
Do you think you think you give thanks to God enough?
Please think about it.
What John and Josephus thought
In the gospel of John we read,
“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 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 1:1-4,14
Here is a statement from the apostle John who spent a great deal of time in person with Jesus. It’s a statement that you either believe or you don’t. You can’t sit on the fence.
John and the other apostles knew Jesus intimately. They spent three years under his teaching and were certain Jesus was the Christ. The Saviour of all who believed in him.
Flavius Josephus a Romanize Jewish historian (not a Christian) writing in 98AD In one reference he wrote:
“About this time arose Jesus, a wise man, who did good deeds and whose virtues were recognized. And many Jews and people of other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die.
However, those who became his disciples preached his doctrine. They related that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive. Perhaps he was the Messiah in connection with whom the prophets foretold wonders.” [Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, XVIII 3.2.
Still I can quote scripture all day long and give secular references all day long but it comes down not to what I believe but you the reader believes.
What do you believe about Jesus?
Please think about it.
Why Jesus came
In the apostle John’s gospel we read,
"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.
Notice verse 17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
This is the reason Jesus came into the world. God knew that man could not live a life good enough for us to live in heaven. We all sin and fall far short of Gods ideals for our life. The apostle John writing,
"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
That is why in love God reached down to us in the form of His One and Only Son. To die for our sin.
The apostle Paul writing to the Romans wrote,
"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." Romans 5:6-8.
The apostle Paul also wrote,
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:13.
Have you called on the name of the Lord? Have you let Jesus into your life?
Please think about it.
What do you believe about Jesus?
Jesus speaking to Martha,
"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
"Yes Lord" she told Him, "I believe you are the Christ the Son of God, who was to come into the world," John 11:25,26,27.
Who do you think Jesus is?
Napoleon Bonaparte said of Jesus,
"You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power."
"I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him."
"I search in vain history to find similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel. Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary." Napoleon Bonaparte.
So who do you think Jesus is? A mad man? A good man? Or The Son of God, God incarnate? Saviour of all who would believe in Him?
Please think about it.
What do they see in you?
The apostle Paul wrote,
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20.
Paul writing to the Romans wrote,
“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.” Romans 5:6-8.
Teresa of Ávila states:
"Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours; yours are the eyes through which to look at Christ's compassion to the world, yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good, and yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now." Mother Teresa of Avila.
As believers in Christ Jesus we are ambassadors for Christ. We represent Christ in this world. It is through our words and deeds that the world sees Christ.
Question: When someone sees your life and lifestyle what does it tell them about Christ Jesus?
Please think about it.
The lifestyle of a Christian
In the book of Colossians we read,
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:12-17.
So what is a Christian called to do? The apostle Paul tells us we are to,
clothe yourself with,
Compassion,
Kindness,
Humility,
Gentleness,
Patience,
Forgive whatever grievances you have against other believers
“Put on love which binds them all together”
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly
Teach and admonish one another with all wisdom as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Giving gratitude to God in your hearts.
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him”
If you consider yourself a Christian a true follower of Christ Jesus, are you doing this?
Please think about it.
How are you living?
In the book of Galatians we read,
"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
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 5:19-23.
Here the apostle Paul tells us how we should be living.
He notes the sinful nature as being,
sexual immorality,
Impurity and debauchery;
idolatry and witchcraft;
hatred, discord,
jealousy, fits of rage,
selfish ambition,
dissensions, factions
envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
The fruit of the spirit being
love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness
self-control.
Telling us “Against such things there is no law.”
If you consider yourself a Christian a true follower of Christ Jesus what are the fruit in your life? What are the fruit people see in your life?
Please think about it.
In the Gospel of John Jesus is recorded as saying,
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:4,5.
Here is the simple explanation.
In order for the Christian to bear fruit we must abide in Jesus. A relationship characterized by trust, prayer, obedience and joy.
Without abiding in Jesus we cannot do anything of eternal value. I would go as far as to say, a person who is not in a right relationship with Christ Jesus, is not a Christian at all.
So the question remains, are you in a right relationship with Jesus?
Please think about it.
To him be glory forever
I was challenged the other day to make a positive statement about God in less that two hundred words. The Apostle Paul made it easy for me.
This is what I wrote or rather what I borrowed from the Apostle Paul,
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” Romans 11:33-36.
Think about it.
Of Importance to God
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
On February 14, 1990, NASA at a distance of 6 billion kilometres (3.7 billion miles) had the Voyager 1 space probe take a picture of the Solar system. It showed earth as a pail blue dot smaller than the head of a pin.
Looking at it we see just how small earth is in the universe. Within the vastness of the universe it seems insignificant. Yet it is everything to those of us who live on it.
Some have said there may be more planets out there in the vastness of the universe that have life. While that may be true such planets are too far away from us to communicate with or to help us in anyway.
It is our planet and our planet alone that is important to us. We have no other place in the universe to live.
We must also remember that we on this pail blue dot is of importance to God and we who live here. For the Bible which God has inspired is directed at us. With the sole purpose of pointing us to God. Making it clear in a nutshell the choice we have.
In the gospel of John Jesus is recorded as saying,
"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.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son". John 3:16-18
So what do you believe?
Please think about it.
Christians believe.
In the gospel of John we read.
"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 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 1:1-4,14.
In a nutshell I believe Jesus is God incarnate Saviour of all who believe in him. What I believe is stated in the Apostles Creed that while not written by an Apostle states what I and the majority of Christians believe. It states,
1.I believe in God the Father the almighty maker of heaven and earth
2. I believe in Jesus Christ God's on and only Son, our Lord and Saviour.
3. I believe Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary
4. I believe Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate; That He was Crucified, died, was buried. That he descended in hell.
5. I believe He rose again on the third day from the dead.
6. I believe that he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
7. I believe Jesus will one day Judge the living and the dead.
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost
9. I believe in the Church which is the communion of the saints,
10. I believe in the forgiveness of sin.
11. I believe in the resurrection of the body.
12. I believe in life everlasting.
Do you believe this?
Please think about it.
The duty of a Christian
In Matthews Gospel we read,
“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.
Sometimes I think we as Christians put to many labels on who we are. Some say their a Baptist. Some an Anglican. Others Mennonite. Some call themselves evangelical.
The truth is a Christian is evangelical by nature. As we read above in Matthew 28:18-20 believers in Christ Jesus are to go into the world and tell anyone who will listen to them about what they believe.
If you consider yourself a Christian. A true believer in Christ Jesus are you doing this?
Please think about it.
Confessing Jesus
In the book of Romans the apostle Paul states,
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" Romans 10:9-13.
Is this you? Do you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in you heart God raised him from the dead? Do you trust Jesus?
We who live in the twenty-first century have never seen Jesus in the flesh, nor seen his Myricales. For us it’s a purely faith thing. We either believe or we don’t.
In the book of Hebrews we read,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see....
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 11:1,6.
So where is your faith?
Please think about it.
Jesus said,
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13,14.
There are many people in the world that say they know the way to heaven. That being said which is the right way?
In the book of Proverbs we read,
"There is a way that seems right to a man
but in the end it leads to death proverbs"
Jesus replying to his apostle Thomas said,
“Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
This is a bold claim. A claim everyone who hears the gospel message must decide for themselves is right or wrong.
What do you believe?
Please think about it.
In the book of Hebrews we read,
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,(Jesus) whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:1-3.
Here the writer of Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus is “the radiance of God the exact representation of his being,...”
In the Gospel of John we read,
"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 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 1:1-4,14.
As I have mentioned in previous blogs, the apostles and those close to Jesus had no doubt that Jesus was the Son of God, God incarnate.
Thus the question becomes do you believe this?
Please think about it.
Jesus is
In John’s Gospel we read,
"Jesus said to her, (martha)"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
"Yes Lord" she told Him, "I believe you are the Christ the Son of God, who was to come into the world," John 11:25,26,27.
In Matthews Gospel we read,
"When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Matthew 16:13-16
In the book of Acts we read Peter saying,
"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.
So who is Jesus? Those close to him Martha, Peter and the other apostles believed him to be the Christ, the Messiah.
The apostle Paul tells us why Jesus came to this earth. In Romans he writes,
"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.” Romans 5:6-8.
Do you believe Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, who died for your sins?
Please think about it.
In the gospel of Matthew we read,
“Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?"
But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God."
"Yes, it is as you say,"Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."
Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.
What do you think?" "He is worthy of death,"” they answered. Matthew 26:62-66.
Jesus knew what the penalty for claiming to be the Christ, the Messiah, was. Yet he never denied that he was the messiah, God incarnate.
I like what C. S. Lewis said of Jesus,
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say.
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell.
You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
So who do you think Jesus is, a lunatic, a great moral teacher, or the Son of God, The saviour of all who would believe in Him?
Please think about it.
The Psalmist writes,
“You are my God, and I will give you thanks;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.”
If you claim to be a Christian you in all sincerity do what the Psalmist is saying here?
Do you truly believe all that is said here?
Please think about it.
Paul also wrote,
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.” 2Corinthians5:18-20.
If you consider yourself a Christian. A true believer in Christ Jesus then we as the apostle Paul put it, are Christs ambassadors. Through us God is making his appeal to the world around us.
Ambassadors represent the country from which they come. We therefor according to the apostle Paul are ambassadors for Christ in this world. Thus we have an obligation to represent Christ in the best possible light.
We cannot appeal to those around us if we are judging them. That is not our job. Jesus said,
“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 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.
We have no right to judge those outside our faith. It is our job to follow the command of Jesus who 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
If you consider yourself a Christian a true follower of Christ Jesus are you doing this?
Please think about it.
