Worship the Lord alone

  Worship the Lord alone

Jesus when tempted by Satan said,

“...“It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’’” Luke 4:8.

In the book of Exodus we read,

"You shall have no other gods before me."Exodus 20:3.

You may say in the twenty first century we don’t have other gods but we do. Our gods may not be carved idols. But people today around the world worship every thing from trees and animals to money to men and women, and things they believe to be true on the internet.

God however makes it clear we are to have only one God. That being The LORD God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.

Joshua speaking to the Israelite said,

"Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.  

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:14,15.

Be coming a Christian a follower of Christ Jesus and true believer in God means a complete breaking away of those things that you, even without noticing it, are your gods.

Are you willing to do this?

Please think about it,

Chariots horses or God

  Chariots horses or God?

The Psalmist writes,

"I love you, O LORD, my strength. 

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 

my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. 

He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, 

my stronghold." 

                             Psalm 18:1,2

In Psalm 20 we read,

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, 

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” 

                                                              Psalm 20:7.

Where I your trust? Do you trust in your own power or in God’s power? It is a question we must all answer.

So I ask you whom do you truly trust in the good times and in the bad times, is it in God or something else?

Please think about it.

Can you see God?

 Can you see God?

The Psalmist writes,

"The fool says in his heart, 

"There is no God." 

                                          Psalm 14:1.

C.S. Lewis makes this observation,

“Supposing there was no intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking. It is merely that when two atoms inside my skull happen, for physical or chemical reasons, to arrange themselves in a certain way, this gives me, as a by-product the sensation I call thought. 

But if so, how can I trust my own thinking to be true? It's like setting a milk jug and hoping that the way it splashes itself will give you a map of London. But if I can't trust my own thinking, of course I can't trust the arguments leading to Atheist or anything else. 

Unless I believe in God, I cannot believe in thought: so I can never use thought to disbelieve in God" C. S. Lewis The case for Christianity.

Dr. Arno Penzias states

"Astronomy leads us to a unique event, a universe which was created out of nothing, one with a very delicate balance needed to provide exactly the conditions required to permit life and one which has an underlying (one might say ‘supernatural') plan." Dr. Arno Penzias 1978 Nobel Prize winner in Physics

So dear reader where do you stand? Do you believe in God?

Please think about it.

Are you willing to Kiss His feet?

 Are you willing to kiss His feet?

Luke’s gospel records this 

“Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. 

"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  

Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" 

Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt cancelled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said. 

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  

You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.  

You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.  

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." 

Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." Luke 7:40-48.

We need to be like the woman who washed and kissed Jesus’ feet. 

We need to realize how much God through Jesus truly did for us. So much so that we worship Him and thank with our whole heart. 

Question !

        Is this the kind of Love you show toward Jesus?

Are you willing to kiss the feet of Jesus?

Please think about it.

Our Duty to God

 Our duty to God

“Sing to the LORD a new song; 

sing to the LORD, all the earth. 

Sing to the LORD, 

praise his name; 

proclaim his salvation day after day. 

Declare his glory among the nations, 

his marvellous deeds among all peoples.” 

                                                    Psalm 96:1-3

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.

Whether you are a follower of Christ Jesus or not. I feel it is important to know that followers of Christ Jesus have a duty before God to tell others about the saving grace that comes through Christ.

Jesus speaking of himself said,

"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.

The apostle Paul writes,

"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.

This is the message God wants believers in Christ Jesus to hear and believe.

So the question becomes, Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God the Saviour of all who would believe in Him?

Please thin about it. 

Why Faith?

  Why Faith

In the book of Ephesians we read,

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8,9.

So what constitutes faith. Hebrews defines faith this way,

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  Hebrews 11:1

"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 11:6.

 Why does God want us to live by faith?

I think it’s because it’s so hard to have faith in anything we cannot see. 

Even though we have the Bible that tells us about God and Jesus. The Bible to many people is simply words written centuries ago.

The apostle Paul writes,

"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."  Romans 10:9-11.

I also firmly believe that people who have faith in anything will be willing to go to their graves for what they believe. 

The apostles proved this. All but one was martyred for their faith. And around the world today there are multitudes of men and women who are suffering imprisonment, persecution for what they believe.

So the question becomes,

Do you have complete faith in Jesus?

Please think about it. 

Madman or God Incarnate

  Madman or God Incarnate?

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

                                                                                   Genesis 1:1.

The Bible doesn’t debate the existence of God. It was written to believers and believers in God accept the fact that God does exist.

In the New Testament the apostle John tells us,

"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 John refers to Jesus as “the word”. 

        He tells us that “...the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” 

that,...“He was with God in the beginning.” 

That “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

 That, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

And lastly and most importantly, “We (John the other disciples and believers)  have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John truly believed, Jesus is God incarnate.

I like what C. S. Lewis in the book Mere Christianity says about 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?

Please think about it.

Hope in all situations

 Hope in all situations

The apostle Paul writes,

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  

  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:1-5.

God dose not promise us a life without problems, but He dose offer us hope in all situations. As someone has said “Hope is not that everything will work out well but that God has everything under control.”

As believers in Christ Jesus we have peace knowing that Christ is with us in our journey through this life no matter how easy of tough that journey may be. 

At the same time should we for whatever reason die we have peace in the knowledge that we will pass from this life into the arms of God.

Thus the question remain; 

Is your hope in Christ Jesus? 

Do you have peace in your heart?

Please think about it.

Why the Crucifixion?

  Why the Crucifixion?

In the Gospel of Luke we read,

“In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.  

The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." 

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  

But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God.  

You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God" Luke 1:26-32.

This portion of scripture is fulfilled at the end of Luke’s gospel and approximately 33 years later Luke stating,

“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  

While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.  

In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?  

He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:  

‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' "  

Then they remembered his words. 

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.  

It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.” Luke 24:1-10.

The one thing that differentiates Christianity and other faiths is the fact we believe Jesus was crucified for our sins, died, then rose from the grave. That he walked the earth and was seen by many people and eventually rose into heaven.

The apostle Paul telling us,

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.

In the suffering of Jesus we see just how far in human terms that God would go to show you the way to heaven and eternal 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."1John 1:9. 

If you were to die tonight where would you spend eternity.

Please think about it.

The fulness of the Deity

 The fullness of the Deity

The Apostle Paul writes,

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”

                                                                                       Colossians2:9.

The apostle John writes,

“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.

The writer of Hebrews states,

“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, 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 

In the above quoted scriptures from the New Testament we see the three basic things believers in Christ Jesus believe.

1. Jesus is God.

    ”in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”

    “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” 

   “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.”

Simply put Jesus is God incarnate. God in the flesh.

2. He made the world and everything in it. 

   “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been                          made.”

Jesus is one with God the creator of the universe and everything in it.

3. He provided purification for sins and sits with God in Heaven.

  “After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty                in heaven.”

 To be a Christian, a true believer in Christ Jesus you must believe that Jesus is the one and Only Son of God. God incarnate. The one who provided purification for your sins.

So what do you believe about Jesus?

    Please think about it

     Please think about it

Mercy Triumphs over Judgement

 Mercy triumphs over judgement

In the book of James we read,

"Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,  because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!" James 2:12,13.

As Christians we need to speak and act as someone who is going to be judged. Just because we have accepted Christ by faith doesn’t mean we can go on sinning or we have the right to judge someone.

The apostle Paul writes,

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” Romans 6:1,2.

Jesus said,

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." Luke 6:37.

As Christians, as believers in Christ Jesus, we will never win a soul to Christ if we go on sinning or judging people.

Ultimately we need to remember to treat people the way we want to be treated, Jesus saying,

"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.

Please think about it. 

He was in the Beginning

 He was in the beginning

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.

The above scriptures say is all. Christians believe that Jesus is God.

 “That through him all things were made; and without him nothing was made that has been made...”

I know to non-Christians this seems foolish. Even the apostle Paul noted,

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18.

The way I look at it if Jesus wasn’t God Incarnate why would the writers of the New Testament say he was?

Which raises the question do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Saviour of all who would believe in him?

Before you answer take time to read the New Testament praying and asking God to show you the truths that are held within it.

Please think about it.

Belonging to The Lord

  Belonging to The Lord

The apostle Paul writes,

"For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.  

If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” Romans 14:7,8.

This is a very clear statement. If you truly love Christ and accepted Him as your Saviour. Then whether you live or die you belong to the Lord.

Question: Are you sure you belong to the Lord?

Please think about it.

Blessed are those who have not seen

 Blessed are those who have not seen

The Apostle Paul wrote,

"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  

After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  

Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles," 1Corinthians 15:3-7.

This is an important scripture. It tells us that...

Christ died for our sins.

That Christ was buried,

That Christ was raised from the dead on the third day.

That Christ appeared to the apostle Peter and the other apostles.

That Christ appeared to five hundred others.

What is also important here is that Paul noted that at the time of his writing most were still living. So there was first hand reports of Jesus rising from the dead and walking the earth.

Now these people believed because they seen it. But we today are asked to believe their accounts by faith.

Jesus speaking to Thomas said,

"Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:29.

So dear reader do you believe Jesus is the Son of God, the Saviour of all who will believe in Him.

Please think about it.

Egg, devil, or God

 Egg, devil, or God

Jesus said,

"All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:37-40

This is an incredible statement. Jesus essentially states that he and God are equal. 

In another incident John records this incident between him and a crowd. John records,

“I and the Father are one.” 

Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” 

“We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” John 10:30-33.

Jesus knew the penalty of blasphemy yet he still kept to his claim that he was God. 

C. S. Lewis wrote,

"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 make your choice.

Please think about it.

Have you not heard

  Have you not heard

Isaiah the prophet wrote,

"Have you not known? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God?

The Creator of the ends of the earth....”

                                               Isaiah 40:28a.

Here is a clear statement from Isaiah. God is everlasting, the Creator of the ends of the earth. 

The Bible does not debate whether or not God exists. In the book of Genesis it simply states,

"In the beginning 

God created the heavens and the earth." 

                                                     Genesis 1:1.

As for me I believe science done right will at the very least show God exists.

Werner Heisenberg said,

“The first gulp from the glass of natural science will make you an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you" Werner Heisenberg father of Quantum Mechanics Nobel prize in physics.

The question is do you believe God exists?

Please think about it.

A Rainbow

 A rainbow

“I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign 

of the covenant between me and the earth.”

                                                                                  Genesis 9:13

I live not far from Niagara falls where a rainbow and quite often two can be seen at the same time. 

It has been pointed out to me that out of the maelstrom and fury of the water crashing against the rocks a thing of peaceful beauty is created.

Now most people in the world will never see Niagara falls. But everyone has gone through a storm. All of us I’m sure have seen the rainbow that forms after as the sunlight shines through the clouds.

When I see the rainbow I think of the beauty and peace that God gives us after we have gone through the storms of life. I think of Psalm 23 that reads,

The LORD is my shepherd, 

I shall not be in want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures, 

he leads me beside quiet waters, 

he restores my soul. 

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

 I will fear no evil, 

for you are with me; 

your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. 

You anoint my head with oil; 

my cup overflows. 

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, 

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

                                                                        Psalm 23

  What do you think of when you see a rainbow?

Please think about it.

Love one another

 Love one another

Jesus said,

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34,35.

I like this portion of scripture. Jesus here tells us that people will know we are His disciples by our love.

In the book of James we read,

"If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbour as yourself," you are doing right.  

But if you show favouritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.  

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." James 2:8-10.

We must serve each other in love. It is a commandment from Christ himself. 

We should not be showing favouritism. There is no difference between rich and poor Jew and Gentile in Gods eyes. All of us are equal before God.

Furthermore the love we have for our brethren in Christ should not be hidden.

Question: If you consider yourself a Christian. A true follower of Christ Jesus. Do you love the body of believers around you?

Please think about it.

The fullness of the deity in bodily form

  The fullness of the Deity in bodily form

In the book of Colossians we read,

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity

 lives in bodily form.”

                                       Colossians 2:9

This is what all Christians believe. 

The apostles creed while not written by an apostle of Christ sums up what true 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.

Thus the question becomes if you claim to be a Christian a true follower of Christ Jesus, do you believe this?

Please think about it.

Salvation in no one else

 Salvation in no one else

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people!  

If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.  

He is " ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.'  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:8-12.

Here the apostle Peter standing before the religious leaders makes it clear that,

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12.

Those rulers that Peter stood in front of had the power to at the very least sent them to jail, even have them flogged or worse. Peter and John who also stood with Peter that day knew what these leaders could do to them yet they boldly proclaimed “salvation is found in no one else”.

What about you dear reader do you believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven?

After all Jesus is recorded as saying,

, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  John 14:6

Please think about it.