What will He say to you?

  What will He say to you?

Jesus said,

“Many will say to me  on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  

Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:22,23.

I look around North America where I live and particularly in the United States I see the so called Christian nationalist mixing their religious beliefs with their politics. Never a good thing. A wise man once wrote,

“Mixing religion of any kind with politics is like mixing gasoline and water. The gasoline is unusable and the water is undrinkable. And the whole mixture is explosive.” Anonymous.

A true Christian is an alien in this world. 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 it clear Christians are alien to this world. And that we are to preform “good deeds and glorify God...”

The apostle Paul tells us,

“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 5:20.

We are God’s representatives on earth. 

While we may be citizens of the country we were born in. The moment we accepted Christ into our lives we were held to a higher standard. God’s standard. Thus everything we do should be for the glory of God. To draw people to Christ.

Sadly there are many men and women who upon standing before Christ will here the words,

“I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

They will here those words because they mixed there faith with their politics and other things.

Therefore if you consider yourself a Christian do what the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy,

"Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart" 2 Timothy 2:22

"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.

Please think about it.

Canada Day

  Canada Day

The apostle Peter wrote,

"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 2:11,12.

Today is Canada day. The day Canada in 1867 gained its independence from England. A day when Canadians celebrate. And while I celebrate with them I am an alien in Canada. I was born elsewhere in the world. I have however for over fifty plus years chose to live in Canada which in my opinion is one of the best countries in the world.

Being an alien means I must obey the laws of Canada and live at peace. Thus I can understand what the apostle Peter wrote to Christians.

As Christians we are called to abstain from sinful desires, live good lives, perform good deeds. That those around us may see them and give God the glory.

Francis of Assisi wrote,

"The deeds you do

 may be the only sermon some persons will hear today" 

                                                                                  Francis of Assisi.

As believers and servants of our Lord Jesus Christ we need to, in word, and deed, do our best to represent God in the best possible light.

We need I believe not only to listen to the words of the apostle Peter, but consider putting the words of the Prayer of St. Francis into practice that states,

“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.

Are you

  Are you

The writer of Hebrews states,

"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.

The Apostle Peter who wrote,

"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 2:11,12.

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.

I know we are all human, make mistakes and fall short of what God wants for our lives. That being said however, if we are truly followers of Christ Jesus we should be at least trying to make the above scriptures active in our daily lives.

Thus my questions to you. 

Are you trying to live at peace with all those around you? 

Are you trying to live a holy life? 

Are you doing your best to abstain from sinful desires? 

Are you living a good life? Above all are you treating those around you in the same way your would have them treat you?

Please think about it.

God must be First

God must be first.
In my previous blog I quoted Billy Graham the great American evangelist as saying,

“My home is in Heaven. 

I'm just travelling through this world.”

                                              Billy Graham.

Billy Graham’s words are something all who claim to be believers in Christ need to consider.
Now although this post is posted on July 12th I actually write it a week or so in advance. Thus the date of my writing is July 2nd. As a result yesterday I was at Canada Day celebrations. Canada was celebrating its 151st year of independence and it was a good party. In just a few days July 4th the United States celebrates its 242 years of independence. And I’m sure Americans will have a good party also.
Both dates are for their respective countries a good time to celebrate. There is nothing wrong with having a big party to celebrate the birth of a nation. And the incredible freedoms both Canada and the United States enjoy.
Believers in Christ Jesus however need to carefully assess at such times where their commitment lies. Is it God first or country first?
It’s easy to get the two entangled especially with the incredible freedoms Canada and the United States have.
Ed Stetzer in a recent article published in Christianity today noted that a survey found,
“...though the U.S. Constitution makes no mention of God, 53 percent of Americans say they believe God and the nation have a special relationship, a concept stretching back to Pilgrim days. Even a third of atheists, agnostics, and those with no religious preference believe America has a special relationship with God.”
Stetzer pointed out that, that same survey said,
“...53% of Protestant pastors felt that their congregations sometimes love America more than they love God.”
  Mr Stetzer points out rightly.
“When we love something more than God, the Bible calls that idolatry, and that’s the last thing that Christians should want.”
I couldn’t find any statistics for Canada. But I know of many particularly those claiming to be evangelicals here in Canada believe Canada and the United States have a special relationship with God. With many evangelicals calling the two nations to turn back to God.
Sadly for the most part Canada, the United States and every other nation on the face of the earth with the exception of Israel, have never had a special relationship with God. Therefor they have nothing to turn back too. 
They are secular nations that have made many Judao-Christian principles as part of their laws. But there are other principles and traditions from other faiths and even Ancient Roman and Greek principles.
While I firmly believe we should live peacefully in the country of our birth or wherever we live. We should never fall under the delusion that any nation is truly Godly.
As I noted the only country mentioned in the Bible as having a special relationship with God is Israel and we as believers in Christ Jesus need to remember that.
Christians need to remember that we are citizens of Heaven. We need to hear and heed the words of the apostle Peter who said,
“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.
We need to remember the words of God spoken to Israel, recorded in the Book of Exodus, that are equally applicable to true believers in Christ Jesus. Exodus 20:1-7 reads
“And God spoke all these words: 
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 
“You shall have no other gods before me. 
“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,  but showing love to a thousand  generations  of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” Exodus 20:1-7.
Thus the question I would ask you is. What place does God have in your life?
Please think about it.

Not of this world

Not of this world
Billy Graham the America Evangelist wrote,

My home is in Heaven. 

I'm just travelling through this world.

                                              Billy Graham.

This is something I believe all who claim to be believers in Christ Jesus must remember. 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.
Above all things I firmly believe that those who believe in Christ Jesus must live as good a life as is humanly possible.
We must always remember we are Christ’s representatives on this earth. That people will see Jesus through the lense of our life and our actions. Thus we must live good lives.
When it comes to living the Christian life I am always reminded of what is commonly known as the Prayer of St. Francis it states,

“Lord, make me an instrument of your 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;

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.

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.

Are you?
Please think about it.

Christian Principles for Living #4 (Living at Peace with those around you)

Christian Principles for living #4 (Live at Peace with those around you)
The apostle Paul wrote,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”  Romans 12:18.
The writer of Hebrews states,
“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.
The Apostle Peter tells believers in Christ Jesus,
“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.
Believers in Christ Jesus are called to live a good and peaceful life. A life of holiness.
As believers in Christ we need to take a look at the actions of Jesus and the apostles. They never spoke out against anyone outside their faith. They never protested for any reason. They did as far as was possible live at peace with those around them. They lived a life of love.
In doing so they opened up doors to talk with other groups throughout the known world. As a result in just over a century, Christianity had spread throughout the known world.
These men and women by living a peaceful loving life stood in the Areopagus in Athens and spoke to the learned men and women there. They spoke with politicians, soldiers, tax collectors, and people of every strata of society from slaves to rulers.
This is what we in the twenty-first century church need to do. Are you?
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.