Come or Depart

Come or Depart

Jesus said,

"Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  

For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,    I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 

"They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 

"He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Matthew 25:41-46.

Think very carefully about this. When you stand before God will you hear the words “Depart from me”?

I firmly believe the more resources we have. The more material wealth we have. The more political power we have must be used for God. If we don’t we may just hear these words from Jesus, “depart from me, you who are cursed...”

Even those of us who are not so wealthy can do something. Even if its just giving a few cans of food to a food bank.

The key here is to help those in need.

So I ask the question again. Will you hear the words “depart from me...” or will you hear,

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 

‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; 

take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you 

since the creation of the world.”  

                                                                     Matthew 25:34 

Please think about it.

Sit with sinners

Sit with sinners
The Gospel of Luke records,
“After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. 
Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.  
But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” 
Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:27-32.
Many Christians I know are like the Pharisees. They like the Pharisees focus on the sin and “good Christians” don’t associate with sinners in their minds.
Such a thing is simply wrong. You will never win a soul for Christ by associating with Christians alone. You will never win a soul for Christ by concentrating on the persons sin.
Christians need to focus more on the salvation message than on sin. Christians need to realize that they must meet a person where they are at. They must show unconditional love toward all they come in contact with.
Christians need to as Jesus did sit with sinners.
We don’t know what Jesus said to the tax collectors and other sinners in Luke’s account.
We do however have the account of the apostle Paul preaching to some other sinners in Athens. Acts chapter seventeen records Paul’s speech to those gathered at the Areopagus. Paul had been speaking in the market place about his faith. What he said perked the interest of a group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. Who invited him to speak at the Areopagus.
In that speech Paul never mentioned sin, even though as he wandered through Athens and seen monuments and temples to a multitude of gods.
Paul concentrated on the salvation message. As a result some sneered at him. Some became believers. While others wanted to hear more.
This is how believers in our time should be. We should be using wisdom and speaking to non-believers in such away that even if they don’t accept Christ as their saviour. They will at least ask to hear more.
If you claim to be a Christian. A believer in Christ Jesus. How do you present the gospel message?
Do you present the salvation that comes through Christ Jesus, or do you constantly focus on the sins of those you are talking about?
Please think about it.

Christian Principles for Living #2 Deeds

Christian Principles for Living #2 Deeds
James the half brother of Jesus states,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” James 2:14-20.
There are many Christians who will tell you, you are saved by faith. That is true. However James here make it clear our faith needs to be accompanied by works. Good deeds.    If we indeed have true faith in Jesus it well spur us on to good deeds. Simply believing in God should never be enough for the believer in Christ Jesus. We need to put our faith into action.
Jesus made this clear when he said,
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ 
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  
I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 
“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:34-46.
If you claim to be a believer in Christ Jesus are you putting your faith into action?
Please think about it.