The Argument for Christ

The Argument for Christ
“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 whole thing with our faith in Christ boils down to this statement:
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us,in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.”
God reached down to man by sending His Son Jesus Christ.  We are justified before God by our faith in Christ Jesus, because He died for our sins.
Paul in the book of Ephesians puts it this way:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” 
                                                           Ephesians 2:8,9
We cannot work our way to heaven.  Salvation is a free gift.  All we have to do is,
 Admit that we are a sinner, that we have done things wrong. That we have fallen short of God’s ideals.  Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for our sins.
Then ask Christ into our life.
Your salvation is between you and God.  Only you and He know if you truly believe.
Something to think about:
Many go to church all their lives out of habit or duty, or because its socially acceptable, or their friends go, or because their parents went or simply because they feel it’s the right thing to do once a week.
Many of those same people are not sure if they were to die today, if they would go to heaven. Are you one of those people?
If so why not pray this prayer,
Dear Heavenly Father
I believe Jesus Christ is your one and only Son. That he came to earth to die for my sins. 
I know that I am a sinner. That I fall short of what you want of me. 
Please forgive the wrong I have done and come into my life. 
To day I give you permission to work in my life. To show me what it is to love and serve you.
I pray this in the name of your son Jesus Christ.
                                                       Amen.
Remember it is not the prayer that saved you but your act of faith in praying it. Your act of accepting by faith Christ’s atoning death on the cross for your sins saves you.
Think about it.

Nothing

Nothing
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  
As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”  
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 
                                                                                                        Romans 8:35-39
Nothing can separate us from the love of God.  The passage is self explanatory.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God.  No matter where we go or what we do God is there for us.  The love of God transcends all things.
It was because of God’s love in his life that the apostle Paul could write,
            “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” 
                                                                         Philippians 4:13:
Paul and the other apostles endured extreme hardships for the sake of the Gospel, they did this because they believed in what they were doing.  They loved God passionately.  They knew they were in a win, win situation.  That whatever happened to them didn’t matter because God was there for them.  Nothing could separate them from the love of God.
It’s easy to be a Christian in good times but what about in the bad?
When hardships come into our lives many people blame God.  They call out and say “why me?”  It is in those times, we should be thanking God that we can turn to Him.  That He is there to guide us through the trouble.  That when all else fails, we can depend on Him.
God’s love will never fail us.
God suffers long for us.  In human terms Jesus showed us how far God was willing to go for us, by dying for us.
In the trials of your life, do you really believe God is with you?  Do you turn to Him for guidance in good times and in bad?
Is he really the first person you turn to for help.
In the good times do you thank Him enough?
Think about it.

Love as God Loves

Love as God Loves
Read John 17

“O righteous Father! The world has not known You,

but I have known You; 

and these have known that You sent Me.

“And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it,

 that the love with which You loved Me

 maybe in them, and I in them.”

                                                                                             John 17:25,26
Here Jesus in John clearly states who He is and how He has glorified the Father.
He also prays for the disciples ending with the words “that the love with which You loved Me maybe in them, and I in them.”
The love with which the Father loved Jesus maybe in them.  That is an incredible love.
God loved Jesus with an infinite love, and this is the kind of love Jesus was asking for His  disciples.
It was this kind of love that those disciples took to the world.  It is the kind of love that allowed them to suffer martyrdom and endure all they had to endure.  This is the kind of love God imparts to us.
Read Paul’s words,

Love suffers long and is kind: 

love does not envy; 

love does not parade itself,

 is not puffed up;

does not behave rudely, 

does not seek its own, 

is not provoked, 

thinks no evil.

does not rejoice in iniquity,

 but rejoices in the truth;

bears all things,

 believes all things, 

hopes all things,

 endures all things.

Love never fails.  

                                                                          1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
This is what love is all about.  Love will go through anything.  If we truly love God and truly want to do His will we must love.  We must love even our worst enemy.  As Christians, we must grasp the meaning of an all too often used and misused verse:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life".  
                                                          John 3:16
We need also to remember the verse after John 3:16 it states,
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
John 3:17 
We must love people so passionately, that we do not want to see one of them go to hell because that’s how much God did.
How passionate are you for winning souls for Christ?
Is your love so great that it will do all that 1 Corinthians 13 states?
Think about it.

From John 15

From John 15

“I am the vine, you are the branches. 

 He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit,

 for without Me you can do nothing.

“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered,

 and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, 

you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit;

 so you will be My disciples.

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you;

 abide in My love.

“If you keep My commandments, 

you will abide in My love,

 just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you,

 and that your joy maybe full.

“This is My commandment, 

that you love one another as I have loved you.

                                                                                                         John 15:5-12
In this chapter, Jesus calls His disciples friends.  If we truly love God, we are His friends.
It is our duty, as Christians, to get to know God intimately and passionately.  By doing so, we will truly know God’s will.  We will ask the Father for something and He will give it because it is what He wants also.
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love,  just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “ states Jesus.
Paul writes,
"Love suffers long and is kind, loves does not envy, love does not parade itself, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails. 
              1 Corinthians 13:4-7
We are going into a world, that at times will hate what we have to say.  They will persecute us and may even put us to death.  Yet, we are called to love.
Stephen, the church’s first martyr, showed how in touch he was with God’s love, when in acts when as he was being stoned he said,
“While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  
Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.” 
                        Acts 7:59-60
Something to think about:
Jesus set the example: He died on the cross asking His heavenly Father not to hold what they were doing to him, against his persecutors.
That is the kind of love we must have for the world.  We may not like what they are doing to us, but we endure all things for the Gospel and show love to the world.
Do you love those around you. Can you forgive even your worst enemy.
Think about it.

Are you Willing?

Are you willing

"Now, behold, one came and said to him, 

“Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

So He said to Him,

 “Why do you call me good. No one is good but One, that is, God.  

But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

He said to Him, 

“Which ones?” 

Jesus said, 

“You shall not murder.’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’

 ‘You shall not bear false witness. 

  ‘Honour your father and your mother, 

and ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’”

The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. 

What do I still lack?”

Jesus said to him, 

“If you want to be perfect go, sell what you have and give to the poor, 

and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, 

for he had great possessions.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, 

“Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man 

to enter the kingdom of heaven."

                                                                                            Matthew 19:16-23

The point of the passage is where the heart is.
This man came to Jesus asking Him, “what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”  Jesus told him to obey the commandments and the man said he had since his youth.
So Jesus told him to give everything he owned and follow Him.  “he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
Jesus knew this man’s heart.  He knew that intellectually, he believed there was a God all his life, he’d been told there was.  I don’t think the man doubted that.
He, from the conversation, appears to have obeyed the laws of Moses.  And God seems to have blessed him materially.
Quite often, what we own keeps us away from God.
Having  wealth is often a sign of complete self reliance.  A good thing in many ways.  Still, it’s easy to follow the commandments of God if you’re financially well off.  But to give up everything and become totally reliant on God for even your most basic needs that takes faith.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God most believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” states Hebrews 11:6.
Jesus knew where this man’s faith was at and He knows where we are at.
Are you willing to “sell what you have and give to the poor, also? Are you willing to rely on God for even your most basic of needs?
Think about it.

prayer

Read Matthew 6:1-8

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  

For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets,

that they maybe seen by men.

Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

“But you, when you pray,

go into your room, and when you have shut your door,

pray to your Father who is in the secret place,

and your Father who sees in secret

will reward you openly.

Matthew 6:5,6

Love to pray? If we love God we should. If we love someone we want to be with them we want to talk to them. Therefore if we love God we should want to spend time with Him and talk to Him.
But be careful how you pray. Jesus here warns us not to be like the hypocrites who like to be seen praying.  Rather, Jesus tells us to pray behind closed doors.  Pray in secret.
We need to pray in church, we need to be an example to our children, to show them we practice what we preach.  But we must be careful why we pray.  What are our motives.
Are we praying to impress people?  Are we praying because we have a feeling of obligation?  We must want to pray. A forced prayer is generally one with out meaning.
Someone told me, often the most sincere prayers are spoken in silence or when we are alone in a room.  When it is just God and you alone.
This is when we can truthfully express our deepest feelings and innermost secrets to our God who knows the very desires of our heart.
Most of us do not spend a great deal of time alone with God. We need a prayer closet. A place where we can go frequently to talk to God.
If you truly love anyone you will want to be with them. If you truly love God you will want time alone with Him. So that you can tell him the deepest secrets of your heart.
Think about it.

A note from a wise man

A note from a wise man
There are times when I’m writing these blogs that I feel I need to share it with everyone who reads them something of particular interest to me. This is one of those times. The Quote is from Dietrich Bonhoeffer . Dietrich Bonhoeffer knew what it was to love.
Dietrich was born 4 February 1906 Breslau, Silesia Province, Prussia, German Empire he died on 9th  April 1945 (aged 39) Flossenbürg concentration camp, Nazi Germany
 Bonhoeffer a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, anti-Nazi dissident, and key founding member of the Confessing Church. Wrote,
“Christian love draws no distinction between one enemy and another, except that the more bitter our enemy's hatred, the greater his need of love. Be his enmity political or religious, he has nothing to expect from a follower of Jesus but unqualified love. In such love there is not inner discord between the private person and official capacity. In both we are disciples of Christ, or we are not Christians at all.” 
                  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
A true Christian will love his enemies no matter what. Dietrich Bonhoeffer understood this. He was imprisoned by Adolf Hitler for doing the right thing, aiding Jews and opposing the barbarism of Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
What Bonhoeffer is saying that we can’t compartmentalize our faith. We must practice it both in our personal life and our professional. It must be a part of our lifestyle.
We must love our enemies. Jesus said,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  
Matthew 5:43-46
As Christians we must do what is right no matter the personal cost.
Francis of Assisi said,
“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”
                                                          Francis of Assisi  
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.
This is what it is to be a true Christian to love even our worst enemies. To do what is right by our fellow man and by God.
Read Bonhoeffer’s words again,
“Christian love draws no distinction between one enemy and another, except that the more bitter our enemy's hatred, the greater his need of love. Be his enmity political or religious, he has nothing to expect from a follower of Jesus but unqualified love. In such love there is not inner discord between the private person and official capacity. In both we are disciples of Christ, or we are not Christians at all.” 
Is this the kind of love you show?
Think about it

Of Faith and Works

Of Faith and Works

“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.” 
                                                                                                        James 2:14-17

I have written about this before Faith with out works is dead. Francis of Assisi put it this way,
“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”
                                                                                   Francis of Assisi
This scripture was brought home to me when I was at an event a few months ago. An elderly woman suddenly developed cramping in her foot and was in a lot of pain.
One man leaned over and started to pray for her. Another went to his knees and started massaging the woman’s foot.
The within minutes the woman was pain free. But the stark contrast of the actions of the two men reminded me of the above verse.
It was a simple thing both men could have done but one thought prayer would be enough while the other put his faith into action.
A simple act done in the name of the Lord brought a smile on the face of the elderly woman.
We can all do simple acts. Even if it’s just raking the leaves for an elderly neighbour, shovelling snow or taking someone shopping or whatever.
Actions done in the name of the Lord quite often speak louder than words.
Think about it.

Judgement without mercy

Judgement without Mercy

“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.  
For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. 
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 2:10-13
I like this line,
“judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”
Do you judge without mercy. When you see something you disagree with do you without thought automatically judge.
I remember one time I was driving someone down town. We came to an intersection and a man very poorly dressed started across the road in front of us. He was slurring his words and swearing. The woman with me in the car said,
“That terrible ten in the morning and he’s drunk already.”
She jumped to a wrong conclusion. This person was mentally ill and had condition that caused him to appear drunk and swear uncontrollably.
Another ‘bug a boo’ in the Christian community is with homosexuals. Many especially it seems high profile televangelist judge members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) community out of hand.
They come down hard on them simply because they disagree with them. This is wrong. They are judging without knowing all the facts.
They are definitely not showing mercy to them.
I wonder what God will say to those who espouse to be Christians and judge people outside our faith?
We know what the LGBT community are saying. They are judging them to be biggots. They are judging them without mercy.
      James says,
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.”
Paul states,
“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.” 
                                                                                 1Corinthians 5:12,13.
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.
It is not our job to judge. We have the right to correct those within our own faith. But, we do not have the right to judge those outside our faith.
The apostle Paul writing,
“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 an obligation to reach out to the non-believer and present them with the Gospel of Christ in a loving gentle none judgmental way.
What they do with the information we present is up to them.
Do you judge others?
Think about it.

Don't show Favourites

Don’t show favourites,

“My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism.  
Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.  
If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 
Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?  
But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?  
Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? 
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.  
But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.” 
                                                                                                   James 2:1-8.
James here is calling us not to show favouritism in any way.
It’s very easy to show favouritism. We see a man entering the church in to a nice suit and assume he is a good person deserving of respect.
It seems to be human nature to assume because a person is badly dressed they should not be trusted.
I have known many people over the years who have refused to go to church because they didn’t have the “proper clothes” to wear.
It tended to be very prevalent in the area where I lived and went to Church in the seventies. People always wore their Sunday best to church.
It happens in many churches still. People seem to dress to impress.
I remember one morning during the week. Having a few minutes to spare I’d dropped into see my pastor. I found him in shorts and tee shirt fixing something or other. I was dressed as they say business causal.
A couple whom we didn’t know dropped in and assumed because of the way I was dressed that I was the pastor. Were they surprised.
Our church is a come as you are church even our worship leader will wear blue jeans when leading worship at times.
We accept people as they are. Which is what James is saying here.
In showing favouritism we are sinning according to James,
James states,
“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.  
But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.”
Do you show favouritism in the church. Do you judge a person by the kind of clothing they are wearing or by the amount of money in there wallet?
Our call as Christians is to treat each other equally.
Would your church congregation reach out and hug someone who enters who’s less than neatly dressed or dishevelled.
Think about it.

Be

Be

"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,  for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.  
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror  and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  
But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. 
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.  
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." 
James 1:19-27

1/Here’s the point form version of what James is saying,
2/Be quick to listen to the word of God.
3/Be slow to speak. Think before you speak.
4/Be very slow to anger. Don’t sweat the little things. Think before you get angry. Ask yourself is it                  worth getting angry.
5/Get rid of the moral filth and evil in you life.
6/Listen to the word of God planted in your life.
7/Don’t just listen to the word of God, DO WHAT IT SAYS.
James states a man who fails to do what the word of God says is like someone who forgets what his reflection looks like in other words he has heard the word but learned nothing.
There are many people in churches who can quote chapter and verse in many things but fail to put the lessons of the Bible to work in their life. Thus the world is essentially null and void.
He admonishes us to keep a rein on one’s tongue. Our tongue can get us in a lot of trouble. Many good ministers and evangelist have had their ministries ruined by what they have said.
Finally he says,
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Think about it

When Tempted

When Tempted

“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;  
but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.  
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” 
James 1:13-18
Once again James makes a very clear statement when we are tempted it is not God who tempts us. God will not tempt us.
Instead he makes it clear that we are tempted by our own evil desires that drag us away from the Lord and give birth to sin.
James points out that,
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
Our God is a good and honest God who give only good things to his people. All good things come from God.
Think about it.