Jesus and the Law
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.
I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:17-20.
Jesus did not come to abolish the laws God set out. He come to fulfil them.
The law shows us what it right and wrong. All civilized societies need a code of conduct. And Jesus makes it clear that, that code set down by God for all mankind will stay in place.
He never came to change it. However Jesus does reconcile us to the law. Should we fall short and break even the smallest part of the law, which all of us do from time to time, (it’s called sinning) all we have to do is confess that sin and Jesus will forgive our sins.
Jesus in this passage also calls us to be more righteous than the Pharisees. We should not just be doing God’s will outwardly.
What we do for God should not just be a facade. We should be making Jesus Lord of our heart and be pleasing to Him both inwardly as well as on the outside.
Our lives both publicly and privately should be in line with God’s will.
Our moral and ethical values should anything that the world has.
Our lives should be a testimony for Christ.
As Francis of Assisi said,
“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”
Francis of Assisi
Think about it.
Tuesday, 7 April 2015
Monday, 6 April 2015
The way to Heaven
The Way to Heaven
Over the past weekend we have just come through Easter celebrations. From Good Friday to Easter Sunday. The most Holy days on the Christian Calender.
It is at Easter when we Christians believe Christ died for our sins that we through His shed blood may enter the Kingdom of Heaven and inherit eternal life.
The following is what I as a Christian believe we need to do in brief, to inherit eternal life.
I’d like you the reader to at least think about it.
The way to heaven is I believe simple and open to anyone, and I mean anyone to follow.
It come down to who you think Jesus is and what his purpose on this earth was for.
First of all it is an act of faith. Faith defined by the writer of Hebrews as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
The writer going on to say,
“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
The Apostle Paul make it clear salvation and the eternal life it brings is not something we can work for. Paul writing to the Ephesians stating,
“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
Salvation come from God to man. It is God in love reaching down to mankind. The apostle John writing,
“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.
When asked the way to heaven,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
The apostle Paul writing to the Romans said,
“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.
Sinning is falling short of what God wants for your life. Sin separates us from God.
Isaiah telling us,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
Isaiah 64:6
The Apostle John noting,
“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.”
1 John 1:9,10.
Simply put salvation and eternal life with God comes through accepting Jesus as God’s one and only Son. Believing that he came to die for our sins. Confessing in prayer our sins directly to God accepting that forgiveness. And letting Christ into our hearts and mind.
The prayer for forgiveness is as simple as talking to God as though he were standing in front of you. You can simply say,
Dear Heavenly Father.
I recognize that I am a sinner and fall short of what you would have for my life. I accept that Jesus Christ is your one and only Son. That he died for my sins. Please forgive me.
Dear Jesus
I accept you this day as my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my life and this day and direct me in the paths of rightiousness. Help me to live each day for you.
Amen.
If you truly accepted Jesus into your life then I would suggest you start reading the Bible. Start in the new Testament praying and asking God to show you the truths there in.
The next thing I would advise is to find a bible believing Church. But be careful when it comes to Churches there are some that do not follow the bible correctly.
What I advise is again pray and ask God to direct you to a Church. I recommend Baptist Churches most places in the world. They have their roots deep in the Bible. In North America where I live I also recommend the Assemblies of God in the United States, and The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada in Canada. These are good solid Bible believing churches.
Also remember that each church congregation has its own personality. So if the one you go to initially is not to your liking try others until you feel comfortable.
Remember also that it fine to be nervous when entering a church for the first time but most good churches will have someone to greet you and say a few kind words.
It is also permissible to ask questions of the pastor if you don’t understand things. In larger churches you may have to arrange an appointment but in most smaller churches the pastors will usually take time to speak with you.
If they don’t have time for you even after making an appointment or they don’t answer your questions perhaps that is not the place for you. You may need to find another church.
Either way I would ask that you have patients and look around until you’ve found one that is to your liking.
Think about it.
Over the past weekend we have just come through Easter celebrations. From Good Friday to Easter Sunday. The most Holy days on the Christian Calender.
It is at Easter when we Christians believe Christ died for our sins that we through His shed blood may enter the Kingdom of Heaven and inherit eternal life.
The following is what I as a Christian believe we need to do in brief, to inherit eternal life.
I’d like you the reader to at least think about it.
The way to heaven is I believe simple and open to anyone, and I mean anyone to follow.
It come down to who you think Jesus is and what his purpose on this earth was for.
First of all it is an act of faith. Faith defined by the writer of Hebrews as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
The writer going on to say,
“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
The Apostle Paul make it clear salvation and the eternal life it brings is not something we can work for. Paul writing to the Ephesians stating,
“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
Salvation come from God to man. It is God in love reaching down to mankind. The apostle John writing,
“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.
When asked the way to heaven,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
The apostle Paul writing to the Romans said,
“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.
Sinning is falling short of what God wants for your life. Sin separates us from God.
Isaiah telling us,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
Isaiah 64:6
The Apostle John noting,
“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.”
1 John 1:9,10.
Simply put salvation and eternal life with God comes through accepting Jesus as God’s one and only Son. Believing that he came to die for our sins. Confessing in prayer our sins directly to God accepting that forgiveness. And letting Christ into our hearts and mind.
The prayer for forgiveness is as simple as talking to God as though he were standing in front of you. You can simply say,
Dear Heavenly Father.
I recognize that I am a sinner and fall short of what you would have for my life. I accept that Jesus Christ is your one and only Son. That he died for my sins. Please forgive me.
Dear Jesus
I accept you this day as my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my life and this day and direct me in the paths of rightiousness. Help me to live each day for you.
Amen.
If you truly accepted Jesus into your life then I would suggest you start reading the Bible. Start in the new Testament praying and asking God to show you the truths there in.
The next thing I would advise is to find a bible believing Church. But be careful when it comes to Churches there are some that do not follow the bible correctly.
What I advise is again pray and ask God to direct you to a Church. I recommend Baptist Churches most places in the world. They have their roots deep in the Bible. In North America where I live I also recommend the Assemblies of God in the United States, and The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada in Canada. These are good solid Bible believing churches.
Also remember that each church congregation has its own personality. So if the one you go to initially is not to your liking try others until you feel comfortable.
Remember also that it fine to be nervous when entering a church for the first time but most good churches will have someone to greet you and say a few kind words.
It is also permissible to ask questions of the pastor if you don’t understand things. In larger churches you may have to arrange an appointment but in most smaller churches the pastors will usually take time to speak with you.
If they don’t have time for you even after making an appointment or they don’t answer your questions perhaps that is not the place for you. You may need to find another church.
Either way I would ask that you have patients and look around until you’ve found one that is to your liking.
Think about it.
Sunday, 5 April 2015
Easter Sunday
The Resurrection
“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.
But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.
Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.”
Luke 24:1-12.
The resurrection of Jesus was an incredible moment in history. No other religious leader has ever risen corporally.
This was hard for the disciples of Jesus to believe when the women told them and they had spent three years under his teaching.
Jesus did indeed rise from the dead later on in Luke records in chapter 24:13-25, that Jesus appeared to two believers on the road to Emmaus who reported back to the Eleven disciples.
Later Luke records the following,
“While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.
He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?
Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.
And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”
They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.
He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.
I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Luke 24:36-49.
The Disciples seen and talked to Jesus, he ate some fish and he proved to them he was flesh and blood. That he had indeed risen from the dead.
To this point the disciples and others perhaps thought Jesus was a conquering Messiah that would lead them to victory over Roman oppression but Jesus was not a conquering Messiah. He was a suffering Messiah as he himself said,
“He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.”
This is the message true Christians are preaching throughout the world today. That Jesus died for the sins of each and every person.
C.S. Lewis wrote,
“He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.”
C.S. Lewis.
This is the message of Easter. That Christ died for the sins of each man and woman.
The call of Christ is the call of each man and woman to believe that Jesus is the one and only Son of God that by confessing our sins directly to him He will forgive them. That by accepting him into our hearts and lives we will receive eternal life.
To quote C.S. Lewis again,
“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 the choice comes down to you the reader. Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God the Saviour of the world or not?
Please think about it carefully.
“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.
But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.
Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.”
Luke 24:1-12.
The resurrection of Jesus was an incredible moment in history. No other religious leader has ever risen corporally.
This was hard for the disciples of Jesus to believe when the women told them and they had spent three years under his teaching.
Jesus did indeed rise from the dead later on in Luke records in chapter 24:13-25, that Jesus appeared to two believers on the road to Emmaus who reported back to the Eleven disciples.
Later Luke records the following,
“While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.
He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?
Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.
And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”
They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.
He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.
I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Luke 24:36-49.
The Disciples seen and talked to Jesus, he ate some fish and he proved to them he was flesh and blood. That he had indeed risen from the dead.
To this point the disciples and others perhaps thought Jesus was a conquering Messiah that would lead them to victory over Roman oppression but Jesus was not a conquering Messiah. He was a suffering Messiah as he himself said,
“He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.”
This is the message true Christians are preaching throughout the world today. That Jesus died for the sins of each and every person.
C.S. Lewis wrote,
“He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.”
C.S. Lewis.
This is the message of Easter. That Christ died for the sins of each man and woman.
The call of Christ is the call of each man and woman to believe that Jesus is the one and only Son of God that by confessing our sins directly to him He will forgive them. That by accepting him into our hearts and lives we will receive eternal life.
To quote C.S. Lewis again,
“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 the choice comes down to you the reader. Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God the Saviour of the world or not?
Please think about it carefully.
Saturday, 4 April 2015
The Death and Burial of Jesus
The Death and Burial
“It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour,
for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
Jesus called out with a loud voice,“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”
When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.
But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.
Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body.
Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.
It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.
Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.”
Luke 23:44-56.
The death and burial of Jesus. Here we have those who loved Jesus watching him die and what the other people around were doing.
The sky went black for three hours. Jesus gives his own spirit up. The Roman soldier stating “Surely this was a righteous man.”
Joseph of Arimathea a member of the council who was not at the council when it voted to have Jesus put to death asked Pilate for the body of Jesus and place him in a new unused tomb. While the women prepared the spices and perfumes to embalm the body. They could not however embalm it because of the Sabbath on which they rested in obedience to the commandments.
This was the lowest point I think in the life of Christ’s followers. Jesus was in the grave. He was dead.
Death has come to every leader of every faith throughout history.
Jesus however would stand out, in that death did not hold him. For on the Sunday morning he arose from the grave to walk the earth for a short while before ascending into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father.
This is what makes Christianity and Christians different from all other faiths. We serve a risen Lord that during the three years he ministered on this earth claimed to be the One and only Son of God. He made the statement,
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
A potentially dangerous statement in the time of Jesus.
C. S. Lewis wrote 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
Please think about it.
“It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour,
for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
Jesus called out with a loud voice,“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”
When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.
But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.
Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body.
Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.
It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.
Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.”
Luke 23:44-56.
The death and burial of Jesus. Here we have those who loved Jesus watching him die and what the other people around were doing.
The sky went black for three hours. Jesus gives his own spirit up. The Roman soldier stating “Surely this was a righteous man.”
Joseph of Arimathea a member of the council who was not at the council when it voted to have Jesus put to death asked Pilate for the body of Jesus and place him in a new unused tomb. While the women prepared the spices and perfumes to embalm the body. They could not however embalm it because of the Sabbath on which they rested in obedience to the commandments.
This was the lowest point I think in the life of Christ’s followers. Jesus was in the grave. He was dead.
Death has come to every leader of every faith throughout history.
Jesus however would stand out, in that death did not hold him. For on the Sunday morning he arose from the grave to walk the earth for a short while before ascending into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father.
This is what makes Christianity and Christians different from all other faiths. We serve a risen Lord that during the three years he ministered on this earth claimed to be the One and only Son of God. He made the statement,
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
A potentially dangerous statement in the time of Jesus.
C. S. Lewis wrote 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
Please think about it.
Friday, 3 April 2015
Good Friday
Good Friday
Jesus in Prospective
The apostle Luke records,
“As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him....
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?
We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’”
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”“
Luke 23:26,27,32-43.
Here we have the Jesus in prospective. It is the day Christians call good Friday. At the time it happened it was a time of great mourning for the friends, family and disciple of Jesus.
Despite all he had taught them in his three years of ministry they didn’t truly understand who he was.
Those who gathered to watch the spectacle of the crucifixion that day definitely had no concept on who Jesus was.
The Roman soldiers mocked him. While the Jews who we learn from Luke’s account had heard what he had to say about himself wanted proof of who he was by him getting down from the cross and saving himself.
That however was not God’s plan.
As we look at the events of the day we see the same ideas about Jesus that exist today. There are those who would mock Christ. Those who are at the very least sceptical as to who he is. As well as those who do not even think he existed.
The two criminals crucified with Jesus show us the choice we today must make. Luke recording,
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?
We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’”
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”“
Luke 23:39-43.
One asked for proof. That proof being Jesus saving himself.
The other criminal showed genuine repentance and belief in Jesus. He noted that he and the other criminal were being punished justly for their crimes.
He showed faith in Jesus by asking him to remember him when he came into his kingdom. To which Jesus replies “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Here in brief is the road I and all Christians believe is the road to heaven.
The apostle Paul writes,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Romans 3:23.
The apostle John states,
“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.”
1 John 1:9,10.
The apostle Paul making clear salvation is an act of faith writing,
“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.
And the writer of Hebrews noting,
“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
Faith defined as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1.
This is the story of Good Friday.
A dark day for the followers of Jesus but O what a wonderful occurrence would await them three days later.
The Glory of the resurrection and more.
Jesus in Prospective
The apostle Luke records,
“As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him....
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?
We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’”
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”“
Luke 23:26,27,32-43.
Here we have the Jesus in prospective. It is the day Christians call good Friday. At the time it happened it was a time of great mourning for the friends, family and disciple of Jesus.
Despite all he had taught them in his three years of ministry they didn’t truly understand who he was.
Those who gathered to watch the spectacle of the crucifixion that day definitely had no concept on who Jesus was.
The Roman soldiers mocked him. While the Jews who we learn from Luke’s account had heard what he had to say about himself wanted proof of who he was by him getting down from the cross and saving himself.
That however was not God’s plan.
As we look at the events of the day we see the same ideas about Jesus that exist today. There are those who would mock Christ. Those who are at the very least sceptical as to who he is. As well as those who do not even think he existed.
The two criminals crucified with Jesus show us the choice we today must make. Luke recording,
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?
We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’”
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”“
Luke 23:39-43.
One asked for proof. That proof being Jesus saving himself.
The other criminal showed genuine repentance and belief in Jesus. He noted that he and the other criminal were being punished justly for their crimes.
He showed faith in Jesus by asking him to remember him when he came into his kingdom. To which Jesus replies “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Here in brief is the road I and all Christians believe is the road to heaven.
The apostle Paul writes,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Romans 3:23.
The apostle John states,
“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.”
1 John 1:9,10.
The apostle Paul making clear salvation is an act of faith writing,
“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.
And the writer of Hebrews noting,
“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
Faith defined as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1.
This is the story of Good Friday.
A dark day for the followers of Jesus but O what a wonderful occurrence would await them three days later.
The Glory of the resurrection and more.
Thursday, 2 April 2015
A Libertine
A Libertine
“Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondsman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.” Deuteronomy 15:15.
I believe it’s at St. Mary Woolnoth an Anglican church in the City of London, that there is a plaque with the words,
“John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy.”
To quote R. J. Morgan from the book 365 scriptures that changed the world (copy right Thomas Nelson Publishers 1998.)
“As a young man, Newton had been a seaman and slave trader whose mouth was a cesspool of profanity, and who liberally helped himself to the female slaves he transported.
But he also became a deserter, flogged by the British Navy, who was reduced to being the slave of a sadistic woman, herself a slave, in Africa.
Out of all this he was saved. And he became one of England’s greatest preachers, the author of the beloved hymn Amazing Grace.”
Over his study desk he had this verse from Deuteronomy
“Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondsman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.” Deuteronomy 15:15.
He reportedly told a friend later in life “My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner and that Christ is a Great Saviour.”
John Newton’s conversion was dramatic. He went from being a man without principles. A man without a conscience to a man of great principles.
He spoke out against the slave trade and would go on to write hundreds of hymns 280 of which he combined with 68 hymns of William Cowper to form the Olney Hymnal.
We today can look on Newton and see how bad he was and say thank God I am nowhere near as bad as him. He needed a conversion experience. I am far better than him.
Many non Christians I believe today also look at people who go to church. People who claim to be Christians and say, “I know them. I know what they do outside of Church and it isn’t very Christian. Why should I become a Christian because I am better all around than they are.”
That may be so but not everyone who goes to church is a Christian. Not everyone who say’s they are Christian are.
Many people as well as Preachers and evangelist will one day stand before God and find they are not accepted into heaven. Jesus saying,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
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 7:21-23.
When it comes to knowing Jesus as one’s Lord and Saviour it is up to the individual to decide.
We should not look on those who are going to church or who claim to be Christians. Simply because many who claim to be Christians are not.
Each individual needs to look within themselves and ask themselves am “I truly good enough to go to heaven?”
I believe if we are honest with ourselves the answer will be no.
No one is good enough to stand before a holy God.
C.S. Lewis said,
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”
C.S. Lewis
Isaiah the prophet said,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
Isaiah 64:6.
That is why Jesus came.
Another self admitted sinner the apostle Paul wrote these words,
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
‘But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”
1 Timothy 1:15,16
I firmly believe that we as individuals must search our heart of hearts and in all humility admit that there is sin in our life.
Then we must turn to Jesus, recognize that he is the One and only Son of God, who died for our sins and ask him to forgive our sins and come into our hearts and lives.
For it is only through Christ that we can truly have our sins forgiven and have our lives changed.
It happened to John Newton. It happened to the Apostle Paul and it can happen to you.
Think about it.
“Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondsman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.” Deuteronomy 15:15.
I believe it’s at St. Mary Woolnoth an Anglican church in the City of London, that there is a plaque with the words,
“John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy.”
To quote R. J. Morgan from the book 365 scriptures that changed the world (copy right Thomas Nelson Publishers 1998.)
“As a young man, Newton had been a seaman and slave trader whose mouth was a cesspool of profanity, and who liberally helped himself to the female slaves he transported.
But he also became a deserter, flogged by the British Navy, who was reduced to being the slave of a sadistic woman, herself a slave, in Africa.
Out of all this he was saved. And he became one of England’s greatest preachers, the author of the beloved hymn Amazing Grace.”
Over his study desk he had this verse from Deuteronomy
“Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondsman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.” Deuteronomy 15:15.
He reportedly told a friend later in life “My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner and that Christ is a Great Saviour.”
John Newton’s conversion was dramatic. He went from being a man without principles. A man without a conscience to a man of great principles.
He spoke out against the slave trade and would go on to write hundreds of hymns 280 of which he combined with 68 hymns of William Cowper to form the Olney Hymnal.
We today can look on Newton and see how bad he was and say thank God I am nowhere near as bad as him. He needed a conversion experience. I am far better than him.
Many non Christians I believe today also look at people who go to church. People who claim to be Christians and say, “I know them. I know what they do outside of Church and it isn’t very Christian. Why should I become a Christian because I am better all around than they are.”
That may be so but not everyone who goes to church is a Christian. Not everyone who say’s they are Christian are.
Many people as well as Preachers and evangelist will one day stand before God and find they are not accepted into heaven. Jesus saying,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
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 7:21-23.
When it comes to knowing Jesus as one’s Lord and Saviour it is up to the individual to decide.
We should not look on those who are going to church or who claim to be Christians. Simply because many who claim to be Christians are not.
Each individual needs to look within themselves and ask themselves am “I truly good enough to go to heaven?”
I believe if we are honest with ourselves the answer will be no.
No one is good enough to stand before a holy God.
C.S. Lewis said,
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”
C.S. Lewis
Isaiah the prophet said,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
Isaiah 64:6.
That is why Jesus came.
Another self admitted sinner the apostle Paul wrote these words,
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
‘But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”
1 Timothy 1:15,16
I firmly believe that we as individuals must search our heart of hearts and in all humility admit that there is sin in our life.
Then we must turn to Jesus, recognize that he is the One and only Son of God, who died for our sins and ask him to forgive our sins and come into our hearts and lives.
For it is only through Christ that we can truly have our sins forgiven and have our lives changed.
It happened to John Newton. It happened to the Apostle Paul and it can happen to you.
Think about it.
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
Will you be happy?
Will you be happy
“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
Isaiah 40:6b
Today as part of a photographic art project I’m doing I went to take pictures in a cemetery. It’s big, holding as many residents as the city where I live. Some grave stones go back to the early eighteen hundreds.
When I was young I lived in England near an Abby. At one time the richest in England. The grave stones in its cemetery went back to the year 1200.
Cemeteries are places we put our loved ones. It’s the place our loved ones will place us one day. While cremation is an option for many. We still can’t avoid the ultimate statistic 100% of people die.
Our friends and relatives will say some nice words over us and at the very least weep.
The American evangelist Tony Campolo made an interesting statement about death, he said,
“When you were born, you cried and everybody else was happy. The only question that matters is this - when you die, will you be happy when everybody else is crying?”
Tony Campolo
Which begs the question dear reader do you know God?
Do you know where you will spend eternity?
For me this is how you know you will enter heaven.
Jesus said,
1/ “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.
2 “....I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
3/ Paul writing to the Romans said,
“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.
Sinning is falling short of what God wants for you life. Sin separates us from God.
4/ Isaiah telling us,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
Isaiah 64:6
5/ John noting,
“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.”
1 John 1:9,10.
6/ Paul make it clear salvation is not something we can work for. Paul writing to the Ephesians stating,
“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
7/ Ultimately salvation is an act of faith, Hebrews stating,
“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
Faith defined as by the writer of Hebrews as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
What do you believe?
Think about it.
“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
Isaiah 40:6b
Today as part of a photographic art project I’m doing I went to take pictures in a cemetery. It’s big, holding as many residents as the city where I live. Some grave stones go back to the early eighteen hundreds.
When I was young I lived in England near an Abby. At one time the richest in England. The grave stones in its cemetery went back to the year 1200.
Cemeteries are places we put our loved ones. It’s the place our loved ones will place us one day. While cremation is an option for many. We still can’t avoid the ultimate statistic 100% of people die.
Our friends and relatives will say some nice words over us and at the very least weep.
The American evangelist Tony Campolo made an interesting statement about death, he said,
“When you were born, you cried and everybody else was happy. The only question that matters is this - when you die, will you be happy when everybody else is crying?”
Tony Campolo
Which begs the question dear reader do you know God?
Do you know where you will spend eternity?
For me this is how you know you will enter heaven.
Jesus said,
1/ “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.
2 “....I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
3/ Paul writing to the Romans said,
“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.
Sinning is falling short of what God wants for you life. Sin separates us from God.
4/ Isaiah telling us,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
Isaiah 64:6
5/ John noting,
“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.”
1 John 1:9,10.
6/ Paul make it clear salvation is not something we can work for. Paul writing to the Ephesians stating,
“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
7/ Ultimately salvation is an act of faith, Hebrews stating,
“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
Faith defined as by the writer of Hebrews as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1
What do you believe?
Think about it.
Tuesday, 31 March 2015
Your works Your Faith
Your 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.
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.
Christianity is very much a faith of both, faith and works. Our faith should compel us to do righteous works.
It’s easy to say by faith we are saved, but our faith must go further than that.
Sometime ago the youth group at my son’s church were challenged to make a difference. So they decided to find some people with no affiliation to their church that were in need of help.
They in one case helped fix up a house both inside and out. They did it without cost or obligation to the people they were doing it for. They did it without fan fair. All they got for their work was the appreciation of the people they did the work for, and the good feeling that they received for a job well done.
This is how we as Christians should work. Tony Campolo the American evangelist states,
“These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change.”
Tony Campolo
He’s right we should be showing our faith through our deeds every day. Remember the words of Francis of Assisi,
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today”
Francis of Assisi
Think about it.
“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.
Christianity is very much a faith of both, faith and works. Our faith should compel us to do righteous works.
It’s easy to say by faith we are saved, but our faith must go further than that.
Sometime ago the youth group at my son’s church were challenged to make a difference. So they decided to find some people with no affiliation to their church that were in need of help.
They in one case helped fix up a house both inside and out. They did it without cost or obligation to the people they were doing it for. They did it without fan fair. All they got for their work was the appreciation of the people they did the work for, and the good feeling that they received for a job well done.
This is how we as Christians should work. Tony Campolo the American evangelist states,
“These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change.”
Tony Campolo
He’s right we should be showing our faith through our deeds every day. Remember the words of Francis of Assisi,
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today”
Francis of Assisi
Think about it.
Monday, 30 March 2015
Radical Christianity
Radical Christianity
There is an estimated 2.2 billion Christians in the world and growing. Still when one looks at the western nations in Europe and in North America the Church seems to be failing to get its message out.
Where I live in North America I know most of the churches, pastors and evangelist are honest men and women doing their best to serve God. They make it their goal in life to live a life that would honour Jesus.
Still that being said, I see all the time very high profile pastors and evangelist, particularly in the media asking for money. Saying give to this ministry or that ministry and God will reward you ten or a hundred fold. The so called name it claim it crowd. They make it sound as if God is some Sugar daddy. This provokes the response from non-Christians that they are nothing more than money grabbers, which sadly some are.
Others heap condemnation on people. They judge people, and point to groups with lifestyles different from their own as if they have special sins. Something any true Christian knows is not true. Sin is sin be it a lie or white lie from a pastor or a murderer all sin is the same according to the bible and the apostle Paul writing to the Romans makes it clear we all sin, stating,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:23
In Matthew five Jesus says Christians are the salt of the earth. Unfortunately many high profile pastors in the media are salty, not salt. They make Christianity out to be a religion of do’s and don’ts. In doing so they turn people off.
As Christians we should be living our lives daily for God. We should be doing it in such away as to reflect the love of Jesus.
Francis of Assisi wrote these two statements,
“Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.”
Francis of Assisi.
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today”
Francis of Assisi.
Sadly from where I sit on my perch here in Canada I see far to many Christians in the media pointing out the sins of people. Judging people. That is not our job!
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.
Put simply we are to keep our own house in order and leave the judging of others to God. Something the church is sadly very bad at doing.
The churches message to the world should be,
“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.
Matthews Gospel records this,
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40
“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...”
Matthew5: 43-45.
We as Christians need to be radical in showing God’s love to people not judging them.
Mahatma Gandhi said,
"Jesus is ideal and wonderful, but you Christians - you are not like him."
Mahatma Gandhi
I believe Mahatma Gandhi had dealings with people who called themselves Christians but were not. These people may have gone to church. They may have performed the rituals many churches have. Still they were not Christian. They had not accepted Jesus into their hearts and lives.
I believe this because a true Christian will love even his worst enemy.
Christians have over the centuries changed the lives of billions of people. We have done this by presenting a positive lifestyle alternative to the world around us.
Today as I see these young people in particular going off to join terrorist groups I have to ask why can’t the church reach them?
Has the message of Christ here in the west been watered down. Has the church here in the west become a decrepit institution filled with ritual and formality that turns people off. Are there more so called Christian evangelist and preachers preaching hell fire and brimstone heaping judgment on individuals than groups that are preaching the true message of Christ, that can change lives?
We as Christians know Christ can change lives. We should be reaching out to all people in a positive manner with the message of Christ.
The message of Christ offers hope and fills ones life with meaning. The message of Christ offers rest for ones soul. Jesus saying,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30.
This is what we as Christians should be doing.
Think about it.
There is an estimated 2.2 billion Christians in the world and growing. Still when one looks at the western nations in Europe and in North America the Church seems to be failing to get its message out.
Where I live in North America I know most of the churches, pastors and evangelist are honest men and women doing their best to serve God. They make it their goal in life to live a life that would honour Jesus.
Still that being said, I see all the time very high profile pastors and evangelist, particularly in the media asking for money. Saying give to this ministry or that ministry and God will reward you ten or a hundred fold. The so called name it claim it crowd. They make it sound as if God is some Sugar daddy. This provokes the response from non-Christians that they are nothing more than money grabbers, which sadly some are.
Others heap condemnation on people. They judge people, and point to groups with lifestyles different from their own as if they have special sins. Something any true Christian knows is not true. Sin is sin be it a lie or white lie from a pastor or a murderer all sin is the same according to the bible and the apostle Paul writing to the Romans makes it clear we all sin, stating,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:23
In Matthew five Jesus says Christians are the salt of the earth. Unfortunately many high profile pastors in the media are salty, not salt. They make Christianity out to be a religion of do’s and don’ts. In doing so they turn people off.
As Christians we should be living our lives daily for God. We should be doing it in such away as to reflect the love of Jesus.
Francis of Assisi wrote these two statements,
“Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.”
Francis of Assisi.
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today”
Francis of Assisi.
Sadly from where I sit on my perch here in Canada I see far to many Christians in the media pointing out the sins of people. Judging people. That is not our job!
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.
Put simply we are to keep our own house in order and leave the judging of others to God. Something the church is sadly very bad at doing.
The churches message to the world should be,
“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.
Matthews Gospel records this,
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40
“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...”
Matthew5: 43-45.
We as Christians need to be radical in showing God’s love to people not judging them.
Mahatma Gandhi said,
"Jesus is ideal and wonderful, but you Christians - you are not like him."
Mahatma Gandhi
I believe Mahatma Gandhi had dealings with people who called themselves Christians but were not. These people may have gone to church. They may have performed the rituals many churches have. Still they were not Christian. They had not accepted Jesus into their hearts and lives.
I believe this because a true Christian will love even his worst enemy.
Christians have over the centuries changed the lives of billions of people. We have done this by presenting a positive lifestyle alternative to the world around us.
Today as I see these young people in particular going off to join terrorist groups I have to ask why can’t the church reach them?
Has the message of Christ here in the west been watered down. Has the church here in the west become a decrepit institution filled with ritual and formality that turns people off. Are there more so called Christian evangelist and preachers preaching hell fire and brimstone heaping judgment on individuals than groups that are preaching the true message of Christ, that can change lives?
We as Christians know Christ can change lives. We should be reaching out to all people in a positive manner with the message of Christ.
The message of Christ offers hope and fills ones life with meaning. The message of Christ offers rest for ones soul. Jesus saying,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30.
This is what we as Christians should be doing.
Think about it.
Saturday, 28 March 2015
Are you Salty
Are you Salty?
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:13-16
Are you Salty? Are you as a Christian living a life discernibly different from the world around you. My first pastor use to ask if you were on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence that you were indeed living for Christ?
Francis of Assisi said it best,
“Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.”
Francis of Assisi.
As Christians our light should be shining at all times. We shouldn’t have to tell people we are Christians, nor should we be always quoting scripture and hitting them over the head with the bible.
Our lives should be a testimony of our love for Christ. Again to quote Francis of Assisi,
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today”
Francis of Assisi.
Think about it.
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:13-16
Are you Salty? Are you as a Christian living a life discernibly different from the world around you. My first pastor use to ask if you were on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence that you were indeed living for Christ?
Francis of Assisi said it best,
“Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.”
Francis of Assisi.
As Christians our light should be shining at all times. We shouldn’t have to tell people we are Christians, nor should we be always quoting scripture and hitting them over the head with the bible.
Our lives should be a testimony of our love for Christ. Again to quote Francis of Assisi,
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today”
Francis of Assisi.
Think about it.
Friday, 27 March 2015
Parking Lots
Parking Lots
“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, baptising 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.
Not much happens in parking lots. Yet on any given day a cross section of the local community can be found at least in shopping mall parking lots. Still to some people they are boring.
Think about the following.
Although the years of going from car to car or handing out tracts to people in parking lots are sadly gone in many cities in North America, there still is a lot that can be done.
Over the years I’ve been part of some successful witnessing campaigns in malls.
On one occasion I was with a gospel group that got permission to sing in the mall both at Christmas, Easter and a couple of other times during the year.
We presented our message in a non-confrontational way while at the same time not compromising our beliefs. We planted many seeds, some of which we seen grow in a local church.
One must remember malls are owned by private companies looking for value on their investment be it in cash or floor space.
Having a good professional group singing Christmas music in their malls is good for business it adds to the atmosphere. For that group to hand out invitations to their Christmas or Easter services is usually not a problem for most malls.
The key is to do things in a highly professional, non-threatening way. Remember, be a blessing. As the saying goes one attracts more bees with honey than with vinegar.
Wherever we witness we should remember the words of Jesus who said,
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
Matthew 10:16.
We should know our surroundings and be cautious with respect to our personal safety. We should have an idea of who we are witnessing to. And we should be witnessing in an non-threatening, non-judgemental way
The apostle Paul writes,
“To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.
To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”
1Corinthians 9:20-23.
Witnessing to others is an essential part of being a Christian. It was Jesus who told us to go into all the world with the gospel.
It is therefor our duty spread the good news to all mankind at all times.
As Francis of Assisi put it, we should,
“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”
Francis of Assisi.
He also reminds us,
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today”
Francis of Assisi
Think about it.
“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, baptising 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.
Not much happens in parking lots. Yet on any given day a cross section of the local community can be found at least in shopping mall parking lots. Still to some people they are boring.
Think about the following.
Parking Lots
Parking lots are boring,
That’s what some people think,
My kids think mall lots,
Are most boring of all.
They see row on row,
Of cars and trucks and stuff,
Acres of Asphalt
Boring things like that.
Me
I think they’re alive!
A plethora of colour!
A sculpture in rubber, tin, and glass.
A
Symphony of noise,
Accompanying a commoners ballet,
On a stage of compact stone and oil.
A
Kaleidoscope.
An ever changing montage,
Of people, and things and stuff.
A
Mission field,
Ripe for the harvest.
And that’s how I see parking lots.
Witnessing in parking lots, shopping malls or on the street can be a challenge. Still if done correctly it can be done effectively.Although the years of going from car to car or handing out tracts to people in parking lots are sadly gone in many cities in North America, there still is a lot that can be done.
Over the years I’ve been part of some successful witnessing campaigns in malls.
On one occasion I was with a gospel group that got permission to sing in the mall both at Christmas, Easter and a couple of other times during the year.
We presented our message in a non-confrontational way while at the same time not compromising our beliefs. We planted many seeds, some of which we seen grow in a local church.
One must remember malls are owned by private companies looking for value on their investment be it in cash or floor space.
Having a good professional group singing Christmas music in their malls is good for business it adds to the atmosphere. For that group to hand out invitations to their Christmas or Easter services is usually not a problem for most malls.
The key is to do things in a highly professional, non-threatening way. Remember, be a blessing. As the saying goes one attracts more bees with honey than with vinegar.
Wherever we witness we should remember the words of Jesus who said,
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
Matthew 10:16.
We should know our surroundings and be cautious with respect to our personal safety. We should have an idea of who we are witnessing to. And we should be witnessing in an non-threatening, non-judgemental way
The apostle Paul writes,
“To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.
To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”
1Corinthians 9:20-23.
Witnessing to others is an essential part of being a Christian. It was Jesus who told us to go into all the world with the gospel.
It is therefor our duty spread the good news to all mankind at all times.
As Francis of Assisi put it, we should,
“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”
Francis of Assisi.
He also reminds us,
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today”
Francis of Assisi
Think about it.
Thursday, 26 March 2015
January 14th 2:00am
January 14th 2:00am
Outside the air is a warm, seventeen centigrade, unseasonable for this time of year in this part of the world.
A soft, soaking rain is falling from the sky. Cars made a swishing sound as they travel along the almost empty street.
All around there is the noise of the city, slowing, rising to a crescendo, then equally slowly dying to a momentary silence.
Before me, lays a picture of downtown edge. At the corner, stands a service station. Its bright lights illuminate the white wall of the restaurant across the street from it. The smell of gasoline mingling with the smell of grilling meat permeates the still air.
My watch reads 2:00 am.
Near the corner an old woman, her torn dress visible below the dirty, shabby, gray winter coat, stumbles along, holding the wall for balance.
Finally, losing her fight to remain upright, she leans her back against the wall and slowly slumps down to the ground, coming to rest over a hot air vent. Alone, she sits motionless as the rain falls.
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
Think about it
Outside the air is a warm, seventeen centigrade, unseasonable for this time of year in this part of the world.
A soft, soaking rain is falling from the sky. Cars made a swishing sound as they travel along the almost empty street.
All around there is the noise of the city, slowing, rising to a crescendo, then equally slowly dying to a momentary silence.
Before me, lays a picture of downtown edge. At the corner, stands a service station. Its bright lights illuminate the white wall of the restaurant across the street from it. The smell of gasoline mingling with the smell of grilling meat permeates the still air.
My watch reads 2:00 am.
Near the corner an old woman, her torn dress visible below the dirty, shabby, gray winter coat, stumbles along, holding the wall for balance.
Finally, losing her fight to remain upright, she leans her back against the wall and slowly slumps down to the ground, coming to rest over a hot air vent. Alone, she sits motionless as the rain falls.
Who will tell her of God’s love?
Who will love her?
Who?
Will you?
Think about it?
“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
Think about it
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)