Put this way

Put this way
Jesus taking to His disciples and through them to us, said,

“So in everything, do to others 

what you would have them do to you,

 for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” 

Matthew 7:12.

Put this way in the year 2017 this means,

If you are

demonstrating against anyone. 

You are telling them 

they can demonstrate against you.

If you are 

speaking out and trying to restrict the rights of others 

given to them by the lawfully elected government.

You are telling others 

they can try to restrict your rights.

If you are 

imposing your morals however good they may be on others.

You are telling them 

they can impose their morals on you, even if they are not as good as yours.

If you are 

trying to impose your faith on others rather than presenting your faith.

You are telling others 

they can impose their faith on you.

If you are

judging others.

You are telling others 

they can judge you in the same way.

If you 

are telling the world you are a Christian

You should be telling the world 

I love you as Jesus loves you,...

unconditionally.

Jesus when asked,
“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 22:36-40.
Earlier in the gospel of Matthew Jesus is recorded as saying,
“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.”
                                                                                        Matthew 5:43-45.

The apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians defines love as,

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, 

it does not boast, it is not proud. 

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, 

it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

Love never fails....

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. 

But the greatest of these is love.” 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13

The apostle Paul telling us,

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, 

live at peace with everyone.”

Romans 12:18

If we as Christians remember this it’s hard for us to go wrong. And may as a result win many souls for Christ.
Please think about it.

The Choice is Yours

The choice is yours
The book of Joshua records,
“Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.  
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. 
But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24: 14,15.
I am a Christian. I believe in God. I believe God created the heavens and the earth. Whether he took billions of years to create the universe or six day is irrelevant to me. The fact is I believe he exists and created universe.
The apostle Paul speaking to the Athenians said,
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  
And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  
God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  
‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’” Acts 17:24-28.
I believe we only have to look around to see God’s handiwork. The Psalmist states,

“The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” 

                                                                                        Psalm 19:1.
From the largest galaxy to the smallest subatomic particle everything works in unity to give us life as we know it. I cannot believe this is all by chance.
Einstein said,
“Human beings vegetables  or cosmic dust. We all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible player.” Albert Einstein.
I believe that invisible player is God and that by creating such a perfectly integrated universe we can if we are willing see the handiwork of God.
That being said, I have said in previous blog posts that God did not make robots. He created human beings, individuals with freedom of thought and action. That includes not believing in God and going one’s own way.
However I also believe the writer of, Ecclesiastes who said,
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole  duty  of man. 
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes12:13,14. 
I also believe the words of Jesus speaking of himself as recorded in the book of John when he said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”. John 3:16-18.
Ultimately you must decide who and what you believe in. If I as a Christian am wrong then I have nothing to fear as I have in following what the Bible states will have lived a good life.
On the other hand if what I believe is true then it will have eternal consequences for all who do not believe in God.
Please think about it. 

Rules that prove the fact

Rules that prove the fact
In brief the ten commandments read,

1/“You shall have no other gods before me.” 

2/“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them;...” 

3/ “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” 

4/ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”  

5/ “Honour your father and your mother,” 

6/“You shall not murder.” 

7/“You shall not commit adultery.” 

8/“You shall not steal.” 

9/“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” 

10/“You shall not covet “

                                                                                       From Exodus 20:2-17.
Here to me is something that proves God exists. Quoted above are the Ten Commandments. They were given to Moses by God thousands of years ago and are universally applicable to every man and woman on the planet. These are rules for living that I firmly believe are in the hearts of everyman.
Following these ten basic rules for living makes society a safe and loving place.
Such rules I do not believe simply evolved over the centuries. I cannot believe ancient man simply convened a conference of all the tribes of the earth and agreed on such rules. I believe God himself instilled them in our hearts and minds from the day we were conceived. I believe they are part of our DNA.
The ten commandments tell mankind first of all how God expect the individual to act with respect to God. The first three state,

1/“You shall have no other gods before me.” 

2/“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them;...” 

3/ “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” 

There is only one God to be worshipped and that is the Lord God almighty. We are to have no other Gods. We are not to make and worship idols. We are not to misuse God’s name.
Number four states

4/ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” 

We can work six days a week but on the seventh we are to rest and worship God. Having a day of rest is even accepted by health advocates as a good thing.
The fifth tells us,

5/ “Honour your father and your mother,” 

We are to honour our father and mother. Years ago there use to be a saying around the church that said, “Don’t let your parents down, they brought you up.”
The next commands are what is needed for an orderly society, they state,

6/“You shall not murder.” 

7/“You shall not commit adultery.” 

8/“You shall not steal.” 

9/“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” 

10/“You shall not covet “

As I said I do not believe ancient man could come up with such universally accepted law as the ten commandments. Laws that encompass both mans relationship to God and his relationship with his fellow man.
That being said I leave the decision with you the reader. Do you believe there is a God the creator of heaven and earth or not?
The choice is yours.
Please think about it. 

God is Good

God is Good
The Psalmist writes,

“For the LORD is good 

and his love endures forever; 

his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

                                                                                                Psalm 100:5.
Over the years I’ve sadly seen God portrayed as someone with a big stick ready to bash us over the head if we do something wrong. Making it worse, over those same years I’ve seen so called “fire and brimstone” preachers depicting God as someone who is quick to punish and send anyone to hell anyone who did not obey Him.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Perhaps the most well known Bible verse John 3:16 tells us this. It reads,

“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.”

                                                                                  John 3:16.
The following verse John 3:17 goes on to say,

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

 but to save the world through him.”

                                                                                          John 3:17.    
The apostle John records Jesus as saying,
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—  just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.  John 10:14,15.
The apostle Paul writing to the Romans tells us,
“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.
I believe the above scriptures show how much God loves mankind.
When God created mankind he gave man a freewill to do as he wished. That included not believing in God and not following God’s precepts. Thus mankind in general wandered away from God.
Over the centuries God sent his messengers such as the Jewish prophets to point man to God but sadly men did not listen. Thus God in the form of His one and Only Son Jesus Christ entered the world to point man to heaven. The writer of Hebrews stating,
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.  
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:1-3  
What I believe this means is God loves us and all that we have to do in order to get to heaven is in faith believe in the saving grace of Jesus. The apostle Paul 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
The writer of Hebrews telling us,

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for 

and certain of what we do not see.”  

                                                                             Hebrews 11:1

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, 

because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists 

and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” 

                                                                                                 Hebrews 11:6.
Please think about it.

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!
The Psalmist writes,

“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 

Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 

Know that the LORD is God. 

It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people,

 the sheep of his pasture. 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving 

and his courts with praise; 

give thanks to him and praise his name. 

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; 

his faithfulness continues through all generations.” 

                                                                                               Psalm 100:1-5.
The Psalmist although writing this about God the Father hundreds of years ago could have written it yesterday. For it is with great joy we as Christians celebrate the one who is central in our lives Jesus Christ.
We can, not only at Easter and Christmas celebrate all He has done for us but everyday. We can with the Psalmist say,

“Praise the LORD. 

Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. 

Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. 

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, 

praise him with the harp and lyre, 

praise him with tambourine and dancing,

 praise him with the strings and flute, 

praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. 

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. 

Praise the LORD.” 

                                                                                Psalm 150.
Can you?
Please think about it.

Who is Jesus?

Who is Jesus?
Throughout the centuries Christians have asked people to answer the question Jesus asked of Martha when he said,
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes Lord” she told Him, “I believe you are the Christ the Son of God, who was to come into the world,” John 11:25,26,27.
Jesus among all the individuals that have ever lived stands alone.
Napoleon Bonaparte said of him,
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
“I search in vain history to find similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel.  Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.” Napoleon Bonaparte.
H. G. Wells, British writer, (1866-1946) When asked which person left the most permanent impression on history, he replied that judging a person’s greatness by historical standards:
“By this test, Jesus stands first.”
“I am a historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very centre of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”
“Christ is the most unique person of history. No man can write a history of the human race without giving first and foremost place to the penniless teacher of Nazareth.” H. G. Wells.
The apostle John writes,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  
He was with God in the beginning. 
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  
In him was life, and that life was the light of men....
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ” John 1:1-4,14
What John is saying here is Jesus is God, the creator of the universe. That God in the form of Jesus entered the world he created. Jesus is God incarnate.
The gospel of John tells of this incident in the life of Jesus,
“The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 
Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.  
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  
I and the Father are one.” 
Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” John 10:24-32.
Even when faced with stoning and death Jesus did not back down on saying who he was.
The apostle Paul tells us why Jesus came, stating,
“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 5:6,7.
The apostle John stating,
“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.
God sent Jesus to point man to heaven. To provide mankind with a way directly to heaven through faith in Christ Jesus.
C. S. Lewis states,
“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
  Ultimately you must decide who Jesus is. Before you do however I would ask that you read the New Testament for yourself. Read what Christians who knew Jesus personally believed about him. Then decide.
Please think about it.

On Persecution

On Persecution
I try to stay away from political things in my blogs other than to tell Christians not to mix their faith with politics. However when it comes to persecution be it of Christians or anyone I believe one must speak out.
The Writer of Hebrews said,
“Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” Hebrews 13:3
In December of 2013 the United Kingdom parliament heard that one Christian is killed every eleven minutes for their faith.
MP Jim Shannon said the persecution of Christians is “the biggest story in the world that has never been told”
He said that although the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there are many countries in which these rights are not given.
Shannon alleged that 200 million Christians will be persecuted for their faith this year,(2013), while he said 500 million live in dangerous neighbourhoods
German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that Christianity is "the most persecuted religion in the world." 
That being said there are many groups in the world who are being persecuted today. Jews around the world are still being persecuted in many areas.
In the middle east and around the world various terrorist groups and governments, some even claiming to be Muslims are persecuting Muslims.
A recent report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) quotes Human Rights Watch as saying,
“The torture and imprisonment of dozens of gay and bisexual men in Chechnya is an emergency of "unprecedented magnitude".
Gay and bisexual men are not just being persecuted in Chechnya but in other countries also. In some countries they are not just imprisoned but put to death. This should not be so.
Martin Luther King Jr. the great American civil rights leader once said,

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

                                                                                          Martin Luther King jr.
As a Christian I am reminded of a quote from Martin Niemoller a Christian pastor who was imprisoned by the Nazis during world war two for his beliefs who said,

“When they came for the Communists, 

I did not stand up, because I was not a Communist. 

When they came for the Jews, 

I did not stand up, because I was not Jewish. 

When they came for the Catholics, 

I did not stand up, because I was not a Catholic. 

When they came for me, there was no one left to stand up.” 

                                                                                              Martin Niemoller.
We as Christians living in the western democracies with all the freedoms they offer need to be speaking out against injustice and persecution not just against fellow Christians but against any human being irrespective of their faith, their race, or their lifestyle.
We only have to look at Nazi Germany of world war two to see what happens when Christians and others remain silent and do not speak out against injustice, and persecution. Six million Jews and a further six million of others of all faiths and lifestyles murdered not to mention the war that ensued causing the deaths of over fifty-six million men women and children by men and women who were far from God.
We cannot stay silent. We must do what we can to help the persecuted around the world irrespective of who they are, their lifestyle, or their faith.
After all it was Jesus said,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 7:12.
And no rational person, Christian, or otherwise would want to be persecuted or to see anyone persecuted.
Please think about it.

Our Faith and Our Children

Our faith and our children
The writer of Proverbs states,
“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6.
The Talmud states,
“Whoever teaches his son teaches not alone his son but also his son’s son, and so on to the end of generations.”  The Talmud
The writer of Deuteronomy states,
“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”  Deuteronomy 6:5-7.
Do you do this? Do you teach your children to Love God? By teaching them to love God I do not mean to beat them over the head with the Bible.
I’ve seen far to well meaning Christian parents use the Bible and God’s name to correct their children. They have without realizing it forced their faith on their children.
No one has the right to force their faith on anyone. We must present our faith in word and in deed to all those around us. Especially our children.
We must live our faith in full view of our children friends and family. They must know that our faith in God and in Christ is paramount in our lives.
It is only when we teach by example that our children will see that our faith is important. Francis of Assisi wrote,
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today” 
 Francis of Assisi.
We need to heed this, as our children and indeed the world is watching us.
Please think about it.

Do you Believe?

Do you believe?

“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.  

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, 

but whoever does not believe stands condemned already 

because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”. 

John 3:16-18.

Martin Luther King jr. wrote,
“We need not join the mad rush to purchase an earthly fallout shelter. God is our eternal fallout shelter.” Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love, 1963.
Martin Luther King wrote above words at the height of the cold war. At a time when a thermonuclear war was feared. When people thought our civilization might be wiped off the face of the earth and millions if not billions would die.
The fact is millions of people world wide die every day due to natural causes alone, not to mention disease, starvation, war and other things.
The ultimate statistic is the fact that each person born will one day die. The question is however where will you spend eternity.
I am a Christian and I firmly believe the individual is an eternal being. We live forever. Life does not end in death.
Tony Campolo the American evangelist 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.
Will you?
You have a choice in this world where you will spend eternity. I as a Christian believe the words of Jesus who speaking of Himself said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”. John 3:16-18.
We Christians do not believe we can live a life good enough to get to heaven that is why God in the form of Jesus entered our world to offer us salvation. C. S. Lewis states,
“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.
The apostle Paul writing to the Romans said,
“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.
Christians believe it is by the grace of God through our faith in Jesus Christ that we get to heaven. The apostle Paul 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.
Here’s something to think about. Blaise Pascal a Christian philosopher wrote,
“Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists.” Blaise Pascal
Thus the choice is yours. Do you believe in God? Are you willing to accept the grace that comes from God through Christ Jesus?
Take some time to read the New Testament and see what Christians believe.
Please think about it.

The Christian Life

The Christian life
Dear friends,
 “I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9-12.
If you claim to be Christian do you realize that you are an alien and a stranger here on earth? That you are called to abstain from “sinful desires”?
Do you realize that you are to “live such good lives among the people around you that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us”?
There are many Christians in the world today who are suffering for their faith. For simply believing in Jesus they are being put into prison, tortured, even put to death because of it. Yet still they stand up for Christ.
Sadly here in North America where I live many calling themselves Christians are looked on as being prejudice and even bigoted. People who would attempt to restrict the freedoms of those they disagree with. Who look down on those who have a different lifestyle or faith.
These are men and women calling themselves Christians that are not. They are not following the teaching of the apostle Peter who said,
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”James 2:12,13.
These are people who will one day hear the words of Jesus who said,
“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.
If we claim to be Christians we must live a good and holy life. A life that reaches out to others in love. We must remember that Jesus sat down with people of all walks of life, tax collectors, Roman soldiers, Samaritans all people looked down on by the religious leaders of his day. Men and women who truly needed to know God.
We must follow Christ’s example.
We as Christians must heed the words of the writer of Hebrews who said,

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men

 and to be holy; 

without holiness no one will see the Lord.” 

                                                                                        Hebrews 12:14.
Francis of Assisi wrote,

“The deeds you do

 may be the only sermon 

some persons will hear today” 

                                                                         Francis of Assisi
If you claim to be Christian what is your sermon telling the people around you about Jesus.
Please think about it.

Let Love

Let Love
The writer of Proverbs states,
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 
Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” Proverbs 3:3,4.
Love by far should be the most important thing in a Christians life. It was Jesus who told us to love God, our neighbour and even our enemy. Our love should be unconditional love. Which for many people if not most is a very hard thing.
The apostle Paul defined love as,

“Love is patient, love is kind. 

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, 

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love does not delight in evil 

but rejoices with the truth.  

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

Love never fails....

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. 

But the greatest of these is love.”  

                                                                     1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13.
Think about this. Francis of Assisi wrote this prayer. It is a prayer I think all who consider themselves Christians need to consider taking to heart and praying once in a while. It states,

“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love,

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” 

                                                                                       Francis of Assisi
Learning to truly love God, neighbour and even our enemy is one of the important steps on the road to living a peaceful and holy life. And the writer of Hebrews tells us,
“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14.
Please think about it.

God will bring

God will bring
Albert Einstein observed,
“Not until the creation and maintenance of decent conditions of life for all men are recognized and accepted as a common obligation of all men and all countries—not until then shall we, with a certain degree of justification, be able to speak of mankind as civilized.” Albert Einstein.
Jesus when asked,
“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 22:36-40
There is an interesting quote from the Talmud that lines up with Christian thought exactly. It states,
“Rabbi Akiba was asked by a Roman general, “Why does your God who loves the needy not provide for their support Himself?”  He answered, “God the Father of both the rich and poor, wants the one to help the other so as to make the world a household of love.”  The Talmud.
God wants us as human beings to build that “household of love”. Sadly this is not happening in the world today. Even the richest nations in the world are not maintaining a decent condition of life for all their citizens.
In every country in the world be it in the so called third world or in the first world there are men women and children who go to bed hungry. Men, women and children who do not have access to adequate health care, access to essential life saving drugs or even decent housing. What to me and I would think most rational people are a basic human rights.
All of which is possible if only there was the will by governments to do so. To be true some who have power and wealth in our society, especially here in the west, have tried and are trying to better the lives of the poorest portions of society but it is woefully inadequate and politicians don’t seem to care.
I believe as a Christian that those who have power be it political or otherwise. Those who have the ability to change things, will one day have to answer to God for their actions.
Jesus told this parable,
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.  
At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores  and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.  
In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.  
So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ 
“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.  
And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ 
“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house,  
for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 
“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 
“ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 
“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” Luke 16:19-31.
The writer of Ecclesiastes states,
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole  duty  of man. 
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes12:13,14.
Sadly many in power do not believe the words of Ecclesiastes. They may say they believe in God but they do not fear standing before God.
And Christians especially are not of the hook so to speak. If one claims to be a Christian I firmly believe we must practice what we preach. Especially if we are in a position of power. The apostle James tells us,
“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.
Please think about it.