The Suffering Messiah

The Suffering Messiah
John’s gospel (John 6:1-13) tells of the Miraculous feeding of the five thousand noting,
“After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” John 6:14.
John then notes,
“Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” John 6:15.
According to various commentators I’ve read, at the time Jesus fed the five thousand He was at the height of His popularity.
One commentator noting that the crowd might have thought that just as Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt so to would Jesus bring Israel out from under the oppression of the Romans.
The crowd however did not understand that Jesus was the suffering Messiah referred to in Isaiah 53 that states,
“By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 
Yet it was the LORD'S will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 
After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life  and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” Isaiah 53:8-12.
Jesus never intended to lead an army. He never espoused violence in any way. He realized He was in this world to pay the penalty for the sins of all who would believe in Him.
The apostle Paul telling 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. 
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!  
For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  
Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” Romans 5:6-11.
I know especially if someone is not a believer in Christ, this is something that is hard to understand. But our ways are not God’s ways.
It would have been easy for God to send Jesus in a miraculous fashion. To send Him as a conqueror.
To show His power by sending Jesus with legions of angels or in other miraculous ways would not have produced true followers. Many would have said they believe in Jesus because they feared what he could do to them. God did not want that.
In speaking to the Samaritan woman Jesus said,
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23,24.
God want’s people to believe in Him through faith.
Those who believe in something by faith are the truest of believers and will endure anything for that faith.
The writer of Hebrews tells 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.

The Apostle Paul writes,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ” Ephesians 2:8.
Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind?
Please think about it. 

Equal to God

Equal to God
John’s gospel records that Jesus was preforming miracles on the Sabbath. Which was considered work by the religious leaders of his day and thus by their way of thinking wrong. John then notes this incident in which Jesus clearly states He is God’s Son. John states,
“So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him.  
Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”  
For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. 
Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:16-19
Jesus never shied away from the fact that He was the Son of God. The fact that Jesus is the Son of God is the corner stone of Christian belief.
For Jesus to say He was the Son of God was to take his life in his hands. C.S. Lewis points out in his book Mere Christianity
“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.
All who are presented with Jesus must make up their own mind as to who Jesus is. There is no middle ground with Jesus.
Henry Ward Beecher said of Jesus,
“If Christ is not divine, every impulse of the Christian world falls to a lower octave, and light and love and hope decline.”  Henry Ward Beecher.
Thus the question becomes, Who do you think Jesus is?
Please think about it.

Many Believed

Many believed
I post this blog with the intentions of making those who claim to be followers of Christ think.
In my previous blog post I wrote about Jesus encountering the Samaritan woman. In the time of Jesus Samaritans and Jews did not associate with one another. Jesus however had no such problem.
In speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well he broke the social norm of his day. In doing so Jesus showed his followers that they should do the same.
Jesus in forgetting about the social norm of the day and speaking to the Samaritan woman resulted in many in the village coming to believe that He indeed was the Messiah. John’s gospel recording,
“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”  
So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.  
And because of his words many more became believers. 
They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” John 4:39-42.
As believers in Christ Jesus today in the twenty-first century we need to follow what Jesus did. We need to put aside our “social norms” and associate with all people.
It should not matter whether we agree with their beliefs, or their lifestyle we should be opening a dialogue with them.
Jesus did not look on the lifestyle or the beliefs of this Samaritan woman he simply presented the good news of Salvation to her. As a result many others believed in Him.
Question,
Are you willing to meet people where they are at, or are you prevented from reaching people for Christ because of their lifestyle or beliefs?
Please think about it.

Encounter with a Samaritan

Encounter with a Samaritan.
John’s Gospel records this incident between a Samaritan woman and Jesus.
“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 
Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 
Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  
You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.  
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” 
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 
Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”4:19-26.
Here we have a conversation between a Samaritan woman and Jesus. Samaritans and Jews never spoke. Many Jews in the day of Jesus, even avoided going through Samaria to go from the north to the south of Israel even though it was the most direct rout.
Jesus however had not such problems and in speaking to the Samaritan woman we can I think say in a symbolic way, that Jesus shows that the message of Salvation he brings to the world is for everyone.
Jesus notes that he is indeed the Messiah that comes from the Jews. But in the middle of this passage he notes,
Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  
You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.  
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” 
Ultimately the temple as we know was destroyed and the Jewish people scattered. It however did not stop devout people from worshipping God.
The Apostle Paul points out,
“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.” Acts 17:24.
I’m sure there were many in the time of Jesus who went up to the temple to worship out of duty or as part of their culture. They simply believed this was what one did if one was a Jew.
Matthew’s gospel records this incident between Jesus and a young man. He records,
“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” 
“Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,  honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’’” 
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” Matthew 19:16-22.
This young man had great wealth. His faith was in his wealth not truly in God. He was obeying God’s word but lacked faith in God.
As Jesus pointed out to the Samaritan woman,
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
Today in our churches there are many who go to church out of a sense of duty. Some go for the social aspect of church, or because their parents, grandparents, and great grandparents, went to church. To them it is the thing to do.
While it is good to go to church and the social aspect can have positive effects on our life. That is not what being a believer in Christ is all about. It is about faith in God. 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.

The apostle Paul writes,
“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.
Please think about it.

In a Nutshell

In a Nutshell
The Gospel of John records an interaction between Jesus and a Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council and Jesus. Jesus tells Nicodemus, 
“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.
This is the message of Jesus Christ in a nutshell. In very clear terms it makes three statements.
1. God loved the world so much He sent his one and only son into it, so that whoever believed in Him would have eternal life.
2. He makes it clear that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world in any way. He came to save all who would believe in Him.
3. He gives a warning. Making it clear that whoever believes in Jesus in not condemned. But whoever does not believe is condemned.
This is a core belief of all who believe in Jesus Christ.
All who hear about the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ must decide for themselves if what the apostle John wrote here in his gospel is true or not.
If it is untrue then no one has anything to fear.
If on the other hand it is true then there are eternal ramifications. 
Please think about it.

Water to Wine

Water to wine
John’s gospel records Jesus as being at a wedding feast with his disciples, possible of a relative, when the wine runs out. Something that would have been to potentially humiliating to the bride and groom.
His mother obviously knowing what he was capable of doing asked him to make things right if you will. Jesus does so in the form of a miracle. John’s gospel stating,
“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,  
and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.  
When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 
“Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” 
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 
Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. 
Then he called the bridegroom aside  and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” 
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.” John 2:1-11.
For me personally there is a few of things that fascinate me about this incident.
First Mary the mother of Jesus knew he could preform such an act. She obviously had foreknowledge of what Jesus was capable of doing.
Second while Jesus said, “Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” he a adult man of around thirty, still obeyed his mother.
Third, In doing so he did a secret act of kindness toward the bride and groom. For while the servants knew what had happened, the master of the banquet did not know, nor presumably did the bride and groom.
Forth, and more importantly this miracle set a precedent. It did what the miracles of Jesus were suppose to do, showed who he was. John noting,
“This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.”
It has always been my contention that all the miracles in the Bible are true. Especially those associated with Jesus.
The New Testament was written within living memory of Jesus. There were people around that knew Jesus and what he did. To lie would be to destroy the credibility of the fledgling church.
Not only that but the writers of the New Testament were writing to tell people beyond Israel about Jesus. People not only in the Roman Empire but beyond it.
To fabricate something that was unbelievable would again not be in the best interest of the fledgling movement.
Thus in my opinion these events must be true. The choice however is up to you the reader. You must decide for yourself if what the writers of the New Testament wrote is true.
Please think about it.

Jesus is the Christ

Jesus is the Christ
John’s Gospel records this incident with John the Baptist. He states,
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  
This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’  
I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” 
Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.  
I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’  
I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” John 1:29-34.
Here is a plane and simple statement that the apostle John records as coming from John the Baptist. He asks his readers to believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
I as a believer in Christ Jesus firmly believe that this is perhaps the most important choice any individual presented with Christ must make in their life time.
C. S. Lewis said,
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” C. S. Lewis.
Thus the choice is yours. Before you make your decision however take time to read the New Testament and see for yourself what believers in Jesus believed Him to be.
If you need a Bible you can get one free on line by simply googling You Bible.
Please take a few minutes to pray and ask God to show you His truths within the Bible.
Please think about it.

God Incarnate

God Incarnate
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.
Quoted above is perhaps one of Christianities most controversial statements. Believers in Christ Jesus, believe that He is God in the flesh.
That the God who created the heavens and the earth actually entered the world He crated that He entered the world to point mankind to heaven.
That he entered the world to pay the price for the sins of each man. The writer of Hebrew states,
“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.
Sin is falling short of God’s ideal for our lives. It is doing what God does not want us to do.
God in his wisdom, when he created mankind, gave man a freewill. God did not create robots that would follow a preprogramed line of code and do what he said. He gave each and every individual in this world a choice. Thus we can choose to follow God’s way or turn away from Him and do our own thing.
At the same time God realized that individuals are weak. They choose to do things that are not liked by Him, be it, lying, stealing, murdering, adultery, and more. All are sin and all sin separates us from God. And all of our good works will not take away that sin. We are essentially powerless to rid ourselves of sin. Thus the need for Jesus to enter the world.
The apostle Paul however points out,
“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 know this is a difficult concept to understand it even sound foolish. The apostle Paul points out,
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.  
Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,  but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,  but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”1 Corinthians 1:18-25.
Simply put God does not do things the way man would have him do things.
God could have sent Jesus to earth in all his power and splendour. He could have come with legions of angels and demand we worship Him.
God I am convinced knew that, that would not produce true believers in Him. It would produce people who were scared of what He could do to them. Such people are not true believers.
God asks us to have faith in Him the writer of Hebrew stating.
“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.
Thus the choice is yours the reader. Do you believe that Jesus is God Incarnate,  the Messiah, the Son of God, The Saviour of mankind, or do you not?
Please think about it.

Belief in God

Belief in God
Isaiah the Prophet wrote,

“A voice says, “Cry out.” 

And I said, “What shall I cry?” 

“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 40:6-8.

The Psalmist writes,

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; 

all who follow his precepts have good understanding. 

To him belongs eternal praise.” 

                                         Psalm 111:10

The writer of Proverbs states,

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; 

fear the LORD and shun evil.” 

                                         Proverbs 3:7.

Not surprising the Bible that was written to believers in God, believes there is an almighty eternal God that we should trust and worship.
By contrast there are those in the world who say there is no God.
To my way of thinking someone who thinks there is no God, is someone who thinks they are all knowing or fails to look around them and see the facts.
A believer in God can say as the Psalmist does,

“The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” 

                                              Psalm 19:1.

A believer in God can point to science and say that the universe from the largest galaxy to the smallest subatomic particle and everything in between is so perfectly in tune with each other that it allows life as we know it to exist.
To say the universe simply assembled itself out of chaos caused by the big bang is if you think about it a great leap of faith.
Those of us who believe in God can actually point to the big bang and say God used it to create the universe. After all the Bible states,

“In the beginning God created 

the heavens and the earth.” 

                                 Genesis 1:1.

To me as a Christian, God starting the universe with the “big bang” as scientist call it seems logical. How long it took to get from the moment of creation to where we are today is immaterial to my faith.
It matters little to my faith if the universe as we know it was created by God over billions of years or in six twenty-four hour days.
The fact is I believe God exists and that He created the heavens and the earth. To say otherwise does not make sense to me.
And I believe good science is on my side.
The choice however is up to you the reader for ultimately there is a faith factor in believing in God. Just as there is a faith factor is saying God does not exist.
No one living to day was there on the day of creation thus we have,
1/ The Bible telling us there is a God.
2/ The Bible stating, “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
3/ Science telling us that the universe had a beginning.
4/ Science indicating that the universe is precisely tuned to allow life as we know it to exist.
The choice however is up to you the reader. That being said consider this. Blaise Pascal wrote this about believing in God. He said,
“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.
Please think about it.

A Universal Truth

A Universal Truth
The Gospel of Matthew records Jesus as saying,
“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.
This is a universal truth whether you believe in Jesus Christ or not.
Think about this. If people be they believers in Christ or not would follow this one universal truth. The world would be a much better place in which to live.
To follow this one statement of Jesus requires the individual to live a life of unconditional  Love. The apostle Paul defining 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.

Do you love unconditionally?
Please think about it.

Message from Miletus

Message from Miletus
The book of Acts records a meeting between the apostle Paul and the elders of the Ephesian church at Miletus. While the meeting is recording Paul’s last visit with the elders from Ephesus, there is within it a warning we in the twenty-first century church need to heed.
The book of Acts states,
“Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again.  
Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men.  For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.  
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.  
I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.  
Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.  
So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. 
“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” Acts 20:25-32.
Here Paul notes that he will never see the elders at Ephesus again. At the same time he points out that,
“Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men.  For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.”
In other words Paul states he has done his duty to God by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ whenever he has had to opportunity.
As believers in Christ this something we should be able to say. That we have not hesitated to present the Gospel of Christ, the salvation message whenever we have had the opportunity to do so.
Paul however goes on to give a warning to the elders of Ephesus and through them to us, who are believers in the twenty-first century. He states, 
“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.  
Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.  
So be on your guard!”
Matthew’s gospel quotes Jesus as saying,
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. Matthew 7:15
It has been over two thousand years since Paul and Jesus gave us those warnings it however is a warning we today need to heed.
We live in a media filled world. A world where the truth can easily be twisted. It is very easy to string several scripture verses together and make them say something that is not true.
There are many men and women who use scripture for their own ill-gotten gains. To swindle people or lead them astray spiritually. Men and women who say they are of God but are not. That is why we must be on guard.
The Berean’s set the example for what we today need to do. The Book of Acts states that when Paul preached there,
“They received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Acts 17:11.
Question:
If you claim to be a follower of Christ, when you hear an evangelist, preacher or other teacher of scripture are you examining the Scriptures to see if what they are saying is true?
Please think about it.

The Athenian Sermon

The Athenian Sermon
To my mind one of the best sermons ever spoken was spoken by the Apostle Paul. It is recorded in the book of acts and does two things.
It is an example to believers in Christ Jesus how to present the message of Christ to non-Christians.
At the same time it presents a clear message of what believers in Christ believe to the non-believer.
It starts with what Paul seemed to always do when he entered a city. He presented his ideas to anyone who would listen to. The book of Acts records,
“So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.  
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.  Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?  
You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”  
(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) 
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.  
For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 
“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.’ 
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill.  
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” 
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”  
At that, Paul left the Council.  
A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others” Acts 17:17-34.
Thus the question becomes. What do you the reader believe?
Please think about it.