Watch out

Watch out
The apostle Peter wrote,
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.  
Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  
In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” 2 Peter 2:1-3.
Peter’s warning is a warning for the ages. We as believers in Christ Jesus must keep our own house clean. We must be completely committed to proclaiming the gospel message in the purest form possible.
The apostle Paul tells us,
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. 
“Expel the wicked man from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
We as believers in Christ Jesus have no right to judge anyone inside or outside the church with respect to where they will spend eternity. That is God’s job. Not ours.
That being said we have an obligation to look at what is being taught in our church congregations and to expel from our congregations and denominations those who are not teaching the word of God in spirit and in truth.
We must remember we are the light of the world. The great evangelist Charles Spurgeon said,
“The Bible is not the light of the world, it is the light of the Church. But the world does not read the Bible, the world reads Christians! “You are the light of the world.”” Charles H. Spurgeon.
We therefore must not let anything dim our light. The message we proclaim to the world must be proclaimed to the world in word and in deed.
The apostle Peter telling us,
“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 2:11,12.
Francis of Assisi reminding us,

“The deeds you do 

may be the only sermon some persons will hear today” 

                                                                  Francis of Assisi.

We must remember this. We must always be vigilant when it comes to those who would be preachers, and teachers of the word God.
We should be checking what they are saying against the Bible text, and if they are in error, we must correct them. If they will not take correction then we must be willing to as the apostle Paul put it “expel the wicked” from among us.
The only way we can do this is if we as individuals study the scriptures ourselves and with others in order the see the truths as they appear in the Bible.
Please think about it. 

Three ways

Three ways
Jesus speaking to the Samaritan woman 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.
To my way of thinking there are three ways of viewing God.

1. You can simply say God does not exist.
2. You can give intellectual consent and say God exists, but have no real faith in Him.
3. You can have complete faith in God.   The Bible makes it clear that it is the latter, faith in God that gets us to heaven. The writer of Hebrews telling us,

“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 states,
“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
Sadly many people today either say they don’t believe in God or simply give intellectual consent to his existence. They say God exists but have no real faith in Him. Their true faith is elsewhere.
Matthew’s gospel tells this story of a young man who came to Jesus,
“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 man believed in the existence of God. He gave intellectual consent to the existence of God. He even followed the Laws given by God through Moses.
His failing however was he had more faith in his wealth and possessions than in God.
As Jesus told the Samaritan woman,

“God is spirit, 

and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

                                                                                           John 4:24.

In order to be a true believer in Christ Jesus. A true believer in God we must put our complete faith in Him.
The Psalmist states,

“I wait for the LORD, 

my soul waits,

 and in his word I put my hope.” 

                                   Psalm 130:5.

Do you put your hope in God?
The writer of Proverbs tells us,

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart

 and lean not on your own understanding;” 

                                                        Proverbs 3:5.

Do you have this kind of trust in God?
Please think about it.

Thoughts from Ecclesiastes

Thoughts from Ecclesiastes
The writer of Ecclesiastes makes several important statements. He writes,

“What has been will be again, 

what has been done will be done again; 

there is nothing new under the sun”

                                           Ecclesiastes 1:9

“I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; 

all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

                                                            Ecclesiastes 1:14

“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; 

I refused my heart no pleasure.

 My heart took delight in all my work, 

and this was the reward for all my labor. 

Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done 

and what I had toiled to achieve, 

everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; 

nothing was gained under the sun.” 

                                                           Ecclesiastes 2:10,11

The writer here notes the futility of life. Life being an endless cycle of gathering and scattering. No matter how many material possessions we acquire in our lifetime at the moment of our death those possessions are scattered among others.
We enter eternity pennyless. We only take into eternity the knowledge of our deeds and our faith, or lack of faith in God.
It is our faith, or lack there of that will determine where we will spend eternity. The writer of Hebrews telling us,

“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.

Jesus speaking of himself put it this way,
“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.
I firmly believe when God created mankind he gave each individual complete freedom to do as they wish. That freedom includes the right to believe in God or not to believe in Him.
Thus the choice is yours.
Please think about it.

A Sermon

A Sermon
The book of acts records this incident in the life of the apostle Paul. It states,
“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.
The apostle Paul’s message to the Athenians is as relevant today as it was when he spoke it. The question is do you believe what he said?
Please think about it.

Sign Posts

Sign posts
Albert Einstein said,
“Human beings vegetables or cosmic dust. We all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible player.”
Einstein whether he knew it or not, I believe got it right. To my way of thinking, the mysterious tune is life, the invisible player is God.
And we, as individuals are made of the cosmic dust of the universe God created.
The writer of the book of Genesis tells us,
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1.
The Bible is not specific as to how God created the universe. As a result He could have made it in six twenty-four hour days or he could have created it over billions of years.
How God created the universe and everything in it is unimportant when it comes to my faith. God could have done it either way.
For me when I look into the heavens and see the greatest galaxies or when I look and see the smallest sub atomic particles, I see order.
I see a universe that is created in such away that life as we know it can exist. 
The Psalmist said,
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1.
The way I see it God who asks us to believe in Him by faith, does not expect us to have blind faith in him. Rather he wants us to have informed faith. For he has placed around us sign post that show his existence. Those signs being the Bible and creation itself. All we as individuals have to do is correctly read those sign posts.
Thus the question becomes. How do you read the sign posts?
Please think about it.

He who truly seeks finds

He who truly seeks finds

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; 

knock and the door will be opened to you.  

For everyone who asks receives;

 he who seeks finds; 

and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” 

                                                         Matthew 7:7,8.

I believe those words of Jesus quoted above, especially when it comes to God. I believe that anyone who is truly looking for God will find Him.
The thing is many who do not believe in God, have either not looked for Him, or simply conclude that since they can’t physically see God he doesn’t exist.
C. S. Lewis said,
“He shows much more of Himself to some people than to others-not because He has favourites, but because it is impossible for Him to show Himself to a man whose whole mind and character are in the wrong condition.”  C. S. Lewis.
We must be searching for God in order to find him. If we simply say I can’t see God therefor he doesn’t exist. Then we will never find God. We must have faith that God exists in order to find God.
The writer of Hebrews states,

“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 question is do you have faith that God exists?
Ben Zion Bokser wrote,
“I have not seen the robin but I know he is there because I heard him singing through my window from the tree-top outside.
I have not seen God.  But I have looked at my child’s eyes, and have been overwhelmed by the miracle of unfolding life.
I have watched the trees bedeck themselves with new garbs of green in the spring, and have been stirred by the miracle of continual rebirth.
I have looked at the stars, and have been overcome by the miracle of the grandeur and majesty of the universe.
I know that God exists, because I have heard the song of His presence from all the tree-tops of creation.” Ben Zion Bokser
Thus the choice is yours.
Do you believe in God or not?
Only you can decide.
Please think about it.

Do you Love?

Do you Love?
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
Jesus also said,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  
       But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,...” Matthew 5:43,44.
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.

If you claim to be a follower of Christ Jesus do you truly love? Do you love unconditionally?
Can you pray this prayer written by Francis of Assisi and mean it,

“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

Please think about it.

The Christian Ethic

The Christian Ethic
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.
The apostle Peter writes,
“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 2:11,12.
Piliny the younger writing to the Roman Emperor said of the early Christians he examined,
"They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food--but food of an ordinary and innocent kind...”Piliny the younger.
It seems the early believers in Christ Jesus lived good lives. They were known for their good behavior. The book of acts speaking of the early believers in Christ, records,
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  
Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.  
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.  
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,  praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47.
We as believers in Christ Jesus are known by our deeds be they good or bad. It is also through our words and deeds that others will see Christ Jesus.
Charles Spurgeon said,
“The Bible is not the light of the world, it is the light of the Church. But the world does not read the Bible, the world reads Christians! “You are the light of the world.”” Charles H. Spurgeon.
It is therefore to my way of thinking imperative that we as believers in Christ Jesus live as good a life as possible, that we may point people to Christ and the eternal life He offers.
Daily we should remember the words of Francis of Assisi who said,

“The deeds you do 

may be the only sermon some persons will hear today” 

                                                                       Francis of Assisi.

Please think about it.

A Word of Warning

A Word of Warning
James the half brother of Jesus wrote,
“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.  Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.  
Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.  
Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.  
You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.  
You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.” James 5:1-6.
This warning is to the rich and powerful to be honest and fair in all their dealings. It is a reminder that while you may get away with doing wrong in this world you will not in the next.
Jesus told this story,
“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.
As I have said many times in my blogs there is nothing wrong with being rich and powerful. It is what you do with your wealth and power that can cause problems. The apostle Paul telling us,
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10.
Paul also warns,
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” 2 Timothy 3:1-4.
All of what the apostle Paul described is happening today.
While there are many with wealth and power who do a lot of good. There are many more who do just the opposite. Thus the warning to be honest or face God’s judgement.
All of that being said the warnings in these scriptures are not just limited to the wealthy and powerful. It is a call to every individual to deal fairly and honestly with all whom they deal with.
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.
Thus the question becomes. Are you doing this?
Please think about it.

Consequences

Consequences 
The Bible states,
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1.
The Bible does not debate the existence of God. It has no need to, it is written to believers in God.
Now I know there are people in the world that say there is no God. That is their opinion and I respect that. That being said, just because someone doesn’t believe in God doesn’t mean God doesn’t exist.
I believe the flaw in atheism is that the atheist put themselves in the role of god. They can’t see God so they say he doesn’t exist. But just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
In order to be absolutely sure God does not exist one must know all things and have been everywhere, including beyond the grave. These are attributes of God. Thus the atheist in saying categorically there is no God, he is saying he is god.
No man is god. Man are mortal and fallible. Men make mistakes. Quite often in life we must act in faith because we do not always have the answers. Thus it is with God. We must act in faith. We act in faith saying God does not exist, or we act in faith and say God does exist.
Either way to my mind our decision as to whether God exist or not has eternal consequences.
Jesus 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.
The choice is yours.
Please think about it.

You and Money

You and Money
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21.
Now let me make one thing clear here the apostle Paul writes,
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10.
It is the “love of money” that causes us problems. It is the priority we put on money,  what we do with it, and how we acquire it that causes the problems. Money in and of itself is not evil.
Money should never come before God.
Money should never take center stage in our lives.
Matthew’s gospel tells this story about a rich young man and Jesus. Matthew 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 man apparently at least on an intellectual level believed in God. However he didn’t seem to want to trust God. He had more faith in his wealth than in God.
Thus the question becomes if you claim to believe in God. If you claim to be a follower of Christ Jesus. Where do you place your trust?
Please think about it.

God to me

God to me
Over the years people have asked me what is the most important thing in my life? I tell them God. For God has truly blessed me. While at the same time been with me through some of the hardest days of my life.
Jesus said,
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it agai+n, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  
When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:44-46.
My belief in God is precious to me. That’s why I wish to do my best to represent Him in all I do. Especially when I present the Bible to anyone.
I believe it is of paramount that when I read the Bible I interpret it the right way. The way God intended.
It is easy to take portions of the Bible out of context and make it say what you want it to say. This however is wrong. One must do ones best to interpret the Bible correctly. Taking each word and verse in its proper context.
I firmly believe we should not only be reading the bible but we should be reading about the history and culture of Israel. The culture in which the Bible was written
It is far too easy to read the Bible and place our own cultural norms on it. This should not be so. 
The Bible was written I believe to show man what God expects of him and to point individuals to heaven.
If we misinterpret the Bible we run the risk of pointing both ourselves and others in the wrong direction. This can have eternal consequences.
Thus the question becomes.

If you claim to be a follower of Christ Jesus is God precious to you? 

Are you doing everything you can to interpret the Bible correctly?

Or

Are you twisting the scriptures to suit your own beliefs?

Please think about it.