The Worst of Sinners

The Worst of Sinners
“Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondsman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.” Deuteronomy 15:15.
I believe it’s at St. Mary Woolnoth  an Anglican church in the City of London, that there is a plaque with the words,
 “John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy.”
To quote R. J. Morgan from the book 365 scriptures that changed the world (copy right Thomas Nelson Publishers 1998.)
  “As a young man, Newton had been a seaman and slave trader whose mouth was a cesspool of profanity, and who liberally helped himself to the female slaves he transported. 
   But he also became a deserter, flogged by the British Navy, who was reduced to being the slave of a sadistic woman, herself a slave, in Africa.
Out of all this he was saved. And he became one of England’s greatest preachers, the author of the beloved hymn Amazing Grace.”
Over his study desk he had this verse from Deuteronomy 
“Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondsman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.” Deuteronomy 15:15.
He reportedly told a friend later in life “My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner and that Christ is a Great Saviour.”
John Newton’s conversion was dramatic. He went from being a man without principles. A man without a conscience to a man of great principles.
He spoke out against the slave trade and would go on to write hundreds of hymns 280 of which he combined with 68 hymns of William Cowper to form the Olney Hymnal.
We today can look on Newton and see how bad he was and say thank God I am nowhere near as bad as him. He needed a conversion experience. I am far better than him.
Many non Christians I believe today also look at people who go to church. People who claim to be Christians and say, “I know them. I know what they do outside of Church and it isn’t very Christian. Why should I become a Christian because I am better all around than they are.”
That may be so but not everyone who goes to church is a Christian. Not everyone who say’s they are Christian are.
Many people as well as Preachers and evangelist will one day stand before God and find they are not accepted into heaven. Jesus saying,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”  Matthew 7:21-23.
When it comes to knowing Jesus as one’s Lord and Saviour it is up to the individual to decide.
We should not look on those who are going to church or who claim to be Christians. Simply because many who claim to be Christians are not.
Each individual needs to look within themselves and ask themselves am “I truly good enough to go to heaven?”
I believe if we are honest with ourselves the answer will be no.
No one is good enough to stand before a holy God.
C.S. Lewis said,
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.” C.S. Lewis
That is why Jesus came.
Another self admitted sinner the apostle Paul wrote these words,
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.  
‘But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” 1 Timothy 1:15,16
I firmly believe that we as individuals must search our heart of hearts and in all humility admit that there is sin in our life.
Then we must turn to Jesus, recognize that he is the One and only Son of God, who died for our sins and ask him to forgive our sins and come into our hearts and lives.
For it is only through Christ that we can truly have our sins forgiven and have our lives changed.
It happened to John Newton. It happened to the Apostle Paul and it can happen to you.
Think about it.

Your Works

Your Works
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  
      If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  
     In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  
     You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 
      You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?”  James 2:14-20.
Christianity is very much a faith of both, faith and works. Our faith should compel us to do righteous works.
It’s easy to say by faith we are saved, but our faith must go further than that.
Sometime ago the youth group at my son’s church were challenged to make a difference. So they decided to find some people with no affiliation to their church that were in need of help.
They in one case helped fix up a house both inside and out. They did it without cost or obligation to the people they were doing it for. They did it without fan fair. All they got for their work was the appreciation of the people they did the work for, and the good feeling that they received for a job well done.
This is how we as Christians should work. Tony Campolo the American evangelist states,
“These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change.” Tony Campolo
He’s right we should be showing our faith through our deeds every day. Remember the words of Francis of Assisi,

“The deeds you do

 may be the only sermon 

some persons will hear today”

                                     Francis of Assisi

Think about it.

You Christians

You Christians
         Mahatma Gandhi said,

“Jesus is ideal and wonderful, 

but you Christians - 

you are not like him.”

                                         Mahatma Gandhi

You know from my prospective as a Christian I can see the truth in Gandhi’s statement. There are many people out there claiming to be Christians that are not.    These people may go to church. They may perform the rituals many churches have. Still they are not Christian. They have not accepted Jesus into their hearts and lives.
Jesus made it clear,
“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 7:22,23.
From where I sit here in Canada I see and know many hard working pastors and evangelist who are doing the work of God. Sadly they are all to often overshadowed by preachers and evangelist in the media that do not live up to the ideals of Christ. Who’s message is not the message of Christ.
Jesus when on this earth never spoke against the civil secular authority of Rome. He a Jew did speak against the religious leaders of his day, but being a Jew he had that right.
Jesus healed the sick and preached reconciliation to God and he taught his disciples to do the same. He told his followers to love God, their neighbour, and even their enemy.
Tony Campolo the American evangelist said,
“We (Christians) ought to get out of the judging business. We should leave it up to God to determine who belongs in one arena or another when it comes to eternity. What we are obligated to do is to tell people about Jesus, and that's what I do.” Tony Campolo 
He also said,
“These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change.” Tony Campolo
Jesus and true Christians are interested in the individual, not the individuals pocket book, life style, or sins.
True Christians know we have the most important message the world needs to know. The message expressed by Jesus 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.
This is the message true Christians want the world to know. It is the offer of the free gift of salvation. It is an offer of rest for your soul. Jesus saying,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.
Please think about it.

Who is He?

Who is He?
Just who is Jesus, some say a myth, others say he was a good man. Some say he was simply a prophet. Christians however say Jesus is the Son of God, God incarnate, the saviour of the world.
The following are just a few quotes from the New Testament. They tell what the followers of Jesus believed and what Jesus said of himself.
John’s gospel records,
“Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 
“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?” 
“We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” John 10 22-33.
Notice here Jesus claimed to be one with God and did not back down on that statement even when facing the possibility of being stoned.
Jesus speaking to his disciples said,
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 
Jesus makes it clear he is the only way to meet God the Father.
Matthew’s gospel records this conversation between Jesus and his apostles,
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.  Matthew 16:13-17.
All of the apostles and all of the writers of the New Testament believed that Jesus was the Son of God the Christ, the Messiah.
The Writer of Hebrew summing things up this way,
“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
Jesus is the “is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being,...”
This is what true Christians today believe.
The question you the reader must answer is the same one Jesus asked Martha as recorded in the gospel of John,
“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.
The question is do you believe the same thing Martha believed?
Please think about it.

To Save

To save
The Apostle John quoted Jesus, speaking of himself as saying,
“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.
This is what all Christians need to remember.

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

but to save the world through him.” 

                                                     John 3:17.

Christians have no right to judge anyone, especially when it comes to where that person will spend eternity.
The apostle Paul states,

“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?

“ Are you not to judge those inside?  

God will judge those outside. 

“Expel the wicked man from among you.” 

                                               1 Corinthians 5:12,13.

Christians are only allowed to judge those within their own faith and then only to make sure they are teaching the scriptures correctly. We as Christians have no right to judge as to where an individual will spend eternity that is God’s job.
Billy Graham the great American evangelist said,

“It is the Holy Spirits Job to Convict, 

God’s job to judge 

and my job to love,” 

                             Billy Graham.

The call of Jesus is,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 

and I will give you rest.”

                                   Matthew 11:28.

People will never hear that message if we as Christians are judging them.
Please think about it.

Place your bet

Place your bet

“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.

You are grass and all of the glory you gain in this world are like the flowers of the field.
You grow old. You body strong in your youth slowly fades with age until you pass from this life.
All that you have done your achievements may be retained in the memory of those who loved you. Or, if you are lucky, in history books or on some stone pillar, even on the internet. Still even those achievements will one day be forgotten.
The writer of Ecclesiastes writing from a human prospective wrote,
“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 was right. If we look at things from the point of view of this world life is meaningless. If all we are here to do is produce the next generation and gather a few bangles bobbles and beads then isn’t life meaningless.
There however is more to being human. The way I see it is human beings are eternal beings destined to live throughout eternity and a place of our choosing.
In creating humans God did not make robots. He created individuals with a freewill to do as they wished. That freewill extends to our belief in God. Which by God’s design comes down to an act of faith. 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

Of faith, of belief, Blaise Pascal 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 question becomes,
Where do you place your bet?
Please think about it.

A Bulwark for a free society

A Bulwark for a free society
The Psalmist writes,

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked 

or stand in the way of sinners 

or sit in the seat of mockers. 

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

 and on his law he meditates day and night.” 

                                                          Psalm 1:1,2.

Abba Hillel Silver wrote,
“Faith in God is the strongest bulwark of a free society.  Human freedom began when men became conscious that over and above society and nature there is a God who created them...who fashioned them in His likeness, and that they are, therefore, possessed of intrinsic and independent significance and are endowed, as individuals, with original and irrevocable rights and authority.” Abba Hillel Silver.
Rabbi Silver is correct. Faith in God is the strongest bulwark of a free society.
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.
When man loses his fear of God or refuses to believe God exists society can go down hill. A quick look at Nazi Germany proves this. Hitler and his henchmen had no fear of God’s judgment. This led to a war that killed in excess of fifty-eight million innocent people men, women and children, soldiers and civilians.
Man needs God and the moral compass He provides. That compass in it’s simplest form is the ten commandments found in Exodus 20:2-17 that states,
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 
“You shall have no other gods before me. 
“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; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,  but showing love to a thousand  generations  of those who love me and keep my commandments. 
“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. 
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,  but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.  
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 
“Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. 
“You shall not murder. 
“You shall not commit adultery. 
“You shall not steal. 
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” 
Exodus 20:2-17
These commandments lay down the basics for a civil society. It makes clear how God expects individuals to act with respect to God and to other individuals.
Please think about it.

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.