If True

If true

“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.
One of the claims of Christianity is that Jesus is God. That he was there on the day of creation. That “through him all thing were made;”. Not only that Christians believe God in the form of his One and Only Son Jesus, came to this earth to show us the way to heaven. But not in the way we would think.
Being God he could have revealed Himself in a miraculous way. Yet he did not. He came to this earth in such away that it would require faith to believe He was who He said He was.
Jesus came into this world live as a man. Experienced everything there was to experience as a man then let himself be put to death on a cross for a crime he didn’t commit. Not what the average person would expect of God.
The apostle Paul admits,
"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." 1 Corinthians 1:18.
It is a message believers in Christ Jesus ask people to believe. It is a message many cannot bring themselves believe. Yet it is a message Christians believe is of prime importance for people all over the world to believe.
C. S. Lewis noted,
“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 question for anyone who hears the story of Jesus is, Do you believe Jesus is God incarnate, Saviour of mankind, or not?
The choice is your’s please think about it.

Be Still

Be still

“Be still, and know that I am God; 

I will be exalted among the nations, 

I will be exalted in the earth.” 

                                                Psalm 46:10

C. S. Lewis wrote,
“A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.” C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
I think there are two primary reasons people cannot find God. One they are simply not looking for Him. The other is they have made up their mind and are not willing to listen anything that might give insight into God’s existence.
As someone I think wisely said,

Maybe the atheist cannot find God 

for the same reason a thief cannot find a policeman. 

                                                               Author Unknown

We especially here in the western democracies live in a society that is filled with a cacophony of noise and distractions. Distractions that quite often distract us from seeing God.
In order to find God we must be looking for Him. We must have faith that He exists. The writer of Hebrews stating,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6.
In order to seek God we must be still. We must take time from our busy life sit down and simply ask, Dear Lord please show yourself to me.
The question I would ask you the reader is are you willing to be still and to ask God to show Himself to you?
Please think about it.

Christians and Judgment

Christians and Judgement
Jesus said,
Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1,2.
This makes it clear to anyone who claims to be a follower of Christ Jesus. We are not allowed to judge. I believe this to be especially true when it comes to where anyone will spend eternity.
The apostle Paul makes it clear that Christians have the right to Judge other Christians but only with respect to what they are teaching. 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.
We can judge those who claim to be Christians because by the fact they are claiming to be Christians they are saying I believe the teachings of the Jesus and the Apostles. If they don’t we are to cast them out of the church.
As for those who are not Christians we have no right to judge them at all. Only God has that right, because only God knows what is in the heart of an individual.
Only God knows why a person is the way they are.
The job of a follower of Christ Jesus is made clear when Jesus said,
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20.
We are to make disciples of all nations. At no time does Jesus ever tell his followers to judge anyone. No should we.
We will never win souls for Christ by judging and criticising them. It is only through love and developing a dialogue between ourselves and those around us, that we will win souls for Christ.
Thus my question to anyone reading this who claims to be a Christian, a follower of Christ Jesus. Do you judge others, intentionally or otherwise?
Please think about it. 

No excuses

No excuses
The Psalmist writes.

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 

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

Know that the LORD is God. 

It is he who made us, 

and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; 

give thanks to him and praise his name. 

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; 

his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

                                                                    Psalm 100.

I am a Christian a believer in Christ Jesus. I make no excuses for what I believe. When I get the opportunity to present my faith. I do just that. I present what I believe and leave it for the listener to agree or disagree with me.
I know on that day when this life is over I will bow before God and thank Him for His wonderful love. Until that day however I will praise and glorify God’s name here on Earth.
Thus my question to you the reader;
Do you believe in God?
If not why not?
If you do why?
Please think about it.

A Matter of Faith

A matter of Faith.
The Psalmist writes,

“The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” 

                                                       Psalm 19:1.

We may not be able to see God but that does not mean he does not exist. Astronomers have for a long time theorised that black holes exist yet they could not see them. They realized that black holes existed because of what they observed.
So it is with God. We only have to look around us to realize that this world, this universe we live in has to have a creator.
As I have said many times in my blogs over the years I cannot believe that the universe in which we live just formed from randomness. There has to be a creator behind it all.
We live in a part of the universe that has been called the “goldilocks zone”. An area of the universe that is just right for life as we know it to exist.
Whether there are more of these zones within our universe is irrelevant  to my belief in God.
The key to my believing in God is my faith.
Just like Albert Einstein and many other scientist went to the grave believing in their theories. So it is with believers in Christ Jesus.
Believers in Christ Jesus are willing to go to their graves believing they will meet God after they pass from this world.
Thus my question to you is do you believe in God?
The writer of the book of Hebrews states,

“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.” 

                                                                            Heb

Jesus is

Jesus is
The writer of Hebrews 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.
Here the author make four statements about Jesus.
According to the writer of Hebrews Jesus is,
1/ The Son of God,
2/ The exact representation of his being.
3/ The one who sustains all things by his powerful word.
4/ The one who provides purification for our sins.
The author makes no apologies for what he believes. He simply puts them out there for the reader to believe or not to believe.
The choice therefore is yours.
Who do you believe Jesus to be?
Please think about it.

You are The Christ

You are The Christ
John’s gospel records this conversation between Martha and Jesus,
“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.
As I have said in previous blogs. Why would the early church who were trying to establish themselves record an event that clearly states Jesus is the Christ if he was not? The answer is it must be true.
That being said belief in Christ Jesus cost you nothing. Blaise Pascal wrote about believing in God, saying
“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.
The same is true about Jesus. If you truly put your trust in him and it turns out Jesus is not who he says he is. Then it costs you nothing.
On the other hand if everything the Bible writers and followers of Christ Jesus believe is true you gain everything. Jesus speaking of himself recorded 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. 
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.
Please think about it.

Why would?

Why Would?
John's gospel records this incident in the life of Jesus. John writes,
"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.
John also records,
"Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 
It has always been my contention that if Jesus was simply a mere man why would the gospel writers put such things as I quoted above into their writings. After all they were in the process of building a new movement. To claim Jesus was the Son of God, God incarnate would run counter productive to their cause.
C. S. Lewis wrote this,
"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.
That being said the choice is yours. You can either believe Jesus is all he claimed to be or not.
Before make your choice however I would recommend you read at least the New Testament and see for yourself what the early believers believed about Jesus.
I would also recommend C. S. Lewis’s book Mere Christianity. A book although written decades ago is as relevant today as ever.
Please think about it.

At Least Consider

At least consider
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.
I could write books on this one verse of scripture. At face value it means what it says. Do to others what you would want others to do to you.
This is especially true when it come to knowing about Jesus. I am so glad that when I was in my late teens some friends introduced me to Jesus.
Over the years I have done many things some of which I have regretted. But I have never regretted accepting Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.
The Bible tells me,

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. 

When a man found it, he hid it again,

 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.

This I have found to be true.
I have gone through a lot in my six decades on this earth and through it all good and bad Jesus has been there for me.
I believe what Jesus said
“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.
Thus my question to you.
Will you at least consider reading the New Testament to find out what the teachings of Jesus are, and what the early church taught about Jesus.
Please think about it.

Foolishness?

Foolishness?

The apostle Paul writes,

"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."

                                                                                1 Corinthians 1:18.

Think about this. The whole New Testament revolves around Jesus. Jesus who claimed to be the Son of God. Equal to God. It talks about his dying on the cross for the sins of each individual who would believe in him. It talks about his resurrection from the grave. It tell of how he waked the earth after rising from the grave. Then ascended into heaven.
This to many people today and in the past seems foolishness. Yet those who believe in Christ Jesus believe it to be absolutely true.
The question is do you believe what the New Testament says about Jesus or not.
Many who dismiss Jesus and God out of hand I find have not read the Bible. What they know of the teachings of Jesus and Jesus himself is purely second hand. Which can be a dangerous thing. For second hand sources can have a bias.
I firmly believe individuals need to read the Bible for themselves. It is the only way to truly know the truth about Jesus and about God.
Thus my challenge to anyone who reads this take time to at least read the New Testament before you make up your mind about Jesus.
Please think about it.

A time will come

A time will come
The apostle Paul writes,
"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." 2Timothy 4:3,4.
Evangelist Charles H. Spurgeon
"A time will come when instead of the shepherds feeding the sheep. The church will have clowns entertaining the goats." Charles H. Spurgeon.
This is happening today both in the media and in the pulpit. Many people calling themselves Christians are going to church to be entertained as Spurgeon put it by clowns. Church congregations in many cases have become social clubs.
Men and women as the apostle Paul put it,
“... gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”
This should not be so. As St. Augustin said,
“If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.” St Augustine.
Here in North America with have complete freedom of speech. Such a thing can be a blessing and a curse at the same time. This is especially true when it comes to Christians.
Such freedoms allow charlatans who claim to be Christians to preach false doctrine. Doctrine that on the surface sounds good, but upon looking deeper are wrong.
Most Christians sitting in the pew or watching an evangelist in the media don’t question what is being said. They take the pastor or evangelist at face value and thus are easily led astray.
We as Christians. As believers in Christ Jesus I believe have an obligation to question those who claim to be preaching the word of God.
To study the scriptures and see for ourselves what is right and what is wrong.
So my question to you the reader is.
If you claim to be a Christian, a follower of Christ Jesus are you studying the Bible for yourself?
Are you questioning what the pastors and evangelist you listen to are saying?
Are the pastors and evangelist you listen to truly teaching the word of God?
Please think about it.

Come

Come
The writer of the book of Revelations states,
“The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”Revelations 22:17. 
This is the call of Jesus to all mankind.
In Matthews gospel the writer records Jesus as 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.
Life may not always be easy. In the course of a lifetime we meet many challenges and obstacles, pain and sorrow.
I however know from personal experience that through all the circumstances of life God has been there for me. And I know that if you will truly turn to Christ and let him into your life he will be their for you.
The choice however is yours.
Please at least take time to read at least the New Testament and see what the early church believed about Jesus. Then decide for yourself whether or not to accept Christ into your life.
Please think about it.