The Bible or the Constitution

 The Bible or the Constitution

The apostle Paul wrote,

"Let each of you look not only to your own interests, 

but also to the interests of others." 

                                                                 Philippians 2:4.

The year is 2020 a year like no other for everyone on the planet. A year that tests Christians. A year in which I am amazed at some American Christians. They say they believe the Bible yet are forgetting the words of the apostle Paul who said,

"Let each of you look not only to your own interests, 

but also to the interests of others." 

                                                                 Philippians 2:4.

Instead they are demanding “their right to assemble in large groups without social distancing or masks”. 

As I understand it no one is stopping Christians or any other group from worshipping. All that is being asked is that they follow health guidelines to protect those around them. They are being asked to look to the interest of others.

Sadly all to often in the United States especially, the constitution written by fallible men, takes priority over the infallible word of God. With personal rights coming before the rights of others. This is certainly not what the apostle Paul taught. 

If you are an American reading this which is more important to you, The Bible or the constitution?

      If you are living outside the United States which is more important to you the constitution of your country or the Bible? And don’t say both your can’t serve two masters.

Please think about it.

False Christs

 False Christs 

Jesus said,

"For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.  

See, I have told you ahead of time. 

"So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. Matthew 24:24-26

As Christians we need to be on guard against false prophets and teachers, whom Jesus said “will perform great signs and miracles”

In my lifetime which now spans in excess of sixty years many false teachers have arisen leading people astray. Many times with tragic consequences. This is also true throughout the history of the church.

Sadly many Christians are easily fooled. They tend to be trusting to the point that they give anyone who claims to be Christian the benefit of the doubt. As a result many are led astray. 

The best way for a believer in Christ Jesus to know who to follow is through prayer and bible study. 

Prayer brings us closer to God. While bible study fills us with knowledge about God. The two compliment each other.

  When we pray we should also ask God to give us wisdom about the scriptures and how it relates to us and the world around us. That way we will not be led astray.

Thus my question to you the reader is; do you pray and study the Bible at least daily? OR do you simply trust anyone who claims to be a Christian? 

Please think about it.

Our Duty as Christians

  Our duty as Christians

The apostle Paul writes,

“Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”1 Thessalonians 5:1,2.

As Christians we must be ready for the return of Christ. I know many people like to speculate when Jesus will return. There is nothing wrong with that. After all it’s a nice to consider a day when we will be in heaven with God.

The problem becomes when we obsess about the day of his returning to the point where we are not doing Gods work on this earth.

Remember 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.

This is our duty as Christians to do anything less is to fail God.

Please think about it.

Where are your roots?

  Where are your roots?

The prophet Jeremiah wrote,

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. 

They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It dose not fear when heat comes; its leave are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7,8.

The psalmist wrote,

"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. 

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." Psalm 1:1-3.

So my questions to anyone reading this who calls themselves a Christian. A believer in Christ Jesus is;

Where is your roots are they deep within the word of God? 

         Is your faith truly rooted in Christ? 

         Do you trust God in all circumstances?

Please think about it.

Our Job

 Our Job

In the book of Revelations we read,

“He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen” Revelations 22:20,21.

I don’t know when Jesus is coming but I do believe he is coming. It is therefor incumbent on all believers in Christ Jesus to keep our eyes on our primary duty. That duty given to us 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.

All Christians should be doing what they can to win souls for Christ. It’s that simple. We should not be mixing our faith with politics, other philosophies or anything else. We should be telling the world,

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son". John 3:16-18.

We should be telling people that it is that black and white. Either you believe or you do not. The choice is always up to the individual.

Thus I ask you; if you consider yourself a Christian, a believer in Christ Jesus, are you telling this to those around you?

Please think about it.

Come glorify the Lord with me

 Come glorify the Lord with me

The Psalmist writes,

"I will extol the LORD at all times; 

his praise will always be on my lips. 

My soul will boast in the LORD; 

let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 

Glorify the LORD with me; 

let us exalt his name together." 

                                        Psalm 34:1-3.

If nothing else the New Testament shows Jesus and his apostles experienced all that it is to be human. They attended weddings. The followed the rules set down in the Torah. They interacted with people of all walks of life.

They were also beaten, thrown in prison all but one dying for their faith. Yet through all of this they praised God. They praised him not only in the good times, but after they’d been beaten and while they were in prison.

They praised God because they knew that even in their darkest hour God was with them. 

How about you; do you praise God in the good times and in the bad?

Please think about it.

Revival

 Revival?

In 2 Chronicles we read,

“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles, 7:14.

I hear a lot of talk in church circles about revival. They say Canada and the United States need revival. I think if you were to ask most Christians sitting in the pew what revival meant they’d say, “there is a need for the country to turn back to God.”

I don’t see revival as a country turning back to God. Especially countries that were never Christian in the first place.

I see revival as the church turning back to God. Every revival in church history has come from within the church. 

Martin Luther made it clear that the church had turned away from the gospel of Christ and needed to return. This is true of every reformation movement. The reformations throughout history have all called for the church to return to the word of God.

The same is true today. The church has slowly drifted away from the pure word of God. Mixing it with politics, ritual, and other teachings that God never meant it to be mixed with.

We are living in the time the apostle Paul predicted when he said,

“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—  having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” 2Timothy 3:1-5.

Thus I believe it is time for revival, revival within the church. God’s people need to obey,  the word of 2 Chronicles where we read,

“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles, 7:14.

Please think about it.

Do you?

  Do you?

The apostle Paul writes,

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.  

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone Colossians 4:5,6.

Sometimes I think Christians forget about wisdom, especially here in North America. They are too focussed on getting things their way. On protecting their rights.

They spend their time complaining that the duly elected secular government is giving rights to people they object too. Then when a group pushes back they complain even more loudly. This should not be so.

As Christians we should be asking for Gods wisdom in reaching the world around us. We should be engaging those we disagree with not in a positive none condemning way. We should remember the words of Jesus who gave us a bench mark to follow when dealing with others, when he 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.

When dealing with those outside our faith, we should be asking ourselves; would I like to be treated the way I treated that person?  

Thus my question is: Do you, in everything, you do, do to others what you would have them do to you?

Please think about it.

Paul's command

 Paul’s command

The apostle Paul wrote,

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14.

Is the above a description of what you do? When people look at your life do they see compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love?

Do you forgive others any wrongs they have done to you in the way the Lord did you? Do you forgive others unconditionally which is the way God forgave you?

Take a little time to pray and ask God to show you if you are truly doing what the apostle Paul is telling believers in Jesus to do.

Please think about it.

The Choice

  The Choice

Isaiah the prophet wrote,

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tiered or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” Isaiah 40:28.

Do you believe in God? Isaiah the prophet did. He tells us plainly that the Lord is everlasting “the creator of the ends of the earth.”

The Psalmist tells us,

"The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands." 

                                                           Psalm 19:1.

I believe science proves God exists. Scientists tell us that everything from the smallest subatomic particle to the largest galaxy are all in perfect alignment to allow life to exist as we know it.

John O’keefe states,

"We are, by astronomical standards, a pampered, cosseted, cherished group of creatures... If the Universe had not been made with the most exacting precision we could never have come into existence. It is my view that these circumstances indicate the universe was created for man to live in." John O'keefe.

Even Stephen Hawking one of the greatest scientific minds of our time said,

"It would be very difficult to explain why the universe should have begun in just this way, except as the act of a God who intended to create beings like us," Stephen Hawking.

Dr. Huge Ross an Astrophysicist said,

“The entity that brought the universe into existence must be the master of all space time matter and energy. 

This entity must be powerful enough to make space time at will and to exquisitely fine tune an untold number of cosmic Characteristics. More than 200 (800 characteristics have since been discovered)  have been discovered so far. The probability of all these know parameters randomly coming together would be one chance in 10215 a probability so incredibly tiny that statistically speaking is impossible. This probability is becoming more remote with every scientific discovery. 

Such a high degree of design demonstrates that this entity must be a personal being with an amazing creativity with wisdom power care and love to a degree far beyond human capabilities.

He has fine tuned the galaxy the solar system and planet earth so that spiritual life can be fused with physical life..... in this one small space for one brief span on our time line" Dr. Huge Ross  

The choice as to whether God exists or not is however always up to you. 

Please think about it.

The Resurrection

  The resurrection

The book of Acts records the apostle Paul as saying,

"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." Acts 17:30,31

This is a core value of the Christian faith. If you do not believe in the resurrection from the dead then you are not a Christian.

That being said everything around the death and resurrection of Jesus can be a stumbling block for many people. The apostle Paul admits this when he writes to the Corinthians saying,

"Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ...” 1 Corinthians 1:22,23.

The question I would ask those who are not Christians is; considering that the gospel writers were writing about Christ at the very early beginnings of the church. In some cases within living memory of the events. Why would they make a claim that was so, on the surface at least, outrageous. 

If the death and resurrection of Jesus was a lie it would certainly turn people away from the fledgeling faith.

Not only that they would have created the most monumental lie in all history. One that is believed by close to three billion people around the world today.

Please think about it.

We Must

We Must

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. 

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." Psalm 1:1-3.

Who do you walk with? Who do you listen to? Do you ever question what you are being taught be it in church or in the media?

As Christians. As believers in Christ Jesus we must never compromise our beliefs. We must always be careful who we support be it an evangelist, a church congregation, a pastor or a politician.

It is possible to become guilty by association. 

We must check out everyone we take council from. We must check out anyone we support be it in religious circles or secular circles. Above all we must have open eyes and minds, listening carefully to what those whom we support are saying.

We should be asking ourselves are those we support truly are telling the truth. Asking ourselves if what they are saying lines up with biblical teaching. 

We must always ask ourselves is the person we support just telling us what we want to hear or are they telling the whole truth.

We must never follow an earthly leader be in an evangelist, priest, pope or politician blindly.

We must 

“delight is in the law of the LORD, 

and on his law, meditates day and night”

Please think about it.