If Possible

  If Possible

The apostle Paul wrote,

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, 

live at peace with everyone.”

                                                     Romans 12:18.

Do you? Do you live at peace with those around you, especially those whom you most vehemently disagree with?

There are many here in North America where I live who claim to be Christians but go around picking fights with anyone they disagree with. This should not be.

Jesus and the apostles never picked fights with those outside of their Jewish faith. Paul never demanded changes to Roman law. Nor did any other disciple of Christ.

They like we today lived in a multicultural society where there were many beliefs and practices that they would not have liked. Yet they never spoke against them.

Even when the apostle Paul was asked to speak at the Areopagus (Acts 17:17-34) in Athens he never spoke against the beliefs of those around him

As a result people listened to his message and some were saved.

Paul and the other disciples kept on script. No matter what situation they found themselves in they did their best to live at peace with those around them and present the Gospel of Christ.

Are you doing this?

Please think about it.

I will

  I Will

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.

Do you do this? Do you “extol the LORD at all times”? 

I am always amazed at the reports that I read from Christians around the world that live under persecution or are in jail for their faith in Christ Jesus. These brothers and sisters in Christ some in very bad situations keep their faith and praise the Lord.

It reminds me of Paul and Silas who were in prison. The book of acts recording,

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25.

In what for Paul and Silas must have been a very bad time they prayed and sung hymns to God. Such a thing should be an example to us who live in freedom.

As Christians who live in freedom we should always remember to pray and praise God no matter what situation we are in.

Thus my question to you the reader; Do you pray and give praise to God at the very least daily?

Please think about it.

A Lesson from Jesus Freaks

  A Lesson from Jesus Freaks

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

Way back in the seventies I met up with a group of Christians that to say the least were outside the norm of the day, Jesus Freaks, the hippy version of Christianity. Meeting them changed the direction of my life.

They were odd an odd lot, at least from the mainstream churches. In the fact they, when it came to worshipping God they did things that were in some churches taboo. They worshipped God in dance, they sang and praised God using guitars, tambourines, drums and any other instruments they could play. They sang songs that were not in the hymnals. And they did all this while in blue jeans and tee shirts. Quite the opposite to many churches who expected people to come in their Sunday best outfits.

The Jesus Freaks I hung out with were young most of us in our late teens to late twenties. They accepted everyone at face value. Loving them and teaching them about Jesus. Something many church congregations at the time did not do, unless you conformed to unimportant things like wearing your Sunday best clothing and following a carved in stone ritual.

Above all they didn’t judge anyone. They let Holy Spirit convict people of their sins. All they did was Love and present the word of God.

They believed the words of Jesus who 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.

And the two most important things when it comes to doing to others as you would have them do to you, they and I today believe is to show and present the Love of God to those around you without judging them.

As the late American Evangelist Billy Graham put it.

“It is the Holy Spirits Job to Convict, 

God’s job to judge

 and my job to love,” 

                                   Billy Graham

This is a lesson that individual Christians and church congregations today can learn from the whole Jesus freak movement of the past.

Please think about it.

A daily thing

  A daily thing

“Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long.” Psalm 25:4,5.

Here is something we as believers in Christ Jesus need to be praying daily. It’s a simple request to God to lead us into truth.

In a world filled with half truths, and out and out lies both from outside the church and from those espousing to be Christians we need God guidance daily.

We need to be praying and reading the word of God daily so that we know the paths God is leading us in.

Are you spending to quality time in the word of God?

Are you taking quality time to pray and ask God of guidance?

Is your hope truly in God?

Please think about it.

Doing Good

  Doing Good

Isaiah the prophet said,

“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.” Isaiah 1:17.

Sadly I feel here in North America there are many Christians who do not follow what Isaiah is saying here. This has been especially true during the last four years in America. Compassion for the poor, fatherless, widows and oppressed has been lacking. 

Politicians calling themselves Christians and even some calling themselves Christian leaders  have refused to use their position to help those in need.

I like what Tony Campolo the American evangelist 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.

This is what we as believers in Christ Jesus should be doing. For in showing the love of God in very practical ways we will win souls for Christ.

Please think about it.

Love says it all

  Love says it all

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.” John 3:16,17.

In the book of Proverbs we read,

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you;

 bind them around your neck, 

write them on the tablet of your heart. 

Then you will win favor and a good name

 in the sight of God and man.”

                                                        Proverbs 3:3,4.

Love says it all. If we are faithful and love God. The love of God will radiate through us to those around us. 

As a result of our love and faithfulness to God as the proverb states, we will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man.

Thus my questions to you; 

Are you faithful to God? 

Is the love you have in your life the unconditional love of God?

Do you show this Love to the world around you?

Please think about it.

What Shall I Cry?

  What shall I cry?

Isaiah the prophet wrote,

"A voice says, "Cry out." And I said, "What shall I cry?" 

"All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 

The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:6-8.

Let’s face it you are not going to live forever. No matter how good your health is you will one day die. So the question becomes, where will you spend eternity?

If you’re an atheist you might say you just cease to exist. You don’t live on in eternity. But what if the atheist is wrong as I believe they are?

In order to know for sure that God does not exist and that you don’t live on into eternity. You have to have all knowledge and have been everywhere. And we know that no one in this life has come back from beyond the grave to tell us what it is like.

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.

That belief in God however has to be true belief. Not just an intellectual belief. The writer of Hebrews states,

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope 

for and certain of what we do not see.”  

                                                Hebrews 11:1.

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.” John 3:16,17.

So what do you believe?

Please think about it.

What are you doing?

  What are you doing?

The apostle Paul wrote,

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.  2 Corinthians 5:18-20.

If you consider yourself a Christian are you truly an ambassador for Christ?

An ambassador is someone who represents his or her nation or king. It is through the lense of the ambassador that people see their nation.

Paul here tells us that through us God is making His appeal to those around us.

Francis of Assisi wrote,

Preach the Gospel at all times 

and when necessary use words.

                                          Francis of Assisi

He also wrote,

“The deeds you do 

may be the only sermon some persons will hear today” 

                                                                         Francis of Assisi.

If you claim to be a Christian a follower of Christ Jesus then people are watching not only your words but your deeds also.

Your deeds and words have the power to bring people to Christ or push them away. 

So what are your words and deeds doing? What are you doing?

Please think about it.

Are you presenting the Word of God correctly?

  Are you presenting Gods word correctly?

Jesus said,

“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.

If you espouse to be a Christian, a believer in Christ Jesus, is what the above portions of scripture describing, describing what you believe?

I believe that we must believe the above. We must believe that the kingdom of heaven and all the scriptures tell us about God and Jesus is so precious to us that we do not want it to be mistreated or misrepresented in any way.

We have an obligation to speak out against those who claim to be Christians but are presenting the scriptures wrongly. The apostle Paul writes,

“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.

Paul makes it clear that we are not to judge those outside the church but we are to expel those who are not presenting the word of God correctly.

That being said are you personally presenting Gods word correctly?

Please think about it. 

Will you be one of these?

  Will you be one of these?

The writer of Hebrews notes,

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:12,13.

Here the writer is in echoing the words of Ecclesiastes that 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.”Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.

I believe this is not just a warning to the world around but to those who claim to be Christians especially. Lets face it, it is most likely that the people who read these two passages of Scripture the most are Christians.

As a result I believe if you believe in Christ Jesus you must examine yourself to see that you are truly in right standing with God.

Is your faith purely intellectual? Do you acknowledge God exists but don’t truly have a spiritual commitment to God? Are you truly doing what God wants you to do; The way God wants you to do it?

Jesus said,

“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!’” Matthew7:22,23.

Will you be one of these?

Please think about it.

That covers a lot

  That covers a lot

The apostle Peter wrote,

“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

This is something Christians particularly in North America don’t completely understand. They live in democracies that offer freedoms many in the world could only dream of.

Sadly many calling themselves Christians use that freedom wrongly.

The apostle Paul wrote,

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13.

What is the sinful nature Paul is talking about here. I believe it’s disobeying the worlds of Jesus. Jesus who 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.

That covers a lot. 

I believe this means we must alway show unconditional love to all we come in contact with even if we disagree with them in any way. For it is only in showing unconditional love to those around us that we will win souls for Christ.

Please think about it.

Our job our duty

  Our job our duty

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.

Jesus never told his disciples to go out and judge anyone. He never told them to get involved with political parties. Jesus never told us to condemn people for who they are or what they believe.

Jesus said to make disciples of all nations. To teach them everything he taught them.

Jesus made it clear why he came to earth 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 we as believers in Christ Jesus must do. Present the love of God to all who will listen to us.

Billy Graham the late American evangelist said,

“It is the Holy Spirits Job to Convict, 

God’s job to judge

 and my job to love,” 

                             Billy Graham

As believers in Christ Jesus we must always remember this. Our job our duty is to love those around us the way God loves those around us; unconditionally.

Are you doing this?

Please think about it.