Are you sure?

 Are you sure?

Jesus referring to himself 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.

As Christians. As believers in Christ Jesus we must never loose sight of the fact that the sole purpose in Jesus coming to this world was to save the world.

Jesus although God, with the right to judge the world, did not come into the world to judge it. He came to show how much in human terms he would go to provide a way for individuals to enter heaven.

The apostle Paul tells us,

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.

Paul also writing,

“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.

God knew we could not live lives good enough to enter heaven that is why he sent Jesus to die for our sins. For all the times we have fallen short of what God wants for our lives. For all times we have ever done wrong.

The key in all of this is faith. We must have faith in God.

The writer of Hebrews telling us,

“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.” Hebrews 11:6.

The apostle Paul writing,

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved"Romans 10:9-13.

Thus my questions to you;

Do you believe this?

Are you sure you are going to heaven?

Please think about it.

A Command

  A command

In the book of Deuteronomy we read,

“There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.”Deuteronomy 15:11.

Here God makes it clear that there will always be poor. Which history has proven to be true. Even in the richest nations on earth there are people who go hungry, do not have a roof over their head. People who struggle to make ends meet.

There are a myriad of reasons a person is poor. The reasons are unimportant. The important thing is that we are commanded by God to help the poor.

In the Talmud we read.

Rabbi Akiba was asked by a Roman general, “Why does your God who loves the needy not provide for their support Himself?”  He answered, “God the Father of both the rich and poor, wants the one to help the other so as to make the world a household of love.” The Talmud.

I think there is an important moral point here for Christians and for that matter all of us. I firmly believe morally we have a responsibility to help the poor. If we own a business we have a moral obligation to pay a living wage to employees.

Likewise there is a case for everyone to support a business that pays its employees well, offers good benefits and a good working environment. 

We should as individuals do our best to support charities that help the poor.

In proverbs we read,

“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done.”Proverbs 19:17.

The gospel of Matthew records Jesus as saying,

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’”Matthew 25:44-45.

The Apostle Paul writing,

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”Galatians 6:9.

Please think about it.

 Don't grow weary

The apostle Paul writes,

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”Galatians 6:9.

This is a simple admonition from the apostle Paul. “Let us not grow weary of doing good”.

A young Jewish girl, Anne Frank, in hiding, in fear for her life during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands wrote in her diary.

“Give of yourself, give as much as you can?  And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness!  If everyone were to do this and not be as mean with a kindly word, then there would be much more justice and love in the world.  Give and you shall receive, much more than you would have ever thought possible.  Give, give again and again, don’t lose courage, keep it up and go on giving!  No one has ever become poor from giving!” Anne Frank.

When I read these words of this young girl living every day in fear for her life I am always amazed that she could write these words. If anyone had a reason to cry out for vengeance against those who were persecuting them certainly Anne had.

Anne is not alone. I read and hear first hand accounts of Christians around the world today who are being persecuted, physically and verbally abused, even sent to prison, for their belief in Christ Jesus, who call out asking the world to pray for their persecutors. To show the Love of God to them.

Men and women who are following the what Jesus said,

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you....  

Do to others as you would have them do to you.... 

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”Luke 6:27,28,31,36 Question: Are you doing this?

A note to Christians a note to us all

 Note to Christians a note to us all

In the book of Matthew we read,

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  

I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  

When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  

When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ 

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  

For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  

I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 

“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:34-46.

Jesus makes things absolutely clear here. Helping the hungry, the poor, those in prison, the needy, the stranger, even giving someone a drink of water will receive a heavenly reward. Not doing so has “adverse effects”.

I believe one of the traits of a true believer in Christ Jesus is their compassion. A Christians faith spurs them on to do good works. To help someone in any way they can.

So my question to anyone reading this who claims to be a Christian. Who claims to be a follower of Christ Jesus; Do you do what you can to help those in need?

Take a close look at your words and deeds. Be honest with yourself. Ask yourself when I stand before God will I hear,

“Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.’ 

Or will you hear,

“Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Please think about it. 

Lend to the Lord

 Lend to The Lord

In the book of proverbs we read,

“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done.” Proverbs 19:17.

Do you lend to The Lord? Are you kind to the poor?  

Take a look in any city in the world and you will see people living on the street. They are there for a myriad of reason, mental illness, addiction to drugs or just simply not earning enough to be able to keep a roof over their head.

In every city there are also the “hidden poor”. These are people working in low paying jobs who have a place to live but sadly have to decide each week whether to pay the rent, or buy food.

Christians historically do help the poor. There are many Christian agencies, churches, and individuals that do a lot to help those in need. 

Christians however have a lot to learn from our Jewish friends who have a custom or obligation, they called “Tzedakah”. According to one Jewish website, 

“The word “tzedakah” is derived form the Hebrew root Tzadei-dalet-Qof, meaning righteousness, justice or fairness. In Judaism giving to the poor is not viewed as a generous, magnanimous act, it is simply and act of righteousness, performance of a duty giving the poor their due."

Tzedakah is an obligation in Judaism.

"The obligation to perform tzedakah can be fulfilled by giving money to the poor, to health care institutions, to Synagogues or educational institutions. It can also be fulfilled by supporting your children beyond the age when you are legally required to, or supporting your parents in their old age. The obligation includes giving both to Jews and gentiles...”

Thus my questions; 

Do you lend to The Lord? 

Are you kind to the poor?  

Do you give the poor their due?

Please think about it.

Can you say with confidence...

 Can you say with confidence...

In the gospel of Matthew we read of this conversation between Jesus and a rich young man.

“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.

If you are a Christian, a believer in Christ Jesus do you think you could give up everything you have and follow Jesus by faith?

Now here’s another question. Many evangelist especially here in North America are wealthy; of the ones you know and support, do you think they could give up all their wealth and follow Jesus relying only on their faith in God to supply their basic needs?

We as followers of Christ Jesus are called to have complete faith in God to supply our needs. While being rich is not a sin and there are many wealthy people within the church that do great good with their wealth. Love of money can cause problems. The apostle Paul stating,

“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.

In the book of Hebrews we read,

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  

So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5,6.

Can you say with confidence “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid”?

Please think about it.

Called to do good

  Called to do 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.

As one Approved

  As one approved 

In the book of Genesis we read,

“So God created man in his own image,

In the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.”

                                                 Genesis 1:26, 27.

We are created according to scripture in the image of God. However there are some within the Church especially here in North America that are making God in their image. 

     They are picking and choosing scriptures to make God conform to what they believe. And in doing so, sadly, they are leading people astray. 

The apostle Paul wrote,

“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

As someone said to me, “the wolves are not outside the church these days. Many are within the church aiming to destroy it from within.

As Christians we need to watch out for those who are misusing scripture. Men and women who are heretics.

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. 

In order to do this we need to read the Bible for ourselves, pray and ask God to show us the truths that are in the Bible.

We need to heed the words of the apostle Paul who wrote,

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2Timothy 2:15.

Please think about it.

Keep this in mind

  Keep this in mind.

Jesus is quoted as saying,

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”  Luke 6:37.

Jesus said,

“Blessed are the merciful, 

for they will be shown mercy.” 

                                      Matthew 5:7

James the half brother of Jesus wrote,

“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,  because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement!” James 2:12,13.

These are scriptures we as believers in Christ Jesus need to keep in mind when we are interacting with those around us.

Please think about it. 

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.