Do you?
The Psalmist writes,
I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
Psalm 9:1,2.
A simple question; Do you take time during your day to praise the LORD with your whole heart?
Are you glad about the relationship you have with God?
Do you rejoice in God?
Do you sing the praises to the Most High God?
Please think about it.
Can you?
Question; Can you with the Psalmist say?
“I will say of the LORD,
“He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Psalm 91:2.
Can you truly say?
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God”
Psalm 20:7.
C. S. Lewis wrote,
“You can’t analyse God. He is too awesome, too big, too mysterious, I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You Yourself are the answer.
Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” C. S. Lewis.
If you claim to be a true Christian. A true believer in Christ Jesus do you truly trust God with your future and your life?
Please think about it.
So
The apostle Peter writes,
“Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.” 1 peter 2:16
In the book of James we read,
“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.
Jesus said,
"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.
As Christians especially here in the democracies of the west we have great freedom to do as we wish. That being said the scriptures make it clear that we have limitations on our actions as Christians. Foremost is that we have no right to judge anyone. Especially those outside our faith. Not only that we are called to show mercy to those around us.
The bottom line however comes down to 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.
So in your dealings with others, especially those who do not believe as you believe or have a lifestyle different from yours do you
“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.” Luke 6:31?
Please think about it.
You shall
In the book of Exodus we read,
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
Exodus 20:3.
So my question to you the reader especially if you consider yourself a Christian; do you have any other gods in your life.
Simply put other gods in the twenty-first century is anything in your life that comes before God. That can be anything from your political views, to sports, to hobbies, to money or the making of money beyond what you really need.
Sadly may calling themselves Christians in especially North America have many gods in their lives and quite often don’t realize it. That’s why at times we need to sit down in a quiet place pray and ask God to show us what we are putting before Him
In the book of Joshua we read,
“Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24: 14,15.
Please think about it.
Can you?
The Psalmist writes,
“I say to the Lord,
You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
Psalm 16:2.
For the last few blog posts I have written about how I believe we get to heaven. Now my question to you is, can you for certain say with the Psalmist,
“I say to the Lord,
You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
Psalm 16:2.
Please think about it.
It is simple,... or maybe not.
The apostle Peter said,
“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Acts 2:21
The apostle Paul wrote,
“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. Romans 10: 9,10.
The writer of Hebrews states,
“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.
I often think God called us to believe in Him by faith because it is not an easy thing to do. Most people I would think have a problem believing in something they cannot see, hear or touch. Yet this is exactly what God wants from us.
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.
Thus I would ask do you have the faith to believe Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead?
Please think about it.
Why we do it
Jesus told this parable,
“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.
Someone as asked “why do Christians talk about Jesus so much?” the answer to that is in the above quote from Jesus.
We as Christians, as believers in Christ Jesus truly believe we have, in Jesus found a hidden treasure or a fine pearl of great price, and we want to tell the world about it.
We do truly believe that the most important person in all of history and in our personal lives is Jesus.
Jesus is God incarnate who came to this earth to die for our sins. To make away for us to go to heaven.
The apostle Paul telling us,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.
That being said all we can do is present what we believe to anyone who will listen. All we can do is tell those around us what the apostle Paul wrote,
“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.
Do you believe this?
Please think about it.
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
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?
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
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.
