Seek and you will find

  Seek and you will find

The prophet Jeremiah quotes God as saying,

“You will seek me and find me 

when you seek me with all your heart.” 

                                                         Jeremiah 29:13.

I believe this statement to be true. If we truly seek God with all our hearts, putting aside any preconceived notions of what God is, we will find Him.

I firmly believe the Almighty God the God who created heaven and earth is to be found in the Bible.

I believe Jesus Christ is the one and Only Son of God who came into this world to point mankind to heaven.

All I would as of you the reader is to at least read the New Testament without any preconceived ideas and decide for yourself. If God does indeed exist.

Please think about it.

If people would

  If people would

Jesus when asked,

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 

Jesus replied: " ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 

This is the first and greatest commandment.  

And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.'  

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. Matthew 22:36-40.

Francis of Assisi wrote this prayer,

"Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love,

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life." 

                                                                  Francis of Assisi.

Love is the key to ending all conflicts. If people would simply show unconditional love to family, friends and foe alike there would be no conflicts in this world.

Please think about it.

In front of Anyone

  In front of anyone

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.

Here is a simple request. Will you take time to Praise the Lord today? Will you sing Praises to Gods holy name?

I believe it is the duty of every Christian to tell the world about God. To sing the praises of God in front of anyone who will listen.

Please think about it.

The Path

  The Path

The Psalmist writes,

“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.

Question; Do you ask God to show you His ways? Do you read the scriptures to learn the ways of God? Do you read biblical history books to see what life was like in the time of Jesus?

Here in North America we are blessed with having access to uncensored books and libraries. We can go to Christian book stores and find books on the life and times of Christ. We can find commentaries from various points of view on the scriptures. Yet most who call themselves Christians don’t bother to read such books.

Even when some read commentaries on scriptures themselves, they tend to only read commentaries that support their own views.

I think it is important when you can to read the scriptures daily at least. And to find commentaries and history books that put what is said in the scriptures into context. 

I believe by doing this you will learn the path God wants you to follow.

Please think about it.

Do you do this?

  Do you do this?

Isaiah the prophet said,

"Fear not, for I am with you; 

be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  

                                                                   Isaiah 41:10.

According to the YouVersion bible app the most looked up verse in 2020 was Isaiah 41:10. With all that’s gone on in 2020 I can understand why people would want assurance that God is there for them.

Sadly however many people, even people who attend church regularly only turn to God when bad times come.

Many people only turn to God when they think they can get something out of Him.

This should not be so. We need to turn to God everyday. Glorifying His name asking His guidance and protection as we go through the day.

Do you do this?

Please think about it

An approved workman

 An approved workman

The apostle Paul writing to Timothy states,

"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.

This is happening today. I live in North America perhaps the freest place in the world. Men and women calling themselves Christians are not listening to the apostle Paul and presenting the word of God correctly. Instead they are turning away and misinterpreting the scriptures in a way that suits their own beliefs. 

In doing so they are giving true Christians and God a bad name. 

Non-Christians are at best confused. They don’t distinguish between a person calling themselves a Christian who misuses the word of God and those who correctly handle the word of God.

Sadly here in North America those who would misinterpret and preach false doctrine use freedom of speech laws to hide their wrong doing. Many even when corrected refuse to change.

The apostle Peter stated,

"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.

If ever there was a time at least here in North America, for revival of the church it is now. The church and all those who consider themselves true followers of Christ Jesus need to turn back to the scriptures and interpret them correctly. 

They 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

Are you and the evangelist, pastors and religious leaders you listen to doing what Paul here in 2Timothy 2:15.

Please think about it.

Bulwark of a free society

 Bulwark of a free society

In the book of Genesis we read,

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." 

                                                                                         Genesis 1:1

The Bible does not debate the existence of God. It has no reason to. It was written to believers and believers in God do not dispute His existence.

To believers, it is God who wrote on each individuals heart what is right and wrong. It is belief in God that laid down universal moral values we all should live by. 

Abba Hillel Silver during the second world war in Britain wrote,

"Faith in God is the strongest bulwark of a free society.  Human freedom began when men became conscious that over and above society and nature there is a God who created them...who fashioned them in His likeness, and that they are, therefore, possessed of intrinsic and independent significance and are endowed, as individuals, with original and irrevocable rights and authority." Abba Hillel Silver.

The way I see things when God is left out of society bad things happen. We just have to look at Nazi Germany during the second world war to see what happens when men forget about or don’t believe in God. People end up in prison, tortured or are murdered for their beliefs. Life becomes cheap.

And the Nazis while perhaps the most extreme example in history, they don’t have a monopoly on the persecution of believers in God. It is happening around the world today.

It is believed that tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people are persecuted,, in prison or labour camps simply for believing in God believing in Christ Jesus. A God that quite often, those who are imprisoning believers in God, say does not exist.

I firmly believe that if society is to thrive we need to keep belief in God strong within our society. That we need to worship our loving God in spirit and in truth. We need to show the love of a God to all those around us no matter who they are, family, friend and foe alike.

I firmly believe that we who are free in the western democracies need to pray not just for those who are in prison for their beliefs. But for those who are imprisoning them. That they will see that God exists and that they will see that the word the writer of  Ecclesiastes is true when he wrote,

"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 judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.

Please think about it.

Do you believe in God?

  Do you believe in God

The Prophet Isaiah writes,

"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.

I over my nearly sixty plus years on this earth that some believe God is dead. That the Bible is irrelevant. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

Many years ago I read a poem that read,

Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith's door,

And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;

Then, looking in, I saw upon the floor

Old hammers, worn with beating years of time.

"How many anvils have you had," said I,

"To wear and bater all these hammers so?"

"Just one," said he, and then, with twinkling eye,

The anvil wears the hammers out, you know."

And so, thought I, the anvil of God's Word,

For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;

Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,

The anvil is unharmed - and hammers gone.

                                                                    Anonymous.

God has given each and every person on this earth the freedom to choose to believe and do as they wish. That includes believing whether or not God exists.

Thus the question becomes; Do you believe in God?

        Do you believe Jesus is the one and only Son of God, who  died for your sins?

Please think about it.

A message foolish?

A message foolish?

The apostle Paul wrote,

“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.” 1Corinthians 1:18.

I think people in general put God in a box. They think God should do things the way they imagine things should be done.

A good example of this is the soldiers who were at Christs crucifixion who said,

“...said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." Luke 23:37.

I’m sure there were many in the crowd that day that believed the same way. They wanted a conquering Messiah who would take them out from under the heal of the Roman boot. They expected the Messiah to come with conquering angels in power and glory.

Jesus was not what they expected. A person of low birth who preached repentance of sins and love for ones fellow man. Gods Son who died for the sins of all who believed in Him.

The same is true today. Many look an Jesus and fail to see what they expect. Thus they turn away. They see the message of the cross as foolishness. 

By contrast those of us who believe in Christ Jesus see Christs life and accept Him for who He is, The suffering Messiah who died for our sins. 

Jesus talking about himself 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.

Is this what you believe?

Please think about it. 

Wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked?

  Wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked?

In the book of Revelations we read,

"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation.  

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!  

So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  

You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  

I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.  

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.  

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Revelations 3:14-21.

The Laodicean church was according to Jesus lukewarm. He tells them He wished that they were one or the other. You never really know what a lukewarm person truly believes.

The Laodiceans however think they are rich. When in fact they are poor. 

Jesus tells them to turn to Him and buy from him gold refined in the fire, white robes the symbol of holiness. He calls them to put salve on their eyes so they can truly see what is of God.

He calls them to repent. Telling them that he rebukes and disciplines those He loves.

He reminds them that He is knocking at the door of their heart. That if they will only hear Him and open that door He will come into their life.

Today we have many Churches, evangelist and pastors who think they are rich, and many in a material sense are rich but that is not what God wants. Because many who are rich in a material sense do not rely on God.

Matthew records Jesus as saying,

"Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:24.

Additionally there is a false doctrine that is here in North America where I live that states if you are not materially rich you are doing something wrong. The so called prosperity doctrine. 

Such teaching is wrong. 

We as believers in the twenty-first century need to look at our life. We need to ask ourselves am I a lukewarm believer. Or am I on fire for God. 

Am I rich spiritually in Christ Jesus, or am I “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked”.

Where do you stand?

Please think about it.

If you think you are, you're probably not.

  If you think you are you're probably are not

In the book of Revelations we read,

"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: 

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.  

I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.  

I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.  

Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. 

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.  

Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.  

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelations 3:7-13.

Someone has said “if you think you or your church is like the church of Philadelphia in the book of revelations, you probably are not.”

Jesus notes that this church has little strength yet they have kept the His word. As a result He will make those who are their enemies to fall down and acknowledge that Christ has loved them.

Some say that when Christ says that He will keep them from the wrath to come means they will be raptured before the tribulation starts.

Others see this as God saying He will keep them safe through this period of intense persecution. 

He makes it clear there is an open door before those in Philadelphia. That leads to their reward. 

The reward for those who stay true to God is that they will be come pillars in the temple of God. And will never again have to leave it.

The bottom line in this is we as individuals should be striving to follow Christ in as pure a way as is humanly possible. 

We must remember that even when we are weak Christ understands and rewards those who although weak remain faithful to Him.

Please think about it.

Are you in a spiritual coma?

  Are you in a spiritual coma?

In the book of Revelations we read,

"To the angel of the church in Sardis write: 

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.  

Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.  

Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. 

Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.  

He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.  

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelations 3:1-6.

One commentator I read said the church at Sardis “was in a deep spiritual coma”. It contrary to what was perceived the church at Sardis was not alive but asleep. There deeds were incomplete. They were not doing the work of the Lord. The have fallen short of what God wants of them.

Thus Christ tells them to repent. That if they don’t wake up He is coming at a time they no not. Then they will face the consequences of their actions.

At the same time Christ points out that there are some who have not turned from Him. Some who have done the will of God. These he states,... “will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.”  

Their names will remain in the book of life and Jesus will acknowledge his name before God the Father.

I think in the present day there are many churches particularly here in North America that are like this. The majority have slipped into a “spiritual coma”. They may look alive and doing the work of God but they are not. Sadly I think these people fool themselves into thinking they are doing the will of God but are not. I think such people are in danger of hearing the words of Jesus who said,

“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.” Matthew 25:41.

While the others mentioned here at Sardis those who did the will of Christ will hear,

"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.' Matthew 25:34-36.

Thus the question becomes; are there those in your church congregation or denomination who are in a “spiritual coma”?

Are you?

Please think about it.