Do this and you will live

  Do this and you will live

In the Gospel of Matthew we read,

"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

In the gospel of Luke we read of this conversation between Jesus and an expert in the law.

"On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 

"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" 

He answered: " ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.''" 

"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." Luke 10:25-28.

What Jesus is saying here is not new even for the time he lived in. In the book of Deuteronomy we read,

"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  

Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."  Deuteronomy 6:5-7.

In short we are to make God the centre of our lives. We are to love Him with “all our heart and soul”.

And as Jesus said we are to “Love your neighbour as yourself”.

If we do this and those around us do it the world would be a better place.

Please think about it.

Perhaps the hardest thing

 Perhaps the Hardest thing

In the book of Jeremiah we read God as saying,

“You will seek me and find me 

when you seek me with all your heart.” 

                                                        Jeremiah 29:13.

I find most people don’t have God on their radar. This world and all that is happening in it and in their lives is all they are concerned with. At the same time those who espouse to be ardent Atheist it seems without looking carefully for God, dismiss Him. They don’t believe what they cannot see, hear, or touch.

Someone (not me) has said,

“Maybe the atheist cannot find God

 for the same reason a thief cannot find a policeman.”

                                                                             Author Unknown.

Those who don’t believe in God I feel have not looked at the scientific facts,

Werner Heisenberg father of Quantum Mechanics and Nobel prize winner in physics said,

“The first gulp from the glass of natural science will make you an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you" Werner Heisenberg.

Even Stephen Hawking considered one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century admitted,

“The universe and the laws of physics seem to have been specifically designed for us” Stephen Hawking.

The way I see it the proof God exists it all around us, but just like any scientist who realizes from his research something is there he cannot see we need faith to believe in God.

The writer of Hebrews saying,

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for 

and certain of what we do not see.  

This is what the ancients were commended for. 

                                                                     Hebrews 11:1,2

The writer then tells us,

"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.

And having faith in anything, especially someone you cannot see is perhaps the hardest thing anyone can do.

Please think about it.

Servant of all

 Servant of all

Jesus said,

“Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Mark 9:35.

I remember very many years ago I worked the night shift as a janitor for a large institution. 

Whenever a new employee started the first job he or she got was cleaning washrooms. It was the worst assignment a person could get. You dealt with plugged toilets and sinks. Wet floors and much more. Most people lasted a week or two before deciding it was not for them.

Those that did stay turned out to be excellent employees and quite often rose up through the ranks to management positions.

Jesus was a servant. On one occasion going as far as washing his disciples feet. The job of the lowliest servant or slave in a household at the time.

As Christians. As believers in Christ Jesus, we must be humble enough to do the lowliest job. We must be willing to be servant of all.

Are you such a servant?

Please think about it.

It's time

  It’s time

Jesus said,

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16.

What is your light telling others about you? About God?

Are people seeing your good deeds or are they seeing something negative?

Over the years I’ve been a believer in Christ Jesus I’ve heard again and again non-believers say, “I’ve seen what those Christians do. And I’m at least as good as them and even better.”

Mahatma Gandhi said,

“Jesus is ideal and wonderful, but you Christians - 

you are not like him.”

                                       Mahatma Gandhi.

When I hear things like this I firmly believe that the people whom Gandhi and others are seeing are Christians in name only. They are not following the teaching of Christ.

Jesus even 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!'" Matthew 7:22,23.

Sadly many who claim to be Christians are not. Equally sadly they are bringing the name of Christ into disrepute because of their words and deeds.

It’s time for true Christians true believers in Christ Jesus to stand up to those who call themselves Christians but are not. It’s time to as the apostle Paul said,

"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.

Please think about it.

So do you believe?

  So do you believe?

The apostle Paul writes,

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” Titus 3:4,5.

The apostle Paul makes it clear here that it is through the mercy of God that we are saved. Through the Gods grace. In Ephesians 2:8,9 Paul notes,

"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.

Christians believe that God in his mercy reached down to mankind through Jesus Christ and offered salvation to all who would believe in Jesus.

It is the Christian view that we cannot live a life good enough to get into heaven. Nor can we work our way to heaven.

The way Christians believe we get to heaven is simple. The apostle Paul telling us,

"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

So do you believe Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead?

Please think about it.

To Proclaim Good News

  To proclaim good news

Jesus said,

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."  Luke 4: 18-19.

This is the reason for Jesus coming to this earth. In the gospel of John Jesus speaking of 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.

This is the message we as believers in Christ Jesus must do also.

Are you doing this?

Please think about it.

Expel

  Expel 

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.” 1Corinthians 5:12,13.

While we as believers in Christ Jesus have no right to judge those outside of the church, especially when it come to where a person will spend eternity. We do have an obligation to judge those who claim to be believers in Christ Jesus. 

We need to be able to do this in order to see that they are teaching sound doctrine. Where they will spend eternity it still up to Gods judgement.

That being said it is imperative that we question the beliefs of those pastors, and evangelist we follow. We do this in order to see that what they are saying is truly what the Bible is saying.

Sadly however here in North America with all our freedoms we do a poor job of correcting errant pastors, evangelist and teachers. Even if we do expel them, because of our freedoms, our freedom of speech laws they simply set themself up and carry on as an independent ministry.

Thus my question to you; If you consider yourself a Christian a believer in Christ Jesus, do you ever question the evangelist, pastors or teachers you follow?

Please think about it.

Gods job not ours

  Gods job not ours

The Psalmist writes,

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:13-16.

God knows us intimately. This quote from psalms in modern terminology is essentially saying God knows the very DNA make up of our being. He knows why we are the way we are. This is why God and God alone is the only one who can judge another person.

Jesus made it clear to all who believes,

“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.

While we must be careful as to who we trust at time for our own safety. We have no right to judge where someone will spend eternity. That is Gods job. NOT ours.

Please think about it.

Are you a Tabitha?

 Are you a Tabitha?

"Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity." Acts 9:36

Are you a Tabitha? Are you full of good works? As Christians we should be. In the book of James we read,

“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  

If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” James 2:14-20.

Our faith should spur us on to doing whatever good works we can do. Even if its just donating to a reputable charity or food bank.

Jesus said,

“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." Matthew 10:42.

So are you doing what you can to help those in need?

Please think about it.

A sermon for 2022

  A sermon for 2022

The apostle Paul while in Athens was asked to speak at the Areopagus by Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. This is his sermon. As important today as it was then. 

Paul states,

"So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.  

A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked,    "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.  

Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?  

You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean."  

(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) 

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.  

For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  

And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  

God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  

‘For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.' 

"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill.  

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." 

When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject."  

At that, Paul left the Council.  

A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.”Acts 17:17-34

For Christians this is an example of how to reach non-Christians. Paul did not condemn them. He didn’t say anything against their beliefs or lifestyle. He simply presented what he believed to those gathered. 

The result was some “sneered” at him. Others believed. While others wanted to hear more. 

When we as Christians present the gospel message this is how we should do it.

So is this the way you present the gospel message to those around you?

Please think about it.

In gentleness

 In gentleness

The apostle Peter writes,

“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” 1 Peter 3:15,16.

Is Christ first in your life? Are you prepared to give an answer to everyone who wants to know why you follow Christ?

When you present the gospel message to someone do you do it respecting the person you are speaking to? Do you present the message of Christ with gentleness?

All of these things are necessary to reach people for Christ. If you don’t respect others, they wont respect you. If you don’t present the word of the Lord in a gentle fashion people will turn away from you.

It all comes down to what Jesus 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 are you obedient to what Peter and Jesus are saying?

Please think about it.

Let your light shine

  Let your light shine

Jesus said,

“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” Matthew 5:16.

If you claim to be a Christian. A true follower of Christ Jesus is your light shining before those around you?

The apostle Peter wrote,

"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 2:12.

Is this what you are doing?

I remember reading of an incident in a south east Asian country where a man in a small village for some reason got mad and a group of Christians and wanted his neighbours to help him persecute them. The neighbours said no. That Christians were good people.

Could this be said of you?

Or are you noted for your protesting against everything and everyone you disagree with?

Please think about it.