Transforming

 Transforming

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.” Luke 6:27,28. 

This verse of scripture is to my way of thinking emphatic. We are to love our enemies. That to me means loving those we disagree with. Irrespective of who they are, their lifestyle, race religion or for that matter their political views.

That also means we have no right to judge those around us. Jesus made that clear when He 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. 

Our job as Christians and the apostle is to win souls for Christ and we can only do that by loving them. 

The great American civil rights leader Martin Luther King jr. wisely said,

Love is 

the only force capable of transforming an enemy

 into friend.

                                                   Martin Luther King, Jr.

Please think about it.

Living at Peace

Living at peace

The apostle Paul wrote,

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

live at peace with everyone." 

                                                           Romans 12:18.

I always look with amazement at Christians around the world who are persecuted for their faith. These believers are doing their best to live at peace with those around them. Yet time after time I hear of those who believe in Christ Jesus, being expelled from their village, or expelled from their family for their beliefs. I over and over again I hear believers in Jesus being verbally and physically attacked. Even put in jail. And time and time again I hear of those believers praying for and forgiving their persecutors. These believers are putting into practice what Jesus did on the cross. When he said,

“Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34.

This is the sign of a true believer.

It is something those of us who live in Canada and America who claim to be true believers in Christ Jesus need to show in our lives.

Question; when people act negatively in any way to you, do you pray for them?

Are you doing your best to live at peace with those around you, Even those you disagree with, or you perceive as your enemy?

Please think about it. 

A Ministry of Reconciliation

 A ministry of reconciliation

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. " 2Corinthians5:18-20

The apostle Paul tells us that we who truly believe in Christ Jesus are Christs Ambassadors. Jesus speaking of himself tells us,

“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.

Thus we are to show God’s love to those around us. We are not to judge them. As Martin Luther king Jr, said,  

"Love is 

the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend."

                                                                                    Martin Luther King, Jr.

The apostle Paul defined Christian love as,

“Love is patient, love is kind. 

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, 

it is not easily angered, 

it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

Love never fails....

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. 

But the greatest of these is love.”  

                                                                     1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13.

If you consider yourself a true believer in Christ Jesus is this the kind of love you are showing those around you? 

Are you truly an Ambassador for Christ?

Please think about it.

Showing our Love

  Showing our love

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.

One of the best ways to show our love for someone, is to help them in their time of need. It doesn’t really matter why a person came to be in need. All that matters is that we help them to the extent that we are able. And as believers in Christ Jesus we should be doing so in the name of Christ.

While the Talmud is not a Christian book it has many things Christians should take to heart, that line up perfectly with Christian teaching.

One such teaching is this,

“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.

There are many, many wealthy Christians in the world today that do help those in need.

    Sadly there are many wealthy Christians, and even more sadly, men and women calling themselves Christian pastors and evangelist, who are not helping the poor and needy.

That being said God will ultimately judge all of us. And here’s another quote from the Talmud to think about,

"When a man appears before the Throne of Judgment, the first question he is asked is not, "Have you believed in God?"  Or "Have you prayed and observed the ritual?  "He is asked: "have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?" The Talmud.

If this is true then what would your answer be?

Please think about it.

A Prayer for you

  A Prayer for you

In the book of Jude we read this blessing. A blessing I’d like to send out all those believers who read my blogs. It reads,

"To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. Jude 1:24,25.

Dear Heavenly Father,

It is my prayer for those true believers in Christ Jesus, that no matter where they may be living around the world, that you God will bless them richly.

That You will keep them safe. Give them strength for each day, and give them wisdom in all situations.

In Jesus name I pray

Amen

Forgotten Scriptures

  Forgotten scripture

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.

I think this is the most forgotten text in the Bible Here in North America. We as believers in Christ Jesus must remember we cannot judge anyone except those within the church. And even then we must only judge those within the church to see that they are preaching sound doctrine. The apostle Paul stating,

"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.

Sadly Christians do not do much expelling. They don’t stand up to men and women who are preaching wrong doctrine. 

The apostle Peter wrote,

"But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.  

Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.

In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping."2Peter2:1-3.

What Peter is saying here is happening in the church today and men and women of God need to stand up to them.

They need to stand up to them because they are bringing the word of God into disrepute.

Please think about it.

God seen in Science

 God seen in Science

In the Book of Genesis we read,

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” 

                                                                             Genesis 1:1

The Bible was written to believers. Therefore it does not defend the existence of God, simply because believers need no proof. They believe by faith God exists.

However there are those out there who debate the existence of God. So listed below are several quotes from men that have much better education than I have. Men, scientist who believe in God.

Dr. Arno Penzias 1978 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, states,

"Astronomy leads us to a unique event, a universe which was created out of nothing, one with a very delicate balance needed to provide exactly the conditions required to permit life and one which has an underlying (one might say ‘supernatural') plan." Dr. Arno Penzias

    William Philips, Nobel prize winning physicist,

“I believe in God more because of science than in spite of it" William Philips.

Werner Heisenberg father of Quantum Mechanics, Nobel prize winner in Physics states,

"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 the late Stephen Hawking one of the greatest scientific minds of the twentieth century wrote,

"It would be very difficult to explain why the universe should have begun in just this way, except as the act of a God who intended to create beings like us," Stephen Hawking.

Each of these men seen the evidence of God in science. The question is do you believe them. Do you believe the Bible that God exists and are you willing to put your trust in Him?

Please think about it.

The way the truth and the life

The way the truth and the life

John’s gospel records Jesus saying this,

"Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.

C. S. Lewis said of Jesus,

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him (Jesus): I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. 

That is the one thing we must not say.

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. 

You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. 

You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

Lewis says it all. It is something every person who is presented with Jesus must decide for themselves.

To my way of thinking if Jesus is not the Son of God, God Incarnate, The Saviour of Mankind, Then both Jesus and His apostles have created the greatest lie in the history of mankind. 

The truth however is that Jesus is all He said He was, and is. A truth that is believed by billions of people around the world today.

So who do you believe Jesus is?

Please think about it.

Showing your faith

  Showing your faith

In the book of Acts we read this conversation between the apostle Paul and King Agrippa 

"So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.  

First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.  Acts 26:19,20.

The apostle John writes,

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  

If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives." 1John 1:9-10.

The proof that we have confessed our sins directly to God and accepted Christ as our Saviour come in the form of the deeds we do. 

In the book of James we read,

"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."  James 2:17,18.

So if you claim to be a Christian, a follower of Christ Jesus, how are you showing your faith?

Please think about it.

Wisdom is supreme

  Wisdom is supreme 

In the book of Ecclesiastes we read,

“For wisdom is a shelter, and money is a shelter, but the advantage is that wisdom keeps the one who has it alive.” Ecclesiastes 7:12.

In the book of proverbs we read,

“Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. 

Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. 

Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. 

Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. 

She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendour." Proverbs 4:5-9.

Wisdom is supreme. Far too many Christians don’t see this. They quite often blunder into situations say the wrong things and turn people away from Christ.

We as believers in Christ Jesus need wisdom. It keeps us safe and it can show us how to present the Gospel message to those around us.

Therefore as the writer of proverbs tells us “get wisdom”. 

Pray often, and especially pray asking God how to present His word to those around you.

Please think about it.

Making the right decision

  Making the right decision. 

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.

The Eleven O Clock Parable

It's eleven o clock. Inside the court house a judge is about to make his ruling. A community,... a nation, awaits. 

Will the new law be legal? 

Outside the court house men and women with placards chant. 

On one side of the street stand a group of gay men and women. All in favour of the new law.

On the other side of the street separated by a line of police stand radical evangelicals, denouncing the new law.

One man among them screams angrily . "HOMOSEXUALS ARE GOING TO HELL!!!"

Approached by the media he says it again, "homosexuals are going to Hell." 

From my office window I watch asking myself the question, ‘is this man a Christian?"

Is he treating others the way he would like to be treated?

Wasn't it Christ who told us not only to love our neighbour, but our enemy also?

Wasn't it Jesus who told us not to judge, lest we be judged likewise?

Wasn’t it Christ who 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.  

Is this man and those who agree with him showing Gods love?

Can they be effective in reaching the whole world for Christ, of which a percentage are homosexual?

Are they truly Christian?

A question keeps rolling through my mind for which I know the answer, "Can we truly know what is in someone else's head?

Do we really know why a person is like they are?"

For a moment I stare down at the crowd. All the time asking myself who is on the way to Hell this day, and how can I reach them for my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ?

Turning away from my window I kneel down and pray, "Lord guide me this day. Let me make the right decision on this law."

I personally believe this judge if he was truly a believer in Christ Jesus, made the right decision. Even if the radical evangelicals didn’t agree with it. What do you think?

Please think about it.

A Parents Duty

 A Parents duty

In the book of Proverbs we read,

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6

In the Talmud we read,

“Whoever teaches his son teaches not alone his son but also his son’s son, and so on to the end of generations.”  The Talmud.

Your child sees you. They see what you do in word and in deed. Usually without saying a thing. What they see, whether you like it or not, will be passed on to their children. Your grandchildren. 

Thus it is imperative that if you claim to be a follower of Christ Jesus, that you live a life that is pleasing to God, no matter what situation you find yourself in.

Please think about it.