About Forgiveness

  About Forgiveness

          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 judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”  James 2:12,13.

Are you merciful? Do you forgive those who sin against you? 

Jesus said,

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”   Matthew 6:14,15.

As Christians we will have over our lifetime many whom we disagree with. Many people who will sin against us and speak wrongly about us. 

The true test of a Christian is if you can forgive them.

Matthews Gospel records,

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” 

    Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”     Matthew 18:21,22.

Jesus here wasn’t putting a number on how many times we are to forgive. He didn’t mean forgive 490 times. He meant forgive innumerable times.

C. S. Lewis wrote,

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”   C.S. Lewis.

Forgiveness is one of the corner stones of being a Christian.

Please think about it.

You are important to God

 You are important to God

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

The picture above is a picture taken by NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe on February 14th 1990, taken from a distance of six billion kilometres (3.7 billion miles) It shows the earth as a pail blue dot smaller than the head of a pin.

It shows just how, seemingly, insignificant earth and all its inhabitants is with respect to the universe. Yet to those of us who live there it is home, and the most significant place in the universe.

That pail blue dot and all who live on it is special to God. So special that He sent His one and only son to die for all who lives on Earth.

C. S. Lewis wrote,

"He (Jesus) died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less." C.S. Lewis.

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 in God?

        Because you are important to Him.

Please think about it.

In 2023 this means

  In 2023 this means

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

Put this way in the year 2023 this means;

If you are

demonstrating against anyone. 

You are telling them 

they can demonstrate against you.

If you are 

speaking out and trying to restrict the rights of others 

given to them by the lawfully elected government.

You are telling others 

they can try to restrict your rights.

If you are 

imposing your morals on others

however good they may be.

You are telling them 

they can impose their morals on you, 

even if they are not as good as yours.

If you are 

trying to impose your faith on others 

rather than presenting your faith.

You are telling others 

they can impose their faith on you.

If you are

judging others.

You are telling others 

they can judge you in the same way.

If you 

are telling the world you are a Christian

You should be telling the world 

I love you as Jesus loves you,...

unconditionally.

Please think about it

About Jesus

 About Jesus

The Apostle Paul writes,

“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.

Paul makes it clear here if you “confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raise him from the dead you will be saved.

Paul writing to the Ephesians states,

“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.

It is by the grace of God we get to heaven. We cannot be good enough to stand before a holy God.

C. S. Lewis states,

“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”  C.S. Lewis.

Christians believe God reached down in the form of His one and Only Son Jesus to offer us forgiveness of sin and eternal life with God. 

We Christians believe Jesus God incarnate. God in the flesh. That he provided purification for our sins. The writer of Hebrews states,

“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.  

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:1-3  

Through Jesus God offers us a choice. Jesus speaking of himself stating,

“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.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”. John 3:16-18.

Thus the choice in yours, who do you think Jesus is?

Please think about it. 

Where will you spend eternity ?

Where will you spend eternity?

James the half brother states,

“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”  

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  

Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”  

As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.  

Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” James 4:13-17. 

We as they say, are mere mortals. Our life in this world begins at conception and ends a handful of years later. We do not know how long we will live, nor can we predict the future. 

The only thing that is certain is one day we will enter eternity. At that time we will stand before God whether you believe in him or not.

Tony Campolo the American evangelist said,

“When you were born, you cried and everybody else was happy. The only question that matters is this - when you die, will you be happy when everybody else is crying?” Tony Campolo.

Will you?

Ultimately the choice is up to you the individual. You can believe Jesus is all he said he is, the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind or you can reject him. 

When God created mankind, He did not make robots that would always do what he wanted them to do without thinking. 

Quite the opposite. God created each individual with a freewill to do as he or she wished. That freewill extends to believing in Him or not. Thus you have the right to say God doesn’t exist. 

That being said, Blaise Pascal wrote,

“Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists. Blaise Pascal.

Please think about it.

The Capstone

  The Capstone

The apostle Peter referring to Jesus said,

"He is " ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.'  

        Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:11,12.

Here is Christian belief in a nutshell. Jesus is the way to heaven.

In answering Thomas one of His disciples Jesus said,

"I am the way and the truth and the life. 

No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

                                                                          John 14:6.

This was a radical statement at the time Jesus said it. It is even more radical today. Christians believe Jesus is the only way to heaven. As He put it “No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The way I see it you can believe what Jesus and Peter states here or you can not. The choice is yours. You must decide.

The only thing I would ask the reader before you make a decision, is to at least read the new testament and see what Jesus and the writers of the New Testament believed about Him.

Please think about it.

What will God say to you?

 What will God say to you?

In the book of Ecclesiastes we read,

"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 judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." Ecclesiastes12:13,14.

I think this is self explanatory. God will one day judge the world.

What will He say about you?

Will God say to you ,

"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.

OR will you hear,

“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 25:41-46

Please think about it. 

Be Prepared

 Be Prepared

Jesus told this parable,

"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  

Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  

The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  

The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.  

The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 

"At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' 

"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.  

The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' 

" ‘No,' they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' 

"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 

"Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!' they said. ‘Open the door for us!' 

"But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' 

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour." Matthew 25:1-13.

Think about this. If what Jesus is saying here is just a story with no meaning with respect to His return. It doesn’t mean anything.

On the other hand if it is a reference to Christ’s return, which I believe it is, we have a lot to think about.

So are you prepared for the return of Jesus Christ?

Please think about it.

What we do know

  What we do know.

The apostle Peter writes,

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  1Peter 1:3-5.

 If you are a true believer in Christ Jesus you can be certain that you have a living hope through Jesus Christ. That you have an inheritance that can never fade kept for you in heaven.

That being said in the book of Thessalonians we read,

"Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." 1 Thessalonians 5:1,2.

In other words Christ shall return to this world when we least expect it.

Will you be prepared?

Please think about it.

By Grace Through Faith

  By Grace through faith

The apostle Paul writes,

"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 we cannot work our way to heaven. We cannot live lives good enough to get to heaven.

The Prophet Isaiah noted,

“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Isaiah 64:6.

No matter how good we may think we are we always fall short of Gods ideal for our life. We all sin. That’s why the apostle Paul tells us,

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

     Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8 

Jesus speaking of Himself said this,

"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. 

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son". John 3:16-18.

Scripture is clear. It is by the Grace of God we are saved. Through belief in Christ Jesus.

Do you believe this?

Please think about it.

People of Faith

  People of Faith

In the book of Hebrews we read,

“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.

Faith in 2023 seems to be in short supply. Few people seem to have faith in anything. 

We are bombarded by hundreds of things in the media one piece of information seemingly contradicting another piece of information.

I think its perhaps been this way throughout the centuries. It’s just that today we have a multimedia world that highlights contradictions quicker than ever before. 

It takes a lot of faith to believe anything these days.

That I think also applies to belief in God. It takes a lot of faith to believe in someone or something we cannot see, feel or touch. 

I think that is why God asks of faith. I think that is why in the book of Hebrews we read,

"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.

People who have faith in anything are the strongest of follower. People who believe in something with their whole heart and soul are willing to die for what they believe in.

Jesus speaking about 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.” John 3:16.

Do you believe this?  

The Message is power

  The Message is Power

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.” 

                                                                            1 Corinthians 1:18

  I believe a person has two choices in life. Either you believe in God or you do not. The choice is yours.

  Blaise Pascal wrote,

Belief is a wise wager. 

Granted that faith cannot be proved, 

what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false?

 If you gain, you gain all; 

if you lose, you lose nothing. 

Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists. 

                                                                                Blaise Pascal

 Please think about it.