They will know you by this

 They will know you by this

Jesus said,

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34,35.

When a person looks at the church you attend. When they look at the actions of those within the church both on Sunday and during the week, do they see love?

Is there true Christian love in the church you attend?

The apostle Paul defines 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.

Is this the definition of love your church congregation live by?

Is this the definition of love you live by?

Please think about it.

Advice from the Psalmist

  Advice from the Psalmist.

The Psalmist writes,

"Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 

Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, 

keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. 

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”

                                                                                  Psalm 34:11-14.

My question to anyone who considers themselves a Christian is, do you practice what the Psalmist is saying here?

Please think about it.

Let us make every effort

 Let us make every effort.

The apostle Paul writes,

So then, let us pursue what promotes peace 

and what builds up one another 

                                                                                       Romans 14:19 (CSB)

The New International Bible translates it this way,

“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace 

and to mutual edification.”

                                               Romans 14:19.

Christians are called to do what they can to ensure peace. We are to lift others up not tear them down.

I think this can extend to not only other Christians but to those around us. The apostle Paul earlier in his letter to the Romans states,

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

live at peace with everyone.”

                                                           Romans 12:18.

Francis of Assisi wrote,

“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is discord, harmony;

Where there is error, truth;

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

Are you doing your best to live at peace with not only other Christians but with those who are not Christians. Those who don’t believe as you do.

Please think about it.

Explanation not necessary

 Explanation not necessary 

In the book of Genesis we read,

"In the beginning 

God created the heavens and the earth." 

                                                              Genesis 1:1.

Here is a concise statement written to believers in God. And as such needs no explanation. 

Over the centuries believers have looked around and seen the hand of God. The Psalmist writes,

"The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands." 

                                                                   Psalm 19:1.

In the book of Job we read,

"He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; 

He suspends the earth over nothing." 

                                                        Job 26:7.

Even today as scientist study the world around us and the universe in which we live they are proving that everything is linked. From the smallest subatomic particle to the largest galaxy are all connected. 

Scientist say we are in the perfect place for life to exist as we know it.

Dr. Arno Penzias 1978 Nobel Prize winner in Physics

"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 states,

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

Werner Heisenberg father of Quantum Mechanics Nobel prize in physics writes,

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 one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century stated,

"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,"

Now I say all this to ask you dear reader do you believe in God?

Please think about it.

Is it true?

 Is it true?

In the gospel of John we read,

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  

He was with God in the beginning. 

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  

In him was life, and that life was the light of men....

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. " John 1:1-4,14.

This is what a man that walked and talked with Jesus believed. He and Jesus’ other disciples believed that through Jesus all things were made.

If these men are lying then it is the greatest lie in all of history because close to three billion people around the world today believe it.

The question is do you believe the words above written by the apostle John a man who walked, talked and sat under the teachings of Jesus is true or a lie.

Please think about it.

With your mouth

  With your mouth

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.” Romans 10:9,10.

Many people calling themselves Christians are not. True they say Jesus is Lord but its just an intellectual belief. They don’t truly believe it in their heart.

So my question to you is; Do you deep down in your heart believe Jesus is Lord?

Please think about it.

In no other

  In no other.

In the book of Acts we read,

“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.

Jesus said,

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

These two statements are part of the bedrock on which the Christian faith is based. We firmly believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven. 

Thus the question become do you believe this?

If Christians are wrong no one has to worry about getting to heaven. 

If on the other hand Christians are right. Then at the very least those who do not believe in Christ have a lot to consider.

So what do you believe?

Please think about it!

Do you force it

  Do you force it?

The apostle Peter wrote,

“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,”1 Peter 3:15.

Are you prepared to respectfully give a reason for why you believe in Jesus? Sadly many who claim to be Christians are not. Worse still many calling themselves Christians want to force their faith on people. They even try to force governments to pass legislation that will force their faith on people.

All this does is force people away.

We as Christians must strive to present the gospel of Jesus Christ in a respectful way. If we want to see how we simply have to look at how the apostle Paul did so in Athens (Acts 17:17-34). Paul respected the beliefs of the Athenians while presenting the Gospel of Christ. The results were mixed. Some wanted to hear more. Some sneered at what he said. While some believed him.

When you present the gospel of Christ do you respect the beliefs of the people you’re presenting that gospel to?

OR do you try to force your beliefs on someone?

Please think about it.

The Teacher said

  The Teacher said,

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 neighbor as yourself.'  

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

So my question to you, if you consider yourself a Christian; Do you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind?

Please think about it.

Blessed are you

  Blessed are you

Jesus said,

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11,12.

There are a great number of Christians in this world who are persecuted and put in prison for simply believing in Jesus. This has been going on since the very early days of the Church.

To say persecution is a hard thing to go through is an understatement but to those who follow Jesus despite being persecuted great is their reward in heaven

If you are a Christian please pray for the persecuted church around the world. Remember your brothers and sisters in the Lord who are in prison, or being forced to leave their homes for simply following Jesus.

Pray for those who persecute Christians around the world. Jesus said,

“You have heard that it was said,

 ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  

But I tell you: 

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,...” 

                                                                                   Matthew 5:43,44.

Please if you are a Christian reading this don’t just think about praying for the persecuted church. Do it!

Who are you bowing to?

   Who are you bowing to?

The Psalmist writes,

"I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; 

before the "gods" I will sing your praise."

                                                               Psalm 138:1.

It is important that we as Christians are not ashamed to praise God. The world has many ‘gods' and sadly all too many people calling themselves Christians are bowing down to these gods be it the god of materialism, a politician, or even a preacher, teacher or evangelist we follow blindly.

As Christians we must always keep our priorities strait. We must focus on God and praise Him with our whole heart.

Are you praising God or are you bowing to the gods of this world?

Please think about it.

Evidenced in good works

  Evidenced in good works

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

Lets make one thing clear according to the apostle Paul,

"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.

James is not speaking against this belief. Rather James is pointing out that true faith in Christ is evidenced in good works. 

He points out,

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

James notes that simply acknowledging there is a God (having an intellectual acknowledgement that God exists) is not enough as he states, "Even the demons believe that..."  

Simply saying to a person who is in need of food, shelter and clothing "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," is not enough. We need to put legs on our prayers and help them as much as we can.

Are you doing what you can to help those in need?

Please think about it.