They seen and touched Him

  They seen and touched Him.

The apostle John states,

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.  

The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.  

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.  

We write this to make our joy complete. " 1John 1:1-4.

The apostle John makes it clear that he truly believed that Jesus was God the Creator of all things. That he and the other apostles interacted with Him.

John referring to Jesus also wrote,

"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.

If this is not true it is the greatest lie in the history of mankind. If on the other hand it is true each individual must acknowledge that Jesus is Lord.

The apostle Paul saying,

"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 10:12, 13. 

Please think about it.

Through a foggy window

  Through a foggy window

The apostle Paul writes,

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12.

For me this describes Christianity. We look at heaven through a foggy window. We see just enough for us to believe. The rest we believe by faith. Which is what we are asked to do by the writer of Hebrews who states,

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for 

and certain of what we do not see."  

                                                              Hebrews 11:1

"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.

Do you believe in God?

Do you believe that Jesus is the One and Only Son of God, The Saviour of all who would believe in Him?

Please think about it.

Something we should be doing

 Something we should be doing.

The Psalmist writes,

"I will praise you forever for what you have done; 

in your name I will hope, 

for your name is good. 

I will praise you in the presence of your saints." 

                                                                           Psalm 52:9.

If you claim to be a Christian a true follower of Christ Jesus, this is something we should be doing.

Yes there will be days when things are tough. When it seems hard to praise God. Never the less we should be praising God. With the full knowledge that if we trust Him we will eventually overcome the problems we are going through.

Please think about it.

Trust in God

  Trust in God

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 

in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

                                                                                                  Proverbs 3:5,6.

This is a very clear directive given to all believers. We are called to trust God no matter what happens.

Job who went through many problems said,

“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; 

I will surely defend my ways to his face.”

                                                             Job 13:15.

Job may not have known why everything that was happening to him, was happening. He did however know that he truly believed in God. And was willing to defend his actions to God.

The apostle Paul was stoned, shipwrecked, beaten, and eventually put to death for what he believed. Yet he never faltered in his faith in God. He believed, what he believed was right and went to his grave for those beliefs.

This is how we should be today. We should know what we believe and why we believe it. And why we believe something should not be the result of only listening to a preacher, teacher, or evangelist. We should be studying the word of God for ourselves. Reading the Bible so that we know first hand why we believe what we believe.

If you consider yourself a Christian could you defend what you believe before others?

Please think about it.

Dear Christian

  Dear Christian

"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.... 

Do to others as you would have them do to you." 

                                                                             Luke 6:27,28,31.

The message to Christians here is strait forward. Love. Love the way God loves, unconditionally. 

So dear Christian the question becomes....

Do you love those around you the way God loves?

Please think about it.

We must have faith.

  We must have 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."  Hebrews 11:1

"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.

To believe in something you can see, is for many a very difficult if not impossible thing to do. Yet God requires it of all who would wish to go to heaven.

The apostle Paul tells 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 in the Saving Grace that comes from God through Jesus Christ our Lord?

Please think about it.

Our works cannot save us.

  Our works cannot save us.

The apostle Paul wrote, 

“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

In the book of Ephesians we read,

“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.

Our works as good as they may be cannot save us. They cannot get us to heaven. It is only by the grace of God that we get to heaven.

The apostle Paul making it very clear writing,

"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.

Do you believe this?

Please think about it.

The things you accumulate

  The things you accumulate. 

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" 1Peter 1:3-4.

If you accept the saving grace offered to you by God through Christ Jesus. Then you can praise God because the inheritance we have is not in this world but in heaven where it can never spoil or fade.

The riches you may accumulate in this world are fleeting. At the end of your life they will be dispersed among other people. They will no longer be yours. But the things you do for Christ. The things you do for God will be yours forever.

Please think about it.

It sounds foolish

 It sounds foolish

The apostle Paul writes,

"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.

The Christian message can I suppose be seen to be foolish. After all we Christians believe Jesus is God incarnate, God in the flesh. Not only that we believe our Saviour, Jesus, died for our sins.

Why would God do such a thing. The answer was given by Jesus himself. Who 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.  

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.

God loves us unconditionally. That’s why He came to the world He created in the form of Christ Jesus. To show the world in human terms how far He would go to show each individual the way to heaven.

Do you believe this?   

Please think about it.

A Criminals Confession

  A Criminals Confession

In the Gospel of Luke we read of this conversation between the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus and Jesus.

Luke records,

"One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" 

But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence?  

We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." 

Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.'" 

Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:39-43.

It has been pointed out to me that the criminal that Jesus said would get to heaven (Paradise) never said the sinners prayer.

I pointed out the sinners prayer isn’t seen in the Bible and that the criminal that believed in Jesus did everything he was called to do to enter heaven.

He believed Jesus was who he claimed to be. And he confessed his sins.

The apostle Paul pointing out,

"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.

The apostle John stating,

"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.

Is this you today? 

Do you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord?

Have you confessed your sins to God?

If you truly did this you are on your way to Heaven.

Please think about it.

How to get to heaven

  How to get to heaven

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.

Getting to heaven is that simple. 

Confessing Jesus is Lord.

Believing God raised Him from the Dead.

These two points are sadly for many people not something they believe.

That being said do you?

Please think about it.

Who is Jesus?

 Who is Jesus

In John’s gospel we read,

"Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?' Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.' Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?'" John 18:37-38.

Pilot ultimately found no wrong in Jesus. Never the less out of political expediency he allowed Jesus to be put to death.

So who is Jesus to you?

In the book of acts we read of the apostle Peter saying,

"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Acts 2:36.

Jesus himself 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

The apostle John writes,

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.  

The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.  

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.  

We write this to make our joy complete. " 1John 1:1-4. 

This is what men that knew Jesus personally believed Jesus to be. So are they right in what they believe?

What do you think?

Please think about it.