What God asks of the believer
In the book of Micah we read,
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8.
These words couldn’t be more direct. God is asking us to,
Act justly.
To Love mercy.
To walk humbly with God.
If you are a believer in Christ Jesus. Are you doing this?
Please think about it.
How about you?
The Psalmist writes,
"I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together."
Psalm 34:1-3.
If nothing else the New Testament shows Jesus and his apostles experienced all that it is to be human. They attended weddings. The followed the rules set down in the Torah. They interacted with people of all walks of life.
They were also beaten, thrown in prison all but one dying for their faith. Yet through all of this they praised God. They praised him not only in the good times, but after they’d been beaten and while they were in prison.
They praised God because they knew that even in their darkest hour God was with them.
How about you, if you profess to be a true Christian, a true follower of Christ Jesus, do you praise God in the good times and in the bad?
Please think about it.
Believe and Confess
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.
This is as simple as it gets. The apostle Paul states that if you “confess with your mouth “Jesus in Lord” and believe in you heart God raised him from the dead you will be saved.
So the question becomes have you done this?
Please think about it.
God gives us a choice
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.
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
The sole purpose of Jesus coming to this earth was to save each individual from their sins and to offer each individual the way to heaven. To give each individual a choice.
Jesus saying
..."I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
A statement you can believe or reject.
What I would say however before you make a decision is to take time to study the New Testament, pray and ask God if it is true.
Please think about it.
You and the golden rule
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.
As Christians. As believers in Christ Jesus we are called to follow this rule. Think of it this way,
To day that 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
Joshua’s choice
In the book of Joshua we read,
"Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24: 14,15.
When we become Christians. True followers of Christ Jesus we are asked to make similar choices to the Israelites. Our Gods in this day and age are different than the Israelites. Our gods are materialism, wealth, sex, and many others. All of which we must be willing to give up when we accept Christ as our saviour.
We must believe in faith that God exists and will help us change our life around.
The writer of Hebrews telling 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.
Do you believe this?
Do you serve the LORD?
Please think about it.
Are you seeking God?
In the book of Jeremiah we read,
You will seek me and find me
when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13.
Someone, (not me) said,
“Maybe the atheist cannot find God
for the same reason a thief cannot find a policeman.”
Author Unknown
We truly have to be searching for God in order to find Him. If we have our minds made up that there is not God. Then we’ll never find Him.
The Psalmist tells us,
"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands."
Psalm 19:1
In Psalm 139 we read,
"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139:7-10.
Abraham Lincoln said,
“I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.” Abraham Lincoln.
So the question becomes. Are you really searching for God? If so where are you looking for Him?
Please think about it.
Something very hard
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.
Faith in anything can be a hard thing. Yet scientist do it all the time. They see something is happening and come up with a theory as to what is causing it. Many such theorise are not solved in the scientist life time. Even Einstein went to the grave having some of what he postulated unproven. Still he knew from what was happing that his theory was correct.
It’s the same with those who believe in God. The Psalmist states,
"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands."
Psalm 19:1
Robert Brault stated.
"God left so many fingerprints at the scene of Creation that you wonder — does He want to be found, or does He want to be stopped?" Robert Brault.
We only have to look around us to see Gods handiwork. The universe from the greatest galaxy to the smallest subatomic particle are mathematically perfect. Arranged in such away that life as we know it can exist.
This tells me there is a Creator God who made it all.
Still that being said it requires faith to believe this, and that is for many a very hard thing.
Please think about it.
Bet without hesitation
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.
Simply put this is the unapologetic view of Christians. We believe the words of Jesus as quoted in John’s gospel.
“Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.
If we as Christians are wrong then no one has anything to fear. If we are right then the rest of the world has at the very least something very important to think about.
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.
Clowns entertaining goats?
Jude writes,
"But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.
They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires."
These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.
Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh." Jude 1:17-23
The apostle Peter also states something similar writing,
"First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires" 2 Peter 3:3.
The apostle Paul also warns,
"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." 2Timothy 4:3,4
Charles H. Spurgeon wrote,
"A time will come when instead of the shepherds feeding the sheep. The church will have clowns entertaining the goats." Charles H. Spurgeon.
This is happening in the church today. Now I can only speak to the actions of the church here in North America where I live. But many calling themselves Christians are perverting the scriptures to say what they want them to say. What they feel their congregations want to hear. A watered down gospel with little substance.
The apostles knew that such a time would come that’s why they wrote what they did to forewarn the church. That’s why when Paul writing to Timothy wrote,
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.” 2Timothy 2:15-16
So where do you stand? Are you a clown entertaining the goats or are you truly doing your best to be a workman approved of God?
Please think about it.
Chariots horses or God?
The Psalmist writes,
"I love you, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold."
Psalm 18:1,2
In Psalm 20 we read,
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God”
Psalm 20:7.
Where I your trust? Do you trust in your own power or in God’s power? It is a question we must all answer.
So I ask you whom do you truly trust in the good times and in the bad times, is it in God or something else?
Please think about it.
The reality of God
Jesus said,
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7,8.
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
You must have faith that there is a God in order to find Him. If you say emphatically there is no God. More likely than not you will not even search for Him or evidence of His existence.
Ben Zion Bokser wrote,
"I have not seen the robin but I know he is there because I heard him singing through my window from the tree-top outside.
I have not seen God. But I have looked at my child's eyes, and have been overwhelmed by the miracle of unfolding life.
I have watched the trees bedeck themselves with new garbs of green in the spring, and have been stirred by the miracle of continual rebirth.
I have looked at the stars, and have been overcome by the miracle of the grandeur and majesty of the universe.
I know that God exists, because I have heard the song of His presence from all the tree-tops of creation."
For me it is inconceivable that the universe we live in was not made by God." Ben Zion Bokser
The Psalmist said,
"The heavens declare
