From Paul in Athens to you

  From Paul in Athens to you.

The apostle Paul while in Athens gave this sermon, 

“So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.  

A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.   Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?  

You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”  

(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) 

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.  

For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  

And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  

God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  

‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 

“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill.  

In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” 

When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”  

At that, Paul left the Council.  

A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others” Acts 17:17-34.

This message is as true today as it was when Paul spoke it. And it has the same results. Many hearing it sneer. Many want to hear more. And many believe.

What about you dear reader? Which group are you in?

Please think about it.

The greatest of all romances

The greatest of all romances

Jeremiah the prophet wrote, 

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12,13.

The trouble in twenty-first century North America at least is that many if not most people are not seeking God.

God to many is irrelevant in modern society. Making it worse are high profile preachers and evangelist claiming to be Christians who are not. 

For those of us who truly do love God however no greater love could we have. Raphael Simon wrote,

"To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances; to seek him, the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement." Raphael Simon.

Thus the challenge to those of us who truly love and serve God is to reach out to a lost and dying world with the life changing love of Christ Jesus.

If you truly love God. If you truly love Christ Jesus, are you reaching out to those around you with the Love of Christ?

Are people around you seeing God’s love in action in your life without you saying a word?

Please think about it.

Foolishness to the perishing

  Foolishness to the perishing

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.

On the day Jesus was crucified Luke’s gospel records,

"The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One." Luke 23:35.

To a people looking for liberation from the Roman boot. Looking for a saviour to get them from under Roman oppression. Jesus hanging on the cross didn’t fit the bill.

The Jews of Jesus’ day were looking for a conquering  Messiah to lead them, victory over their oppressors, not a suffering Messiah.

What they, and people today fail to see is that God does not work the way man works. Lets face it most people living under oppression long for the day a leader arises to free them. Usually by force of arms.

Jesus was totally the opposite of this. He died to make us free. Not necessarily in physical way. But rather spiritually.

Jesus is God reaching down to man.

The apostle Paul writing,

"But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour 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.

The apostle Paul writing to Timothy states,

"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." 2 Timothy 4:8.

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 

Thus the question becomes; Do you believe in Jesus?

Please before you answer that question take time to not just read the New Testament but study it. Taking time to Pray and ask God to show you the truth about Jesus.

Please think about it.

Focussing of Christs commands

 Focussing on Christ’s commands

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.

The American evangelist Tony Campolo wrote,

“Let us preach Christ, let us be faithful to proclaiming the Gospel, but let's leave judgment in the hands of God.” Tony Campolo.

My question to anyone reading this who claims to be a true follower of Christ Jesus is, are you doing this?

Are you making sure you are not judging those around you?

Are you focussing on what Jesus commanded us to do when He said,

"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20.

Please think about it. 

If we confess with our mouth

 If we confess with our mouth

The Prophet Isaiah writes,

"A voice says, "Cry out." And I said, "What shall I cry?" 

"All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 

The grass withers and the flowers fall, 

because the breath of the LORD blows on them. 

Surely the people are grass. 

The grass withers and the flowers fall, 

but the word of our God stands forever." 

                                                                Isaiah 40:6-8.

We humans are a frail bunch. The strongest person in the world. The healthiest person in the world have usually past on to eternity before their hundred and fifth birthday. 

All of our accomplishments if we are lucky will be written down in a history book destined to accumulate dust on a shelf. Or lost among the myriad of information on the world wide web.

Who remembers good men like William Hamilton Merritt (July 3rd 1793-July 5th 1862) People living around the Niagara region in Canada see his name on many things but do they know who he is and what he did?

Who remembers Charles Lightoller (30 March 1874 – 8 December 1952). If they remember him from the Titanic. Do they even know he rescued  127 British servicemen from the beaches of Dunkirk during world war two in addition to doing other things for the British Admiralty during world war two.

We might remember Guglielmo Marcon (April 25, 1874-July 20, 1937) or Albert Einstein ( March 14, 1879-April 18, 1955) but how many of us know what the full extent of their contribution to human history was?

While these men in their own way were great. Their flowers have faded with the passing of time. 

Their place in eternity determined.

I don’t know where any of these people are spending eternity. That is between them and God.

I do know however the way 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.

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 this?

Please think about it.

Equal

 Equal

In the book of Galatians we read,

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28.

Here Paul makes it clear that we are all equal in the eyes of God. When it comes to salvation it doesn’t matter who we are.

We are not born Christian and being rich does not give us a better place in heaven. Men and women are also equal. 

While we don’t have slaves today we do have workers and in Gods kingdom they are equal to the people they work for.

All get to heaven the same way. 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.

Do you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and do you truly believe this in your heart?

Please think about it.

Christ's Example to us

 Christ’s example to us

The apostle John writes,

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 1John 3:16-18.

I firmly believe that it is not good enough to simply be satisfied with saying “Well I have accepted Christ as my Saviour”. We need to do more. We need to follow the example of Christ.

We may never be called to lay down our life for Christ but we can still show He is at work in our life by helping others. John states,

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” 1John3:17.

I think both Christians and non-Christians can agree that having food, clothing, a place to live, good medical care are basic human rights.

And while we as individual Christians may not be able to meet the needs of the poor around us, we can all do something. Helping at a food bank. Helping at a ministry that provides meals for those in need, Giving what we can to reputable charities that serve the poor.

For me helping those in need is an obligation of all Christians. The measure of how much they love Christ.

Please think about it. 

To save souls, a Christian duty

  To save souls, a Christian duty

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 am someone who is not in favour of so called ‘hell fire and brimstone’ preachers. I say this because I don’t think yelling and screaming that someone that they are going to hell bothers non-believers because many times they don’t believe in hell.

In her book To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee writes,

“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)....” Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Harper Lee is right. People calling themselves Christians have probably done as much if not more to turn people away from Christ than those who are not Christians.

In the name of Christ many try to take away the rights or restrict the rights of those they consider morally wrong or those they disagree with. You cannot legislate morality. Nor did Jesus and his disciples ever try to do this.

Jesus and his apostles lived in a society that was as least if not more diverse than our twenty-first century society. Yet they didn’t try to overthrow the Roman government.

Instead they sat down with those they disagreed with and presented the good news of Jesus Christ, much to the dismay it seems of the religious leaders of their day.

From my point of view I believe we as 21st century believers, especially those of us who live in the western democracies need to follow their example.

We need to stop yelling at those we disagree with. Stop telling and them they are on the way to hell and point them to heaven.

Jesus speaking of himself said why he came to this earth. John’s gospel recording,

"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.

This is what we a believers in Christ Jesus must always remember. Our job is to save souls for Christ. NOT try to restrict their rights, and especially not judge where they will spend eternity for only God knows that. 

Please think about it.

An obligation to God and the poor

  An obligation to God and the poor

The apostle John wrote,

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1John 3:17,18.

This is telling me that we as believers in Christ Jesus have an obligation to those around us. We have an obligation to love in word and in deed. Which means if we see someone in need and can help we should help.

In Luke’s gospel Luke (16:19-31) Jesus tells us of a story It’s about Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man had everything he needed in this world. Poor Lazarus would have been happy with the scraps from the mans table. Yet the man had no compassion on him. 

Finally when they both past into the next world the rich man was suffering for his lack of compassion in this world, while Lazarus was no longer suffering.

There are over 2000 verses in the Bible telling us to respond to the needs of the poor. 

Here are just three from the book of Proverbs,

"A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge." Proverbs 29:7

"Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done." Proverbs 19:17

 "Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered." Proverbs 21:13

Please think about it.

Through the lens of your words and deeds

 Through the lens of your words and deeds

To the Corinthians the apostle Paul writes,

"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."  2 Corinthians 5:20.

Whether you like it or not if you claim to be a Christian you are an ambassador for Christ. People will judge Christ through the lense of your words and deeds.

Francis of Assisi wrote,

"The deeds you do

 may be the only sermon some persons will hear today" 

                                                                                   Francis of Assisi.

So if you claim to be a Christian. A follower of Christ Jesus what is your sermon. Your words and deeds telling those around you about Christ?

Please think about it.

The Faithful Church The church at Philadelphia

  The Faithful Church The church at Philadelphia

In the book of Revelations we see Jesus speaking to the church in Philadelphia saying.

“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: 

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.  

I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.  

I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.  

Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. 

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.  

Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.  

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelations 3:7-13

Here we have what scholars call the faithful church. Jesus says to this church,

“I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” Revelations 3:8

The message of Jesus here to faithful believers is,

1. That those who oppose them will one day fall at the feet of the faithful believer and acknowledge that Christ has loved them.

2. That the true believer will be kept from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the world.

3. That the true believer will become a pillar in the temple of God. The strongest part of the temple. 

4. That they will never leave it.

5. That Jesus will write on the faithful believer, the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; He will also write on him my new name.

The question is are you such a believer?

Many in the Christian world would like to think that they are like the church at Philadelphia but in reality are not.

The key however here is to know that we can be like the church of Philadelphia. In order to do so we must put Christ first in everything we do. 

Jesus acknowledged that the Philadelphia church had little strength yet they remained faithful. Thus if they can do it. We can also.

Please think about it.

The Lukewarm Church, Laodicea

 The Lukewarm Church Laodicea

The book of Revelations records Christ speaking to the Church at Laodicea. A Church referred to as the Lukewarm Church.

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.  

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!  

So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  

You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  

I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.  

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.  

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelations 3:14-22

Here Jesus addresses a church that thinks it is doing well. It is a rich church that thinks it needs nothing. In reality it is as Jesus puts it, it is, 

“Wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”

As someone once told me Laodicea was “in deep need of spiritual healing.” 

The call of Jesus is to turn to Him that they may receive that healing.

Churches and individuals today especially I find here in North America think they are rich. They may be in a material sense rich. They are however if you look closer at them spiritually “Wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” They need deep spiritual healing.

They need to turn to God. To pray and study God’s word as often as they can. They need to take the teachings of the Scriptures to heart. 

Jesus tells us,

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelations 3:20.

One thing I have learned over the years is that no matter how close we think we are to Jesus we can get even closer. We must never think because we appear to be rich that we are.

Just because we may appear to be rich especially in a material sense does not mean we are spiritually rich.

Our cry to God should always be “Draw me closer to you Lord.”

Please think about it.