There is one man

 There is one man

The apostle Paul wrote,

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.”  1 Timothy 2:1-6.

Paul makes it clear here that Jesus is the only mediator between God and man. It is through Jesus that we are saved. It is Jesus who died for our sins. 

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

This is an incredible statement for anyone to make. Saying He is the only way to heaven.

I like what C. S. Lewis said about Jesus in Mere Christianity. Lewis wrote,

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."   C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Please think about it.

Do you have eternal life?

  Do you have eternal life?

The apostle John writes,

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  

He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12.

Here John makes a simple statement. If you believe in Christ Jesus you have eternal life. 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.

In the book of Romans we read,

"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 and the saving grace that comes through Christ Jesus?

Please think about it. 

Handling the word of God

 Handling the word of God

The apostle Paul writes,

"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." 2 Timothy 2:15.

I feel we as Christians at times become so familiar with the scriptures that we take them for granted as a result we handle them without due care.

As believers in God. As believers in Christ Jesus. We must realize that the Bible is the inspired word of God. As such it must be handled with care. We must quote the scriptures in the context they are written.

We must never take scripture out of context in order to prove our point of view. We as the apostle Paul states,

"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." 2 Timothy 2:15.

Do you and the pastors and religious teachers you listen to handle the word of God correctly?

Please think about it.

Better than the day of birth

 Better than the day of birth

In Ecclesiastes we read,

 “A good name is better that perfumed oil and the day of death better than the day of birth.” Ecclesiastes 7:1.

“The day of death better than the day of birth”, quite a statement. Here the writer is not referring to one’s own death but to that of another. Bereavement should, or at least should be a call to those grieving to think of their morality. 

There’s an old saying I heard along time ago by C.T. Stud that said,

“We have only one life it shall soon be past only what’s done for Christ will last.” C. T. Stud.

So if you consider yourself a Christian a true follower of Christ Jesus, what have you done for Christ?

Please think about it.

Their fruit

  Their fruit.

Jesus said,

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  

By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  

Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.  

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  

Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Matthew 7:15-20.

Here we are told by Jesus to watch out for false prophets in sheep’s clothing. These false prophets hide themselves in the guise of honest Christians. They know what to say in church and what not to say.  

The apostle Paul writes,

"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

Such things are happening today. We have groups who are calling themselves Christians but are not. They are wolves who have infiltrated the Church for their own gain. Leading people down a pathway that leads to Hell. These are people we must watchout for.

The apostle Paul writes,

"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you." 1 Corinthians 5:12,13.

Paul makes it clear we are to expel false teachers from the church.

Question...

Are the pastors, evangelist, and religious leaders you follow wolves in sheep’s clothing?

Do you know the fruit of a false teacher is?

Do you know what the fruit of the good church leader is?

Please think about it.

To Judge

  To Judge?

Jesus said,

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." Luke 6:37.

Do you judge people? I’ve heard many who call themselves Christians who are not, that say we shouldn’t be judging them. They hide behind the quote I posted above. Do not judge. Do not condemn.

This is all well and good. It is not our place as Christians. As followers of Christ Jesus, to judge non-Christians or where a person will spend eternity. That is up to God. 

That being said Christians for their own safety and to ensure the Gospel message is being properly presented, do have the right to judge those who call themselves Christians. The apostle Paul telling us.

"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you." 1 Corinthians 5:12,13.

And just how do we know who a true Christian is? The apostle Paul tells us,

The apostle Paul writes,

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:19-23. 

As Christians we need to look carefully at those around us, including pastors, evangelist, other church leaders and indeed politicians. We need to look at them and ourselves and ask, “Am I. Are they exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Please think about it.

The gospel on with you take your stand

 The gospel on which you take your stand

In the book of 1Corinthians the apostle Paul writes,

“Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.  

By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  

After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  

Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,” 1Corinthians 15:1-7.

Hear Paul makes it clear that he believed that,...

1/ That Christ died for our sins,

2/ That Christ was buried,

3/ That Christ was raised from the dead on the third day.

4/ That Christ appeared to Peter and the Twelve apostles.

5/ That Christ appeared to more than 500 believers at the same time.

Then Paul notes that most of those who saw Christ after the resurrection were still alive.

This in my mind makes it clear Paul is not making things up. Jesus did in fact died for our sins, was buried and rose from the grave.

What do you think?

Please think about it.

God's expectation

  God's expectation 

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.

God could not have made things more simple than He does through the prophet Micah. Take a few moments to read that portion of scripture again.

"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.

Please think about it.

About the miracles of Christ

  About the Miracles of Christ.

In the book of Luke we read,

“Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him.  

As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.  

When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” 

Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”  

The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. 

They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.”  

This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.” Luke 7:11-17.

I am always amazed at the miracles Christ did. I’m amazed because it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is God incarnate.

I’ve heard that some don’t believe Jesus did miracles. My answer, “If he didn’t do them why would the writers of the Bible include them?”. Including untrue miracles would be lying and disprove the very thing they are trying to prove. For that matter why would any of Jesus’ claims be true if the miracles were false.

C. S. Lewis wrote,

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

Please think about it.

The world around you

 The world around you.

In proverbs we read,

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

We as Christians are called to help the poor. Now I know the Talmud is not a Christian book but there is an interesting quote in the Talmud that states,

“Rabbi Akiba was asked by a Roman general, "Why does your God who loves the needy not provide for their support Himself?"  He answered, "God the Father of both the rich and poor, wants the one to help the other so as to make the world a household of love."  The Talmud.

If you consider yourself a Christian. A true follower of Christ Jesus, are you making the world around you “a household of Love?”

Please think about it.

Look after...

  Look after...

In the book of James we read,

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27.

Here James makes it simple. As Christians God expects our faith to be pure and faultless, “to look after orphans and widows”.

AND to keep ourselves “from being polluted by the world.”

In Zechariah 7:10 we read,

“...do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, let none of you devise evil against another in your heart” Zechariah 7:10.

In Deuteronomy we read,

“He (God) executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.” Deuteronomy 10:18.

These are clear scriptures telling Christians to help the less fortunate in whatever way they can.

So if you consider yourself a Christian, are you doing this?

Please think about it.

Turn from evil

 Turn from evil

The Psalmist states,

"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.

Do you love life and desire many good days?

Next question. Do you keep your lips from lying?

            Do you turn from evil?

                                    Do you seek Peace and Pursue it?

Please think about it.