The Lamb of God

 The Lamb of God

John the Baptist upon seeing Jesus said,

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29.

The apostle John writes,

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1John 1:9.

If you think about it you the scripture quoted above has a great deal to say who Jesus is. It says that Jesus takes away the sin of the world. 

That if we confess our sin to Jesus He will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 

This is something only God can do. 

In fact in John’s gospel we read of this incident in the life of Jesus. John records,

"My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.  

I and the Father are one." 

Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" 

"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." John 10:24-33.  

Those who were not believers in Jesus were ready to put Him to death for claiming to be God, which was the penalty for such a thing at the time.

Jesus however never denied His claim despite knowing that it could mean death.

Thus the way I see it Jesus is indeed the Son of God, God incarnate, who forgives sin or He is a lying, and along with his disciples have created the biggest lie in all history.

What do you think?

Please think about it.

But they who wait for the LORD

  But they who wait for the LORD

The Prophet Isaiah states,

“Even youths shall faint and be weary and young men shall fall exhausted

But they who wait for the LORD Shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall run and not be weary’

they shall walk and not faint.”

                                                     Isaiah 40:30,31

Life can be hard. All kinds of things hit us. Things that could quite easily knock us off our feet, leaving us exhausted both physically and spiritually.

That being said for those who truly know Christ as their Saviour have help in getting through the rough times. 

Jesus said,

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30.

If you consider yourself a Christian do you put your trust in Christ both in the good times and in the bad?

Please think about it.

A Personal Note

 A personal note

The Psalmist writes,

“I will say of the LORD, 

"He is my refuge and my fortress,

 my God, in whom I trust." 

                                                  Psalm 91:2.

In whom do you trust?

I think this is an important question everyone who claims to be a true follower of Christ Jesus needs to answer.

For me personally this year has been a year of drastic change. I recently lost my wife of forty-five years. She had been ill for several years and we knew it was simply a matter of time before she would pass away.

On the last day of her life, while in the ICU unit at the hospital although in pain she was very lucid knowing what was happing around her. 

We talked about various things. When the medical staff told me there was nothing more they could do for her, I told her and asked her if she was ready to pass. She gave me a weak smile and said “I just want to be with Jesus”.

With that we called the family and the doctors took her off life support. Our pastor arrived, then we, and she, sang amazing grace. We prayed. And as a family we sat by her bed until she passed to the arms of her Lord and Savour Jesus Christ. 

For me it was by far the worst day of my entire life. I can honestly say that although I had a chance to say goodby and knew she was now at peace free of the pain she’d been going through for several years. It was the hardest day of my life.

That being said she showed me that day the extent of her faith in Christ. She had known Christ as her Saviour for close to fifty years. The Lord was her fortress. Her God in whom she trusted.

Later that night when I was completely alone for perhaps the first time in forty-five plus years I cried it seemed oceans of tears. 

But I too knew Christ as my Saviour. I knew God was indeed my fortress. I had spent a lifetime laying that foundation. I knew I could trust God to do the right thing. And in my time of grief God was there to comfort and assure me everything would be fine.

The right thing for my wife was to enter an eternity with Him. The right thing for me was to seek God out and see how I could serve Him more.

Interestingly, several things have happened since my wife’s passing. Doors have opened for me to serve God in more ways.

My question to you however is whom do you trust. Can you say with the Psalmist,

"I will say of the LORD, 

"He is my refuge and my fortress,

 my God, in whom I trust." 

                                                  Psalm 91:2.

Please think about it.

What is faith?

  What is faith?

The writer of Hebrews 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.

God wants us to have faith in Him but not necessarily blind faith.

Robert Brault said,

"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,

The Psalmist wrote,

"The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands." 

                                                               Psalm 19:1

Werner Heisenberg wrote,

“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 father of Quantum Mechanics Nobel prize in physics.

But believing in something we can’t see is for many a very hard thing to do. Which perhaps is why God asks us to have faith in Him.

Please think about it.

Pray for the 365 million

 Pray for the 365 million

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.

As Christians we serve a God who calls all people from every nation to trust in Him by faith. He simply asks that we truly believe with our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with our mouth to those around us that “Jesus is Lord” we will be saved and enter heaven.

That being said, God understands that it is not safe to confess Jesus as Lord in some parts of the world. 

Paul and the other apostles certainly knew what it was like to be persecuted for their faith. They were thrown in prison, tortured, beaten, stoned, crucified, among other things. Yet they still confessed Jesus as Lord.

I firmly believe in places where Christians are persecuted they need to pray and ask for Gods protection. They need to ask God for wisdom in how to spread the gospel and who to talk to.

As for we who live in areas that are free from persecution. We need to remember our brothers and sisters who are suffering for their faith. Additionally we need to hold our persecuted brothers and sisters up in prayer before God. And do all we can to help them.

According to one British parliament report in 2023 “Around 365 million Christians are subject to "high levels of persecution and discrimination"

If you claim to be a true Christian are you at the very least praying for your persecuted brothers and sisters in the Lord?

Praying and doing what we can to help persecuted Christians in the world should not be something we simply think about. 

We need to at the very least pray!

Please pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world.

We are grass

 We are all grass

    "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 are fragile even if we are in good health are bodies are fragile. A simple fall as we walk along the road can kill us.

All of our institutions everything man has created is fragile. Just take a look Pompeii everything gone in an instant when a volcano erupted. The grandeur of one of the greatest civilizations in history, Rome. Nothing more than ruins. 

Governments and institutions of every kind have faded into obscurity.

Yet through it all God’s word is still standing.

Also still there the call to people everywhere that God loves them. Jesus speaking of Himself saying,

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30.

Have you put your trust in God? Do you believe Jesus when he 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?

Please think about it.

This very night

This very night

Jesus told this story,

“And he (Jesus) told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.  

He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' 

"Then he said, ‘This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  

And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' 

"But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 

"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." Luke 12:16-21.

Here is a simple question to Christians. Are you rich toward God?

Now there’s nothing wrong with being wealthy. Many wealthy people throughout the years have helped spread the gospel message.

The problem comes when you put your trust in your wealth. 

You don’t know if you will live to see the next moment let alone the next day or year. Thus we should have our lives right before God at all times. 

We need to accept the gift of salvation that comes from God through Jesus Christ. We need to confess our sins directly to God. 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.

So my question to you is... have you confessed your sin to God and accepted the salvation God offers through Christ Jesus? 

Jesus speaking of himself stating, 

"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.

Please think about it.

Don't pray like the Hypocrites

 Don't pray like the Hypocrites

In Colossians we read,

“Devote yourselves to prayer.”

                                                Colossians 4:2.

I think for many Christians prayer is a hard thing to do. They worry they may be doing it wrongly, or asking to much of God, or not asking for the right things. Added to that we may not always see the results of our prayers right away.

For that matter we may not see the results of our prayers this side of heaven. Still we are called to to devote ourselves to prayer.

Luke’s gospel tells us, 

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."

                                                                                Luke 5:16

Jesus gave us instruction on how to pray Matthew records, 

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 

"This, then, is how you should pray: " ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 

your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

Give us today our daily bread. 

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'  

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." Matthew 6:5-14.

So if you claim to be a true Christian. A true follower of Christ Jesus. Do you pray as Jesus taught us to pray?

Please think about it.

 How do you treat non-believers?

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.

We as mere mortals do not have all the facts. We do not know why a person is like they are. Only God knows that. That's why we must show love and not judge in anyway those around us. There are only two reasons we should judge another person. For our own safety, and to see it they are teaching God’s word correctly.

The apostle Paul states,

“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.” 1Corinthians 5:12,13

You cannot win a soul for Christ if you judge them. Our Job is not to judge them it’s to love them.

The late evangelist Billy Graham once wisely said,

"It is the Holy Spirits Job to Convict, 

God's job to judge

 and my job to love," 

                                   Billy Graham.

How do you treat non-believers?

Please think about it.

Who's Jesus to you?

 Who's Jesus to you?

"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.

Let me make things clear. I am a Christian. I am not an Anglican-Christian, a Catholic-Christian, a Lutheran-Christian,. I am not Evangelical-Christian, a Baptist-Christian, a Pentecostal-Christian  or any other hyphenated Christian and I am most certainly not a Christian nationalist. I am a Christian.

I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Saviour of Mankind, God incarnate. I believe Christians by default must be evangelical in nature. They must present to the world the  God's Love and Saving Grace that comes through Jesus Christ. 

This may not go over well with some people but then everyone has the right to disagree with me. Everyone has the right to choose whether the message true Christians present to the world is true. 

Who do you think Jesus is?

Please think about it.

The centre of your life

 The centre of your life

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  

Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”  Deuteronomy 6:5-7.

The way I see this portion of scripture in a nutshell is make God the centre of your life. It’s really that simple.

Read the scriptures, pray, love your family, friends and foe alike as God loves them “unconditionally”.

So the question becomes, Are you doing this? Are you making God the centre of your life?

Please think about it.

 Whatever you do.

In Colossians we read,

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17.

As believers we are called to, in word and deed do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Do you do this?

Please think about it.