Confession of sin

  Confession of sin

Jesus said, 

“..."Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."” Matthew 4:17.

I know many people say they are as good as most people. Better even than some. And it’s probably true. But the fact is we all sin. We all fall short of Gods ideal for our lives. 

The apostle Paul writing,

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  Romans 3:23,24.

The apostle John writes, 

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.    If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” 1John 1:8-10.

The important thing here is to realize that although we sin. That by confessing our sins to God those sins will be forgiven. This is especially important for those who claim to be Christians, true followers of Christ Jesus.

Have you confessed you sins to God recently?

Please think about it.

A Changed Life

  A Changed life

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, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  1Peter 1:3-5.

As soon as we give our life to Christ, He gives us a new birth, a living hope, an inheritance that can never perish or fade. An inheritance that is kept in the one place no one can take it away from us, heaven.

When we accept Christ and learn more about Him. Putting more and more of his teachings into action in our life. Our old ways gradually fade away. While a new life and new lifestyle takes over. A new lifestyle that glorifies God. One that tells the world we belong to Christ Jesus.

If you are a true believer in Christ Jesus has your life changed since you accepted Him as your Lord and Saviour?

Please think about it.

Be Prepared to

  Be Prepared to

The apostle Peter writes,

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,"1 Peter 3:15.

As believers in Christ Jesus we must always be aware that Christ should come first in our lives. Not only that but the people around us should see Christ is first in our life without us even telling them.

At the same time we must be prepared to give the reason we believe in Christ Jesus to anyone who asks. And we must do so while showing our respect to the person asking. We must never attempt to force our beliefs on anyone.

If you consider yourself a true believer in Christ Jesus, are you prepared to tell anyone who asks, why you believe in Him?

Please think about it.

Clothe yourself

  Clothe yourself

In the book of Colossians we read,

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Colossians 3:12.

As Christians. As believers in Christ Jesus we are called to show

 compassion,

  kindness, 

humility

gentleness

Patience

When people see you are these the attributes they see?

Please think about it.

I remember you

  I remember you

The Psalmist states,

"On my bed I remember you; 

I think of you through the watches of the night. 

Because you are my help, 

I sing in the shadow of your wings. 

My soul clings to you; 

your right hand upholds me." 

                                                   Psalm 63:6-8.

If you consider yourself a believer in Christ Jesus, do you do what the psalmist is saying here?

Do you think of God night and day?

Is God your helper?

Do you sing to God?

Does your soul truly cling to God?

Do you remember God in good times and bad?

Please think about it.

Pray

  Pray 

In 1 Thessalonians we are told to,

“Pray continually”

                                1Thessalonians 5:17

As a Christian a follower of Christ Jesus must pray continually. While we must also set a quiet time aside to pray. We also need to lift up what is on our heart to God throughout the day. Sometimes it can be audible other times it can be silent. Other times it can be without words just simply reaching out to God.

I like this quote from Our Daily Bread devotional that states,

“It's possible to "pray continually" because Christ's Spirit unites our hearts to God's, continually assuring us of His love for us as His children”

If you are a believer in Christ Jesus do you pray continually?

Please think about it.

A warning from the scriptures

 A warning from the scriptures

The Psalmist writes,

"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.

Abba Hillel Silver wrote,

"Faith in God is the strongest bulwark of a free society.  Human freedom began when men became conscious that over and above society and nature there is a God who created them...who fashioned them in His likeness, and that they are, therefore, possessed of intrinsic and independent significance and are endowed, as individuals, with original and irrevocable rights and authority." Abba Hillel Silver.

This is true. When men do not believe in God or do not fear His judgement society can fall into destruction.

We only have to look at Nazi Germany during and just before world war two. Their men who didn’t fear God or believe in Him brought about the slaughter of Millions of innocent men women and children. Not counting the millions of soldiers that died.

The same is true today. Today there are evil men both terrorist and political leaders and individuals that seek to imprison and murder those they disagree with.

To them and all who do not fear God be they individuals, political leaders, religious leaders or terrorist. The book of Ecclesiastes has a warning,

"Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole  duty of man. 

For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." Ecclesiastes12:13,14.

Please think about it.

God in the flesh

 God in the flesh

In John’s gospel we read,

"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.

Here John refers to Jesus as “the Word”. 

He makes it clear that Jesus was with God from the beginning and that all things were made by Him.

He goes on to say that The Word became flesh. Jesus became human.

This is a cornerstone belief about Jesus. He is God incarnate. God in the flesh. To my knowledge no other religion in the world claims their founder to be God incarnate.

If Jesus is not Devine then those who wrote the New Testament have created perhaps the greatest lie in human history.

Who do you think Jesus is?

Please think about it.

Your eternal resting place

 Your eternal resting place

In the book of Galatians we read,

"Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Galatians 3:6.

Do you believe in God?

The apostle Paul wrote,

"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

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.

So I ask the question again, Do you believe in God?

Are you willing to risk your eternal resting place on what you believe?

Please think about it.

The Holy One of God

  The Holy one of God

In John’s gospel we read of this interaction between Jesus and His twelve disciples, 

"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. 

Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  

We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." John 6:67-69.

Jesus is the Holy One of God. This is what the disciples believed and they knew Jesus intimately. 

Speaking to Martha Jesus states,

"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

"Yes Lord" she told Him, "I believe you are the Christ the Son of God, who was to come into the world," John 11:25,26,27. 

Both Martha and Jesus’ disciples knew Jesus personally. As a result they could say beyond a doubt that Jesus is The Christ, the Son of God.

Do you believe this?

Please think about it.

The upward call

  The upward call.

The apostle Paul writes,

     “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3:14.

Here Paul sets an example for us all. He presses toward “the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

As believers in Christ Jesus it is important to “press into God’s word”, the Bible. We must endeavour to do all we can to learn about the God, and Christ Jesus.  

The apostle 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. 2Timothy 2:15.

The only way we can handle the word of truth is by knowing what the scriptures say. That means not just reading the Bible but studying what it says.

Question, do you just read the Bible or do you study what it says?

Please think about it.

A Journey

 A Journey 

The Psalmist writes,

"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 depth,

 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

C. S. Lewis put it this way,

“We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God.” 

                                                                                                    C. S. Lewis.

Do you believe in God? Perhaps a better question is are you willing to risk your eternal resting place on what you believe?

From the moment we are born we start a journey toward eternity. I believe that throughout that journey God places sign posts directing us to him. All we have to do is read them correctly and do what they say. If we do not we are bound for destruction.

Please think about it.