True Christian Love

 True Christian Love

Jesus said,

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 

Jesus replied: " ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 

This is the first and greatest commandment. 

And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.'  

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. Matthew 22:36-40

So what is love?

The apostle Paul writes,

"Love is patient, love is kind. 

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, 

it is not easily angered, 

it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love does not delight in evil 

but rejoices with the truth.  

It always protects, 

always trusts, 

always hopes, 

always perseveres. 

Love never fails....

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.

 But the greatest of these is love."  

                                                                     1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13.

If you call yourself a Christian and are not loving people this way, you must ask yourself, am I truly loving as Christ loved?. Is the Love of God truly in my heart?

Please think about it.

Fact Check

  Fact Check

"Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped 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.

This is a message the church today needs to listen to. 

Over the years the church has sadly gained a lot of spiritual and material baggage God never intended it to have. As such we must take care and assess whether or not the Church congregation or denomination is truly teaching the word of God. We must ask the question whether or not the evangelist or pastor we support is truly teaching the word of God.

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.

We are in the time Paul is talking about. As such we need study not just read the Bible. We should never simply take the word of any man or woman who is teaching the word of God. We should be asking ourselves “are they teaching sound doctrine?”

If you claim to be a Christian, have you ever fact checked what the pastor or evangelist you listen to? If not why not?

Please think about it.

As for me and my house

 As for me and my house

In the book of Isaiah we read,

“Give attention to me, my people, 

and give ear to me, my nation;

for a law will go out from me,

and I will set my justice for a light ot the peoples.

My righteousness draws near,

my salvation has gone out,

and my arms will judge the peoples;

the coastlands hope for me,

and for my arm they wait.

Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

and look at the earth beneath;

for the heavens vanish like smoke,

the earth will wear out like garments,

and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;

but my salvation will be forever,

and my righteousness will never be dismayed.”  

                                                                    Isaiah 51:4-6

One commentator I read said this about the above passage,

“...the truth of the Lord is going out to the nations with a saving power that will outlast the universe.”

The late American civil rights leader once said in a prayer,

“... help us to realize that man was created to shine like stars and live on through all eternity.” Martin Luther King jr. 

God has sent his word throughout the world. Thus everyone who hears the word must make a decision as to believe what God tells us in Bible or not.

This world will not last forever. We however are crated to last forever. As a result we must decide where we will spend eternity.

As for me personally I like what Joshua said,

"...as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15b.

Will you serve the LORD?

Please think about it.

A Basic Christian Belief

  A Basic Christian belief

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.

The apostle Paul makes it very clear how you get to heaven.

“Confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.”

As a result anyone reading this has a choice. Is what the apostle Paul writing true of false?

The choice is yours.

Please think about it.

A lot to think about

  A Lot to think about

The apostle Paul writes,

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8.

The way I see it we cannot hope to reach God even by doing good deeds. The prophet Isaiah wrote,

“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Isaiah 64:6.

God knew this. That is why He reached down from heaven and sent His One and Only Son Jesus Christ to live a perfect life and die for our sins.

I know it sounds foolish. Even the apostle Paul notes,

"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." 1Corinthians 1:18.

But then Gods ways are not our ways.

For the Christian those who truly believe in Christ Jesus the only way we get to heaven is by faith. The writer of Hebrews stating,

"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.

John the Baptist states,

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." John 3:36.

Jesus 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.

If what John the Baptist said is not true then no one has anything to fear. That being said. If they are right then at the very least you have a lot to think about.

Please think about it.

A Thorn in the flesh

  A thorn in the flesh

The apostle Paul writes,

“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."     Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  

That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2Corinthians 12:7-10.

Sadly I’ve heard many preachers throughout the years say God wants you to be “healthy, happy and wealthy.”

While God wants the best for us, He does let us go through difficult time. Case in point the scripture above penned by the apostle Paul who had “a thorn in the flesh.”.

We are not told what it was and that is unimportant. What is important here is that the apostle Paul had asked God three times to take away the thorn. And God made it clear it was His (Gods) grace that was sufficient for Paul. That God’s power was made perfect in weakness.

It is especially in those times when we are at our weakness that we should be drawing close to God. Asking God for help and insight as to what we can learn from our hardships.

Please think about it.

Do your best for God

  Do your best for 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.

Here is a simple question. 

If you consider yourself a true Christian. A true follower of Christ Jesus.

Are you doing your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed? A person who correctly handles the word of truth?

Please think about it.

A Christian duty to love

A Christian duty to love

The apostle John writes,

"It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.  

And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.  

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love." 2 John 1:4-6 

We as believers in Christ Jesus are told to walk in love. Jesus said,

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." John 15:12.

That means loving unconditionally.

While we may not always agree with others as believers in Christ we are called to love even our enemies. Jesus said,

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you....  

Do to others as you would have them do to you.... 

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."Luke 6:27,28,31,36 

The late American civil rights leader Martin Luther King jr. once said,

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.”

                                                                                   Martin Luther King, Jr.

So my question to anyone reading this who claims to be a Christian is, Do you truly Love?

Please think about it.

How to tell a true Christian

How to tell a True Christian

Jesus said,

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  

Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'  

Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" Matthew 7:21-23.

The institution that is the church, which is what those outside the church see, has been around for a very long time. Sadly it has fractured into many hyphenated denominations. As such it has picked up a great deal of baggage it was never meant to carry.

Additionally many calling themselves Christians are not.

The Apostle Paul foreseeing this happening wrote to Timothy saying,

"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.

Thus I would say to those outside the Church. In order to judge who is truly a Christian  you should look for the following in their life.

Do they love God, their neighbour and their enemy?

Is unconditional love a major factor in their life and lifestyle?

Do they refrain from passing judgement on others, especially those outside the church?

Are they quick to correct any wrong teaching within their ranks?

Are they living good loving lives?

Are they exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control?

Are they doing good deeds?

Do they help the poor in whatever way they can?

Do they respect those in authority?

Do they live their faith without compromise?

Do you see them truly trusting God?

Please think about it.

What' a Christian to do?

 What’s a Christian to do?

The writer of Proverbs tells us,

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart 

and lean not on your own understanding; 

in all your ways acknowledge him, 

and he will make your paths straight."

                                               Proverbs 3:5,6.

To be a Christian a true believer in Christ Jesus we must put our faith firmly in God. The writer of Hebrews telling us,

"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.

This does not necessarily mean that we will receive our rewards in this world. Certainly the patriarchs mentioned in Hebrews did not see the fruition of their faith in their lifetime. Still they did receive the reward for their faith in heaven.

If you consider yourself a true Christian will you receive your reward in Heaven?

Please think about it.

Obeying God

  Obeying God 

In the book of Acts we read of the religious leaders saying to the apostles,

"We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood." 

Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!" Acts 5:28,29.

Here Peter and other apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin, the ruling body that had told them not to preach in the name of Jesus. Their crime being preaching the gospel of Christ.

So angry were the religious leaders that they wanted to kill the apostles. Fortunately a Pharisee named Gamaliel (a respected teacher of the law) stood up. Then after giving all present a history lesson about past men who had claimed to be the Messiah and failed. Convinced them not to kill the apostles. Gamaliel stating,

"...but if this is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found to opposing God!..." Acts 5:39a

In John's gospel Jesus warns us about persecution when he states,

"Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also" John 15:20.

Jesus also tell us,

"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:10-12.

Persecution is hard to go through. That is why if we are to go through it we must be certain that we are going through it for the right reason. That being, telling the world around us about the salvation that comes through Christ Jesus in love.

Please think about it.

Pray for those in authority

 Pray for those in authority

The apostle Paul writes,

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.  

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.” 1Timothy 2:1-6.

Here the apostle Paul tells us to make requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving for everyone. For kings and those in authority.

Note here Paul dose not say pray and expect the governments agree with us. Remember we like Paul live in a largely non-Christian world. A multicultural world filled with many gods.  

  The governments of this world are for the most part secular. There are no Christian governments in the world today. Nor are there any nations based strictly on Christian principles.

The best I believe Christians can hope for is to live at peace with them. To live quiet lives of godliness and holiness so that we can present our beliefs to others.

The apostle Peter tells us,

"Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." 1 Peter 2:11,12.

If you claim to be Christian are you obeying the words of the apostle Paul who said,

“Make requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

Please think about it.