Love the Christian way

 Love the Christian way

The apostle Paul writing on love states,

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”1 Corinthians 13:1-3.

Love is the key to a Christian life. Love is what motivated God to send Jesus into this world. Perhaps the best known verse in the Bible is in the Gospel of John where Jesus is quoted, talking about himself and saying,

"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. 

True love can be costly. After all it cost Jesus His life. The apostle Paul telling us,

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: 

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 

                                                                  Romans 5:8.

The Apostle Paul also defines Christian love this way.

“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.

Loving according the Paul’s definition is difficult and we all fall short from time to time. Still it is to this definition we as true believers in Christ Jesus must live up to.

Is the kind of love you show to others in line with this definition of love?

Please think about it.

How's a Christian to act?

 How's a Christian to act? 

"So in everything, 

do to others what you would have them do to you, 

for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" 

                                                                        Matthew 7:12

      This is the one verse everyone who claims to be a Christian should think carefully about.

Put this way it means;

If you are

demonstrating against anyone. 

You are telling them 

they can demonstrate against you.

If you are 

speaking out and trying to restrict the rights of others 

given to them by the lawfully elected government.

You are telling others 

they can try to restrict your rights.

If you are 

imposing your morals on others

however good they may be.

You are telling them 

they can impose their morals on you, 

even if they are not as good as yours.

If you are 

trying to impose your faith on others 

rather than presenting your faith.

You are telling others 

they can impose their faith on you.

If you are

judging others.

You are telling others 

they can judge you in the same way.

If you 

are telling the world you are a Christian

You should be telling the world 

I love you 

as Jesus loves you,...

unconditionally.

                   Please think about it

Knowing the Clockmaker

  Knowing the clockmaker,

The Psalmist writes,

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” 

                                                                Psalm 14:1

“The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

                                                       Psalm 19:1

Voltaire wrote,

“I cannot imagine how the clockwork of the universe can exist

 without a clockmaker.”

                                    Voltaire

We may not be able to prove scientifically today in the twenty-first century that there is a God but that does not preclude His existence. Science is an on going search for what makes up the universe we live in. And from what I understand the evidence for a created universe is coming to light.

I was born in the 1950's. at that time black holes, planets in other star systems, many sub atomic particles, that we know of today were unknown. It didn’t mean they didn’t exist. It just meant scientist hadn’t discovered them. 

Scientist speculated on their existence because of what they seen in the world around them. Then postulated a theory and quite often had to wait for science to advance to prove they existed.

      Some of Albert Eienstein’s theories were not proven until long after his death. Yet Eienstein and others like him believed in their theories. They believed that they would one day be proven. In short they had faith in their theory.

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

So it is with believers in God. We look at the orderly universe around us. We see that everything from the largest galaxy to the smallest sub-atomic particle is perfectly in sync with one another to produce life as we know it on this planet.

The conclusion we come to is that there is a Creator God behind it all.

If we are wrong we have nothing to fear. 

If we are right we enter into eternity knowing the very maker of the Universe. 

Please think about it.

Whoever believes

 Whoever believes

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.  

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.

The apostle Paul writes.

"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.

When was the last time you confessed your sins directly to God? When was the last time you admitted to God that you fall short of what God wants for your life?

Paul also writes,

  “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,”1 Corinthians 15:3.

As Christians we believe that Christ died for our sins. The way we see it is God reached down to man. 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.

God does not wont anyone to perish but they must believe in Christ Jesus. Jesus saying,

   "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 3:18.

Do you believe this?

Please think about it. 

At the bottom of the glass

 At the bottom of the glass

In the book of Jeremiah we read,

"You will seek me 

and find me 

when you seek me 

with all your heart." 

                                      Jeremiah 29:13.

An unknown author once wrote,

“Maybe the atheist cannot find God 

for the same reason a thief cannot find a policeman.” 

                                                                           Author Unknown.

It’s true you must be truly searching for God in order to find Him. You must be willing to admit that what you believe is wrong. To let God show you what is right. To show you that He exists. 

The proof of God is all around you,

William Philips Nobel prize winner in Physics wrote,

“I believe in God more because of science than in spite of it"William Philips Nobel prize winning Physicist.

Werner Heisenberg the father of Quantum Mechanics 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 winner in physics.

So the choice is up to you. Do you believe in God?

Please think about it.

Shama

  Shama

In the book of Deuteronomy we read,

"Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4,5.

Known as the Shama prayer it is recited by Jews in the morning and the evening.

Jesus when asked,

"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." Matthew 22:36,37,38.

It is a call not to listen with your ears but to let the word of God sink in and generate a response. The kind of love the writer is talking about here is one who is acting loyally and faithfully. It is faithful obedience to an individuals relationship with God.

What is your relationship with God?

Is Christ the Lord of your life?

Please think about it. 

Not Condemn

  Not condemn

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 is 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, condemn them or try to restrict their rights.

Please think about it.

For each of us

  For each of us

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.

C. S. Lewis puts it this way.

"He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less." C.S. Lewis.

As Christians we believe you cannot live a life good enough to get into heaven. Isaiah the Prophet put it this way.

“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.

That is why we believe Jesus came into this world to take upon himself the sins of all those who would believe in Him.

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.

The primary reason for Jesus to come to this world is simple. To save the sinner and all of us at times sinned and fallen short of Gods ideals for our life.

Thus the question becomes do you believe this?

Please think about it.

A New Birth

 A new birth

The Psalmist writes,

"The LORD is my strength and my song; 

he has become my salvation." 

                                                        Psalm 118:14.

The apostle Peter tells us,

"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.

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.

So do you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord”?

      Do you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead?

Please think about it.

His Love endures forever

  His Love endures forever

In the book of Psalms we read,

"Give thanks to the LORD, 

for he is good; his love endures forever. 

Let Israel say:

 "His love endures forever." 

Let the house of Aaron say: 

"His love endures forever." 

Let those who fear the LORD say: 

"His love endures forever." 

                                               Psalm 118:1-4.

Simple question, do you fear the LORD?

    Do you give thanks to the LORD,

    Do you believe Gods love endures forever?

Please think about it.

Worship the Lord alone

  Worship the Lord alone

Jesus when tempted by Satan said,

“...“It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’’” Luke 4:8.

In the book of Exodus we read,

"You shall have no other gods before me."Exodus 20:3.

You may say in the twenty first century we don’t have other gods but we do. Our gods may not be carved idols. But people today around the world worship every thing from trees and animals to money to men and women, and things they believe to be true on the internet.

God however makes it clear we are to have only one God. That being The LORD God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.

Joshua speaking to the Israelite said,

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

Be coming a Christian a follower of Christ Jesus and true believer in God means a complete breaking away of those things that you, even without noticing it, are your gods.

Are you willing to do this?

Please think about it,

What will God Say?

  What will God Say?

The apostle Paul wrote,

"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.

Without a doubt this is the definition of true Christian love. The kind of Love we as believers in God. As believers in Christ Jesus are asked to show.

Do you show this kind of Love in your daily life?

On the day you pass on into eternity will the people who knew you say you loved as Christ did.

Will God say it also?

Please think about it.