The Lineage of Jesus

The Lineage of Jesus
Read Matthew 1-17
“A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: 
Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.” 
                                                                                                        Matthew 1:1-17
Matthew’s gospel is written in Greek. But it uses for the most part Jewish terminology which he doesn’t explain. This indicates that it is written to Jews.
He uses terms like “Son of David” to describe Jesus. He traces the linage of Jesus back to Abraham.
This however does not restrict the readership to the Jews. He mentions the arrival of the Magi and that the great commission is to the whole world not just to the Jews.
Matthews purpose in writing seems to be to prove to the Jewish reader that Jesus is their Messiah.
He uses nine proof texts (1:22–23; 2:15; 2:17–18; 2:23; 4:14–16; 8:17; 12:17–21; 13:35; 27:9–10) to prove this basic theme.
Matthew notes that Jesus is the fulfilment of Old Testament Prophesy. Additionally he points to the linage of Jesus going back to King David.
The book of Matthew was written it is believe by Matthew the disciple of Jesus around 50AD.
Thus Matthew would have had first hand accounts of all that was happening including access to Mary the mother of Christ.
The scripture quoted above gives the linage of Jesus all the way back to Abraham. Pointing out to the reader that Jesus was of the right linage to be the Messiah.
Although he was born to parents of low birth Mary and Joseph. Both were honourable people.
Matthew recording,
"This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.  
Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 
All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet:  
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” 
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.  
But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus." 
Matthew 1:18-25
This is the first proof that Jesus is the Messiah. God actually told Joseph in a dream that the child Mary was carrying was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
For such a thing not to be true when it was written would have been counter productive to those who were declaring that Jesus was in deed the Son of God the Saviour of mankind.
Thus such a thing had to be true or it could have derailed the new movement.
Think about it.

Understanding

"He (Jesus) said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?  
For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.  
If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 
“Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.  
Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” 
              Mark 4:21-25
Jesus is the lamp. A lamp is there to illuminate. He brings to light what is meant to be disclosed.
Jesus brings into the open what is meant to be learned.
The purpose in Jesus coming to earth was to illuminate the minds of men. To show them the ways of God and the way to heaven.
The scripture here states, “consider carefully what you hear. With the measure you use, (to hear the truths of God) it will be measured to you and even more.”
All to often we read or hear scripture and choose only to understand what fits our way of thinking. We fail to listen with an open mind.
I find this is particularly so with some non-Christians.
They have a preconceived idea. Usually that God does not exist or at the very least Jesus is not who he says he is.
From their own presuppositions they then conclude that they are right irrespective of what the bible states.
If they even read the bible, they do so with a closed mind and no amount of reading the bible will ever convince them otherwise.
Thus the warning from Jesus.  “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.”
If we fail to recognize Jesus for who he is then why should he, when we stand before him recognize us?
He is simply saying you acknowledge that I am the Son of God the Saviour of the mankind or I will not recognize you as one of my own and thus will cast you away.
Jesus says,
“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.
  Where do you stand?
Think about it?

There are Christians and There are Christians

“Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?  
The farmer sows the word.  
Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.  
Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.  
But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.  
Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.  
Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.” 
                                                     Mark 4:13-20.
The above scripture Mark 4:13-20 is Jesus’s explanation of the parable of the sower.
It is a scripture that is quite often used wrongly by the so called name it claim it crowd. Those who would say if you give to God a hundred dollars he’ll give back to you thirty, sixty even a hundred times.
They encourage people to sow into their ministry and when the rewards don’t come as they say. They explain it away that the person sowing didn’t have enough faith. This is pure and simply a lie.
This parable is talking about evangelization. About a farmer, you and me and any other believer in Christ that is presenting the Word of God to the world around us.
Jesus points out that the seeds of the Word we sow falls basically on four kinds of people.
The first are those who hear it but it dismiss it. They are turned away either by Satan or their own preconceived ideas that God is not real.
The second are those who receive the Word but they are very shallow people with no real roots. They are joyful upon hearing it. They are caught up in perhaps the emotion of the moment, be it in a church, at a large rally or even in someone’s living room. but don’t take it to heart and eventually turn away from God.
The third are those who hear but the word is choked off by the cares of this world. By the focus on earthly things such as the building up of wealth, possessions and other things. None of which are bad things. Still they can, if not kept in perspective, keep a person from finding true riches in God.
The fourth is the person who takes the word of God to heart and allows it to grow in their heart and life.
They cultivate it and grow in power and strength in Christ. They go on to produce a crop of believers themselves and produce in abundance.
Thus not all Christians are alike although they may call themselves Christians many are not truly living the life. Which if you think about it explains the differences in the lifestyles of some Christians.
Now having heard all of that tell me what kind of ground are you?
Are you committed to Christ? Have you dismissed Christianity and God as not being real or are you somewhere in the middle? Think about it.

Who is Greatest?

“The greatest among you will be your servant.  
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” 
                                                                                                  Matthew 23:11,12.
I use to be a member of a very good church choir. We’d sing weekly in the church and our talents didn’t go unnoticed. As a result we’d sing at other venues from time to time. We even sung on television.
During the weekly performances we’d quite often have a hard time getting a lot of people to turn out for rehearsals and the weekly performance.
Twice a year Christmas and Easter however we’d put on incredible performances that integrated music and drama.
For those performances we had no problem attracting people to the choir.
There were required auditions but people lined up to audition there were no shortage of people who wanted to perform in those performances. They were prestigious.
After however the numbers in our choir again took a nose dive to a dedicated few.
I know what it’s like to be in front of audiences. Not only did I perform in that choir but my full time job is as a professional clown.
I perform in front of groups ranging from a few kids at a birthday party to large gatherings.
The thrill of the performance no matter how big or how small is still one of the best feelings you can ever have. And to get accolades after it, it’s even better.
But I’ve found to be a good children’s performer you have to be humble. Jesus said,
“The greatest among you will be your servant.  
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” 
                                                                                                  Matthew 23:11,12.
I had a partner briefly once that couldn’t understand why we were not invited to share in the food and cake at particularly a children’s birthday party.
I had to explain to her that we were hired servants. That the best we should expect was to receive our pay, which was significant.
It was something she never understood and I stopped using her as my partner.
There are too many people like her in the world.
I was once at a men’s church function when we were asked as an ice breaker to tell a little about ourselves. About what we did.
I always get a laugh (what’s not to laugh about a clown) so I went first.
As people introduced themselves I found that I’d sat with two vice presidents of different companies, the manager of a bank and one man who was almost to shy to speak.
He said nervously “I’m a garbage man.”
To his surprise one of the VP’s said, “Fantastic a real working man. You are a true servant. If I went on strike no one would notice but you on the other hand are one of the most vital services we have. It’s not everyone that can do what you do.”
The VP. was sincere in what he was saying. He quoted Matthew 23:11,12. The conversation then turned to that garbage man.
I’d never imagined so many questions could be asked about garbage.
The proceedings had a very up lifting effect on the man.
Later he came to me and said. “I never thought I was important. I only took the job because I couldn’t get anything better and the pay and benefits were half decent.”
It was something I’ve never forgotten. He actually had a university degree that had proved useless to him and a family to support. Thus the reason he’d taken the job.
From that point on he was proud about his work.
We should all be like that man. Even Jesus humbled himself to wash the feet of his disciples.
Tell me are you a humble person or are you always looking for a way to shout “look at how great I am”? Think about it.

Jesus will Return

Jesus will return

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  
For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;  and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.  
Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.  
But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.  
So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” 
        Matthew 36-44
I am a firm believer in the fact the Jesus will return to this earth to judge it. He will come and he will judge everyone both Christians and non-Christians.
We therefore as believers need to be working for Christ.
There are too many people in the church who are not working for Christ. They come to church have a pleasant time fellowshipping and singing a few songs. They more than likely even like what the pastor is saying. Yet they are not working for Christ. It is so sad.
A survey I once read said that ten percent of those who attend church do ninety percent of the work.
Think what how much more the church could do if those in the church who are currently not doing anything for the Lord would lend a hand. So much more could be done.
Are you working for Christ? Are you doing all you could do for Jesus?
Think about it.

Summing up the Bible

A summing up of the Bible

“One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 
“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 neighbor as yourself.’  
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 
                                                                         Matthew 22:35-40.

How can anyone argue with love being the most important thing in the law. Jesus is not alone in saying this.
A thirteenth century Jewish sage, Hillel, was asked to sum up the entire Torah (the Law) while standing on one leg. He responded with av’ahavta l’reacha komacha (you shall love you neighbour as yourself.
I believe however that the love spoken of has to be that from God.
Sadly we have to many ‘poor’ definitions of love. Definitions that put limits on love.
Paul writing to the Corinthians said this about love,
“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”
                                                                                             1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
This is the love Jesus and Hillel meant when they were speaking. It is an unconditional love. One that sets no boundaries.
This is true love.
A love that if put into practice really could change the world.
Think about it.

Do not bear a grudge

Do not bear a grudge

“ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.” 
                      Leviticus 19:18.
For years I use to watch the conflict in Northern Ireland and the killing done in the name of religion.
My mothers family emigrated to England from Ireland in the mid eighteen hundreds. There reason was to get a better life which they eventually did get but apparently not without some people disliking the fact they were catholic.
The Northern Ireland conflict is very typical of men doing things supposedly in the name of God. When really they are doing it simply with a religious name.
Jesus was a man of peace he never preached insurrection against the dominating Romans. In fact he a Jew helped a Roman centurion (Matthew 8:5-13).
The disciples were the same way they showed the love of God to all men irrespective of who they were.
Those who were fighting in northern Ireland were not Christians they only happened to have the labels of Christian groups.
Over the years much has been done in the name of Christianity when really it was driven by prejudges. The classic example are the crusaders who went to war killing everyone who was supposedly not a Christian.
They and particularly their leaders lost track of the key thing in Christianity. Love your neighbour as yourself.
They missed the fact that Jesus said
“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 28:19,20 
Jesus never said convert people at the edge of a sword or by torture as happened at other times in history.
Christians are today according to what some watch groups are saying the most persecuted people in the world yet the words of the Bible are still there for Christians to obey when Leviticus states,
“ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD.” 
                                       Leviticus 19:18.
Violence done in the name of Christ or a religious Christian group is not the “Christian” thing to do.
It was Jesus who told us to turn the other cheek.
True Christianity is reaching out to people in Love not bearing grudges or waging any kind of violence against ones fellow man.
Think about it.

The Way to Heaven

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” 
                                                                       Ephesians 2:8,9

This is the uniqueness of Christianity. Christians believe we are saved by the grace of God. Not by our works.
In Christianity it is God reaching down to man. Not man trying to reach up to God or trying to be as close to perfect as is possible.
Christians believe,
“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
We believe,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 
            Romans 5:8
We believe,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and (those who believe Jesus) are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
                                                                                                Romans 3:23,24
We believe,
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
We believe...
“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,”  
                   1 Corinthians 15:3,4
We believe,
“Yet to all who received him,(Jesus) to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”
                          John 1:12
We believe that getting to heaven is as simple as saying a prayer like this,
Dear Heavenly Father
I believe that Jesus is your one and only Son. That he came and died for my sins.
I know that I am a sinner and I confess those sins to you now. 
Please forgive me of my sins and come into my heart and life from this day forward.
Amen.
If you prayed that prayer and truly believe what you prayed then you are assured of going to heaven.
What I would advise now is finding a bible believing church.
Pray and ask God to lead you such a church.
I always recommend a Baptist church simply because I’ve found their teachings to be consistent all over the world.
In Canada I also recommend a Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada Church because I am familiar with their solid bible based teachings as are the Assemblies of God in the United States.
Wherever you decide to go make sure, they teach directly from the bible and that their teachings do not contradict the bible. You do this by reading the Bible yourself and asking God to show you the truths contained there in.
A in a good church the pastor will always be willing to answer your questions.
In the church I attend we expect people to ask questions.
At the start of our midweek bible study we encourage anyone who has a question on any topic to ask it and we will have an answer for them.
Now having said all of this I would encourage you even if you still don’t believe to go to a church and ask questions.
Think about it.

What do you gain?

What do you gain?

“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?  
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.” 
                                                       Matthew 16:26,27

Do you believe you have a soul? What is it worth?
If you believe that all there is, is this life then the body at least is equal to the cost of the chemicals and water that make it up. Not very much.
But we are more than a complicated biochemical cocktail. Man has a soul. Man was created to live forever. And one day we will stand before God.
Think about what you are doing. Is it really worth while?
Man is an odd creature if you think about it.
He spends a lifetime collecting ‘things’ be they widgets or dollar bills only to forfeit them at the end of his life. To my mind counter productive.
Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with being wealthy and acquiring wealth. There are many wealthy people in the church that are using their wealth for good. The church needs people like these.
Still what are you doing. Are you simply acquiring things for the sake of acquiring them?
Are you making payments with interest on money you borrowed for a car, when you could have been saving up and buying a good one with cash?
Where is your treasure?
Jesus said,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 
                                                                Matthew 6: 19-21
Where is your treasure. Will you leave it one day to someone else on this earth?
Or will your actions and deeds on this earth go before you to heaven as a wonderful witness of what you have done for Christ?
Think about it.

“The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 
                            Genesis 12:1-3

To day January 27th 2014 is Holocaust remembrance day. A day when we remember the millions killed in the Nazi holocaust of world
war two.
I was born after the war and have only seen films of the concentration camps as a result I can only imagine the horrors.
My father was one of the liberators of Bergen Belsen. He told us very little about what he seen. Still I can remember on two occasions when he told me vividly about what he saw.
The first occasion was when the two of us were watching the news.
There was a some one who was on trial for hate literature, some one who denied the holocaust.
For a few moments he was silent, then he suddenly exploded. It was as if a dam had burst inside him and he told me what he had seen and experienced.
What he told me was beyond belief I can understand why he didn’t want to tell people. Were a writer to have written about such horrors no one would have believed him.
As I found out later from some aunts, he didn’t keep silent in the years after the war. He did tell people about what he saw. It was just that I was too young to remember.
The experience at Belsen did change his life.  
The facts speak  for themselves, over eleven million (11,000,000) people died in the holocaust. Six million (6,000,000) were jews. An estimated 1,500,000 children died. The numbers are staggering.
If my math is right that means one person was murdered every twenty seconds from the day war was declared in September of 1939 until it ended in Europe in May of 1945.
The other thing my father was bitter about was that his country, England refused to let them all go to Palestine because of politics.
  It’s interesting that the United Kingdoms fortunes started to go down after the war.
The scripture I have chosen for today is a blessing God gave to Abram the father of the Jewish nation it reads,
“The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 
                            Genesis 12:1-3.
I firmly believe that, that blessing to Abram is still in effect.
       Germany as a nation repented after the war paid reparations to Israel and has become an economic power house.
While the United Kingdom who placed harsh restrictions on the Jews in Palestine going even to the point of training and arming the enemies of the Jews, had their fortunes fall.
Here in Canada we have a government that is firmly behind Israel and I believe it has resulted in Canada’s prosperity even in these uncertain times.
But all of that aside. I believe it is incumbent on all Christians everywhere to pray for and bless Israel.
Many Christians died in the holocaust also. They died for simply trying to protect Jews.
We can never let such a thing happen again.
The Reverent Martin Niemoeler a pastor in the German Confessing Church who himself spent seven year in a concentration camp wrote,

First they came for the Communist

And I did not speak out-

Because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the Socialist

And I did not speak out-

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came fro the Labour Leaders

And I did not speak out-

Because I was not a Labour Leader.

Then they cam for the Jews

And I did not speak out-

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they cam for me

And there was no one left

To speak out for me.

If there is one place we should be politically active, it is in our support of Israel.
There are people in this world who do not want Israel to exist.
Think of it were they to win. Millions more Jews would die.
Not only Christians, but humanity as a whole cannot let that happen.
Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem and pray that God will bless Israel.

How Great is Your Faith?

“Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them.  
Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.  
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves,  
“Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things?  
Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?  
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . .” He said to the paralytic,  
“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”  
He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”“ 
                                                                                     Mark 2:3-12.
Here we have five men, a paralysed man and four men carrying him. They couldn’t get near Jesus so they went up to the roof, took the roof apart and lowered him down.
These men had faith that Jesus would and could heal the paralysed man.
Jesus is the great healer. He proved himself time after time by performing miracle after miracle.
He also proclaimed his authority to forgive sins, something that upset the teachers of the law. Who called it blaspheming as Jesus was essentially calling himself God.
If we believe that God is the same yesterday today and always then we must believe that Jesus heals today.
I know in my home church we have had confirmed healings. Our pastor who had terminal cancer, someone the doctors said wouldn’t live more than two years was miraculously healed. The doctors confirming the fact that he was.
The key to miracles today is that God must get the glory. That independent witnesses such as doctors need to admit that something extraordinary has happened. And, and I say this because I’ve seen it happen, the person needs to have had the illness.
I’ve known evangelist, preachers and people in the pews claiming to have cured or been cured of an illness the person never had. Such things only bring disrepute to God.
Scripture tells us 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 
Do you believe in miracles? Have you had a confirmed miracle in your life or the life of someone close to you. If so did God get the glory?
I firmly believe miracles happen today. The sad thing is however there are far too many evangelist, pastors and individuals for lack of a more polite word, faking it. Which taints the name of Jesus.
As Christians we need to be praying for the sick. And, we need to hold accountable all those who claim to have performed a miraculous deed accountable just as scripture tells us to do.
Think about it.

Of God and Man

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
           Genesis 1:26,27

“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

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.”
We are God’s creations. It is God who has written on our hearts what is right and what is wrong.
To my knowledge no atheist group has ever come up with a universal set of morals. Yet there have been many who have caused great havoc on humanity. Some even in the name of religion.
Ecclesiastes states,
“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 judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
         Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.
The duty of man is fear God and keep his commandments because whether you believe him or not you will one day be called to judgement.
Think about it.