Forgiveness and the Christian
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”
James 2:12,13.
Are you merciful? Do you forgive those who sin against you?
Jesus said,
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Matthew 6:14,15.
As Christians we will have over our lifetime many whom we disagree with. Many people who will sin against us and speak wrongly about us.
The true test of a Christian is if you can forgive them.
I’ve been a Christian over four decades now. I’ve come across people who have said bad things against me. People who have hurt me by the words they’ve said.
Words actually hurt more than physical injuries at times. They continue in your mind long after the person speaking them has forgotten them.
The key I’ve found is forgiving them.
Going to God in prayer also helps. Telling God of any hurt you have. Someone one told me, when your are hurt you need to pray it away. Stay talking to God until the hurt subsides and it does eventually go away.
That’s not to say we shouldn’t in love approach the person who has hurt us and tell them they have they have hurt us. That at times is needed also, because many times a person does not realize they’ve hurt someone.
Forgiveness should take a large place in a Christians life. Jesus while on the cross for gave those who crucified him. This is an example of what we should do.
Matthews Gospel records,
“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Matthew 18:21,22.
Jesus here wasn’t putting a number on how many times we are to forgive. He didn’t mean forgive 490 times. He meant forgive innumerable times.
C. S. Lewis wrote,
“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”
C.S. Lewis.
Forgiveness is one of the corner stones of being a Christian.
Please think about it.
Thursday 12 November 2015
Wednesday 11 November 2015
Remembrance Day 2015
Remembrance Day
Words on a Canadian War Memorial
Today is November 11th 2015. A hundred years ago today there were men fighting and dying in the fields of Europe. They were fighting for the peace of the world.
Some historians have said it was actually only round one. Come September of 1939 round two would begin.
By the time it ended world war two would have claimed the lives of over 60,000,000 soldiers and civilians.
Put in perspective in 1939 the total population of the United Kingdom was 47,760,000. Canada at the time had a population of 11,267,000. So just short of six times the population of Canada died in world war two.
Canada itself had 43,600 war deaths or 1.8% of the population. The then Soviet Union lost 24,000,000 or approximately 14% of it’s 1939 prewar population.
Nazi death camps cost the lives of an estimated 11,000,000 innocent civilians, approximately 6,000,000 of them Jews.
The Bible verse I quoted above,“Let us therefore follow things that make for peace.” was written with the intent that Christians, to whom it is written should follow a path of peace.
Sadly at least in the twentieth century, and now it seems with the upsurge or terrorism in the world today, the path of peace means waging war.
In the 1930's politicians did all they could politically and peacefully to prevent war. Evil men however forced war on men of peace. It seems as though this may happen again.
For today however let us remember those who for the best of reasons took up arms in the pursuit of peace.
Those who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we could enjoy the life of freedom we here in Canada and the west enjoy.
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (November 30, 1872 – January 28, 1918) who served as a surgeon in world war one. A hundred years ago this year, while at the funeral of a friend in Flanders wrote what is perhaps the most quoted poem ever written by a Canadian, he wrote,
Let us no matter what we believe, always remember that at times the peace and freedoms we enjoy today cost a terrible price.
Let us always be vigilant and stand up against any evil that would attempt to take away our freedoms.
Let us take the torch passed to us by those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and stand up to evil and tyranny in all its forms.
Martin Niemoller a German cleric and Anti-Nazi wrote,
Let us not allow such a thing to happen again. We must never let evil and tyranny in any form go unchecked. No matter the cost.
Words on a Canadian War Memorial
“Let us therefore follow things that make for peace.”
Romans 14:19Today is November 11th 2015. A hundred years ago today there were men fighting and dying in the fields of Europe. They were fighting for the peace of the world.
Some historians have said it was actually only round one. Come September of 1939 round two would begin.
By the time it ended world war two would have claimed the lives of over 60,000,000 soldiers and civilians.
Put in perspective in 1939 the total population of the United Kingdom was 47,760,000. Canada at the time had a population of 11,267,000. So just short of six times the population of Canada died in world war two.
Canada itself had 43,600 war deaths or 1.8% of the population. The then Soviet Union lost 24,000,000 or approximately 14% of it’s 1939 prewar population.
Nazi death camps cost the lives of an estimated 11,000,000 innocent civilians, approximately 6,000,000 of them Jews.
The Bible verse I quoted above,“Let us therefore follow things that make for peace.” was written with the intent that Christians, to whom it is written should follow a path of peace.
Sadly at least in the twentieth century, and now it seems with the upsurge or terrorism in the world today, the path of peace means waging war.
In the 1930's politicians did all they could politically and peacefully to prevent war. Evil men however forced war on men of peace. It seems as though this may happen again.
For today however let us remember those who for the best of reasons took up arms in the pursuit of peace.Those who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we could enjoy the life of freedom we here in Canada and the west enjoy.
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (November 30, 1872 – January 28, 1918) who served as a surgeon in world war one. A hundred years ago this year, while at the funeral of a friend in Flanders wrote what is perhaps the most quoted poem ever written by a Canadian, he wrote,
“In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.”
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD.Let us no matter what we believe, always remember that at times the peace and freedoms we enjoy today cost a terrible price.
Let us always be vigilant and stand up against any evil that would attempt to take away our freedoms.
Let us take the torch passed to us by those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and stand up to evil and tyranny in all its forms.
Martin Niemoller a German cleric and Anti-Nazi wrote,
“When they came for the Communists,
I did not stand up, because I was not a Communist.
When they came for the Jews,
I did not stand up, because I was not Jewish.
When they came for the Catholics,
I did not stand up, because I was not a Catholic.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to stand up.”
Martin NiemollerLet us not allow such a thing to happen again. We must never let evil and tyranny in any form go unchecked. No matter the cost.
Tuesday 10 November 2015
Christians and the poor
Christians and the poor
James the brother of Christ wrote,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?”
James 2:14-20
The Talmud tells a story that goes like this,
“Rabbi Akiba was asked by a Roman general, “Why does your God who loves the needy not provide for their support Himself?” He answered, “God the Father of both the rich and poor, wants the one to help the other so as to make the world a household of love.”
The Talmud
We as Christians need to, I believe, look at how we see those in need. We need to reach out to them and help them in any way that we can.
Christian businessmen and women need to look at what they are paying their employees and ask themselves is this enough for them to live on. Could I live on the wages and benefits I pay my employees?
We as Christians should be leading the way in benevolence. The Jews have a word for it its called Tzedakah. The principles of Tzedakah line up perfectly with Christian belief.
The following is as good an explanation of Tzedakah. It comes from a Jewish website,
“Tzedakah is the Hebrew word for acts that we call charity in English: giving assistance and money to the poor and needy or to other worthy causes. However the nature of tzedakah is very different from the idea of charity. The word “charity suggests benevolence and generosity, a magnanimous act by the wealthy and the powerful for the benefit of the poor and needy.
The word “tzedakah” is derived form the Hebrew root Tzadei-dalet-Qof, meaning righteousness, justice or fairness. In Judaism giving to the poor is not viewed as a generous, magnanimous act, it is simply and act of righteousness, performance of a duty giving the poor their due.
The Obligation of Tzedakah
Giving to the poor is an obligation in Judaism, a duty that cannot be forsaken even by those who are themselves in need....
According to Jewish law, we are requiered to give one-tenth of our income to the poor. This generally interpreted as one-tenth of our net income after payment of taxes. Taxes themselves do not fulfill our obligation to give tzedakah even though a significant proportion of tax revenues in America and many other countries are used to provide for the poor and needy. Those who are dependent on public assistance or living on the edge of subsistence may give less but must still give to the extent they are able; however, no person should give so much that he would become a public burden.
The obligation to perform tzedakah can be fulfilled by giving money to the poor, to health care institutions, to Synagogues or educational institutions. It can also be fulfilled by supporting your children beyond the age when you are legally required to, or supporting your parents in their old age. The obligation includes giving both to Jews and gentiles;... .
We have an obligation to avoid becoming in need of Tzedakah. A person should take any work available, even if he thinks it is beneath his dignity to avoid become a public charge.
However, if a person is truly in need and has no way of obtaining money on his own he should not feel embarrassed to accept tzedakah. No person should feel to proud to take money from others. In fact it is considered a transgression to refuse tzedakah. One source says that to make yourself suffer by refusing to accept tzedakah is equivalent to shedding your own blood.”
Jesus said,
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Matthew 25:34-46.
Do you do what you can to help the poor?
Please think about it
James the brother of Christ wrote,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?”
James 2:14-20
The Talmud tells a story that goes like this,
“Rabbi Akiba was asked by a Roman general, “Why does your God who loves the needy not provide for their support Himself?” He answered, “God the Father of both the rich and poor, wants the one to help the other so as to make the world a household of love.”
The Talmud
We as Christians need to, I believe, look at how we see those in need. We need to reach out to them and help them in any way that we can.
Christian businessmen and women need to look at what they are paying their employees and ask themselves is this enough for them to live on. Could I live on the wages and benefits I pay my employees?
We as Christians should be leading the way in benevolence. The Jews have a word for it its called Tzedakah. The principles of Tzedakah line up perfectly with Christian belief.
The following is as good an explanation of Tzedakah. It comes from a Jewish website,
“Tzedakah is the Hebrew word for acts that we call charity in English: giving assistance and money to the poor and needy or to other worthy causes. However the nature of tzedakah is very different from the idea of charity. The word “charity suggests benevolence and generosity, a magnanimous act by the wealthy and the powerful for the benefit of the poor and needy.
The word “tzedakah” is derived form the Hebrew root Tzadei-dalet-Qof, meaning righteousness, justice or fairness. In Judaism giving to the poor is not viewed as a generous, magnanimous act, it is simply and act of righteousness, performance of a duty giving the poor their due.
The Obligation of Tzedakah
Giving to the poor is an obligation in Judaism, a duty that cannot be forsaken even by those who are themselves in need....
According to Jewish law, we are requiered to give one-tenth of our income to the poor. This generally interpreted as one-tenth of our net income after payment of taxes. Taxes themselves do not fulfill our obligation to give tzedakah even though a significant proportion of tax revenues in America and many other countries are used to provide for the poor and needy. Those who are dependent on public assistance or living on the edge of subsistence may give less but must still give to the extent they are able; however, no person should give so much that he would become a public burden.
The obligation to perform tzedakah can be fulfilled by giving money to the poor, to health care institutions, to Synagogues or educational institutions. It can also be fulfilled by supporting your children beyond the age when you are legally required to, or supporting your parents in their old age. The obligation includes giving both to Jews and gentiles;... .
We have an obligation to avoid becoming in need of Tzedakah. A person should take any work available, even if he thinks it is beneath his dignity to avoid become a public charge.
However, if a person is truly in need and has no way of obtaining money on his own he should not feel embarrassed to accept tzedakah. No person should feel to proud to take money from others. In fact it is considered a transgression to refuse tzedakah. One source says that to make yourself suffer by refusing to accept tzedakah is equivalent to shedding your own blood.”
Jesus said,
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Matthew 25:34-46.
Do you do what you can to help the poor?
Please think about it
Monday 9 November 2015
God's Love Transforms
God's Love Transforms
Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?
And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:43-48
It’s easy to love lovable people, family friends even acquaintances, particularly if they have never wronged you.
But it takes something else to love an enemy. Someone who has wronged you. When I was a young Christian we use to say to those who did wrong to us, “Lord love them with a brick.” WE WERE WRONG!
Back when I was a young Christian, back in the 1970's (yes I’m that ancient), there was two people that use to drive me crazy at work.
Both hated the fact that I was a Christian. One was the son of a Baptist minister that was in a state of total rebellion against everything his parents believed.
The other was a mean character who was into the martial arts and simply didn’t like Christians.
I suffered a fair bit of abuse from them for several years. I thought of leaving the job because of it. It was only the good pay and benefits that kept me there.
But God told me to pray about those two men.
I didn’t know what to say so I simply said Lord please change them. It was a prayer I said often over the period of some months.
One day the son of the Baptist preacher went on vacation. He hitchhiked down to the southern states and back.
On his way back he was mugged and it almost cost him his life.
The incident became a turning point in his life and he gave himself to the Lord accepting Jesus as his saviour.
I could tell the moment he returned to work he was changed. He came over to me and apologised for what he’d done to me.
The other person met a girl he liked. She introduced him to Christ and he accepted Jesus as his saviour.
The change was instantaneous and he came to me and apologised to me for what he’d done.
Both these men went on to bible school and to pastor churches.
It was quite a lesson for me as a young Christian. One I have never forgot.
The Love of Christ can change lives. And it is up to every Christian to present that love to those around us. Both friends and enemies.
Question when was the last time you prayed for your enemies?
Please think about it.
Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?
And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:43-48
It’s easy to love lovable people, family friends even acquaintances, particularly if they have never wronged you.
But it takes something else to love an enemy. Someone who has wronged you. When I was a young Christian we use to say to those who did wrong to us, “Lord love them with a brick.” WE WERE WRONG!
Back when I was a young Christian, back in the 1970's (yes I’m that ancient), there was two people that use to drive me crazy at work.
Both hated the fact that I was a Christian. One was the son of a Baptist minister that was in a state of total rebellion against everything his parents believed.
The other was a mean character who was into the martial arts and simply didn’t like Christians.
I suffered a fair bit of abuse from them for several years. I thought of leaving the job because of it. It was only the good pay and benefits that kept me there.
But God told me to pray about those two men.
I didn’t know what to say so I simply said Lord please change them. It was a prayer I said often over the period of some months.
One day the son of the Baptist preacher went on vacation. He hitchhiked down to the southern states and back.
On his way back he was mugged and it almost cost him his life.
The incident became a turning point in his life and he gave himself to the Lord accepting Jesus as his saviour.
I could tell the moment he returned to work he was changed. He came over to me and apologised for what he’d done to me.
The other person met a girl he liked. She introduced him to Christ and he accepted Jesus as his saviour.
The change was instantaneous and he came to me and apologised to me for what he’d done.
Both these men went on to bible school and to pastor churches.
It was quite a lesson for me as a young Christian. One I have never forgot.
The Love of Christ can change lives. And it is up to every Christian to present that love to those around us. Both friends and enemies.
Question when was the last time you prayed for your enemies?
Please think about it.
Sunday 8 November 2015
What the world needs
What the World needs
"What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of..".
Words by Hal David (1965).
There’s a lot of truth in popular music and the above words by Hal David are a good example.
In 1965 the world did need love. There were civil rights demonstrations in the United States, the Viet Nam was going on and in the world generally there was civil unrest. Sounds like today.
Today we have war and strife around the world. Western society perhaps is a little more settled but there are still young men getting killed on the streets of America. Crime is rampant throughout western society.
Terrorism is a problem not only in the middle east and Africa but globally.
Love just seems to be absent.
I firmly believe as our society becomes more secular and turning from God, the lack of absolute moral values begins to percolate to the surface brining with it violence and social decay.
Whether you are a Christian, Jew, Muslim or someone of any other faith. Or for that matter an Atheist. I think at the very least the moral teachings of Jesus have to ring true.
It was Jesus who 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.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:36-40.
Jesus went one step further saying,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Matthew 5:43-45
The apostle Paul in my mind penned the quintessential definition of love saying,
“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.
Anne Frank a young Jewish girl in world war two knew what it was like to experience hate. She and her family hid from the Nazis but were later captured and died in concentration camp.
While in hiding Anne wrote,
“Give of yourself, give as much as you can? And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness! If everyone were to do this and not be as mean with a kindly word, then there would be much more justice and love in the world. Give and you shall receive, much more than you would have ever thought possible. Give, give again and again, don’t lose courage, keep it up and go on giving! No one has ever become poor from giving!” Anne Frank.
We as individuals and collectively as a society need to show more love. We need to stand up to hate in all its forms. Be it terrorist who threaten world peace or someone promoting hatred in the media or on our streets.
What the world does need now in 2015 is more love. And to my way of thinking people need to be turning to the teachings of Christ.
Please think about it.
"What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of..".
Words by Hal David (1965).
There’s a lot of truth in popular music and the above words by Hal David are a good example.
In 1965 the world did need love. There were civil rights demonstrations in the United States, the Viet Nam was going on and in the world generally there was civil unrest. Sounds like today.
Today we have war and strife around the world. Western society perhaps is a little more settled but there are still young men getting killed on the streets of America. Crime is rampant throughout western society.
Terrorism is a problem not only in the middle east and Africa but globally.
Love just seems to be absent.
I firmly believe as our society becomes more secular and turning from God, the lack of absolute moral values begins to percolate to the surface brining with it violence and social decay.
Whether you are a Christian, Jew, Muslim or someone of any other faith. Or for that matter an Atheist. I think at the very least the moral teachings of Jesus have to ring true.
It was Jesus who 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.
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:36-40.
Jesus went one step further saying,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Matthew 5:43-45
The apostle Paul in my mind penned the quintessential definition of love saying,
“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.
Anne Frank a young Jewish girl in world war two knew what it was like to experience hate. She and her family hid from the Nazis but were later captured and died in concentration camp.
While in hiding Anne wrote,
“Give of yourself, give as much as you can? And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness! If everyone were to do this and not be as mean with a kindly word, then there would be much more justice and love in the world. Give and you shall receive, much more than you would have ever thought possible. Give, give again and again, don’t lose courage, keep it up and go on giving! No one has ever become poor from giving!” Anne Frank.
We as individuals and collectively as a society need to show more love. We need to stand up to hate in all its forms. Be it terrorist who threaten world peace or someone promoting hatred in the media or on our streets.
What the world does need now in 2015 is more love. And to my way of thinking people need to be turning to the teachings of Christ.
Please think about it.
Saturday 7 November 2015
The Message for Christians
The Message for Christian
Jesus said,
“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
In a rather large nutshell the message is this,
The apostle Paul while writing to Christians in Rome made the statement,
“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.
Jesus as quoted in the Gospel of John makes it clear the decision anyone who here’s about Jesus must make he 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. 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.
This is the message of Jesus Christ in it’s most basic form. This is the message we as Christians must take to the world.
Please Think about it.
Jesus said,
“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
In a rather large nutshell the message is this,
The apostle Paul while writing to Christians in Rome made the statement,
“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.
Jesus as quoted in the Gospel of John makes it clear the decision anyone who here’s about Jesus must make he 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. 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.
This is the message of Jesus Christ in it’s most basic form. This is the message we as Christians must take to the world.
Please Think about it.
Friday 6 November 2015
The Christian Message
The Christian Message,
Let’s for a moment look at the focus of the early church.
They were persecuted, the first martyr being Stephen. Herod Agrippa persecuted the church in Jerusalem having James the brother of Christ executed and throwing Peter in prison (Acts 12:1-4).
Still the focus of the early church was purely on Jesus and His saving grace.
Christ had established the church at the cross roads of the ancient world. Trade roots brought everyone from merchants to ambassadors through Palestine. Thus the Gospel was able to reach everyone from Roman officials to the Ethiopian eunuch and others.
They by example set out for the church in all generations how the message of God was to be presented.
There message was simple. The Apostle Paul writing,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”
Romans 5:8-10.
The early church stuck to their message the writer of Hebrews stating,
"The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father’” ?
Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son” ?
And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
Hebrews 1:3-6
The Apostle Paul speaking in Athens states,
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill.
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
Acts 17:24-31.
The apostle John states,
“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.... Conquering
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
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, 10-14.
The message of the early Church put simply was that Jesus is the Son of God. That he is God in the flesh who is the creator of the world.
Jesus the Saviour each and every person who will in faith turn to Him and accept Him into their lives.
Jesus died and rose again from the grave conquering sin and death, to sit at the right hand of God the Father.
The writer of Hebrews makes clear that believing all of this is an act of faith saying,
“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
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1.
The gospel of John recording a choice all people everywhere must make when Jesus 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. 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
This is the message of the true Church and the choice you as an individual must make.
Please think about it.
Let’s for a moment look at the focus of the early church.
They were persecuted, the first martyr being Stephen. Herod Agrippa persecuted the church in Jerusalem having James the brother of Christ executed and throwing Peter in prison (Acts 12:1-4).
Still the focus of the early church was purely on Jesus and His saving grace.
Christ had established the church at the cross roads of the ancient world. Trade roots brought everyone from merchants to ambassadors through Palestine. Thus the Gospel was able to reach everyone from Roman officials to the Ethiopian eunuch and others.
They by example set out for the church in all generations how the message of God was to be presented.
There message was simple. The Apostle Paul writing,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”
Romans 5:8-10.
The early church stuck to their message the writer of Hebrews stating,
"The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father’” ?
Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son” ?
And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
Hebrews 1:3-6
The Apostle Paul speaking in Athens states,
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill.
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
Acts 17:24-31.
The apostle John states,
“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.... Conquering
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
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, 10-14.
The message of the early Church put simply was that Jesus is the Son of God. That he is God in the flesh who is the creator of the world.
Jesus the Saviour each and every person who will in faith turn to Him and accept Him into their lives.
Jesus died and rose again from the grave conquering sin and death, to sit at the right hand of God the Father.
The writer of Hebrews makes clear that believing all of this is an act of faith saying,
“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
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1.
The gospel of John recording a choice all people everywhere must make when Jesus 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. 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
This is the message of the true Church and the choice you as an individual must make.
Please think about it.
Thursday 5 November 2015
Man and God
Man and God
“A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.”
C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain.
Over the sixty plus years I’ve been on this earth I’ve listened to many people say there is no God. I know they are wrong.
To quote C. S. Lewis again,
“We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God.”
C.S. Lewis.
The other day a friend and I took our camera’s and went to take some photographs of the autumn leaves in the area. We ended up in a small nature trail a few hundred metres from the mighty Niagara Falls. There, there was in contrast to the mighty Niagara a series of tiny small falls, just a metre or so high connecting a couple of small ponds in which a group of ducks were swimming.
Compered to the roar of Niagara this was peaceful and quiet. Yet in it I could see the handiwork of God. The trees bedecked in their fall colours. The ducks quietly swimming. I cannot believe that all of what I seen was by chance.
God was at work. I’m not one to worry if it took a six billion years or six days to get this way. I only know in my heart that there was a divine creator behind it all.
I think the reason people cannot see God is that they have to varying degrees closed their minds to the fact that He exists.
We have become very much a people that demand concrete signs.
The apostle Paul said,
“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.
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
We as individuals want God to reveal himself using our rules. After all it would be far easier if God just appeared in the flesh standing in Jerusalem with a legion of angels demanding we worship Him. At least then we’d know for sure.
God however does not work like that. God asks us to have faith in him. The writer of Hebrews stating,
“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
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1.
And perhaps Faith in God is the hardest thing for a person to have in this day and age?
Please think about it.
“A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.”
C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain.
Over the sixty plus years I’ve been on this earth I’ve listened to many people say there is no God. I know they are wrong.
To quote C. S. Lewis again,
“We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God.”
C.S. Lewis.
The other day a friend and I took our camera’s and went to take some photographs of the autumn leaves in the area. We ended up in a small nature trail a few hundred metres from the mighty Niagara Falls. There, there was in contrast to the mighty Niagara a series of tiny small falls, just a metre or so high connecting a couple of small ponds in which a group of ducks were swimming.
Compered to the roar of Niagara this was peaceful and quiet. Yet in it I could see the handiwork of God. The trees bedecked in their fall colours. The ducks quietly swimming. I cannot believe that all of what I seen was by chance.
God was at work. I’m not one to worry if it took a six billion years or six days to get this way. I only know in my heart that there was a divine creator behind it all.
I think the reason people cannot see God is that they have to varying degrees closed their minds to the fact that He exists.
We have become very much a people that demand concrete signs.
The apostle Paul said,
“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.
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
We as individuals want God to reveal himself using our rules. After all it would be far easier if God just appeared in the flesh standing in Jerusalem with a legion of angels demanding we worship Him. At least then we’d know for sure.
God however does not work like that. God asks us to have faith in him. The writer of Hebrews stating,
“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
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1.
And perhaps Faith in God is the hardest thing for a person to have in this day and age?
Please think about it.
Wednesday 4 November 2015
A Gentle Slope
A gentle slope
“The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”
C. S. Lewis.
I strongly believe many people in out society are on the road to hell. And I believe in part the church or at least those calling themselves part of the Church are responsible for it. That’s one of the reasons I write these blogs.
I believe the Church in part is responsible for it simply because some have wandered away from the primary message of the gospel.
At one end of the spectrum we have Churches and congregations that are far from God. Some going as far as saying there are many ways to heaven. When Jesus said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6.
Then there are churches that are so rapped up in their ceremonies and ritual, that have purpose when kept in prospective, but when not, turn people away from Christ. A person coming into such congregations see Christ and God as being a God of do’s and do not’s.
Then there are those both in the media and out who would say Christ wants you to be healthy, and wealthy. Yet the reality in any church anywhere in the world is that they run the spectrum from affluent to poor. From healthy to sick from any number of illnesses. This too turns people away because people coming from the outside do not see the reality of what’s being preached.
Add to that those again both in the media and out that attack or protest those outside their faith because they disagree with them. Which is against what the apostle Paul said when he wrote,
“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.”
1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
The first century church was successful because it could not afford, nor did it ever turn away from the principle message of Christ Matthew recording,
“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
The message of the gospel, the message, the only message all Christians need to presenting to the world is summed up by Jesus when he 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. 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
There are many diverse ministries within the body of Christ but the foundation of all those ministries must be showing the love of Christ to all people everywhere.
In order to do this effectively we need to be presenting the true unadulterated word of God in a polite fashion to all people.
We need to heed the words of the apostle Paul who said,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Romans 12:18
The Apostle Peter said,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
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 2:9-12.
A fierce light shines on we Christians. We cannot do anything lightly. We must stick to the scriptures and present the Gospel of Christ to all who will listen to us.
We must do this because our actions may determine the eternal resting place of those around us.
Please think about it.
“The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”
C. S. Lewis.
I strongly believe many people in out society are on the road to hell. And I believe in part the church or at least those calling themselves part of the Church are responsible for it. That’s one of the reasons I write these blogs.
I believe the Church in part is responsible for it simply because some have wandered away from the primary message of the gospel.
At one end of the spectrum we have Churches and congregations that are far from God. Some going as far as saying there are many ways to heaven. When Jesus said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6.
Then there are churches that are so rapped up in their ceremonies and ritual, that have purpose when kept in prospective, but when not, turn people away from Christ. A person coming into such congregations see Christ and God as being a God of do’s and do not’s.
Then there are those both in the media and out who would say Christ wants you to be healthy, and wealthy. Yet the reality in any church anywhere in the world is that they run the spectrum from affluent to poor. From healthy to sick from any number of illnesses. This too turns people away because people coming from the outside do not see the reality of what’s being preached.
Add to that those again both in the media and out that attack or protest those outside their faith because they disagree with them. Which is against what the apostle Paul said when he wrote,
“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.”
1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
The first century church was successful because it could not afford, nor did it ever turn away from the principle message of Christ Matthew recording,
“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
The message of the gospel, the message, the only message all Christians need to presenting to the world is summed up by Jesus when he 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. 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
There are many diverse ministries within the body of Christ but the foundation of all those ministries must be showing the love of Christ to all people everywhere.
In order to do this effectively we need to be presenting the true unadulterated word of God in a polite fashion to all people.
We need to heed the words of the apostle Paul who said,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Romans 12:18
The Apostle Peter said,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
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 2:9-12.
A fierce light shines on we Christians. We cannot do anything lightly. We must stick to the scriptures and present the Gospel of Christ to all who will listen to us.
We must do this because our actions may determine the eternal resting place of those around us.
Please think about it.
Tuesday 3 November 2015
Spoiled Brat Christians?
Spoiled Brat Christians?
I admit from the outset that this is about one of my pet problems with those who would call themselves “fundamentalist evangelical Christians” in North America. Sometimes I think they are spoiled brats.
I see and hear them all the time wanting revival. They want revival to come to the church. At the same time they are complaining that the government and other groups are trying to restrict what they can do in public.
Perhaps the solution to both problems the need for revival and the need to have people stop picking on them is one in the same.
Those calling themselves evangelicals and indeed the Christian Church as a whole need to return to “The Church” of the Bible. We need to be following the example of the founding fathers.
Remember when the church was founded it first of all was not part of the officially recognized religions of Rome and therefore susceptible to persecution and members could be arrest and put to death. The church underwent a lot of persecution in the first three centuries in particular.
Christians suffered a lot under Roman rule from time to time. Yet as we know the church not only survived but grew. It survived and grew for one very important reason. IT STAYED TRUE TO IT’S PURPOSE!
Jesus said,
“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.
Jesus did not say criticize other faiths. Jesus did not say demonstrate against anything you disagree with (anything that is not Christian is origin). He did not say speak out against those who have a different lifestyle.
He never told us to speak out against the government. He never told us to take sides in political events.
Jesus said,
“...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...”
He said,
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
Matthew 10:16.
The apostle Peter said,
“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.
The Apostle Paul said,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Romans 12:18-21
The apostle Paul made things clear,
“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.”
1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
James the brother of Christ said,
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,
because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”
James 2:12,13.
We must remember the words of the Apostle Paul to the Romans who said,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
We must remember that we were indeed sinners far from God at one time.
We must remember the message of the Church is summed up in the gospel of John when John quotes Jesus as 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. 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 cannot get this message out if we are protesting. If we are criticizing others. If we are judging those outside the church.
We are blessed here in North America with freedoms other nations long for. We cannot afford to misuse those freedoms. We must use them to reach out in love with the purest form of the gospel we know. Reach out those around us and let God do the rest.
We must return to the example the first century Church set out for us.
Please Christians think carefully about it.
I admit from the outset that this is about one of my pet problems with those who would call themselves “fundamentalist evangelical Christians” in North America. Sometimes I think they are spoiled brats.
I see and hear them all the time wanting revival. They want revival to come to the church. At the same time they are complaining that the government and other groups are trying to restrict what they can do in public.
Perhaps the solution to both problems the need for revival and the need to have people stop picking on them is one in the same.
Those calling themselves evangelicals and indeed the Christian Church as a whole need to return to “The Church” of the Bible. We need to be following the example of the founding fathers.
Remember when the church was founded it first of all was not part of the officially recognized religions of Rome and therefore susceptible to persecution and members could be arrest and put to death. The church underwent a lot of persecution in the first three centuries in particular.
Christians suffered a lot under Roman rule from time to time. Yet as we know the church not only survived but grew. It survived and grew for one very important reason. IT STAYED TRUE TO IT’S PURPOSE!
Jesus said,
“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.
Jesus did not say criticize other faiths. Jesus did not say demonstrate against anything you disagree with (anything that is not Christian is origin). He did not say speak out against those who have a different lifestyle.
He never told us to speak out against the government. He never told us to take sides in political events.
Jesus said,
“...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...”
He said,
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
Matthew 10:16.
The apostle Peter said,
“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.
The Apostle Paul said,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Romans 12:18-21
The apostle Paul made things clear,
“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.”
1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
James the brother of Christ said,
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,
because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”
James 2:12,13.
We must remember the words of the Apostle Paul to the Romans who said,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
We must remember that we were indeed sinners far from God at one time.
We must remember the message of the Church is summed up in the gospel of John when John quotes Jesus as 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. 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 cannot get this message out if we are protesting. If we are criticizing others. If we are judging those outside the church.
We are blessed here in North America with freedoms other nations long for. We cannot afford to misuse those freedoms. We must use them to reach out in love with the purest form of the gospel we know. Reach out those around us and let God do the rest.
We must return to the example the first century Church set out for us.
Please Christians think carefully about it.
Monday 2 November 2015
A dying declaration
A dying declaration
“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?
We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’”
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:39-43
Here’s something to think about. The above quote from Luke’s gospel tells us not only of the reaction of the two criminals crucified with Jesus but about what Jesus said.
Jesus when faced with death said to the one criminal “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
This was something only God could guarantee. If Jesus was not the Son of God and simply a man why would he say such a thing. Especially as he was about the face death.
Remember Jesus before going to the cross had been whipped unmercifully. Yet he never recanted what he said about himself.
The apostle Paul makes the point,
“Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:7,8.
Jesus was all he said he was the One and Only Son of God.
C. S. Lewis notes,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
What do you think?
Please think about it.
“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?
We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’”
Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23:39-43
Here’s something to think about. The above quote from Luke’s gospel tells us not only of the reaction of the two criminals crucified with Jesus but about what Jesus said.
Jesus when faced with death said to the one criminal “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
This was something only God could guarantee. If Jesus was not the Son of God and simply a man why would he say such a thing. Especially as he was about the face death.
Remember Jesus before going to the cross had been whipped unmercifully. Yet he never recanted what he said about himself.
The apostle Paul makes the point,
“Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:7,8.
Jesus was all he said he was the One and Only Son of God.
C. S. Lewis notes,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
What do you think?
Please think about it.
Sunday 1 November 2015
Speak an Act
Speak and Act
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”
James 2:8-13
Sometimes I think Christians are their own worst enemy.
Many so called Christians in the United States seem to be under the delusion that because they have the motto “one nation under God” they are or were at one time a Christian nation. That is not true there has never been a Christian nation on this earth.
I hear those who claim to be Christians protesting against everything they disagree with. They say it is their right under the constitution. That’s true but the constitution is not the inspired word of God.
Christians see many things in the world we disagree with but we shouldn’t be out there protesting. There are many laws that Christians disagree with. Still providing they don’t restrict our rights or the rights of others to practice what they believe, we shouldn’t be protesting.
Both Jesus and the apostles were in a world that had many laws and customs they would not have liked. However they did not protest.
They lived within the laws of the Roman empire and as such were able to change the world.
They never attacked the beliefs of anyone outside their faith. They never spoke against the government of the day. Yet within seventy or so years of Christ’s birth Christianity had reached the entire Roman empire from the British isles to the borders of India.
We as Christians need to realize we are aliens in this world. The apostle Peter saying,
“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.
We cannot do this if we are protesting the evils of this world. We only come across as bigoted malcontents and trouble makers.
The apostle Paul set the example as to how we are to evangelise when he was in Athens.
In Athens he was presenting the gospel when some philosophers heard him. He perked their interest and he was invited to speak at the Areopagus the ancient equivalent of an a “Ted Talk” if you will. An intellectual form.
The book of acts states,
“So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”
(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.
For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill.
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”
At that, Paul left the Council.
A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
Acts 17:17-34
This is how we as Christians in the twenty-first century need to be presenting the word of God to the world.
Please think about it.
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”
James 2:8-13
Sometimes I think Christians are their own worst enemy.
Many so called Christians in the United States seem to be under the delusion that because they have the motto “one nation under God” they are or were at one time a Christian nation. That is not true there has never been a Christian nation on this earth.
I hear those who claim to be Christians protesting against everything they disagree with. They say it is their right under the constitution. That’s true but the constitution is not the inspired word of God.
Christians see many things in the world we disagree with but we shouldn’t be out there protesting. There are many laws that Christians disagree with. Still providing they don’t restrict our rights or the rights of others to practice what they believe, we shouldn’t be protesting.
Both Jesus and the apostles were in a world that had many laws and customs they would not have liked. However they did not protest.
They lived within the laws of the Roman empire and as such were able to change the world.
They never attacked the beliefs of anyone outside their faith. They never spoke against the government of the day. Yet within seventy or so years of Christ’s birth Christianity had reached the entire Roman empire from the British isles to the borders of India.
We as Christians need to realize we are aliens in this world. The apostle Peter saying,
“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.
We cannot do this if we are protesting the evils of this world. We only come across as bigoted malcontents and trouble makers.
The apostle Paul set the example as to how we are to evangelise when he was in Athens.
In Athens he was presenting the gospel when some philosophers heard him. He perked their interest and he was invited to speak at the Areopagus the ancient equivalent of an a “Ted Talk” if you will. An intellectual form.
The book of acts states,
“So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”
(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.
For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill.
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”
At that, Paul left the Council.
A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
Acts 17:17-34
This is how we as Christians in the twenty-first century need to be presenting the word of God to the world.
Please think about it.
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