Christians do to others

Christians do to others

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” 
          Matthew 7:12
Dear Christian,
Would you want others judging and heaping condemnation on you simply because they disagreed with you?
Would you want people restricting your rights to marry simply because they disagreed with you?
Would you want any of your rights restricted simply because someone disagreed with your faith or lifestyle?
I don’t think you would.
So as a Christian if you don’t want your rights restricted. If you believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If you believe the word of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 7:12, why would you want to restrict the rights of those in our society to do the same?
We live in a secular democracy where all are considered equal. So why would you protest against anyone who simply wants the same rights as you.
I strongly believe if you try to restrict the rights of others ultimately it will come back to hurt you.
In a democracy freedom for all has to be freedom for all.
As Christians we need to be supporting that concept.
Jesus made things very clear 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 22:37-40
Jesus also said,
“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?  
  Matthew 5:43-46.
The apostle Paul wrote,

“Love is patient, love is kind. 

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

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

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love does not delight in evil 

but rejoices with the truth.  

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

Love never fails....

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

But the greatest of these is love.”  

                                                                               1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13
If we are truly Christian we will be showing such love to all people. We will even be willing to stand up for the rights of those we disagree with, irrespective of who they are.
Billy Graham said,
“Racial prejudice, anti-Semitism, or hatred of anyone with different beliefs has no place in the human mind or heart.”
                          Billy Graham
Tony Campolo said,
“These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change.”
      Tony Campolo
As Jesus said,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” 
               Matthew 7:12
Please think about it.

A Spiritual life

A spiritual life

“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.”
                                                                                                                                     Buddha
I as a Christian firmly believe truth is truth no matter where you find it. The above quote by Buddha is correct. While I may not believe that Buddhism is the way to heaven what the Buddha says about man not being able to live without a spiritual life is true.
I believe in life after death and an almighty God who gives us hope beyond the grave. Not having that hope for me cheapens our existence in this life.
Peter John Kreeft a Catholic philosopher wrote,
“Atheism treats people cheaply. Also, it robs death of meaning, and if death has no meaning, how can life ultimately have meaning? Atheism cheapens everything it touches, look at the results of communism, the most powerful form of atheism on earth.
And in the end, when the atheist dies and encounters God instead of nothingness he had predicted he’ll recognize that atheism was a cheap answer because it refused the only thing that’s not cheap the God of infinite value”
                                               Peter John Kreeft ph.d 
I have met many people over the years that have had good lives. Many atheist that frankly have lived better lives than some I know claiming to be Christians. Still that does not negate the fact man is more than what we can feel, hear, and see. Man has a spiritual aspect to he being.
If you as an individual are honest with yourself you have to admit there are times when you wonder if there is more to life as full as your life may be.
For lack of a better expression I believe there is an empty space within the very being of every person. It is a hole that no matter what we try to fill it with, it never seems to be filled. A hole that can only be filled by God.
I know people who have reached the height of their professions who have made millions of dollars who have said they still feel empty inside.
Some turn to drugs and alcohol others to various other pursuits. Yet no matter what they do they feel empty inside.
Jesus said,
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” 
              John 10:10.
Those who would deny the existence of God are to my mind thieves of a kind. They strip life of hope.
The Psalmist reminds us,
“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” 
                                                                      Psalm 14:1.
Jesus says to all men and women everywhere,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  
  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 
                                                         Matthew 11:28-30.
God I believe offers all people everywhere a choice 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
If I am wrong about all of this then no one has a thing to fear however if I am right then those who do not believe have a lot to at least think about.
Please think about it.

Peace

Peace

“In the last days the mountain of the LORD'S temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. 
Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 
He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. 
Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken.” 
                                                            Micah 4:1-4.
I firmly believe that one day all mankind will live in peace with one another. But man cannot do it alone.
Man has shown how selfish and self centred he is throughout history. One statistic I read stated that there has been but a few days of true peace in all the history of mankind. Another statistic states the twentieth century seen more deaths due to violence and war than all others combined and the twenty-first century seems to be continuing to add to the deaths.
Through the centuries man has become more and more violent
Mankind it seems cannot live at peace. Man doesn’t seem to see all men as brothers with rights given to them by God. The right of freedom of speech, freedom of belief, freedom to enjoy life. To, as the Americans say, to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
It seems there is always some evil or misguided people out there trying to impose their will on other people. Love seems to be slipping away in our global society.
Abba Hillel Silver wrote,
“Faith in God is the strongest bulwark of a free society.  Human freedom began when men became conscious that over and above society and nature there is a God who created them...who fashioned them in His likeness, and that they are, therefore, possessed of intrinsic and independent significance and are endowed, as individuals, with original and irrevocable rights and authority.
                                                                                                                                   Abba Hillel Silver.
It seems as our society becomes more secular it is becoming more violent.
Secular society it cannot offer enough to our youth and others to keep them from joining terrorist groups.
Secularism and Atheism offers nothing to those who are looking for meaning to life in our society.
Christianity in the west and in North America in particular seems to be failing to get the pure teachings of Christ to people, and our youth in particular.
The message of God’s love for the individual through Christ, the love for ones neighbour and even one’s enemy is getting lost in the cacophony of other noises.
What the world needs is the pure message that Jesus brought into the world and the world will have no peace until it embraces those ideals.
Society around the world has lost it’s fear of God. Some religious groups have twisted Gods message to the point that it no longer reflects God’s truths.
However I do believe the words of the writer of Ecclesiastes who wrote,
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole  duty  of man. 
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” 
   Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.
That includes terrorist and all others who do evil acts.
Please think about it.
Post script to Christians,
We as Christians have the one true message that can transform the world. Unfortunately we seem to keep it in a box. We need to without diluting the message, get out into the highways and byways and make that message relevant to both the youth and others within our society.

Stand with France

Stand with France

As I write this it’s November 14th. Last night in Paris a series of terror attacks against innocent civilians has cause in excess of 120 dead and the death toll may still be rising.
Around the world terrorist attacks are taking the lives of thousands of people. The president of France is calling it an act of war.
Today let us no matter who we are stand with the people and government of France. Let us pray that the leaders of the free nations of the world will be given the courage to stand up once and for all to the hatred that is terrorism, even if it means using military force.
Winston Churchill said,
“Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.”
                                     Winston Churchill.
Let us pray that our political leaders will act like Winston Churchill. That they will not go half heartedly into the fight against the evil of Islamic State and other terrorist groups.
Let us pray that the governments of the free world will bring their righteous might to bear upon those who would threaten our fundamental freedoms and security.
Let us pray for the peace of our world today.  
Let the deaths of Friday the thirteenth of November 2015 in Paris and the deaths of others around the world who have died at the hands of evil men and women not be in vain.
Stand with the people of Paris. Stand with the people of France.

Founded on Love

Founded on Love
Napoleon Bonaparte wrote,
"You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power.”
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
“I search in vain history to find similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel.  Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”
                                                                            Napoleon Bonaparte,
Every oppressive government that has ever arisen has fallen. Those who have come to power by the sword have eventually died by the sword.
One only has to look at Hitler and other repressive regimes throughout history. It will be the same with those terrorist groups who wish to force their will on others by the barrel of a gun. They will not survive.
The terrorist who are killing innocent people supposedly in the name of God will one day stand before God and be cast into Hell.
Alexander the great, Napoleon and Hitler prove you cannot hold the world by force. Christ set the example as to how to win the world.
Napoleon was right when he said,
“I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. 
Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.”
You cannot have a successful government founded on force. It is doomed to failure either from within or with forces that come from without.
The Apostle Paul wrote,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
                                                                                                   Romans 12:18.
By living peacefully and presenting their beliefs in a simple manner the followers of Christ filled the Roman Empire with their beliefs in little more than seventy years. Since then the love of Jesus Christ has reached every corner of the earth.
The true believers in Christ followed the word of the Jesus who wen 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 also said,
“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
Loving period is a concept foreign to terrorist and dictators. Yet to date the love of Christ has won more people to His cause than any one using a gun.
I truly believe the words of Ecclesiastes,
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole  duty  of man. 
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” 
Ecclesiastes 12:13,14
God will bring all deeds of every person into judgement no matter what it is and on that day many will be shocked to find out their fate.
What will yours be?
Will you accept Christ into your life today?
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.
Please think about it.

Forgiveness and the Christian

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.

Remembrance Day 2015

Remembrance Day
                     Words on a Canadian War Memorial

“Let us therefore follow things that make for peace.”

                                                                                                               Romans 14:19
                                                                                 
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,

“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 Niemoller
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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.