Jesus a Lunatic???

Jesus a Lunatic???
Matthews Gospel records,
“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them.  
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” 
He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?  
He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.  
Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent?  
I tell you that one greater than the temple is here.  
If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.  
For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” 
Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue,  and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” 
He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?  
How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 
Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.  
But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. 
                                                                                                     Matthew 12:1-14.
Here the Pharisees who were so legalistic accuse Jesus and his disciples of working on the Sabbath. They interpreted what Jesus and His disciples were doing as harvesting the wheat, threshing it and preparing it as food.
These men were so afraid of upsetting God that they held to a very strict interpretation of the law. So strict it placed heavy burdens on people.
They didn’t even like the fact that Jesus healed a man, did a good work on the Sabbath.
They especially didn’t like the fact that he called himself Lord of the Sabbath. Equating himself with God.
Jesus knew this. He also knew that to equate himself with God was punishable by death.
Jesus could have avoided controversy by simply not saying who he was. By not claiming to be the Son of God. But he didn’t.
C. S. Lewis points out,
“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
The disciples of Jesus, and close to three billion Christians around the world today believe Jesus to be the Son of God the Saviour of mankind. Christians believe that Jesus is God incarnate, God in the flesh.
Now either we Christians are right or we have been believing what is perhaps the most monumental lie in human history.
John’s Gospel records Jesus asking a question to Martha that we all must answer,
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes Lord” she told Him, “I believe you are the Christ the Son of God, who was to come into the world, 
John 11:25,26.
Question: Who do you think Jesus really is?
Please think about it.

God, Jesus and you

God, Jesus and you
The apostle Paul writes,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
                                                                               Romans 3:23.
Christians believe that everyone who has ever lived has sinned, and Sin separates us from God. Christians believe that we cannot live lives good enough to live with a holy God.
We also believe that God recognized this that is why He sent His one and only Son to die for our sins,
Paul immediately after saying “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” says,
“...and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
                                                                                                                                          Romans 3:24.
Still speaking to the Romans Paul explains,
“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.
Speaking to the Ephesians Paul states,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.”
                                                                 Ephesians 2:8,9.
We cannot work our way to heaven it is by the grace of God we get there though having faith in Christ. By truly believing that Jesus died for our sins that we may have eternal life with God.
Paul explains,
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  
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. 
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!  
Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation”
                                           Romans 5:6-11.
Believing in and accepting God’s grace that comes through Jesus is the way to heaven. Jesus saying,
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." 
       John 14:6
The Writer of Hebrews states,
“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
Jesus is God incarnate, God in the flesh. No other faith in the world as far as this writer knows believes that the founder of their faith is God incarnate.
I as a Christian believe that God came into this world for several reasons. First and foremost he came to as Paul said reconcile man to Himself. To show man in human terms how far He would go.
Secondly ultimately God will judge every person on the earth. By His entering the world in the form of Jesus, He experienced all it was to be a man. We can never stand before God and say “You didn’t understand what it was to be a man, because you have never experienced what it is to be one. Someone all powerful cannot rightly judge someone as frail and full of flaws as a man.”
However when we stand before God that argument will not hold because he does understand. Jesus while on this earth never functioned more than a man.
He grew up in an average family for his day. He went to weddings. Wept at the death of a friend. Experienced the love of family and friends.
Experienced the hate of his enemies. He experienced a vicious beating at the hands of the Romans who’s governor had said he found nothing wrong with him worthy of death. Yet Jesus despite being beaten for a crime he did not commit was crucified.
Thus when we stand before Him and are judged, He can judge justly.
We today can however know the outcome of that judgement. Jesus while on the earth speaking of Himself said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  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.
As the apostle Paul wrote,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.”
                                                                  Ephesians 2:8,9.
Are you willing to accept the Grace of God today?
Please think about it.

A Note to Christians

A Note to Christians
The apostle Peter writes,
“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.
Dear Christian are you living a life acceptable to God?
The other day I was at a friends store. They are getting ready for their opening and I was helping them out.  The persons sister came into the store who claimed to be a Christian. She didn’t see me I was hidden behind a shelf.
Without even saying hello she immediately started criticising everything she seen and not in a good way. I have a fairly thick skin and am not easily upset. But she upset me and had my friend who’s store it was in tears.
My friend had put a lot of work into making the place look good and it did look very good. She’d had her own business before and knew how things worked.
Others had come into the place and commented on how good it looked. Yet her own sister who claimed to be a believer in Christ verbally abused her it was that bad.
I said nothing. I didn’t have a chance she left almost as quick as she came but she left. She left as I said leaving my friend in tears. It took well over an hour for her to compose herself.
Francis of Assisi said,
“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today” 
                                                                                                           Francis of Assisi.
The sermon that woman preached that day was one of arrogance and hate. She showed no understanding or love toward her own sister. It was a horrible testimony for someone who claims to be a Christian.
 Had non-Christians been there she would have turned them away from God.
The apostle Peter’s admonition,
“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.” 
Should be integral to our walk as Christians. We should not attack. 
Jesus said,
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” 
     Matthew 10:16 
Simply put we are to be wise and carful in what we say.  Harmless as a dove. No one should see a Christian as threatening. They should see us as loving, caring and understanding.
We should be an example of love as written by the apostle Paul who said,

“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
As Christians we need to every once in a while ask God to increase the Love we have for both Him and those around us.
We need to pray a prayer like Francis of Assisi, who prayed,

“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love,

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” 

                                                                                                     Francis of Assisi
Please think about it.

At Just the Right Time

At Just the Right Time

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  
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. 
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!  
Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation”
                                       Romans 5:6-11.
I see Christians all the time taking their salvation for granted. Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book The cost of Discipleship called the grace God offers us as “Costly Grace” he explains,
“It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: 'Ye were bought at a price', and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.” 
                                                                                     Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship.
We as Christians cannot take our salvation for granted. We must thank God everyday for it.
At the same time we cannot keep the message of Salvation through Jesus Christ a secret. We must in a respectable and polite manner present that message to those around us. We must have an open and loving dialogue between ourselves and non-Christians.
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.
We must remember that the Salvation we have cost Jesus his life. Thus it must be of paramount importance in our life to tell others why he died.
Lorenz Eifert said,
“The dying Jesus is the evidence of God's anger toward sin; but the living Jesus is the proof of God's love and forgiveness.”
                                          Lorenz Eifert
Jesus speaking of Himself said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:16,17 
Christians must remember John 3:16,17 because the prime purpose of Jesus coming to this world is to offer the free gift of salvation to all who would believe in Him.
Please think about it.

Sometimes I shake my head

Sometimes I shake my head.
“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.
Sometimes I shake my head when I listen to things that are happening in the United States. Not so long ago I heard of a store that didn’t want to serve gays. They said it was against their belief as Christians.
For me when I heard this I immediately thought of the bad old days of segregation when there were those who refused to serve people because of the colour of their skin.
I wonder would the people who want the right not to serve gays, would they extend that to Muslims, to Atheist?
Would they refuse to serve someone who commits adultery after all adultery is wrong according to Christian belief. Would these people even turn the clock all the way back and not serve people based on skin colour?
Think of the message they are sending. They are claiming to be Christians but are saying to a segment of society that they are not welcome. That is not the way to win souls for Christ.
As Christians we must follow the teachings of Christ. Christ did not discriminate. In Christ’s day tax collectors were considered sinners. Yet Christ had dinner with them. Matthew’s gospel records,
“While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples.
When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
             Matthew 9:10-13.
In  John 4:6-26, John records Jesus as speaking to a Samaritan woman. Jews and Samaritans didn’t speak to each other at that time. Samaritans were discriminated against. Yet Jesus spoke to this woman, who was also an adulteress.
The fact is we are all sinners. The apostle Paul stating,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
                                                                      Romans 3:23,
That all means all, you, me and all who are living or have ever lived. The apostle Paul states,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8.
Paul also makes it clear that Christians are not to judge those outside the Church he states,
“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.
Jesus speaking of Himself said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
            John 3:16,17
Jesus showed by example how we are to reach the world. Jesus showed that we are to welcome everyone in love. Jesus told us to love God, our neighbour and even our enemy. He told us to go into all the world and make disciple of all nations. We cannot do that if we discriminate against even one person.
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 Writer of Hebrews said,
“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”
Hebrews 12:14.
A true Christian one who is dedicated to Christ and doing His work in this world will welcome with open arms anyone. They will do there best to live at peace with all men and open a dialogue between themselves and others that they may reach that person to Christ.
I believe as a Christian I and all Christians have a duty to love God, our neighbour and even our enemy. We are to offer in love, the same choice Jesus gave to us when speaking of Himself said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
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 for me is the most important choice ever offered to mankind.
Unfortunately there are many in the world who think they are Christians but are in name only. Jesus even said,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
                                                                                           Matthew 7:21-23.
It is these people, people who say they are Christians that are not, that distort the message of Christ in the eyes of non-Christians.
Please think about it.

The Christian Message, foolishness???

The Christian message, foolishness???
The apostle Paul writes,
“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
I think Paul says it all here. Those who do not believe in Jesus as we Christians do. Can look at us and think what we preach is foolishness. After all we believe God entered the world He created in the form of His One and only Son Jesus.
One of the big questions I get, is why would God enter the world He created? To which I think the answer is simple.
First God created man with a freewill allowing the individual to do as he wished. That includes the right not to believe in God. As a result as man progressed many people chose to turn away from God. Thus God entered the world to show mankind he was real and call mankind to himself.
Second I believe God had to enter this world to fully experience all it is to be a man and thus be able to judge man justly when the time comes. Because Jesus walked the earth and lived as a man we can never say he didn’t understand what it was like to me a man.
Thirdly and I think the words of Jesus sums things up nicely, when speaking of himself 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.”
      John 3:16,17.
At the same time God through Jesus gave us a waring again Jesus speaking of himself said,
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”.
                                                                                    John 3:18.
The apostle Paul echoing what Jesus said when speaking to the Athenians said
“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 17:31.
The message we Christians present to the world may seem foolishness but the Christian walk is a walk of Faith.
Christians are to my knowledge the only faith in the world that claims God reached down in the form of his One and Only Son Jesus Christ to offer redemption from sin.
The apostle Paul writes,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.”
                                                   Ephesians 2:8,9.
The writer of Hebrews tells us,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
                                                                                                        Hebrews 11:1
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
                                                                                      Hebrews 11:6
Faith in Christ, belief in His redeeming sacrifice on the cross is how Christians believe you get to heaven.
The question is do you believe this?
           Please think about it.

A Magnificent Privilege

A Magnificent Privilege

“Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 
For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” 
                                                                                                   Luke 2:28-32.
There are times when I wish I could have been at certain places the bible talks about. The day Jesus was presented by his parents to Simeon is one of them.
This man had waited his whole life for the coming of the Messiah and how he was introduced to him.
Simeon knew what Jesus would become. “A light for revelations to the Gentiles” and for glory to the people of Israel.
I know Jews today do not believe Jesus is the Messiah but that does not negate the fact that Jesus has brought glory to Israel.
Jesus came into the world to bring revelation to the Gentiles. To show them, and for that matter the Jews the way to heaven.
What more glory could a people receive than that of showing people the way to heaven.
As Christians we need to give thanks to God for the revelation that offers us eternal life with God. We need to thank God for Jesus and his saving grace.
The apostle John speaking of Jesus wrote,
“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.” 
               John 1:12,13.
Because of Jesus we who believe in Him are children of God. What a magnificent privilege to be called a Child of God.
It is something we should be praising God for and not taking for granted.
I can imagine Simeon holding Jesus and with a loud voice praising God. This is how we should be.
The psalmist wrote,

Praise the LORD. 

Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. 

Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. 

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 

praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, 

praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. 

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. 

Praise the LORD. 

                                                                                       Psalm 150
  Please dear Christian take time to praise God today

The Purpose of the Church

The purpose of the Church

The other day I listened to an interview with a United Church of Canada minister who says she is an Atheist but thinks she should keep her position in the church.
She gave some interesting reasons why she thought she should keep her position but to my mind she missed the reason for the existence of the Church.
Jesus told his disciples,
“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.
This is the purpose, the primary duty of the Church to make disciple, believers, of all nations. To point the way to God in heaven. Everything else, all the good works the church does come from that. But they are not the primary purpose of the church.
My question to this minister is “if you are an atheist who does not believe in God how can you point people to God.”
I think this person is the product of the failure in many churches and denominations to emphasise the primary duty of the church.
Many churches today place more emphasis on doing good works than on pointing people to heaven.
Don’t get me wrong good works are important. It is important that Christians do good works. Show love and understanding to those around them. Many times it is those good works that show a none believer there is a God who loves them. Actually pointing the way to God.
Unfortunately for many in the church the good works have taken over and pointing people to Christ is forgotten.
Many churches have become big institutions or even social clubs.
As someone who is in the evangelical wing of the church, I see many going to church simply to feel good. To sing hymns, or contemporary music and do a few good deeds on the side just to feel good.
I see those in the so called “mainline churches” as following a ritual, or even compromising their beliefs, rather than reaching out to non-Christians with the salvation message.
Throughout the years, the centuries, unfortunately the church has picked up a lot of baggage. Baggage it need to get rid of.
This United Church minister is I believe not a lone. There are many who attend church, even some pastors who are not true believers in Christ.
I believe it’s time the church started getting back to its roots. To start studying the Bible in context. To start studying the bible with an aim to get back to what Jesus and the apostles taught. It can be done
At our small church we started an interesting Bible study which I lead.  Our purpose is to get the truth within the scriptures.
I use a bible with a commentary as the base for our instruction. But we don’t stop their. Everyone comes to the study with various versions of the bible so that we can get an idea of the true meaning of the scriptures. We even have a computer with a huge resource of Biblical material on it.

Everyone can have their say, 

The participants are free to bring thoughts and ideas from other ministers, evangelist and teacher from outside the church.
We also study the history and the Jewish roots of the bible so we can understand things in context of the time it was written.
When we think it applicable, we even watch a video from a well known and trusted bible scholars and teachers.
We have no time frame when it comes to the study. We don’t set any length of time to study a given passage. We let God lead. Sometimes it takes us one session to cover a paragraph or a chapter. Other times we cover a couple of chapters. It all depends on what questions arise.
The results have been interesting to say the least. It has brought us I believe back to the basic beliefs of the Bible.
Such a bible study can be done in any church without the need for expensive lesson plans. All it requires is a good study bible with commentary and an openness on the part of the participants.
By open I mean a willingness to admit that some of what the participants thought was true is not and a willingness to change.
It is no good studying the scriptures to find the truth, then when you find it failing to act on that truth.
The key to any good Bible study is to find the truth and put it into action in your life.
Please think about it.

Freedom and the Christian

Freedom and the Christian
Baruch Spionza wrote,
“It is imperative that freedom of judgment should be granted, so that men may live together in harmony, however diverse, or even openly contradictory their opinions maybe.  In proportion as the power of free judgment is withheld, we depart from the natural condition of mankind.”
                                                                                                                               Baruch Spinoza.
If you think about it God created freedom when he created man. When God made man he did not make a robot, and android that would do His bidding at the push of a button. God created man with complete freedom to do as man wished, whether that was pleasing to God or not.
As I see it however, here in North America and particularly in the United States, I see Christians as wanting their freedom while at the same time judging others and denying them their freedom.
Case in point people who are calling for a ban on same sex marriage. There are others wanting to restrict Muslims because of recent terrorist activities. It all harkens back to the days of segregation.
If we judge someone wrongly or restrict the rights of even one group we ultimately set things up for the possibility that our rights may one day be restricted.
The apostle Peter states,
“Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.  
Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.” 
  1Peter 16,17.
I like that Peter says “show proper respect to everyone”. As Christians we should be showing proper respect to everyone even if we disagree with them.
The secular democracy in which we live is very similar to the society the apostles lived in. Except of course the apostles couldn’t vote the government in or out of power. They had to live within the laws of Rome. Accepting that they could not change any law however much they disagreed with it.
Christians today I think forget this.
In the United States Christians mix their faith with politics and it is not a good combination.
Yes Christians should vote that is their democratic right. They should vote for the person whom they feel best represents Christian values.
Still Christians should not be judging others. Jesus said,
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” 
                       Matthew 7:1,2
If we judge other they will look at our lives and judge us.
The apostle Paul said,
“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.
We as Christians should not judge anyone. We should be standing up for the rights and freedoms of all people even those we disagree with. In doing so we build bridges and open a dialogue with people. A dialogue that allows us to tell people about the most important thing in our lives, the Saving Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Please think about it.

The Hardest Thing

The hardest thing
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” 
                                                                                                                          Hebrews 11:1
Perhaps the hardest thing anyone can do is to have faith in something or someone. Faith requires trust. It’s being sure that what we have faith in will not let us down.
In the secular world scientist do it all the time. They come up with a theory that something is there, usually based on things they observe. They then say if such and such is happening then this must exist. The classic example is some of Albert Einstein theories. It is only now a hundred years after he made some of his predictions that they have been proved.
Yet Einstein believed in his theories his whole life even though he couldn’t prove them other than on paper.
So it is with God. God asks us to have faith in Him without actually seeing Him. But God does not ask us to have blind faith. He says to us through the Bible look around. The Psalmist states,
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. 
There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” 
                                                                                                    Psalm 19:1-3.
The perfection of creation, of the universe from the smallest subatomic particle to the vastness of the galaxies all say there is a creator behind it.
Whether God created the world using the big bang over billions of years or did it in six days it doesn’t matter. The key is that God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it.
In creating man God gave man freewill and the ability to think independently. This included the freedom to believe in God or not. The freedom for man to create his own theory as to how the universe began.
God however loved mankind enough to reach down to him and offer mankind an eternity of peace with Him.
John’s Gospel records,
“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....  
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, 11-14.
What John is saying is that God, the creator of the universe and everything in it, in the form of His one and Only Son Jesus entered the world He created. He did this to point each individual to Himself.
For someone to believe that, as true Christians do takes a lot of faith. But that is what God wants. The writer of Hebrews states,
“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.
I firmly believe that God made following Him an act of faith because only true believers follow by faith. Because having faith in someone is one of the hardest things a person can do.
Thus the questions becomes: Do you believe in God? Do you believe that Jesus is the one and Only Son of God the saviour of mankind?
Please think about it.

I Wonder

I wonder
Psalm two reads,
“Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 
The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. 
“Let us break their chains,” they say, “and throw off their fetters.” 
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 
Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 
“I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father. 
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 
You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” 
Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 
Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. 
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”
                                                                            Psalm 2.
Sometimes I wonder if those who don’t believe in God have read Psalm two. I especially wonder if extreme dictators like there is in North Korea while saying publicly they do not believe in God may have read Psalm two and believe it.
If they believed it then it would account for them standing against Christianity and God in general because it ultimately states the Messiah will reign over all the earth and they will be judged.
If as atheist say there is no God and Jesus was just a good man then there is nothing to fear from writings like Psalm two.
If on the other hand the Bible is true that the Messiah will one day return to earth and redeem His people and rule the earth then those who oppose God have a great deal to fear.
Not only that there is nothing they can do to stop Christ’s return.
Shortly after the crucifixion of Jesus the Sanhedrin, the ruling religious body of the Jews at the time were forced into a debate as to who Jesus was. It occurred after two of Christ’s disciples who had been told by them not to preach in His name were caught doing so again. The book of acts records,
“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” 
Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!  
The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.  
God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.  
We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” 
When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.  
But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while.  
Then he addressed them: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men.   Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.  
After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.  
Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.  
But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” 
              Acts 5:28-39.
I as a Christian truly believe those who oppose Jesus and Christianity are fighting against God.
The proof is Christianity has continued to grow despite at times severe persecution from both governments and private individuals.
Napoleon Bonaparte said of Jesus,
“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.”
                                                                                                                               Napoleon Bonaparte,
Napoleon was right Jesus and his followers have won converts though a doctrine of love for God, one’s neighbour and even one’s enemy.
That being said there will be a time when Jesus returns to earth to judge the world and everyone in it.
Until then the God who created the heavens and the earth has given everyone a freewill to choose to believe in Him or not.
The choice until the return of Christ, as to where you will spend eternity and how God will judge you is in your hands. You can either accept or reject Him.
Jesus speaking of himself left us a choice 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
Please think about it.

Of Grass and Glory

Of grass and glory
Gen. George C. Patton said,
"For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honour of triumph, a tumultuous parade.
 In the procession came trumpeteers, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments.     The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. 
Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. 
A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting."
                                   Gen. George C. Patton.
“All glory is fleeting” no matter who you are, how famous or how humble you are. You will one day be forgotten to the people of this world. Even the most famous person will be but a note in some history book.
The prophet Isaiah states,
“A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” 
“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 
The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” 
                                                                                                                         Isaiah 40:6-8.
I like what Isaiah states, “God’s word stands forever”. God is there for all generations. For everyone who ever lived, is living or is yet to be born.
The one thing I a believer in Christ agree with an atheist on is that one day our bodies will be little more than dust. That’s not to say we are.
I believe we, the essence if you will of what we are, what Christians call the soul lives on throughout eternity.
The thing is where will you spend eternity.
As Tony Campolo the American evangelist put it,
“When you were born, you cried and everybody else was happy. The only question that matters is this - when you die, will you be happy when everybody else is crying?”
                                                                                                                Tony Campolo.
Christians make it clear you can know here and now where you will spend eternity. The apostle John speaking of Jesus states,
“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.” 
                  John 1:12,13.
The apostle Paul tell us,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” 
                                                                      Ephesians 2:8,9.
It is by the grace of God we are saved and enter heaven. It is an act of faith on our part.
Jesus speaking of himself said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  
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.
God when He created man gave him complete freedom. That freedom is complete freedom it allows each and every man the right to believe in God or not. Such is the nature of true freedom.
However to get to heaven takes faith the writer of Hebrews 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.
Thus the choice is yours. Believe that there is a God and that Jesus is his one and only Son. The Saviour of mankind or reject Him.
The choice is yours.
Please think about it.