A Warning from Jude

A warning from Jude
Jude who is generally recognized as a half brother of Jesus states,
“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.  
For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
“These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.  
They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.” Jude 1:3,4,..12,13
Jude like the apostles Peter and Paul writes to warn believers in Christ that there are men and women who are claiming to be believers of Christ that are not. Jude notes,
“They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.”
Jude states,
“These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves.”
It can’t be emphasised enough that there are many who claim to be Christians, Men and women not only sitting in church pews but preaching from the pulpit that are not.
There are many evangelist, pastors and teachers who as Jude states are, “shepherds who feed only themselves”.
Outwardly these men and women look good. Inwardly they are nothing more than charlatans who claim to be of God but are not.
The apostle Paul states,
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” 2 Timothy 3:1-4.
As a believers in Christ we must heed Paul and Jude’s warning.
In our multimedia world all too often we cannot see what a given preacher or evangelist is truly like.
I would say most are good honest men and women who love God and are doing their best for him. However we still need to be cautious.
The terrible times Paul is speaking about is upon us. There are many evangelist and pastors out there in the world who are not speaking the truth.  They are as Jude stated, “shepherds who feed only themselves”.
Put bluntly they are in the “preaching game” to make money and enrich themselves nothing more. Thus we must be careful.
There are also others who claim to be preaching the world of God but are not. The apostle Peter warns,
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.” 2 Peter 2:1.
As Christians we must read the Bible. We must read especially the New Testament to see exactly what those who knew Jesus personally said and believed. It is the only way we can truly know what right teaching is. Pauls advice to Timothy is as true to day as it was in the day he wrote it. He said,
 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2Timothy 2:15.
Please think about it.

On Hospitality

On Hospitality
The apostle John writing to a man named Gaius notes,
“To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. 
Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.  
It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth.  
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 
Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you.  
They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.” 3John 1:1-6.
In John’s day Christian teachers and evangelist moved from city to city. They were usually put up by a fellow believer in the town they entered. Gaius appears to be one of those people who showed hospitality to such people even though they were strangers.
We know nothing of Gaius only that he had the means to show hospitality to the visiting brothers in Christ.
Gaius set the example for any Christian that has the means to be hospitable to other believers. John notes that the people he housed told the church about his love.
As Christians especially if we have the means to do so, we need to be hospitable. The book of Hebrews notes,
“Keep on loving each other as brothers.  
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” Hebrews. 13:1,2. 
The book of Acts records,
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  
Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.  
All the believers were together and had everything in common.  
Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.  
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,  praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47.
The early church showed hospitality to all. They seen that their fellow believers had their needs met. That no one was in want.
They showed by example what we in the church today need to be doing.
I know not everyone is able to put fellow believers up for the night or longer. However we can all do something.
My mother in law while alive was dirt poor. She lived on the minimum wage most of her life. Yet you could show up at her house anytime, even at meal time and you would never be turned away. There was always food or a cup of tea available to anyone who dropped in.
She didn’t care who you were, she simply did what she could and as a result blessed many people.
If we claim to be Christians this is how we should be.
Please think about it.

Jesus, God Incarnate

Jesus God Incarnate
The apostle John states,
“Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.  
Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.” 2 John 1:7,8.
Here is another theme John speaks about. He states,
“Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.”
There were many people in John’s day that preached false teaching.
One group known as Docetism taught that Christ did not actually come in the flesh. That Christ did not have a body but only seemed to have a body and to suffer and die on the cross.
     There is such teaching around today. This is untrue.
John knew Jesus personally. John was a witness to the teachings and life of Jesus. Thus he writes to make it clear teachings like Docetism and other teachings are wrong. John calls them deceivers and the antichrist.
We as Christians need to know what we believe. We need to respectfully, stand up against anyone who would say Jesus is less than divine.
What is known as the apostles creed while not written by an apostle of Jesus states in a nutshell what True Christians believe. It states,
1.I believe in God the Father the almighty maker of heaven and earth
2. I believe in Jesus Christ God’s on and only Son, our Lord and Saviour.
3. I believe Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary
4. I believe Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate; That He was Crucified, died, was buried. That he descended in hell.
5. I believe He rose again on the third day from the dead.
6. I believe that he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
7. I believe Jesus will one day Judge the living and the dead.
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost
9. I believe in the Church which is the communion of the saints,
10. I believe in the forgiveness of sin.
11. I believe in the resurrection of the body.
12. I believe in life everlasting.
John in his gospel tells us,
“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....
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 1:1-4,14.
The writer of Hebrews tells us,
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.  
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.” Hebrews 1:1-3  
Jesus is God incarnate God in the flesh. There is no middle ground here. Either Jesus is God incarnate or he is not. The choice is up to you.
Please think about it.

True Love

True Love
The apostle John writes,
“It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.  
And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.  
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.” 2 John 1:4-6.
The apostle John throughout his gospel and his letters constantly comes back to “walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.”
He asks believers to Love one another. John states, “his (Christ’s) command is that you walk in love.”
Love is the key to being Christian. It goes back to the teachings of 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 who 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,...” Matthew 5:43,44.
John in his gospel quotes Jesus as saying,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16,17.
John thought the message of love so important to the spreading of the gospel that he spoke over and over again both in his gospel and in his letters about it.
The love John spoke about is unconditional love. It is a love everyone who claims to be Christian MUST understand and put into practice.
The apostle Paul defines Christian love as,

“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

This is unconditional love. God showed unconditional love by sending Jesus to die for us. The apostle Paul stating
“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.
Think about it when we were sinners, enemies of God’s, He sent His son to die for our sins. This is unconditional love.
As Christians we must be willing to die to spread the message of Christ. Something many Christians around the world are doing.
However I look at Christians here in North America where I live and ask myself would many who claim to be Christians be willing to die for their enemy?
If you claim to be a Christian living in the United States or Canada would you be willing to die for an abortionist? Would you be willing to die for someone of a different lifestyle or faith?
Here is a question that was once posed to me. If you as a Christian were in a situation where you had to choose between whether you died or a non-Christian died, would you be willing to die so that, that non-Christian could live.
Think carefully, because that is the same choice Jesus had to make. And in making His decision Jesus showed us what true love is.
Please think about it.

In Recognition of Women

In Recognition of Women
Today is international women’s day. A time to celebrate women and their achievements. Sadly women the achievements of women are overlooked. And women are not praised enough for their work. However in the Bible women are celebrated and many times take a leadership role. Miriam the sister of Moses helped save Moses by being obedient to her mother. She also led the celebrations  after God delivered His people out of Egypt. There were women Judges in Israel. In the New Testament Mary a devout women of God was chosen to bring the Messiah into the world. Women were the first to bring the news of Christ’s resurrection.
Throughout church history women have played a prominent role in spreading of the gospel message and many women virtually from the inception of Christianity like men were martyred for the sake of the gospel. Something that is still happening today.
Sadly all too often women’s achievements do go unrecognized.
The final chapter of the book of Proverbs celebrates wives I simply put it hear for you to think about. It states,

“A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. 

Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 

She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. 

She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. 

She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. 

She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food

 for her family and portions for her servant girls. 

She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. 

She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. 

She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. 

In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. 

She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. 

When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. 

She makes coverings for her bed; 

she is clothed in fine linen and purple. 

Her husband is respected at the city gate, 

where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. 

She makes linen garments and sells them, 

and supplies the merchants with sashes. 

She is clothed with strength and dignity; 

she can laugh at the days to come. 

She speaks with wisdom,

 and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 

She watches over the affairs of her household 

and does not eat the bread of idleness. 

Her children arise and call her blessed; 

her husband also, and he praises her: 

“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” 

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; 

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. 

Give her the reward she has earned, 

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. 

Proverbs 10-31

If you are a married man reading this why not take time to go to your wife and praise her for all she has done for you.
If you are an employer, especially if you are a Christian employer, why not go to your women employees and thank them for all they have done for your company.
Giving praise and encouragement to anyone never hurts.
Please think about it.

We Know

We Know
The Apostle John states,
“We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” 1John 5:20,
John here in the concluding remarks of his first letter once again makes definite statements.
“We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true.”
When we believe Jesus is the Son of God. He gives us understanding so that we may know the one true God creator of heaven and earth.
The writer of Hebrews states,
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.  
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.” Hebrews 1:1-3.
Jesus is God incarnate, God in the flesh. Through him we can see God the Father.
John makes it clear,
“And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life”
This statement harkens to John’s statement in his gospel about those who believe in Jesus. John states,
“Yet to all who received him,(Jesus) 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.
As radical and controversial as it may seem in some circles, we Christians do believe we are Children of God called to do his work.
It is something you the reader must consider. Is Jesus the Son of God, God incarnate or is he not?
Henry Ward Beecher stated,
“If Christ is not divine, every impulse of the Christian world falls to a lower octave, and light and love and hope decline.” Henry Ward Beecher
John in his gospel records this conversation between Jesus and his disciples. He records,
“Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  
If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  
Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.” John 14:5-10.
Here Jesus make it clear that he truly is one with God the Father.
Thus the question becomes, Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God, Saviour of Mankind, God incarnate?
Please think about it.

Believe in the Son

Believe in the Son
The apostle John states,

“Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. 

Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar,

 because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.  

And this is the testimony: 

God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  

He who has the Son has life; 

he who does not have the Son of God 

does not have life.” 

1John5:10-12

The apostle John throughout his gospel and his letters makes some very clear statements about Jesus and a persons relationship with Jesus.
Here he makes it clear,
1/ God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
2/ He who has the Son has life;
3/ he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
In his gospel John quotes Jesus as saying,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”. John 3:16-18.
These are if you think about it radical statements. That if right, as I as a Christian believe they are, they have eternal implications for all who here about Jesus.
Jesus is the one and only Son of God the Saviour of mankind.
C. S. Lewis states,
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” C. S. Lewis.
To those who read this and are not a Christian I would ask that you take time to read the New Testament. What have you to loose.
Blaise Pascal wrote of God,
“Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists.” Blaise Pascal.
The same is true of Jesus. If he is the Son of God as we Christians think then you gain eternity with God and all that goes with it. If what Christians believe is false then you loose nothing.
Please think about it.
Post Script.
If you want a free copy of the Bible there is free download called You Version that is available to all who would want to read about God, Jesus and what the apostles of Christ taught.
It cost nothing to download and nothing to read it for yourself.  

Of God

Of God
The apostle John writes,
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.  
This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.  
This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,  
for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  
Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” 1John 5:1-5.
John makes a definite statement here “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God....”
You cannot get a more clear statement than that. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ you are born of God.
John goes on to state,
“This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,  
for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”
If we truly love God we will obey God’s commands. Commandments that are not burdensome.
Someone once told me that becoming a Christian means following a lot of do’s and don’t’s. That is not entirely right.
Christians are given a moral code to live by, by Jesus, principle of which is to love. However the rules set down by the scriptures are no more burdensome than following the rules at a football match.
In a football match one has a set of rules that one follows so that the game can be played fairly and pleasurably for all in the game. This is true when one becomes a Christian. The rules for living a Christian life are no different.
By following God’s moral code and loving those around us the Christian life is very fulfilling and rewarding.  
John also tells us,
“Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
We overcome the problems and trials of this world by believing in Jesus.
In believing in Christ we understand that the problems of this world are but temporary and nothing when compared to the eternal reward we will receive when the Father calls us home.
John referring to Jesus said in his gospel,
“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.
If we truly believe in Jesus, then according to John we are children of God. We have a personal relationship with God. A bond that can overcome anything this life throws at us.
Please think about it. 

A Key Element

A Key Element
The apostle John states,
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 
We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.  
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.  
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”  1 John 4:7-16.
As professing Christians we can do no less than love. Jesus when asked,
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  
This is the first and greatest commandment.  
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 went as far as 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,...” Matthew 5:43,44.
I do not believe you can truly be committed to Christ and not show love for everyone around you irrespective of who they are.
John in his gospel quotes Jesus as saying,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16,17.
Before Jesus left this earth he 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.
We cannot complete this commandment from Jesus if we do not love.
God set the example by, in love sending His One and Only Son into the world that we might be saved. If God loved us so much that he would do it for us. We must love in the same way.
The apostle Paul defines Christian love when he 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 you claim to be a Christian is your love the same as described by Paul or do you put conditions on your love, selecting carefully who you will love?
Would those around you say you love unconditionally?
John states,
“If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.  And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”1John 4:20-21
Please think about it.

Jesus is Divine

Jesus is Divine
The apostle John states,
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  
This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,  but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.  
They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.  
We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.” 1John 4:1-6.
Here John gives us a simple test how to determine who is of God and who is not. He states,
 “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,  but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.”
This is the core belief of Christianity. Jesus is from God. He is God incarnate, the Saviour of mankind.
Henry Ward Beecher stated,
“If Christ is not divine, every impulse of the Christian world falls to a lower octave, and light and love and hope decline.” Henry Ward Beecher.
Believing in the divinity of Jesus is important. It is the corner stone of Christian belief. There are many of other faiths who would disagree with this and that is their right.
There are however many out in the world who say they are Christians but deny the divinity of Jesus. You cannot be a Christian and deny the divinity of Jesus. Jesus himself at the risk of his life said he was one with God. John’s gospel records,
“The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 
Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.  
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  
I and the Father are one.
Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?
“We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”  John 10:24-33
C. S. Lewis made a very important statement when he said,
“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.
Please think about it. 

Love and Deeds

Love and Deeds
The apostle John states,
“This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.  
Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.  
Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.  
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.  
Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. 
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 1John 3:11-18.
In a nutshell John is telling believers in Christ to love.
He almost as an aside states that do not be surprised if the world hates you. The world around us may not agree with what we say and thus will at times not like us. Throughout the centuries there have been many governments, countries and other groups that have hated Christians simply because of what we believe.
This however should not stop us from loving especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. We should be willing to help a brother in need.
James the half brother of Jesus said,
“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.  
I f 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.
Our faith in Christ should spur us on to good deeds and to love all whom we come in contact with Christian or not.
Francis of Assisi gave us a Prayer that we as Christians need to take to heart. He said,

“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. 

"Born of God"

Born of God
The Apostle John writes,
“But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.  
No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.  
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.  
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.  
This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.” 1 John 3:5-10.
Here John points out the “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning...”
As believers in Christ we do our best not to sin. To live a life acceptable to Christ, acceptable to God. A believer in Christ does not deliberately sin.
John warns believers in Jesus not to be let astray. John states,
“He who does what is sinful is of the devil...”
John states,
“This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.”
If we are truly followers of God, children of God we will desire to do what is right at all times. The apostle Paul states,

“But the fruit of the Spirit is 

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 

faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. 

Against such things there is no law.”  

Galatians 5:22,23. 

This is what a true follower of Jesus will exhibit.
Please think about it.