Needs

Needs
The apostle Paul wrote,

“And my God will meet all your needs 

according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus”

                                                             Philippians 4:19.

I think this is a verse many Christians here in North America forget about. Paul clearly states God will meet all our needs.
Our needs are much different from our wants. We may want a big house, expensive car, jewels, a million dollars. And while it might be nice to have all of these things they are not necessarily necessary.
Sadly here in North America we here preachers saying you need to be healthy and wealthy. Some even going as far as saying if you are not you lack the faith to be saved. Nothing could be further from the truth.
If we put our faith in God even though we go through difficult times He is there for us.
Paul went through a lot in his life. He was stoned, beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, eventually put to death for his faith. Yet thorough all this Paul continued to trust God to supply all his needs and God did.
As should we. For trusting in God to supply our needs and seeing those needs met is a testimony to the faithfulness of God.
Thus the question becomes. If you are a Christian do you truly believe God will supply all your needs?
Please think about it. 

Ultimately

Ultimately
The apostle Paul writes,
"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.  
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  
If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.  
If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.  
If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." 1 Corinthians 3:10-15.
While Paul is addressing the Corinthians here the message is also for us today. Paul was used by God to lay the foundation of the faith the Corinthian believers. But Paul warns no one can lay any other foundation than that already laid.
He points out that if believers try building on that foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or even straw it will be burned away. Resulting in the person entering heaven by the slimmest of margins.
Jesus said,
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 
"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” Matthew 16:19-24.
Both Paul and Jesus here are warning Christians not to mix the riches of this world with their faith.
Ultimately the riches of this world will fade away. Everything material possession we have will dissolve away. Only what we have done for God will last.
Please think about it.

Look

Look
The Psalmist writes,

"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.

Albert Einstein one of the greatest scientist ever to live made an interesting statement. He said,

“Look deep into nature, 

and then you will understand everything better.”

                                                                 Albert Einstein

I have always been of the opinion that science done correctly will show there is a creator behind it all. And science seems to be heading in that direction.
Scientist are looking into nature. They are seeing that everything from the largest galaxies to the smallest subatomic particles have all come together to allow life as we know it here on earth to exist.
To me that speaks of a creator.
Einstein noted,

“Human beings vegetables  or cosmic dust. 

We all dance to a mysterious tune, 

intoned in the distance by an invisible player.”

                                                              Albert Einstein.

I don’t know whether or not Einstein believed in God. I do know that his statement about we all being cosmic dust, dancing to a tune played an invisible player is true.
The Bible tells me,
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1.
In other words God created the very cosmic dust that makes up the Earth the Universe and Everything in it.
God is that “invisible player” Einstein spoke of.
Mankind is God’s creation. That being said God in making mankind did not make robots. He made individuals with a freewill to do as they wish.
That includes the right to believe in God or not to believe in Him. I and billions of people like me believe God exists.
I believe in God not out of blind faith. I believe in God because of what I see around me. I have looked at what the Bible says and what science says and find no contradiction. Both point to a creator.
The choice however is up to you. Each individual must decide what they believe and ultimately live with the consequence of their decision.
Please think about it. 

My Shepherd

My Shepherd
The Psalmist writes,

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures, 

He leads me beside quiet waters, 

He restores my soul.

 He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

 your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. 

You anoint my head with oil; 

my cup overflows. 

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, 

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” 

                                                                          Psalm 23.

This is a promise to all who would believe in God. To all who would believe in Christ Jesus. No matter what we go through God will be with us. In good times and in bad times.
The writer of Proverbs states,
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”Proverbs 3:5,6.
Jesus said,
“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.
These are promises that I think many Christians struggle with yet they are promises we must believe in if we are to have peace in our heart and mind.
Do you struggle with letting God be your shepherd? With trusting in God in all your situations?
Why not take a few minutes to pray and ask God to help you trust more in Him?
Please think about it.

Need to Praise

Need to praise.
The Psalmist writes,

“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.

I think it is important for us as believers especially in these uncertain times to lift up our voices and praise God. To remember that God does bless us.
I am blessed to live in Canada where Covid-19 is relatively under control. To make things better I attend a small church that because of its size can meet, socially distance and take all precautions necessary to prevent spread of the illness.
So it just seemed appropriate the other day when our congregation sang,

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow. 

Praise Him all creatures here below. 

Praise Him above ye heavenly host. 

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost." 

There is a lot of changes we must live with during this pandemic. At the same time there are a lot of things that don’t have to change. Principle among them is worshipping God.
You don’t need to meet in a Church building to worship God. All you need to do is lift your voice no matter where you are and give praise to God.
So why not take a few moments right now to praise God?
Please think about it. 

To save souls

To save souls

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.
I am someone who is not in favour of so called ‘hell fire and brimstone’ preachers. I say this because I don’t think yelling and screaming that someone is going to hell bothers non-believers because many times they don’t believe in hell.
In her book To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee writes,
“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)....” Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird.
Harper Lee is right. People calling themselves Christians have probably done as much if not more to turn people away from Christ than those who are not Christians.
In the name of Christ many try to take away the rights or restrict the rights of those they consider morally wrong or those they disagree with. You cannot legislate morality. Nor did Jesus and his disciples ever try to do this.
Jesus and his apostles lived in a society that was as least if not more diverse than our twenty-first century society. Yet they didn’t try to overthrow the Roman government.
Instead they sat down with those they disagreed with and presented the good news of Jesus Christ, much to the dismay it seems of the religious leaders of their day.
From my point of view I believe we as 21st century believers, especially those of us who live in the western democracies need to follow their example.
We need to stop yelling at those we disagree with. Stop telling them they are on the way to hell and point them to heaven.
Jesus speaking of himself said why he came to this earth. John’s gospel recording,
"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.
This is what we a believers in Christ Jesus must always remember. Our job is to save souls for Christ. NOT judge where they will spend eternity for only God knows that.
Please think about it.

Your actions and eternity

Your actions and eternity
Jesus told this story,
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.  
At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores  and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.  
In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.  
So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ 
“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.  
And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ 
“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house,  
for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 
“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 
“ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 
“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” Luke 16:19-31.
I contend that many wealthy people and especially politicians and religious leaders will one day find themselves in the same state as the rich man in this story.
Now being rich is not a sin there are many wealthy Christians who are doing good. The apostle Paul tells us,
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10.
It’s what we do with the money and what emphasis we put on money that can cause us problems.
I believe as Christians. As believers in Christ Jesus we must use the money we have, to at least in some small way, help those around us. I don’t believe we can do anything less.
So the question to you is; if you consider yourself a Christian do you do your best to help the needy around you even if it is just giving to a charity?
Please think about it.

Christian responsibility

Christian responsibility
James the half brother of Jesus 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.
Tony Campolo the American evangelist wrote,
“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.
There are over 2000 verses in the Bible that tell us to help the needy among us. It is something all Christians need to remember. Especially Christians who are in positions of power both religious and political leaders with the ability to help more so than the average person.
We cannot turn a blind eye to those in need.
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.
If you were cold, hungry or in need of a place to sleep would you not want someone to help you?
It doesn’t matter why a person is in need. We are not on this earth to judge we are on it to Love as God loves, unconditionally.
So my question to you if you consider yourself a Christian are you doing what you can to help those in need?
Do the political and religious leaders you support do all they can to help those in need?
Take a few moments to pray and ask God how you can help show His Love to those in need where you live. For as Christians we have a responsibility to do what we can when we can to help those in need.
Please think about it.

What I think

What I think
Isaiah the Prophet 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.” 

                                                   Isaiah 40:6,7

My friend use to say there is only one ultimate statistic. That being 100% of people die.
Which begs the question dear reader where will you spend eternity?
As a Christian this for me is how you get to heaven. I place it here for you for your consideration.
Jesus said,
1/ "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.
2/ "....I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6
Jesus is the way to heaven.
The apostle Paul writes,
 3/ "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:23,24.
Sinning is falling short of what God wants for you life. Sin separates us from God.

The apostle John noting,
4/ "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives." 1 John 1:9,10.

The apostle Paul making it clear Salvation is not something we can work for. Paul writing to the Ephesians states,
5/ "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

Ultimately however salvation is an act of faith on the part of the individual, the writer of Hebrews stating,
6/ "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

7/

 Faith defined as by the writer of Hebrews as,

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for 

and certain of what we do not see." 

                                                             Hebrews 11:1

Thus the question is do you believe this?
C. S. Lewis wrote,
“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.
Please think about it.

Will you receive?

Will you receive?
Isaiah the prophet wrote,

"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.

For centuries people have been saying Christianity will eventually fail. For centuries since its inception Christianity has been persecuted. It is said that today in 2020 a Christian dies for their faith every seven minutes. Yet Christianity continues to grow even in countries where it is persecuted the worst.
The book of acts tells us of two of Christ’ disciples who were brought before the Sanhedrin for preaching in the name of Christ. Something the Sanhedrin had told them not to do. They were so angry they wanted to put the disciples to death.
But a wise man, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, stood before them and reminded them on how other men had arose leading movements that disrupted the status quo only to fail when their leader had been killed.
Thus he said,
"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 5:38,39.
I think the fact that Christianity is around over two thousand years later and still growing shows Gamaliel was right.
Christianity is of God. The pure message of Christ is a message of the Love of God extended not just to mankind in general, but to each individual.
Will you receive that Love today?
Please think about it.

A note to the 21st century church

A note to the 21st Century Church

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, 

live at peace with everyone.”  

                                      Romans 12:18.

Think about this...
Jesus and his disciples,
• Never Voted.
• Never Protested.
• Never judged anyone outside their own faith.
Yet they within a century they had spread the Good News of the Love of Jesus Christ throughout the known world.
They did so by,
• Presenting the Love of God to their neighbours and enemies alike.
• Showing Love and Mercy to all those they came in contact with.
• Living as far as possible at peace with those around them.
The disciples put into action the words of the Apostle Paul who wrote,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”  Romans 12:18.
And the words writer of the writer of Hebrews,
“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.
They followed the teaching of the Apostle Peter who wrote,
“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.
If you claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ are you doing this?
Please think about it.

Reckless words vs Wise Words

Reckless words vs Wise words
The writer of proverbs states,

“Reckless words pierce like a sword, 

but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” 

                                                 Proverbs 12:18.

As Christians. As believers in Christ Jesus we are accountable for our actions. We must always remember that it is through our words and deeds that people will see Christ. We must remember that our words and deeds potentially have eternal consequences.
We must always think before we speak. As the writer of Proverbs states “Reckless words pierce like a sword.”
The wrong words at the wrong time can scar a person for life. The wounds from words can hurt a person far more than a physical injury.
Likewise right words at the right time can bring healing. That is why we must think before we speak asking God for wisdom.
Our prayer should be the words of the Psalmist who writes,
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14.
Thus the question becomes. If you claim to be a believer in Christ Jesus are your words and the meditations of your heart pleasing to God.
Please think about it.