Can never spoil perish or fade

  Can never spoil perish or fade

The apostle Peter wrote,

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade kept in heaven for you” 1Peter 1:3-4

I believe this. I believe if we truly believe in Christ Jesus we have an eternal reward that cannot perish, spoil or fade. An inheritance waiting for us in heaven.

Do you believe this?

Please think about it.

A Mist

 A mist

In the book of James we read,

“Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."  

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James 4:13,14.

Life is short and unpredictable. We have seen in the last few years tens of thousands die of Covid. But covid aside thousands die of medical problems, car crashes, and a myriad of other things every day.

The key to my way of thinking is are you ready to enter eternity? 

As a Christian, a believer in Christ Jesus, I believe we can be ready.

The apostle Paul speaking to his jailor said,

“The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.  

He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Acts 16:30,31.

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.

The question is do you believe this?

    Please think about it.

Who do you love?

 Who do you love?

The Apostle Paul wrote,

"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.

Jesus said,

"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 6:24.

So who do you love? Who do you serve? God or Money which comes first in your life?

Now there is nothing wrong with being wealthy. The trouble comes when you love money so much it becomes your god and turns you away from God.

Every Christian must answer this question for themselves. Do they love God or money. Do they love the things of this world or the things of God?

Thus the question I have for you the reader; If you consider yourself a Christian do you love God more than the things of this world?

Please think about it.

Ears Open or Closed?

Ears open or closed?

Here from the book or Proverbs and the mouth of Jesus is something to think about.

“Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor 

will himself call out and not be answered.” 

                                                          Proverbs 21:13.

Jesus said,

"Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  

For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 

"They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 

"He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."  Matthew 25:41-46.

Please think about.

Do Gods Work

  Do Gods work

In the book of proverbs we read,

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. 

Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8,9.

All too often I think the church, particularly the evangelical church here in North America fail to follow what is said here in Proverbs 31:8,9. 

While there are a lot of Churches that do reach out and help the poor, and destitute. There are also way too many who do not. Churches, evangelist and pastors who are focussing so much on the ills of society that they are seen by secular society in a negative way. 

In the book of James we read,

"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.

I like what the American Evangelist Tony Campolo said,

"These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change." Tony Campolo.

As Christians our faith must urge us on to help the hungry, and the oppressed. In this way we will I believe win favour with God and man. And not only that see souls won for Christ.

Please think about it. 

Please Pray

  Please pray

The Psalmist writes,

“For God alone my soul waits in silence;

from him comes my salvation.

He alone is my rock and my salvation, 

my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.” 

                                                                 Psalm 62:1,2.

If you are a believer in Christ Jesus can you say what the Psalmist is saying here? 

I know for sure there are men and women around the world who are persecuted and placed in prison for their belief in Christ Jesus that believe in this. Who trust in God no matter the circumstances they are in.

These persecuted Christians should be an inspiration to those of us in the western democracies who have the luxury of freedom to worship as we wish. 

And it is for these persecuted believers in Christ Jesus we who enjoy freedom should be praying for every day. 

Are you?

Please don’t just think about it. 

Pray for all those believers in Christ Jesus who are in prison, and persecuted daily for their belief in Him.

My Trust

  My Trust

In the book of Psalms we read,

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, 

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” 

                                                                     Psalm 20:7.

One of my favourite quotes about believing in God comes from Blaise Pascal. It reads,

“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.

Thus my question to anyone reading this is where do you place your wager.

Please think about it.

What will He say

 What will He say

The apostle Paul writes,

“For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” Ephesians 2:10.

What is your purpose in life?

The apostle Paul speaking to believers in Christ Jesus tells us “we are Gods workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works”

Jesus said,

"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  

I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 

"Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  

When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  

When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 

"The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Matthew 25:34-40.

Doing good works. Doing Gods work in this world is our purpose in life.

So are you doing any good works?

When you stand before God what will he say about you?

Please think about it.

To death and beyond

  To death and beyond

The apostle Paul wrote,

"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." 

                                                                                              1Corinthians 1:18.

To those outside the Christian faith the message of Christ Jesus is foolishness. After all why would an almighty God enter the world He created only to be put to death on a cross?

My immediate answer to such a question comes from the words of Jesus who 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.

That being said, God does not do things the way man would necessarily expect Him to do things.

God wants people to have faith in Him. Which for many people is a very hard thing. Most people do not believe what they cannot see, feel or hear. 

But God knows that true men and women of faith will follow what they believe to the point of death and beyond. Which is what he wants. 

Are you one of those people?

Please think about it.

Dedicated to God

  Dedicated to God.

In the book of Deuteronomy we read,

"Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk to them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up

You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

How dedicated to God are you? 

Do you,

“...love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”?

  Is your faith so much a part of your life that even without saying anything people who see you know you are a believer in Christ Jesus?

Francis of Assisi wrote,

“Preach the Gospel at all times 

and when necessary use words.”

                                                Francis of Assisi.

Is this what you are doing?

Please think about it.

A simple question

 A simple question

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

Here is a simple question if you consider yourself a Christian, a believer in Christ Jesus. How often do you take time when you are not in church to praise God?

Please think about it.

The Earth is Full

  The Earth is full

"How many are your works, O LORD! 

In wisdom you made them all;

 the earth is full of your creatures." 

                                                                Psalm 104:24.

George Washington Carver said,

"I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in." George Washington Carver.

Sadly there are many in the world that don’t “tune in”. These are men and women who refuse, no matter how good the evidence choose to ignore what the Psalmist states,

"The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands." 

                                                                  Psalm 19:1.

They don’t even believe the scientists 

Dr. Arno Penzias 1978 Nobel Prize winner in Physics stating,

"Astronomy leads us to a unique event, a universe which was created out of nothing, one with a very delicate balance needed to provide exactly the conditions required to permit life and one which has an underlying (one might say ‘supernatural') plan." Dr. Arno Penzia

William Philips, Nobel prize winner in Physics states,

“I believe in God more because of science than in spite of it"William Philips

Werner Heisenberg father of Quantum Mechanics, Nobel prize winner in Physics states,

“The first gulp from the glass of natural science will make you an atheist,

but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you” Werner Heisenberg.

Even Stephen Hawking arguably one of the brightest minds of the twentieth century said,

“The universe and the laws of physics seem to have been specifically designed for us" Stephen Hawking.

That being said believing in God is an act of faith. And for many having faith in anything particularly God is a very difficult thing.

Please think about it.