Do you thank God enough?
The Psalmist writes,
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100:4,5.
The Psalmist says it all. We should I believe every day give thanks to God. So my question to you this day is, Do you think you thank God enough?
Please think about it.
Wisdom
In the book of Proverbs we read,
"Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or swerve from them.
Do not forsake wisdom,
and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.
Wisdom is supreme;
therefore get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have,
get understanding.
Esteem her,
and she will exalt you;
embrace her,
and she will honour you.
She will set a garland of grace on your head
and present you with a crown of splendour."
Proverbs 4:5-9.
I read the other day that,
"Wisdom is the acquired skill of applying knowledge rightly"
I was always taught that we should do our best to learn something new everyday. I was also told that we can have all the knowledge in the world, and if we don’t know how to use it correctly it will either amount to nothing, or amount to catastrophe.
I fully believe that as Christians, as believers in Christ Jesus we should be praying daily and asking God to impart wisdom to us through the scriptures and through daily life lessons.
What do you think?
Please think about it.
Christians and the poor
The following are a group of scriptures that refer to the Christians relationship to the poor.
“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD,
and he will reward them for what they have done.”
Proverbs 19:17
“The generous will themselves be blessed,
for they share their food with the poor.”
Proverbs 22:9
I am told there are over 3000 verses in the Bible that speak about how we are to interact with the poor.
The above verses from proverbs say those who help the poor will be rewarded and will be blessed. That being said. The scriptures don’t tell us when we will be rewarded. It may quite well be that the reward will come in the next life.
Also giving to the poor should be done out of a pure heart without any expectations of being rewarded. In fact Jesus in a parable seems to indicate that the reward may come in the next life. Jesus in a parable states,
"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
Jesus warns those who did not help the poor,
“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, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’”Matthew 25:44-45.
Please think about it.
Are you doing this
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.
How will you be judged?
If you’ve ever looked at someone and judged them rightly or wrongly God will according to Jesus here in Matthew 7:1,2, will judge you.
Sadly many people who claim to be Christians do judge people. They judge people who are homeless, people of other faiths, and people with a different lifestyle to their own, to name a few. And it’s not limited to those who sit in the pews. I’ve heard pastors and evangelist judge others also.
Tony Campolo the American evangelist said,
"We ought to get out of the judging business. We should leave it up to God to determine who belongs in one arena or another when it comes to eternity. What we are obligated to do is to tell people about Jesus, and that's what I do." Tony Campolo.
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.
This is the job of all who believe in Christ Jesus. We have no right to judge anyone. We do however have a duty to God to tell the world about Jesus Christ.
Are you doing this?
Please think about it.
Fill your mind
The apostle Paul wrote,
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8.
One commentary I read on this verse said,
“the Philippians are to fill their minds with things that inspire worship of God and service to others.”
Many people in the world look at Christians and ask the question “why should I follow Christ?” Many look at the negative message given by those who call themselves Christian and turn away from God.
I believe as Christians we need to show the world around us a reason to follow Jesus. A reason to put their trust in God.
We need to be doing what is noble, what is right, what is pure, what is lovely, what is admirable and what is excellent and praiseworthy about God.
If you claim to be a Christian are you doing this?
Please think about it
Shalom
The Psalmist writes,
"Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.”
Psalm 34:14
According to one source I read, the Hebrew word for peace is shalom translated into English as peace. The source states,
“...the Biblical concept (of shalom) encompasses much more than that. Biblical "shalom" is wholeness, fullness, total reconciliation - between God and people, and also between people and people.
As Christians we are called to live at peace,
The apostle Paul wrote,
"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you,
live at peace with everyone."
Romans 12:18.
We must do this because for the simple reason it is the easiest way for us to present the good news of Jesus Christ to the world.
So are you doing your best to live at peace with those around you?
Please think about it.
Faith in Jesus
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.
Here in a nutshell is the reason Jesus came to this earth. Jesus came to give eternal life to anyone who would believe in Him.
Now I know believing Jesus is the Son of God, God incarnate is an act of faith. Faith defined by the writer of the book of Hebrews as,
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1
The writer going on to say
"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.
A person with true faith is a person with strong convictions and is if necessary willing to die for what they believe in.
So my question to you would be, whether you are a Christian or not; do you believe Jesus is the Son of God, God incarnate. The one who offers forgiveness of sin and offers eternal life?
Please think about it.
A Belief
In the book of Ecclesiastes we read,
“A good name is better that perfumed oil
and the day of death better than the day of birth."
Ecclesiastes 7:1.
What the author is saying here is a good name is better than the most expensive perfumed oil. You can’t buy a good name. That’s why individuals must be careful not to tarnish their name by doing things that are morally wrong.
When the writer states “the day of death is better than the day or birth” all the commentaries indicate that this in not in reference to ones own death but the death of someone else. This is in line with what the next verse states,
“Better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for all are destined to be mourned; the living should lay this to heart.” Ecclesiastes 7:2.
Later on in Ecclesiastes we read,
“The thoughts of the wise are in the house of mourning, but the thoughts of fools are in the house of pleasure.” Ecclesiastes 7:4.
All of these statements may seem odd at first glance but looked at from an eternal prospective it makes sense.
The death of anyone should prompt us to look at how fragile and how finite life is. Everyone who has ever been born will spend more time in eternity than they will spend in this life.
Thus the question becomes where will you spend eternity?
In the gospel of John we read this statement made by Jesus. Referring to Himself he states,
"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.
Thus the choice dear reader is your. Do you believe what is said here or not?
Please think about it.
Pleasing Aroma
The apostle Paul writes,
“We are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” 2 Corinthians 2:15.
Are you a pleasing aroma?
When you present the Gospel of Christ to people do they find what you are saying pleasing. Something at least to think about even if they disagree with you?
OR do they reject what you are saying because of the way you present the Gospel?
I think it is very important that we present the Gospel message in as upbeat a way as possible.
We must remember the words of Jesus who speaking about 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 only way we can effectively win souls for Christ is if we present that message in a positive way in word and deed.
In other words like the apostle Paul our words and deeds must be a pleasing aroma to all those around us.
Please think about it.
A Wager
The Psalmist states,
"The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
Psalm 14:1.
This is what the writer of Psalm 14 wrote and each individual who reads it must decide for themselves whether they agree or disagree with what he writes.
Before you decide however I want you to consider what Blaise Pascal wrote. He said,
“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.
Please think about it.
About Worship
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 am a believer in Christ Jesus. I believe that He is God incarnate, God in the flesh. I also think (myself included) that those who believe in God don’t worship Him enough.
Many Christians put on worship music in the car or in their house but they listen to it rather than use it to personally praise God.
If you consider yourself a true believer in God, in Christ Jesus, why not take sometime right now to praise and worship God from your heart.
Please think about it.
Tell
Jesus after healing the demon possessed man in Mark 5:1-20 said to him,
"Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." Mark 5:9.
I think it is important here to note Jesus told the man to go and tell his family what the Lord as done for him.
I firmly believe that we should never force what we believe on others. I am very much against the so called “hell fire and brimstone” preachers. I think it accomplishes little. After all if someone doesn’t believe in God, they probably don’t believe in hell, therefore they will not be afraid of hell.
I think the best way to evangelize people is to present the gospel in a respectful manner. Meeting a person where they are at. Listening to what they have to say, then telling them, what The Lord has done for you.
This is what the apostle Paul did we see it when he is before king Agrippa (acts 26) and when he speaks to in Athens (acts 17).
In Acts 17 we know that at least some who listened to him came to know the Lord.
For anyone reading this who is not a Christian a believer in Christ Jesus. The following, known as the apostles creed, while not written by an apostle of Christ is in a nutshell what I believe. I put it hear for you to consider.
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.
If you wish to know more about Jesus I would ask you to take time to read the New Testament. It tells what those who knew Jesus personally, and the first century church believed about Jesus.
Please at least think about it.
