Seek Ye First

  Seek Ye First

Jesus said,

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33.

Today in Canada is New Years Eve. A lot of things have happened in 2022. A lot more will occur in 2023. Thus we need to look to God. To as Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Take a few moments now to pray and seek God. Ask God to show you what He wants for your life.

While you’re at it take time to thank God for all the blessings that have come your way in 2022.

Please think about it.

Your master

  Your masters

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 16:24.

Now let me say one thing. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy. The problem comes when your wealth is more important to you than your faith in God. 

The apostle Paul states,

"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.

Money should never rule your life. Many people over the years have fallen away from God by getting mixed up with the so called “prosperity doctrine”. Pastors and evangelist that say if you give to God, (usually their ministry), God will give you back more than you could ever imagine. 

God never promised us a life of luxury free from pain. 

Jesus said,

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.  

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.  

Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.  

They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.  John 15:18-21.

Thus my question to you is. Where is your faith? Who is your master?

Please think about it.

Your trust

 Your trust

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." Matthew 16:19-21.

Christmas has just past a time when we give our loved ones gifts as a way of showing our love for them.

That being said earthly gifts fade quickly. Think of all the millionaires, or billionaires that have passed away. Their money. Their earthly possessions remain here, distributed among family and others. While they stand before God with nothing.

Nothing that is unless they have chosen to follow Jesus. Putting their trust wholly in Him.

In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus. That the rich man had everything this world had to offer. While Lazarus had nothing. He tells how that when they passed from this world the rich man found himself in torment while Lazarus was in heaven.

All the rich mans wealth and possessions meant nothing to him at that time all he wanted was relief from his suffering.

The story is a reminder to us that we truly need to put our trust in God and serve him alone.

Thus my question to you is; Is your faith truly in God?

Please think about it.

On Judgement

On Judgement

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.

The American evangelist Tony Campolo 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.

Another American Evangelist Billy Graham said,

“It is the Holy Spirits Job to Convict, 

God's job to judge

 and my job to love,” 

                                         Billy Graham.

Do you love those around you the way Jesus loves, unconditionally?

Please think about it.

How would you like to be treated?

  How would you like to be treated.

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.

There is an interesting quote in the Jewish Talmud that while not a Christian book strikes me as something God just might say to us when we stand before Him. It states,

"When a man appears before the Throne of Judgment, the first question he is asked is not,    "Have you believed in God?"  Or "Have you prayed and observed the ritual?  "He is asked: "have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?" The Talmud.

So my question to you dear reader is; Have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow man?

My second question is, Do the religious and political leaders you support deal honourably, and faithfully with the people around them?

Can you and the political and religious leaders you follow honestly that you are doing to others what you would have others do to you? 

If you are not then it’s time to make a change?

Please think about it.

Boxing Day

  Boxing day

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.

Today is the day after Christmas day known at least where I live and in many British Commonwealth countries as boxing day. 

There are several beliefs as to how it started but the one that stands out for me is this,

The Boxing day name came from the alms boxed placed in churches during Advent season to collect monetary donations for parishioners. 

On this day also referred to as St. Stephens day (after the first Christian Martyr) members of the clergy would distribute to contents of the boxes to the poor on December 26th  

Giving to the poor within our society is a big part of Christian life. We should never turn a blind eye to the poor. If we consider ourselves a Christian, a true follower of Christ Jesus we should be doing what we can, even if it’s only a small gesture to help the poor.

If you consider yourself a true Christian. A True follower of Christ Jesus are you doing what you can to help the poor?

Please think about it.

Glory to God

  Glory to God

Luke’s gospel records this as happening on the day Jesus was born,

"And in the same region there were shepherds out in th field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 

And the angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear, 

And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. 

And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying. 

"Glory to God in the highest, 

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" 

                                                                                           Luke2:8-14.

Today is Christmas day the day when Christians like myself celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus.

We know Jesus was not necessarily born on December 25th. That however is unimportant. What is important is that we celebrate the day God reached down to mankind offering anyone who would believe in Him eternal life.

It is my prayer this day that all who reads this and my other blog postings that they will at the very least consider reading the New Testament and learning for themselves what The Bible writers believed about Jesus. 

It is my hope and prayer also that all who read this will accept Jesus into their heart.

Please think about it.

Decide for yourself

Decide for yourself

In the gospel of Luke we read,

"And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.” Luke 1:46-50.

From the above portion of scripture we can see that Mary was a woman of great faith or a delusional lunatic because she seen and conversed with an angel. Not only that she believed throughout her entire life Jesus was the Son of God, The Saviour of all who would believe in him.

Today is Christmas eve and the question all who read and hear about Jesus must decide for themselves is who is Jesus?

C.S. Lewis states,

"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.

Truth or the biggest lie in human history

  Truth or the biggest lie in human history.

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." 1Corinthians 1:18.

Christmas is but a few days away. The day Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus. Whether He was born on the 25th of December is unimportant. The point is Christians around the world choose to celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus on that day.

There are many who say Jesus was a good man. They are even some who say he never existed. Choosing to think Christians are foolish in what they believe.

The apostle Paul knew this and admitted that from a strictly human standpoint a faith that believes their founder was born in a stable and eventually died on a Roman cross looks foolish. Perhaps even more foolish is to believe Jesus rose from the grave. 

For me I believe the New Testament narrative about Jesus. I believe Jesus when he was talking 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.  

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.

And I am not alone. There are over two billion  Christians in the world that believe this also, and our numbers are growing.

What this ultimately comes down to is do you believe this. Because if it is true people who hear the message about Jesus have at the very least a lot to think about.

If the message of Christ is false, then Jesus and His disciples have pulled off the greatest lie in human history.

Please think about it.

Make an effort

  Make an effort

In the book of Hebrews we read,

“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.

The Apostle Paul wrote,

"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Romans 12:18.

Do you live at peace with those around you?

The only way we will ever win a soul for Christ is if we live at peace with those around us and show unconditional love toward them.

If you consider yourself a Christian, a follower of Christ Jesus are you making every effort to live at peace with those around you?

Please think about it.

I Pledge

 I Pledge 

"Whoever does not love does not know God, 

because God is love." 

                                       1 John 4:8

"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 3:17,18.

In my nearly seventy years on this earth never have I seen so much hate exhibited. Sadly even men and women calling themselves Christians are exhibiting hate. Love seems to be lacking in everywhere in 2022. 

If we consider ourselves to be true followers of Christ Jesus we need to make a pledge to God to shun evil and hate. It is of paramount importance that all Christians living today wherever they live need to Pledge to Love, God, Family, Friends and Foe alike.

To that end I have written this. The Believers Pledge. It is my hope that anyone reading it will pass it on to others.

As a believer in Christ Jesus,

I pledge...

To Love.

I Pledge...

As far as it depends on me...

To live at peace with all people.

I Pledge...

Never, Never, Never! To attack anyone...

Physically, or verbally.

Even if I vehemently disagree with them in any way.

I Pledge...

Never to demean anyone.

No matter their race, their ethnicity, their religion, or their lifestyle.

I Pledge...

As far as humanly possible,

To uphold the dignity of all whom I come in contact with.

I Pledge...

To obey the words of Christ Jesus who said,

"So in everything, do to others what you would have others do to you 

for this sums up the law and the prophets." 

                                                                 Matthew 7:12.

   Please don’t just think about it. Do it.

As a Child

  As a child

Jesus said,

“I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Mark 10:15.

A few days ago as I write this, an elderly woman in our church named Anne went to be with the Lord. She had, had a full life, rising from poverty to the middle class. 

Throughout her life God had provided for her. And she gave God the glory for all He had provided for her.

Anne had a simple faith. She read her Bible through many times. Her family noting she’d worn out many bibles in her eighty plus years on this earth.

During the service in our small church you could hear Anne singing. During the pastors sermon she’d call out an unabashed “praise the Lord!” when she agreed with him.

It wasn’t until after she passed away into Glory that I remembered this scripture Mark 10:15.

I know Anne was an adult when she came to know The Lord, but she accepted Him as a little child. Believing the Gospel of Christ without doubt. 

An example in my mind to all who would chose to follow Christ Jesus. An example of what Jesus meant when He told us to accept the Kingdom of God as a Child.

Do you have a Childlike faith in Christ?

Please think about it.