Advise from the apostle Paul

  Advice from the apostle Paul

Writing to Timothy the apostle Paul wrote,

“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.

This is all God asks of any Christian to do their best to present yourself to God as one of His workmen who correctly handles the truth of the Gospel.

As believers in Christ Jesus, we are Gods ambassadors. The apostle Paul writing,

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  

   We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.  2 Corinthians 5:18-20.

As Christians we have an obligation to present God in the best possible light. It’s that simple. We must not force our faith on anyone. Rather we must present what we believe in word and deed to those around us and let them decide for themselves if they wish to have Christ as part of their life.

Please think about it.

I Believe...Do you Believe?

 I Believe...Do you believe?

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.” 1 Corinthians 1:18.

Do I as a Christian believe in foolishness? Some people would say I do. After all I believe in Jesus Christ, who I believe is God incarnate. God in the flesh. 

I believe what the Apostles Creed while not written by one of Christs apostles 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.

I also believe 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.  

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.

If I am wrong in my beliefs then I have nothing to fear for I will have lived a good life. If on the other hand I am right. Those who do not believe as I do have a lot to think about.

Please think about it.

Will you get to heaven?

  Will you get to heaven?

The apostle Paul writing to Timothy wrote,

“Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:8.

Will you get to heaven? The apostle Paul alluding to heaven saying says there is a crown of righteousness waiting for him awarded to him by The Lord Himself.

Not only that Paul goes on to note that all who have longed for Christs appearing will also get one. 

When it comes to getting to heaven Christians believe its simple if we truly believe on The Lord Jesus Christ we shall get to heaven. 

The apostle Paul writing, 

"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."  

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13. 

So the question becomes dear reader. Do you truly believe in God and the Saving Grace that comes from Christ Jesus?

Please think about it.

Everyone with Breath

  Everyone with breath

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.

If you claim to be a believer in Christ Jesus, a Christian when was the last time you personally praised The Lord? 

By this I don’t mean just listening to praise music in your home or car. I mean you taking time to sing praises to God. 

You don’t have to be a good singer or be able to sing in tune. You just need to lift your voice and sing Gods praises. Even if that’s just speaking the words.

Why not take some time now to praise God?

Please think about it.

There are Moral Absolutes

  There are Moral Absolutes 

The Psalmist writes,

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.” Psalm 111:10.

Whether we like to admit it there are moral absolutes in this world. Most prominent among them is the ten commandments. Listed in Exodus 20:6-17. Put simply they say,

1/You shall have no other gods before Me.

2/You shall make no idols.

3/You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

4/Keep the Sabbath day holy.

5/Honour your father and your mother.

6/You shall not murder.

7/You shall not commit adultery.

8/You shall not steal.

9/You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

10/You shall not covet.

These are at the very least what God expects individuals to live up to. That being said the more we read the Bible the more we find what God requires of us.

Are you following Gods precepts?

  Please think about it.

A Sermon

  A Sermon

Every now and then I like to present a sermon spoken by one of Christs apostles. Today is one of those days. It is Pauls sermon to the Athenians. The book of acts records,

"So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.  

A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.  

Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?  

You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean."  

(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) 

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.  

For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  

And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  

God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  

‘For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.' 

"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill.  

In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." 

When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject."  

At that, Paul left the Council.  

A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others”Acts 17:17-34

Paul here was talking about Jesus I believe in a way that was not judgmental. A way that caught the interest of those around him, specifically Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. That’s why they invited him to speak about Jesus.

At the end of his sermon people took three distinct stances. Some sneered, others wanted to hear more and some believed. 

I believe if we correctly present the gospel today people will divide in to these three groups.

Please think about it.  

A Hard Thing for Some

  A hard thing for some

In the book of Hebrews we read,

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for

 and certain of what we do not see."  

                                                                Hebrews 11:1

"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.

Faith in anything can be a hard thing. Yet scientist do it all the time. They see something is happening and come up with a theory as to what is causing it. Many such theorise are not solved in the scientist life time. Even Einstein went to the grave having some of what he postulated unproven. Still he knew from what was happing that his theory was correct.

It’s the same with those who believe in God. The Psalmist states,

"The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands." 

                                                                 Psalm 19:1

Robert Brault stated.

"God left so many fingerprints at the scene of Creation that you wonder — does He want to be found, or does He want to be stopped?" Robert Brault.

We only have to look around us to see Gods handiwork. The universe from the greatest galaxy to the smallest subatomic particle are mathematically perfect. Arranged in such away that life as we know it can exist.

This tells me there is a Creator God who made it all.

Still that being said it requires faith to believe this, and that is for many a hard thing.

Please think about it. 

Do you Know?

  Do you know?

In Proverbs

Those who trust in their riches will fall, 

but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

                                                               Proverbs 11:28

The Psalmist writes,

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, 

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

                                                                            Psalm 20:7.

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....

"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 16:19-21,24.

C. S. Lewis wrote,

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future

 to a known God." 

                                  C. S. Lewis

Thus my question to you the reader is do you know the God of the writer of Proverbs, Psalms? Do you truly know Jesus?

If not why not take some time to read the New Testament and see what those who knew Him best said about Him.

Please think about it.

Who do you believe in?

Who do you believe in?

The apostle Paul wrote,

"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."  

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:9-13.

As Christians we believe you cannot live a life good enough to enter heaven. That being said we believe that Jesus paid the price for our sins when he died on the cross. But Jesus did not stay in the grave. He rose again to life. He walked briefly on the earth, was seen and spoken to by some of His followers before being taken up to Heaven.

The apostle Paul believed this telling us that anyone who truly believes that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead they will get to heaven.

Thus all who read about Jesus must decide for themselves if what the apostle Paul and all the other disciples said about Jesus is true. 

So the question is. Do you believe Jesus Lord Saviour of all who would believe in Him or not.

Please think about it.

What the Apostle Peter Believed

  What the Apostle Peter Believed.

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.

The apostle Peter one of the men closest to Jesus during His life on this earth truly believed that all who believed in Jesus has a new birth a living hope that came from the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Peter believed that all who believe in Jesus has an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade kept in heaven for us.

Thus my question to you is; Do you believe this? Do you have an inheritance waiting for you in Heaven?

Please think about it.

The Key

  The Key

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.  

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

Here in a nutshell is why Jesus came to earth. He didn’t come to condemn the world but to save the world. 

Jesus came to give each and every individual a Choice. You can either choose to follow Jesus and accept the salvation He offers or you can reject that offer of salvation. 

If Christians are wrong about this choice there is no need to be afraid. If on the other hand Christians are right about this. Then at the very least everyone has at the very least a lot to consider.

Please think about it.  

Why do Christians Preach?

  Why do Christians Preach?

Jesus said,

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  

When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:44-46.

People have asked me why Christians want to tell the world about Jesus. Well the words of Jesus here recorded in Matthew 133:44-46 says it all.

Christian believe that having a personal relationship with Christ Jesus is the most important thing in their lives and they want to introduce those around them to this belief. A belief they believe has eternal consequences.

So do you believe Jesus is the one and only Son of God, Saviour of all who would put their trust in Him?

Please think about it.