You Are Loved...

For sometime now I have admired the approach of a some Christians in placing the emphasis of their ministry on the love of God. Most of us mention the love of God but often present a fairly loveless gospel. We tend to get bound up in the sin of mankind and their wickedness. Not that we don’t need to know about sin and fact that it separates us from God. It is very important to be convicted of sin and to be repentant as a believer.

 

However if our witness is based around anger and condemnation only then it can act as more of a deterrent to the lost than a bright shining light on the hill. As a result they see only judgement and anger and completely miss the depth of God’s love for them.

 

John chapter three verse sixteen describes Gods love for the lost like this. “For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but will inherit eternal life.” God so loved us that he gave his only Son to die on the cross and shed His blood as a sacrifice for your sins. So hat when you believe on Him. You will not die but will instead receive everlasting lasting life.

 

Next, I want to bring to your attention the true attitude of the Father for his children. In the word there is no brighter example of God’s love for his children than the example given by Jesus in the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke chapter fifteen. The parable goes as follows.

 

The Prodigal Son 

 

Luke 15:11-32

 

And He said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

“Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”

 

Now look at how the younger brother regarded the attitude of the Father. He looked upon the Father as being dictatorial and judgemental. An implementer of rules. So he approached the Father asking for his share as he might under the rules of inheritance of the time. He received his share and left to spend his wealth in riotous living. When he found himself in desolate times he realised that even a servant of his father would be well feed and so he went to throw himself on his fathers mercy hoping that his father would take him in as one of his hirelings. When he returned home his father spied him afar and came out to me him with boundless joy of a father overjoyed at the return of a son who was lost. Instead of judgement and reduced status he was taken in and reinstated. Instead of rules and legalism he received what he didn’t deserve or expect. Forgiveness and unending love.

 

Now the older brother also misunderstood the attitude of the Father. He felt that because he was obedient and loyal, keeping the rules he would therefore inherit and be more blessed than his prodigal brother who had taken his inheritance and wasted it. Instead his father showered forgiveness and love to the prodigal and his own hard work and obedience was overlooked. He missed the fact that his father did not value him, more or less, because of his loyalty, obedience or his hard work. The father loved the older son because he too was his son just as he had the prodigal. So, the father also went out to meet him in love and forgiveness to his child just as he had gone out to the prodigal.

 

The point that Jesus was making in this parable is that the father doesn’t just love us because we obey the rules and do our best to be good servants who are worthy of salvation. The father loves us completely. He always has and always will. He so loved us that he gave his only son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross and to shed his blood for our sins. That is the depth of the love of God for each and everyone of us who believe on Jesus as our Saviour and for every human being that he has called to believe on Jesus as their Saviour. He so loved us he gave his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

 

Now 1 John chapter 3 verses 1 through 3 says this:

 

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

 

God loves us so much that he has bestowed his love upon us and we should be called his children and when he returns we shall be like him. Purified in the hope that we shall be like him. Purified in his love which has lifted us out of sin and allowed us to abide in Him.

 

Further,1 John chapter 4 verses 15-16 say this:

 

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

 

If you confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in you. You have known and believed the love that God has for you. God is love and you who abide in love abide in God and He in you. For God is love and therefore our entire existence as Christians is to allow God to shine through us in the person of the Holy Spirit and to let that love shine through us to reach out to our fellow men. Loving each other as the Father has loved us. Loving our neighbour as ourself as Jesus Christ instructed and in the fullness of the Spirit ministering to those in need with the love of God.

 

What I am really trying to say here is that love as a Christian is the most important facet of our character. For some reason we tend to get frustrated that the World isn’t accepting the gospel and that people are getting caught up in their sins. Then we become angry and judgemental as a result of that frustration.

 

The sad result of that anger and condemnation is that it is the worst kind of witness to the lost. It isn’t a good witness to other Christians either and drives many of us out of the Church. The best witness is born of the love of God and the fruit of the Spirit. A believer’s life and witness should be based on love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control as laid out in Galatians chapter 5 verses 22, 23. Based in the true love of Jesus Christ brought to us through his redemptive work on the cross. 

 

Such love as is described in 1Corinthians chapter 13 verses 4 - 7. Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

 

This type love is founded in humility and understanding. It is the type of love that answers “Yes,” to the question “Am I my brothers keeper?” Most certainly we are responsible for those in need and it is our obligation to make every effort to provide for the poor and infirm. To see that the gospel goes out to the lost and that we obey the Great Commission of Matthew chapter 28 verses 16 – 20.

 

But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

 

You are indeed loved! God has made great provision for your salvation and care.

 

Reference List

 

All scriptures http://biblegateway.com 15-02.19 - 23.02.19 ASV and NASB

The New World Order

Once in a while politicians mention an entity called the New World Order. Actually, I believe the Presidents of the United States of America occasionally mention the New World Order. I believe both Presidents Bush mentioned it and I understand that President Obama also mentioned it once or twice.

 

Now the New World Order is very important to me because as a young man I read a book called Mystery 666 by Don E Stanton. If you can source it I would highly recommend you get a copy because it contains a lot of information that you won’t hear from anywhere else. This book is about the world we live in and the activities of various dark forces in their battle to conquer the world financially and militarily with the ultimate aim of reshaping it politically and spiritually into a New World Order and a New World Religion.

 

So the reason I am writing to you is to briefly explain that those dark forces working through the organisations that they control like the Freemasons, the Jesuits, the Bilderbergers and the Knights of Malta to name just a few of the very many organisations that they use to cover their footsteps. These people have gained control of the governments of every country in the Western World and can even exert massive influence in countries that are the enemies of the West.

 

These dark organisations work in secret but do not work for the benefit of you and me. Oh no. They are about garnering wealth for themselves. They are about bringing the pagan religions back from the shadows and pushing Christianity over the brink of extinction. Their intention is to drastically reduce the population of our planet which they refer to as Mother Earth to allow regeneration of the natural realm. 

 

Nothing wrong with that I hear you say. Christianity needs to go and nature needs some respite from mankind. True enough but if mankind would turn back to God if they would heed the Apostle Peter’s words in the Book of Acts chapter two and verse thirty eight “ Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” NASB 

 

If the whole world would hear those words and repent then Jesus would return immediately. He would gather us all too him and he would restore all of creation. He would install a world government based on righteousness. Everyone would be safe with him. No longer would their be war, famine, poverty or disease. All of the distortions caused by the fall of man in the beginning will be corrected and all of the animal kingdom will feed on plants. No longer will there be killing or a continual cycle of death. The Earth will be as it was in immediately after the Creation.

 

If you desire a New World Order then this is the New Order you should choose and the only way to choose this is by accepting Jesus Christ as your savior. By understanding that he purchased you through His redemptive work on the Cross at Calvary. That He shed his blood in your place to pay the price for your sins. So that you could believe on Him and ask Him to forgive your sins and come into your heart and life.

 

Reference List

 

All Scripture from https://www.biblegateway.com NASB Version

 

Stanton Don E.(1977) Mystery 666. Maranatha Revival Crusade. Secunderbad. India

Enabling a good life...

My son with Williams Syndrome, my wife and I were in attendance at the biannual Williams Camp at Living Springs on the Port Hills of Christchurch. While we were there a female presenter gave brief seminar on the subject of “Enabling a Good Life.” She described how there is a move toward bulk funding for people with disabilities. She was very positive about this even though successive governments have struggled to garner much interest in the proposal beyond the pilot scheme. Mainly I suspect because placing all of the funds for a disabled person in the hands of a parent or caregiver is no guarantee that those funds will be spent on them. So even though it costs a great deal to administer the current program and it is by no means perfect it makes more sense to try to refine what we have rather than change to a system with no checks and balances.

However, this discussion raises another question along similar lines. Should our communities take responsibility for the well being of the disadvantaged members of our society. Shall we say the disabled, the mentally ill, and the poor. The reason I ask this is because it is the subject of a famous interaction in the bible. The parable of “The Rich Young Ruler.” in Matthew chapter nineteen verses sixteen to twenty two. 

Matthew 19:16-22  

Verse 16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19 Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. NASB

Now a largely unseen aspect of this text is the fact that those who ruled society in Israel in Jesus’ time were become extremely selfish. You see under Jewish tradition the community has a responsibility to care for the poor and less fortunate members of society. The ruling class were seeking to take a step away from this practice because it meant that the community had to make physical and monetary resources available to assist these poor people. If they didn’t care for them then it meant the rich became significantly wealthier because they did not have to contribute to the community. So this a major factor causing the change in the Rich Young Ruler’s demeanor. He hoped to trick Jesus into approving his lifestyle. That of the rich and influential. However instead he received an instruction to care for the poor. The very thing that the rich of Jesus period were seeking to detach themselves from. Hence a sullen countenance and heavy footsteps.

To me this is entirely about community and the need for Christian values. Secular values are rights based but have no heart. There is a discussion of what might be fair or right but there is no moral impetus to fulfill an obligation. We are after all just matter and energy so even if we recognise a need to care for the poor if we fail to meet the obligation and the poor perish it doesn’t matter in the eternal arch of time immemorial. 

Whereas in the Judeo Christian world view we are our brother or sisters keeper. We have a genuine responsibility to them and the existence of the poor or under-privileged is an affront to our society before God. We are to ascribe resources to their care. We believe that God expects us to care for those who cannot care for themselves and to assist them to a position where they can eventually care for themselves once more. Because they are our brethren before God they are family and community. They are to be treated as such and we are to make sure that they are looked after to the highest standard. 

Just as the Good Samaritan did with the person that he came across on the road as related by Jesus in Luke chapter ten verses thirty to thirty seven.

Luke 10: 30-37

Verse 30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ 36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.” NASB

In the nation of Modern Israel wounded Syrians and Palestinians are given field treatment and then transferred to hospitals throughout Israel for first class treatment which is provided for free and under strict conditions of anonymity because the lives of the patients and their families could be endangered for even accepting such life saving treatment from the enemy. This is the policy of the people of Israel toward even their enemies and of course is the policy of bible believing Christians toward their enemies also as directed by our Lord Jesus in the book of Luke chapter six verses twenty seven to thirty six.

Luke 6:27-36

Verse 27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. NASB

So if we have such love toward our enemies how much more will we have love toward our community and family. How much more love for our poor and disabled. So although it may be disparaged as inefficient and ineffective by central government who wish only to maintain total control of the social welfare system. It is the way of Jehovah and should be the way of his people for the community to gather around their disadvantaged and to lift them toward wellness and prosperity in a spirit of love and generosity. 

This is the way of God.

Reference List

Ahronheim A. Treating wounded Syrians who arrive in Israel is ‘holiest of holy. https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Treating-wounded-Syrians-who-arrive-in-Israel-is-holiest-of-holy-494602 02.02.2019

Charity (Tzedakah): Charity Throughout Jewish History. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/charity-throughout-jewish-history 01.01.19