Acts or Righteousness

Acts of righteousness
"Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Matthew 6:1-4    I believe giving is an essential part of being Christian. We need to help those less fortunate to the best of our ability.
   We can all do something for someone.
    I remember my mother in law when I first met her. She was as poor as a church mouse. She was living well below the poverty line. Yet she always had a cup of tea or a snack for someone who dropped by.
   At Christmas and new year there was always food enough for everyone and an empty chair ready for any unexpected guest that might drop by.
   She in small ways helped those around her to the best of her ability.
   My parents both non-Christians brought us up to help others in need. My father a union activist always said he did so because he wanted to better the lives of the average worker.
   This was ingrained into us as we grew up.
Neither my wife’s mother or my parents ever made a big deal about it. And it wasn’t until their funerals that we realized just how many lives they had touched.
   This is how it should be for Christians.
   The Jews have a word for it Tzedakah,
   Tzedakah is a Hebrew word for what we in English call Charity, but it is more than that.
Charity suggests an act of generosity by the wealthy for the benefit of the poor and needy.
   In Judaism however giving to the poor in not viewed as a generous act, it is considered an act of justice and righteousness. The performance of one’s duty giving the poor their due.
C. C. Montefore states, "
It is the highest ideal in Jewish teaching—for it is the highest application of Jewish ethical values. It is Judaism in action—and Judaism is inherently and deeply a religion of action, a way of life, a way of living." Some Jewish teachers consider it the highest of all commandments and a person who does not perform tzedakah is equivalent to an idol worshipper.
Certainly if we look at the teachings of Jesus we can see this teaching.
Jesus put people first. He stressed the importance of the individual. When he states, "
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." Matthew 10:42.
This is an act of tzedakah. The scripture at the beginning of this piece makes it clear Jesus’s teaching on giving when He states,

"Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Matthew 6:1-4I believe like Judaism from which Christian ideals come, Christians have an obligation to the poor.
Anne Frank a young Jewish girl hiding from the Nazis in occupied Holland wrote these words,

"Give of yourself, give as much as you can? And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness! If everyone were to do this and not be as mean with a kindly word, then there would be much more justice and love in the world. Give and you shall receive, much more than you would have ever thought possible. Give, give again and again, don’t lose courage, keep it up and go on giving! No one has ever become poor from giving!"Anne experienced Tzedakah from those Christians who hid her.
It was their duty to do so even though it placed their very lives in jeopardy.    We as Christians need to look carefully at our lives and ask ourselves are we giving enough? Are we doing all we can do by our words and our deeds to help those around us?
   I got the following list from a web sight written by Tracy R. Rich on tzedakah. It lists the ways to give from the least to the best.
   I place it here for all Christians to think about.
Giving begrudgingly
Giving less that you should, but giving it cheerfully.
Giving after being asked
Giving before being asked
Giving when you do not know the recipient's identity, but the recipient knows your identity
Giving when you know the recipient's identity, but the recipient doesn't know your identity
Giving when neither party knows the other's identity
Enabling the recipient to become self-reliant

Merry Christmas

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To all who read this blog.
My prayer for you is, whoever you are, May the love of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you this Christmas and throughout the coming year.

what is a Christian

What is a Christian

Over the years I’ve met and heard in the Media and other places people who call themselves Christians. Yet to hear them talk you’d think they were the most judgmental even bigoted and people you’d ever met.
A lot has been said and done in the name of Christianity. Many people zealous for the faith have forgotten the fundamentals of the faith, leaving a lot of wreckage in their wake.
These people potentially have by their words and deeds sentenced many people to hell.
A great burden is placed upon the Christian, one that involves the eternal well being of all they come in contact with.
For me the following is what I believe a true Christian must believe and follow.
I could write a book on each scripture reference and at a later date I just might. Still here as brief as I could make it is what I believe makes a Christian a Christian.

First they we must believe.

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; 

bind them around your neck, 

write them on the tablet of your heart. 

Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 

in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” 

                                                                                            Proverbs 3:3-6  

Second,

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.

 No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

                                                                                              John 14:6

Third

“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

Fourth

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—

and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 

not by works, so that no one can boast.  

For we are God’s workmanship, 

created in Christ Jesus to do good works, 

which God prepared in advance for us to do”. 

                                                                           Ephesians 2:8-10

Fifth,

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
Sixth,

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. 

Therefore be as shrewd as snakes 

and as innocent as doves.”

                                                                      Matthew 10:16

Seventh

“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
Eighth,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 

that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. 

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain 

on the righteous and the unrighteous. 

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? 

Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  

And if you greet only your brothers, 

what are you doing more than others? 

Do not even pagans do that? 

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

                                                                                         Matthew 5:43-48
Ninth

Love is patient, love is kind.

 It does not envy, it does not boast, 

it is not proud. It is not rude,

 it is not self-seeking, 

it is not easily angered, 

it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love does not delight in evil 

but rejoices with the truth. 

It always protects, always trusts, 

always hopes, always perseveres. 

Love never fails.”  

                                                                       1Corinthians 13:4-8a
If Christians follow these scripture I feel strongly that they can and will reach those around them.
Living in North America I as a Christian have unprecedented freedoms to talk to people about my faith.
There are entire Christian television networks. Millions of people watch daily various evangelist and pastors preaching the word of God.
Sadly there are many that while preaching have put their own biases on that word. In doing so they have turned people off.
Standing in a pulpit be that in a church building or in the media and spitting hell fire and brimstone I’ve found doesn’t win people to Christ, especially in the twenty-first century.
People know there’s sin in the world. They may call it by other names but they know the world and the people in it are far from perfect. They know there is a need to change for the better.
But screaming judgmental dogma from the pulpit will only push people away potentially sentencing them to hell.
The Apostle Paul once had a unique pulpit. He stood before a bunch of what the bible would define as sinners and those of other faiths. In fact he was asked by those men, Epicurean and Stoic philosophers  to speak to them in the Areopagus in Athens,
What he said should be a model to us on how to speak to those of other faiths and beliefs.
This is what he said,
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.” 
                                                         Acts 17:22-31
Paul presented the Gospel plain and simple. Not your condemned to hell, no you vile sinners. He simple presented the word of God. As should every Christian believer.
If you are a Christian I would ask you to examine yourself and see if the way you present yourself and the gospel to others is positive or negative.
Look at it from the none believers eyes. If you were a none-believer would you receive the message you are presenting?
If you do not believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, God incarnate. The saviour of the world, consider what was said above.
I truly believe Jesus came to save the world and I believe he wants to come into your life today. And he doesn’t care who you are. His first thought is for you as a person. It is not contingent on anything you do.
The basic premise of Christianity is God reaching down to man because man is not tall enough or good enough to reach up to God.
Think about it.
If you have any questions contact me at. Nealbelieves@gmail.com

Love

Read Luke 6: 46-49

“Why do you call be “Lord, Lord.” 

and do not do what I say?

 I will show you what he is like 

who comes to me and hears my words and put them into practice. 

He is like a man building a house, 

who dug down deep 

and laid the foundation on the rock.

 When the floods came the torrent struck

 that house but could not sake it,

 because it was well built.”

                                                                                        Luke 6:46-48
If there is one thing that we must do, is make sure we dig. Dig into the Bible. Deep into the very word of God. Look closely at the words and ways of Jesus. Study the letters of the apostle to the church.
The Bible, not the words or interpretation of man must be the foundation on which we build our faith. Man makes mistakes God dose not. I believe when there is a conflict between what the bible teaches and what a man says, that the man has made the mistake not God.
I have been fond of referring to 1 Corinthians 13:1-8a. It is the definition of love. The definition of love given in the first eight verses of 1 Corinthians 13 is shown by Jesus who endured all thing even to the death of the Cross for us.
But we must not forget the rest of that chapter which says,

Love never fails. 

 But whether there are prophecies, 

they will fail; 

whether there are tongues 

they will cease;

 whether there is knowledge,

 it will vanish away. 

For we know in part

 and we prophecy in part.

 But when that which is perfect has come, 

then that which is in part will be done away.

 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; 

but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

 For now we see in a mirror dimly, 

but then face to face. 

 Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

Now abides faith hope and Love but the greatest of these is Love.

                                                                                                                   1 Corinthians 13:8-12
Man is fallible, prophesy’s fail, knowledge is lost and changes. Things change in the world. But the one thing that never changes is the Love of God.

Something to think about.

We must build our house on the foundation of love. Not only in word but in every deed we do. We must show the love of God to all mankind even our worst enemy. This is what Jesus did. This is what God did.
John 3:16,17 say it all. Read the words carefully,“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in    Him should not perish but have everlasting life.“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the word through Him might be saved.”
Only if we have an unfailing love for God and our fellow man can we truly take that word to a lost and dying world effectively.

The birth that had to be

‘In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)   And everyone went to his own town to register. 
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,   and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” 
                                                                                                                                          Luke 2:1-7
Imagine this. You are a multi billionaire with everything you’ve ever wanted at your finger tips. You have servants aplenty. All you ever had to do to get anything was to snap your fingers and someone would get it for you.
Additionally you’ve been very healthy. You’ve never known what it was to be sick in your life.
Now in all honesty how can you relate to someone who is just the opposite? Someone who is so poor they are living from day to day. Every penny they have has to be carefully spent. They live from pay check to pay check and quite often they have to choose weather to spend the money on food for themselves and their children or pay the electric bill.
When they are sick they worry that they can get the right health care and drugs to help get them better. They also worry that they will miss too much time at work and thus have even less money for food and shelter.
Can a multi billionaire even stand in judgement of someone this poor?
In all honesty I think a multi billionaire can intellectually say he understands but having not experienced that kind of poverty and the physical and mental strains it puts on a person he can’t truly relate.
At the same time while he knows what it is to be human judging a man of humble means can also be difficult.
I think that’s what God realized after he created man. It goes without saying that God the creator of mankind has the right to stand in judgement of his creation, especially if it isn’t going in the direction He expects.
Still when a man stands before God he could in his defence justly say ‘you don’t know what it is to be human. What it is to face the day to day temptations and trials a man or woman has.’
But God can. He can do it because He chose to send His one and only Son, Jesus Christ into this world.
Jesus in his lifetime experienced what it was to be human. He felt the sun against his face,and the rain. He had friends, attended weddings and funerals.
He taught the truths of God to thousands and was regarded as a great teacher. At the same time he was despised by many of those in authority amongst his people.
From his earliest days he knew what it was like to be a political refuge, his parents had to flee to Egypt, to escape Herod’s wrath.
Jesus showed us and taught us what God wanted us to do.
While he spoke out against the Jewish leaders, the leaders of his people to correct them. He never spoke out against the ruling secular authorities of Rome.
Still he was falsely accused of breaking the law. Even the Roman governor of his day said Jesus had done nothing deserving of death.
At the same time for political expediency he let Jesus be flogged and put to death on a Roman cross.
Because of all of this Jesus can justly judge the individual. He understands everything about being human.
Now all of that being said we know that the sole purpose for Jesus coming to earth was to save the world. John 3:17 stating, “ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world would be saved through Him.”
God fully understands that we cannot live a perfect life that’s why He sent His Son to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
John 3:16-17 put it this way,
Jn 3:16 “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.  17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
The bible makes it clear that it is God that is reaching down to man to offer eternal life.
Ephesians 2:8,9 states,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.”
God simply wants us to admit we are sinners to confess our sins to Him directly and to ask him to come into our hearts and lives.
If we do this with a sincere heart he will come in and direct us along the paths of righteousness.
The choice is yours. You can do it right now. Simply say this prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I admit that I am a sinner and fall short of what you want for my life.
Please come into my life today and take away my sins.
Guide me and direct me in the way you would have me go.
                         In Jesus name I pray
                                              Amen.
If you’ve prayed this prayer I would suggest that you start reading the bible. You can’t learn about God unless you do.
The other thing you should do is find a church that teaches directly from the bible and attend it.
We all need encouragement from other Christians it helps us grow in our faith.
Pray and ask God to help you find such a church in your area and He will reply.

A lesson from 19th May 1536

A lesson from 19th May 1536
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27,28

Every so often out of the blue God gives me an example of what a Christian should be like. This one comes from courtesy of today in history on my Google home page. It reads,
“They came for Anne on the morning of May 19th to take her to the Tower Green, where she was to be afforded the dignity of a private execution. The Constable of the Tower wrote this of her:
“This morning she sent for me, that I might be with her at such time as she received the good Lord (i.e. took Communion), to the intent I should hear her speak as touching her innocency alway to be clear. And in the writing of this she sent for me, and at my coming she said, "Mr. Kingston, I hear I shall not die afore noon, and I am very sorry therefore, for I thought to be dead by this time and past my pain ". I told her it should be no pain, it was so little. And then she said, "I heard say the executioner was very good, and I have a little neck", and then put her hands about it, laughing heartily. I have seen many men and also women executed, and that they have been in great sorrow, and to my knowledge this lady has much joy in death. Sir, her almoner is continually with her, and had been since two o'clock after midnight.
She wore a "red petticoat under a loose, dark grey gown of damask trimmed in fur". Her dark hair was bound up and she wore her customary French headdress. She made a short speech:
“Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God save the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a good, a gentle and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul.”
The Anne spoken of is Anne Boleyn king Henry VIII second wife.
Anne’s trial was a sham, an easy way out for Henry, who was looking for a male heir. Anne couldn’t supply the need so she was accused of adultery, incest, witchcraft, and high treason. All of which historians say were untrue.
Anne however in her short time with Henry made a significant mark on History. Anne became the power behind the thrown.
Anne was hailed as a Christian reformer, Martin Luther even noting it was a good that she came to power.
It was because of her the Church of England split with the Pope.
She arranged for her personal chaplain Thomas Cranmer to become Archbishop of Canterbury. She encouraged Henry to look to the advice of religious radicals of the day such as William Tynsdale who denied the power of the Pope. A man who to the dislike of the Pope translated the Bible into English.
Additionally another radical slash reformer of the day Thomas Cromwell became Henry’s favoured advisor.
Unfortunately Anne lost favour with the king simply because of her inability to produce a male heir.
Henry would marry four more times and get his son. The Son however would not reign long. Ultimately it would be Anne’s daughter Elizabeth who would rise to power and be remembered as one of the greatest monarchs in English history.
But having said all of this, I wish to make this point.
Anne could have become bitter and resentful toward Henry and how she was treated. She could have become sombre and downcast yet the constable of the tower noted.
“I have seen many men and also women executed, and that they have been in great sorrow, and to my knowledge this lady has much joy in death.”
Anne seemed to be resigned to her fate. Not vengeful at all. She seems to have exemplified the scripture I quoted at the beginning of this article,
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27,28
Anne’s final words seem to show she was a dedicated Christian,
“Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God save the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a good, a gentle and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul.”
Question, how would you fair if you were put in Anne’s shoes?  True Anne was dying because a King simply wanted a son. But never the less she was Christian and did constitute change in a very real way in England. Changes that echo down the centuries to us.
According to human rights groups between 115,000 and 163,000 Christians die for their faith each year,(7 people an hour).
Seventy-five percent of all religious persecution is directed at Christians.
Half of all the Christian persecution in history 35,000,000 deaths have occurred in the twentieth century alone.
Yet the church in the western world seems to be silent.
A personal project for you the reader.
Write a letter to your member of parliament, or congress. Your prim minister or president expressing your opinion on the persecuted church.
Ask them to do all within their power to help persecuted Christians around the world.
Open Doors International, a group that reaches out to persecuted Christians, lists the 10 most repressive countries for minority religions and Christians in particular: North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Maldives, Afghanistan, Yemen, Mauritania, Laos and Uzbekistan.
And if you can do nothing else pray for our Christian brothers and sisters living under persecution.

On Being Christian

Read Luke 11:37-54

“Jesus replied, 

‘And you experts in the law, 

woe to you, 

because you load people down

 with burdens they can hardly carry

 and you yourselves

 will not lift one finger to help them.’”

                                                                                   Luke 11:46 Niv
One friend of mine looked at this verse and quipped jokingly “proof lawyers have never changed.”
Here’s another trivia statistic the majority of lawyers in the world are in North America and most of them in the United States.
Sometimes I look at our churches and wonder if they are not all in them.
Take a quick look around at church culture. I’ve seen churches filled with you must do this or you can’t do that, or this is wrong, or only this is right.
In two thousand years the Church has picked up a lot of baggage. Within every denomination there are things that are of men not of God. Likewise there are men and women within the church who wish to enforce these things.
The early church had this dilemma the leaders then deciding in acts 15 that the law was burdensome and in Acts 15: 29 made things simple.

“You are to abstain from foods sacrificed to idols.

 From blood from the meat of strangled animals

 and from sexual immorality.

 You will do well to avoid these things.”

That being said the Apostle Paul makes it clear how we obtain our salvation.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, 

through faith–

and this not from yourselves,

it is a gift of God-

not by works 

so that no one can boast.

                                                                                   Ephesians 2:8,9

Paul in his writing in Romans makes it clear that 

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 

                                                        Romans 3:21 

John writing,

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins 

and purify us from all unrighteousnes,”

               John 1:8,9

We have no need to go through a mediator such as a priest of minister. We can confess our sins directly to God and He will forgive us.

That’s why Jesus paid the ultimate price.

Something to think about.
The key to a Christian life is simple.
 First with a sincere heart we must come to Christ and confess our sins and be willing to change our life. To one that reflects Christ.

 Second we must be willing to put Christ first in our lives always remembering that God will not call us to do anything we are not capable of doing.

 Thirdly and while this is not a prerequisite for getting into heaven, we should read and study the word of God. The Bible. Always remembering that the more we know of God the more we can do for him and the less chance we have of falling away from Him.

It’s really that simple.

The Samaritan Woman and Jesus

Read John 4:1:30

“But the hour coming, and now is , 

when the true worshippers will worship the Father 

in spirit and truth;

 for the Father is seeking such 

to worship Him.

                                                                                            John 4:23


Here is the story of the Samaritan woman. Jesus in speaking to her breaks the social rules of his day.
Samaritans and Jews had a great deal of problems with each other. They ridiculed each other’s holy places and generally would not tolerate each other. Even the Samaritan drinking vessels were ceremonially unclean to Jews.
The Samaritan woman was possibly a further outcast from her own people some have suggested in that she was at the well alone. The meaning being that possibly because of her life style, she’d had five husbands and was now living with a man not her husband, she was not welcome in most social circles.
On top of all of this in Jewish culture there was a gender barrier in force. Many of the teachers of Jesus day warned about talking to women you were not related too. The reasons being one could fall into temptation and one might get a bad reputation.
I feel here Jesus was giving an example to His disciples.
Here’s the modern day scenario. You could find yourself in.
You see a woman you vaguely know sitting in a coffee shop drinking coffee who well may be a so called ‘lady of the night’. You a man sit down and talk to her.
Immediately anyone who you know sees you and assumes the worst.
Are they not the guilty of Judging you without all the facts?
Jesus didn’t really care it seems about social mores of his day. He concentrated on doing the true will of God. On following God’s laws. He didn’t break any of them.
Speaking to the Samaritan woman was not against any of God’s laws.  Jesus had one purpose and one purpose alone to present the salvation message to the entire world.
The world in which Jesus lived was really a microcosm of the world as a whole. There was everything from a very secular civil authority who allowed wide range of practices to exist. A pantheon of god’s were worshipped, there were ethnic and social prejudices among the people.
Even among those who held God’s word, the Pharisees and Sadducees had differing opinions on God’s word.
There was a lot of customs and ritual built up that God had never intended to be there.
It was in this context that Jesus was teaching His disciples and us how to spread the gospel to the whole world.

 Something to think about

Many churches today for what seem to be very good reasons place restrictions on who can minister to who. Which is a good thing in many ways. It prevents the wrong message being given out.
Many churches have good rules about cross gender witnessing. These restrictions are necessary sometimes. It can and has on many occasions prevented the wrong message being sent out to both the parties involved and those who see them.
However if these rules become a barrier to spreading the gospel we should rethink those restrictions.

Obligation

“They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”                                                                                                        Acts 16:31
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” 
                                                                                           Ephesians 2:8-10
“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” 
                                                                                         James 2:26
“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
First of all Christians are saved through faith in Jesus Christ. However James makes it clear that “faith without deeds is dead.”
While our faith may save us, as someone once said we live in our deeds.
Christians have obligations to God, and to their fellow man. Matthew 25:40 “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine you did for me.” makes that very clear.
As Christians we have an obligation to tell the world about the salvation Jesus offers. However we must remember that we are Christ’s representative. And Jesus didn’t just meet spiritual needs. He looked to the physical need of the individual.
Jesus upon seeing the crowds hungry in Matthew 14 performed a miracle feeding them with five loaves and two fish. He also healed the sick.
We are to do likewise. The early church certainly did.
Acts chapter two records,
“They (the believers) devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” Acts 2:42-45
The Talmud while a Jewish holy book and not a recognized Christian holy book has a point when it states,

“When a man [a believer] 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?”
This is what Jesus is saying here in Matthew 25. We as Christians have an obligation to our fellow man.
How we deal with those around us tells a lot about us. To quote again from the Talmud,
“Rabbi Akiba was asked by a Roman general, “Why does your God who loves the needy not provide for their support Himself?”  He answered, “God the Father of both the rich and poor, wants the one to help the other so as to make the world a household of love.”
I as a Christian do not believe we can separate our faith from our life. Christianity is a way of life. As such our faith must be very much a part of our every day actions.
We should not have to tell people we are Christians they should know we are as a result of our actions.
Dwight L. Moody the great evangelist of the nineteenth century wrote,
“We are called to let our light shine, and if we do we wont need to tell anyone it does. Lighthouses do not fire cannons to call attention to their shining.” 
We have an obligation to do what Jesus would do. Not only to share our faith but to meet the needs of the needy. It is my opinion that when Jesus said in Luke 12:48, “...From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”  He meant what he said.
All of us will be held accountable to God to the extent that we could help people. A person of humble means who can only offer a cup of water will be rewarded by God for giving that cup to someone in need.
Likewise I believe a person a who is in a position of power with the ability to give millions or pass legislation in government that will help ease the burdens of many will be held accountable for their actions also.
I know our American friends like to speak about the separation of church and state and perhaps there is some merit to the concept. Certainly after hearing some Christians in the media, I a Christian would not want them ruling me.
However what I am saying here has nothing to do with ruling and everything to do with giving each and every human being basic human rights.
We as Christians cannot hide in the idea “it is not my affair” It is our affair!
If we claim to be of the household of Christ we have an obligation not only to offer salvation but to as far as possible meet the needs of our fellow man.
We who claim to have Christ living within us are Christ’s representatives in this world. We are under an obligation to show God’s love to the world.
Love as defined by the Apostle Paul,
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.... And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1Corinthians 13:4-8a,13
The results of us not doing so can and will have eternal consequences,
“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
Think about it.

Query

“Ask, and it will be given to you; 

seek and you will find; 

knock, and it will be opened to you.

“For everyone who asks receives,

 and he who seeks finds,

 and to him who knocks it will be opened.

“Or what man is there among you who,

 if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

“Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent.

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,

 how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who 

ask Him!

“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you,

 do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

                                                                                             Matthew 7:7-12
God does not want robots.   He want’s people with a free will. People who ask questions, seek out answers.
While it is true that we are saved through faith and that according to Hebrews 11:1 faith is :“...the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” God does not want us to be robots, following blindly without thinking.
One of the signs of a cult is that the leadership demands that the followers follow blindly. That they don’t ask questions. That they just follow the teachings of the leader.
Jesus makes it clear that we are to ask questions. “Ask...seek... knock...” He states. Ask questions about what you believe, seek out the answers in the Scriptures, knock on God’s door through prayer to get the answers.
If we do these things God will show us.
Seek out good council in a good church, a pastor and  other Christians who study directly from the Word of God.
Don’t  rely exclusively on study books and commentaries.
Question the commentaries and study books by looking at the Scriptures to see if they are taken in context or whether the author is taking liberties with Scripture to prove a biassed point of view he or she may have.
It’s fine to have a healthy scepticism about what you’re being taught, if it makes you seek out God’s will.  
Always, always remember no church congregation is perfect. Nor are pastors, Bible teachers or theologians. We all make mistakes.

The Bible is, however, the divinely inspired Word of God. It was written to the early church to teach them what God wanted. By studying it and seeking out God’s guidance in prayer we will get answers, but it is important that we study the scriptures. It is important that we let God show us the remarkable truths that are in them, for our day to day life.
“Study to show thy self approved ...” Paul tells Timothy and through his second letter to him he states the same thing to us.
Study the word of God learn what you believe and why you believe what you do.
Ask God for wisdom, guidance and knowledge. Seek God’s truths and will for your life. Knock on God’s door, for the Scripture tells us,

“For everyone who asks receives,

 and he who seeks finds,

 and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

                                                                                   Matthew 7:8

Right and Wrong

•  Ex 20:13 “You shall not murder. 
•  Ex 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery. 
•  Ex 20:15 “You shall not steal. 
•  Ex 20:16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 
•  Ex 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” 

“If there is no master creator of the Universe, then who’s to say Hitler did anything wrong. 
For that reason there has to be a creator of the universe who writes upon the hearts of all humanity irrefutable laws of right and wrong.”
                                                                    Author unknown

The last five of the ten commandments deal with man’s relationship to man. They are the basic moral code all humanity lives by even if they are not a Christian, Jew or Muslim.
Those five rules You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor, You shall not covet, are necessary rules to stop civilization from slipping into anarchy or worse extinction.
Hitler showed what happens when these rules for living are disobeyed. The death count was in the tens of millions.
No matter where you go in the world. No matter who a person is or their status within a community. No matter what their religious beliefs are, or if they’ve read the Bible or not, each person knows instinctively the last five laws of the ten commandments.
I as a believer in the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. A believer in Christ cannot believe that these laws simply evolved by chance.
If they were not there from the day man walked upon the earth we would have gone extinct before civilization had a chance to get started.
I cannot believe that Homo habilis, and Homo erectus or for that matter Homo sapiens sat down in committee and said these are the moral laws we are going to live by.
Nor can I believe moral laws evolved.
I know there is a God that wrote these laws on the hearts of all mankind I firmly believe the words of the gospel of John 1:1-3
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. 
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

A lesson from 19th May 1536

“But I tell you who hear me:

 Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 

bless those who curse you, 

pray for those who mistreat you.” 

                                                                                                     Luke 6:27,28

Every so often out of the blue God gives me an example of what a Christian should be like. This one comes from courtesy of today in history on my Google home page. It reads,
“They came for Anne on the morning of May 19th to take her to the Tower Green, where she was to be afforded the dignity of a private execution. The Constable of the Tower wrote this of her:
“This morning she sent for me, that I might be with her at such time as she received the good Lord (i.e. took Communion), to the intent I should hear her speak as touching her innocency alway to be clear. And in the writing of this she sent for me, and at my coming she said, "Mr. Kingston, I hear I shall not die afore noon, and I am very sorry therefore, for I thought to be dead by this time and past my pain ". I told her it should be no pain, it was so little. And then she said, "I heard say the executioner was very good, and I have a little neck", and then put her hands about it, laughing heartily. I have seen many men and also women executed, and that they have been in great sorrow, and to my knowledge this lady has much joy in death. Sir, her almoner is continually with her, and had been since two o'clock after midnight.
She wore a "red petticoat under a loose, dark grey gown of damask trimmed in fur". Her dark hair was bound up and she wore her customary French headdress. She made a short speech:
“Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God save the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a good, a gentle and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul.”
The Anne spoken of is Anne Boleyn king Henry VIII second wife.
Anne’s trial was a sham, an easy way out for Henry, who was looking for a male heir. Anne couldn’t supply the need so she was accused of adultery, incest, witchcraft, and high treason. All of which historians say were untrue.
Anne however in her short time with Henry made a significant mark on History. Anne became the power behind the thrown.
Anne was hailed as a Christian reformer, Martin Luther even noting it was a good that she came to power.
It was because of her the Church of England split with the Pope.
She arranged for her personal chaplain Thomas Cranmer to become Archbishop of Canterbury. She encouraged Henry to look to the advice of religious radicals of the day such as William Tynsdale who denied the power of the Pope. A man who to the dislike of the Pope translated the Bible into English.
Additionally another radical slash reformer of the day Thomas Cromwell became Henry’s favoured advisor.
Unfortunately Anne lost favour with the king simply because of her inability to produce a male heir.
Henry would marry four more times and get his son. The Son however would not reign long. Ultimately it would be Anne’s daughter Elizabeth who would rise to power and be remembered as one of the greatest monarchs in English history.
But having said all of this, I wish to make this point.
Anne could have become bitter and resentful toward Henry and how she was treated. She could have become sombre and downcast yet the constable of the tower noted.
“I have seen many men and also women executed, and that they have been in great sorrow, and to my knowledge this lady has much joy in death.”
Anne seemed to be resigned to her fate. Not vengeful at all. She seems to have exemplified the scripture I quoted at the beginning of this article,
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27,28
Anne’s final words seem to show she was a dedicated Christian,
“Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God save the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a good, a gentle and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul.”
Question, how would you fair if you were put in Anne’s shoes?  True Anne was dying because a King simply wanted a son. But never the less she was Christian and did constitute change in a very real way in England. Changes that echo down the centuries to us.
According to human rights groups between 115,000 and 163,000 Christians die for their faith each year,(7 people an hour).
Seventy-five percent of all religious persecution is directed at Christians.
Half of all the Christian persecution in history 35,000,000 deaths have occurred in the twentieth century alone.
Yet the church in the western world seems to be silent.
A personal project for you the reader.
Write a letter to your member of parliament, or congress. Your prime minister or president expressing your opinion on the persecuted church.
Ask them to do all within their power to help persecuted Christians around the world.
Open Doors International, a group that reaches out to persecuted Christians, lists the 10 most repressive countries for minority religions and Christians in particular: North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Maldives, Afghanistan, Yemen, Mauritania, Laos and Uzbekistan.
And if you can do nothing else pray for our Christian brothers and sisters living under persecution.

The Other Cheek

The other cheek

"You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’

But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, 

turn to the other to him also.

If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, 

let him have your cloak also.

 And whoever compels you to go one mile, 

go with him two.

 Give to him who asks you, 

and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away."

                                                                 Matthew 5:38-42
All too often, I think people take this Scripture the wrong way. Some think we must turn the other cheek only to get hit again. To become door mats so to speak.  Nothing could be further from the truth.
What Jesus is saying here is let’s not make things worse. You don’t get mad at someone who strikes you. Forgive him. Don’t make matters worse by retaliating. This only causes an escalation in the problem. By turning the other cheek it may defuse the situation.
Likewise, if someone sue’s you be willing to settle out of court. It may be far better to do so than to go through a lengthy court case that has the potential to sling mud and breed animosity. Not to mention the cost.                     After all usually someone taking you to court only wants material things, which in the grand scheme of things means little.
Jesus wants us to be unconcerned about material things. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth” he tells us in Matthew 6:19
Jesus is and want’s us to be concerned about people. By going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, and resisting evil we may just show someone the way to heaven.
A friend of my father’s told the story of a young Salvation Army woman in England. She’d wandered into a pub in full uniform and passed the hat asking for change for the organization. The woman was a regular, weekly visitor to the pub. At first, she got catcalls and wolf whistles along with off colour comments , still she persisted, turning as it were the other cheek to the derogatory comments.
Eventually, she became common place to the locals and the comments stopped. The regulars anticipated her coming and were always prepared to drop a shilling or two into the hat.
One day a visitor was in the pub, a sailor, as she brought the hat to him he made a lude comment to her. She didn’t say a word, but silence fell over the pub and according to my father’s friend. That sailor knew what he’d done was way out of line. So much shame did he feel, that he left the pub.
A few hours later, she was on the corner of the street with a small Salvation Army band. The sailor came up to her and apologized for his inappropriate behaviour. She told him, there was no offence taken and that she forgave him. Something, he couldn’t understand.
The next day, Sunday, he showed up at the meeting she was conducting. He explained to her that he didn’t know why he was there, that he’d never been in a church meeting in his life. He just felt that he had to be there.
She knew why, God had used her to knock on the door of this sailor’s heart.
By turning the other cheek God was able to reach this man. That morning the service ended the man knelt before God and prayed the sinner’s prayer, accepting Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.

A Reminder

“Keep on loving each other as brothers.  Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” 
        Hebrews 13:1-3.

Here in the very first verses of Hebrews thirteen the writer reminds us to be loving and hospitable. To remember those who are mistreated and in prison.
Christians from the moment Jesus was born were subject to persecution. Jesus at the age of two was himself a political refugee, fleeing with his parents to Egypt to escape Herod’s persecution.
Jesus knew what it was like to be falsely accused a crime, to be beaten and put to death.
The early church knew what it was like to be persecuted.
In choosing to become separate from Judaism they ran a foul of the “religio licita” a law that said what and what wasn’t an official religion of the Roman empire.
Throughout the first few centuries of Christianity Christians were persecuted terribly for their beliefs.
Many died or were imprisoned. The same is true today in some parts of the world. Thus what is written here in Hebrews is a call to us today to remember those Christians who for the sake of their belief are in prison.
Likewise I believe it is a call to Christians to remember others that are persecuted. such as political prisoners and prisoners of conscience jailed simply because of their outspoken beliefs against a government.
It is also a call to do something practical where you live to entertain people. Invite people to dinner or to your home.
Doing so give you an opportunity to witness not just in word but in deed. A good deed showing the love of Christ in a very real and practical way.

An Act of Faith

An act of Faith.


"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. 
 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." 
                                                 Hebrews 11:1-3
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." 
             Genesis 1:1,2
Faith perhaps one of the hardest things to have. Over the years I have looked at Genesis one, one and two and wondered many things. Did God create the universe in six day? Or was it six Millennium?
And you know I don’t really care. To me all that is important is that God created the heavens and the earth. I believe by faith that he created the heavens and the earth that’s all that matters. How long it took Him is a moot point.
The important thing is that I believe in God. That I believe by faith in the saving grace of His one and Only Son Jesus Christ.
A famous Jewish Zionist Rabbi Hillel Silver wrote.   “Faith in God is the strongest bulwark of a free society.  Human freedom began when men became conscious that over and above society and nature there is a God who created them...who fashioned them in His likeness, and that they are, therefore, possessed of intrinsic and independent significance and are endowed, as individuals, with original and irrevocable rights and authority.”
          Science cannot explain correctly how we built our moral code. It doesn’t know how to quantify true love. Yet without the two we would be nothing more than automatons. Robots doing little more than repetitive tasks without any feelings for each other.
The Bible inspired by God lays down for us a moral code that if obeyed leads to all mankind living in harmony with one another.
God who created us placed within us the need to be loved and to love others. Its part of our very make up.
And He does not stop there. He surrounds us with His creation. We are placed on a planet exactly the right distance from the sun. With a climate ideal for life. All of nature that surrounds us is perfectly balanced right down to the cellular and molecular levels.
There are a set of universal laws that govern all of nature and the world around us in general. Laws that scientist through the centuries have discovered.
I cannot believe that all of this is simply random. To me it proves that there is a God that loves me.
A God that I will follow by faith.  

Pray

Read Matthew 6:1-8

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites.  

For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets,

that they maybe seen by men.

Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

“But you, when you pray,

go into your room, and when you have shut your door,

pray to your Father who is in the secret place,

and your Father who sees in secret

will reward you openly.

Matthew 6:5,6

Love to pray? If we love God we should. If we love someone we want to be with them we want to talk to them. Therefore if we love God we should want to spend time with Him and talk to Him.
But be careful how you pray. Jesus here warns us not to be like the hypocrites who like to be seen praying.  Rather, Jesus tells us to pray behind closed doors.  Pray in secret.
We need to pray in church, we need to be an example to our children, to show them we practice what we preach.  But we must be careful why we pray.  What are motives are.
Are we praying to impress people?  Are we praying because we have a feeling of obligation?  We must want to pray. A forced prayer is generally one with out meaning.
Someone told me, often the most sincere prayers are spoken in silence or when we are alone in a room.  When it is just God and you alone.
This is when we can truthfully express our deepest feelings and innermost secrets to our God who knows the very desires of our heart.
Most of us do not spend a great deal of time alone with God. We need a prayer closet. A place where we can go frequently to talk to God.
If you truly love anyone you will want to be with them. If you truly love God you will want time along with Him. So that you can tell him the deepest secrets of your heart.
We all need to make a date with God daily. Do you?

Something to think about:

Take 30 minutes. Turn off the cell phone, the television, the radio, and any other distraction and,

“Go into your room, and when you have shut your door,

pray to your Father who is in the secret place,

and your Father who sees in secret

will reward you openly.”

                                                                                  Matthew 6:6

Walk as Jesus Walked

Walk as Jesus Walked

My little children, these things I write to you, 

so that you may not sin.

 And if anyone sins, 

we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

And He Himself is the propituation for our sins,

 and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 

Now by this we know Him, 

if we keep His commandments,

He who says, “I know Him,”

 and does not keep His commandments, 

is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

But whoever keeps His word, 

truly the love of God is perfected in him.  

By this we know that we are in Him.

He who says he abides in Him

 ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

                                                                                                       1 John 2:1-6
“He who says he abides in Him  ought himself also to walk just as He walked” states John. How did Jesus walk. To find out we only need to read the gospels.       Contained in those four biblical books are the actions and teachings of Christ.
First and foremost Jesus came because of the Love of God. John 3:16 says it all, “for God so loved the world that he sent his only Son...”John 3:17 tells us Jesus came to save the world.
Luke 10:19 tells us He came to seek and save the lost.
Jesus defended the weak, John 8:3-11.
John tells the story of a woman caught in adultery brought before Jesus. He doesn’t condone her actions knowing that she was brought before him to try and trap him. Jesus simply states “if any of you is without sin let him throw the first stone at her.” John 8:7. 
As a result her accusers left her. After they were gone he told her he did not condemn her but to go and leave her life of sin.
Jesus told us in Matthew 7 not to judge. It is our job to go into the world and preach the good news to all mankind.
If we are walking as Christ walked we are not in the world to condemn the world but that the world should be saved through our testimony of the only one who can save the world Jesus Christ the Son of God.
God will one day judge the world there is no doubt about that, but to take a quote from 2 Peter God “is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish.”
If we are walking as Christ walked we should be like that also.
In John 8 the woman was clearly caught in adultery and Jesus, because he was God had the right to judge her, but he did not, because he came to save the lost.
We should never, never forget that fact. The fact that our principle job on this earth is to save the lost!
1 John 2:9 states “He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now” We cannot win a soul to Christ if we even show the hint of hatred.
The key to Christ’s encounter with the Adulteress woman was that he didn’t show contempt in any way toward her.
All to often we hear the phrase, “hate the sin but love the sinner” All to often the sinner sees it as “I hate you because you sin.”
God and the general public already know there is sin in the world. They need no reminding.
We need to be out their walking as Jesus did.  Looking beyond the sin in an individuals life.
In Love we need to be presenting the Gospel to all who will listen. That they may experience all that God has to offer.
Think about it.