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