The Greatest Commandment

The greatest commandment

“Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.  
One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:  
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  
This is the first and greatest commandment.  
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’  
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 
                                                                         Matthew 22:34-40.
Paul makes it clear what true love is like when he states,

“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.” 

                                                                               1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
True Christians believe the above. True churches are all inclusive. They reach out to all members of society irrespective of their lifestyle, colour race or creed.
Jesus came to this earth for everyone.
Years ago one of my pastors outside of our church put this sign up.
“This church for Sinners Only. All are welcome.” 
The Pharisees asked Jesus disciples,
“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” 
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 
                 Matthew 9:11-13.
There are sadly many church congregations out there that will never reach a lot of the lost simply because they are not inclusive. They cater to the saved or those who think the same as they do. This should not be so.
A true Christian will sit down and talk to anyone who will engage in an open and honest dialogue with them.
The mark of a true Christian is one who

" ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  

This is the first and greatest commandment.  

And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

On this can rest the eternal resting place of the people we as Christians meet.
Think about it.

Jesus on Taxes

Jesus On Taxes

“Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words.  
They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.  
Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?  
Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius,  
and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” 
“Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” 
When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.” 
                                                                                         Matthew 22:15-22.
Here the Pharisees strong Jewish nationalist normally opposed to the Herodians who pro Roman enlist their aid to trap Jesus. They said,
“Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 
The trap was simple if Jesus said no the Herodians would report him to the Roman authorities and Jesus could have been arrested.
If he said yes, the Pharisees could denounce Jesus as being pro Roman and thus an enemy of the Jews.
Jesus realizing this gave a novel answer.
 “Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius,  
and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” 
“Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” 
One commentator Kenneth L Barker a commentator writing in the Zondervan NIV Study Bible copyright 2002 states,
“Denarius. The common Roman coin of that day  On one side was the portrait of Emperor Tiberius and on the other the inscription in Latin: “Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of the divine Augustus.” The coin was issued by Tiberius and was used for paying tax to him....
In distinguishing clearly between Caesar and God, Jesus also protested against the false and idolatrous claims made on the coins...”
We today as Christians need today to have that balance. To render unto our earthly governments what is theirs, taxes and such. While at the same time we must give to God what is rightfully his.
Think about it.

The Feast

The feast

"Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:  
“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.  
He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. 
“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ 
“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business.  
The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.  
The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 
“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.  
Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’  
So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.  "‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. 
“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 
“For many are invited, but few are chosen.” 
                                           Matthew 22:1-14

This parable notes several things.
First the King (God) sends out invitations to heaven. First of all to invited guests who refused to come.
Since they refused the Kings judgement is passed on them.
Secondly he sends his servants out to the streets to invite people to the banquet.
One report I read said that it was the custom for the host to provide wedding garments. However one person did not avail himself of the garments thus the King told his servants to throw him into the darkness.
I believe the interpretation is simple.
Many people are invited to heaven to sit at the marriage supper of the lamb but these people must first of all want to come.  If they refuse to do so God’s judgement is passed on them.
Secondly when they come they must be willing to put on the wedding clothes. New garments casting their old clothes aside.
In other words abide by the word of God. Turn from their old life. And live the life Jesus wishes us to live as Christians.
God does not choose people arbitrarily to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He gives everyone a choice and sets the rules as to how they are to behave.
True we are saved by faith but James makes it clear our faith without works is dead, when he writes,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder....
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.  
                                                                     James 2:14-19,26.
In order to get to heaven we must act both in faith and deed. The writer of 2 Chronicles saying,
“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
                     2 Chronicles 7:14.
Think about it.  

New Tenants


“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey.  
When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. 
“The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.  
Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.  
Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. 
“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’  
So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 
“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 
“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” 
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’ ? 
“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.  
He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” 
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them.  
They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet. 
Matthew 21:33-46
Here Jesus uses a simple parable to illustrate for the people of his day what was to happen and has happened as we know today.
Matthew records,
“When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them.
They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.”
Jesus came to give salvation to the Jews first. They knew the one true living God. Therefor it was only right that God would send his One and Only Son to the Jews first.
That being said the religious leadership refused to recognize who Jesus was although it is evident from what is said here the people held that he was at least a prophet.
John writes,
“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” 
                                   John 1:10-13.
Had the Jews and particularly the Jewish religious leadership accepted Jesus in the first place the church would have started from there however they rejected Jesus and with the help of the Roman governor, a gentile, had him put to death.
They completely rejected the teachings of Jesus.
I believe it was God’s intentions from the beginning of the world to take the news of Salvation through faith to all the world.
Unfortunately the Jew did not do it. Thus Jesus was sent. He in turn sent his apostles who started a movement that to date has reached 2.2 billion (2,200,000,000) people in every part of the world.
God did not just love the Jews although they were and are his chosen people and I firmly believe that nations and individuals will be judged in part by how they treat God’s chosen people.
Still it is the Christians that have taken the love of God to all nations.
History records that by the end of the second century the church was almost entirely made up of none Jews.
It is only in recent times  that a concerted effort has been launched by Christians to reach God’s chosen people the Jews with the news that Jesus is indeed the suffering Messiah mentioned in Isaiah. And that he will one day return to his people as a conquering messiah.
Think about it.

Two Sons

Two sons

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 
“ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 
“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. 
“Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.  
For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.” 
               Matthew 21:28-32.
Here’s a simple parable directed at the religious leaders of the day.
John the Baptist came to these leaders to show them the way of righteousness yet they didn’t believe him. These leaders did not recognize their sins and thus failed to repent.
He went to the tax collectors and prostitutes and they recognized their sins and repented.
It’s the same in the church today. God is speaking to the religious leaders in our churches. Everyone from the Televangelist to the media pastors to the man and woman in the pews and on the streets.
God is calling them to repentance and many of those who call themselves Christian leaders are not repenting.
All the while the average person in the pew. The person on the street who truly get the message of Christ’s saving grace are repenting.
It is to the those Church leaders who fail to repent. Who fail to look at the sin in their own life that Jesus will say “I never knew you.”
Matthew recording,
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ 
                                                                                               Matthew 7:22,23.
Think about it.

In Memorial

In Memorial

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.  
On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” 
                                                             Romans 12:18-21

I thought this appropriate, as today is Memorial Day in the United States. A time when they honour those who have served and are serving in their armed forces.
Someone asked me back in November around Remembrance Day (November 11th) when Canada honours its fallen soldiers, is it right for us as Christians to honour our soldiers.
My simple answer is yes.
Over the past number of years my pastor has asked me to prepare a brief slide show of remembrance for our fallen soldier that is presented at our church on Remembrance day.
It is a memorial to those who not only have fallen but those who have served and are serving in our armed forces.
I believe we must honour those who choose to put themselves in harms way to uphold our freedoms.
Whether we like to admit it or not the soldiers of the western nations have always been their for us amid the darkest days of history.
Western nations particularly in the twentieth century and into this new century have been bastions of freedom where our faith has been able to grow and prosper.
All true Christians want to do if we are honest is to as the Apostle Paul said,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.  
On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” 
We wish to follow the commission given to us by Jesus who said,
“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
What Jesus is telling us as Christians is to present what he has taught us to the individual person and let them make the decision for themselves.
Sadly in many nations we cannot do that.
Kelly James Clark writing in the world post states,
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that Christianity is "the most persecuted religion in the world." Although met with predictable criticism, Rupert Short's recent research report for Civitas UK confirms Merkel's claim -- we may not want to hear it, but Christianity is in peril, like no other religion. While this is a contest no one wants to win, Short shows that "Christians are targeted more than any other body of believers." Short is the author of the recently published Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack. He is concerned that "200 million Christians (10 percent of the global total) are socially disadvantaged, harassed or actively oppressed for their beliefs."
It is because of the statistics above 200,000,000 Christians under attack and many of them dying for their faith, that we need a strong military to protect that most precious gift freedom.
So today take time to pray for those men and women who have served and are serving in the military. That we may have the freedoms we enjoy.
Please don’t think about it DO IT.

The Authority of Jesus

The Authority of Jesus

“Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?” 
Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.  
John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?” They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’  
But if we say, ‘From men’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 
So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” 
                         Matthew 21:23-27.

Here the chief priests and elders questioned the authority of Jesus to teach. It was just another incident in a series of traps the religious leaders were laying for Jesus.  Jesus did not fall for it.
Today people while respecting Jesus as a good man are still asking the by what authority did Jesus come.
The early apostles had no doubt by who’s authority Jesus spoke. Peter is recorded as staying,
     “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.  
This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.  
But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.  
David said about him: “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, 
because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 
You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’ 
“Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.  
But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.  
Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.  
God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact
Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.  
For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ’ 
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 
                                   Acts 2:22-36
Think about it.

A Lesson

A Lesson

“Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry.  
Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. 
When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked. 
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.  
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” 
                                                                 Matthew 21:18-21.
Here is an example of what scholars call Matthew compressing events. In Mark chapter eleven the cursing of the fig tree takes place over Monday and Tuesday. In Matthew it’s seems to be instantaneous.
How long it took however doesn’t matter the lesson here is one of faith. Jesus says,
“I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.  
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
All believers in Christ have faith. It’s through our faith that we are saved.
The disciples had faith. They believed Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. They had faith I believe like most Christians in great quantity.
Here Jesus however is talking about the depth of our faith however. There’s a difference.
Jesus says “if you have faith and do not doubt.”
I believe we all doubt despite what we think.
It’s that doubt that sometimes stops things from happening when we pray and act in faith. At times also we pray for the wrong thing.
Some people have said to me Jesus says, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” 
We must remember it is important for us to pray for the will of God to be done. Jesus states in the Lords prayer, when telling us how to pray, pray,
“your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
                                                                                       Matthew 6:10.
God knows what is best for us.
When I was diagnosed with cancer the doctor was surprised I didn’t get upset. I simply said I’m in God’s hands. My wife said the same thing.
We believed God would direct me to the right doctors at the right time.
It’s just the way we’ve started to think in the almost forty years we’ve known the Lord.
God did direct my path. I got an excellent surgeon who caught it all in time.
     Then thirty-seven days later when I was rushed to hospital with what the doctor said was huge blood clots on my lungs and groin, side effects of the cancer surgery, the right doctors were there for me.
My church was I know praying for me during the eight days I was in hospital and I had a chance to witness to people I met in hospital.
Honestly I’d never intended to witness, but while in hospital I followed my normal routine of reading morning devotionals, and the bible.
The fact that I had a bible next to my bed sparked discussion from people that came into the room.
It was a hard time in my life at one point my life was in the balance but God brought me through it pain and all.
Now I’m not super spiritual in any way I’m just a simple Christian trying to do what God wants me to do.
I like anyone have doubts, and fears from time to time but I’ve learned to pray and put my trust in God.
I honestly don’t see great miracles happening in my life. But I do see the hand of God in the little things and that’s what strengthens my faith.
I also remember the teachings of Jesus when I pray who instructed his disciples and through them us, how to pray saying,  

“This, then, is how you should pray:

 “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 

your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

Give us today our daily bread. 

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.’  

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. 

Matthew 6:9-15

Think about it.

Jesus in the Temple

Jesus in the Temple

“Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.  
“It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’’” 
The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.  
But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. 
“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “ ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’ ?” 
And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.” 
                                                                                                 Matthew 21:12-17.
Here Jesus shows his righteous anger in that he gets upset at those who were selling things in the temple, specifically the court of the gentiles. The only place gentiles could worship God within the temple itself.
There was a need for these people they sold doves and other animals to sacrifice in the temple, to people who’d travelled a great distance.
They also exchanged money to a currency acceptable to the temple authorities. These traders should have been near the temple not in the temple itself.
This is what Jesus got upset not the fact they were selling, but that it was being done in a place of worship.
Today especially in larger churches things are sold in the church. I think there has to be a line drawn with respect to the sanctity of the sanctuary.
The sanctuary is a place of worship and should be just for that. I know in the large church were my sons attend there is a book store set aside specifically for selling Christian things.
If there is a guest speaker and they have a book to sell they will set up a small table in the foyer of the church for that person.
Nothing however is sold in the sanctuary itself. That is for worship.
In small churches I know this can be a problem due to space. In our tiny church we don’t sell anything.
If a guest speaker comes with a book to sell it’s done at the very back of the church after the service when everything is completed.
If we do fund raisers they are done in the basement or outside of the church. No money changes hands in the sanctuary.
The sanctuary is to be a place of worship not profit taking.
The other part of this portion of scripture reads,
“The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.  
But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. 
“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “ ‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’ ?”
The Chief priests and the teachers of the law don’t seem to have been upset at him tossing out the merchants and the money changers. They were however it seems upset about what those Jesus had healed were saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David”.
Those people were giving praise to Jesus something that once again was bringing Jesus in conflict with the religious authorities.
Today we have people, non-believers in Jesus who wonder why we praise Him. They question that he is God.
All we as believers in Christ is to continue to worship and praise Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, while at the same time pointing the unbeliever to the Salvation that comes from Christ alone.
Think about it.

Jesus enters

Jesus enters

“As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,  
saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.  
If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” 
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 
“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ” 
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.  
They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.  
A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  
The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” 
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” 
“Hosanna in the highest!” 
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” 
The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
                                                                                                Matthew 21:1-11.
Here Jesus enters Jerusalem. He is at the height of his fame. The crowds welcome him as a king. But not as a conquering king as a king of peace.
He wasn’t commanding any army. He wasn’t threatening in any way the Jewish religious and political establishment. Nor was he threatening Rome.
He was fulfilling Zechariah 9:9
“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
Despite the fact that he wasn’t a threat to anyone in power at the time. The leadership of the Jews accused him of just that.
The Roman governor Pilot even recognized that Jesus had done no wrong. You only have to read the account of John 18:16 -19:16 to see that he did not perceive Jesus as a threat yet he finally washed his hands of the whole thing. Turning Jesus over to the enemies of Jesus to be crucified.
Today Christianity, true Christianity is not a threat to anyone. It is all inclusive. It is the way of peace.
We are told by Jesus not to judge people no matter who they are. We are told to obey the government. Even pay our taxes.
We are told to go into all the world and present the good news of salvation to all people whoever they may be. What ever lifestyle they may be living.
This is true Christianity. It is doing as Jesus did. He never precluded anyone from coming to him.
He sat with tax collectors, prostitutes, gentiles of all descriptions and people from all walks of life.
He came to this world to bring peace and rest to one’s soul.
We as Christians need to be doing the same.
Think about it.

A look at Jesus from outside the Bible

A look at Jesus from outside the Bible
I and most Christians who are talking about Jesus tend to quote a lot from the Bible. Here written below are the worlds of men from outside the bible ,who wrote what they believed about Jesus.
Even though early secular reports on Jesus may have been rare, there are still a few surviving references to Him. Not too surprisingly, the earliest non-Christian reports were made by the Jews. Flavius Josephus, who lived until 98 A.D., was a romanized Jewish historian. He wrote books on Jewish history for the Roman people. In his book, Jewish Antiquities, he made references to Jesus. In one reference he wrote:
“About this time arose Jesus, a wise man, who did good deeds and whose virtues were recognized. And many Jews and people of other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. However, those who became his disciples preached his doctrine. They related that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive. Perhaps he was the Messiah in connection with whom the prophets foretold wonders.” [Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, XVIII 3.2]
Julian the Apostate, Roman Emperor from 361-363 A.D. and one of the most gifted ancient adversaries to Christianity. In his work against Christianity wrote,
“Jesus…has now been celebrated about three hundred years having done nothing in his lifetime worthy of fame, unless anyone thinks it is a very great work to heal lame and blind people and exorcise demoniacs in the villages of Bethsaida and Bethany.”
But at the end of his life was forced to say:
“Thou has conquered, O Galilean!”
H. G. Wells, British writer, (1866-1946) wrote.
When asked which person left the most permanent impression on history, he replied that judging a person’s greatness by historical standards:
“By this test, Jesus stands first.”
“I am a historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very centre of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”
“Christ is the most unique person of history. No man can write a history of the human race without giving first and foremost place to the penniless teacher of Nazareth.”
Kenneth Scott Latourette, former President of American Historic Society
In A History of Christianity wrote,
“It is evidence of His importance, of the effect that He has had upon history and presumably, of the baffling mystery of His being that no other life ever lived on this planet has evoked so huge a volume of literature among so many people and languages, and that, far from ebbing, the flood continues to mount.”
“As the centuries pass by, the evidence is accumulating that measured by its effect on history, Jesus is the most influential life ever lived on this planet. The influence appears to be mounting.”
“No other life lived on this planet has so widely and deeply affected mankind.”
C.S. Lewis, writing in Mere Christianity states,
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” 
Finally the words of Jesus and some of the other apostles said of him,
“He was with God in the beginning. 
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  
In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” 
                                                         John 1:1-4
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
                   John 14:6.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 
                                       Matthew 11:28-30.
The decision is yours do you believe C. S. Lewis said it best when he wrote,
 “He (Jesus ) would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God,”
Think about it.

Would your pastor change diapers

Would your Pastor change diapers in the nursery?

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 
“What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” 
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. 
Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” 
When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.  
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,  
and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—  
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 
Matthew 20:20-28
Question, would your pastor changed dirty diapers in the nursery? Would you? Just how much of a servant are you?
Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be your slave”
Over the years I’ve met many people who want to be in positions of authority in the church and are disappointed when they are not given a chance.
At one church I attended when our children were small I took my then baby son into the nursery to see an man in his mid fifties in suit and tie helping changing a babies  very smelly diaper. In the process the baby peed wetting the mans jacket.
He finished changing the child removed his jacket and hung it up going on to tend to and play with the children.
Later in the week early one evening I seen the same man on his hands and knees weeding the flower beds around the church.
Being new to the church I didn’t know much about this man other than his name. Still the man impressed me with his willingness to do whatever needed to be done.
It wasn’t until a few weeks later at a church business meeting that I was introduced to him formally.
He turned out to be one of the church board members and a vice president of a major Canadian bank.
The man was very humble and liked to help out were he could, nothing was beneath him.
This is the kind of thing Jesus is saying here in Matthew 20:20-28.
We as Christians need to realize that we are servants not only of God but of our fellow believers and of our fellow man.
We are servants of the most high God and therefor have a duty to take His word to the world around us with a humble heart.
Luke records Jesus as saying,
“Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest.” 
                         Luke 9:48.
I believe we cannot truly reach people for Christ without being humble.
In order to reach people successfully we need to humble ourselves and present the gospel message in an unoffensive way. A way that shows the love and mercy of God.
Someone who fails to do this will not reach people for Christ.
We as Christians need to look at our lives and see if it lines up with what Christ wants for us.
Remember Jesus said,
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” 
                                     Matthew 11:29.
Jesus was a very humble person. In his time on this earth he reached thousands of people. And the movement he started has reached the world.
It did not do this by being proud and puffed up. It did it through love and humbleness of spirit.
Which is what we as Christians need to show to the whole world.
It is only when we truly humble ourselves as Christ did that we can even approach greatness.
Think about.

A Prediction of His Death

A Predication of his death.

“Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” 
Matthew 20: 17-19.

Here Jesus predicts his death, by being turned over to the gentiles, flogged and crucified.
Jesus was not killed by the Jews.
Had that happened he would have been stoned to death. Which was the method of capital punishment used by the Jews.
Jesus was killed by the Romans.
Over the years many ignorant people have accused the Jews of crucifying Christ. This is far from the truth.
It’s interesting to note that Jesus the saviour of all mankind was persecuted by representatives of all mankind.
The Jews who rejected him as their Messiah. The Romans, representative of the gentile world, who mocked him and did he actual persecution.
The political leadership. The Jewish leadership who seen him as a threat to their authority.
The Roman leadership. Who found no wrong deserving of death in him yet out of political expediency ordered his crucifixion.
Even his disciples, those who did believe him deserted him.
All can be said to have a part in the persecution and death of Jesus.
It was death that had to be.
It showed in human terms how far God would go to reconcile man to himself.
The important thing to remember in all of this is that Jesus rose from the dead and not only do the Christian scriptures say this but so do external records out of the control of Christians,
Flavius Josephus, who lived until 98 A.D., was a romanized Jewish historian. He wrote books on Jewish history for the Roman people. In his book, Jewish Antiquities, he made references to Jesus. In one reference he wrote:
"About this time arose Jesus, a wise man, who did good deeds and whose virtues were recognized. And many Jews and people of other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. However, those who became his disciples preached his doctrine. They related that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive. Perhaps he was the Messiah in connection with whom the prophets foretold wonders." [Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, XVIII 3.2]
Think about it.

Your Wage

Your wage

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.  
He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 
“About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.  
He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’  
So they went. “He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing.  
About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ 
“ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ 
“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ 
“The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius.  
So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.  
When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.  
‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ 
“But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?  
Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” 
                                                       Matthew 20:1-16.
What did you expect when you started to serve the Lord? Did you expect that after twenty, thirty, forty, sixty years of service to the Lord to get a greater reward than someone who has only worked a year or less?
Here Jesus makes it clear that we will all receive the same for our service to God.
We serve God because we choose to. We should never serve God expecting a reward of anykind.
All Jesus offers us for all our service no matter how long or short is a place in Heaven, eternal life. That’s all.
I am convinced on that day when people stand before God that there will be those as Jesus points out in the above parable that will grumble.
That will feel because they served the Lord for many, many years they deserve more than others who have just received started to work for Christ.
On that day Jesus will point out it is all about my mercy and love for you that you are saved. Not by your works. Paul said it best,
“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.” 
                                                                 Ephesians 2:8,9.
I believe to anyone who grumbles about what they will receive when we meet him, He will say. Your faith has saved you be thankful.
Think about it.

Of Needles, Camels, Rich men and Heaven

Of Needles, Camels, Rich men and Heaven


"Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life ?” 
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” 
“Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’’” 
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. 
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 
Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” 
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.  
But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. 
Matthew 19:16-30

Here we have a rich young man that comes to Jesus and asks how to inherit eternal life.
Jesus knew this man believed in God so he says,
“‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’’” 
Note these are laws that deal with one’s relationship with one’s fellow man. The Talmud states,
“When a man appears before the Throne of Judgment, the first question he is asked is not, “Have you believed in God?”  Or “Have you prayed and observed the ritual?  “He is asked: “have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?”
This is essentially what Jesus is saying.
The man replies that he has done this all his life. So Jesus tests his faith. He says
“If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 
He wants to see where the man’s faith truly is.
It’s easy to have faith if you lack nothing. If you have plenty of money and possessions.
It’s much harder if you have nothing and have to rely on God for your day to day existence. That takes true faith.
Jesus said,
“I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 
It’s not that the rich can’t get to heaven. And there’s nothing wrong with being rich it’s all about where the person’s hart is.
Jesus said,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
                                                               Matthew 6:19-21.
Jesus assures his disciples that those who follow him, who put their faith in him and give up everything will be rewarded he states,
“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”  
Matthew 19:29
Please note Jesus is not referring to things in this life necessarily. There are many in the name it claim it crowd that would say by following Jesus we will become rich in this world. These verses do not mean this.
They refer to rewards in heaven.
Jesus also goes on to say,
“But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” 
                                                                                                       Matthew 19:30.
Think about it.

Mental Health and the Christian My story

Mental Health and Christians, My Story

I’m writing this because I feel it needs to be written, especially to those in the Christian evangelical, Pentecostal/Charismatic church.
You see I live with Bipolar Affective disorder a very real mental illness.
Over the years I’ve had many things said to me about it from people within the church who perhaps should have known better.
On one occasion I was told “mental illness is not real, people who say they have it need to get themselves together, pull themselves up by their boot straps and get on with life.”
On another occasion I had a man very sincerely tell me Mental illness is demon possession and I need to step down from my position in the church and have the pastor and board pray for me.
How very sad. Is it any wonder people within the church who have mental illness of any kind stay in the closet and shun treatment.
The people that said those harsh words to me fortunately are in the minority. Still especially in the church where one should expect love and understanding when it comes to mental illness there is, more so than in the secular world great stigma placed on people who have it.
They are considered weak morally and emotionally. Nothing could be further from the truth. These people have a very real illness equal to anyone with diabetes or cancer.
Let me tell you my story.
First the definition of Bipolar Affective disorder which is what I have,
“Bipolar disorder is characterized by alternating manic episodes in which the individual feels abnormally euphoric, optimistic, and energetic and depressive periods in which the individual feels sad, hopeless, guilty, and sometimes suicidal. Manic or depressive periods may last for days, weeks, or months and run the spectrum from mild to severe. These episodes may be separated by periods of emotional stability in which the individual functions normally.”
For me my journey started as I headed home from work. I’d been working long hours and travelling over a hundred k one way to work. When suddenly without waring a fear of dread welled up inside of me, tears filled my eyes and I was forced to pull over to the side of the road.
When I gained enough of my equilibrium to go down to the next rest stop where I pulled into a far corner of the parking lot and cried for half an hour.
My doctor told me I was stressed out and to take time off work. Which I did going back just before Christmas.
Things went well then one night on my way to work in a snow storm, my car had spun out and my moods went out of control.
On that occasion my fathers house being nearest I’d pulled in and called in to work sick.
On that day my world shattered. Life would never be the same.
I went back to see my doctor the next day and it was then he suggested I see my first psychiatrist.
At the time I had a preconceived idea of psychiatrist that looked a lot like which doctors who prescribed happy pills.
Still I trusted my doctor and began fighting the dragon in my head.
My first psychiatrist was a strong believer in trying to change things by changing lifestyle and eating habits. But after a while he diagnosed me with Bipolar affective disorder and placed me on a low dose of Lithium the gold standard at the time.
Unfortunately he passed away as a result of cancer before I was stabilized and my care went briefly back to my family doctor. Who eventually got me in with my second Psychiatrist.
He agreed with the Bipolar diagnosis and started me on a trial and error treatment trying various combination of drugs. (There is no definitive test at this time for Bipolar, no single drug treatment that works for every one. Thus the need to try various combinations)
 Some worked briefly others had  side effects I couldn’t handle.
I at one point began to believe the words of William, Wordsworth who said
“We poets in our youth begin in gladness: but therefore come in the end to despondency and madness”
My second Psychiatrist got me reasonably stabilised then retired my treatment going back to my family doctor then to my current psychiatrist. An excellent doctor well versed in her pharmacology.
Someone who had worked with to help me through some very hard times.
That’s the key finding a good Psychologist that works with you and understands you.
Bipolar is like being in a storm a massive storm that billows all around you.
All you can do at times is to try and out run it but you never seem to be able too.
Another way to describe it is imagine you’re in a snow globe,  simultaneously you’re holding the snow globe and inside it.
You’re shaking it  in causing the storm rage all around you.
Intellectually you know you’re shaking it causing the storm but you’re powerless to stop it. So you continue with that storm pounding to the very roots of your inner psyche.
Another way of putting it is imagine your in a high powered sports car,  you’re flying down the road with the wind whipping your hair. The adrenaline rush is fantastic.
Then all of a sudden you stop and jump into a pool of mud up to your neck and just wallow their until you think you can’t take it any more.
Then without warning the cycle repeats.
For me and I think even for the processionals there are a lot of things that are not understood.  Goblins if you will in your mind.
Then in my case there’s the anxiety.  Anxiety is faceless androids that wander through your mind causing irrational fear. Trying to control your life.
But there is hope. For me, almost without me realizing it I put together a team consisting of my psychiatrist, my family doctor, my pastor and church family and equally important my wife and family.
All of whom are there for me when I need them.
My faith means a lot to me and I am convinced that it has saved me on many occasion from doing something stupid, because suicide at times has lurked in the back of my mind.
Jesus said,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 
                                         Matthew 11:28-30.
That statement is very true. In Christ I have found rest for my soul even I time of trouble.
Today I am on a magnificent journey. I still have some very bad days. But I’ve learned to live with the dragon because there is no cure at this time for the two headed dragon, that is Bipolar Affective disorder. You must learn to live with it and control it.
To day I can for the most part fully function. But I take things one day sometimes one moment at a time.

Reinhold Niebuhr once wrote,

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time...

The key for me is not just the successful cocktail of medications I’m on which is absolutely necessary. But it’s also my faith.
Through all the highs and lows I’ve gone through with this illness I firmly believe God has been there for me giving me reassurance and hope in what at times has been a very darkened world.
To the Christian who is reading this, if you recognize the symptoms above  in your life talk to a health care professional. It never hurts.
In Canada all provincial health care systems cover Psychiatrist.
In Canada you can also go speak to the Canadian Mental Health association who can steer you in the right direction if you have any doubts.
Please remember Mental Illness as real as diabetes or cancer. Don’t try to go it alone.
There is help. There is hope.

Our Children

Our Children

“Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  
When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.” 
Matthew 19:13-15

 “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  The words of Jesus.
As Christians our Children are our future. We need to bring them up in our faith. Proverbs states,
“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” 
                                                         Proverbs 22:6.
This proverb does not say hit your children over the head with your bible or bash them with your faith.
Over the years I’ve seen many children of Christian parents turn from Christianity and it can be directly related as to how the parents presented their faith.
One friend of ours was constantly correcting her children by quoting the Bible. Another refused to let there children watch anything but Christians things on television. They refused to let them watch anything that didn’t have a g rating. They were never allowed to go to the cinema. Star wars and Star trek were even suspect.
When they realized that we let our children watch the Simpsons on television that our children were free to watch non-Christian programming and horror of horrors, science shows on evolution, they were horrified.
We were criticized by them. Even though we explained that especially with programs like the Simpsons, we used them as a way to discuss things with our kids.
We home schooled our children as did the people who criticized us. The difference was we encouraged free thought.
Education and social responsibility were taught to me by my father and mother. My parents were socialist (not communist) dad and mom were members of the English Labour party for most of their lives.
They truly believed that we all have a moral responsibility to help our fellow man.
My father had seen the horrors of what man could do to man during world war two when he was among the liberators of Bergen-Belsen.
It strengthened his resolve to do whatever he could do even to better his fellow man.
He instilled his beliefs in his children.
From as young as I can remember we had discussions on politics, religion and social situations around our dinner table and, we particularly as we entered our teen years, were expected to add to the discussion. Further more our opinions were respected
It was because of what he taught me that led me to embrace Christianity.
 Jesus preached the importance of the individual. That God valued the life of the individual above all.
This is what I and my wife instilled in our children. We used everything from a trip to the bank, to Homer J. Simpson, to Stephen Hawkings a brief history of time, as well as many, many more things, and above all the Bible and God’s principles there in, to teach our children.
We were far from perfect when it come to our teaching but something worked. Today both my sons are very active in their church. I think they live there half the time.
My youngest now a carpenter goes off each year on short term mission trips to various countries around the world, to help build everything from schools and orphanages to even helping rebuild after hurricane Katrina.
Both are in love with God. Both still watch anything and everything on television although they don’t watch the Simpsons anymore, sorry Homer.
They still go to the movies and watch, Star Trek, Spiderman, and Star Wars.
My oldest son soon to be married is having a Star Wars stag and doe.
And somewhere amid all the activity we all sit down including my soon to be daughter in law, discuss the scriptures the state of Christianity and the state of our society both nationally and internationally.
Sadly many of the children of the friends that criticized us years ago are no longer serving the Lord. They’ve moved out of their parents home and don’t go to church.
My son’s are still in touch with some of them and witnesses when they gets a chance. But they are far from God.
I think it is imperative that we as Christian parents need to be careful how we present our faith to our children and indeed our grandchildren. We need to heed the words of Joshua Loth Liebman who wrote,
“Give your children unconditional love, a love that is not dependent on report cards, clean hands, or popularity.  Give your children a sense of your whole-hearted acceptance, acceptance of their human frailties as well as their abilities and virtues.  Give your children your permission to grow up to make their own lives independent of you.  Give them a sense of truth; make them aware of themselves as citizens of a universe in which there are many obstacles as well as fulfilments.  Bestow upon your child the blessings of your faith.  These are the laws of honouring your son and your daughter.  Out of these laws will be built the Declaration of Independence for the coming generation, a spiritual and emotional independence that, in turn, will make the world free, democratic, safe, creative.”  
Think about it.

Is it only a toothpaste tube?

Is it only a toothpaste tube

“When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan.  
Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 
Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” 
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’  and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ ?  
So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” 
“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” 
Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.  
I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.” 
The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.” 
Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.  
For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.” 
                      Matthew 19:1-12.
I know a couple who got divorced sighting irreconcilable differences. Later I was talking to the wife who told me very seriously, “I couldn’t stand the way that man left the toothpaste tube.”
They had known each other only six months prior to getting married and their marriage had lasted just under two years. They had found out that they were not at all compatible.  That their little quirks drove each other around the bend.
I think the problem was they entered into marriage too lightly which ultimately made divorce inevitable.
Now let me make things perfectly clear here. There are times when divorce is necessary.
Over the years I’ve heard pastors and evangelist make extreme statements everything from only a man can divorce his wife. The wife cannot divorce her husband, to Adultery is the only reason for divorce. They even quote the above passage Matthew 19:1-12.
THOSE WHO PREACH SUCH DOCTRINE ARE IN MY OPINION  WRONG.
We are in the twenty-first century and all credible scholars accept that first, divorce is a two way street. A woman can divorce her husband for just cause in the same way a man can divorce his wife, infidelity (adultery) and especially abuse are the two reasons that stand out in my mind.
All to many marriages these days are entered into far too lightly. Marriage should be a love relationship.
By love I don’t mean sexual. It has been my experience that marriages based on sexual attraction and fascination is doomed to fail.
When the fascination ends and you enter into a valley in your relationship or other trials come it will fall apart.
The Apostle Paul gives what I think is the ideal definition of Love when he writes,
“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....” 
         1 Corinthians 13:4-8a.
Paul writing to the Ephesians explains what I believe should happen in a marriage when he  writes,
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” 
Ephesians 5:25 
A husband should love, defend, and protect his wife to the point of giving up his own life.
Paul also makes it clear what it should be like in a marriage arrangement when he writes to the Corinthians,
"But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.  
The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.  The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.  
Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control." 
                              1 Corinthians 7:2-5.
No marriage is perfect. There will be big ups and downs from time to time. Times when you disagree and argue.
In the thirty-five years I’ve been married I know this is true but when I was dating my wife we read the above scriptures  believed them and evaluated our relationship with respect to them.
There was also one other scripture we read that makes perfect sense if you truly love your spouse it’s Paul writing to the Ephesians. He writes,
“In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,” 
                                                                                                        Ephesians 4:26.
My wife and I have practised this principle since before we were married and it works.
I know others who have read and practice the above principles and their marriages too are solid.
Still relationships from time to time do go wrong. But it is up to the husband and the wife as far as possible to work on their relationship.
To carefully examine themselves and their relationship with their spouse. Then ask the question is divorce really necessary.
Or is it only a toothpaste tube.
Think about it.