Truth

 

Truth or tradition

Many people believe according to the tradition they have been born into. My studies of world religions proves that.

Some select one tradition over another. Few are willing to ask the question:

“What is the truth?”

Truth about things is like science trying to discover the world we live in.

Truth about people is often gained by reading history. For this education is very useful.

Truth about God seems interesting to most people, but the bias of childhood is very strong.

            To break out of ritual, reciting, indoctrination often involves harsh family treatment. The fear of the unknown, the loss of financial stability, the disfavour of a spouse and the perplexity of where to search creates fear. So many recoil into their traditional upbringing.

 

Seeking the truth :

Th answer is not so complicated  - Look, Read, Speak

Look at the world God has made. The wonder of nature causes us to think about the greatness of the creator. Example – who deigned the human eye? Who wrote the DNA code?

Read books – many books create confusion, so start with a book that historically and morally describes God connecting with humans- the Bible

Speak – listening to and speaking to God actually works. He is not some mute idol or far away deity. He is not far away from anyone of us.

So take time out to think, to read, ponder, and be challenged by the Bible. Ponder John chapter 14, verse 6 – the disclosure of Jesus Christ:

“I am the way the TRUTH and the life”

Truth then appears, not in a religion, ritual, or church. Truth is in a person you can know today.

Enquiries welcome and Bibles free  johnmckee@internode.on.net

Opportunity

 

The privilege of a Christian

-         To be a worshiper of the true and living God

-         To be a follower of Jesus Christ the Lord

-          To be a subject (citizen) in the kingdom of God’s dear Son

-            To be a servant in the promotion of Jesus Name

-              To be a brother or sister to those in His family.

-                To be a herald of His Gospel

-                  To be a conduit of truth in this dark world.

Listening to the voice of Jesus

 

The challenge of scripture to me this morning:

“No one lights a lamp and then hides it under a basket. Instead, it is put on a lampstand to give light to all  who enter the room.”  (Luke 11:33)

And again : “ You completely forgot about justice and the love of God….. you should not leave undone the more important things.”   (Luke 11:42)

“Lord grant me the help needed to shine for You today.”

Jesus Christ - dead or alive

 

Did Jesus really die?

Why is it that millions of people refuse to believe  that Jesus died and rose again?

The evidence that He did die is abundant:

The prophet Isaiah wrote 700 years before it happened that the Messiah (Christ) would die  - Isaiah 53:8. Also Daniel 9:26, Zechariah 12:10.

The historian Josephus records that Jesus was killed by the governor Pilate.

The writers of the New Testament  all wrote of the actual death of Jesus Christ as factual, historical and spiritual reality. To assert (as many do) that Jesus didn’t die, is to say that Peter, John, Matthew, Luke, Paul etc were liars. The ancient manuscripts from east and west attest to the same.

More than the historical record, the death of Jesus Christ is the foundation that makes true Christianity meaningful.

By His sacrifice, millions enjoy forgiveness if sins.

 By His death, millions have been reconciled to God and live in the joy of knowing God as Father.

  By His selfless love in dying for His friends, many are inspired to be self sacrificing for others.

 

Why then do so many refuse to believe that He actually died?

1.    One sentence in a doubtful book says so.

2.    It is humiliating to feel the need of Jesus to die for our wrong doing.

3.    A crucified leader is not a victory for the human ego.

4.    A dead Jesus needs the miracle of resurrection for Him to have any future

5.    A resurrected Jesus would validate the claim that He was and is the Son of God

“Lord have mercy on the millions that deny HIM this honour – that He died according to the command of God (John10), raised again by the glory of the Father (Romans 6:4), to be to Saviour and Sovereign of the world. (1 Corinthians 15:25).”

 

jrmckee149@gmail.com

The Bible

 

Reading the Bible

Many, many people are afraid to read the Bible, and for many reasons.

For those who choose to read it, but find it a daunting project, let me give some advice.

It is a library of books, not one long narrative.

It is written in various forms – History, law, songs, prophecy, biography, instruction.

It is best to read from the Old section along with reading from the New Testament as the old is explained by the new.

The song/poetry books in the centre give helpful insight into the varying experience of life. They can lift the despondent soul to heights of praise.

Many of the prophecies seem irrelevant to us, but hidden in them are significant statements about Jesus (like Isaiah 53).

Those who read the Bible to understand everything will be frustrated. Those who read it to criticise it will miss the blessing. Those who read it to justify themselves and to teach others can be marred by conceit. But those who let the Bible speak for itself , then the Holy Spirit will bring blessings eternal.

 

If you are finding the Bible boring, I suggest you double check if you are really a child of God with the Holy Spirit leading you in knowing God. If you are unsure, seek the Lord God today. Turn away from sin, self and the world to find forgiveness, peace and eternal life through Jesus Christ the Lord. His promises have been proven true:

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31)

“You heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, and you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit”  (Ephesians 1:13)

The Bible will become a joy to read (sometimes humiliating). A book of praise to cheer each day. The guide of life to walk with Christ. The hope for tomorrow derived from the great and precious promises. The assurance of peace with God for eternity.

 

If you do not have a Bible, I have spares to distribute.

johnmckee@internode.on.net

The greater need

 

Our lesson at school today comes from the Bible book of Matthew,

chapter 9.

The incident of a paralyzed man highlights the greater need – physical wellbeing or spiritual peace with God.  And then it identifies Jesus as having authority to cure both problems because He was and is the Son of God.

“I will prove that I the Son of Man, have the authority on earth to forgive sins.”

Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said:

“Stand up, take up your mat and go home, because you are healed.”

Without medicine, Jesus could reverse the brokenness of the physical problem. Without reference to anyone else, Jesus could forgive the man’s spiritual problem – the problem of sin that disconnects people from God.

Indeed, who is this man who can still the storm, heal the sick, raise the dead and declare the guilty forgiven?”

“If you will confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord (the Lord from heaven),

And believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead,

You will be saved.”   (Romans 10.9)

He can be trusted to keep His promise.

johnmckee@internode.on.net

Jesus Christ as Lord

 

The words of the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 6 have humiliated me. Then to make the final point He says “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, when you won’t obey me?” (Luke 6:46).

He exposes the hypocrisy of hollow words and the final destruction of sham profession.

We may theorise, teach, explain away or ignore the teachings of the Lord, but He insists that in the final count down, it is obeying His word that will be as solid rock.

And those who build their lives on anything else will finally be a house in a heap of ruins.

How fitting that the Apostle Paul says : ”Let the words of Christ dwell in you richly.” (Colossians 3:16)

The Lord Jesus Christ calls for genuine commitment, for unfailing faith in Him and love that expressive of the love of God the Father.

johnmckee@internode.on.net