R EPENT AND B ELIEVE.

FOR THE K INGDOM OF G OD, IS AT HAND.

R EPENTANCE.

"And so John came, baptising in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. "Mk Ch 1 Vs 4.

Those, were the days. When men thought nothing of their own lives, if they could only bring one sinner to repentance. Why? Because of their love for God, and God’s love for all mankind.

God has always called upon mankind to repent. Man has always gone his own way, unheeding.

Many people have never heard the word repent! Therefore, they do not know what it means. It means, to feel deep sorrow about one’s actions, to wish that the wrong we have done had never happened; and to know we will, by the grace of God, never do it again.

Often, we feel this deep regret about something we have said, or done, but we let the chance of repentance slip by. We bury our regret deep in our mind, but it is born as a grudge in the soul, of the person we have hurt.

We desperately need to repent, of all our wrong doings. Then we need to ask God, for forgiveness. This, in turn will give us the courage, to ask the offended ones to forgive us, cleansing our hearts, and preventing an unforgiving spirit, being born in the heart of those we have offended.

Without God’s grace, it is impossible for us to bring about a good result, from a bad action.

"Therefore this is what the Lord God says, "if you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy not worthless words, you will be my spokesman.

I will save you from the hands of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel" Jeremiah, Ch. 15 v 19.

I love the word redeemed. This is what we become when we repent and are forgiven. Until that time, we are unrepentant, unredeemed sinners.

We may say, that we have done nothing, to qualify for that title. But sin is sin!

In Romans chapter 3 v 10 – 18. St Paul quotes this. " As it is written,

" There is no one righteous, not even one;

There is no one, who understands,

No one who seeks God.

All have turned away,

They have together become worthless;

There is no-one who does good

Not even one."

" Their throats are open graves;

Their tongues practise deceit,"

" The poison of vipers is on their lips."

" Their mouths are full of cursing and

bitterness."

" Their feet are swift to shed blood;

Ruin and misery mark their ways,

And the way of peace they do not know."

" There is no fear of God before their eyes."

The whole world is accountable to God, for what it does and what it fails to do that it should. These verses from Romans, are a terrible indictment, from God on the world, even today, it is as true as it ever was. It speaks of a world where people have no conscience, before God, no respect for him; and no fear of him.

It is dangerous, to have no fear of God. We may even say it does not apply to us, but God will be the judge of that, when the time is right. One thing we can be sure of, there is not a soul on earth that does not need to repent, for we are all sinners.

Another thing we are called upon to do is to forgive anyone, who comes to us, repenting.

Jesus said, "if your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says "I repent." Forgive him." Luke ch17 v3-5.

Jesus, tells us we must not only listen to his word, we must also do as he says. He has paid the price, for your sin and mine, for those who have sinned against us, and for those we have sinned against.

God, sent Jesus, into the world to save us, By his blood, we are redeemed. Jesus advocates, constant forgiveness; for repentant sinners.

Once, when Jesus attended a banquet given by Levi, there was present a large number of tax collectors, and other, "sinners". The religious teachers and the Pharisees complained about him to his disciples. Our Lord, knowing the heart of every man, answered them.

He said, " it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Luke Ch 5 v31to 32.

Sometimes, we are hurt most, by the very people we love most. We may find it easier to forgive them, but a measure of trust has been lost, and cannot be replaced by us. Jesus, loves God, so much that when he sent him into the world to save us, he did not hesitate or complain, Our Lord, did not say, " if I forgive them today, they will only do it again so why bother?" Nor did he look at us with loathing because we caused him to be separated from the God, and Father he loved. No! He loves us with the same love. This is why, even as he suffered on the cross; he cried out "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." Those who put him to death, were sinners, and he forgave them.

Jesus told his disciples, " This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning with the Jews. Luke Ch 24 Vs 46- 49.

To forgive, or not forgive that is the question? We cannot have repentance without forgiveness. They go hand in hand all the way to God. When God forgives us, he casts our sin out of sight, and remembers it no more, and he loves us no less.

In John chapter seventeen, Jesus prays for all believers, after he has prayed for his disciples. He prayed thus.

" My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." John Ch 17vs 20 –24.

B ELIEVE

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" Jesus said, " the time has come, the Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news." Mark Ch 1 v 15.

What good news? Is it good news to all people? Of course it is, even though many people, sadly, do not want to believe.

They cannot see God, they cannot touch God, and they cannot manipulate God to their own advantage in any way, so they do not want to know! In fact, they only believe when they are looking for someone to blame for the disasters that beset them, because you can neither praise, nor blame, someone you do not believe in.

Many people adopt the attitude, that as they cannot see any direct benefit, from believing what Jesus, tells us, there is no point in changing their lifestyle. But Jesus came to bring us the good news, of redemption, and salvation, and he did back up his words, with actions!

The father of a young man possessed by a deaf, mute spirit.; came to ask Jesus for help. Jesus told the man, that everything is possible, if you believe. The man was quick to reply," I do believe help me overcome my unbelief."

What, does he believe? He has tried all ways to get his son cured, he had heard of the miracles that Jesus had performed, he believes that Jesus, can cure his son.

What is it he does not believe? Is it that Jesus had cured many people, all more worthy than his son? Was he afraid that there was some sin in his past, which prevented his son from receiving healing? Who knows what fears presented themselves to him when he came face to face with the Son of almighty God.

This man believed in God, he was a Jew and as such would have been brought up in fear and awe of God. Over the years of his child’s life, he had prayed many times for his son to be cured, and had probably come to the conclusion, that the blame for his son’s condition was laid squarely on his shoulders

Let us take a closer look at the man’s story in more detail.

" When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

" What were you arguing with them about." He asked.

A man in the crowd answered, " teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground, he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."

" O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, " how long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."

So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

Jesus asked the boy’s father, " how long has he been like this?"

" From childhood," he answered. It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."

" If you can?" said Jesus, " everything is possible for him who believes."

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, " I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" Mark Ch 9 Vs 14 – 24.

I, can imagine Jesus smiling, as he said "if you can?" with the emphasis on the "if". You can almost feel the man’s desperate love for his son, as ha heard the tone of Jesus’ voice, which said " of course I can, if you believe I can."

So, the man suddenly cried out, " I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief."

How surprised, he was to hear himself say that. But he knew, in an instant, that he had to repent of his unbelief for his son, to be healed, he did; and his son was healed.

He needed our Lord’s help to overcome his traditional religion, his fear of being thrown out of the synagogue; his fear of being ostracised by his friends and family. He knew he would have to change his way of life, and make a more life changing commitment, than that of just looking after his son.

St Paul says this. " We have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distant the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

The God of this age has blinded minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." 2 Cor Ch 4 Vs 2-4.

Unbelief, will be the undoing of many. Those who say, " I have never seen a miracle," are blind. Those who say, " I have never heard God speak," are deaf. Each sunrise is a miracle, each birdsong is a lullaby from God.

When we become believers, the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within us. Through his Spirit, God gives us the grace and faith to believe in him, and to know Jesus his Son.

We learn to trust in God, through Jesus, because he is the word of God, made flesh. He knows our every thought and action, he is able to show us how to avoid sin, and when we need to repent, because he will, convince us of all our faults, and he will, on hearing our confession of wrong doing forgive us.

How many times will he forgive us? As many times as we repent. How many times must we forgive? Well I will let Jesus tell you that himself, as the priority here is to believe what Our Lord tells us, and to act upon it.

" Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, " Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"

Jesus answered, "I tell you not seven times, but seventy seven times." Matt Ch 18 Vs 21 - 22.

Think of each sin we commit, as a debt we owe to God. Every day it gets greater, we have no way of paying that debt, and we have not much time. We cannot in one lifetime earn our freedom from debt. What do we do?

" Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

The servant fell on his knees before him. " Be patient with me," he begged, " and I will pay back everything." The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.

But when the servant went out, he found one of his fellow-servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. "Pay back what you owe me!" he demanded.

His fellow -servant fell to his knees and begged him, " be patient with me, and I will pay you back."

But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown in prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

Then the master called the servant in. " You wicked servant," he said "I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow-servant just as I had on you? In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, till he should pay back all he owed.

This is how my Heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." Matt Ch 18 vs21-35.

What scares me about this portion of scripture, is the latter part [verse 34 to be tortured, till he should pay back all he owed]

No-one can pay their debts in prison. So I guess that unmerciful man is still being tortured. Our debt to God, is a debt we could never pay. But Jesus paid our debt for us, only if you believe.

What must we believe? But this, that Jesus was crucified for our sin. He died and was buried and on the third day he rose from the dead and is alive for evermore, seated at the right hand of God; ever making intercession for us. Salvation is ours in Christ Jesus if we are obedient to God’s word. Eternity goes on forever, our life span is but a thought in the mind of God. If we keep our heart set on Jesus, we will enter into his rest. If we let our heart drift away through deceitfulness?

In Hebrews, St Paul says, "See to it brothers that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence, we had at first." Heb Ch 3 Vs 12-14.

When we first believe, it is a wonderful, thrilling experience. God opens up our soul to let in his wondrous, heavenly light, the light which chases away all the darkness sin has held us in for so long. It is a once in a lifetime experience, sometimes the thrill of it fades, but the wonder, and the light are with us forever, However there are always those among us who are weak, who think that because the first feelings have become fainter, that it was not a real experience at all. Sin, is waiting for those who waver and doubt. It is up to the strong to encourage the weaker ones while their faith is growing. Sin will make the weak rebellious; it will encourage them to turn away from God. It will deceive them, if they let it.

St Paul says, " who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief." Heb Ch 3 Vs 16-19.

Jesus is both merciful, and faithful. He gave his very life to save us, his blood is the price of atonement for our sin. He wants to help us through our most difficult times. He will help us through our unbelief, just as he did the man whose son was possessed by an evil spirit.

If we let our doubt s lead us into unbelief, we have nothing to look forward to but the ungodly darkness of a lost eternity.

Pardon! Did I forget to mention the good news? Well the good news is that no matter how vile we are; the moment we believe, we are pardoned, we are redeemed, cleaned up and presented to God by Jesus, as a gift of love.

O praise the Lord. You who are redeemed for evermore! The kingdom of God is near you, how near?

" But what does it say? The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, " Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God, raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth you confess and are saved." Rom 10 vs8-10.

FOR THE K INGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND.

"Jesus said, " as you go, preach this message: " the kingdom of heaven is near." Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received freely give." Matt 10 vs7-8.

Where are we going that we can preach the message Jesus has given us?

What have we been freely given, that gives us the authority, and power to do the things Jesus has listed?

What is it that we must freely give to others?

We are going on a walk with God, hand in hand, from here to eternity right into his kingdom, His love, and faith are the things we must pass on.

Faith cannot be bought, it is a free gift from God, and Jesus has told us that all things are possible to those who believe. Faith is something we cannot keep for ourselves, it shines in our lives. We have been given it, without measure; and without cost to ourselves. The giver, the King of heaven, has paid the price. Although it is not transferable, it filters through to others by our actions.

How will we use our gifts, if we ever do? It takes only a grain of faith the size of a mustard seed, so how small is our faith?

In Romans1 v 6, St Paul said, " and you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ."

There is something so lovely, so comforting about those words, they make one feel homesick for heaven.

"When Jesus was arrested, and brought before Pilate, Pilate asked him, " are you the king of the Jews?"

" Is that your idea," Jesus asked, " or did others talk to you about me?"

" Am I a Jew," Pilate replied. " it was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?"

Jesus said, "my kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now is my kingdom from another place."

" You are a king then!" said Pilate.

Jesus answered, " you are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." John Ch 18 Vs 33-37.

Let us consider Jesus for a moment, and what he suffered to gain us entry into the kingdom of God. Jesus was with God, before the world was made. He shared the glory of heaven with his Father and is the only one who has been to heaven. Jesus became a man, so that he could taste death, for all men. He came willingly, and he died willingly.

Although salvation is free to all that believe, we too must give up our lives to follow him. The kingdom of God does not swallow us up in one gulp, no, it takes time. We have to die to our old selves, to become new. Our old selves have had it their own way for a very long time. It will not give up without a struggle. Where will we get the strength to fight for our freedom from self? From the Holy Spirit of God, where else?

It will be a battle, your body versus the Holy Spirit, but love conquers all. We must never be afraid, the Holy Spirit will be loving you around the clock guarding you against all evil.

Romans eight, verses twenty-six and twenty seven, St Paul says this. "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will."

One of our greatest failings before God, is self-doubt. We feel we could never do any of the things Jesus asks, why? Because we fumble in our worship. We believe that God can do all things because he created all things. If we stop for a moment, and think of just one living creature, we will be amazed. So awesome is the creative power of our God.

What God has done, he can undo, and do again. There are no two things on this earth that are exactly the same. We can trust ourselves, totally, into his care.

In his parables, Jesus teaches us the worthlessness of worldly goods.

In the parables, " the hidden treasure and the pearl" Jesus said this.

" The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

" Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

In the parable of the net, Jesus said, "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like the net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth," Matt 13 vs44-52.

The kingdom of God has no place for worldly things. We are required to lay aside, all earthly goods, in order to put God in his rightful place, which is; first and foremost in our lives. We must never parade our worldly achievements before God and expect a pat on the back for our worldly endeavour.

At the end of the age, when the angels come to separate the wicked from the righteous, those who preferred the riches of this world, before the riches of heaven, will be put in their place.

God, does not want us to roam the streets in abject poverty, he wants us to share what we have with the less fortunate. He wants us to bring glory and honour to his name. He wants us to be as generous to others as he has been to us, we are to be his shining example of God’s love for all mankind: in the hope that when we enter the kingdom of God, we will have shown others the way.

Imagine how it would be, if we could see the kingdom of heaven, suspended in the sky; just high enough, so that we could not reach it. Imagine also that it had a ladder made of clouds that we had to climb, in faith to get to it, and for all that fell off, a lake of fire waited below.

I am sure our eagerness to believe would increase a hundredfold. But Jesus does not tell us much about his kingdom in heaven. We need to get the earthly things right first. What he does tell us, he tells us in parables.

" To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: " two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: God, I thank you that I am not like other men- robbers evildoers, adulterers- or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.

But the tax collector stood at a distance, he would not even look up to heaven, but he beat his breast and said, " God have mercy on me, a sinner."

I tell you that this man rather than the other went home justified before God. For everyone that exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

No amount of money or gold can get a place in heaven, but a penitent soul will always be welcome. Each one of the parables Jesus told had a meaning of its own. He often said " he who has ears to hear let him hear."

I, when I was a child, thought those words referred to people; who were not deaf.

It did not mean that of course, I think, it means that if you are tuned in to what Jesus is saying, you will understand the parables. Some are self explanatory, others we need to think about.

Let us take one of the easy ones, the parable of the yeast. " He told them still another parable: " the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough." Matt 13 Vs 33.

Yeast is a living organism, a sort of fungus. It is used to ferment things like wine, beer, and bread. Once it has been mixed with flour, it works until it has permeated the whole batch. It raises the dough, enlarging it to perhaps three times its original size.

The flour, unable to grow without the yeast is relatively useless. Just as we are without God. When we come to Jesus, he places within us the word, we hear the word and act upon it; as our faith, and knowledge of God grows, we want more of his word, more of him who gave us the word, Jesus. So the kingdom of heaven grows in us, the glory of Christ within us.

" Once having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, " the kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, " here it is," or " there it is," because the kingdom of God is within you. Luke 17 Vs 20-22.

Is there a greater gift than the kingdom of God? I think not! Once we feel part of it, there is no substitute feeling available. It is the most wonderful feeling in eternity. But we must be loving and obedient children for God.

" What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, "Son, go today and work in the vineyard."

" I will not" he answered, but later changed his mind and went.

Then the father went to the other and said the same thing. He said "I will sir," but he did not go.

Which of these two did what his father wanted?"

" The first," they answered.

Jesus said " I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came 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." Matt 21 Vs 28-32.

Strange isn’t it, that people of poor repute; are rarely given any credibility when it comes to the important issues of life, and in this case eternal life.

Those poor chief priests, how they loved their authority over the people. How they must have cringed inside to hear Our Lord say, prostitutes were getting into heaven before them, and unless they repented and believed they themselves would never get there.

He is saying the same to us today. No matter how good and kind we are, if we do not believe we, will never get to the kingdom of heaven either.

I sometimes wonder if we might have become too academic for our own good. Full of false information, fed to us by the education we receive; which teaches us to be self sufficient in this world, and not worry about the next. Looking upon Christ, as theoretical, rather than real, and the Kingdom of God as irrelevant.

When Jesus was twelve years old, he went to Jerusalem for the Passover. When his parents left, unknown to them he stayed behind. When they eventually missed him, they returned to find him in the temple.

" After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers." Luke 2 Vs 46-47.

Jesus was intent on learning about one thing, the kingdom of God. And he is just as determined that we should learn about it too. We will be able to make an informed choice, if we listen to what he tells us and believe it.

In Matthews Gospel, Jesus said, "do not worry, saying, " what shall we eat?" or " what shall we drink?" or " what shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matt Ch 6 Vs 31 – 34.

One of the first things you learn when you come to the Lord is not to worry. We can cast our burdens at the foot of the cross in prayer, and Jesus, will relieve us of that burden. Nothing, is as bad as it seemed to be, before, we told the Lord all about it.

He has the power to do all the things we ask, and a lot more beside. He knows what we have need of, but we must get our priorities right, and our first priority is, to seek God’s kingdom.

Freely, Jesus died. That we may inherit the kingdom of God with him. Freely, we must accept it, with all the faith of a little child, who walks hand in hand with the Father, knowing beyond doubt; that the Father can be trusted, absolutely!

  Written By E Weston2002©copyright.

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FINAL WARNINGS.

" R EPENT OR P ERISH."

" Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Gallilean’s whose blood Pilate had mixed with his sacrifices.

Jesus answered, " do you think that those Gallilean’s were worse sinners than all the other Gallilean’s because they suffered this way? I tell you no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them – do you think they were more guilty than others living in Jerusalem? I tell you no! But unless you repent you too will all perish."

Then he told them this parable, " a man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, " for three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig – tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?"

" Sir, the man replied, " leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilise it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down." Luke 13-vs 1-8.

So we are told by the Lord of heaven himself, that sudden, violent death; does not happen only to wicked people. It can happen to anyone. We are all on borrowed time, the fig –tree was given one year’s reprieve to bear fruit, or be cut down.

It is time to repent of our unbelief, how many of us are on our last chance? We are being fertilised by the word of God, we must bear fruit, for Jesus to present as a gift to God

How many of us are unrepentant, fruitless, and suddenly about to be cut down.

"B ELIEVE OR BE C ONDEMNED."

" 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. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son." Jn 3 16 – 18.

How sad, could anything be worse than losing all the compassion, and mercy of heaven, and stand before God condemned? Only guilty people are condemned. How many will cry out, and say "I did no harm to anyone?" or " I did not know it was compulsory, that I had to believe?"

Believe or be condemned, that is the choice we are given.

If we believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit will be our guide.

John chapter 14 verse 26-27, Jesus says, " but the councillor, the holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

If we do not believe, we are guilty by our own choice; of rejecting the love, compassion and mercy of God’s only Son. We make his sacrifice for our sin to no effect.

St Paul said in a letter to the Hebrews, " we must pay careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will." Hebrews 2 Vs 1 –4.

The choice is ultimately ours. God has offered us all that love can give. What shall we do believe or be condemned?

LORD I BELIEVE HELP THOU MY UNBELIEF.

" FOR THE K INGDOM OF GOD, IS AT HAND."

How near is the kingdom of God? It is within us. When we repent and believe we become one with the kingdom of God, and something wonderful happens to us. Listen to what Jesus says.

" Now there was a man of the Pharisees called Nicodemas, a member of the ruling Jewish council. He came to Jesus at night and said, " Rabbi, I know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no-one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

in reply Jesus declared, " I tell you the truth, no-one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

" How can a man be born again when he is old?" Nicodemas asked, " surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!"

Jesus answered, " I tell you the truth, no-one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, " you must be born again." The wind blows wherever it pleases. You can hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

To be born again with a new heart, a new mind and a right spirit within us. To love everyone with the love of God, to see the beauty of creation as God sees it. To taste and touch and feel with God’s blessing on our every word and deed.

To live with all the negative things in our lives removed. All the old feelings of frustration, fear and hatred gone forever as we bask in the peace and love of God, through Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to become one with him, he in us, we in him and all one in God our heavenly Father. Wow! I’m for that, how about you?

TheEnd.

Written By E Weston2002©copyright.