Category: Life and Living

Things To Ponder

Are You Saved?

Has anyone ever said to you – “Are you saved?” People often ask that question. Many puffed up by their own self-righteousness will say “I am glad I am not in the world” – meaning they are not living a Godless life as they believe others are doing. Others will say “I am saved” – but are they really saved?

My take on this issue may be a little controversial but I believe that if it was up to man to decide whether or not they are saved from the wrath of hell there would be no need for Christ to return to judge mankind. There would be no need for a day of reckoning.

Many idea of Christianity is getting baptized and attending church religiously. In their minds as long as they love God and serve him that is enough. It is no wonder that so many fail the greatest test of all – that of loving one another. We declare we love a God that we cannot see and hate the people around us that we can see. Even his words have no bearing on us because Christ said “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Many ignore and neglect the poor in their church communities while the pastors grow rich. They refuse the beggar a dollar while giving pastors hundreds. Pastors often justify the fact that they live in million dollar homes by saying it is God’s desire for them to have wealth. But didn’t He say ‘By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made? I do not believe it is God’s will for man to have wealth by acquiring money in His name and then using it for personal enrichment.

There are pastors who own private planes which cost millions of dollars their excuse is the need to travel in order to spread the word of God. Show me a ministry whose purpose is not just teaching the word of God but using the money they collect in the name of God to help others and there you will see a ministry that is actually doing the will of God.

Let us try to do his will so we are not left standing at the gates and hear the words depart from me for I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. We must change our focus from giving to those who already have and instead help  those in need.

What we must question is not whether or not we are saved but rather have we done enough to enter the Kingdom of God.

Things to Ponder

Ants


Image credit Wikipedia.org

Ants are tiny creatures but amazingly they have the ability to move things more than ten times their size.
How are they able to do this? The answer is simple, they work together in unity.
They are industrious workers who will try relentlessly until they get the job done.
If you look at an ant hill you will realize how organized these creatures are.
Be careful not to disturb that anthill because it is not one ant that you will have to deal with.
They will all attack.  We humans can learn something about unity from these little ants.

War V Peace

War creates deaths and destruction,
Peace creates unity among nations.
War gives rise to oppression, fear and division,
Peace creates an atmosphere where people can live together as one.
War shows no mercy, there is no respect for life,
Peace creates harmony and a life free from strife.
Those who choose peace choose life.

Be Thankful

We sometimes get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. We worry about paying the bills and trying to make ends meet. We complain about the price of commodities and the fact that wages are low. We are dissatisfied with our jobs and our economic situation and we often do not realize how fortunate we are.

If we should stop for a moment and turn our focus to the plight of people in other regions of the world we would understand that we very fortunate.

Millions are living in areas where there is constant warfare and heavy artillery fire is the order of the day. Innocent civilians, men, women and children go through each day wondering, will I survive to see tomorrow? At night the sound of heavy high powered weapons of destruction keep them awake and they wonder, will I live to see tomorrow?

Whilst some are facing war there are others who are battling diseases. The Ebola outbreak in parts of Africa presents a serious health crisis. There is no cure and over 1700 people are believed to be infected. There are more than 900 deaths so far.

We are fortunate that we are in the regions that we are so let us be grateful and give thanks. While we give thanks let us remember to pray for those in the war and disease stricken regions.

Woman Dismembered

 

From time to time we hear of horrific crimes and it often boggles the mind that such atrocities take place. Coming face to face with such a reality and find that your loved one is the victim is often heartrending. There are those who have to deal with this horror knowing that their loved one is never coming back and that their lives will never be the same again.

The family of Chinelle Latoya Browne is one of those who has to deal with the horror of losing a loved one in a most gruesome manner. This Guyanese mother of four came to America in search of a better life for her family. However she met an untimely death. She was dismembered and her body scattered across Long Island.

The alleged perpetrator is another woman who the victim allegedly had an argument with over rent and utility. She was arrested and is currently held without bail. We often ask the question, what is wrong with the world?  But as the singer said, there is nothing wrong with the world it’s the people in it.

Man Dies

The death of this man could have been avoided had there been less use of force. He was not aggressive and during the entire conversation all he was asking was that they leave him alone. Even if they had to arrest him there was not reason to take him down and pin him to the ground. He kept saying I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, but no one listened. Now a family is in mourning and six children are without a father.  The police in their effort  to uphold the law must be careful not to become overzealous and end up doing more harm than good.

Malyasian Plane Shot Down

 

It is very unfortunate that so may people needlessly lost their lives when Malaysian flight MH 17 was shot out of the sky.   A Russian missile is suspected to be at the root of this catastrophe.  Two hundred and eighty-three passengers and 15 crew members lost their lives as a result.  In a world torn by strife and war the innocent continue to fall victims.  The question people of all nation must ask is what good can we achieve by killing one another?  World peace is very important in order to preserve lives. War is not the answer the bloodshed need to stop.

Life

Image credit www.favhdimages.com

“Life is a bowl of cherries. Some cherries are rotten while others are good; its your job to throw out the rotten ones and forget about them while you enjoy eating the ones that are good! There are two kinds of people: those who choose to throw out the good cherries and wallow in all the rotten ones, and those who choose to throw out all the rotten ones and savor all the good ones.”
― C. JoyBell C.

The Sun Will Shine

Image credit www.desktopaper.com

 

Dark clouds will not stay forever,
No matter how grey the sky may appear.
Dark clouds may linger but they will not last,
The sun will shine brightly removing all doubt.
A new dawn is coming, it fills the world with
new light.
A rainbow stretches forth across the blue sky,
A colorful canopy of blessings divine.
It serves as a reminder
that when the dark clouds vanish
the sun will still shine.

Patience

They say patience is a virtue and it is a wonderful thing to have. In life we sometimes come upon some trying times and we need patience in order to get by. Patience is important when things do not happen as quickly as we plan. Things happen in due season and there are some that we just cannot rush along.  When we encounter roadblocks in some situations all we can do is have patience. God has everything all planned and we cannot force His hands. Whatever is meant for us will happen all in due time but until it does we have to learn patience.