January 19, 2025

One of the things you will hear in an emergency is someone saying “somebody do something” often because of danger and or ability a situation can’t be easily remedied. I recall a time at a large warehouse fire that some people showed up and promptly began to panic we had to physically restrain them from entering the burning building. One young many in particular was in full blown melt down. It turns out the back of the building was being used for a dog sitting service. Known or unknown to him was that the front of the building was being used for growing large quantities of marijuana. 

Sometimes we can get away with a questionable situation with no consequences. However, its usually not worth taking that risk. This brings up a different use of the term phrase “do something”

When things are not right we should not wait around and let it go because sometimes we won’t get any time it will be too late before we try to act.

Maybe there is a sin we are struggling with and we say well later Ill figure this out. 

Maybe there is something we know we should do but we keep putting it off. Maybe we know someone who is in trouble and we think I need to talk to them and offer some help but we just don’t get around to it. It is a scary conversation after all.

Kevin Cleary

THE SIN OF DOING NOTHING AT ALL

He made no mistakes and took no wrong roads;

He never fumbled the ball;

He never went down beneath the load.

He simply did nothing at all.

He lost no hard fights in defense of the right;

He never bled with his back to the wall.

He never fell faint in his climb to the light;

He simply did nothing at all.

So death came nigh, for life slipped by,

And he feared for the Judgment Hall.

When they asked him why, he said with a sigh:

“I simply did nothing at all.”

So, God will pardon your blunders, my friend,

And regard with pity your fall.

But the one big sin that surely means Hell

Is simply to do nothing at all.

Anonymous

“Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin”

(James 4:17).

January 12, 2025

Who do you want to follow? Maybe you have a favourite author, a great mentor at work or a family member who has been a great example to you and who you try to emulate. 

We normally choose who we will follow based on their ability to achieve a result. 

In 1936 Dale Carnegie wrote the book “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” it has sold millions of copies. People bought it because Carnegie had been a very effective and successful salesman for Armour and Company.

 

If you go to the gym and want to find a personal trainer you won’t necessarily pick the trainer with the best knowledge of human anatomy and or sports nutrition you will likely pick the person who has the physique you want to achieve. Their results will be the thing that draws you to take their advice. Mark Rippetoe once said if you have never squatted 600 Lb how can you teach someone else to do it. 

When it comes to determining who we will model our lives after we might be tempted to pick a person who has achieved certain levels of earthly success and that is perfectly reasonable if we need to know or achieve something in their field or area of achievement. 

As Christians we have set our aim higher than earthly achievement. This is not to say we have no earthly goals or responsibilities it does however mean that we will be going to places that probably won’t feel like the best or most desirable. None the less Jesus says follow me:

I have no place to lay my head, Follow Me; 

I am despised and rejected ,Follow Me; 

I am humble and lowly of heart, Follow Me; 

I will do the will of the father, Follow Me; 

I will hurt for others sins, Follow Me; 

I will be a Servant to all, Follow Me; 

I am going to the sick and dying, Follow Me; 

I will preach good news, Follow Me; 

I will take the burdens of the weak, Follow Me; 

I will invite all men into my Kingdom, Follow Me; 

I will teach the ways of God, Follow Me; 

I will build my church, Follow Me; 

I will carry a cross, Follow Me; 

I will lose my life to gain others, Follow Me; 

I will rise from Death to life, Follow Me

~ Kevin Cleary

January 5, 2025

     The bible is one of the most read books in the world. According to Wikipedia Portions of it have been translated into more than 3500 languages. The whole bible has been translated into 750 languages. In addition the United Bible society reports that there are approximately 900 English translations of the Bible. Every year the Bible holds the top spot for copies sold at 100 million. A book only needs to sell a few thousand copies a week to be a best seller totally in the hundreds of thousands per year. The Bible exceeds this standard many times over and does so year after year. This also places it far ahead of any other book in all time sales a few highly popular books like “The Lord of the Rings” (a personal favourite) or “A Tale of Two Cities” have all time sales of 150 million. Again, these numbers of dwarfed by the 3.9 billion copies of the Bible sold over time. As these numbers reflect It is respected by many people for many reasons. Its words have considerable bearing on the worlds three largest religions Judaism Islam (with qualifications) and of course Christianity. It is widely regarded as the single most influential book in western civilization. 

     Given how much attention the bible receives both in North America and around the world it’s hard to understand how people who have so much exposure to the bible fail to heed it’s teaching. 

     However if we will give it a little thought it makes a lot of sense. Is there anyone who thinks smoking is a healthy choice? Is there anyone who thinks Drinking and driving is good and safe? Obviously people know better than to engage in these behaviours. That does not keep them from doing it. 

     Not to just pick on certain vices I am confident that we all have things that we know are not wise and yet we do them none the less. 

     This accounts for some of the challenge. However there are a few others things we might want to consider. 

     The second reason that people don’t follow the teaching of scripture is just that they don’t know what it is despite having spent some time reading it. We all know that just reading something over doesn’t mean we know much about it. Who hasn’t agreed to terms and conditions having only skimmed the pages provided. Some people approach the bible in a similar way.

     Even those who have read more carefully may not be emotionally mature enough to set aside personal opinions and biases. In almost twenty years of preaching I have had many people tell me they know what it says they just won’t do it. Further some will only take from scripture what they are wanting to find there. George Deholf once wrote that “the bible is written in such a way that if a man want’s to cavil he may”

     We will all struggle from time to time and need the grace of God but let’s make it our aim to approach God’s word with a deep desire for understanding and a strong commitment to obey it. 

Kevin Cleary

December 29, 2024

     One of the greatest blind spots among those who profess faith in Christ today is the subject of baptism. Consider a couple of examples: While writing about conversion one author specifically quoted Matt 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit…” Then went on to describe a Bible study in which a man “became a Christian while sitting right there at the table”. He quoted the man’s words as he prayed what the author described as the sinners prayer. Another book after saying those who accept the tenants of the book need to commit to follow the great commission goes on to describe how to become a Christian as follows: “ Admit, Repent, Believe, Receive, tell” (indicating tell a pastor what you’ve done). In a lengthy multiple session Bible study I engaged in for several months a gentlemen argued that clean conscience means forgiven but that appeal does not mean request in I Pet 3:21. This theological schizophrenia is so common in the religious world that even those who recognize that baptism is by immersion and for adults will say that it has nothing whatsoever to do with salvation. The prevalence of this position is one of the greatest success Satan has achieved in our time second only to the popular notion that religious truth is unknowable and therefor totally subjective. Rather than a long discussion of the historical and theological reasons for the current state of affairs I will simply list and respond to the most common objections to baptism for forgiveness of sins.

     The most common objection to baptism being necessary to salvation is that salvation is by faith alone and not of works. This objection contains two major misunderstandings. First is an understanding of faith which excludes any and all action. Biblical faith includes action consider Hebrews 11 notice that great faith in every single example included action also see James 2:14-26; Galatians 5:6. The second misunderstanding involves the idea that anything we do in response to God constitutes earning God’s blessings (works). We don’t apply this kind of thinking to anything else. Imagine someone upon receiving money via email saying that because they had to open the email they earned the funds.

     The next major objection to baptism is one that does not openly address the issue but tries to skirt it by suggesting that salvation is not an event but a process. It’s true that there may be a process of growing and learning that takes place before a person commits themselves to God. However in the words of F. LaGard Smith “If the conversion process is a wondrous divine gestation process, baptism is a definitive, womb departing point of birth”. Simply consider any conversion recorded in scripture and the idea that salvation is a process become foolishness, consider: Acts 2:38; Acts 8:36-38; Acts 22:16; Col 2:12-13 just to list a few.

     Another objection often raised relates not to any specific scripture or line of reasoning rather to numbers and emotion. The objection is this: “what about all the people who aren’t baptized?” Maybe the questioner has specific people in mind maybe it’s just general. There are two important things to consider first if you have a loved one friend or neighbour who doesn’t know what the Bible says about salvation why haven’t you told them? The second is that what people believe about a thing has no bearing on its truthfulness. A large number of people don’t believe in heaven should we then abandon faith in it as well? Back when most people thought the world was flat did that make it so? The fact that there are people in the world who have been misled misinformed or just haven’t studied means only that we need to get busy sharing the gospel.

Let’s pray that God provides us with the opportunity to share the truth about salvation with all men far and wide especially here in Barrie.

~ Kevin Clearly

December 22, 2024

Truth is the greatest gift if you have opportunity give this list to someone you love

• The World around you is temporary but you are eternal

o I Peter 3:10 “The heavens will pass away”

o Ecclesiastes 12:7 “The spirit will return to God who gave it.”

o II Corinthians 4:18 “For the things that are seen are transient but the things that are unseen are eternal”

• God created you to live in relationship with Him

o Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image in the image of God he created him male and female he created them”

• Because God is perfect and Holy he can’t be in relationship with imperfection, evil or sin. All humans are imperfect and have sin.

o I Peter 1:16 “be Holy for I am Holy”

o Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

• Jesus lived to reveal God to us, He died to reconcile us to God, and He rose to lead the way to God.

o John 1:14-18 “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory… No one has ever seen God; the only God who is at the fathers side he has made him known”

o Rom 5:8-10 “while we were still sinners Christ died for us… we were reconciled to God by the death of his son”

o I Corinthians 15:20 “Christ has been raised from the dead the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”

o I Corinthians 15:52 “in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet… the dead will be raised imperishable”

• God will not force you to be with Him, He provided the way through Jesus but you must choose to take it.

o John 14:6 “I am the way the truth and the live no one comes to the father except through me”

o Romans 6:17 “But thanks be to God that you who were once slaves to sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.”

o Mark 16:15-16 “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

o Acts 2:37 “What shall we do? Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”

• Jesus is coming back to end history, at that time all humanity will face Him and give account.

o John 14:2-3 “I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself that where I am you may be also”

o John 14:6 “I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father except through me”

o II Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ”

• We must all decide how we will respond to God who sent Jesus to restore our relationship with him. He won’t force us but He does urge us and call us to come back to Him through Christ, to live with Him now and for eternity.

~ Kevin Cleary