11am-5pm

Atheists have a belief - atheism. They may try to deny it, but they believe there is no God. Whatever you believe will become the start point for any of your thinking. If you believe that the earth is flat and if you travel too far you will fall off, you will not venture too far away from home. You will only go on a long 'risky' journey when you begin to doubt that belief. The greatest commandment given in the bible is to love God - and him as Lord. Augustine said 'Love God, and do what you will'. The theology is that when I love God, then I will do what God wants me to do - I could hardly say I love my wife and then do something she hates! So in relating to God I end up loving others. This is why 'the second commandment is like it'.

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 neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:34-40

If you don't believe in resurrection - an eternal life - you will probably be very concerned with protecting the one you have here on earth, after all, if there's a limit, then you've gotta make the most of it. If you are concerned with your life and 'making the most of it' you will be conservative with the truth in order to prevent yourself from getting into life threatening situations. After all the truth is hated by those who want to do evil.  Do you know the scriptures - the Old Testament or have you been talking to others and hearing what they say? Often we are too lazy to read for ourselves, we need somebody else to go and do the hard work. Problem is if God relates to each person individually, God of the living, how then would you ever know what God wants from you or for you?

That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question "Teacher," they said, "Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27 Finally, the woman died. Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?" Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead--have you not read what God said to you, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' ? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching. Matthew 22:23-33

Who owns you is the one who you serve. Oh, you aren't owned? Ok so then you can do whatever you want right? I doubt it. There are laws in your country that govern you - prevent you from doing certain things and encouraging you to do others. The government of your country incurs a payment from you for the upholding of these laws and for the functioning of the society. Policemen, teachers, street sweepers, politicians and firemen amongst others get their salary from these taxes. If you were free you would be at the top-of-the-pile, literally. There's only one who is the top of the pile, the only King to pay homage to, but he doesn't want money. Though some hate him and won't pay homage he has promised a day of reckoning - a balancing of accounts.

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

So often people invite me to their weddings and more often than not I say that I cannot come. I must have turned down about 4 in the past 3 years, all really special friends of mine, one of whom gets married next monrth. I know that if I accept the invitation I will have a wonderful time but I have so much else on my plate. Jesus says 'those I invited didn't deserve to come', but how is it that this is so, since they could've come but chose not to? They all had other things to do it seems. Jesus tells us that to come to the Kings wedding banquet is a reward, but for what, and how do you get it? From what I can read the reward is in accepting the invitation and nothing more. Perhaps the wedding ceremony is something more than just a get together. I wish I deserved to come to more weddings.

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