#No such thing as once saved always save if you willfully sin

[wecanbeperfect]

[dustydahlin]

Worship - Getting Started

In this series, I will be discussing the basics of Christian life and practice. Specifically, I will discuss what is the spiritual discipline of worship, and I will present one of the best ways to get started with worship. If you are new the Christian life, or you want to develop a more full spiritual life in Christ, this session of Getting Started will guide you through one of the best ways to learn how to worship God in a way that will not only seek to glorify God but also move your heart along the path toward greater spiritual formation. This is one example of worshiping that will help you better enjoy a deep relationship with Christ.

{Sponsor}

This is series is brought to you by "Militant Thankfulness: An Essential Practice to Experiencing a Full Spiritual Life." (Find out more at www.militantthankfulness.com)

 Disclaimer: The Bible teaches worship in two different categories: 1) praise and song and 2) service. In this session, I will only be dealing with the spiritual discipline of worship as it pertains to praise and song. For more on service-based worship, you can go to this video after this session of Getting Started.

  What is worship:

Worship, in its most simple explanation, can be defined as "an outward expression of an inward reality" (Unknown). In other words, we praise and worship God according to the love, the gratitude, the adoration, and the worth our hearts ascribe to God. Worship and praise are to be given to God from a place of sincere appreciation for all that he has done, is doing, and will do for us. True worship comes from a heart that overflows with gratefulness to our Savior. This is worship.

 So now, you may be asking, how does this connect to the realm of spiritual formation? It connects in how Paul was inspired to write about worship in Eph. 5:18-20 and  Col. 3: 15-17. This is what he says, "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Col. 3:15-16).

 This little passage (and the Eph. 5 passage) is incredible in how it describes the ministry of worship in the expression of praise and song. It describes praise/worship as being a "teaching" ministry. Both in the corporate setting and the private setting, worshiping God with "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" is intended to instruct the heart of the believer. Not only does our praise delight and glorify God, but its secondary purpose is to teach, instruct, encourage, and challenge the heart of Christians. This is why praise, as a form of worship, is so powerful to the spiritual growth and formation of the Christian.

 {Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God - Recommended by Dusty)

Why is it important to the Christian life:

Worship is so important to the Christian life because, when it is offered to God from a sincere heart, it glorifies him. And secondly, it is important because the believer is always in need of hearing from the Lord and being taught and instructed by him.

 Every time we worship God through praise and song, we must allow the truth behind the lyrics to teach and instruct our hearts (Col. 3:15-16). This can be accomplished either corporately or privately. Just like we would with the instruction/teaching of a sermon, we need to allow the glories of God presented in songs of praise to minister to our souls. In other words, sometimes the most powerful way to receive (or participate in) the ministry of worship is to reverently, and silently, receive the truth about God by listening. Since worship is a teaching ministry, sometimes we simply need to stop talking, stop singing, stop just repeating the lyrics, stop mindlessly following along with the PowerPoint, and listen to the beautiful and glorious truths about God presented in our "songs, hymns, and spiritual songs."

 In other instances, it can be equally powerful to sing the praises back to God. Again, worship is a teaching and admonishment ministry. When we sing back our praises to God, we need to do so prayerfully. We should consider our recitation of praises to be a form of either prayer, confession, or adoration. When we sing songs of praise back to God, it should also be done as a means of instruction - it is to remind the heart of the goodness of God. In short, the truth behind the praises should edify, instruct, and teach the soul. When we sing, may it be done as a prayerful reminder of who God is and of all he has done for us.

 Whether listening reverently or singing prayerfully, we must allow praise and worship to be received in such a way as to be taught, encouraged, or moved by God. As a spiritual discipline, our praises should inform the heart.

 { Worship: The Reason We Were Created - Recommended by Dusty)

Worship is teaching ministry to the believer. This is true especially if we want it to have its full effect. If we consider praise and worship to be merely the mechanical regurgitation of lyrics and melodies to God, it is empty and useless. However, if we engage the act of praise and worship with a hunger for the Lord, the Holy Spirit will use it to minister to our souls. How incredible is that!

  Getting Started:

So how does one get started with praise and worship? How can we posture the heart before God, in worship, so that he may be most glorified and that I may be more spiritually formed? Here is what I would recommend if you want to utilize praise and worship as a spiritual discipline to access the grace for growth that God has made available to us.

 (The following example can be applied to both private and corporates settings.) 

 Worship, as expressed through songs of praise, should always be offered prayerfully as an expression of our adoration, gratitude, and love for God. As a spiritual discipline, the following example will combine the principles of biblical meditation and contemplative prayer. This will better assist in allowing the ministry of worship to teach and instruct your heart. Here is what you will do to get started with worship.

  1) To begin your time of worship, I recommend starting with prayer and silence. 

To practice this, you will select a song, hymn, or spiritual song of your choice. (For this example, I will be using "Alive" by Big Daddy Weave). When selecting a song of praise, I recommend you only select a song that is God-centered and God glorifying. 

You will also select a quiet place and quiet time in your day for this exercise. 

 2) Once you select a quiet place, you will turn on the worship music of your choice. 

While the worship plays, you will prayerfully listen to the lyrics of the song. The objective is to listen to the biblical truth behind the lyrics and allow it to minister to you. 

You will use the biblical truths contained in the song to usher your mind (and heart) to the throne-room of God. You will begin listening specifically with the intent of prayerful reflection. 

 3) Intentional reflection and prayer.

For example, this song of praise continues as follows:

"I was dead in my transgressions

Wandering in sin

I went searching for redemption

Down a road that had no end

I was walking through the fire

I was living on the run

With my flesh lost in desire

I was drowning in the flood…"

As the words are being sung, you will use the words as the launchpad for your reflection and prayer: 

you will think about how you were "dead in your transgressions" and sin. You will think about how you found no salvation, hope, or fulfillment on your own. You "searched for redemption" and how you were unable to obtain it by your own power, intellect, or strength. You will silently thank God for all that he has done for you. Thank him for how he loved you enough to save you. Praise the Lord for how, even while you were lost, he found you…

 4) You will continue this practice for the entire song. 

Repeat the process of prayerful reflection throughout your time of worship. 

Be intentional to reflect and pray as often as the worship inspires you. For example, the song continues:

"But God, rich in mercy

You came to save me

Now I'm alive

My God, strong and mighty

You reached down for me

So I could rise…"

You will reflect upon God's incredible mercy toward you. You will think about how "he came to save you." Consider the magnitude of what it meant for God to humble himself, put on flesh, and live a life of servitude, and willfully die as the perfect atoning sacrifice for your sins. Reflect upon how - because of all that Jesus Christ did - you freely made alive to God. The Almighty extended his hand of mercy and fellowship to you and offered you the invitation to receive life, righteousness, and hope. You will allow this reflection to inspire you to silently offer prayers of gratitude and thanks to God… 

  This is how I would encourage you to learn to develop the spiritual discipline of worship. As you practice these steps to learn the art of worshiping God through songs of praise, you will find yourself more actively engaging in a relationship with God, and you will discover greater and greater experiences with God. Worship is a great way to better enjoy and experience a full spiritual life in Christ. Remember, I believe the Bible should not just be known - it should be experienced. It is one thing to know that God's word prescribes worship as a spiritual discipline for the Christian life, but it is another put it into practice so you can actively engage God in relationship

[faithful-is-he]

Have you, in any way, managed to share the Gospel message of Christ Jesus’ saving grace to them whom you consider dear and close to your heart?

Those around you who have a concept of a God of Creation but do not really bother to seek the Heavenly Father’s will?

Those whom you’ve shared  a  fragment  of your  life with while in your  unregenerate  state, but now that you’ve experienced God’s gift of salvation and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit,  you  don’t spend as much time with no matter the reason?

Those whom you’ve known from a long way back, prior to the accomplishments,  degrees and appended initials alongside your names?

Do you pray that they may know Jesus in an intimate and personal manner and receive Him as their Lord and personal Saviour?

Today, I am reminded of them.. 

Today, I am reminded to pray for them, and reach out. 

Friends usher friends to heaven.  

“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”  (James 4:14).    

Many a times, I take for granted that day by day, in God’s loving and tender mercies, He grants me with new chances to encounter Him, through the people He put in my life and the environment He designed me to be in at a given moment. 

Today, I am reminded that my friends need Christ Jesus as their Saviour, and my heart is terribly aching for them. I don’t want them to die not knowing they are accountable to God one day, should they waste their lives doing their own thing, pursuing their own will, subscribing to the idea that Christianity is but a fool’s uninformed worldview.   “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

Looking back, I can’t help feeling grateful when I ponder on the fact that God in His loving kindness saved me at a time where skepticism and doubts and bitterness pervaded my thinking. It is only by His grace that I am saved. He can do that for my friends, too,  but I should be doing my part.  

To you, my brother and sister who is reading this, don’t be that one Christian friend in your circle who failed to do his part in proclaiming Jesus’ work on Calvary’s cross to pay for the penalty of ALL man’s sins. Share that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The simple message of salvation and way to heaven rests on this elemental truth-- ”Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Him” (John 14:6).  

Without one admitting his sinfulness before God, without one genuinely repenting from his sin and without him turning toward God and accepting Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, he cannot attain a truly delightful and fulfilling life. He simply lives a purposeless and senseless existence, devolved from the view of  the bliss of eternity, here and now (qualitatively). He misses out on the promise that someday in heaven, we can get to spend our lives in the presence of  our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, our Blessed Hope (Titus 2:13), praising Him and  ever satisfied in Him. After all, our earthly lives are ephemeral, but our souls eternal.

If one chooses to harden his heart concerning this truth, or in an unlikely circumstance, failed to hear the salvation message from those around him or events in His life that revealed God at work, what a sad and heart-wrenching reality that is for that person! My heart aches deeply for him. 

Instead of a life free from the bondage of sin and thirst to sin, one is doomed to live a life with a clouded view of what truly is essential. It isn’t wealth, riches, fame and accomplishments. I do not mean that they are bad in and of themselves. Such just don’t count as much with eternity in view.   “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). 

Instead of the promises and the joy of communing with God daily, one is doomed to a sentence in the unquenchable punishment in hell someday with the Father of this world  Satan, the deceiver of many.   “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world”  (1 John 2:16).   

Instead of a life so transformed and mightily used by God, if one chooses to willfully deny that Jesus Christ indeed is God and Lord of all, that He saves regardless of how unforgivable our sins may seem humanly speaking, one is carrying the burden he need not carry. 

There will always be a void, an emptiness, a longing within the human soul to find peace. I am speaking as a person so damaged by sin, rebellion and unrest.  (Aren’t we all?)

Let it be known that the “Prince of Peace”, “the Counsellor”, “the mighty God”, “the  Everlasting Father” (Isaiah 9:6) is still into the business of saving lives, and offering peace for our weary souls. He says lovingly, 

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

I beg you, my brother and sister in the Lord, share God’s love for the whole of mankind. Share it with your friends, lovingly. Let them see how Jesus Christ  offers forgiveness, peace and life eternal that cannot be taken away from them who received Him gladly in their hearts.  “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12).

Friends usher friends to heaven. 

You know this to be true. I know this to be true. 

Let us do our part in fulfilling the great commission out of love, for the souls of those whom God consider precious-- enough that He let His Son shed his blood and die, an unblemished, blameless and perfect sacrifice to atone for the penalty of the whole of the wicked world, us included. 

Let us share the message that “God commendeth His love towards in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Share the Good News of God’s free gift of salvation by His grace, and pray for them that are yet without the eternal life in Christ Jesus.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. “ (Psalm 126:5).

Friends usher friends to heaven.  Have you, in any way, managed to share the Gospel message of Christ Jesus’ saving grace to them whom you consider dear and close to your heart? Let us. 

[sunshinewhale]

selfish

pairing: kihyun x reader   pov: unnamed reader, kihyun-centric, second person

genre: angst, duh   words: ~1200

notes: formerly dated 0313. supposed to be a one-off, title-less, re-read it and it turned into a fic. there’s going to be a sequel.

Kihyun remembers how he came to love you.

He had found you, wandering lost but willfully alone from the life of a crowd. Sadness dripped from your eyes like glittering shards of promises never kept, and something touched by your rawness ignited in his blood because he had never seen such damaged soul. You were a dimming light, but stubborn, flickering, shining so desperately in a relentless struggle to stay alit. 

You were so different compared to him, truly from worlds apart. He was born to be a star, his entire being was made to be unconditionally admired across all boundaries. Easy confidence thrummed in his blood, he exhaled self-worth and pride never failed to follow in his steps. You were a puzzle crafted from second-guessing and faithless hopes, and he thrived to be the gold medal winner who would complete your picture whole.

He remembers bringing you into his late nights and early mornings. To him, you were a constant solace, a safe haven within a home. You were comfort that he could ease off the sharp edges of his ego, and he found himself all too readily leaving parts of himself in your hands. You were good for him, and in turn, he thought he was good for you, a rock that held you in place, bandages for your invisible wounds, a miracle cure to your sorrow illness.

Maybe, he was already in over his head. Maybe, for once, he was too confident for his own good.

“Be careful with her,” Hyungwon had warned him, his words spidery and sullenly soft, “she��s injured at heart.”

Kihyun remembers hearing unsaid wisdom in the heaviness of his voice, and he hated that the younger man read others so easily yet remained an unreadable enigma himself.

He hated that Hyungwon’s heartbeat had its secrets that could beat in perfect timing with your clandestine uncertainties, yet his own heart stood too far ahead, a leader too steadily sure to learn how to follow.`

Hyungwon’s gaze was distant, as if he was not there but reliving a sorrowful somewhere that Kihyun would never know. “She’s not like you. You can’t pretend she’s okay just because she hides it well.”

He didn’t understand, then. He wishes he paid more heed to Hyungwon’s words.

Late nights turn into early mornings, and one clear morning, he wakes up to an empty bedside that lacks you and your lingering warmth. He thinks he hears whispers of your woeful melancholy through unseen doors, and he is suddenly struck wondering if your voice always sounded so sad. He notices the subtle strain behind your smile, more bitter than sweet like chocolate a tad too dark. 

Then, his illusion of an ever after is torn from his fairytale and into reality— he catches the brief flash of disbelief holding you hostage when he says I love you. 

Kihyun realizes he’s been blind, a fool, a sorry excuse swimming in his own blissful ignorance. He has only ever been a flimsy band-aid over a bullet wound, futile to stop the bleeding, useless to numb the pain. Like a doctor discovering a bone growing in the wrong alignment, he realizes he needed break you and him completely before your heart would be able to learn to settle in security. 

He cries, that night. He mourns to the waning moon, but the throbbing ache in his chest refuses to subside, an immortal curse for his self-centered sins. His heart feels like it wants to heave through this throat, and tears sting hot with regrets in his eyes. The pain is burning him alive, and he asks the universe why she must be so cruel.

He loves you, he does love you, oh, he loves you. He sees the world in you, the sun glowing in your laughter, the stars passing in your touch and the moon’s blessing in your eyes.

Why couldn’t you see yourself the way he sees you?

“I thought I could do it all, I thought it was going to be alright. I thought it would be fine as long as I loved enough for both of us,” Kihyun hears himself saying, and his voice sounds so tiny and feeble and nothing like him it almost feels surreal, “and I realized that’s not how this works.”

“I love you, so much,” he takes yours hands into his, and he brushes his thumbs over your knuckles with careful gentleness, the carefulness he should have given you from the very beginning, “but I can’t love you in place of yourself. You have to love yourself, first.”

He feels your hands tremble, and guilt gnaws in sharp bites at his veins. He wants to cut his heart out and sob for forgiveness at the way your fingers curl so desperately into his palm, a silent plea of don’t do this.

He grips you tighter, but he knows he needs to let go. 

“I can wait, until you learn how. I can wait as long as you need me to. But we can’t stay together as we are now.”

He wills himself to meet your eyes, and he despises himself tenfold for involving you in his foolishness, in his eagerness to fix what was perfect when flawed. He sees worn understanding and resignation, and he wants to scream in a mix of agony and anger because your pulse beats too calm, like you predicted this would happen all along, like you thought you couldn’t possibly be worth loving. 

“It’s fine, Kihyun,” you smile, that awful strained smile, in futile reassurance. He knows how to read you now, and he thinks to last moment you’re still too good at hiding, at keeping your insecurities bottled and running away from yourself. “Don’t feel guilty and don’t think that it’s your fault. Just know that I love you, too.”

And he knows. He just wishes you could spare some love for yourself, too.

You breathe, and it comes out with unwanted shakiness. 

“Thank you for loving me when I don’t know how to love myself.”

It’s selfish, but Kihyun leaves too soon. He leaves you to drown the silence of the early night because he can’t bear to see to see you fall apart in an ocean of despair, he can’t save you from a battle you need to fight alone. His thoughts plague him of you, breaking, slowly coming undone into brittle puzzle pieces that he had forcefully put together. His chest clenches in tight, piercing pain.

He knows it’s for the best. He knows it’s the right thing.

Still, he wonders if he can be forgiven. He wonders if you will forgive him, with the fragile vulnerability of your soul and how he had recklessly charged on in the name of loving you, how he had trampled over your efforts to keep him and you together.

But it has to hurt worse before it gets better, his heart soothes, echoing the forlorn sentiments of his mind, she’ll get better, and you’ll be there when she heals. She’ll shine brighter, and you’ll be breathless at the beauty in the way she loves herself.

He knows it’s the right thing, but Kihyun remembers not knowing why it felt like he was saying such a final goodbye.

[eqcentriceqclectic-blog]

Inherited Demons

2019/12/07 – Nothing Right

Nothing I do is ever right. In His eyes, I will always be a feral horse that needs to be put to the whip. If I don’t and I get free, he hopes that my freedom in the wild will end in cold realisation in my last moments as I am beset by wolves. Even, if objectively right, it is as if an offense on his very existence—as if he were a god or a ghost and disbelief in him would condemn him to abyssal oblivion. And so, being right or doing well is actively discouraged—either through deafening and oppressive silence, or through roaring rage and insufferable indignation. He may be seen as quiet, but that is not to be taken as docility or humility—no; it is a sinister and seething silence. Normally, improvement is supposed to be seen as positive.

I cannot count the number of times I’ve either wanted to run away from home or outright kill myself. It desperate times, they’ve been my mantra or my prayers to soothe my wretched soul. What stopped me from running away? Fear of failure. Fear of strangers. Fear of retribution. An incompetency instilled in me long ago. One I replicated and instilled in a brother placed into my charge, even as a shell of a person—shattered shards looking for a reflection. It wasn’t until that reflection attempted to kill himself that I realised what my shoddily-assembled puzzle-of-a-person had done. I had become that which I had despised all my life--that dictatorial and patriarchal demon for which is suffered beneath had impregnated in me a piece of its insidious soul. It had gripped me in its agonising grasp, and regurgitated the darkness imparted to it, into my screaming-tear-streaked face. And thus, the cycle would continue like a horror-franchise that just won’t die. That was the day I realised—despite my love for the pure curiosity and optimism of children and the undeniable yearning to cradle and raise small-beings of my ghostly-ovaries—that I could not perpetuate this curse. To adopt a family-less entity into this story would be tantamount to sacrificing them to the demon that inhabits our family-line with my own bloodied hands.

I remember when I was bird-sitting Rita (a cousin’s feather-child) and He attempted to interact with it while wildly inebriated—like he enjoys doing—and held out his hand. Rita, as finicky conures tend to be, bit him HARD as she did not know him and did not like him. I feared for that bird’s life as I recognised the drunken rage that overtaken his alcohol-laden-bubbly-demeanor, as he shouted some profanity at the bird. I called out, to let him know I was present, and explained to him why she bit him before telling him to leave her alone.A similar incident happened years ago when I had my bird, Vira. She was a feisty bird and I loved her bravery and assertiveness but the curse infused in me by Him did not make distinctions between humans, non-human animals, plants, or inanimate objects. She and my brother have both bore witness to the same rage and self-perceived-indignity-fuelled-wrath I bore witness to growing up. I loved her dearly, but could not reconcile my own behaviour—I could not split this demonic presence within myself with the love I had for all living things as they both were a part of who I was and it was maddening. But as with all things deeply-unsettling, we seek to take flight from it—as is natural—to get as far as we can from it and forget about it so we can go about our days. To face it, would be to face the demon—itself, a part of you—and to face your own guilt and culpability in its sins, for without you, it would not be able to do its work as a formless, parasitic, lifeless virus. To face your own guilt and responsibility in hurting others is a terrifying thing; it chills you to your core and tears it to shreds because you want to believe you are a good person who does good things, and when you are not the hero of your own story, then you can never be a hero in any story—if you are the villain in your own story, then you will be the villain in all stories.

Looking myself in my own shattered mirror, I could finally see the demon bleeding forth from behind my ill-assembled portrait… I could only play at perfection for so long before all the mismatched pieces fell apart and revealed the vast darkness that mocked me beneath. Like a self-indulgent actor without a true mirror to look into, I enchanted myself with delusions that I was not He and that I was above that which lurked at the bottom of every bottle. And all the while, I was a cheap imitation of him—like a copy-cat-killer imprinting on a serial-killer worshipped by the media. I didn’t need alcohol to justify my crimes, for I had a divine mandate bestowed upon me by my ancestors, which was bestowed upon them by successive emperors, and god-kings before them, and thus the gods themselves. Chinese patriarchy is as insidious a poison as it is insipid as it permeates into every aspect of life in the family. It may not have been such a poison, but it certainly is now. As they say, “Power, absolute, corrupts—absolutely.”

In Chinese culture, there is a powerful emphasis put upon passing on the family name—so much so that female-infanticide was a widespread practice in China. My grandmother used the phrase ‘tuang-tong jeng’ frequently when urging her living descendants to procreate and pray for sons. Also present in Chinese culture is the misguided belief that because all elders are to be afforded respect, it automatically blesses them with the power to always be right—no matter the circumstances. It can be seen in dazzling display with successive Chinese-emperors slaughtering countless people over the millennia, simply for disagreeing or embarrassing the father-of-the-nation with reality and truth. Is it not why the satirical fable of the Emperor and his “new clothes” exists? An emperor that is willfully-blind is one that is indulgent and willfully-negligent—and those that could not see beyond their own gilded mirrors, often led to the starvation of the masses they were given dominion over, and ultimately, their dynasty’s demise. Once they lost their divine mandate, another emperor would rise and a spoiled descendant of his would lead it to ruin, in cycles unending.

After help assembling my mirror to match those that see me for who I am, only now am I able to see the apparition hiding behind it. As puppet-master and puppet entwined as one, it is my responsibility to sever those strings that snake around my offending limbs. It is my responsibility to cast off the shadows that shroud me, as it has become me. It has infused into my essence and become its own—my own—demon, separate from His, but no less His satanic-spawn. Only after acknowledging its existence, screaming its name, can I even begin to excise it like the viral cancer it is. The process is never-ending, for if you ever believe you have destroyed it, your complacency will allow it respite to recover and thus spite your own efforts to defeat it in the first place. We must always strive to be better, despite our accomplishments and desires to revel and relish our achievements—for idle hands do the devil’s work. Resting on our laurels is like laying and brooding upon our nest-eggs atop a poisoned heath—our savings and our accolades will rot along with us. We’ll only fester along our heaped up hoard, as a magnificent dragon does upon all its glittering greed. If I’ve gleaned anything over the past two or so years, it’s that our own pride and arrogance will always be our downfall. It understand that it was my own hubris in believing I was less of a terrible person than he was, only to find myself, one day, staring back at Him in the mirror. I saw me, regurgitating exactly what putrid horrors was spat into my own face, at someone else—someone I was told was below me—simply because they were younger or less of a person than I was. And that is how He still sees me: lowly, basal, lost, stupid, barbaric, “sub-human”—and worst of all—a child. And one that is unbridled, feral, and wild—but worst of all, “uncontrollable”. And, also, wholly unimpressed with the infallibility of the patriarchal parental dictatorship to which begs rebellion and resistance.

I will no longer scrape my head at His feet simply because he decided he would do the “holy” duty of acceding to his mother’s wishes of him to marry a woman he didn’t know, and would never love, and bear for him a son he could present to his parents—just because he is my father and my elder. He is as flawed as we all are and I will not grovel at His feet simply because he thinks he is my superior simply because he is my father and my elder. Respect is earned—not demanded—and throughout the years, my respect for him corroded away until there was no flesh left to burn off. Similarly, I have but few happy memories of Him, as the visceral emotional abuse and on-going threats of physical abuse incinerated the vast majority of them as Vesuvius did the people of Pompeii, or the atomic bomb did to the people of Nagasaki. Neither annihilating disaster completely removed the people from existence, as there remained ashy shells or radioactive shadows in their wakes—such are my happy-memories left, as obtuse imprints in the eroding beach-sands: as vague stories of ‘Snow Black and the Seven Dwarves’, as ephemeral visions of rehabilitating young birds blown to the ground by torrential storms, and as echoes of lessons on why not to step on ants. Stronger and clearer are the memories of being slapped for protesting against a particular untested brand of pizza or being chased with a large wooden stick purchased from Home Depot for refusing a hair-cut from Him. Another, particularly, peculiar poison of His was his inherited creed of beating his own child if that child was bullied to tears (or into action)—a shadow he internalised from his own father when being bullied by neighbourhood Vietnamese kids for being Chinese, back in Vietnam.

Growing up as a child in a house-of-cards propped up by two maternal hopes for their fifth-born children was a bittersweet hell, as many are—sweet enough for hope to grow but not enough to survive under the withering harsh bitterness. Perhaps it’s more of a purgatory: not horrible enough to cause one to kill oneself, but just enough to wish so. Those two grandmothers were my oases of love and care in an arid dusty desert of moonless, endless, nights. They were my guiding stars, above all the rabid fighting and gnashing teeth of childish gore-cloaked-hyaenas that called themselves my parents. My grandmothers were the life-sustaining waters, and my parents were the malarial insects that abated my existence. When my brother attempted to kill himself, I came to find out—of course, through another one of their petty and accusative arguments—that neither of them ever dreamed of having children and raising them. Why? Because they were still children, themselves—they were mostly raised by their elder siblings as their immigrant parents worked to carve a life in an increasingly hostile environment. That environment they grew up in abruptly changed as conditions in Vietnam deteriorated and they it was decided that they all needed to flee through hell and high-water (and marauding pirates). The Peter-Pan-like situation became even more so during His teen and young-adult years; formed here, in Canada, under his elder brother and without parents or grandparents to guide these “Lost Boys” fell into a world of alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, and guns that their new peers immersed them in. His elder brother went from a sixteen-year old running a small textiles business that employed workers in Vietnam to an alcoholic who would gamble his way into a depression in Canada. He would go from an inquisitive child making toys out of trash and sticks and swimming in monsoon-flooded roads to a teen drinking himself into a stupor and smoking until his adult teeth would become grey and lined with tar. Children raising children does not yield the positive results, and least of all depressed children raising children—this is true of my parents, and of myself. I had no business being in-charge of my baby brother—absolutely zero—especially with the foul fecal froth spilling from their mouths, to mine, as it then spilled down to my younger brother as I abused him emotionally, verbally and physically as my parents did to me. As explained in the paragraphs above, it did not occur to me until later what I was doing was wrong—it was just what I’ve known and what I felt.

I started to notice how my cousins, aunts, and uncles would look at me as I terrorised my brother over his mistakes—or my perception of his mistakes and improprieties. My logical reasoning at the time was that, “I’m not allowed to do that; why is he?” They always looked startled—or, “unsettled,” maybe is a better word—at my outbursts and threats. I remember once, in a restaurant—where I sat next to him while we were seated amongst our cousins and the adults were sat across from us—where he refused to eat a certain food and I became unreasonably enraged at him and I threatened to cut the head off of the stuffed toy (acquired from Midway arcade in Niagara Falls) if he did not eat it. I had stunned everyone and their hearts broke for my brother, just a young child being terrorised by a teen sibling. Breaking this cycle of abuse was tough—especially while still being abused, yourself. After, breaking free from physical (less so, emotional and verbal) abuse, all the injustice and indignity and rage continued spilling on to the easiest and most vulnerable target, who—under patriarchal rules—would lack arbitrary familial immunity from my wrath and cruelty. Where I could verbally, emotionally, and physically abuse him for whatever I wished, I could only cry, whimper, cower, and hide. However, I did exact vengeance upon them by hiding or damaging the belongings of my parents in protest of their mistreatment of me. There was one instance when I was about six or seven and I fled out of the back of the house after having been shouted out of the tear-stained washroom I had locked myself into on the top floor of the house. On my way passed the car, after deciding that I would run away from home, my eyes burned with salted indignation and so I picked up a stone from the gravel bed and scraped profanities onto the car’s paint and transferred my raw emotions into words. I dropped the stone and continued past the garage and through the laneway until I reached the side-walk, still crying. I stood there, thinking, and came to a realisation that I could not go any further—for if I did, I would be kidnapped and killed by a stranger. So, I walked down to the corner and right back to the front of the house and down the alleyway back to the backyard and back into the house where my parents were still searching—His wooden stick still in-hand—without a clue that I had tried to run away (or that I had keyed words of profanity on to the car with a pebble).

In 2017, when Grandma first became weak after years of mismanaging her own hypertension-medication, I became involved in her healthcare in the balmy month of July. Before then, I didn’t even know she had hypertension and thought she took medication just because it was something a person did when they got as old as she did. After accompanying grandma and Him to both the hospital and her nephrologist, I began researching Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). I learned about how the kidney can be damaged by high blood-pressure and looked into the medication she was taking, going so far as to see which medications could be contra-indicated. I advised Him that grandma’s medication (since she became inconsolable and beyond fearful for her life and no longer was able to manage them herself and became paranoid that we (including the doctors) were trying to poison her and began refusing to take them for a while) should be split into two as then the hypertensive-medications were be better able to manage her blood-pressure through the day instead of causing a sharp drop for the day while allowing it to rise again in the evening--one of her medications for hypertension-management was even specifically designed to be taken at night which is when blood-pressure is supposed to naturally drop. He likes to take credit for this. He also likes to take credit for what he didn’t even believe for a long time—her weakness that started in the first place. When her health was declining in April of 2017, after her nephrologist cut her off from the round of erythropoietin he had initially put her on in the winter prior, He did not believe that it was her health, but her age. I would become increasingly frantic in asserting that this was the reason as the months dragged on and by July, she could barely get out of bed because of how anemic she was. I, unlike He, had done research into what “erythropoietin” was and why she needed to take those shots. I was upset at her nephrologist for cutting her off from those shots because he thought her red-blood-cell count was too high (after a blood-test in March/April) and he’d see her back in three months (this was the cadence of her visits to him: every three months, so approximately four times a year). Again, by July, she was so weak that He took her to the hospital twice in the latter half of that month and once in August where I accompanied them after ending my seasonal job a few days prior. I urged him again that it was the lack of erythropoietin shots and resulting anemia that made her so weak—but he again asserted that it was because she was old. Thankfully, the nephrologist prescribed another round of erythropoietin shots (one shot, every other week, for three months—so six syringes in total). However, the ordeal and fear of death had warped her mind—the nurse at the nephrologist’s office told us that because her GFR was so low, she would likely need dialysis but that dialysis for people aged eighty and up were too at risk of developing a central-line infection—and surgery for a kidney transplant would provide an ever higher risk of mortality. She also told us that she most likely only had two-years left to live—guess what? It’s been over two-years now. I guess it’s the same for when Push got the morbid news that she only had three months left to live and lived another three years. Anyway, I digress. After horrifying and terribly painful months of trying to sleep with an insomniac grandmother in the next room having an end-life crisis, chanting all through the night of her tragic ending, and trying to manage her anxiety, panic, and paranoia in the day-time after both He and mom went to work, and brother went to school, she snapped and her dementia advanced by leagues. In the years prior, I started to notice she became much less brave and much more reserved and careful—in addition to misplacing her watch and other things that told a story of short-term memory loss. She became a lot less aware of her surroundings where, before—as a mischievous little child—I would stand behind the wall at the base of the stairs and try to surprise her but just get a sweet old smirk and an adorable elderly quip as she walked by her silly grandson. However, ever since reaching ninety, just walking to her room and asking what she was watching would startle her half to death (and our floors are obscenely creaky)—she became a lot less aware of her surroundings and where things (or people were). Around this time, she also started to hear ringing in her ears when there was only dead-silence. After she became increasingly unhinged and violent, there became a need to hospitalise her—not for her weakness or anemia, this time, but for her aggression. She probably had not slept for over a month, by this point, and this was most likely the source of said aggression, paranoia, and anxiety. On the car ride there, she was openly hostile to Him while he was driving and my attempts to stop her so as to avoid having a car-accident turned her aggression towards me. When finally passing triage and reaching the waiting area of the emergency department, Grandma continued her violence, painfully hitting Him and I with her gold-and-jade-laden rings. When a room finally opened up, she refused to go and wanted to go back home (even after days and days and days of wanting to be taken to the hospital) and when we tried to gently push her towards the room, she suddenly turned around, and as it with the power of all the elephant matriarchs of the world pushed me and Him out of the room and began assaulting us before the nurses quickly called for orderlies and security to bring her down and tie her arms and legs to the hospital-bed in the room. Because of what had just transpired, she was upgraded to the sub-accute emergency section with a room closer (and facing) the nurses-station. She was sedated with haloperidol through injection because she refused to take an oral dose but during the process Him, I, a nurse, and two security guards needed to hold her down and she still was almost able to bite the nurse (and myself). After that, we were put into contact with the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) to discuss placing her in an assisted-living facility and both 4th Uncle and He were seriously considering it and passed on the responsibility of coordinating with LHIN to me due to my higher education and superior command of English. They also put in a referral for us to the hospital’s geriatrics department and scheduled us to see a Dr. Cheng at a later date after the attending physician provided a temporary round of anxiolytics (lorazepam). When taking the lorazepam, she was much more docile and also able to sleep and it felt like we got her back from the throes of insanity—that is, until we had to take increasing doses and it became unfeasible to continue. Her violent tirades returned, along with her insomnia and we went to see the geriatrician. He proved to be—not just incompetent, but—wildly careless and inadequate; his bed-side manner was shockingly crass and crude. He never really listened when we came in for the appointment and seemed in a hurry to get us out the door with a new round of pills for her to take: haloperidol, sertraline—you name it, she probably was prescribed it. Some of them were worse than others, like haloperidol which left her a stumbling and drooling mess—taken long enough, left her bid-ridden and Him changing diapers and bed-sheets. Eventually, I decided it was time to stop seeing the geriatrician as I was also so upset with his flippant demeanor when at appointments in his office. He took a little while to convince, as He was afraid of Grandma reverting back to her violent and difficult self even though I was the one home alone with her while everyone else was gone for a majority of the day at work or school. As that was the case, the representatives from LHIN mostly dealt with me when they came by the house whether it was the social-worker on the case or the professionals she would send to the house. The most helpful professional was an occupational therapist who educated me upon dementia and Alzheimer’s as well as providing emotional support and advice on the situation with the geriatrician and his exceedingly terrible medications. Before this, in my ignorance, I was yelling and screaming at Grandma, confused as to how she could go from a completely normal and loving grandmother who I would give up the my own mother for to someone I was afraid of being around. After the occupational therapist left, my relationship with Grandma started slowly shifting back to one of positive interactions and normalcy. He, however, refused to read the educational materials the occupational therapist left to enlighten us on Grandma’s dementia because he refused to believe she had dementia because of how quick and abrupt the change was. He wanted to believe that she was doing this on purpose and after retiring before the Christmas of 2017, would often get into drunken tirades and yell so loud you could hear him throughout the house and even in the backyard. This continued afterwards, as well, and followed the cycles of her decline into bed-riddance (either from the anti-psychotics prescribed by the incompetent geriatrician, or the lack in erythropoietin) and ascent back into insanity and unnatural strength. In another descent in early 2018, after her nephrologist AGAIN decided that her RBC-level was too high and cut her off from erythropoietin for another three months, I again became insistent that He call the nephrologist to prescribe another round of shots. He was stubborn, as always is the case, and believed that her being bed-ridden and defecating in a diaper meant that it was her time—as if you were just born with a pre-determined age at which someone would die at. I was enraged so I took matters into my own hands after getting home from work one day in May and called the nephrologists’ office and angrily berated the secretary, to which she told me that all we had to do was call in after running out and they would send the prescription and shots to the pharmacist and we could pick them up. I sat there after the call, part-relieved that it meant Grandma wouldn’t have to go through another round of panic and part-annoyed that He did not want to do it because of laziness and self-importance (the belief that He is smarter than I, even without doing any research or having any prior knowledge about anything, even though He was always the one who took her to the nephrologist’s and family physician’s appointments). He does the same with plants and ended up condemning our eight-year-old starfruit plant to die in the cold, despite my protest. He always thinks he’s the smartest person, regardless of what experience/knowledge he has or doesn’t have in a particular subject—and I’ve inherited a similar manner of speaking-as-a-matter-of-fact-ly, as if I was 100% sure about what I was saying (which often gets me into trouble).

Depression In every waking day, the demon lurks within your shadow—always just out of the corner of your eye. As that sun sets and the lights go out, that shadow becomes an all-consuming spectre that fills the room as much as it does your mind—it eats that light your try to light inside, unhinging its jaws and swallowing the sun whole like a constrictor after it had crushed all the air from your lungs. A breath-taking darkness sends your heart into a frantic panic, straining and screaming and searching for every last bubble of air in the blood starting to leak from your eyes. Crimson tears streak down, acrid and burning, like streams of fiery lava making their way to the salty sorrowful depths of the oceans. Your head is feverishly throbbing with starvation, suffocating and drowning in itself as it melts from the draconic hell-fires lit under you by the shadowy-figure. You are more palatable to it when scared out of your mind and injuriously maimed by your own hand, so it eats at you night by night, piece-by-piece—it could be days, months, years, or even decades—but it is patient and diabolical. You are to it, like finely aged-wines or cheeses are to a wealthy connoisseur with too much money to know what to do with.

An Unwelcome Stranger Is His child, in his home, being a burden upon him. It doesn’t matter if this person does anything good, because—ultimately—this person is a stranger. A worthless stranger borne of his flesh and blood, that only continues to feast like a fat leech, engorging itself on His blood.

[wisdomrays]

Concord and Alliance Once More

QUESTION: The noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, stated that his supplications to God about his followers not being destroyed by a wholesale disaster and their not remaining constantly under others’ dominance were accepted, but the supplication about his followers’ not falling into discord and disunity was not accepted. Could you elucidate the aspects that these points share and the messages they convey to us?

ANSWER: In order to educate believers, the Qur’an related many different stories about the lives of the Prophets. An important point relayed in these stories is the destruction of people who refused to believe in the Messengers that God sent to guide them. The people of Prophet Noah, were destroyed by a flood after they obstinately denied him and oppressed his followers. The people of Prophet Hud (Eber in the Old Testament) were destroyed by an inauspicious storm; the people of Prophet Salih by a terrible blast, and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were sunk into the ground.

Whether these acts of God were restricted to a certain region, or whether the destruction included all humanity, we do not know. However, when we consider the fact that the Prophets before the Pride of Humanity (Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) were each sent to a particular people, then it is possible to discern that every act of destruction was limited to that particular region. Therefore, if people did not believe in the Prophet sent to them and insisted on their unbelief and oppression, ultimately facing destruction, it was limited to that group of people.  However, accordingly, as the seal of the Prophets was sent to all humanity then the entirety of those who refused to accept his message but insisted on denial and oppression should be destroyed.

The accepted petition

It is for this reason that the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, supplicated so that his followers would not face such a wholesale destruction.

“But God would not punish them so long as you were among them; and God is not to punish them (or other people) while they implore Him for forgiveness for their sins” (al-Anfal 8:33).

This verse indicates that his prayer was accepted.

There are certain distinctive features that are unique to the Final Prophet, (peace and blessings be upon him). One of these is that for as long as he spent his blessed life among his followers and led them, they would not face total destruction as befell peoples of the past. According to the apparent meaning of the verse, this truth is apodictic. It is also possible to infer the following implicit meaning from the verse: As long as the Prince of the Prophets lives in the hearts of Muslims, God will not punish them as He did earlier peoples; he will not sink them into the ground. If there is a sound Muhammadi spirit among the believers, just as God Almighty forgave the followers of the Final Prophet during his lifetime and after his demise, God will forgive and protect them until the end of the world.

In the rest of the world, it is also stated that another means of believers’ protection from destruction is realized by their asking for forgiveness. If Muslims ask for forgiveness immediately after committing sins, God will save them from misfortunes that could befall them from above, below, from the right and left; He will not sink them into the ground. In short, God Almighty accepted the Prophet’s prayer about Muslims’ not facing total destruction. The Qur’an stated this truth and history has evidently revealed this.

Temporary periods of subjugation in the cycles of history

Secondly, the Final Prophet supplicated to God asking that Muslims’ not stay under the invasion of an exploitive state. God’s Messenger saw with his Prophetic sight that could reach the unseen, that believers would sometimes face invasion, but this would not continue forever. Some 4–5 centuries after his blessed life, Muslims faced successions of crusades. After that the Mongols came, invading Baghdad, the center of the caliphate, but none of these invasions became permanent. None of the invasions by the crusaders, the Mongolians, or by the oppressors and transgressors in later periods lasted. A day came and all were finished by God’s permission and grace.

In our time, the Islamic world is suffering from invasions of a different nature. Where as in the past, invasions were realized by brute force, these days they are operated by means of pawns within the Islamic world. These pawns are administering the Muslim geographies. Tyrants with a nature that suits others’ purposes are selected and used to subjugate the Islamic world.

As has always happened in the past, and will happen again after this, people will gain their independence, with the permission of God, and the period of tyrants will come to an end. Who knows which ants will once more bring down the palaces of Pharaohs, and which mosquitos will make Nimrods fall flat on their faces. The noble Prophet petitioned God about this matter and God Almighty accepted his prayer and gave him the glad tidings that his followers will not remain under invasion forever.

The source of disunity: Human weaknesses

Lastly, with his Prophetic sight which could reach the unseen, the Pride of Humanity saw that feelings of greed, envy, rivalry, ambition for fame, love of status and desire to be the center of attention would cause discord among his followers and bring them to loggerheads with each other. He entreated God to save them from such a danger but did not receive a positive reply because this is a direct test of individuals’ free will. Although God Almighty did not totally reject the petition of His beloved Messenger, neither did He decree that they would confront one another. God left believers’ living in unity to their willful choice. God did not create people as—forgive the expression—beasts, or not as trees to remain standing in peace when put side-by-side; He created them as human beings and endowed them with willpower. Hence, human beings must give their willpower its due and constantly struggle against their negative feelings such as jealousy, grudges, hatred, malice and intolerance, so that they can progress. In other words, the issue of maintaining concord and unity was not given to Muslims as an unmerited favor. On the contrary, God Almighty made Divine guidance and assistance on this issue conditional to their giving their willpower its due.

In this regard, if believers wish to make a consensus, agree with and embrace one another, they must open their arms to everybody in the same way that Abdulqadr al-Jilani, Abu Hasan al-Shazili, Jalaluddin Rumi did. In terms of their personal rights, they should be without hands against those who strike them, without speech against those who curse them and without bitterness against those who break their hearts. They must keep the door to agreement and unity open all the time. If they achieve this by giving their willpower its due, they will have established unity and togetherness in this world; and in the Hereafter, they will receive the surprise blessings of God. Such endeavors they make in this world will bring very different returns in the next one.

Like a rocket on a launcher

Remember that giving one’s willpower its due against lustful feelings turns that person into a monument of morality; or, not giving in to envy and greed despite the good things granted to others makes that person a hero of dignified contentment. In the same way, in order to maintain concord and alliance, individuals’ using their willpower to act in spite of themselves will make them into monuments of virtue.

Some might act with incredible malevolence against you despite their claiming to be believers. They might throw stones and thorns on the path you tread. They might render your roads impossible to walk on and destroy the bridges in front of you. They might wish to completely isolate you from society. However, if you are to become a paragon of virtue for the sake of concord and alliance, you must overlook all of these acts and keep walking, saying, “This too shall pass.” When the bridges in front of you are destroyed, you must make new bridges from ropes and wood somewhere else. Without falling into separation from God, in spite of those who willfully took the path of separation from Him, you must keep walking with God’s permission and grace.

The day will come when some of those who did these evils to you will regret their actions. When they come with regret, it is very important that they should find you where they are standing. Even when they voice their regret, what falls to you is to give a gentlemanly response and say, “Good heavens! We have no knowledge of this. We always felt that you were near us.”

In truth, you will know that they had drifted kilometers away from you from jealousy and envy, that they had made remarks as: “Bring the movement to a halt. Do not let them survive. Finish them off!” You will know that they committed all of these wrongdoings without any serious and reasonable explanation. On the contrary, the motive behind this was the feeling of rivalry, jealousy and envy. Even inside the most innocent one of them, there was the feeling of competing. They were trying to gain a bigger share of the pie. For journeyers to the Truth, overlooking all of these evils and standing where they had been as if nothing had happened will be a great virtue.

Understanding human nature correctly

It should not be forgotten that it is not always possible to keep up concord and alliance; that certain disagreements may arise all the time, for human nature is prone to this by creation. Hence, even if we personally run after the loftiest ideal for the sake of concord and alliance, we should realize that we might encounter most unexpected attitudes and behaviors so that we do not lose hope through the profound disappointment we feel when we face heart-rending events.

For the sake of preserving the spirit of unity and togetherness, some may act like the Rightly Guided Caliphs and establish close ties of fraternity with those around and virtually form a structure as sound as steel. Such a concord and alliance was once formed between the Companions of the noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. However, as different understandings and different philosophical considerations were included in the issue in later periods, it is not possible to say that the same purity was maintained.

Every person has some certain weaknesses. Some may display particular behaviors in order to upset the general harmony of the collective they are in. Some may commit certain wrongs and sins to harm the general harmony. Some may fail to melt their ego like a cube of ice in the pool of the collective and fail to gain a consciousness of forming a whole. What falls to us in the face of all of these is to evaluate issues with a big conscience, not to drive people away from us by being furious with their wrongs. On the contrary, we should try to win them, make efforts to help them up, and thus take these people entrusted to us as far as we can take them.

Many verses of the Qur’an command believers to respond to evil with goodness, and to be forgiving and tolerant. Thus, we need to act in accordance with these principles taught by the Qur’an, and overlook faults as much as we can. Otherwise, we make most people run away from us, and this harms the acts of goodness we try to realize for the sake of God’s good pleasure. If we wish to retain concord and alliance, we should not dismiss anyone on account of their mistakes and faults; on the contrary, we should seek and find ways to reach everybody’s heart, and try to help them up by embracing them with compassion.

[windup-warrior]

Prompt 24: Undertone

Power Over Me

“I knew what love was supposed to be: obsession with undertones of nausea.”

-Margaret Atwood, Cat’s Eye

I think… I think I am in love.

No chance. No way. I won’t say it, oh no. To admit it, is to give the universe the power to destroy it. And after all of the things I have done, I know it is only a matter of time before my time comes due for everything I love to crumble before my eyes as I answer for my sins. The blood on my hands, the destruction I have wrought, it all stacks up and will in time become the very shackles that will weigh me down for the rest of my life. As it stands, I carry it and wear it like armor, wrapped around my very being like the sharpest of defenses.

Someone once told me that the path to their heart was strewn with blood and body parts and in that moment, I found a kindred soul who truly understood just what my life meant… what loving me meant. The subtle nuance of just how to relate to me, the undertones of understanding when it came to breaking through the layers and layers of damage guarding my heart. I am not a good person. I never have been. But little by little, I think I am learning that even bad people are capable and worthy of love.

Just the same, that does not mean that I want to go screaming it from the rooftops. If there is one thing that I have learned in my short life, it is that the have nots always want what the haves possess. This can be wealth or physical items or health or even love. And if the universe itself decides that I no longer deserve this tiny little slice of happiness, then it will all be taken away from me. So for now, I protect it. I guard it and keep it safe, hiding it away from anyone that could do it harm. All the while, I try not to think about the fact that of anyone in the universe, I am the one most likely to ruin this, to break it apart, to hurt the one person that I have allowed to get close to me in recent memory. Or maybe the one person I have ever allowed close.

You see, sex is by no means a new concept to me. It is something I have been doing for awhile (you do not want to know just how long) and it is as easy as riding a mount. Which… sounds dirty, but I swear it was not meant to be. Regardless, let’s move on. Sex is easy. Love? Genuine, deep affection for another being that goes beyond the physical and carnal side of things? That is by no means easy. It is difficult and makes me uneasy, a bit like walking up a flight of stairs and thinking there is one more step at the top when there is not. That lurch you get in your stomach? Yeah, I think it is like that. Only constantly. Or at least every time I find myself thinking about it. Really, it is almost enough to make me sick.

I never thought I would be one of those lovesick morons, bereft of logic and rational thinking whenever it came to their beau. But here I am, mooning over a pretty man for reasons that do not necessarily involve the things he can do with his fingers, tongue, or… well, you know. Of course, I definitely, definitely appreciate him for those things. But I also like the way he quiets the storm in my mind by his mere presence. I like the way his touch can soothe the loudest of my demons, scaring them into silence until we are forced to part once more. Between his line of work and mine, our time together is seldom consistent. We may get a string of days together where we do nothing save for fucking, eating, drinking, and laughing to the point of exhaustion. Or conversely, we may go a week without seeing each other except in passing.

That is life. But he is in it and I think that means that I am okay with this. Even if that means my only contact with him is the brush of his hand along my hip as I am coming and he is going or vice versa. Hard as it is, I refrain from lavishing too much of my affection upon him when others are around. I think some pick up on the undertones of our interplay, how each touch and look and word means more than what face value may otherwise indicate. Others are fairly oblivious, either willfully or unintentionally. I don’t really care about what they think about it, I am just not going to do anything too intentional to out us to them. It is not any of their business and though some ask, neither of us have seen a reason to confirm it one way or the other.

Of course, some of that likely has to do with the fact that neither of us have really put any sort of label on just what we are. I like it that way, it is less pressure. And he seems to like it too. But eventually I figure we will have the dreaded Talk about what it means to be Karma and Graham. Not as separate entities, we are both already pretty secure in that, if I am being objective and honest. Rather… it was a matter of who we were as a couple, a unit, a pair. All of those words were so foreign and weird for me, so while we figured that out, I had to decide just what those seemingly tiny and insignificant words meant for me too.

It is more than just a title. It is an implication, subtle as it may be, that I am done running. Or at least, if I run, I will not do it alone. For all that his life is here and rooted so deeply within the free company and those he calls his friends, I think he would be plenty inclined to simply pack up and disappear with me if I ever asked him to. That said, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t ask something so selfish of him and I am not sure if that makes me happy or if it scares the hell out of me. Likely a little bit of both. Because for all of the nuance, it is so very big too. Bigger than him. Bigger than me. Bigger than us.

So… I won’t say it. Not out loud at least. I won’t jinx it or put the weight of the world upon something so fragile and new. But maybe… maybe someday. Then I will tell the world just what we are made of.

[fear-god-shun-evil]

Can Man Be Saved After the Baptism?

We believers in the Lord have been baptized. Does it mean that we have gained the approval of the Lord and been saved after the baptism?

I Stepped Onto the Path of Believing in God

I believed in Bodhisattva with my mother when I was very young. After marriage, my husband suffered from depression, which always threw the whole family into confusion. At that time, I thought it was no use believing in Bodhisattva or Buddha. I was in a bad mood all the time. Later, I met an old auntie persuading me to believe in the Lord Jesus. The auntie told me that the Lord Jesus is the true God who can not only create the heavens and earth and all things, but also can bring the dead back to life and transfigure the living. I was moved by her words. I expected that the Lord would be my ever-present help and my support after I believed in Him. So I had great drive to believe in God. Every weekend I went to the church to have meetings with the auntie, and I didn’t want to miss even once.

I Was Baptized Into Christ

Several months later, the church informed the brothers and sisters who would be baptized to attend the training. Hearing “baptism,” I found it new. I felt so curious that I asked the auntie what baptism was and why we should be baptized. She answered, “Receiving baptism looks like a ritual, but it is a necessary process of following the Lord. After being baptized, we will become members of God’s family. God will help us in big or small maters, and He will care for us wherever we are. Although you have believed in the Lord now, you are still outside the house of God because you haven’t been baptized.” From her words, I knew that being baptized was very important. I thought to myself, I want to be baptized and become a member of God’s family. I don’t want to be an outsider. So I had got prepared ever since, eagerly looking forward to that day.

The day came at last. When I arrived at the meeting place early, there had been a dozen people waiting in line to be baptized. I looked around to see how to do it. Then the pastor preached and read a verse: “Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you: and, see, I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Matthew 28:19-20). He also stated the significance of receiving baptism for Christians. And then the baptismal service began. Because there was no river in the city, the service seemed very simple: There was a basin of water, a towel, a pastor, and an assistant. As a sister was kneeling on the floor, the pastor stood beside her and another person carried the basin of water before him. The pastor called the sister’s name, and she replied. Then the pastor said, “I baptize you into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” While saying that, the pastor scooped up some water with his hands and sprinkled it onto the sister’s head. The assistant wiped the water off quickly. This was the process of the baptism. When the pastor baptized me, I felt unspeakably happy and excited at the thought that I was going to become a real Christian—a member of God’s family.

The little service made me understand receiving baptism is the Lord’s demand on all believers. And it shows believers identify with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. In the service, our immersion in water means that we die in sins, and our emersion out of water means that the clean and holy life comes through the Lord’s salvation. Romans says, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Since we have accepted Christ and died together with Jesus, sins will no longer have dominion over the dead, because the Lord said: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 8:12). And a verse in 2 Corinthians says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

I Firmly Believed That I Who Believed and Was Baptized Would Be Saved

I felt very happy after the baptism. From the moment that I was baptized, my life would no longer belong to sin, to evil force, or to myself; instead I would be cared for and protected by God and have His presence. For God had forgiven us and our sins. Moreover, the Lord said: “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). Therefore, in the following daily life, I paid more attention to practicing according to God’s words. Sometimes my husband scolded me in a bad mood. I felt painful and didn’t want to care whether he had food to eat or whether he was hungry. I made up my mind not to speak any word to him again. But the Lord taught us to forgive others seventy times seven. And the Bible says, “Be you angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down on your wrath: Neither give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26-27). When I thought of that, I would first spoke to my husband and still looked after him. I often helped a sister nearby who had difficulty in living. In festivals I would give some money to her to improve her family’s living condition. Usually, if any sister was in hospital, I would take some nourishment to visit and prayed for her with other sisters. No matter how busy I was, I would go to take the holy communion every month, because I firmly believed that since I had been baptized, the Lord would not remember my sin. Even though I committed sins, the precious blood of Christ would cleanse my sins repeatedly through partaking of the holy communion. I would certainly be sanctified in Christ. When the Lord Jesus comes into His kingdom, I would surely be raptured into the kingdom of heaven.

A Sister’s Words Suddenly Made Me Awaken

I considered my baptism as the proof of my salvation. Furthermore, the Lord promised: “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.” So I firmly believed that I would be raptured first into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord Jesus came again to take His believers. Later, Sister Xia came to our company. Once when I chatted with her, we talked about believing in the Lord. I knew she had believed in the Lord with her mother since she was very young. Now she was a preacher. I confidently told her my thoughts. But she said, “It’s true that the Lord Jesus has forgiven our sins. But it doesn’t mean we have no sins, free from the shackles of sins to be holy.” She asked me, “The Lord Jesus has forgiven our sins. What do the sins mean?” I answered, “Resentment, murder, jealousy, and …”

Seeing that I couldn’t answer her question, Sister Xia went on, “Committing adultery, stealing, and all that go against the law, the commandments, and God’s words are sins. All behaviors that resist God, condemn Him, and judge Him are sins. Blaspheming Him is sin all the more, and is an unforgivable sin. The Lord Jesus came among man. He was crucified in the flesh to be the sin offering for us mankind. As long as we pray to the Lord, repenting and confessing our sins, we will not be condemned or put to death. That is to say, God will not consider us as sinners. And due to His forgiveness of our sins, we can pray to the Lord to enjoy His grace. This is the real meaning of the forgiveness of sins. Although our sins have been forgiven because of the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice for sins, it doesn’t mean that we will no longer commit sins to resist God. This is because our sinful nature still remains within us, and we still resist God, betray Him, and make an enemy of Him. Through the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus, our sins have been forgiven, but not our corrupt dispositions. The satanic dispositions such as arrogance, selfishness, greed, and craftiness still remain within us. These corrupt dispositions are something deeper and more stubborn than sins. They are also the root of our sinning and resisting God. If these satanic corrupt dispositions are not resolved, we will often sin, even judge and condemn God relying on our conceptions and imaginations. In persecution and tribulation, we will deny God, and even betray God like Judas. We will even set up our own kingdom to oppose God when attaining status. Some will steal offerings and then they will be condemned and destroyed by God because of offending His disposition. … So it’s impossible for these people to be taken into the kingdom of heaven. For Jehovah God said: ‘You shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy’ (Leviticus 19:2). And the Lord Jesus said: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the Son stays ever’ (John 8:34-35).”

Hearing this, I was surprised at her thorough and deep words, and I admitted what she said was the fact. The pastors in our church often judged and attacked each other for the things about the church with endless jealousy and strife. I was often overcome by transgressions living in sins too. For example, whenever my husband willfully made troubles, I hated him and brushed him off. I knew a relatively cowardly sister. She had houses in the city and she didn’t need to worry about food or clothing. So I became jealous of her and even looked down upon her…. When I reflected on myself carefully, I found that I indeed was not holy. How could I be eligible to enter the kingdom of heaven? It seems that being baptized is not the prerequisite for entering the kingdom of heaven. Only when I rid myself of sins and become holy, can I be worthy of entering the kingdom of heaven. Thus, I awakened somewhat.

After Studying Some Verses, I Saw There Would Be Judgment of the Lord in the Last Days

From then on, I no longer considered being baptized as my capital or imagined being taken into the kingdom of heaven by the Lord. Every day, I read the Bible and prayed carefully. And I shared the testimonies with other sisters when getting together. One day, I read a verse casually, saying, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). Then I thought of many verses in which judgment is mentioned. So I found some and shared them with Sister Xia. I asked her how she understood them. She said sincerely, “I used to think like you that we would be saved since we had been baptized into Christ, and then we would be taken into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord comes again. Later, I read the verse, saying, ‘So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation’ (Hebrews 9:28). After reading it, I realized the Lord Jesus hadn’t finished His work. When He appears to us for the second time, He will judge us humans. But the judgment is to work for saving us instead of condemning and destroying us….” Hearing these words, I felt astonished. I couldn’t believe it was true. But the verse tells so clearly that I had nothing to dispute. I couldn’t help crying to God in my heart, O Lord, may You reveal Your will to us. When will You come back to execute judgment? Your child is looking forward to the coming of the day….

[dalyunministry]

Bro. Paul Vincent Moses

The Right Christian Living - Part 4

💎

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this is your brother Paul Moses Vincent, with greetings to you all in the most precious name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Hope you are all doing good. We as a family are fine by God's abundant grace and your unceasing prayers. Thank you all for your prayers.

Today, the 15th November 2020, we are going to continue with our meditation on 'The Right Christian Living - 4'. Hope you have gathered here prayerfully.

Before we start our meditation, let's pray for God's guidance.

Our heavenly Father, thank you Lord for your presence. Thank you for your love, grace, mercy and protection. As we meditate upon your word, fill us with your spirit of understanding and of wisdom that we may walk accordingly and live our lives pleasing to you. I offer this prayer, in Jesus name. Amen!

How are we expected to live as Christians?

We should live our lives in such a way that our spiritual teachers would thank God for us. Our faithful living should make them feel proud of us and should thank God.

Besides this, our faith and faithful living should enable the world to talk good about. Only then, out masters would feel proud of us. Our masters can be our parents or teachers or even spiritual teachers like pastors.

Romans 1:8

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

Even our enemies should have something good to say about us but not any evil against us.

Paul, once being a Roman Ambassador, served the Roman government while being a Jew himself. On becoming a follower of Christ, he became an enemy of both the Romans and the Jews.

However, both of them were not able to find anything wrong with Paul whom the Jews wanted to be killed.

In their enquiries, they got no negative reports against Paul.

People keep watching us and our life style. We should live in such a life that even our enemies would find no fault in us.

Acts 28:20-21

Vs. 20. For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.

Vs. 21. And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee.

Our spiritual teachers should be able to thank God for this that once we were slaves to sin but after the truth was heard we could accept it and show obedience to it by showing willingness to become slaves of righteousness.

God wants us to be righteous.

As slave of righteousness we know we can't commit any sin though we're forced to do it or dragged towards it. Earlier we were forced to be slaves so we were in a state of confusion whether to continue in the same sinful state or get rid of. The word getting deeply pierced into our hearts set us free that we could make our choice. The word of God didn't and doesn't force us but showed the true way and we showed our desire to accept it and to be saved.

Being set free from our sinful ways brings us to righteousness which makes our spiritual teachers happy about and ultimately God is happy.

Romans 6:17-18

But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Moreover, there's nothing greater than OBEDIENCE which God loves to see in us.

Jesus makes it clear that if we really love Him we would obey His teachings as in John 14:23.

And our spiritual teachers would also rejoice in the Lord on seeing our obedience to God's word.

Are we the ones who make our teachers (even parents are our teachers) happy about our obedience to God's word which teaches all principles of righteousness?

Then we'd also love to be wise towards what is good that we may practice it and know what is evil that we should avoid. We should remember that we can't be blind about what we obey. But we need to be free from sinful or evil actions so that no one can blame us. This doesn't mean we should not know what is evil but we should know what is evil and should keep away from it willfully.

Romans 16:19

For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.

Our masters should be in a position to thank God for the way God leads us. God leads us towards victory. The victory is obtaining the eternal life which is possible only when we are captives of Christ Jesus.

God leads those who are obedient to Him through the teachers of His servants (pastors), our teachers.

God leads those who are willing to be the captives / slaves of Christ Jesus our Lord by submitting ourselves to His Lordship.

God leads those who are willing to take His word seriously to spread it everywhere for God's glory.

His word is the fragrance of knowledge. The knowledge is about God.

2 Corinthians 2:14

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

Our masters (Christ is our main teacher and other spirit lead teachers are added) should further thank God for us that we not only remain strong in our faith on Jesus Christ but should also show our love for all godly saints. We should help and support them. Here's God's love made manifest in and through us.

Ephesians 1:15-16

Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

Our masters would be joyful about us when the word which is spread through and by us needs no additional substance for all the knowledge we obtained from our teachings from our masters and the word itself, we've spread or shared it fully as the truth.

By this we understand that we should not do our work half but full. God has given us complete information to us through the Bible and our teachers who led us through the teachings of the Bible.

1 Thessalonians 1:8

For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

Our masters should also be in a position to thank God that we accept the message delivered by our masters not as their message or the message of men but as God's message.

Additionally, the word being at work (being practised) in us.

Only those led by God's spirit can understand God's message and others can't.

1 Corinthians 2:13

For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

Our masters would also thank God for our FAITH which increases day by day but not for the one which remains stagnant.

Additionally, our love for one another should be seen increasing.

2 Thessalonians 1:3

We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the love for every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;

We and our masters should be able to thank and glorify God for He fills us with the fruits of His spirit each day.

Philippians 1:11

Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

We should be in a position to preach the gospel of God's kingdom in all the world for a witness before the world comes to an end.

This is the same word which we received from our teachers.

Matthew 24:14

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

In general, our parents should be able to thank God that they have wonderful children given unto them as God's gifts.

They should be able to praise and glorify God for us.

People around us should be able to honour our Lord for who and what we are.

We should never be the ones who would bring dishonour to our parents and even God.

We should not forget this that God created us that we'd bring Him honour through our lives.

Honour belongs to God and not to anyone else. However, those who honour God shall be honoured as well.

Isaiah 43:7

Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

1 Samuel 2:30

Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

Accordingly, our children and students should be able to speak good and great about us and feel proud of us.

They should feel that we are God given gifts unto them.

Our society in which we live should be able to respect us for being God's children and respect God for what and who we are.

Bearing this testimony is the greatest of all other virtues.

Dying as God's children is in fact a greater blessing tha n anything in this world.

We'll come across further on this topic in our next meditation next week. Till then, may the Loving Lord sustain us with strength! Let's close our session with a word of prayer.

Our Father thank for teaching us how to live in this cruel and wicked especially without taking or accepting what the world gives us. Thank you helping us know that we should give the world what you have given us to give it. Help us live our lives holy, pure and sincerely that You alone would be glorified.

Thanks for leading us with your spirit.

I do offer this prayer in Jesus precious name. Amen!

May the Lord be with us all throughout this week preparing us for the next week! Amen!

[dfroza]

Our treasure is Love itself.

and Love is God.

and in Love we see its rebirth, its cleansing of the heart in being made new by an act of grace. and this is illuminated in Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the book of Hebrews:

[chapter 10]

We have seen how the law is simply a shadow of the good things to come. Since it is not the perfect form of these ultimate realities, the offering year after year of these imperfect sacrifices cannot bring perfection to those who come forward to worship. If they had served this purpose, wouldn’t the repetition of these sacrifices have become unnecessary? If they had worked—and cleansed the worshipers—then one sacrifice would have taken away their consciousness of sin. But these sacrifices actually remind us that we sin again and again, year after year. In the end, the blood of bulls and of goats is powerless to take away sins. So when Jesus came into the world, He said,

Sacrifices and offerings were not what You wanted,

but instead a body that You prepared for Me.

Burnt offerings and sin offerings

were not what pleased You.

Then I said, “See, I have come to do Your will, God,

as it is inscribed of Me in the scroll of the book.”

Now when it says that God doesn’t want and takes no real pleasure in sacrifices, burnt offerings, and sin offerings (even though the law calls for them), and follows this with “See, I have come to do Your will,” He effectively takes away the first—animal sacrifice—in order to establish the second, more perfect sacrifice. By God’s will, we are made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus the Anointed once and for all time.

In the first covenant, every day every officiating priest stands at his post serving, offering over and over those same sacrifices that can never take away sin. But after He stepped up to offer His single sacrifice for sins for all time, He sat down in the position of honor at the right hand of God. Since then, He has been waiting for the day when He rests His feet on His enemies’ backs, as the psalm says. With one perfect offering, Jesus has perfected forever those who are being made holy, as the Holy Spirit keeps testifying to us through the prophet Jeremiah. After he says,

“But when those days are over,” says the Eternal One, “I will make

this kind of covenant with the people of Israel:

I will put My laws in their hearts

and write them upon their minds,”

then He adds,

I will erase their sins and wicked acts out of My memory

as though they had never existed.

When there is forgiveness such as this, there is no longer any need to make an offering for sin.

So, my friends, Jesus by His blood gives us courage to enter the most holy place. He has created for us a new and living way through the curtain, that is, through His flesh. Since we have a great High Priest who presides over the house of God, let us draw near with true hearts full of faith, with hearts rinsed clean of any evil conscience, and with bodies cleansed with pure water. Let us hold strong to the confession of our hope, never wavering, since the One who promised it to us is faithful. Let us consider how to inspire each other to greater love and to righteous deeds, not forgetting to gather as a community, as some have forgotten, but encouraging each other, especially as the day of His return approaches.

Now if we willfully persist in sin after receiving such knowledge of the truth, then there is no sacrifice left for those sins—only the fearful prospect of judgment and a fierce fire that will consume God’s adversaries. Remember that those who depart from the law of Moses are put to death without mercy based on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much more severe the punishment will be for those who have turned their backs on the Son of God, trampled on the blood of the covenant by which He made them holy, and outraged the Spirit of grace with their contempt. For we know the God who said, “Vengeance belongs to Me—I will repay,” also said, “The Eternal One will judge His people.” It is truly a frightening thing to be on the wrong side of the living God.

Instead, think back to the days after you were first enlightened and understood who Jesus was: when you endured all sorts of suffering in the name of the Lord, when people held you up for public scorn and ridicule, or when they abused your partners and companions in the faith. Remember how you had compassion for those in prison and how you cheerfully accepted the seizure of your possessions, knowing that you have a far greater and more enduring possession. Remember this, and do not abandon your confidence, which will lead to rich rewards. Simply endure, for when you have done as God requires of you, you will receive the promise. As the prophet Habakkuk said,

In a little while, only a little longer,

the One who is coming will come without delay.

But My righteous one must live by faith,

for if he gives up his commitment,

My soul will have no pleasure in him.

My friends, we are not those who give up hope and so are lost; but we are of the company who live by faith and so are saved.

The Book of Hebrews, Chapter 10 (The Voice)

and to approach God as a child, with reverence and without fear, is read in these lines:

So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body.

So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word.

The Book of Hebrews, Chapter 10:19-23 (The Message)

with another view of entering the inner room:

And now we are brothers and sisters in God’s family because of the blood of Jesus, and he welcomes us to come right into the most holy sanctuary in the heavenly realm—boldly and with no hesitation. For he has dedicated a new, life-giving way for us to approach God. For just as the veil was torn in two, Jesus’ body was torn open to give us free and fresh access to him!

The Book of Hebrews, Chapter 10:19-20 (The Passion Translation)

A chapter of the New Testament that is paired with the reading of Leviticus 4 which describes former offerings made due to sin:

[The Absolution-Offering]

God spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites, When a person sins unintentionally by straying from any of God’s commands, breaking what must not be broken, if it’s the anointed priest who sins and so brings guilt on the people, he is to bring a bull without defect to God as an Absolution-Offering for the sin he has committed. Have him bring the bull to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting in the presence of God, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter the bull before God. He is then to take some of the bull’s blood, bring it into the Tent of Meeting, dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of it seven times before God, before the curtain of the Sanctuary. He is to smear some of the blood on the horns of the Altar of Fragrant Incense before God which is in the Tent of Meeting. He is to pour the rest of the bull’s blood out at the base of the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. He is to remove all the fat from the bull of the Absolution-Offering, the fat which covers and is connected to the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is around them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver which he takes out along with the kidneys—the same procedure as when the fat is removed from the bull of the Peace-Offering. Finally, he is to burn all this on the Altar of Burnt Offering. Everything else—the bull’s hide, meat, head, legs, organs, and guts—he is to take outside the camp to a clean place where the ashes are dumped and is to burn it on a wood fire.

“If the whole congregation sins unintentionally by straying from one of the commandments of God that must not be broken, they become guilty even though no one is aware of it. When they do become aware of the sin they’ve committed, the congregation must bring a bull as an Absolution-Offering and present it at the Tent of Meeting. The elders of the congregation will lay their hands on the bull’s head in the presence of God and one of them will slaughter it before God. The anointed priest will then bring some of the blood into the Tent of Meeting, dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle some of it seven times before God in front of the curtain. He will smear some of the blood on the horns of the Altar which is before God in the Tent of Meeting and pour the rest of it at the base of the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. He will remove all the fat and burn it on the Altar. He will follow the same procedure with this bull as with the bull for the Absolution-Offering. The priest makes atonement for them and they are forgiven. They then will take the bull outside the camp and burn it just as they burned the first bull. It’s the Absolution-Offering for the congregation.

“When a ruler sins unintentionally by straying from one of the commands of his God which must not be broken, he is guilty. When he becomes aware of the sin he has committed, he must bring a goat for his offering, a male without any defect, lay his hand on the head of the goat, and slaughter it in the place where they slaughter the Whole-Burnt-Offering in the presence of God—it’s an Absolution-Offering. The priest will then take some of the blood of the Absolution-Offering with his finger, smear it on the horns of the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering, and pour the rest at the base of the Altar. He will burn all its fat on the Altar, the same as with the fat of the Peace-Offering.

“The priest makes atonement for him on account of his sin and he’s forgiven.

“When an ordinary member of the congregation sins unintentionally, straying from one of the commandments of God which must not be broken, he is guilty. When he is made aware of his sin, he shall bring a goat, a female without any defect, and offer it for his sin, lay his hand on the head of the Absolution-Offering, and slaughter it at the place of the Whole-Burnt-Offering. The priest will take some of its blood with his finger, smear it on the horns of the Altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering, and pour the rest at the base of the Altar. Finally, he’ll take out all the fat, the same as with the Peace-Offerings, and burn it on the Altar for a pleasing fragrance to God.

“In this way, the priest makes atonement for him and he’s forgiven.

“If he brings a lamb for an Absolution-Offering, he shall present a female without any defect, lay his hand on the head of the Absolution-Offering, and slaughter it at the same place they slaughter the Whole-Burnt-Offering. The priest will take some of the blood of the Absolution-Offering with his finger, smear it on the horns of the Altar of Burnt-Offering, and pour the rest at the base of the Altar. He shall remove all the fat, the same as for the lamb of the Peace-Offering. Finally, the priest will burn it on the Altar on top of the gifts to God.

“In this way, the priest makes atonement for him on account of his sin and he’s forgiven.”

The Book of Leviticus, Chapter 4 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for Thursday, April 30 of 2020 with a paired chapter from each Testament along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

[comebeforegod]

Gospel Forum: Does the Lord Jesus Saying “It Is Finished” Mean That God’s Work of Saving Mankind Is Finished?

Qianxun: Hello, brothers and sisters! I’ve believed in the Lord for years and always been longing for the return of the Lord Jesus.

 Recently, I saw online that someone testified that the Lord Jesus has returned and is doing the new work of judging and purifying man. So I want to seek and investigate it. However, I’m confused by a question in my heart: Since the Lord Jesus clearly said “It is finished” upon the cross, it means that the Lord Jesus accomplished God’s work of saving mankind, and that He will directly rapture us into the kingdom of heaven when He returns. So why does He still do the work of judging and purifying man? This question has confused me for a long time. How do you understand it? I hope someone who understands this question can fellowship with me.

Jingkao: This question is well worth discussing. I will talk a little bit about my understanding. If the Lord Jesus saying “It is finished” meant God’s work of saving man had been entirely finished, then He would certainly not have prophesied that He would do new work when He returned. But I see that the Lord Jesus prophesied in the Bible: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (Jhn 16:12-13), and that the prophecy in Revelation says: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev 2:7). From these prophecies we can know that the Lord Jesus will still utter words in the last days, that’s to say, the Spirit of truth will guide us into all truth. If the Lord Jesus has completed the work of saving mankind, how can these prophecies be fulfilled? Therefore, I think that the Lord Jesus saying “It is finished” doesn’t mean that the work of God’s salvation of man is finished. It possibly has some other meaning.

Li Zhen: I agree with the view above. I also think of the scriptures: “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1Pe 1:5). “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation” (Heb 9:28). “Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us” (2Co 1:10). These verses mention “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time,” “appear the second time without sin to salvation,” and “will yet deliver us,” from which it can be seen that the Lord will return in the last days to save us. This shows that God’s work of saving mankind still hasn’t been fully accomplished.

Xie En: Through the fellowship of the brother and the sister, I also pondered: If the Lord had finished the work of saving mankind, why are we still living in the state of sinning during the day and confessing our sin at night, unable to put the Lord’s words into action? For example: When others impinge on our pride or interests, we are unable to tolerate or forgive them, but harbor hatred and want revenge. When seeing others who are superior to us, we envy them and even exalt ourselves and belittle them. When we see that some unlawful deeds occur in the church, for the sake of maintaining the relationship with other people, we dare not step up to protect the interests of the church. When disasters and trials befall, we still often misunderstand and complain against God, etc. Without being cleansed, the sinful people like us still cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, for the Bible says: “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins” (Heb 10:26).

Mu Guang: It is very illuminating what everyone shared. I’d like to share two passages of words, which I read in a book: “For all that man may have been redeemed and forgiven of his sins, it can only be considered as God not remembering the transgressions of man and not treating man in accordance with his transgressions. However, when man, who lives in a body of flesh, has not been set free from sin, he can only continue to sin, endlessly revealing his corrupt satanic disposition. This is the life that man leads, an endless cycle of sinning and being forgiven. The majority of men sin in the day only to confess in the evening. This way, even if the sin offering is forever effective for man, it will not be able to save man from sin. Only half the work of salvation has been completed….”

“You only know that Jesus shall descend during the last days, but how exactly will He descend? A sinner such as you, who has just been redeemed, and has not been changed, or been perfected by God, can you be after God’s heart? For you, you who are still of your old self, it is true that you were saved by Jesus, and that you are not counted as a sinner because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are not sinful, and are not impure. How can you be saintly if you have not been changed? Within, you are beset by impurity, selfish and mean, yet you still wish to descend with Jesus—you should be so lucky! You have missed a step in your belief in God: You have merely been redeemed, but have not been changed. For you to be after God’s heart, God must personally do the work of changing and cleansing you; if you are only redeemed, you will be incapable of attaining sanctity. In this way you will be unqualified to share in the good blessings of God, for you have missed out a step in God’s work of managing man, which is the key step of changing and perfecting. And so you, a sinner who has just been redeemed, are incapable of directly inheriting God’s inheritance.”

Our sins are forgiven because of the Lord Jesus’ redemption. The Lord saying that we are no longer of sin doesn’t mean that we won’t commit sins. It just means that the Lord no longer remembers our sins and no longer treats us as sinners. But we cannot deny that our sinful nature still exists and that we go on living lives of sinning in the daytime and confessing at night. This is our actual condition at this time, just as what the brothers and sisters said just now. The Bible says: “Be you holy; for I am holy” (1Pe 1:16). God’s disposition is righteous and holy. It is God who guards the gate of the kingdom. Now we are still living sinful lives and are filled with defilement and corruption, so we are not worthy to see our Lord’s face. Only when we cast off the binds and restraints of our sinful nature, no longer sin and resist God, and become someone who obeys, reveres, and loves God, can we be entitled to enter God’s kingdom. Therefore, the Lord Jesus saying “It is finished” means not that God’s work of saving man was finished, but that God’s work of redeeming mankind was/ accomplished.

Jingkao: What the brothers and sisters fellowshiped above has lots of light. When it comes to talking about our condition of committing sins during the day and then pleading guilty to them at night, this reminds me of Paul’s words: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not” (Rom 7:18). If even Paul was like this, how could we not suffer the pain of living in sins? If it were not for the Lord doing the work of purifying and transforming man when He returns, we would live in sin all the time and become the slaves of sin. Then which one of us who is filled with sin could enter the heavenly kingdom?

Qianxun: Thank the Lord. Everyone’s fellowship has lots of light. It’s certainly just as you say. God is righteous and holy. If the people like us who are covered in filthiness are raised into the kingdom of heaven by the Lord, how could Satan be convinced? I remember that the Lord Jesus said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the Son stays ever” (Jhn 8:34-35). We really cannot enter the kingdom of heaven if the corrupt disposition within us is unable to be cleansed and changed. And I remember that a lot of prophecies in the Bible mention that the Lord will come again in the last days to do the work of judgment. In Peter 4:17 it says: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.” And also in John 12:47-48: “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” From this we can see that in the last days God will come again to do a stage of work of judgment, free us from sin and cleanse us. My confusion has been resolved. I am grateful for everyone’s sharing! I obtained a lot from the communication today and I look forward to the next fellowship.

[catholiccom-blog]

Yes, Christians Do Have an Assurance—but Not an Absolute Assurance—of Salvation

Many Protestants understand being “saved” as a one-moment-in-time act of repentance and acceptance of Jesus Christ as one’s “personal Lord and savior” (a phrase that nowhere appears in the Bible, by the way), a life-changing transformation of “lost” sinner who becomes a “saved” child of God. They believe this to be an irrevocable step that eliminates the penalties of past sins and guarantees, no matter what might happen from that point forward, that nothing can undo or rescind one’s salvation.

“Once-saved-always-saved” is a slogan many Protestants use to describe their belief in a Christian’s absolute assurance of salvation. And though not all Protestants accept the once-saved-always-saved formula, many, such as Southern Baptists and the myriad of “non-denominational” denominations, do. Two Bible passages commonly cited in support of this view are:

1 John 5:13: “I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”

John 10:27-29: “My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

St. John’s assurance that “you have eternal life” is a proclamation of every Christian’s moral—not absolute—assurance of salvation. Christ offers us the gift of salvation, and he will not go back on his word.

But you and I are entirely capable of going back on our word by abandoning Christ and, thereby, forfeiting his gift of salvation. St. Paul speaks about this in 2 Timothy 2:11-13:

If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

Take care to notice the particular “if” in this passage. So while it’s true that we may indeed “have” salvation, whether or not we keep our grasp on it is another matter, as St. Paul will demonstrate below.

But first, let’s consider St. John’s other statement: No one can snatch out of Christ’s hand, those whom the Father has given him. No external power is capable of wresting us out of Christ’s loving embrace (Rom. 8:28-29), but you can do it, if you decide to willfully rebel against God through mortal sin (1 John 5: 16-17), and if you die unrepentant in that state, you will have lost your salvation because you will have, in effect, snatched yourself out of Christ’s hand. This is demonstrated by the following verses:

Romans 11:13-22: that first of all, contains a description of (and warning to not be like) those individual Jews living at the time of Christ who forfeited their salvation by deliberately rejecting Jesus Christ as Messiah, Redeemer, and Savior. They were once “branches” on a cultivated olive tree (i.e., the Chosen People of Israel) that symbolizes in this analogy those who were saved. Pointing toward their sin of spurning their Savior, St Paul declares:

They [i.e., those who lost their salvation by rejecting Christ] were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off.

The “you” to whom he’s addressing this warning are gentile Christians whom he likens to branches from a “wild olive tree” that had been grafted onto the cultivated tree in places where the natural branches had been snapped off. Note well the warning he gives these gentile Christians regarding the possibility that they too could lose their salvation.

Hebrews 10:26–31: [I]f we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries. . . . How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the man who has spurned the Son of God, and profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

2 Peter 2: 20-21: For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.”

Ask yourself: Is there any way someone could “escape the defilements of the world” other than by God’s grace and forgiveness (what many refer to as being “saved”)? No. So this means that some who been saved fall back into grievous sin, thereby losing their salvation.

And recall the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-35. He’s a perfect parallel with the sinner who repents, pleads for mercy, and was forgiven by God and his debt of sin wiped out. But the unforgiving servant proceeded to mistreat a fellow servant and when the King discovered this, he reinstated his debt and threw him into prison.

The Bible is clear that, tragically, Christians can indeed lose their salvation by sinful rebellion against God. As the Lord himself declared, “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Matt. 18:35).

Ask yourself: Why would Christ warn us about this, if there was no danger that it could happen? See these additional verses for more study: Matt. 7:21-23; Matt. 10:22; John 5:29; Rom. 2:5-11; Rom. 8;24-25; 1 Cor. 9:27; 1 Cor. 10:12; Heb. 6:11; Phil. 2:12-13; 1 John 3:21-24; 1 John 4:20-21.

[love-god-forever]

Once Saved, We Can Always Be Saved: Is It True?

By Emily

The Lord Jesus’ redemptive work has spread to the ends of the earth, reached every home and become a household name, and it is also because of the Lord Jesus’ redemption that mankind has survived until today. There are many brothers and sisters who back up the viewpoint of “once saved, always saved,” with the words of the apostle Paul, “For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation” (Romans 10:10). 

They think: Since the Lord Jesus redeemed us through crucifixion, we have already been absolved of all our sins and saved by our faith, and once saved, we are always saved, and so long as we endure until the end, we will be directly raptured into the heavenly kingdom when the Lord returns. However, some other brothers and sisters can’t help but question: “Is it really so easy for us to be saved? Can we attain salvation and enter into the kingdom of heaven through faith alone?”

It is worth us reflecting on and exploring the above questions, for this issue is directly linked to the important matter of whether or not we will be able to enter into the kingdom of heaven. First, let’s consider this: “Does the saying that ‘once saved, we are always saved’ have any basis in God’s word? Did the Lord Jesus say such words? Did the Holy Spirit reveal or testify to these words?” If the answers are all no, it proves that this saying is the product of man’s conceptions and illusions and cannot stand. Even if spiritual adepts and Bible expositors all accept this saying, this just represents their views, rather than how God feels. We must understand that only the Lord Jesus is the King of the kingdom of heaven and has the final say in the conditions under which we enter it. So, if we want to gain salvation and enter into the kingdom of heaven, we must take the Lord Jesus’ words as our principle and basis. If we don’t focus on the word of God, but live in our own notions and imagination and hold on to these baseless words, then our belief in God will eventually end in failure.

The True Meaning of Being Saved

In order to gain some clarity on this issue, we must first fellowship about what it means to be saved. Chapter 2 verse 32 in the Book of Joel in the Bible says, “Whoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered.” We all know that during the Old Testament Age of Law, Jehovah God issued 613 laws and commandments through Moses and used them to place limits on the people of Israel. The people believed that as long as they kept these laws and were not condemned, then they would be saved. But at the end of the Age of Law, because mankind was being corrupted more and more deeply by Satan and lost their reverence for God, they failed to keep the laws and committed more and more sins; there was no longer any sin offering they could make that could sufficiently expiate their sins, and so they were faced with the danger of being condemned and sentenced to death by those laws. God couldn’t bear to see mankind, which He’d made with His own hands, be destroyed in such a way. So, God Himself became flesh and was nailed to the cross for mankind, performing the work of redemption, and thus freely redeeming mankind from the laws. Thereafter, so long as people prayed, confessed and repented in the name of the Lord, then their sins were forgiven, and they were no longer subject to the condemnation and punishment of the laws. Neither did God see man as sinful any longer, and those who lived under the laws, therefore, were saved by Him. The “being saved” here refers to not being condemned by the laws.

We can understand from the above fellowshiping that in the Age of Law, as long as people kept the laws of Jehovah God, then they were saved. In the Age of Grace, as long as people trusted in the Lord Jesus, confessed their sins and repented to Him, then they were saved too. But this “being saved” means only that our sins are absolved, and that we won’t be condemned or sentenced to death by the laws; it does not mean, however, that we are following God’s way and that we have cast off all sin, much less does it mean that having been saved once then we are always saved. The Lord Jesus never said that all who have been saved and absolved can enter into the heavenly kingdom. Thinking of how we believe in the Lord Jesus, we have some changes in our behavior—we can be tolerant and patient toward others, sacrifice and give, and even put aside secular entanglements, endure hardships and run around everywhere expending ourselves—but what is undeniable is that we still commit sins despite ourselves, fail to practice the Lord’s word, and have yet to extricate ourselves from the bondage and control of sin. For example, in order to be admired and looked up to by others, we often talk about how we suffer for the Lord before them, thereby exalting and testifying to ourselves; to achieve our own purposes, we often involuntarily lie and deceive people; to protect our own interests, we shirk our responsibilities and shift the blame on to others; to secure our own positions, we can form our own factions, exclude and suppress those who dissent. We believe in God nominally, but we do not have a place for God in our hearts nor seek the truth in everything, and instead worship the pastors and elders. When we encounter trials and tribulations, natural or man-made disasters, we blame God and misunderstand Him, and sometimes we may even betray Him once we become passive to a certain extent. There are many brothers and sisters who are the same as worldly people, pursuing evil trends and relishing the joys of sin, etc. For people like us who are covered in filth and corruption, no matter how many times we are forgiven of our sins, we are not qualified to enter into God’s holy kingdom. This is because the Bible says, “You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45). “Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). God’s substance is holy. God guards the gate to the kingdom of heaven. The impure and corrupt will not be allowed by God to enter into His kingdom, and instead will receive His righteous punishment because of continuing to sin. Just as the Bible says, “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26-27).

How to Be Eternally Saved and Enter Into the Kingdom of Heaven

Up to this point, many brothers and sisters may feel confused, and will say, “The Lord Jesus died on the cross for us. Even though we still sin, our sins can be absolved through repenting and confessing to the Lord, so why wouldn’t we be able to enter into the kingdom of heaven? Besides, the Lord has promised that He will rapture us into the kingdom of heaven. According to the fellowshiping above, won’t the Lord’s promise come to nothing? If we can’t enter into the kingdom of heaven, then won’t the work of the Lord be in vain?” Actually, this is not the case. Let’s read a passage of words from a gospel website.

“The sins of man could be forgiven through the sin offering, but as for just how man can be made to sin no more, and how his sinful nature may be extirpated completely and transformed, he has no way of solving this problem. The sins of man were forgiven, and this is because of the work of God’s crucifixion, but man continued to live within the corrupt satanic disposition of old. This being so, man must be completely saved from his corrupt satanic disposition, so that his sinful nature may be completely extirpated, never to develop again, thus enabling the disposition of man to be transformed. This would require man to grasp the path of growth in life, to grasp the way of life, and to grasp the way to change his disposition. Furthermore, it would require man to act in accordance with this path, so that his disposition may gradually be changed and he may live under the shining of the light, so that all that he does may be in accord with the will of God, so that he may cast away his corrupt satanic disposition, and so that he may break free from Satan’s influence of darkness, thereby emerging fully from sin. Only then will man receive complete salvation. … Therefore, after that stage of work was finished, there still remained the work of judgment and chastisement. This stage is to make man pure by means of the word and thereby give him a path to follow. … This stage is more meaningful than the previous one, as well as more fruitful, for now it is the word that directly supplies man’s life and enables the disposition of man to be completely renewed; it is a much more thorough stage of work” (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (4)”).

From these words we can understand that during the Age of Grace, according to mankind’s needs, the Lord Jesus did the work of redemption. As long as we confess and repent to the Lord, then our sins can be forgiven. However, after the Lord Jesus completed His redemptive work, we have not yet been fully saved. This is because the Lord Jesus merely redeemed us of our behavioral sins, but did not redeem us of our sinful nature which is deeply rooted within us. We are still firmly bound and controlled by it, so we always live a life whereby we sin in the daytime and confess in the evening. If we want to break away from the binds and restrictions of our sins and enter into the kingdom of heaven, we must get rid of our corrupt disposition and be cleansed and changed. To achieve such results, we must accept the work of the returned Lord Jesus. The Bible says, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (John 16:12-13). “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:47-48). “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation” (Hebrews 9:28). We can see from these scriptures that when the Lord returns in the last days, He will do another stage of work—expressing the truth to judge and cleanse man. When we accept God’s work of judgment and have our sinful nature cleaned and changed, we will then be fully saved by God.

From the above fellowshiping, we can understand: “Since we have been redeemed by the Lord Jesus, we believe that ‘once saved, we are always saved.’ This view is untenable. Only after being judged and cleansed by God’s work in the last days can we be eternally saved.” Dear brothers and sisters, what attitude should we take when it comes to God’s salvation that appears in the last days?

[ar3volut1on]

Well, I had this planned for last night but the weather had other plans, it knocked out our power most of the night.  So I stewed a little longer over it, not a problem really.  So anyway here goes.

Last night our preacher taught on 1 Thessalonians 4, a great passage I must say.  I usually take notes, jot down ideas, verse references etc. during the lesson and I’m telling you that the pen never left my hand.  God was speaking to me, leading me to speak to you about this.  Someone out there must need to hear this.  Cause God knows his own and he knows when one of us in need of something.  But he doesn’t always say it directly to us, maybe he knows we are too tied up in the situation to hear him, or maybe he knows the message bearer will benefit from the message as well, maybe he just likes to give us something real and meaningful to do, who knows.  All I know is he has laid it on my heart to write about this and well I’m not in to disobeying my Lord.

Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.  1 Thessalonians 4:1

Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;  Philippians 1:27

That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.  1 Thessalonians 2:12

Our calling is an upward calling, holy and pure, and God makes it very clear to those who will hear him how we as followers of Christ are to present ourselves to the world.  We are the Lord’s hands and feet here on earth and we should always bear this in mind and walk worthy of being called to serve our King.

For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 4:2

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  Matthew 22:37-39

The Lord himself gave us the two greatest commandments, ones that when we make them the foundation of our lives we will never stray from the path he has set before us.  For when we love God with all we are then we live to please our Father in heaven, and when we love our neighbor as ourselves then we will treat one another just as Jesus treated his brethern and neighbors, with love abounding and overflowing.  We will also present ourselves to the world as followers of Christ, following in his footsteps, allowing him to change our old stony hearts that wallowed in sin, mire, and misery into tender, pure, overflowing hearts that reflect his love and ways back into the world.  That means we not only love as he did but we also act as he did – we reject sin, turn from it choosing instead to follow the one who died to take that sin from us.

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:  1 Thessalonians 4:3

That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.  Ephesians 5:27Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:  Colossians 3:5

As true believers no matter how vile and sinful we were before trusting in the Lord once we allow him into our hearts to work that wondrous change we no longer desire those old lusts and snares.  We can resist the temptations the devil once bound us with and stand strong in the power and might of our Lord and Savior knowing that old slewfoot and his vile lies and lusts have no hold on us any longer.  We are no longer of this world, but above it.  No longer bound by sin, held in it’s chains, a slave to the lies and treachery – we are FREED!  Freed by the death of Christ on the cross, bought and paid for by the only one who could love us so much he would suffer, die and ultimately rise from the grave the third day that you and I might be set free, made whole, restored to rightness with God in heaven.  That we might accept grace.

That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;  1 Thessalonians 4:4

  I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.  Romans 6:19

We are changed, made new and brought into relationship with God, with his Son, and through this we begin to know right from wrong in the truest sense.  Not man’s sense but God’s!  We understand how we ought to behave and act, we understand that we live a higher calling, we exist to please and serve God, and his ways are always pure, just and true.  He never leads us to fall back into our old paths for the old man is dead and gone, replaced by the love of his Son, cleansed through his precious blood!

Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:  1 Thessalonians 4:5

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:  Colossians 3:5

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:  Ephesians 4:17-18

Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.  1 Corinthians 15:34

I find the repentance part of our salvation to be the most fascinating.  See before I accepted Christ that was the part that kept me from him, my sin, I didn’t want to be told what to do, I was in rebellion, rejecting the only real hope I had.  I wanted to continue doing the things I did, Satan had me believing I loved rushing headlong down that highway straight to an eternity in the lake of fire.  Even though I wasn’t raised to know God, didn’t go to church, never read the Bible, my parents never prayed with us or for us but it didn’t matter because deep in my heart I knew that there was hope somewhere.  For the first 30 years or so of my life I was lost, my soul was under torment as the devil tried to steal it and I was to blind in my ignorance to see what was happening, I couldn’t hear the voice telling me wait there’s a better way, I love you, I can save you.  No instead I spent my waking hours in sin and my sleep, well the little of it I got was a foretaste of where I was headed.  But finally the sweetest voice broke through the sheer cachophony and I heard the most amazing words I’ve ever heard “It’s ok, I love you, I’ve always loved you and always will.  I will never leave or forsake you child for you are mine.  I made you because I wanted you, I love you in spite of all you’ve done because I know all you have yet to do, all I created you to do and it is glorious!  Will you trust me?  Come to me?  Let me wash those wounds from sin that are destroying you away, I never made you to suffer and hurt like this, I made you to love and be loved, to bless and be blessed, to share eternity with my Father and I as our own.”

That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.  1 Thessalonians 4:6

In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:  2 Thessalonians 1:8

I answered that voice, I accepted the most amazing and wonderful gift, allowed the most incredible man who ever lived into my heart to change my life forever.  On that day I experienced real love, pure love.  Love so breathtaking it broke my rock hard heart of stone, dashed it right to smithereens and replaced it with a heart that brimmed, spilled, with love for my Savior, my Father.  I longed to please Him, to be who he always intended me to be, do as he would have me do.  I rejoiced as I gave him my heart, all of it.  That joy overflowed in me, turned my anger, hurt and fear into love pure and true.  Suddenly I was free to truly love others, I knew how to because Jesus had shown me how.  Never again would I willfully mislead or hurt a brother or sister in this world, never again would I be led onto that oh so common path of the world to put myself before others, before my Savior.  No instead I love, even when they make it hard, cause I know that no sin is worse than my sin and that love is the only way they will ever let the scales fall from their eyes, let Jesus into their lives, have their Damascus road moment.  I have to show them the love he showed me.

For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.  1 Thessalonians 4:7

For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.  Leviticus 11:44

I was no longer consumed with hate for the world, hate that disguised itself as lust, as anger, as greed, really it all boils down to hate and I had been a willing slave to it for far too long.  But no longer, from that day forward I was set free.  I knew whose I was and who I served and it was not this world or it’s prince, not ever again!  I knew true love then, selfless love that puts others first, finding the pure joy of serving those the Lord has seen fit to bless me with.  Whether it is something as simple as getting up early to back my husbands lunch allowing him a few extra minutes of rest each day, having his coffee ready when he comes in the kitchen, fixing his favorite meal when I know he’s had a busy day.  Or choosing to homeschool our son because I want to answer the Lord’s call that we train him up in the way he should go, teaching him to love God with all his heart from the beginning, to hide the word of the Lord in his heart and teach him the ways of God even though we face resistance, persecution, rejection from many in our lives, it doesn’t matter because God’s word is clear that parents are to raise their children to fear him, know him, love him.  Mine did not do that and I suffered for 33 years because of their decisions, I will not make that mistake with my precious gift from God, the son he has entrusted into my care to raise for Him.  In spite of the way those who should share our joy instead hate it and us I no longer share their worldly feelings, I no longer hate them, I love them, they don’t know the truth, their eyes are blinded, they are filled with stubborn pride but I love them anyway.  My heart breaks for their wretched condition, just as the Lord’s does for he loves them even more that I do.

He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.  1 Thessalonians 4:8

He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.  Luke 10:16

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.  1 Corinthians 2:10

I know now that hating one of God’s children is the same as hating God.  God is love, not hate.  True he is also just and has shown the world his just wrath when it rejects him, when we spit in his face screaming leave me alone well he will, but we will ultimately regret getting our way.  He has judged before and will again one final time, there’s no escaping it, the world will face his judgement for their rejection of him.  But I am not the judge for God, vengeance is His and his alone, for he alone searches and knows all hearts.  I am just called to share his love that great and glorious news with the lost and dying world in the hopes that they will see and hear truth.

But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.  1 Thessalonians 4:9

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.  1 Thessalonians 5:1

And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.  Jeremiah 31:34

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  Matthew 22:39

As followers in Christ we are called to share the good news and love… love God, love our brothers, love!  It’s that simple, and that hard.  Cause love isn’t always pretty, easy.  Sometimes it’s tough, sometimes it’s hard, it hurts like a surgery that ultimately mends it hurts as it is healing.  Love can be like that, it has to be tough sometimes to get through the lies, the sin, to find the heart.  But even if we have to show tough love, we are called to show love.  Trust the Lord to lead us, to fill us, praying always that we serve and honor him with our lives, bringing him all the praise and glory.

And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;  1 Thessalonians 4:10

So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.  1 Thessalonians 1:7

When His honor and glory are our purpose, our goals then we know we are serving him and that he will bring the increase in our lives.  We just have to invite him in, let him be our Lord.

And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;  1 Thessalonians 4:11

For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.  2 Thessalonians 3:11

I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.  Acts 20:35

Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.  Ephesians 4:28

That way he can lead us and we will live lives pleasing to him, fulfilling the purpose God has for us.  We will no longer be consumed with the spirit of laziness, expecting others to do for us what we ought to do for ourselves.  We ought instead to work hard, laboring to serve those who can’t labor, working to provide for our families as well as those in need.  I think it is clear here that those in need are not those unwilling to work, but those unable to.  It’s clear we are to work if we are able, God has given us that ability from the beginning, that purpose that we work with our hands, that we till the soil, provide our bread, etc.  He also tells us to be generous with the rewards he bless our labor with too, to share our abundance with those who lack the ability to do the same.  If all who are able to work do the work the Lord calls them too willingly, sharing the results cheerfully then we will bless those unable to work with their hands, to till the soil or labor physically and we will show them the love of the Lord.

That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.  1 Thessalonians 4:12

Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.  Romans 13:13

  Walking With God Well, I had this planned for last night but the weather had other plans, it knocked out our power most of the night. 

[christianpublishinghouse-blog]

We cannot share in the Great Commission that Jesus assigned every Christian without effectively communicating with others. (Matt. 24:14; 28:19, 20; Acts 1:8) If an intimate family of husband and wife, father and children, mother and children, struggle to communicate with each other, how are we to be expected to communicate well with strangers?

We must empathize with the people whom we are trying to evangelize. Individuals live busy lives, and then they face people trying to sell them things, people trying to get their vote, people trying to debate and argue ideologies, people trying to do them harm, and the list continues. This can force most people to shut out the noise by not talking with strangers. The good thing is we as Christians can communicate a message to strangers even before we say one word. How? We send a nonverbal sign to others just by being different in our appearance, conduct, or behavior. If we were to go to a very big mall [1] and sit watching people for a few hours, would we be able to pick out the Christians in the crowd? Therefore, before we say one word, we communicate by displaying a humble, unassuming personal appearance.

In addition, to communicate effectively, we must not be anxious or appear worried. If we are anxious, then the stranger we approach will be apprehensive. If we display a sense of calm and ease, he will more likely listen to us. What makes us less anxious? The Apostle Peter said that we must “always to be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope.” (1 Pet. 3:15) Certainly, a well-prepared person is going to be less nervous than someone not prepared. We will draw people to the Good News when they sense this peace of mind that dwells in us.

Communication is a two-way street. If someone tends to dominate a conversation, others will not want to listen to us and may leave. Christ followers need to learn how to be better listeners. If we ask a question, the other person must have their opportunity to speak, not be overcome by one’s zeal of sharing our message.[2] Moreover, we must demonstrate evidence that we are listening by looking the other person in the eyes and nodding your head in agreement. You can also ask to clarify questions that dig deeper based on what the person said. Obviously, we go out to talk to others, and we have planned the things that we want to discuss. However, those whom we speak with may have things they want to talk about, so we must be flexible.

One of the most difficult adjustments that must be made is one’s attitude. If one views himself as superior in any way, the other person will notice it. Christianity is the truth and the way, but one cannot be dogmatic in his or her expressions. Moreover, one will talk to liberal Christians,[3] who must be witnessed to just as any unbeliever because they must be led back to the flock. Therefore, suppose one witnesses to a liberal Christian, who is repeatedly making comments that are unbiblical. Correct his unbiblical view, but one ought to not go on a rampage of one correction after another. If this is the first time one speaks to him, overlook correcting him now. Build a rapport and establish a comfort level by finding common ground if possible. Yes, this may require a measure of self-control, as well as skillful tact. When you meet a second time, choose a topic that you know he raised the first time, and see if you can get him to reason on that one matter. If the other person jumps from subject to subject, it would be best to confine it to one area, but do that with discernment and sensitivity.

Reason With Them from the Scriptures

Again, do not sound dogmatic in communicating, but instead, reason with them from the Scriptures, just as Paul did on many occasions. In fact, it says, “As was his custom,” meaning that Paul regularly went to the “synagogue of the Jews,” to reason with them from the Scriptures, trying to convert them to Christianity. (Acts 17:2, 17; 18:19) To do this, one must be well prepared, which is exactly what any believer must do when one faces liberal or progressive Christians or others who have fallen away because of doubt. (Jude 1:3, 22-23) As one sees much wickedness in the world today, the pain, the suffering, and death have caused many to doubt the very existence of God.[4]

God has tolerated evil, sickness, pain, suffering, and death until today to resolve the issues Satan raises. People become self-centered in thinking that this has only pained us. Imagine that one holds a rope on a sinking ship that 20 other men, women, and children are clinging to when your child loses her grip and falls into the ocean. Either hold the rope, saving 20 people, or let go of the rope and attempt to rescue your child. God has been watching the suffering of billions from the day of Adam’s and Eve’s sin. Moreover, it has been his great love for us, which causes him to cling to the rope that saves us from a future of the same issues.

Nevertheless, he will not allow this evil to remain forever. He has set a fixed time when he will end this wicked system of Satan’s rule. (Eccles. 3:1-8) Galatians 4:4 says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman.” However, this was over 4,000 years after he had made the promise to do just that. (Gen. 3:15) Similarly, it has been 2,000 years since God’s Word has made the promise to end pain, suffering, and death. When the fullness of time comes, he will do that. One can take the person back to the beginning, and establish that it was man, who willfully entered human beings into this world of imperfection, and the issues raised, offering illustrations why those must be settled first, reasoning from the Scriptures.

What It Takes for Effective Communication

Matthew 11:28-30 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

Jesus’ Yoke Is Refreshing

28 “Come to me, all you who are laboring and loaded down, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy,[5] and my burden is light.”

Yes, if we are going to be an effective communicator, we must learn from Jesus. What do we learn from Jesus? First, Jesus is “gentle,” which is the English for the Greek word praus that is found “three times in Matthew and once in 1 Peter … means ‘gentle, humble, considerate, meek in the older favorable sense’ (BAGD).”[6] In what sense was Jesus, “lowly in heart”?[7] With his knowledge and understanding, as the Son of God, he could have taught in Jewish schools, having some of the greatest Jewish minds as students. He could have taught the Jewish teachers themselves if he so desired.

However, Jesus chose to teach the lowliest of the Jewish world, from the seaside, fishermen. He lived and taught among the poor and the low in social position. It is a privilege to pattern ourselves after such a teacher as he was. This humility and lowliness of heart qualified him as the greatest teacher ever so it will qualify us, as we are taught by him, to be teachers of others. When we are lowly in heart, following in the footsteps of Jesus, we too will refresh others. A teacher who is gentle, humble, considerate, meek, will appeal to both the low and high in social standing. As those with a receptive heart found Jesus refreshing, this will be the case with us as well.

In Acts 20:19, it says that the Apostle Paul served the Lord “with all humility,” with “humble-mindedness” or “humility of mind.” The Greek (tapeinophrosune) literally reads “lowliness of mind.”[8] It is derived from the words tapeinos, which means to “make low,” “lowly, “humble” and phren, “the mind.” Paul told the Philippians that they were to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility [“lowliness of mind”] count others more significant than yourselves.” (Phil. 2:3-4) Paul also told the Corinthians, “Let no one seek his own good but the good of the other.” (1 Cor. 10:24) This quality of “lowliness of mind” will stop us from assuming a superior attitude or tone when we speak to others about God’s Word.

Additionally, if you want to be effective in your communication, one must follow Paul’s counsel found at Colossians 4:6,

Colossians 4:6 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Yes, this is the reason that anyone has purchased The Evangelism Handbook, to “study how best to talk with each person you meet.” Certainly, patience and tact, which is skillfully expressing oneself when another person’s feelings are involved, are two qualities that establish effective communication. When one communicates with others, one’s words must be in good taste. Good speech will keep lines of communication open, but unwise, foolish, and careless comments will close those lines of communication.

A prepared person will not be anxious but will be relaxed, which will have a calming effect on their listener, too. But allow the listener to do most of the talking, to get at the heart of their thinking. One can never adjust another’s thinking because one does not know what is going through their mind. For example, someone could make a comment, and one could choose a phrase and give several minutes of feedback, which proves to be irrelevant to what the person meant. It would have been better to ask, “What do you mean by …?” Once the person explains themselves, then we can offer our thoughts.

Loving Communication

The characteristics of being gentle, humble, considerate, meek, modest, lowliness of mind, tactfulness and patience make the qualities of a good communicator. When a person also has selfless love, he or she becomes a great communicator.

Matthew 9:36 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.

Mark 6:34 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

“Harassed is from a verb meaning to trouble, distress. Scattered is from a verb meaning to throw down. The past tense used here implies the thoroughness of their oppression and its persistent effect on the people. These people were completely and perpetually discouraged.”[9] The Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day did next to nothing in offering enough to make common people feel pleased or content in their spiritual hunger. Rather, they made their lives even more burdensome with all of their rules and regulations that they tacked on to the Mosaic Law. (Matt. 12:1, 2; 15:1-9; 23:4, 23) The religious leaders revealed their true heart condition when they said about those listening to Jesus, “this crowd who does not know the law is accursed!” (John 7:49) Jesus’ selfless love moved him to “find rest for their souls,” getting on the road to life. Today, we have a message that is filled with love as well, and believers must offer love to people in a selfless way, too.

1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

7 But we became gentle[10] in the midst of you, as a nursing mother tenderly care for[11] her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own souls,[12] because you became beloved to us.

2:7. Instead, Paul and Silas chose to be gentle. There is no tenderness quite like a mother’s, and Paul dared to identify with maternal love and care. Greek writers used the term gentleness to describe those who dealt patiently and with a mild manner toward those who were difficult—obstinate children, unmanageable students, those who had not reached maturity and were experiencing the inconsistencies and struggles of development. Whatever difficulties the Thessalonians may have presented, Paul and Silas recognized that these new Christians were not yet “grown up.” So rather than dealing with these people in an authoritarian manner, they chose to be patient—like a mother.

It is a great lesson for the church today, because we have not always been patient with new or young believers. Sometimes we have cut a mold and demanded that they fit it—now. Instead of this approach, we need to see each individual’s need for help and encouragement as he or she struggles to conform to the image of Christ.

2:8. Here is a classic understanding of biblical love. To Paul, love is always a verb, it is doing. Feelings may accompany love, but they do not define it. Instead, the commitment of acting in the best interest of another opens the way for feelings: We loved you so much that we were delighted to share … our lives.

It is easier to teach theology than to love, easier to share lists than time. Paul gave not only the message of the gospel, but the example of it as well. He spent time. He shared joys and headaches. Parents and teachers, coaches and mentors, pastors and leaders know what it means to give part of their heart away to others. Love is not just a job. It is a way of life.

But note that Paul did share the gospel of God. He was balanced. He gave his life and love. He gave content as well. It is not enough to visit people in the hospital or prison, or to show compassion to the poor or those new in the faith. Somewhere, carefully and candidly, they must also hear the truth of the cross and what it means to trust and follow Christ.

Arguing whether the church should meet people’s physical needs or whether it should limit itself to preaching the gospel is like debating which wing of an airplane is more important. Both are essential![13]

The Apostle Paul started numerous congregations, one right after the other, from Antioch of Syria, throughout Asia, into Macedonia, down through Greece and Achaia. What made Paul such an effective evangelist? Was it his zeal for spreading the Good News? Yes!  The above says that Paul was “affectionately desirous” of the new Thessalonian congregation. “Here is a classic understanding of biblical love. To Paul, love is always a verb, it is doing. Feelings may accompany love, but they do not define it. Instead, the commitment to acting in the best interest of another opens the way for feelings: We loved you so much that we were delighted to share … our lives.”[14] The love Paul had for God and his neighbor made him a successful evangelist.

If our message is repeatedly rejected, is this a sign of poor communication skills? It could be, but keep in mind; most are going to reject the Christian message. The majority of the world will not be converted to true Christianity by the time of Christ’s second coming. In addition, when we consider Christianity as a whole, most are false. We are only after a select few, which are actually many when we consider there are seven billion in the world. Believers must be in search for those that are open and true, modest, and seeking. Have you done your best to be an effective communicator of God’s Word, when any opportunity presents itself? If you answered yes, and people still have rejected the message, they are not rejecting you, but they are rejecting God. If you answered no, then there is work to do.

  Review Questions

Why must we be emphatic to the people whom we evangelize? What does the Apostle Peter exhort us to do, which will help us overcome the anxiety of witnessing to others? How is communication a two-way street? How do you address repeated comments that are unbiblical?

Why is it important that we improve our reasoning skills from the Scriptures?

How was Jesus lowly in heart?

How did Paul serve the Lord? Expound on the Greek behind the English translation.

What does it mean to “study how best to talk with each person you meet?” How can we get a correct understanding of what the other person means?

How did Jesus, as a teacher, as a disciple maker differ from the religious leaders of his day?

What made Paul such an effective evangelist? Why may we not be at fault, if many reject our message?

[1] A mall is a large enclosed building complex containing stores, restaurants, and other businesses and facilities serving the general public.

[2] However, people can get off the subject at hand, and begin jumping from one topic to the next. If this proves the case, do not overtake the conversation; just lovingly guide them back on topic.

[3] Christian liberalism is based on a departure from the traditional tenets of biblical Christianity. Often, liberalism within Christian groups begins with a denial of the absolute reliability and historical accuracy of the Word of God. Hindson, Ed (2008-05-01). The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics (Kindle Locations 11793-11795). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

[4] http://www.christianpublishers.org/suffering-evil-why-god

[5] I.e. easy to bear

[6] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992).

[7] The heart ([kardia]) is the core and center of man’s being, the mainspring of dispositions as well as of feelings and thoughts. It is the very hub of the wheel of man’s existence, the center from which all the spokes radiate (Prov. 4:23; cf. 1 Sam. 16:7). All of this also applies to Christ’s human nature.―William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, vol. 9, Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953-2001).

[8] W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger and William White, Jr., vol. 2, Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 314 (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996).

[9] Stuart K. Weber, vol. 1, Matthew, Holman New Testament Commentary, 130 (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000).

[10] Some MSS read babes

[11] Or cherishes

[12] Or lives

[13] Knute Larson, I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, vol. 9, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 23–24.

[14] Knute Larson, vol. 9, I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Holman New Testament Commentary, 24 (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000).

Becoming a Better Apologetic Evangelistic Communicator We cannot share in the Great Commission that Jesus assigned every Christian without effectively communicating with others.

[fear-god-shun-evil]

By Li Min

Is the Word “Once Saved, Always Saved” Tenable? I believe many brothers and sisters in the Lord are familiar with the word “salvation” and want to be saved by believing in the Lord. Moreover, everyone preaches these words “Once saved, always saved.” Then, does once saved mean always saved? If we want to figure out this question, we first need to know if these words are right and if there is any reference in the Lord’s word? Whatever views we hold onto, we shall not rely on our own notions and imaginations. Only if we find the basis from God’s word can we act in harmony with God’s will.

What Did God Say About Salvation?

Many brothers and sisters would say: It is based on the records in the Bible that we believe in the Lord in this way. Is this truly the fact? Let’s see what the Bible says about salvation.

The Lord Jesus said: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17).

“He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16).

“But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

These scriptures only tell us that Jesus’ incarnation is to let us be saved and what we should do to gain the salvation, but doesn’t mention that once saved, we will always be saved. If we think like this, there will be a serious deviation in our understanding, and we are twisting these words. We all know the Lord is faithful. If He promised us that once saved, we would always be saved, He would tell us clearly. However, the Lord Jesus never said it like this and many apostles never testified like this, so the word “Once saved, always saved” is untenable. Even if many spiritual figures and Bible expositors accept this view, they can only stand for themselves but not the Lord’s will. We know only the Lord Jesus is the heavenly King and His word is the truth, the way, the life and with power. And only He can decide who is able to enter the Heavenly kingdom. If we hope to be approved by the Lord, we should take Jesus’ word as our principles and bases rather than hold on to our personal understanding and imaginations. Otherwise, it’ll finally be in vain if we just live in our personal logical thinking or hold on to the tradition of men and groundless theories but don’t seek to understand the Lord’s will and take His word as principles. Speaking of this, it’s necessary for us to know what the word “salvation” truly means in the Bible.

What’s the True Meaning of Salvation?

Brothers and sisters in the Lord all know that, in the Age of Law, Jehovah used Moses to promulgate laws and commandments for the Israelites and taught them what they should do to fear and serve Jehovah; what is good and what is evil; what deeds will be blessed and what actions will be cursed; what they should do to get along with each other and how to live; how to offer sacrifice to God to atone for their sins, etc. But at the end of the Age of Law, people had been corrupted by Satan more deeply. They lost the heart of fearing God and lived in sins so that they offered the blind or lame oxen, sheep and pigeons to Jehovah God’s altar. If they kept living in this way, all the Israelites would be condemned to death by the law. To save people under the law from the threat of death, God incarnated into flesh as Jesus and did the work of redemption. As long as people accept Jesus’ salvation, confess sins and repent, their sins will be absolved and they won’t be condemned or put to death by the law, at the same time, they’ll have the qualification to pray before God and enjoy His abundant grace and blessings. This is the salvation for people under the Age of Law, and the salvation here means not to be condemned by the law. It’s just as the records in the Bible: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2). “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Romans 10:9). That is to say, at that time, as long as people’s hearts believe and their mouths acknowledge the Lord as Christ, and accept the Lord Jesus’ salvation, they won’t be condemned by the law, nor will their faults be remembered by God. This is the true meaning of salvation.

What’s the Difference Between “Being Saved” and “Being Forever Saved”?

After knowing those above, some brothers and sisters might say: The Lord Jesus’ crucifixion has already saved us successfully and He has forgiven all our sins. We’re not sinners in His eyes and we’ve been justified by faith. What’s more, the salvation is once and for all. But is this really the fact? What’s the difference between “being saved” as we think and the standards of “being forever saved” required by the Lord? Let’s look up the Bible, “But as he which has called you is holy, so be you holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be you holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16). The Lord is holy, so if we want to be saved forever, we should cast off the bondage of sin to be the man who can receive God’s word, obey Him and love Him.

However, are we holy now? Since we followed the Lord, we have some good behaviors such as bearing hardship, expending zealously, visiting and helping weak brothers and sisters, abandoning worldly burdens, giving alms and donating, and working diligently for the Lord, etc., but our sinful nature hasn’t been solved and we can’t help but commit sins. For example, we always lie to maintain our own image; we hate others and form cliques because of envying others; we plant our own flags; we often tell people how much we’ve suffered; we exalt and testify ourselves; we stand in God’s place to let people admire and look up to us; we still complain and betray God when we’re faced with disasters or trials and tribulations; we believe in God with our mouth but worship, look up to and follow pastors and elders; some of us even steal and enjoy God’s offerings; our sinful nature, such as arrogance, selfishness, craftiness, evil are still very deep-rooted, making us live in a vicious cycle of committing and confessing sins. This is a patently clear fact. Obviously, if our sinful nature and satanic dispositions are not solved, we can’t get fully free of sins even if our sins are forgiven a million times! We are still bounded by sins, how can we say we are saved forever? It is said in Hebrews, “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” (Hebrew 10:26-27). God’s disposition does not tolerate human offenses, and He will accomplish His word if He said so. We have known the Lord’s requirements after we believe in Him, but we still can’t live out His word. We commit sins and resist Him often, so how can we say we’re once saved and will be always saved?

How to Achieve Being Saved Forever

At this point, some brothers and sister might ask: Will our expectation, being saved forever, in believing in the Lord for years come to nothing? What should we do to pursue to be totally free from sins and to be purified by God, so that we can realize the wish in our hearts? Actually, we can’t meet God’s will by ourselves and we need God to personally save us, so that we can gain the great salvation, being saved forever. Just as the word recorded in the Bible: “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation” (Hebrew 9:28).

I remembered a spiritual book said: “For, in the Age of Grace, the demons went away from man with the laying on of hands and prayer, but the corrupt dispositions within man still remained. Man was healed of his sickness and forgiven his sins, but the work for just how the corrupt satanic dispositions within man could be cast away was not done in him. Man was only saved and forgiven his sins for his faith, but the sinful nature of man was not taken away and still remained within him. The sins of man were forgiven through God incarnate, but it does not mean that man has no sin within him. The sins of man could be forgiven through the sin offering, but man has been unable to resolve the issue of just how he can no longer sin and how his sinful nature can be cast away completely and be transformed. The sins of man were forgiven because of the work of God’s crucifixion, but man continued to live in the old, corrupt satanic disposition. As such, man must be completely saved from the corrupt satanic disposition so that the sinful nature of man is completely cast away and never again develops, thus allowing the disposition of man to be changed. This requires man to understand the path of growth in life, the way of life, and the way to change his disposition. It also needs man to act in accordance with this path so that the disposition of man can gradually be changed and he can live under the shining of the light, and that he can do all things in accord with the will of God, cast away the corrupt satanic disposition, and break free from Satan’s influence of darkness, thereby emerging fully from sin. Only then will man receive complete salvation.”

From these words, we can know that the work the Lord Jesus did is only to redeem man but not to judge and purify man to fully save people from sins. We are only forgiven of our sins by receiving the Lord’s salvation, but the sinful nature is deeply embedded in our hearts and we still live in the circumstance of committing and confessing sins. Therefore, we still need God to do another stage of judgment and cleansing work to change us if we want to be purified and fully free of Satan’s influence. Only in this way can we get rid of sins and be truly saved. It also fulfills the word in the Bible: “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:47-48). “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5).

From above scriptures, we can see that God has plans and steps on saving us from evils and sins. If we want to be saved forever, we not only need the Lord Jesus’ salvation, but need to accept God’s work of judgement and chastisement in the last days, so that we can get rid of the bondage of sins, be fully purified and perfected by God and live in God’s light. As a matter of fact, many verses predicted that God will come again and do the judgement work. For example: “God judges the righteous”; “And I will come near to you to judgment”; “the judge stands before the door”; “for the hour of his judgment is come”; “for he comes to judge the earth”; “judgment must begin at the house of God” and so on. From all these chapters, we are more certain that God will do the work of judgement and chastisement when He comes in the last days.