How to Best Help Yourself and Each Other - Galatians 6:1-5

Based on Galatians 6:1-5 (New King James Version)

“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load.”

In today’s passage, we see a clear example of how to fulfill the law of Christ, which consists of loving our neighbor as ourselves. And loving our neighbor consists in helping them in very practical and meaningful ways, with things like true physical needs (not with likes or whims or greed), but even more importantly, with spiritual things. We need to help each other in every way possible, but principally, with our walk in the Lord. This is part of God’s true will. But, how can this be done?

The first point has to do with the matter that if we are in conditions to be able to help. For example, a rescue swimmer (someone that is not spoken of very much, but when you do need one, you need them as quickly as possible) cannot be a good one unless they are first good swimmers, but not only good enough for themselves, but also, strong and sufficiently good of a swimmer to be able to effectively help rescue another person. Otherwise, how can they help rescue someone else if they don’t even have the ability to save their own life? And what also must be considered with a rescue swimmer is that they should have enough training and ability to be able to save someone in a storm and in turbulent waters. A rescuer will not always have the luck of saving someone during calm weather when everything is in peace. Many times, rescue swimmers need to go save people in shipwrecks, in the middle of storms, in very dangerous conditions, between huge waves and large rocks, where they risk their lives to save others. And so, it is not that simple to just go and help someone, especially considering the times we are living in, but it is our duty before God.

So, how can we make sure that we are in conditions to be able to help? We must always go to what is first, to love God with all of our being, the first and greatest commandment. And the way that starts is when we surrender ourselves to the Lord by giving Him our life, because that is the first and most important step of all, for our own good. Because what do we gain in helping others when we don’t even know what we are doing and why we are doing it? We must first be very clear in that we are in a secure place before going on and helping others. The Bible gives us the following key story which explains this concept: “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” John 3:1-7. So then, we need to be born again in Christ, and this consists of being born of water which refers to John’s baptism, the baptism of repentance, where a person repents from all of their sins; and of the Spirit, where a person gives their heart to the Lord, surrendering themselves completely, without reservations to His Lordship. The Gospel of Mark tells us how the Lord’s public ministry started in the following: “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’” Mark 1:14-15. So, new birth in Christ is what starts everything in a person, through repentance and faith.

Now then, what happens when a person is born again? God literally comes to dwell in our hearts. The great miracle occurs where God comes to live within temples not made by human hands. This is what the Word continues explaining regarding this: “Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, ‘Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.’” John 14:22-24. And when God comes into our life, the Helper, the Holy Spirit also comes in, and He is the One that will guide us, as it is also written: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” John 16:12-14. So then, the matter of being able to grow and understand things do not necessarily consist of intellect, but rather, the Holy Spirit is who teaches and instructs, but through the Word of God. Because we must also keep something very clear, that neither the Holy Spirit will teach something that goes against the Word of God nor will the Word of God teach something that goes against the Holy Spirit. Both agree perfectly because they have the same source: God. That’s why it is absolutely impossible to believe that there are many paths to God and that all religions take you to the same God. There is only one way to the true God Almighty, and that is Jesus, and the Holy Spirit and the Word of God agree with Him. 

And finally, a person can’t just say that they believe in God and that they want to help someone, but rather, a person must look to do God’s will which consists of following and fulfilling the Word of God in their life. For it is also written: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Matthew 7:21-23. So, if you have been born again in Christ, and you are being guided by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, looking to fulfill God’s will in your life, not only will you be able to have God’s salvation through Jesus Christ, but also, you will be able to help your neighbor find that same salvation, the one that the whole world needs. This is the best way you can help anyone. And so, do you understand how you can be able to help yourself and all of those around you? Lord bless! John

Who Are You? - Psalm 141

Based on Psalm 141 (New King James Version)

“Lord, I cry out to You; make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You. Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies. Let the righteous strike me; it shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; it shall be as excellent oil; let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked. Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the cliff, and they hear my words, for they are sweet. Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave, as when one plows and breaks up the earth. But my eyes are upon You, O God the Lord; in You I take refuge; do not leave my soul destitute. Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, and from the traps of the workers of iniquity. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I escape safely.

Who are you? To be able to answer that question correctly, the best advice I could give you is to not let yourself be guided by your own opinion, and don’t answer too quickly, or else, you will not arrive to the right answer. To be able to answer this question, you need silence, solitude, time, sincerity, and the light of the Word of God. It’s not good to use your own light, per se. When we use our own light to see things, especially what we do, you can never see things that clearly. The Word of God teaches us this principle: “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” Matthew 7:16-20. So then, if you wish to know who you really are, you need to see your works, the things you have done, your fruits, your actions. This is also something the Word says: “Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, ‘Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?’ Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Consider your ways! You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.’ Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Consider your ways!’” Haggai 1:3-7. Do not commit the mistake of thinking that God is interested in manmade buildings, because the ones that He has always been interested in are the temples of our hearts. So, observe your fruits and consider your ways. What have you done?

I have to say that as the universal church of God, we have severe problems. And if you don’t believe it, just look around you, look at your own lives, your families, everything that surrounds you. We all have something that is wrong. The Word says this to bring even more clarity to the issue: “Set the trumpet to your mouth! He shall come like an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law. Israel will cry to Me, ‘My God, we know You!’ Israel has rejected the good; the enemy will pursue him. They set up kings, but not by Me; they made princes, but I did not acknowledge them. From their silver and gold they made idols for themselves—that they might be cut off. Your calf is rejected, O Samaria! My anger is aroused against them—how long until they attain to innocence? For from Israel is even this: a workman made it, and it is not God; but the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces. They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no bud; it shall never produce meal. If it should produce, aliens would swallow it up. Israel is swallowed up; now they are among the Gentiles like a vessel in which is no pleasure. For they have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey alone by itself; Ephraim has hired lovers. Yes, though they have hired among the nations, now I will gather them; and they shall sorrow a little, because of the burden of the king of princes. Because Ephraim has made many altars for sin, they have become for him altars for sinning. I have written for him the great things of My law, but they were considered a strange thing. For the sacrifices of My offerings they sacrifice flesh and eat it, but the Lord does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins. They shall return to Egypt. For Israel has forgotten his Maker, and has built temples; Judah also has multiplied fortified cities; but I will send fire upon his cities, and it shall devour his palaces.” Hosea 8. Of what can be observed, as believers, we have dedicated ourselves more to building and supporting things that should be either secondary to God or quite simply should not even be in our lives. For example, what can be idols in a person’s life? Everything that takes the place of God. God’s blessings can even be turned into an idol when something or someone is given preference over God. An idol can be your family, your career or job, your wealth, your hobbies, your pleasures, etc. They can be good things, but when they are put ahead of God, a blessing is being turned into something evil and sinful. And of course, the greatest problem of all is when God is not retained in their knowledge or taken into consideration, when not consulting Him, when dismissing His will and ignoring His Word. What good can come out of a person that does not consider God? This is what the Word says that happens when God is not considered: “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” Romans 1:28-32. It seems like the world is full of madness and disorder, even within God’s so-called people, right? This passage clears it all up. If God is not considered, God will then give them over to a debased mind. And you might say, “I am not ignoring God.” But, if you approve of those that do, even though you don’t do it yourself, I’m afraid that you are also part of the problem, because the one that approves evil is just as guilty as the one that commits evil. This is what God says.

How can all of this come about by reading today’s passage? Simple, because it is necessary to understand and comprehend what your true position is so that you can know how to come to God and ask for His help. Are you like this David that loved God? Are you like the righteous that David is speaking of? Or are you of those that practice wicked works, those that commit iniquity, evil judges, those that lay snares and traps, those that approve evil? The will of God is not to destroy the sinner, but rather, that the sinner repent. Here is His mercy and love, as it is written: “When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, ‘Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’” John 8:10-11. God desires everyone’s wellbeing, and He can forgive everything. But, come to God truthfully, repent, and sin no more. Who do you finally choose to be? Lord bless! John

Faith and Circumstances - Acts 28:1-10

Based on Acts 28:1-10 (New King James Version)

“Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta. And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ‘No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.’ But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days. And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. They also honored us in many ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary.

Life is full of circumstances, of good and bad circumstances. But what ultimately defines circumstances as being good or bad? Everything depends on not only how we decide to look at them, but rather, where our sight is set on. That is not only what determines how we see circumstances, but even more importantly, how we decide to react to them. As we can see in today’s passage, we cannot let our circumstances dictate the way we choose to live life, especially if we say that we believe and follow Christ. The most important thing is to keep in mind where our faith is set, and to let that determine how we see and react to circumstances (it’s easier said then done, but everything is possible if you really love Christ).

To start, if we see the whole story, we would have known that Paul had just survived a shipwreck and that his trip to Rome had been interrupted almost in a deadly kind of way. And this voyage that Paul had set on was not one of pleasure, but rather, he was being transported as a prisoner, so he could stand before Caesar because he had been preaching the Gospel. Paul had done nothing wrong. Paul’s great evil (ironically speaking) was to have been concerned with his neighbor’s eternal wellbeing and providing the greatest service he could give his fellow man—the opportunity of having eternal salvation through Jesus Christ. That was his crime. So then, with just that issue, if Paul would have let himself be guided by instincts of human self-preservation, he would have stopped sharing the Gospel. Because after all, what logic (humanly speaking) is there in risking your freedom, your life, for something like that, right? At the very least, that’s how many people thought before and think today as well. There are many that are ashamed or do not follow the things of God for many reasons. Nonetheless, Paul understood what real faith was about, that it was more important to please God then men, and that loving God rendered greater rewards. So, we can then see that Paul’s faith made him do many things that were not humanly logical, and even more so, he would see these supposedly bad circumstances as opportunities, as he wrote himself inspired by the Holy Spirit: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28.

Let’s see even more Paul’s thoughts: “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ.” Philippians 1:12-13. So then, he saw his imprisonment as opportunities for the gospel, that being locked up was an advantage for the furtherance of the gospel. How can this be? Because God knows what He is doing and why He allows for things to happen (and that would be another very long message, but let’s stay focused on today’s discussion). So, how was Paul able to react in that manner to something so unpleasant? Let’s continue seeing this that Paul wrote: “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11-13. Paul found his strength in Christ, the ability to withstand any kind of situation.

Now then, Paul, in no way was he governed by his circumstances, but rather, he was governed by something else that was much greater. What was that? For it is written just as he said it himself: For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7. His faith in Christ was what would lead him to do things that transcended human logic, to put his carnal needs and goals as secondary, and to be willing to suffer different circumstances so he could be able to reach greater and more valuable things, eternal things. What is faith? “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1. Faith is being able to see beyond, the ability of being able to cling on to something or Someone that will be seen later. So, it was not just faith alone, but also, where or on Who he had decided to put his faith on, as it is also written: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6. Faith goes hand-in-hand with hope, and this is what is written regarding hope in God: “For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” Romans 8:24-25.

And finally, this was Paul’s view, and also the view of those that have put, and are putting carnal things in second place, to be able to gain something far more superior that this temporary world, and to be found worthy through Jesus Christ to receive the following as it is also written: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:13-16. Neither Paul, nor any of us that have decided to follow Christ, no matter what happens, want for God to be ashamed of us. That should be the reason for everything we do, including suffering and even coming to die, if necessary, for the Gospel, so that God’s will is fulfilled in us, because we love Him above all things. So then, what is governing your life? Is it your love and faith in God, or letting yourself be dominated and subdued by your circumstances? Lord bless! John

When We Ignore God’s Warnings - Acts 27:1-20

Based on Acts 27:1-20 (New King James Version)

“And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment. So, entering a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. And the next day we landed at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care. When we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed over the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and he put us on board. When we had sailed slowly many days, and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone. Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea. Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, ‘Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.’ Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there. When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive. And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty. When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven. And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.

In today’s passage, there are many things that should be taken into account that have great value, things that can save you from much pain and even from the risk of losing your physical life, and your soul, which is what is most valuable to man. If I could list them, I would propose the following: it is not a good idea to ignore good counsel, you should consider the people that are giving you counsel, you should consider the source from where their counsel comes from, you should keep in mind that the knowledge of God will always be superior to human knowledge, you should be humble, and that your bad decisions can affect you and everyone around you.

Let’s start with the first one, that it is not a good idea to ignore good counsel. The Bible teaches us this: “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.” Proverbs 12:15. It is never a good idea to be guided by our own opinion, because it is not realistic to think that we know everything. That’s the first thing. The other issue is that the majority of the time, we cannot see the whole panorama clearly, no matter how attentive or intelligent we think we are. And the other very important reason that we should not cling too much to our own opinion is because reality is not subject to our opinion. For example, no matter how much I think that I may have the ability to fly like a bird, if I jump off a very tall building to put this to the test, it is not going to go very well for me. Everything will be fine until I arrive to the reality of how hard the surface can be, and the reality of the effects of the law of gravity. Gravity does not care about my opinion.

The other point is that we should consider the people that are counseling us, or quite simply, we cannot listen to everyone. We need to be careful with who we listen to, and for many reasons, because it is good to listen to advice, but the source must be considered. The Word teaches us this: “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” Matthew 7:16-20. We should carefully consider the person from where the advice is coming from. Not everyone desires your wellbeing. Not everyone has good intentions. Not everyone will have the necessary experience they need to be able to give you good advice. We see that Paul, because of his faith, was a righteous person, just, with an impeccable life, that even the centurion was treating him kindly because he knew that he was being accused unjustly. Paul was an example of a person, both socially, and even more so, seeing him for the Christian he was.

The other thing that made Paul someone worthy to be listened to was that Paul had God as a source. Paul did not give counsel based on his own opinion, or on his aptitudes and knowledge. God was guiding Paul through the Holy Spirit. And what must be considered is that no one knows more than God. God’s knowledge will always surpass all other knowledge, and we see this throughout the Bible and even in what is created. For example, if someone would have read the following in Isaiah 40:22: “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth…”, something written more than 700 years before Christ, we would not have had the absurd idea as humans for so many centuries after that the world was flat, and that all who dared sail beyond the horizon would fall off somehow. So then, if God says something, it’s because it is that way, because He created everything, and all of man’s knowledge and the advancement of technology will never change the reality that God is God, and that He will always be superior in every kind of way. I myself have been able to witness the power of God in my own life and that it surpassed science’s capabilities.

And as an end, we must always be humble before the Lord, and always be attentive to what He says, be ready for His Word, obeying His principles, His commandments, knowing how to listen to Him through those people that do love Him, fear Him, and look for Him. Paul, even though he was an extremely educated person, he was not a sailor, nor a meteorologist, but he was a person that loved, feared, and followed the Supreme God of the Universe, and this Almighty God would speak to him and would use him greatly, whose work we see even until this day, nearly two thousand years after his death. And if we are not humble and obedient to God and His Word, we could pay dearly, and affect everyone that surrounds us dearly as well, because everything we do not only affects us personally, but it also affects everyone around us like our family, our loved ones, the people we work with, etc. So then, is it wise to ignore God’s warnings, upon which not only depends our physical wellbeing, but even more importantly, the wellbeing of our soul for all eternity? Lord bless! John

How to be Ready for the Lord’s Coming - Revelation 22:6-15

Based on Revelation 22:6-15 (New King James Version)

“Then he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true.’ And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. ‘Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.’ Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.’ And he said to me, ‘Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.’ ‘And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.’ Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.”

This is an irrefutable truth, especially when we see the world we live in today: Christ is coming soon. Everything that was foretold by the holy prophets of God and by the Lord Himself is being fulfilled and continues to be fulfilled daily throughout the world, as it is written: “Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.’ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’ And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.” Matthew 24:1-7. The wars that have happened in the rest of history cannot compare to the wars in the last two centuries. Pestilences that are affecting all men throughout the world like they have been lately and continue happening now has not occurred in history, where millions in the world die because of different diseases. And we see now this coronavirus that has caused the death of more than a million people in a matter of months; and people can try to point the finger at the authorities, but the issue is that no one could have seen this coming, nor have been prepared for something like this, and so, not even be able to know what to do (and we still don’t know well enough). There is hunger throughout the world, even in developed countries, because of poverty and lack of resources. According to the World Health Organization, in a study they published in 2018, more than 820 million people in the world do not have enough food to eat, more than 10% of the world population. Earthquakes, what can we say? The earth has shaken a lot and very hard, and in different places. And how can we forget Israel, the world’s clock, where one of the most extraordinary prophecies was fulfilled when Israel was brought back to its land and established by the world as a sovereign state once again in 1948, something that was seen as being impossible before. Everything is being fulfilled. Nothing will stop the fulfillment of God’s Word, as it is written: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” Matthew 24:35. So then, a wise person should think like this, “How can I be ready for the coming of the Lord?” And I can only answer with God’s counsel through His very own Word.

The first thing should be our focus on God through Jesus Christ, and we see this when John thought of worshiping the angel that was revealing God’s mysteries to him, and the angel told him not to do it, but to only worship God. We can neither worship, nor give any adoration to anyone or anything outside of Jesus Christ, because God’s saints themselves never allowed it. They pointed to Jesus Christ. We see Mary, for instance, in the following: “His mother said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it.’” Juan 2:5. The Apostle Peter also said this: “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10-11. The Apostle Paul also wrote this about the Lord Jesus, inspired by the Holy Spirit: “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:36. Everything and everyone point to the Lord, for it is written: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5. So then, we cannot put our eyes on a person, no matter how special they may be. This was the error that the Jews committed when God the Son (Jesus) was before them. They were not able to see the Messiah, and they even killed Him, because they were more focused on Abraham, on Moses, and even on their own persons and desires rather than on the Most High and Sovereign God of the universe. Our goal, all of our focus and priority should be the Lord, for it is written: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ‘And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.’” Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

The other thing we see in this passage is that we will be judged for our work, and that we should do righteousness, sanctify ourselves, and do His commandments. So then, God is greatly interested in what we do with our lives, especially after coming to the knowledge of the Truth, because we are saved for a purpose, not just because. The Bible teaches us this: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10. What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? James 2:14. “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:9-10. Everything we do after receiving the knowledge of the Truth counts, for good or for evil, depending on what we decide to do with God’s Truth, whether we decide to live for Christ or for something or someone else.

The day is drawing near for the world and for every human being. There is no way to avoid it, and to know when it will happen. So then, will the Lord find you ready when He comes for His true church, or when He comes for you individually? Lord bless! John

Suffering for the Gospel - Revelation 2:8-11

Based on Revelation 2:8-11 (New King James Version)

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: ‘I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.’”

Everything has a price, and we are not necessarily talking about money. And whoever says contrary does not understand reality. For example, to be able to be a professional or reach goals that go beyond others, sacrifices must be made. A person that desires to be a great professional must work hard during their formative school years to learn what is necessary. After that, they need to go to a university and complete many years of study and pay a lot of money, and their effort only starts there because they need to continue gaining experience, they need to continue studying, they need to continue sacrificing time, money, and even personal relationships to be able to continue excelling in their profession. When a person fights for good things, a price is paid. When a person makes mistakes or does stupid things, a price is also paid. Nothing is free.

As a supreme example, the gift of salvation, what God did through Christ is free for us, but the price that God paid is incalculable. God the Father gave His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for all mankind, what was most precious to Him. The Lord Jesus paid the price of leaving His kingdom, His sublime and holy position, to take on our humble form, to live in poverty, and suffer the unthinkable when He died in the most horrible way a human being could die. And not only that, but also in order to complete His work, to be able to triumph over death, He had to descend to the lowest depths of the earth, to Abraham’s bosom, to Sheol, to raise those that were worthy from there, and also, as a testimony to those who were facing their eternal perdition; and from there be resurrected. I still do not comprehend why They would do such things for such insignificant beings like us, but that speaks even more of their greatness, goodness, and love.      

Now then, salvation, the power to be born again in Christ is by grace, but within itself, it also bears a price. We do have to pay something costly, and if it were just about money (not that salvation can be purchased), it would be something simple. We are talking about greater and more important things than what is material when we talk about the price that could be paid for the Gospel of Christ, and this is of what we read today. It is very probable that many that are reading this will either suffer persecution, or already are suffering some form of persecution for their faith in Christ, especially considering all of the people in different countries in the world that see this ministry. This is what the Lord says in His Word: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. People suffering legitimately for the Gospel (and I say “legitimately” because suffering for the Gospel has nothing to do with a person being a jerk, or obnoxious, or inappropriate, or not wise, and far less, suffering for errors and sins committed), are going through bad moments because of demonstrating the characteristics of Christ in their life, because of being faithful to the teachings in the Word; and finally, because they love God above everyone and everything else. When you suffer for the Lord, that does not make you less of a Christian, or that you have faith problems, or anything like that, but quite the contrary. That is why the Lord forewarned us, that we would have affliction in the world, because of faithfully following Him. This is what the Scriptures also say: “…Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.” Hebrews 11:35b-40. As followers of Christ, we will suffer persecution in the last times, the times we are living through today, as it is also written: “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’ And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. ‘Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.’” Matthew 24:3-13. So then, we will have affliction. We will suffer persecution. And we will live through tribulation. There is no doubt. But, we need to persevere until the end in order to get to the goal. The race must be finished. We must remain faithful to the Lord until we breathe our last, no matter what happens, and at any cost. We need to be willing to suffer for the Gospel.

Now, you may be asking yourself, who are these of the synagogue of Satan? To be able to answer, we see this: “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.’ Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.’” Matthew 16:21-24. Peter had a very bad moment, but for his own good, he repented and abandoned that evil path, and he was able to be faithful to the Lord until his death. But every person that supports the things of the flesh, and especially teaches things that put the flesh and the things of the world as a priority over God are of the synagogue of Satan. So then, you need to think very carefully with what you are exposing yourself to, and above all, what you are following and supporting because you may be very far away from the truth, even though it may seem good, positive, inspiring, etc. So, you should ask yourself this question, “Are you of the synagogue of Satan or are you truly fighting for, suffering for, and paying the price for the Gospel of Christ to be able to get to the eternal reward?” Lord bless! John

Transformation - Ephesians 4:17-24

Based on Ephesians 4:17-24 (New King James Version)

“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

What does faith in Christ truly consist of? Is it just about believing? I have to say according to the complete counsel of God through His Word that believing in the Lord is only part of the matter, and that there is much more to consider and do, especially if there is a true faith. True faith consists of actions, those that are generated as a result of a genuine faith in Christ, so it’s not just about simple belief. This is what the Word counsels us: “But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:18-20. So then, if demons believe and even tremble, what should there be in us? What work should we do to be able to go beyond simple belief?

To be able to understand this even more clearly, we need to understand first what God did through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross. What was God’s true purpose through His sacrifice? The Bible teaches us this: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. God’s purpose is to transform and renew what is fallen, that which has been affected by sin. God desires that for those things are not good in our lives to end so that the new can start, the eternal, making us thereby through Christ a new creation. This is a very popular verse in our Christian community, but it is many times not applied correctly. The application of this principle has to do with the fact that a person must live a new life, leaving behind what they used to be, being transformed, and not to be used as a cut off (per se) so that they are not bothered with their past. But rather, quite the contrary, we should always remember what we were before Christ. We should remember where the Lord brought us out from and be able to compare that to the present, to be able to see if in fact we have been transformed, or if we are simply just trying to adopt a new religion or something superficial, because following Christ goes beyond morality and doing what is right.

Now then, when we convert to the Lord, by repenting from all our sins and making Him the Lord of our lives, is there anything else left to be done? And the answer is, “Yes.” Everything is left ahead of that. When we are born again in Christ, that is only the beginning. That’s why the Lord explained it as a birth, as a new beginning, it is the start of a long journey that must be traveled to be able to get to the end. That’s why the Word urges us to not walk like the rest of the Gentiles, not to walk in a futile mind, not to have a blinded heart, not to lose sensitivity, and not to give ourselves over to lewdness. We are urged to leave behind the old man which implies a process. When we start to follow Christ, we are entering a process of transformation. When we first come to the Lord, through our genuine conversion, a radical change should happen at the beginning or at least a very significant change in thinking. But that doesn’t mean that we are made perfect instantly, speaking from a practical standpoint. There is a process that is left that involves continual change, of being transformed, while we follow the Lord, because true faith in Christ consists in following the Lord, and not just saying that we believe only. The Word continues telling us this: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” Galatians 5:16-17. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1-2.

So then, how should this transformation in Christ continue? What is most important is that the all for the transformation, or the reason for why it should happen should be because we love the Lord, and nothing else. This is not about personal improvement or about attaining human goals, or a lifestyle change. Following Christ and letting yourself be transformed by Him through the work of the Holy Spirit always should be based on our love for Him. When that is the foundation, then you can continue moving forward just like the Word says: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27. The Word of God is what washes and purifies us, which is what should be part of our daily walk with the Lord. God through Christ in our life looks for a relationship, not a religion, and not even necessarily morality. And like the relationship He looks for, He uses His Word to speak to us, to be able to tell us what needs to happen in our lives. That is why, again, the reason for why everything is done should be because of our love for God, and nothing more. So then the Word is the key, for it says this: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

So, transformation in Christ has a great purpose for man, because it is about deepening our relationship with God and like that, being made useful for His work, because He wants for us to be a part of what He wants to do on earth and also in eternity, because this world is not even a shadow of things to come. That’s why we are urged as follows in His Word: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2. So then, are you living a transformed life in Christ, because of your love for the Lord, for your own good, and for the good of others? Lord bless! John

God Gives Everyone an Opportunity - 1 Samuel 9:1-19

Based on 1 Samuel 9:1-19 (New King James Version)

“There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people. Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, ‘Please take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.’ So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them. When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, ‘Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us.’ And he said to him, ‘Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.’ Then Saul said to his servant, ‘But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?’ And the servant answered Saul again and said, ‘Look, I have here at hand one-fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.’ (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: ‘Come, let us go to the seer’; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.) Then Saul said to his servant, ‘Well said; come, let us go.’ So they went to the city where the man of God was. As they went up the hill to the city, they met some young women going out to draw water, and said to them, ‘Is the seer here?’ And they answered them and said, ‘Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now; for today he came to this city, because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place. As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him.’ So they went up to the city. As they were coming into the city, there was Samuel, coming out toward them on his way up to the high place. Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, ‘Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.’ So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, ‘There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.’ Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, ‘Please tell me, where is the seer’s house?’ Samuel answered Saul and said, ‘I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart.”

If we understand this passage, we can see the great opportunities that God gives, and very unexpectedly. We see this Saul that simply went looking for some donkeys his father lost (back then, animals had great material value). So then, this Saul went out by obeying his father in helping him recover part of his wealth—something unanticipated happened, a need, and something was happening that neither Saul nor Kish had any idea of, something in the background, and these lost animals were only something that would open the door (per se) to something else. This same event should open our eyes and help us understand that we have no idea what is happening around us, and why it is happening, and that we have no control over anything, because the great majority of things are invisible or unknown to us.

Now then, some might say, and because of this same ignorance: “I never received such an opportunity to be something so important.” But the truth is that you have in fact received such opportunities, and many times, and in different ways. You may reply, “How, when, where…?” And of course, the answer is in the Word of God. To start looking at this, God presents Himself personally to every human being through many different ways and manners, as it is written: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:18-21. Everything that was created speaks of God, of His magnificence, of His power, of His person. The problem is that everything that was created is taken very lightly because some prefer to believe that the creation is either a cosmic accident or simply, it just is and nothing more than that, and so, it is taken for granted. And since no one can neither control nor do anything with all of that, then it is taken as something common and ordinary (incredible, isn’t it?). Things like the sunrise that He allows to happen, like the air that He allows our lungs breathe, like the beating of our hearts He allows to occur, like the gravity of this planet that He sustains with His presence that keeps us from flying off into space, and so on, are seen as unimportant. As it is written: “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Colossians 1:16-17.    

Maybe this issue of questioning further the value of God’s call continues, which within itself bears its own punishment, because we are not talking about a human being’s invitation, we are talking about God’s invitation. To answer this, the Word teaches us the following, which is God’s purpose for all mankind, as it is written: “And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10. When God calls us to follow Him, He is really inviting us to be His kings and priests, to be beings of great standing in a place that surpasses this temporary world, in eternity. God is always looking for people to acknowledge Him and to convert to Him so they can be transformed into these kings and priests, and He allows for these unexpected situations to occur that interrupt daily life so His invitation can be made even stronger, going even beyond the daily greatness that He uses to speak to us. In the end, what are your lost donkeys, the things that are affecting you somehow? Will you be able to understand God’s call when the unexpected happens, and will you be able to pay attention to Him so you can follow Him to greater things? Or, will you just continue being focused on your lost donkeys and lose the opportunity for eternal greatness? Lord bless! John

Love is Everything - Revelation 2:1-7

Based on Revelation 2:1-7 (New King James Version)

“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: ‘I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.’’”

How can God tell a church that is doing good things, a church that has done everything they have done for the sake of God’s name, that they should repent because they have fallen? How can they be wrong when they are doing so many good and admirable things? The issue that God has with the church, or more exactly, with the people individually (because a church does not consist of a building before God, but rather, of people) is that they have forgotten what is essential, the foundation of everything: love. You might say: “But, how can this be if the Word itself is saying that they have done everything for the sake of God’s name?” To be able to explain this issue, we need to go deeper.

The first thing we need to establish is that true love (not the world’s love, because that is useless) is something that must emanate from a person. And the only way that this love can flow or emanate from a person is when a person has been born of God, by knowing God. This is what the Scriptures teach us: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8. So, this goes beyond actions. It consists of something much deeper and divine. The Bible teaches us also that a being can be capable of incredible things, but yet, be missing the most important thing of all, and it also teaches us what this divine love truly is, as it is written: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13. Can you see that the love of which the Bible speaks of is very different to what the world says is love? Quite simply, God’s true love can never support sin, because there are no contradictions in God. Fornication is not love. Adultery is not love. Sexual deviations are not love. Calling evil good and good evil is not love. The love that comes from God is something that will always align itself with Biblical principles, and it surpasses all of the limits, even the unthinkable. How could have the Jews ever imagined that the same Being that did all of the great miracles He did through Moses and Elijah would be the same Being that would take on our very humble human form and let Himself be crucified so that all of humanity could have the hope of their sins being forgiven and the promise of eternal life? Never! This does not fit our logic! And this same love is the one that should emanate and flow through those that have been born again in Christ. We should take on those same characteristics and intentions.

Now then, the second point. The love that should flow from the born again does not consist of feelings, but rather, of a decision and a direction. In other words, it is not just about having this love in your life, but more so, the way its genuineness can be seen is through the direction in which it is focused on. This is what the Word teaches us: “Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, ‘Which is the first commandment of all?’ Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.’ So the scribe said to Him, ‘Well said,  Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ But after that no one dared question Him.” Mark 12:28-34. Love must be directed towards God, and when that happens, then everything else starts falling into place, in the order that God teaches. If I love God, then I will do as He commands, whether I understand it or not yet, and the first thing I must do when loving God is to love my neighbor. My love for God must be the reason for why I do everything in life, for why I look to fulfill what He commands me to do. How does this love start? It starts by acknowledging and appreciating what the Almighty has done for us, and what He did without any kind of obligation. God chose to love man. God did not have to suffer, and far less, die for humanity. We must weigh and value what He did for such insignificant and evil people (because that is what we all are). God died for you and for me. It is written: “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:10.

So then, and finally, God is most interested in the reason, in the motive, in what is very deep within every human being, as it is written: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:9-10. This is what God sees and matters to Him most: if He is the direct reason for why we do things. So then, can God see the intention of your heart, that the reason for why you do everything in life is because you love Him with your whole being? Lord bless! John

Reactions to Christ - Acts 13:42-52

Based on Acts 13:42-52 (New King James Version)

“So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, ‘It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’’ Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region. But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

Why is there such a difference between people in the way they react to God’s Truth? In today’s passage, we saw different people react in different ways. We see the disciples, the religious Jews, the gentiles, devout and prominent women, the chief men of the city, and also the multitude. And within all of that, there were reactions, some determined in their faith in Christ, others that did believe as well, but we see these religious Jews that did not want to believe, these devout and prominent women and chief men of the city that did not believe either, and also a great number of people, possibly a great part of the multitude that is mentioned that did not believe as well, because a mass of people expelled the disciples, not just a few individuals. At the very least, the devout and prominent women, the chief men of the city, and part of the multitude maybe did not have the same sentiments of the religious Jews, but they had enough unbelief to be influenced by evil. What is it that determines these different reactions?

The first point that we could see is whether God is the one that determines this. And it can be clearly said that God is not the One that determines if a person is saved or lost, no matter how much many people may argue for general predestination. It can be argued that the Word of God gives the opportunity to believe that certain people through history may have been predestined for perdition, but that relates to only a very select group of people, not to all humanity. To start touching on this topic, God did not make everlasting fire for man. That was not His intention, as it is written: “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” Matthew 25:41. God’s intention was always to try to save the world, all of humanity, and the everlasting fire was originally prepared for the irredeemable, for the devil and his angels (fallen angels or demons), but not for man. The Word teaches us that God so loved the world, which includes all mankind, without exception, and He loved it in such a manner that He gave His only begotten Son, as it is written: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. The Word deepens even further in that God desires for all to come to the knowledge of the Truth when He teaches us that we should even pray for all men, as it is written: “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:1-4. And there is much more than can be cited that helps conclude that, “…there is no partiality with God”, and that He desires for all to be saved. So then, we cannot blame God for people’s unbelief.

Who then decides whether they believe or not? And the answer is: the person; you. Each human being determines whether they desire to believe or not. It’s as simple as that. Every human being has the power of free will, and that is the reason for why this place that we know exists, with all of its imperfections and problems. The world is just the prelude to the eternal, the place where everything is decided, whether a person chooses to believe and live forever or not. So then, this place and what we do in it is supremely important. We should not live in this world irresponsibly, because during all of this, you are determining with your actions what finally will happen with you in eternity. In this part of today’s Word is where we can focus so we can see a certain detail where it says: ‘It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. So then, a person judges themselves unworthy of everlasting life, by rejecting Christ and His Truth. This is the great error that many commit, thinking that God has to change His process, what was eternally established, to accommodate people’s opinions and whims, that finally, God has to justify their evil and say that the wrong they do is right. It’s like saying: “I don’t want to climb the mountain, but I want to stand at its peak, so, I want for the mountain to come to me and place itself underneath my feet so I don’t have to do anything”. It sounds ridiculous, but that is what is being demanded from God Almighty, the One that did create all things including the mountains in this world, and even more, He created the universe. And so, it is not God that has to accommodate Himself to man, but rather, it is man that needs to conform to God and to His Truth. That is the decision.

So then, what is it that produces decision in every person, whether they decide to believe or not? That is between the reason of a person, of desiring to understand the overwhelming and irrefutable proof that God is God and that we need to obey Him, and the sin that dwells within us, that is also part of every person. It’s an internal battle and there can only be one victor. There are no ties. And the Word teaches us that the person that overcomes the sin that dwells within them is the one that will inherit the things of God, as it is written: “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:7-8. So, you should ask yourself, “Does what I understand about God and His Word command more within my life, or does my cowardness, my unbelief, my abominations, etc. command more in my life?” “What is my reaction to Christ, the very thing that judges me worthy or unworthy of everlasting life?” Lord bless! John

Valuing Christ’s Sacrifice - Hebrews 10:11-25

Based on Hebrews 10:11-25 (New King James Version)

“And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,’ then He adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Do we truly understand what the Lord did for us? And do we live our lives in such a way that demonstrates that we value His great work for us? If we observe our behavior as a group in general, it would be difficult to say that His work is valued. For starters, there is much corruption within the universal church of Christ, from those that preach and teach to newer believers. Quite simply, we don’t look well as a group. It’s really sad. We know that none of us will be perfect until we get to the goal, but at the very least, something of Christ should be visible in our lives, enough so others are stimulated to want to believe and follow the Lord. That is how we should affect people that surround us, regardless of their sins and how lost they may be. We are the ones that should be salt and light in the world, those of us that say that we believe and follow God. The big problem that I believe that has happened in the people of God is that too much sin has infiltrated the church, and like that, evil doctrines that support more the things of the flesh and sin than the purposes and will of God have become popular. We have lost our direction as a group. We are so focused on desiring the here and now that we have become even more problematic than the world that surrounds us. The world cannot tell the difference between us and them. Almost every believer desires for their lives to be comfortable and pleasant, just like the world. The great majority of the supposed Christ followers don’t want to have problems with anyone, just like the world. And in general, much of so-called God’s people do not worry about the needs of their fellow man, just like the world. And finally, the Christian only looks to fulfill their will and satisfy their desires, of course, just as the world desires. So then, what is the difference? None. There is no difference between one and the other. And, if there is no difference, then what incentive does the unbeliever have to look to believe in Christ? None.

The deviation of the group in general has happened because we do not understand clearly the sacrifice of the Lord, and as a result, we do not value what God has done for us. We do not have our eyes on the goal, but rather, we are more desirous to listen to things that feed our flesh than to try to understand and value what produces life, the Word of God. But, that doesn’t mean that we need to stay on that course. God always encourages us to change, to turn from our evil ways, to understand His will and be able to fulfill it. So, what should happen? We need to come back to the foundation of faith in Christ, to the why of things, to the reason for why we should follow the Lord. And the only way that this can happen is if we renew or try to understand more clearly what God has done for us.

To be able to understand what God did for us, we need to see where we were before knowing Christ, what was (or still is if you have not come to truly be born again in Christ) our background. The Bible teaches us this: “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:9-10. “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. So then, we were God’s enemies. That was our reality (and still is your reality if you have not come to true faith in Christ). And every person, whether they have sinned a lot or a little, their souls were dead, completely subjected to the penalty of sin. When sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, the destiny of the entire human race was to die in hell for all eternity. That is the truth, because all that have sinned in one way or another fall short of the glory of God. We had no access to heaven, or to eternity, or to any of God’s promises on our own. That was our reality before Christ. So then, absolutely no one has anything to feel proud of, and far less, feel deserving of what God has done.

This is what God has done: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23. We deserve to die, but God gave us a great gift through the Lord. Even though we were God’s enemies, the Lord treated us like friends, as it is also written: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” John 15:13-15. What else could be desired? Can anything else be greater or have greater priority than this in our lives? If you truly understand this, it is not possible.

And finally, it is mentioned that a day is approaching, and that is judgment day. Christ did and finished everything, but now, every human being must fulfill God’s will in their life through Christ to be able to obtain what was promised. Otherwise, why would we be urged to move forward? Because it is also written: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” Hebrews 12:1-3. So then, are you living your live in such a way that it demonstrates that you value the sacrifice Christ did for you? Lord bless! John

The Basis for Faith - John 4:46-54

Based on John 4:46-54 (New King James Version)

“So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.’ The nobleman said to Him, ‘Sir, come down before my child dies!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way; your son lives.’ So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, ‘Your son lives!’ Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, ‘Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.’ So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, ‘Your son lives.’ And he himself believed, and his whole household. This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.”

Believing in the Lord through signs and wonders has inherent problems, and they should not be the foundation for our faith in the Lord, and for many reasons. A great majority of people, and unfortunately, many who say that are believers have this problem, that they expect for God to demonstrate to them personally through signs and wonders His existence and power as a condition for them to believe.

The first problem that this issue of demanding signs and wonders of God has to do with a big problem involving pride and arrogance, and it is very easy to determine this because if someone wants for a another person to prove themselves to them is because they feel worthy of receiving such proof. In other words, by demanding from God that He needs to do something special so they can believe puts God in a position of service, like if God becomes God if He receives their seal of approval per se. Can a human being demand from a being like God proof that He is real? Let’s think on how absurd and completely out of place this issue is. If you really look at this, it can be categorized as insulting to God. Let’s put ourselves in God’s position for a moment: “The heavens and earth and the entire universe tells of My glory, everything visible and invisible knows that I am the Almighty, and the eternal powers that I have created acknowledge and worship Me for who I am, and I have to prove myself in some way to this person, to a being that is less than nothing, that I AM who I AM?” Do you understand how ridiculous and completely out of place this demand is? This is what the Bible says regarding this: “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.’” Matthew 12:38-42. So then, if a person desires to commit the absurdity of questioning God’s existence, they may want to think really hard on Who they are doubting and should brace themselves for the consequences, if there is no turning away from this mindset.

The other problem that emerges with waiting for God to prove His existence and capacities with signs and wonders is that they are not a good foundation for faith. The reason is because whatever these signs and wonders may be, since they are manifested in a temporary world, they are also temporary in nature. As an example, it can be said that the greatest miracle (physically speaking) that the Lord did on earth was raising the dead, and the Bible tells us that Jesus did this in different occasions. The most clear and definitive demonstration was when He raised Lazarus, because not only did He resurrect Lazarus, but we need to take into account that Lazarus was dead for days. Notwithstanding, and of course, it was something great, but Lazarus finally died yet again. Lazarus is not alive today physically speaking. So then, even though it was something great, it was something temporary. So, how can you take something that is temporary as a foundation for what should be eternal? In other words, what good is it to me that my faith in the Lord be founded on something temporary? What good is it to believe in something that cannot assure me eternity if I have the same proof in Lazarus and that he died again? We can say the same thing about the loaves of bread and fish, of the lepers He healed, of the lame He made walk, of the blind He gave sight to, etc. They are all finally temporary things, that yes, tell of the glory of God, of the veracity of the Lord Jesus, and the work of the Holy Spirit, but they have a limited result, and possibly, man could come to duplicate those things in some way, whether it be through medicine, science, and/or technology.

The other problem that surges is: “What if God does not answer in the way I want Him to, with a miracle?” What then? For example, the Apostle Paul was not healed from his thorn. The Apostle John died of old age in jail. The Apostle Peter died being crucified upside down. Many prophets had very sad endings humanly speaking, as it is written: “Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise.” Hebrews 11:35b-39. What then? Did these people not have enough faith and that is why they ended up the way they did? That’s why we need to be very careful with what we listen to and what is used as a base for our faith because it is very easy to be drawn away by apostasy (demonic doctrines), by what is distorted from the Word of God (the devil uses the Word to make lies sound like truth). There will never be more faithful people than these or others spoken of in the Scriptures. And so, what then? We should simply not base our faith in God on things that are subject to our criteria, on the temporal, but rather, it should be based on the eternal, only on the Lord. It is written: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.” Hebrews 11:1-2.

The greatest miracle and sign that the Lord left us that is most useful to us is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the One who is at this very moment seated at the right hand of the Father. Jesus is the One who gives eternal life to all who believe in Him and follow Him faithfully until the end, no matter what happens (even if things don’t turn out the way you want them). The basis of our faith should only be on the Lord because He is the Almighty and the Eternal God. He is the resurrection and the life. And when what is temporary is gone, He is the only one that remains forever and ever, and the only One that can give us of the life that really matters, eternal life. So then, what is the basis of your faith? Lord bless! John

Looking to be Ready for the Day of Christ - Philippians 1:1-11

Based on Philippians 1:1-11 (New King James Version)

“Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

When we become born again in Christ, is there nothing else left to do? There has been much controversy through time regarding whether a person loses their salvation or not, of if good works count or not after receiving Christ, and if we will be judged for our good or evil works after coming to Christ. It’s understandable for there to be so much controversy and for two simple reasons: because the devil looks to cause confusion in what is simple and obvious to try to make the saints deviate from the truth, and because of the sin that still dwells in us, even after we have been born again in Christ. Our sin will always try to ensnare us, even until the last moment, until we breathe our last breath. The devil and our sinful nature are a terrible combination. To be able to get to solid answers, we need to go to the Word of God in conjunction with the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

The first thing we can see is through what the writer of the letter believed within himself, the Apostle Paul (of course, inspired by the Holy Spirit). It can be said quite assuredly that Paul was an exemplary life of what it means to not only believe in Christ, but also, what it’s like to follow the Lord faithfully, and such fidelity that it even cost him his life. And towards his physical end, Paul gave his life voluntarily for the Gospel, for his faith in Christ, because Paul could have simply not have been beheaded if he would have denied his faith. This is what Paul himself said about his faith and about his walk much before dying for the Gospel: “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” Philippians 3:8-13. So then, Paul never thought that receiving salvation was just a matter of time, but rather, he believed that it was something for which you had to fight for, that you had to move forward. So then, if Paul expressed that he had quite a way left to go and a fight to be fought to get to the goal, wouldn’t that apply to us also, to those of us that have not yet arrived and have much effort still left ahead? Otherwise, if salvation was a matter of sitting and waiting and living our lives the way we want to, why did Paul put forth so much effort? And why would he encourage us to do the same? Why did he pray for these Philippians the way he did?

The answer is quite simple: the salvation that can be obtained through God’s grace is not about simply waiting and doing whatever we want, but, quite the contrary. Having and following faith in Christ involves fighting for it, and using the gift of God’s salvation for however God wants to use us. It is not something that you put on a shelf somewhere, or a decoration, or a status symbol. These are all kinds mistakes that are committed when a person does not look faithfully into the Word of God to be able to understand and do the will of God, as we are guided to do so by His Holy Spirit. For it is written: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” Hosea 4:6. In order to be able to know God’s will, as the people of the Most High, and be able to individually become capable for the work, we need to believe His Word and fulfill it in our lives, as it is also written: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17. This is the first and constant step that every person that has decided to follow Christ must take, to be able to abound in what is necessary.

Following Christ to be able to get to what was promised consists of abiding precisely in Christ and doing things for Him, because this is what we are taught also: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:5-8. Here is where everything starts to work together, because for a doctrine to be sound, it must agree with the Scriptures in their entirety.

Salvation has an end, a purpose, a why, as it is also explained to us in the following: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10. The Word says this also: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.’ Revelation 14:12-13. “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:9-10. So then, are you living your life in such a way that you will be ready for the day of Christ, living for the glory and praise of God? Lord bless! John

Being Faithful - 2 Timothy 1

Based on 2 Timothy 1 (New King James Version)

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.”

We live in an age where everything is wanted right away, that everything needs to occur instantaneously and to a person’s liking. Many have titled this phenomenon we are living as a microwave society. The idea behind this is that as many of you know, a microwave supposedly cooks everything much faster than a conventional cook-top or fire. Instead of waiting many minutes or hours, many things in the microwave are cooked in a few minutes or even heated in seconds. And we have become so impatient that we even stand by waiting while the seconds count down and we open the door before the timer expires because even those few seconds seem like an eternity. Many people want everything handed to them and right away. Quite simply, there is no patience for anything.

This issue that everything is required right away and to our liking translates to nearly every aspect of life, like when young people start their very first jobs, and they want to get paid very well right away and they want raises right away instead of waiting for some time pass while they begin acquiring experience, because what is interesting is that they want a lot of money, but many of them know very little. This impatience also translates to marriage. At the first sign of difficulty, many marriages are ended. In the US, the majority of divorces occur within the first 8 years. According to Wilkinson and Finkbeiner (a law firm in California), 50% of all marriages end in divorce, although the percentage has decreased a bit because many people are opting to just live together. In the US, a divorce occurs every 13 seconds. Following that statistic, nine divorces occur during the time it takes for one couple to recite their wedding vows (approx. 2 minutes). And there is a long list of other examples of impatience and lack of dedication.

This problem finally translates to the things that have to do with the Lord. Today, a gospel is preached where God practically must render like a form of customer service, and of course, when the customer wants things and how they want things. And if God does not do things to their liking, they abandon Him and they look in other things where they think they will be catered to. It’s because of this kind of behavior and disposition is that many people abandon the faith, or they create some sort of belief system that is subject to their opinion, but there is simply no faithfulness to the Lord. Practically, the majority of people do as they want and desire but are far from remaining faithful to the Lord. Even more so, and as we saw in today’s passage, we saw all kinds of different people mentioned. We saw some people that abandoned Paul like everyone that was with him in Asia, like Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord clarified things like this: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14. The problem that many find is the progress of time, and when they begin to find challenges along the way. The issue is that it is easier to follow the things of the world and to do those things that lead to destruction like we just read. No one likes difficulty, and good costs a lot of work, effort, care, dedication, and yes, even sacrifice. Many lose their patience with time, and for many different reasons. Many abandon the Way when they see that they have to do what the Lord says rather than being able to do what they want. Many abandon the things of God when they see a long and hard road ahead, when things become difficult, when persecution and condemnation start, when God supposedly does not fulfill their petitions like they want, or when the world starts looking more appetizing than the Lord’s things. Quite simply, they leave the narrow path because other things take priority over any kind of feeling or idea they have of God. And many times, people make the mistake in thinking that abandoning the Lord consists in denying the faith completely. Abandoning the Lord consists also in not following Him. That is also true abandonment, because we have to pursue and walk with the Lord; we need to follow Him, as it is written: “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” Matthew 10:37-38. The Lord is always in motion, doing different things, and to be able to be with Him, we need to follow Him, not just believe in Him, and even less, become stagnant and expect for God to leave His way for us. This is very different to what is preached commonly.

And as an ending, we see another group of people that did follow the Lord and remained faithful until the end. We saw this Timothy that becomes one of the principal leaders of the local church, but thanks to the faithfulness of his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. When seeing this, we can understand that faithfulness creates a chain through time, a chain that the Lord started, and was followed by the Apostles and the disciples, and these brought others to the Lord by remaining faithful, and so on until now. If we remain faithful to the Lord until our time is fulfilled here, we will form part of this great chain that God desires to make through eternity, that what we do here remains forever in perpetuity and before the great throne of God. So then, have you thought about just how important it is for both you and those that surround you that you remain faithful to the Lord all the days of your life, fulfilling His great and eternal purpose? Lord bless! John

Living a Lifestyle of Obedience - 2 Samuel 2:1-7

Based on 2 Samuel 2:1-7 (New King James Version)

“It happened after this that David inquired of the Lord, saying, ‘Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Go up.’ David said, ‘Where shall I go up?’ And He said, ‘To Hebron.’ So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. And David brought up the men who were with him, every man with his household. So they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, ‘The men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul.’ So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, ‘You are blessed of the Lord, for you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him. And now may the Lord show kindness and truth to you. I also will repay you this kindness, because you have done this thing. Now therefore, let your hands be strengthened, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.’”

One of the big problems that exists today in Christianity is the lack of obedience to God. And what the devil has used to be able to have this evil happen are the bad doctrines that he has infiltrated by using many of these so called ministers and preachers of God, by instilling everything that has to do with the abuse or ill use of God’s grace and love. In many places, God’s love and grace are taught like a license to sin, as if God’s grace and love has nothing to do with obeying and living a life that glorifies God. We can try to blame the devil all we want (and he is guilty), but there is also a great attraction to this evil. So then, the same evil that happened in the garden of Eden with Satan, Adam, and Eve is produced. The devil tempted man with something that appeared to be true to make them fall, but the woman and man found both pleasing and appetizing this false truth they were being sold, and they fell precisely in the sin that we are talking about today, the sin of disobedience, which involves many things.

For starters, disobedience never brings anything good, no matter how much love and grace God dispenses. In all reality, disobedience produced the fall of man, and if there is no obedience towards God and to what He commands, all of God’s grace and love cannot fix the consequences of the sin of disobedience. For it is written: “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” Romans 6:15-16. What we need to understand is that we were created by God, and we were made for service, and as such, what we choose to do with ourselves is what we wind up serving, and therefore, we become servants and slaves to what we do. And as the Word just explained, if we obey God, then we become slaves (because of love) for God, but if we serve sin, we then become slaves to sin and to whoever sin belongs to. So, will God’s grace and love be able to save us if we choose to serve sin and the devil?

This is something also that the Word of God teaches: “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” 1 John 5:1-4. And this is the greatest commandment and perfect will of God that we should fulfill through Jesus Christ: “Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.’” Mark 12:29-31. There is no love for God if there is a desire to disobey.

As a beginning to obedience to God, the very obedience that saves us is when we repent and convert from all of our sins, and when we acknowledge and make Jesus the Lord of our lives, and this cannot just be words, but rather, with all of our heart. And this is only the beginning, just as the Word explains it, that when we come to Christ we are born again in Christ, and as a birth, a person needs to grow and develop to become what God desires for them to be. This is God’s will also: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17. We were saved by God’s grace and love, but so we can do those things that perpetuate life, for every good work, and not for us to do whatever we want, and least of all, for us to return to the sin that caused our spiritual death to begin with. This is the great error that is taught as truth, that God’s love consists in that God needs to forgive our unrepentant disobedience and rebellions and for Him to serve us in whatever we want. And this is the same error that is taught as love also, that loving your neighbor consists in not giving them Godly counsel and letting them sink in their sin, and furthermore, support them in the wrong they do. Love can never consist of supporting sin and in not doing anything to help someone else that is destroying themselves in decadence. Christ died on the cross not so we can do what we want, or to fulfill our whims, and even far less, so we can serve sin in some way, but rather, He died and was resurrected to give us eternal life, and so we could be made free to do those things that do produce life.

Now then, what does all of this have to do with today’s passage? And so, we need to read this: “And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus—” Acts 13:21-23. David was not a perfect man, but for the majority of his life, he lived a lifestyle of obedience to God, looking to do what was pleasing to God, and supporting those that did the same. And God would guide David because he would look to do God’s will, not his own will. He understood that the Lord was the Lord and his desire was to do what his Lord desired. This same concept exists today, especially as a product of the death and sacrifice of our Lord. God’s grace and love was shown on the cross so that we could be able to belong to the Lord through faith, to make us part of His kingdom, and to be able to live a life free from the power of sin so we can fulfill God’s will,. And so, are you living a lifestyle of obedience to the Lord by looking to do His will? Lord bless! John

God’s Mercy - Jonah 3-4

Based on Jonah 3-4 (New King James Version)

“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, ‘Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?’ Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, ‘Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!’ Then the Lord said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’ So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, ‘It is better for me to die than to live.’ Then God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?’ And he said, ‘It is right for me to be angry, even to death!’ But the Lord said, ‘You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?’”

It’s easy to remember the prophet Jonah because of what happened to him because of his disobedience. He was the one that got swallowed up by a big fish for not wanting to do God’s will. What was Jonah’s problem? Why did he not want to go to Nineveh? The reason is simple. Nineveh was the Assyrian Empire capital of that time, one of the most brutal empires, and Israel’s main enemy. They were blood thirsty and power-hungry people, and within their own civilization, they were very decadent which much paganism, like many kingdoms during that time. Quite simply, they were despicable and for many reasons. But the Lord has always been a merciful God, and He loves all mankind, and at the very least, He wants to give everyone an opportunity for repentance, in one way or another. And He is even more merciful when there is ignorance, when people simply have not had a good and clear opportunity to know Him.

The situation is that God loves people incredibly. He is not the God that many think of as being cruel, like He is ready to punish or cannot control His wrath. If that were true, no one would exist right now. God’s wrath is something very terrible because He is the Almighty of the universe. But, within His incredible Being is this incredible love and mercy, and He desires everyone’s good, even those that seem most evil. No one is far away from God’s mercy. As it is written: “But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live. Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live? Ezekiel 18:21-23. He always leaves the opportunity for repentance. God does not expect for us to be perfect here (because it’s impossible), but rather, He desires repentance and conversion, that there be at least a desire to change when confronted with our sin. That’s what God looks for in mankind.

What should be our incentive to help others come to the Lord, even our enemies? No one likes to know this reality, but here it comes, what our reality was before being born again in Christ: “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” Ephesians 2:1-3. Whether we have sinned a lot or a little before coming to Christ, we were all children of wrath, dead in our sins, and faraway from God; and in reality, God’s enemies. And if God had mercy on us being what we used to be; He also desires to have mercy on those that are just as lost as we were. Are those of us that have come to Christ before better than the rest that have not come yet? Of course not.

Jonah’s error was believing that he was more deserving of God’s mercy than Nineveh. And this is the error that many believers commit, forgetting from where God took them from, of what they used to be before coming to Christ. None of us were good, and we are still not good. Quite simply, there is no place for pride or a feeling of superiority. And that is why we need to do what Christ did, even with His enemies, because the Lord even gave Judas Iscariot the opportunity to repent from his evil ways, knowing all of the thoughts that Judas had, and even the evil he was doing while with them, because God knows everything. This is the work of those that have come to Christ, our responsibility: “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.’” Mark 16:15-16. Can it be inconvenient or difficult to share the Gospel? Of course, it can, and very much! But that is the way it came to us. It cost many people much effort, pain, and even their lives so that I could come to Christ, so we could have what we have today. And of course, what can we say about what the Lord did for us, so that we could also have the opportunity of being saved? So then, will you form part of God’s mercy, so that others can also have the opportunity of being saved, at whatever cost? Lord bless! John

God Rewards Faithfulness - Genesis 39

Based on Genesis 39 (New King James Version)

“Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, ‘Lie with me.’ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, ‘Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?’ So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her. But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, ‘Lie with me.’ But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, ‘See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.’ So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, ‘The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.’ So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, ‘Your servant did to me after this manner,’ that his anger was aroused. Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.”

Does everything turn out well when we do good? Here and now, sometimes yes, and sometimes no. Doing God’s will here on earth does not assure us that everything will turn out fine here. There are many that teach that if a person has sufficient faith, that they will be able to get many things here on earth, even impossible things, and that everything will be fine. That’s what they base faith on. If we are reading the same Bible, then that is not true. If things go well for you here, then that does not mean that your faith is strong, just like if things don’t turn out well for you here does not mean that you don’t have faith or that God loves you less. There are many things that are taught as truth when in reality they are not. The truth is that doing good things now on earth and having a lot of faith does not guarantee that things will go well here and now, and that’s why our focus should not necessarily be on the here and now, because if we only focus on the here and now, you may lose your faith or misunderstand what faith is about which can then take you down a path that is very far from the Lord. The way to perdition contains many things that seem like the truth.

For starters, we saw a part of Joseph’s life, a person that was an example of faith and faithfulness to the Lord, who suffered many times for doing what is right. If you know the story, Joseph was sold as a slave by his brothers (although some just wanted him dead) because he was faithful to the Lord, because they envied him. After being sold, Potiphar bought him. Things went more or less well for a short time (although he was a slave), but this time, he was accused unjustly of trying to rape Potiphar’s wife. And from there, he was imprisoned. Things started looking up again (per se) while in jail, although not only was he a slave now, but also, a prisoner, without any kind of right or human value. And in summary and after certain events, God allows for Joseph does rise to power and He uses him with Pharaoh to help Egypt and his own people. But, Joseph had many ups and downs, very unpleasant moments, and not one time do we see Joseph be unfaithful, but actually quite the contrary, many of his problems were caused by his faithfulness to God.

This is what the Word of God truly teaches: “Having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” 1 Peter 3:16-18. It is possible to experience hard times (humanly speaking) when we fulfill God’s will, when being faithful, for it is also written: “Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.” Hebrews 11:35b-40.

So then, where should our sights be placed on to be able to remain in Christ, even through those hard times that we may need to endure for doing God’s will? It is written: “For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Corinthians 15:16-20. Faith in Christ is not necessarily for this world, and even far less, to be used for the things of this world, but rather, faith in Christ and being faithful to Him is for the resurrection, for eternity. Therefore: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21. So, will you be faithful to the Lord, no matter what happens, so that you can get to what really matters? Lord bless! John

Jesus Transforms Those that Follow Him - Acts 26:1-23

Based on Acts 26:1-23 (New King James Version)

“Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You are permitted to speak for yourself.’ So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself: ‘I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently. My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know. They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. For this hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead? ‘Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities. While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance. For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come—that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.’”

All of us that have been born again in Christ started as something completely different. We see in today’s passage how Paul tells of his conversion, and what he used to do before coming to Christ, and how God transformed and converted him into something completely different and contrary to what he was. Saul (or Paul) was an extremely religious man, even to the point of feeling such zeal for his religion that he even persecuted the church, and jailed and consented in the death of many (as he consented in Stephen’s death). He did what he did not because he liked hurting people like some have erroneously assumed. Before Christ, Paul was a powerful man, with great political support, very educated, of the Hebrew aristocracy, a Roman citizen, and quite possibly, rich as such. But, by seeing his writings and stories, we see a person that is completely different, that he left everything for this new faith in Christ, and that history tells us that he traveled more than 10,000 miles (16,000 km) preaching this Gospel, and that he was even decapitated for his faith in Christ in the end. From being someone powerful, rich, strong, he ended up in another faith; and humanly speaking—poor, persecuted, and even died prematurely. What can cause such a transformation in a person, and moreover, take them to a complete reverse of what many would consider as something crazy and undesirable; especially comparing his life to today’s mainstream Christianity?

The issue is quite simple. He had an encounter with God, with Jesus Christ. And when he had that encounter, there was a transformation in the way he felt and thought, something happened at the center of his being in those moments that made him become a completely different person. Instead of continuing his persecution of the Church, his course changed, there was instant repentance and conversion. At that moment, Paul felt He found something, or Someone, much greater than what he thought and believed. He found Someone of greater worth and power than his human status, his human powers, his human wealth, and even his religious beliefs. He found himself completely overtaken by God, and he abandoned everything he was and had for Someone he esteemed as greater and more worthy, like he said it himself: “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.” Philippians 3:7-9.

Can anyone come to this? And the answer is, yes. Everyone that desires to truly know God can do it through Jesus Christ. Paul did what he did before coming to Christ because he thought he was serving God, and Christ came to encounter him so He could help him take the right path. God tries to do the same with all of us, in one way or another. The problem is that many people are too focused in other things that they lose sight of the shining of God’s glory. Do you think you have not had the opportunity Paul had? You are wrong. Do you not see the sunshine or hear the great works of the Creator, or smell the fragrance of His creation? All of our senses are capable of sensing God’s glory, day after day; and the death and resurrection of the same Christ that Paul believed is the same we have today. The issue is simply that there is no true repentance or conversion in many people because they are looking to justify sin and their love for the world rather than appreciating the greatness of Almighty God, the same Jesus that Paul saw on the way to Damascus. Many are more content or still searching for the crumbs of this age. “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19.  

When you give yourself the opportunity to see the glory of God through Jesus Christ, and you come to a true repentance and conversion, then you will start to understand what was that thing that motivated Paul (that also motivates me), and God will start to change your life, as it is written: “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” Galatians 5:24. So then, have you decided to abandon your sin and truly follow Christ so you can be transformed by Him? Lord bless! John

True Ministry - Acts 13:1-12

Based on Acts 13:1-12 (New King James Version)

“Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant. Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, ‘O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.’ And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.”

What does the true ministry in the Lord really consist of? Do you need to leave or abandon everything to be able to truly serve the Lord? Maybe yes, maybe no. Do you have to go to seminary or a special school to be able to prepare for the ministry? Maybe yes, maybe no. Does a person need to go to a faraway land to be able to truly serve the Lord? Maybe yes, maybe no. Is the only way that a person can serve the Lord is if they are recognized by some Christian institution with established credentials? Maybe yes, maybe no.

To be able to understand what true ministry really is, we need to go to the Bible and to see what God truly says about this, not what men say it is, because that is the primary problem that commonly exists, people letting themselves be guided by human opinion rather than seeing what God says through His Word. This is what the Lord Himself left established: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” Matthew 28:19-20. What does it mean to “make disciples”? The topic of making disciples is, first of all, taking the Gospel to people that do not know the Lord, those that have not yet been able to establish that personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. That is the first step, because the second, to be able to fulfill the idea of making disciples has to do with what the word “disciple” which means: a follower. And of course, making a person a disciple of Christ is helping them not only come to believe in Christ, but also, helping them follow the Lord, that they adopt the lifestyle that the Word of God teaches. God not only desires believers, and He did not command us to just make believers only (because believing in the Lord and following Him are two completely different things). This is what the Word says about believing: “But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:18-20. So then, coming to believe in Christ only is not a great thing, and it is not what saves you, because otherwise, then demons could be saved (which is impossible). Salvation comes through believing and following Jesus, becoming His disciple, doing what He teaches. And so, true ministry has to do with everything that involves making disciples for the Lord, either helping people come to Christ, as well as helping people follow Christ, or both. That is true ministry, the service that the Lord is truly looking for.

It is an error to think that we must leave everything to serve the Lord. God wants for us to follow Him, and for Him to be the One that says what we should or should not do. Paul, for example, worked to sustain himself, and moreover, and he did this as an example that should be followed, for it is written: “But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.” 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12. So then, leaving our jobs is not a Biblical requirement. For the glory of the Lord, I keep my own secular job (that many times requires between 50-60 hours a week, and sometimes even more) to be able to follow the Biblical example and not be a burden, and not to look to make myself rich either (I am far from that).

What should in the end be true ministry? The Word explains it like this: “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’ And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:13-19. True ministry consists of being available for what the Lord wants, if He really is the Lord of your life (because He is the One that should be in command, not us), and obeying Him, in making disciples for Christ where He says so, both how and when, whether it be at work, at school, with your family, with your neighbors, with your friends, with total strangers, for you to be available and obedient like those great men and women that preceded us in the faith, that thank the Lord, and thanks to them, we have what we have today. If it were not for their obedience and disposition in the Lord, I would not know the Lord like I know Him and try to follow and serve Him until He comes for me. So then, are you fulfilling a true ministry, despite the challenges that you may find along the way? Lord bless! John

Murmuring Against God - Exodus 16:1-3

Based on Exodus 16:1-3 (New King James Version)

“And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, ‘Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’”

Do you understand that God sees and hears everything, and even knows your inner most parts? God knows everything. How can I make such an assertion? Because the Word says so. For starters, the Word of God is more than just a collection of words and thoughts written through the centuries by men that were inspired by God. The Word of God is a Person, the Person of Christ, as it is written: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” John 1:1-2. The Word is part of the Divine Trinity, and John reveals Him as the Lord Jesus. And so, by establishing this fundamental principle is that we can establish the following, as it is also written: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:12-13. Therefore, the Word of God is spoken of in a personified sense because It (He) is a Person, the Word is the Lord. As such, the Word of God, or rather, the Lord pierces even to the division of the soul and spirit, the joints and marrow, and discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart, and nothing is hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to Him. He knows absolutely everything.

In the following passage, we can see this principle in action, per se, as it is written: “Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Arise and stand here.’ And he arose and stood. Then Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?’ And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.” Luke 6:6-11. Here we read that He knew their thoughts and understood their intentions by the way He acted. And of course, they were filled with rage for all of those reasons, because they realized that He knew everything, and that they didn’t even have the smallest excuse to precisely carry out what they wanted to, their plans were completely frustrated. On a tangent, and as further clarification of everything the Lord knew about their plans, the scribes and pharisees could not just go and kill the Lord. It had to be done in a way where they could be seen as the good guys, to feel justified publicly, and so no one could notice their true intentions.

Now then, coming back to today’s key passage, we see again the issue of murmuring and speaking evil of the Lord, because that is what murmuring is: complaining, or speaking ill of someone, and doing it secretly. After God had done such wonderous works, miracles, signs with supernatural power, to free them from the power of Egypt, where they were slaves for centuries, with rigid, harsh, and ruthless masters, those that made them build those great pyramids we see today, with hard work, at the edge of the sword and being whipped, with blood and death, they dare come to complain that God wasn’t doing things right, and that they were better off in Egypt? That is an incredible injustice and such a false accusation! They were truly better off in Egypt? Of course not! There was no limit to their lack of appreciation and ungratefulness! And this issue of murmuring and complaining against God really made Him weary, together with their other sins. That’s why they roamed the desert for 40 years, until the generation that had left Egypt disappeared in the desert. Because of their rebellion and complaints, a trip that should have only taken 9 months if they would have walked a mile per day (1.6 km) took them 40 years. Do you understand that complaining against God, speaking evil of Him, and murmuring brings only more problems? And, why does this happen? Because if a person does not have a heart to acknowledge realities, and to realize everything the Lord has done, continues doing, and intends to do with those that love the Lord, they simply will not receive good while here on earth, and even less, in eternity. How can God reward people that don’t see as blessing and good the things He does? How can God give good if everything He does is seen by them as evil or inferior?

The issue is that we cannot temp the Lord, nor murmur like many times we have the tendency to do (if we are honest), for it is written: “Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” 1 Corinthians 10:9-11. And this is New Testament passage, not Old Testament, for those of you that claim that the things of the Old Testament don’t apply today. The past was written for us so we can learn from it and apply what we learn from then now, and in the future. This is what we need to keep in mind before murmuring: “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” Isaiah 55:8-9. And I would venture to say that we should be careful with thinking evil of God, having clarified everything we did previously, because not only does He know when you speak evil of Him, but also, He knows and understands even the depths of your being, He knows your thoughts and intentions, as it is also written: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:9-10.

So then, if you don’t look to learn and understand everything God has done, does, and thinks about doing to those that love Him, things will not go well for you. But, if you look to think and feel good towards God, seeing reality, that He loves you and only desires good for you now, even though you may not be able to understand right now because you simply don’t have the capacity to know what He knows, then you will obtain what He has for you now and even more importantly, what He desires for you to have in the future, in eternity. So, will you continue murmuring against Him that sooner or later will give you according to the intentions of your heart? Lord bless! John