Friday 1 April 2011

SOME THOUGHTS ON PROPHECY


 “But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.”
                                                                                                            1 Corinthians 14:24

We should all seek to prophecy as born-again believers. For in prophesying we reveal the secrets in people’s hearts that they may know that God sees their hearts and they can do nothing to hide from Him. Prophecy also serves to edify (or build), exhort (or encourage), and comfort (see 1 Cor 14:3). So the desire to prophesy is in actual fact a selfless pursuit. Even though he who prophesies may see himself as something great and in-turn become arrogant and boastful; thereby condemning his own soul to hell. Therefore, the root of all prophecy (and any other spiritual gift) must be love (see 1 Cor 13:1-3).

Saturday 19 March 2011

THE FOUR GOSPELS ARE AUTHENTIC



 The four books of the Gospel are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They were divinely arranged in that order, were divinely given their names, are divinely represented in heaven, and divinely reveal the truth of JESUS. On earth the four agree in one: the Lord Jesus Christ; and in heaven the four are one: around the throne. There are four books of the Law in the Old Testament, and they are Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. They are the beginning of the establishment of the old covenant and its commandments and promises. The four about Jesus the Christ are the beginning of the establishment of the new covenant and its commandments and promises.

In the new, it is Jesus alone who is the Lamb for atonement, for Passover, for daily offerings, and for required sacrifices, and is our Moses, our Aaron, our Joshua, our pillar of cloud, our pillar of fire, and our Ark of the Covenant. In both cases there was the need for blood to confirm the perpetual covenant, and commandments to stipulate its terms. What God gets from the old covenant is a nation, and that nation becomes royal in the world, while in the new, what God gets is his own children, and those children are to inherit the coming kingdom of God. The old was of the flesh and blessings for obedience to laws, and the new is of the Spirit and grace by faith in the gospel.    

In the New Testament Jesus is the Word of God, so much that the completeness of the message is in him, and the totality of the doctrine is about him. It is him who teaches the teachers to teach about him. It is him who reveals himself to his apostles that they may do his will. It is him who unveils truth to his prophets that they may expose spiritual happenings. It is him who gives his heart to his evangelists to yearn for the souls that he wants saved. And it is him who shepherds his shepherds to be shepherds to his dear sheep. There is only one Word: Jesus. There is only one name: Jesus. All that is taught in the letters, all acts in the book of Acts, and all revelation of the book of Revelation, are based on the Gospel books.

There are twelve apostles of Christ the Saviour, and twelve patriarchs of Israel. Of the four books of the Law, Exodus means: the escape; Leviticus means: the reconciliation; Numbers means: the gathering; and Deuteronomy means: the repeated instruction. That is exactly how the Gospel goes. A soul escapes from sin and hell, is reconciled to the heavenly Father, is numbered among those who gather in Christ, and learns the instructions again and again. Another similarity between the two is the three-phase journey, which is encapsulated in the three days of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. First the Israelites get out of Egypt through the Passover and the Red Sea, second they spend all their journey with the heavenly tabernacle of meeting in the wilderness of sin where they are to have faith in the mighty God of spiritual power and heaven-sent commandments, and thirdly they have hope of entry into the promised land of rest after the journey of battles and victories.

That matches the three days for us, of Jesus’ passion, in that, in the cross we cross from death to life, in his burial our bodily sinfulness is buried from worldliness so that our spirits in the Holy Spirit may have power against the kingdom of hell, and in his rising with the everlasting body into his Father’s kingdom our souls have the assurance that we will rise on the last day. There were three main feasts in the books of the Law, and there are three that are compatible with them in Gospel Grace. The feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover), which is the same as the week of our salvation when our Saviour was crucified, the Feast of Weeks (First-fruits on the 50th day after Passover, after seven weeks), which is the same as the first baptism in the Holy Ghost on Pentecost [50], and the year-end Feast of Tabernacles (Trumpets), is to come at the end when the trumpet shall sound and we shall dwell in new bodies forever. Amen!

In Exodus we see how God delivered Israel out of the kingdom of bondage into his kingdom of righteousness; likewise in Matthew we hear the Gospel of the kingdom of God. In Leviticus we see how God wanted Israel to be made holy enough to serve him and have him abide with them; likewise in Mark we hear the Gospel of getting reunited with God. In Numbers we see how God organized Israel to fight in his name and walk with him through the wilderness as they encountered various nations and periods; likewise in Luke we hear the Gospel that encompasses every facet of human life and fits into every era of the world. In Deuteronomy we see how God recounts what made Israel his special people to whom at the end of their long journey he explains his will in fine detail and simplicity; likewise in John we hear the Gospel of knowing why we believe and must be confident in what is from the beginning, at the end.

The name Matthew is translated: ‘Gift of God’; Mark is translated: ‘Gentle’; Luke is translated: ‘Light’; and John is translated: ‘Favoured of God’. Jesus is the gift of God, the gentle Lamb, the light of life, and the favour of God, all for us all. Why four Gospel books? Firstly, because we can’t have one witness on such a great matter as salvation and the truth about the Son of God becoming a Son of man, as it written, “That in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established,” (Matt18:16). Secondly, because every accurate 3D view is from all four sides, perspectives, directions, vantage points, as it is with God in heaven, for it is written, “And round about the throne, were four beasts, full of eyes before and behind,” (Rev4:6). Why aren’t the Gospel books perfectly identical? Even a true story has many sides, which must be put together for adequate comprehension. And there will always be people who are more comfortable and more convinced by one of the ways of telling the true story.

Certain details are necessary to certain people. Particular ways of telling the one story interest particular people. You have not lived in every area of the world, neither have you been travelling with the Gospel since the time it began to be preached, and therefore you don’t know what it took, from the same story, to persuade some of the unique people. Anyway, if all the Gospel writing was perfectly identical, would you not suspect that they merely reproduced one person’s story? Moreover, if the very minute, easy to forget, seemingly insignificant, details of the account were all the same, would you accept that the reporters were untrained eyewitnesses only interested in jotting down the gist of the Master Teacher and Miracle Worker’s actual messages of light, and the testimonies about the healed?

Why did these people bother to take the pains to precisely recall and faithfully pass on the truths they knew personally about Jesus? Why am I also writing them according to my understanding, and through the inspiration of the Spirit of God? Why am I not the first after them to testify that the witnesses were telling the truth? And why were they not the last to write and speak about the good news of Jesus? Why are there so many who do it? In other words, Jesus and his Gospel are so absolutely true and effective to the sincere soul, that it just had to become the most read record of history ever, the bible being the best selling book ever, and writings and songs about Jesus having been more numerous than those not about him combined. The simple fact is: truth must be told!

ONE IN FOUR, IN HEAVEN, ON EARTH
Rev4:7, “And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.” Matt1:1, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” Mark1:24, “Saying, let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.” Luke3:38, “Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.” John3:31, “He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.”

Matthew reveals the lion, because as soon as the book opens he tells that Jesus is the Son of David, who was the king of Judah, which is the lion tribe of Israel, according to the blessing prophecies of Jacob. Mark reveals the calf, because very early in his book he tells of demons ascribing to Jesus the title of Holy One of God, which alludes to how Jesus is the holiest man to God, for being sacrificed for man’s liberation. Luke reveals the man, because he stretches the genealogy of Jesus all the way back, past Jews where Matthew focuses, to Adam, who is the originator of our kind and it’s defect, thus showing that Jesus will restore man’s son-ship to God, being another Adam, from the Jews, yet for all mankind. John reveals the flying eagle, because according to him the wonder in Jesus is that he is from above, like an eagle on high, and that Jesus is not of the earth, for he is a flying eagle far above all who are on earth. Amen.     

Matt4:17, “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Mark1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the gospel.” Luke4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” John 1:38-39, “Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said unto them, what seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? And he saith unto them. Come and see…” All the abovementioned verses contain the first words spoken by Jesus to humanity, according to each writer’s target audience, and focal point concerning why it is vital to believe in Jesus.

For Matthew what stands out in the earliest recorded words of the Lord is that, in addition to him primarily stressing the hearer’s need for repentance, the Lord also invites people to enter the kingdom of heaven, which comes both through the Holy Ghost in the soul of the convert, and through the life-long disciple’s earthly life’s end, at which instant the soul enters heaven, if the Lord doesn’t return earlier. For Mark what is significant is that the Lord’s gospel has to be believed; that is because the book of Mark is an evangelist’s gospel message: concise and preached with power to those not used to long sermons. For Luke what is special about the words the Lord spoke first is that he presented himself as the one for everybody everywhere, to satisfy the desperate soul and to free the life that is oppressed. For John it’s all a matter of seeking truth and finding it in the Lord, who is inviting the traveler to rest.

So John is concerned about truth in grace, Luke about relevance to worldwide peoples, Mark about faith in the power and blood of the Lamb, and Matthew about the King that is Jesus, his commands, his glory and his kingdom. History, science and Scripture, all bear witness to the authenticity of these named authors, that they lived, they wrote before 100A.D., Mark written soon after Jesus and John the last. In theological terms the first three Gospels in the bible are called the synoptic gospels, which refers to them basically sharing the same view of Jesus, generally making use of the same events and preferring similar statements that Jesus made, though occasionally differing on arrangement and emphasis. John is distinguished from the three, sounding more like he is providing explanations and seeking to expound on the eternal nature and work of Jesus. Consider that he wrote it close to when he wrote Revelation. The next question to answer is who the writers were.    

Matt10:3, “…Phillip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus…” Matt9:9, “And Jesus passed forth from thence, and saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the seat of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.” The first verse numbers Matthew among the twelve apostles of Jesus. If there was anyone who could write an authorized biography of Jesus it was one of his twelve apostles. They lived more closely with him that anyone else. They saw what he did and they understood what he meant. Jesus was not ever going to write down what was dictated to him by an angel, because as the only begotten son of God there is no question as to if he is much greater than them and same as the Father. Moses had to write down what God commanded him, like it is reported that Mohammed of Islam supposedly had the angel Gabriel dictate instructions to him. But Jesus, as God speaking to the twelve tribes of Israel, spoke the words, and the twelve apostles wrote for the church’s instruction. The second verse distinguishes Matthew as the publican who was called by Jesus from the seat of custom.

Mark14:51, “And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him.” 1Peter5:13, “The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Mark my son.” The first verse mentions something that is unique to Mark’s Gospel, and it can be logically deduced that Mark was talking about himself. How can that be? Well, like we show that Matthew did, isn’t he supposed to supply evidence authenticating his authorship as one who “followed” Jesus, too? According to Scripture and history John Mark of the book of Acts was the son of Acts’ Barnabbas’ sister, whose house it probably was where the disciples and their Lord had the Last Supper. So it should not be a big surprise that on the night when Jesus is apprehended after the supper at his home, young Mark followed closely in his night gown, and when the young men saw that he was a follower of Jesus they tried to catch him, like the little girl who identified Peter as a disciple. The second verse helps us realize how closely Mark and Peter must have worked in later ministry, as tradition holds that Mark was the ever-present recorder of the gospel according to ‘evangelist’ Peter.

Luke1:2, “Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word.” 2Tim4:11, “Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.” In the first verse Luke, who was a medical doctor and the first church historian, having been born a Greek, and not of Israel, is saying that what he is writing as the Gospel of the life of Jesus in the world, is absolutely reliable because it came from reliable sources, who were eyewitnesses and became preachers; this most likely being a reference to Peter, the inspiration for the book of Mark, who told the story as “Peter” told it, and was more or less imitated by Matthew and Luke. The second verse employs the words of Paul the apostle, who though having not lived with Jesus on earth, yet lived with him in the heavenly Spirit more than anyone else; who when he was miraculously converted by the risen Christ, frequented Jerusalem to verify with Peter the genuineness of his gospel, and had Luke as his constant companion and recorder, hence Luke’s Acts’ elaboration on Paul’s deeds. Luke thoroughly researched the truth of Jesus and found it perfectly agreeable with Paul’s ministry.

John13:23, “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.” 1John1:2, “For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.” The first verse identifies the author of the book as that disciple “whom Jesus loved”. He does not write those words out of pride at all, but sincerely in worship to Jesus his Lord who has loved him. For a variety of reasons he could be speaking in testimony to all that he is a man greatly loved, and not because he is any better than them. Well, the Spirit made him write it, and continued to keep all scribes and translators writing it. Why? For one, he was the receiver and writer of Revelation, which is a continuation of what was started in Daniel, who is also called a man “greatly beloved”, which means that one way in which the two were so loved is that they were made to know personally the true glory and eternal purpose of the living God. Another factor which makes them so loved is that it is recorded that they both miraculously defied certain death. Well, if someone loves you so very much, he will do for you what the second verse says. Hence John’s Gospel.

WHY THE WROTE WHAT THEY DID
All the four Gospels are in consent about several facts about Christ, even though they may differ, according to each one’s message’s focus, on things like where to begin the Gospel, what to concentrate on in the middle and how to conclude the book, as directed by the Holy Ghost. You find Mark not even giving space to writing on the birth of Jesus and his lineage, while in the middle, which is the bulk of his gospel, he concentrates on miracles and Aramaic words as spoken by Jesus, which is all done with the speed and authoritativeness of evangelism as would have been done by Peter, whose goal was to present a real Jesus. You find Luke giving the best background on the coming of Jesus into the world, then in the middle, which is the work of Christ, he concentrates on the parables, addressing human life. You find Matthew emphasizing, from the onset, that Jesus is a rightful King of the kingdom of God, and in the middle, which is the word of Christ, he highlights the kingdom’s commands. And you find John beginning from before time commenced, when it comes to who Jesus is and where he is from, spending all his space in the middle to stress that Christ is from heaven, and that he is only spiritually known.

All the four Gospels are in consent especially about the notable occurrence and divine reason of the crucifixion of Jesus and his foretold resurrection on the third day. This is the climax of the Gospel, the place that Peter, who is the first hand witness of all that Jesus did, John being the first hand witness of what Jesus said, for John was always by his side, but Peter always watched intently in order to imitate, and it is to the crucifixion and resurrection that Peter’s preaching of the Gospel was rushing, as is evident in that Mark repeatedly writes “and”, signifying speed, and regularly writes “suddenly/immediately”, thereby emphasizing purpose and power. Jesus had the multitudes as an evangelist with his audience, the 70 as a pastor with his church, the twelve as a teacher with his disciples, the three (Peter to be the first apostle evangelist/James to be the first apostle martyr/John the last apostle alive) as a prophet with his apostles, and “Peter” as an apostle with his successor. About the crucifixion, in Matthew the chapter is 27, in Mark it is 15, in Luke it is 23, and in John it is 19. For there is no gospel without the cross for forgiveness, and no eternal life without the resurrection. Follow suit.   

Matt28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Mark16:17, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.” Luke24:47, “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” John21:22, “Jesus says unto him, if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me.” When it comes to the last words of the Lord in the four Gospels’ conclusions, I use the verses I have quoted hereby to highlight each writers focus. Matthew is interested in the teaching of all nations and baptizing them in the three-fold holy name, which is something that has just so happened throughout history, wherever missionaries have converted whole national religious orientations. Mark, true to the evangelistic heart of Peter, is particularly interested in the availability of the power of Jesus to all.

Luke is more interested in the Gospel being preached for the conviction and conversion of sinners in every place in the world, for Jew and for Gentile, from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, with Christianity taking over from Judaism, as seen in his last verse, where he says it was the Christians who were in the temple. John, ever the mystical and mysterious of the four, perceiving Christ’s prophetic and everlasting work, chooses to draw interest to the statement by Jesus concerning the futures of the names of Peter and John. Wondrously enough, it so happened in church history that for about a thousand years of the Roman Catholic era of the Middle Ages, the name of Peter was major as the foremost apostles. Even more wonderfully implemented by God alone is the historical fact that, to bring to an end the domination of the Roman Church, Protestant men, many of whom had the name John, where outstanding in ushering in times of the love of Jesus back into the earth. Examples are: John Wycliffe, Jan Huss, John Calvin, John Knox, John Wesley, John Bunyan, John Newton, John Milton, etc.

Matt4:18, “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.” Matt4:21, “And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.” Concerning the Roman Catholic Church and its popes at the Vatican, I have already said their belief is to regard Peter to be the first pope, the popes to be like Peter, and the Vatican to be the resting place of the body of Peter, basing the large part of that shaky belief upon Matt16:18, where Jesus says that he himself is the Rock on which the church would be built, a statement that Catholics misinterpret to mean Peter is their rock. They are clearly wrong hermeneutics-wise, and are exposed by John1:41, which says Peter means Cephas which is interpreted as “a stone”, and by Luke6:48, which says that one must build his house on “a rock”, and that rock is certainly not Peter, but in 1Peter2:5, Peter himself says that the spiritual house of Jesus is built of “living stones”. On top of that they used Matt16:19 to authorize their popes to make and change spiritual laws.           

Before I go any further let me hereby briefly explain, if you can receive it, that the Almighty God and Father in heaven, will, does, and has done many things in the world through many people and institutions that were not even Christ-like, according to his own highest thoughts; but when it comes to the Son, the one purpose of the Son as Lord is mainly to save souls. His Father judges peoples, he saves them. So whatever the Father has decided will take place cannot but be so, as it is with the names of the first four apostle, their relation to each other and the significance of their names in the history of the world. The name of Peter is inseparable from what is assumed to be the beginning of the Catholic Church. In the same way I will now show that the name Andrew ‘Henry’ is fundamental to the founding of the first protestant state, turned empire, then founder of the USA social empire; which is: England. Now all Europe used to be subject to the supremacy of the popes, themselves being as high priests and king-makers or breakers, from their state that is the Vatican; and that was only until the 1400s when Henry VII of England rebelled, making the UK independent, then an empire over a quarter of the world.    
 
I will now briefly point out some vital scriptural symbolism to make this more plain. The sea, seen here pertaining to Peter and Andrew, symbolizes, in cases like this, many nations, while a ship, which pertains to James and John, in cases like this, symbolizes the church. Hence we figure out that as Peter and Andrew represent evangelism, when that is viewed in connection with the Vatican and Britain as states over other nations, then the sort of evangelism was that of just gathering large multitudes to Christianity without deeply converting them or thoroughly teaching them; for states are like that: dominion-seekers. But when it comes to the ministry with the names of James and John, as can be seen by the brothers mending nets, the work is done by true believers in united congregations, correcting doctrinal wrongs and evangelizing with strong nets of thorough teaching, by so doing, fully converting the soul-convicted. Concerning John’s name I have already listed several men with the name, and it is noteworthy that during the era of such men, which we are still in, the major bible for doctrine has been the King James Version of 1611, from England, which became the most treasured document of that protestant nation.
  
It was divinely predetermined that after the age of Peter should follow the age of John, which, true to the words of Jesus, will last until he comes again. As is evident in church history, the first famous and culture-impacting Johns were spiritual. With the passing of time, particularly perceivable in the 20th century, major Johns have been the non-spiritual as well. There was Australian-born Dowie in the 19th century, who was the man of God who restored the apostolic ministry with healings and miracles, who inspired American-born Lake, who made Spokane to be medically declared the healthiest city in America because of the healings. There was Rockefeller, the oil business man who became the far wealthiest man in USA, like there was in Southern Africa, Rhodes, the diamonds and gold business man who was SA prime minister and had two nations named after him. President Kennedy initiated the mission for USA to land man on the moon. Pope John Paul II apologized for many evils of Catholic Church’s history. Pastor Hagee was instrumental in settling Jews back in Israel, particularly the Ethiopian. And Pastor Maxwell is leader in leadership instruction. Everyone of them is named John. It can’t be coincidental.

WRITTEN WITH FORESIGHT
Matt17:1, “And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart.” Acts12:2, “And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.” Gal1:19, “But other of the apostles saw I none, save James, the Lord’s brother.” James1:1, “James, a servant of the God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.” Rev12:1, “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” John19:26, “When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!” Acts9:11, “And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for behold he prayeth.”

The first matter I bring up concerning the above-quoted verses, addressed in their order, is that James the brother of John was part of the three that Jesus used to reveal himself most vividly to, presumably because he had a greater purpose for each of them. The second is that, for one, James might have been undergoing intensive preparation to be readily willing to die so early for the Jesus whom he knew so well, another reason perhaps being that he would thus make him too a great name in the latter days of history, as seen in that when the time came for the name of John to come into the world scene, it is still accompanied by that of James, his brother, in the form of the King James bible, from which reliable contemporary versions are developed too. The third is that for the most part of the early decades of the church, there were always twelve Christ-chosen and sent-out apostles in the world, James the Lord’s brother replacing James who died. The fourth is that the James of Jesus’ family became the bishop of Jerusalem, which was the spiritual headquarters of the global church, instead of Rome and its popes. The fifth is that the church has become the spiritual twelve tribes of Israel to God, in King Jesus Christ.

The sixth is that James the Lord’s brother and James the brother of John can be considered interchangeable in work and belonging, because in the same way that it can be said that the Authorized Version commemorates James of John it can as easily be perceived to commemorate James of Jesus in that the verse in Revelation pertaining to its coming is associated with Israel’s twelve tribes that James wrote to, also because this James the writer becomes a brother to John in that Jesus on the cross comforted his mother by giving John to her in his place thereby making James the Lord’s half brother from thereon John’s adopted brother. The seventh is that, like I said that Jesus made his own half brother to replace John’s brother as one of the twelve, likewise Jesus chose Paul to replace Judas as the last of the twelve, as Judas was always listed as, for we read that Paul after being converted by the Lord’s appearing was praying In the house of someone called Judas, so that he thus takes his office – Acts1:20 – so completing the number of apostle called by the Lord himself to twelve. I am suggesting this because I think it is undoubtedly unsatisfactory to have a substitute for Judas randomly selected.

About Judas, my personal belief stands in contrast to what every one seems to have believed from old time about the final destination of his soul. Before I elaborate on that line of thought, I just want to state that it is high time that the children of God and their men of God, learn that we will never all believe or practice the exact same things, when it comes to the finer doctrinal details and issues of minor spiritual consequence, and so we really need to quit hating each other and getting angry at each other over small things that do not even determine if you go to heaven or not, and do not disqualify you from the blood. It is justifiable, correct and important to get angry and defensive when it comes to coming up against outright heresies, carnal abominations, and blasphemy against the holy God, his clean Spirit, and his redeeming Son, because there are some who behave in a manner contrary to the truth, refusing to be judged by hiding behind saying the rebuker is not loving, while they themselves fail to love the Lord first, who says we aught to love him more than man, because if we love him in truth our love for man will have truth. Be concerned with why Judas fell instead of where he is. You read why, you don’t see where.

You see, the one living God and heavenly Father of us all, is love, is gracious, is just, is good and is merciful. But to avoid reasoning Scripture along the lines of my emotions and sentiments, let’s put line upon line and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, rightly dividing the word of truth, and not being novices who are proud and mind earthly things, whose god is their belly, and do not fear God. Matt27:3-5, “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in I have betrayed innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.” 1Peter3:19, “By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.” These two portions of Scripture guide us with two simple facts. Firstly, Judas repented, confessed his sins, turned from his wicked ways and intensely felt like a prodigal son on earth before God, and because there was not yet salvation, he committed suicide. Secondly, when Jesus preached to hell’s prisoner spirits, Judas knew best as to accept the grace in Jesus.

Getting to the issue of the Authorized Version being the one bible version acknowledged by Scripture, in accordance with history and the dedication letter of the bible from the born-again translators to their king, let’s turn to that Rev12:1,5,14,15, “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars… and she brought forth man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up to God, and to his throne… And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished… And the serpent cast out his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.”

In another place at another time I will use the letter that is the foreword of the old King James bibles, and it will be then that I will discuss the full letter and this chapter of Revelation in full, which includes activities of wealthy Illuminati Jews in the UK and the battle of Christianity with the Roman Catholic Church, whose Jesuits attempted to distort and destroy the bible from its inception but failed dismally. More than any other subject, this chapter of revelation pertains to Evangelicalism from UK to USA. Verse 1 is about Queen Elizabeth 1, who is simultaneously likened to the church, a woman that is heavenly. The stars are the world-wide Christianity, which is a nation of Jesus Christ, where it is true. The sun as referred to in the letter points to King James 1, the successor of Elizabeth, who in the letter is said to be an Occidental/Western Star, alluding to sunset, which explains why she stands on the moon. The direction of sunset also points to the Evangelicals migrating to become USA, a new land, the wilderness, across the violent seas, the flooding water. As the Gospels creatures in heaven refer to books, the eagle that feeds the woman is the Authorized Version. James’ iron rod symbolizes Britain’s Industrialization.       

Thursday 10 March 2011

GROWING IN LIFE


1 Peter 5:7 - Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.

 LIKE A CAKE
I am no baker, but this one thing I know, a cake tastes good. And I believe that most people, almost all women, and definitely all children, agree that a cake is among the tastiest things. Even grown men at a celebration will be more than happy to have a bigger slice of cake. The thing with a cake, which is the same concerning a lot of best things in the world and in nature, is that it is no easy task to bake it, neither is it cheap to bake or to buy. So a cake is a special kind of food, some sort of luxury and common at the same time, dessert-bread. How can a cake be an appropriate metaphor for one’s personal life growth? That is exactly where I wanted us to come to.

For one, a cake is not easy to bake, because if it was, many a mother would have forgotten about baking the usual: scones, biscuits, cupcakes, fatkoeks, madombolo, koeksisters, pancakes, and of course, our daily bread; and gone into the cake business, and I say business because cakes are so special that the ability to bake them can make you famous. Something else to consider is that a cake is the perfect baked thing for a celebration. That is where your life comes in. That you be celebrated. Among others, cakes are for celebration for: friends, family, birthdays, organizations, clubs, sports, politics, business, colleagues, marriage, and academic graduations. You can be the cake wherever life places you.

Your life’s personal growth can be likened to a cake being baked - the process. Since I have already confessed that I am not a baker, don’t expect me to know too much about baking a cake, or all baking for that matter. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I trust you to be imaginative and kindly fill in my missing words. Well, in order not to embarrass myself to bakers, the little I know about baking tells me that one would need at least the basics: flower, sugar, butter and eggs. Those, when properly mixed with other necessary ingredients, become dough, and the dough somehow ends up in the oven, which I might add, is hot.

In the hot oven the cake is timed to precision, because if you pull it out too early, to relieve it from the oven heat, it flops, and if you leave it in too long, thus over-exposing it to the heat’s severity, it gets hard and burnt. From the oven the cake is left on some table to cool down and enjoy the fresh air like everyone else. Following the short period of cooling down and being left alone, taking it easy for a bit, the next thing, the cake finds itself smothered with welcomed decoration in the form of icing, chocolate, and any other creamy edible substance that has no nutritional value but sure should be making the cake feel that it was all worth it, because now it looks so impressive to men and adorable to women, as it stands tall and complete with a cherry on top, like a graduate at his party and a bride at her wedding.

Up to so far I will let you do your own further contemplative mental research on how much you are like a cake being baked, every phase of your life comparable to stages in the process or of completing a cake. At this point I will kindly require that your self-realized similarity to a cake be kept in your mind, and that my writing, for a few paragraphs become philosophical, not for scaring you away, my potential friend, but for making you think deeper, because it so turns out in life that the deeper you think is the better you do. So we will tackle a few universal questions that are inseparable from the quest for meaningfulness in life. It’s your life we are talking about. Don’t be starting to act as if you need nothing else. For, don’t we all always find that in order to make further progress we need something else, in addition to what we already know, who we are already with, and what we already possess? Be honest.

For, sincerity is the source of all clarity, the cause for all sanity. Be sincere and you will succeed. Don’t be and you won’t. The primary questions which I would like us to briefly look into for them to usher us into the gist of this work’s body, are: Who, What, Why, How and When? By themselves, when thoroughly pondered upon they can move one to find answers to whatever one is faced with, and to overcome fully. But in this instance we will add to them the phrase: ‘are you here?’. So they become: Who are you here, What are you here, Why are you here, How are you here, and When are you here. The ‘here’ aspect is concerned with you being situated either on earth - the general - or in your current situation: the specific.

I will address the general, because I have some idea about it, and I will leave the specific to you, to be honest about it. When it comes to: Who are you?; I think you need to remember that you are a creation of God. It is God who thought of you, planned you, made you, finished you, before you were born, before you were conceived, and before you made your mistakes and were made to be a doubter. God knows your name. He knows your voice. And he knows your thoughts. He knows your heart, and all its desires, all its needs, all its plans, all its deviations, and all its insecurities.

When you see yourself the way he sees you, you will become confident because you know that in spite of your earthly beginnings you are a heavenly traveler, who aught not to accept defeat and cannot lose faith that good things are still possible for him. You are a custodian of the heritage of your people who went before you, in the family, in the secular sphere and in their moral legacy. You are to continue in the good values that have been passed on from past and are vital for future generations. You are to correct the unreasonable traditions of previous years which might have resulted in a large amount of wrong-doing. You. Not someone else.  

When it comes to: What are you?; I think you need to know that while you are made of the dust of the earth, which is the elements of physics and components of biology, yet you are a spirit that was breathed by God into your mother’s womb, the kitchen God uses on earth to bake his masterpiece cakes. You are not just a mere random happening that materialized when your father, whether you still have him in your life or not, and your mother, combined like humans do without a clue on how to scientifically create.

It is God who takes the ingredients that are human and mixes everything with his breath of fire, to technically create the combination that is you, everything corresponding, everything for a reason, every mental interest coordinating with the capacities of the body. That makes you special and supplies you with an eternal and heavenly parent. I know that they want you to imagine, though it is near impossible, that you somehow evolved, and are to be classified with baboons, which can’t even plan their own future or speak out their thoughts. If you are only a baboon, what makes you so special?

When it comes to: Why are you?; I think that since you did not find out for yourself why you were born, before you were born, yet you have this feeling in your soul that you were brought here for something greater than fulfilling the flesh’s needs of the body of dust, which is only after the things that come from the earth, like: food, sleep, sex, and other comforts and pleasures for happy continuation for the body; then you have to turn to the word of God, which is universal and eternal, to find real meaningfulness.

Talking about pleasure; come to think of it: the capability of man to experience pleasure is in itself further proof that man has a soul and that that soul was given him by someone higher who loves him and wants him to fully experience all that he prepared for him on earth as a creation from heaven. Now, seeing that we have this parent and giver above, who breathed us with his Spirit to be individual spirits that have feeling and acting souls that are unique and housed in bodies, then it must be that at the end of our lives we will have to answer for what we did, to that higher parent, who gives us purposefulness.

When it comes to: How are you?; I think it is important to regularly evaluate one’s life, to see if it’s headed in the direction that is intended and whether it is satisfactory to the one living it. It is important to check if you are the way you need to be at all times. What’s the point of having whatever you could wish for and not being able to enjoy it because you don’t have peace inside of you or with those you are with?

What is the point of saying you can achieve a lot of things or that you could have if only your circumstances were different, if you are at present not developing yourself from the inside to actually be ready to realize your dream and perform what you envisioned, if opportunities present themselves? The sad thing about not recognizing how you really are is that your denial prevents you from improving. A person who regards himself as not being in need of extra refinement has in that way disqualified himself from developing. It is imperative to first accept that you are the way you are, in order to carefully consider what your way forward can be.

When it comes to: When are you?; I think a person should always look at his life’s progress and placement in relation to time. By this I mean that if you live as if time does not matter you will always be late. That is because time does matter. The more you are in touch with the times you are living in is the more capable you will be to make the necessary adjustments to stay in line with what is required and to be relevant to those you interact with. In fact the better the grasp you have of the time you find yourself in is the easier it becomes for you to spot opportunities and to resolve predicaments.

If an obstacle came your way and found you fully aware of the time that is long-term, which continues after the obstacle, you will not be overwhelmed with frustration. Also, because of clear awareness of short-term timing, in the course of which there may perhaps arise an impediment, you will adapt yourself and your resources accordingly until you have weathered the storm. Mastery of time allows you to both live in the full experience of the moment and to live past the reality of the experience of the moment.

THE MIND
In Psychology the soul is said to consist of: the intellect, which is the mind; the emotions, which are the heart’s feelings; and the will, which is the heart’s choosing. Everyone who desires to thrive in this precarious world needs to have a sound mind. A sound mind can be developed, and it is pivotal that all effort be made to improve intellectual capacity. Intellectual capacity can be improved, and all people that you may know who got somewhere in life, did so particularly through increasing mental potential.

How can you too do that for yourself and your future? Firstly you must know that there is never a point in life when it can be said that you know enough or you are perfectly skillful for all aspects of life. Secondly you have to understand that one more new thing that that you learn about or learn to do will make your life that much easier and your life-style better informed. So have a willing mind. And learn more, everyday, anywhere and from anyone. In that way your life becomes richer and your experiences forever meaningful.

Read. Listen. Humble yourself. Be patient. Apply yourself. Be confident. People who read a lot will always know a little more than those who don’t. If you learn to listen carefully to what every type of person, great or small, has to say and really thinks, you will have objective and balanced views and attitudes in life. The more you humble yourself, when you need to and even when you don’t really have to, you will always have the greater advantage of learning more, thinking better and surviving, with many benefits, from any situation.

Patience is what many people lack, which explains why a lot of young people cannot sit to read for long enough, have considerably short concentration spans, listen rather passively, and seldom get to exercise sound judgment about people and occurrences. Applying yourself is about getting up to do want you are capable of and what you have trained yourself to do, in the process also gaining extra experience. Being confident should not make you stubborn or arrogant, which are always signs of being naive and self-centered, but should instead make you willing to stand up for truth with justice and to not feel intimidated when you really don’t need to be.

THE EMOTIONS
The wellbeing of your emotions is essential to the wellbeing of your whole self, and possibly that of your entire life as well. That is because emotions by themselves, without the consent of the mind, can drive a person to do things that are not well thought out beforehand. Don’t let your emotions run away with you. There are many people who end up in bad relationships as a result of having acted only on the basis of emotions for those relationships to start. There are many people who have ended up being drunkards due to having undergone a period of excessive sadness that led them to drink too much in an attempt to drown their sorrows.

There are many yet, who repeatedly lose the friendship of trusted people and superiors at work or in society, all owing to their outbursts of anger and the harmful words that come out of their mouths at those times of uncontrolled, and at times unreasonable, anger. There are many still, who gave up on their dreams, visions, plans, resolutions, aims, and aspirations, all because when things became a little harder and they came across hostility they feared and worried above measure and discouraged themselves to the point of altogether letting go of a good thing. All because of emotions.

Good emotions must be cherished, as they are the ones that sustain you when you have no one and you have fewer reasons to hope. It is in times like that that happy memories, focus on ultimate goals and creating present peaceful moments, all come in handy. Beautiful emotions of pure joy and deep sentiment are the very point why we live, why we seek more, why we do better, and why we make friends. It is all for the sole purpose of permanent happiness and meaningful sentiments. Love, for instance, has been known to revive the sunken heart like nothing else can.

Courage, as well, can make someone previously thought to be insignificant, to arise with strength and accomplish remarkable feats. Faith, without a doubt, has kept people going who could have never made it without strong faith, who by their faith attempted and performed unbelievable deeds. Conviction, like faith, is on record in history as the reason why certain outstanding individuals rose out of obscurity to push on and on until the right thing was finally done. Care for your emotions and they will care for you. Listen to refreshing music, spend some time with children, watch a clean comedy, walk in the beauty of nature. Be at peace.

THE WILL
As I have already said, the will is the freedom and ability to choose. That it is a freedom means that you are held responsible for your choices and you should always be ready to account for them. That it is an ability means that you should make use of it with all your heart and strength, unless you want to cripple your life and you are simply not interested in growing up. So choose. You can’t make the excuse that you will not choose because you could make the wrong choice. That is no excuse, because you also have the freedom to first choose to prepare your mind with intellectual knowledge and common understanding of what you could go into way before you actually decide to take it on.

Again, choose. But be informed. Do choose. And let it be good. Always choose, but don’t be too quick. If you don’t choose, you will know nothing better, you not experience new things, you will keep shrinking in the face of challenges, and your overall existence will be backward. Choose, because it could well turn out to be the best thing for you to get involved in. Of course, you can also, and should every now and then, choose to refuse.

Your strength is determined by how strong your will is. A weak will leads to a weak life. Likewise, a strong will produces a strong character. The will is what you work with to take control of your life and whatever happens in it. With the will you let what you want into your life, and with the same will you resist whatever you deem to not be beneficial in the long or short term, avoiding trouble and grabbing opportunities, all because you possess this one advantage, you choose for yourself.

In your choosing, never be negligent, in your doing don’t be weak-willed, in your starting don’t be doubt-willed, in your continuation don’t be careless-willed, and in your finishing don’t be tired-willed, and surely you will succeed. The will is what separates champions from participants. The will is what makes victors out of victims. It has always been the will that decided who won and who lost. Some complain that they try but without any luck, and so they have decided to sit. Well I have news for them. It’s not a matter of luck. With careful consideration you discover that good fortune seems to be more available to the persistent.
                          
YOUR BODY
Like I said before, the body is a house for the soul to live in one earth, in the same way that astronauts working in a space station or walking on the moon cannot stay alive unless they are wearing their space suits that have oxygen tanks and a helmet that has a clear wide glass for good vision, the soul, which is the real person of heaven walking on earth on a short visit, cannot function on earth without the body.

The inner oxygen from the suit’s oxygen tank, which has its constant supply coming from the space craft that is equipped with things form earth, is like the spirit from God that keeps the soul alive to see with the eyes and use the body like an earth suit for souls from heaven to do what heaven has sent them here to do, the space craft itself being very comparable to the word of God with supplies for the soul. Here I will make a short side point, which is that you should realize from the similarities I have just highlighted, that much of what science and society think are the result of their own practical wisdom, are in fact acts of God through man to demonstrate through society and science how he works forever.

You only have one body, so mind how you treat it, or mistreat it. For a moment imagine if honorable and noble astronauts, being the accomplished men of higher intellect that they are, were to return from a space trip with their suits covered with graffiti, tattoos, cuts, spikes and piercings, and couldn’t even stand straight because of being drunk or high on drugs, and couldn’t walk upright because they walk with various swaggers, and that when we looked at their glass for eyes they showed smoke inside.

Those astronauts, by so doing, would have, by their actions, expressed complete disregard for their noble suits and utter disrespect toward the honorable occupation of being astronauts, for many are the people on earth, like many are the angels, but the fewer that are astronauts and human beings get to be on earth, like on the moon. The body is much more noble than the suits of astronauts, for with the body we don’t only hear, see, speak, touch, and move, but in addition to that we taste, feel, are creative and express or feelings, never having to take it off until our days on earth are done. The body is not for being shared with more than one sexual partner in a lifetime, is not for dying before time, and it is not for laziness.

YOUR ENVIRONMENT
Where do you live? With whom do you live? How are your surroundings? What surrounds you? All these questions have to do with your particular environment, which you know, and which you must re-evaluate. Do you live where you are able to cope? Do you live with people who hinder your personal growth? Are your surroundings reflective of a person who has self-respect? And are you surrounded by things that by themselves are just de-motivating to the mind and depressing to the emotions?

If your surroundings remind you of sad things, improve them or your attitude, to keep in your mind encouraging things. If you are frequently where people do not believe in your God-given ability and inner strength, leave them and join those who appreciate and teach you how to be more complete. If you live where the environment is loud or untidy, regularly remove yourself to somewhere where you can have peace of mind, and have enough sense of dignity to tidy up your immediate environment.

If you behave in a way that is rejected by the beliefs of the community you come from and belong to, readjust your manners to be acceptable to their core inclinations, in order to be relevant to them and to be benefitted by what they have to offer, as long as you do not offend your own conscience, and as long as they do not lead you astray. Know where you come from, where your community is from, what has happened in the past, how your family came to stay there, what are the possibilities for someone staying there, and what that society has that is contrary to someone like you who is purposeful.

If you want to do well in school, why would you want to be in an environment of those who do not care about school, like at constant parties? If you want to be fit and to get your body to be healthy, through exercise and clean eating, why would you hang around where you are tempted to forsake your good values? If you are someone who respects your elders and is always ready to assist those who need help, why would you be of the company of rebels? Either be where you should or transform where you are. 

SOMEONE’S CHILD
Everyone in this world is someone’s child. No one fell straight out of heaven. No matter who you are you are definitely connected to some history. A good history to uphold. A bad history to amend. Your parents and elders are your first teachers, your church ministers are your second teachers, and your school teachers are your third teachers.

I do not include your friends among those you should learn from, because they are young like you are, so whatever they know is new, like they are new in the world, which means they either know little or understand little, because experience is the best teacher, which is why your parents, because of experiences, love you enough to save you from experiencing future disappointments. You can learn from your friends though, and you should, with caution though. Also, you don’t have to be the passive one among your friends, especially when it comes to trying harmless things that develop your skillfulness and experience, neither should you forever be the silent one among your friends, because there is a lot that you also have to offer them to help their lives.

If you do not have parents at all it does not matter, you have sensible relatives to learn from, and if not, you have caring elders in your community to learn from, and if not, you have the bible to learn from, and if not yet, you have God to pray to for wisdom and Jesus to depend on for everlasting security. If you have one parent, respect and honour that parent, who is doing all that is possible to care for you. By respect I mean, you are not your parent’s equal, you come from your parent, it’s not the other way round, your parent provides for you, so don’t you dare have the audacity to be ungrateful and spoilt.

If there is anything else that you wish for that your parent thinks is unnecessary, like staying out late and buying expensive items, remember that one day you will work, if you excel in school, and you have your own house and your own child, if you be patient enough for the appropriate circumstances. By honor I mean, make your parent feel proud of you, it’s not as if you won’t be happy at that too. If you start stealing, to buy what you can’t afford, or you get yourself boyfriends to buy for you, remember that thieves end up in jail or dead, and remember that prostitutes end up regretting all that they ever did.

SOMEONE’S HELP
This is what is the meaningfulness of life. To be valuable to someone. One or many. To be the one that someone somewhere at some time, in your lifetime or when you are gone from the world, remembers you with a grateful heart, same as we greatly esteem the former participants in the struggle against apartheid, same as we have high regard for every past peacemaker and pathfinder. To be useless in life is to have not affected someone positively. To be ineffective in life is to have not been prepared adequately to be a proper husband, wife, son, daughter, parent or leader to someone.

Sometimes you don’t even have to speak to the person who looks up to you. All you have to do is simply continue being your inspiring self from a distance, and the attentive watcher will pick up good things from your conduct and accomplishments. If there is a child to be adopted and you feel strongly about it, maybe you should be the one to be a parent to that destitute orphan. If you are profoundly troubled in your heart about the plight of the homeless, it might well be that if you have the means it is you who should put up a shelter for them. If you are convinced that political parties are not serving the people to optimum capacity once in government, maybe you should make your way there.

Start looking at yourself. What good are you doing? What good are you capable of? How are you a benefit to the society? Are you being a source of motivation to those watching you? In business are you honest? In hospital are you gentle? In the police are you reliable? In court are you fair? In entertainment are you constructive? In broadcasting are you connecting? In teaching are you devoted? In manual work are you precise? In industry are you innovative? By doing what we do to the best of our abilities, we are in that way improving our society, we are directing the younger ones, and we are creating the platform for a thriving economy, of job creation, of less taxation, of larger companies, of less unemployment, and of attracting investors.

This nation can be what it is meant to be, one of the best in the world, but that will not happen if the people of this nation continue to develop a culture of carelessness and blaming others, while they only want free things and uninterrupted fun. We have to be more serious than we are. We have to restore the ethic of hard work. We must stand up for truth and justice, be well informed, and take our place in history, playing our part in the world, for morality and for creativity. And surely we will be like one of the famous Western countries and the risen Eastern nations. Yes, us! It wouldn’t be any new thing for Africa.


Ps. M. Kekana

Tuesday 8 March 2011

GROWING IN CHRIST


LIKE A TREE
Jeremiah 17: 7-9, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he will be like a tree planted at the waters, which spreads out her roots at the river, and will not care when the heat comes, but her leaf will be green; and will not be worried in the year of draught, neither will she stop bearing fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it.” Matthew 7: 18-20, “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruit you will know them.”

We will now talk about the need and the possibility of a child of God to grow. There is such a need for everyone, new-born baby or experienced sheep in the flock, no matter at what stage they are, it is possible to grow more. Growth should continually be sought after. Growth is productivity. Once you cease to be productive you are in fact steadily dying. And if you are a new baby in the Lord and never grow from the point at which you started, which is that of being only a believing sinner, then you have not changed into constantly becoming a former sinner who is moving forward with effective faith.

The theme of spiritual growth is prevalent throughout the New Testament, and is often likened to a tree’s life, purpose, nature, and produce. A spiritual tree has to be pleasing to the Father who owns the farm, and to the Saviour who tends the tree that it might grow and bear fruit, then bear more fruit, then bear much fruit. Every tree comes from the seed that came from another tree, that the trees that came before and the trees that will come after may all be one type of tree producing the same kind of fruit. A tree begins as a seed. A seed looks small, yet from it will develop all of the tree, so that the right seed ensures the right tree. And it is the fruit that will be produced that will confirm that the seed was the right one from the beginning.

The seed is the Gospel as the word of God that is preached. The fertile soil is the heart that is ready after being broken and moistened and mixed with manure, all these being the preparedness to be changed by the word of truth and seek the light that exposes whatever is unwanted in the depth of the secret heart. For once the heart is renewed then the word is desired more for teaching unto righteousness and strength, which are like the water that daily water the tender transforming soul through the word of grace.

A tree must live in open air, and the open air is like the Holy Spirit always surrounding the tree and inside of it, to keep it alive. A tree needs light to be working in the inside, and to be effective on the outside, and that light for proper operation, which is incessantly received from above, is Jesus and his grace. A tree is planted to bear fruit, and the fruit is for doing good to the eaters, for healthiness and for fulfillment. Therefore let the welcome fruit from every tree under Christ, be for peace and help, with truth. Truth is the identification of the tree as Christian, its truth being the Gospel, and its truthfulness being that it does not and cannot compromise. The believer is kept true by grace, which constantly ensures that the heart of the righteous is right before God, and that the actions of the disciple are disciplined.     

FAITH
1Peter 1: 5, “…who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” The faith that we have is in Jesus Christ the Lord, and by faith we mean: to trust our Father without doubting and to believe that the Gospel is the ultimate truth. Power can never be dissociated from faith. The expectation for powerful intervention cannot be separated from faith in God, because we are convinced that our God is Almighty enough to be our present and dependable help. To say we have faith while we do not anticipate accessible power to come to our rescue and to permanently remain with us is to deceive ourselves and to underestimate the full gift that is the Gospel.

The power is from above, of heaven on high, where God our Father dwells in glory, ever available to the believing heart. For to genuinely believe is to absolutely please God whose heart is grieved because mankind is persuaded by the works of the evil one that God is either just not good or simply does not exist. Therefore the believer becomes the favourite person to God, for his life is a living testimony that he tastes and sees for himself that God is good, and his trusting God is a recorded eternal treasure in heaven, for there are many who do not believe, but he decided that he would believe to the very end. We believe without wavering, that God is our Father by Jesus, and that he loves us forever, and that he has given us the abundance of his Holy Sprit, who has liberated our lives from fears and ignorance.

HOPE
1Corinthians 15: 43, “Sown in dishonor, and raised in glory, sown in weakness, and raised in power”. The end is what will reveal the actual glory of the salvation that we know has already redeemed us, which for now is more of a reality in our souls through the inner working of the power of the Spirit of God, but at the end we shall see the Lord Jesus whom we have trusted through thick and thin and highs and lows, and we will enter with the new everlasting body, into that heavenly glory of God, on earth then. Hope does not disappoint, for the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. We have heard that on the third day Jesus Christ did rise from the tomb, and that that very tomb to this day remains empty in Jerusalem, and that in the course of two thousand years not one man ever found the dead body of Jesus anywhere, nor can any come up with bones that he can claim to be his.

For the Jesus who had been saying, long before his death and resurrection, that he would be crucified for humanity’s sins and be raised by his Father with the eternal Spirit of holiness, is truly alive with an undying body of glory, and his blood is in heaven for the defense of the defenseless, who flee from the devil and hide behind his grace. This is the one and only Christ of God, who was foretold by the many prophets of the Old Testament, who predicted that he would die for sinners and rise with power, that the love of God might freely come upon Israel and the foreigners who did not deserve the mercy that we have now accessed. And we know that this same Jesus will come again on the clouds from heaven for us with all the saints.

SCRIPTURE
2Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” No scripture no Gospel. No scriptural-ness no Christ-likeness. The child of God must live on the word of God. It is his soul’s food. It is his mind’s wisdom. It is his eyes’ light. It is his ears’ counselor. It is his feet’s guide. It is his hand’s teacher. It is his mouth’s voice. It is his spirit’s weapon. And it is his heart’s honey. The child of God wants to understand what the kingdom of his Father is all about. He needs to hear for himself what our Lord Jesus has to say to him and to all. He needs to be sure that the Father has supplied heaven’s angels to us on earth to help us fulfill his will and be safe in Jesus. He is glad to learn more than before, about how much more the Holy Ghost gives him a capacity he never had before, and leads him closer to the Shepherd who is near to the seeking. It is from the word of God that we receive our daily encouragement and applause from above.

You should not only read the word of God, but study it. And when you study it, learn its lessons never to forget them. And when you understand what it reveals as the absolute reality, walk accordingly. Make notes. Underline. Make annotations. Compare scriptures. Memorize the ones you need to. Know where to find what you need. Be capable of teaching the messages of truth to others. Let your conduct and faithfulness and reliance on the commandments and promises of your Father be clear for all to see. That way you will grow, from being a novice to having expertise, and from insecurity to certainty. Grow on.

PRAYER
1Thessalonians 5: 17, “Pray without ceasing.” After “Jesus wept” John 11: 35, this could well be the next shortest verse in the bible. Why would God make that shortest verse the shortest? And why would he make this one one of the next shortest? About the shortest, God wants to show that the love of Jesus for man is the kind that makes him weep. About this one being one of the next shortest, God wants us to know how so very extremely serious the matter of continuous prayer is for the saint. Anything that is written in short is so stated so as to not be forgotten. If I were to start from here to tell you all the reasons I know as to why it is vital to pray at every opportunity and for every issue whatsoever, I would end up backing it up with testimonies so countless that it is more practical in this instance to just say that God hears and answers prayer, and that the more you pray is the more you grow into heavenly things.

Pray when you wake up, and pray before you sleep. Pray when you read the bible, and pray before you preach. Pray on your knees, and pray walking. Pray whispering, and pray shouting. Pray like a beggar, and pray like a ruler. Pray with tears, and pray with laughter. Pray with songs, and pray in silence. Pray alone, and pray in fellowship. Pray with fasting, and pray at midnight. Pray repentantly, and pray thankfully. Pray in the name of Jesus, because that name appeals to the favour of the Father, that name attracts the power of the Holy Ghost, that name covers the soldier with fire from on high, and that name is mightier than any devil. Pray through the blood that was shed on the cross, and save your soul. Pray!

WORSHIP
Revelation 19: 10, “Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” We worship God because he is worthy of it. Actually the word ‘worship’ consists of the words ‘worth’ and ‘ship’, meaning: the worthiness; which is what we are really saying when we worship our God, acknowledging his immense worth. God is worthy because he is the Creator. He is worthy because he is our heavenly Father. He is worthy because he is Almighty. He is worthy because nothing is impossible for him. He is worthy because he is King over angels. He is worthy because he is Lord above every creature. He is worthy because he is the only wise one. He is worthy because ha gave us his beloved Son. He is worthy because he is love. He is worthy because he forgave our sins. He is worthy because he gives us each day our daily provisions. He is worthy because he has prepared mansions for us in his house. He is worthy because he is the judge of all the earth. He is worthy because he is the Most High.

We sing of Jesus, praising his name, testifying of his grace, giving him thanks and proclaiming his kingdom, because there is no other name by which we can be saved, and we believe that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. We shout the name of Jesus because demons are terrified of it. We admire and adore our marvelous Shepherd who walks with us and is the Lamb that was once slain in our place on the cross and has wonderfully assured our souls and renewed our hearts. We call upon his name because the wicked one can’t stand him. We declare that Jesus Christ is the Lord! Unto him we sing out loud, and dance with all our might, and recite psalms, and receive new melodies in the Spirit.     

LOVE
John 13: 34, “As I have loved you, that you also love one another.” We love because we are loved. We are to love in the same way in which we are loved by the Father. In fact we love with the very love with which we are constantly being loved by Christ. We learn from him to love. His love is true, so we love in truth. We show and give love to the saints because we love our Father enough to do whatever makes him happy. We love the people in the world not because they are lovable or easy to love, but because we know how much Jesus has loved us who were not asking for it or aware of our need for him. This is the love of God in Christ through the church: that we give, that we forgive, that we cheer, that we comfort, that we visit, that we share, that we befriend, that we serve, and that we intercede before heaven and intervene for those in the world. For love we are willing to be holy; keeping ourselves strong in the Lord and exemplary in his way, that those who are little lambs in the faith may not falter because of our carelessness. For love a young man will not commit fornication with his fiancĂ© because he could not bear treating her cheaply. For love a teenage girl heeds the advice of her parents that she not give in to peer pressure and live the party life, because she couldn’t forgive herself if she were to be the cause of their heartache, repaying their love with ungratefulness for selfish ignorant conveniences.

The totality of righteousness amounts to nothing either than love. For, love is the type of righteousness that is easily evident through its various works, which distinguish it as genuine. For many in the church claim to be so holy that they will not lower themselves to do good where it is most needed. And there are many too, who are simply afraid of giving, going or serving with love, for fear of inadequacy and lack. But where there is love and the love is true, servants pay a heavy price, and they are not weary of the cost. In loving we act like Jesus. For love we become willing to trust God. With love righteousness does right.

PEACE
Philippians 4: 7, “And the peace of God, which is beyond comprehension, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” We all need to live in peace. But the devil brought sin into the world when man distrusted God, and as a result of man’s impatience for glory and unfaithfulness to the commandments, peace has been taken away from the world. If only all the world would return to the Maker, to trust him with obedience and wait for him who is faithful, there would fall overflowing blessings from heaven, and peace would flow among men like streams of refreshing waters and oils of healing medicine. It is Jesus who is the Prince of Peace and the King in the City of Peace. The peace that is from Jesus is beyond comprehension, because it is divine, it is eternal, it resilient, and it makes content. Thank God for that peace that cannot be explained, which calms our fears and restores pervasive tranquility. Such peace is readily available if only we take time to be in the presence of God, forgetting about the worries of the world and committing our lives’ concerns to our heavenly Father who cares.

All our hurts are well known to Jesus. He alone is the closest friend we have on high and on this earth. He is the friend who sticks closer than a brother. The things that trouble our souls are felt by Jesus our gracious friend. His grace is sufficient for us. We do not have to be in despair. We have hope for tomorrow in his name. With his blood he has wiped away our past. All the failures and sorrows that we have experienced are nailed to his cross. All the persistent guilt of our sins is blown away by his breeze of mercy. He is patient enough to bear our struggles, and strong enough to make us strong when we are weak.     

JOY
1Peter 1:8, “Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you do not see him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” The kind of joy that is spoken about here is the one that only the Spirit of God our Father fills our lives with, our hearts drinking of the sweetness of the wine of unity with Christ. There arises songs from the grateful heart, and a feeling of stabilizing security surges up from deep within the soul. When the child of God is truly born again of the Holy Spirit, having been convicted of the filth of his past rebellion from which he repented with believing remorse, the Holy Spirit takes over his life from the inside out, filling and refilling his inner vessel with joy and arming his spirit with the word of God. That is real power. The one that descends from the throne of our Father above, and continuously pours out from the heavenly river of life. It is the power to rejoice in the midst of sorrow, to sing instead of weeping, to be anointed from the head down in exchange for ashes of gloom. It’s the knowledge of the Son of God that instills such a profound sense of assurance that there is no more room for doubt and weakness of mind. Faculties of perception and propulsion heighten power.

The joy of the Lord is our strength. We rejoice greatly in his name. Our joy is immeasurable. Our confidence is unshakeable. We are sure that we have a Saviour. The Lamb has renewed our lives. For him we live. With him we walk. By him we are taught. From him we have strength. From heaven he is returning for us. That we may be with him forever. Never to be separated again. Here, now , in this time, in this world, he has given us the gift that is the Holy Ghost, to be our souls’ guard and our hearts’ companion.    

HUMILITY
1Peter 5: 5, “Likewise, you younger, submit yourselves to the elder. Yes, all of you be humble to one another, and be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.” Humility is an essential Christian quality that the house of God seems to have begun to underestimate and even to forget about. Though they know about humility they neither conduct themselves in accordance with it, nor do they speak as those who are humble. To be honest: pride, bragging, boasting, and belittling are all very repulsive to God our Judge. He will not stand the arrogant. Not only are they arrogant in speech and deeds but they are arrogant in appearance and possessions as well. They forget that pride goes before a fall. But the meek shall inherit the earth. Maybe the meek will not inherit this present earth that is now ready to be done away with forever, and maybe the proud will not meet their already prepared fall in this world, but this one thing is certain, that whether in this world or the coming one, the Holy One will not neglect to shame the boaster and elevate the lowly and their name before all.

There is simply no way in which a child of God can walk with the righteous Father without first being of a humble heart. Remember that when you call on Jesus to enter your life and take total control of it, you do it with confession of sins and confession of his Lordship and Saviour-ship, which should mean that you are not going to be a rebel to him or a headache to his flock or a laughing stock for his Gospel before the watching and seeking and skeptical world. Be humble and people will take you seriously. Be humble and you will achieve great things. Be humble and the Master will send you. Be humble and the Father will bless you. But if you are not humble you will not hear, you will not be willing to serve, you will tire easily, people will be weary of you, and when hardship comes into your life you will neither have anyone to stand with you nor will you have someone to counsel you. So, humble yourself. The Lord is Jesus.

HOLINESS
1Peter 1: 16, “Because it is written, Be holy; for I am holy.” Along with humility, this is another requirement integral to Christianity that seems to have been forsaken by those who say they are saints of God. How can we? How dare we? No holiness no saints. No holiness no heaven. Do you know that the word ‘saint’ means: sanctified one; which obviously implies absolute holiness? And have you not read in the book of Hebrews where it says that without holiness no man will see the Lord: Heb 12:14; and what about the one in the book of 1John which says whoever has the hope of becoming like our Lord on the day when we will see him must purify himself: 1John 3:3? Firstly we are made holy by God himself, with the blood of the Lamb who takes away our sin that we may have his own holiness, which comes by faith through prayer from humble hearts confident of receiving and bold in Christ: Heb 4:16, Jam 1:6. Secondly we become evidently confirmed to heaven and to the world as holy by our righteous manners and pure lifestyle, being determined to leave behind the works of death and press on toward the mark of the high calling: Heb 6:1, Phil 3:14.

If we are devoted to God in our consciences, that will compel our minds to think pure thoughts, which with compel our bodies to do righteous acts, which will compel our God to bless us as we do so, which will compel the sinners to turn from their wicked ways and have faith in God, with whom there is no iniquity. I am not saying that I am perfectly holy or that any follower of Christ was ever perfectly holy, but what I am saying is that we cannot let ourselves be comfortable with our world-likeness, which is worldliness, which is carnality, which is fleshliness, which is sinfulness, which is hellishness. We have to seek God to deliver us from some things. And when he does, we should not refuse to escape. And we need to be accountable to each other, motivating each other to more holiness, and not despising God’s grace.

FELLOWSHIP
Matthew 18: 20, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” There is no use trying to be a loner in Christ. It does not work, especially in this current generation of multiplied temptation and ever increasing selfish ambition, influenced by television and life companions, be they friends, co-workers, family or spouses. You need to be connected to other believers, to unite with them on the days of communal worship and to grow in step with them, hearing preachings, serving in the community, praying corporately, learning to teach, and going to different places, some for recreation and others for meeting new people to befriend, to learn from and to encourage. You also aught to let your true self be known, even if you may think some aspects of who you really are or might be more interesting than others, or that some problems you face could be too burdensome for others. Just relax, and simply be yourself, gradually getting to know others and steadily starting to have all things in common with the local body of Christ, until you are all one in mind and united at heart.

 With fellowship comes support. With fellowship comes sharing. With fellowship comes ease. And with fellowship comes empowerment. With loneliness can come depression. With loneliness can come delusion. With loneliness can come temptation. And with loneliness can come weariness. So, let your personality come out into the open, with its strengths and talents that are natural and that are gifts of the Holy Spirit. Be a responsible elder to the younger brethren, and be a respectful younger brother/sister to the elder brethren. With the spiritual temple of God  that is comprised of living stones, receive the needy, help the stranded, speak to the aloof, embrace the near, and honor the ministers of the word of truth. And grace shall abound to those who are one in Christ, who pray as one for one another’s concerns and rejoice in unison at the triumph of Jesus against the destroyer. Be one with us all.

WITNESSING   
Matthew 28: 18-20, “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All power has been given to me in heaven and in earth. You, go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you. And, look, I am with you all the way, even to the end of the world. Amen.” 1Corinthians 3: 6, “I have planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the increase.” Ephesians 4: 12, “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Romans 1: 16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” Romans 10: 15, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, and bring happy news about a good thing.”

The Gospel has to be preached. That is how Christianity spreads and has thrived for nearly two thousand years. Those who receive the Gospel love it, and love the next person enough to pass it on to him. It is all a matter of compassion. If you were saved from hell by Jesus why would you not wish that another one like you would be saved too? If you were delivered from some curse by Jesus I believe that you would desire that another one who is like you were should also be delivered. If you truly believe that the love of God has unfathomable heights and depths and breadth and length, I trust that you will make it known.