Do You Know Why God Loves You?

1) God created man and woman in his image, with a pure heart, clear conscience and free will, to live in harmony and enjoy sonship and fellowship with Him eternally.

But because they once disobeyed God, sin entered their hearts, and they lost the privilege of being immortal and of having sonship and communion with God.

2) As a result of the transgression of the first man and woman, we have all inherited their sinful nature of thinking negative thoughts, speaking negative words, and doing negative actions. 

The power of sin is ruling our minds and hearts to the point that we do things we don't want to do, and we don't do things we want to do.

However, God didn't completely abandon us, as He sent prophets and gave us his commandments, the moral code to show us what sin is. But man could not follow the commandments by his own strength to have a pure heart and a clear conscience. 

3) Sin separates us from God's glory and brings us to eternal perdition.

However, according to the law God gave to Moses, forgiveness of sins is only achieved through the shedding of blood. To achieve this, animals had to be sacrificed every year. But these animal sacrifices could not purify men's consciences.

That’s why God sent Jesus—his divine and only Son, Messiah and Co-creator—about 2,000 years ago on a special mission.

Jesus came from Heaven and became human like the first man before he sinned. In fact, he was the only man who was born of a woman and of God's Spirit. That’s why he was sinless and could redeem us from our sinful nature and eternal perdition.

At the age of thirty, Jesus was baptized in water as a sign of his commitment to reveal his divine glory and to be persecuted and killed for openly confessing who he was. And right after, he received the fullness of God's own Holy Spirit, which descended from Heaven to anoint him and empower him to fulfill his mission on earth. 

Jesus proclaimed God's truth, healed the sick, and freed those oppressed by the devil. He continually showed his love and grace to all, until out of envy one day he was arrested, falsely accused and mistreated by the Jewish religious leaders. They then handed him over to be executed by the Romans, at the end of his ministry three and a half years later.

Jesus was cruelly beaten and whipped, then crucified, mocked, and cursed on a cross. And after some long hours of pain and agony, he died without mercy, rejected by all and even without the Spirit of his Father. 

Jesus shed his blood as a sin offering for our sins, as the perfect Lamb of God. His sacrifice was able to pay the debt we owed to God. Through his bloodshed and death, he was able to remove the curse of sin's power over us and forgive all our sins, so that we could be made righteous before God, his Father.

But because Jesus was sinless, God raised him from the dead on the third day. He ascended into heaven at the right hand of God and sent us his Holy Spirit so that Jesus can live in our hearts and work through us.

4) How can we be saved from the power of sin and be reconciled to God?

• We must believe that God sent Jesus to save us from the power of sin through his death and resurrection. 

• We must repent wholeheartedly of our sins and turn to God so that He may remove our hardened hearts and give us a tender one.

• We must be baptized in water in the name of Jesus to bury our old sinful nature and rise with him, so that our sins may be washed away and we may have a new life, and so that Jesus, who gave his life for us, may become our personal Lord and Savior.

• We must receive the gift of God's Holy Spirit (God's spiritual presence) within us. By receiving this gift, we become a new creation—adopted children of God with a divine nature.

At that moment, God will help us do good because sin no longer has dominion over us. We have a new nature, the glorious nature of God, and we want to do what pleases Him. 

5) What is God's will for us, his adopted and born again children? 

• God wants us to have a daily personal communion with Him and with Jesus, by praying in their Holy Spirit and meditating on their Holy Word, in order to receive more of their selfless love and to become one in mind and spirit with them. 

▪︎ God wants us to love all humanity with his selfless love, and especially those of the family of faith in Jesus.

• God wants us to proclaim boldly and faithfully the Good News of God's salvation (from the power of sin and eternal perdition) and reconciliation to Him, by his marvellous grace and through faith in Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection.

• God wants us to bless and heal those who need physical and/or spiritual healing, laying on hands and commanding healing to come in the name of Jesus and the power of God.

▪︎ God wants us to build one another up, equip new believers in the faith, and work together to advance God's Kingdom by bringing Jesus to many.

6) Jesus lived a holy life on Earth, constantly thanking and praying to God in the Spirit, and loving everyone. And also he lived in obedience to God, speaking his words of truth and showing his miraculous healing power, and dying for all humanity. 

If we follow Jesus' teachings, we will also live holy and obedient lives. And consequently, we will love God and anyone around, and fulfill Jesus' command to spread God's Good News everywhere and at every opportunity, so that many may enter his marvellous heavenly Kingdom.

God loved us so much that He sent his only Son Jesus to give his whole life for our sake, so that we might live eternally. Are you willing to give Jesus your whole life, to follow him and obey his commandments to love God intimately and those around you as you love yourself?

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Our Life Is In God’s Hands

We are living in some quite turbulent times now, when believers should evaluate their level of faith and obedience to God's Word. 

We can feel the winds of persecution and tribulation approaching fast and coming very soon against the true followers of Jesus Christ, in the Western world in particular. And surely many Christians will be worrying about it, if their faith is not grounded in God's powerful, life-giving Word.

But why worry about the coming worldwide persecution because of our faith, and even about dying for the name of Jesus and the Gospel's sake? In fact, we shouldn't fear, because this is what we pledged and committed to, when we gave our life to our Lord and Saviour. He bought us with his holy Blood, and we now belong to Him completely. And because of this, our time of passing away is in his hands!

According to the Scriptures, the Lord will let us know when will be the time of our departure from our present body to a heavenly realm, so that we don't need to worry in advance.

Jesus admonished us saying: 

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 

"When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 

"But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit of your Father." (Mathew 6:34; 10:23; Mark 13:11) 

Since the beginning of Jesus' ministry, the Jews were ready to throw Him down a hill; at other times they wanted to stone Him or take Him. But each time He managed to walk through them and escaped because it was not his time to die and go yet. 

The apostle Paul was warned by the Holy Spirit in every city he passed through, that he shouldn't go to Jerusalem because persecution awaited him there. But he answered the brethren saying: "What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus!" (Acts 21:13)

But Paul's time didn't arrived yet to meet the Lord. There was still work for him to do. Because later on the Lord reassured him saying: "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.” (Acts 23:11)

In a second letter to Timothy, Paul let him know that his time to pass away was near when he said: 

"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my race, I have kept the faith: Finally, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me at that Day: and not to me only, but also to all who love his appearing." (2Timothy 4:6-8)

The apostle Peter also mentioned about his departure: 

“For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent (body) to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent (body) just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease (death)." (2Peter 1:12-15)

No matter what will happen to us, the Lord wants us to be a WITNESS to this dying generation and He wants us also to REJOICE in persecutions, because we are partakers of Christ's sufferings and our names are written in the Book of Life. Hallelujah! 

When the apostles were beaten for preaching Jesus, "they feared greatly and stopped preaching..." REALLY? 

Let's see what the apostles did after they were beaten 

"And when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, REJOICING that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And DAILY in the temple, and in every house, they CEASED NOT to teach and preach Jesus Christ." (Acts 5:40-42) Hallelujah!

Jesus said in the powerful and marvellous book of Revelation:

“He who OVERCOMES shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will CONFESS his name before My Father and before His angels.

"Because you have KEPT My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your CROWN (glorious body). He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Revelation 3:5, 10-12, 20-21 )

(Prayer:) 'Thank you, Father, and thank you, Jesus, for your precious promises! Thank you for helping us to keep our eyes in you. We rejoice that we are part of your Kingdom and that you have a perfect plan for each of your children. We rest in you. Our desire is to do your will and be faithful each day, one day at a time until this blessed Day when we will meet. Hallelujah! Glory to you!'

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Get Out Of The Comfort & Preach The Gospel To The Lost!

 

The famous, Bible-fundamentalist preacher Charles Spurgeon once said to lukewarm, passive Christians, who don't faithfully share the gospel with others and don't have real passion to win souls for Jesus Christ:

"Have you NO WISH for others to BE SAVED? Then you're NOT SAVED [BORN AGAIN] yourself, be sure of that!"  

There is a big problem in the Christian church of today; and the problem is that the teachings are focused mostly on one's prosperity and comfort, instead of focusing on dying to one's reputation and wellbeing, and becoming KINGDOM MINDED. 

To be kingdom minded means that every believer and disciple should have a strong, compelling desire to SPREAD the Good News of salvation in Christ to every lost soul. This strong desire comes from a thankful heart for being redeemed, and from a compassionate heart to help the lost to find redemption too. In fact, many, many people today DIE DAILY without knowing Jesus' free gift of SALVATION, and are bound to be condemned to suffer eternal punishment after God's Judgement Day! (Read Revelation 20:11-15.)

The problem is that many believers today have come and been baptised in Christ without really knowing and understanding the HIGH COST of it, because of the prevalent easy-going, light gospel preached and lived in mainstream Christianity today.

Jesus said that we should count the COST of FORSAKING ALL, before we give our life to him: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his OWN LIFE also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple...So likewise, whoever of you does not FORSAKE ALL that he has [anything that blocks him from fulfilling the great commission] cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:26-33)

God's Word clearly says that if we say that we ABIDE in Christ, we then must WALK as JESUS WALKED on Earth! Otherwise, we are not really followers of Jesus and we live in deception. (Read 1John 2:3-6). 

This is what Jesus was DOING every single day: “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, TEACHING in their synagogues, PREACHING the gospel of the Kingdom everywhere, and HEALING every sickness and every disease among the people." (Matthew 9:35)

And this is what Jesus asked his DISCIPLES, after seeing the BIG HARVEST of souls in front of him: "But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with COMPASSION for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The HARVEST truly is plentiful, but the LABOURERS are so few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to SEND OUT many LABOURERS into His HARVEST.”” (Matthew 9:36-38)

In another occasion, Jesus said to his followers: “He who BELIEVES in Me, the WORKS [of preaching God's Kingdom and healing the sick] that I DO he WILL DO also; and greater WORKS [in number] than these he WILL DO, because I go to My Father.” (John 14:12)

JESUS said that we don't need to worry about our DAILY LIVING or needs, but just have the faith of a child to believe God's promises for our daily supply, providing that we PUT GOD's KINGDOM and his Righteousness FIRST every day! (Read Matthew 6:24-34 and Luke 12:13-34.)

The first disciples didn't receive the HOLY SPIRIT just to speak in tongues or prophesy, or to keep it for themselves. The main reason Jesus sent his Holy Spirit from heaven to his 120 faithful followers the day of Pentecost, is so that they would receive GOD'S POWER upon them, in order to have boldness and love and conviction to be a WITNESS and PREACH the GOSPEL everywhere around! (Read Acts 1:8; chapter 2; 4:23-31; 6:7-8; 8:1-8.)

So God's main purpose to send us his HOLY SPIRIT is so that we may also be a WITNESS and PREACH THE GOSPEL with real boldness and power to the LOST SOULS, everywhere and at every opportunity! 

Jesus warned us that "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.” (Matthew 7:21)

Jesus also made it very clear what is the PRICE for becoming a real follower/disciple of him, saying that: “Whoever desires to come after Me [be a disciple], let him deny himself [forsake his own reputation and will], and take up his cross [suffer shame and hardship and persecution], and follow Me [study my Word and obey my great commission of being a faithful witness]. For whoever desires to save his life will LOSE it, but whoever loses his life for FOLLOWING Me and PREACHING the gospel, will SAVE it.” (Mark 8:34-35)

So let's go on our knees and EXAMINE our heart, and our lifestyle and faith in Jesus, to see if it's deep and real and based on obedience to God's Word; or just shallow and apparent and based on just following traditions of the current lukewarm church--like going to church on Sundays to worship a bit and hear irrelevant sermons that just tickle people's ears and rarely transform lives.

The apostle Paul said: "EXAMINE yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you are disqualified?" (2Corinthians 13:5)

"For the time will come when they will not endure SOUND DOCTRINE, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to FABLES.” (2Timothy 4:3-4)

We as believers must have it very clear that the GREAT COMMISSION was given to EVERY born-again child of God and disciple of Jesus, and not only to the ministerial body of the church. (Read Ephesians 4:11-16.)

So GET OUT of the comfort and be a faithful WITNESS and PREACH the Gospel to the LOST! You can start meeting lost souls in your own town, by going to the streets, or to McDonald's, or to a park, or to a shopping centre, or from house to house, or to any other place God shows you! 

And if you are a very busy person, then take every opportunity to be a WITNESS when shopping, or on the bus that takes you to work, or at your workplace, or when you take your kids to the playground. Where there is a WILL, there is always a WAY! (Read Matthew 5:10-16; 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-20; Luke 24:46-49.)

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