What is human value

"Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" Genesis 1:26-27. 

Our origin is divine. God himself (The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit) participated in creating the first humans. We were not an accident, a mistake, or a consequence of a big bang. God made humans with His own hands. What else? He not only made us, He made us in His own image and His own likeness. When you look at yourself in the mirror, you can tell yourself that you look like God. God would not be offended, because it is the truth. There is something else.

We know that we sinned. Our spiritual nature changed from godly to sinful. But that is not the end. The Creator loved us so much that He decided to do anything that was necessary to change it. The only way to change human nature was for somebody innocent to die on our behalf by taking our punishment. The only one who could do that was God Himself. Jesus (God) came in the human form and took the sins of all the human kind on Himself by dying for us on the cross. By taking our sins, He gave us His righteousness. So, God, not only created us, He also died for us. This only confirmed how valuable we are in His eyes. There is something else.

For everyone who repents and believes in Jesus' sacrifice his/her nature changes as God Himself comes to live in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. We become the members of the family of God. This is a triple proof of our value by God Himself. The whole Trinity participated in creating us, all of them participated in saving us, and now God Himself lives in us. So, what is your value?

heart believes and mouth speaks

"For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved" Romans 10:10.

Believing in the sacrifice of Jesus is the only way for us to get justified in the eyes of God. If you believe that Jesus died for your sins to be forgiven, you are justified. Another thing, that we need to do is to confess what we believe. That is important. Not only our beliefs, but also our words shape our lives and destiny. We have to say the things about ourselves that the word of God says. You have to say that Jesus died for you and you are forgiven. You have to believe you are a new creation in Him and say it. Pick out the verses from the Bible that tell you about what God did for you and confess them. You don't have to be a parrot. But make a habit of saying out loud what the word of God tells about you and your redemption. Miracles will start happening. 

Measure of faith

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you" Romans 12:3. 

Each of us has got a measure of faith. You may think you don't have any, or lost it, but that is not true. It is in your heart and you have to activate it and use it. As you do it, God will purify it, perfect it, and increase it. In order for faith to be active and grow, you need to have the right focus. Remember when Peter walked on water? Well, he did, but only for a while. When he looked at Jesus, his faith was active and he walked on the water. When he looked away, he doubted and started thinking. However, Jesus is merciful and saved Peter.

Peter's example is actual for us too. We need to keep looking in the right direction for our faith to work. The word of God is the right focus. The testimony of our five senses, particularly when they contradict the word of God is not the right focus. Circumstances, five senses, problems, the world will misdirect our focus and cause us to doubt. Let's stay focused on what the word of God tells us, not how we feel, or what thoughts come to our minds, what the world tells us, or what our five senses tell us. Our true identity is in Christ and He should be in our focus daily. This is how we keep our faith active.

Fixing our eyes on Jesus

"Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" Hebrews 12:2. 

Faith in God and Jesus did not start with us. Jesus is the beginning of our faith. He gave us faith. That's good news. Another piece of good news is that He also perfects our faith. We should always keep on looking at Him and that's how our faith grows and improves. We don't produce faith on our own; it is born, revived, strengthened, and increased when we look at Jesus and learn from Him. Never lose sight of Jesus. He is the one who will keep our faith strong. Don't spend too much time looking at yourself, because that's how your faith is weakened. Jesus is the source of your strength. 

Looking at unseen

"While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal" 2 Corinthians 4:18. 

Life by faith is in direct opposite to life by our five senses. Faith is able to see things that cannot be tested by our five senses. Faith sees beyond this world. It opens our understanding to invisible reality. Five senses are good for moving about things in the physical world. But even here, in this world, we need to turn on our faith and trust God to do things for us in our daily lives. By faith, we know God, believe Jesus won eternal victory on the cross, and wait for Him to come back, or for us to go to Him after we die.

The things we see are all temporal. Everything we see is doomed to decay. People and things age. One day they cease to exist. But the spiritual/unseen world is eternal. It will never grow old or cease to exist. And faith is the connector that connect you to the invisible and the impossible. Faith connects you to your eternal hope. Here on earth, we are not with Jesus yet. But one day, we will be. The day is coming. Heaven is our home, where there is no sickness, evil, aging, corruption and anything we define as bad. We believe it. Let's never stop looking at the unseen with the eyes of faith.

Triumph in Christ

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place" 2 Corinthians 2:14.

Jesus won the eternal victory. He conquered death, devil, and sin. He redeemed us from the power of darkness. Now, even when you are facing various troubles, you can be sure, Christ won a victory for you. His victory was perfect. We are part of Jesus' trophies. We are walking in a triumphant march through Christ. All the world, both spiritual and physical can see that we belong to Jesus, the Savior that won.

When we fail, we have to remember that He has won on our behalf. We may not be perfect, but He is perfect and He can easily use our imperfections to win battle after battle for the kingdom of God. Never forget, that Christ won the war. Historians say, that when the German army lost at Stalingrad, the fate of the II World War was set. The Germans lost, the Allies won. The same is true when we talk about spiritual war. The fate of spiritual war was set at the cross. Jesus won the victory. We can now march with complete faith and joy and see how He finishes the enemy, and by the grace of God to participate in that. Never forget, Jesus won, and so did you in Him.

No condemnation in Christ Jesus

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" Romans 8:1. 

Sin brings about condemnation for a conscience. When we were without Christ, that was rightfully on us. We were condemned and most of us felt condemned. Some felt it more, some less. However, we have really great news. Christ took our condemnation on himself. When He hung on the cross, the judgment of God and condemnation for the sins of the entire world fell on him. He took it, so that you and I would never have to experience that again. 

If you believe in Christ, you are in Him, and no condemnation belongs to you. You were freed from that on the cross. What a great gift God has given to us in Jesus. He no longer condemns us. He punished sin once and for all in Christ Jesus. You sins were on Him. He cannot punish the same sin twice, otherwise He would not be a just God. But He is a just God, and our condemnation fell on Jesus. So, no more condemnation for us. That is really a good news for us.

Seated in heavenly realms

"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus" Ephesians 2:6. 

Our identity in Christ is one of the most important truths from the Bible a Christian should understand. The enemy always tries to attack it by sending you thoughts that you haven't really changed after becoming a Christian. When Jesus, after the baptism went out of the water He heard Father's voice from heaven "You are my beloved son". Then, He was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. What did the devil told him? "If you are the Son of God...". Devil targeted Jesus' identity. He tried to cause Jesus to doubt what He had just heard from the Father. Jesus did not go into long discussions with the devil and answered him by quoting the scriptures. 

The same with us. The thoughts will come that we are same old sinners we used to be. But that is the voice of the enemy. Don't believe him. In the invisible spiritual realm, we are seated with Christ. We are part of God's family. We are sons and daughters of God. We have a new nature. The devil cannot do anything to change it. God has changed it forever. It cannot be undone. Praise God. 

Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans 8:38-39. 

Through new birth we were placed in Christ Jesus. Christians sometimes get scared of being taken out of Him, or losing salvation. It's so good to know that God does not keep us in doubt. He gives us assurance of everything. The evil one always causes us to doubt. He causes us to doubt everything what God told us. God removes our doubts. He said that nothing can separate you neither from His love, nor from His salvation. Paul said that he is convinced of that. So, should we. Christ loves you with eternal love. Believe it and accept it. And thank God for His eternal love. 

Citizenship in heaven

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" Philippians 3:20-21. 

If you believe in Christ you are born again and are a citizen of heaven. You have a passport that declares that your homeland is paradise. Of course, you can't see it or touch it or feel it, as your five senses are incapable of understanding this spiritual reality. You can only accept it by faith, the sixth sense. We are both waiting for our Savior to return, and we want to return to our eternal home. When that happens lots of blessing will be awaiting us.

Our bodies will be transformed. They will become immortal, with no sin inside. Heaven is a place of righteousness, joy, and peace. There is no stress there. No hatred. You won't have to worry about your things as there are no thieves there. There is no darkness, no night, but an everlasting day as God is the light of the heaven. And He is your Father. Never lose the hope of heaven. Wonderful things are in store for you in the future. Praise God. 

More than conquerors

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" Romans 8:37. 

Christ won a victory for us. We did not do anything to help Him win it. It was purely His solo act. He loved us. He decided to pay a heavy price for our sins. Actually, he overpaid for us. On the cross, He shouted "It is finished". Then and there He won the eternal victory for our souls. We are redeemed and forgiven. He snatched us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us into the His kingdom.

Why are we more than conquerors? Because, we did not even participate in the fight and we got all the benefits: forgiveness of sins, change of nature, became sons and daughters of God, hope for the future, righteousness/peace/joy now, Holy Spirit inside of us and many more. We did not deserve anything, but we got everything. Now, you are more than a conqueror, because Christ won the victory for you. Praise God.

Jesus is our high priest

"Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us" Romans 8:34. 

The whole week I was sharing scriptures about prayer. This one is about the same subject too. But from a different angle. This time it is not us praying for others, but Jesus praying for us. The scripture tells us that Jesus is interceding for us at the right hand of the Father. That is a great comfort to know that He is not condemning you, but praying for you. And God listens to His prayers. Jesus is the High Priest of the New Covenant, and He intercedes for His people: you and me. 

When you experience difficult challenges in life, fail, sin, or feel depressed, be sure to remember that you are not alone. At those moments, Jesus is praying for you. If anybody's prayers are answered, you can be sure that His prayers are. So, take courage. God is for you, Jesus is for you, the Holy Spirit is also for you. Just know, that somebody is always praying for you and that somebody is your Savior - Jesus. 

Prayers for people in authority

"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness" 1 Timothy 2:1-2.

It is very easy to criticize those who are in power. We see corruption, failure to keep promises, lies and etc. However, people have always been people, and those who were in authority in the times when Paul his epistle to Timothy, were even worse than we have now. Nevertheless, look what Paul encouraged Timothy to do about it. He told him to pray for them. 

We should do the same. We should bring them to the highest authority in the Universe and bless them, ask God to give them wisdom, to direct them. This is the attitude we should have. Criticizing does not help at all. Hatred is even worse. It leads to more hatred. We need positive change. God can bring it about and He wants us to pray. It is very important during times as we live now, when the world is experiencing a lot of turmoil: COVID-19, riots in the USA, and potentially other bad stuff that may arise in the nearest future. Let's pray for God's best to our politicians. Let God direct them in the ways He sees best. This will have good outcome for our lives too.

Do long talks make prayer effective

"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking" Matthew 6:7. 

It is usual for people to be more occupied with the form than with the content. That's why a lot of people tend to drift towards rituals instead of practicing real relationship with God. The same can be true about prayers. God does not require of us rituals, pious face expression, or long prayers as it is said in the verse. Nothing of the above-mentioned guarantees answers to our prayers. You cannot convince God to answer your prayers by making them long. You shouldn't even try to explain to God the situation you are praying about. He knows it better than you. 

It would be right to say that quality is more important than quantity when we talk about prayer. The single most important requirement for prayer to be answered is faith. You have to believe that God hears you, He is good, and He wants to answer you. If you believe it, the prayer can be short. So, we should remember that God know everything, He cares about us, and He is ready and willing to answer when we believe. Let's believe and pray with faith.

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” Matthew 26:41.

We are not strong in ourselves. The flesh, where the sin lives is not a strong part of us. Actually, it is easily influenced by various temptations and quite often gives in. Our spirit is ready to fight, but it also needs strength from on high. How does the strength come? Well, Jesus told us right in this verse. We have to pray. God strengthens us as we pray. We have to be humble and admit our weaknesses and pray for God's grace to strengthen us. 

God's grace and prayer are inseparable. Grace is God's part, prayer is our part, which is accepting whatever is necessary for that specific moment. It's not only for resisting temptations, but for absolutely anything we need and pray for. Let's not rely on our own strength in our daily lives, but pray daily and open ourselves for God's help to come. God hears every word you say. He knows what you need before you even utter a word. Yet, He tells us to pray. He wants us to cooperate with His grace. He loves answering our prayers. So, let's continue praying. The world is in tumultuous time and lots of challenges may be ahead. Prayer is a tool that will help us get to the throne of grace and get help in these tumultuous times. 

Pray and not give up

"And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly" Luke 18:6-8.

God wants us to be consistent in prayer and never give up. Jesus showed us how persistence gets things done. A persistent widow made a godless judge to defend her. She just wouldn't give up. The judge didn't care about anything. He solved cases as he pleased. He didn't care about the lady. And even that type of person gave in to the persistence of the widow. Eventually, he defended her. 

Will not God answer your prayers if you don't give up? He is a loving Daddy. He cares about you. He wants to help you and answer your prayers. Why would He not answer? I know we all get tired of delayed answers and tend to give up. But a believer shouldn't do that. Faith never gives up. Let's not give up praying. Whatever your need is, God cares. He cares about the birds, so much more about you. Let's stay persistent, and keep on praying. 

Earnest prayer

"Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit" James 5:17-18.

We know that God is a good and generous God, and anything good that comes to our lives is through His grace. Yet, God wants us to do something so that we could see more blessings in our lives What is it? He wants us to pray. Prayer is a form of conversation with God. By using it we develop deeper relationship with our Heavenly Father and open up even more for good things to come from Him.

James gives us an example of Elijah. He prayed even though God said that it would not rain, and later that it would rain. In both cases, Elijah knew the word of God. Yet, He prayed. Why? God wants to do things together with us. Of course, He does the bulk work, but He allows us to be part of His work and enjoy it. You don't have to be a spiritual Superman to pray and see answers. James assures us that Elijah wasn't one either. We all have flesh, but God does not answer to our prayers because we are perfect, but because we are His children and He sees us through the sacrifice that Jesus made. So, let's pray earnestly for every need that comes our way, let's fellowship with our Heavenly Daddy and watch Him answer our prayers.

Everyone gets God's grace for some work

"But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men" Ephesians 4:7-8.

We have already figured out that we are not saved by our works, but by God's grace. However, for everyone of us God gives grace to do something in life. In fact, He gives grace daily for specific jobs that we need to do, and also for some bigger works or you may say to fulfill your calling. God has called us to His kingdom and He destined us for some work to do to bless the world, to help save others.

This grace may come as a gift/talent, something that you like to do and it will serve greater purpose and have eternal value. Maybe you will find that you want to go to missions, or do something specific in your community, or church, or start a business and use the resources for the work of God. It may come in a million ways. God does not leave anybody empty handed. He gives His grace for you to do anything He has destined you to do. You will like it. Pray to Him to guide you. He will.

Shall we sin if we are no longer under law

"For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?" Romans 6:14-15.

When people hear the message of grace and justification, they will always ask the question "Shall we sin, because we are not under law but under grace?" The apostle Paul repeats the question 2 times in the epistle to Romans. Does grace give us a green light for sinning? Nope. An attitude of a Christian should be 'I am dead to sin, and I live for Christ'. Christ died for our sins, and we died for sin with Him. We live focusing on Him, following Him, staying in His word, and then allowing the word to transform us inside out. No, grace is not a license to sin. It is a door for us to spiritual freedom.

The fact is that the law with its' commandments actually strengthens the power of sin in us, and the grace of God weakens it. Grace of God draws our attention from us to God, while the law draws our attention from goodness of God towards ourselves. These are ideas that the apostle Paul said. The law was given to show how hopeless we are without God, and how strong sin is in us. The grace of God is given to set us free from our sins as it comes with power that regenerates us. So, we shall not sin, because the grace of God gives us strength not to.

Grace came through Jesus Christ

"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" John 1:17. 

I remember watching a move "Saving Private Ryan". I probably saw it 5 times. It is good. One scene from the movie came to my mind recently. It was  one of the last scenes. Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) was shot and dying. Private Ryan (Matt Damon) rushed to him to hear the last words from the captain. What were those? "Earn it". It took a lot for the special team to go and search for Ryan. They sacrificed themselves to bring him home to his mother. So, it was a very natural statement by captain Miller before his death. He wanted to be sure his death was not in vain and Ryan lived worthily of the sacrifice that the team made to bring him home.  

Jesus made a great sacrifice to bring you back to the Father. However, you cannot earn it. The sacrifice was a gift given to you and me for free. In the times of law that was given through Moses, you had to earn your righteousness by following the commandments. If you followed them, you were blessed, if you disobeyed, you were cursed. So, you had to earn it. There was no grace in the law. Nothing was for free. You earned either blessing or curse. The process of justification was reversed through Jesus. He paid the price for our sins and justification for us. We don't have to earn it. It is for free. It is the grace of God. Yes, God expects our gratitude and worthy living, but even if we don't, it is a free gift, which you can accept or throw it away. Which one are you going to do? The gift is very precious! God Himself died for you and me!

Throne of grace

"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" Hebrews 4:16. 

We are encouraged by the apostle to come to the throne of God with boldness. Have you ever thought why we can have boldness when we come to God to pray? Have you noticed how the throne of God is called in this verse? Is it throne of judgment? Is it the throne of condemnation? What is it called? It is the throne of GRACE. That's right. That's where God gives favor upon favor for everyone who asks. If you need mercy, it is there. If you need God's favor for your needs, it is there. 

You need to have faith and boldness to go there. Whether you have it or not, depends on what kind of God you believe. Is He angry, judgmental, holding a grudge against you, does He punish you for your sins? What kind of God do you believe in? The Biblical God sits on the throne of grace and you cannot earn his favor. He forgives your sins for free, He answers your prayers without reminding you your past, or reproaching you for something wrong that you have done. That's right. God gives freely, with a loving heart, out of His tremendous grace, and He accepts your prayers at the throne of grace with a merciful heart. What a great God He is!

Saved by grace

"Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work" Romans 11:5-6. 

Grace is an unmerited favor of God. God loves you not because you are great (maybe you are), but because He is love. He shows us His favor, not because we deserve it (we don't), but because He is a gracious God. He saves us not according to our works, but because Jesus sacrificed Himself for you and me. You cannot earn the grace of God. It is for free. You cannot please God by your works, because you are sinful. You cannot do anything to earn His salvation. It is for free. 

We cannot mix up grace with works when we talk about salvation or justification. It all comes from the grace of God. Our part is to accept it with faith. If salvation came through our good works, then, anybody could earn it. You would try hard enough, push up your score up in the eyes of God, and bam, you gain salvation. This kind of idea is alien to the spirit of the New Testament. Jesus' sacrifice would be unnecessary. But Jesus did not die in vain. His sacrifice is the only valid argument for God to justify us and save us from our sins. After Jesus died and resurrected, God justifies the ungodly by faith. Let's accept that. And be grateful. Works will follow, but they never, ever come before the grace of God.

Jesus is the same forever

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" Hebrews 13:8.

Christians are called to live by faith. What is the solid foundation for our faith? It is the character of God and His Word. Good news is that neither the character of God, nor His word change. His will for us does not change. His love, patience, mercy, grace, and anything we know about God does not change. His plans have not changed either. His redemption still works. Whatever Jesus was 2 thousand years ago, He is today, and will be forever. He saved, healed, forgave back then, He is doing it today and He will do it forever.

This kind of stability of the character of God and His immutable will are the solid foundation for our faith. There is no one like Him. It's often hard for us to believe that kind of God, because there is not a single living being in this world that would be so stable in his/her character. But God/Jesus is. His is the Savior. He is your Father/Daddy. His will is always good for you. You can come to Him any time you have a need, or you want to pour out your soul to Him. Trust Him now and forever. 

Why Old Testament sacrifices were not good enough

"For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year" Hebrews 10:1-3.

The main subject of the epistle of Hebrews is the difference between the Old and the New Covenants. Apparently, the sacrifices that were offered under the law were far from perfection and they were merely a shadow or symbols of the things to come. We see that God was not pleased with those offerings and they could not cleanse people from their sins. Their consciences would still feel guilt for their sins despite the fact sacrifices were offered to remove the sins. Their sins could not be removed due to inferior blood. People, in the Old Testament developed a consciousness of sins and the sacrifices reminded them that they were constantly guilty before God. Fortunately, that changed.

Jesus came and offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins once and for all. He was innocent and His sacrifice was enough to remove the entire sins of the world and make us right in the eyes of God. His perfect sacrifice makes our consciences perfectly clean. You have to believe it. God no longer counts your sins if you come to Him by faith in Jesus. All of your sins were put on Him. His sacrifice is enough. You can come to God with boldness knowing that you are forgiven and clean. You shouldn't have consciousness of sins, but consciousness of righteousness that Jesus gave to you. Praise God, Jesus took your sins, and gave you His righteousness. You are guilt free. And God accepts you with His hands wide open.  

His care for the lifetime

“Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you" Isaiah 46:3-4. 

People are scared of being left alone when they age. A lot of them feel lonely and forgotten. However, God is different than people. His love never ends. He never loses sight of you. He cared about you when you were born, He cares about you now, and He will care about you forever. People value youth, strength and beauty, and neglect the old people. God is different. He cares about everybody despite of their age. Trust Him whatever your age is. God loves you and cares about you, and He will do it FOREVER. 

He chose us before creation of the world

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight" Ephesians 1:4. 

You are not an accident in this world. You did not start because your father and mother decided to have a child. The Bible says, that you were on God's mind before the creation of this world. He was thinking about you. He was making a plan for your life. This is a very comforting message. We sometimes feel lonely as if God is millions of miles away. He is not. Not only He made a plan for you, He is always right beside you and makes sure you are protected, loved, cared for. He never leaves you. 

We often look at others and compare ourselves with them and as a result often feel depressed. We feel inferior to those who have achieved more than ourselves, or are more talented than us. We should shift our focus back to how God created us. Everything He does is good. You are created with dignity and to be valuable. His plan for you is good. Therefore, it is not right for you to compare yourself to others. Better, thank Him every day for His plan for you. This will bring satisfaction and progress His good plan for your life. He is always thinking about you. Think about Him too. 

What makes the Heaven rejoice

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent" Luke 15:4-7.

Pharisees who considered themselves just and righteous people scorned Jesus as a lot of tax collectors, and sinners came to Him. Jesus responded by giving three parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. All of them dealt with repentance and with the fact that the entire Heaven rejoices when one sinner repents.  

If you read carefully the parables you will see that God is really interested in bringing back the lost to His kingdom. He is the one who initiates the search for the lost sheep, or coin. He finds them, and brings them home, and then makes a great celebration over the fact that He found them. You should clearly see from those parables that it is not us who find God, but He who finds us lost in our sins. Some people say "I found God". Well, who was lost, you or God? Who is the sheep and who is the shepherd? We were lost, and He found us. We consented to His love, did not resist Him to bring us to our heavenly home. And that can be called a real repentance. 

People think that repentance has to do a lot with remorse of your conscience, beating of your chest and swearing not to do the bad things you have done before. Well, looks like that is not the real repentance. It is His goodness that melts our hearts and causes us to see that we were wrong. It is His love working in us that causes us to change our minds. And that change initiated by God Himself is a real repentance. Allow yourself to be found, give in to His love, let His grace change you and you will lose taste for the worldly things. His unmerited favor causes us to admit our faults and change (repent). He found us. The Heaven is rejoicing. We can rejoice too. 

The Lord is my shepherd

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing" Psalms 23:1.

Last week I discussed one of the names of God that Jesus revealed to us. That was the Father or Daddy God. Today, we can briefly look at what it means to have God as our shepherd. If you read the whole psalm 23 on your own you will find many benefits that you have when you have God as your shepherd. 

Firstly, it is provision for you (body, soul, and spirit). Verse 1.
Secondly, it is guidance. Verse 2.
Thirdly, it is strengthening. Verse 3.
Fourthly, it is protection and comfort during difficult times. Verse 4.
Fifthly, it is victory over enemies and abundance. Verse 5.
Sixth, it is loving care for you through your entire life. Verse 6.

There could be more, but have these ones in mind when your read and meditate on the Psalm in good times and bad. Let it sink in your mind deeply. You can rightly expect all of the above mentioned things when you let God to be your shepherd. Jesus referred to Himself as a good shepherd too. So, the name was used to refer to God in both Old and New Testaments.

From self to Jesus

"And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" 2 Corinthians 3:18.

If you focus on yourself, look inward, you will always be depressed. Inward we find the original sin, the works of the flesh, imperfections, weaknesses, and if you look long enough at yourself you will lose hope, confidence, and possibly develop various destructive emotional states like fear, anxiety or the above mentioned depression. Self search hardly ever does any good. Where are we supposed to look then?

At Jesus. Faith never looks inwards, it always looks outwards and at Jesus. This is how you get hope. This is how you change from weakness to strength, go from fear to courage, from depression to hope, from anxiety to love. As you look at Jesus, you see the Redeemer, the One who paid the price for your salvation on the cross. He always uplifts you, never throws you down to the ground. Shift your focus from yourself to Jesus. And keep the focus that way. You will always be changed and become more like Jesus daily. 

Forget your past and move on

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland" Isaiah 43:18-19. 

We may have a lot of good things in the past, but most likely there are lot of things that do not bring pleasant memories to us. Those can even stop us from moving forward and imprison us by taking away our confidence, putting shame and guilt on us. We have to forget those things, maybe forgive ourselves, or others and move forward. We have to shift our focus. To what?

To what God is doing in our lives and to the things He wants to do in us and through us. His grace renews every day, so we do not have to be stuck in our past failures, sins, or disappointments. Never allow your past to control your present or your future. Your God is a good God that has great plan for you now, tomorrow and till the day you move to the other side of eternity. Focus on what He wants to do in your life and break free from your past. The best is yet to come!  

Assurance of salvation

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life" 1 John 5:13. 

There is a floating opinion in a lot of Christian circles that you can never be sure if you are saved, and you will probably never be. They believe this kind of attitude helps you to stay humble and God even likes this kind of attitude. A lot of Christians believe that they can easily lose salvation that Christ has given them. Very often, when they sin, they lose confidence in God and their assurance of salvation. The assurance that all sins: present, past, and future are forgiven is somehow forgotten. We should never forget that His blood cleanses from all unrighteousness 24/7.

Furthermore, the apostle John states here very clearly that he writes so we may have assurance of eternal life. Christ has already paid for it, and nobody can take it away from you. If you were born again, Jesus is in you and you are in Jesus and nobody will take you away from Him. There cannot be an accidental loss of eternal life. You have to deliberately denounce Jesus as you Savior in order for that to happen. But who would want to do that? Jesus is our eternal hope, He loves us. He is the best person that has ever lived. He gave His life for us. Your salvation has been paid for. Nobody can take it away. Let's give Him thanks for that and walk in confidence daily that we are saved by the precious blood of Christ. 

Faith pleases God

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" Hebrews 11:6. 

Hebrews 11 is filled with descriptions about faith heroes. People got answers, miracles, strength, endurance, even resurrection from the dead because they believed God. Nothing else can move God to do something for you. You can try good works, you can pray, sacrifice, but if there is no faith in your actions, it won't please God. 

What are the elements of a faith that pleases God? 1. You believe that He is. 2. You must also believe that He will reward you when you earnestly seek him. It is interesting, you not only have to believe His existence, but you have to believe that God will reward for your efforts to seek him. It may sound egoistic, or manipulative, but God through faith invites us into personal relationship with Him. As we enter it by faith we may confidently expect a reward from Him. We don't know what form it may take, but the fact remains simple: we have to trust Him in every situation in life. Then, the Bible says, He will provide for us anything we need at a given time. 

Not that we loved God

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" 1 John 4:10. 

We can boast as much as we can about our love for God, but the fact is that He loved us first and we can only love Him back. And we can love back when we experience His love, get soaked in it, saturated with it, and spend a lot of time thinking about it. He is the source of love. In the Old Testament, the law required people to love God. In the New Testament, God came in the person of Jesus and showed love, He supplied love. That is the only reason why we can love Him back. 

But we must stay in His love. Peter wanted to prove his love for Jesus, and said that even if all the apostles rejected Him, he would never reject Jesus. The fact is that Peter rejected Jesus the same night and 3 times with swearing and cursing. You cannot trust yourself or your love for God. It's is not stable, and fluctuates to often. You need to have a source to draw from. God is our source of love. So, it is not about our love. We have to receive first before we can give. Why? Because you cannot give what you do not have. And if you want to continually show God's love for others you have to continually receive and experience God's love for yourself. Let's stay in His love. 

God the Father

"Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” John 20:17.

In the Old Testament God revealed Himself to His people by a variety of names. The names indicated some specific quality of God. For example, God Almighty, Lord, the Lord who heals, the Lord provider, the Lord who sanctifies, the Lord our Peace, and etc. It is good to know what our God is like. Studying the Bible helps us to do that. Yet, above other names, Jesus came and revealed God as the Father, or Daddy God.

And that is exactly who God becomes to you when you repent of your sins and believe Jesus. God becomes your Daddy. What kind of image arise in your head when you hear the word? Do you feel fear or peace and joy? God is a good Daddy, who loves every one of his kids, cares about them, provides for them, forgives and does a lot of other good things. Daddy God invites you into family type of relationship. You do not have to be scared of Him as His intentions for you are only good. You can open your heart to Him and tell Him everything that troubles you and He will listen to you and give peace, joy, heal your soul. Remember, you can always come to Him. He is always there for you. He is your Daddy. You are His kid. Welcome to the family of Daddy God.

Adam's disobedience and Jesus' obedience

"For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous" Romans 5:19. 

We didn't do anything to become sinners, and we didn't really do anything to become righteous before God. One act of disobedience by Adam caused generations of people and every single individual to be born into this world with the original sin. We were doomed against our choice to be born into slavery to sin. This is what one act of Adam caused. We all suffered under sin. However, God loved us so much that He had a plan to change the situation. 

He sent His son Jesus and his obedience to God, and His deliberate sacrifice on the cross makes every one who believes in Jesus righteous in the eyes of God. You cannot do anything to please God, or become acceptable in His eyes. No, everything has been done for you. Jesus did it for you. Just accept His grace by believing His sacrifice and you are transformed out of a sinner into a righteous person.  

The pattern of justification

"What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” Romans 4:3. 

We know that the Old Testament was full of symbols of what is about to come in the New Testament. Long before the law was given to the Jews through Moses, God set a pattern of how He was going to justify people. We see it through the example of Abraham. How was Abraham justified? God gave a promise to Abraham that He would give him a child and told him that his descendants will be as many as the stars in the sky. It was a promise of God that showed how God cared about Abraham and was ready to accomplish the greatest desire that he had - to have an offspring. Abraham believed in this promise of God and this belief was credited to him as righteousness.

The same pattern or principle of justification by faith works in the New Testament. We don't look at the stars though, but at the cross where Jesus hung. We look at Him and believe that He died for our sins for our justification and our faith is credited to us as righteousness. That is the only way how you can become right with God. Look at the cross, and believe. And boom, you are right with God. Don't ever try any other way. Your good works won't do the job. They are the result but not the cause of becoming right with God. 

Jesus became sin

"For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" 2 Corinthians 5:21. 

The Scripture reveals us a tremendous thing that happened on the cross. Jesus was (is) God and He became a man. A sinless man. On the cross, He deliberately took off his righteousness and gave it for everybody who repents of his/her old ways and believes in Him. He also took the sins of the entire world upon Himself. Thus, on the cross He became sin. And He was punished on our behalf. 

We on the other hand, were cleansed of our sins and got the righteousness of God. This is a historic exchange between God and man, initiated by God himself. He took away our filthy sinful nature, and imparted into us His own holy nature. This becomes a reality in our lives when we look at the cross, repent of our sins and believe Jesus. The sinful nature disappears and the new one is imparted in us. What a great gift we have received from Jesus! 

The scary Hebrews 10

"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" Hebrews 10:26-31. 

The tenth chapter of Hebrews has been one of the scariest excerpts of Scripture for most Christians. But should it be? It states that those who sin deliberately no sacrifice for sins is left for them but only upcoming judgment. Most having read those verses get scared about their salvation. Well, let's figure out 2 things. 

First of all, most of the sins we commit are committed deliberately (time of weakness or succumbing to temptation), excerpts those we commit unconsciously. Which would mean that all of us have no longer sacrifice for our sins left, but a fearful expectation of judgment. Is that true?

The second thing about the verse is that we need to look at the context. When you read the whole epistle to Hebrews you will understand that it is written for Jews who have heard the message of salvation through believing in Christ and justification through faith. Some never believed it and continued keeping the law, sacrificing animals for the forgiveness of sins. Even some who were once converted started doing that. And that is one of the most terrible things discussed in the New Testament, both in the epistle to Hebrews and in the epistle to Galatians. It is rejection of  the message of salvation through grace and believing in Jesus Christ and coming back to the keeping of the law of the Old Testament.

This is a deliberate rejection of the ultimate plan of God for salvation of every human. You reject Jesus, try to be saved by your own works, and you are condemned, because through the works of the law no human can be justified. So, do not insult God by rejecting His grace and trying to be good by your own works, but accept Jesus sacrifice and the forgiveness of sins is always there for you. No more condemnation for you as God justifies you through His Son. We are saved by believing what Jesus did. Do not ever try to add anything to that sacrifice by trying to get justified by God. He has already justified you once and for all. You cannot add anything to it, nor deduct from it. Receive grace and stay in it. The Old Testament is over. Sacrifice of Jesus is perfect. Your sins are forgiven.

From death to life

"Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life" John 5:24. 

In the Old Testament, you had to do good works to be justified by God. If you kept all commandments but failed at one thing, you broke all law. You were guilty. You could only be justified by observing the entire law. If you failed at something, judgement of God was in store for you. The law demanded for you to be righteous. It was a heavy burden on the shoulders of the Jews and nobody could really fulfill the entire law. If they thought they could, they actually were lying to themselves. 

Christ came. He was the only person in the world who never sinned and fulfilled all the commandments of God. He died for you and me. The New Covenant was established. On the cross, God poured His judgement on Jesus for all the sins that the entire world committed: past, present and future. Now, what you have to do to be saved and have eternal life is to listen to the words of Jesus and believe. If you do, you are saved and pass from eternal death to eternal life. You don't have (can't) to be good in order for God to justify you. In the New Covenant, God does not demand righteousness from you, He supplies His own righteousness for you. You cannot be good enough. You have to accept (believe) the gift of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and you will never be judged by God. You will pass from death to life. What a glorious gift God has given us! Thank Him for that. 

2 categories of people

"The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18: 11-14.

In the eyes of God all people belong to one group - sinners. Within this group there are 2 subgroups: those who understand it, and those who don't. Some might have high standards of morale (no robbing, no evil doing, no adultery, paying the tithe and bla, bla, bla) and even follow it, but God's standards of morale is still higher. Nobody can fully reach those without being born again and with the help of the Holy Ghost. Those that follow their own standards without admitting need for God's forgiveness, do not get it. They walk in self righteousness and fail to get God's righteousness.

The other group, that generally understand their sinfulness typically have failed with the standards of morale that the pharisee referred in his prayer. This leads to humility and repentance. These two, Jesus said grant one God's justification without actually doing good works. We have to understand, justification that God provides for us, comes through repenting for our sins and believing in what Jesus did for us. You cannot earn God's favor. He gives it freely for everybody who believes.

Our God is perfect

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" Matthew 5:48. 

One thing that unifies all of the character of God is perfection. He is perfectly Holy. We people tend to see God as a little bit holier than us. We do not do this bad thing, or that bad thing, and we think that God is a bit better than us in that respect. The thing is that He is perfectly Holy, and does not tolerate any sin, even the smallest one. He is also a perfect love. We tend to love good people and forgive only the good ones. As God is perfect, He loves all and forgives all, not just 'the good ones'.

The same is true with other character features of God. He is a perfect Father, perfectly patient, perfectly gracious, and the list could go on and on. The fact is that Jesus calls us to perfection. This becomes only possible when we know God as He is, not as we imagine Him. Secondly, this becomes possible by the power of the Holy Spirit that writes all the laws of God in our hearts. Without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to fulfill the laws of God. But, hey, all of them are built on 'Love God' and 'Love your neighbor as yourself'. So, if the Spirit of loves inside of you, you can fulfill it all. Eventually, children become like their parents. We are to imitate our Heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit will help us. 

Foreigners and exiles

"Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul" 1 Peter 2:11. 

This planet is only a temporary place for us. Our home is not here. Our souls long for a real home, which is heaven. If you are a stranger somewhere, you behave in a specific way. That specific way for us Christians here on earth would be to abstain from sinful desires and search for a perfect will of God in our lives. We are supposed to be different and not conform to this world. 

Everyone of us have a fight to fight, which is not easy as our flesh longs for the things that are earthly. Yet, as I stated in my previous post, we have a new nature and the Spirit of God living in us that helps us in our struggle. Let's not give up fighting even if we fail again and again. Christ is our example. He conquered the world, and so can we. Let's live like foreigners and exiles on this earth and work to reveal Christ to those who do not know Him yet. 

The old has gone

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" 2 Corinthians 5:17. 

Conversion to Christianity is not a ritual. It is a radical change of a personality, where God Himself participates by changing the person completely. We are not talking about external things, but about internal ones. The nature of a person changes. Hatred, anger, lies, and anything that sinful is removed from the depths of the human heart. Christ enters his/her nature and removes the old one. Holy Spirit settles in too. New life begins.

Old friends may not understand what is happening with their fella as they have not experienced the "New Birth" themselves. The state of being in Christ affects the way of life, choices, beliefs, behavior. Christ himself participates now in the person's life. God's nature becomes that person's nature. Of course, it takes a while for Christ to start manifesting more and more through a person, but the change is real and the journey to manifest more of the new life has begun and should never end.

Life by faith

"For we live by faith, not by sight" 2 Corinthians 5:7.

People tend to live led by their fives senses. It is natural. This is how we survive. However, there is one more essential 'sense' that a lot of people are not aware of or they do not live by it. What is it? It is faith. Most would never believe things they do not see. Well, some would, if they hear it from a person they trust.

Yet, Christians are called to live by faith. We believe things we do not see. We see them with our inner eyes. And we actually live by them. We have never seen Christ (maybe in pictures), but we believe Him. We have never seen the Holy Spirit, but we believe He is with us and in us. We believe that if God said something, it is true and we follow that. Whether it is about His commands, or about His promises. We believe them. Faith causes us to lead a different lifestyle, than the one the world leads. We do things they don't do, and don't do thing they do, because we believe some things are acceptable to God, and others are not. We live by faith every day. Yes, we fail too. But all our life is a journey of faith, and our task is to keep it till the day we go to the other side of eternity and stay forever with the One who is the beginning and end of our faith - Jesus Christ.

God had a plan for us before we were even born

"Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" Psalms 139:16. 

Do you ever feel like  God is far away? You pray and prayers seems to be unanswered? You sometimes even wonder whether He even listens to your prayers or ever answers them. It happens to me. We do not see God, and in most cases, especially going through difficult times, we don't feel His presence. However, the word of God tells us very good news. He knows what is happening to us. He knows our thoughts. Before we say a word, He knows what we are going to say. He cares about us, and He will answer our prayers. 

The fact is that He takes very special care of you. Before you were even born, He made a good plan for your life. He was with you when you were still in your mother's womb. When you were far away from Him in your mind, behavior, and lifestyle, He was always close to you. And He still is. You have a choice to find out the things that He had written in His book for your life by studying His word, praying, going to church, communicating with other believers. His Holy Spirit will reveal talents, and God's purposes for your life and you will be able to implement what once written in that book the Psalm talks about. God will help you. Never forget, He has prepared good days for you. His plan is good. He is always with you. 

Greater is He who is in you

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" 1 John 4:4.

Christians are called to fight and they have all necessary tools to  win. What are our enemies? According to the Bible, we are fighting the world: lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. And we also fight the devil. Looks like we've got a lot to fight against. Well, maybe, but look what John says. He says that we are from God, which means we have the nature of God inside of us. The things of the world should be alien to us. Yes, we have a flesh, but the nature that God imparted into us is stronger.

Furthermore, by the power of the Holy Spirit Christ lives inside of us. He is greater than the world, and the devil. That's why we are destined to win. Christ conquered the world, and we have the same promise, we can conquer it. Let's rely on His power that is inside us to help us in the fight. We shouldn't fear neither the world, nor the devil as they are weaker forces than the one that we have at our disposal. Let's believe we can win. Let's rely on the power of Christ on us. Let's us the power. Let's win. 

List of charges against us

"having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross" Collosians 2:14. 

Do you think God blames you for your sins, shortcomings, past mistakes, and the bad stuff you have done? I look at the Bible and do not find confirmation for that. On the contrary, I see that God justifies us in Jesus. The verse in Collosians tells us that once there was a list with charges against us. In that list, there were recorded all the bad things you have done. There were also requirements for you to be punished for what you have done. Wow! Who wrote that list? The accuser of the brethren - Satan. 

We know that devil accuses you in the presence of God day and night. That is his job. Revelation 12:10 confirms that. However, his accusations no longer matter. God solved the problem of your guilt. Jesus took all the list of accusations as well as the requirements for punishment that devil wrote against us and nailed it to the cross. Devil can now accuse you as much as he wants, God does not listen to him and you shouldn't either. If you feel guilty, go to Jesus and ask forgiveness, and you get the forgiveness instantly. No more reason to feel guilt or shame for your past. It has been dealt with. Jesus paid the price for your guilt. You are no longer guilty if you believe in Jesus redemption. Praise God, you are no longer a prisoner of your past or the devil. You belong to God and you are forever free from your guilt. You are forgiven. Amen. 

Children of God

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1. 

We were far away from God because of sin. Through Jesus, we are no longer far away. We were enemies of God. Through Jesus, we are now at peace with God. We were guilty in the eyes of God. Through Jesus, we are now righteous. We were darkness. Through Jesus, we are now light. We were dead in our sins. Through Jesus, we are now alive to God. We were condemned to be forever separated from God. Through Jesus, we are headed to be eternally with God, our Father. We were children of the devil. Through Jesus, we are now children of God. Welcome to God's family. Praise God.

For God so loved the world

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" John 3:16. 

Most Christians know the verse by heart. Some non Christians know it too. It's great, because this one simple verse conveys us tremendous truths. It shows how much God loves us, and how we get our sins forgiven. However, one more thing can be spotted in the verse and I believe it is very important. It tells us about the value of a human in God's eyes. It is priceless. Can you believe it?

There is no monetary value for us. Human are the crown of God's creation. He created us according to His own image and likeness. Unfortunately, we sinned. We besmeared the beauty that God gave us. Sin separated us from God. Yet, we were still amazingly valuable to our Creator. He decided to give Himself for our redemption. Wow! If He valued us so much, that is the greatest measurement for our self-worth. People try to build their own self-esteem by various psychological tricks. I know no better thing than to know that God Himself died to redeem us. This is in-measurable price. And after you accept this priceless gift, God becomes your Father. Wow! What a privilege! Billions of thanks to Him here on earth and many more when we meet Him on the other side of eternity. 

Jesus came to give life

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" John 10:10.

When you look at the world today and see lots of misery, suffering, evil, wars, anxiety and other stuff that break people's hearts you see the works of the thief (sin and devil). These 2 work in tandem causing so much grief. Even sicknesses and diseases are the result of the 2. They cause us to lose peace, joy, health, happiness, satisfaction, success and all the good stuff that every human being dreams of having. It's important to know the source of all the evil, and I hope you see that. However, there is somebody, who can turn things around, and He did.

Jesus came to bring us life full of abundance. He came to restore our value as humans. He came to return peace between us and God. He came to return us right position before God. He gives joy. He blesses. He forgives sins. He heals our bodies. He does not condemn, but justifies us. He shows us what God is like. He is our Father. A good Father. A Father who gives good gifts for His children. There is fullness of life in Jesus. The only thing that He takes away from us (if we allow Him) is our sins. Well, the Bible says, He took our diseases too. Let's not walk around with the weights that the thief put on us. Let's go to Jesus, and He will gives us life full of abundance.

God is in control

"The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all" Psalms 103:19.

The current pandemic of coronavirus has generated a lot of talks among Christians and not conspiracy theorists about the upcoming change in the world. Possible global government, massive chipping, one currency, persecution and many more. Well, it's possible. The world has undergone various stages in politics. Various power groups struggled to gain global power. And there are some ideas regarding that in the Bible (book of revelation). However, as a Christian I am really more interested in what God is doing than what various power hungry groups are. 

You know, God never left this earth. He created it. The earth belongs to Him. Nothing happens in the world without His knowledge, and nothing will. He is still on the throne and He is still in control. Jesus Christ is the Savior of our souls and the day is approaching when He is coming back to the earth as the King of kings. That's why I am more interested in God's politics, than the world politics. God is moving things. We are approaching to the end times and we should be more worried about states of our souls than about the state of politics. It's ok to follow that too, but do we see that God is above everything and one day His kingdom will reign forever, and it will never have an end? Even if ungodliness manages to climb on the throne of the global politics, it will be for a short season. God will take over from there. We have to keep serving God and true King Jesus, who will reign forever. Let's keep our focus on God and get courage and peace from Him, even if things might get for the worse. Have faith in God, because eventually, He will visibly rule the world. I am waiting for that type of President. 

God always works behind the scenes

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" Romans 8:28. 

It is obvious that bad things happen to everyone, Christians included. We want to live in a better world, but we don't. Some grow up in toxic environment, dysfunctional families, others have health issues, yet others lack success in life. The list can be very long. One preacher told a person who was complaining to him about the troubles in his life: "Welcome to the world where everybody suffers". Christians are not naive people, they are not blind to the bad stuff that happens around or even in their own very lives. However, we do not end being negative or pessimistic. Why?

Because we have a good God, who never leaves us. He has a way of how to deal with the bad stuff in our lives and turn it into something good. We should always remember that. Unfavorable conditions will always be there, trials and tests too. However, the most important thing for us is to have faith that God is always with us and a strong hope that He will turn everything that comes against us for the better. He has a purpose for our lives. And He knows how to achieve it if we cooperate with Him. He always works behind the scenes. Let's trust that God is good and anything we go through will make us stronger in the end.   

Love casts out fear

"Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love" 1 John 4:18.

Fear and love never stay together. One casts another out. People throughout centuries feared God. In a wrong way. They did not know Him. They saw a distorted picture of Him. They were scared to be punished and sent to hell. Some have the same image of God today. A picture of an angry God is a wrong picture. Apostle John confirms that. He says that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Not fear judgment, but have boldness in that day. You have been justified by faith in Jesus, and you will not be punished for your past sins. 

Your love for God draws you closer to Him. You know that He had forgiven your sins, and this knowledge removes fear from your heart. The fact that He loved you so much that He gave His only Son for you does something even more. It breeds love for God/Jesus in your heart. 

No more slaverish fear of judgment and of God. You love Him. Yes, there is a different kind of fear of God that the Bible talks about. That fear means you shun everything that God does not like. That type of fear is not a feeling. It is your desire and a decision to behave in a way that God likes. It's just like when you love somebody, you don't do (at least try not to) things the person does not like. It is the same with our relationship with God. You don't do things you don't like because you love Him. 

He loves you and you love Him back. The slaverish fear pushes us away from God. The love that we have in our hearts for Him, pushes us closer to Him. You cannot have both. God loves you, Jesus paid price for you sins. He was punished for you. Punishment does not belong to you. If you meditate on that, this will cast away fear. Who or what should you fear if the creator of the Universe loves you and is on your side? Trust Him. 

The word of God always accomplishes the mission it is sent for

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it  without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" Isaiah 55:10-11. 

Rain and snow have power to do something good for the earth. They help the earth to produce harvest and accomplish many other things. Similarly, the word of God can have a lot of functions, but it is mostly sent to help people to implement changes in their lives. One word from God can change our lives forever. God's word can be applied to any area of your life. If you don't have hope, it gives hope. If you feel sad, it can produce in you joy. It you are worried, it can bring you peace of mind. And so on, and so forth. So, define what kind of situation you are in, then look what the Word of God says about your situation. Find as many verses as you can and read them. Those verses will produce positive result in you. Even if your situation does not change, you will be able to look at it from God's perspective and get new strength, or wisdom to solve problems that arise in your life.