Something’s Missing

there’s a house
that I call home
but I still feel homeless
my spirit is a runaway
and my heart has gone astray
to love things that can’t love me

there’s a kitchen
loaded with food
but I’m still starving
there’s a hunger deep inside
that we all feel but then we hide
running on empty

there’s a car
that gets me around
but I’m lost and never found
always going faster
steering toward disaster
driving under the influence of this world

there’s a closet
filled with all my clothes
brands that everybody knows
but I still feel naked
running through the garden behind the trees
rather than running to God on my knees
isn’t the air still present without the breeze?

Does the Matrix have you?

The Matrix

There is an important lesson behind the movie “The Matrix” : do not let yourself be fooled by the so-called reality that is around you. There is a deeper truth out there behind the reality that we see and experience everyday.

When we live as part of the same reality everyday, we go blind to it. Reality begins to seem normal because we get so used to it. We never think about thinking. We never wonder. We never ask the important questions. Because reality is all that we see, we tend to accept it as it is. We begin to believe that it is just the way things are. We begin to say things like “that’s life”. But, is it really?

What is the Matrix?

The reality that the majority of the world’s population is living is not real. They are living the Matrix. The Matrix is a computer programmed world. It is a simulation of a prosperous modern-day reality. The real world behind the Matrix has been destroyed by war. The people living in the Matrix are ignorant and oblivious to the fact that their world is not real. They’re so distracted by the things in the Matrix that they never question their Matrix reality. Mr. Thomas Anderson (Neo), the main character in the movie, realizes that something is wrong with the world he is living in. He wants to know the truth. His life came down to one question: “Do you want the red pill or the blue pill?” The red pill will show him the truth and the blue pill will keep him living in the Matrix as he was before. The red pill will answer his deepest desires, but the blue pill will put him back into the Matrix prison.

Where did the ideas for the Matrix movie come from?

Believe it or not, the story of the Matrix comes right from the Bible. The Bible’s message is to tell us the truth about this world that we live in. The earth and the universe were created by God. But, the world system that we live in was created by man, under the influence of Satan(the devil). The Bible calls Satan the god of this world. This world is being controlled by spiritual forces of evil. This world is full of lies and tricks meant to fool us and keep us away from God. Satan uses philosophies and religions as traps to confuse those who dare to try and look for the truth.

For the rest not looking for truth, Satan distracts them with the goodies of this world. He gets them to put all their trust and attention on this world that is under his influence. To see the truth, we need to search for it, we need to be unplugged from this world. Those who put their trust in this world refuse to unplug themselves from it. And so, they cannot see the truth. Our lives come down to one choice: Do you want to live a lie (the blue pill) or do you want the truth (the red pill)?

The Red Pill

The red pill represents blood. It represents the suffering sacrifice of Jesus Christ that saves us and set us free from this present evil age. Yes, with faith in Jesus Christ we are overcomers. When we believe in Jesus, we are unplugged from this world of lies and corruption, so that we can know the truth. The truth is that God is building His Kingdom. God’s Kingdom will take over the whole earth and bring upon it eternal paradise. God will reign and good will prevail, forever! All who choose to turn to God and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior will be adopted into God’s Kingdom as children of God. All who do not are making the personal choice to separate themselves from God. Separated from God is not where you want to be, not in this life, and not for all of eternity.

Just like the red pill set Neo free from the Matrix world of lies, so does Jesus Christ set us free from this evil world. When you choose the red pill, you choose Jesus Christ. He is the Way, He is the Truth, and He is the life.

Don’t settle for anything less than everything that God wants to give you this very moment because He loves you. He wants to adopt you into His Family and into His Kingdom. Won’t you let Him come into your life today?

Special thanks to:
http://heaven.net.nz/writings/thematrix.htm

Where is God?

Many are quick to ask: Where is God in the world today?

To honestly answer this one, we’ve got to slow down and ask ourselves: Well, where am I?

We tend to blame God rather than blame ourselves because it hurts us less when we’re not to blame. The last thing any of us want to hear is how wrong we are. But, sometimes we need to know our wrongs before things can ever seem right.

The truth is that we live in a world where the majority of people have turned away from God. They have rejected God’s Laws. They refuse to obey God. Instead, they give themselves over to their own desires. They set their hearts on money, pleasure, technology, fashion, etc. And so, these things
become their god, because they set their heart on them. They forget the Giver and get carried away with the gifts. No wonder it seems as if God is not here, the lives that most of the people of this world are living don’t invite God in, they reject Him!

INSTRUCTION

God strictly commands that all the people He creates in the world should live a certain way. God, who knows best, instructs us with the way that we’re supposed to live. He made rules and set them up as laws for us to obey, for our own good. Following them will keep us safe from danger. God’s laws are
laws of love. If the people of the world lived by God’s laws, this world would be such a better place for all.

Jesus showed us that the 10 commandments can be summed up as follows:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.” - love God! He created you, and wants to bless your life in abundance. He wants to set you free from all your troubles. He’ll come to save your life if you let Jesus Christ in.

“Love your neighbor as yourself” This means care for other people! We all need to have others who care about us! We all know how much it means to know people who care about us!

DISOBEDIENCE

However, many become disobedient. They forget about God. They treat Him as if He didn’t exist. They turn away from God and to the many distractions of the world. Without God they have no true knowledge of good, and so they unkowingly surrender themselves over to evil things. They think worthless
thoughts. They accept evil lies and believe them as if they were the truth. They speak against God and say that He doesn’t exist. They ignore God. They reject God’s promises. They live unfaithfully to God’s laws. They live but have no idea why they were created, why they’re here, and what the purpose of their life is. They’re alive but they’re ignorant of life, and so they’re as good as dead.

An evil heart has grown up in all of us humans. This evil heart has made us disobedient toward God. It has separated us from God, and has caused in us mental,physical,and spiritual corruption. This evil heart has brought us into the ways of death, removing us far from abundant life.

WAKE UP

We’ve been blindfolded by the devil. We’ve got to start seeing the world for what it really is. We’ve got to stop thinking that death, sickness, war, poverty, famine, murder, suicide, pain, etc are normal parts of life. These things don’t just happen. They happen for a reason. The world wasn’t always like this. God created a perfect world. The world became this way after humanity rebelled
against God. We’ve separated ourselves from God and so the fullness of God’s power is no longer in full effect over the world. This is why the world is full of problems.

“But know this, that in the last days dangerous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, braggers, proud, disrespectful of holy things, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, gossipers, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, traitors, stubborn, arrogant, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…led away by various
lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 TIMOTHY 3

Many of you can also admit that you see and notice these things in yourself as well. We are living dangerous times, we are living in the last days. What the Bible predicted thousands of years ago is what is happening today. And every Bible prediction has come true. The coming of Jesus Christ was predicted hundreds of years before in the Old Testament. We’re living a life separated from God. That’s why we look for God but do not see God. We must repent
and turn back to God.

REALIZE

“But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent…” Rev 2:4-5. These are God’s very words to the people of this planet. We’ve abandoned God, our first love. He was the one who loved us before anyone else even knew about us.

God has invited many, but very few respond to Him. We could turn to God and draw near to Him anytime we want, but most of us stay away. God provides for our every day, He holds us up, waiting for us to turn back to Him. Don’t expect to hear God’s voice or to see God before you even consider Him. We live a life separated from God because of sin (rebellion). God gave us a free will. We have to choose God before we can experience Him. We have to make that choice, then God will respond to us.

Very few respond to God because We have other things in our lives that seem more important. Work, friends, family, making money, having fun, etc. Are these things really more important than the almighty God of the universe and Father of us all, who is the only reason why we’re breathing. It’s not because of our friends, not because of money or fun, but because God made it to be so. It’s not even because of our parents, they couldn’t do much for us during the first 9 months of our existence.

WHAT GOD SAYS (from the Bible)

The LORD says “I called but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.”

The LORD says “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations, a people who continually provoke me with their sins.”

The LORD says “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your sins have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you,so that He will not hear.”

Those who do not turn to God are rebelling toward God. Those who turn to God, he calls His children and His servants. About this the LORD says: “My servants will eat,but you will go hungry; my servants will drink, but you will go thirsty; my servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame. My
servants will sing out of the joy of their hearts, but you will cry out from anguish of heart and wail in brokenness of spirit.” God will not keep silent but will pay back to each according to what they deserve.

REPENT

Definition of Repent: To sorrow or be pained for sin, as a violation of God’s holy law, a dishonor to his character and government, and the foulest ingratitude toward God’s infinite love for us.

1. Repent ( have a change of mind which issues in regret for past sins and in change of conduct for the better)

“But your sins have separated you from your God”

Our sins are what separate us from God. John the Baptist came telling everyone to repent. Jesus Christ came telling everyone to repent because the Kingdom of God (of heaven) is on its way. Before that, there is the judgment time when each one of us will have to stand before God to be judged
either for heaven or for hell.

Imagine the pain God feels when He looks down on earth today and sees the majority of HIS children rebelling against Him and turning their back on Him. Some will even go as far as deny that He even exists.

If a child constantly disobeyed and rebelled against his/her parents, imagine the pain they would feel. The parents do so much for their child, and this is the thank you they get? A rebellious child who does not love them, does not care about them, does not listen to them, and does not respect them. The parents would be heartbroken. How much more is God heartbroken by the billions of people who turn their back to Him day after day.

We need to repent. We need to turn away from our disobedient life and turn back to God. We need to acknowledge that we’re in the wrong. We need to admit that we have been rebelling against God and His perfect laws of love. We should feel so sorry about our disobedience toward God. Sorry means we’ll
never want to do it again. Sorry means that we’ll now want to obey God, we’ll want to learn God’s perfect laws and live by them. Our lives will only improve from there!

As we repent and turn to God, we plead for His forgiveness because He’s so good and we’ve been so bad. God gave us all one way back to Him, and that way is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only way in which sinners can be saved. Jesus Christ is the only way back home to the Father.

In Luke 13:3, the Lord Jesus Christ said, “…unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish.” If there’s one thing we need to know, it’s repentance. Whether we repent or not affects our eternal destiny. We are all sinners and can only be cleansed from sin by repenting (turning from sin) and turning to Jesus Christ for salvation.

2. Believe (trust in, rely on) the good news (the Gospel).

The good news is that God sent His Son Jesus Christ to save sinners! Though we are worthy of destruction because of our sins, God does not destroy us. He loves us so much that He sent us a Savior! The punishments that we deserve to suffer for our disobedience towards God have already been paid. Jesus Christ took our sins upon himself and suffered punishment for them. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for each and every one of us. When we believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins and resurrected for our victory, his saving sacrifices covers our sins and God forgives us when we repent. Jesus Christ reconciles us back to God.

The moment we accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Master of our lives, His saving sacrifice cleanses us from sin and purifies our hearts. In Christ, our spirits come to life. We are made anew, a new birth of the spirit begins in us. We are adopted as children of God, inheriting amazing blessings!

Jesus Christ said “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

God’s Kingdom will be composed of spirits that have been born of God. God’s Kingdom will be composed of a divine royal family of God that will help administer God’s Government over all of the universe forever. Adopted children of God will be born into the soon coming Kingdom of God and they will help to establish heaven on earth forever!

And so, it’s not about where God is (don’t worry, He’s very much alive and watching) but it’s about where you are in your relationship with God. If you have no relationship with God, then of course you can’t see Him and you doubt Him.

Don’t throw it all away, turn to God today!

That famous expression must go

When people say “Oh my god”, who are they referring to? Is their god satan (the devil) or God Almighty? Our lives can be summed up by this one fundamental choice, do you choose satan or God? Out of all the choices we’ll ever make, this choice has the greatest impact on our life. We must choose sides, satan or God. This decision is the purpose of our life here on earth. Our god becomes whatever we set our hearts on. If our heart is set only on the things of this world (money, pleasure), then we have ignorantly chosen satan to be our god.

Every decision we make is a war between good and evil, right and wrong. From deciding how to respond to someone’s comment, to deciding whether or not to help a person in need, good and evil are at war within our hearts. Apart from our physical reality, there is also a spiritual realm that we cannot see, where angels are doing battle against demons for the sake of saving people’s souls.

God gave us the freedom to choose Him or not to choose Him. Unfortunately, not all of humanity will choose God over satan. Though God is grieved by this, He desires a people for Himself that chooses to love Him. Those that don’t choose to love God are not God’s people.

God wants our true love. He wants us to love Him by choice and not because He forces us to love Him. We all know very well that forced love isn’t true love. True love is love by choice. When we begin to see how much God loves us and has done for us, we won’t be able to do anything but choose to love Him!

Adam and eve chose otherwise. They ate fruit from the forbidden tree. They chose to listen to satan rather than listen to God, even after He had given them everything in the garden of Eden! Once God saw that humanity would dare disobey God and listen to satan instead, He let satan set up his kingdom (this evil world) here on earth. This way, every human being could see what results when we break away from God. The result is a world of sickness, lies, corruption, violence, injustice, selfishness, etc. By having us experience life separated from God and under satan’s kingdom, God intends us to learn that disobeying Him only results in a world of evil and disaster.

To see this life for what it really is, is to see satan’s Kingdom (this evil world) contrasted against God’s Kingdom (heaven/paradise on earth) that has already begun in the lives of believers, with the coming of Jesus Christ. Satan is doomed to hell when the time of God’s judgment comes and he knows it. Until then, he will try to destroy as many people as possible by having them disobey God without a care. He keeps many people blindfolded from seeing the truth. He tries to keep people from choosing God, thus making it impossible for them to be saved.

If your god is the one true God, then by loosely using the expression ‘Oh my god’, you are insulting God’s Holy Name. No one who really loves the Lord God could blaspheme His Holy Name like that. No one who knows how Holy God is could ever use His Holy Name in such an inappropriate manner. We’re not thinking and we’re not feeling the effects of what we say, BEFORE we say it. We don’t know God because we haven’t taken the time to get to know God. God promises us that if we seek Him we will find Him. We’re not doing the seeking, and so we’re not finding. God will manifest Himself to those who desire to know Him. We’re not desiring to know God because this world (the devil’s kingdom) has us distracted with many other insignificant desires that are there to keep us from God. Are you letting the devil distract you toward destruction?

Let’s see what God’s word says about this matter:

“Thou shalt not use the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who uses His name in vain” EXODUS 20:7

“Do not accustom your mouth to oaths. Nor by habit utter the name of the Holy One (God’s Name). Just like a servant constantly under observation does not lack bruises, so also the person who always swears and utters the Name (of God) will never be cleansed from sin.” SIRACH 23:9-10

Let’s wake up from the hypnotic trance that this world has us under!

No More Lies

…let the truth open up your eyes.

We all have a right to know the truth. Exercise your right to the truth by allowing this note a few minutes of your time. I’m not trying to impose anything on you or convert you, I’m only sharing the truth. This world it lies to us and I don’t want you to live a lie. You deserve the truth. Don’t settle for anything less. After you’re done reading this, don’t even take my word for it, seek to do some of your own investigating, and the truth will find you and make you free.

CREATION

In the beginning, God created heaven and earth. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. Then, God created mankind. God named the first man Adam, a word that simply means “man”. God, our loving Creator, saw a need for human companionship, and so he made the first woman, called Eve, which means “living”. If God Himself is all He needed, then why would God create humans?

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” -Revelation 4:11

God created us for His pleasure! It’s the same reason why husband and wife desire to have children. They have children because of the joy of replicating themselves and creating a child to call their own, , because of the joy that there is in giving life, because of the joy that there is in creating a family and interacting with each other in friendliness and love. In order to help us understand our relationship to Him, God uses the family relationship to show us how we are His children and He is our Father in heaven.

IN HIS IMAGE

God created mankind in His image. He created individuals that would be similar to Him. That is, individuals who could think, reason, create, feel, and experience emotions. Individuals not just with a physical body, but with an immaterial soul.

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” -Genesis 2:7

The creation of man was a 2 step process. God first formed the body to give a place for the soul to live in.

• One, the body: “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground”
• Two, the soul: God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul.”

Notice that the man only became a living being after God breathed into His nostrils. Man cannot give himself life or create anything that lives. Life is a gift from God. We are only alive because God breathed His life into us. By doing so, God gave us a living soul. We are alive because the life of God is in us. It makes us living beings.

Siince God is a Spirit, and since God created mankind in His own image, then it must mean that He created our souls in His image.
In order to make us in His image, God who also has a mind that knows, a heart that feels, and a will that chooses and does, also placed in our souls a mind, a heart, and a will.

1: God gives us a mind (spirit), so that we could know God.

God gives us a mind(spirit) to think similar to the way God thinks. However, our mind is much more limited than God’s. God created mankind with such a powerful mind(spirit) so that we could have close contact with Him. Our mind(spirit) can communicate with the mind(spirit) of God. Our human mind(spirit) has the possibility of knowing God and enjoying a meaningful relationship with Him.

The mind(spirit) of a man separates him from animals. You are able to understand this sentence because you have a human mind(spirit). Our mind(spirit) has been designed to communicate and correspond to God’s mind(spirit). Animals, on the other hand, have brains but they can’t think about God.

2: God gives us a heart (emotions), so that we could love God.

This does not refer to the heart that pumps blood, but to what you feel in your soul. God placed within the human soul, a heart capable of loving and feeling emotions. God can feel love, hate, rejoice, feel sorrow, and compassion. Since He has created us in His image, so to can we experience such emotions. God gave us a heart to love what God loves and hate what God hates. God gave us a heart to love Him with all of it.

3: God gives us a will (freedom of choice), so that we could obey God.

God placed within the soul of humans a will. God gives every person the capacity to make choices. Just as God has authority to choose whether He will do something or not, so to do we have the authority to make choices for ourselves. God gave humans the right and RESPONSIBILITY to make important choices for themselves.

God could have created humans that automatically obey Him, without any choice. Instead, God chose to give humans a free will to make choices. With that free will comes a great responsibility. Our free will allows us to to choose whether or not to obey God. A choice like this will affect our whole life.
God did not want robots or robotic relationships. He did not want us to be like the sun that rises and sets every day, without a choice. The sun cannot say that it won’t rise tomorrow. The sun will rise tomorrow because it has been programmed to do so and does not have a free will. The sun automatically satisfies God’s desire on a daily basis because He made it to be so. However, the same does not apply with humans.

Humans are a special creation. God does not want us to automatically love Him and praise Him on command. That would be artificial. Then, we would only please God because we had no other choice but to do so. God wants us to please God because we want to, because we love Him. Robots can do a lot of neat things. They can talk, walk, smile, and even do chores, but they can’t love.

And so, we have a great responsibility in our hands. We must chose for ourself whether to follow God or the devil. God won’t force anyone to believe in Him. God won’t force us to love and obey Him. Love is not love if it is forced. God wants us to choose to love Him because we can’t help but do so, after how much He loves us. God wants us to choose to love Him, after we learn that the only other alternative to loving God is loving evil. Who would want to love the devil that hates you and wants to destroy you?

God created humans for Himself. Imagine having a child who grows up not loving you. Oh the heartbreak. Don’t reject our Father, we’re His children and He loves us very much.

PARADISE

Adam and Eve had everything to make them happy. They had perfect health, a perfect home in a beautiful garden, and a perfect world around them. God had even promised them children, satisfaction in their work, and the ability to be creators themselves. All their needs were met. All things good were available to them. They had no need to worry about anything. They experienced God face to face.

A SINFUL DISASTER

If everything was so beautiful and so perfect, then how is it that the world changed into a place of suffering and tragedy? Let’s find the answer to this crucial question.

The devil came into the garden of Eden to tempt Adam and Eve to disobey God their Creator. God limited the devil’s range of influence to one tree in the garden, the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”. God warned them never to eat from this tree, for then they would surely die.

One day, when Eve was wandering near the forbidden tree, the devil, in the form of a snake, claimed that God had lied to her. He told her that if she ate from the tree, she would not die, but would become as wise as God Himself, knowing good and evil. Up to this point, Adam and Eve only knew good. Unfortunately, Eve, and then Adam, allowed the devil to mislead them into eating from the forbidden tree. This broke their bond of trust and obedience with God.

RULING THE WORLD

Upon creating man, God had given mankind the honor of ruling over the whole world as managers of God’s created works. However, because they broke faith with God, Adam and Eve lost their authority. Since they chose to trust and listen to the devil, God assigned the devil to be their new leader who would rule over them.

Here is the starting point that began a planet in rebellion against God, and thus, a deteriorating planet filled with suffering and tragedy. When Adam and Eve decided to pull back from God and believe the devil, God too decided to pull back some of His sustaining power over the once perfect world. This allowed the devil to inflict trouble upon the world. Without God’s rule, and without His full sustaining power over the world, evil comes out to destroy, and the world becomes a disaster.

BUT I DIDN’T EAT THE APPLE!?!

Now many often say “but that was Adam and Eve’s fault, not mine, I didn’t eat the apple!”. We all eat from the forbidden tree when decide to trust our own knowledge of good and evil rather than trusting God. We all eat from the forbidden tree when turn away from God and turn to do it our way, when we want to live according to what we want, and not the good that God wants for us. We have all rebelled from God at sometime or other in our lives. We have all done at least 1 thing that we knew was wrong, and yet we did it anyway. In doing so, like Adam and Eve, we put aside God’s Laws, that are for our own good, and we let ourselves be convinced that we know better.

AN EVIL FORCE

There is an evil force at work in our world. The devil, an invisible enemy, works to make people become evil and fail morally. This evil force influences us to behave selfishly or cruelly when instead, we would really like to do the opposite. This evil force makes people into monsters. The horrible crimes we hear about are a daily reminder of people who consciously or unconsciously give themselves over to evil. Under the devil’s power and influence, they find themselves doing things they would have never thought they could do.

The devil’s influence introduced sin into the world. Sin corrupted everything. Thorns grew with flowers, the soil experienced drought, work became unpleasant, diseases appeared, there was jealousy, greed, and hatred, and death came into the picture. Sin brought human misery.

WHO IS THE DEVIL?

The devil is a murderer and a liar. He is the originator of sin in the universe.
Jesus tells us:

“He [the devil] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” —John 8:44

If you don’t believe that there’s a devil, go ahead and walk through a war zone, a hospital, a prison, or even the downtown city streets. You’ll be convinced.

Jesus tells us that the devil came from heaven:

“I saw Satan fall like lightning FROM HEAVEN.” —Luke 10:18

“And there was WAR IN HEAVEN. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon [the devil], and THE DRAGON AND HIS ANGELS fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they LOST THEIR PLACE IN HEAVEN. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” —Revelation 12:7-9

The devil, along with the angels he had tricked, lost their place in heaven and came to our world where they carried out a successful rebellion: stealing the world management position away from Adam and Eve.

“You [the devil] were anointed as A GUARDIAN CHERUB, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. YOU WERE BLAMELESS IN YOUR WAYS from the day YOU WERE CREATED till WICKEDNESS WAS FOUND IN YOU.” —Ezekiel 28:14, 15

God did not create the devil. He created a perfect angel. He was the wisest and most beautiful of the angels. However, this angel gradually turned himself into a devil. Satan actually began his career as one of heaven’s top angels,
standing next to God’s throne. But then he sinned—”wickedness was found in him”.

He was then expelled from heaven. He came to earth pretending to be a friend to Adam and Eve, but instead he lied to them, and became humanity’s deadliest enemy.

HOW COULD SOMEONE CREATED BY GOD BECOME SO BAD?

The question we want to answer is this: How could the devil become a sinner if he was created as a perfect angel?

“How YOU HAVE FALLEN FROM HEAVEN, O morning star, son of the dawn! YOU HAVE BEEN CAST DOWN TO THE EARTH, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds. I WILL MAKE MYSELF LIKE THE MOST HIGH.’” —Isaiah 14:12-14.

Before he became the devil, he was an angel named Lucifer, which means ‘day star’ or ‘shining one’. However, this angel’s heart shifted from devotion to God toward devotion to his own pride and ambition. Lucifer twisted his love for God into an obsessive love for himself.

Even though he already had a very high position among the angels, it was not enough to satisfy his heart that became full of pride. He grew jealous of God and corrupted himself with a desire to take God’s place and seize His throne. Pride, selfishness, and jealousy turned the chief of angels into the devil.

Lucifer managed to trick one third of heaven’s angels that he had a better plan than God. Perhaps he told other angels that God was not giving them all that they deserved, or that God’s laws were too severe, or that God did not care about them. He portrayed God, who’s character defines what love is, to seem like one without love.

“Your [the devil’s] heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth.” —Ezekiel 28:17.

Lucifer’s choice to rebel against God had him cast out of heaven, along with the angels that fell for his lies. Pride and selfishness are horrible sins that cannot exist alongside a holy and loving God. In order to maintain the peace and harmony of heaven, the rebellious ones had to be cast out.

“His tail dragged down one-third of the stars, which he threw to the earth”. -Revelation 7:4

WHY DID GOD GIVE ANGELS AND MAN THE CAPACITY TO SIN?

God wants the beings He created in His image to reason and understand that God’s way is always right, and then choose God’s way rather than the rebellious route.

God didn’t have to give us a mind of our own, emotions of our own, or a free will of our own. But God wanted to create beings who could understand and appreciate Him, who could respond to Him in love, and be driven by a love for others too. Without a free will, we wouldn’t fall into sin and disobedience. However, without a free will, we would be unable to experience real love. We wouldn’t be able to choose to love God, we would be programmed (forced) to do so. God wants us to make a choice to love Him. That is real love. To choose to love God because we realize it is right to do so.

God wanted so much to share His love with us that He was willing to take the giant risk of creating angels and humans with the power of choice.
God gave angels and humans the power of choice that makes it possible for them to know and experience real love. God wanted so much to share His love with us that He was willing to take the giant risk of giving us the power to choose to love or reject Him.

WHY WASN’T SIN DESTROYED IMMEDIATELY WITH LUCIFER?

Why didn’t God destroy the devil before sin could spread? Well, Lucifer had challenged the fairness of God’s government. You might be saying, wait a minute, what is God’s government? God’s government is God as ruler, as it is in heaven. Lucifer spread lies about God’s government. Lies were unheard of in heaven up to this time. The angels had no idea what lay behind all of Lucifer’s lies.

If God had destroyed Lucifer immediately, the angels would have begun to serve Him out of fear rather than out of love. God gave beings the power of choice, so that they’d choose to love God, and not love Him because they were forced to do so. Loving God out of fear would be a forced love and not a voluntary choice to love Him. This would have defeated God’s purpose for creating humans and angels.

Up to this point no one really knew if God’s way, God’s government, was the best choice. There were no alternatives to compare with, and no one tried any alternative. God gave the devil a chance to show all God’s creations his alternative system of government. So, the devil was given the chance to make his offer to Adam and Eve.

This planet became a testing ground where the devil and his kingdom can be compared with God and His kingdom. Humans and angels are given the chance to see who is right and who can be trusted?

Before we could all be truly convinced that God and God’s Kingdom is best, the only other alternative (the devil) had to be fully exposed. Everyone needs to see how disastrous the devil’s alternative really is.

THE HORROR OF REBELLING AGAINST GOD

Once everyone understands the horror that arises after rebelling against God (the horror of sin) and the evil of the devil’s government, then God will destroy the devil and sin. God will also have to destroy all those who stubbornly choose the devil’s alternative instead of choosing God. Once the devil and sin are destroyed, they will never again poison the universe. Until then, the horror of sin must stand out clearly so that all can see the terror that results from rebelling against God. That way, after all is done, no one will ever again rebel against God for all of eternity.

“The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be burned up [margin]. . . . But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” —2 Peter 3:10, 13.

AT THE CROSS

At the cross, all saw the devil for who he is, a murderer and a liar. He persuaded men to murder the innocent Son of God. At the cross, the horror of sin was exposed to all.

The cross also revealed Christ for who He is, the Son of God and Savior of the world. At the cross, the power of God’s love stood out against the devil’s love of power. At the cross, we see that God loves us all with a self-sacrificing love.
For those who believe in Him, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, payed the price for all the punishments we deserved as a result of our disobedience. Jesus Christ was offered over to death to bear the sins of many. He really suffered for our sins. For those who believe in Him, their sins will not be held against them. His death removed the wrath of God from us so that we could receive God’s love instead. His death frees us from the curses we desereve when we break the God’s Law. His death purchases a ticket to paradise with God for us.

Consider what Jesus Christ endured for our salvation:

-His skin was whipped off,
-His beard was torn out of his cheeks,
-His head pierced with thorns,
-His face beaten to a pulp. He was unrecognizable. The Bible says He was more disfigured than ANY man.
-His hands and feet were nailed through with thick spikes,
-His side pierced with a spear after He died.

By his blood, Jesus Christ offers to wipe out all our sins, bearing them in His own body, so that we wouldn’t have to suffer the punishments we deserve for our sins. As a result, evil and sin cannot destroy us who believe in Christ.
The purpose of God in sending Christ to die for us was mainly to lead His children from sin, sickness, punishment, death, and hell, to goodness, healing, God’s love, forgiveness, resurrection, and heaven.

CONCLUSION

The battle of this world is all about who should rule the world, Christ or the devil. But the cross settled it once ad for all. Christ was raised above and over all! The devil was defeated. God’s government/kingdom is coming and He will rule the world through Jesus Christ our Savior and King!

“Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself [Jesus Christ] likewise also partook of the same [human nature], that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death that is, the devil…” -Hebrews 2:14

“‘Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.’” -Revelation 15:3, 4.

Brothers and sisters, may you all prosper and be in health, even as your souls prosper. May God bless you.

Sources:

http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/blood.htm

http://www.exploringtheword.com/furtherstudy/guide03/

http://www.injil.org/TWOR/05.html

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1996/958_For_Whom_Did_Jesus_Taste_Death/

A Concert’s gonna save the world?

So, they decided to hold concerts around the world to raise awareness for global warming. Here’s what they really wanted to raise:

- Raise a reason for mass-marketing, raise profits.

- Raise a music craze, music isn’t selling too well these days, they’d rather steal it.

- Raise a good time, no need to worry. If we can have concerts like this, everything is fine. People can be happy and celebrate.
Everyone loves concerts. The sound waves will continue to sedate the people, keeping them from having to think that something is wrong.

- Raise the idea that they’re doing something about global warming and no one should worry. There is no need for protests and resistance. We’ve got it covered. We’ll organize worldwide concerts, that’ll save us from global warming. The icecaps will be happy when they hear madonna singing, they won’t cry anymore. People are complaining about the environment, let’s play them some music, it will mellow them down. Everybody loves music. It’ll distract them from the real problem. It’ll make them happy.

The people attending the concerts couldn’t care less about a global warming message. You should have seen them, rocking back and forth to the music. They just wanted a good performance. And that’s what they got. A performance where they pretended to show the world that they’re doing something about this troubled world. All we have to do is sit back and listen to some music. That’s the message they’re giving. They’re saying that music solves problems. What song ever gave them that idea?

“He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.” PSALM 107:33-34

This passage gives us a hint that major earthly changes occur because of the wickedness (evilness) of the world’s population. Here is the problem. Here is the reason for all this global warming. Music is nothing but an SOS call to the world’s population, encouraging them to come, listen, and have a good time. It is not an SOS call that will save anyone, let alone this planet. See that’s the problem, people have their hearts wrapped up in too many good times, the last thing we need is another excuse for partying. You can’t raise awareness by feeding people with one of the very things that contributes to their lack of awareness.

You want to raise awareness, you gotta get people looking up to the sky. This planet is more than just about us. Even We ourselves are more than just about us. We have a Creator, this planet has a Creator. He who has brought all things into existence calls us to live by the universal laws He set in place. They’re laws that are set in place for our own good. You try to
disobey gravity right now and see where it gets you. The same with all our Creator’s other laws. Our Creator also calls us to Him, for He knows that we need Him more than anything. What does every creation need? It’s creator that provides for it.

“He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. And there he lets the hungry live, and they establish a town to live in; they sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield. By His blessings they multiply greatly, and he does not let their cattle decrease.” PSALM 107:35-38

By our Creator’s blessings, deserts change into fertile ground. The hungry (the needy who turn to the one and only Provider in need) are blessed with a fruitful yield in all things. By His blessings they prosper, and their prosperity does not decrease because He does not let it decrease!

And so, this is not about going to buy energy star appliances, it’s about going to the Energy Star himself, the Source of all energy and all things, our Creator. It’s about turning away from our wickedness and running back into His arms crying in shame at the mess we’ve become and the mess that we’ve made of this place because we’ve failed to seek His help. We can’t do
anything without Him, since we don’t even exist apart from Him who brought us into existence. Here’s the awareness. And here’s the SOS call that the people need “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” This SOS call is a calling for us to change our way of life in order to obey our Creator’s Divine order, for the governments of the world and all the evil of this world are about to be replaced by a united Divine Kingdom.” If evil’s still got a hold on you, better turn away from it, or you’ll be swallowed up with
it.

They don’t need a concert to tell them something’s wrong. They know that there’s a lot of things wrong, and they hear it in what doesn’t get said or sung. Don’t get their ears ringing on what they don’t need to hear so that they can’t listen to what they need to hear. Everyone needs to hear the Message of Truth, the Good News of the Kingdom of God. The only thing left ringing after this message will be their hearts, ringing with the joy of salvation!

Don’t waste your parents

SPEECH AND LANGUAGE

“Hear, my son, your father’s instruction And do not forsake your mother’s teaching” Proverbs 1:8

• Parents are superior to children, they are deputies of God.
• Your speech and language toward them must show high respect
• Don’t show any resentment toward them
• Do not treat their commands as unimportant
• Do not disregard their criticism
• Do not disrespect their teachings or advice

SERVICE

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ” COL 3:23-24

• As a child, you are a servant to your parents. Be subject to your masters with fear.
• Give them no cause to complain.
• If they assign you to something non-sinful, it would be a sin to refuse doing it
• It should be the joy of your life to yield obedience to their commands
• It should be important to you to satisfy them
• Seek the direction of your parents, nothing should be done without them
• Do not leave undone what they desire
• Do not do what they forbid
• Their anger is serious
• Don’t withold from them the rewards they deserve
• Live by the obligations which they have laid upon you
• Don’t count anything too much to do for them
• Repay them as much as you can, knowing you can never fully repay them
• Be to your parents the restorer of their lives
• Nourish your parents in their old age

APPRECIATION

• Love your parents and show it
• Prize them, they are a gift to you
• Be thankful to them
• Be thankful to God for them
• Be a sign to them of Jesus Christ formed in you

Arise

arise, arise
over the limits and constraints
that this day of your life
has built up around you
keeping you a prisoner to your priorities
but see, there’s no real refuge in your reality

and you

despise, despise
the truth
because it opens up your eyes
showing you how wrong you’ve been
but it hurts to acknowledge sin
and so you hang onto the life that hangs you

and then

surprise, surprise
the world spun you out
and you’re in the dust
because it’s all that you are
as you failed to turn and trust
the Spirit of Life

The Gift Of Life

Blow my mind
I need something great to find
that is worth all my love and devotion
and I need it like the fish need the ocean

See, everyday I ride this train of thought
and it always takes the same route
all aboard except the truth
combustion by fire
the conductor’s a liar
derail me toward deliverance

Blow my mind
I feel that I’ve been left behind
I’m alive but I’m ignorant of life
and so I’m as good as dead

At every stop, every station
I seek for God’s divine visitation
to fill my heart
before I depart
back to another spin around myself
and I need a departure from this
I want to be sure and not miss
the gift of life

Healing: The Two Blind Men

“And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.” (MATTHEW 9:27-34)

The blind men followed Jesus crying “Have mercy on us.” However, they got no reply. This example teaches that
heartless prayer will not heal the sick. Some pray for their healing for years and say that they’re no better. Healing requires praying in faith.

Coming into the presence of Christ won’t heal us. The blind men came to Jesus into the house, yet they still were not healed. All is of no avail unless we definitely believe that Jesus is able to heal us and that Jesus wants to heal us.

If the two blind men did not have any belief in them that Jesus would want to heal them, they would not have approached Him, and they would not have been healed. If the two blind men did not answer “Yes, Lord” when Jesus asked them if they believed He was able to heal them, they would not have been healed.

“Do you believe that I am able to do this?” Jesus asks this same question to all who call to Him for healing. Unless we believe that Jesus is our Savior, the Son of God Almighty, and that He possesses full authority, we will doubt that He is able to heal us. And, as long as there is doubt, there is no faith. With this question, Jesus is in fact also asking “Do you believe that I AM who I AM?”.

Jesus answers the blind men with the great law of faith that determines for every one of us the measure of our blessings: “According to your faith be it done to you.” Not according to agonizing prayer, not according to much labor, but according to your faith. This law of faith is the secret that opens heaven and commands all the forces and resources of the Throne of God. Praise the Lord!

Paraphrased from: The Gospel of Healing by A.B. Simpson.