Loyalty to the Lord and to Our Neighbor - 2 Timothy 1

Based on 2 Timothy 1 (New King James Version)

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

One of the main things seen in this passage is loyalty, and unfortunately, the lack of loyalty of some people also. Without loyalty, nothing good can be achieved, and even less, God’s salvation. There are many who believe that because they say they believe in God or because they do certain religious things, or even because they said a prayer one day, they think that is enough to go to heaven. Many hide behind the idea that since we are saved graciously, they conclude that works are of no use after coming to Christ either. But according to the Word, that is not true, and it is far from the will of God. True faith in Christ leads you to do good works which are things that please the Father. We must always remember that whoever does the will of the Father will be granted entry into the kingdom of God. And loyalty is one of the main works that are part of God's will.

What makes loyalty so important? Because it is part of the most precious thing for God, love. Loyalty is the main component of love, because without loyalty, it is impossible for there to be love. Loyalty or faithfulness is what makes love possible and visible. One of the serious problems today is that the meaning of love has been lost, and that is why there is also very little loyalty. It is believed that love is a feeling and nothing more. But love is not only that, but something much deeper and more significant, on which the most essential thing about man is based, free will, the power to choose based on some type of reasoning, which should be what separates us from the rest of creation. But, today, man is guided more by his instincts, and unfortunately, not even by his natural instincts, but rather, against nature. The female does not kill her cubs, nor do the animals seek to change how they were born, and if an animal kills, it does not kill for sport or to be able to have better things, but rather it kills to survive, to eat, or to defend itself. These are a few examples in which human beings differ from others in nature. So, love and loyalty are interdependent, and are part of what is essential for man, and mainly, for God his Creator.

True love and loyalty are not things that are just said, but for them to really mean what they should mean, they must be seen through our actions. There is no point in telling a person that we love them or that our intention is to be faithful to them without showing it. These two things can only be verified visibly and tangibly, and also, through the passing of time (because what is true should not be momentary or temporary). And to whom do we owe loyalty? If we want to obtain eternal life, the Word of God teaches us that we must love the Lord (and because it speaks of love, loyalty or faithfulness is implied) and our neighbor. This is what the Word tells us: “But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:34-40. And as we said before, love, loyalty, and of course, faith is only seen through works, as it is also written: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:14-20. True loyalty is seen only through deeds and time, and this glorifies God.  

So, to whom do we owe loyalty to? To the Lord mainly, because He must be the foundation of everything in our life, but also, and as a result, we owe loyalty to our neighbors. And who is our neighbor? Is it our family, our loved ones and no one else? No. This is what the Word says: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48. Through this, God puts our enemies in the same place as our neighbor. And how do we show loyalty even to our enemies? Giving them the opportunity to also know the Gospel of God through our actions, if we have a true faith (because the dead cannot guide the dead to life). So, are you showing loyalty to God and your neighbor? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!

Man’s Injustice - John 19:1-16

Based on John 19:1-16 (New King James Version)

“So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ And they struck Him with their hands. Pilate then went out again, and said to them, ‘Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.’ Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, ‘Behold the Man!’ Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, ‘Crucify Him, crucify Him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.’ The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.’ Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, ‘Where are You from?’ But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to Him, ‘Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?’ Jesus answered, ‘You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.’ From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, ‘If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.’ When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’ But they cried out, ‘Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar!’ Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away.’

After reading this passage, we should ask ourselves: “Was the Lord crucified because God wanted it that way, or because of man's injustice?” And if we see it through the fullness of the Word, we should understand that it happened for both reasons. The Lord's sacrifice was prepared and designed by God long before it happened. That is why He sent through His messengers to write such prophecies, which were fulfilled in the life of the Lord with great accuracy. Since man fell into sin, we see the announcement of a sacrifice that involved an innocent being dying for the evil of man. This is what the Word says: “Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” Genesis 3:21. For God to make skin tunics for man, God Himself had to kill an innocent being (because animals did not sin) in order to make them. So, from the beginning, we see the announcement of what was going to be fulfilled in the life of the Lord.

Now, it would be very easy for all of us to say and accept that it was something that had to happen, no matter what, so that we would all be blameless, right? But, that's not the case. You have to see the whole equation, so to speak, to be able to understand everything that happened, and especially if we want to learn what is necessary so that we can benefit from this. Yes, it is true that it was God's design, but the death and crucifixion of the Lord was also entirely man's fault. The matter was fulfilled both because God wanted it that way, but also because the evil of man made it possible that way as well. This is what the Word says: “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us because of our iniquities.” Isaiah 64:6-7. And it also says: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9. There was evil, in some way or another, in absolutely every human being who surrounded the Lord at that moment. Between Pilate who cared more about his relationship with Caesar than about doing justice, between the soldiers doing evil because they could, between the people who cried out for the Lord be crucified for simply allowing themselves to be carried away by the evil of others, and even the religious themselves who said they were trying to comply with the law, they all sinned. The last thing the religious had in mind was fulfilling God's law, because even Pilate knew their real intentions, as it was left written: “Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’ For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.” Matthew 27:17-18. And what could we even say about his disciples, who cared more about their own well-being before suffering together with the Lord? Peter had declared to the Lord that he would even die for Him if necessary. And what did he do? He denied him, but why, because the Lord prophesied that he would deny Him, or because the Lord knew he was going to deny him? This itself should make us think: “Do things happen because God wanted them that way, or because they fall due to their own evil and God simply knows what is going to happen?” And let’s not judge harshly those from before, because we are the same.

Nothing has changed in mankind since then. So, what should we do? And here comes the practicality of the gospel. The first thing that God teaches us is, that for man to be saved, they must repent and convert from all sins before God. We must start completely, 100% anew. Why? Because we are all sinners and totally corrupt before God, and if we do not change that condition, we will continue to practice injustice despite our best intentions. I myself converted to the Lord at age 7, and I was already corrupted, and had to start over. Second, and as necessary as the first, we must make the Lord Jesus Christ our literal and effective Lord by faith so that the Holy Spirit can enter our lives. And third, we must allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, seeking to do His will. Why? Because we are still subject to the free will with which God Himself made us. That was the great change that happened in the apostles after the Lord died and was resurrected, which made them capable of even giving their lives for the Lord. Peter was finally able to fulfill his promise to give his life for God. But this doesn't happen by itself. This only happens between the complement of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and us submitting our will to Him. This is what the Word says: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2. “Then one said to Him, ‘Lord, are there few who are saved?’ And He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from.’” Luke 13:23-25. This helps us understand that we must overcome our sin, step by step, with God's help (of course), because the work is necessary so that we can obtain eternal life through Christ. This must be fulfilled in us: “Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.” Mark 12:29-30. So, are you looking to do God’s justice heartfully? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!

God’s Compassion - Mark 8:1-8

Based on Mark 8:1-8 (New King James Version)

“In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, ‘I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.’ Then His disciples answered Him, ‘How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?’ He asked them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ And they said, ‘Seven.’ So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.”

There are many who question the love and compassion of the Lord. Many ask or meditate within themselves, if God is good or merciful, why does He allow so many bad things to happen in the world? Why does He let evil reign in the world? Why doesn't He answer my prayers? And it is because of questions like these that many justify their disbelief. God is judged at every moment, and for different reasons. But, in order to understand these things, it is necessary to come to understand certain realities, and I am afraid to say, that reality or truth is not always something pleasant for us, but the truth is the most important thing because His truth is what will make us free.

The point is that we must understand positions, both God's position and our position. To begin, God is God, and in order to focus things even more, we are talking about the true and only God (because there are many false gods and idols). Why make this clarification? Because there are many people who believe that all religions lead to the same God, which is impossible, because there are several religions that believe that there are many gods and deities. And of course, if it is the same god, how would he say one thing to one group of people, and another thing to another group of people? In short, we are talking about the true God, the triune God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the God of the Holy Bible. Now, God is God, and as God, there is nothing or no one higher in the entire universe. Nobody commands God. No one can impose anything on God, much less subject Him to something. As God, He is Sovereign and He can do as He pleases, especially with all of His creation. And in conjunction with that, we must understand that, as God, He does not owe anything to anyone, much less to humanity. He has no obligation to anyone. So, God can do whatever He wants. That is reality.

So, what is our position? A very bad one. Why? Because God created and made man to serve Him, to fulfill His purposes. And what did man do? He rebelled against His Creator. Within the free will that God gave him, instead of following the reason for his existence, man wanted to be like God, he wanted to put himself in competition with God. That was what the devil used to tempt man. As it is written: “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ’ Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” Genesis 3:1-6. And some might say: “That was Adam and Eve's fault, and it wasn't my fault.” And possibly, it was not your fault how this whole problem started, but yes, each of us have voluntarily sinned against God. And with every sin that is committed, God is offended, without exception. This is what the Word says: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romanos 3:23. So, there is no one here who has not offended God, by using their free will to sin against the Almighty. And the wages of sin is death, even more accurately, eternal damnation, eternal death, because this is also written: “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” Ezekiel 18:20. This is our reality. All of us have practically killed our souls with our actions, and willingly. The devil can only tempt, but no one has the power to make man sin, not even the devil, because God gave us free will.

What then is our duty, despite our fallen and sin-contaminated nature? Even though we have sinned, that does not free us from the reason for our existence. Sin takes away the reward that comes with serving God, but not our obligation. The duty of every human being is to come to recognize God, and to serve Him regardless of whether they are saved or not, because even the devil will one day have to acknowledge the Most High, and humble himself before Him, but not for salvation or forgiveness, but to honor God. “For it is written: ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” Romans 14:11. You may ask, “How can a person know of God if they ignore so much?”  And this is what the Word answers: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:20. So, if God says that there is no excuse, it is because there is no excuse and no exceptions. Every human being has the capacity and the means to know that God exists and what He is capable of, and therefore, they know that He must be sought after.

So how can we see God's compassion? In everything. If we have already established that God is Sovereign, and that He owes nothing to no one, and we have exposed our bad position before God, we should be able to see very clearly His compassion, His mercy, His grace, and most importantly, His love, because God chose to love us despite who we are and what we have done against Him. God sends rain on the just and on the unjust. God gives life to every human being. But the greatest compassion is what He did through His Only Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. As the Word says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. This is what makes God so good and so great, that even though we have only done things worthy of death, He chose to love us and give us the opportunity to obtain eternal life through the Lord. So, His compassion goes beyond the loaves and fishes. There is something infinitely greater that He has given us that surpasses everything superficial and temporary that we think should demonstrate His compassion. So, do you repay God with your life for the great and undeserved compassion that He has shown you, and continues to show you daily? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!

The Lord Will Weigh Our Hearts - Proverbs 21:2-8

Based on Proverbs 21:2-8 (New King James Version)

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. A haughty look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked are sin. The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty. Getting treasures by a lying tongue is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death. The violence of the wicked will destroy them, because they refuse to do justice. The way of a guilty man is perverse; but as for the pure, his work is right.”

We see in this passage that God not only sees and judges our actions, but also discerns our thoughts and weighs our hearts. If we have any kind of reasoning and belief in the Almighty, these things should produce deep fear in us. But, unfortunately, and today more than ever, man chooses to be guided by his own opinion and thinking, and unfortunately, his heart is very far from God, and even the hearts of those who say they believe in Him. How can I say this so confidently? Just by observing what most people are doing. The vast majority of people, and even believers, live today as they lived in Israel long ago, as the Scriptures say: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25. But, we should ask ourselves this question: “Will this tendency of man remain unpunished before our Creator who made man to serve him?”

The Word of God teaches us that God knows all things, and that He will judge all things, and that He will bring all just consequences upon man if they do not turn from their evil ways. For it is written: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:9-10. It must be clear that everything is laid bare before God, and that He will deal with all things fairly, especially with the heart of man. There are many who try to show a religious life, or good conduct according to the opinion of society, but this does not align with the thoughts of God, nor with the reason why God created and made man, and far less, with the purpose and reason why He has given the opportunity for salvation through Christ. Many think that God made us to live our lives, so to speak. And with this, they justify all kinds of erroneous doctrine. God did not make us to do whatever we want. God did not create man to do his own will. Even less, God the Father did not send His Only Begotten Son to die on a cross so that man could continue doing as they please. Many confuse faith with a simple belief in God alone, and that this is enough. But it's not like that. This is not what the Word of God teaches. And it is necessary to be able to explain this over and over again because if the lie, or an apparent truth, is followed, the vast majority will have a very bitter moment in God's judgment, whose punishment will last for all eternity. And the word “bitter” does not even begin to describe what eternal punishment means. There will be many surprises in God's great judgment, and to the detriment of many people.

Many believers think that they will no longer experience God's judgment, and that everything will be justified through faith in Christ. And yes, it is true that grace and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will justify us in the great judgment, but only if we did the will of the Father. Otherwise, if there are no works and a right heart before God, then a supposed faith in Christ will not save man. And this is where you must be very careful, because quite simply, no one can deceive God. This is what the Word says: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27. “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…” 2 Corinthians 5:9-11a. So, there is no way to be confused with these passages, that absolutely everyone, both unbelievers and believers, will give an account for their actions before the Most High. God will judge our actions, our thoughts, and even the intention of our heart. Everything will be exposed before His throne and every being that surrounds His presence. And if this is not reason enough to begin to have some kind of fear and reverence before God, I don't know what else can be said. To think anything else is foolishness, and foolishness is not excusable before God.

So, how can we come to have a heart worthy before God? Through genuine and complete repentance and conversion from all sin, not just some sins. And we must accept the Lord Jesus Christ by faith as the literal and effective Lord of our lives. And this leads to the third and fundamental thing of faith in Christ: seeking to do the will of the Father. And the third thing is as important as repentance and conversion, and faith in the Lord Jesus, because without this, there can be no salvation. The heart cannot become what it needs to be transformed to if it does not live through the process of regeneration that consists of much more than just a single moment of confession of faith. He is called the Way for a reason, because the true Christian life consists of a lifestyle, and not of words, much less of trying to use God to get what a person wants as is very common today. This is what makes the hearts of many so deceitful, because on the one hand they profess to follow Christ, but on the other hand, they look only to God to fulfill their desires and not God's desire, as they hide behind a supposed faith. This is what the Word says: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Matthew 7:21-23. What does it explain here? That, even if a person does things that appear spiritual, it does not mean that their heart is with God, but rather, that they can be very far from God despite their religious actions. That is why they are incapable of doing the true will of God, because the true will of the Father is: to do good works directed by Him, with a heart that is according to that of God’s heart. Father above all other things. The Lord reiterated this which should be the all of man through the Lord Jesus Christ, especially after coming to Christ: “Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.” Mark 12:29-30. This is what must happen in the life of every believer, and all of this is possible over time with the help of the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God, if you let yourself be led by the Lord, if you genuinely seek to do His will daily. This should be the feeling that our hearts should have, just as the Apostle Paul had when he converted to the Lord: “So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’…” Acts 9:6a. So, when God weighs your heart in the great judgment, what will God see? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!

Eternal Life is Only for Those Who Live According to the Spirit - Romans 8:1-18

Based on Romans 8:1-18 (New King James Version)

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

One of the great apostasies within the church today is the concept that salvation or eternal life is attained by just believing in Christ only. And this teaching is very attractive and convenient (and that is what makes it so dangerous) because it gives room for a person to do whatever they want with the idea that they will be saved with the sole fact that they believe in God. And thus, many other evils are justified, such as disorder, sin, in short, doing as one pleases because they subject everything to a simple belief, and nothing more. With such a false gospel, one can do whatever they want, even please the desires of the flesh, as long as they believe in Christ. But salvation is not attained that way.

The point is that believing in Christ generically is not enough. Some will ask, “Do you mean that you have to do other things to be saved, and that salvation is not by grace alone?” This is what we have to understand. One does not get to heaven with partial truths. That is what Satan himself uses to tempt man, as he did with Eve. Eve was not going to die carnally the moment she ate the forbidden fruit, but the consequences of the death that God spoke of were going to come spiritually immediately, and also carnally, but over time. So, from a certain momentary point of view (so to speak), it was true that Eve was not going to die, and that is the thing about how deception and lies work, because they are based on things that seem like the truth, on partial truths. So, yes, one becomes saved through faith in Christ, and yes, it is by grace, but there are other things that must take place so that a person can legitimately attain God's salvation. That is why we cannot base faith on one verse here and another verse there, but rather on the complement of the Word in Its fullness. For example, this is what the Word says about a simple belief in God: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” James 2:19. So, do demons receive forgiveness for their sin (if it were possible) because they just believe in God? And take notice, they believe and tremble, which means that they fear God, therefore, they do much more than many people today, more than the same ones who say they believe in God. The answer is a resounding no! Therefore, mere belief is not enough for man either. So how does one become saved and obtain eternal life? According to the Word of God, salvation or eternal life is obtained through three fundamental things: there must be complete repentance and conversion of sins, without partiality, the Lord Jesus must be received as Lord by faith, not only as Savior, and this leads to the third thing, and what Paul is precisely dealing with in the passage we read, that a person must live according to the Spirit, that is, to do God's will and not their own will. And this is where the problems that many have are revealed, even so-called believers, those who do not wish to leave sin, nor stop doing their own will.

The fullness of the Gospel, and also the reason for our existence, is that we were created by God (we are not the product of a cosmic accident), and God created us to serve Him, and not to serve ourselves. The Lord came to restore that same purpose through the cross, to once again give us the opportunity to fulfill the purpose of our existence. This is what the Word says: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10. What many confuse as predestination is the simple fact that God made us for His service, and not that there is a set of predetermined actions in our lives. But, if we do not fulfill the purpose of our existence, no matter how much we confess to having faith in Christ, we will not obtain either salvation or eternal life. This is what the Word says: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:16-25. If we don’t live in the Spirit, there is no salvation. This is what the Lord Himself said: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21. Therefore, “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again…” Romans 14:8-9a. So, are you living according to the flesh, carrying out your own will, or living for Christ, doing the will of the Father for eternal life? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!

We Are at the End - Matthew 24:1-14

Based on Matthew 24:1-14 (New King James Version)

“Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.’ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’ And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. ‘Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

One of the sure things we have to hold on to are biblical prophecies, because they are fulfilled exactly when their time has come. The Word of God is as sure as God Himself because the Word is God Himself. The words that we read in the most sacred text are more than words, more than thoughts, which were written by men, but inspired by God. Therefore, if you want to hold on to something sure and immovable, take the Word of God as the foundation for your lives.

For example, we know that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Only Begotten Son of God because of precisely this, because of the fulfillment of the prophecies in His life. Some time ago, Peter Stoner and Robert Newman wrote a book called Science Speaks. And they explained that the odds of just eight of the 60 messianic prophecies being fulfilled in one man would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (100 quadrillion). And we know that more than eight prophecies were fulfilled in the life of the Lord. Winning the lottery in any country in the world would be many times more possible in comparison. So, we can very easily determine two very fundamental things, that the Word of God is fulfilled in due time, and of course, that the Lord is undoubtedly God.

Returning to the passage we read at the beginning, the Lord revealed many of the things that would happen that would lead to the end. And I can say very confidently that the vast majority of what He said has already been fulfilled. Therefore, we can conclude that we are already at the end. For example, the destruction of the temple occurred in 70 AD, when the Roman Empire completely destroyed Jerusalem. And literally not one stone was left upon another because the soldiers took apart and burned the walls of the temple to be able to extract the gold and precious stones. And what can we say about false christs since there have already been many over time? In reference to wars, unlike the ancient wars that occurred with such kingdoms as the Roman Empire, there have not been wars of greater magnitude than those that have occurred in the last two centuries in the world. We have already had not only one world war, but two world wars where groups of nations rose up to confront each other in different parts of the world, where “nation against nation” took place. And the last world war showed such magnitude that thousands of people died in moments when only two bombs were dropped on Japan, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where more than 355,000 people died.

Regarding plagues (which includes diseases), we can say that the world has already seen great horrors such as the Black Death or the Bubonic Plague where more than 50 million people died between 1346 and 1353. More than 60% of the European population died during those few years. And what can we say about today? The world has never been so plagued by different health problems as we see today between cardiovascular problems, strokes, respiratory and lung problems, cancer, etc. The World Health Organization says that more than 41 million people die each year due to non-communicable diseases alone (like those mentioned). More than 15 million of these deaths occur between the ages of 30 and 69.  

In reference to global hunger, in February 2024, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) estimated that 309 million people in 72 countries where the WFP operates would face acute problems with food insecurity. This includes an estimated 42.3 million who would be at risk of starvation. More than 9 million people die annually from hunger (25,000 people daily).

Regarding earthquakes, we can relate the following. In the year 1556 in Shaanxi, China, an estimated 830,000 people died. In 1976 in Tangshen, China, as many as 655,000 people are believed to have died. More recently, in 2004, near the Indonesian coast, a submarine earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 occurred, producing a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and India. In 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the Haitian government estimates that up to 316,000 people died. The issue of earthquakes has become a common occurrence in our times, that in different parts of the world, sooner or later, some type of significant earthquake occurs.

And in relation to the preaching of the Gospel worldwide and the persecution of the Church, it has also already happened. Virtually everyone in the world knows about Christ, and that the symbol of the cross is the demonstration of God’s love, that He gave to His Only Begotten Son so that we could have eternal life in Him. In 1995, during the Global Mission event, Dr. Billy Graham preached a sermon at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico that was broadcast by satellite to 185 countries and translated into 116 languages. And in many parts of the world, the Universal Church of God is already being persecuted. When the Antichrist comes to power, global persecution will come to pass.

So, we can conclude that we are already at the end, and a wise person would realize this reality, and would make decisions that ensure they are ready for what is coming and eternal life, such as repent and convert from all sins, believe and accept the Lord Jesus as the Lord of their lives, and live to fulfill the will of the Lord. These three things make up the Gospel of God so that a person can obtain salvation. So, are you ready, or are you still avoiding the only path to salvation and eternal life? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.

We Need to Learn How to Discern - Matthew 7:1-6

Based on Matthew 7:1-6 (New King James Version)

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. ‘Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.’”

In this passage, the Lord talks about not judging people, but He also gives us a very peculiar warning involving two animals. However, in other places in Scripture, we are told that it is necessary to judge, and that we must make certain decisions based on that judgment. So, some may wonder, “Are there contradictions in the Bible?” One thing must be very clear, to begin with, and that is, that in the Bible there are no contradictions. Everything works very harmoniously as a whole, from Genesis to Apocalypse. If something seems like a contradiction, then you simply have to delve a little deeper and search within the Word itself, and of course, always with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Word of God cannot be understood humanly, but only through the Holy Spirit.

Now then, let's first look at a passage that calls us to judge. “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:14-16. Here we understand that there is a type of person, so to speak, who must judge and who has the capacity to judge, and that is the spiritual one. Who is this person? In this passage, Paul speaks of two people, the natural man and the spiritual man. We understand that the natural man is the person who does not have the Spirit of God, who simply has not come to be born again in Christ, nor have they totally surrendered to the Lord. That is the natural man. And the spiritual is the opposite, it’s the person who has surrendered to the Lordship of the Lord, and therefore, has the Spirit of God. But we see a detail here, like the use of the word “discern.” What does this mean? In its simplest definition, it means being able to understand, comprehend, and to be able to see beyond. And it is conjugated with the word “spiritually.” So, we understand that judgment does not consist of condemnation, but rather, of being able to understand and comprehend things through the Spirit of God, and thus be able to act appropriately, practicing the justice of God. The same applies to the passage we saw at the beginning. The Lord used the word “judge” in the sense of seeing what a person is and condemning them. And that is what He said not to do, that we should not condemn people. But we must understand what we ourselves are doing to begin with, so that we can come to understand through the Spirit where others are.

So, this matter of understanding is clear throughout the Word, which is of utmost importance. We must understand what happens within ourselves, why we do things, and also, we must understand what others do, because it is necessary to make wise decisions, if we want to please God. Because this is what the whole thing is about—doing the will of the Father. That's why things don't just happen on their own as many believe, that the only thing you decide is to believe in Christ, and He takes care of everything else. Nor is it the point that everything depends on us, and that, if I don't do something, nothing will happen. There is a balance, so to speak. But one thing is very certain, and that is that there is such a thing as responsibility, a concept that eludes many of God's people. For example, we read this: “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore ‘put away from yourselves the evil person.’” 1 Corinthians 5:9-13. What do we see here? That people who still do not know the Truth of God, nor have made any decision for the Lord, are still on that side where we must give them the opportunity, and we must not judge them, in the sense of condemnation as we saw before. But, for the person who does know the truth, and knowing that truth, wishes to continue in the things of the world, there is a severe problem. From the moment a person has been exposed to the gospel and has supposedly agreed to follow some type of faith, but wishes to follow the flesh and its desires, the excuses end, and they will be held responsible for their actions, and we as believers must make decisions accordingly. This is what the Word says: “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21.

To further explain the matter. We are all sinners, even those of us who follow the Lord, but the big difference is that there must be a before and after in the life of a person who has decided to follow Christ, and there must be a continuation in being transformed, and not in maintaining a lifestyle of disorder and sin. And if a person persists in maintaining a lifestyle of sin, knowing the gospel, they is already amassing judgment on themselves, not our judgment and condemnation, but God's, because God is going to hold them responsible for their knowledge. And we are called to know how to discern all this. Why? Because a person that supports sin will also not be held innocent; and because we should fear God, where all divine wisdom begins: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7. The Lord was referring to this when He said: “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine…” The dog returns to his vomit and the swine, after being washed, returns to wallowing in filth. This is to what the Lord is referring to when people continue to practice sin, living a lifestyle of sin after having been exposed to the gospel, and we must be very careful with this. You have to know how to discern. We cannot walk through this world ignorantly, because God's will is for us to obey Him, using our free will for good. That's why he says: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5. We must know how to discern our own actions and the actions of others in order to do God's will according to the circumstances. So, have you learned to discern, or do you continue to willfully ignore evil? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.

The Resurrection of the Dead - Acts 24:10-21

Based on Acts 24:10-21 (New King James Version)

“Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered: ‘Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself, because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship. And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city. Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. ‘Now after many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation, in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult. They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me. Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council, unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.’”

What is the resurrection of the dead? The resurrection of the dead is when God will raise up every human being to appear before His great judgment. We will all die at some point. This is the law of this world. No one lives forever, carnally speaking. Then, God is going to raise everyone from the dead so we can give an account of our deeds. This is what the Scripture says: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27. There are no exceptions, both the unbeliever and the faithful to God will be resurrected, as well as the unbelieving and the faithful to God will be judged.

So, when Paul spoke of being judged for the resurrection of the dead, he was saying that he suffered persecution because he made it known to people that we would all be resurrected to give an account in that great judgment, and that those who believed and sought to do the will of the Lord would attain eternal life, but those who do not follow Christ and refuse to do the will of the Father will be punished eternally. All of this would be determined in that great judgment of God. This should finally be the all of man, thinking about what will happen to them in eternity. It should be compelling for each person to think about what will happen to them in the great judgment of God. Because what does it matter if a person lives in this world for 70 years, or 80 years, or even 100 years, as they wish if they are going to be condemned to eternal punishment? This is what the Word says about judgment: “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:11-15.

And this should lead us to meditate about our future. How is it that one can pass this great judgment and be found by God (not by man, nor by his opinions) worthy to enter His kingdom? And here we will have to denounce one of the greatest apostasies that is preached in many places today, and that a large multitude of believers adhere to it as truth and sound doctrine, and that is: we have already reached the goal when we decide to believe in Christ, and that there is nothing more to do. This is one of the biggest traps that the devil has introduced into the church, not understanding the entire gospel of God. What is the whole Gospel? The Gospel consists of three fundamental things: complete repentance and conversion from all sins (not just some sins), accepting and submitting to Jesus as Lord, and seeking to do His will (and not our will). And what is the problem that exists, where the deviation has occurred? Many may come to ask the Lord for forgiveness for their sins, and they may come to believe in Christ, but where the deviation happens is when the matter of living for the Lord comes in, to do His will. What error has arisen today? That it is taught that when you have already adopted faith in Christ, that there is nothing more to do. Since works were of no use before we converted, they are of no value afterward either. And this goes totally against the Gospel and the purpose for which we were created, made, and through Christ, redeemed. What we do with our lives after believing in Christ will be taken into account in the judgment, to see if we have lived to do the Father's will, or to do our own will. God does care about what we do with our lives. That is the all of man. Because this is what the Word says: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: ‘Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.’” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.

When we come to Christ, if we legitimately come to Christ (because many come close, but not completely to Him), it is only the beginning of a long and eternal path. This is why it was called “the Way” as we saw today. Even the concept of being born again in Christ explains it, which is a beginning. And like every beginning, if it is not continued, if there is no development, there is nothing. A baby has to become an adult someday for their full potential to be realized. A race must be run and finished so that the prize can be attained. Every beginning must come to an end. If you don't walk the whole way, you will never reach the destination you need to reach. The Apostle Paul himself explained this: “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.” Philippians 3:12-15. So, if we do not use our free will to submit to the Lordship of Christ to effectively fight and continue towards the goal, ultimately living to fulfill the will of God in our lives, we will not be saved. If Paul did not think he had reached it yet with all the faith in Christ he had, how much more should we feel that we still have a long way to go? Finally, if we live our lives to do our will, then we will be judged by God in the judgment for our deeds and will not see the kingdom of God. This is what the Lord said, and we must take this very seriously: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21. So, we should always ask ourselves: “Do we live in such a way that there is a resurrection of the dead, and that we will give an account for all of our deeds before God someday? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.

The Intention of the Law of God - Leviticus 19:1-18

Based on Leviticus 19:1-18 (New King James Version)

“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. ‘Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. ‘Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the Lord your God. ‘And if you offer a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, you shall offer it of your own free will. It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. And if any remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire.  And if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It shall not be accepted. Therefore everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed offering of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people. ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God. ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. ‘You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the Lord. ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

If a person dedicated themselves to search for all the different precepts and indications of God's law, we would spend a lot of time not only searching (because there are many), but understanding their application. The Law of God, which is ultimately the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, is the complete counsel of God for man, and touches every aspect of our life, both the present world and the world to come, the temporal and the eternal, the physical as well as the spiritual. If one understands the Scriptures in their fullness, they would understand that the Law of God is not only in the Old Testament, but also the New Testament. It is the entire Bible, from beginning to end. That is why it is a mistake to think that the law is over. On the contrary, it is valid until today, just as the Lord Himself said: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” Matthew 5:17-18.

To start, the Word of God cannot be taken in parts, because that is where errors are made and, of course, apostasy begins, turning away from the path. You should not take certain Bible verses and turn them into doctrines and teachings, especially if they contradict other parts of God's Word. For example, many believers assume that God's law no longer has any validity because of this passage: “In that He says, ‘A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.’” Hebrews 8:13. This new covenant that the writer speaks of does not mean that the Old Testament disappears, but rather, it talks about a new covenant that God makes with man, but based on the first. That is why it is a serious error with infinite consequences to consider the Old Testament obsolete. Because if that were so, we would have to forget God, to start, because He is the main figure of the Old Testament, and the creation, and even faith itself, because the father of faith, where our foundation begins is in the Old Testament, in Abraham. Everything begins with the Old Testament because it is the foundation for the new. If we disregard the Old Testament, we would be dismissing the ten commandments, and the Lord mentioned them as things that had to be observed and fulfilled. So, if the Lord said that He did not come to abolish the law, and mentioned it in His sermons, how can we think that it is obsolete? Do you see the error?

So, can the entire law be complied with? No, because we are not perfect. And that is why we have to go to the foundation of everything, to the intention of God's law. What is His intention? This is what the Word says: “‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40. In the Lord's response, He precisely points to the main thing, to what should be first in our lives, and of course, to what is also given as priority in the Old Testament. But in the most practical way that we can see in His intention, it is all about how we should behave with God (first) and with our neighbor (every person around us). How should we treat God? We should love Him with everything we are, and do that, first. And how should we treat our neighbor? We should love them as ourselves. And we see that the Lord refers to the fact that all the law and the prophets depend on this. What are the law and the prophets? The Old Testament. And how is love shown? With words, with knowledge, with ideas? No. With actions, with works. Abraham demonstrated his love for God when he did not even spare sacrificing what he loved most, his son Isaac, when the Lord asked him to do so. This is what the Word says: “But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” James 2:20-24.

And how do we demonstrate our love to God? The Word says this: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…” Proverbs 1:7a. What does this mean? Believe and look for God as Who He is. Everything depends on Him, both our existence and our eternity. So then, we should look for Him as such. And before making decisions, take Him into account first and foremost. That is the practical side of the issue. Why? Because the Word of God says this: “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:10. Christ did it all. But now, God’s will needs to be fulfilled in our lives so that we, individually, can fulfill in that manner the intention of God’s law, so that we can obtain eternal life. So then, do you live according to the intention of God’s law or according to your own ideas? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.

The Evil of Those that Know the Truth - Hosea 8

Based on Hosea 8 (New King James Version)

“Set the trumpet to your mouth! He shall come like an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law. Israel will cry to Me, ‘My God, we know You!’ Israel has rejected the good; the enemy will pursue him. ‘They set up kings, but not by Me; they made princes, but I did not acknowledge them. From their silver and gold they made idols for themselves—that they might be cut off. Your calf is rejected, O Samaria! My anger is aroused against them—how long until they attain to innocence? For from Israel is even this: a workman made it, and it is not God; but the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces. ‘They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no bud; it shall never produce meal. If it should produce, aliens would swallow it up. Israel is swallowed up; now they are among the Gentiles like a vessel in which is no pleasure. For they have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey alone by itself; Ephraim has hired lovers. Yes, though they have hired among the nations, now I will gather them; and they shall sorrow a little, because of the burden of the king of princes. ‘Because Ephraim has made many altars for sin, they have become for him altars for sinning. I have written for him the great things of My law, but they were considered a strange thing. For the sacrifices of My offerings they sacrifice flesh and eat it, but the Lord does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins. They shall return to Egypt. ‘For Israel has forgotten his Maker, and has built temples; Judah also has multiplied fortified cities; but I will send fire upon his cities, and it shall devour his palaces.’”

The most serious problem that exists today is the corruption that is in every place where His Truth is known, because it is not followed, but rather discarded. The vast majority of man today seeks to do his own will, and not God's will. Who knows the Truth? Almost everyone. Through the work of God and those faithful ones throughout the centuries, it can now be said that almost everyone knows the Truth, that there is an Almighty God and that His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, died for the sins of all humanity. Who doesn't know what the cross means? So, they do know what that means, they know the Gospel, no matter how much they have tried to pervert it, change it, and remove it from every possible place.

Unfortunately, instead of man clinging to Christ and His Word, false prophets and teachers have arisen now more than ever within the so-called people of God to pervert or use His Truth for their own carnal convenience. And this is what God says: “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)—then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’” 2 Peter 2.

Will God have mercy if the vast majority of those who know His Truth, knowing that God exists and knowing the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, prefer to reject Him and do as they please? Can God have mercy on the creation He made, rebelling in the way they do, who knowing the truth, prefer to believe and follow things that offend him? If man persists in following the course they have, if they do not repent, the evils we have will continue to worsen. We know that we are already in the last times, but everything will happen more quickly. They may blame environmental problems, or chemicals, or global warming, or anything else, but all the evil that is happening to us is because God is allowing it when He sees the great rebellion of man. And all their money, power, or their technology will not be able to change anything, but rather, everything will get worse, as long as such rebellion and evil continues. And the worst of all is that human beings will make their own way to hell (because hell does exist) by rejecting the only way to salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ and His Truth. God is a merciful God, but He is also consuming fire. The only ones who will be saved, not necessarily from the events that come on this world, but in eternity, are those who do the will of God, those who repent and convert from all their sins (not just some) and receive and treat the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lord that He is. Otherwise, there is no salvation, neither from what is already in the world, nor from what is coming, nor even less, from the coming judgment where we will all give an account, without exception. As it is written: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21. So then, what are you doing with God’s truth in your life? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel

Our Eternal Hope - 2 Thessalonians 1

Based on 2 Thessalonians 1 (New King James Version)

“Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed. Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Why is it mentioned here that these had persecutions and tribulations? Why did they have suffering? Did they have less faith than the others and that was why they were doing poorly, so to speak? Did God love them less? Isn't everything supposed to be fixed when we come to Christ, that everything must go well for us as a blessing from God, and that we must have certain prosperity, and certain triumphs, and why not, even good health? This type of gospel is widely believed and preached, and in different ways. But I have to say “this type of gospel or doctrine” because it is not something that is consistent with the Word of God. In reality, this way of believing is against the true and sound doctrine of God, therefore, it is apostasy, part of the doctrines of demons that exist today, to lead to perdition those who wish to please their flesh and do their own will.

There are three irrefutable things within the Scriptures that compose sound doctrine to attain salvation, and these are: repentance and conversion from all sins (not just some sins), acknowledging and making Jesus Christ our Lord (which goes beyond recognizing Him as Savior), and finally, living to do the will of God the Father and not seeking to fulfill our desires and serve our appetites. These are the three things that make up sound doctrine. And this is what should be used to filter out, so to speak, all bad doctrine. For example, there are many who teach that to be saved, one must only believe in Christ and nothing else, that repentance and conversion are not necessary. There are many others who teach that you to come to Christ to fix all your problems, or that following Christ means that everything will work out for you (humanly speaking of course), and this attracts a large audience, but also, there is much error in this. And there are others who do not set limits where they should, using a supposed love as a shield (not the love that God teaches), and they do not live the reality that should exist in a believer who obeys God. Instead, they justify many things with this to get along with others and also, to justify their own interests and desires. Many other things can be mentioned, but ultimately, every error is proven when objectively compared to sound doctrine, and especially considering what God has for us, which brings us to the next point.

Salvation is a gift from God, it is by grace, but it has a great purpose, and that is to change our course from perdition back to God's purpose, to return us to the reason for why God created man to begin with. God did not make man to sin, but to serve him, and that is why Christ came, to change our course. So, are we saved by works? No. But, we are saved for good works, that is, to do the will of the Father, so our salvation depends on our service to God. There must be a product. Because if we do not fulfill the will of the Father in our lives, then we are not fulfilling the purpose of salvation, and God will simply discard in His great judgment who doesn’t serve Him. This is what the Word says: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10. We are not predestined, but we were made for good works, and that purpose has to be fulfilled in our lives. We have to live for Christ. This is why Christ came. This is why He died on the cross, to give us the opportunity to reestablish the reason for our existence. Therefore, this concept that God exists to serve you, and to fulfill your desires, ultimately to do your will is totally against God, and therefore, it is something that is totally subject to Satan. It looks bad, but that's the reality. Satan is the one who wants his will to be done and not God's. Therefore, if a person only seeks to do their will, and even worse, seeks God to fulfill their own desires, they are following the most evil thing that exists. And just as bad, they are the same that believe and teach that you do not need works to be saved. So then, works are needed to be saved, because it is written: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21. Therefore, I am afraid to say that, if one compares this to what is taught in the vast majority of our churches, they will see that there is no longer sound doctrine, but only self-service, and flesh-pleasing, and this is not from God.

We must consider a very important detail that is seen in this passage, which is this: “…that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer.” How is it that we are considered worthy? Is it not taught that nothing more is needed, but only faith? There are some who think that we are made worthy because the Worthy One (the Lord) is in us. And yes, that is true, but also, we are considered worthy when we do the will of the Father, and not our will, and this is where both faith and works come in, as it is written: “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:17-20. So, when we encounter persecution or tribulation, (not because of our sins because our problems are sometimes a consequence of our sins), because we are being faithful to Christ, we have a great and eternal hope. Our hope is not on this earth (although it is possible that God can intercede miraculously, if it is in His will), but rather, in His kingdom, in the eternal, before His wonderful and great presence. May God say the following of each of us some day: “…‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” Matthew 25:21b. So then, are you obeying the Lord, looking to do His will, so that you can obtain the eternal hope? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.

God Tests Us - 1 Samuel 30:1-25

Based on 1 Samuel 30:1-25 (New King James Version)

“Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, ‘Please bring the ephod here to me.’ And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. So David inquired of the Lord, saying, ‘Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?’ And He answered him, ‘Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.’ So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind. But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook Besor. Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water. And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights. Then David said to him, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you from?’ And he said, ‘I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick. We made an invasion of the southern area of the Cherethites, in the territory which belongs to Judah, and of the southern area of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.’ And David said to him, ‘Can you take me down to this troop?’ So he said, ‘Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this troop.’ And when he had brought him down, there they were, spread out over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives. And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them; David recovered all. Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before those other livestock, and said, ‘This is David’s spoil.’ Now David came to the two hundred men who had been so weary that they could not follow David, whom they also had made to stay at the Brook Besor. So they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near the people, he greeted them. Then all the wicked and worthless men of those who went with David answered and said, ‘Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man’s wife and children, that they may lead them away and depart.’ But David said, ‘My brethren, you shall not do so with what the Lord has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us. For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike.’ So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.”

Why do unpleasant things happen in this life? The answer that God gives us through the Word is: because of sin, and that is why He hates sin. God made all things very good in the beginning, when He created everything. But, when sin entered, disorder, evil, destruction, and finally, death entered. Sin infected everything created, and that is why we have what we have today. But within all that, and the reason why God admitted that sin existed, is so that every living being would have free will, because having options is what makes free will then have its real value and function.

Now, is the reason unpleasant things happen to us individually because of our sin? The vast majority of the time, I am afraid to say that difficult things happen to us as a consequence of our own actions, and if we are honest, we would realize that fact. But, from time to time, God also allows us to be tested, and testing is something that happens when someone else sins (because sin will always be involved in this sinful world). In the case that we read today, we cannot see that David sinned there, and that the Amalekites invaded the places where David was because God had a problem with David (although we read that there were bad and perverse men with David). However, this problem did not arise because of David, but rather, because God wanted to test David and accomplish something else in his life.

We can see several things here, and among them is the pain and anguish that the Amalekites caused, and we see that they did it out of pure evil (this business of people invading in a cowardly and surprisingly manner and taking prisoner defenseless people is nothing new). But we see the wise and faithful actions of this David who loved God, despite his imperfections. Did David panic? Did he cower? Did he let himself be carried away by fear (because the people wanted to stone him for something he had not done wrong)? No. He was distressed though, as is very understandable, but he didn't let it go any further. What did he do? “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” And the Word tells us this also: “So David inquired of the Lord…” And what happened? God answered him and told him what to do. Why? Because God saw his loyalty, his faith, and above all, his love for Him. His love for God was more powerful in David than his own anguish, his pain, and his worries. Why did God allow such things? Because God wanted to test David, to see what he would do, and if his love for Him was real (because it is very different to know something than to see it realized), and to see if he would be ready for greater things, especially for eternity and everything that comes with that. The Lord does the same with those of us who have decided to follow Him (because God does not test neither the world nor the unbeliever). The Word tells us this: “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…” 2 Corinthians 5:9-11a. We are tested to see if we are worthy to enter His kingdom through the Lord Jesus Christ (because true faith must always have its product, its work). And the only way we will be ready to act as we should, especially when we are tested, is through the Word, as it is written: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17. So then, are you getting ready for whatever test God may allow to happen? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.

Refusing to Believe - Luke 11:29-30, 32

Based on Luke 11:29-30, 32 (New King James Version)

“And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, ‘This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation…’ ‘…The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.’”

The vast majority of people invent many things to justify their disbelief, to be able to say that they cannot believe in God, and that they are right in not being able to believe. Some, for example, make the excuse that God has to do something supernatural for them so that they can actually believe. This is the sign the Lord spoke of in this passage. Others think that if they can't see God, then they can't believe in Him. Others doubt His Word, and think that it's just a book written by different people with a lot of creativity, and that's why they can't come to believe it. In short, the vast majority of people invent a lot in order to justify their disbelief.

I can say very confidently that they are mere excuses, and nothing more, because we all have the ability to have faith, to be able to believe in things that we do not see, and at every moment we exercise that faith, even from the youngest to the most incredulous people. There are many who risk even their lives daily by having faith in things that they do not even understand how they work. We can see very clear examples daily of how they exercise this ability of faith. For example, does a child hesitate when taking his first steps, when they try to do something that they do not even understand intellectually? Another example is related to those of us who work. We wake up on the days we have to work with the idea that we will receive payment for our work, right? But, while we work, are we seeing our boss or supervisor with our money in their hands while we work? I really doubt it. But all of us who work labor because we have the faith that when the time comes to pay us that we will see a check, or we will be given some cash, or as very commonly happens today, we receive a direct deposit in our bank account. Would we work if we lost trust or faith that we would be paid for our efforts? I really doubt it. And what else can we talk about since everything requires some kind of faith? Do you know what they did with your food before eating it? No, but you even eat it without asking anything. Were you in the pharmaceutical laboratory when they produced the pills you take for headaches? No, but when you have a headache, you just buy them and take them, right? When people travel by plane, do they first take aviation classes or do they go to college for several years to understand the engineering that makes it possible to fly a jet from one place to another with hundreds of people on board, and many suitcases? No, right? But, nevertheless, they travel great distances, over land, sea, and even mountains without having any idea of how things work, and with the certainty that they will reach their destination. That is faith.

Let's look at the example that the Lord Himself gave in the passage we read. The Lord spoke of the prophet Jonah and the Ninevites. And if you remember the story, the prophet Jonah was the one who was inside a big fish for three days because he did not want to obey God, and go preach to the Ninevites that they were going to be destroyed. Let's look at this in more detail. What was the message that Jonah preached in Nineveh? This is what the Word says: “And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’” Jonah 3:4. This was God's entire message to Nineveh through Jonah. There was no dissertation on what creation was like, no mention of the law of Moses, no explanation of morality, did not even mention that he was inside a large fish. He did not show them a degree from the great seminary in Jerusalem where the most illustrious prophets are trained (there was no such thing, just in case). He didn't even mention God in these simple and few words. This was the entire message: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And keep in mind that Nineveh was the center of the Assyrian empire, the enemy kingdom of Israel. So, what did they have to do with this prophet of Israel? But, nevertheless, all of Nineveh, the center of the Assyrian empire, not only heard, but believed the message, and the king ordered everyone to repent to see if God would turn from his wrath. This is what the Word says: “Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, ‘Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?’” Jonah 3:6-9. Those of Nineveh had faith, and such faith, in spite of their evil ways and great sins, that God did exist, as it says: “So the people of Nineveh believed God…”, and that He was sovereign and powerful to bring judgment upon them, and their faith extended to the point that they believed that they could touch the heart of God with their repentance. And so it was, as it is written: “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.” Jonah 3:10.

Now, and having seen the great example of Nineveh, do you understand why there would be even greater judgment on those the Lord spoke to, and on us? The Lord did great and incredible works, and He had no need to prove anything else to anyone. There was no need to do signs, just like now. God does not have to do absolutely anything else because He has given us much more than what we need to be able to believe and follow Him as such. The problem is not the lack of faith as we have already shown, because each person has the capacity for faith, but the simple and great problem is that people refuse to believe, which is something very different, and totally punishable before God. Make up whatever excuse you want for not wanting to believe, it's worthless. The Word says this same thing, which helped Nineveh believe and it is also more than enough for man to believe today: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:18-20. And the Word says this also: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36. If a person truly believes in the Lord, they will do what He says, because many say they believe, but do not do what the Lord commands, beginning with complete repentance, like those of Nineveh did. And not only do we now have creation as a sign that God is God, but the death and resurrection of the Lord as the greatest sign not only of His power, but also, of His love. There is simply no excuse for not being able to believe and obey. So, do you really believe and obey the Lord for salvation, or do you still refuse to believe properly? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.

The Logic Behind Being Clean - Numbers 19

Based on Numbers 19 (New King James Version)

“Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come. You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him; and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned. And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening. And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. Then a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of purification; it is for purifying from sin. And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them. ‘He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; his uncleanness is still on him. ‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days; and every open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean. Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. ‘And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and running water shall be put on them in a vessel. A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave. The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean. ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening. Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’ ’ ”

Cleanliness was (and is) something very important to God, and for reasons that should be obvious to us. But, as the saying goes: Common sense is not so common. What we read today explains to us the different care that the people of God had to take within certain circumstances, and the different measures that were necessary to take, not only in obedience to God, but also for the personal and public well-being of the people. Ultimately everything that God teaches is for the good of man, and unfortunately, the vast majority of people do not see it that way. They see what God teaches as an impediment, an obstacle, or as exaggerations in many cases, as things that no longer make any sense because human beings have “evolved” in some way. It should be clear to us that the more human beings believe that they have evolved, the more primitive and uncivilized they have become, and in the most important aspects. Cleanliness in all aspects, both physically and spiritually, is crucial, both to live better in the temporal world and to be ready for the coming judgment where we will all give an account.

Let's think for a moment, do we have to continue killing perfect cows to deal with the purification of our bodies and our homes? Not necessarily. But, there are things that must happen or should be adopted that are part of purity to avoid even physical complications. For example, eating clean foods, whether cleanly grown, cleanly raised, or even cleanly maintained, are good practices to avoid contamination or disease. There are many things that are done to food today that are filthy, or contaminated with things that are unhealthy. Just when you think you are eating something healthy, it may be the total opposite, because unthinkable things have been done to the most incredible things. We must be careful, at least with what is within our control.

But going further, there are things that are still very valid before God, and for our good. For example, this is what the Word says: “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” Acts 15:28-29. We could talk a lot about what is sacrificed to idols, and about blood and about what is strangled, but let's focus on something that even the world itself is very concerned about, something that is very common today: fornication or sexual immorality. Forbes magazine published this article on January 25, 2024, where they said the following: “Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a major public health issue, and the complacency surrounding their prevalence and impact is as infectious as the diseases themselves... The prevalence of STIs has significantly risen in recent years… Currently, one in five adults in the U.S. have an STI. That’s nearly 68 million people, with new infections totaling about $16 billion in direct medical costs. From the rampant spread of chlamydia to the dangerous nature of HIV, these infections know no bounds when it comes to wreaking havoc on our bodies, sometimes leading to expensive long-term health issues. With rising STI rates globally, understanding the reasons behind the increase, the importance of prevention and the cost – both monetary and personal – associated with these infections is more crucial than ever.” Forbes is not a Christian publication, but rather a very secular one. So, is God wrong to teach that fornication and adultery should not be practiced? And looking at it from the spiritual side, the most important one, the practice of sexual immorality affects eternity. Each person, and even Christians, will be held accountable for their actions in God's great judgment, and God will eternally punish everyone who practices such things. Sin will not remain unpunished on earth, but much less in heaven. So, purity is worth a lot, especially spiritual purity. The Lord died on the cross to cleanse us from all our sins. So, how can we continue doing the same things that the Lord cleansed us from, if we are Christians? So, think carefully, am I living a clean life before God, for my own good? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.

The Purpose of Prayer - Luke 22:39-44

Based on Luke 22:39-44 (New King James Version)

“Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’ And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.’ Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

The reason for praying or the purpose of prayer is something that the vast majority misunderstand. And I can't blame them much because it is something that is not so clear, not because God wants to make it a mystery, but because of our limited capacity, because of our sin. Sin corrupts everything, especially our way of thinking. One of the main things that God wants to accomplish in our lives is to bring order in every aspect. Sin is disorder. God is order and structure. How should we be able to understand this? Through creation. Even though all things have been affected by sin, there is still an order, the structure that God created. Within all the disorder, there exists an even greater order, a supreme structure in the grand scheme of things.

For example, many people today claim that the universe is the product of a supposed big bang, and that everything evolved from that big bang after millions of millions of years. But that is impossible. Things by themselves cannot take order or form. If you leave a newborn child in the middle of the desert unattended, with nothing to eat or drink, it will certainly die, and it will die horribly. He will not have the ability, nor the knowledge, nor the capacity to learn how to survive on his own. And that is a being that has all the necessary faculties, but not yet developed, because it needs the care of a mother, or at the least, of a person who has already developed and who does have the faculties to be able to help it survive. You may say: “That example is a bit extreme.” Is it exaggerated? Think about what space is like where there is no oxygen, something vital for us as human beings to live. How can beings that cannot even survive in the great void evolve from a supposed great disorder? If evolution made any sense, a newborn child would have better chances of surviving in the middle of a desert totally alone than a primate evolving from the vacuum of space without any oxygen.

So, returning to the issue of prayer (and it has everything to do with order, as we will see later), many people misunderstand the purpose of prayer, and as had been said, because of the sin that exists within our being, in our way of thinking. The vast majority think that prayer is a tool only to ask God for things, and of course, many think that God has an obligation to answer those prayers in the way we think. There are many who think, and even teach that, if one supposedly has enough faith, that God will answer their prayers as they want (and faith is another thing that is greatly misunderstood, but this is a topic for another time). Prayer is a way to communicate our requests to God, but it is not the whole point. That is actually the smallest part of the purpose of prayer. Let's think for a moment. The Lord Jesus Christ, being the only begotten Son of God, who could even raise the dead, could not change the horror of the cross with His prayer. We see in this passage that He asked that, if it were possible, that God Himself would pass this cup of His crucifixion, and it did not happen. The Lord died on the cross. What happened? Didn't He ask with enough faith? Did God the Father ignore His request because He lacked conviction? Impossible. That is why we must be very careful with the aberrations that are taught that have no Biblical basis. So, if God doesn't answer our prayers the way we want, then why pray? Or let's think even more, if God knows everything, and knows even our thoughts, and knows what we need or what we are going to ask before we pray, why pray? And even more, if things are going to happen just the way God wants, what is the point of prayer then? The main point of prayer is to bring our life closer and closer to the will of God through communion with God, because prayer is mainly the way we have to communicate with Him. That is why the Lord Himself when He taught His disciples to pray, He told them that they had to ask that the Father's will be done. He said this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:9b-10. We saw this also in today’s passage when He prayed: “…nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” And blessed be God the Father that His will was done through the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, because there was no other way for our salvation to be possible. That is why God the Father did not take away the cup of His own Son, from which He drank so that we would be made free from sin and have the opportunity to have eternal life. The Father did not remove the cup, but He did answer the prayer based on His will. So why did the Lord pray? Because even though He was (and is) the only begotten Son of God, because He was also 100% man, He had to go through the process of bringing His flesh into the order of God. This is what the Word says: “who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” Hebrews 5:7-9. Absolutely everything must return to the will of God, to the order of God. God is order. The devil and sin are disorder. God is construction and structure. The devil and sin are destruction. God is incorruptible. The devil and sin are corruption. God remains forever immovable, the devil and sin and all who submit to them will be cast in the end into the lake of eternal fire.

This is the great importance of prayer, which is ultimately for our edification, to bring us closer to God, to bring us ever closer to His order, and this suits us, because the only ones who will be saved, the only ones who will obtain the eternal life, the only ones who will receive eternal rewards that only God can grant are those who do His will, as it is written: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21. I know and understand that many times the will of God is not easy for our carnality, and that it is difficult for us to walk with the Lord when we see that our prayers are not answered as we would like, even when we think that we are asking for His will, but It is necessary to understand that prayer is to bring us back to the order that we so need, because there is eternal life only in His will. Therefore, we should be encouraged as the Word says: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2. Pray for His will in your life, even if it is difficult for you (because it is not easy), because that will save you. So, what do you pray for? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.

God Judges the Nations - Ezekiel 32:1-16

Based on Ezekiel 32:1-16 (New King James Version)

“And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: ‘You are like a young lion among the nations, and you are like a monster in the seas, bursting forth in your rivers, troubling the waters with your feet, and fouling their rivers. ‘Thus says the Lord God: ‘I will therefore spread My net over you with a company of many people, and they will draw you up in My net. Then I will leave you on the land; I will cast you out on the open fields, and cause to settle on you all the birds of the heavens. And with you I will fill the beasts of the whole earth. I will lay your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your carcass. ‘I will also water the land with the flow of your blood, even to the mountains; and the riverbeds will be full of you. When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you, and bring darkness upon your land,’ says the Lord God. ‘I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known. Yes, I will make many peoples astonished at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and they shall tremble every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall. ‘For thus says the Lord God: ‘The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. By the swords of the mighty warriors, all of them the most terrible of the nations, I will cause your multitude to fall. ‘They shall plunder the pomp of Egypt, and all its multitude shall be destroyed. Also I will destroy all its animals from beside its great waters; the foot of man shall muddy them no more, nor shall the hooves of animals muddy them. Then I will make their waters clear, and make their rivers run like oil,’ says the Lord God. ‘When I make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country is destitute of all that once filled it, when I strike all who dwell in it, then they shall know that I am the Lord. ‘This is the lamentation with which they shall lament her; the daughters of the nations shall lament her; they shall lament for her, for Egypt, and for all her multitude,’ says the Lord God.’”

In the year 605 BC, this prophecy against Egypt was fulfilled, something that was believed to be impossible to happen. At that time, the Egyptian kingdom had risen again and strengthened itself into a nation of great power, thought to be something that could not be shaken. However, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon completely destroyed the Egyptian army in the battle of Carchemish. And in this battle, not only did Egypt fall, but Babylon destroyed the Assyrian empire, and in such a way that the Assyrian empire completely disappeared after this battle. One should ask, “Why did God pronounce and come to make this great judgment against the nation of Egypt a reality?”

The serious problem for which God judged Egypt was because of its rebellion, its pride. Despite knowing God, and as a nation having seen the greatness of the Most High, they decided not to humble themselves before the God of heaven, but grew and became stronger only to challenge Him. And God could no longer bear their arrogance, and shamefully broke them and the one who accompanied them. God gave such power and strength to King Nebuchadnezzar that he used it to break the pride of Egypt completely.

The problem arises when a nation or a person knows the truth of God, and rebels against it, because God has great mercy on those who ignore His Truth. God does have mercy when there is genuine ignorance, when His Truth is completely unknown. We see this clearly in the Word when the Apostle Paul explains it based on his own ignorance, as he says: “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 1:12-14. But the Word also says this: “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:29-31.

Now, when the truth is known, there is no excuse left. And the great truth that is known today is that there is an Almighty God, and that He, by His good will and grace, sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for the sins of humanity. If the knowledge of the law of Moses brought judgment on every nation and human being before, how much more will it not bring knowing the goodness of God and despising it? As it is written: “Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” Hebrews 10:28-29. Who today does not know the meaning of the cross of Christ? Billions of people today know well the story of the cross, and how Jesus Christ died for all of us. And if so, and God judged Egypt for things less than the cross of Christ, what do you think awaits this world and its nations today? Will God overlook the rebellion that exists today against His person, and against the cross of Christ? This is what the Word says: “For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.” 2 Peter 2:21.

What can be done to escape God’s coming wrath? This is what His Word counsels us: “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55:6-7. “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before.” Acts 3:19-20. The Lord is still leaving the door open today for repentance and conversion. The dispensation of God's grace through Jesus Christ still extends to this day. My best advice is not to ignore this opportunity. To you who know the Truth of God, stop despising Him or trying to use Him for your convenience. Seek the Lord while there is time because tomorrow may be too late. Serve Him as the Lord that He is so that you may not only obtain His forgiveness, but also His eternal life. There is life only in one Being, in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look for Him and follow Him as such. So, will you decide to suffer God's eternal judgment for continuing in your rebellion, or will you embrace the life that only the Lord can give? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.

The Difference Between Believing and Receiving - John 8:21-47

Based on John 8:21-47 (New King James Version)

“Then Jesus said to them again, ‘I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.’ So the Jews said, ‘Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?’ And He said to them, ‘You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.’ Then they said to Him, ‘Who are You?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.’ They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. Then Jesus said to them, ‘When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.’ As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. ‘I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.’ They answered and said to Him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.’ Then they said to Him, ‘We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

In order to have a true relationship with the Lord, our faith must go beyond just believing if a person truly wants to obtain God's forgiveness and salvation. It is a mistake to think that one should just believe in the Lord, and that based on that, one can obtain eternal life. As we could see in this passage, there were many of the Jews who came to believe in Him, as the Scripture says: “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him…” But they had serious problems, because the Scriptures say that they even wanted to kill Him. How can it be that they believed in Him, and yet, that they wanted to kill Him at the same time?

The issue with just believing in the Lord is that it does not mean that they accept Him as such. They came to believe in Him because His miracles were undeniable. They could not deny certain realities because they were palpable and obvious. So, it was impossible not to believe in Him. Could these Jews deny all the miracles He had done, such things that they saw with their own eyes, even raising Lazarus before all the people after he had been dead for four days? No. So, yes, they could very easily come to believe in Him. But, because a person believed in the ability that the Lord had, it did not mean that they accepted or received Him, and that is the problem. For example, the Word says this: “But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:18-20. So, just because demons believe in God, does that mean that belief saves them from their eternal sentence? Impossible. Why? For the same prior reason, because the power of God is undeniable, but not being able to deny the greatness of God does not save anyone.

So, what should be the difference? How does one go above and beyond in order to obtain much-needed forgiveness and salvation? A person must not only believe in Christ, but should have such faith in Him that that faith compels them to complete obedience and subjection to the Lord. They must receive the Lord, as it is written: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” John 1:12. And what does God command each person to do, without exception? There are three fundamental things that must happen: 1) complete repentance and conversion from all sin, without reservations, without exceptions, 2) accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your literal Lord, as the supreme authority in your life, and 3) follow that Lord as He is, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. The Word also says this: “…and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” John 13:20b. And what does receiving Him consist of? The Word also tells us this: “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.’ These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can understand it?’ When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, ‘Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, ‘Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.’ From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.” John 6:53-66. Eating His flesh and drinking His blood means to become one with the Lord, and in such a way that a person lets the fulness of His Word enter and do whatever It needs to do, no matter what, at whatever cost, without reservations or impediments. This is the great difference between believing in Him and receiving Him. So then, have you not only come to believe in Christ, but also become one with Him? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.

Apostasy - Deuteronomy 13

Based on Deuteronomy 13 (New King James Version)

“‘If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst. ‘If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you. ‘If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the Lord your God gives you to dwell in, saying, ‘Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ ’—which you have not known—then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination was committed among you, you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it, all that is in it and its livestock—with the edge of the sword. And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the Lord your God. It shall be a heap forever; it shall not be built again. So none of the accursed things shall remain in your hand, that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers, because you have listened to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God.”

For many, this passage must seem very harsh, or that the measures are very strict, that there is simply zero tolerance. And yes, you can say that. In the Lord there is really no tolerance for any deviation, there was none before, nor is there today. Now, are we to kill people today as He commanded, to kill even loved ones or entire cities for their apostasy? No. Today we live in what the Word calls the dispensation of God's grace, which means that God now gives the opportunity through the Lord Jesus Christ for everyone to repent of their sins, and for the penalty of death to come when God decides in His full decision, and not as He stipulated in his Word before Christ came. But we must understand this matter of apostasy or deviation from God so that it is not committed, because God will eternally punish a person if they depart from Him to follow other things.

Let's begin to look at this issue of apostasy or deviation so we can understand why it is so serious. The truth is that God does not punish deviation as by virtue of designating something as bad and for that reason it is punished. The truth or reality is that there is life only in one thing, or rather, in one Person, in the Lord, and if a person turns away from the Lord, deviating from the very straight and exact path towards Him, the natural consequence of that deviation is death. There is life, light, and eternity only in one person in the entire universe, in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why He Himself said, proclaiming a reality, not a desire or an illusion of grandeur, but an irrefutable truth: “…‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” John 14:6. So, turning away from the Lord brings eternal death as a natural consequence, and that is a person's decision, it is not something that neither God forces on someone, nor can the devil and all his hosts force this on a person. This is choice. And that is why there is such a thing as the final judgment before God, even during this time of the dispensation of God's grace. Apostasy continues to have the same consequence as before, eternal death.

Now, you may say: I can understand why God punished apostasy so harshly, because the people turned away to follow other gods. And yes, they would be right to think that. But, let's look even further at what apostasy really is, and this will surprise many people, because apostasy involves much more than foreign and strange gods. There are many times that we associate apostasy with obvious things, but we overlook the not-so-obvious things. Apostasy or deviation is preached and taught throughout society today, and be careful, in the vast majority of our churches as well. And there may be certain congregations that don’t teach apostasy, but just as bad, they live in apostasy. The vast majority today live in apostasy, and if they do not repent, they will die eternally in that apostasy. In order to understand what apostasy is, you have to go to the truth, to the path that leads to God, so then you can be able to see the apostasy, the deviation. The only way to be saved consists of three very fundamental things: complete repentance and conversion from all sins (not just some sins), literally recognizing and accepting Jesus as Lord (and not just as savior, or anything else), and to live that reality, to follow the Lord, to live for that Lord. This is the way to salvation, to eternal life. If there is any deviation in any of these three things, that is where the deviation occurs. So, if a person tells you that you only need to believe in Christ, and do nothing else to be saved, that is apostasy. If they tell you that you don't need to do anything else after accepting Christ, since we are not saved by works, that is apostasy. If a person tells you that God exists to fulfill your desires and help you achieve your goals, that is apostasy. If a person tells you that you do not need to serve the Lord, but that your faith is what saves you, that is apostasy. Anything that goes outside the line of repentance and conversion of sins, of the Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of living for that Lord, is simply apostasy, and that deviation will lead the person to eternal perdition if they do not repent in time. This is what the Word says: “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” Romans 14:7-9. Looking at things that way, can you see how apostasy is everywhere? So, the path to God the Father is simple and very exact. Therefore, for your own good, you must ask yourself this very simple question: Do I live for the Lord, to do His will, or do I live for myself, to fulfill my will, or for other things or people? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.

Aligning Ourselves with the Lord - Psalm 20

Based on Psalm 20 (New King James Version)

“May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob defend you; may He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion; may He remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah. May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright. Save, Lord! May the King answer us when we call.”

I think we would all like for God to hear our prayers and to grant us our requests. And the good news is that it is possible for Him to hear our prayers and respond to our supplications. But we must align ourselves with the Lord. It is necessary to put our lives in order before the Lord so that He listens and works in our favor. The Lord is not a cosmic genie who is there to grant wishes and fulfill desires. Our relationship with God must be much more than that so that we can obtain what we really need, or else we will have serious and eternal problems in the not-too-distant future.

The first thing we must make sure of is that God is the One who answers our prayer, and for good. And with this there is a lot to consider. One of the key things is to understand that there is a much bigger world than the one we see, and that world is much more important and affects everything we see in the present. This is what the Word says: Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses… Hebrews 12:1a. Who are these witnesses? It is God, to begin with, and the most important witness, but there are also the heavenly hosts. But unfortunately, there is also the devil and his demons. We are not alone, not even when we are in a dark room with the door closed. We always have something or someone around us. And the serious problem with that is that everyone is listening to what we say, and this can be for better or for worse. What is the importance with all of this? That when we pray, there are beings who are listening, and depending on how we are spiritually, that is the way our requests can be answered. There are many prayers that may be answered, but be careful, it is not always God who answers them, and that is a very serious problem. The devil also answers requests and has the power to do many things in this world like the prince he is of all of this, and what's more, he will do anything within his power to keep a person following the wrong path to their perdition. Neither answered prayers nor apparent blessings are indicators that God is working on our behalf, but rather the opposite can be true. We read this in the Word when the Lord Himself was tempted by the devil: “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’” Matthew 4:8-9. The devil can give much, grant much, as long as a person remains on a direct course to their destruction. When you come to understand the nature of something, then you can understand what it is capable of. The enemy is all evil, and wants all humanity to be lost, and will do anything to make sure that happens. That's why you have to be very careful.

Some may say: “As long as my prayers are answered, I don't care who answers them.” And this would be a very foolish way of thinking, but unfortunately, this is a very common problem. The vast majority of people are so concerned with the present world that they live in such a way that they will have absolutely nothing in the world to come, in the eternal. They are so focused on this world that they will be lost in eternity. And unfortunately, many so-called Christians have this same feeling, because they seek God only so that He can serve them (as if it were possible). This is what the Word says: “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.” Matthew 16:25-27. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people sacrifice their souls for very small and fleeting things, such as not wanting to let go of sin. They prefer to continue in their fornications, and adulteries, and sexual deviations, and in so many other things, than to turn from all that in order to save their soul in eternity. Many people value having possessions more than having eternal life. The majority of people want to get to heaven, but without letting go of sin and the things of the world. And even more, they want God to serve them, yet maintain a very bad mentality before Him. So, many prayers could be answered, but as we established before, it may not be God who is answering. And the worst of all is that, if they continue in their folly, they could manage to have many things in the present, but they will be lost eternally. There will be no salvation for them, even if they proclaim to believe in God. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven…” Matthew 7:21a.  

So, how is it that God can answer our requests, and without us having to worry that there are evil forces involved? This is what the Word says: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.’” John 15:1-8. And here is a great example of answered prayer, as it is written: “Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:12-14. God heard Solomon's prayer, but when his heart was right before God. God did great wonders, but when there was unconditional obedience. Because the sad thing about the matter is that Salomon started very well, but ended very badly, by letting himself be carried away precisely by his disobedience. It is necessary to remain in the Lord so that God answers our requests, but even more importantly, so that we can obtain eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ. So, is your life aligned with the Lord, for your own good? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.

The Ark of the Covenant - Exodus 37:1-9

Based on Exodus 37:1-9 (New King James Version)

“Then Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits was its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. He overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold all around it. And he cast for it four rings of gold to be set in its four corners: two rings on one side, and two rings on the other side of it. He made poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold. And he put the poles into the rings at the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. He also made the mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits was its length and a cubit and a half its width. He made two cherubim of beaten gold; he made them of one piece at the two ends of the mercy seat: one cherub at one end on this side, and the other cherub at the other end on that side. He made the cherubim at the two ends of one piece with the mercy seat. The cherubim spread out their wings above, and covered the mercy seat with their wings. They faced one another; the faces of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat.”

The ark of the covenant and everything that composed it has a lot of meaning, and one could explore for some time the meaning of its materials, how it was made, and why it had the design and elements it had. In any case, and at first glance, so to speak, it was a fascinating object with incomparable value and craftsmanship, which had never existed before. It is believed to have been lost in approximately 586BC, when Babylon invaded Israel. Since then, there has been a lot of speculation of its whereabouts, but nothing has ever been known for certain. It remains lost to this day.

The ark fulfilled two fundamental things: to contain the stone tablets of the ten commandments, Aaron's rod, and a portion of the manna that Israel received in the desert. And the other was that it was the main way in which God's presence was manifested at that time and where He spoke to His people. In order to understand the true value of the ark, you must understand its functions. The ten commandments, Aaron's rod, and manna were part of the old covenant that God made with Israel. The old covenant was that God, by His grace, and out of love for Abraham His friend, would miraculously free Abraham's descendants from the hands of the Egyptians, who used them as slaves to build their great buildings and cities. God did His great deeds and miracles through Aaron's rod. And later, when the people of Israel were delivered from Egypt and began to cross the desert, God miraculously fed them in the middle of the desert with manna from heaven. And then, He took them to Mount Sinai where He would give them His Word, which would serve as a covenant between God and His people. This was the fundamental symbolism of its content.

And to continue explaining its functions, and the covenant that it established, when the tabernacle was made, God gave ordinances as part of the covenant to His people, so that if they fulfilled the conditions prescribed in the Law of Moses (which God also gave to His people), He would speak to them from this ark of the covenant. And God did it that way. He spoke to His people from the mercy seat. So, clearly we see in this covenant a deliverance by grace, and sustaining by grace, instruction by grace, and a way of communicating when fulfilling what God has prescribed.

Now, why was the ark lost? The answer is, because of Israel's constant sin and rebellion. Israel abused God's mercy for a long time. And God constantly sent His prophets to warn them of the evil that would come if they persisted in their sin, in their rebellion, in short, in their idolatry and spiritual adultery, trying to be right with God and with idols and demons, doing hateful things. before God, and also, humanly speaking, sacrificing even their children to other gods. And because of Israel's constant sin, God allowed their enemies, the Babylonians, to completely devastate Israel and Judah, thus destroying Jerusalem and the temple, where Nebuchadnezzar would take the ark and all the sacred things of the temple. And from there, it was no longer known what happened to the ark. And so, the ark was lost due to the constant and continuous sin of the people.

What do we have today since the ark has been lost? Only by the grace of God, and through faith, do we have a new covenant through the only begotten Son of God, through the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our new ark of the covenant, based on the same principles of the old covenant. The old covenant was started by God with man, through Abraham. God spoke to Abraham, and Abraham believed God. That is the foundation of the old covenant, which later materialized over time through this ark of the covenant that we saw before. But now, and only by the grace of God (just as before), God the Father has given us a part of himself, because the Lord Jesus Christ is part of the Holy Trinity (He is God), as the eternal covenant, because the Covenant no longer consists of material things such as tablets of stone, or a rod, or manna, and even less of an ark made of wood with gold, but of the eternal person of God himself. That is why it is written: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” John 14:6. The Lord Jesus Christ is the new and eternal covenant of God.

Now, for a covenant to be fulfilled, there must be two parties. It is impossible for a person to make a pact with themselves, because otherwise it is not a pact. And for an agreement to be fulfilled, there must be conditions that both parties meet. In the past, God made a covenant with man through faith but without His personal materialization, and it was mostly with the people of Israel. And I say mostly with Israel because there were men who did not belong to the people of Israel who did find the grace of God through faith, like Nebuchadnezzar, whom God called His servant. Nebuchadnezzar did remove his idols from before God and recognized the Most High God before all his kingdom, and proclaimed Him as his God. But that old covenant was broken by man, due to his rebellion against God. God more than did His part, but the people failed God. That is why God, by His grace, made a new covenant, and this time, through His own person, and made a blood covenant, because God shed His blood on the cross of Calvary for the salvation of man. But, for this covenant that is now in place to continue in each of us, what must happen? What is our part since God, as always, has already done more than what was required? We must repent and convert from all our sins and make the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives, literally, effectively, and completely (without reservation), and thus do His will. But, if a person practices sin and God finds them in that when He comes for them, just as the people of Israel did, that person is the one who breaks the covenant. In contrast, if we take up our cross daily to follow the Lord and to do the will of the Father, the covenant is eternally ratified, and we will receive eternal life with all its rewards, according to our works, which are only valid if our faith is the root of them. That is how we fulfill our part of the covenant. So, do you live as if you have a covenant with God for eternal life? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.