POEM

CARE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS.
This time passes so quickly,
And the children change so fast,
At this time, let us compare :
They are like clay mixed with water,
or like cement mixed mixed with water -you can shape them right as you want before they harden

If clay or cement harden before you shape it ,
You cannot easily shape anything out of it,
5 years and below, when you still think they are very young,
That is the time you make or destroy them

Character, it does not appear magically and it is not hereditary,
Teach them about work discipline, don't let T.V and other media teach them violence, dishonesty, illicit sex, divorce, juvenile delinquency, homosexuality or other mediocre advocacy.

Teach them honesty, perseverance, persistence, determination,
Teach them how to forgive, how to be considerate of others, to love,
Teach them to give, to respect, to express themselves right,
Train them on spiritual matter and teach every other virtue.

Yes, shape their lives while they are young,
This be our prayer, our aim, our commitment
Day 1 to 5 years, while they are 'still wet' and shape able,
We commit ourselves!
by Hajile Autum. of the church: THE WORD OF GOD IS THE WILL OF GOD- Kenya.

95 thesis

We offer these 95 Theses for Reformation Today to stimulate prayerful reflection, study of God's Word, discussion in the Church and positive action for Reformation Today:

 

1. Our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, commanded us to: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near" (Matthew 4:17). The whole life of a believer must be one of repentance.

 

2. This cannot be interpreted as a token gesture of commitment, nor a technical salvation that is all theory and no experience.

 

3. Biblical repentance involves conviction: a change of mind; contrition: a change of heart; and conversion: a change of life. It is not enough to confess our sin, we also need to reject sin, to loathe it and to forsake it. Repentance involves a change of mind, a change of heart, a change of habits and a change of behaviour.

 

4. "Now, therefore, says the Lord, turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. So rend your heart and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness..." Joel 2:12-13

 

5. This was the message of the Apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptised in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38

 

6. This was the message of the early Church: "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." Acts 3:19

 

7. The heart of the Gospel is a changed life in Christ.

 

8. God is a Holy God and His righteous standards are seen in His Law. Man is sinful and we need to repent from our wickedness and trust in Christ.

 

9. This repentance and faith is to be evident in obedience to Christ, and a willingness to sacrifice and to suffer persecution for Christ. To those who turn to Him in repentance and faith, God promises great blessings, rewards and eternal life.

 

10. Before He returned to Heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ commanded His followers: "But repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name to all nations..." Luke 24:47

 

11. Salvation is by the grace of God alone, received by faith alone, on the basis of Christ's blood atonement on the Cross of Calvary alone.

 

12. Biblical Salvation always involves a change of behaviour. "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 55:7

 

13. Those who teach that as long as you believe you are saved, regardless of how you behave, are false teachers. The Scripture makes clear that just as repentance without faith is not true repentance, so faith without repentance is not true faith. For repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin. Belief always affects behaviour.

 

14. "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... for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." James 2:17-26

 

15. The Scripture warns us not to harden our hearts (Psalm 95:8). Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble (Proverbs 28:14).

 

16. "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified by the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

 

17. The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and He saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17). The Lord promises to hear and heal the responsive and humble heart (2 Kings 22:19).

 

18. "Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit. For why should you die...?" Ezekiel 18:31

 

19. Those who claim that we can accept Jesus as Saviour, without submitting to Him as Lord, are false teachers. It would not have been sufficient for Moses to have proclaimed to the Hebrews, who were slaves in Egypt, that they should accept that in Yahweh they had perfect freedom, whilst leaving them in bondage and under the yoke of slavery in Egypt.

 

20. Nothing less than deliverance from Egypt, freedom from the bondage of slavery, would have been adequate. God's eternal purposes required the people of Israel to survive the Passover, leave Egypt, cross through the Red Sea and be established as a free people in the Promised Land.

 

21. Sin is serious. Yet we are far too tolerant of sin. "God now commands all men everywhere to repent." Acts 17:30

 

22. Sin is more defiling than dirt, more dangerous than an unexploded bomb, more life threatening than a deadly disease, more insidious than a virus. "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near." Isaiah 55:6

 

23. "The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." Psalm 19:7. The first duty of the Gospel preacher is to declare God's Law and show the nature of sin. Failure to use the Law is almost certain to result in false hope, the introduction of a false standard of Christian experience, and to fill the church with false converts. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).

 

24. They will never accept grace until they tremble before a just and holy Law. The Law of the Lord is the schoolmaster that leads us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24). Salvation is by the grace of God alone, received by faith alone.

 

25. Scripture alone is our ultimate authority. "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

 

26. Christ alone is the Head of the Church. Christ is the only Mediator between God and man. Truth conquers. Not all the darkness can put out the smallest light.

 

27. We are to deny self, not indulge self. For many people experience is key. But for Christians, Scripture must be our ultimate authority. Emotions are a poor substitute for Scripture.

 

28. The Scripture warns us: "Learn to not exceed what is written." 1 Corinthians 4:6-14. We must be aware of movements and teachers who go beyond the Scriptures and presumptuously proclaim that which is not clearly taught in the Holy Scriptures.

 

29. Christians must be aware of those churches that try to look and sound much like the world. In many churches the Great Commission is virtually ignored as social issues, health and wealth, flashy entertainment and an emphasis on selfish and materialistic concerns become the primary focus. Many modern Word of Faith teachers display a lack of the fear of God and proclaim a different gospel and a different Jesus from that revealed in Holy Scripture.

 

30. Many popular preachers today are telling people what they want to hear, instead of what they should hear. The Word of Faith 'Name it and Claim it', 'Gab it and Grab it', Health and Wealth Prosperity preachers may be popular, but they are false teachers. They are effectively inoculating people against true Christianity. We need to be like the Bereans, who were more noble than the others, in that they searched the Scriptures daily, to see if the things that the apostles said were true (Acts 17:11).

 

31. A mature Christian is a discerning Christian. We cannot love God without knowing Him. We cannot know God without studying His Word, the Bible. Christians should test themselves to see whether they be in the Faith. Has there been a genuine change in your life? Have you evidenced Godly sorrow for your sins? Do you love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Do you love to study God's Word? Do you love to pray? Do you hate sin?

 

32. We are commanded to contend for the Faith, once delivered to the saints (Jude 3). Our Lord Jesus Christ is our example and He exposed false prophets, scribes and pharisees, hypocrisy and false teaching.

 

33. The goodness of man is an unBiblical concept. "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 giving every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings." Jeremiah 17:9-10

 

34. Signs and wonders do not actually save anyone. In John's Gospel, we read: "Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His Name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man." John 2:23-25. Our Lord Jesus said that an evil and idolatrous generation seeks for a sign (Luke 11:29).

 

35. Only the Gospel can change lives. Conversion for health and wealth is a false conversion. Those who teach that believers should tap into cosmic forces and laws of attraction, are unBiblical. What they are offering more resembles magic than Biblical faith. Much of what is being taught in the modern Word of Faith movement is not the Biblical Faith in a Sovereign God, but faith in faith. It is actually idolatrous.

 

36. The Scripture warns us: "Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15-16

 

37. Believers need to be very selective concerning what entertainment and news media is allowed to fill our minds on a daily basis.

 

38. The Scriptures describe secular humanist thinking: "Their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened." Romans 1:21. It is extremely dangerous that most Christians send their children to secular humanist schools to receive their education.

 

39. "Since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind..." Romans 1:28. Ideas have consequences. What we see influences what we think, and what we think influences what we become and what we do. Actions flow from thought patterns.

 

40. "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. It is not so much what we say, but what we do that counts. Actions speak much more eloquently than words.

 

41. The emphasis on feelings and blessings to the exclusion of commitment, obedience, and discipleship, is a sure way to failure and disappointment (Matthew 7:15-23).

 

42. There is no short cut method, no 4-point programme, no cut and dried, canned salvation. There is no alternative to full surrender to the Lordship of Christ (Colossians 2:6-7), and wholeheartedly seeking (Jeremiah 29:13), and following God's way (1 Peter 2:21). You have to forsake the world (1 John 2:15-17), and you must give up living for selfish reasons and motivations (Matthew 16:24). Repent of your past sinful way of life (Isaiah 55:7) and put all your energies, time, strength, talents, money and abilities under God's control. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind and live wholeheartedly for Him (Romans 12:1-2)

 

43. The way of Salvation in the Bible is described as a search (Jeremiah 29:13), a journey (Matthew 7:13-14), a war (2 Corinthians 10:3-5), and a marathon race (1 Timothy 6:12). Christians are described as pilgrims, disciples, soldiers, long-distance runners. The Bible is full of words describing fighting, overcoming, advancing, conquering, struggling, suffering and succeeding. These Biblical descriptions speak of progress, advancement, and movement. They speak of a continuous ongoing experience and way of life. Not a once-for-all gesture, or technical theory, or mere theological understanding.

 

44. The heart of the Gospel is a restored relationship with God through Jesus Christ, where communication and contact is established and maintained with God. Where character is developed and God's eternal purposes are accomplished in, and through, your life.

 

45. Ignorant and wicked are those who teach that the Law of God no longer applies to us today. Those preachers are in error who declare that one can receive Christ as Saviour without submitting to Him as Lord.

 

46. Christ alone is the Head of the Church. No pope, bishop, archbishop, cardinal, synod or moderator has power to overrule the decrees of Almighty God clearly spelled out in Holy Scripture.

 

47. Men must be on their guard against those who require excessive payments for spiritual services.

 

48. They preach no Christian doctrine who teach that Repentance is not necessary for those who seek to be right with God. The truly repentant earnestly desires to undertake full restitution, to repair, replace and restore what he has taken, or damaged.

 

49. They are enemies of Christ who require the Word of God to be silent on some issues in order that policies they support continue unimpeded.

 

50. Injury is done to the Word of God when a balance is not maintained in our preaching. Between the Law of God and the love of God, the wrath of God and the mercy of God, the doctrine of Eternal Judgement and the Gospel of Redemption, the blessings of Heaven and the realities of hell. The true treasure of the Church is the most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God.

 

51. He who speaks against the truth of Holy Scripture, let him be anathema and accursed (Galatians 1:6-10)! But he who guards against the lusts and licence of the world, let him be blessed!

 

52. Those who teach that we are little gods are guilty of blasphemy. Those who teach that the Cross of Christ was not enough to effect our Eternal Salvation teach heresy.

 

53. Away then with those false prophets who say to the people of God, 'peace, peace', and there is no peace! (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

 

54. Blessed be those who lift up the Cross of Christ and give a clear message of Repentance.

 

55. Christians are to be exhorted, that we be diligent in following our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, through sacrifices and sufferings, seeking first the Kingdom of God.

 

56. We can be confident of entering into the Kingdom of Heaven through many tribulations, rather than through delusions of comfort and complacency.

 

57. If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition, every portion of the truth of God's Word, except precisely that point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, then I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing him. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battlefront besides is mere flight and disgrace - if he flinches at that point.

 

58. Compromise and cowardice hurts everyone concerned. Cowardice is destructive and short sighted. In Revelation 21:8, cowardice is at the top of the list of those who will be condemned by God through all eternity - thrown into the lake of fire.

 

59. The Word of God commands us not to be afraid of any man (Deuteronomy 1:17). We are warned that the fear of man will prove to be a snare (Proverbs 29:25).

 

60. It is cowardice for us to stay seated when we should stand up. To remain silent when we should speak up. To remain passive and inactive when we should fight for what is right. "Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and of a son of man, who will be made like grass? You forget the Lord your maker, who stretched out the Heavens and laid the foundations of the earth..." Isaiah 51:12-13

 

61. The prevailing Arminian, antinomian, egalitarian, sinner-friendly, self-centred, superficial, sensational, materialistic, cheap grace and easy believism has produced gutless and spineless evangellyfish who stand for nothing. "Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." Proverbs 27:5-6

 

62. We are not called to be popular, but faithful. The Great Commission is not about how to win friends and influence people, but how to make disciples of all nations, teaching obedience to all things that the Lord has commanded.

 

63. We are called to submit to God, to resist the devil and he will flee from us (James 4:7)

 

64. They can kill the body - but they cannot kill the soul.

 

65. It is a disgrace for ministers of the Gospel to remain silent while the very foundation of our faith and freedoms - civilisation itself - is under attack. A campaign to have what God describes as an abomination called "marriage" should rouse every Christian to stand up and fight for the family and the faith. The basic building block of society, the family itself, is in the frontline of the world war of worldviews. As the influence of education, entertainment and the news media is so pervasive, it is in these realms that the battle for the family is being either lost, or won.

 

66. The Bible tells us that God seeks "Godly offspring..." Malachi 2:15. It is the first priority of parents and teachers to ensure that children are taught to love God and His Word. Secular humanist education is attempting to kill God by eradicating Him from the classroom and from the minds of the next generation. By eliminating the Bible as the basis for all knowledge, humanists are removing the very foundation of truth. They are prohibiting the only objective standard by which reality can be evaluated. "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ." Colossians 2:8

 

67. I am much afraid that schools will prove to be wide gates to hell, unless they diligently labour in explaining the Holy Scriptures, engraving them on the hearts of the youth. I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution in which men are not constantly occupied with the Word of God must become corrupt.

 

68. In this culture war, it is vital that we understand the war between Creation and the theory of Evolution. Science textbooks and Museums are strategic battlegrounds in the world war of worldviews.

 

69. We need to know the Word of God and we need to know the God of the Word. We need to know God and to make Him known.

 

70. It is vital that we know what we believe, why we believe it, and to practically know how to defend it in argument. It is also vital that we become effective soul winners.

 

71. Christians must recognise that we are involved in a world war of worldviews. There is a war against God and against His Word - The Bible. In this battle for the mind, classrooms and cinemas are battlefields. Education is a battleground. The textbooks and the teachers are frequently promoting evolutionism, situation ethics, sex education and values clarification. Reality is being rearranged by selective focus and in what Karl Marx declared "the first battlefield - the rewriting of history." By twisting perceptions, secular humanists hope to steal our children and hijack our culture and country. Much of the entertainment industry has been so subverted as to glamourise evil, popularise profanity, and celebrate ugliness. It is the duty of Christians to support excellent Christian media.

 

72. In entertainment, it is vital that we know before we go, that we learn to discern. We must choose the best family-friendly films, and avoid the anti-Christian programmes.

 

73. The theory of Evolution is an attempt to abort God retroactively. The theory and philosophy of Evolution destroys all meaning, purpose, direction, justice and hope in life. The Scriptures declare: "The fool says in his heart, 'there is no God'. They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good." Psalm 14:1

 

74. We are called to be the light of the world. All the darkness cannot put out the smallest light. "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." Habakkuk 2:14

 

75. The recent phenomenon of age-segregated Sunday morning worship should be re-evaluated in the light of Scripture. The youth are not the Church of tomorrow, they are part of the Church today. The Church is one body. "For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of that body being many are one body; as also is Christ." 1 Corinthians 12:12

 

76. Parents should be raising up their children in the fear of God, in fellowship with all believers. Church social events should involve families. Youth ministry should be returned to where it belongs - to families and fathers. It is a sad fact that many youth groups are doing more harm than good. "Those who walk with the wise become wiser still, but the companion of fools suffers harm." Proverbs 13:20

 

77. Young people have a far greater capacity for spiritual and social maturity than we tend to give them credit for. Young people should be encouraged to go deeper, further and higher for the Lord.

 

78. Many mainline denominations have been infiltrated by secular humanists, who have gutted the churches of the Biblical Gospel and produced generations of spineless evangellyfish. Many churches are filled with pseudo-saved, semi-saved, half-saved, un-saved, pew-warmers who have never been truly converted, nor have they come into any real relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

79. To distract and neutralise the Christian Church, false doctrines and heresies have been vigorously promoted. Passivism has been promoted and a "rapture fever" obsession with end-times prophesies has greatly distracted many Christians.

 

80. Antinomianism has gutted the Church of the Law of the Lord which is perfect, which converts the soul. Defeatism and escapism have neutralised many churches.

 

81. Worldly music, age-segregated services, youth groups which entertain rather than educate, have further undermined the churches' fulfilment of the Great Commission in our generation.

 

82. Discernment is at a low ebb in the average Western church. Sensationalism, materialism and idolatrous elevating of human beings have side-tracked many believers from fulfilling the Great Commission.

 

83. Many Christians have failed to notice that secular humanists have hijacked the schools and universities and are continuing to send their children to, what are effectively, anti-Christian brain washing institutions.

 

84. Theological seminaries have generally been infiltrated by liberal theologians and those who hold to theistic evolution. The undermining of Biblical Christianity in many denominations is like a cancer working throughout the body.

 

85. "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Therefore the wrath of the Lord is upon you." 2 Chronicles 19:2

 

86. We need to face the moral challenges of our day, including the symptoms of moral depravity: deception in the news media, degenerate entertainment, dishonesty in business and decadence in government.

 

87. Even more importantly we must recognise the root causes: ineffective churches, insipid preaching, irresponsible leaders, a rejection of God's Law as the foundation for our families, churches and nation, neglect of the Bible, prayerlessness, selfishness, confusion, compromise, cowardice and, at the very core, a lack of wholehearted love for God.

 

88. All too many churches are entertaining their members instead of educating them with expository preaching from God's Word. They are comforting their members instead of challenging them in confronting sin. "Righteousness and Justice are the foundation of Your Throne; love and faithfulness go before You." Psalm 89:14

 

89. Life begins at conception. Abortion is murder. The sanctity of life is an essential aspect of the Christian Faith. Christians must "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves." Proverbs 31:8 and "Rescue those being led away to death." Proverbs 24:10

 

90. Throughout the Bible, money is spoken of by weight. God's Law forbids theft, unjust weights and measures, inflation, usury, unbacked currencies and multiple indebtedness. Biblical Law requires honest money backed up by real constant value (Leviticus 16:35-36; Proverbs 11:1; 20:10; 20:23; Amos 8:5-7; Micah 6:11-12).

 

91. In the Bible sin is specific and personal. It is the violation of the Law of God. We are guilty when we disobey one of God's Commandments. Sin is failing to worship God alone; it is making, or worshipping an idol; taking God's Name in vain; desecrating the Sabbath; dishonouring our parents; taking innocent life; committing adultery; stealing; bearing false witness and being covetous. However, guilt manipulation, false, or psychological, guilt, is vague and general.

 

92. When we repent of our personal guilt in violating God's Commands, the result is forgiveness, freedom, healing and restoration. However, when repenting for false, or psychological, guilt we will never find freedom and forgiveness - because the devil is a hard taskmaster. We must know the Bible to recognise deception in the world and we must understand history in order to expose those who attempt to manipulate God's people through guilt manipulation.

 

93. "Where there is no vision, a people perish..." Proverbs 29:18. We need a positive and practical vision from the Word of God for our personal lives, for our Churches, for our nations and for the world.

 

94. We must give our highest priority to loving, worshipping, serving, obeying, and honouring God. We need a Biblical vision of righteousness, justice, love and compassion. "The Lord loves righteousness and justice..." Psalm 33:5

 

95. "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus, to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

The Reformation Society

P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725

Cape Town South Africa

Tel: 021-689-4480

Fax: 021-685-5884

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF ROMANS 10:9 PART 2

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE CONFESSION ''JESUS IS LORD''
ROMANS 10:9 - PART 2.
- I will deal with the 'log' (issues and failures) in my life before 'seeing' the speck in other people's life.
-I will not show contempt for the riches of His(God's) kindness, tolerance, and patience. - These attributes are not a license for us to do whatever we want.
-I will realize that His kindness is meant to lead me towards repentance.
-I will know that stubbornness and unrepentant heart stores up wrath against myself for the day of God's wrath, when His righteous judgement will be revealed.
-I will by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour, and immortality- And God has promised eternal life!
-I will have it right that those who are self -seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
-I will know that there will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil; both Jew and Gentile.
-I will know that there is glory, honour and peace for every one who does good: both Jew and Gentile.

NB: These are not a law that you seek to obey sometimes unwillingly, they are real change that happens within us through the Power of God. Romans Chapter 2.
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ABOUT SABATH

Is the Sabbath Required for Christians Today?

Can the fourth commandment be obsolete?

The Bible says, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy" (Exodus 20:8). God’s people were told to rest on the seventh day of every week. Nevertheless, most Christians today do not observe the seventh-day Sabbath—they say it is obsolete. This article explains why.
We will examine the major questions, and give brief answers. We have longer explanations available for each question, but this article will give a concise overview.

1. Was the Sabbath commanded at creation, even before humanity sinned?

There is no evidence in the Bible that God commanded the Sabbath before the days of Moses. Genesis says that God rested, but nowhere does it say that the first humans were commanded to follow his example. Before humans sinned, they lived in a blessed and holy time, in which they were in a state of peace with God, trustful and obedient. They did not need to labor in the way they later did. They did not need to set aside a day for communion with God, for they had it continually. The first human did not need to rest on the second day of his life.
God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, but that does not mean that he required people to rest on it. As the Jubilee year shows (Lev. 25:8-12), time can be holy without requiring a rest. In the days of Moses, the creation week was used as a pattern for commanding the seventh-day Sabbath, but that pattern does not prove that the Sabbath existed ever since creation.

If God commands the Sabbath, then we should keep it, of course, even if we have to adjust our schedules, suffer financially, and alienate our families. But if God does not require the Sabbath, then it would be wrong to put this unnecessary burden on anyone. When the effect on our lives is so great, we need to make sure that we have a clear command from God, not a questionable inference. Genesis does not command the Sabbath, never mentions the word, and never pictures anyone as keeping it.
Abraham kept all of God’s commands (Gen. 26:5), but this does not mean that he kept all the annual festivals, sacrificed his firstborn animals, or did any of the other laws that Moses gave. This verse tells us that Abraham was obedient to all the laws that applied to him, but it doesn’t tell us which laws applied. The Jewish Talmud says that Abraham did not keep the Sabbath; the Jews believed that the Sabbath was given, as the Bible describes, through Moses to the Israelite people.

2. The Sabbath was called holy time. Doesn’t it remain holy forever?

Not necessarily. In ancient Israel’s worship system, many things and places were holy. Firstborn animals and children were holy (Ex. 13:1-2), but they are not holy in the same way today. The Jubilee Year was holy, but it is not so today. The laws of holiness told the Jews how to worship God, and although we might think that worship laws telling us how to show love to God are the most important, the fact is that many of ancient Israel’s worship laws are now obsolete. God does not expect us to worship him in exactly the same way that the Israelites did.

3. The Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments. Shouldn’t Christians keep the Ten Commandments?

Christians generally agree that nine of the Ten Commandments still apply today. The last six commandments are quoted several times in the New Testament—but it is a mistake to assume that the Sabbath command is also commanded today. We are asking whether all Ten of the Commandments are still required—we cannot assume in advance that all Ten must stay together. We need to see what the Bible says about it.
The Bible refers to the Ten Commandments as a group in only three places. They are called the covenant that God made with his people through Moses (Ex. 34:28 and Deut. 4:13)—and this covenant is now obsolete (Heb. 8:13). Christians are not required to keep "the law of Moses" (Acts 15). The law-code of Moses, although containing some eternally-valid laws, also contains some temporary laws that became obsolete when Jesus Christ came. All Christians agree that some of these God-given laws became obsolete; the question now is whether the list of obsolete laws happens to include the Sabbath. We cannot judge the law by its neighbors—we cannot assume that it is valid, nor can we assume it is obsolete.
To answer our question, we must turn to the New Testament. Although some of the commandments are quoted at various places in the New Testament, the only place in the New Testament where the Ten Commandments are mentioned as a group is in 2 Cor. 3. There, Paul talks about tablets of stone when Moses’ face was shining in glory (vs. 3, 7). Clearly, Paul is talking about the Ten Commandments. Notice what he says: They are the letter that kills, a ministry of death and condemnation, which came in glory but its glory is now fading away (vs. 6-11). The new covenant, in contrast, is a ministry that brings life, is much more glorious, and is a ministry that does not fade away.
Paul did not praise the Ten Commandments as part of the Christian way of life. Rather, he pointed out ways in which the gospel of Jesus Christ is different from the Ten Commandments. They were part of a ministry that was fading away. Since Paul says that the ministry of the letter is fading, it should be no surprise if we find that one of the Ten was a temporary command. Something about those stone tablets is fading away; we cannot assume that all Ten Commandments are eternal.

4. Didn’t Ex. 31:16 declare the Sabbath to be a perpetual covenant between God and his people?

Yes, but so was circumcision (Gen. 17:13) and the weekly showbread (Lev. 24:8). The same Hebrew word is used to say that the Day of Atonement is a lasting ordinance, and the Levitical priesthood will continue (Lev. 16:29; Ex. 29:9; 40:15). Obviously, the Hebrew word does not mean eternal. The covenant that God made with the Israelites is now obsolete (Heb. 8:13).
God gave the Sabbath to the Israelites as a sign between God and the Israelites (Ex. 31:17). The Sabbath made the Israelites different from other nations—but Paul says that the laws that separated Jews and Gentiles have been done away by the cross of Christ (Eph. 2:11-18).

5. Didn’t Isaiah say that Gentiles would be blessed for keeping the Sabbath?

Yes, he did. He also said that Gentiles will offer burnt offerings and sacrifices (Isa. 56:7). The prophets predicted that people will observe new moons (Isa. 66:23; Ezek. 46:3), discriminate against uncircumcised people (Isa. 52:1-2; Ezek. 44:9), sacrifice in the temple (Ezek. 20:40; Zech. 14:20-21) and observe other laws that Christians do not need to. The prophets lived under the old covenant, and they described devotion to God in terms of the old covenant. We cannot assume that those specifics apply to Christians in this age.

6. Jesus kept the Sabbath. Shouldn’t we follow his example?

Yes, Jesus kept the Sabbath. He kept all the Jewish laws, because he was born under the law and kept it perfectly (Gal. 4:4; Heb. 4:15). He killed Passover lambs, tithed to the Levites, told cleansed people to make offerings commanded by Moses (Matt. 8:4), and he observed Hanukkah (John 10:22). He would have worn blue threads on his garments (Num. 15:38) and done a lot of other things that Christians aren’t required to imitate. When we look at the example he set, we must remember the historical context.
What kind of example did Jesus set on the Sabbath? The Bible never says that he rested—we are told only of his activity. He never commands anyone to keep the Sabbath, nor praises anyone for it. Rather, he constantly criticized people who had rules about what could or could not be done on the Sabbath. He always taught more freedom, never any restrictions. Although he told people to be very strict about some laws (Matt. 5:21, 28, etc.), he was always liberal about the Sabbath.
Jesus always compared the Sabbath to ceremonial laws, not to moral laws. When his disciples were picking grain, he used the example of the showbread, and the work of the priests in the temple (Matt. 12:3-6). Those rituals were just as important as the Sabbath. He said that circumcision could be done on the Sabbath (John 7:22), which indicates that circumcision is a more important law than the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a ritual law—it says that behavior that is perfectly good one day, is forbidden on another, simply because the earth has rotated. But true morality does not change from one day of the week to another. When ritual laws became obsolete when Jesus died, it should be no surprise that the ritual of the Sabbath also became obsolete.
Jesus said that daily chores could be done on the Sabbath (Luke 13:15). Even hard labor could be done in an emergency (Luke 14:5). He told a healed man to carry his sleeping mat, even though there was no hurry (John 5:8). He even used the word "work" to describe his activity (v. 17). Many Christians follow this example. They remember that Jesus consistently criticized the Sabbath rules of the Pharisees, and that he treated it as a ritual law.

7. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27).

Circumcision was made for man, too. All of God’s laws, even the obsolete ones, were made for humans. The Sabbath law was made to benefit humans, to serve them, not become an unpleasant burden. Jesus said this to argue for liberty, not for making requirements. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath—he has authority over it, and he can set it aside if he wants to.

8. Luke 23:56 tells us that even after Jesus’ crucifixion, the women "rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment" (Luke 23:56). Does this show that the Sabbath is still commanded for Christians?

The women rested on the Sabbath, but their example does not tell us whether that commandment is still in effect. They did not yet understand that God no longer required ritual laws. Luke’s readers might have wondered why the women rested even though they were faced with an urgent need, so Luke told them why—the women rested because of the commandment.
Luke used the word "commandment," but that does not prove that the commandment was required for Luke's readers. Paul used the same word to describe the rules that divided Jews from Gentiles (Eph. 2:15), but Paul says that those commandments do not have any validity for his readers. The word "commandment" does not imply any validity or permanence. Luke is simply using ordinary words to explain why the women rested. He is not commanding his readers to follow that example.

9. Jesus said that his disciples should pray not to flee on the Sabbath (Matt. 24:20). Doesn’t this mean that we should be keeping it?

No. It is permissible to flee for your life on the Sabbath. But Jesus said that people in Judea (v. 16) could find it difficult, just as they would find it difficult but not sinful to flee in winter (v. 20). This verse does not say whether the disciples would be keeping the Sabbath or not—it just recognizes that other people in Judea would be, so it would be difficult for the disciples to flee when city gates were closed, shops were closed, etc. This verse does not command the Sabbath—it only shows that it would be difficult for people in Judea to flee on the Sabbath.

10. Heb. 4:9 says that a Sabbath-rest still remains for believers today.

Hebrews 4 is talking about a future rest. People did not have this rest in Joshua’s day, nor when Psalm 95 was written (v. 8), so this chapter is not talking about the weekly Sabbath. This rest is entered by faith in Christ (v. 2). By using the word "Sabbath-rest," Hebrews is saying that the weekly Sabbath symbolized the real rest that God wants his people to enter. Just as the Levitical sacrifices symbolized the work of Christ, the weekly Sabbath pictured our final salvation. This symbolism says nothing about whether Christians should continue observing the symbols.
In one way, symbols are obsolete, but in another way, they are still required. Circumcision is a great example. Christians do not have to be physically circumcised (Rom. 2:29)—but we should be circumcised in the heart. We are to keep this ritual law, but we do so in the spirit, not the letter. In one sense, Christ has made the law obsolete; in another way, he has transformed it and still requires it in its transformed way. The same is true of the Levitical rituals: although we do not offer animal sacrifices, we are obedient to those laws when we have faith that Jesus Christ fulfilled those sacrifices. The requirement has been transformed.
In a similar way, since the Sabbath points toward our final salvation, and this salvation is in Christ, we are abiding by the purpose of the Sabbath command when we put our faith in Christ. It is in him that we find the rest that we need (Matt. 11:28-30). The requirement for rest has been transformed to focus on Christ rather than a day of the week. If we have faith in him, we are entering God’s rest and we are therefore keeping the spiritual intent of the Sabbath.

11. Revelation says that the end-time people of God will be keeping God’s commandments (Rev. 12:17).

This verse does not say which commandments are still valid. It is wrong to assume that it means the Ten, when God has actually given many more commandments than that.

12. Didn’t Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, keep the Sabbath?

When Paul was preaching the gospel in a new city, his custom was to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath (Acts 13:14; 16:13; 17:2). But this does not mean that he kept the Sabbath. Paul wanted to preach to Jews first, and the best place to do this was in a synagogue, and the best day to do it was the Sabbath, when the Jews were there. It was simply a good evangelistic strategy to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath. However, Paul never taught anyone to keep the Sabbath.
Paul sometimes kept Jewish laws such as circumcision, making vows, and participating in temple rituals (Acts 16:3; 18:18; 21:26). When he was with Jews, he lived like they did—but he did not consider himself to be under the old covenant law (1 Cor. 9:20). When with Gentiles, he could live like a Gentile, just as Peter could (v. 21; Gal. 2:14). In the first century, neither Jews nor Gentiles believed that Gentiles should keep the Sabbath. If Paul had a different view, we should expect to see some evidence, but there is none.
In the Gentile cities of Lystra, Derbe and Athens, nothing is said about the Sabbath. In some places, Paul preached every day (Acts 17:17; 19:9). When he was in Troas, we do not hear anything about the Sabbath. Rather, the church waited until the first day of the week to come together and break bread (Acts 20:7). The example of Paul, like that of Jesus, is always liberty, and makes no restrictions or commandments about the Sabbath.
Before we see what Paul taught about the Sabbath, let us summarize our observations.

1. The first place we see a command for the Sabbath is in the law of Moses.
2. The law of Moses contains many commands that Christians do not have to keep.
3. Even laws that came before Moses, such as circumcision, can be obsolete.
4. To see which laws are obsolete, we need to study the New Testament.
5. The New Testament never commands the Sabbath.
6. Jesus always criticizes Sabbath rules, and never tells anyone to be careful about what they do on the Sabbath.
7. Jesus always groups the Sabbath with ceremonial and ritual laws.
8. Peter and Paul could live like Gentiles if they wanted to.
9. Paul said that something about the Ten Commandments was fading away.

Should Christians keep the seventh-day Sabbath? Is the command clear enough to require people to lose their jobs and alienate their families? No—the only place that the Sabbath is commanded is in a covenant that the New Testament calls obsolete. True, the New Testament does not explicitly say that the Sabbath is obsolete. Instead, it says much more—that the entire old covenant is obsolete. It says that Christians do not have to keep the law of Moses. It says a large category of law is no longer required, and it never tells Christians to keep the Sabbath. None of the Sabbatarian arguments proves that the Sabbath is still commanded.
If the Sabbath were required, it is surprising that the New Testament never repeats the command. It has space for all sorts of other commands, from holy kisses to avoiding idolatry, but it never commands the Sabbath. It never criticizes anyone for breaking it. Paul dealt with numerous problems of Christian living, but he never tells slaves or others how to keep the Sabbath. He lists numerous sins that can keep a person out of the kingdom of God, but he never mentions the Sabbath. If the Sabbath is important, the silence of the New Testament is astounding.
But the evidence against the Sabbath goes even further than what we have covered. The New Testament not only fails to command the Sabbath—it says that it is wrong to require it.

13. Christians should not judge one another regarding the Sabbath.

The only time that Paul mentions the Sabbath by name is in Col. 2:16-17. He says, "Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." Here, Paul groups the weekly Sabbath with the annual festivals, the monthly rituals, and eating and drinking restrictions of Judaism.
There is no translation problem here—Paul is talking about the weekly Sabbath and saying that it, like the other rituals of Judaism, is not a basis for judging. The Christians at Colossae should not let other people judge them by what they do on the Sabbath day—and in the same way, they should not judge other Christians by what they do on the Sabbath. In other words, they are not to say it is wrong for other Christians to be working on the Sabbath. Christians should not let anyone make them feel guilty for what they do on the Sabbath.
The reason for this, Paul says, is because Christ is the reality that these rituals symbolized. Since Christ has canceled our debts (v. 14), we should therefore not let anyone criticize us for what we do on the Sabbath. Because of the cross, the regulations about the Sabbath (as well as the new moons and annual festivals) are obsolete.
Paul told the Galatians that the promises of salvation were given to Abraham (Gal. 3:16). Then a law was added 430 years later—meaning all the laws added through Moses (v. 17). This law was temporary, in effect only until "the Seed" (Christ) had come (v. 19). This law was put into effect until Christ, but now that he has come, we are not under the supervision of that law (vs. 24-25). The New Testament message is consistent: the old covenant, the law of Moses, is obsolete. If a command (such as the Sabbath) can be found only within the temporary law, then it is not likely to still be required.

14. In Christianity, every day may be treated alike.

In Romans 14, Paul writes that some Christians consider "one day more sacred than another," whereas other Christians consider "every day alike." In the Roman church, partly composed of Jews and partly composed of Gentiles, it is obvious what kind of days might be considered sacred.
But Paul says, "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." In other words, he is saying that it is permissible for a Christian to think that every day is alike! He did not feel any need to explain that one day of the week should be considered different. He was quite content for Christians to consider them all the same. His concern here, as it was in Colossians, was that Christians should not judge one another about their different customs (v. 4).
Paul was indifferent about the question of days—and the only reason that he could be indifferent about it, was that he considered the Sabbath command to be obsolete. If Christians work on the Sabbath, we are not to judge them or call them wrong, because they are not wrong. The Sabbath command does not apply.
First-century Jews did not think that the Sabbath applied to Gentiles, anyway. Paul would have had an uphill battle if he had wanted to teach otherwise. The reason that Paul could be so indifferent about days, that he could tell people not to judge one another about them, is that they were not commanded.

15. God accepts us on the basis of Christ, not on whether we keep a certain day of the week.

The Sabbath (or any other distinctive practice) can deceive a person and subtly reduce the importance of Jesus Christ. The tendency is to think, "I please God because I keep the Sabbath. I am counted as one of his people because I keep the Sabbath." But God knows us as his people through Christ, not through a day of the week. The Bible says that the only reason that we please God is because of Jesus Christ:

"He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:5-7).

No matter how many laws we keep, we are sinners, and the only reason that we can be saved is because Jesus died for our sins. But a focus on laws, especially laws that make us different from other people, tends to put the focus back onto ourselves—and what we do. For some people, the badge of betterness is a certain style of worship. For others, it is a certain belief, or the avoidance of alcohol, or a style of dress. For Sabbatarians, it is the Sabbath. Not everyone falls into this trap, of course, but the more distinctive the doctrines, the more likely that people will value them too highly.
Suppose we come to the Day of Judgment and we are asked, "Why should we let you into the kingdom of God?" How will we answer? Will we talk about what laws we kept? Or will we trust in Christ alone? Will we try to claim part of the credit? The Bible says that our only basis of salvation is faith in Christ, and that no one has anything to boast about (Eph. 2:8-9). Our works don’t count for anything; our only hope is Jesus Christ, and any doctrine or practice that obscures this fact is an enemy of faith. Anything that tempts us to look at what we do, tempts us to take away some of the trust that we should be giving to Christ.
Christians try to obey God, but our obedience does not count anything for our salvation. There are many reasons to obey God (faith in his wisdom, gratitude for his mercy, personal love for him, desire to spread the gospel, etc.), but salvation is not one of them. Salvation is a gift; obedience is a response—and that is for laws that are still valid in the New Testament era. If obeying a valid law counts for nothing, what good does it do to keep an obsolete one?

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Of course, Christians may refrain from work one day a week if they wish. Spiritual disciplines like that can be helpful to a person’s spiritual growth, but they can also become obstacles, if people begin to think that these particular practices make them better than others. And these practices can become spiritually dangerous, if people think that everyone else ought to measure up to the way they worship God. Christians should not place themselves "under the law" (Galatians 3:25) as if the laws of Moses still had authority over them.
Jesus criticized people who taught requirements that God did not have: "You experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them" (Luke 11:46). When we teach requirements, we need to be very careful.
The Sabbath has nothing to do with salvation, and nothing to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was never part of the message of the New Testament church. The message is always one of liberty, never one of restrictions on a particular day of the week. God accepts us because of Jesus Christ, not because of anything that we do. It is by grace, not works. We are to trust in Christ for our salvation. By Grace Communion International.

JESUS CHRIST.

We believe that Jesus Christ is a completely unique (one of a kind) human being.

Why?

He is the only man who was ever born of a virgin (Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:35). God put a perfect seed in the womb of Mary so that Jesus would be born without the sin nature that every other human being inherited from the First Adam. Therefore, Jesus is the only-begotten Son of God (John 3:16) and the Son of Man (John 5:27).

He is the only man who is called “the Last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45). As the only-begotten Son of God, Jesus was the genetic equivalent to the first “Son of God,” Adam (Luke 3:38). As the only man born without inherent sin, Jesus was thus the only man equipped to be the Savior and Redeemer of mankind. Romans 5:12-21 is the classic comparison of these two Adams and the respective impact each had on mankind.

He is the only man who had perfect faith in God, and who, by his free will choices to trust God, lived a sinless life, always doing the will of his Father (John 8:29). Jesus was not a robot, programmed to obey God. If so, he could not have been genuinely tempted to sin, just like all men he came to save (Heb. 4:15). The absence of a sin nature was not the reason why Jesus did not sin. We know that because the First Adam also had no sin nature, and he sinned royally.

He is the only man who died as the perfect sacrifice for our sins (Heb. 10:12-14; 1 John 4:10). By his virgin birth and his lifelong obedience to God, all the way to his dying breath on the Cross, he became the perfect sacrifice for the sin and sins of mankind (Heb. 2:17). Thus, he was the complete propitiation for fallen men to be redeemed.

He is the only man God ever raised from the dead unto everlasting life in order to confirm that he was who he had said he was—the Son of God (Acts 17:31; Rom. 1:4). The resurrection of Jesus Christ was God keeping His promise to His Son, and also His affirmation to all men that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

He is the only man whom God highly exalted as “Lord” and “Head of the Church,” and to whom God has given all authority in heaven and on earth (Dan. 7:13-14; Phil. 2:9; Acts 2:36; Eph. 1:22; Matt. 28:18). As Pharaoh exalted Joseph to his right hand and gave him all authority in Egypt (Gen. 41:37-46), so God has given Jesus functional equality with Himself. Jesus Christ is now God’s “right hand man” (Eph. 1:20), carrying out the work that will eventually restore this fallen world.

He is the only man who is now the Mediator between God and mankind (1 Tim. 2:5). It is Jesus Christ to whom God has given the power to “save to the uttermost” all who call upon his name, because he ever lives to make intercession for us (Heb. 7:25).

He is the only man who will gather together all Christians to meet him “in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17) and give each one a new body like his own (Phil. 3:21). As the promised “seed” of the woman (Gen. 3:15), Jesus Christ will produce fruit after his kind, a race of people living forever.

He is the only man who will one day return to the earth, destroy all evil men (and eventually destroy Satan and his evil spirit cohorts), and rule the earth as King for 1000 years (Rev. 19:11-20:7). At his first coming to the earth to Israel, Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb of God, but he will come again as the Lion of Judah to save his people, Israel, and destroy all God’s enemies.

He is the only man who will raise from the dead every human being who has ever lived (John 5:21, 25). As God has given Jesus “life in himself,” so he will raise up all people.

He is the only man who will judge all men and women of all time (John 5:22, 27). Jesus will righteously judge all people, granting everlasting life to those who deserve it, and annihilating all the wicked (Acts 17:31; John 5:28, 29).

He is the only man who will restore on a new earth the Paradise that the First Adam lost (1 Cor. 15:24-28). As “the Last Adam,” Jesus was God’s Contingency Plan to salvage His original plan that Adam’s disobedience thwarted, that is, a perfect race of people living forever on a perfect earth. Amen.

He is the only man who is our Savior, our Redeemer, our Mediator, our Lord, our constant Companion, our Best Friend, our Big Brother, the Light of our lives, our Peace, our Joy, and our Mentor in the art of faith.

He is the Lover of our souls, and that is why we love him and confess him as Lord (Rom. 10:9).

WHEN A PASTOR IS FORCED OUT

if Christians preach that every person is made in the image of God ... and that God loves every one of us ... and that Christ died for every person ... and that God isn't finished with any of us yet ... then can't we please stop trashing Christian leaders - especially those who aren't around to defend themselves?

Let's play on Jesus' team ... and not on Satan's.
Jim Meyer | July 22, 2013 at 2:50 pm.


http://blog.restoringkingdombuilders.org/2013/07/22/shocked-by-pastoral-transitions/

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE CONFESSION ''JESUS IS LORD''
ROMANS 10:9 - PART 1.
- You will have a passion to call people from among all the nations to the obedience that comes from faith.
-You will have confidence that you are loved by God.
-You will know that you are called to be a saint (people defining you will say you are an exceptionally good person).
-You will be full of grace and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
-You will not be ashamed of the Gospel
-You will not be party to the godless and wicked who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
-You will glorify God and give thanks to Him.
-You will not engage in sexual impurity, in homosexuality or lesbianism.
-You will live a life that is not wicked, evil and full of greed and depravity
-Envy, murder, strife, malice, gossip, God hating, insolence, arrogance and pride are kicked out of you.
-You will not disobey parents, you will not be senseless, faithless, heartless or ruthless. (Some words are powerful if you check meaning from the dictionary.)
Romans Chapter 1.
NB: These are not a law that you seek to obey sometimes unwillingly, they are real change that happens within us through the Power of God.

God Vs Satan

God sends life,
Satan sends death.
God sends light,
Satan sends darkness.
God sends good,
Satan sends evil.
The life, light and good from God comes wrapped in Instructions and counsel that may seem too burdensome and restrictive. The High-Way to them has many 'labels' written: 'Believe...',' Do not...' 'and 'Ensure you do...'
The death, darkness and evil from Satan comes appearing to present to the person the 'real things': Happiness, Satisfaction, fulfillment, freedom and they appear to help him/her be modern, and relevant. But soon tragedy strikes - evil, darkness, death.

CHOICE OF FRIENDS

The best friends and people to surround yourself with are those who: (a) put God first in their lives, (b) apply Scripture to their own lives, (c) are generous givers, (d) support their pastor, and (e) know that money is a tool ... not a god.

The worst friends that will 'eat' your 'intestines' and all your 'inner parts' from inside while from outside they appear the best of friends are those who: (a) put money first, (b) refuse to support their pastor, (c) give little to the ministry, (d) fail to apply Scripture to life, and (e) put God 3rd or 10th or 15th in their lives, not first. one day you just fall 'dead' and people cannot understand this sudden happening. They don't know somebody has been sucking your 'blood' for a loooooong tome.

FEAR OF GOD.

Fear of the LORD is a life giving fountain; it offers escape from the snares of death. Prov. 14:27 NLT. Experience shows that by just fearing God, following His way and obeying His  Word (all these meaning almost the same), a person escapes sufferings, trouble, difficulties, failed relationships, sicknesses and death almost by 90%.

TRUTH ABOUT THE CHURCH

The Church is about worship and about mission and about being a sign of the presence and the coming of the Kingdom of God.

We seek to be a worshipping community that nurtures faith, a faithful community that stimulates mission, and a missionary community that is rooted in worship.

In music and word, poetry and movement, art and action, we come just as we are as we also strive to offer the best that we can be.

In home and community, workplace and church, we serve others through being true to ourselves, claiming God’s promise to do more than we can ask or think.

The church exists to call people to worship God, to follow Jesus Christ, and to make him known, to make it possible for people to know that God is with us.

We recognise the authority of the Word of God over the church and the world, and our responsibility to discern, obey and proclaim that Word.

We bear witness to the grace of God in Jesus Christ and to the gift and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

We are thankful for the goodness of creation and acknowledge our responsibility to respect its integrity and to share its gifts.

In this land of beauty and uncertainty, of living covenants and broken promises, of renewed hope and slow justice, of open spaces and shifting values, we would seek Jesus, and ask that he teach us to pray.

We want to live lives that make it more easy and not more difficult for others to believe in God.

Not for ourselves only do we seek to build communities that make it possible to live the Christian life.

We want to seek and to share truth, to encourage faithfulness, to facilitate a sense of wonder, to stir curiosity for the things of God and of creation, and never to lose our respect for wisdom.

We acknowledge our inability to be all things to all people, but we aim to be a safe place for lovers and children, for the elderly and the awkward, for the hurt and the handicapped, for the different and the simple, for friends and the friendless, for those who have found success, and those for whom there is no place to rest. Without one another we are incomplete in Christ.

We recognise our responsibility to respect the cultures of our heritage, to affirm what is good, and to challenge all that makes people less than human.

We confess that we see justice in different ways, and perceive paths to peace through different routes. We struggle with the burden of discernment through prayer, study and debate. We acknowledge the pain of change and the cost of renewal.

In every age the Scriptures speak with fresh relevance. We join the prayers of the Psalms with the passions and anxieties of our lives. We share the wanderings, faith and failures of the people of Israel. We respect the profundity and example of Paul. We hear Jesus’ promises in the beatitudes, his challenge in the Sermon on the Mount and his humour and seriousness in the parables.

In communion we share memories of his life, death and rising again. Like the first disciples we worship even as some of us have doubts, and also like the first disciples we accept his call to go, to baptise and to teach.

We recognise Jesus’ authority and claim the promise of his presence. We pray that the Spirit of the Lord, which came upon him, may also be upon us, to bring good news to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and to inspire words and deeds which say that the time has come when the Lord will save his people.

The men and women who brought us to this land also shape us. We recall with nostalgia and respect heroes of conviction, the struggles of ordinary life and stories of costly faith.

May we learn from their failings as from their success, and imitate their faith not their foolishness. May we too take risks to find pearls of great price.

Help us also to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength, and our neighbour as ourselves.