Journey Through Eternity

I heard the news that my Aunt Lydia (my mother's eldest sister) already has died yesterday. I felt sad about it then suddenly I got terrified when I realized how time had flown so very fast and my thoughts reminded me about the reality of DEATH as I journey towards eternity future.

When we had started becoming conscious about our surroundings during our childhood years, we also had started knowing lots of people. First, our parents then our brothers and sisters, then our relatives and our grandparents, then our neighbors, then we started getting some childhood friends too, and then finally, we met lots and lots of people as we grew up. As the years went by and as we grew older, we noticed that slowly most of the people we know were dying. Some have died at young age, some have died during the peak of their career, and some have died at good old age. We can also observe how generations are being replaced through the years. During the time of our childhood years, it was the generation of our parents. But as we grow into adults, the generation of our parents starts being replaced by our own generation. And then suddenly, our generation shall be replaced by our children's generation and during this time, our old parents' generation has already been started fading as most of them shall face death in a short period of time. After our parents, it shall be our turn to fade also then eventually we will face death similar to what has happened to our parents and during this time it is already our grandchildren's generation. Whether we admit it or not, it is somehow terrifying that we really have to face DEATH as the word of God tells us...

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" - Hebrews 9:27 (KJV)

"This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead." - Ecclesiastes 9:3 (KJV)

Based on God's word, we can't really avoid physical DEATH and we don't have a control over it as "DEATH is an unavoidable appointment". But, do our life really ends there? If our life ends with our physical death then it does not matter anymore whether we believe in God or not. But God's word already had warned us that after our physical death there is a judgment.

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" - Hebrews 9:27 (KJV)

The verse above is telling us the truth that right after our physical death, God will judge us.

"For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." - Ecclesiastes 12:14 (KJV)

If the judgment of God is at hand right after our physical death, then whatever we do in this present life shall surely has something to do on what could be our next journey after we faced God's judgment. Surely, we will be spending eternity. But are we going to spend eternity with God or not? You might ask, can we really know the answer? Yes, the word of God tells us...

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." - Romans 3:10-12 (KJV)

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" - Romans 3:23 (KJV)

"For the wages of sin is death;..." - Romans 6:23a (KJV)

"And I saw a great white throne, and him that 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, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." - Revelation 20:11-14 (KJV)

You might ask again, are you saying that all of mankind are bound to hell? Yes, indeed and not just to hell but bound to the "lake of fire" as the word of God described it. This is a brutal truth that most people cannot accept. Many people had embossed the idea in their mind that God is the God of love and He cannot allow people to suffer terminal punishment. This is actually a partly-wrong notion. It is true that God is the God of love but, let us not forget that same God is also the God of judgment. And, God hates SIN so much.

"For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee." - Psalm 5:4

"God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked everyday." - Psalm 7:11

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;" - Romans 1:18 (KJV)

This is the reason why God judge sinners to be condemned for all eternity. And this condemnation is the ETERNAL DEATH or the so-called "second death" which we have already read (from Revelation 20:14).  As we have already seen on dying people that somehow it is very much painful to die.  Can you imagine dying for the rest of eternity?

However....., Thank God we are not hopeless. See how God Himself puts up a plan in saving us from that eternal damnation.

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." - John 3:16-17 (KJV)

God is truly the God of love. And because of God's love, God sent us His son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross to save everyone who believe.  You might wonder how Jesus Christ is able to save us from eternal damnation by dying on the cross. Actually, it's through His blood.  Discussion shall be lengthy if I elaborate it more but below are some facts from God's word...

"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." - Hebrews 9:22-26 (KJV)

"...and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." - 1 John 1:7 (KJV)

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:" - Colossians 1:14 (KJV)

"Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." - Romans 5:9

Through the blood of Jesus Christ, we can be saved from the wrath of God which supposedly our ETERNAL DEATH.  And instead of eternal punishment, God has given us ETERNAL LIFE. And this ETERNAL LIFE is in His son, Jesus Christ.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." - John 3:16-17 (KJV)

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 6:23 (KJV)

"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." - 1 John 5:11-13 (KJV)

If ETERNAL DEATH is spending eternity without God in the lake of fire, then on the other hand, ETERNAL LIFE is spending eternity with God in heaven. This life is in Jesus Christ. If we trust and receive Jesus Christ as our own personal Lord and Saviour then we are also receiving the gift of ETERNAL LIFE. And we only have to believe in this fact.

"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." - Acts 16:31 (KJV)

If we don't believe this then we are already on our journey to an eternity without God and that is... ETERNAL DEATH.

"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." - John 3:18 (KJV)

From Calling to Salvation

It's been a long long time again and it's been over a year since the last time. I hope and I pray that I would become consistent in blogging the truths from God's word this time. Let me greet everyone with this blog...

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" - Romans 10:13-15 (KJV)

Maybe just now, you may have already read the given verses above. You may also have noticed that I have already mentioned these verses in my previous posts. And, this time I would like to dig deeper on what God is telling us whenever we encounter those verses from the Bible.

1) "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." - Romans 10:13 (KJV)

When the Bible says "call upon the name of Lord", it simply means "praying to God". And the whole verse is literally telling us that we should pray for our salvation. Many people pray to God but they are only praying for their own material, or shall we say, earthly needs. Have you tried praying to God for the saving of your soul? The Bible says...

"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:" - Isaiah 55:6 (KJV)

"The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth." - Psalms 145:18 (KJV)

"As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me." - Psalms 55:16 (KJV)

"For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me." - Psalms 86:5-7 (KJV)

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." - Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV)

It is God who says, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew the great and mighty things, which thou knowest not". You might ask yourself, "It is really that easy to be saved and go to heaven?" It might sound easy but the promise of God is that He will answer our call and He will show us great and mighty things that we didn't know about. To be saved from eternal damnation is a great and mighty thing that God will show us once we call upon him in truth.

2) "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?..." - Romans 10:14a (KJV)

This is always the case when there is none that really seek after God because people always had loved darkness and continuously keep on sinning against God which results to their disbelief. How can we call on God if we don't believe in God? How can we believe in God if we don't even have heard about the truth in God? Because of the sinful nature, people does not actually care about the existence of God nor about what God can do to them.

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." - Romans 3:10-12 (KJV)

"...The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. God looked down from heaven, upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." - Psalm 53:1-3 (KJV)

"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." - John 3:19-20 (KJV)

3) "...and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" - Romans 10:14b-15 (KJV)

Whenever we commit sins, our tendency is to hide ourselves or run away from God until the time comes when we forget about Him and our hearts shall become hardened. Then, we don't believe in God anymore because we only believe in ourselves. And this is what had always been happening since the time of Adam and Eve when they first committed sin against God.

"And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden." - Genesis 3:8 (KJV)

However, even though we always hide from God and forget Him, God always take the initiative on calling us first before we call on Him. In fact, when Adam and Eve hid themselves when they committed a sin, it is God who have looked for them and called them first.

"And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" - Genesis 3:9 (KJV)

If you read the Bible, you can observe that it is God who always calls first even during the time of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, David, and so on and so forth. During those early times, God directly calls on people. But as the years went by, God had used prophets to call on people to "foretell" about God's plan of salvation. Nowadays, starting from the time when the New Testament church was established, God is using preachers to "tell forth" about God's plan of salvation. Jesus Christ had commissioned His church to preach the gospel.

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." - Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV)

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." - Mark 16:15 (KJV)

Now, as you can observe, there are churches around and there are also preachers. These preachers are being sent forth to all parts of the earth so that people can hear about the gospel. And upon hearing the gospel, it shall be realized that God is the one calling for people first for the saving of their souls through the preaching of His word. When someone shares a gospel, that someone is a preacher-at-hand that God uses to call on whom the gospel is shared with. It is only through the preaching of God's word that people can acquire faith and eventually believe in God.

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." - Romans 10:17 (KJV)

So as you can see, before we call on God for salvation, it is God who tells us first...

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." - Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV)

"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:" - Isaiah 55:6 (KJV)

"The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth." - Psalms 145:18 (KJV)

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." - Romans 10:13 (KJV)

So my friend, if you perceive God's calling, please don't fight it. Pray to God for the salvation of your soul and you shall be saved.

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." - Romans 10:9-13 (KJV)

Man's Need for Righteousness

Let me start this blog with the word of God that says...

"He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honor." - Proverbs 21:21 (KJV)

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." - Matthew 5:6 (KJV)

Many people would want to do good works. You can find people serving religions, imparting love and kindness to others, giving donations to charity institutions, giving something to the poor, upholding moral values, keeping government laws, helping people build lives, etc. This could be accounted for their spiritual need to be righteous at least in the sight of the society. People always want to do better in life and to do things which they think are right so that these things, they thought, shall be counted to them for their own righteousness. Most people, also, believe that being righteous would make them safe from the judgment of God or at least they think they will go to heaven if they just keep on being righteous. Well, somehow they are right as the word of God is telling us:

"Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death." - Proverbs 10:2 (KJV)

"In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death." - Proverbs 12:28 (KJV)

"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal" - Matthew 25:46 (KJV)

Though many people are not actually reading the Bible, in themselves they know that they need to be righteous. And most of the time, they gauge their righteousness based on human standards and perspectives. But how about God's standard? This is where people went short of. It is true that righteousness is required for salvation but God is the only one who saves. So therefore, it is be very much practical to believe that righteousness should only be based on the standard and under the terms of the one who saves.

"The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble" - Psalm 37:39 (KJV)

Our own righteousness might pass the human standards. But in the sight of God (or shall we say, in God's standard), all righteousness that we have wrought are nothing or has no value at all.

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we do fade as a leaf; and our iniquites, like the wind, have taken us away." - Isaiah 64:6 (KJV)

This is because, in reality, no one is righteous in the sight of God.

"...The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. God looked down from heaven, upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." - Psalm 53:1-3 (KJV)

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." - Romans 3:10-12 (KJV)

You might ask, "Why?" The reason is that all people are sinners before God. Our sins nullify all of our own so-called works of righteousness. And, whatever we do to become righteous shall surely fall short of God's standard.

"For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee." - Psalm 5:4 (KJV)

"God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked everyday." - Psalm 7:11 (KJV)

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" - Romans 3:23 (KJV)

Is it possible for people not to commit sin against God all their life so that they can attain God's standard of righteousness? The word of God below can make us determine if we can really do so.

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." - James 2:10 (KJV)

"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." - James 4:17 (KJV)

My friend, whether we admit it or not, we all have sinned against God. If the word of God should be the ultimate truth, then, it is not a lie when God tells us, "For all have sinned..." (Romans 3:23). So now the question is, if we all sin against God and righteousness is required for our salvation, how can we achieve righteousness? Well, first of all, I would like to settle that no good works can make us righteous before God.

"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for the law is the knowledge of sin." - Romans 3:20 (KJV)

So, what can make us righteous before God? There is only one answer and that is the blood of Jesus Christ.

"...and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." - 1 John 1:7 (KJV)

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:" - Colossians 1:14 (KJV)

"Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." - Romans 5:9 (KJV)

There's nothing in this world, even nobody including ourselves, can make us righteous before God. This is one of the reason why God has to send us His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross by which through His righteousness we shall become righteous before God.

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." - 2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV)

"In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." - Jeremiah 23:6 (KJV)

You need to have Jesus Christ in your life so that you can have His righteousness in you. How? Believe in Him as He is the only one who can save you. Repent and accept Him as you personal Lord and Saviour.

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." - Romans 10:4 (KJV)

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." - Romans 10:9-10 (KJV)

Now, if we have to be righteous before God because of our Lord Jesus Christ, what benefit do we have? Let me end this article by sharing to you the promises of God.

"And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever." - Isaiah 32:17 (KJV)

"For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." - 1 Peter 3:12 (KJV)

The Preaching of the Gospel

This video does not mean to scare everybody. Though it's just a conceptualized presentation, it imparts a message that is full of truth. Believers in Jesus Christ really need to tell their friends, families, and loved-ones about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. I shamefully admit that I myself have many shortcomings for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ as there are still lots of friends and loved-ones around that I don't even have time to share the gospel with personally (I'm not proud of this but, through this blog, I would like to encourage every Christian including myself to win souls for Christ).

We, believers in Christ, are debtors to non-believers as it is our mandate before God to preach the gospel of Christ to them. As apostle Paul have said:

"Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written. The just shall live by faith." - Romans 1:13-17 (KJV)

Our Lord Jesus Christ had given us the mandate through the church to preach the gospel to every creature for the reason that people need to hear the gospel to faithfully believe on Him.

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." - Mark 16:15-16 (KJV)

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" - Romans 10:13-14 (KJV)

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." - Romans 10:17 (KJV)

I believe God had not only given me a career in information technology just to provide for my family. God had given me this career also to use it for the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the reason why I have started writing on this blog. With the knowledge I have in doing this, hopefully, I would be able to reach out more people through the internet.

People need to understand that all sinners shall be judged and are condemned already to face the wrath of God. To some people, this is just a joke, foolishness, and stupidity as they are not considering what shall be revealed unto them at the moment they died.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up, to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." - Romans 1:18-32 (KJV)

"For the wages of sin is death..." - Romans 6:23 (KJV)

People also need to know that the only hope of sinners before God is our Lord Jesus Christ.

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8 (KJV)

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." - John 14:6 (KJV)

Alright now, how about you? Is Jesus Christ your saviour now? If not, I would like to share this to you that you would have to believe that Jesus Christ is the one who can really save you from eternal damnation. Many people call Him saviour but they don't accept Him to be their personal Saviour. Will you accept Jesus Christ as your own personal Lord and Saviour? Please don't say, "no". Repent and accept Him as your personal Lord and Saviour today.

"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." - Acts 16:31 (KJV)

"...behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." - 2 Corinthians 6:2 (KJV)

Inevitability of God's Word

It's been a year since my last post in this blog. I have to admit that it has been a busy year for me but now I have to continue on sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to everybody else who would happen to visit this site. I don't remember anymore how many times have I read the book of Genesis but lately, while I was sharing the story of God's creation to my household, it had come across my mind how powerful the word of God could be when He said, "Let there be light": and there was light (Genesis 1:3). The whole of the first chapter of the book of Genesis tells us how God speaks and everything was created just how he had spoken it. It's very amazing, isn't it?

"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." - Psalm 33:6 (KJV)

"For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." - Psalm 33:9 (KJV)

We see nature around us. Do we realize that everything exists because God had just commanded them to exist? Many people would not believe in this but this is the truth. It is a huge topic to discuss God's creation and I would just like to put more emphasis on the fact about the power of God's word because whatever He says and declares shall surely be carried out.

"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" - Numbers 23:19 (KJV)

"I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him." - Ecclesiastes 3:14 (KJV)

God is perfect. He can only speak of pure truth. I remember one story in the New Testament when the Lord Jesus Christ rebuked His disciples because of their lack of faith and He stopped the storm by just saying "Peace, be still". Below was what the disciples had testified about Him:

"And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" - Mark 4:41 (KJV)

Whether you believe it or not, there is one truth that I would like to impart. And that is, God's word is an ultimate declaration of truth that we need to believe. For example, when the word of God declares that "For all have sinned" (Romans 3:23) then it is an absolute truth that all mankind are sinners for it is no different at all when God said "Let there be light" and the light stood fast as God commanded it. Do you perceive light? If yes, then all people in this world are also perceivable as sinners before God. If God said, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23) then it shall be done that all sinners shall be condemned to eternal damnation. It's scary, isn't it? But, the word of God also declares that if we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved from eternal damnation and we shall be given eternal life instead.

"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." - Acts 16:31 (KJV)

"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." - John 5:11-13

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." - John 3:16-18

The condemnation of sinners like us is inevitable because God had already declared it in His written word - the Holy Bible. This is the reason why the Lord Jesus Christ need to suffer and die to save us from that condemnation because His blood is the only thing that can cleanse us from all our sins. There are lots of declarations from the word of God about this matter and it would take me longer to write this if I'm gonna share them all with you. So, what are you waiting for? Believe on our Lord Jesus, accept Him as your personal Lord and Savior, and repent from all of your sins; then He will save you surely as God has said "Let there be light:" and there was light.

Spiritual Blindness

Many people have different views about whether God exist or not. And most people in this world still believe on the existence of God. And most of the people who believe in God's existence are also confused about who really God is. Why people have different points of view about God? A great number of religious institutions today speaks of different standpoints about the truth and the existence of God. Some people are so much confused that they are already in the point that they would not like to join religion anymore since they thought that no one can prove the truth about God and for them it doesn't matter whether God truly exist or not.

I remember one discussion I have with one of my friends. My friend said that no one can really completely understand the truth about God. He also added that, there might be only one God but people have different perceptions about Him and each perception corresponds to somehow a religious belief. Sounds good, isn't it? My friend has even provided me an illustration that goes something like this...

There are ten blind monks (by the way, they are blind since birth) who were tasked to determine what an elephant is. These ten blind monks were brought to the place where the big elephant is standing and they started their quest to determine what really an elephant is. After an hour, the monks already got their idea in mind of what an elephant is. And they were asked what would be their idea and below were their responses....

Monk 1: An elephant is a horn that has a long tube on the right.

Monk 2: An elephant is a horn that has a long tube on the left.

Monk 3: An elephant is just a long tube and has two holes at the end of the tube.

Monk 4: An elephant is a big mouth that has a long tube at the top.

Monk 5: An elephant is a composition of four big posts standing from the ground

Monk 6: An elephant is a surface that has a whip in the middle.

Monk 7: An elephant is just a body of great mass.

Monk 8: An elephant is a broad fan that has holes at the end thereof.

Monk 9: An elephant is just a unique sound.

Monk 10: An elephant is huge body with two legs

With the above illustration, the monk can only tell what they have felt or heard. They have different perceptions about the elephant but there is only one elephant. And my friend told me that this is also true about religions. "Different religions have different perception about God but they are all pointing to one God", my friend added. Well, is that really so?

The monks have their different perceptions about the elephant because the common thing among them is that they were all blind. If they were not blind, do you think will they still arrive on different conclusions about what an elephant is? Of course if they were not blind, they will have one consensus on what an elephant is, right? This is also true with religions. And my question is; what had caused the blindness of the people so that in result they arrive in different perceptions about God?

"In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." - 2 Corinthians 4:4 (KJV)

Satan, the devil, is what the Bible called "the god of this world". Satan has already deceived so many people so that they can not just easily grasp the truth about God resulting to what we call spiritual blindness.

"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, calleth the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." - Revelation 12:9 (KJV)

Even Jesus Christ had prophesied that many people will be deceived.

"For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many." - Matthew 24:5 (KJV)

"And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many." - Matthew 24:11 (KJV)

Today, religions are claiming that they are telling the truth about God. But there should always be one truth above all and that is the truth which was already revealed by God himself through His word --- the Holy Bible. They said that the Bible is very self-claiming. This is because it is God who claims what the Bible is claiming. But whether we believe it or not, God had revealed Himself to mankind ever since from the creation of man up until this moment and up until this world shall be destroyed and everybody will be judged by Him. God reveals Himself through the Holy Bible so that mankind will be guided about His truth and NOT being misled and confused.

"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints" - 1 Corinthians 14:33 (KJV)

Some people might tell they can't understand what the Bible is saying and they think only experts can interpret it. But little did they know that they are just spiritually blinded because of their sin and in result they can't understand the Bible very well.

"For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me." - Romans 7:11 (KJV)

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" - Romans 3:23 (KJV)

And also, many people are being led by spiritually blinded leaders such as they are. And for me, it is a brutal thing to realize.

"Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." - Matthew 15:14 (KJV) "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death." - Proverbs 14:12 (KJV)

Religions speak of so many ways but the Bible speaks of the only way to know the truth about God and this is through our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me." - John 14:6 (KJV)

Only Jesus Christ can heal our spiritual blindness if we only just believe and trust Him.

"The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: The Lord loveth the righteous:" - Psalm 146:8

"And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us. And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then he touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it. But they, when they departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country." - Matthew 9:27-31

Do you believe that Jesus can heal your spiritual blindness? Accept Jesus now as your personal Lord and Savior and allow Him to enter into your life and you will know the truth about God. And this truth shall set you free.

The Power of the Author

Have you ever read books such as Harry Potter, Sophie's World, Lord of the Rings, and the like? Most people love story-telling and some are very talented enough to write a unique story of their own. Honestly speaking, I admire the talent of some book authors like J.K. Rowling, Jostein Gaardner, and J.R.R. Tolkien. It is good to realize how powerful they were in the world they have created in their own stories. Let us realize for example how J.K. Rowling exercised her power in the world she created -- the "world of Harry Potter".

Based on the story, Harry grew up as an orphan after his parents were killed by an evil wizard when he was yet a little boy. If we're going to symphatize with Harry, we may ask why does he need to suffer those things? Why did the author intend the evil wizard to kill Harry's parents? My realization here is that any author has all the power to do anything over what he/she has created. Here, the author-story relationship will help us realize the following:

1) The author is powerful over what he/she has created.

From our example above, J.K. rowling can do anything on the whole story that she has written. In the story, Harry Potter and the other characters might not be aware that the author was the one who created their world and also unknown to them is the fact that the author herself is the one who decides on who will live or die in a particular scenario in the story.

2) The author is very much knowledgeable over what he/she has created.

One question! Which part of the "Harry Potter" story can we tell that J.K. Rowling does not know about? Of course, there's none. Right? Unless, she has already forgotten some details of what she had written. If we are going to read throughout the whole book, we will notice that no character in the story knows how their world could end up or who will be the one to defeat the evil wizard. But the fact is, even when Harry was still a little boy just before the story began, the author had already purposed that Harry will be the main character and he will be the only one who could defeat the primary antagonist in the story.

3) The author is present and consistent over what he/she has created.

All parts of the story was written by J.K. Rowling and that would only mean, she was always present and was, as much as possible, consistent from the beginning up to the end of the story.

That's enough of Harry Potter from here. I would just like to emphasize that if human book authors, who are not perfect, can exhibit such power over what they have created, then how can we imagine the power of Jesus Christ who is the sole author of our eternal salvation?

"And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto them that obey him;" - Hebrews 5:9 (KJV)

When Jesus declared these words below in the book of John, He is expressing to everybody that He is the only author of eternal salvation and only through Him can get people saved from eternal damnation.

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." - John 14:6 (KJV)

And, I certainly believe on what Jesus Christ can do when it comes to our salvation as the Bible also is saying...

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." - Acts 4:12 (KJV)

As the author of eternal salvation, Jesus Christ is...

1) He is all-powerful...

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." - Matthew 28:18 (KJV)

Let's take a look when the time Jesus Christ was crucified.

"And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." - Luke 23:39-43 (KJV)

As you can observe, Jesus can say absolute things like that because He is the author; and He can save even the most unworthiest man on earth if and only if that man shall call upon His name for salvation.

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." - Romans 10:13

Moreover, eternal salvation is only available for everybody who shall call upon the name of Jesus. If a human author can choose beforehand who shall be protagonists and antagonists upon creating a story, Jesus, who is an all-powerful savior, also chooses whom He saves and whom He would not save.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:" - Ephesians 1:3-9

Meaning, only those who will call upon His name believingly shall be saved. We might ask: Is Jesus Christ fair if He chooses only those who would call on His name? How about those who does not know Him? Well, as the author of eternal salvation, we can not question the works of our Lord.

"As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" - Romans 9:13-21 (KJV)

2) He is all-knowing...

As the author of eternal salvation, Jesus knows those people whom he will save because He had already chosen them even before the foundation of the world.

"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." - Ephesian 1:4-6 (KJV)

Most people have accepted Him already as their personal Lord and Saviour. And He knows when shall be the right time for other chosen people to get saved. And the right time is always "according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace". And for those who had already rejected Him, did not accept Him, and will reject and not accept Him in the future were already condemned even before they were born.

"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." - John 3:18 (KJV)

3) He is all-present and perfectly consistent to what he say and do...

"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." - Matthew 28:20 (KJV)

Jesus is always present not just in the hearts of believers but in every aspect of their lives.

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." - John 10:27-28

Now, I would like to raise this question...

Do you want to know if Jesus Christ already had chosen you to save you from eternal damnation? Just believe in Him. Accept and trust Him as your personal Lord and Savior and you shall be saved. And afterwards, you already know.

"...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved..." - Acts 16:30-31 (KJV)

The Value of Man's Success

People define success in so many ways. Success is very subjective to all people who experience it. But, is there truly a real success in this life? If you'll ask a student --- "Why do you need to study?", then the answer you'll get might be simply... "Well, I would like to become a professional and have a successful career someday." If you'll ask a professional --- "Why do you need to work and keep your successful career?", then the answer you'll get is... "I would like to earn more so that I can make myself ready to raise a family." If you'll ask a successful family man --- "Why do you still need to work?" --- then you might get good laugh and an answer something like this... "Are you kidding? Of course! I need to work to earn more money so that I can provide to my children good education and someday I might also see them as successful as I am. And once they became successful, I don't have to worry for them anymore when I get old." And if you'll ask an old man --- "What else do you want to achieve if you'll already succeeded in achieving your goals in life?"

On the last question, we might realize that we have been doing things, which we thought, able to serve the purpose we defined in our lives and at the end we will be prompted with a question... "What else to achieve most especially when our earthly life is coming near to an end?"

In reality, there might be only few people who can claim that they have already seen the peak of their success or maybe no one else can. I have found an interesting fact from the word of God saying:

"This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead." - Ecclesiastes 9:3 (KJV)

It is actually a brutal fact to realize that our hearts are full of evil and madness while we live. And because of this, we always wanted more good things to come into our lives even if we have already achieved most of our goals. In other words, we will never be contented. The truth is, man's so-called success has no value at all under the sun. Let us be confronted by these facts:

1) Life's success has really no profit at all

"And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor; and this was my portion of all my labor. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun." - Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 (KJV)

2) Life is full of envy

"Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbor. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit." - Ecclesiastes 4:4 (KJV)

3) Life is full of tragedies and is always given to unexpected circumstances

"I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them." - Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 (KJV)

4) Life's purpose without God is just to eat, to drink, and to be merry

"Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labor the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun." - Ecclesiastes 8:15 (KJV)

5) Life is full of discontentment and problems

"That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered." - Ecclesiastes 1:15 (KJV)

6) Life always suffers injustice

"All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life on his wickedness." - Ecclesiastes 7:15 (KJV)

Let us go back to this verse...

"This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead." - Ecclesiastes 9:3 (KJV)

We can never know what kind of evil will come and take away everything we have. Some problems or tragedies may arise that might cost us our success. Or, somebody will just do evil things against us because of too much envy. Imagine that we are toiling in all the days of our lives to become successful and then suddenly we died. Who will gain the fruit our labor? It might be comforting to know if our loved ones might be the ones to enjoy on our gain but what if somebody whom we don't really know or even our enemy takes our wealth? And how can we be so sure that our loved ones would follow our last will and testament after we have died? It's sad to realize that we do not have control over our wealth anymore after we have died. Isn't it?

"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his own soul?" - Matthew 16:26 (KJV)

The truth of the matter is that those things that man is achieving to make himself successful in this earthly life has no value at all when he arrives on his final destination which is DEATH. Death is the "one event unto all" because afterwards we shall all "go to the dead". There is one verse in the book of Hebrews that tells us the same thing.

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" - Hebrews 9:27 (KJV)

The above verse would tell us that physical death is still not our end because there is still something after our physical death. And that is the "judgment". I will not talk about "judgment" on this article but let me tell you that this life we have is not hopeless after all. And I tell you that we can still find the real success and that is to have "eternal life" in Christ Jesus. Our Lord Jesus Christ is actually our only hope both in this life and after this life.

It is not bad if we become successful in this earthly life but we should also care about what will happen to us after we have already done in this life. Our success on this present world is only temporary. What lies ahead of us is something unimaginable and that is what we call "ETERNITY". What is 100 years compared to eternity? We can live successfully for 100 years but, can we confidently claim that we can still have that success after 1000 years or more? Do we already have eternal security in Christ Jesus? If we can not answer these questions, then I suggest that we should trust and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our own personal Lord and Saviour. Many people might not believe this but I tell you... If the Bible is not telling the truth then I have just shared to you a fantasy and there's nothing wrong with that. But, what if the Bible is telling the truth? Then, please consider these things because we will always be miserable if we don't have Jesus Christ in our lives. Let me close this article with the following verses from the Bible:

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8 (KJV)

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life." - John 3:16 (KJV)

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 6:23 (KJV)

"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. - I John 5:11-13 (KJV)

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." - Romans 10:13 (KJV)

Will you now kneel in prayer, call upon the name of the Lord, and trust him to be your Lord and Saviour?