Jesus Christ, the Same and Eternal Lord!

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” – Hebrews 13:8 NIV

Most of us may believe that Jesus Christ changes His mind all the time or sometimes so that we think the Spirit of God, whom is within us as an advocate, also changes. This is because we receive His Spirit once we commit our lives to Jesus Christ and decide to follow Him until the end of the age, as the Spirit of God is the one who guides us to do the will of God until the end of the age (John 14:15-27). Hence, this is the reason why Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected (John 16:7-15). Nevertheless, we think that following Him until the end of the age is too hard, due to the fact that the weight of the law of God burdens us and we cannot actually see the freedom. Thus, for this reason, we would rather travel in the freedom that we consider to get to the kingdom of the heaven.

Yes, following Jesus Christ until the end of the age is hard to everyone, who has devoted their lives to Him, since He declares, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14) However, the Spirit of God is also the Spirit of the freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17) and the Spirit of the truth (John 16:7-15). In addition to this, Jesus Christ has called us to come to Him and rest in Him because of the burdens of the worldly laws, and because His laws are gentle (Matthew 11:28-30). The Spirit of God does not force us to do the will of God and does not change but the Spirit empowers us to do the will of God from time to time (2 Corinthians 12:9-10; Acts 1:8) In fact, God is omniscient God, which means He knows everything (Romans 11:33-36) even before when we are born (Psalm 139:13-18).

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:15-23)

Furthermore, we cannot be justified with God by only doing works for Him in our own ways. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10) Instead of doing works for Him first, we should rather let God to pursue us, which means letting the Spirit of God to work powerfully within us before we do the will of God (Matthew 7:21-23). The Spirit of God is available to everybody, and God is willing to pour His Spirit into us. In fact, Jesus Christ, the perfect image of God (Colossians 1:15) is currently knocking on the door of our hearts, whose hearts has not been yet opened to Him, to fully come in and dwell within us (Revelation 3:20) through faith (Ephesians 3:14-21).

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 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. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. (Titus 3:3-8)

Since Hebrews 13:8 proclaims, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” what is your new year’s resolution is going to be? As for me, my new year resolution is going to be putting my obedience more to Him because I believe that I was not fully obedient to Him. The main reason for this is that I think I kept on resisting the Spirit of God, especially while I am watching television. This happen to me few times in the past years. If this keeps happening, there would be no point for me to follow Jesus Christ until the end of the age. This is because Romans 12:1-2 and Matthew 16:24-27 say that we have to sacrifice and deny our selfish desires if we want to become true follower of Jesus Christ. Therefore, I think my main verses of this year would be James 1:5-8 that declares, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”

The Belief in Jesus Christ!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” – John 3:16-18 NIV

Most of us believes that everybody is able to enter the kingdom of heaven at the end of the age if they only do good deeds until the end of the age. Therefore, we tend to obey the second commandment of God and the law of the Spirit, which is loving others as ourselves (Mark 12:31; Romans 13:8-10). This is because if we love one another, then we automatically change this evil world into the peaceful world that God wants it to be (Colossians 3:12-15), due to the fact that love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). Furthermore, we might misunderstand what John 3:16 really means. We think that ‘... whoever believes about him shall not perish but have eternal life’ is same as “… whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Hence, we may even read a lot of theological books to get more knowledge of God, in order to get qualification to enter the kingdom of heaven at the end of the age.

However, the true meaning of John 3:16-18 is same as ‘whoever trusts in the Lord until the end of the age shall not perish but have eternal life.’ This is because if we trust in the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-8), then we are basically inside of Jesus Christ—living our lives according how God wants us to live (Galatians 2:19-21). In addition to this, the word of God declares, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:24-25) Yes, of course, it is necessary for us to love everyone else our lives to make this evil world into the peaceful one by doing good deeds but God wants us to put trust in the Lord firsthand and believes in Him until the end of the age. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10) Furthermore, not believing in Jesus Christ until the end of the age is the biggest sin that we are going to make (John 16:8-11), even though it is not physical, because we have actually been created by God to be His image (Genesis 1:27) and Jesus Christ is the perfect image of God (Colossians 1:15). In other words, if we do not believe in Jesus, then we deny the fact that God has created us. In addition to this, we also deny that Jesus is powerfully working within us as the Spirit of God (Ephesians 3:20-21).

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 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. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. (Titus 3:3-8)

Jesus Christ, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace!

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6 NIV

Most of us loves to live a perfect and peaceful life, so we study really hard to get a high-paying job. We may even find our own counselor because we sometimes need guidance to live a perfect life that we want. We leave our own legacies at the end of the age, in order to teach future generations how perfect and peaceful lives are to be attained and how they are valuable to them. We might even also want to become a president or prime minister of any countries, to do these also. It is good to study really hard to get a high paying job that we really want, and it is good to find our own counselor to let them guide us how to live right. However, the truth is that Jesus Christ is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

First, Jesus is the Everlasting Father (Ephesians 4:6), who has been with God and has been Him at the beginning (John 1:1-4), and who has created us to be His image (Genesis 1:27; Romans 8:29-30). Because the word of God states that He is the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end—in Revelation 1:8, He is omnipresent God. Moreover, God literally came down into the earth as Jesus Christ (John 1:14) to crucify Himself on the cross as atonement of our sins (Colossians 2:13-15), in order to exchange our eternal destiny from death to life (Hebrews 2:14-15). “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)

Second, Jesus also is Mighty God because not only He is the perfect image of God (Colossians 1:15) but He also knows everything and is able to do everything. The main reason for this is that He is the Righteous Creator of everything (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24:1). Hence, Jesus is omniscient and omnipotent God (Romans 11:33-36).

Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

“Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”

“Which ones?” the man asked.

And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”

Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:16-26)

Last of all, Jesus Christ is able to be our Wonderful Counselor and the Prince of Peace as well, if we let Him to be. This is because He is currently knocking on the door of our hearts to fully come in (Revelation 3:20) as the Spirit of God (John 14:15-27). The Spirit of God is also the Spirit of the life (John 6:63-65), the freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17), and the truth (John 16:7-15). The main reason for these is that Jesus proclaims that He is the way of the life and the truth (John 14:1-7). Not only God has poured His Spirit into us (Romans 8:1-17) but He also created His Word to teach us how to become the righteousness of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Romans 1:16-17). “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) Furthermore, the another reason why that Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected is that He wants to bring us and everything under God and make us holy and blameless in His Sight (Colossians 1:16-23).

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him. (Philippians 1:27-29)

The Gifts of God!

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” – 1 Peter 4:10-11 ESV

Everybody likes to receive gifts, especially the ones that we want, so we wait for Christmas and birthdays. We may even ask our parents to buy us specific gifts so that we feel honored and special around those times. Korean little children have one more special day per year, which is on May 5^th. This is like father’s day or mother’s day. I think when I was a little child, I used to tell my parents to take me somewhere or to buy certain gifts on May 5^th. When I was even older until sometime in high school, I used to keep asking my parents to buy certain gifts for me at my birthdays and Christmas time, or sometimes before those times.

God, who is the Creator (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24:1) and our heavenly Father (Ephesians 4:6) cannot wait to give gifts to us as well, even though they are different kind of gifts. They are spiritual ones—abilities and talents that we can really use to serve Him through others and build the kingdom of heaven up with (Romans 12:6-8). However, we are only be able to receive them when we become Christian (John 14:12) because we become the children of God as soon as we become Christian and true followers of Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13). It might take a while to fully realize what they actually are. It took me about two years to realize what my spiritual gift really is. Therefore, we should not give up on God, even though we may already found what spiritual gifts we really have, to build the kingdom of heaven up with. This is because we might be able to find our future dreams with spiritual gifts that we have. I found what I really want to do in future with my spiritually gift. I want to be a Christian writer because I believe that this is the will of God for me, even though it is going to be hard (Matthew 7:13-14). Furthermore, when we find our spiritual gifts that God has given us, we feel special and worthy to live our lives until the end of the age (Psalm 139:13-14). “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.” (Romans 14:17-18)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-14)

The Righteousness and Godly Life in Jesus Christ!

“But you, Timothy, are a man of God… Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.” – 1 Timothy 6:11 NLT

1 Timothy 6:11 is written out from Apostle Paul to Timothy but this verse applies to all of us, especially who are following Jesus Christ or want to follow Him until of the age.

Therefore, we need to pursue the righteousness of God. Most of us may think this as unnecessary thing because of the love of God. We believe that He understands everything, due to the fact that He knows everything (Romans 11:33-36), so there would be no need to pursue the righteousness of God. It is true that God understands everything (Isaiah 40:28) and God loves us so much (1 John 4:9-10). Nevertheless, Jesus Christ was crucified (2 Corinthians 5:21) and resurrected to make us the righteousness of God (1 Peter 2:24-25). This is because all of us have fallen into short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Many of us tend to have a desire to be at top of everything, so we study really hard and work for best achievements as possible. However, the truth is that Jesus Christ needs to be at the top of everything since everything have been created through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16-17).

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11)

This is why we need to pursue godly lives. “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8) This is the reason why God has poured His Spirit into us (2 Peter 1:3-11)  Hence, we need to repent before Him (Matthew 3:2) and overcome the world (1 John 5:1-5). The main reason for this is that the desires of the Spirit are contrary to the desires of the worldly nature (Galatians 5:17). For example, money is the center of the worldly nature because we are able to buy everything with it and the desires of this are going to never stop, unless we set our minds to the Spirit or the Kingdom values (Matthew 6:19-24).

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:24-25)

Faith in Christ Jesus is what we truly need to follow Jesus Christ until the end of the age, even though we get justified by our deeds to enter the kingdom of heaven at the end of the age (Matthew 16:27). “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10) In addition, John 3:16-18 states that whoever believes in Jesus Christ is going to have eternal life now (Romans 6:23) and is qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven at the end of the age (John 11:25-26). This is because if we believe in Jesus Christ, then we are believing in God as well since Jesus is the perfect image of God (Colossians 1:15). This means we approve that God has created us (Genesis 1:27) and He is now working powerfully within us as the Spirit of God (Ephesians 3:20-21).

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:1-7)

Love is the best godly attributes that we need to have, in order to follow Jesus Christ until the end of the age, as 1 John 4:7-18 further explains what love really is. God has loved us first (1 John 4:19) so that we are able to love Him back with all of our souls, hearts, and minds (Matthew 22:37-38). If we love God in this attitude, then all of the other attributes of the fruit of the Spirit automatically comes along (Galatians 5:22-23) and we are willing to do everything for Him in Jesus Christ. Furthermore, God has also loved us so that we can love others, as love brings unity in Him (Colossians 3:12-14). These are probably the reasons that love is the two greatest commandments of God (Mark 12:30-31) and the law of the Spirit (Romans 13:8-10).

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (1 Corinthians 13:1-7)

Perseverance is the most hardest part of godly attributes that we also need to have, to follow Jesus Christ until the end of the age. Many of us think that persevering in Jesus Christ is unnecessary because we do not want to suffer for Him. We may even think resting in Him is all that we need to follow Him until the age. It is true that all of us need to have rest because humans cannot function properly and Jesus Christ have said resting in Him is required in Matthew 11:28-30. Resting is required but persevering in Him is required as well, especially for those of us who consider as the children of God (Romans 8:14-17) This is because if we only rest throughout all of our days, then we do not have time to serve God as the flesh is contrary to the Spirit (Galatians 5:17). This is probably the reason why we need to sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2) and deny ourselves in Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:24-27).

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)

Gentleness is what we also need to have within us every single moment of our lives to be follower of Jesus Christ until the end of the age. Most of us are gentle to only those whom we love and treasure because our lives are devoted to them. It is good to be gentle to them but we actually need to produce our gentleness to everybody, including our enemies (Luke 6:27-36). This is because God wants us to be peacemakers with everyone (Matthew 5:9), for we are members of Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:15).  

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9-21)

The Faith in Jesus Christ!

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” – Hebrews 11:1 NIV

Many of us tend to not believe in Jesus Christ and think that we can do everything in our own if we have faith that we can do them. Some will work out as we are expecting them to be, while other things will not work. In addition, it is good to have confidence in whatever we are doing but it is more good to have faith in Jesus Christ before we do everything else. This is because the word of God states, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom…” (Psalm 111:10) Furthermore, the word “wisdom” means to have  “knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action” according to dictionary.com. This means we get more discernment whether something will work out or not. Nonetheless, it does not mean that everything is going to work out, as we are expecting them to be, if we put our faith in Jesus Christ but it also means that we have God as our supporter to do everything in what we need to do (Romans 8:32). The Easy-to-Read version of Philippians 4:13 pronounces, “Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do.”

But he [God] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. (Proverbs 3:5-8)

Second of all, many of us also believe that everybody is able to go to the kingdom of heaven if we just do good deeds until the end of the age. It is true that Jesus Christ is going to judge us whether we should be allowed to enter into the kingdom of heaven at the end of the age, depending what we had done (Matthew 16:27). However, the truth is that nobody is able to go to there at the end of the age unless we believe in Jesus Christ (John 3:16-18). “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10) This does not mean that we should start to believe in Him at the age of 99 or right before we die for the sake of His kingdom. This is because nobody actually knows when we are going to die and leave this world except God (Matthew 24:36-51). In addition to this, not believing in Jesus Christ is actually the biggest sin, since He is the perfect image of God (Colossians 1:15-20). This is because if we do not believe in Jesus Christ, we deny the fact that God has created us (Genesis 1:27) and that He is currently working within us as the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:20-21).

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 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. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. (Titus 3:3-8)

The Branches of God!

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” – John 15:5-8 NIV

Most of us tend to be nice loving person, who is filled with compassion. Therefore, we try to show our kindness to others as possible as we could by having gentle hearts. If this method does not work, we stop being kind to one another and consider them as our enemies. We wonder why we are being angry to the specific people that we usually meet. Because of this, we may try to even forget those people and also consider them as strangers, like the ones we never knew that they have been existed in this world. Thus, for this reason, we try to find the ones who have same characteristics as us, since we love to be long-term relationship with one another. However, the truth is that we eventually are going to fail that long-term relationship between one another unless we abide and connect with Jesus Christ. The main reason for this is because of the fruit of the Spirit of God. This means that the characteristics that we long for are in Jesus Christ, due to the fact that the fruit of the Spirit includes “… love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” (Galatians 5:22-23) In addition to this, there would be no law at all that is against of having the fruit of Jesus Christ within us (Galatians 5:23) Because of this reason, Jesus pronounces, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:8) For example, one young man that I know of, stole my money a few times when I was not present with my bag. He used to open my backpack and my wallet to get some money out. His mother found this out and she told me to always keep my bag with me. When he stole my money, anger burned within me but I forgave Him by sharing the love of God. The fruit of the Spirit just overflowed and empowered me to forgive, because I think I was abiding in Jesus Christ so much that I did not even know that there was forgiveness attribute within me (John 15:1-17).

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:12-15)

This is the probably reason why we need to obey the two greatest commandments of God, which are loving God with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength; and loving others as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). This is because when we love each other deeply through the love of God, all of the other attributes of the fruit of the Spirit automatically comes along. Furthermore, the love of God covers all sins and arguments that we had between each other (1 Peter 4:8).

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:8-10)

The Royal Priesthood of God!

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” – 1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV

Most of us think that we can live how we want according to our own natural desires and passions, even though God has showed His steadfast love, His mercy, and His grace towards us through Jesus Christ. We tend to think that God is going to understand whatever we do, since Isaiah 40:28 states that His understanding is unsearchable. Psalm 147:5 even declares, “…  his understanding is beyond measure.”  It is true that God is understanding us in everything that we do but God is more pleased when we are living in His image and pursuing to be like Him in everything that we do. This is because all of us actually have been created to be the image of God (Genesis 1:27). “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30)

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)

To be the image of God, not only through our good works through Jesus Christ but we also have to love one another in Jesus Christ (1 John 4:12), for God is love and love comes from God (1 John 4:7-8). God has loved and has been merciful to us so that we are able to pass them to others (1 John 4:19) but He wants us to love our enemies as well and be merciful to them (Luke 6:27-36). Colossians 3:12-15 tells us to be unite with one another through the love of God, due to the fact that we are supposed to make peace with others. The main reason for this is that all of us are members of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27). In other words, all of us take a part of the body of Jesus, especially to those of us who are His followers (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13) Furthermore, when we love each other deeply through the love of God, we do not care the bad occurrences that we had faced when we were against each other and what is going to happen between us (1 Peter 4:8). This is probably the reason that loving others is the law of the Spirit (Romans 13:8-10). 

Jesus Christ, the Ultimate Sacrifice!

“It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” – Hebrews 9:23-28 NIV

Long time ago, the high priests were only people who was able to make atonements of their sins and sins that others have done, who were part of their community. To do this, specific animal sacrifices were to be made on the day of atonement in the Holy Place (Leviticus 16), even though there were other three animal offerings. The Mandatory ones are sin offering and the guilt offering (Leviticus 4-5,6:24-7:10), but the other offerings were served before the Lord to worship, giving thanks to Him, etc.. The main reason for this is that without shedding blood from various kinds of animal, there would be no forgiveness from God (Hebrews 9:22). However, Israelites continued to sin, even though God had forgiven their previous sins. This is when He decided that He could send Jesus Christ as an image of Himself (John 1:14) to save us from our sins once for all (Hebrews 10:1-18) by crucifying Himself on the cross (Colossians 2:13-15). This is because God wants us to have eternal life in Him, instead, by becoming the righteousness of God (Romans 8:1-17). “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. (Romans 5:6-11)

Therefore, God has poured His Spirit into us to do His will (John 14:15-27) until the end of the age (Matthew 7:21), since the Spirit of God is same as the Spirit of the life (John 6:63-65) and the Spirit of the truth (John 16:7-15). However, many of us think only the Spirit of God begins to move within us when the moments of inspiration comes. If this is true, then there would be no eternal life in Jesus Christ as it is rare to have moments of inspiration. Nevertheless, Spirit of God is within us every second of our lives if we commit our lives to God and if we are willing to follow Jesus Christ until the end of the age. In other words, we have to crucify our worldly nature first, in order to let the Holy Spirit to work within us (Romans 12:1-2; 2 Peter 1:3-11). The main reason for this is that desires of the Spirit are contrary to the desires of the nature of our own world (Galatians 5:17). To be specific, our natural desires and passions start with money first as everything involves money nowadays. If we focus on money too much, then we would not have time to serve God, unless we are doing the will of God through money such as serving Him through charities, donations, or helping somebody (Matthew 6:19-24) Galatians 5:13 states, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:15-18)

Since Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross for our sins, we do not have to sacrifice animals yearly anymore. Instead of sacrificing animals, we have to repent before God (Matthew 3:2) and turn away from evil deeds that we used to do (1 John 1:8-2:2). Evil deeds in the sight of God include not believing in Jesus Christ, since He is the perfect image of God (Colossians 1:15). The main reason why not believing in Him is sin is that all of us have actually been created by God (Genesis 1:27). To be more specific, if we do not believe in Jesus Christ, we deny the fact that God has created us (Psalm 24:1) and works through us as the Spirit of God (Ephesians 3:20-21; Romans 8:28).

 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

‘The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’

Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:29-39)

Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. (Acts 3:19-20)

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep!

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” – John 10:11-16,27-30 NIV

Many of us are keen to find what our zodiac signs are, find what our personalities really are and live according to them. We may even depend on horoscopes to live our lives, because they tell us almost everything to tell us how to live our lives correctly. My Chinese zodiac is be sheep/lamb since I was born in March 25^th, 1991 but I did not look what my natural personalities are. I was kind of living according to the Facebook Horoscopes, even though I probably was doing it for fun. I cannot remember exactly, since it was long time ago. However, Pastor Tim told me that the horoscopes are not really cool for Christians. I know why He said that as Christians should live their entire lives according to the Spirit of God (Romans 8:1-17). In addition, all of us actually are sheep, whether we are true followers of Jesus Christ or not, as the word of God tells us and God is our true Shepherd—the One who came down into the world from heaven, as Jesus Christ (John 1:14), to crucify Himself on the cross for our sins, to pay for our death penalties and has given us eternal life instead through Him (John 3:16-18). “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) John 16:8-11 states that not believing in Jesus Christ is sin because if we do not believing in Him, we do not know who we actually are and where we come from, since all of have been created by God to be His image (Genesis 1:27). “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30) Furthermore, the “hired hand” is probably like any man who proclaims to be Jesus (Matthew 24:4-5) and the “wolf” is  probably of the devil or evil person who tempts everybody that there is no Jesus Christ (1 John 4:3).

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (Matthew 7:15-20)

Although bringing and making people to believe in Jesus Christ is God’s job (John 6:63-65),  God has called us to be the light of Jesus Christ to the world (Matthew 5:13-16). We can do this by spreading the love of God (1 John 4:12-13) and by doing good works in Him (Ephesians 2:10). The main reason that we need to be the light of Jesus Christ is that we need to be united as one body in Christ, since each one of us are members of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27) Because of this, Jesus prayed earnestly to His Father for this to happen (John 17:20-26).

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12-17)

In fact, eternal life has already come to those of us who are willing to follow Jesus Christ until the end of the age. This is because eternal life is all about knowing who God and Jesus Christ really are (John 17:3). As soon as we commit our lives to Jesus Christ, we become the children of God (John 1:12-13) and the Spirit of God begins to tell us what to do (John 14:15-27), to truly become the righteousness of God. This is because the Spirit of God is also the Spirit of the truth (John 16:7-15). However, many of us think only the Spirit of God begins to move within us when the moments of inspiration comes. If this is true, then there would be no eternal life in Jesus Christ as it is rare to have moments of inspiration. Nevertheless, Spirit of God is within us every second of our lives if we commit our lives to God and if we are willing to follow Jesus Christ until the end of the age, since His Spirit is the also Spirit of the life (John 6:63) and the Spirit of the freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17). Because of these reasons, we ought to remain confident in Jesus Christ. This is also because the word of God repeatedly says that He is going to never leave or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8). “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:8-14)

The Armor of God!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” – Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV

The world is full of suffering and lies. Everyday, we battle in many different kinds of ways. We may even lie to one another because of our greed, selfishness, and for our own good. White lies are increasingly popular these days because they do no harm. We think they are okay because we use them to make others feel better. Nevertheless, the world is considered as a battlefield, especially to those of us who are following Jesus Christ or want to follow Him until the end of the age. However, we must remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, bur against the power of authorities and rulers of the dark forces of the evil one. Otherwise, we would not have been created by God on this earth in the first place. Not only we have been put on the world to worship and glorify God but we also are on this earth to make peace with one another (Colossians 1:16-20), since  we have been created to be the image of God (Genesis 1:27). “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30)

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:12-15)

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

Therefore, we must put on the full armor of God emotionally, mentally and spiritually. This is also because each one of us are member of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27) and a part of the temple of the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Thus, for this reason, we should become the righteousness of God because this is what Jesus Christ was crucified (2 Corinthians 5:21) and resurrected for (1 Peter 2:24-25); to become the righteousness of God (Romans 8:1-17). Since the Spirit of God is also the Spirit of the truth (John 16:7-15), we should not lie to each other as the Lord detests lying lips (Proverbs 12:22), even though it may be a white lie (Ephesians 4:25). Furthermore, we also should live according to the word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:27-29). ‘For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”’ (Romans 1:17) The most importantly, we are called to live our lives by believing in Jesus Christ. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Last of all, we are also called to pray for one another in Jesus Christ according to the Spirit of God (James 5:13-16). However, most of us know that praying in the Spirit requires gift of tongues (Romans 8:26-27). It is good to have a gift of tongues but the prayers are able to be done without it. They only require faith in Jesus Christ (Matthew 21:22), and they only work if they are according to the will of God (1 John 5:14-15). Otherwise, they do not work (James 4:3).

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9-14)

The True Satisfaction in Jesus Christ!

“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm 37:3-4 NIV

Most of us have a desire to fill hearts with something, other than Jesus Christ. The more material items that we buy, we want to buy more of them as those things will not last and because of addiction. They become obsolete or broken after sometime. We want to upgrade our current items into new ones because of nice qualities, features, etc.. In addition to this, we may even want to brag about them to others, to make them jealous or to tell them to follow us. However, the truth is that worldly material items cannot make us truly satisfied. Jesus Christ is all we need to fulfill our desires and hearts. This is because we are actually have been made for God (Colossians 1:15-20), due to the fact that He has created us to be His image (Genesis 1:27). “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30) Matthew 19:16-30 relates to the topic of satisfaction. This is because the rich man wanted to gain eternal life but he could not gain it through Jesus Christ. The main reason for this is that he had treasured his material items more than eternal life, as Jesus has declared, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:23-24)

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. (Matthew 6:19-24)

This is the reason why 1 John 2:15-17 urges us to not love the world and what it offers, because the love of God is not in them and those worldly material items are going to pass away. However, the one who pleases God will live forever. Hebrews 11:6 states, “…without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Therefore, let us treasure God before anything else (Matthew 19:29; Luke 14:25-35) by meditating on the word of God with the Spirit of God (Psalm 1:1-3). “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. (Matthew 13:18-23)

In order to receive eternal life in Jesus  Christ, not only we have to live according to the word of God (Philippians 1:27-29) but we also have to obey the Spirit of God—whom God has poured His Spirit into us—to do His will (John 14:15-27) This is because He proclaims in Matthew 7:21-23 that whoever does the will of God receives eternal life through Him, but whoever does beyond of His will or have spiritual pride within them (Luke 10:17-20) cannot receive eternal life through Him. Theredore, we just have to believe in Jesus Christ according the Spirit (Romans 8:1-17) and the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Romans 1:16-17). “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:3-11)