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It^s All About Freedom
It^s all about freedom. We want to free ourselves from the confinements of gravity and this earth so we invent aircrafts and develop space programs. We want to escape reality, thinking of the inevitable, uncertain or mystifying future, so we create all sorts of amusing pastimes, distractions and idols, such as movie stars, musicians and athletes. We want to free ourselves from the onset of death so we spend enormous amounts on the development of life extending drugs and the search for cures of every manner of disease.
Whether you exercise any or all of these methods you will still someday face death. To free yourself from death is the ultimate freedom, perhaps the only true freedom. It is possible through Christ who can save your mortal soul. One step in the way is to admit that you are a sinful human being in need of change. A change of mind, a change of heart and eventually a change out of this mortal human flesh into an eternal spirit being, a change of body into a spiritual body and a member of the family of God.
Sin leads to death. Human flesh dies. Even Jesus died. The Ten Commandments of God are stepping stones or building blocks that lead to the gate of the Kingdom of God and eternal life. The way to life is righteousness as defined by God through His Son Jesus words, the teachings of the Holy Bible. The way is further demonstrated through Christ^s example, His practices and His religion.
The will of God, the will of Satan or the will of man these are our choices in life. The will of God leads to life, God knows the way. The will of Satan leads to death, Satan is a deceiver and a murderer. The will of man leads to death unless it is compatible with the will of God and accepts Jesus. If it is deceitful or strictly self-serving then it leads to death. The will of man is a gift from God, to deny it is to reject God. If the will of man is guided by a mentor who is deceitful but of an anti-Christ spirit he will suffer the fate of his mentor, death. If a man does not judge, he will not be judged. If a man loves his fellow man as himself and loves God and appreciates His creation but is not a member of His church, then he is God^s and his awakening will come later.
Some are free some are in bondage. Some are free in some respects and in bondage in others. For example; you might have been a fornicator prior to conversion, you are no longer free to act in that manner as a Christian but you are free to preach the coming Kingdom of God for the repentant. As a fornicator you might have thought you were free but you were in bondage to disease, heartache and futility. The heartache of shallow relationships, failed relationships, unwanted pregnancies, abortions, one parent children, abandoned children, venereal disease, the blame, the guilt and the memories. You might think that a Christian is in bondage to religion or righteousness but he is free from hopelessness.
I will do as I please, says God, not to do evil but to do good. There are some who would call good evil. Jesus merciful miracles of healing were considered works of the Devil by some. That is an example of the manifestation of the evil heart of men and women. God^s ways lead to clear thinking and honest minds.
Let each grow his own grapes while being attached to the vine. The fruit of the vine is not only preaching, healing, teaching, prophesying it is also setting a good example, parenting and making friends, making friends with God and with your fellow man. Is your relation with God merely quips and jokes? Then you shouldn^t just poke fun at your fellow man. The heart of God is toward the contrite not the jokers. There is a time for crying and a time for laughter. We need to learn to be well balanced and well disciplined.
Fruit trees do not bear fruit until they reach a certain maturity. All the fruit trees of the Garden of Eden were good for food except one. The point is we don^t have to give sermons or sermonettes in order to bear good fruit, there are many kinds of good fruit. We need to love God and to love our fellow man. To do onto others as we would have others do onto us in our everyday lives. One way to bear good fruit is to be a conscientious worker in a commendable line of work; for example nursing, farming and mining, but not loan sharking, selling drugs or producing pornography. You don^t have to be a jack of all trades working for everyone who asks to be a Christian.
It is God^s will for all men to be saved. Are we to leave everything to God? Are we not called to be disciples, witnesses, lights to the world and the salt of the earth? Did any of us take a vow of silence? Are we not to love our fellow man as ourselves? The secret of the faith has been revealed through the works of God^s chosen via radio and television broadcasts, literature and word of mouth, preaching, teaching, informing. Feed our enemy we are commanded. You can at least let some crumbs fall from the table. Where are we commanded to keep the secret of the faith? It is God who keeps the secret from men not us. You can lead a horse to water but you can^t make him drink. Everyone has access to the Bible in this society. Many people read it but only some come to the knowledge of the truth. It is because I had some knowledge of the truth that I was able to find and recognize God^s Church, not because the Church or some minister revealed it to me but because God had already revealed it to me to a sufficient extent.
Do not partake in the sins of others. Tell the truth, exercise your freedom, do not let a lie to be perpetuated by you. Fear not, God commands. Do not hide your lamp under a table, in the closet or under a stair case or whatever other secret place that you might hide it.
Do not feel obligated to convert anyone but should someone ask for information feel free to answer honestly and to the best of your ability. You don^t need to separate yourself from every pagan idolater. You don^t need to shun your fellow man. You should feel free to tell the truth at any occasion. The objective should be to tell the truth, not to convert. Do not feel obliged to restrain from making friends in truth.
Some will accomplish greater things than I, Jesus said. I am not an advocate of casting people out of the church. We hear mention of it now and again. I believe that Jesus will choose among members as He sees fit at the appropriate time. The scriptures are clear, let the tares grow with the wheat until the harvest. There is one extreme example in the scriptures of a man caught in adultery with his father^s wife who was put out temporarily. So should we report such deviant behavior? I have witnessed, in the past, with my own ears, homosexuality and incest among church members. Can and should a Christian congregate with such people? Two cannot walk together lest they be in agreement.
There is another reason why some should be asked to stay away from church members and services and that is if they will not allow peace to prevail at God^s services.
Jesus spent His whole life overcoming temptation without sin. We should strive to do the same even though we are of a sinful nature. Encourage yourselves with your accomplishments rather than give up because of your failures. As humans we are susceptible to failures until our change comes. Even the apostle Paul lamented that what he willed to do he did not and what he willed not to do that he did. (Romans 7:19) Continue to accept God^s gift of forgiveness through Christ even when you fall short of His glory. I don^t think that God expects our righteousness to exceed Paul^s even though he was a Pharisee. We are all sinners in need of Christ. We are told to confess our sins one to another. God has chosen us while we were still sinners. Our whole life will be lived in human sinful mortal bodies until death or until Christ^s return and then the resurrection and transformation. That is God^s plan.
You are not required to work out other people^s salvation for them, it is in fact impossible. Let each work out his own salvation with reverence for God and taking His word with total seriousness and submission.
You are free. Free to learn, free to believe, free to teach, free to change your mind, free to change your ways, free to change your heart, free to pray and free to fast. Free to study, free to seek truth, free to share knowledge, free to befriend God, free to worship, free to accept God^s spirit, free to shun evil, free to flee evil and free to resist Satan. You are free to become righteous and to believe Jesus. You are free to practice Christianity. You are free to be disciples and saints.
You don^t have to be a smoker or a drinker. You don^t have to be a fan of some Godless group or person. You don^t have to tow the party line of dishonesty. You don^t have to support lies and deceptions. You don^t have to make friends with this self destructive world. You don^t have to participate in activities that you do not believe in. You don^t have to promote sex, drugs or rock and roll. You don^t have to give in to hypocrisy. You don^t have to retaliate when injustice occurs. Be free from all these evils.
Let freedom reign. A well trained athlete can run hard and fast and for long distances. He has a sense of ability and of accomplishment. A Christian should train himself also through prayer, fasting, studying the Holy Scriptures and loving both God and His creation in particular fellow human beings. We should be imitators of God in spirit and in truth. We were created in His image and we are to be like him in character. His ways should be in our hearts ready for action not just so much memorizing or mind work. Let God change your heart of stone to one of flesh.
2007 Jacques Gauvin
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