Worldliness or Secularism? The Embellishment of Sin.

It's amazing how much humanity has changed in just a few generations. What was wrong before now is acceptable, what was evil now is good, what was ugly now is pretty, etc. Some things are just a matter of taste, e.g.: You maybe think that i'm ugly, but my wife thinks that i'm handsome, her taste or perspective is different from yours and she's not "sinning" because she thinks like that. But when it comes to SIN, what's right is right, what's wrong is wrong, there's no partiality. Whatever was Sin for Abel was Sin for Jesus and it is still sin for us today, e.g.: Murder. It was sin when Cain murdered his brother Abel, it was sin when the people murdered Jesus and it's still sin today. Exodus 20:13, this commandment was given through Moses a long time after the first murder (Cain's), the law only "revealed" God's perspective about sin. Today, we're constantly led to think that good and evil can "coexist", meaning, i can be "good and evil" and still the good in me will, in some weird way, annul the evil. As in that song "Ebony and Ivory" from Paul McCartney: "We all know that people are the same where ever you go, there is good and bad in everyone, we learn to live, we learn to give each other what we need to survive, together alive". It sounds very nice, but this is what Jesus Christ said: Luke 18:19. So the concept of "there is good and bad in everyone" according to Jesus is "false", in ourselves there's only the "bad"! That's the very reason we need Jesus, the Goodness of God. Nowadays, even christian thinkers (i honestly don't know what they are thinking) are creating "nice" words to "define" or "describe" old sins, e.g.: SECULARISM. Before, it was "worldly", now it is "secular"; before it was "fornication", now it is "premarital sex"; before it was "adultery", now it is "having an affair"; before it was "he stole", now it is "he found a loophole", etc, this is what i mean by "embellishment of sin". The embellishment of sin is probably the "father" of the "lesser evil" concept, which is so prevalent in the post-modern christianism, they say that before God "you can lie to avoid being killed", doing so, they are "grading" God's morality. Is it right to do something evil in hope that some good may come of it? If it is, than Jesus Christ wasted his time and life dying on the cross, He could just accept satan’s offer and have his "own" kingdom here on earth. If you consider all the saints who were killed, they were killed because they didn't want to compromise, to deny their faith, they chose to be holy, they chose to be righteous and they chose to lose their lives to gain the eternal life. Can the lesser evil (sin) bring forth the greater good (salvation)?

The Reverse Prayer and the Conspiracy Theory

First of all, this is what i mean by "reverse prayer": A prayer that shows to be the "opposite" of what was asked for. Example: I pray for someone's healing and the person dies (this happened to me); i pray the "prayer of Jabez" (increase my territory) and my "territory" shrinks, etc. What i also mean by "conspiracy theory" is that we (i'm probably not the only one) tend to find the explanation for everything and always come up with some kind of "theory". There are some passages in the Bible where people did the same, for example: John 9:1-3. In this case, Jesus' disciples played the old "blame game", where someone has to be guilty for something and usually when we play that game, everyone is guilty but ourselves. It's an old game, started with Adam and Eve, Adam blamed Eve who blamed the serpent, but in fact, the "original" sin is attributed to Adam, so, Adam was the guilty one! This morning, God taught a difficult lesson, it was like this: The night before, i prayed for a "fruitful" day (many rides, since i'm a cab driver), so i woke up at 3am to get a ride to O’Hare airport. At 5:24am i got an even better ride, it was to midway due at 6am. It was a fake ride, so the process is: Ask for "no load" and wait 20 minutes. I tried to play "smart" and at 6:05am sent a message to the dispatcher saying: "Issue with customer", the dispatcher called right way and i told that was a "fake order" and she put me back in the system. At 6:14am i got a local ride 7 miles away. At 6:24, there was an "open order" in the zone where i got the "fake order", it was to O'Hare and i couldn't get it because i already had the local one. I got mad, but did the local and latter got another local one at 7am. When i entered the subdivision, i saw a friend of mine leaving the subdivision with a passenger. I called and asked him if he got from the company, he said yes. After dropping the passenger, the Holy Spirit showed me that He was trying to "bless" me by giving me a ride to O'Hare, the fake one was necessary in order to get the one to O'Hare, but as i was impatient and didn't followed the proper "rules" (i had an "issue with costumer" but that wasn't the proper way to get the "no load"),  i missed the "blessing" for being impatient, for not being willing to wait for the "blessing" (i had a ride from O’Hare a 9 am, so i had to go empty). The lesson is: Never try to "outsmart" God, He knows what's best for us. It is as Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 8:6. So, what happened this morning wasn't about the money, was about the lesson, and the lesson i learned (hopefully i will apply it from now on) is that God wants to bless me, He will do it at His time and His way, if i miss the blessing, the only one who can be blamed for it is MYSELF! About the "reverse prayer", my conclusion is that i have to pray but at the same time trust that God knows the outcome and if it doesn't happened the way i wanted or expected, the WILL OF GOD IS STILL PERFECT! 1 Timothy 6:11. James 1:3-4.

To BE Attitudes: Blessed ARE the Hungry and Thirsty...

Matthew 5:6. Nowadays, there are many hungry people out there, some are hungry for food and others for power, some for recognition and others for pleasure, etc. It's amazing Jesus' perspective about hunger, usually when we think about hunger we always link it with food, but here Jesus is linking hunger with righteousness. First, let's "try" define righteousness: Integrity, equity, justice, straightness, uprightness, etc. I found this at Wikipedia and i think it's very interesting: The biblical definition of righteousness involves the inherent quality of God. God is right because He is righteous, therefore God can only act righteously. In one instance the word means being right; in another it is used to mean doing right; in still another case it means putting right. It's impossible for God to act unrighteously (unjustly), for doing so, He would be denying Himself. How can we attain righteousness? Paul explains that it is only possible trough faith in Christ: Philippians 3:9. We can only be righteous IN Christ who is the righteousness of God: 2 Corinthians 5:21. About being hungry and thirsty, Jesus said this: John 6:35; John 4:13-14. So, to hunger and thirst for righteousness means to hunger and thirst for Jesus Christ, the Righteousness of God.

To BE Attitudes: Blessed ARE the Meek...

Matthew 5:5. In the days we live, meekness is synonym of dumbness, brainlessness, stupidity, foolishness, etc. To me, one of the most amazing characters in the Bible is Moses. He was prince in Egypt and gave up on everything to become a meek servant: Numbers 12:3. Can we say that Moses was dumb or fool? Of course not! Another amazing character in the Bible is Jesus Christ, He left everything in heaven to become a meek servant man, just like Moses. Deuteronomy 18:15. Can we also call Jesus Christ dumb or fool? Of course not! Unfortunately, we are being taught by the world that we must be the best, we must win at all cost, we must be on the top of the pyramid, it doesn't matter how we get there, if we have to cheat, deceive, steal, ruin someone else's reputation, we must do it. The other day i was watching a documentary about Enron, what they did with the State of California, it was horrible, i couldn't believe the phone conversations and testimonies i heard, how those people could be so selfish and evil. Why is this generation so arrogant, prideful and selfish? Why is evil, the post-modern good? Paul addressed this issue in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. We are living in perilous times and more than ever we must follow Moses' example. Meekness is the path for greatness!

To BE Attitudes: Blessed ARE the Mourners...

Matthew 5:4. The definition of mourning is: To feel or express sorrow or grief over (misfortune, loss, or anything regretted); deplore; to grieve or lament over (the dead); to utter in a sorrowful manner. This is tough to reconcile, Blessing and Mourning, since to be blessed means: consecrated; sacred; holy; sanctified; blissfully happy or contented. Honestly, when i started writing this post, i thought to be blessed was "all of the above" definition at once (combined), but that's not the case. How can someone be sorrowful or disconsolate and blissfully happy at the same time? Of course it's not possible! Sorrowful and Happiness are opposites and in this case, unlike the Law of Polarity that says the opposites attract, they repel each other. Besides, we have to consider Jesus Christ in the death of Lazarus, when He wept. Was He weeping because He was blissfully happy or because He groaned in the spirit and was troubled? John 11:32-35. As Solomon wrote: Ecclesiastes 3:1-4. Jesus not only understood the times and seasons, but He also expressed the fullness of His humanity and yet He never sinned. Our problem as believers, is that we try our best to be "better" than Jesus Christ, He wept, rejoiced, got angry, was troubled, was quiet, was outspoken, suffered, smiled, etc. It's ok to express our feelings, since they don't lead us to sin. Romans 12:15. So, there's no need for a Comforter (Holy Spirit) if we'll never mourn: John 14:26.

To BE Attitudes: Blessed ARE the Poor in Spirit...

Matthew 5:1-3. First of all, let's "try" to define the word blessed: consecrated; sacred; holy; sanctified; blissfully happy or contented. Before, i had a hard time believing that a poor in spirit or broken hearted person could be blissfully happy or contented, to me it didn't make any sense, i always associated to be poor in spirit with unhappiness, sadness, depression, etc. It could be consecrated; sacred; holy; sanctified, but never HAPPY or JOYFUL! Is it possible to be Happy or Joyful in the midst of a trial? Check what Paul and James spoke about it: 2 Corinthians 8:2; James 1:2-3. Jesus said that the person who has a contrite and humble spirit is a happy person, because it's the type of person who doesn't care about earthly things, that person cares about others more than he cares about himself, he has a wonderful attribute called unselfishness. Besides, the Lord is near to this kind of person. Isaiah 57:15; Isaiah 66:2; Psalm 34:18; Psalm 51:17. David was this type of person. God called him "a man after His own heart" because David had a broken heart, he was poor in spirit. He never "exalted" himself, he was never "prideful", he made mistakes, some bigger than others, but he always "humbled" himself before God and men. Jesus was poor in spirit, humble, broken hearted, he never "exalted" Himself, He was the most humble man ever, that's the reason why God the Father exalted Him above all, His humbleness led Him to become a servant. Why is this generation so arrogant and prideful? Why are we so far from God's standard? Is still possible to be humble and poor in spirit? Matthew 11:29; Philippians 2:5-8. Is still possible to have the same attitude that Jesus Christ had? I believe so!

The Trichotomy of the "Original" Sin.

1 John 2:16. In this text, John divides "sin" into three distinct categories: The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. If we consider all the sins we know, we can fit them into one of those three categories. Going back to the beginning, literally speaking, we can see clearly what John is talking about in the first "human" sin, the so called "original" sin: Genesis 3:6, good for food (lust of the flesh), pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes), desirable to make one wise (pride of life). I had this question for a long time: Why does the Bible call the "original" sin, Adam's Sin? Shouldn't it be called Adam and Eve's Sin, since was Eve who took the first bite? Well, if Moses wrote Genesis chronologically, then Eve didn't exist when God commanded Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: Genesis 2:16-17. I have a question for you: Do you know what satan said when he was thrown out of heaven? "I'm gonna get EVEn Adam!". Just a joke. But even if Moses didn't describe the "creation" chronologically, meaning, Eve already existed when God gave Adam the commandment, still God gave to Adam the authority over everything, Adam was the "decision maker", he was to blame for eating the fruit, sin entered the world through him: Romans 5:12; Romans 5:19. We can associate the lust of the flesh with body, the lust of the eyes with soul and the pride of life with spirit, since we are made of body, soul and spirit, sin will always appeal to one of them! If we want to live a holy life (apart from sin), we must put on the whole armor of God: Ephesians 6:11. We must have the fruit of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22-24. We must be careful of what we see. Matthew 6:22. When i started writing this post, i thought trichotomy only meant: division into three parts or categories. But at the end, i was making sure that i was writing trichotomy correctly and found this: In theology and in philosophy related to it, trichotomy is the belief that man consists of three parts; a body, soul, and spirit.
Conclusion: 1 Corinthians 6:19; Psalm 23:3; Psalm 51:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

The Kingdom of God is Like...

Matthew 13:44-46. It's incredible how easy it is, just by reading Matthew 13, to identify if we belong to God's kingdom or not. Even if Jesus is speaking in parables and comparing the kingdom of heaven to something else, He makes it very clear that there's the "before and after", there's the "sold all and bought it", there's the "lose my life to gain the eternal one". I remember when this happened to me, about 11 years ago, i found this treasure called "the kingdom of God", literally speaking, i gave up on everything to follow Jesus Christ. We can see through this parable that the people will only be willing to "sell everything" (lose their lives) if they consider the kingdom of God to be more valuable than what they have. Through these parables Jesus makes it very clear who will enter in the kingdom of God and who won't, just confirming what He said in Matthew 16:25. In the parable of the sower Jesus compares the ground with the heart, the seed with the Word of God, the birds with demons and says that the condition of the ground will determine if there will be a crop and the amount of it. In the parable of the wheat and the tares, Jesus explains that along with the wheat (children of God) it will grow the tare (children of the devil) and it's not up to us to "uproot" them, because we can "uproot" the wheat also, meaning, in the church there are the children of God and the children of the devil and only God knows who's who, because they "look" the same! In the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus talks about the "growth" of the "seed", saying that even if it is the smallest seed, in the "proper" ground it will grow so much that it will became a tree. In the parable of the leaven, Jesus is saying that the "purpose" of the kingdom is to grow or to expand, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:6. In the parable of the dragnet, Jesus is saying that at the end of the age, the angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. I know it's not "politically" correct, even inside the church, to say that there are wicked people in the church, because it might offend some (the wicked ones). Of course we have to draw the line between "being politically correct" and "speaking the truth" (in love), since it was Jesus who said that the wicked and the just are growing together and one day God will separate them. Jesus point in these parables is to show us the condition of our hearts, if we consider God's Kingdom to be more valuable than ours, if God's Kingdom is "growing" in our hearts and if we are God's children or the children of the devil.

A Dog Returns to His Own Vomit.

This might sound disgusting to you, but this is actually taken from the Bible. In 2 Peter 2, Peter is talking about the false teachers and their false doctrines, check these verses: 2 Peter 2:1-3. See that Peter makes it very clear that there will be false teachers among God's people, that's inevitable. But Peter is saying that they will bring their heresies secretly. If we're not careful, if we don't "test the spirits", we will be deceived. What's very interesting is that Peter says that they will exploit you with deceptive words. It doesn't take too long to realize how many false teachers are out there, among God's people, if you just turn you tv on and pay attention, you'll see clearly that Peter was right. You will hear extremely deceptive words with the intent to exploit you, to take money from you! Question: Is God's Kingdom for sale? Didn't Jesus Christ say that we might give for free what we freely received? Matthew 10:8. Why there's almost always money involved in the "great commission"? Is it because they associate the word "commission" with the one used in business deals? See how many synonyms Peter gives in this chapter to false teachers: Natural brute beasts, exploiters, unjusts, lustful, depraved, spots and blemishes, adulterous, etc. The problem in accepting false teachings is that when the tribulation comes, and it will come because Jesus said so, it's just a matter of time, the ones who accepted it will fall away, will abandon their faith. That's what Peter meant when he quoted that proverb: 2 Peter 2:22. Peter is saying that the "ex-believers" would return to their sinful lifestyle as the dog returns to his own vomit or the washed sow to her wallowing in the mire. In fact, as Peter says in 2 Peter 2:20, it's better never been washed than to be washed and go back to the mire, meaning, it's better to keep living the sinful life than after experiencing holiness turning away from God. Revelation 22:11.

In the Land of the Blind, the One-eyed Man is SERVANT!

Of course you remember that the old saying states that "the one-eyed man is king", but since i'm writing from a christian perspective and christians are called to be servants (slaves) just as Jesus Christ became (Philippians 2:5-11). Instead of ruling over (lordship) the "spiritually blind" people, we suppose to serve them. This early morning, i was meditating about this "blind" thing, and remembered John Newton's Song "Amazing Grace". It goes like this:
Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That sav’d a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see. I never thought about his lyrics, but this Bible verse came to my mind when thinking about it: 1 Corinthians 13:12. Paul is saying that even if our eyes were opened, we still see dimly, the mirror he's talking about is the "greek mirror" which was made of highly polished brass and had a weak and imperfect mirror-image, not like our mirrors, but even ours, they reflect only the "reverse" image. Paul is also speaking about "reflecting" Jesus Christ, that we won't be able to "reflect" the "full image of Christ", since we are "sinners". The problem with this "was blind, but now i see" mentality, is that many "leaders" set God's people free from satan just to rule over them, instead of doing what Jesus did: John 8:36; Galatians 5:1. We maybe see better than the "spiritually blind" ones, but our best vision will be 20/20, 20 is used as it's the distance that vision is usually measured at - 20ft, it means that we can't see that far and in our best days we are "short sighted". The only person who had a perfect "spiritual vision" was Jesus Christ. That's probably the reason why we don't have all the answers, why we can't solve all the problems, We are not finished yet! God is restoring us, molding us, perfecting us, to make us conformed to the image of His Son. Romans 8:29. So, how much do we really see? From being "slaves" of the devil have we become "lords" of other people? are we using our freedom to indulge our sinful nature? Galatians 5:13.

Is the devil black or white?

This maybe sound like a strange question to you, since the devil is a spiritual being, therefore having no "skin color". Of course i'm not talking about the devil's "skin color" nor i'm saying that the black color means evil, i'm talking about satan's character, since he is described in the Bible as the "ruler of the darkness": Ephesians 6:12; a "murderer" and the "father of lies": John 8:44; the "adversary": 1 Peter 5:8; the "wicked one": Matthew 13:19. How many times you heard people (including christians) telling what's called "white lies" without any shame of doing it? Since the devil is the father of lies and he is evil, we must answer these questions: Is there a "good" or "white" lie? Is there a "good" sin? When satan transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), does he become a "good" evil? Can light have communion with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14)? Can we have sunshine and darkness simultaneously? Unfortunately, we have made so many concessions regarding to sin, that is very hard to fully speak the truth, "nothing but the truth". We've been living a double life, where we're trying to please God and satan at the same time, in the same sentence speaking truth and lying. If an episode like the lying of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), happens in our churches and we "detect" (discern) it, it'll be considered "normal" or just another "white lie". In the early church, Ananias and Sapphira's "white lie" cost their lives. Today, it probably wouldn't cost anything, because of our lack of discernment, we wouldn't even know that they were lying, instead, we'd probably "praise" them for doing such a beautiful act of compassion. Our "modern" Christianity is way too casual, there's very little if any of what the Bible calls "Fear of God" in our midst. How much "blood" are we shedding in our fight against sin? Hebrews 12:4. Are we really striving against sin or just giving up easily? Does sinning makes us cry for forgiveness or have we numb our conscience by never confessing our sins? Are we in and of the world or are we in but not of the world? John 15:19.

Wormwood: From Living Water to Bitterness.

Deuteronomy 29:18; Proverbs 5:4; Jeremiah 23:15; Amos 5:7; Amos 6:12. As you can see, in the Old Testament, wormwood is associated with bitterness. About the Living Water, Jesus says: John 4:10; John 7:38-39. First, we need to answer these questions: What is living water? Is it possible to have a river of living water flowing from our hearts and our hearts become as bitter as the wormwood? The answer for the first question, according to Jesus is: The Holy Spirit, "out of his heart will flow rivers of living water". But this He spoke concerning the Spirit. To answer the second question, we need to read what the Bible says in Revelation 8:10-11. There are many people saying that the "great star" is the planet-x (named by Nasa) or another "star" that will hit the earth, but, if you just think twice you'll realize that nothing will be left here if the smallest star hits the earth. According to the website "universe today", "the smallest known star right now is OGLE-TR-122b, a red dwarf star that’s part of a binary stellar system. This red dwarf the smallest star to ever have its radius accurately measured; 0.12 solar radii. This works out to be 167,000 km. That’s only 20% larger than Jupiter. You might be surprised to know that OGLE-TR-122b has 100 times the mass of Jupiter, but it’s only a little larger". If you read the Bible carefully, you'll see that the "great star" that fell from heaven is satan, Isaiah 14:12; Luke 10:18. So, since the beginning (literally from Adam and eve), satan is deceiving mankind and in this last days, he is fiercely attacking christians with false doctrines and teachings of man, because he knows that if he manages to introduce just enough of his demonic doctrine, he will pervert the believer's heart, turning the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ into man made doctrines and because those christians never "test the spirits", as John commands in 1 John 4:1, they will drink a "contaminated" water, and this water will make them as bitter as the wormwood. In this last days, satan will afflict the whole world, but christians in particular, those who are not washed with water by the word, Ephesians 5:26, won't be able to stand and be faithful, therefore, will become bitter, because they had false expectations, they never allowed Jesus Christ to transform their lives. Will one third of the rivers and the springs of water be literally contaminated? Probably! We're now watching what is happening in Japan, because the radiation leakage, water is being contaminated, so it's possible for one reason or another that a third of the drinkable water on the planet will be contaminated, time will tell. Did you know that the nuclear plants are built on the shores of lakes, rivers, and oceans because these bodies provide the large quantities of cooling water needed to handle the heat discharge, as energy is created? Haggai 2:6. What will happen when (not if) the Lord shakes the "whole" earth? Will those nuclear plants be severed damaged to the point that they will have massive radiation leakage, therefore contaminating all the lakes and rivers nearby? If you don't think it's possible to have the Holy Spirit living in you and later become bitter as the wormwood, read the story of king Saul, he had the living water (Holy Spirit), after the Holy Spirit left him, he became tormented by an evil spirit (wormwood). So, there's the literal and the spiritual side of this present-future apocalyptic story, but the truth is that we must be prepared for what is coming, and we can see that Christ's return is near. I started writing this post after having a very real experience couple nights ago. I had a dream and a experience with it. In the morning i was totally sure about the dream, it was a dream, but the experience was something else, it was kinda real. This is the experience i had: I was talking with a person who sold a water purifier and was asking him if his purifier was able to eliminate all the contaminants of the water (chemical, biological, etc), since all the drinkable water around was contaminated. Maybe you won't believe the experience i had, but i hope at least you'll believe what you read in the Bible, the Word of God.

The Father, the Prodigal and the Hypocrite.

Luke 15:11-32. If you heard a preaching about the parable of the prodigal son like i did many times, you probably never heard anyone talking much about the "other brother". I'd like to talk about him, because he has a lot in common with most, if not all of us. I will call him the hypocrite son. Let's see what Jesus said: He was as son as the prodigal one; when the father divided his livelihood, he gave to each of his sons what they were entitled to receive (the older a double portion); the prodigal enjoyed his share (what he did is now irrelevant) but the hypocrite, consumed by his pride, didn't touch anything; the hypocrite, even being a son, lived as a hired servant, never enjoying his possessions; the hypocrite lived a miserable life trying to gain his father's approval by working hard; he became an angry, bitter, resentful and unforgiving person; he became blind, couldn't see his name in the "property title". Let's compare the hypocrite's life with our own: How many times we didn't "feel" like being God's children? How many times have we thought that God didn't give us anything but "work" to do? How many times have we seen our brothers and sisters living an abundantly life and we've been living a miserable one? How many times we worked so hard that we became angry, bitter, resentful and unforgiving not accepting the prodigals back? How many times have we lived as "hired servants", never enjoying God's blessings, like freedom, for example? Maybe you are different, but honestly, as Jesus only mentioned those two brothers, i don't think there's a way of escape, at one point in our lives, we were either the prodigal or the hypocrite one. Romans 8:29. So, the purpose of redemption is not to make us like the prodigal or the hypocrite son, but, to make us conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

Judas and the Money Box: A Test of Character.

John 13:29. Have you ever asked yourself: Why did Jesus give Judas Iscariot the money box? Wasn't obvious enough that he (Judas) was going to steal? Well, i asked myself many times and this morning (about 4am) i had the answer: Jesus gave Judas the money box to test his character. Of course Jesus knew that Judas was a thief and thieves are known by stealing stuff. So what was the purpose in giving Judas, a thief, the money box? Why didn't Jesus give the money box to Nathanael, since Nathanael was honest? John 1:47. Well, the answer is obvious: Because you don't have to test an honest person if you know that he (she) will not steal; you don't have to test a truthful person if you know that he will not lie; you don't have to test a faithful person if you know that he will not cheat, etc. A test of character is only needed if the person's character is dubious! Of course, if you are thinking about Job, since Job was blameless and upright, and asking: "So, why Job had to be tested?" It's because satan (adversary) didn't know or think that Job was all of that, satan thought that Job's character was tied to his (Job) fortune (money and luck), besides through the "test" Job acquired a more "intimate" relationship with God. Job 1:1; Job 42:5. By giving Judas the money box, Jesus was giving him a chance (three years) to confess his sins and repent, to be changed by the Holy Spirit, to become an honest and righteous person. Of course we know the story: Judas not only kept stealing from the box, but at the end "sold" Jesus to the religious people. That's what the Bible calls iniquity, It's a sin that one keeps committing over and over again, without any effort or willingness to change, a sin without repentance! Remember, Biblical concept of repentance is: To turn around; to stop doing it; to abandon it; to change, etc. We can see in John 13:29 that even the apostles thought that Judas was an honest and merciful fella, since he was the "treasurer" among them, his "reputation" preceded him, or his hypocrisy, whatever the case might be. Just like Judas, we are being tested over and over again. Life is cyclical, just because we passed the test yesterday, doesn't mean that we will never be tested again and because we didn't sin yesterday, we are guaranteed that we will not sin today. My point is: Don't rely on past experiences! Yesterday is past, tomorrow is future and today is the day to resist temptation! Sounds dumb but it is the reality, Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow, Matthew 6:34, besides, Paul told us to be watchful, 1 Corinthians 10:12. Remember the story of Balaam? His character was tested, but he showed to be less faithful than his donkey: Numbers 22:28-33. In which area of your life you are been tested right now? Faithfulness, truthfulness, righteousness, forgiveness, mercifulness? Are you sure you are not been tested? I tell you the truth: If you think you don't need to be tested, it's because you are not a disciple of Jesus Christ!
Conclusion: Character matters. Don't postpone repentance, because you don't know if you will be alive tomorrow. Matthew 25:13. Remember that both Judas Iscariot and Balaam ended up in hell, one committed suicide and the other was killed, both because their wickedness (iniquity). Matthew 7:21-23.

Are you listening? Yes dear, i'm hearing.

Here is the difference between hearing and listening: Hearing is simply the act of perceiving sound by the ear. If you are not hearing-impaired, hearing simply happens; Listening, however, is something you consciously choose to do. Listening requires concentration so that your brain processes meaning from words and sentences. Listening leads to learning. First of all, men are hearers and women are listeners, meaning, men simply hear because they are not hearing-impaired, but women, they listen to everything, every time, everywhere and are able to have thousands of conversations simultaneously. They say that men are task oriented individuals and inside their brains everything is compartmentalized, in other words, we cannot watch tv and talk at the same time. Of course there are few exceptions, but, that's the rule! Probably, that's why the wife cannot understand why her husband is sitting in front of the tv switching channels all the time, in reality, he's only resting, reposing, lazing, etc. The tv and remote control are only tools to help him to fully relax. His brain is in a compartment called "resting place", so when the wife talks to him (boy they talk), he will hear the wife as much as he will hear the tv, meaning, the words will enter in his left ear, pass through his head, and exit through his right ear, in other words, very little if any will stick to his brain. They say that men are single-taskers. Women, however, are very (extremely) multi-taskers, they can do everything at the same time. Other day, i listened to a pastor, he's a Boricua (Puerto Rican) dude, i'm not a "smile always, again i say smile" kinda person, but i laughed all the way through his message, his name is Mark Gungor and his book is called "Laugh your way to a better marriage: Unlocking the secrets to life, love..." (i just found in the net). When he was saying those things, i could picture myself and my wife in those situations and realizing how different we are. So, how is it possible for me to become one with my wife, since we are so different? The skeptical will say: "give up man, it's impossible!", but Jesus commanded me to become one with my wife, it means that it is possible! Again, oneness is not singleness, is likeness. As much as we pursue Christlikeness, we will reach the oneness target. So, do opposites really attract? If the answer is “yes” or “no”, to me it is irrelevant. What is relevant is the fact that there are a lot of benefits in opposite attraction, for example: I am calm, most the time slow and usually i think a thousand times before doing something. My wife, on the other hand, is easily irritated, most the time fast and don't think twice before doing something. Now imagine if she was like me? We would be called the "snail" family! But, if we were like her, we would be called the "cheetah" family! So, our differences make our marriage better, they improve our lives, they bring the "balance" needed for a successful (not perfect) marriage. So, problems and challenges are part of a "healthy" marriage, the issue is, solving the problems together. So, if you want a "problem free" marriage, don't get married! Of course, singleness is a gift from God. Paul wrote about marriage, 1 Corinthians 7, and gave the pros and cons about it, it is personal and its an everlasting commitment, till death do us part: 1 Corinthians 7:28.

Freedom vs Slavery: Jesus the Master vs satan the taskmaster.

For a long time in my life, i was satan's slave. Of course i didn't think i was or even accepted the idea that i could be, but the "naked" truth is: satan was my taskmaster. I say taskmaster in reference to those appointed by pharaoh to afflict the Israelites: Exodus 1:8-11. Unfortunately, many people in our churches are in bondage (slaves) to satan, like i used to, they don't admit they are, they just think that life has to be "miserable", that's because we live in a fallen world and we would never experience absolute freedom. By thinking like that, they are (like i used to) contradicting Jesus Christ, because He said in John 8:36. So, Jesus was either lying or telling the truth, again He said in John 14:6. In other words: If you think there's no such a thing as total freedom, than for you, there's no total Jesus! Of course, the devil is very crafty (cunning), he will many times, as the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 11:14, show himself as an angelical, marvelous, beautiful, kind and friendly "dude", but in fact he is only deceiving, "behind the curtains", he is orchestrating a cunning plan in order to steal, kill or destroy, as Jesus says in John 10:10. Unfortunately, is not only satan that is working in the slavery business, there are many wicked people acting as taskmasters, afflicting others for personal gain. I wish this was only happening outside the church, but unfortunately it is also happening inside the church. Of course this is nothing new, as Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:9. Jesus and His Apostles dealt with the taskmasters, pharisees and other hypocrites, who put burdens on people's shoulders, but they didn't even touched those burdens. Matthew 23:4. Some of my clients (i drive a cab) complaint that they are doing the work that two or three people used to do, yet making the same money but working very long hours, as they see their CEO's giving themselves huge bonuses, millions of dollars. If they say something, they are threatened. Isn't this a "modern" slavery? No wonder things are going from bad to worse. We live in a society where pets are more valuable than babies, kill a baby (abortion) and you will "be fine", kill a pet and you will "receive a fine" (if not jail time). are you free indeed? Only Jesus Christ can set you free! If you believe you are in bondage, commit yourself fully and unconditionally to Him, and He will set you free.

All for One and One for All: Why Unity Matters.

John 17:21. First of all, in this context, Oneness is not Singleness, is Likeness. Jesus and the Father are one, but at the same time they are two distinct Persons. In His prayer, Jesus asks the Father that He would bring unity among His children, that the Father would make us like-minded toward one another. Romans 15:5; Philippians 2:2. Here is where, as the motorcyclist use to say, "the meat rubs the road" (man it hurts). Why? Because it's not only agreeing on something, having the same desires, working toward the same goals, etc. Biblical Like-mindedness, according to Paul, is to have the mind of Christ: 1 Corinthians 2:16. Is it possible to have the mind of Christ? Well, if we all die to ourselves and allow Christ to live and reign in us, we will be successful, we will fulfill our calling, that is, to be the body of Christ. Think about this: What if the members of your body decide to be selfish and do their own thing? What a mess you will be! Unfortunately, that's the way we are doing most the time. When we are not divided, we are doing something to please God without even knowing or asking Him if what we're doing is what He wants us to do. We need to be transformed, not the external appearance, but the internal renewal. That's the only way we will prove (experience) the Will of God. Romans 12:2. So, why unity matters? Because that's the Will of God, that we would be a fully functional body.

True repentance: Removing the dirt swept under the carpet.

True repentance is many times, mistaken by sorrow or mourning alone, but in fact, it goes much further than just a feeling. John the Baptist defined as a change of heart, where the sorrowful feeling leads to behavioral changes and correction of the wrongs done in the past. Luke 3:7-14. Was John a revolutionary socialist? Was he playing a communist leader? Of course not! He was teaching the basic principles of God's Kingdom. How many people today in the church, that call themselves christians, are bearing fruits worthy of repentance? Not too many! That's probably why Jesus said that many are called and few are chosen. John is not talking about "equality", communism preaches that, that's why it's a failed system, John is talking about righteousness, where one cares for the others, where there's no "lacking" of basics, because the "have" help the "have-not". That's not the "utopia land", that's the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, because there's no "perfect political system", along the way the church became complacent, acting just like the world: What is mine, is mine, what is yours is equally mine. Generosity is a condition of the heart, not a feeling. Because i am a righteous person and i have two tunics, i will give one to him who has none. So, even when i don't feel like giving, because i am righteous, i will meet someone else's needs according to my capacity. So, if we say that we repented and don't show fruits, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. it's time to allow the Holy Spirit to remove the dirt (sin) swept under the carpet (our hearts) and become the people God is calling us to be. God is not calling us to become socialists, egalitarians or even capitalists, He is calling us to be His righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Truth Without Grace: The Logic of the Psycho-preacher.

I have to be honest with you. In the beginning, when God started teaching and revealing things to me, about His Word and about peoples lives, i took it to the extreme, like: "Repent or die you sinner!" Well, fortunately for me, God wasn't in a hurry to kill sinners, because the first one the be killed was myself, the biggest sinner. Of course, at that time i was a "little baby" acting as if i was a "giant" (spiritually speaking), it was too much for my small brain to understand. Today, i'm much more sympathetic to the sinners, realizing that i'm the biggest one, therefore, i abandoned the "truth only" approach. As i wrote in another Post, it's very hard to find the balance in the christian life, to demonstrate Grace and Truth without showing partiality. I'm still learning how to be a Truly Graceful person. So when i hear preachers condemning sinners, i understand their logic (been there, done that), the problem is that they don't see the Grace that is intrinsically attached to the Truth (Is Christ Divided?). Of course, if you keep walking the Truth-only path, you will reach the "point of no return", becoming what i call, a psycho-preacher. When i acted like that, i did because of ignorance, because i couldn't understand that God hates sin but He loves the sinner. That's the very reason Jesus died on the cross, to save sinners, like me. As Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:15. So, the reason preachers still preach the truth-only gospel, is because they don't know Jesus Christ intimately, they forget that once they were lost (are they found?), that they are still sinners and without Christ, they are just like the ones they are condemning. 1 John 1:8-10. Of course, once we're saved, we cannot live a life of sin, otherwise, we are denying God's grace. Romans 6:1-2. Even if it's is really hard achieve, we need to live a life of holiness. 1 Peter 1:15-16. So, what's the logic of the Psycho-preacher? This is it: Since sinners will go to hell if they don't receive Jesus, let me tell them and command fire to come down from heaven and consume them. Luke 9:51-56.

Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty? The Danger of Partiality.

From the standpoint of an ex-lukewarm person (by the grace of God, now i'm hot, it's everything or nothing), i can say without any shadow of doubt, that commitment matters. In my BC (before Christ) life, i rarely commit myself to anything or anyone, because i knew that commitment always costs something and i was rarely willing to pay the price. Unfortunately, the very reason we, christians, don't see God's glory as the early church saw, it's because we are not willing to fully commit ourselves to what God is calling us to, we're most the time divided between pleasing God and someone else, between God's plan for our lives and our own. The Bible says in James 2:1. In the context, James is talking about personal favoritism, when believers were making distinction between rich and poor (sounds familiar?), and he is saying in James 2:9. So, every time you and i are showing partiality, we are sinning, that's how dangerous partiality is. Paul says in Romans 2:11. God does not see color skin, background, possessions, etc., when He looks at us, we are in the same level before Him. Answering the question: Is the glass half full or half empty? Does it matter if "lukewarm" is half cold or half hot? Well, according to Jesus it doesn't, in fact He says this: Revelation 3:15-16. So, for Jesus being lukewarm is even worse than being cold, Why? Because, just like the pharisees, the person "appears" to be good but in fact is just bad. I always thought i was a "good" person, until i met Jesus Christ and realized how "bad" i was. Jesus said this: Luke 18:19. Of course Jesus wasn't saying "He was not good", He Is God, He was saying that there's no human being who is good. So, by doing "church" things, we don't become any better than we used to be. It's the Holy Spirit in us, molding Jesus' character in us, helping us to bear His Fruit, which contains a "seed" called Goodness. Again, along the way we've being offered a "cheap" gospel where the "lukewarm" is good enough, where we are never confronted with the reality of God's Kingdom: Matthew 10:39. Remember the Parable of the 10 Virgins? Who entered in the wedding? I wrote a Post about it: Wisdom vs. Foolishness: What kind of Believer are You? So, it doesn't matter if you are "Half Committed", before God there's not partiality!