Believe in God's impartiality to avoid being deceived

 

The truth about the impartiality of Jesus Christ

To avoid being a victim and be among the many who are deceived it is imperative that one should know, understand and believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God is impartial and shows no favoritism as stated by the apostle John who wrote; “I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us --- eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you” (1John 2:21-26).

To avoid being deceived we are to abide in what we have heard from the beginning which is; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” And; “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-17).

Now if we know and believe that it is by Him all things were created, and He said to the Jews; “And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:37-39).

One has to conclude therefore that, all the directives and instructions that were given to Moses are applicable to all humanity, instructions such as;

·         “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.

·         Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

·         These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.”

·          “Command the children of Israel, and say to them, 'My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time.”

·         I am the LORD your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.' (Leviticus 23:2-4; Numbers 28:2l Ezekiel 20:20).

All these instructions were given by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and are all directed towards Him. For according to the apostle Paul; “For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live:  However there is not in everyone that knowledge” (1Corinthians 8:6-7).

The irony of truth is, the Lord God of the Old Testament is Jesus Christ, Who is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the One who said; “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ' I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God. Therefore, when He came into the world as the Son of Man He said; “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." (Isaiah 44:6, Mark 2:2-28).

Now if we know and believe this aspect of the truth, the way we demonstrate our belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God Who is impartial in His judgment is by ascribing to Him the glory due to His name. “For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.' Now because of the Lord’s impartiality this is applicable to all families of the peoples (Psalms 96:4-9; 1Chronicles 16:27-30).

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To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Respect the immutability of the laws of God

 

Now the way of life which is in accordance to the laws of God or in accordance to the Spirit, is a straight gate and a narrow way and only a few people will find it, but the way which is in accordance to the flesh, and traditions and customs of men, is wide and broad, and each one does what seems right in his/her own eyes, and walking after the imagination of their own hearts, and though it leads to destruction, there are many who goes through it.

Believers therefore, have been duly admonished saying; “I say then: Walk in the Spirit” (meaning, walking in accordance to the laws of God as Jesus plainly said, “ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”) And you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Galatians 5: 16-18; John 6:63).

To live contrary to what is inscribed in the laws of God, is to live in accordance to the flesh, where, everyman does what seems right in his/her own eyes, and walks according to the imagination of his/her heart, unfortunately, this is the cause for the massive confusion that exists in the world, especially in the Christian religion, man has blatantly rejected the laws of God and holding tenaciously to the customs and traditions of men.

 Despite the fact that Jesus Christ denounced it by saying; “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. and in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men:' For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men” (Matthew 15:9; Mark 7:6-8).

Now, not only are we to know and believe the truth about the immutability of God and His laws in order to avoid becoming a victim of deception, we also have to demonstrate our belief by obeying them. Because according to the apostle James; “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.'

“But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe --- and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:15-20).

So the way one demonstrates his/her knowledge and belief in the truth about the immutability of God and His laws is by obeying them. For it is written; “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” And Jesus said quite emphatically, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (1John 2:3-5; John 14:15)

Therefore, being confident of the immutability of God and His laws and showing due respect to this fact is the first step towards avoiding being deceived regardless of how charismatic or appealing to the flesh the deceivers may appear to be.

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To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Avoid being a victim of deception

 

Avoid being a Victim of Deception?

Jesus Christ the greatest Prophet and Teacher of all times issued a stern warning to His disciples saying; “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.” What will attribute to this global deception according to Jesus, it is because, “You (believers) will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:9-13).

Lawlessness as one can clearly see is the root cause of deception, but the irony of truth is, there is a way by which one can avoid being, or becoming a victim of deception, and this way is simply by knowing, believing and practicing the truth. Like Jesus said, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8: 16-17).

But what is the truth that we need to know, believe and practice in order to help us avoid being, or becoming victims of deception? The irony of truth is, there are at least four (4) vital truths we need to know, believe and practice which are:

1.         The truth about the immutability of God and His laws

It is imperative that we hold on to the fact that God and His word are both immutable and do not change as clearly state by the Lord who says; "For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob”. And with regards to the law, although no one is justified by the law in the sight of God and the just shall live by faith, nevertheless, the law is holy, just, good and spiritual (Malachi 3:6; Romans 7:12, 14).

The truth of the matter is, not being justified by keeping the law does not nullify it and makes it obsolete. On the contrary according to the apostle Paul; “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.” He said again; “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet." (Galatians 3:31; Romans 7:7).

Therefore it is preposterous for anyone to believe, or assume that the commandments of God are no longer in force. Anyone who believes or are in the assumption that the commandments of God are not in force, are under a huge cloud of deception. For Jesus Christ said categorically: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” He went on to validate the certainty of the commandments by saying; “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17-19).

Therefore, although without a shadow of doubt, it is by grace we have been saved through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast, we nevertheless are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them and the good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them are all inscribed in His laws, the manual and guide book given to man in order for man to know how to live in the Spirit. The irony of truth is, there is a life which is in accordance to the laws of God, or in the Spirit, and there is a life which is in accordance to the flesh, or in accordance to the customs and traditions of men.

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To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

When is the beginning of a new month and year? (part 2)

When is the beginning of a new month and New Year?

Can a new month begin at any time or is there a natural phenomenon that determines when the beginning of a new month is? Again, I beg to ask the question, how can there be different ideologies as to when is the beginning of a new month when there is only one natural law that governs the seasons and the years and when the Lord duly instructed Moses and Aaron saying; “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you” (Exodus 12:1-2).

And the way one knows what month the Lord was referring to, it is the month on which the Passover falls because the Lord further instructed Moses and Aaron saying; “     In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land” (Exodus 12:18-19),

And what signals the beginning of a new month, is the New Moon as clearly stipulated in scriptures stating; “For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me," says the LORD, “so shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the LORD” (Isaiah 66:22-23).

In fact, a month is a unit of time, used with calendars, that is approximately as long as a natural orbital period of the Moon; the words month and Moon are cognates, meaning that they are the same or similar in nature. And so, New Moon is the beginning of a new month, and the first New Moon in spring is the beginning of the New Year.

Consider this for a moment, how logical and sensible it is for one who is born on the 29^th of February, having to wait for every four years to have birth day celebration? This should be a clear indication that this goes contrary to the immutable laws of nature and since the difference is between the laws of the Creator who declares Himself as a jealous God and the ways of the created being whose quest is to be worshiped as God is worshiped should be of huge concern to those of us who profess to be believers.

When I hear of people who wrote books about blood moon, red moon, super blue moon and black moon which promulgates the idea of having two full moons or two new moons in one month and these books becoming best sellers, I have to shake my head in bewilderment on how deceived we are. For how can there be two new moons in one month when every new moon is the beginning of a new month! And how can there be two full moons in one month when full moon is every fourteenth to sixteenth day after new moon?

There is also a basic question we should all be asking ourselves and that is, why should the name of the months of September, October, November and December which originated from the numbers seven, eight, nine and ten be no longer what they originally were but have now become the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth months. Both cannot be right, the question is which one that is right!

And what is the verdict! The verdict is, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. Remember, there is no partiality with God.

So who will you as an individual continue to be subject to, the kingdom of light, or the kingdom of darkness! The choice is yours.

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 With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

When is the beginning of a new month and year?

 

When is the beginning of a new month and year?

Let us continue to unveil the huge cloud of deception that is hovering over the whole earth for centuries, a deception that was centuries ago revealed to the prophet Daniel because, the word of God clearly states that, “Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.” And so to the prophet Daniel the Lord revealed saying; “He (referring to the fourth beast which is the Roman Empire which is being ridden by the great whore the mother of harlots) shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law” (Amos 3:7; Daniel 7:25).

Please bear in mind that the change of times and law is not as trivial and inconsequential as many people believe they are because they reflect and represent two divergent kingdoms; one represents the kingdom of light and the other represents the kingdom of darkness. The laws which represent the kingdom of light are immutable, meaning that they are unchangeable, and the Lord who ordained them is said to be impartial, meaning that He has no favoritism and that they are applicable everywhere around the world in similar ways, He is also a jealous God and will not share His glory with no other. For thus says the Lord; “I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images” (Isaiah 42:8).

Some people want to question the idea of God being a jealous God. But it is the Lord Himself who after revealing Himself to Moses said; “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me” (Exodus 20: 3-5; 34:14).

The reason why God is a jealous God it is because we are giving His adversaries the preeminence over Him by giving them the honor and glory that is due to Him and to Him alone. Therefore, the premise on which we are to build our thesis with regards to times and law which the Lord has ordained for His creation is that, they are immutable and are designed to honor and glorify the Lord and not to any other created being whose quest is to be worshiped just as the Lord. There is a huge disparity between light and darkness, one was formed and the other was created.

For thus says the Lord; “I am the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, that they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things' (Isaiah 45:5-7).

The light that was formed is Jesus Christ who according to the apostle John, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.’ Jesus Christ therefore was not created, but was formed in the bosom of the Father and this is what He said; “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves” (John 14:10-11).

When Jesus Christ came into the world He said, “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 1:18; 3:18-20).

But the darkness that was created is Satan the devil as alluded to by the prophet Ezekiel who wrote; “Thus says the Lord GOD: "You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you” (Ezekiel 28:13-15).

Having established these important factors let us now confirm when the beginning of a new month and a new year is.

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To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

When is the beginning of the week

 When is the beginning of a new week

Satan’s quest to divert attention to himself and claim the honor and the glory that is due to God is not only expressed in the time one begins a new day but it is also evident in the time one begins a new week, a new month and a new year. Many people consider these things to be trivial but they are not because, they attribute to God the glory and honor due to His name as the Creator. For example;

·         The weekly Sabbath

The seventh day of the week is and will always remain as the seventh day of the week and has been designated by the Creator as the day of rest, for it is written; “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Genesis 2:1-3).

Here one can see clearly the rationale and objective for the seventh day of the week, it is a time that God has sanctified or set apart as a memorial of the creation. In giving the commandments to Moses the Lord reminded him by saying; “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11).

The seventh day therefore, is a perpetual sign between God and His people in memory of the creation, for the Lord spoke to Moses saying; “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.’

“Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant”  It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed "(Exodus 31:13-17).

Please note carefully that, the seventh day Sabbath is a perpetual covenant and a sign between the Lord and His people forever. The Lord also spoke to the prophet Ezekiel saying; “Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them. I am the LORD your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God” (Ezekiel 20:12, 19-20).

The seventh day Sabbath is still applicable today for God’s people as alluded to by the apostle Paul who wrote; “For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.  Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:8-12).

Now avoid making the mistake in believing that this is only applicable to the Jews and not to Gentiles because we have been duly admonished saying; “Therefore receive one another (Jews and Gentiles), just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: "For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name." And again he says: "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!" And again: "Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples" (Romans 15:7-11).

It will also continue into the future for we have been duly admonished saying; “For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me," says the LORD, "So shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the LORD” (Isaiah 66:22-23).

Now, it is an abomination to appear before the Lord on days which His has not appointed, for thus says the Lord; “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts?’

“Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies --- I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood” (Isaiah 1:11-15).

I therefore beg to ask the question, why the majority of us who profess to be believers in Jesus Christ do not rest on the seventh day, but instead rest on the first day of the week? Who are we honoring and glorifying? Is there partiality with God? Where did the custom and tradition of worshiping on a Sunday come from? What is the rationale and objective for worshiping on that day? Whom or what does this day commemorate?

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The onus is on every individual to examine him/herself as to whether we are in the faith, we are to test ourselves because at the end of it all, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, to give an account to God, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

 To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

The unfailing laws of nature

The unfailing laws of nature

The laws of nature which governs our daily lives and our surroundings are static and unchangeable, it is applicable to all regardless of their knowledge of its existence or not, regardless of race color or creed and as the saying goes, “ignorance of the law is no excuse.”

The apostle Paul also alluded to this by saying; “For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)” (Romans 2:12-15).

So the crux of the matter is, whether or not we are knowledgeable of the laws which govern our physical life the end result of obedience or disobedience to these laws are applicable to all without partiality. These laws also reveal God’s eternal power. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

Let us therefore take some time and examine the basic laws that govern our daily existence and let us not be ignorant of the Lord’s impartiality for there is no partiality with God and so, what is applicable to one is applicable to all. Therefore, anything that is not ordained by God is not of God and what is not of God is of the adversary the devil.

For example, the everlasting gospel which is to be preach to all those who dwell on the earth is to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people and the message is, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water" (Revelation 14:6-7).

So then, whatever law that governs things in heaven, the earth, the sea and springs of water is applicable to all without exception. And so, I beg to ask the question why are there three different trends of thought as to when a new day begins?  Why do some people believe that a day begins at midnight, while others believe that it is at sunset and some believe that it is at sun rise? The question is, wat time did God ordain as the beginning of a new day?

As trivial as some people may think this is, I can assure you that it is not as trivial as one might think because all this have to do with worship, it has to do with who are we giving the honor and glory to, is it to the Creator, or to the adversary?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BFP1SMV

To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

Man's greatest challenge (part six)

Despite the daily struggles between the flesh and the spirit there is nevertheless an antidote by which sin (the desires and passions of the flesh), can be defeated which is, to live in the Spirit and becoming slaves to righteousness. “For having been set free from sin and having become slave to righteousness, or slaves of God, the benefit we reap leads to holiness (free from sin), and the result is everlasting life or immortality of the human body (Galatians 5:16-17; Romans 6: 18, 22).

Another very important aspect of the literal and practicality of this life in the spirit is its diametrical opposition to the life which is in accordance to the flesh. These two ways of life do not follow the same path, if one heads east the other heads west, or if one heads north, the other heads south, they do not walk along the same path because they are antagonistic to each other.

But the crux of the matter is, both divergent ways of life utilizes the members of our body such as, the mind, the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the ears, the hands and the feet as instruments to carry out their mission and so there is a constant battle, a tug of war that takes place within us as to whom we are to serve with the members of our body. And so we have the consolation from the apostle Paul saying; “I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness (Romans 6:19).

The reality is, one is either a slave of sin, or a slave of righteousness. Now, being a slave of sin signifies that one is of the devil because it is clearly stated; “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1John 3:8).

On the other hand, he who practices righteousness is of God, because the Lord is our righteousness and the admonition we have received is; “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” And; “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous” (Jeremiah 23:6; 33:6; 1John 2:29; 3:7).

Another very important thing we should note in facing our greatest challenge is that, a thing is either true or false, the truth is of God whilst the lie is of the devil and no one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. We cannot serve God and mammon. One is either a citizen of the kingdom of light practicing and complying to the laws and guidelines pertaining to that kingdom or, a citizen of the kingdom of darkness practicing and complying to the lawless ways of this kingdom. We cannot profess to be citizens of the kingdom of light and yet walking in darkness.

Jesus clearly stated; “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God" (John 3:19-21).

When one truly knows and understands what is actually taking place within and around us will realize that, what the majority regards as trivial matters are actually very profound because in essence we either give the honor and glory to God or we give the glory and the honor to the devil. For example, basic things such as, when is the beginning of a new day, when is the seventh day of the week, when is the beginning of a new month and when is the beginning of a new year!

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 With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph