Lazarus And The Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31)

By: Gladys Raquel Hernández




This passage about Lazarus and the Rich Man in the Bible, warns us what is going to happen to us after our physical death if we have not accepted Jesus Christ as our unique Savior and if we have not repented of our faults and sins while we lived on earth.

This chapter states that there was once a rich man who wore expensive clothes and every day ate the best food. But a poor beggar named Lazarus was brought to the gate of the rich man´s house. He was happy just to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man´s table. His body was covered with sores, and dogs kept coming up to lick them. The poor man died, and angels took him to the place of honor next to Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. (Luke 16:19-22)

“He went to hell and was suffering terribly. When he looked up and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side, he said to Abraham, “have pity on me!. Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and touch my tongue. I´m suffering terribly in this fire”. Abraham answered, “My friend, remember that while you lived, you had everything good, and Lazarus had everything bad. Now he is happy, and you are in pain. And besides, there is a deep ditch between us, and no one from either side can cross over”. But the rich man said, “Abraham, then please send Lazarus to my father´s home. Let him warn my five brothers, so they won´t come to this horrible place”. Abraham answered, “Your brothers can read what Moses and the prophets wrote. They should pay attention to that”. Then the rich man said, “No, that´s not enough! If only someone from the dead would go to them, they would listen and turn to God”. So Abraham said, “If they won´t pay attention to Moses and the prophets, they won´t listen even to someone who comes back from the dead”. (Luke 16:23-31)

This interesting and alarming passage clearly teaches us in detail the terrible consequences that disobedience to the Lord bring about, as He is our unique and wise God, Sovereign over history.

Abraham talks plainly to the rich man as he points to the deep ditch that separates the Hades or Sheol from heaven. That means that even though we would yearn to help someone to get out of the Hades or Sheol, we just cannot do so.

It is important to notice that the Hades (in Greek “Kingdom of death”) or Sheol (in Hebrew) is a place full of torment, of darkness, of complete separation from God, where the rebels, cowards, immoral, unfaithful or dirty-minded people go (those who have rebelled against God and whose names are not written in the book of life) before being thrown into the lake of fire and burning sulfur after the judgment at the Great White Throne (final judgment) and will be in pain day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:10-15 and 21:8)

We can view the following biblical verses:

“I also saw all the dead people standing in front of that throne. Every one of them was there, no matter who they had once been. Several books were opened, and then the book of life was opened. The dead were judged by what those books said they had done. The sea gave up the dead people who were in it, and death and its kingdom also gave up their dead. Then everyone was judged by what they had done. Afterwards, death and its kingdom were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Anyone whose name wasn´t written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire”. (Revelation 20:12-15)

In said passage, Abraham warns the rich man to listen to What Moses and the prophets wrote. At present, this story is repeated, as God´s plan is extended to all the human race of all times. God also warns us to listen to His different servants, (Apostles, Prophets, Missionaries, Pastors and Teachers), that is, people who have matured in their faith, who have had personal encounters with Jesus Christ throughout their lives, who have accepted Him as Savior and who have understood God´s plan for them.

We can appreciate clearly through this present passage that it is only during this earthly life that we can have the possibility to encounter Jesus and accept Him as our savior. Therefore, no one and nothing can intervene in our favor after our physical death. “The opportunity to get redemption of our souls is only during our lives”.

How is it possible not to take care of our eternal life, to divert our attention from it?. We must guard our thoughts and our own salvation, by persevering to the end of our lives. If we do not do it for ourselves, who will do so? It is important to reflect seriously on this. God is even patient and is waiting for you with His arms extended so that you go back to Him and so that He can live forever in your life!!!!

“Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life”. (Proverbs 4:23)

“The Lord isn´t slow about keeping His promises, as some people think He is. In fact, God is patient because He wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost”. (2º Peter 3:9)

AMEN!!!

Who Is The Ruler Of This World?

By: Gladys Raquel Hernández



"Put on all the armor that God gives, so you can defend yourself against the devil´s tricks. We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world. So put on all the armor that God gives. Then when that evil day comes, you will be able to defend yourself. And when the battle is over you will still be standing firm”. (Ephesians 6:11-13)

“This world´s people are now being judged and the ruler of this world is already being thrown out!. (John 12:31)

It is possible to view through these biblical verses that there is an opponent, an adversary, an enemy who opposes our love relationship with God. This spiritual being once belonged to God´s army in heaven and was the protector cherubim: one of God´s winged attendants and the most important angel in God´s kingdom, who was in charge of taking care of all God´s creation in the holy mountain. This spiritual being was perfect to fulfill his mission, but he had a shortcoming and made a serious mistake: he became conceited with his complete beauty and perfection and wanted to occupy God´s place. Therefore, God threw him down to the earth. This spiritual being was Lucifer. Lucifer is Satan, the angel rebelled against God and forced out of his place in heaven together with a third of angels in his favor.

We can appreciate the following biblical verses that establish these concepts:

“At one time, you were perfect, intelligent, and good-looking”. (Ezekiel 28:12)

“I appointed a winged creature to guard your home on my holy mountain, where you walked among gems that dazzled like fire”. (Ezekiel 28:14)

“You said to yourself, I´ll climb to heaven and place my throne above the highest stars. I´ll sit there with the gods far away in the north. I´ll be above the clouds, just like God Most High”. (Isaiah 14:13-14)

“You traded with other nations and became more and more cruel and evil. So I forced you to leave my mountain, and the creature that had been your protector now chased you away from the gems”. (Ezekiel 28:16)

“But the dragon lost the battle. It and its angels were forced out of their places in heaven and were thrown down to the earth. Yes, that old snake and his angels were thrown out of heaven! That snake, who fools everyone on earth, is known as the devil and Satan”. (Revelation 12:8-9)

Satan as well as his demons (fallen angels) thrown down to the earth are full of hatred and rancor towards the entire human race, which they have been enticing and deceiving since the very beginning, because the devil and his demons know that they will be finally thrown into the lake of fire and burning sulfur from which they will never get out and will be in pain day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:10 and 21:8)

“Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack. But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith. You know that all over the world the Lord´s followers are suffering just as you are”. (1º Peter 5:8-9)

That final fate is also reserved to all the human beings who have rebelled against God, according to the biblical prophecies. We, the human beings, have the same sinful nature as Satan (Revelation 20:13-15).

However, our good God, who is completely merciful, loved us so much that He planned to redeem us if we accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as our Savior, who died in our place in order to save us from our sins. (John 3:16)

We can view the way the human beings also wanted to reach God on their own, by building the Babel´s tower. This attitude clearly shows that we have the same sinful spirit as Satan:

“They said: let´s build a city with a tower that reaches to the sky! We´ll use hard bricks and tar instead of stone and mortar. We´ll become famous, and we won´t be scattered all over the world”. (Genesis 11:4)

BUT THE LORD GOD DID NOT ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN!

We can view it through these biblical verses:

But when the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower, he said: These people are working together because they all speak the same language. This is just the beginning. Soon they will be able to do anything they want. Come on! Let´s go down and confuse them by making them speak different languages – then they won´t be able to understand each other. So the people had to stop building the city, because the Lord confused their language and scattered them all over the earth”. (Genesis 11:5-8)

We can see the Holy Trinity´s presence working over the human race, that is, God Father, God Son and God Holy Spirit, who are coexisting, infinite and eternal, through these biblical verses where God says “Let´s go down and confuse them” as well as when He says “Now we will make humans and they will be like us.” (Genesis 1:26)

God loves the sinner but He hates the sin. We can view this biblical verse:

“The Lord corrects the people he loves and disciplines those he calls his own”. (Hebrews 12:6)

Therefore, God created men to be like Him and corrects them when they make mistakes due to His endless love, because His holiness so demands.

Probably, we may wonder why God decided to condemn Satan and the demons, and to forgive the human beings who accept Jesus and repent of their sins, if they all have a sinful nature. If we consider when Satan was Lucifer, the protector cherubim, who lived in a state of complete harmony and happiness together with the other fallen angels in heaven, a condition of life we never knew, perhaps, God, in His justice, wants to make a difference and condemn those who never had any pain, disease, anguish, sorrow, grief, despair and desolation whatsoever and, in spite of it, they rebelled against God, and to redeem the human beings through Jesus Christ, who do suffer affliction on earth.

Now, we can view the devil´s possibilities:

- He brought down other nations. (Isaiah 14:12)
- He made the world tremble. (Isaiah 14:16)
- He shook up kingdoms. (Isaiah 14:16)
- He made earth a desert. (Isaiah 14:17)
- He captured every city. (Isaiah 14:17)

Some of the devil´s power´s traits are:

- The sinners are under the power of the devil. (1º John 5:19)
- He distresses God´s children. (Job 1:12)

Other sources of God´s children´s distress are:

a. Caused by men´s negligence. (Deuteronomy 9:14)
b. Caused by God Himself. (Genesis 22:1-2)

- The devil blinds the minds of unbelievers. (2º Corinthians 4:4)
- He fights against God´s children. (Ephesians 6:12)
- He fools people on earth by pretending to work all kinds of miracles, wonders and signs. (Ezekiel 7:10-12 – 2º Thessalonians 2:7-10 - Revelation 13:13-14)
- He entices, deceives and tests everybody. (Luke 4:13)
- He makes false promises. (Matthew 4:8)
- He accuses God´s children. (Job 1:9 – Zechariah 3:1 – Revelation 12:10)
- He causes painful sores. (Job 2:7)
- He steals, murders and destroys. (John 8:44)
- He is a liar. (John 8:44)
- He deceives and fools people. (Matthew 7:21 – Revelation 12:9 – 1º John 4:1-3)
- He tests people. (Luke 22:31)
-He stops God´s work. (1º Thessalonians 2:18 – 2º Thessalonians 2:7-10)
- He wants to get the better of us. (2º Corinthians 2:11)

The following are some traits within the demons´ organization:

- They are organized according to hierarchies. (Ephesians 6:12)
- They are distributed worldwide. (Daniel 10:13-20)
- They use unbelievers to cause harm. (John 8:44)

The demons (fallen angels) serve Satan. Their illegitimate authority comes from the one of Satan himself. Jesus showed His power over the enemy by forcing out demons easily during his earthly life. Upon unmasking and destroying the power of hell, He made the kingdom of heaven of His own dominion.

1.- Christ forced out demons. (Matthew 12:27-29)
2.- God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross. There Christ defeated all powers and forces. (Colossians 2:14-15)
3.- The demons were tormented by Jesus Christ. (Luke 4:34 – Luke 8:28)
4.- Jesus Christ freed people under the power of the devil. (Luke 4:41)
5.- Jesus Christ destroyed all that the devil has done from the very beginning. (1º John 3:8)
6.-God´s own Son, Christ, protects His children and the devil cannot harm them. (1º John 5:18))
7. Everybody was amazed for Christ´s authority and power to order evil spirits out of people. (Luke 4:36)

God´s children have authority and power on evil spirits.

We can view the following biblical verses:

“In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us”. (Romans 8:37)
“Children, you belong to God, and you have defeated these enemies. God´s Spirit is in you and is more powerful than the one that is in the world” (1º John 4:4)
“I am sure that nothing can separate us from God´s love – not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God´s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord! (Romans 8:38-39)
“Jesus called together his twelve apostles and gave them complete power over all demons and diseases”. (Luke 9:1)
“Everyone who believes me will be able to do wonderful things. By using my name they will force out demons, and they will speak new languages”. (Mark 16:17)
“God´s Spirit doesn´t make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love and self-control”. (2º Timothy 1:7)
All God´s children must know that they cannot be possessed by evil spirits.

It is important to notice the following biblical verse:

“We are sure that God´s children do not keep on sinning. God´s own Son protects them, and the devil cannot harm them”. (1º John 5:18)

We can be sure and self-confident that the Lord has perfect control over all things created. Should you follow Him step by step, day after day during all your life, you will always be within His good will. You will enjoy yourself with His endless peace, joy and love towards you. Thus, the enemy will not be able to harm you. But you must be on the alert, by praying continuously to God, your Lord.

God will be in control forever! (1º Peter 5:11)

AMEN!!!

Music As An Instrument Of Praise And Worship

PRAISE AND WORSHIP MINISTRY












By: Gladys Raquel Hernández



Music has been an element, an essential means of worship to God which has been carried out since the Old Testament times until now by the people of Israel: the first people chosen by God, His pioneer and loved people, in order to take the Good News of salvation all over the world.

The Christian music, through the different musical instruments played individually or jointly, giving even a greater harmony, is a way of expression, of communication, of manifestation of feelings, thoughts and emotions under deep inspiration, on the part of those people who play it, accompanied also by deeply inspired songs, new songs, psalms, hymns, poems, poetry and praises. Likewise, the Christian music is a blessing channel for all God´s faithful people, considering that it allows them to enter God´s presence.

God´s Word establishes that God enjoys Himself through His faithful people´s praise. We can view the following biblical verses:

“Everyone in Jerusalem and Judah, celebrate and shout with all your heart! Zion, your punishment is over. The Lord has forced your enemies to turn and retreat. Your Lord is King of Israel and stands at your side; you don´t have to worry about any more troubles. Jerusalem, the time is coming, when it will be said to you. “Don´t be discouraged or grow weak from fear! The Lord your God wins victory after victory and is always with you. He celebrates and sings because of you. And he will refresh your life with his love” (Zephaniah 3:14-17)
“City of Zion, sing and celebrate!. The Lord has promised to come and live with you”. (Zechariah 2:10)

God´s faithful people celebrate the Lord´s Greatness. We can view the following biblical verses:

“Sing, people of Zion!. Celebrate the greatness of the holy Lord of Israel. God is here to help you”. (Isaiah 12:6)
“Moses and the Israelites sang this song in praise of the Lord: I sing praises to the Lord for his great victory! He has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea. The Lord is my strength, the reason for my song, because he has saved me. I praise and honor the Lord - he is my God and the God of my ancestors”. (Exodus 15:1-2)
The time is coming when the people of Judah will sing this song: Our city is protected. The Lord is our fortress, and he gives us victory”. (Isaiah 26:1)
“After the battle was over that day, Deborah and Barak sang this song: We praise you, Lord! Our soldiers volunteered, ready to follow you”. (Judges 5:1-2)

As soon as David caused the Levites to bring back the arc of the pact to Jerusalem, there was music and joy. We can view it.

“David then told the leaders to choose some Levites to sing and play music on small harps, other stringed instruments, and cymbals”. (1º Chronicles 15:16)

As we can appreciate through these previous biblical verses, every time a battle was won, when something was recovered, when people conquered any city, overcome the enemy, or celebrated a victory, there were musical instruments being played and voices singing.

We can picture this description:

“The singers come first, and then the musicians, surrounded by young women playing tambourines”. (Psalm 68:25)

The combination of musical instruments and songs is an order of God. We can view it:

“Sing as you play tambourines and the lovely sounding stringed instruments. Sound the trumpets and start the New Moon Festival. We must also celebrate when the moon is full. This is the law in Israel, and it was given to us by the God of Jacob”. (Psalm 81:2-4)

God´s faithful people combined instruments, voices and new songs which came directly from divine inspiration. We can view it:

“Praise the Lord with harps! Use harps with ten strings to make music for him. Sing a new song. Shout! Play beautiful music”. (Psalm 33:2-3 – Psalm 144-9)
“And you gave me a new song, a song of praise to you. Many will see this, and they will honor and trust you, the Lord God”. (Psalm 40:3)

The following biblical verses establish that all the inhabitants on this earth must praise the Lord with new songs, in complete joy

“Sing a new song to the Lord! Everyone on this earth sing praises to the Lord, sing and praise his name”. (Psalm 96:1)
“Tell everyone on this earth to sing happy songs in praise of the Lord”. (Psalm 98:4)
Psalm 96:2-4 – Psalm 98:1 – 100:1-2 – 149:1 – Isaiah 42:10 – 1º Chronicles 16:23-24

We can sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with joy:

“Make music for him on harps. Play beautiful melodies!.(Psalm 98:5)
“As long as I live, I will sing and praise you, the Lord God”. (Psalm 104:33)
“…. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God”. (Colossians 3:16)
“Sing praises to the Lord! Tell about his miracles”. (Psalm 105:2)
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, while the other prisoners listened”. (Acts 16:25)

There exist praises and new songs in front of God´s Throne:
“And a new song was being sung in front of God´s throne”. (Revelation 14:3)

God´s Word establishes that God gives us songs at night.

“Every day, you are kind, and at night you give me a song as my prayer to you, the living Lord God”. (Psalm 42:8)
“The Lord´s people will sing as they do when they celebrate a religious festival at night”. (Isaiah 30:29)

It is possible to enter God´s presence with praises:

“Come to worship him with thankful hearts and songs of praise”. (Psalm 95:2)

The faithful People of Israel sang and praised the Lord in thanksgiving because He is good. We can view it:

“They praised the Lord and gave thanks as they took turns singing: The Lord is good! His faithful love for Israel will last forever”. (Ezra 3:11)
“At that time you will say: Our Lord, we are thankful, and we worship only you. We will tell the nations how glorious you are and what you have done”. (Isaiah 12:4)

God´s Word teaches us to sing God´s justice and glory:

“Sing about his glorious name. Honor him with praises”. (Psalm 66:2)

God´s Word uses exaggerated words to make us praise the Lord. We can view it:

“All of you faithful people, praise our glorious Lord! Celebrate and worship. Praise God with songs on your lips and a sword in your hand. Take revenge and punish the nations. Put chains of iron on their kings and rulers. Punish them as they deserve; this is the privilege of God´s faithful people. Shout praises to the Lord! (Psalm 149:5-9)

God´s Word establishes that the dead will rise to life and will praise God when Jesus returns to the earth to take His church with Him forever:

“Your people will rise to life! Tell them to leave their graves and celebrate with shouts. You refresh the earth like morning dew; you give life to the dead”. (Isaiah 26:19)

God´s faithful people sang Jacob´s redemption which is like our redemption through Jesus Christ. We can view it:

“Tell the heavens and the earth to start singing!. Tell the mountains and every tree in the forest to join in the song!. The Lord has rescued his people; now they will worship him”. (Isaiah 44:23)

It is possible to praise the Lord with the spirit as well as with the mind:

“…. Sometimes I should sing with my spirit, and at other times I should sing with my mind”- (1º Corinthians 14:15)

We can praise with joy:

“… If you are feeling good, you should sing praises”. (James 5:13)

God´s Word establishes that even the stars in the sky praise the Lord. We can view it:

“What supports the foundation? Who placed the cornerstone, while morning stars sang, and angels rejoiced?”. (Job 38:6-7)

Praises were accompanied by sacrifices in front of God in the Old Testament times:

“… Now that you are once again acceptable to the Lord, bring sacrifices and offerings to give him thanks”. (1º Chronicles 29:31)
“I am God Most High! The only sacrifice I want is for you to be thankful and to keep your word. Pray to me in time of trouble. I will rescue you, and you will honor me”. (Psalm 50:14-15)

Other biblical verses which refer to praise sacrifices are:

Exodus 15:2 – 1º Chronicles 16:8-9 and 29:13 - Nehemiah 12:27 – Psalms 7:17 and 9:1 - Psalm 30:12 – Psalms 42:5 and 11, and 43:4-5 - Psalm 50:23 – Psalm 57:9 - Psalm 65:1 – Psalm 67:3 and 5 - Psalm 69:30 – Psalm 71:22 - Psalm 79:13 – Psalms 92:1 and 95:2 – Psalms 96:6 and 99:3 – Psalms 100:4, 105:1, 106:1, 107:8-15-21-31, 111:1 and 113:1, Psalms 116:17, 117:1, 118:21 and 119:7-62-164 – Psalms 135:1 and 138:1 – Psalm 136:2 – Psalms 140:13 and 145:3 – Psalm 146:1-2 - Psalm 147:7 and 12 – Isaiah 38:19-20 – Jonah 2:9 – Zephaniah 3:19-20 – Matthew 11:25 and 21:16 - Luke 10:21 and 24:53 – Romans 15:11 - 2º Corinthians 8:18 - Ephesians 5:19 - Hebrews 2:12 and 13:15 – Revelation 5:13 and 19:5.

The psalms 145, 146 and 147, refer to the praise to God for His kindness and mercy, for His justice and for His favor towards Jerusalem. Psalm 148 exhorts all the Creation to praise the Lord God. Psalm 149 exhorts the people of Israel to praise the Lord God with musical instruments. Psalm 150 finishes with a universal calling of attention. We can view it:

“Let every living creature praise the Lord. Shout praises to the Lord! (Psalm 150:6)

Worship to God is more than singing, more than the combination of musical notes, more than a song, a psalm or an hymn… It means to surrender our heart to God and it implies meditation, respect, obedience and service to God, and sometimes, silence in front of the Lord. We can view it:

“He told his servants: Stay here with the donkey, while my son and I go over there to worship. We will come back”. (Genesis 22:5)
“Moses quickly bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord”. (Exodus 34:8)
“Everyone on this earth will remember you, Lord. People all over the world will turn and worship you, because you are in control, the ruler of all nations”. (Psalm 22:27-28)
“Everyone on earth, now tremble and worship the Lord, majestic and holy”. (Psalm 96:9)

Other biblical verses that refer to worship to God are:

1º Samuel 1:3 - Nehemiah 9:6 - Psalm 5:7 – Psalm 29:2 – Psalm 66:4 - Psalm 86:9 - Psalm 95:6 - Isaiah 27:13 - Isaiah 66:23 – Zechariah 14:17 – Matthew 2:2 – Matthew 4:10 - Matthew 28:17 – John 4:20, 22 and 24 – John 9:38 – John 12:20 – Acts 8:27 – Acts 10:25 – Acts 17:23 – 1º Corinthians 14:25 – Hebrews 1:6 – Revelation 4:10 – Revelation 14:7 – Revelation 15:4 – Revelation 19:4 and 10 – Revelation 22:8

Praise and worship to God imply exaltation, glorification, thanksgiving, honor, magnification and service to our God Creator and Heavenly Father.

“And now, because of Jesus Christ, we can praise the only wise God forever! Amen.” (Romans 16:27)

The Narrow Door

The Narrow Door (Luke 13:22-30)







By: Gladys Raquel Hernández




Someone asked Jesus if few people would be saved and He answered:

“Do all you can to go in the narrow door! A lot of people will try to get in, but will not be able to”. (Luke 13:24)

This biblical verse is very important and invites all human beings of the planet to reflect seriously about the expression: “The Narrow Door”.

Jesus was referring to the fact that it is not always easy for all the people in the world to live a proper Christian life such as He has taught and is established in the Sacred Scriptures as regards the ten Commandments and further Laws and teachings that God has ordered to obey and follow so that we could be able to live according to His will, and therefore, we could be blessed by Him. (Deuteronomy 5:1-21)

Even though the salvation of an individual is due to God´s Grace and not due to his works or any merit whatsoever, Jesus teaches us that if we allow Him to inhabit our hearts and govern our lives, God´s Commandments and His Laws can be perfectly fulfilled through Him. That is, God will always strengthen and comfort us when we fall down, when we go wrong or when we commit sins, considering that His mercy endures forever.

“Shout praises to the Lord! He is good to us, and his love never fails”. (Psalm 107:1)

The Sacred scriptures state that even the Jewish people could not obey God´s Laws as He would have wished them to.

We should view the following biblical verse that establishes this concept:

My friends, the message is that Jesus can forgive your sins! The Law of Moses could not set you free from all your sins. But everyone who has faith in Jesus is set free”. (Acts 13:38-39)

However, a Christian person who is matured in his faith cannot abuse of God´s Grace and basically must make great efforts and be brave during all his Christian life.

“I´ve commanded you to be strong and brave. Don´t ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the Lord, your God, and I will be there to help you whenever you go”. (Joshua 1:9)

Therefore, if we do not obey God faithfully, we will lose our eternal salvation. On the other hand, when people in general refer to death, they usually think that any person who dies, goes to God´s presence. How easy it is for people who belong to the world´s system to solve this topic, isnt´t it? Did Jesus mean the same? The answer is: No.

Jesus continues talking:

"Once the owner of the house gets up and locks the door, you will be left standing outside. You will knock on the door and say, “Sir, open the door for us!”. But the owner will answer, “I don´t know a thing about you!”. Then you will start saying, “we dined with you, and you taught in our streets.” But he will say, “I really don´t know who you are! Get away from me, you evil people!” Then when you have been thrown outside, you will weep and grit your teeth because you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the prophets in God´s kingdom. People will come from all directions and sit down to feast in God´s kingdom. There the ones who are now least important will be the most important, and those who are now most important will be least important”. (Luke 13:25-30)

This alarming message on the part of Jesus is clearly addressed to the human race of all times. We have free will to decide and choose what kind of life we want to live and which path to follow during all our lives.

According to what we decide and choose, God will guide us step by step towards His right paths or not, because He will never compel us to do anything. However, the consequences of disobedience will be terrible.

We can view this biblical verse and should pay attention to it:

“Turn to the Lord! He can still be found. Call out to God! He is near”. (Isaiah 55:6)

Otherwise, we can view the consequences:

“The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everyone who does wrong or causes others to sin. Then he will throw them into a flaming furnace, where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain. But everyone who has done right will shine like the sun in their Father´s kingdom. If you have ears, pay attention!”. (Matthew 13:41-43)

We are confined into God´s Laws and into His Plan of eternal salvation, as we are His creation!!! We can neither escape nor decide different alternatives.

Therefore, we should look for our God only!

AMEN!!!

Talents Versus Spiritual Gifts

By: Gladys Raquel Hernández



Talents are all those qualities or attributes granted to a person and may be either physical, manual or verbal skills. Talents are all those abilities, capabilities, cleverness and creativeness a person has in order to carry out a specific task. Talents are generally found in sportsmen/women, singers, musicians, dancers, scientists, investigators, researchers, etc. However, talents are not limited to our favorite characters, but all human beings have been given different talents, which we cannot always discover inside of us because we have been imposed ways of life that have limited us in our human and professional development many times, what has caused frustration and bitterness to us throughout our lives.

On the other hand, the spiritual gifts are divine attributes, that is, they come directly from our Creator towards our lives due to God´s grace, which is a present we are not worthy of at all. When we open our sincere hearts to God, He distributes different spiritual gifts to all of us according to His will.

The following biblical verses state these concepts:

“The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others. Some of us can speak with wisdom, while others can speak with knowledge, but these gifts come from the same Spirit. To others the Spirit has given great faith or the power to heal the sick or the power to work mighty miracles. Some of us are prophets, and some of us recognize when God´s Spirit is present. Others can speak different kinds of languages, and still others can tell what these languages mean. But it is the Spirit who does all this and decides which gifts to give to each of us”. (1º Corinthians 12:7-11)

Talents as well as spiritual gifts are granted by God because all what we are and have, has been given by God. He has created us to be like Him (Genesis 1:26). He has deposited a soul into each body created (which comprises our minds, thoughts, intellect and emotions), so that our souls are developed, they may encounter our Creator and get redemption (to be born again upon accepting Jesus Christ as savior) in order to get the subsequent eternal life and our incorruptible, glorious and powerful bodies such as the one our Lord Jesus lives in.

We can appreciate the following biblical verse:

“Our Lord Jesus Christ has power over everything and he will make these poor bodies of ours like his own glorious body”. (Philippians 3:21)

The spiritual gifts are: leadership, teaching, knowledge, wisdom, prophecy, science, discernment, exhortation, healthiness, pastorate, faith, evangelism, apostolate, service, mercy and generosity.

God yearns that we open our sincere hearts to Him so that He may not only enter and live into us forever, but He also wishes to distribute spiritual gifts and to spill His infinite Grace over us, due to His tender and good heart. We can grow, mature and develop well as efficient Christ´s soldiers through God´s Grace and the spiritual gifts we receive from Him, in order to carry out our ministries and service to God successfully.

We can view how good God is through this biblical verse:

“If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God and it will be given to you. God is generous and won´t correct you for asking”. (James 1:5)

AMEN!!!

Conversion Versus Religion

By: Gladys Raquel Hernández



The genuine conversion to christianity is the result of the full conviction about the existence of the Unique Living God carried out by the power of the Holy Spirit through His Divine touch called “anointing” and who reveals Jesus Christ, the Savior, to our hearts. The word “anointing” comes from the greek word “Chrisma” = Charisma, which means to rub, to cover with oil. This word gives the idea of a shadow which covers us. The idea of this word is that the Holy Spirit covers us with His traits, qualities and virtues. When the anointing comes to us is when God rubs us and anoints us with the Holy Spirit´s personality. In other words, it is His personality that covers us with His virtues, character and power.

We can view what Jesus tells His disciples as regards the Holy Spirit´s Work, through the following biblical verses:

“But I tell you that I am going to do what is best for you. That is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you. The Spirit will come and show the people of this world the truth about sin and God´s justice and the judgment. The Spirit will show them that they are wrong about sin, because they didn´t have faith in me. They are wrong about God´s justice, because I am going to the Father, and you won´t see me again. And they are wrong about the judgment, because God has already judged the ruler of this world”. (John 16:7-11)

“The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn´t speak on his own. He will tell you only what he has heard from me, and he will let you know what is going to happen. The Spirit will bring glory to me by taking my message and telling it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine. That is why I have said that the Spirit takes my message and tells it to you”. (John 16:13-15)

Pursuant to these biblical verses, we can be completely sure and self-confident that the Holy Spirit is among us here on earth and lives into those people who look for Him with all their hearts.

The Holy Spirit reveals Himself to our lives and invites us to open our sincere hearts to Him so that He can enter and live into us forever. The one who accepts Him, will start feeling inside the marvelous flow of His Spirit, who will manifest Himself in any special way that each human being will identify as such. Thus, the individual will become a supernatural being through the marvelous anointing spilt over him, as his Creator will make him perceive this and therefore, He will convince the individual about this. That is, it is a strictly personal relationship with each individual wherein other people do not take part.

Jesus Himself was anointed, chosen and sent to tell the oppressed the good news, to heal the brokenhearted and to announce freedom for prisoners and captives, to show kindness to us and punish our enemies, to comfort those who mourn, to give them flowers in place of their sorrow, olive oil in place of tears and joyous praise in place of broken hearts (Isaiah 61:1-3). That is, Jesus was anointed and trained in order to supply all our needs.

The Word “Christian” means “anointed person” and all the christians have the same anointing as Jesus in different measures. The preaching of God´s Word without anointing, hardens, dries, irritates, kills everything, is boring, makes us sleep and look for another thing to do. This is the result that causes the pursuit and following of a religion, that is, the repetition of words and concepts as a routine, in a mechanized way and done by heart. The individual has neither discernment nor revelation of God´s Word. Thus, he can neither encounter his Creator nor have intimate communion with Him effectively.

God´s Word´s tradition steals effect to the real value of the Word. Therefore, sometimes the christian is lost and diverts himself from Jesus´s doctrine (His correct teaching) (1º Timothy 4:6). It is necessary to be acquainted with the Sacred Scriptures deeply in order to understand how God is and what He demands from us, His children, if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior.

Despite this, God´s power is present everywhere but it is not always activated. That is to say, we cannot always view results with our eyes. Likewise, it is proper to stand out that incredulity and disbelief do not allow God´s power to flow through people. The anointing is like electricity which flows through wire and the anointing´s purpose is to heal, to restore, to train, to sanctify and to take honor and glory to our Lord, Jesus.

“The Spirit will bring glory to me by taking my message and telling it to you”. (John 16:14)

Furthermore, every single believer should receive a fresh anointing frequently so as to become an efficient Christ´s soldier and to be able to fight well.

We should consider the following biblical verses wherein the apostle Paul refers to his labor within his evangelization ministry to the gentiles (non-Jewish people) and the way all of us can work in different ministries, by also fighting well and being faithful until Jesus´s return:

“I have fought well. I have finished the race, and I have been faithful. So, a crown will be given to me for pleasing the Lord. He judges fairly, and on the day of judgment he will give a crown to me and to everyone else who wants him to appear with power”. (2º Timothy 4:7-8)

AMEN!!!

The Lord Is About To Return

WHY HASN´T JESUS RETURNED TO FETCH HIS CHURCH YET?













By: Gladys Raquel Hernández



“I am coming soon! And when I come, I will reward everyone for what they have done”. (Revelation 22:12)

What does it mean that the Lord is about to return or that Jesus is coming back soon?. Will the Lord be referring to a chronological period of time, which sounds reasonable for our quite limited human understanding?

It is important to analyze the following concepts:

The last order Jesus gave to His disciples before He were raised to the sky in His glorified body, was that they should be spread throughout the countries bearing the Good News about the Kingdom of Heaven.

“Go and preach the good news to everyone in the world”. (Mark 16:15)

Furthermore, the Great Commission states:

“Jesus came to them and said: I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world”. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Jesus also promises the following:

“I will send you the one my Father has promised, but you must stay in the city until you are given power from heaven”. (Luke 24:49)

Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit, who would remain definitively on earth until Jesus´s second return, in order to fetch His church: the Lamb´s bride. (Revelation 19:7)

We should consider the following biblical verses when Jesus appears in front of His disciples after having been raised from the dead:

“After Jesus had greeted them again, he said: I am sending you, just as the Father has sent me. Then He breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit”. (John 20:21-22)

Likewise, Jesus promises:

“Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you. The Spirit will show you what is true. The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit, because they don´t see or know him. But you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you. I won´t leave you like orphans. I will come back to you”. (John 14:16-18)

After Jesus were raised from the dead and taken up to heaven where His Father is, the Apostle Paul also refers to His second return to the earth, which is very important for the church.

“With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God´s trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life. Next, all of us who are still alive will be taken up into the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the sky. From that time on we will all be with the Lord forever”. (1º Thessalonians 4:16-17)

These events have been foretold two thousand years ago. Therefore, What do we understand when it is said that the Lord is about to return?

The Sacred Scriptures state that neither Jesus nor the angels know the day or hour of Jesus´s return, as only the Father knows. (Matthew 24:36 – Mark 13:32)

One of the signals registered in the Bible about the Lord´s return is:

“When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, the end will come”. (Matthew 24:14)

At present, God´s people are working all round the world in order to spread the good news to the people who have never had an encounter with Jesus, specially in those countries wherein the Sacred Scriptures´diffusion is forbidden. Likewise, God warns us to continue evangelizing people these days as Jesus Christ´s disciples did two thousand years ago, by making us feel interest in His kingdom of love, peace and joy.

Why hasn´t Jesus returned to fetch His church as He promised, in spite of the great effort in evangelization carried out up to now?

The answer to this question is that we are more than six thousand million people living in the planet and everybody should have at least one encounter with Jesus Christ, the Savior, during his life, and most people haven´t had any opportunity yet due to different reasons. In general, God´s Work is developed slowly, due to the negligence, carelessness, laziness, disobedience, incredulity, disbelief and even lack of organization on our part to spread the good news effectively. The Lord yearns to reach a great number of people worldwide who have accepted Jesus as their savior and have repented of their sins, in order to get the eternal salvation of their souls.

Pursuant to God´s criteria, He still feels mercy for us and wants to go on giving us redemption opportunities in order to reach a greater number of people He will consider suitable to constitute His great chosen people, before His coming anger is manifested against the wicked people and the rebels who will not be raised to heaven in order to encounter the Lord and who will suffer the Great Tribulation.

We can appreciate the following biblical verses that express the concepts hereinabove mentioned:

“From heaven God shows how angry he is with the wicked and evil things that sinful people do to crush the truth”. (Romans 1:18)
“But you are stubborn and refuse to turn to God. So you are making things even worse for yourselves on that day when he will show how angry he is and will judge the world with fairness”. (Romans 2:5)
“They also tell how you are waiting for his Son Jesus to come from heaven. God raised him from death, and on the day of judgment Jesus will save us from God´s anger”. (1º Thessalonians 1:10)
“This will be the worst time of suffering since the beginning of the world, and nothing this terrible will ever happen again”. (Matthew 24:21)

Other biblical verses that mention God´s anger are in Revelation 16:1 – Romans 5:9 - Luke 3:7 and Matthew 3:7

God is good and merciful, but according to the biblical prophecies, He will spread His anger over the wicked people and the rebels who have not accepted Jesus, during the time of the Great Tribulation and He will save His church from His anger (dead in Christ raised to life and alive people transformed who have accepted Jesus), who will live with Him forever.

According to God´s time, the period is already fulfilled to send Jesus to fetch His redeemed church. It was fulfilled on June 7th, 1967 when Jerusalem, which had been in possession of the Hachemite Kingdom of Jordan, was recovered by Israel. (Luke 21:24)

We can appreciate the following biblical verses:

“So be on your guard! You don´t know when your Lord will come. (Matthew 24:42)
“Always be ready! You don´t know when the Son of Man will come”. (Matthew 24:44)

Despite the fact that God has drawn our attention and has warned us about all these events to happen, His Word has been distorted throughout the centuries with the introduction of the many diverse religions and sects which have confused the human race and have diverted people from Jesus Christ´s doctrine (His correct teaching). We can only understand the spiritual world and Jesus´s wise doctrine, when the Holy Spirit is revealed to our lives, because God gives us understanding and wisdom to that effect.

We should consider these biblical verses:

“Don´t keep changing what you were taught about Christ, or else God will no longer be with you. But if you hold firmly to what you were taught, both the Father and the Son will be with you”. (2º John 1:9)
“If you teach these things to other followers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus. You will show that you have grown up on the teachings about our faith and on the good instructions you have obeyed”. (1º Timothy 4:6)
“Titus, you must teach only what is correct”. (Titus 2:1)

At present, God is looking for servants (men and women) engaged in their responsibilities, in order to spread the good news all round the world effectively because His purpose is to fulfill His Work in our lives and He will do so as it is already foretold in the Bible. God yearns to touch you with His Holy Spirit and that you allow Him to mould you so that He can guide you and direct your life according to His purposes.

“They replied, Have faith in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved! This is also true for everyone who lives in your home”. (Acts 16:31)

I would like to finish this article with a biblical verse that is a noble and marvelous God´s promise that springs from His tender heart. It is the promise that encloses all the promises. It is the plan that God Father, God Son and God Holy Spirit sealed at any time of the eternity, when you and I did not even exist, when the world did not even exist. The Three of Them in One (the Holy Trinity) thought about you and me and loved us so much that they decided to create us to be like Them (Genesis 1:26). Furthermore, they wanted us to rule all over the world!!! (Genesis 1:28). How much love to us! But all of us disobeyed. In spite of it, our heavenly Father amazed us with the good news of getting the redemption of our souls through the sacrifice of our faithful savior: Jesus.

“You died, which means that your life is hidden with Christ, who sits beside God. Christ gives meaning to your life, and when he appears, you will also appear with him in glory”. (Colossians 3:3-4)

We should receive this marvelous promise on the part of our Creator and good God who will always love us !!! (Jeremiah 31:3)

AMEN!!!

Jesus: My Owner, My Lord, My Boss

By: Gladys Raquel Hernández




How many people would like to have a boss like the multimillionaire businessman, mister Bill Gates?

It is such an impossible dream, isn´t it? It is true that this important international businessman has got a quite great number of people employed at his company, but it is a minimum number of people compared to the many million inhabitants who live in the planet, isn´t it?

Many people would like to be related to very important people, to well-off people, in order to have access to higher incomes and to live a good life quality, wouldn´t they?

All of us like to be well: to have a good standard of living, to enjoy good health, to give and receive love in the family. But, many times, in spite of all this, which is good and healthy for our lives, we feel an emptiness inside our souls and generally we cannot explain the reason of it. What is happening to us?

When we encounter Jesus, we start feeling and experiencing that He is who starts filling that great emptiness inside our souls with His love, peace and joy. The Lord is who fills the hollow of the soul. The hollow of the soul takes the shape of God, considering that He is the only One who can fill that place, through His Holy Spirit. Our souls are our true “me” (including our mind, thoughts, intellect, emotions and feelings), and our souls have been created and deposited into our bodies by God. Therefore, they belong to Him exclusively.

As God is the owner of our souls, we start feeling, at any time during our lives, that we need Him badly, that we are hungry for Him. Therefore, we start depending on our good God, by surrendering to Him completely, because the souls act as a magnet and they always try to encounter their Creator and Heavenly Father.

Thus, we start discovering that Jesus is our owner and our Lord. If we let ourselves be guided by His Holy Spirit, if we surrender completely to Him and if we start following and serving Him, we will discover with love that He is the best boss we can have: The Almighty and eternal King who lives in a glorified body, who has promised to us an eternal body such as the one He lives in (1º Corinthians 15:52-53). Jesus will always train us in order to work for Him and He will highly reward us.

We can appreciate the following biblical verse:

“We will be rewarded if our building is left standing”. (1º Corinthians 3:14)

Furthermore, God has promised to us that He will always love us and will give us eternal life!!! (Jeremiah 31:3 – John 12:49-50)

AMEN!!!

Who Are God´s People?

By: Gladys Raquel Hernández



“But you are God´s chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things that he has done. The Scriptures say, “Once you were nobody. Now you are God´s people. At one time no one had pity on you. Now God has treated you with kindness”. (1º Peter 2:9-10)

God´s people comprise all human beings who, after having had any personal encounter with Jesus Christ, have been taken aside from the world´s system, have accepted Jesus as their personal savior, have regarded themselves as sinners, have humbled themselves and surrendered completely to the Lord.

God´s people include all the people who have decided on their own to go out of the darkness where they were confined to: some of them were oppressed, others were captive (tied to alcohol, to drugs and to all kind of dependencies), others were imprisoned (blind: out of panic, obsessions, anxieties, conceit, pride, arrogance, etc.), others were broken (damaged and hurt in their heart, shattered and broken down), others were sick, and God took them to His admirable light.

God´s people include all the people who, even though they are living on earth, they are governed by spiritual laws and are included into the greatest group of people (all the inhabitants of the world) who are governed by the world´s system.

It is important to consider the following biblical verses where God calls Abraham, who is considered the faith´s father:

“Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you”. (Genesis 12:1-3)

We can appreciate through these biblical verses that God´s chosen people arise as from Abraham´s call, as God promises that all the families on earth will be blessed through him. Abraham believes and obeys God, his Creator. Therefore, he is our faith´s father.

We should consider the following biblical verses:

“The Scriptures say, “God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in Him”. (Romans 4:3)
“God promised Abraham a lot of descendants. And when it all seemed hopeless, Abraham still had faith in God and became the ancestor of many nations”. (Romans 4:18)

Likewise, God´s people have received revelation on the part of God in order to start viewing the spiritual world, to know their Creator and to have an encounter with Him, to have intimate communion with Him, to be despoiled of themselves, to follow and serve their God with all their hearts, as their father Abraham did, just by being faithful right to the end of their lives, in order to get eternal salvation. (Matthew 24:13).

God´s people have decided on their own to follow their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, considering they have free will to do so, and no one compels them to follow Jesus.

God´s people have decided to pay the obedience´s price, to make a great effort and to be brave in their ministerial works, which have been granted by their Creator and they are not ashamed of the good news.

We should consider these biblical verses:

“I´ve commanded you to be strong and brave. Don´t ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the Lord your God, and I will be there to help you wherever you go”. (Joshua 1:9)

“I am proud of the good news! It is God´s powerful way of saving all people who have faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. The good news tells how God accepts everyone who has faith, but only those who have faith. It is just as the Scriptures say, “The people God accepts because of their faith will live”. (Romans 1:16-17)

God´s people are God´s chosen and special people. They are a holy nation, that is, the faithful are called God´s children upon having accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, and who have been washed and hallowed by Jesus´s blood. This makes them different from the rest of the world´s human beings.

We can appreciate these biblical verses where God regards us as His children:

“Think how much the Father loves you. He loves us so much that he lets us be called his children, as we truly are. But since the people of this world did not know who Christ is, they don´t know who we are. My dear friends, we are already God´s children, though what we will be hasn´t yet been seen. But we do know that when Christ returns, we will be like him, because we will see him as he truly is”. (1º John 3:1-2)

“Before the world was created, God had Christ choose us to live with him and to be his holy and innocent and loving people. God was kind and decided that Christ would choose us to be God´s own adopted children”. (Ephesians 1:4-5)

“But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away”. (1º John 1:7)

God´s people constitute a “group of people acquired by God”, who have been taken aside from the ordinary world in order to enter a spiritual world on their own, having got mercy on the part of God. Even though they can view the spiritual world with their spiritual eyes, they can also view the world´s system perfectly well (the one we all know) around them. But, those people who belong to the world´s system can neither view nor understand the spiritual world and God´s people, because there are things which are discerned spiritually when the individual makes up his mind to open his heart to God.

We should consider the following biblical verse:

“That´s why only someone who has God´s Spirit can understand spiritual blessings. Anyone who doesn´t have God´s Spirit thinks these blessings are foolish”. (1º Corinthians 2:14)

God´s people comprise different human beings who are part of Jesus Christ´s Body: The Church, the Lamb´s bride (Jesus Christ: the bridegroom)

We can appreciate these biblical verses:

“But God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best”. “It takes many parts to make a single body”. “Together you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is part of his body”. “First, God chose some people to be apostles and prophets and teachers for the church. But he also chose some to work miracles or heal the sick or help others or be leaders or speak different kinds of languages”. (1º Corinthians 12:18-20-27-28).

Every human being who wishes to get out of darkness (the world´s system), may do so, and he may enter the spiritual world on his own and be part of God´s people, because God does not make any difference among people and He yearns that all of us repent for our sins.

We can consider the following biblical verse:

“And God created us all; he has no favorites, whether rich or poor”. (Job 34:19)

You must decide where to live all your eternity, as you are a soul created by God and the same will never die. Even though the church of the Lord will be taken to His presence, according to the biblical prophecies (1º Thessalonians 4:16-17), all the inhabitants on earth who have rebelled against God, or have not encountered Jesus during their lives for different reasons whatsoever and, therefore, have not been taken to heaven, will be raised to life after Jesus Christ´s Millenium´s Kingdom on earth (Revelation 20:4) and they will undergo the Judgment at the Great White Throne. Those people whose names are not written in the book of life, according to God´s will, will be thrown into the lake of fire and burning sulfur. (Revelation 20:11-15 and 21:8)

If you have not encountered Jesus yet, you are still in time to be part of God´s chosen people!

AMEN!!!

The Church Of The Lord

By: Gladys Raquel Hernández



God´s Word establishes that the church is the body of Christ and that each christian person is a member of that body that constitutes the church. The head of it is our Savior, Jesus.

We can appreciate the following biblical verse:

“Together you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is part of His body”. (1º Corinthians 12:27)

The church of the Lord neither comprises all the religious denominations, nor all the structures or buildings, temples or churches whatsoever, which are built in all the cities all round the world. All of us constitute the church, that is, the ones who are Christians, who love God with all our heart and obey Him, by fulfilling the different requirements He has ordered us, so as to help to spread His kingdom throughout the planet and to glorify Jesus, the Son of the Living God and the One who is exactly like God, who cannot be seen. (Colossians 1:15)

We can appreciate the following biblical verses:

“The Spirit will bring glory to me by taking my message and telling it to you”. (John 16:14)

“There are different ways to serve the same Lord”. (1º Corinthians 12:5)

Thus, this means that the Lord distributes gifts and ministeries, within the body of Christ, as He wishes, by calling each person and by making him/her feel in his/her heart which part of His body He wants each person to represent.

We should consider the following biblical verses:

"First, God chose some people to be apostles and prophets and teachers for the church. But He also chose some to work miracles or heal the sick or help others or be leaders or speak different kinds of languages”. (1º Corinthians 12:28)

“The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others. Some of us can speak with wisdom, while others can speak with knowledge, but these gifts come from the same Spirit. To others the Spirit has given great faith or the power to heal the sick, or the power to work mighty miracles. Some of us are prophets, and some of us recognize when God´s Spirit is present. Others can speak different kinds of languages, and still others can tell what these languages mean. But it is the Spirit who does all this and decides which gifts to give to each of us”. (1º Corinthians 12:7-11)

The church of the Lord is God´s people. They are included into the greatest group of people: The world´s system. There are more than six thousand million people all round the world, of which, a minor number constitutes the church: Faithful hearts to God. There is a great number of congregations all round the world approved by God and comprised by faithful people who carry out different activities.

We should consider the following biblical verses:

“Christ chose some of us to be apostles, prophets, missionaries, pastors and teachers. So that His people would learn to serve and His body would grow strong. This will continue until we are united by our faith and by our understanding of the Son of God. Then we will be mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like Him”. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

According to these biblical verses, the faithful people who attend the different congregations, must entirely obey their pastors, leaders or teachers, just trying to always be within God´s will and please Him, in complete order.

“But do everything properly and in order”. (1º Corinthians 14:40)

Furthermore, when Jesus Christ rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples, He gave them an order:

“Jesus came to them and said: I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world”. (Matthew 28:18-20).

This order given by Jesus known as “The Great Commission” (what Jesus´s followers must do) was the beginning of what constituted the primitive church of the Lord, leaded by Jews converted to Christianity. The apostle Paul was one of the Jewish apostles who seconded Jesus´s order, by taking the Good News to the gentiles (Non-Jewish people) pursuant to God´s order, fulfilling, in part, the Great Commission and establishing different churches in different places and countries.

At present, there are many interdenominational organizations all round the world which fulfill the Great Commission established by Jesus, with the only purpose to make each individual have an opportunity to encounter Jesus and learn His teaching in order to achieve the redemption of his/her soul.

In order to understand which the church approved by God is, it is necessary to understand Jesus´s doctrine (His correct teaching). Once more, we are not talking about a building, but faithful hearts to God. The Word “doctrine” means: What do I understand about anything or anybody? In order to understand Jesus´s doctrine or His correct teaching, I must open my heart and allow His Holy Spirit to enter into my life and start treating with me. The Holy Spirit is the One who reveals the truth to us and glorifies Jesus.

We can appreciate the following biblical verses:

“Dear friend, I am not writing to tell you and your children to do something you have not done before. I am writing to tell you to love each other, which is the first thing you were told to do. Love means that we do what God tells us. And from the beginning, He told you to love Him. Many liars have gone out into the world. These deceitful liars are saying that Jesus Christ did not have a truly human body. But they are liars and the enemies of Christ. So be sure not to lose what we have worked for. If you do, you won´t be given your full reward. Don´t keep changing what you were taught about Christ, or else God will no longer be with you. But if you hold firmly to what you were taught, both the Father and the Son will be with you. If people won´t agree to this teaching, don´t welcome them into your home or even greet them. Greeting them is the same as taking part in their evil deeds”. (2nd John 1:5-11)

Pursuant to the biblical prophecies, Jesus (the Bridegroom) will come to take the church (the Bride) with Him (Revelation 19:7). The church will be raised, in order to encounter the Lord in the sky and to live with Him forever. (1st Thessalonians 4:16-17)

This event will occur suddenly, quicker than the blink of an eye.

“I will explain a mystery to you. Not every one of us will die, but we will all be changed. It will happen suddenly, quicker than the blink of an eye. At the sound of the last trumpet the dead will be raised. We will all be changed, so that we will never die again. Our dead and decaying bodies will be changed into bodies that won´t die or decay” (1st Corinthians 15:51-53)

Jesus will not come to take with Him any institution, any building, any religion or denomination whatsoever. He will take with Him those people who had faith in Christ before they died who will be raised to life and the ones who are still alive who have faith in Him. All of them will be together taken up into the clouds so as to encounter the Lord in the sky. From that time on, we will all be with the Lord forever. (1st Thessalonians 4:16-17)

We should consider the following biblical verses:

“So we will be glad and happy and give Him praise. The wedding day of the Lamb is here and His bride (the Church) is ready. She will be given a wedding dress made of pure and shining linen. This linen stands for the good things God´s people have done”. (Revelation 19:7-8)

“After all, Christ will judge each of us for the good or the bad that we do while living in these bodies”. (2nd Corinthians 5:10)

“Whatever we built on that foundation will be tested by fire on the day of judgment. Then everyone will find out if we have used gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, and straw. We will be rewarded if our building is left standing. But if it is destroyed by the fire, we will lose everything. Yet we ourselves will be saved, like someone escaping from flames”. (1st Corinthians 3:13-15)

It is certainly convenient for us to follow God, to accept His Unique Son as our Savior and to belong to His body: the Church.

We can verify what God thinks about the world´s system and ideas.

“Even when God is foolish, He is wiser than everyone else, and even when God is weak, He is stronger than everyone else”. (1st Corinthians 1:25)

“But God chose the foolish things of this world to put the wise to shame. He chose the weak things of this world to put the powerful to shame. What the world thinks is worthless, useless, and nothing at all is what God has used to destroy what the world considers important. God did all this to keep anyone from bragging to Him” (1st Corinthians 1:27-29)

“This is because God considers the wisdom of this world to be foolish. It is just as the Scriptures say, “God catches the wise when they try to outsmart Him. The Scriptures also say: “The Lord knows that the plans made by wise people are useless”. (1st Corinthians 3:19-20)

We should consider the following God´s advice.

“So if you want to brag, do what the Scriptures say and brag about the Lord”. (1st Corinthians 1:31)

“And now, because of Jesus Christ, we can praise the only wise God forever”. (Romans 16:27)

AMEN!!!

Time Is Precious

By Gladys Raquel Hernández



There is a famous popular saying: “Time is Money”, which seems to involve all the world-wide population and make people occupy all their time, mind and strength in their work, progress, development, personal and family welfare, savings and investment for the future... What future?

First, the Bible teaches us that we must love the Lord, our God, with all our heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:37).

Secondly, the Bible teaches us that life is uncertain.

The following are the biblical verses about the ”Rich Fool”.

“Then, I´ll say to myself, you have stored up enough good things to last for years to come. Live it up! Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself. But God said to him: You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will get what you have stored up? This is what happens to people who store up everything for themselves, but are poor in the sight of God”. (Luke 12:19-21)

This previous passage emphasizes the transitory character of life on earth and the terrible consequences after death for those who have neither encountered nor accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. God refers to this man as “Fool”. That is, if we behave as the “rich fool” of the biblical verses, we become ignorant, imprudent and stubborn. All these attitudes separate us from God.

The following biblical verses refer to “ignorance”:

“God wants you to silence stupid and ignorant people by doing right.” (1º Peter 2:15)

“In the past, God forgave all this because people did not know what they were doing. “But now he says that everyone everywhere must turn to Him”. (Acts 17:30)

Now, in Psalm 39 from David, we can appreciate the transitory character of life:

“Please, Lord, show me my future. Will I soon be gone?. You made my life short, so brief that the time means nothing to you. Human life is but a breath, and it disappears like a shadow. Our struggles are senseless; we store up more and more, without ever knowing who will get it all”. (Psalm 39:4-6)

“Teach us to use wisely all the time we have”. (Psalm 90:12)

Likewise, in the following biblical verses, the Lord teaches us about eagerness and anxiety:

“Jesus said to His disciples: I tell you not to worry about your life! Don´t worry about having something to eat or wear. Life is more than food or clothing”. (Luke 12:22-23)

The Lord emphasizes that we should not work hard, that is, to act with eagerness and that we should not carry out “excessive work” as the main goal in our lives, just because life is uncertain. Therefore, today we are in this physical-material world and suddenly, we may travel to the light or darkness dimension, just as we have believed and confessed our Lord, Jesus, or not, while we were living on earth.

The Lord teaches us to put God´s work first. (Luke 12:31)

Thus, we realize bit by bit, that it is necessary to live a spiritual life, a life based on God´s Word. It is never late to have an encounter with God, our Creator. There is hope while we are alive. It is a hope the Lord has put into our hearts in order to encounter Him. It is very easy to make this hope come true by opening our sincere and thankful hearts to our Lord. Then, the popular saying “Time is Money”, turns into a divine saying: “Time is Precious”. You ought to make use of your time entirely all the days of your life, just trying to enjoy yourself in your Creator´s Presence, by loving Him, honoring Him, respecting and obeying Him, just trying to live a full life, a life based on justice, walking in holiness in the presence of God so as to be on good terms with God, so that your life which is uncertain does not find yourself in darkness, committing sins, acting with transgression, iniquity, rebellion, fault or omission whatsoever, out of God´s will, and so that you may say with complete conviction:

“What am I waiting for? I depend on you, Lord! (Psalm 39:7)

AMEN!!!

God´s Grace....

IS IT A GIFT FALLEN FROM HEAVEN… OR DO I OBTAIN IT DAY BY DAY THROUGH MY PERSEVERANCE AND MY THANKFUL HEART?


By: Gladys Raquel Hernández


God´s Grace has been spread out in abundance over the human race that wishes to encounter our Creator, since the raising of Jesus Christ to heaven who was brought back to life, up to now, and the Grace time will come to an end with the raising of the church of the Lord that will be taken to His presence at any time from now on, pursuant to the biblical prophecies.

The following biblical verses refer to the concepts hereinabove mentioned:

“With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God´s trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life. Next, all of us who are still alive will be taken up into the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the sky. From that time on, we will all be with the Lord forever”. (1º Thessalonians 4:16-17)

Those people who wish to accept Jesus Christ as their only savior and to apologize for their sins, may do so during this time, and God´s Grace will be spread out over them without any reproach whatsoever. That is, the Grace is a gift given by God and we are not worth of it. As God is good, (Psalm 107:1) He wants to redeem us and give us eternal life, as Jesus has already paid a high price: His cruel death in a cross with that purpose, so that we do not spend the eternity in the lake of fire and burning sulfur (Revelation 21:8), because all of us have sinned and fallen short of God´s glory. (Romans 3:23)

We should consider the following biblical verses which state these concepts:

"He told them: The Scriptures say that the Messiah must suffer, then three days later He will rise from death. They also say that all people of every nation must be told in my name to turn to God in order to be forgiven. So beginning in Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46-47)

Now, How many years of life are ahead of me since I have received Jesus Christ in my heart? How many days of my life are ahead so that God´s Grace covers me in times of trials, anguish, hindrances and difficulties whatsoever? Is God´s Grace enough for me? Do I endure the trials that come to me, even though Jesus´s Grace covers me, protects me, shelters me and backs me all the days of my life?

On one occasion, the Apostle Paul told the Lord that he no longer endured a suffering he was undergoing, during his great and extraordinary evangelistic ministry to the Gentiles (non-Jewish people).

The Apostle Paul said:

“Of course, I am now referring to the wonderful things I saw. One of Satan´s angels was sent to make me suffer terribly, so that I would not feel too proud. Three times I begged the Lord to make this suffering go away. (2º Corinthians 12:7-8)

The Lord replied:

“My kindness is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak”. (2º Corinthians 12:9)

How interesting the answer Jesus Christ gave to him, isn´t it? Jesus meant that the more attacks, struggles and trials we have to face in our lives, the weaker we will feel; thus, we will allow the power of Christ to rest on us and strengthen us as well. Therefore, our service to God will give a better result if we allow Jesus Christ to live into us.

We should notice the reflection on the part of the Apostle Paul:

“So if Christ keeps giving me His power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am. Yes, I am glad to be weak or insulted or mistreated or to have troubles and sufferings, if it is for Christ. Because when I am weak, I am strong”. (2º Corinthians 12:9-10)

Thus, the weaker I am, the more I will allow that my “Me” dies and that the Spirit of Christ lives in me; therefore, I will be strong in the Lord!!! (Galatians 2:20)

We can appreciate these biblical verses:

“You don´t gain anything by being punished for some wrong you have done. But God will bless you, if you have to suffer for doing something good. After all, God chose you to suffer as you follow in the footsteps of Christ, who set an example by suffering for you”. (1º Peter 2:20-21)

The Christian life is difficult and requires a certain spiritual maturity to endure and to face the trials and difficulties of life in peace, to love and respect God in spite of adversities.

Therefore, the Lord tells us:

“All you need is my kindness, my love, my mercy, the salvation of your soul and your incorruptible and eternal body that you will get provided you keep on being faithful right to the end of your life”. (1º Corinthians 15:52-53 – Matthew 24:13)

The Christian career is a difficult, hard but beautiful task that is worth undergoing in this earthly life, which is built day by day by God´s Grace, just by being faithful right to the end of our lives. Then, we will be saved!!! (Matthew 24:13)

AMEN!!!

What Does God Promise To The Sinful Human Race?

By: Gladys Raquel Hernández



There exist many promises for the sinful human race on the part of God according to what is established in the Sacred Scriptures. The most important and marvelous promise for all of us is the eternal life and the subsequent raising of our bodies to be like Jesus.

The following biblical verses refer to the above mentioned concept.

"My Father wants everyone who sees the Son to have faith in Him and to have eternal life. Then I will raise them to life on the last day”. (John 6:40)
“It will happen suddenly, quicker than the blink of an eye. At the sound of the last trumpet the dead will be raised. We will all be changed, so that we will never die again. Our dead and decaying bodies will be changed into bodies that won´t die or decay”. (1º Corinthians 16:52-53)

Jesus tells us:

“While you are in the world, you will have to suffer. But cheer up! I have defeated the world”. (John 16:33)
Jesus promised to us that the father would send us the Holy Spirit who would help us and always be with us. (John 14:16-18)
“I will send you the one my Father has promised (the Holy Spirit), but you must stay in the city until you are given power from heaven”. (Luke 24:49)
Jesus promised that He would always be with us, even until the end of the world”. (Matthew 28:20)

Jesus speaks to us:

“Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And the door will be opened for everyone who knocks”. (Matthew 7:7-8)
“But more than anything else, put God´s work first and do what He wants. Then the other things will be yours as well”. (Matthew 6:33)
“I promise you that God in heaven will allow whatever you allow on earth, but He will not allow anything you don´t allow”. (Matthew 18:18)
“I am the light that has come into the world. No one who has faith in me will stay in the dark. I am not the one who will judge those who refuse to obey my teachings. I came to save the people of this world, not to be their judge”. (John 12:46-47)
“Ask me, and I will tell you things that you don´t know and can´t find out”. (Jeremiah 33:3)

The following biblical verses refer to promises regarding petitions:

"Ask me, and I will do whatever you ask. This way the Son will bring honour to the Father. I will do whatever you ask me to do”. (John 14:13-14)
“I promise that when any two of you on earth agree about something you are praying for, my Father in heaven will do it for you. Whenever two or three of you come together in my name, I am there with you”. (Matthew 18:19-20)
“If you have faith when you pray, you will be given whatever you ask for”. (Matthew 21:22)

Likewise, there are more biblical verses which promise to us that if we have faith when we pray, the desires of our hearts will be fulfilled according to God´s will. (Luke 11:9 – Mark 11:24 – John 15:7 and 16:24 – Ephesians 3:20 and 1º John 5:14)

If we have committed any sin and we feel gilty for it, this is the promise of God: “The Lord isn´t slow about keeping His promises, as some people think He is. In fact, God is patient, because He wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost”. (1º John 1:9)

If we have to take a decision , this is the promise: “If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won´t correct you from asking. But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like an ocean wave tossed around in a storm”. (James 1:5-6)

If we are tempted, this is the promise: “You are tempted in the same way that everyone else is tempted. But God can be trusted not to let you be tempted too much, and He will show you how to escape from your temptations.” (1º Corinthians 10:13)

If we suffer and are disappointed, this is the promise: “We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves Him. They are the ones God has chosen for His purpose”. (Romans 8:28)

If we are disheartened and discouraged, this is the promise: “In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us”. (Romans 8:37)

If we have any doubt about who God is, this is the promise: “Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing. He wanted us to be His own special people, and so He sent the true message to give us new birth”. (James 1:17-18)

If we need a friend, this is the promise: “Listen, I am standing and knocking at your door. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and we will eat together”. (Revelation 3:20)

If we have economic problems or we feel distressed, this is the promise: “But more than anything else, put God´s work first and do what He wants. Then the other things will be yours as well”. (Matthew 6:33)

If we feel like abandoning everything, this is the promise: “I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine”. (Ephesians 3:20)

When things go wrong and we lose hope, this is the promise: “Keep on being brave! It will bring you great rewards. Learn to be patient, so that you will please God and be given what He has promised”. (Hebrews 10:35-36)

When we are anxious, this is the promise: “Don´t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel”. (Philippians 4:6-7)

When we are sad, anguished or feel lonely, this is the promise: “But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you. I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. It isn´t like the peace that this world can give. So don´t be worried or afraid”. (John 14:26-27)

When we feel tired, this is the promise: “If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Take the yoke I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest. This yoke is easy to bear, and this burden is light”. (Matthew 11:28-30)

As we could appreciate through these biblical verses, God is good and His faithfulness never ends!!!! (Psalm 107:1 – Psalm 117:2)

AMEN!!!