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The Privilege to Live Eternally in Heavenly Places

You have the privilege to always be with Jesus Christ

Eternity is quite the word. It means “never-ending time.” And that word, that concept is quite the shock when you actually think about it. To believe that time will never cease can hugely affect your perspective on life. It raises a very intimidating question that overshadows your existence. The question which eternity poses, is “Where do I fit it in the context of eternity?” So, in this post, we’ll be exercising the privilege to explore eternity and what that means for you.

The Corruption of Eternity

As made clear in the introduction, time will never cease. But, when did it start?

Genesis 1:1 World English Bible (WEB)
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

And a verse from the New Testament of the Bible says…

John 1:1 World English Bible (WEB)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

So, as we can connect the two verses above, time began a very, very long time ago. In fact, God does not clarify how long He waited before making humans. God was uninterested in writing a science textbook, but, He was interested in reaching out to us through the Bible.

As a matter of fact, many of the confusions concerning the accuracy of the Bible arise from the flimsy presupposition that the Bible was meant to be a scientific journal or something like that. God was talking to ancient people who did not want to even change their lifestyle, let alone their knowledge of the world around them.

Nevertheless, getting back to the point of this blog, God created time. And so, after that point, if you read Genesis 1-3, you’ll find out that He made the Earth, He made animals, and He formed the first two humans: Adam and Eve. He told them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:17 World English Bible (WEB)
17 but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”

But, they disobeyed God’s warning by listening to a fallen angel known as the devil, and they ate from it.

Genesis 3:13 World English Bible (WEB)
13 Yahweh God said to the woman, “What have you done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

This event is when eternity shifted gears. God told them that they could eat from any tree in that garden, but they chose the one that God specifically told them not to eat from. And that knowledge of good and evil redefined the human mind, allowing for mental illness, sickness, and more. This is where hell on Earth started.

The Death of the Eternal One

Now, as humanity proceeded down the course of time with a knowledge of good and evil, every single person experienced that knowledge of evil. Knowing that there’s evil means that there’s evil. This accounts for diseases, for natural disasters, and for anything and everything that threatens human life.

So, did God leave us in this place? No, He came down to the Earth in the form of a human being.

John 1:14 World English Bible (WEB)
14 The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word, also known as Jesus Christ, is God in the flesh. And it was this very same Word, who the Bible says was with God and was God at the same time.

So, He took on the form of flesh to experience what it means to be human. Yet, He never sinned as other humans would because unlike normal human beings, He is mature enough to handle that knowledge of good and evil.

2 Corinthians 5:21 World English Bible (WEB)
21 For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Moreover, the religious leaders of Jesus’ time were jealous of His goodness and led the people to sentence Him to a gruesome crucifixion, but, it was God’s plan.

Jesus had to die on the cross so that when Jesus, the Eternal One, the one who made time, itself, dies on our behalf for our sinful knowledge, we would receive the privilege to call God as our Father just as Jesus did when He was on Earth.

John 1:16 World English Bible (WEB)
16 From his fullness we all received grace upon grace.

Jesus rose again after three days!

The Privilege to Live Eternally

Now, as children of God, you can live forever and not fear it. You don’t have to be unsure of what’s going to happen with you in the future. You just need to trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, God forgives all your mistakes and sins because that belief in Jesus Christ credits all your evils to the punishment which Jesus Christ received.

Ephesians 2:4-6 World English Bible (WEB)
4 But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Now, you have the privilege to live together with Jesus Christ and the privilege to sit with Him in the heavenly places. That means even if you die on this Earth, you will remain alive with Christ Jesus because your spirit is safe and secure in His hands. But, this means you have all the more reason to live on this planet.

Whether you suffer from mental illness or physical infirmities, Jesus Christ promises to heal you.

1 Peter 2:24 World English Bible (WEB)
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness. You were healed by his wounds.

Furthermore, you can face eternity without worry because you’re not alone. For all of eternity and in the ages to come, He will always be by your side.

Therefore, believe what Jesus Christ says and let the knowledge of His love and grace transform you. He has given you the privilege to never cease existing and to enter a relationship with Him because He is always with you, whether that be on Earth or in heavenly places.

Jesus loves you for eternity

By Andre Wijesekera

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The Model Method To Deal With Stress

Method to deal with stress

We often wonder how wonderful it’d be if there weren’t such a thing as stress. I mean it’s bothersome, cumbersome, and painful. You might be stressing about paying the bills, dealing with your job, taking care of children, and more. The point is that there’s always something to stress about. And if one challenge is resolved, it seems that there’ll always arise a new challenge! Once again, if there’s any issue, God’s Word holds a solution for it. So, keep on reading to find out whether God thinks if there is a method to deal with stress.

Stress is a Deviation of Fear

Life is rife with stressful ordeals and situations. But, what is it in the grand scheme of things? What is the bigger picture when it comes to viewing stress and worry? Well, it means that the person who stresses, myself included, cannot trust what God holds in picture.

Stress is basically a way to express fear. A person starts feeling stress when something they dearly love or value is at risk or in jeopardy.

For King David, he stressed out when he couldn’t hide his affair with Bathsheba. He wanted to preserve his reputation and affair and so, he indirectly murdered her husband, which God really disapproved of. In fact, it led to him suffering a lot since his actions held many consequences.

2 Samuel 12:9 World English Bible (WEB)
9 Why have you despised Yahweh’s word, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. 

And King Saul stressed out when God did not want him as king anymore due to his constant disobedience. King Saul wanted to protect his privileges as King of Israel but since that was in jeopardy, he stressed to the point of seeking peace from a witch and that did not end so well.

The Biblical accounts of many historical figures show that people often feel stress and it happens in situations where it’s the person’s fault or when it’s not their fault. Either way, it never leads to anything good and is almost always a contributing factor to failure except in Jesus’ case. But, let’s see and learn from how God dealt with stress.

Remembering How God Dealt With Stress

Now, let’s go the scene of when Jesus Christ was awaiting His crucifixion. It was the night at the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus knew that Judas was leading the priests and leaders to him so that they may arrest Him and send Him to His grisly fate. Just picture it, He knows what He is going to face and He knows every single detail that is going to take place.

1 John 3:20 World English Bible (WEB)
20 because if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

He knows how they’re going to make him wait in a cold room in the early morning; He knows how they’re going to literally skin Him alive with every lash of their ancient yet meticulous torturing devices, and He knows how they’re going to carve through his flesh and bones with enormous nails that would even send chills down the spine of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.

First and foremost, you must realize this was not something out of His control and if He wanted to, He could have stopped this ordeal immediately. When Peter tried to stop Jesus’ arrest, Jesus reminded Peter that He doesn’t need Peter to defend Him as He has so many angels at His command.

Matthew 26:53 World English Bible (WEB)
53 Or do you think that I couldn’t ask my Father, and he would even now send me more than twelve legions of angels?

Furthermore, the decision was hard for Jesus who is God in the flesh. He had to lay down His life and embrace a fate worse than death. And in that garden, Jesus prayed to Heavenly Father as a model for us.

The Method to Deal With Stress

Matthew 26:39 World English Bible (WEB)
39 He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire.”

Jesus did feel stress, He wanted to protect his life from unfathomable pain; He knew it was coming and since He knew the ordeal was going to happen, His fear was well-justified. To save the souls of the world, He’d have to suffer a lot.

And the Bible said that He stressed so much that even His sweat became blood which is an actual medical condition borne out of extreme stress according to modern medical science.

Luke 22:44 King James Version (KJV)
44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Moreover, Jesus still looked at the grand scheme of things, He did something which most of us don’t do when we’re stressed out. He prioritized God’s will and subjected His fate to what God the Father wants which is the right method to deal with stress.

God Stressed Out So You Don’t Have To

Thus, His stress was beneficial for us so that we would not need to stress to accomplish our work as His blood went into the ground to satisfy the curse granted to Adam’s descendants when Adam ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 3:17 World English Bible (WEB)
17 To Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to your wife’s voice,
    and have eaten from the tree,
    about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’
    the ground is cursed for your sake.
You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life.

Of course, this is not split personality, but rather, it is something that Jesus being God in the flesh, wants us to know. He wants us to follow His example and He spoke to Himself as God the Father so we can learn. He has done this earlier and one example of how He does this is seen in the following Bible verse.

John 11:42 World English Bible (WEB)
42 I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude standing around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.”

The Method to Find Peace in a World of Stress

In conclusion, Jesus did fulfill His will and endure the crucifixion for our sakes. With such tremendous power at His grasp, He believed it was better to let hell destroy Him for our restoration.

If you are stressing out, remember that Jesus stressed out, too. And if you want peace, just follow His model, the method to deal with stress. Trust in God’s will, ask Him for the bigger picture and He’ll make things work out for your good. He always makes things work out for our good because He loves us, why else would He suffer so much for us?

Romans 12:2 World English Bible (WEB)
2 Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Renew your mind according to the Word of God. Let His love speak to you and trust Him.

Philippians 4:7 World English Bible (WEB)
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

Don’t try to understand the peace of God, but just trust God. You are now in the New Covenant with God and unlike the Old Testament, when you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, He promises to forgive you, save you, and to grant you His peace, so you only need to receive His peace.

Therefore, if you feel stressed out, follow Jesus’ method to deal with stress by asking God to make things work out according to His will, and He will deal with your stress through the peace of His Holy Spirit. He will eventually make all things in your life, whether good or bad, to work out for your good. So you’ll one day see your current stressful situation as a memory and as a testimony of God’s goodness.

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The Lord Who Cares for You

The Lord Who Cares for You

If there’s anything you get from this post, please, let it be the knowledge of how much God loves you. I am speaking to people from all walks of life because this knowledge is meant for everyone. Whether you are a stay-at-home mom trying her best to raise children, or a university student diligently studying in the hopes of academic success, you must know one thing. You must know that Jesus is the Lord who cares for you. If you find it hard to believe, let this post minister to your doubt. And for those who already believe in God’s love, let this post renew your mind.

The Nature of God

1 Peter 5:6-7 World English Bible (WEB)
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.

Peter talks to the Church in the above verse about relying on the strength of God. Holy Spirit wants us to cast every worry, not on ourselves, but on Him. And the root of that divine desire is the fact that God cares for you. The reason why God wants you to let Him take care of the things which worry you is because He loves you.

The world might say there is no one who cares about you, except yourself and that you have to make your own way through life. However, this is not the truth; the fact of the matter is that God cares about you. He is the Lord who deeply cares for you. Even if the whole world was to hate you, you would not be outside of God’s unconditional love.

Romans 5:8 World English Bible (WEB)
8 But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

God loves you whether you believe it or not. It is in His nature to love you. And it is for this reason that He died for you on the cross. When Jesus who is God in the flesh died on the cross two thousand years ago, He did it with reason. He did it because the perfect justice of God required punishment for our imperfection. Every small lie, vile thought, and evil intention laid on your spiritual record demanded a ferocious fine. And it is impossible for you to enter the presence of God with such a stained record. Someone needed to pay a heavy penalty for your mistakes.

But, on the cross of Calvary, Jesus Christ, the very embodiment of God’s love, paid to the justice of God so that He could endure your hell for your sake. And three days later, He resurrected victoriously conquering death once and for all. Thus, I urge you to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour if you have not already. I talk more about this divine exchange and its benefits in another post, too.

When you accept Jesus as your Saviour, you allow His work on the cross to save you. When you accept Him as your Lord, you allow Him to take full control over your life so He can bless you and guide you.

The King’s Only Weakness

Now, is it blasphemy to say that God holds a single weakness? I consider it not, for there is truth in such a claim. Let me explain.

1 Corinthians 1:24-25 World English Bible (WEB)
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God; 25 because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Paul writes that Christ is the power and wisdom of God. When you look at what the Messiah was sent to do, you can see how strong and wise He is. The mission was to reveal God’s love to the world. And Jesus accomplished that, He endured terror beyond imagination during the crucifixion process to save you. But, why was He willing to sacrifice Himself for you?

It was because He is the Lord who cares for you. His love for you is His only weakness. This is why Paul writes that the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men. You can see God’s love for you as strength or as a weakness. It is a weakness in that it caused Him harm. It is a strength because His love for you saved you.

Either way, the point is that you are the weakness of God. His love is so great, so genuine, so sincere that it led Him to lay down His life for you. Whether you’re good or bad, smart or foolish, He loves you and He leaves it up to you if you want to accept Him.

Divine Promise of the Lord Who Cares for You

Romans 8:38-39 World English Bible (WEB)
38 For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from God’s love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

There is no person or thing which can separate you from the love of Jesus. You may wonder why He loves you so much. But, perhaps He loves you because He created you, He designed you, He made you in His own likeness.

It is like a father who looks into His child’s eyes and realizes an instinctual affection for His child. It’s not as if the baby has done anything good or bad to earn the love of the father; the father’s love is independent of the child’s performance.

Isaiah 49:15 World English Bible (WEB)
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
    that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Yes, these may forget,
    yet I will not forget you!

God makes a promise that likens His relationship with Israel which represents His covenant people to that of a mother and her nursing child. He points out how even if some mothers may forget their child, He will never forget us. He will always be the Lord who cares for you. His love’s guaranteed.

Therefore, remember how He loves you. If you, for even one second under the influence of situations doubt His love for you, remember what He did on the cross and remind yourself why He did it.

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What does the Bible say about dealing with mental illness and does it provide a solution?

Back in the days of when the Holy Spirit was working in people to write the Bible, there was no such thing as categorized mental illnesses. People barely knew anything of such matters. Yet, the Holy Spirit still dealt with such topics by offering transformation because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

In 1 Corinthians 2:16 (NKJV), Paul asks the Corinthians church, “Who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” …

“But we have the mind of Christ.”

And that is what my blog is about! If we had the mind of Christ, the mind of Jesus, would depression have any room in our lives? Does the mind of God hold any vacant area for mental illness to rent a space in?

Of course not! God is perfect and He wants to share His mental peace with us. He wants us to be satisfied and at peace with our minds so we can live in joy because we’re His children! In fact, we should be confident of this as God wants your soul to prosper, and when our soul prospers, we can prosper in everything else!

3 John 1:2 New King James Version (NKJV)
2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

We would call it absurd for a father or mother to wish that their children suffer emotionally or physically. Why then, would God want His children to suffer in any aspect whatsoever! That is the whole point of the cross.

Jesus suffered so that we not suffer! He was denied freedom so that we may inherit freedom.

2 Corinthians 5:21 New King James Version (NKJV)
21  For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

So, God is bigger than mental illness and if we have His mind, we can live victoriously.