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...Viata ne inconvoaie visurile tineretii…
Cliseul fiecarei zile. Insa unde este sensul vietii? Din toate astea?
Acestea: Viziunea, speranta, perspectiva, fara de Isus nu pot nici macar una din ele, nu pot exista in sufletul nostrum…
Cum vrei tu sa-ti fie finalul? Cum ai vrea tu sa-ti fie finalul vietii tale? Unde ai vrea sa fii? Sa ajungi?
Visul Lui Dumnezeu este acesta: ca tu sa te lasi gasit de EL, PATRUNS in fiintz ata si in inima ta DE IUBIREA LUI, sa te lasi ATINS DE EL, ATUNCI VIATA ITI ESTE FRUMOASA SI MERITA TRAITA, NUMAI CU EL, TREBUIE SA AJUNGEM LA EL, CU EL VOM FII GATA SI PT A MURI SI A TRAI, FARA EL NU SUNTEM GATA NICI PT VIATA NICI PT MOARTE…
“PT MINE A TRAI ESTE HRISTOS”…ce viziune, ce simtire, ce perspective!!!
Nu pot trai fara ISUS, PT CA EU FARA EL, EU NU MA REGASESC….SUNT GOL, SI NU AM NICI UN SENS, FARA EL.
Doar Isus ii face pe oameni in stare sa vorbeasca asa, sa gandeasca asa, sa existe asa, in acest mod minunat,…unic! ca acest minunat apostol Pavel.
Prin credinta stiu ca fiecare dintre noi putem alege scenariul lui Isus, VISUL INITIAL AL DOMNULUI ISUS PT NOI, AOMENII,…PT CA IN EDEN, am inceput prin ISUS…chiar daca apoi am fost inselati si am decazut.
Ne-am nascut din ISUS, din iubirea Lui care ne-a creat cu duiosie…
ne-a modelat cu mainile LUI, ne-a dat chipul LUI, …
vrei mai mult de atat?
…Dumnezeu a fost, era acolo, si nu a MAI vrut sa mai plece de acolo…de lanaga copilul lui, de langa om, mai ales ca acum omul ERA SINGUR, CAZUT INTRE TALHARI, CAZUT IN PACAT, ….SINGUR SI STRAIN INTR-O LUME OSTILA, O NOUA LUME: LUMEA PACATULUI , O LUME IN CARE CEL RAU, SI CEL VICLEAN CONDUCE…o lume ostila, a egoismului, desi INITIAL DUMNEZEU NE CREASE PT O LUME A AROMOIEI A IUBIRII DE FRUMOS, DE SEMENI DE EL, CREATORUL NOSTRU….
Geneza 3: La inceput cand pacatul a rupt (a spart) VESNICIA IN BUCATI Dumnezeu a stat la porta Edenului si a plans cu amar, ca un copil de 4 ani care si-a pierdut parintii…apoi, insa dupa ce n-a mai avut lacrimi, dup ace lacrimile i-au secat de atata plans, si-a sters ochii lui de Dumnezeu atotputernic, si si-a spus in Sinea Lui: VOI MERGE SA ADUC VESNICIA INAPOI: SI A COBORAT intre ei, intre noi: sa aduca iarasi VESNICIA LA EL, adica de fapt pe noi langa EL…in EDEN, DIN NOU…si a adunat-o pas cu pas, ciob spart cu ciob, cate un strop de vesnicie, in fiecare zi si in fiecare gest si in fiecare fapta de iubire a Lui in cei 33 de ani petrecuti pe acest Pamant…si apoi, la final, la Cruce…rastignit stand, ne maiputand iarasi de plns si de durere ca la inceput insa acum BUCUROS, CA NE ARE IARASI PT VESNICIE, BUCUROS CA NE-A REGASIT, CA NE ARE DIN NOU ACASA…pe Cruce plangand, in chinuri murind si apoi inviind, ne-a daruit intr-un buchet frumos, cel mai frumos BUCHET INCHIPUIT VREODATA IN UNIVERS…ne-a daruit : VESNICIA Pierduta si acum RECUPERATA, IMPLETITA DE EL, SI LEGATA CU UN SNUR DE SANGE, SNURUL IUBIRII LUI, SI PECETLUIT CU DRAGOSTEA LUI VESNICA PT OM…pt noi, pt mine si pt tine…SABAT FERICIT! CU EL…
Genzea 3. Domnul umbla prin gradina, stereotip, in racoarea zilei? Probail sa fie seara si dimineata cand se incepea sau se sfarsea activitatea Dumnezeu revenea in existenta cotidiana a omului, ca sa fie cu omul, sa se cunoasca mai bine…sa stea de vorba ca doi vechi si buni prieteni…


Lumea noastra ar fii fost vizitata, ar fii fost plina, si vizitata pana azi, in fiecare dimineata si seara de ISUS…de Creator.
Ar fii asistat la cursul fiecarei vieti, ar fii fost EL, CEL care ar fii adus biencuvantare fiecaruia…
A dorit atat de mult sa fie cu noi, incat dupa ce a terminat creatia lumii noastre a creat o sa rbatoare care avea un singur scop, prelungirea acestei sederi impreuna: ODIHNA LUI DUMNEZEU…
Cand Dumnezeu statea impreuna cu omul EL, Dumnezeu SE ODIHNEA, langa om, alaturi de el, ERA MOMENTUL DE MAXIM COMFORT AL LUI Dumnezeu…
Afara din casa parinteasca, daca pacatul nu ar fii rupt vesnicia in bucati, pana azi ar fii fost la FEL…SARBATOREA PREZENTEI LUI CU EL, NUNTA LUI CU NOI…Partasia deplina a Lui cu noi…Creatia Lui.
CELE MAI MARI BINECUVANTARI AR FII FOST COBORATE ATUNCI, INTRE NOI, SI IN MIJLOCUL NOSTRU…
LUI DUMNEZEU I-A PLACUT, I-A FACT PLACERE SA RAMANA CU NOI…
APARE insa DRAMA: omul se revolta impotriva lui Dumnezeu, SI URMATITI VA ROG REACTIA LUI DUMNEZEU: REACTIA IUBIRII LUI PT FIINTZ ACAZUTA IN PACAT…
EL, NU TRIMITE INTERMEDIARI, CI MERGE EL PERSONAL, SI STA DE VORBA CU EI…CU PRIMII NOSTRI PARINTI, CAZUTI INSELATI SI MINTITI DE CEL VICLEAN…


BA MAI MULT DECAT ATAT, de acum, LA POARTA GRADINII EDEN,…UN MIEL A FOST JERTFIT…
SI POATE CU LACRIMI IN OCHI, ISUS LE-A ZIS :” ACESTA ESTE MIELUL CARE RIDICA PAACTUL LUMII”…
…, NU AU INTLEES EI ATUNCI, INSA IOAN BOTEZATORUL SI-A AMINTIT, PROBABIL INTR-O VIZIUNE PRIMITA ATUNCI EL SI-A DAT SEAMA….LA POARTA GRADINII, ISUS A ARATAT CU CE MOARTE AVEA SA MOARA EL, LUI Dumnezeu i-a placut sa fie cu tine! SI CU MINE!!! Cu omul! Chiar pacatos, asa cum era déjà acest fiu pierdut…chiar pacatos si strain déjà de EL.
ISTORIA RAVRATIRII OMULUI IMPOTRIVA LUI Dumnezeu, mai tarziu putin, continua si mai tragic: cu prima crima din Universul Perfect al Lui Dumnezeu: o crima, Omucidere…CAIN SI ABEL, doar cateva generatii mai incolo tragedia caderii omului razvratit continua cu ceva si mai dureros…potopul, omul ajunsese aici déjà atat de grotesc…”Geneza 6:5.Toate intocmirile gandurilor lui erai indreptate in fiecare zi numai spre rau”…
SI Dumnezeu IN IUBIREA LUI …mai coboara inca o data, de data aceasta la un om simplu si umil al Lui, NOE. Si ii da instructiuni lui Noe, si mai mult decat atat: poti s ate salvezi, tu sip e oricati vei vrea lucreaza cu ei!!! Salveaza-I, 120 de ani !!! o fii putin 120 de ani!!! Nu s-ao fii plictisit NOE? 120de ani!!! E mult!!! Insa NOE timp de 120 de ani…pledat!! a plans!!! s-a rugat!!! a militat!!! a demonstrate!!! ca este vremea MANTUIRII….SALVARII lor, a oamenilor generatiei aceleia…
STITI CATI AU RASPUNS LA CHEMAREA LUI?

8 oameni... ATAT. DOAR 8, dintr-o intreaga generatie…
REZULTATUL caderii omului E DUREROS, E DIN CE IN CE MAI TRAGIC.
MILIOANELE CELELALTE… INTELEPTII VREMII, GENIILE, LUMII, AUTORITATEA VREMII, ELITA,…
OAMENII DE ARTA, CEI CARE AU CREAT OPERE PE CARE EI LE CONSIDERAU …“NEMURITOARE” AU REFUZAT APELURILE LUI NOE, CU DISPRETZ AU REFUZAT…SA INTRE IN CORABIE…
In Istoria omului cazut in pacat si a LUI Dumnezeu in cautarea Omului, SE AJUNSESE LA PUNCTUL TERMINUS, ZERO.
Istoria insa a trecut mai departe, lumea aceea de dinainte de potop, si-a incheiat istoria ei intr-o totala neintelegere a lui Dumnezeu,
Lectia pe care o putem invata noi de la ei, cei de atunci si de oricand:
FARA CREDINTZA ESTE CU NEPUTINTZA CA DUMNZEU SA POATA FACA CEVA PT NOI, DIN CAUZA ACEASTA REFLEXUL CREDINTEI ESTE ACESTA: NORMAL STABILIT DE CREDINTZA IN FIINTZA TA: MANA TA IN MANA LUI DUMNEZEU, LUMEA ANTEDELUVIANA A REFUZAT GESTUL TANDRETII, SI IUBIRII LUI DUMNEZEU.


UN PAS URIAS. ISTORIA A REPORNIT CU 8 OAMENI CARE CREDEAU, …

Insa tragedia Istoriei umane nu se opreste aici:
LA SCURTA VREME INTERVINE BABELUL. Turnul Babel, “
“Haideti sa ne facem un nume “ !!!
HAIDETI SA FIM CINEVA!!!
Observatie: in Noua natura DE ACUM A OMULUI, IN NATURA LUI cea de pacat: Revolta, Razvratirea, esecul, raul, pacatul se instaleaza mult mai repede in fiintza noastra….pana azi e la fel.
Geneza 11, BABEL.
Vers 6.
Spun pana azi unii filosofi:

Cum sa se coboare Dumnezeu? Antropomorfism, nu se poate, ca Dumnezeu nu se poate asa ceva: si refuza s acreada cuvantul Scripturii! Nu se poate ca EL sa vina si sa se plimbe prin gradina…impreuna cu omul…
Aici insa este cel mai frumos gand din caracterul lui Dumnezeu. EL SE COBOARA LA NIVELUL NOSTRU, PT PRIETENIE si PARTASIA CU NOI, CU FIINTZA CREATA DE EL, EL COBORA IN RACOAREA ZILEI, SI PASEA PRIN TARANA ACESTUI SOL …prin praful pamantului…

ATENTIE: Dumnezeu nu nu a dat decrete IN UNIVERSUL SAU PERFECT:de undeva de departe hat departe: de la milioane de ani lumina, nu a strigat sau nu a decretat in Univers zicand:”
“ trageti si eliminati cuibul acela de vipere, de oameni rai!!”
NU!!! EL A VRUT SA FIE CU OMUL IN CUIBUL DURERII OMULUI, HAI SA NE COBORAM, HAI SA VEDEM DUREREA OMULUI, CAZUT, EL NU A TRIMIS INGERI, el nu a trimis intermediari…CI EL A VRUT SA FIE EL ACOLO…

Dumnezeu a coborat aici intre noi pt a ne sti, pt a ne cunoaste…durerile, si chiar pt a ajunge sa ne cunoasca pana si nebunia ravratirii…

…Gestul lui Dumnezeu, un Dumnezeu care merge pe plaiurile pamantului acestuia, INSA nu ca vantul ci mai degraba calcand peste pietre ca un om obisnuit, stand de vorba si la masa cu Avraam, petrecand timp cu Avraam, intrand in gandurile si sentimentele lui Avraam, ascultand mijlocirea acestui om, …

daca ai fii sa zicem tu, ascultatorule in locul Domnului ?IMAGINEAZA-TE PT O CLIPA DOAR ACOLO…
IN aceasta mijlocire nu ERA VORBA DE MATEMATICA: NU ERA VORBA DE NUMERE”!!!!
CI INTREBAREA ERA ACEASTA:” Spune AVRAAME, CAT TE DOARE?
…NU ERA PROBLEMA DE NUMERE!!!!
TE DOARE PT 50? TE DOARE? PT 30? PT 40?
DAR PT UNUL SINGUR TE DOARE?
Pt ca mai tarziu tu Doamne vei spune FIINDCA ATAT DEMULT …a IUBIT EL, OMNUL LUMEA,OMENIREA INCAT…ORICINE CREDE…
… CUM DOAMNE SI PT UNUL? SAU NUMAI PT MULTIMI MARI? SA ZICEM BISERICI DE 5000 SAU DE 10000? SAU pt multimi adunate pe stadioane?
…DAR DACA AR FII DOAR UNUL SINGUR? SI DACA ACELA AS FII EU? Sau tu?
ISUS ESTE IN MIEZUL PROBLEMEI, DUMNZEU A COBORAT LA BABEL, NU STA LA DISTANTA EL!!! Si nu tine pe nimeni la distant…
El… SE IDENTIFICA CU PROBLEMA TA, SI A MEA…
MIE MI SE PARE CA DE MINE MI SE PARE MIE CA D EMINE Dumnezeu parca nu se mai ocupa…FALS: Dumnezeu se ocupa de fiecare in parte !!!
EL NU A LUAT O DECIZIE DE SUS, DE UNDEVA DE PE TRONUL SAU, CI EL A COBORAT INTRE DURERILE OAMENILOR CAZUTI…

SI IATA AVEM DIN NOU ISTORIA OMULUI CAZUT IN PACAT SI INTRE TALHARI SI A LUI DUMNEZEU COBORAT IN CAUTAREA OMULUI:
SUNTEM DIN NOU LA ZERO, IN PREAJMA CRUCII ISUS VINE DIN NOU L AFATA LOCULUI, IN MIEZUL DURERII, IN MIJLOCUL NEMAULUI OMENESC DECAZUT, SFASIAT DE PACAT,…
…ATUNCI CAND TRAGEDIA NOASTRA si istoria noastra era LA UN PAS DE AUTODISTRUGERE, ISUS A VENIT DIN NOU LA FATA LOCULUI SA VADA CE SE INTAMPLA CU NOI….NEBUNIA PACATULUI UNDE NE-A DUS, EVREI 3:14,
Evrei 3:14 Căci ne-am făcut părtaşi ai lui Hristos, dacă păstrăm până la sfârşit încrederea nezguduită de la început,
“ASTFEL DEOARECE COPII LUI DUMNEZEU SUNT PARTASI SANGELUI SI CARNII LA FEL ISUS LA FEL, INSUSI A FOST PARTAS LA ELE”

A intrat in miezul problemei acolo unde durerea era cea mai mare, acolo unde pacatul intrase,…SE INSURUBASE cel mai mult,
…acolo INTRAT EL, SANGELE NOSTRU SI CARNEA NOASTRA A INTELES-O EL, A PURTAT-O EL, A GUSTAT-O EL…A FOST DEOPOTRIVA PARTAS, PT CA PRIN MOARTEA SA AIBA PUTERE….ASUPRA MORTII.

A TREBUIT SA SE ASEMENE FRATILOR LUI MIE SI TIE, IN TOATE LUCRURILE CA SA POATA FII UN MARE PREOT MILOS CA SA FACA ISPASIRE, ….PT CA SA POATA SA VINA IN AJUTORUL CELOR CE SUNT ISPITITI…

RELIGIA ISI ARE MULTE ASPECTE( FATZETE:
O REALITATE CARE DOARE CUMPLIT: SUNT AZI OAMENI CARE UITA GLORIA LUI ISUS HRISTOS, care aleg si-si cauta Mijlocitori in alta parte…
Sfantul 1, 2 sau 3, etc, in timp ce se face apel la acestia, SE UITA GLORI ALUI ISUS….…ISPITIT CA SI NOI DAR FARA PACAT…CINE A FOST SI CINE POATE SA FIE FARA PACAT? CINE DECI POATE SA FIE MARE PREOT? IN FATA LUI DUMNEZEU?
ESTE UNUL SINGUR CARE A CUNOSCUT TOATE LUPTELE MELE SI ESTE FARA PACA.T….

ISUS HRISTOS. UNUL SINGUR CARE STA deasupra prapastiei
…deasupra abisului, INTRE MINE SI EL, TATAL,
…ISUS, EL A CUNOSCUT SI VIATA MEA SI VIATA LUI DUMNEZEU, CONTOPIREA CELOR 2 NATURI, in UNUL SINGUR….ISUS HRISTOS.
ULTIMA CARTE a CANONULUI BIBLIC, APOCALIPSA ne spune ca balaurul a stiut ca are putina vreme,si de aceea el si-a concentrate TOATE fortele asupra celor ce pastreaza poruncile lui Dumnezeu si marturia lui ISUS, un popor care-l inalta pe EL, PE DOMNUL ISUS HRISTOS, INAINTEA LUMII ACESTEIA. UN OPOR CU OAMENI CARE MARTURISESC IN FAVOAREA LUI ISUS….HRISTOS.
CE FRUMUSETE SA POTI MARTURISI DESPRE EL.
CE INSEAMNA BOTEZUL? Sa II dai DREPTATE LUI DUMNEZEU, CAND ACCEPTI BOTEZUL, ATUNCI II DAI DREPTATE , MARTURISESTI DESPRE ISUS HRITOS, IMNUL DE GLORIE, PT SLAVA LUI ISUS, MURIND symbolic IMPREUNA CU EL, SI INVIIND IMPREUNA CU DOMNUL ISUS…
SA CITIM IMPREUNA in EVANGHELIA DUPA LUCA 7: 29, SI 30.
AU DAT DREPTATE LUI DUMNEZEU PRIMIND BOTEZUL…!!!!
ALEGEREA ESTE A TA!!!
ATAT DE FASCINANT, DACA L-AM INTELES PE EL,TIMPUL este SCURT…
ACESTA ESTE AM PUTEA SPUNE : ATELIERUL RECUPERARII NOASTRE, MANTUIRII NOASTRE, LOCUL UNDE FIECARE PACATOS ESTE INVITAT SA VINA. EVREI CAP 10: 19…

“SA NE APROPIEM , CU O INIMA CURATA”!!!
CALEA ESTE ACUM PRIN DOMNUL ISUS HRISTOS: DESCHISA: SIMBOLUL CLASIC AL TRINITATII:

UNA, O unire O UNITATE perfecta a trei personae, manisfestate in mod egal in mod perfect, 1: astfel ca : Duhul Sfant ne invata sa ne rugam, ROMANI CAP 8: 26. Si tot astfel si Duhul ne ajuta in slabiciunea noastra: caci nu stim cum trebuie sa ne rugam. Dar insusi Duhul mijloceste pentru noi cu suspine negraite.
PT NOI…

PE LANGA CINE? FATA DE CINE? PE LANGA CINE?
PE LANGA NOI!!!! CA SA NE CONVINGA PE NOI, CA NU SUNTEM BINE, ESTE ELEMENTUL PE CARE DUMENZEU IL TRIMITE SA FIE ACTIV PE LANGA MINE SI PE LANGA TINE….
IN MOMETUL IN CARE EU PLEC GENUNCHIUL, rugaciunea rostita de mine, ajunge INAINTEA 2…PASUL DOI: AJUNGE INAINTEA TATALUI, RUGACIUNEA INVATATA DE DUHUL SFANT,
CINE PRIMESTE RUGACIUNE AMEA? DOMNUL ISUS primeste acum rugaciunea mea, sunt lucruri nerostite de mine, EL STIE DE FIINTZA MEA, el are déjà RADIOGRAFIA FIINTEI MELE, :””UITE DE ASTA AI NEVOIE””, SI-MI DA LUCRURI CARE TIN DE INTLEEPCIUNEA DIVINA, PREIA RUGACIUNEA MEA SI O DUCE LA TATAL, SI O ADUCE INAPOI SURPRINZATOR DE FRUMOS SI PERFECT, IAR TATAL…
ESTE CA SI CUM EL AR STA SUS SI AR TREBUI SA FIE CONVINS SA FACA UNA SAU ALTA? ASA SA FIE? DELOC!
IOAN 16: 27.
26. In ziua aceea, veti cere in Numele Meu, si nu va zic ca voi ruga pe Tatal pentru voi.
27. Caci Tatal insusi va iubeste, pentru ca M-ati iubit si ati crezut ca am iesit de la Dumnezeu.


TRINITATEA…

IAR TATAL CARE MA IUBESTE atentie aici: si acum:
ABIA ASTEAPTA!!! TOT CE SE INTAMPLA PT BINELE MEU, TRIUNGHIUL ACESTA ESTE O IDEE DESPRE ATELIERUL MANTUIRII…
AICI IN SPATIUL ACESTA, PACATOSUL POATE SA INTRE pt a fii remodelat, renascut…
Aici, UNDE SUB INFLUENTA TRINITATII SA AIBA LOC REFORMAREA MEA, VINDECAREA MEA, RECONDITIONAREA MEA SUB PUTEREA LUI DUMENZEU….
LOCUL ACESTA IN SANUL DUMENZEIRII ESTE UN LOC MINUNAT CARE NE ASTEAPTA , IN ALTA PARTE DUMENZEU SPUNE, ASA”: ABIA ASTEPTAM SA VENIMA SA LOCUIM IMPREUNA CU VOI, OAMENII….”

In IOAN….

NE-AM PUTEA IMAGINA SAU INTELEGE VREO IMAGINE MAI FRUMOASA LEGATA DE MODUL IN CARE CINEVA AR PUTEA FACE CEVA IN FAVOAREA NOASTRA, PT INTERESUL NOSTRU VESNIC?
OAMENII AU PUTUT SA-SI DEA VIATA PT UN ASTFEL DE DUMNEZEU, FAPTELE CAP 4:
APOSTOLII ERAU SINGURI, SOCIETATEA TOATA ERA IMPOTRIVA LOR…
IN CAP. 3 NI SE SPUNE CA PRIN PUTEREA DUHULUI, APOSTOLUL PETRU A VINDECAT UN SLABANOG… UN OLOG DIN NASTERE.
SI APOI CAND I S-A PORUNCIT…SA TACA SI NU MAI PREDICE IN ACEST NUME SI SUB ACEL NUME, …EL A TRECUT DINCOLO DE FRICA, DE TEAMA…
EI ERAU ACUM AMENTINTATI CU MOARTEA, SI ACUM APARE FRUMOSUL, “In nimeni altul nu este mantuire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In nimeni altul nu este mantuire: caci nu este sub cer niciun alt Nume dat oamenilor in care trebuie sa fim mantuiti." (Fapt.4:12)
in ciuda faptului ca erau amentintati cu moartea, …
curaj? Nebunie? CURAJUL LOR I-AU OSANDIT PE PREOTI SI PE CARTURARI, PRIN CURAJUL LOR…AU PRICEPUT CA FUSESERA CU ISUS…
APOSTOLII, DIN NECARTURARI…AU DEVENIT INTELEPTI….
TRANSFORMAREA SA FIE SI LA NOILA FEL, CA ISUS A FOST SI A RAMAS IN VIATA NOASTRA, OAMENII limitati VOR DEVENI PLINI DE NOBLETE, CE BINE AR FII SA FIE ASA…
18. Si dupa ce i-au chemat, le-au poruncit sa nu mai vorbeasca cu niciun chip, nici sa mai invete pe oameni in Numele lui Isus.

21. I-au amenintat din nou si i-au lasat sa plece, caci nu stiau cum sa-i pedepseasca, din pricina norodului; fiindca toti slaveau pe Dumnezeu pentru cele intamplate.


INDRAZNEALA LUI PETRU: MARURIA NOASTRA SA FIE CLARA SI PUTERNICA, CU ECOU, RASUNOATOARE PT ISUS HRISTOS: “JUDECATI VOI SINGURI: DACA ESTE DREPT …..CA NOI NU PUTEM SA NU VORBIM DESPRE CE AM VAZUT SI CE AM AUZIT”…
19. Drept raspuns, Petru si Ioan le-au zis: "Judecati voi singuri daca este drept inaintea lui Dumnezeu sa ascultam mai mult de voi decat de Dumnezeu;
20. caci noi nu putem sa nu vorbim despre ce am vazut si am auzit."

AMIN! SA VB DESPRE Dumnezeu in felul acesta….
ISUS ESTE SINGURUL DESPRE CARE AVEM CE VORBI. SI CARE MERITA SA VORBIM!

The Perils and Sorrows of a Contrite Heart!

The Perils and Sorrows of a Contrite Heart!


To me, one of the most interesting people in the Old Testament is Jacob. Here was a cheating, deceiving, conniving, manipulating, supplanting man -- an incredible character. Yet God loved this man dearly! In fact, his life is filled with marvelous lessons for us about God's dealings with human nature.
I'd like to pick up Jacob's story just as he's fleeing for his life from his older twin brother, Esau. Jacob had already outwitted Esau twice -- and now his brother was full of wrath!
First, Jacob had tricked Esau out of his birthright. When Esau came in from hunting totally famished, Jacob offered him a pot of stew in exchange for his birthright. In their culture, the birthright was the right of the firstborn male to be head of the clan. This included a "double blessing" -- that is, receiving a double portion of all their father's possessions.
More importantly, having the birthright also meant he was to be the progenitor of the patriarchal seed through which Christ would come: "...and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 28:14). The seed of Abraham was Christ!
Obviously, this particular birthright was of very great spiritual significance. And its importance exposes the awfulness of what Esau did in giving up the right of the firstborn, for a mere pot of stew!
Next, Jacob had stolen the patriarchal blessing from his father, Isaac -- a blessing that belonged to Esau. Isaac was old and bedridden, with failing eyesight. And Jacob pretended to be Esau in order to get the blessing.
When Esau learned that Jacob had stolen his blessing, he was determined to kill his brother. He said, "...he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing....And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart...I will slay my brother Jacob" (27:36, 41).
When Rebekah learned of Esau's plan, she persuaded Isaac to send Jacob away to Padanaram, where her brother Laban lived. Jacob could find a wife there and live peacefully until Esau's anger cooled off.
So Jacob set off -- and while he was on his way, God gave him an incredible vision. Jacob saw a ladder going up to heaven, with angels going to and from the throne of God, doing his bidding: "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending upon it" (28:12).
This vision was not staged simply for Jacob's benefit. It wasn't some heavenly special effect the Lord whipped up just to impress him. No -- God was literally drawing back the curtain and showing Jacob the divine activity going on all the time! All those angels were on assignment -- going back and forth to the earth to guide and lead God's people, minister to them, camp around them, warn them, protect them, guard them, provide for their needs.
Beloved, that ladder is still there! And those same angels have not aged a single hour since Jacob saw them. In fact, they are still working and ministering on our behalf today.
Above this whole scene Jacob saw the Lord presiding: "And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed" (verse 13).
With this promise, the Lord brought Jacob into the covenant blessing of his grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac. The Lord was saying, "I have accepted you into the seed! You are the firstborn now, and you have the birthright. And so I'm going to bestow on you the covenant blessings of your fathers!"
Then God added these wonderful promises: "And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of" (verse 15).
God was giving Jacob an oath, saying, "I'll never leave you, Jacob -- I'll be with you every step of the way. You can never make a move I won't be involved in! And through it all I'm going to bring you into my eternal purpose for your life. My purpose will be acccomplished in you, no matter what!"
Now, up to this time, I simply can't find any faith, goodness or grace in Jacob. How could he possibly be the covenant patriarch of God's eternal purpose? When the Bible says, "...Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Romans 9:13), I want to ask, "Lord, what did you see in this man? I know you are holy and just, and you don't wink at the kinds of things he did. What made you not correct him? Why did you bless him, after he'd stolen and deceived?"
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God Saw Something in
Jacob's Heart That Brought
Forth His Great Love and a
Desire to Bless Him!
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Scripture shows God's foreknowledge of Jacob -- that even from the womb this younger brother would have the birthright. When Esau came out of Rebekah's womb first, Jacob grabbed Esau's heel, as if to say, "No -- the birthright is mine!"
And God honored that. When Rebekah felt a struggle between the twins during her pregnancy, God explained to her, "You have two nations inside you -- and the elder will serve the younger!" Jacob's very name means "supplanter" -- that is, "one who trips up another by underhanded means, to take his place through scheming, to overthrow and replace him."
Certainly God took all of this into account before blessing Jacob. He saw the carnality in this man's actions. And Jacob was old enough to know better. He was at least forty years old when he pulled off his deceits (some scholars believe he was over seventy). And by that age, some things in his character should have been changed.
So, why did the Lord make a covenant with this man? Why did he look so favorably on Jacob? Scripture must always answer scripture. And we read in Isaiah: "...I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" (Isaiah 57:15).
This passage describes a man who, like Jacob, is dejected, on the run -- and God is reviving him, blessing him, honoring him. Isaiah adds: "...but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word" (66:2).
We know that humans consider the outward appearance, but God always looks at the heart. We can see only Jacob's covetousness, greed and manipulation. But God saw beyond his flesh and into something within his heart -- a contrite, broken spirit. God knew that something in Jacob's heart was willing to be changed.
And that is exactly what God is looking for in us! He looks for a broken, contrite heart he can work on. He can't do anything with an Esau type, who takes the things of God for granted, and who weeps phony tears of repentance. Esau was sensual, and his heart was hard. He was like many Christians today -- floating through life with no purpose, wanting only to enjoy sensual pleasures along the way.
Yet Jacob revered God's word. How do I know this? Think about it: Jacob must have heard his father, Isaac, tell over and over the story of how God had made a covenant with Jacob's grandfather, Abraham. He heard of the time Isaac was laid on the altar to be slain -- but when Abraham lifted the knife, God stopped him and showed him a lamb to be used for the sacrifice instead. Finally, Jacob also heard of the holy seed that was to come from the patriarchal lineage.
In addition to all this, Jacob's mother probably reminded him of the dream God had given her -- that Jacob would be the holy seed. Jacob must have thrilled at the thought that one day he would be the head of the clan -- carrying the torch of the lineage through which the Messiah would come!
Jacob was aware that the birthright held great spiritual significance and meaning. Yet, when he looked at his older brother, Esau, all he saw was sensuality and worldliness. Esau was a profane man, calloused to such truth. He had married two Canaanite wives. Jacob simply would not allow the birthright to fall into such ungodly hands and be lightly disregarded. So he determined to take Esau's position. He declared, "I want the birthright!"
There is no evidence Jacob wanted this privilege for selfish reasons. After all, he wouldn't be the head of the clan, because he would be gone for some twenty years. And he never tried to raise up an army, return and take his double portion. No, it is clear in my mind that, deep in his heart, Jacob had a yearning and longing for God. And the Lord must have seen the spiritual meaning behind Jacob's actions. I see no other reason why he would endure Jacob's deceptive plan to take over the birthright.
Today, the Lord has given us wonderful, new covenant promises as well. And they're just like the promises he made to Jacob -- to be with us always, to keep us from falling, to provide us with every heavenly blessing, to fulfill his eternal purposes in our lives.
Yet, God does not covenant with everyone who claims to be a believer. He doesn't promise to keep or deliver those like Esau, who have little regard for holy things. God loves and blesses the Jacob type -- the one who knows he has inconsistencies and weaknesses. This one has a willingness to be changed and molded by the hand of God. Something in him is always breaking and yielding.
The word "contrite" means "broken in spirit by a sense of guilt; a condition of being sincerely repentant; having a hatred for sin and a willingness to change." Even Webster's definition for "contrite" is "grieving and penitent for sin or shortcoming." Contrition is a detesting of sin and a desire to change.
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Jacob Set Off for
Padanaram to Find a Wife
-- With a Great Sense
That God Loved Him!
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As Jacob entered into the new land, it soon became clear God was with him at every step, just as promised -- because his first stop was one of divine order. He met some shepherds who told him they knew his uncle, Laban -- and they pointed out to him a beautiful woman who was leading some sheep to water. "That's Laban's daughter, Rachel," they said.
When Jacob saw Rachel, he thought, "Lord, you truly are with me. You've led me to the most beautiful woman I've ever seen -- and she's going to be my wife!"
Jacob quickly sprang into action. There was a huge stone covering the water where the sheep were to drink. Yet, before Rachel could get there, Jacob moved the stone and watered the sheep. When Rachel arrived, Jacob told her, "I'm Rebekah's son" -- and he kissed her immediately! It had to be love at first sight.
I can imagine the excitement Jacob felt in that moment. He probably couldn't wait to get to Laban's house. When he did meet his uncle, he was hired immediately as a shepherd. Yet Laban told him, "Even though you're my nephew, I'm not going to make you work free of charge. What do you want for your wages?"
Jacob pointed to Rachel and blurted, "I want her as my wife! And I'll work seven years for her." Sure enough, Jacob worked a total of 2,555 days to marry Rachel. Night after night he endured the cold and heat of shepherding work. Yet scripture says he was so in love with her, those seven years seemed like only a few days to him.
Finally, the wedding day came. After the vows had been made and the celebration ended, Jacob retired to his tent to anxiously await his veiled bride, Rachel. But Laban had other plans! He worked out a scheme in which his oldest daughter, Leah -- who apparently was plain and unattractive -- would veil herself and go into Jacob's tent instead of her younger sister.
Once Leah was inside with Jacob, she must have whispered instead of talking, for fear her voice would give her away. Jacob probably attributed it to a new bride's shyness. In the darkness of the tent, he had no idea it was "weak-eyed" Leah who lay in his arms.
What a time that must have been! I wonder how many sweet things Jacob spoke into Leah's ear, thinking she was Rachel. He probably shared countless dreams with her, talking the night away: "I want ten children -- no, twelve!" His new wife only whispered back and nodded her approval.
Yet, when Jacob awoke the next morning, he saw Leah lying next to him and cried out, "You're not Rachel!" Angered, he ran to Laban and shouted, "You deceived me!" (a strange accusation, coming from the "supplanter"!).
Laban offered Jacob a new deal. He said, "In our society, it isn't right to marry off the younger daughter before the older. I'll tell you what -- just fulfill your week of the honeymoon with Leah, and then you can have Rachel also. But in return, you'll have to give me another seven years of work."
"And he [Jacob] went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with (Laban) yet seven other years" (Genesis 29:30). Scripture says not only that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, but that he hated the less attractive woman: "And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren" (verse 29).
These sisters now despised one another. As time went by, they did nothing but argue. Imagine how Jacob felt about it all. Now he was tied down to seven more years of slave labor, during which his wages would change ten times. He was in no position to provide for his family or to move forward with his own plans.
One night he sat in an open field and had it out with the Lord: "God, how did I end up in this mess? You made such great promises to me. You told me you would guide me, keep me, fulfill your plans in me. Why didn't you stop this deception? How could any of this be your leading?
"Now my whole future is in question. I can't make any plans, because I'm tied down to this evil man for the next seven years. And he's robbing his daughters of all their inheritance. There won't be anything left, Lord. I simply have no future. What kind of covenant walk is this?"
Now, you may reason to yourself, "Maybe Jacob didn't seek God about who he was supposed to marry. Maybe he had the wrong motives and chose Rachel by his flesh. Maybe he was supposed to marry Leah." All that is beside the point. God could have intervened on Jacob's behalf at any time -- but he didn't.
The fact is, we can have a contrite spirit and still have marital problems. Perhaps this describes you. You and your spouse may be going through a terrible trial. You've prayed, "Lord, I don't understand! I know my heart is right, and I'm walking in covenant with you. I seek you faithfully. I worship you. So, why are you allowing this awful trial?"
Like Jacob, most of us think that contrite, praying Christians shouldn't have to endure great sorrows. We shouldn't have to face awful times or fearful conditions in which our very future is threatened. Yet, in reality, we can be humble, repentant, praying Christians -- surrendered wholly to God's will, obedient in all things, walking in covenant with him -- and still suffer great peril and sorrows!
Nowhere in the Bible does God promise to keep us from marital or family problems. Never does he promise us a smooth ride in our job or career. Nor does he promise us any exemption from affliction. In fact, he says: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all" (Psalm 34:19). This verse doesn't say God delivers us from afflictions, but out of them.
Paul speaks of knowing the heights and depths of God's love for him. Yet the Lord didn't keep Paul's ship from sinking. In fact, he allowed the apostle to be stoned, beaten, disgraced. Paul says he was exposed to perils on land and on sea, from robbers and from his own countrymen.
At times we may weep, wondering, "God, where are you? Why haven't you taken me out of this?" But even though the Lord allows us to go through things that try our souls, in one way or another he delivers us out of them all -- just as he did with Jacob, Joseph and Paul.
I believe few Christians have faced the tragic, sorrowful family problems Jacob had. For example, he didn't know that his special love, Rachel, was a secret idolater -- and that God had shut her womb as a result. Indeed, Rachel didn't have a child for years, because she had stolen her father's family idols: "Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not" (Genesis 31:34).
Jacob was totally unaware of this. But when Laban found out the idols were missing, he went after Jacob and demanded that he return the images. Jacob was incensed at the accusation. Little did he know, his beautiful wife was so attached to idols that she lied to keep them hidden!
Talk about a troubled family. Here was Leah, stuck in a loveless marriage, with no future. She gave birth to son after son, thinking, "Maybe now my husband will love me." But nothing ever changed. And now her sister was enraged at her for having stolen Jacob's affections.
Here was Rachel, an idolater who berated Jacob constantly to give her a child -- and yet her womb was closed by God, because he hated her idolatry.
Please understand -- all this time, Jacob was walking in obedience to God. Finally, after serving the additional seven years, God came to Jacob in a dream and said, "God back to Bethel, the place where I first met you. Build an altar there, as you promised you would do."
And Jacob obeyed. He rounded up his family and herds and started out for Bethel, toward his own father's home.
________________________________________
Jacob Was Heading Into the
Greatest Peril of His Life
-- Even Though He Was on
the Path of Obedience!
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Jacob had heard a clear word from God, and he acted in full obedience to that word. He knew he was under covenant -- that God would keep him, be with him and fulfill his plan for him. Yet Jacob faced a peril that brought him to the very brink of destruction!
He was going back to face his brother, Esau, and his father, Isaac, whom he had deceived. And, at one point, a messenger came to Jacob, warning him, "Esau is coming this way with an army of four hundred men. He's out to get you!"
Scripture says, "Then Jacob was greatly afraid..." (Genesis 32:7). I can imagine the panic that hit Jacob. He quickly divided his clan into two groups, thinking, "If Esau kills one group, at least the other can escape." Yet, even in this most fearful experience of his life, we see proof of Jacob's broken, contrite heart:
"Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.
"Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude" (verses 9-12).
Jacob was holding to the covenant God had made with him. He was saying, in essence, "Lord, you made me a promise! I know I'm not worthy of it. I know my name means 'Supplanter.' But now, in this path of obedience, you've brought me to the brink of total despair.
"You told me you would go with me, Lord. But now I'm about to lose my family, everything. I'm not claiming any goodness on my part. But I know I love you and am obeying you. So, where is your covenant, God?"
The next time we see Jacob, he is in awful travail. Throughout the entire night, he wrestled with an angel (which was the Lord himself). And the Bible tells us he "prevailed" with the angel. He emerged from that night of travail a changed man: "And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed" (verse 28).
Some Christians may think, "The reason Jacob suffered up to that point was because he didn't have faith. But now he had prevailing faith and power -- and he didn't have to be tested with any more troubles or sorrows. He could just rebuke the devil and go his way rejoicing!"
No! Jesus said his father causes the rain to fall both "...on the just and on the unjust..." (Matthew 5:45). And until we go to glory, we will continue to face many afflictions. There is no place to run -- no place out of the reach of the perils and sorrows of a contrite heart!
God saved Jacob from Esau's wrath on that occasion. But then, instead of going all the way to Bethel as he was commanded, Jacob stopped halfway. Even though he was walking in covenant with God and in new power, he camped near the Hivites in Shalem, which was in Canaan, and settled there.
One day, while walking through the fields, Jacob's daughter Dinah was raped by a young man named Shechem. Afterward, Shechem confessed to Jacob and said he wanted to marry Dinah. But Dinah's brothers were enraged at Shechem -- and they had a scheme.
It was against the law to intermarry. But Jacob's sons agreed to marry Hivite women, and to allow Hivite men to marry their sisters, as long as the Hivite men were circumcised. Yet, while the Hivites were sore and healing from their circumcisions, Jacob's sons attacked and slew them all, kidnaping their children and plundering their possessions.
When Jacob found out about it, he was grieved beyond words. This man of prayer looked at his murderous sons and said, "You've shamed me before the whole world. What kind of men are you?"
Beloved, all of this sorrow came after Jacob had prevailed in prayer! But that wasn't the end of Jacob's troubles. In his old age, Jacob sired a son, Joseph, who became the joy of his life. Jacob played with the boy, taught him, and gave him a coat of many colors. Then one day, the coat was brought back to Jacob in tatters. He was told a wild animal had killed Joseph in the fields.
I can picture the bitter tears Jacob wept over his son. That had to be the worst sorrow of his life, the greatest test of his faith. Even his prevailing power in prayer couldn't bring back his son.
Then, on top of his grief, Jacob had to face a terrible famine -- one of the worst perils of his life. He saw nature drying up before his eyes -- and again, prevailing power in prayer couldn't bring down rain. He faced the possibility of having to watch his family members starve to death, one by one.
Yet then things grew even worse. When Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy food, they returned with the news that his youngest son, Benjamin, was being held hostage there. That was simply too much for the old man. Jacob almost collapsed under the strain.
I have to wonder at this point in Jacob's story: When does the flood of trials ever stop? Is this what happens when you walk in covenant with God -- when you have a humble heart before him? Doesn't God keep his covenants? Or does it even pay to live faithfully before him?
________________________________________
Now Let Me Take You
to Another Scene in
Jacob's Life!
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Turn your attention now to Pharaoh's court. Here stands Jacob as an old man -- 130 years of age -- and his lost son, Joseph, suddenly rushes to embrace him. As it turns out, Joseph is second in command over all of Egypt. And everywhere Jacob goes with his son -- in the palace, through the streets, in his chariot -- people bow to Joseph in respect and awe.
When Pharaoh asks Jacob how old he is, he answers, "...The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been..." (Genesis 47:9). The Hebrew reads, "Few and sorrowful have my days been." In short: "I've seen a lot of suffering."
Yet, was it worth it? Yes -- absolutely! Jacob and his family had been delivered from the famine. All seventy members of his clan were now safe from harm, planted in the richest farmland in Egypt. They had all the food they could eat. And Jacob's son was on the throne!
Now Jacob -- a man with a contrite heart -- could look back and say, "When my brother Esau threatened me, it looked like my life was over. But God brought me out! My Lord was there the whole time. When Laban tried to destroy me, God blessed and delivered me. And the Lord delivered my wife, Rachel, and my family from the perils of idolatry.
"I was victorious over all my enemies. None of them ever rose up to challenge me. And I lived to see my seed multiply and prosper -- the beginnings of a great nation. I lived to walk in the midst of my grandchildren -- even great, great, great grandchildren. And now my sons will be the patriarchs of Israel, leaders over their own tribes.
"Not a word God told me in the beginning has ever failed. My Lord has kept his every word to me!"
And, beloved, so will he with us today!

About the inner beauty...

When I hear people talking about beauty I am always tempted to say to them HEY!...PEOPLE:…You are missing the point! Because you see, according to my view, “There is a greater picture…” If we would just consider what I’d call the nowadays “Beauty- Idolatry” of maintaining yourself “always young and beauty! by any costs!”by any means!!says the commercials from the TV set… Nowadays there is a huge billion dollars industry in order to obtain these tasks…beauty at the outside, coz it doesn’t matter the inside…the emphasize is on the out-side…this is what the Hollywood and “wealth” industries, tries to do. But as the years passed by, from my little experience I could easily notice that, for many times, the outside beauty can be the PERFECT mask in order to cover up the ugliness and fakeness from the within…and this is not a question, it’s a statement… Anyways this does not necessary means that always can be so….it nothing wrong with being beautiful but I think strongly think that there must be a perfect balance between inside and outside….I have seen more people who were destroyed by their beauty than by their ugliness….it’s very difficult to keep yourself pure…very beautiful but un modest? Imoral?...and I can every day see the ugliest thing I could see the thieves are taking the gift of God the outside beauty and then they steel God of what belongs to Him, and they use this beauty without nay conscience problem ,to seduce others with it, even innocent people, and to make them sin against God of Purity and against His Everlasting Love, to do sinful actions, and self-destroy them in time…IT IS NOT FAIR…!!! your beauty is not your own merit, right?....my beauty it is not my effort, I didn’t decide how I will look when I will be born right?... don’t you think so? From one point of view, the Christians should be the most beautiful persons in the world… In Psalm 45 it is written about the Lord Jesus Christ YOU ARE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AMONG ALL MANKIND…the true beauty is that which is hidden within the heart and soul…. That is the one who remains even of the age of 90 or 100 yrs old, that is the authentic beauty, that is not a fake, is the inner beauty the river comes from within, the fountain is within, in the mind and soul and prayer and relationship with the MOST BEAUTIFUL BEING FROM THE UNIVERSE…that won’t ever die, that beauty won’t be deceitful… The Inner glow that will come out, and will draw people to God, I think that IS the true beauty, it’s an inner gift, we can cultivate it that every day, it doesn’t need a lot of money to be beautiful…ALWAYS REMEMBER: the inner quality not a mask!!! The beautiful man are the noble man, the self-sacrificing men, the people who love unconditionally, and believe me or not!!! I have seen them, there are still some on this Planet, THANK GOD FOR THEM!!! PRAISE God! they are alive! I could touched some of them! and they have touched my life!!! They live in close relationship with GOD, and above all, THEY LOVE GOD...their faces GLOW…because one day they now that for sure, as a GOD'S PROMISE that ...ALL THE PAIN WILL BE TAKEN AWAY, and now they know that and they live knowing that! A GENUINE GLOW that’s the true beauty comes from the connection with God…not outside beauty which is a fake beauty…an artificial beauty, a poison beauty… We can do so much on the outside but it is the INNER BEAUTY THAT MATTERS…A GENUINE GLOW that’s the true beauty comes from the connection with God. WE CAN BE SORROUNDED BY BEAUTY…IF WE ACCEPT GOD as our best friend…and so next days, weeks ,months and years can be the most beautiful for the rest of our lives… You must cultivate it and make it grow…

Every day…


Kill the routine, and refresh your life every second….

and live the life to it's fulness...

About the Adventist Spirituality...

Christian spirituality, at the simplest level, is the lived experience of a personal relationship with God. It includes the day to day things we do to express and nourish that relationship, including prayer and the reading of Scripture. It includes the inspiration we find to keep us going, to help us make choices. It’s about developing that trust in God that gives us hope for the future, meaning to the present, and strength in hard times.
Because spirituality is about lived experience, we learn from those who have gone before us. We all have those brothers and sisters we trust who are like mentors in the faith, who held our hand when we took our first awkward steps, and who are still available to us when we find ourselves on rough ground. Books by Christian authors can also be a help—they’re another way we learn from the experience, struggles, and insights of others, a source of wisdom we can apply to our own life.
Spirituality, in the broader sense, then, includes not just our own experience, but this collective wisdom that provides timeless guidance. In his book, We Drink from Our Own Wells, the Peruvian theologian Gustavo Gutierrez said that spirituality starts as a personal experience, but it becomes “the subject of later reflection and is proposed to the entire ecclesial community as a way of being disciples of Christ.” In other words, someone says, “This is what’s worked for me—why don’t you try it?”
Francis of Assisi, for example, heard Jesus calling him to sell all he had, give to the poor and follow him. He was attracted to those Biblical texts that spoke of Jesus emptying himself, becoming a baby in a manger, embracing the shame of the cross. He lived a life of simplicity and humility and poverty; he sang songs praising God’s handiwork in nature; he was the first to display a Christmas crèche, so people could better imagine the humility and poverty of Jesus; and he wrote some guidance for those who wanted to do the same thing—and many through the centuries have been inspired by what’s become known as Franciscan spirituality.
Martin Luther also had an experience of God—he was a neurotic young monk who tried to work his way to God when he experienced God’s forgiveness in Jesus Christ; he felt the law to be a heavy weight accusing him, he experienced the gospel as a gracious word declaring him right with God through faith in Jesus. Luther’s reflection on his experience and Scripture led him to critique church practice and to proclaim the good news of justification by faith alone, to write hymns and to translate the Bible into German so that all could read it—these became the basis for a distinctive Lutheran spirituality.
John Wesley was a young Anglican priest who was troubled; “I went to America to convert the Indians,” he moaned once, “but who will convert me?” Then he wandered into Aldersgate Chapel in London, and heard Martin Luther’s preface to Romans read, and he said, “About a quarter before nine … I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death”—he poured out that experience of God’s love in sermons and hymns, gathered others for small groups for study, sharing and prayer, and inspired the heartfelt spirituality that characterizes the various movements called Methodist, Wesleyan, and Holiness.
The early Adventists were of course influenced by those Christians who went before, especially by Wesley and the Methodist movement. But they also had a unique experience of God; they reflected upon it, and from that, and our experience as a people since, has grown a collection of wisdom about our unique approach to living the Christian life. That’s what I’m going to call, Adventist Spirituality.
Rooted in Jesus
Like all Christian spirituality, Adventist spirituality is rooted in Jesus. It’s all about him. In particular, it is rooted in the experience of our pioneers in the Great Second Advent Movement of the early 19th century, who were “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). This was not a “doom and gloom” movement—the Advent Movement was optimistic—it had a positive message that was joyous, and hope-inspiring. Look through the hymns in the “Early Advent” section of the hymnal some time. “How cheering is the Christian’s hope.” “How sweet are the tidings.” “O! what can buoy the spirits up? ‘Tis this alone, the blessed hope.”
They took comfort in the words of the apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
This blessed hope of the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the recreation of a new heaven and a new earth is both the fulfillment of what God intended in creation and the completion of the redemption purchased for us on Calvary. It is Christ crucified who is coming, to save those whose sins have been washed away by his blood. We sing with joy, “Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow.” Adventist spirituality is a spirituality of the cross—we glory in the cross—for we know that we are sinners, that we have no claim upon God, that we have nothing to lift up to him except the blood of Jesus.
After the disappointment in 1844 the Adventist pioneers delved more deeply into Scripture to understand why Christ had not come as they expected. They saw in 2 Peter 3:9, that “the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” They saw in the book of Hebrews, chapter 4:14, that he is our “great high priest,” “passed into the heavens”—“not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
Do you sometimes feel that your prayers go no higher than the ceiling? Do you sometimes feel that God has turned his back? This Scripture should clear away all such doubts. Jesus lives, and intercedes for you. Hebrews 7:25 promises that “he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”
Do you wonder if you’re praying the right way? I’ve seen books on prayer that emphasize different techniques, how you breathe, how you sit, words you say; some say you should use your imagination, others say you must clear your mind; some want candles, some want beads, some say to walk in circles in and around a labyrinth. None of that matters—prayer is not a matter of what you know, it’s who you know. And we know Jesus.
Prayer is not a technique, it is, as Ellen White said, “the opening of the heart to God as to a friend.” And what a friend he is. He is “not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” We know him—but just as importantly, he knows us. He’s walked in our shoes. Because of this, he can be not only an intercessor who knows us, but an example we can seek to imitate.
In recent years, it has become popular for young people to wear bracelets with the letters, W.W.J.D.—“What Would Jesus Do?” The phrase was coined in 1896 by Charles Sheldon, in his novel, In His Steps. The minister in the story, Henry Maxwell, preaches on 1 Peter 2:21, “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.” He challenges the members of his congregation:
I want volunteers from the First Church who will pledge themselves, earnestly and honestly for an entire year, not to do anything without first asking the question, ‘What would Jesus do?’And after asking that question, each one will follow Jesus as exactly as he knows how, no matter what the result may be.
In 1989 a group of 35 high school youth at a church in Holland, Michigan, who had heard their youth minister, Janie Tinklenberg, refer often to this story, got an idea. “What if we made bracelets with this saying on it, to remind ourselves to ask this question whenever confronted with a choice?” The bracelets became a fad that hasn’t yet died out. This wasn’t an Adventist youth group, Sheldon wasn’t an Adventist author—but we fully embrace this idea as central to what it means to live a Christian life.
Rooted in the Biblical Understanding of Man
Adventist spirituality is rooted in Jesus, as savior, as intercessor, and as model, and in the blessed hope that this same Jesus shall come again in glory, that we may be with him forever.
Adventist spirituality is also rooted in the biblical understanding of man. God formed Adam out of the clay and breathed into him the breath of life, and made him a living soul. God made Adam a wife, and told them to be fruitful and multiply. And then God said, “It is good.” Our physical body, and marriage, and sexuality are things that are part of the original order of creation, before sin entered.
In many other religions, however, the body is a problem—indeed, it is the problem. For the ancient Greeks and the Gnostics, it was a prison, something to escape. Many Christians have embraced that view. They see salvation as just a matter of getting the soul to heaven. But the Bible says God created us whole people, and he showed his interest in the whole person by giving us his son, to live as one of us, and to suffer and die as one of us. He still bears our flesh—and the scars—in heaven. And he intends to raise this body, and transform it, in the earth made new.
The material world isn’t a mistake, and so God isn’t just interested in getting the soul to heaven. We see this clearly in the ministry of Jesus, who gave sight to the blind and made the lame walk. In the parable of the sheep and the goats, in Matthew 25, the sheep, who are commended, are those who cared for peoples’ physical needs: “I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.”
Adventist spirituality is concerned for the whole person. It is integrative. We take to heart 3 John 2: “I wish above all things that thou may prosper and be in health.” That’s the reason for our health message, including our preference for a vegetarian diet, and our abstinence from tobacco and alcohol and other harmful substances. It’s not intended to be a long list of dos and don’ts; rather, it is intended to be guidance to help us live the kind of life God intended from the beginning.
Our health message seemed eccentric once, but the world is catching on. It used to be you had to go to the Adventist Book Center to get vegetarian food—now there are health food sections in major chains like Kroger and H.E.B., not to mention Whole Foods Market. Smoking used to be a sign of glamour, was once even promoted as a cure for lung cancer—today, there are fewer and fewer places where smokers can light up. The problems associated with the typical American diet are illustrated in books and movies like “Super-Size Me” and “Fast Food Nation.”
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 RSV
That’s different from the attitude of the world. “It’s my body, I can do whatever I want with it.”
This principle extends to our whole person, calling us to a lifestyle of simplicity.
“Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” 1 Peter 3:3
We’re not the first and only Christians to see the Christian life as one of simplicity, following the example of Jesus—indeed, some others have taken it much further than we have. St. Francis of Assisi wore a single rough tunic, bound with a rope, and no shoes. The Anabaptists of Switzerland and Germany, and their descendants, the Mennonites, the Brethren, the Hutterites and the Amish, have so emphasized simple living that people forget the Anabaptist faith that is the reason. We lived in Pennsylvania for a number of years, and could sit on our front porch to watch Amish buggies traipsing by on their way to the store. Adventists don’t go that far, but we do seek a graceful simplicity that doesn’t get caught up in the fads and fashions of the world—for our minds are set on things above.
There’s a danger with externals like diet and dress, of course. Our perspective can be warped if we focus on them. They can be an occasion of pride. They can be things that set us over against others, and cause us to focus inward. That’s what turns off so many young people—they see only the rules, not the reason; they see the letter, not the spirit. That’s why we have to be very careful, to show that this, like every other aspect of our spirituality, grows out of our relationship with Jesus.
We must always remember that our concern for the whole person isn’t just about us, it extends outwards in mission. Our spirituality reaches beyond us; we have something we think worth sharing. We have a message that is good news, both for eternity and for today. This is why we not only have evangelistic crusades and television and radio programs, but also hospitals and clinics, medical missions, Five Day Plans and cooking schools.
But early Adventists went further; they wanted not only to heal the wounds caused by society, they sought to reform society itself. They were active in the temperance movement, which was devoted to eliminating the evils associated with alcohol abuse. They were abolitionists, and worked actively for the freedom of slaves, helping them escape through the Underground Railroad. But engaged in civil disobedience against the Fugitive Slave Law that demanded the return of escaped slaves. Adventists fought for religious liberty for all.
It’s paradoxical, in a way. Our Adventist pioneers believed in the soon return of Christ, and they avoided the pleasures and concerns of the world, but they nevertheless engaged the world on issues of importance to themselves and to the larger society. That should cause us to pause and reflect on our own city, and state, and nation. What are the issues facing us? What are the things we should be concerned with? What kind of a witness might we be able to give?
Rooted in the Distinction between the Creator and the Creature
Adventist spirituality is rooted in Jesus, and in a Biblical understanding of man, and—this is my last point—in the realization that there is a distinction between the two. We aren’t God. Seems like a basic point, doesn’t it? But much of what is called “spirituality” today blurs the line between the two, telling us to worship what is divine in us, telling us to celebrate our own potential.
But Scripture calls us out of ourselves.
Revelation 14:6-7—“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”
This was the issue in Eden, it was the issue at Sinai, it was the issue Jesus faced in the wilderness, it is the issue before us in these last days. Who will you worship, the Creator or the creature? Will you follow a spirituality that points you above, or one that says you have everything you need?
We gather each week not to hear useful advice, not to hear things that make us feel good, not to celebrate our own accomplishments. We gather to give God the glory, to give him the praise, to give him the honor. Our music takes us out of ourselves, to magnify his name. Our prayer brings us on our knees, lifting us to him.
The great symbol of the kind of worship God seeks is the Sabbath. It’s not something we offer to God—it’s something he gave for us. He just asks us to remember it, and by it, to remember him. To remember that he is both our Creator and our Redeemer. The Sabbath is both a sign of the difference between us and God, and of what God wants to do with us and through us. “You shall keep my sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, given in order that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you” (Exodus 31:13).
One of my favorite movies is Fiddler on the Roof. I’m especially moved by the scene of the lighting of the Sabbath candles. The mother gathers the family about the table, and with a veil over her head, and her hands over her eyes, she leads the family in prayer. Dressed in their finest clothes, the thoughts and arguments of the week put away for twenty-four hours, together they welcome the Sabbath. Throughout the village of Anatevka all families, rich and poor, large and small, unite in this act recognizing the holiness of this time.
Through my years away from the Adventist Church, I treasured my memories of Sabbaths past. The arrival of the Sabbath was announced by the flaming colors of the Friday sunset and characterized by a hushed atmosphere of holy expectation. We were exhorted to “guard the edges of the Sabbath,” making sure our work was done well before the start of the Sabbath, and treasuring the last moments of the sacred time. The Sabbath was marked not merely by an absence of work and of the blare of the television, but also by special meals and special guests, gatherings for prayer and song, and leisurely strolls through the woods or along the seashore admiring the handiwork of the Creator, who left this holy time as a memorial of his work of creation.
Here’s where it all comes together—our relationship with Jesus, our spirituality that includes the body, and our worship. Here we see again that we aren’t God, but we belong to him.
Seventh-day Adventist spirituality is rooted in Jesus, in our understanding that God is interested in our whole person, and in the affirmation through our worship that we belong to God.

Florian Fulga | Creează-ți o insignă

GOD LOVES YOU…DEEPLY…have you thought about this fact lately?

...After all, the main issue that stands up continuously on my mind regarding the issue of the LOYALTY, ...

-do we remain Loyal in everything to God only?


Those who remain loyal to the Lamb of God, they do not want to TO BE IN CHARGE even of their own lives,

On the contrary the PEOPLE WHO WILL BE HAPPY IN Heaven, are the righteous…are those who are learning everyday how to serve others, they learn everyday by self denial new ways of how to love others, they have a new lifestyle, Jesus’ Lifestyle, they are even now ready for Heaven…they are LOYAL TO GOD, THEY OBBEY GOD, they would die for GOD…they simply by faith alone, They Follow the Lamb wherever He goes…

Let me ask you a personal question: WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE YOU HAPPY? and it's no need for you to ask me...I am just a man, a sinner just like any sinner who lives by God's Grace every day...I am just trying to help...

What is it ultimately that really makes you a happy man? Is it GOD? OR IS IT Satan’s will? Or maybe it’s your own will? What is it that really brings you real joy? And happinness? BE HONEST…DON’T LIE YOURSELF…
WHEN DO YOU FEEL HAPPIER? IS IT (FOR INSTANCE) ON FRIDAY EVENING? OR IS IT ON AFTER SABBATH?
IS IT JUST THE FACT OF DOING WANT YOU REALLY WANT, DEEP DOWN YOUR HEART? AND IF WHAT YOU REALLY WANT IS TO PRAISE GOD, AND OBBEY GOD in all things, THEN PRAISE God! For that… OR DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE THE GREATEST AMONG MEN, JUSTAS LUCIFER WANTED…WANTING TO BE THE FIRST, TO BE SERVED BY OTHERS, TO ALWAYS get !!! RECEIVE RECEIVE RECEIVE! MORE AND MORE AND MORE! AND FEELING THAT NEVER HAVE ENOUGH! ONLY WANTING to take advantages from all people AROUND YOU? to get something from everyone ?…
…these people are the type of the people that DON’T WANT TO ACKNOLEDGE ANYONE AND THAT INCLUDES GOD HIMSELF, AS A Higher Authority ABOVE THEMSELVS…
… THE SELFISH PEOPLE,THEY WON’T BE HAPPY IN Heaven…so what for should they ever get to Heaven, to live there a whole Eternity unhappy?

God respects the free choice…of every single human being…
The question in the judgment is not “who has sinned?” because we all have sinned, but “who remains loyal to God and forgiven?”


GOD LOVES YOU…DEEPLY…have you thought about this fact lately?

hard hearts in the House of the Lord ?

What I am about to say may shock you - but I believe it with all my heart: The hardest hearts in this world are not among the ungodly - but among God's people!

When we think of hardhearted people, most of us tend to think of avowed atheists such as Madalyn Murray O'Hair - the woman who was instrumental in removing prayer from public schools. Atheists like O'Hair ridicule the very idea of God. Whenever they refer to Christians, their words have a harsh, biting edge. Other atheists flaunt their hatred for God - such as the rock performer Marilyn Manson, who rips up Bibles during his stage show. Whenever we hear about such people, we think, "Those are the most hardhearted people in the world!"

Or, we may think of militant gay activists, such as those who marched up Fifth Avenue in New York City several weeks ago. Many of those marching homosexuals mocked Christianity and blasphemed God's name. One man carried a sign reading, "Jesus Is Gay." Whenever we hear of such people, we think, "Their hearts have become hardened because of sin. They're impossible to reach!"

Or, we may think of the communist nations that for decades persecuted Christians. In Cuba, for instance, just miles off the Florida coast, Fidel Castro's communist regime closed all churches and began turning cathedrals into training centers for communism. Cuba's leaders boasted, "We have wiped out all religion!" And at the time, many Christians thought, "No one could be more hardhearted than these God haters!"

I could go on and on, describing all kinds of scoffers, mockers, blasphemers, rejecters of Christ. And, indeed, each of these could accurately be described as being hardhearted. But if you want to discover the hardest hearts of all - the ones the Lord most despises - you have to look in God's house. The hardest hearts are always found among his people!

According to the Bible, The Hardness of
Heart That God Most Despises Has to Do
With the Hearing and Rejecting of His Word.

"He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" (Proverbs 29:1).

The Hebrew word for "reproved" in this verse refers to corrective teaching. And the word for "without remedy" here is "marpe" - meaning, "without a cure," "without any possibility of deliverance." This verse first tells us that hardness of heart comes as a result of rejecting repeated warnings - of pushing aside all wooings of the truth. And, second, it tells us that over time such hardness becomes impossible to cure. So, who are the people that most often hear these warnings? They are supposedly Christians - those who sit in God's house each week listening to sermons of reproof!

The tragic truth is that in spite of hearing fiery messages sent from heaven, multitudes of Christians do not practice what they hear. They refuse to allow God entry into certain areas of their lives. And as they continue to hear without heeding, a hardness begins to set in. In the end, they will be cut off without hope of ever being cured!

In contrast, there are some gay activists whose hardness of heart has been cured. At first they cursed Christ and shook an angry fist in God's face. But when they heard the gospel and felt the pure, loving reproof of the Holy Ghost, their hearts melted. They repented and turned to Jesus, their hardness being cured.

Now, you may be thinking, "Wait a minute. Are you saying that a sin-hardened, radical homosexual has the hope of being cured of his hardness - but a sin-hardened Christian has no such hope? How could this be?" The difference is, the homosexual referred to hasn't heard message after message of reproof and continually hardened himself to it. But the Christian has!

The life of Madalyn Murray O'Hair's son illustrates this. He had been raised in probably the most atheistic household in America. And he later worked for his mother, crusading against God and religion. But when he heard the gospel, he got gloriously saved - and he later became a minister, preaching Christ instead of cursing him. This man's hardness was curable also - because he hadn't sat under sermons of reproof and continually rejected them.

The same is true of many people who lived for years under communist rule. When the Iron Curtain fell, the gospel immediately flooded those formerly communist countries, and thousands accepted Jesus. Red Army troops converted left and right, and even some top generals became powerful witnesses for Christ. Within a matter of days, government officials, schoolteachers and even the KGB were asking for Bibles and preaching Christ to those under their influence.

Our ministry held crusades in Poland just before the collapse of communism in that country. It was one of the few times officials had allowed anyone in to hold openly religious meetings. Each night as I preached, hundreds of young people literally ran to the altar - weeping, brokenhearted, hungry for Christ. They all had been brainwashed against religion. But their hardness was curable - because they had not sat under continual reproof and hardened themselves to God's word.

In my experience, the hardest hearts - the incurable kind - have always been found within earshot of Holy Ghost-anointed preaching. Such hardness doesn't exist in cold, dead, formal churches, where the gospel has been corrupted for generations. No - it is always found where a pure word is preached from the pulpit - and rejected in the pews!

You may ask, "What exactly is a hard heart?" A hard heart is one that is determined to resist obeying God's word. It has become impossible to stir, immune to the convictions and warnings of the Holy Spirit.

Please don't mistake me: Hardening one's heart is not just a matter of turning against God, or rejecting Christ, or refusing to go to church. The fact is, your heart can become hard even if you're at church every time the doors are open. You can become hard while listening to teaching tapes...singing God's praises...serving as an usher, a teacher, a member of the worship team. Indeed, you can become so hard to God's word while performing acts of service that even if Jesus himself were to preach from the pulpit, you would turn a deaf ear to him!

Right now, you may be saying to yourself, "Whoa! This all sounds a little too scary for me." Rest assured, I don't want to frighten anyone into contrition of heart. But the truth is, if you regularly ignore the warnings of God's word, you'd better start attending the deadest church you can find. That way you won't be judged as severely as you would by continuing to sit in a Holy Ghost church and reject the anointed word you hear. If you keep doing that, your heart will harden beyond any cure!

Let Me Hold Up the Plumb Line,
and Measure You According to the
Gospel Truth You Have Heard.

I want to give you a test, to see whether you have already taken the first steps toward hardness of heart. Let me ask you the following questions:

1. How many times have you heard or read messages about the danger of neglecting daily prayer and Bible reading?

I have many written messages on this subject, knowing that hard times are about to fall upon our society. And yet many readers still refuse to pick up their Bibles or spend just five minutes speaking to their heavenly father. Beloved, if you neglect your secret closet at home - if you think praying at church takes care of all your needs - you will never survive the troubled days ahead. Think about it: If you won't heed the word that is meant to heal and strengthen you in good times, how will you ever find power to overcome during the difficult days to come?

If you have ignored the Holy Spirit's wooings to draw you to the secret closet for intimacy, then you have taken the first step toward hardness of heart. You may fill all your time doing good works, blessing people and pouring your heart out in Christian service. But if you neglect time with the Lord - refusing to seek his face or heed his word - you will become weak, fearful, depressed, and finally a prey for the devil. Having a personal knowledge of your heavenly father is the only way to prepare for what is coming!

2. How many times have you been warned of the awful consequences of gossip?

At times, my warnings on the subject of gossip have been like soft, gentle rain - and at other times, they've been like rolling thunder. I have written about how gossip and murmuring cost Israel everything. Time after time, the Israelites were warned of the dangers of this sin. But they persisted in disobeying the Lord - and it brought them a lifetime of misery in a snake-infested desert!

Now, let me again hold up the plumb line to your life: Have you said something against a brother or a sister during the past week - something you had no business repeating? Or have you listened to any gossip about that person? If so, did you allow a seed of doubt about him or her to be planted in your soul?

I ask you - how could you continue to gossip, in light of all the warnings you've heard? The only answer is that you've already started down the path toward hardness of heart!

3. How many warnings have you heard against harboring a secret sin?

What about that besetting sin in your heart - the one that God's Spirit has continually spoken to you about? Over the years I have written many warnings about the dangers of flirting with a pet sin. Yet not only have I preached against sin, but I have taught of God's resurrection power. I have preached that the Lord both endues us with overcoming power through his Spirit, and puts a will in our hearts to do right.

Yet I know people who have sat under my teaching at Times Square Church for years - and they still drink, smoke, curse and carouse. Beloved, that is a hard heart! Who dares to sit under loving reproof week after week and yet go on sinning, never allowing conviction to sink in? It is someone who's heading down the path toward hardness of heart!

It Is Possible to Love Hearing God's Word - to
Appreciate And Approve of What Is Preached
- and Yet Grow Incurably Hard While Listening!

You can sincerely believe you have accepted a sermon simply because you have heard it, thought about it and discussed it over Sunday dinner. Yet you can do all that and still be a hearer only - and not a doer of God's word!

The children of Israel loved to hear the powerful preaching of Ezekiel - but they never obeyed it: "They come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice...for they hear thy words, but they do them not" (Ezekiel 33:31-32).

Many people in our congregation have approached me after a service, hugged me and said, "Pastor, that was a powerful word you preached." But as they walked away, the Holy Spirit whispered to me, "They didn't hear a word you said!"

The book of Hebrews gives us a powerful warning: "As the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness" (Hebrews 3:7-8). "For some, when they had heard, did provoke [rebel]..." (verse 16). These passages clearly show that hardness is not connected to atheism, communism or any other "ism" - but, rather, to hearing and not doing God's word.

I know many people in Times Square Church who are kindhearted, gentle, sacrificial - and yet they are in danger of becoming hardhearted! I have sought the Lord about this, asking, "Father, how can these dedicated, hardworking people hear sermon after sermon of reproof, and yet never change? They come to your house week after week, worshiping you, praising you - but they're not growing into maturity. I know this, because I hear them gossiping, and I know about the other sins in their lives. They love to hear your word preached - but they simply don't obey it. Lord, what keeps them from obeying your word?"

God showed me that it all goes back to their conversion. These neglectful people were never converted in the first place! You see, the Bible speaks of two types of conversions: First, there is a conversion that leads to healing and deliverance from all sins. This is the kind most Christians have experienced. But there is also a conversion that leads to hardness and blindness. Let me give you an illustration.

Israel gladly listened to the powerful preaching of the prophet Isaiah - yet they continually justified their sins, calling evil good and good evil. So, God instructed Isaiah: "...Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed" (Isaiah 6:9-10).

God knew the Israelites were not willing to lay down their besetting sins. They loved their fleshly pleasures and ungodly companions too much. So the Lord told Isaiah, "These people are never going to change their hearts. And from now on, I won't speak a word to them. Instead, I want you to hurry them into their hardness, Isaiah. That way, perhaps some will listen before it's too late!"

Simply put, God was calling for a full surrender from his people. He was saying, "If you're going to be called by my name - if your heart is going to be converted - then it has to happen in a way that delivers you from your sins, heals you and sets you free from all bondage!"

I thank God for the multitudes of Christians who started their walk with Jesus the right way - by loving truth and obeying God's word. They had godly sorrow over their sins, and their repentance was wholehearted. When they forsook the ways of their flesh, they fell in love with the Lord, and his word became to them a guiding lamp. And today they give themselves unreservedly to obeying his word.

The Second Kind of Conversion Is What
the Army Calls "Foxhole" Religion.

This second type of conversion is what happens to some soldiers when they go into battle. Once they hear the bullets whizzing by and see the bombs dropping all around them, they look death in the face - and they quickly cry out to God!

This is the type of conversion Pharaoh had. At one point he'd heard seven reproofs from the Holy Ghost, but he still wouldn't obey the Lord's command to free Israel. And now God sent Moses to Pharaoh for an eighth time, with this message: "...Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me" (Exodus 10:3).

God had already warned Moses about what Pharaoh's reaction would be: "...Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart..." (verse 1). You may ask, "What chance did Pharaoh have? After all, the Lord had hardened his heart." No! The wording here can appear misleading. Pharaoh's hardening did not happen by eternal decree; rather, scripture tells us in an earlier passage: "But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said" (8:15).

Each time Pharaoh refused to obey the Lord's command, God visited Egypt with a severe plague. And each time Pharaoh would cry, "Okay, Lord - I'll do anything you want. Just get me out of this mess!" Yet once he was delivered, he always went back to his rebellion.

The Bible says the same thing about Israel's fathers: "But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, and refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks..." (Nehemiah 9:16-17).

God always knows what's in a person's heart. And he knows when someone will listen but not obey, choosing instead to go his own way. He knew this about Pharaoh - because after seven reproofs and plagues of judgment, Pharaoh's heart had grown steadily harder.

Now an eighth plague was about to fall upon the Egyptians, and it was something they greatly feared: locusts. Throughout the Bible, locusts signify ruin and destruction. In many instances they represent God's retribution upon a people. Indeed, the prophet Joel likens a particular invading army to a swarm of locusts: "I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten...my great army which I sent among you...that executeth his word..." (Joel 2:25, 11).

God didn't always send such plagues merely to punish, but rather to bring about his divine order and will. Many residents of our Timothy House and Sarah House ministries know this firsthand. They've lost jobs, finances, health, marriages, families - all because the locusts of alcohol and drugs devoured everything in their lives. Yet, it was through such plagues that these men and women turned to Jesus.

In Egypt, swarms of locusts descended on the land overnight, devouring everything in sight - crops, plants, new growth, even the bark on trees. By the time these bugs were finished, not even a blade of grass remained:

"The locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they...for they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees...and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt" (Exodus 10:14-15).

The massive swarms filled the Egyptians' houses. Everywhere the people turned, they saw locusts - on the floor, in the kneading trough, in the milk, in their clothes, in their beds. These locusts buzzed their wings with a terrifying sound and chomped and chewed everything in sight. Within days, Egypt lay in total ruin.

At this point, a small but very important word appears in scripture - the word "then." "Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you" (verse 16).

Pharaoh confessed his sin, admitting his wrongdoing. And it sounded like his repentance was full and complete. But what was his motive in repenting? Scripture spells it out clearly in Pharaoh's own words: "Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only" (verse 17). Pharaoh was saying, "Yes, I sinned - and I'm sorry. Now, hurry up, Moses, and get me out of this mess. Pray to your God for me. I'm in trouble, and I have to have relief!"

Pharaoh saw that he was about to lose everything - so he repented in hopes that God would deliver him from the mess he'd brought on himself. All he wanted was relief from his trouble!

What First Brought
You to the Lord?

Did you first come to the Lord as Pharaoh did - only because you wanted something from God? Did you turn to him in order to kick a drug habit, to have your marriage restored, to be delivered from financial trouble? Did you say to yourself, "If I come to Jesus, maybe he'll work things out."

The truth is, Christ will work miracles for you. He will do the impossible in your life. But if you come to him only to get something from him - only to be delivered from your problems - you will never grow an inch in maturity. On the contrary, you will only grow hard!

Think back to the time of your conversion. Did it happen after some locust had eaten everything away? Was your health debilitated in some way? Was one of your children in trouble? Did you end up in devastation, with death and ruin hovering over you?

Please don't misunderstand me. Of course, God loves to save people who end up in ruin. When all is lost, he is always near - and he is faithful to deliver. But, beloved, you cannot come to Jesus just to get relief! You must come to him because he is God - and because he deserves your life, your worship, your obedience.

It is a dangerous thing to come into God's house and go through the motions of worship. You may teach, you may usher, you may sing in the choir - and you may tell yourself, "I remember my conversion well. I asked Jesus into my heart five years ago." But if your heart truly had been converted at that time, it would show in your life today.

You would be growing spiritually - reading the Bible often, taking all your needs and problems to God, spending precious time with him in your secret closet. And whenever you heard warnings about coming locusts, you would take heed - because you know your father's commands issue out of his love for you.

Right now you may be saying, "Yes, Brother Dave - I admit I've been neglecting God's word. And I'm still bound by a besetting sin. Am I too hardened - too far gone - to receive the Lord's healing touch?"

No - not at all! If you will begin to call on the Lord today, in the midst of your need, he will bring you times of refreshing. Whenever you bring to him a truly repentant heart, he will act not as your judge, but as your mediator and intercessor. Right now he is saying to you, "Just call on me, and I will do it for you. I will come to you, supplying all you need to keep your heart tender and broken before me."

Do you want to grow into maturity in Christ? Do you want the Lord to keep reproving you in love and guiding you toward life and godliness? Then call on him today. Nothing will keep you on his intended path for you more than a broken and contrite heart!

despre Isus...

Revenind la Capernaum, Isus n-a mers la locul cunoscut unde învăţase pe oameni, ci împreună cu ucenicii a căutat în linişte casa care trebuia să fie căminul Său trecător. În timpul rămânerii Sale în Galilea, luase ca ţintă instruirea ucenicilor mai mult decât lucrarea pentru mulţime.

În călătoria prin Galilea, Hristos încercase din nou să pregătească mintea ucenicilor pentru evenimentul care Îi stătea înainte. El le-a spus că trebuie să se urce la Ierusalim pentru a fi dat la moarte şi apoi să învieze. Şi a adăugat o avertizare ciudată şi solemnă: avea să fie trădat şi dat pe mâna vrăjmaşilor. Ucenicii n-au înţeles cuvintele Sale nici de astă dată. Deşi deasupra lor se abătuse umbra unei mari întristări, în inima lor se strecurase un spirit de rivalitate. Se certau între ei, fiecare dorind să fie socotit mai mare în împărăţie. Ei credeau că pot să ascundă de Isus această ceartă, de aceea n-au stat ca de obicei aproape de El, ci s-au înşirat în urmă, aşa ca atunci când au intrat în Capernaum, El era înaintea lor. Isus le citea gândurile şi dorea să le dea sfaturi şi dorea să-i înveţe. Dar pentru aceasta a aşteptat un moment de linişte, când inimile lor să se deschidă pentru a primi cuvintele Sale.

Curând după intrarea Lui în oraş, cel ce striga darea pentru templu a venit la Petru cu întrebarea: "Învăţătorul vostru nu plăteşte darea?" Tributul acesta nu era o taxă civilă, ci o contribuţie religioasă, pe care fiecare iudeu era dator să o plătească anual pentru întreţinerea templului. Refuzul de a plăti acest tribut era socotit ca o dovadă de necredincioşi faţă de templu - după socoteala rabinilor, un păcat foarte mare. Atitudinea Mântuitorului faţă de legile rabinilor şi felul Său de a mustra pe faţă pe cei ce apărau tradiţia le ofereau un pretext pentru a-L acuza că El caută să desfiinţeze serviciul templului. Acum vrăjmaşii au văzut ocazia de a-L discredita. Ei au găsit un aliat potrivit în cel ce strângea darea.

Dar Petru a înţeles numai în parte ce urmărea cel care-l întrebase. Erau categorii de oameni scutiţi de plata dării. În templul lui Moise, când leviţii fuseseră puşi deoparte pentru slujba în sanctuar, nu li s-a dat nici o moştenire în mijlocul ţării. Domnul a zis: "Levi n-are nici o parte din moşie nici moştenire cu fraţii lui; Domnul este moştenirea lui". Deut 10,9. În zilele lui Hristos, preoţii şi leviţii erau încă priviţi ca devotaţi templului în mod deosebit şi nu li se cerea să contribuie anual pentru întreţinerea lui. Şi profeţii erau scutiţi de dare. Cerând tribut de la Isus, rabinii înlăturau orice pretenţie a Lui că ar fi profet sau învăţător şi Îl tratau ca pe orice persoană de rând. Dacă ar fi refuzat să plătească darea, ar fi însemnat că nu Se poartă credincios faţă de templu; iar, pe de altă parte, dacă plătea, lucrul acesta ar fi putut fi folosit ca o justificare pentru refuzul lor de a-L recunoaşte ca profet.

Numai cu puţin înainte, Petru recunoscuse pe Isus ca Fiu al lui Dumnezeu, dar acum pierduse o ocazie de a scoate în evidenţă originea divină a Învăţătorului său. Prin răspunsul său, că Isus va plăti darea, el a întărit de fapt părerea greşită pe care preoţii şi conducătorii căutau să o răspândească.

Când Petru a intrat în casă, Mântuitorul nu a făcut nici o aluzie la cele întâmplate, ci a întrebat: "Ce crezi, Simone? Împăraţii pământului de la cine iau dări sau biruri, de la fiii lor, sau de la străini?" Petru a răspuns: "De la străini". Şi Isus a zis: "Aşadar, fiii sunt scutiţi". În timp ce de la locuitorii unei ţări se cereau taxe pentru susţinerea regelui, copiii monarhului erau scutiţi. Aşa şi lui Israel, pretinsul popor al lui Dumnezeu, i se cerea să susţină serviciul Său; dar Isus, Fiul lui Dumnezeu, nu se găsea sub această obligaţie. Dacă preoţii şi leviţii erau scutiţi datorită legăturilor cu templul, cu atât mai mult Acela pentru care templul era casa Tatălui Său.

Dacă Isus ar fi plătit birul fără nici un protest, ar fi recunoscut justeţea acestei pretenţii şi în felul acesta ar fi tăgăduit divinitatea Sa. Dar, deşi a socotit că e bine să împlinească cererea, a combătut pretenţia pe care era întemeiată. Procurând mijloace pentru a plăti darea, El a dat dovadă despre originea Sa divină. El S-a manifestat ca fiind una cu Dumnezeu şi prin urmare nu avea aceleaşi obligaţi ca un supus oarecare al stăpânirii.

"Du-te la mare", a îndrumat El pe Petru, "aruncă undiţa şi vei trage afară peştele care va veni întâi; deschide-i gura şi vei găsi în ea o monedă pe care ia-o şi dă-le-o pentru Mine şi pentru tine." Deşi El îmbrăcase natura Sa dumnezeiască cu natura omenească, în minunea aceasta Şi-a dat pe faţă slava. Era evident că El era Cel care declarase prin David: "Ale Mele sunt toate dobitoacele pădurilor, toate fiarele munţilor cu miile lor. Eu cunosc păsările de pe munţi şi tot ce se mişcă pe câmp este al Meu. Dacă Mi-ar fi foame nu ţi-aş spune ţie, căci a Mea este lumea şi tot ce se cuprinde în ea". Ps.50,10-12.

Cu toate că a arătat lămurit că nu avea obligaţia de a plăti darea, Isus nu s-a luat la ceartă cu iudeii cu privire la acest lucru, deoarece ei ar fi interpretat greşit cuvintele Sale şi le-ar fi îndreptat împotriva Sa. Ca să nu dea pricină de poticnire prin neplata dării, El a făcut lucrul acesta care de drept nu I s-ar fi putut cer. Învăţătura aceasta urma să fie de mare însemnătate pentru ucenici. În curând urmau să aibă loc schimbări însemnate în relaţia lor cu serviciul de la templu şi Hristos i-a învăţat să nu se aşeze împotriva ordinei stabilite fără să fie nevoie. Pe cât era posibil ei trebuiau să nu dea nici un prilej de răstălmăcire a credinţei lor. Deşi creştinii nu trebuie să sacrifice nici un principiu al adevărului, ei trebuie să evite cearta ori de câte ori lucrul acesta e cu putinţă.

Când Hristos şi ucenicii erau singuri în casă, în timp ce Petru plecase la mare, Isus i-a chemat pe ceilalţi şi a întrebat: "Despre ce vorbiţi uni cu alţi pe drum?" Prezenţa lui Isus şi întrebarea Lui i-au făcut să vadă lucrurile într-o lumină cu totul deosebită de aceea în care le văzuseră când se certau pe drum. Ruşinea şi sentimentul de vinovăţie i-au făcut să tacă. Isus le spusese că El trebuie să moară pentru mântuirea lor, iar ambiţia lor egoistă era într-un dureros contrast cu iubirea Lui neegoistă.

Când Isus le spusese că El trebuie să moară şi să învieze, căutase să-i atragă într-o discuţie cu privire la marea încercare a credinţei care le stătea înainte. Dacă ar fi fost gata să primească ce dorea El să le facă cunoscut, ar fi fost scutiţi de o durere şi o disperare grozavă. Cuvintele Lui le-ar fi adus mângâiere în ceasul întristării şi descurajării. Cu toate că vorbise aşa de lămurit despre ceea ce Îl aştepta, faptul că amintise că va merge curând în Ierusalim le aprinsese iar speranţa că împărăţia va fi întemeiată. Lucrul acesta dusese la cearta cu privire la cine va ocupa cele mai înalte funcţii. Când Petru a revenit de la mare, ucenicii i-au spus şi lui despre întrebarea Mântuitorului, şi în cele din urmă unul a îndrăznit să întrebe pe Isus: "Cine este mai mare în Împărăţia Cerurilor?" Mântuitorul a adunat în jurul Său pe ucenici şi le-a spus: " Dacă vrea cineva să fie cel dintâi, trebuie să fie cel mai de pe urmă din toţi, servul tuturor" Aceste cuvinte erau atât de solemne şi impresionante, dar ucenicii erau departe de a le înţelege. Ei nu puteau să vadă ceea ce înţelegea Hristos. Nu înţelegeau natura Împărăţiei lui Hristos şi această neştiinţă era cauza certurilor lor. Dar adevărata cauză era mai profundă. Explicând natura Împărăţiei Sale, Hristos ar fi putut stinge cearta; dar acesta n-ar fi înlăturat cauza. Chiar după ce ar fi primit cunoştinţă deplină, problema cu privire la întâietate ar fi reînnoit neînţelegerea. În felul acesta ar fi adus dezastru asupra biserici după plecarea lui Hristos. Cearta pentru locul cel mai de frunte era lucrarea aceluiaşi spirit care începuse marea luptă din lumile de sus şi care coborâse pe Hristos din cer ca să moară. În faţa Sa El a văzut pe Lucifer, 'fiul zorilor", întrecând în slavă pe toţi îngerii care înconjurau tronul şi unit prin legăturile cele mai strânse cu Fiul lui Dumnezeu. Lucifer spusese: "Voi fi ca Cel Prea Înalt" [Is.14,12.14], şi dorinţa după înălţare de sine adusese ceartă în curţile cereşti şi făcuse să fie alungată o mare parte din oştile lui Dumnezeu. Dacă Lucifer ar fi dorit cu adevărat să fie asemenea cu Cel Prea Înalt, n-ar fi dezertat niciodată de la locul ce i se dăduse în cer, deoarece spiritul Celui prea Înalt se dă pe faţă în lucrarea neegoistă. Lucifer dorea puterea lui Dumnezeu, dar nu caracterul Lui. El căuta pentru sine locul cel mai de frunte şi orice fiinţă care e stăpânită de spiritul lui face la fel. În felul acesta, înstrăinarea, dezbinarea şi cearta ajung inevitabile. Stăpânirea ajunge premiul celui mai tare. Împărăţia lui Satana este o împărăţie a forţei; fiecare îi socoteşte pe toţi ceilalţi ca o piedică pentru înaintarea sa, sau ca o treaptă pe care călcând să ajungă la un loc mai înalt.

În timp ce Lucifer socotea ca un lucru de apucat să fie egal cu Dumnezeu, Hristos, Cel Proslăvit, "S-a dezbrăcat de Sine Însuşi şi a luat chip de rob, făcându-Se asemenea oamenilor. La înfăţişare a fost găsit ca un om, S-a smerit şi S-a făcut ascultător până la moarte, şi încă moarte pe cruce". Fil.2,7.8. Acum crucea era chiar în faţa Sa; şi propriii Săi ucenici erau aşa plini de gânduri egoiste - de însuşi principiul împărăţiei lui Satana - încât nu puteau să simtă ca Domnul lor sau măcar să-L înţeleagă atunci când El vorbea despre umilirea Sa pentru ei.

Foarte duios, dar cu multă solemnitate, Isus încerca să îndrepte răul. El a arătat care este principiul care stăpâneşte în cer şi în ce constă adevărata mărire, aşa cum este apreciată după etalonul curţilor de sus. Cei care erau mânaţi de îngâmfare şi dorinţă de înălţare de sine se gândeau mai mult al ei şi la răsplata pe care trebuia să o primească decât la felul în care trebuia să reîntoarcă lui Dumnezeu darurile pe care le primiseră. Ei nu puteau să aibă loc în Împărăţia Cerurilor, deoarece erau asemenea celor din rândurile lui Satana.

Înainte de onoare este umilinţa. Pentru a sta într-un loc înalt înaintea oamenilor, Dumnezeu alege pe lucrătorul care asemenea lui Ioan Botezătorul, ia un loc umil în faţa lui Dumnezeu. Ucenicul care seamănă mai mult unui copil este lucrătorul care are mai mult succes în lucrarea lui Dumnezeu. Inteligenţele cereşti pot să conlucreze cu acela care nu caută să-şi înalţe eul, ci să salveze sufletele. Acela care simte mai mult nevoia după ajutorul divin va stărui mai mult ca să-l aibă; iar Duhul Sfânt îi va descoperi pe Isus, care va întări şi va înălţa sufletul. În urma comuniunii cu Hristos, el pleacă să lucreze pentru cei ce pier în păcatele lor. El este uns pentru misiunea sa şi are succes acolo unde mulţi învăţaţi şi intelectuali se dau bătuţi.

Dar când oamenii se înalţă, gândind că ei sunt necesari pentru ca marele plan al lui Dumnezeu să aibă succes, Domnul face să fie înlăturaţi. Se face dovada că Dumnezeu nu este dependent de ei. Lucrarea nu încetează din cauza îndepărtării lor, ci merge mai departe cu putere şi mai mare.

Nu era destul pentru ucenicii lui Isus să fie instruiţi cu privire la natura Împărăţiei Sale. Ceea ce le trebuia era o transformare a inimii care să-i aducă în armonie cu principiile ei. Chemând la sine un copilaş, Isus l-a aşezat în mijlocul lor, apoi, strângându-l cu gingăşie în braţe, El a zis: "Dacă nu vă veţi întoarce la Dumnezeu şi nu vă veţi face ca nişte copilaşi, cu nici un chip nu veţi intra în Împărăţia cerurilor". Simplitatea, uitarea de sine şi iubirea plină de încredere ale copilaşilor sunt însuşiri pe care cerul le apreciază. Acestea sunt caracteristicile adevăratei măriri.

Isus a explicat din nou ucenicilor că Împărăţia Sa nu este caracterizată prin fast şi strălucire pământească. La picioarele lui Isus orice deosebiri sunt uitate. Bogatul şi săracul, învăţatul şi neînvăţatul se întâlnesc fără gând de castă sau întâietate lumească. Toţi se întâlnesc ca fiinţe răscumpărate prin sânge, la fel de dependente de Acela care i-a mântuit pentru Dumnezeu.

Sufletul sincer şi umilit e preţios înaintea lui Dumnezeu. El pune semnul Său asupra oamenilor, nu după rang nici după bogăţia lor, nici după mărimea inteligenţei lor, ci după felul în care ei sunt una cu Hristos. Domnul slavei este mulţumit cu cei umiliţi şi blânzi cu inima. "Tu îmi dai", zicea David, "scutul mântuirii Tale... şi îndurarea Ta" - ca o trăsătură a caracterului omenesc - , "mă face mare". Ps 18,35.

"Oricine va primi un copilaş ca acesta în Numele Meu", a zis Isus, "Mă primeşte pe Mine; şi oricine mă primeşte pe Mine, primeşte pe Cel ce M-a trimis pe Mine". "Aşa vorbeşte Domnul: 'Cerul este scaunul Meu de domnie şi pământul aşternutul picioarelor Mele!'" "Iată spre cine îmi voi îndrepta privirile: spre cel ce suferă şi are duhul mâhnit, spre cel ce se teme de Cuvântul Meu". Is. 66,1.2.

Cuvintele Mântuitorului au trezit în ucenici un simţământ de neîncredere în ei înşişi. Deşi răspunsul dat nu viza în mod direct pe cineva anume, Ioan a început să se întrebe dacă într-o anumită împrejurare purtarea lui fusese corectă. Cu spirit ca de copil, el a adus această problemă înaintea lui Isus: "Învăţătorule", a zis el, "noi am văzut pe un om scoţând draci în numele Tău; şi l-am oprit pentru că nu mergea după noi".

Iacob şi Ioan erau de părere că îl opriseră pe omul acela pentru a-i da onoare Domnului lor; dar acum au început să vadă că de fapt erau geloşi pentru persoana lor. Ei şi-au recunoscut greşeala şi au primit mustrarea lui Isus. "Nu-l opriţi, fiindcă nu este nimeni care să facă minuni în numele Meu şi să mă poată grăi de rău îndată după aceea". Nimeni din cei care într-un fel oarecare s-au arătat prietenoşi faţă de Isus nu trebuiau să fie dispreţuiţi. Mulţi fuseseră adânc mişcaţi de caracterul şi lucrarea lui Hristos şi inimile lor se deschideau în credinţă faţă de El; şi ucenicii care nu puteau cunoaşte motivele, trebuiau să fie cu băgare de seamă pentru a nu descuraja asemenea suflete. Când Isus urma să fie personal printre ei, iar lucrarea să fie lăsată în mâinile lor, nu trebuiau să-şi îngăduie un spirit mărginit, exclusivist, ci să dea pe faţă aceeaşi iubire cuprinzătoare pe care o văzuseră la Învăţătorul lor.

Faptul că cineva nu se potriveşte în totul cu părerile sau ideile noastre personale nu ne va îndreptăţi să-i interzicem să lucreze pentru Domnul. Hristos este marele Învăţător; noi nu trebuie să judecăm sau să poruncim, ci fiecare din noi să stea cu umilinţă la picioarele lui Isus şi să înveţe de la El. Fiecare suflet pe care Dumnezeu l-a făcut binevoitor este un canal prin care Hristos Îşi va descoperi iubirea Sa iertătoare. Cât de atenţi ar trebui să fim, ca nu cumva să descurajăm pe vreunul dintre purtătorii de lumină de la Dumnezeu şi astfel să împiedicăm razele cu care El ar vrea să lumineze lumea! Asprimea sau răceală arătată de ucenici faţă de o persoană pe care o atrage Hristos - au act de felul acesta săvârşit de Ioan când a interzis unui om să facă minunea în numele lui Hristos - ar putea avea ca rezultat întoarcerea acelui om la calea vrăjmaşului, cauzând în felul acesta pierderea unui suflet. Cu privire la cel care ar putea face aşa ceva, Isus a zis: "Ar fi mai bine pentru el să i se lege de gât o piatră mare, de moară şi să fie aruncaţi în mare". Şi a adăugat: "Dacă mâna ta te face să păcătuieşti, taie-o; este mai bine pentru tine să intri ciung în viaţă, decât să ai două mâini şi să mergi în gheenă, în focul care nu se stinge. Dacă piciorul tău te va face să cazi în păcat, taie-l; este mai bine pentru tine să intri în viaţă şchiop, decât să ai două picioare şi să fi aruncat în gheenă". Marcu 9,43-45.

Care era motivul pentru care Isus vorbea atât de hotărât? Deoarece "Fiul omului a venit să mântuiască ce era pierdut". Trebuie să arete ucenicii lui Isus mai puţină atenţie faţă de semenii lor decât a arătat Maiestatea cerului ? Fiecare fiinţă a costat un preţ nemărginit şi deci cât de grozav e păcatul de a îndepărtat un suflet de la Hristos, aşa încât pentru el iubirea, umilinţa şi suferinţele Mântuitorului să fie zadarnice !

"Vai de lume, din pricina prilejurilor de păcătuire! Fiindcă nu se poate să nu vină prilejuri de păcătuire". Matei 18,7. Lumea, inspirată de Satana, se va împotrivi cu siguranţă urmaşilor lui Hristos şi va căuta să le distrugă credinţa; dar vai de acela care a luat numele lui Hristos şi totuşi este găsit făcând această lucrare! Domnul nostru suferă ocară pentru aceia care pretind că-L servesc, dar reprezintă rău caracterul Său; şi astfel mulţi oameni sunt amăgiţi şi duşi pe căi rătăcite.

Orice obicei sau acţiune care ar conduce la păcat şi care ar aduce ocară asupra lui Hristos ai fi mai bine îndepărtat, ori care ar fi sacrificiul. Ceea ce dezonorează pe Dumnezeu nu poate fi folositor pentru nimeni. Binecuvântarea cerului nu poate să însoţească pe un om care calcă principiile veşnice ale dreptăţii. Şi un singur păcat cultivat cu plăcere este îndestulătoare pentru a produce degradarea caracterului şi pentru a rătăci pe alţii. Dacă piciorul sau mâna trebuie tăiate şi chiar ochiul trebuie scos pentru a scăpa trupul de moarte, cu cât mai mult ar trebui să fie îndepărtat păcatul, care aduce moartea veşnică !

La serviciul ritual se adăuga sare la fiecare jertfă. Aceasta, asemenea jertfei de tămâie, însemna că numai neprihănirea lui Hristos putea face ca serviciul să fie primit de Dumnezeu. Referindu-se la această practică, Isus a zis: "Orice jertfă va fi sărată cu sare". "Să aveţi sare în voi înşivă şi să trăiţi în pace uni cu alţii". Toţi cei ce vor să se prezinte ca "jertfă vie, sfântă plăcută lui Dumnezeu" [Rom. 12,1] trebuie să primească sarea mântuitoare, neprihănirea Mântuitorului nostru. Atunci ei devin "sarea pământului", care în mijlocul oamenilor ţin răul pe loc aşa cum sarea fereşte de stricăciune. Matei 5,13. Dar dacă sarea şi-a pierdut gustul, dacă temerea de Dumnezeu este numai din gură, fără să cuprindă şi iubirea lui Hristos, nu e nici o putere spre bine în aceasta. Acea viaţă nu poate exercita nici o influenţă mântuitoare asupra lumii. Energia şi capacitatea voastră de a ajuta dezvoltarea Împărăţiei Mele, zice Isus, depinde de primirea Duhului Meu. Voi trebuie să fiţi părtaşi la harul Meu, pentru a fi un miros de viaţă spre viaţă. Atunci nu va mai fi nici rivalitate, nici căutarea interesului propriu, nici dorinţa după locul cel mai de frunte. Voi trebuie să aveţi iubirea aceea care nu caută folosul său, ci binele altuia.

Păcătosul care se pocăieşte să-şi aţintească deci ochii asupra "Mielului lui Dumnezeu, care ridică păcatul lumii" [Ioan 1,29]; şi prin privire se schimbă. Teama lui e preschimbată în bucurie, îndoielile în nădejde. Se dă pe faţă recunoştinţa. Inima de piatră e sfărâmată. Un val de iubire inundă sufletul. Hristos este în el ca un izvor de viaţă care ţâşneşte în viaţa veşnică. Când vedem pe Isus, Om al durerii, obişnuit cu suferinţa, lucrând să salveze ce era de pierdut, dispreţuit, batjocorit, luat în râs, alungat din cetate în cetate până Şi-a încheiat misiunea, când privim la el în Ghetsemani, asudând cu picături de sânge, şi pe cruce, murind în agonie - când vedem acestea, eul nu mai pretinde să fie recunoscut. Privind la Isus, ne vom ruşina de răceala noastră, de letargia şi egoismul nostru. Vom fi voioşi să fim orice sau nimic, aşa încât să putem servi pe Domnul din inimă. Ne vom bucura atunci să purtăm crucea în urma lui Isus, să îndurăm încercările, ocara sau persecuţia pentru Numele Lui cel scump.

"Noi, care suntem tari, suntem datori să răbdăm slăbiciunile celor slabi şi să nu ne placem nouă înşine." Rom. 15,1. Nici o fiinţă care crede în Hristos, chiar dacă credinţa sa ar putea să fie slabă şi paşii săi să se clatine ca ai unui copilaş, nu ar trebui să fie puţin apreciată. Prin tot ce ne dă nouă un avantaj asupra altuia - fie bună creştere şi privilegii, nobleţe de caracter, educaţie creştină, experienţă religioasă - suntem datori faţă de cei mai puţin privilegiaţi; pe cât ne stă în putinţă, să îi ajutăm şi să-i servim. Dacă suntem tari, să înălţăm braţul celor slabi. Îngeri ai măririi, care văd pururea faţa Tatălui din cer, sunt bucuroşi să servească celor mai mici ai Lui. Fiinţe tremurânde care au multe trăsături de caracter nepotrivite, sunt în grija lor deosebită. Îngerii sunt totdeauna prezenţi acolo unde sunt mai necesari, alături de cei ce au de dus lupta cea mai grea cu eul şi al căror mediu de viaţă este mai descurajator. Şi în această servire, adevăraţii urmaşi ai lui Hristos vor colabora.

Dacă unul dintre aceşti micuţi va fi biruit şi va greşi împotriva ta, datoria ta e să cauţi îndreptarea lui. Nu aştepta ca el să facă prima încercare de împăcare. "Ce credeţi?" a zis Isus, "dacă un om are o sută de oi şi se rătăceşte una dintre ele, nu lasă el pe cele nouăzeci şi nouă pe munţi şi se duce să caute pe cea rătăcită? Şi dacă se întâmplă să o găsească, adevăr vă spun, că are mai mare bucurie de ea, decât de cele nouăzeci şi nouă care nu se rătăciseră. Tot aşa, nu este voia Tatălui vostru din ceruri să piară unul măcar din aceşti micuţi".

În umilinţă, luând seama "la tine însuţi, ca să nu fii ispitit şi tu" [Gal.6,1], mergi ca cel greşit şi "spune-i între tine şi el singur". Nu-l expune ruşinii punând greşeala lui în faţa altora şi nu aduce ocară asupra lui Hristos făcând să fie cunoscut în public păcatul sau greşeala unuia care poartă numele Lui. Deseori adevărul trebuie să fie spus clar către cel care a greşit; el trebuie condus să-şi vadă greşeala, ca să poată să se îndrepte. Dar nu trebuie să-l judeci sau să-l condamni. Nu încerca să te îndreptăţeşti. Toată străduinţa ta să fie pentru îndreptarea lui. În tratarea rănilor sufletului, este necesară atingerea cea mai delicată şi sensibilitatea cea mai aleasă. Numai iubirea care se revarsă de la Cel ce a suferit pe Golgota poate izbuti în împrejurarea aceasta. Fratele să arete o iubire plină de înţelegere faţă de fratele său, ştiind că dacă izbuteşte, va "mântui un suflet de la moarte" şi va "acoperi o sumedenie de păcate". Iacov 5,20.

Dar chiar şi încercarea această poate să nu izbutească. Atunci, a zis Isus: "mai ia cu tine unul sau doi". S-ar putea ca influenţa lor unită să izbutească acolo unde a celui dintâi a fost fără succes. Nefiind amestecaţi în neînţelegerea aceea, ei vor putea fi mai nepărtinitori şi faptul acesta va da mai multă greutate sfatului faţă de cel greşit.

Dacă nu vrea să asculte de ei, atunci şi numai atunci să fie pusă problema înaintea întregii biserici. Membrii bisericii, ca reprezentanţi ai lui Hristos, să se unească în rugăciune şi să stăruiască cu iubire ca cel care a greşit să fie îndreptat. Duhul Sfânt va vorbi prin servii Săi, stăruind de cel rătăcit să se întoarcă la Dumnezeu. Apostolul Pavel, vorbind sub inspiraţie, zice: "Ca şi cum Dumnezeu ar îndemna prin noi, vă rugăm fierbinte, în numele lui Hristos: Împăcaţi-vă cu Dumnezeu". 2 Cor. 5,20. Cel care leapădă această invitaţie a rupt legătura care-l unea de Hristos şi în felul acesta s-a rupt de părtăşia cu biserica. De aici înainte, a zis Isus, "să fie pentru tine ca un păgân şi un vameş". Dar fratele acela nu trebuie să fie privit ca şi cum nu ar mai avea drept la mila lui Dumnezeu. Să nu fie dispreţuit sau neglijat de către fraţii lui de mai înainte, ci să fie tratat cu duioşie şi compătimire, ca una din oile pierdute pe care Hristos o căuta pentru a o aduce la staulul Său.

Învăţătura dată de Hristos cu privire la felul cum trebuie să ne purtăm cu cei greşiţi repetă într-o formă mai concretă învăţătura dată lui Israel de Moise: "Să nu urăşti pe fratele tău în inima ta; să mustri pe aproapele tău, ca să nu te încarci cu un păcat din pricina lui". Lev.19,17. Adică, acela care neglijează datoria pe care i-a încredinţat-o Hristos, de a încerca să-l îndrepte pe cei care sunt în rătăcire şi păcat, se face părtaş de păcat. Pentru relele pe care le-am fi putu împiedica suntem răspunzători, ca şi când noi le-am fi înfăptuit.

Noi trebuie să discutăm personal cu cel care a greşit şi să-i arătăm greşeala pe care a făcut-o. Nu trebuie să facem din acesta un obiect al discuţiilor şi criticilor între noi; nici chiar după ce acest caz a fost prezentat înaintea bisericii, nu avem libertatea să repetăm lucrul acesta către alţii. Cunoaşterea greşelilor săvârşite de creştini va fi o piatră de poticnire pentru lumea necredincioasă, şi stăruind asupra acestor lucruri, noi nu avem decât de păgubit, căci privind suntem transformaţi şi ajungem să ne asemănăm cu ceea ce a constituit obiectul atenţiei noastre. În timp ce căutăm să îndreptăm greşelile unui frate, Spiritul lui Hristos ne va conduce să-l apărăm cât mai mult cu putinţă de criticile oricui, chiar şi ale propriilor săi fraţi şi cu atât mai mult de mustrările lumii necredincioase. Noi înşine greşim şi avem nevoie de mila şi de iertarea lui Hristos, şi El ne îndeamnă să ne purtăm unul cu altul aşa cum dorim să Se poarte El cu noi.

"Orice veţi lega pe pământ, va fi legat şi în ceruri; şi orice veţi dezlega pe pământ, va fi dezlegat şi în cer". Voi lucraţi ca trimişi împuterniciţi ai cerului, şi efectele lucrării voastre sunt pentru vecie.

Dar noi nu suntem lăsaţi să ducem singuri această răspundere mare. Acolo unde Cuvântul Său e ascultat cu inima sinceră, Hristos este de faţă. El este prezent nu numai în adunările bisericii, ci oriunde se adună în numele Său oricât de puţini ucenici, va fi şi El acolo. El zice: "Dacă doi dintre voi se învoiesc pe pământ să ceară un lucru oarecare, le va fi dat de Tatăl Meu care este în ceruri".

Isus zice: "Tatăl Meu care este în ceruri", amintind astfel ucenicilor că, deşi prin natura Sa omenească, El este legat de ei, este părtaş la încercările lor şi simpatizează cu ei în suferinţele lor, prin natura Sa dumnezeiască este legat de tronul Celui Nemărginit. Minunată asigurare! Inteligenţele cereşti se unesc cu oamenii în iubire şi acţiune pentru a salva ce a fost pierdut. Şi toată puterea cerului este făcută să se unească cu iscusinţa omenească pentru a atrage suflete la Hristos.