The world talks about freedom, yet it is totally enslaved and under the influence of the god of this world who also, in his portfolio, manages to deceive the whole world.

Revelation 12:9 tells us: “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world…”

When you think about it, that’s quite an “accomplishment.” You may have heard the saying,” “You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but not all of the people all of the time.” So deceiving the whole world is really quite a “remarkable achievement.” Christ even warned His elect to “Take heed that no one deceives you” (Matthew 24:4).  So the admonition is to be on our toes and not take for granted that we will not or cannot  be deceived.

True freedom is to come through the knowledge of the Truth, which is not something that one just trips over, but  this freedom has been calculated and planned by God before the world was. Just to ponder that fact is really exciting. God is not about to give up on His “investment” in us. He gives us that true freedom through His Word, which adds real meaning to the phrase, “The truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).  God’s Word is the Truth. We not only have that Word in print, but as His obedient children, we study and apply that Word. And through being faithful to that Word, we have true freedom which the world does not and cannot have.

The nice part about the knowledge of the Truth is that the current enslavement of the world will pass away, when Christ returns in power and glory to give to His saints eternal life and His reward of rulership. Then oppression and slavery under Satan and his demons will end, and the world will taste true freedom for the first time.

Let’s never underestimate our impact on the world. We have and embrace true freedom, and we are commissioned to proclaim the message of the coming Kingdom of God and true freedom in all the world as a witness, so that the world can learn about true freedom, which they will experience in the future. 

Then they will all cry out: “Freedom” and “Free at last.”

God’s plan is basic and simple. It does not have difficult complexity to it. God is, and always has been a Family, and His plan is to enlarge His Family through man. To accomplish this, man was created physically with the opportunity to become spirit. Blood is the common element in the human family—it maintains us physically. God’s Spirit sustains us spiritually, with the prospect of eventually inheriting eternal life as a God being and member of the God Family.
 
God’s plan is based on love and maintains ten simple rules, as it were, outlining how to establish a proper relationship with God and our fellow man. These fundamental rules are known today as God’s Ten Commandments. The first four commandments show us how to love God, and the last six commandments teach us how to love our neighbor.
 
Satan invented what he determined to be a better plan. His plan is not based on man’s love for and obedience to the ten rules of a godly relationship with God and man, but it is based on the contrary and destructive principles of get, selfishness and greed. In God’s plan, man was to maintain and embellish the earth. Satan, not willing to obey God, influenced Eve to sin by disobeying God’s instructions, and Adam followed her bad example.
 
Satan has become the god of this world. He has deceived the whole world. His plan is in full-fledged mode today, and what do we see? We see wars, destruction of the environment, murder and mayhem.
 
God wants the earth to be a paradise for man. Satan wants to use the scorched earth approach in an attempt to destroy mankind, and all human flesh. He also wants those of us who are being called now to fail in our calling. He wants us to become disqualified, preventing us from becoming God beings. He also wants to thwart our efforts of proclaiming this gospel or good news of the Kingdom or Family of God. He wants to prevent the gospel from reaching mankind. He does not want anyone to repent, but that all would remain his captives.
 
Which is the better plan? The one, which entails peace and harmony between man and God, and which provides the means for man to eventually become God–or the one, which would lead to the destruction of all flesh and the pollution of our entire earth?
 
The answer is self-evident, and that is part of the reason why it is so important for us to remain focused on and to proclaim the good plan of God, and to go faithfully through doors which God may open for us in this endeavor.

I recall about fifty years ago visiting a manufacturing company with two fellow co-workers, where they made nuts and bolts and also chains.

The place was kind of grungy, with dirt floors and poor lighting, and I was somewhat fascinated by the chain maker and went to look at the process for making chains. He was a short rotund man with beads of sweat on his brow. He was standing before a furnace with an opening about twelve by twenty four inches. It had hot coals on the bottom where he was placing links of chain, not yet formed into completed links.

The links were made and shaped out of rods depending on the size of the link, and they had a gap in them. The purpose for the gap was so that when the link was properly heated up, the chain maker could hook it to the existing length of chain he was making and perform the required procedure.

He examined the links in the hot coals till they had the right brightness of glow.  Then he removed them with a metal tong and placed them on the chain that was already completed. He put it in a jig, and struck it with a hammer. This caused the gap to close and the metal to be fused at that point.

If you look at a chain which has been made this way, you will notice midway a part that has a small lip and is a bit bigger than the rest of the chain. That part has been totally fused by the impact of the hammer and the correct temperature of the metal. The molecules are fused together so that there is no difference in the strength of the link where it is fused with any other part of the link. The molecular structure is the same–they are one.

Interestingly, if the link is too hot or if the chain maker strikes too hard with the hammer, the link would flatten and would have to be cut off. If it was too cold, it would not fuse, and it would separate under stress of use. The chain maker knows by experience just when to take the link out of the hot coals and just how hard to strike to make a perfect link, properly fused with the correct strength.

I want to compare this to baptism, or to a person seeking to be baptized. When God’s Holy Spirit is working with such a person, it is like the link in the coals. They are getting hot, but there is a gap there. Before baptism, there is a gap between the mind of God and the human mind.

During the baptism process, placing the person under water is like placing the hot link in the chain. The laying on of hands is akin to the striking of the hammer to initiate the fusion of the link.

Once we receive God’s Spirit, we begin to have a fusion of the minds. Our minds will become more and more like the mind of God the Father and Jesus Christ. The gap will slowly disappear and we will become one with God and Christ (John 17:20-23), which adds more meaning to what Paul said in Philippians 2:5: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…”

It will become more and more a complete mind meld, which will enable us to develop a closer relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ.

A potential candidate for baptism must evaluate him- or herself, and must determine, with the aid of ministerial counseling, when is the best time to proceed with the baptism, since as the saying goes, “Timing is everything.” It is important not to procrastinate unnecessarily or delay baptism, once one is truly ready and practical conditions for a baptism exist. At the same time, it is also important not to rush into baptism, before one is truly ready. Baptism is a life-long commitment, which cannot be reversed.

Once we have the mind of Christ in us, we can better understand God’s Word and spiritual things, and we will appreciate more Peter’s admonition “to arm yourselves also with the same mind,” even in respect to suffering (1 Peter 4:1). Without the Spirit of God in us, it is impossible to accomplish this.

This example of the chain maker can also be applied to other areas in our lives that require some planning and forethought, but it is crucial to bear in mind that when we are ready, we must make decisions quickly and “strike while the iron is hot.”

One of the things you may see in people with wealth, power and influence is their desire to prolong their physical life. In their attempts to live a little bit longer, they may have organ transplants, utilize elixirs, or may be obsessed with natural foods and vitamins. This is not to say that any of this is wrong per se, and of course, we need to take care of our bodies and are not to engage in conduct which may shorten our lives. But this does not mean that we must try to artificially prolong life at all costs—such as being “nourished” intravenously for months or years, while in a coma, with no hope of recovery.

Others, knowing that their physical existence is temporary, may build monuments and erect statues of themselves, so that others may remember them after they are gone.

At the same time, we find that built into the human psyche is a desire for eternal life. The Bible says that God gave man such a desire (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Man wants to know what he must do to “get it.” Many have searched for centuries for the proverbial “fountain of youth,” and others have tried to invent elixirs to make them immortal. In their trust in the advancements of science, some even go as far as to have their mortal remains frozen in ice, until science has found a way to revive them.

Notice what a lawyer asked Christ, as recorded in Luke 10:25: “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Of course, the lawyer was trying to test or tempt Christ, but it is still true that many people wonder what, if anything, they can do to obtain immortality. But most people seek immortality in the wrong manner; that is, they resort to human means and reasoning.

On the other hand, true Christians understand what their future holds. They are told that eternal life lies within their grasp, and that God created man with the potential to obtain eternal life. Notice what Paul says in Titus 1:1-2: “Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began…”

Eternal life is a promise which has been a part of God’s Plan for mankind, before time began—that is, before man even existed.

However, Satan lied to Eve by telling her that eternal life could be received by disobeying God. One can never obtain eternal life through rebellion against God and disobedience of His Word. God wants to give us eternal life, but He will only do so when we prove to Him that we will always love Him enough to be obedient to Him and His Word.

When you think about it, for those in whom God’s Spirit dwells, there is no conscious interruption between physical death and immortal spirit life. When they die in the faith, they will be resurrected to eternal life and immortality within the next second of their consciousness. For them, it is like going to sleep at night and awakening in the morning. While they slept a dreamless sleep, they had no conscious awareness of the passage of time.

As true Christians, we don’t have to be terribly concerned with trying everything we can possibly think of to prolong this physical life at all costs. Rather, our desire must be to seek first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness. When we please God and are obedient to Him in this life, fulfilling our responsibilities as Christians, then we will receive in due time God’s GIFT of an eternal joyful and pleasurable life in His very Kingdom.

This phrase is batted about by people who make a claim to Christianity, yet have no biblical concept of what they are actually saying or how to achieve that goal. For openers, being a true Christian requires a calling from God. One cannot just decide on the spur of the moment at some evangelical assembly, to become a Christian by “giving one’s heart to the Lord.”

By definition, a true Christian is one in whom God’s Holy Spirit dwells, and who follows its lead. There are steps and a process to follow. One is called; repents, that is, turns away from sin; believes in Jesus Christ’s Sacrifice and the gospel of the Kingdom of God; and is baptized. We read in Acts 2:38: “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

Even the Holy Spirit just does not fall upon someone at repentance, but hands must be laid on the person after the baptism, and this must not be done by just anyone, but only by one of God’s true ministers.

Acts 8:18 tells us: “And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money.” Notice, it was by the laying on of the apostles’ hands that the Holy Spirit was received.

Christ said it was possible to worship Him in vain, as Mark 7:6-7 points out: “He answered and said to them, ‘Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: “THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME. AND IN VAIN THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.”’”

Notice again, the ones who were worshipping God in vain knew who God was and what He requires of us; that is, they apparently kept the Sabbath and the Holy Days, but their worship became in vain because they added so many petty regulations which were unnecessary, and they abrogated other godly commandments, such as the injunction to honor our parents. They had added man-made provisions, putting obstacles in the righteous path, so it became burdensome, and they had “liberalized” certain godly commandments, declaring them to be superfluous.

Religions of this world are following the god of this world, Satan the devil (Ephesians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 4:4). We know that this situation will be corrected once Christ returns to this earth, removes Satan and reveals the truth to mankind on what is acceptable worship to God.

But what about all so-called Christian churches? If they don’t teach and observe God’s commandments and accept the biblical truth as to who and what God is, they are following Satan’s deceptions—even though in many cases, they are not even aware of it. For instance, the Bible does not support Sunday worship or the keeping of Christmas, Easter and the rest of pagan-based holidays, which only steer away from the true God and His plan for mankind.

We are either true and believing, or nominal and professing Christians. By our fruits we will be known. What kind of a Christian are you?

When we think of Christ’s prolonged suffering and excruciating painful death, we might perhaps ask ourselves, could there have been a better or easier way to accomplish the purpose and end result of His First Coming?

Why did He become a Man to die? We know that God the Father created everything—including man—through Jesus Christ. As man’s Creator, Christ’s life was of more value than the sum of the entire creation. He died by shedding His blood, and there is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood. The penalty for our sins is death, and Christ died to pay our penalty on our behalf. His death was necessary for the remission and forgiveness of our sins, with man’s potential of inheriting salvation and eternal life in the very Family and Kingdom of God.
        
But why not choose a fast and nearly painless death, such as beheading in the manner in which John the Baptist  was killed? Christ would still have died for the sins of mankind; He would still have shed His blood for us–but that was not what God and Christ had decided before the world began. And there are reasons for that decision—in fact, no other way would have been possible (compare Matthew 26:36-42).

Focusing on the events after the last Passover that Christ observed with His disciples, we find that Judas betrayed Him to His captors in the Garden of Gethsemane with a kiss; that all His disciples forsook Him and that Peter betrayed Him three times; that He was illegally “interrogated” all night; that He was brought before Pilate, Herod, and again Pilate for further “questioning” during the day; that He was brutally beaten by the Romans—apparently three times—with no limitations on the amount of stripes which He received; that He was spit on, mocked, ridiculed (with a crown of thorns placed on His head, inflicting further pain and wounds); that the Romans beat him on the head with a reed; and that He was finally sentenced to death by crucifixion, after He had been repeatedly declared to be innocent by Pilate and Herod, and while Pilate instead released a convicted murderer in His place.

By the time He was nailed to the stake at the place called Golgatha (the Place of a Skull), together with two convicted robbers, He had been without sleep for some 30 hours. He had lost blood by the beatings and scourging which all by themselves could have caused the death of a person. He was indeed greatly weakened because Simon of Cyrene had to assist Him in carrying His stake to the place of crucifixion, where His hands and feet were pierced through with nails and where He endured terrible agonies and thirst on the stake for another three hours, being continuously blasphemed and ridiculed by bystanders, before dying at around 3 o’clock in the afternoon, when a soldier murdered Him by piercing His side with a spear.

Why did God the Father and Jesus Christ allow this kind of inhumane and cruel “punishment” to be executed against the very Son of God? And why did they allow the kind of suffering that Christ endured throughout His human life—and especially during the hours following the Passover? Christ knew all that would happen, and He told His disciples that He had desired to eat the Passover with them before He would suffer.

One answer is, of course, that God the Father and Jesus Christ chose this manner of suffering and death of the very Son of God so that they could never be accused of taking the easy way out. But there is much more to the answer.

We read in 1 Peter 2:24 that Christ “Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes [we] were healed.” (Compare Isaiah 53:2-5; Matthew 8:16-17).  While the shedding of His blood made possible the forgiveness and redemption of our sins, His numerous wounds, stripes and beatings made possible the healing of our physical deformities and sicknesses.

We also read that Christ learned obedience by all the things that He suffered. He came in the likeness of sinful flesh to overcome sin in the flesh. He never sinned once—but He had to experience in His flesh what it took to be always obedient to God, even in times of excruciating pain and prolonged suffering.

We read in 1 Peter 2:21-23 that Christ “suffered for us, leaving us an example that [we] should follow His steps: ‘Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth’; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously…”

Let us truly appreciate what Christ went through on our behalf. It was not a light matter to pave the way for our spiritual forgiveness and physical healing, and God expects of us to live worthy of our calling by following Christ’s sinless example in everything—especially in times of temptation, trial, sickness and severe suffering.

Sin is man’s enemy. It messes with our thinking and can totally corrupt our minds–like Satan’s mind was so corrupted that it is impossible for him to repent. He cannot change because he refuses to repent. On the other hand, God cannot sin because He refuses to sin. He cannot even be tempted by sin (compare James 1:13).

Some time ago, I had a virus in my computer that was generating outgoing spam–up to three hundred emails a day. I spent much time just deleting this junk mail. I had a technician come over, and he stated he had never seen such a virus before. To solve the problem, he had to save all my files and totally delete everything else off my hard drive. Then, he had to re-install the programs and the saved files, which thankfully solved the problem.

Sin is like a very destructive virus generating “junk mail,” thereby affecting us and others. If we do not deal with sin, it will totally take over our minds, scramble our brains, and influence others negatively as well.

When David committed adultery, he wasn’t thinking straight, and because he did not repent at first, it only got worse. In trying to cover up his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, he had her husband killed. This only added to David’s guilt. By the time he wrote Psalm 51, he had come to his senses and realized that he had been in danger of losing God’s Spirit. This is an important lesson for us in regard to sin: If we do not repent and get rid of sin, we could lose out on salvation. This would be a high price to pay. David finally did acknowledge his sins and seek God’s great mercy and forgiveness, but he had to live with the constant realization and memory that his sins had caused the death of his son conceived out of wedlock. Still, due to David’s deeply sincere change of heart and mind, he will receive a high position in the Kingdom.

God is offering all of us a great rulership position in His Kingdom. But we need to do our part by conquering and removing sin and replacing it with God’s righteousness. In doing this, we can be confident that we will obtain God’s gift of eternal life, as well as a great reward that Christ is anxious to give us when He returns.

We must be committed to the Work of God in supporting its effort to preach and publish the gospel of the kingdom of God in all the world as a witness. The gospel is a message of good news from the God Family, including the fact that God’s government will be established on the earth at the return of Christ. We manifest our financial commitment to God not only by tithing to the Work, but also by additional financial means. Tithing is required; but if we only carry out our duty, then we are rendered unprofitable servants. Luke 17:7-10 makes this very clear, quoting Christ’s words as follows: 

“And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’”

A much better way of telling how deep our commitment to God and His Work is, is by focusing on our offerings to God. They will show where our heart is, and where we want our treasure to be. Matthew 6:21 tells us: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

We are commanded to tithe, and we are commanded to give offerings. The amount of the tithe—ten percent of our increase or earnings—is pre-determined. The amount of our free-will offerings is not. And how we determine these amounts is indicative of where our heart really is.

In fact, there are two types of offerings mentioned in Scripture. The first category refers to the annual Holy Day offerings which we are commanded to give on each of the seven Holy Days. Deuteronomy 16:16-17, referring to the three Holy Day seasons (in the spring, in the beginning of summer and in the autumn), states:

“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.”

In order to give an offering which is pleasing to God, we need to think about it and plan for it ahead of time. If we fail to plan, we plan to fail.

The other type of offering refers to those kinds of additional occasional contributions which we might decide to give to the Work of God throughout the year, apart from the bi-weekly or monthly tithe and the seven annual Holy Day offerings. These also show to God where a person’s heart really is.

What is interesting to note again is that no fixed amount is mentioned in the Bible as to how much we give for offerings. The criteria we are to use are how much we are blessed, not only in the physical sense, but also in the spiritual food and knowledge that one receives from God through His servants. This is something on which one cannot put a price tag. Rather, it is like the famous pearl of great price.

Of course, when we pay God’s tithe and give Him an offering, we are not to boast about it, but we are doing it quietly, discreetly, and from the heart. God can and will, in His due time, bless us openly when we behave with a right attitude. Remember, God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).