The apostles had a unique advantage in that for 3 ½ years, they were able to observe and learn from the interactions Christ had with those who were trying to trip Him up and how He always responded in a manner that left them no comeback. They also observed His love and mercy toward young children and how He picked them up and blessed them while His disciples wanted to shoo them away (compare Matthew 19:13-14).  They also experienced how He had compassion for the sick and was ready to heal people (compare Matthew 7:16-17), and even raised the dead as He did for His friend Lazarus (compare John 11:38-44).

Some of what they experienced is recorded for us even though we were not there to witness it at the time. But we can read about His life, His experiences and even His death for mankind.

We are admonished to walk in His footsteps as mentioned in Psalms 85:13: “Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway. “

We are further admonished in Philippians 2:5 to be like minded: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…”

One of our goals is to develop the mind of Christ. This is something we cannot do unless we are willing to take the time to read and study our Bibles for admonition, learning, education and instruction. In that regard, we have an advantage over those in the distant past since we have the whole Bible to study, including how Christ, the God of the Old Testament, dealt with individuals and the nation of Israel.

We should not leave a stone unturned to accomplish our task given to us, and furthermore, to show gratitude for what has been written in the Word of God and the gems we can find there. The book of Proverbs and of the Psalms are full of wisdom on how to live a true Christian life. We have the history of the New Testament Church laid out for us in the book of Acts and also in the first chapters in the book of Revelation where historical and prophetic events are reported, pointing out the good things about each era and the admonition to repent and change when required.

We sometimes talk about the gold standard. We have our gold standard in the written Word of God, and it is our responsibility to dig out the words written for our continued growth in grace and knowledge which can only come from our study and thinking about the Holy Scriptures which have been preserved for us. How are we doing?

We are described by the apostle Paul as good soldiers for Christ, stating in 2 Timothy 2:3: “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”  That means, we have a fight on our hands. This is not referring to fighting in a physical war, but rather to a spiritual fight against spiritual forces. Ephesians 6:12 tells us:  “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Paul uses the armory of a soldier at that time and compares it to what we need in order to overcome the spiritual battle we are in.

No Roman or Greek soldier at the time of Paul would go to war without checking out his equipment to ensure it was not compromised in any manner. He would check his helmet for any deficiencies, knowing how important a helmet was. The breastplate which protected all his vital organs would be examined for any cracks or deficiencies and also his shoes to ensure the leather was supple and not cracked in any way. His belt would be inspected to ensure it was in good shape to hold the scabbard in which his sword was kept when it was not used in battle, and his shield would be examined to ensure that it hadn’t been weakened by previous battles and could withstand another onslaught of arrows and sword blows from the enemy.

It was also most important that his sword would be polished for maximum efficiency, and that it was sharp and free of any defects since he would not want it to fail in the heat of battle. All his equipment was for defensive purposes and protection with the exception of his sword which was his only offensive weapon.

Paul compared the human soldier’s armory with the spiritual qualifications that a Christian must have, emphasizing that we need the whole armor of God.

 In Ephesians 6:14, we read that our waist must be girded with truth. We know that the commandments of God are truth. Psalm 119:151 says: “You are near, O LORD, And all Your commandments are truth.” We must have the commandments internalized in our hearts and minds when we want to obtain spiritual protection.

Ephesians 6:14 also tells us that we must put on the breastplate of righteousness. Romans 10:4 says that Christ is the end or goal of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. We must believe that Christ, living in us, will enable us to keep the law so that the righteous requirements of the law can be fulfilled in us (Romans 8:4). It is not our own righteousness, but the righteousness of Christ in us, which helps us to keep God’s laws and be obedient to them.

Ephesians 6:15 continues that we must have shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. We must have the gospel of peace internally in our hearts, and we must be involved in the work of getting that gospel out to the world.

Ephesians 6:16 speaks of the shield of faith which we must possess.  We have to have faith, which is the hope for things not seen. Our hope is in the resurrection which we have not seen yet, but we have the faith that God will resurrect us to enter the kingdom of God.

We also need the helmet of salvation, as Ephesians 6:17 states. Salvation is a free gift from God which we cannot earn but we can lose it if we do not endure to the end, but instead become negligent and ultimately commit the unpardonable sin.

As mentioned, the only offensive weapon of the Roman or Greek soldier at the time of Paul was the sword, and Ephesians 6:17 compares it, spiritually, to the word of God which is the Bible. We have to have the word of God firmly entrenched in our hearts to be able to fight this spiritual battle we are in, and we are in it to win.

So, the big question is: How does our spiritual armor look, and will it carry us through to the end?

I think we all have at one time or another sat down and pondered some of the choices we have made. Some were good and turned out well; others were not so good and brought us close to a disaster.

When opportunities arise, we have to use wisdom in our decision-making process; especially in regard to those opportunities where we can supposedly make a lot of money quickly. If something is too good to be true, it usually is. If we are being pressured to purchase something—for instance a vehicle which has been only driven allegedly by a little old lady from Pasadena— then we ought to be on guard. This is also true when buying shares in a company when we are told that it is guaranteed that we will double our investment in a short period of time. The higher the financial commitment, the more we should take time to decide on what to do, including perhaps walking away from a supposed deal. We would not buy a house, no matter how good the deal sounds, without seeing it, having it checked out by a professional inspector and ascertaining whether there were any liens against the title. God assures us that there is wisdom in seeking proper counsel.

God gave the nation of Israel a choice—receiving blessings through obedience or curses from not obeying. His laws were given to express their love for God, as summarized in the first four of the Ten Commandments, and their love for man, as explained in the last six commandments. They had to follow these rules, which are further expounded in many statutes and judgments, in order to obtain physical blessings and protection from God.

The motivation for keeping the commandments should be the demonstration of our love for God and man; knowing of course that our disobedience would bring about punishment and retribution for sinning. But fear of punishment should not be our primary motivation for obeying God; rather, it should be our love for God and man and for the Truth that convicts us to obey.The nation of Israel frustrated God by their disobedience, and how quickly they turned away from God! One of their problems was that they did not totally cleanse the territory they occupied of the existing inhabitants who in time corrupted their worship of God, and they turned to Baal worship and even went as far as sacrificing their children on the altar of pagan gods which surprised God who stated that such evil conduct had not even entered His mind.

In Jeremiah 32:35, He says: “And they built the high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.”

That’s a pretty astonishing statement that it did not even enter God’s mind that His people would engage in such abominable and detestable conduct.

God’s relationship with the nation of Israel was, figuratively speaking, one of husband and wife, but they broke their “marriage” covenant on a continual basis, and thus, God had to divorce them.

Jeremiah 31:32 explains that God made a covenant “‘with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them,’ says the LORD.”

Consequently, we read in Jeremiah 3:8: “Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.”

Jesus Christ, the God of the Old Testament, will marry converted Israelites at the time of His return. He betrothed the New Testament church to Him which was established in 31 AD. It is described as the bride of Christ, consisting of all converted Church members who are obligated to follow the same rules of obedience, but they have been promised a much greater reward than physical Israel and Judah in Old Testament times had been offered.

Revelation 21:9 says: “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’”

Ephesians 5:24-27, 32 adds: “Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish… This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

The great mystery is that Christ is betrothed to His Church, figuratively speaking, whom He will marry as His bride at His return.

So, we are faced with a choice. Will we be obedient to God by keeping His laws and statutes, which are still in force today, and receive a much greater reward than what the nation of Israel was offered? Theirs was a physical reward while ours is eternal rulership in the Kingdom of God. While eternal life as God beings is a gift, our reward is based on our works and includes ruling with and under Christ in the Millennium and down through eternity. Or, will we fall short by rebelling and refusing to repent of our sins and thus disqualify ourselves from the great gift of eternal life as God beings and from the reward of eternal rulership Christ is anxious to give us?

Life is full of choices, but the most important one we face is either one of glory or one of shame.

Let’s bring joy to our Husband (Jesus Christ) by making the right choice. Either way, it’s for eternity.

I was watching a science fiction movie where the two main actors were willing to sacrifice their lives in response to a technical threat to the entire planet. They did it without reservation for the good of mankind which had been greatly reduced by this advanced machine technology.

About two thousand years ago, a Man faced an angry crowd, inspired by Satan, demanding His crucifixion, even though He had done no wrong. He did not cry out to profess His innocence; He did not whine or complain, but He took it all in stride because He knew that His sufferings and death were preordained and necessary for the ultimate good of mankind. That Man was Jesus Christ. He was rejected, persecuted, mocked, scorned, spit upon, punched, scourged, crucified and eventually killed by a Roman soldier’s spear which pierced His side—knowing that all of this was prophesied long before His death.

Why would He do that, since He had done no wrong and was innocent of the charges laid against Him?

He did it for the good of mankind, even though the world then or today did not and does not understand the scope or grasp the significance of His sacrifice. He did it so that man could ultimately fulfill his destiny to become God beings—to offer salvation by His blood for mankind, which was and is totally unappreciated at this time.

He attained perfection as a man through the things He suffered—learning how He could stay obedient in the face of trials. Not that He was ever disobedient, but He had to experience what it is like to be a man and not to sin. As a spirit being and the second member of the God Family prior to becoming a man, He never had to go through these kinds of physical sufferings to “learn” obedience.

As a man, He set a perfect example for us and gave us an important lesson, in that we are perfected through trials and suffering.  If you look at a silver bar, you will see stamped into it 99.9999 %, which means, almost all the impurities have been removed from it. As silver ore, it is melted down and the dross comes to the surface, which are the impurities within it, and they are skimmed off. This process may be done several times to achieve the 99.9999 percentage state.

As Psalm 66:10 clearly states: “For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.”

Our trials and our sufferings which we face are purifying us towards perfection, so that we can become immortal God beings in the God Family. Furthermore, we will receive a golden crown, gold being the most perfect metal in the physical existence. We will achieve the gold standard, and we will also be given a white robe, signifying righteousness or our righteous acts, because at that time we will be perfect and totally righteous before our God.

I know, trials are not easy, and some of us have gone through quite some serious ones since observing the Feast of Tabernacles, but if you look at them as being perfected towards becoming a God being, they are easier to bear.

Paul said the sufferings in this world were all worth it to attain salvation in the Kingdom of God, so let us not let trials affect us in any negative way, but let us look forward to being in the Kingdom because the current trials and sufferings are preparing us to become God beings.