#WNBA 8#/30 Lynx -8 -110 Lynx 1st Quarter -2.5 -106 Fever -7 -110 Liberty/Storm under 163 -110 Player Prop Parlay Caitlin Clark 3+ 3PM Caitlin Clark 8+ Ast Aliyah Boston 8+ Reb Alanna Smith 10+ Pts +432 #WNBAPicks# https://t.co/p8yUclTuI5

我一直认为，一个真正优秀的布道者，无非分为两类： 第一类，是以菜菜为代表的拉新+反佣，他们把新用户带入圈子，菜菜跟别人不同他是那种愿意手把手教你一些东西的，比如@btc_cai 第二类，是以@justinsuntron 和 @cz_binance 为代表的行业领袖，他们用实际行动向全世界推广加密行业 这二类人，看似路径不同，本质却相同，他们都在为 BTC 做布道，用自己的方式为行业注入新鲜血液 我和 @btc_cai 的相识是在抖音，当时她的昵称里就带着ok交易所反佣。我刷到她评论 $BTC 和 NFT 的视频后，主动私信了她。她不仅耐心教我注册交易所、入金流程，还详细解释了各种术语。那时我只是入金了几百块人民币，她也愿意认真服务我。哪怕我一开始没赚到钱，她还是不断鼓励我、引导我，这对新人来说真的太重要了 另一个维度的布道者，则是 @justinsuntron 孙哥和 @cz_binance 大表哥这种行业推动者 孙哥花4000万人民币拍下一根香蕉，又斥资数亿办展览，所用的都是带有交易所名字的名义。他用极具冲击力的方式告诉圈外人：这是一个值得关注的行业。 大表哥更是直接给美国政府交了40亿罚金，霸榜全球新闻，而他的身份是币安创始人，媒体和公众自然会好奇：什么是币安？币安做什么？从而将关注引入整个加密行业 这些行为，说到底就是布道。他们没有止步于圈内说给圈内人听，而是主动把流量从圈外引进来，为整个行业输入新的生命力。这，就是我心中真正的布道者

"It [the gradient] has been one of the most trending visual elements in graphic design, from web design to print" Time to add @unsigned_algo to that list. 11 Artists Revisiting the Gradient in Contemporary Art via #CAI# #ContemporaryArtIssue# https://t.co/JgZ5DvPB1c

✔️ Are you working on #populism#, #gender# & #feminism# ❓ Look at this #CallForPapers# by the Centre on Social Movement Studies #COSMOS# Organizers: Manuela Caiani & @FrancescaFeo_1 2-3 July 2020 @scuolanormale, Florence 🇮🇹 Deadline: February 25 📌 👉https://t.co/3m65vVSPu5 https://t.co/1b8YJsmmnl

【我们到底在Build什么？你能从火币得到什么？】 先说昨日的2个大事： 💙季度一用户增长116%，净入金增长210% 💙销毁 $HTX 1900万多美金，累计1.14亿美金 1⃣ 看到的是战略布局，看懂的是投资指南 在行情判断和投资密码这个赛道上，是火币一直是王者：全行业最早建设全面内容生态的交易所、最强投研天团、行业最强大脑 @justinsuntron （虽然孙哥很谦虚，但是我自己老板就是最优秀的） 所以，每一个战略的背后都是对行情的深入分析，目的都是为了帮大部分用户最稳妥地赚钱。 敏感的火伴肯定发现，季度1，我们在大力打造最有竞争力的理财产品，提供行业最优APY，尤其是主流币和稳定币：BTC 10%，USDD 20%，XCN 20%，USDT 10%, ETH 10% ...... 之所以这么做，是希望大部分用户把主要资金投入到优质稳健资产中，高息还保本。 结果，季度1，火币的高息理财，让很多人躲过了几轮大瀑布，你就说cool不cool！ 感谢用户的信任和支持，给我们带来116%的用户增长和210%的净入金增长。这是一个双赢的战略，未来，我们继续双向奔赴💙 2️⃣ HTX DAO新玩法：你有才吗？我们有财！ 最近，我们的用户治理开启了一个3赢模式， 只要能满足：推广Web3 文化+增加 @HTX_DAO 的曝光和代币持仓人数，我们就给钱支持！ 方式不限，让你的想象力、创造力和执行力起飞吧！ 这是我们经过一年探索后的新突破，DAO自治，不是持有者提建议DAO委员会来治，而是所有人一起为DAO的成熟和繁荣贡献力量，参与到建设里，拿分红！ 这个认知的突破，得益于 @0x99DaDa 尖锐地发现了我们过去治理的弊病，也得益于过去一年所有参建设的人给我们的知识和经验的积累。 感恩所有过去一年支持HTX DAO工作的人： 第一届委员: @HuobiXjb13 @0xMoon6626 @Andy_dogecoin @o16868888 @yushuiming @Lucas_Mblock 第二届委员： @0x99DaDa @MEJ50749 @FrankFika @web3454354 @yuSylvia818584 还有很多用户和、火伴、社区，我们未来会在HTX DAO官网上线一个荣誉墙，一起共筑荣光💙💗 HTX DAO最最最值得一提的，是近期上线了2个治理新功能：社区论坛+持仓投票。 论坛为灵感和想法提供土壤，投票迈出了代币治理重要的一步。虽然这两个功能才刚起步，还在咿呀学步，但未来可期！谁有本事把这2个功能用好，谁就能得到丰厚的建设奖励！ 总之：你有才，我有财，web3需要你我共同发cai！ 我在HTX DAO等你💙❤️

🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺 ALEKSANDR DUGIN: TRẬT TỰ QUYỀN LỰC LỚN CỦA TRUMP VÀ PUTIN Cuộc điện đàm giữa Trump và Putin là một sự kiện rất quan trọng. Các nhà lãnh đạo của hai cường quốc đã thảo luận về nhiều vấn đề cấp bách. Tôi tin rằng cuộc trò chuyện không chỉ nói về Ukraine mà còn về kiến ​​trúc của tương lai - trật tự mới nổi của các cường quốc đang hình thành trước mắt chúng ta, không giống với thế giới tự do toàn cầu đơn cực. Trật tự thế giới đó, được chính quyền Hoa Kỳ trước đây áp đặt lên nhân loại, hiện nay chỉ còn tồn tại trong Liên minh châu Âu như một tàn dư. Trong cuộc trò chuyện này, Putin và Trump đã đặt nền móng cho một kiến ​​trúc mới về quan hệ quốc tế. Tất nhiên, cuộc đối thoại sẽ tiếp tục, nhưng thực tế quan trọng nhất là nó đã bắt đầu - rằng các nhà lãnh đạo của chúng ta đang nói chuyện trực tiếp với nhau, trao đổi quan điểm để giải quyết nhiều vấn đề khác nhau. Thực tế của cuộc trò chuyện này khó có thể cường điệu; nó đã trở thành một bước ngoặt trong lịch sử gần đây - một khoảnh khắc hạ nhiệt căng thẳng. Đúng vậy, Trump vẫn đang trong tình trạng chiến tranh với Nga. Nhưng đó không phải là cuộc chiến của ông ấy - ông ấy không bắt đầu và muốn kết thúc nó càng sớm càng tốt. Vấn đề là ông ấy không biết chính xác cách thực hiện điều đó, cũng không hiểu hết ý nghĩa của Ukraine đối với chúng ta. Đánh giá theo cách tiếp cận của ông ấy, ông ấy có cái nhìn khá đơn giản về các công cụ và con đường có sẵn để giải quyết xung đột. Tuy nhiên, ông ấy rõ ràng quyết tâm chấm dứt chiến tranh. Ông ấy muốn chấm dứt hoàn toàn hoặc chỉ đơn giản là rút lui, để người Ukraine tự lo liệu với sự hỗ trợ từ Liên minh châu Âu. Trump ngày càng tin tưởng Putin, trong khi ngày càng ít tin tưởng Zelensky. Thỏa thuận tạm dừng tấn công cơ sở hạ tầng năng lượng trong 30 ngày là điều đáng nói. Nga ngay lập tức tôn trọng thỏa thuận, thậm chí bắn hạ máy bay không người lái của chính mình đang trên đường tấn công các mục tiêu năng lượng ở các khu vực do chế độ Kiev kiểm soát. Ngược lại, Zelensky đã tấn công một cơ sở năng lượng ở Stavropol. Trump đã tận mắt chứng kiến ​​lời nói của ai có trọng lượng và lời nói của ai thì không. Zelensky không có ý định lắng nghe Trump vì cách duy nhất để ông ta có thể bám víu quyền lực thêm một chút nữa là tuyệt vọng tiếp tục chiến tranh trong tình trạng đau khổ về mặt chính trị. Ông ta đã tự đặt mình vào tình thế vô vọng. Nhưng điều quan trọng là ông ta đang công khai thể hiện sự thiếu tôn trọng hoàn toàn đối với Trump. Trên thực tế, ông ta đang khạc nhổ vào mặt chính người đang tiến hành cuộc chiến này bằng tay của người Ukraine. Xét cho cùng, về bản chất, chúng ta đang ở trong tình trạng chiến tranh với Hoa Kỳ. Zelensky chỉ là một công cụ - một con tin của tình huống mà ông ta đã tự đưa mình vào khi trở thành con rối của những người toàn cầu hóa đang nắm quyền ở Hoa Kỳ vào thời điểm đó. Nhưng bây giờ, những người nắm quyền ở Hoa Kỳ lại có một hệ tư tưởng hoàn toàn trái ngược với hệ tư tưởng của những người toàn cầu hóa: họ là những người yêu nước. Trên thực tế, bản thân Trump, trong một cuộc phỏng vấn gần đây, đã tự gọi mình là một người theo chủ nghĩa dân tộc Mỹ, nói rằng lợi ích của nước Mỹ là trên hết. Điều đó hoàn toàn có lý. Đây là chủ nghĩa hiện thực trong quan hệ quốc tế. Bức tranh rất rõ ràng. Trump không muốn chiến tranh và ông ta sẽ rút lui. Ông ta coi Putin là một đối tác đáng tin cậy - một người mà người ta có thể đàm phán và luôn giữ lời hứa. Ngược lại, hành vi của Zelensky và Liên minh châu Âu nổi bật rõ nét: hung hăng, cuồng tín, vô trách nhiệm, độc ác, nhỏ nhen, không đáng tin cậy và gian dối. Trên thực tế, đây là kẻ thù của Trump - đây chính xác là cách họ cư xử với ông trong những năm trước. Theo đó, khi Trump bước vào nhiệm kỳ thứ hai, ông bắt đầu phân loại xem ai có thể tin cậy và ai không. Ai liên kết với lợi ích của Hoa Kỳ và ai làm suy yếu chúng. Quá trình này sẽ dần dẫn đến một giải pháp. Đồng thời, ngày càng có nhiều tiếng nói ở châu Âu cho rằng Trump đã phản bội chủ nghĩa toàn cầu hóa và chủ nghĩa tự do. Nhưng để chuẩn bị cho chiến tranh với Nga mà không có sự hỗ trợ của Hoa Kỳ, EU sẽ cần ít nhất ba năm để chuyển đổi lực lượng quân sự của mình. Ngay cả khi đó, một sự chuyển đổi như vậy sẽ đòi hỏi một hệ thống chính trị hoàn toàn khác so với hệ thống hiện đang tồn tại ở châu Âu hiện đại. Chủ nghĩa tự do hoàn toàn không phù hợp với nền kinh tế thời chiến được huy động. Do đó, mục tiêu này đơn giản là không thể đạt được đối với họ. Đó là lý do tại sao trên thực tế là Putin và Trump đang đàm phán hòa bình mà không có Zelensky và không có người châu Âu lại có tầm quan trọng lớn. Trump muốn chấm dứt cuộc chiến mà ông thừa hưởng từ kẻ thù của mình. Chúng ta đang tiến theo hướng đó - nhưng Nga sẽ không nhượng bộ một tấc lợi ích quốc gia nào của mình. Putin đã nói rõ điều đó. Nhìn chung, số phận của thế giới hiện phụ thuộc vào cách phát triển mối quan hệ Nga-Mỹ. Mặc dù chúng ta vẫn còn lâu mới đạt được sự hòa hoãn, nhưng quá trình giảm leo thang đã diễn ra. Đó là lý do để lạc quan, khi thế giới đang dần thoát khỏi bờ vực tận thế hạt nhân, nơi chúng ta vẫn đứng vững cho đến tận gần đây. Một trật tự mới của các cường quốc đang hình thành trước mắt chúng ta. Các cuộc đàm phán Putin-Trump là một cột mốc quan trọng trên con đường hình thành cuối cùng của nó - hướng tới việc định hình một trật tự thế giới mới. Về phía chúng ta, Putin đã tiến hành các cuộc đàm phán này một cách xuất sắc. Về mọi vấn đề, ông ấy đều kiên định - không thỏa hiệp - đồng thời thể hiện thiện chí chân thành hướng tới hòa bình. Ông ấy đã chứng minh trách nhiệm đối với các quyết định mà mình đưa ra và hành động ngay lập tức. Điều này cực kỳ quan trọng và tích cực, đặc biệt là trong bối cảnh châu Âu ngày càng xa rời Trump. -----//-----

🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺 ALEKSANDR DUGIN: NGƯỜI NGA MỆT MỎI KHI PHẢI RÚT DAO RA KHỎI LƯNG MÌNH Sau vụ bắt giữ Thị trưởng Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu, tình trạng bất ổn nghiêm trọng đã bắt đầu và tiếp tục diễn ra ở Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ cho đến ngày nay. Cuộc khủng hoảng đang ngày càng trầm trọng hơn. Nhưng để phân tích đúng tình hình hiện tại, cần phải tính đến một số yếu tố. Đầu tiên. Thị trưởng Istanbul, giống như thị trưởng Ankara, thuộc phe tự do đối lập với Erdogan. Đây là Đảng Nhân dân Cộng hòa, đại diện cho một đảng cánh tả tự do, thế tục và nói chung là ủng hộ châu Âu thay thế cho đảng của Erdogan, AK Parti (Đảng Công lý và Phát triển). Về nguyên tắc, phe đối lập này hướng về phương Tây và phản đối khuynh hướng Hồi giáo trong các chính sách của Erdogan. Đồng thời, nước này cũng khá thù địch với Nga. Thứ hai. Bản thân Erdogan gần đây đã mắc một số sai lầm chính trị rất nghiêm trọng. Điều quan trọng nhất là ông đã ủng hộ việc các chiến binh của al-Julani chiếm giữ quyền lực ở Damascus. Đây là một sai lầm chết người, bởi khi làm như vậy, Erdogan đã giáng một đòn nghiêm trọng, có thể không thể khắc phục được vào quan hệ Nga-Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ và Iran-Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ. Bây giờ cả Nga và Iran đều không giúp đỡ Erdogan. Tình hình đã trở nên tồi tệ hơn đối với ông và cuộc khủng hoảng có thể còn trầm trọng hơn nữa. Tôi không nghĩ Iran hay Nga có liên quan gì đến tình hình bất ổn ở Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ. Ngược lại, phương Tây mới là bên đang lật đổ Erdogan. Tuy nhiên, sai lầm của ông về Syria là cơ bản. Nhiều người bên trong Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ không những không hiểu mà còn lên án chính sách này của Erdogan, chính sách hiện đã dẫn đến cuộc diệt chủng người Alawite và các nhóm thiểu số tôn giáo khác, bao gồm cả người theo đạo Thiên chúa. Trên thực tế, chỉ có một chính trị gia rất thiển cận mới có thể trao quyền lực ở Syria cho Al-Qaeda. Mặc dù Erdogan nhìn chung luôn là một chính trị gia có tầm nhìn xa, nhưng theo tôi, sai lầm này của ông sẽ khiến ông phải hối hận cả đời. Điểm tiếp theo là chính sách kinh tế. Sự mất giá của đồng lira, tình trạng lạm phát tràn lan làm suy yếu nền kinh tế vốn đã không mấy tốt đẹp của Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ. Tất nhiên, những thất bại này - về Syria và kinh tế, cũng như sự xích lại gần nhau của Erdogan với Liên minh châu Âu, với những người theo chủ nghĩa toàn cầu, các mối liên hệ của ông với người đứng đầu MI6 Richard Moore - tất cả những điều này đang đẩy Erdogan vào bẫy. Kết quả là, phe đối lập theo chủ nghĩa tự do nhưng theo chủ nghĩa Kemal (do đó theo chủ nghĩa dân tộc) trong chính Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ đã lợi dụng điều này và bắt đầu tư nhân hóa kết quả từ những thất bại của ông. Giống như chúng ta đã nói rằng những gì xảy ra ở Syria là một chiến thắng thảm bại, nền kinh tế của đất nước đang sụp đổ và định hướng của chúng ta đối với phương Tây lớn hơn của Erdogan, người mà Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ sẽ không bao giờ được chấp nhận vào châu Âu. Vì Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ là một nước dân chủ, Erdogan không thể làm gì để ngăn cản người dân Istanbul và Ankara bỏ phiếu cho các nhà lãnh đạo đối lập trong cuộc bầu cử thị trưởng. Cuối cùng, Erdogan quyết định bỏ tù thị trưởng Istanbul. Hơn nữa, câu hỏi liệu có lý do gì hay không thậm chí còn không được đặt ra; trong hầu hết mọi chế độ chính trị hiện đại, bạn có thể bắt bất kỳ viên chức nào và sẽ luôn có lý do để bỏ tù người đó (không còn người vô tội trong nền chính trị hiện đại). Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ cũng không ngoại lệ. Do đó, câu hỏi chỉ đơn thuần là tính khả thi về mặt chính trị của cuộc đổ bộ. Erdogan quyết định rằng mọi chuyện đang không tốt với ông và ông cần phải bỏ tù đối thủ tích cực nhất của mình, Ekrem Imamoglu. Đồng thời, bản thân Imamoglu là người của Soros, được các mạng lưới toàn cầu ủng hộ, nên ủng hộ Erdogan chỉ có thể là những người phản đối mạnh mẽ nhóm Soros này. Tuy nhiên, trước đó, như đã nói, ông đã đâm sau lưng các đồng minh của mình là Iran và Nga. Do đó chúng ta không thể ủng hộ ông ấy trong tình hình hiện tại. Đây là tình hình rất tồi tệ đối với Erdogan. Tất cả những người phản đối ông, lợi dụng sự kết hợp của những bước đi sai lầm nêu trên, đã nổi dậy, một cuộc cách mạng màu thực sự. Những người bảo thủ đó, bao gồm cả những người theo chủ nghĩa Kemal quân sự có khuynh hướng Á-Âu, những người mà chính Erdogan trước đây đã cáo buộc về vụ án Ergenekon giả mạo, những người cuối cùng đã giải cứu ông ta nhiều lần (đầu tiên là trong âm mưu đảo chính năm 2016), sẽ không còn giúp đỡ ông ta nữa. Về bản chất, Erdogan không còn bạn bè nữa vì chính ông đã phản bội mọi người nhiều lần. Với tôi, hoàn cảnh của ông ấy có vẻ không đáng mong muốn. Đồng thời, bản thân chúng ta cũng cần phải rất cẩn thận về các cuộc biểu tình đang diễn ra, bởi vì đằng sau chúng là những kẻ tổ chức giống như hầu hết các cuộc cách mạng màu khác, bao gồm cả cuộc cách mạng đang diễn ra ở Serbia hiện nay. Đồng thời, trong các cuộc biểu tình, những người theo chủ nghĩa toàn cầu này chỉ là thiểu số; chủ yếu là những người dân thường tham gia, những người thực sự bất mãn với một số sự thái quá về mặt chính trị trong chế độ cai trị của các nhà lãnh đạo. Do đó, có những lý do khách quan cho những gì đang xảy ra - rõ ràng, Erdogan đã phạm phải sai lầm đến mức không thể tha thứ, nhưng ông vẫn tiếp tục phạm sai lầm. Thật khó để nói điều gì có thể cải thiện tình hình hiện tại. Có lẽ là một chính phủ Kemalist đoàn kết dân tộc với sự tham gia của những người Hồi giáo ôn hòa (là thành viên của đảng Erdogan). Trong bối cảnh này, câu hỏi được đặt ra là điều gì đang xảy ra với nhà lãnh đạo Đảng Phong trào Dân tộc Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ, Devlet Bahçeli, đồng minh chính của Erdogan. Thậm chí còn có ý kiến cho rằng ông ta đã chết và chính quyền đang che giấu điều đó. Tôi nghĩ đây chỉ là một thuyết âm mưu, nhưng ông ấy thực sự đã trở nên già yếu và yếu đuối. Erdogan không còn có thể dựa vào ông ta và "bọn sói xám" của ông ta, những người theo chủ nghĩa dân tộc cực đoan Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ từng rất mạnh mẽ và nguy hiểm. Vì vậy, tôi nhắc lại, tương lai của Erdogan và chế độ của ông ấy khiến tôi phải lo lắng. Nhưng tất nhiên, chúng tôi muốn có một nước láng giềng là Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ có chủ quyền với chính sách độc lập rõ ràng. Tất nhiên, thân thiện còn hơn thù địch. Tuy nhiên, Nga đã sẵn sàng cho mọi tình huống. -----//-----

Understanding the Emptiness within 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body but have not love, I gain nothing. Do you have a heart? Yes, all of us have a heart, but not many of us have a heart for GOD and others, making us miss out on GOD's goodness for loving Him and others. Our heart is for ourselves, making it the underlying motive for many things we do. GOD understands where He stands in our hearts when He said, "These people honour Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me." No matter how holy our worship may seem, they are frivolous acts if our hearts are not in it. To GOD, our hearts are deceitful above all things and beyond cure. The lips can say one thing, but the heart means another. No one can understand what is in the heart because there is no congruence between what the heart says and what it means. GOD knows that. It is not without reason that Jesus asked us to 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' The emphasis is on the word all. GOD demands that our love for Him should be 100% and nothing less. Without any other love coming in between our love for Him, our love will be genuine and sincere. Nothing will lure our hearts away, and they will forever be for GOD. Why do we need to have a heart for GOD and others? It is because no man is an island, and GOD has not made man to be an island. In the book of Genesis, even though GOD was with Adam, He still said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper." Therefore, a man is not made to exist alone with GOD. He needs someone to complement him to make him complete. He is a part of the whole of GOD's organisational structure. The Apostle Paul illustrates the structure as: "The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body." Therefore, we are, in Christ, many but are one body, and each member belongs to one another. Even if we exist as individuals, we do not belong to ourselves but to one another for the kingdom of GOD. Therefore, no one exists as a solitary star in the galaxy but as part of a constellation of stars twinkling for GOD. As individuals, to gel into GOD's structure as an integrated whole, we need love. The Apostle Paul avowed that love is the bond of perfect unity. Love is like gravity, which holds everything together and holds us together with GOD and others. Only when we stay in love with GOD and others will the blood of Christ flow through us to be one body. Only then, we could be as Jesus said, "I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one— I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me." This bond of love is so strong that nothing could break it. The Apostle Paul ascertained that when he said, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Many of us cannot comprehend the mystery of being one with GOD. He is spirit, and we are physical. To do that, we need to understand the spiritual realm. The only way we can connect to GOD is through the spirit. 1 Corinthians states, "He who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit." What does that mean? It is similar to what GOD said in Genesis, "For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." Both mention being united to become one. The difference is in the realms. Perfect unity in the physical realm is called one flesh, while in the spiritual realm, it is called one spirit. If we can understand the concept of one flesh in the physical dimension, like between Adam and Eve, we should be able to understand the one spirit in the spiritual dimension between Jesus and us. Both are synonymous, and both require the bond of love to be in unity. It is not surprising that the Apostle Paul compares our relationship with Jesus to that of a husband and wife when he said, "Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Metaphorically, the superglue that bonds any couple to be united as one is nothing else but love. Therefore, before a couple decides to come together as one, they will confess their love for each other. In the name of love, many are willing to commit their lifetime to one another, demonstrating the magical power of love. However, whether they can achieve it is another question because love is more than an emotion but an attitude. To Jesus, love is a commandment to be with GOD and others, and it ranks above other commandments. If love is a commandment, it will mean we will have to adhere to it as long as we live. It cannot be taken lightly. If we ever break it, as in all commandments, we will have to face the detrimental effects of it. Yes, there are consequences to our unloving actions. Though it might seem harmless as we are not lying, stealing, killing or mass destruction, regardless, the repercussions are significant. Without love, the integrity of the spiritual matrix we are in with GOD and others will be compromised. It is similar to a family without the bond of love will soon break. Anyone who does not love will ultimately leave GOD's matrix for something else. Furthermore, if we have no love or cannot love, we would have failed fundamentally as Christians because GOD is love. It is the uniform we wear that will distinguish us from the world. That is to say, if we do not have love, we do not belong to GOD. As it is written in 1 John, "Beloved, let us love one another because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love." Love allows us to be with GOD and know Him. But what is so special about knowing GOD? Many people know GOD but do not love Him. Therefore, knowing Him is more than recognition and awareness. In the book of Genesis, the same word is used to describe the relationship between Adam and Eve. It writes, "And Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD." Adam and Eve were of one flesh, and knowing each other meant having an intimate relationship. If we love GOD and are of one spirit with Him, then knowing GOD, naturally, means that we have an intimate spiritual relationship with Him where we will bear much spiritual fruit. That explains why some people are more anointed than others. They love GOD more, so they bear more fruit. This intimate relationship with GOD can only happen if we love Him. Otherwise, we will never know Him and will not bear any fruit. To a non-Christian, if we leave GOD out of the picture, what is the purpose of love that binds a couple to be one flesh? Against all logic, many couples fall in and out of love, and after much hurt, disappointment and sadness, they still have the stamina to seek love out again and again. Isn't it once bitten, twice shy, but when it comes to love, they are not fearful of trying again and again. What are they looking for? Everyone is looking for completeness. Figuratively, Adam is not a complete man, and neither is Eve a complete woman. Adam has a missing bone that was given to Eve, and Eve is only a bone in need of a body. Only when they come together will there be completeness. This completeness is GOD ordained as He said, "So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." Without this completeness, a man will experience loneliness, as Adam experienced before he had Eve. GOD understood the no-good effects of loneliness when He said, "It is not good for the man to be alone." This loneliness is man's shortcoming, which is predestined from the beginning in GOD's perfect wisdom. Later, GOD used this shortcoming so that man could find his completeness in Him. This incompleteness could manifest itself in many forms, leading to emptiness, meaningless, unhappiness, depression, hopelessness, worthlessness, frustration, et cetera. Sadly, it cannot be filled with promiscuity, drugs, liquor or any form of destructive behaviours or addictions. When GOD created man with the capability for loneliness, loneliness became a spiritual issue that requires a spiritual remedy. The only remedy is to love and be loved. The Apostle Paul expresses the condition of being without love as 'I am nothing', denying his worthiness in all the good he did. Love adds warmth and colours to our world, meaning to our lives, purpose to our sacrifices, fulfilment to our achievements, contentment to the little we have, gratitude to goodness, appreciation to beauty, and forgiveness to wrongdoings. Love is so magical that it is the strength in weakness, the determination in hardship, the hope in hopelessness, and the steadfastness in adversity. In short, where there is love, there is GOD and the fruit of the Spirit - joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. As humans, we understand physical unity as one flesh. But then, what is spiritual unity as one spirit with GOD? In short, it is the unity of the heart, mind and soul with GOD. For that, we need to obey the greatest commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind because only then will GOD be in perfect unity with us in the heart, mind and soul. When we give our hearts to GOD, we will have the love of GOD and the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). He will become our soulmate, understanding us from the inside out. Then, we will not be alone in our minds, hearts, and souls. We will find our match and never feel alone. The difference between being one flesh and being one spirit is no matter how close we are to a person as one flesh, the person cannot fully understand us. But GOD as one spirit with us can. The Psalmist expresses it, "O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down; You are aware of all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, O LORD. You hem me in behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain." With such understanding of us, how can we ever be lonely or feel no one cares or understands? If anyone ever feels empty, void or lonely, needing to hit the pub or be involved in some frivolous relationships or activities, it might be that he has not loved enough. GOD is waiting for us like the father of the prodigy son. As long as we are willing to walk the one step towards Him, He will run the ninety-nine steps towards us. All we need to do is commit our hearts to Him, and we will never have to feel empty again. If love is the main reason for a filled and satisfied life, then how can a physical being love a spiritual being, GOD? There are many things we could do to express our love, but only one thing is needed, and that is to keep His command. Jesus said, "As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete." Keeping GOD's commandments is the only currency GOD accepts for His love, and anything else is not necessary. It is not what we want to do for GOD that counts; it is what GOD wants of us. Therefore, some people do not experience the love of GOD despite all the things they did because they did it their way and not GOD's way. In conclusion, GOD in the New Testament is no longer the GOD of the Old Testament. He no longer exists as GOD and us as two separate entities but as GOD in us as one entity. GOD no longer put His law before us to separate us from Him. Instead, He is one spirit with us in heart, mind and soul to fulfil His Law. By loving Him and others, we have a deep spiritual connection with GOD and a strong affinity with others. We become one spirit in the body of Christ. We know, understand and feel for one another through the spirit. As long as we are connected in spirit with GOD, nothing can separate us, not time, not distance or place. With GOD with us and in us, we will not be lonely, isolated, or empty.

Walking in His Spiritual Enlightenment 2 Corinthians 12:9 But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest on me. Weakness makes us imperfect. Weakness is the flaw in perfection. With it, we are deemed as sheep to be slaughtered because weakness will lead us into temptation. Once tempted, many of us are like Eve, clueless about what to do next except to fall into it. Temptation is nothing to be desired as it is nothing but evil. Hence, Jesus taught us to pray that our Father will not lead us into Temptation but will deliver us from the evil one. Jesus further warned us to: "Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak." That is, our bodies are weak, and whatever we hope to achieve is different from what we can achieve. We can have the best intentions, but they are hard to fulfil because of our inherent flaws: weakness. It is like having an underpowered car that does not allow us to go the extra mile. Having an underpowered car is not a big issue as long as it gets us somewhere. However, having weakness means we have a low resistance to temptation. If ever we fall in, we fall into the pit of no return. Then, it can be a treacherous issue. Eve was one of many being clueless when tempted. Even great men like David and wise men like Solomon were clueless, too. If not, they would not have fallen into sin. We must understand that only if there is a need, then there is a desire. It is similar to the phenomenon of hunger. If a man is hungry, he will naturally desire to eat. If not, he might not be tempted to eat. Likewise, a weakness is like a hunger that opens our appetite to temptation. Paul understood the struggle when he said, "For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do." Nevertheless, it is absurd to hear from Paul, a ruthless man of command and control who has little control over his weakness. That is, weakness is not limited to the non-achievers or losers, who are undetermined or foolish, but it transcends to the superb, mighty, wise, or ruthless. Therefore, no matter who we are or where we are in life, we are plagued with weaknesses at our level of competency, so we do not do the good we want but the evil we do not wish to do. At this instance in the epistle of Romans, Paul was quick to dismiss his responsibility for his weakness by saying, "And if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin living in me that does it." Paul disassociated his sinful behaviour as if it had nothing to do with him but the sin living in him. We can link his behaviour to that of Adam, who told GOD, "The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it." Indirectly, Adam was blaming GOD for the woman He gave him for inducing him to eat from the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil and causing him to disobey Him. He was an innocent party, and whatever happened had nothing to do with him as he was caught in the web of decision-making, of which none was his. From Adam, we can see the birth of man's weakness, and after Jesus was crucified, died and risen, Apostle Paul still held on to the Adamic weakness of the attitude that it has nothing to do with me. Paul was as clueless as Adam. Indeed, Adam did not make any decisions on his own except to give all the animals and his women their names. He had all the decisions made for him. GOD chose the woman for him as his companion, and the woman chose the fruit that he should eat. Even though GOD had warned him against eating the forbidden fruit, Adam made no reservations about eating it as his woman gave it to him. He had no reason to doubt the woman that GOD gave him would do him harm. Even if he did not trust GOD, he would not doubt her, who is the DNA of his bone and flesh. Adam trusted Eve and listened to all the decisions she made. He did not utter a word during the conversation between the Serpent and his woman as he watched passively beside her. He did not clarify the misconception when the Serpent distorted the truth. He left her to assume wrongly as the Serpent misled her. When Eve gave him the forbidden fruit, Adam could have rejected it, but he did not because he, like many, could not say no to their flesh. In other words, Adam was the sheep, and his woman was his shepherd. Is there anything wrong with that? Yes, when we listen to the wrong voice and do not do what is right, our whole life will be a mistake. GOD told Cain, "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it." The moral is that we must do right if we want to straighten our lives, and it is more than not doing wrong. Adam did not do anything wrong. He did not take the forbidden fruit, but it was given to him as one of the fruits of the garden. Therefore, he was clueless about what went wrong when GOD questioned him when he went into hiding. Only Eve had the answer, and that is, the Serpent deceived her. Therefore, contrary to the belief of many, Adam was punished because he ate the forbidden fruit, but that is only the secondary reason. The main reason GOD said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat." The issue is not about eating but listening, which causes the outcome, which is man's downfall. The voice he obeyed determined his action, resulting in his fate. Listening to the wrong voice was the first step of a thousand miles in the wrong direction. The difference can be between life and death. Despite being warned, why did Adam do it? Adam was stuck in a tug-of-war between GOD's restriction and his woman's inducement. Between the two of them, he had to choose one, and he chose his woman. There was little of a choice. It was either he betrayed GOD, his creator and provider, or himself, as the woman was his bone and flesh. From then till now, little has changed. Many men will still choose themselves over GOD, succumbing to their flesh within or without, causing themselves much grief. David and Solomon were among one of them. Despite their greatness, they could not control their flesh. Therefore, it is not without reason when Jesus said, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple." Therefore, without the element of hate for anyone, including ourselves, who will turn our ears away from GOD's instruction, we cannot be Jesus's disciples. Adam could not do it for GOD, but approximately 2000 years and 21 generations later, a man did it for GOD. He was Abraham, and he listened to GOD faithfully to the extent of even sacrificing his only flesh and blood, his son. For him, GOD was also willing to sacrifice His Son, so through Abraham's lineage came Jesus. Therefore, because of Abraham through Jesus, we become a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light. Hence, anyone who wants to have life must eat his flesh and drink his blood. The implication is that Christ's DNA is in His flesh and blood, and to eat his flesh and drink his blood is to take on His DNA of obedience and listen to GOD. Therefore, the blood of Christ proves its effectiveness once we are willing to listen. After the fall of man, there is a change in plan. The woman took on a new role and became a separate entity from Adam. She was given a name, Eve, to signify the change. Before that, all the animals were given names except Eve because she existed as an integral part of Adam as she came from his rib. She was his extension of him and, figuratively speaking, like his tail, following wherever he went. She did not exist as an individual. After the fall, GOD switched Eve's role from one dictating Adam to one submitting to him. For that reason, GOD said to Eve, "Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." If Eve had been submitting to Adam and not ruling over him, that statement would be redundant. It is like asking a child to clean his room when the room has been cleaned. Eve was no longer the voice that Adam listened to. In the new spiritual structure, Eve's voice has been replaced because GOD ordained Adam to rule over Eve, and Eve has to listen to Adam. The new voice will be of Adam's new flesh, not Eve, but his fallen nature. And this voice is passed on to us like an inheritance. We know of it from the next scene of Cain and Abel's offerings. GOD mentioned that sin is crouching at Cain's door, desiring him. What does sin desire Cain to do? It desires Cain to steal, kill and destroy, which is the modus operandi of Satan. The next thing we know, Cain killed Abel. From this, we know sin as his inner voice manages to convince Cain to kill. Cain did not manage to master the compulsion of his sinful nature, which led him to be punished. GOD has a reason to use the Serpent as the personification of Satan and Eve, the flesh, to show how the spiritual world connects to a man in the relationship between Satan, the flesh, and man. As depicted in the book of Genesis, the Serpent never once spoke to Adam directly, only to his woman. Many might take this for granted, as that is how things happen. Do not take any details for granted, as secrets of enlightenment might be hidden behind them. The puzzling thing is that when God asked Adam about what had happened, Adam was clueless even when he was with Eve during the whole conversation with the Serpent, as if the conversation between them was viewed from him. Only Eve had the answer. What can we infer from them? Could it be possible there is a gatekeeper between God and man or Satan and man? The gatekeeper of the physical man is his spiritual man, who decodes, translates, and understands all spiritual matters. Though the physical man might be clueless about the spiritual happenings, the spiritual man understands because spiritual issues must be spiritually discerned. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians, "The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned." Therefore, it is possible that Eve, before the fall, was the personification of 'Adam's spiritual man' as the Serpent, Satan. Thus, whatever happened, Eve seemed to know better than Adam. Furthermore, in the Epistle of Romans, Paul wrote, "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." Apostle Paul did not write: the Spirit Himself testifies with us that we are GOD's children. He understood the sequence, and when GOD speaks, it is from His Spirit to our spirit. The physical aspect of the man might not be aware of the happening. It is like what happened to Peter when Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood but by My Father in heaven." Apostle Peter must have been clueless about what he said on the spur of the moment until Jesus enlightened him. GOD talks to us and guides us literally in ways we do not know. Therefore, Jesus said, "When you are brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say. For at that time, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say." GOD's voice is the power within us, giving us the knowledge to defeat our enemies by not falling into temptation so we do not do what we do not want to. Therefore, Paul delights in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties because one word from GOD will change his situation and even his life. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Prayer: Father, thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit to dwell in me, so I am no longer a spiritual orphan. I will be able to discern spiritually the things of God and walk according to God's power and strength. Whether I turn to the right or the left, my ears will hear Your command within me: "This is the way. Walk in it." My ways will be pleasing to you, and I will never be clueless in the face of temptation. Amen.

Know Thy Enemy 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Sun Tzu, a Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher, once said, "Know thy enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated." Knowing ourselves alone is like a blind archer shooting arrows at a target, hoping one will hit the bullseye. Knowing ourselves and our enemy is like an archer with eagle-eye vision, and with every arrow he shoots, he will surely hit the bullseye. Therefore, we cannot walk naively through life, blind to our enemy, knowing nothing of him except his name. Ignorance is not bliss. In the book of Hosea, GOD said, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children."  Who is our enemy? Anything or anyone that turns us away from GOD is our enemy. Therefore, as children of GOD, we cannot be as innocent as doves but also as wise as serpents to know who our enemy is. We cannot be like Eve, knowing good and not evil or knowing light and not darkness. She is not at fault because she has not taken the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil during that time to know the existence of evil. She only knew a friend but not a foe, good but not evil, that could turn her fate for the worse. Hence, she was as innocent as doves. We cannot be like that because within us is the knowledge of good and evil, so we must be more than innocent as doves but as wise as serpents to know the traps of evil. We cannot be living in a fool's paradise, thinking that GOD will save us from the hand of the devourer. He will not since He did not save Adam and Eve from the deceit of the Serpent that led them into suffering, pain and death. Why would he make an exception for us? To beware of our enemy, we should never let anyone sweet-talk us into believing anything that seems too good to be true—it probably is. GOD's actions speak louder than His Words. Unless those gifts are under goodwill, everything of GOD, protection, provision, blessings, or promises requires us to walk on the tightrope of obedience. Even though Eve is ignorant, naive, or impressionable, she could not have fallen into the Serpent's lie if she had walked tightly on the rope of obedience. God's protection and provision are only found in obedience, and anything out of obedience is out of His protection. Hence, once Adam and Eve disobeyed, they had to leave Eden away from GOD's protection and provision. GOD did not show them leniency even when they were first-time offenders deserving a second chance.  Once fallen, the second chance only came a few thousand years later in the form of Jesus Christ. Even if we are given a second chance, it does not exempt us from being disobedient to do as we wish. We still have to be obedient in the face of temptations. Even if Jesus's love covers all sins, it does not mean we can continue sinning. Anyone who continues to sin shows he is unrepentant. Forgiveness requires a repentance heart and demands us to turn over a new leaf. If there is no change and transformation, it will mean that there is no repentance. In the epistle of 1 John, John states, "No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him." That implies that knowing GOD will teach us to stop sinning, which is where forgiveness comes in. If we keep sinning, then we need more than forgiveness; we need tolerance. But GOD is willing only to forgive sin, not tolerate sin. Coming back to what is written in the book of Hosea, we are destroyed by a lack of knowledge because we have rejected knowledge. At face value, we are blockheaded to reject knowledge, but in reality, our fallen nature refuses to accept the things of GOD. It is written in the Epistle of Galatians, 'For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so you do not do what you want.' Therefore, no matter how hard we endeavour, as long as our flesh is alive, we will refuse to learn. It is not that we do not want to, but we cannot because the flesh, our gatekeeper, has a natural rejection of the law. The law of GOD goes in one ear and out the other. Metaphorically, we are like a filter that absorbs all evil influences and sieves out all good. Through the prophet Hosea, GOD reprimanded the Jews for being blockheaded, but it is not a Jewish problem but a universal one. Anyone who wants to become a child of GOD will face the issue of incompatibility of their fallen nature with GOD's. They are like oil and water, immiscible. Indirectly, GOD is saying through the prophet Hosea that whoever rejects the law is incompatible with Him and cannot be His children. Therefore, anyone holding on to his flesh becomes an enemy of GOD and cannot be his child. In today's context, many believe that once their sins are forgiven, it means that God has accepted them as who they are—fallen beings. Do not be deceived. If this is true, then many things cannot add up. If the blood of Jesus can wash away our sins and transform our fallen nature, then Jesus would not ask us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. Jesus's blood can only wash away our sins but not transform our fallen nature. When Jesus said, "It is finished." And bowing His head, He yielded up His Spirit. It does not mean that, with His death, we are free from our fallen nature. Our enemy hopes we will believe that. Jesus meant He had finished his mission on earth. He conquered man's eternal death so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. If Jesus's death is enough to put to death our fallen nature, then it is redundant for Jesus to ask us to deny ourselves. That is to say, Jesus has done His part, figuratively, to bring us to the water. We must drink the water ourselves. If we want to belong to Christ Jesus, according to the Epistle of Galatians, we must crucify the flesh with its passions and desires. No one can do that for us except ourselves. We hold the last piece of the puzzle to salvation as we have the final say - to crucify or not to crucify our flesh. Now, standing between God and us is our common enemy, the fallen nature. With Christ's death on the cross for our sins, God no longer holds against us for the old debt, which is committed by our fallen nature. God is willing to let bygones be bygones. However, bygones will never be bygones if we keep sinning by listening to our fallen nature, keeping the beast alive. In the epistle of Romans, Paul states, 'For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.' This verse refutes the catchphrase of 'once saved, always saved.' No one is saved until they put to death the deeds of the body. That is to say, if there is no death of our fallen nature, we will not be saved. When we believe in GOD, He expects us to be transformed. A confused mind is the devil's playground. Therefore, we must be clear of the changes between the old and the new covenants. Jesus came to fulfil the old covenant by His death on the cross, bringing about the new covenant. If we are not clear about the change, then we will be like Eve, falling into our enemy's deceit. To understand this change, we must understand Paul's writing by understanding who he is. Jesus recruited Apostle Paul after He had resurrected, in a spiritual encounter, where Jesus appeared to Paul in an audible voice. Paul is unlike Jesus's twelve disciples, who among them were fishermen, tax collectors and peasants. Paul was a Pharisee, a student of Gamaliel, a man held in great esteem by all Jews. Therefore, Paul was not a nobody like the rest but someone proficient in the Law of Moses. He wrote and contributed about fourteen out of the twenty-seven epistles of the New Testament, having a dominant no lesser than Jesus's disciples. Instead of selecting one of the twelve disciples whom Jesus closely taught to champion the post-Christ movement, GOD chose Paul, who had never met Jesus and didn't claim to have met him. Paul is similar to Moses, who was taught by the best of the Egyptian court, and Paul, who was trained by Gamaliel, recognized as a Pharisee doctor of Jewish Law. Through Moses, GOD established the Old Covenant and through Paul, the New Covenant. Many of Paul's writings are challenging to comprehend and are unlike those written by Jesus's disciples, who are narrations of Jesus's ministry. Paul's writing expounds on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. When we put to death the deeds of the body, we are no longer under the law but under the Holy Spirit. Jesus's death parted a way for those who believe in Him to walk out of the bondage of sin like GOD parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to leave the bondage of Egypt. Unless we are willing to sin no more, we will not move out of the bondage of sin. The good news is the door remains open and will be opened forever to anyone who wants to leave their sin behind. The contention is not about the open door but who is exiting through the door. Many praise GOD for His goodness for the open door, but no one is leaving their Sodom and Gomorrah because they love sinning too much to leave. Therefore, no matter how good GOD is, it has nothing to do with anyone unless he wants to stop sinning. After evaluating all that Christ has done by His death on the cross, Paul still warns us that if we live according to the flesh, we will die, implying that the flesh is still alive in us, residing in the still soft voice, leading us into the way of evilness. Jesus's death or blood has no detrimental effect of it. It is still much alive, working its way to our death. It is like some cancerous cells working within us that cannot be removed by any means except by the Holy Spirit. Only those under the Holy Spirit have the power of the Holy Spirit to put to death the deeds of the body by sinning no more. Only then will they live. Many do not know that our enemy is well hidden within us, the first one to greet us in the morning and the last one to wish us goodnight, always talking to us and helping us make decisions. Those who listen to it become futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. Paul describes them as having a depraved mind to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless. The blood of Jesus did not put a stop to the evil influences we are hearing. As long as we are willing to listen, it will speak. Once we listen, we become accomplices in crime, like Cain, who killed his brother Abel. Our enemy is much nearer to us than we think and more influential to us than we know. He is not the big bad fox lurking in the forest but the coaxing voice that, as our second nature, justifies us to sin. When we look at the broken lives, broken relationships, or broken bank accounts of many, we know many have listened to its foolishness and treated it as wisdom. We cannot outsmart our fallen nature because it has evolved through time to understand the weaknesses of men. Therefore, we need to stand firm on GOD's commandments and not depart from them. Only then can we not fall into destruction. However, despite our best intentions and determination, it will be challenging because we do not have what it takes to be better than our fallen nature. We are like David fighting Goliath, sure to be defeated. We are, as Jesus commented, 'Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.' Jesus could have given us a better answer as to how to combat the weakness, but He did not. What He said is as good as asking us to wait and see that we do not enter into temptation. It is not that He does not want, but it is not under His purview but the purview of Paul to introduce the Ministry of the Holy Spirit. Without this, the work of the Trinity would not be complete. Only then will we be like Samson in an incident where suddenly, a young lion came roaring at him, and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one would tear a young goat. We will be tearing apart the roaring lion, our devour. Prayer: Thank you, God, for giving me the Holy Spirit to empower me to defeat my enemy and for opening my eyes to see how easily my enemy can infiltrate my mind and heart—just as easily as the Serpent is able to access the Garden of Eden to talk to Eve. Only when I study your words carefully will I not be like Eve, deceived into believing something that is not true. Continue to teach and guide me through your Holy Spirit so that I will not fall into the devil's trap and sin against you. Amen.

The Temptation Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The purpose of the Bible: Not love To romanticists, the Bible is a love story between God and man because God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son so that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. This statement becomes the foundation of a Christian's faith, a faith founded on sacrificial love. However, this self-sacrificing statement has been perverted, with many cult teachings arising from it. The truth in everything is like a fine line, which nothing can be added or taken out of it. Anything out of the line is a perversion of the truth. It is like the Serpent expounding on the good of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, emphasising the gain and diluting the consequence. When the truth gets distorted, it is no longer the truth. The first lesson: The temptation As much as we wish it were love, the unfortunate truth is that the Bible's priority is not love but something else. We can see that the Bible did not state its beginning with the proclamation of love and that GOD is love and His love for the world. The central focus of the beginning was GOD's creations, and immediately after that, the scene jumps forward to the temptation. Through the temptation, GOD gave man his first performance report. Regardless of the reasons for failure, he is not good enough and cannot be trusted to uphold the standards of heaven. In other words, man was put on a scale and weighed and found to be wanting. If GOD had no intention of weighing the man's heart to know how the weightage was His Word in him, then He would not have let the Serpent in. No one allows a snake into the house unless one is rearing it. If GOD had no other purpose for the Serpent, then He did not need to fortify it with extra cunningness and the ability to speak human language. GOD does not create useless things, and the Serpent would never have been created in the first place for no reason. Nothing would happen if GOD did not want it to happen. GOD does not work on hindsight but foresight because He knows the end from the beginning. Therefore, it was not man's misfortunate to have met with the Serpent but GOD's divine plan. Temptation, the essence of the Bible Understanding the law of the first mention and the subsequent events reveals that temptation has greater relevance, priority, and significance in the Bible than in other mentions. Temptation is the determinant for all that follows in the Bible. That is to mean that without it, the Bible has no purpose, and GOD has no value. Though temptation might seem like the cause of man's downfall, the truth is that it is man's weakness. Without being tempted, man does not know his weakness and his need for a saviour. If a man has no part to play in the fall, then GOD would be seen as unreasonable to impose the death penalty on an innocent party. Therefore, we cannot look at things on the surface. As much as we must examine the cup on the outside, we must also examine the cup on the inside. On the outside, it is the Serpent's fault, but on the inside, it is man's weakness to resist temptation. Therefore, he is being punished for his weakness and non-compliance. Often, the issue is more than skin deep; we need to look deeper beyond the facade. If we cannot identify the problem, then we are not applying the right medicine to the situation. As it takes two hands to clap, so we cannot be partial. If not, we would be solving the symptoms rather than the root cause. Understanding issues well is essential because it affects our salvation or ending. Temptation, our best friend Without a doubt, love warms the heart and gives strength to the heavy-laden. However, love cannot help solve any problem. Therefore, we should not be too infatuated with love. All of us have temptations to fight, and fighting temptation must be our sole purpose in life. It is the crux of the Bible. After the creation, GOD could have started the Bible with a more positive outlook, with man growing in wisdom and stature as Jesus did, but He did not. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, starts with a double tragedy, where Adam and Eve are being cast out of Eden, and Cain kills his brother, Abel. All happened because they could not resist their temptations: one to disobey and the other to kill. It is interesting to note that the voice of the temptress disappeared after the fall of man. Before the fall, the voice of the temptress came from the Serpent, a being outside of man. After its first grand appearance in Genesis, it no longer reappeared. It does not mean that it no longer exists, but the voice of the Serpent has become the voice of sin existing beside man. It is as tangible as the Serpent talking to Eve in that small voice that is constantly talking to us like our best friend. To be precise, sin is residing at the doorstep, desiring to become the soulmate, trusted advisor and counsellor to those who would listen. GOD's strict instruction is: If we refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at our door; it desires us, but we must master it. Mastering sin, avoiding temptation Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then, you will prosper and succeed in all you do. Mastering sin was GOD's first instruction to the firstborn of the fallen man, Cain, and through him, it becomes the central message to us as the descendants of the fallen man, Adam. Therefore, it is the focus of the Bible. Hence, it is the erroneous thinking of many that they are made for a higher purpose or to do extraordinary things. The only thing GOD wants of us is not to conquer the world but to conquer our fallen selves, mastering sin and the desire to do evil. The Bible is fundamentally written as a manual for sin management, more than a love story. If we can manage sin well, we will be highly favoured by GOD. With GOD with us, nothing can stand against us. If we are willing to fight the battle within ourselves so that we will not sin against GOD, He will fight the external battles for us. By paraphrasing what Joshua said, if we do not sin against GOD, we will prosper and succeed in all we do. Therefore, we must start our first step right by mastering sin, and we will be a thousand steps in the right direction, walking in blessedness. If not, we will be walking on cursed ground, as Cain did, where the ground no longer yields its produce in whatever we do. Our worst enemy: Ourselves Ecclesiastes 9:12 For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them. If life does not do us well, we think the world and everyone are against us, like the current of the stream pushing us downstream or like the ground producing thorns and thistles instead of the fruit of our labour. It is far from the truth. The truth is we are our worst enemy. By falling into temptation, by listening to the wrong voice within and without, we plague ourselves with many sorrows. We will be like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare when we are entangled in temptation. Even David, who was strong enough to overcome Goliath, bigger and stronger than him, had no strength to resist his sinful desire for Bathsheba. Even Solomon, with his great wisdom, was no match for his foolish desire to please his foreign wives and concubines in idol worship. No one caused the downfall of David or Solomon but themselves. GOD was with them, and nothing was more powerful than them to topple them except themselves. There was no greater evil force against them except themselves. Therefore, when things do not work well with us, we do not need to look far from ourselves. If we are willing to change, all will be forgiven, and our predicament will change. Nothing can hold us back from the blessings of GOD except ourselves. GOD puts a hedge around those who love Him, and no evil can touch them. If we resist temptation and do not sin against GOD, we will never fall into any cruel net or trap in a snare. Guaranteed. The unfortunate truth Ideally, if we do not fall into temptation, we will not be ensnared in an evil time. However, this is easier said than done because the one thing we miscalculated is our uncontrollable and untameable flesh, or fallen nature, has little resistance to temptation. Therefore, David found comfort in what he should not be seeing, and Solomon in doing what he should not be doing. If they felt their actions were out of character, they would have turned away immediately, as Joseph did when Potiphar's wife seduced him. Instead, they let their choice lead them deeper into their indulgence. As stated in the epistle of James, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Therefore, no one led them to their bad endings except themselves. Remember, though the lips of the temptress drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil, in the end, she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword. The Bible does not try to discredit David and Solomon but states that even great and mighty men fall under temptation, so we must be very mindful. All are tempted, no exception. Temptation is not limited to man but to all, including the angels and Son of GOD, Jesus. We know that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, and the Serpent tempted Adam and Eve. We have never heard of the temptation of Satan. It is not stated but deduced. If the angels were not tempted, then how would they fall? There must be a seducer before one can be seduced, and there must be a cheater before one can be cheated. From the effect, we know there must be a cause, as there is no smoke without fire. Satan, like David, looked too long at something that did not belong to him. Then, he said in his heart, "I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Highest." With that thought, Satan fell into temptation and fell out with GOD. He led one-third of the angels away as his fallen angels to form his so-called kingdom of darkness when GOD cast them out of heaven. GOD's love, no entry permit to heaven When Adam fell, he was cast out of Eden with Eve, and when Satan fell, he was cast out of heaven with his fallen angels. Only Jesus, the Son of GOD, made it through the temptations in complete obedience to GOD. For His steadfastness, He is rewarded in heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him. GOD the Father loves the Son, but His ascension to the throne was not pathed with love but tragic. To meet the demands of heaven, He was like a rose trampled under the feet of sin. Nothing came free or easy for Him. Therefore, GOD's love is not our entry permit to heaven. His love is our strength, support and comfort, like a pair of loving hands holding on to ours as we go through the painful progress of dying to our fallen nature by resisting temptation and sinning no more. However, this love will get us nowhere if we refuse to master sin. GOD's promise The message is clear: If we cannot stop sinning, we cannot master sin, and we cannot overcome temptation. At the end of the Bible, Revelation, GOD promises, 'To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.' What we should overcome is a question mark. By context, we must also overcome what Jesus has overcome. Jesus has overcome sin, temptation, and the world, so we must do the same. The message of temptation started in Genesis, GOD, ends in Revelation, promising those who overcome temptations to share with Him the throne of heaven. That is His demand: we must stop sinning and not be contented that our sins are forgiven. There is no compromise on that. Conclusion As in the Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught us to plead with God to keep us from temptation and deliver us from evil. Indirectly, Jesus is telling us that GOD wants us tested through temptation that leads us to evil, as happened to the first man, Adam. If GOD has no such intention, then the statement in the prayer is redundant. Jesus understands the Father's heart, so He wants us to seek leniency. Therefore, as we walk through life's journey, let us be fully aware that we are set up to be tested. Let us hold firmly to GOD's Word and never turn to the right or left of it. Only then will we be like Jesus, avoiding the deadly traps of temptation. Prayer: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom comes, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give me this day my daily bread. And forgive me of my debts, as I also have forgiven my debtors. And lead me not into temptation but deliver me from the evil one. GOD, have mercy on me because I am weak in the face of temptation. Please give me an extra anointing of the Holy Spirit so I will be strengthened to stand against my temptress by mastering sin. I want the right to sit with Jesus on His throne as He sat down with the Father on His throne. Amen

Matthew 25:45 Then the King will answer, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.' A Paradigm Shift Mark 2:22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins." The New Testament is a game-changer and paradigm shift. It is like new wine that cannot be contained in old wineskin. Hence, we must refrain from using our old mindset to understand GOD's new teaching, or it will become our stumbling block, a block that will cause us to fall away from our faith. When Jesus first introduced His new teaching, many of His disciples could not accept it, so they turned back and no longer walked with Him. His teaching created resistance then and would also now. Today, if we hear something that goes well with us and does not turn us off, then the teachings are most likely being compromised. If the core of His teaching has not changed, then we should have the same reaction as Jesus's disciples did: rejection. It is like drinking bitter medicine. However, if the medicine is not bitter but sweet, then we should be wary that something is wrong. GOD's bitter medicine does not go well with our fallen nature, so rejection should be the natural response. If it sounds soothing to our ears and appeases our fallen nature, then most likely, it is an alternate teaching to His. His fake teaching is like entering through a wide gate with a broad path; do not believe it because it leads to destruction. GOD has instructed us to walk through the small gate with the narrow path that few will find, and it leads to life. And any other way is a misdirection. Therefore, do not be misled by hype teachings that are pleasing to the ear but will lead to destruction. Stop sinning vs forgiveness of sin. Daniel 4:27 Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed.  If we want to be strong in GOD, we must be able to accept hard truths, things that are hard to the ears but good for our souls. Such a message is a high calling because our fallen nature can do nothing but sin. And GOD's Word bites our fallen nature. Therefore, it does not go well with our ears and is a nail to our flesh. A message that our fallen nature loves is the forgiveness of sin, a message of no condemnation to every action. Then, we are no different from a dog that returns to its vomit as we sinners return to our sin. Thus, many Christians live in the comfort of GOD as Yahweh Hessed, GOD of forgiveness. With that, many live in the impression that they can be who they are as there is nothing they can do that cannot be forgiven under the blood of Christ. If not, His blood is no different from that of sheep, goats, bulls, doves, or pigeons. Therefore, nothing can rock their salvation as it is secured in the blood of Jesus.  The Fallacy Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return. The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh, will reap destruction, but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit, will reap eternal life. If any of us think that the blood of Jesus will keep us away from sin, we are deviating far from the truth. Forgiveness of sin only releases us from the bondage of sin, which has no eternal value. It is like a person being set free from prison. Then, what from then on? It is what we make out of ourselves after being out of prison that matters. Metaphorically speaking, when we sin, we get ourselves into prison, and when GOD forgives us, He releases us from prison. If we keep on sinning and asking for forgiveness, we are repeating the cycle of being in and out of prison. Then what is the purpose of forgiveness if we have no intention of getting out of sin? We are doing nothing but fooling around with GOD, taking Him as a joke. No one ever fools around with the law and gets away. What more, with GOD, the Lawmaker of heaven and earth, and hope nothing will happen? The all-mighty blood has its limitations. Matthew 12:31 Therefore, I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Jesus's blood is powerful enough to forgive all sins except the sin of unrepentance. For that, His blood has no effect. His blood can cleanse us of all sins but cannot keep us away from sinning. It is written in the Bible that if we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do we think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace? Therefore, there is a limit to 1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. No one in the Bible ever received unconditional and perpetual forgiveness like the way we think, sinning without guilt and remorse. GOD often leaves us case studies to substantiate His Word. If there is none, then most likely, we misconstrue His Word. What does it mean to stop sinning? 1 John 3:6 No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him. Many times, we have been told to stop sinning, but many do not understand GOD's expectations. To many, as long as we do not cause anyone any grievous harm by killing, stealing, and destroying, we are not sinning. And as long as we do not violate GOD's commandments, we are not sinning. All these are true in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament, definitions become more comprehensive. Anyone angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be subject to the fire of hell. Without physical contact, even looking at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Therefore, to stop sinning is more than not doing evil. We must do good. The new requirement John 3:19 And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. Within our fallen nature is the desire to do evil. Therefore, in the Old Testament, after the fall of Adam and Eve, GOD wanted man to master his evil desires, as He told Cain, who represented the new generation of fallen men. In the New Testament, when GOD became Man, man not only had to master the evil within him but also to overcome evil with good. Only the one who overcomes will Jesus grant him the right to sit with Him on His throne, just as He overcame and sat down with His Father on His throne. The requirement has changed before and after Christ. Hence, we cannot use old methodology on new theology as we cannot sew a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. The patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result. Jesus's new teaching will stretch us to be more than who we can be. If we cannot be stretched, we will tear in unbelief. Not being able to say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for us. In Christ, we must do more and be better. Nothing will be impossible for us, even to the extent of loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us, that we may be sons of our Father in heaven. We no longer are allowed to stop at 'Love your neighbour' and 'Hate your enemy.' The truth is that many cannot cross this threshold of irrational demand. Then how many can overcome evil with good? Why must we overcome evil with good? Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. If we can overcome evil with good, it proves the authenticity of our transformation. We are born again in the Spirit, and we are cleaned on the inside of the cup and dish so that the outside may become clean as well. Remember, we have fallen nature and are incapable of doing good. If we have extreme self-control, we can control the beast within us. To overcome evil with good is beyond the capacity of our fallen nature. It is like asking the lion to eat grass. Therefore, if a lion eats grass, it only proves that it is no longer a beast but has morphed into something else. In Christ, we are His new creations, meaning we are more than GOD's creation but a new, improved version. We no longer hold the flaws of imperfection but the perfection of GOD. Therefore, what the fallen nature cannot do, the godly-infused nature can. Hell is prepared for those who do no good. Matthew 25:45-46 Then the King will answer, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. To illustrate His point, Jesus talked about a time in the future when He would be in His glory, and all the angels would be with Him as He sat on His glorious throne. Then, He would separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. One group would inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. And the other group would be cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. What good did the first group do to deserve heaven, and what bad did the other group do to deserve hell? No one in the heaven group stood out as any hero, nor anyone from the hell group stood out as any villain. The compliment for the righteous was - For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took Me in; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you looked after Me; I was in prison, and you visited Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?' And the King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.' The unrighteous were accused of not performing any acts of kindness as the righteous did, and their punishment was the eternal lake of fire. The King did not accuse them of massacres or blasphemy against GOD that deserved the lake of fire, but their fate was no different from that of the vilest sinners. The Conclusion Not doing good is as good as sinning, deserving the lake of fire. Many might view this as perversity, as the deeds do not deserve such punishment. On Judgment Day, many will question God about His justice and fairness, not knowing that sin is sin, regardless of how small or big. Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit." As long as the Spirit does not transform us, we are not born of the Spirit. We are still sinners destined for hell. However, the issue is not that many do not want to do good, but they do not have the tenacity to do so because of their fallen nature. Many can try, but they do not have the know-how to do it. If we want to know, we need to die to our flesh. Then, the anointing of the Holy Spirit will guide us. For this reason, our world still feels lonely and cold despite its advancement, vibrancy, and activities. The affluent are highly affluent, and the poor are extremely poor, and the gap is not narrowing. If everyone were anointed with the Holy Spirit and spontaneous in sharing simple essentials such as food, water, and clothing, the world would be a better place. GOD does not require us to save the world by doing great and mighty things because that job belongs to Him. He is our Hero, and we do not need another hero. All He wants us to do is small things with great love. We would have met GOD's expectation of overcoming evil with good. Prayer: Thank you, GOD, for opening my eyes and ears to your word. Let your word quicken my heart and enlighten my mind that they are alive in me so that I can be alive in your word. Then your word will not return to you empty, but it will accomplish what you please, and I will prosper in it. Amen.