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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.

To achieve Perfection, Give Matthew 19:21 Jesus told him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me." Man is not perfect because GOD never made them perfect. When GOD transformed Earth in Genesis from being dark, formless and void to what it is today, He never once said that it was perfect. They were good or very good at the most but never perfect. GOD could have made all things on earth like the way He created Satan, 'the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty'. That means Satan is flawless. He is more beautiful than anyone we have ever seen, and his wisdom is beyond Solomon's. Satan is full of wisdom, which is complete and whole. As for Solomon, his wisdom, as in the book of 1 King, is 'exceedingly deep insight, and understanding beyond measure, like the sand on the seashore'. Even though his wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt, it is not perfect. Solomon' is nothing compared to Satan. For whatever His divine reason is, GOD did not give anything on earth the seal of perfection. Hence, this is the sad fate of everyone, like Adam and Eve, who are prone to falling like a house of cards because of their imperfect architecture. Therefore, the saying 'to err is human' is an undeniable truth, as it is man's nature to make errors. With Satan as our tempter, we can understand how easily we can make errors and fall into his trap. He is the seal of perfection while we are not. We are like Humpty Dumpty, who sits on our imperfections and has a great fall. Even all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again. Many do not know the consequences of our imperfections. It is the part of us that makes us fail and sin against GOD. Success will always elude us in everything we do - in relationships, careers, health and wealth. Our imperfection is our weakness, causing us to make mistake after mistake. In contrast, perfection is like our strength, and it is like a fortress, infallible. Since we are made imperfect, we will blunder our way to failure. Therefore, we see failures in systems, policies, people, families, societies and countries. The issues are countless. It is not that we do not do our best, but our best is not good enough because we cannot expect anything good out of imperfections. No matter how careful we are, we will boo-boo here and there, jeopardising our success and especially our relationship with GOD. No matter how we view our disappointments, either due to our unfavourable or uncontrollable circumstances, it is our imperfection that contributes to them. It is our imperfection that leads us to unfavourable circumstances that become uncontrollable. As much as GOD made us imperfect, He does not want us to dwell in our imperfections from His creation. Our imperfection will cause us much pain and sorrow and distance us from GOD. The Palmist advises us to find our strength in GOD so that we will go from strength to strength and not succumb to imperfection. Jesus asks us, 'Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect'. However, GOD is not leaving us to figure out our problem by ourselves. He told the Apostle Paul, "My strength is made perfect in our weakness." In other words, we can be transformed from imperfection to perfection. We need not hold on to our imperfections as our stigma because we are only human. Only when we are perfect do we not sin against GOD, and can we be like our heavenly Father in heaven, sinless. Therefore, being perfect is not a suggestion or advice but an edict. We must overcome our weaknesses of being imperfect so that we can be blessed in all that we do. However, it is much easier said than done because of what Jesus said, "For apart from Me you can do nothing". It is not that we can do nothing. What Jesus meant is that we cannot do anything that leads to life, only those that lead to death. That is to fulfil what GOD said to Adam, "for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die". After the fall of man, the Tree of Life is under the guard of a whirling sword of flame with stationed cherubim. No one can access it till Jesus comes as the way, the truth, and the life. Only through Jesus will we find the way of truth to life. Without Jesus, life, as the opposite of death, will evade us. Therefore, overcoming our imperfection is not by our physical determination but by GOD's spiritual anointing through our walk with Christ as we become the doers of His Word. Only then will the narrow path be revealed so that we can find the way to truth in life. Jesus nor the Bible mentions much about being perfect, minimising its importance. In the encounter of Jesus with the rich young man, Jesus linked perfection as the criterion for eternal life. Therefore, perfection is more than not making errors or sinning but the standard of eternal life. It is a complex process of transformation to be like Jesus with the ability to fulfil the commandments of the old through Moses and the commandments of the new from Him. Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfil them". Jesus came to fulfil the Law, and we must do likewise. If we are any short of the standard, we are not perfect. Let us elaborate on the story of the rich young man to understand the issues. The Jewish man knew all about GOD's commandments but did not have the answer to eternal life. He was rich, implying he must have been educated and not ignorant, having a deep understanding of the GOD's Word. In doubt, he could ask from his many of his teachers. However, no one probably could give him an answer, so he approached Jesus. His question was not out of ignorance but well founded. The Torah does not have the answer because, in the Old Testament, GOD did not offer anyone eternal life. No one, regardless of who they were or their capabilities, was not qualified for eternal life. In a larger scheme of things, since the Old Testament does not offer eternal life, this implies that fulfilling the Ten Commandments is not enough to qualify for eternal life. Obedience to GOD's Commandments, as stated in the book of Deuteronomy, only assured anyone of a blessed or abundant life, not an eternal life. Therefore, the young man lived a blessed life of wealth because he honoured GOD with his obedience to the commandments - Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honour your father and mother, and love your neighbour as yourself. GOD will never shortchange us because He is fair and just. If fulfilling the commandments is enough, GOD would have offered eternal life to His promises. The Psalmist said, "For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity." Walking in obedience to His commandments is synonymous with walking with integrity before GOD. Therefore, He would not withhold the good thing of eternal life to those who honour Him. If He did withhold, it must be that eternal life requires more than obedience to the Law. It requires perfection because Heaven is not a place for imperfect sinners who trespass the Law. If we do trespass against GOD, we will be a repeat of Satan, being cast out of heaven. Therefore, perfection is a must to be in heaven. Jesus came as the new order that is above the old to amalgamate the Old and the New as one so that we could, through Him, not only have a blessed life but also eternal life. The young man was standing at the point of inflexion between the Old Testament and the New Testament, where Jesus was the point of change. Therefore, Jesus could take his question because He is the answer. To understand the need for new order of Jesus is that the Old, through its Law, is to expose sinfulness and highlight the need for divine grace. The Law cannot save us from eternal death. Eternal life must be through Jesus Christ and nothing else, and without Him, there can be no eternal life. Therefore, Jesus has to come with the new order. If we were to go strictly by the rules to obtain eternal life, we need to abide by the old and new commandments. When the young man asked Jesus, Jesus did not supersede the old commandments or undermine them, even when He came as the crusader of grace, the new order, and not the Law, the old order. Therefore, many have misunderstood the scripture when they say they are not under the Law but under grace. If we are no longer under Law, then why would Jesus say to the young man, "If you want to enter life, keep the commandments"? Jesus should have said, "If you want to enter life, believe in Me". Unfortunately, He did not, but that is the thinking of many. They misinterpreted the epistle of Romans, 'For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.' Only when we no longer sin will sin not be our master. Then, we are not under the Law but under grace. If we persist in sin, we will still be under the Law, and grace has no favour to us. We must read the Bible like reading a legal contract, not in isolation but in totality. We cannot lift, cut, paste, or arrange the sentence as we wish to make it palatable. Jesus was impartial and upheld the Law even with His disciples. They were not under grace because they were His disciples. Their wrongdoings were judged under the Law. For that, we can look at the difference between Peter and Judas Iscariot. Both betrayed the Son of GOD, but one was restored, and the other was not because one wrongdoing did not trespass the Law while the other did. Peter's wrongdoing was that he denied Jesus, but he did not trespass the Law to murder, commit adultery, steal, or bear false witness. He did not do Jesus any harm by walking away and denying Him. Judas indirectly murdered Jesus by going to the chief priests and agreeing to hand over Jesus in exchange for thirty pieces of silver. Judas' love for money is not a sin, but his love for money caused him to betray innocent blood. That is a sin. If grace can override the Law, and under grace, GOD takes no account of our wrong, then Judas should not be sickened with guilt but be overcome with love and forgiveness. Sad to say, the love and forgiveness did not come to fill his guilty conscience, and he was so filled with self-condemnation that he killed himself. Therefore, no one is above the Law, not even Jesus' disciples. The rich young man is a better man than Judas, but his fate is no different. He was a visionary of spiritual foresight. No one, not even the Pharisees or the scribes, questioned Jesus about the way to eternal life except him. He had self-discipline and control, not letting his desires control his obedience to the commandments. He indeed had a highly commendable personality. The Epistle of Mark commented that Jesus looked at him and loved him. He clearly met with Jesus' approval. He fulfilled the conditions of the Old Testament, so Jesus offered him the new requirement of the New Testament. Instead of having a to-do list of 'thou shall do this' and 'thou shall not do that' as tests of his obedience, he must give. His ability to give will make him like GOD, perfect. For that, he must give his possessions to the poor and give his life to GOD by following Jesus in total surrender. Only by following Jesus and exemplifying His way will he be made perfect. Jesus is perfect, and following Him would mean we walk the way of perfection. Unfortunately, despite his endeavour to keep all the commandments and be a better person, the rich young man did not get what he wanted: eternal life. He did not obtain eternal life, not because he was rich but because of his unwillingness to give. Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Jesus used an exaggerated figure of speech to emphasise that it is beyond any doubt that a rich man will enter the kingdom of heaven. The issue is not with the wealth but the unwillingness to give. In retrospect, no one will remain wealthy if they keep giving away their wealth. Therefore, Jesus has nothing against rich people but people who are unwilling to give and only live to enrich themselves. If we are like the rich young man who is not contented by just life on earth, we also desire eternal life; we must do more than the young man. We must be like Peter, who said, "We have left everything to follow You". Then Jesus will reply to us saying, "Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. Let us not let our unwillingness to give forfeit our eternal life. Therefore, be the transformation we want to see in ourselves, give.

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

Honored and humbled to be officially sworn in as our country's 20th Secretary of Transportation. I’m ready to advance @POTUS’ agenda for safety and innovation in transportation. Thank you to Justice Thomas for administering the oath and spending time with our family. https://t.co/D2BnxGl3Cg

History in the making 👏 @Nicholas_Reece has been sworn in as Lord Mayor of Melbourne, alongside a newly elected Council group. In a historic ceremony at Town Hall today, the new group made a commitment to serve the people of the municipality for a four-year term. https://t.co/181oojWZac

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Our decisions are not good enough. As the heavens are higher than the earth, GOD's ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. As much as we want to walk in wisdom and understanding so as not to walk foolishly, there is a limit to our sound judgement, keen discernment and deep comprehension. When we make good decisions, we move forward to success, and when we make bad decisions, we move backwards to failure. Many times, we move backwards more than we move forward. GOD has made known to us that we are nowhere knowing how to make good decisions. If we can, then there is no need to trust Him with all our hearts and wait for GOD to act. We are capable of acting for ourselves. Between GOD's wisdom and our wisdom is between heaven and earth. That is to mean the wisest of us are still fools to Him. To say it offensively, we are retarded compared to GOD. We do not do what we should; instead, we do what we should not. Instead of listening to good advice, we listen to bad. In Jesus's opinion, we do not know what we are doing. We are like blind men in the darkness, groping about and not prospering in our ways. To sum it up, we are nothing more than blind, confused and mad. Despite stating so clearly, only those with wisdom will agree, while the foolish have no idea. We have the minds of sheep and not a serpent. GOD understands we have the minds of sheep and not of the Serpent. If Adam and Eve were shrewd enough, they would not be deceived by the Serpent. The fact that they had been deceived proves that they did not have sharp acumen. In other words, Eve did not know she was like a fish caught in a cruel net or a bird trapped in a snare, so she was ensnared in the evil that was beyond her to free herself. Many might think that Eve was plain unlucky to be deceived by the Serpent. She was not unlucky but targeted. No one goes to war without a strategy, and the Serpent was no exception. The Serpent knew that GOD's Word was not alive in Eve because GOD did not speak to her directly. When GOD told Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you eat of it, he would surely die, He told it to Adam alone because during then Eve was not created. She was created after GOD warned Adam. We have to question the rationale of GOD's action. Why? Won't it be better if GOD were to warn both of them together? What is the purpose of telling one and not the other? We become the weak link when GOD's Word is not alive in us. What Eve knew was secondhand information from Adam. That became the weak link that caused the downfall of man. It was like the Telephone or Chinese whispers game in which messages are whispered from one person to another. Errors typically accumulate in the retelling, resulting in an erroneous message being passed down. Eve lacked the rationale behind the forbidden fruit, so the Serpent could confuse her understanding. Adam could have been the second line of defence to the fall since he was given the word. He did not uphold GOD's Word because of his love for his flesh and bone, and he accommodated her decision. Eve was his missing rib, and only with her, he felt complete. Therefore, whenever she went, he would follow, and whatever she did, he would do likewise. Man was not made to be alone as God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper." Ironically, the helper GOD gave Adam, besides other things, helped him to fall into sin.  It is no one's fault that many are like Eve, having a compromised understanding as GOD's Word is not alive in them. Therefore, they can be misled or deceived. Many times, GOD is oversold like some commodity which is not Him. Like some marketing products, GOD is packaged and promoted as a miracle drug of great promise. Unbeknown to the naive, GOD does not give out big promises without terms and conditions unless those are common to all. Nothing is as easy as it sounds. Like Eve, we are unable to know the exact meaning of the words once they are stretched, twisted, and rearranged. Flesh-pleasing decisions If not Eve, we could be like Adam, who followed his instincts rather than the Word, pleasing his flesh instead of GOD. Before the fall of man, Adam's flesh was Eve. To please her, he listened to her despite GOD's warning. As they were one flesh, whatever she wanted was whatever he wanted. Listening to her more than to GOD, he ate what she fed him, which resulted in his downfall. After the fall, man's flesh is no longer his woman but his fallen nature. Therefore, whoever listens to his fallen nature will fall as Adam did. After the fall, man and woman no longer exist as one entity. They became separate entities, with Adam giving Eve her name, signifying her autonomy. She was no longer nameless, and neither was Mrs. Adam but Eve. She stood by her own identity and style of thinking. That moment was like an independent day, where Eve gained independence from Adam to signify man's independence from GOD. Man's decisions: Lose-Lose From the actions of Adam and Eve, we can derive two decision-making patterns. One is like Eve, who tried to be smart with reason and logic but could not outsmart her deceiver. The other is like Adam, who disregarded the facts and figures to follow the desire of his heart, living for what feels good. Not knowing what feels good might not be good at all. Either think like Adam or Eve; no one is a winner. That is the sad fate of man; his mind cannot go through intense mental gymnastics to recognise the truth. Therefore, many are, like Eve, easy targets for scams and deceits and fall away from the truth. As much as they cannot trust their mind to reason out correctly, they also cannot trust their heart to feel the right thing to do.  GOD's decisions: Win-Win If we could realise how impaired we are in our minds and hearts, we would be shaking our heads. Adam and Eve are a representation of us, and through them, we know we cannot rationalise well. Therefore, many suffer from making the wrong decisions due to bad judgments. Hence, we need GOD to guide us in making good judgments and sound decisions. For this reason, GOD wants us to trust in the LORD with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding; in all our ways, we must acknowledge Him, and He will make our paths straight. In short, we must not trust ourselves in heart or mind to make proper judgments. As long as we surrender our will to GOD, acknowledge that He is omniscient, and await His decision, He will lead us in the right direction. Hence, we should not make rash decisions based on FOMO (fear of missing out). Instead, we must seek GOD out in all that we do. Even young lions go lacking and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Prisoners to bad decisions Everything might sound straightforward. It is not. The complexity of the matter is that even though we know what we must do, only a few know how to act accordingly because no man is free to do as he wishes. We are all prisoners of our fallen nature. Simply put, we are the prisoners of our addictions and compulsion nature where there is no escape. Therefore, the saying - a leopard never changes its spots. That's the reality that many cannot understand. We cannot change ourselves, and neither can we change others. If we cannot agree with the statement, we can try to change our family members and see the futility of our efforts. The only way to change a leopard's spots is to de-skin it and give it a new coat. That is where Jesus comes in. Jesus is the new coat, and He will provide us with His coat of righteousness. If we want to change, we must endure the anguish of being, metaphorically, de-skin. In other words, we must be circumcised, not physically but spiritually, by cutting away the filth of the fallen, sinful human nature. Only then will we be transformed to be GOD's new creations. We will not be a leopard that never changes its spot but a lamb without blemish. The condition for good decisions To put it another way, without the circumcision of our flesh, we are not meeting the terms and conditions of GOD's contract, making His blessing invalid to us. He will not be our help in times of need. Remember, when we say the sinner's prayer, we agree to turn from our sins and invite Jesus to come into our hearts and lives. To turn from our sins means we will sin no more. To invite Jesus to come into our hearts and lives means it is no longer I live, but Christ lives in me. Our lives will no longer be under our control but under Christ's as our Lord. To do that, we must die for Christ to live within us. We must crucify our flesh. If not, we cannot fulfil our part of the agreement with GOD, making the contract with Him void. Therefore, many Christians are holding onto a non-binding contract because they refuse to crucify their flesh. GOD goes by the book even if He is love. Only when we fulfil the contract will it take effect. Only then will we be the brides of Christ. If not, we will be the foolish virgins that Christ will deny as His. First step of good decision: Stop sinning Getting the first step right is paramount, and without it, nothing we do for GOD does matter. To put it differently, if not, all that we do for Him is a waste of time. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and that step is to sin no more. Only when we master our fallen nature will we sin no more than we can move towards GOD. Those who cannot stop sinning will forever be at point zero, the starting point. If we persist in sinning, then we will be on a journey of a thousand miles in the wrong direction, away from GOD.  Stop sinning sets us free from blind spots. No one ever plans to fail by doing the wrong thing, and no one ever intentionally sin so that they will go to hell. Like the rich man who died at the same time as Lazarus, he did not know that he would go to Hades and be in torment. If he had known, he would have done things differently. Therefore, he wanted Father Abraham to send Lazarus to his father's house to warn his five brothers of the existence of Hades. Many are like the rich man, not knowing what they are doing until it is too late. They cannot see the reality of Hades, evil and sin because all these words do not exist in their vocabulary. They are people of the world, having the mindset of it and not seeing anything beyond that. Therefore, many are like frogs in a pot, not knowing that they are slowly being boiled to death. Living in sin is not repulsive under our fallen nature but instead enjoyable, just as promiscuity is more pleasurable than faithfulness. Why have one when we can have many? Therefore, GOD makes us suffer under sin, so we will know the consequences of sin and seek Him. However, many will not learn, living like fools in paradise. Only when we seek Him will He open our eyes to the knowledge that sin is hideous, repulsive and grotesque. It not only turns us into beasts but also robs us of a fulfilling relationship with our soulmate, GOD. There is nothing to gain from fooling with sin but everything to lose. If we are rich, we might be like the rich man, realising too late that his wealth could do nothing for him in Hades. It would have been better if he had been a beggar like Lazarus. Being poor would deprive many of the opportunities to sin and every opportunity to seek GOD and ensure their salvation. Therefore, no one should despise the poor but instead, be good to them. After everyone's death, there will be a turn of events, like in the story of the rich man and Lazarus; the rich will end up in Hades suffering, and the poor will be in paradise enjoying. If the rich had been good to the poor, the poor would pray night and day, seeking GOD for their salvation. Would GOD not listen to those who mourn for the salvation of their benefactors? The solution: Blindfold ourselves and trust GOD Unless GOD is willing, no one escapes the blindness that plagues the world; no amount of fallen wisdom, understanding, or intuition will do. Therefore, it is futile to trust our hearts and lean on our understanding to lead us to a straight path. It is like an ant trying to move a mountain. As natural men, we will not be able to comprehend the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are nonsensical to us, as ants cannot understand rocket science, and we cannot understand higher wisdom that leads to life because they are spiritually discerned. We need to trust GOD by blindfolding ourselves and follow Him wherever He leads. Then, we can safely say we always make good choices and are on the journey to eternal prosperity. Prayer: GOD, I acknowledge that you are the Lord of lords and the King of kings. I submit my mind and heart to you. Lead me and guide me according to your way so that I will find eternal success. Amen.

You can predict your future! Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold firmly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. The uncertainty of tomorrow Luke 12:19-20 Then I will say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!" But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night, your life will be required of you. As many might assume, whatever happens to us may be based on random selection. Many can plan for tomorrow, but there is no assurance that things will go as planned. Like in a card game, no one is in control of the cards in a card game as no one is in control of one's fate; all go by chance and probability. There is only so much we can do, and the rest is in the hands of GOD. As Solomon stated, "Time and chance happen to all."  There is no certainty about what the future might bring because no one knows what surprises tomorrow might hold. Today, we might be wise in our eyes, but when tomorrow comes, the situation might turn against us, and what wisdom is becomes foolishness. Or what is good might turn sour, what is fast might break down, or what is strong becomes weak. Tomorrow is a game changer, ushering in changes and new challenges, obsolating the old and giving birth to the new. If we are not careful, we might be caught off guard and be thrown into the ocean under the mercy of the unpredictable storm called tomorrow that can sink any ship. Today's success does not mean a successful tomorrow. When tomorrow's earthquake comes, it will level down any giant, making a joke of anyone's hard work. Therefore, the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent nor the favour to the skilful. That is the reality that all have to face. The certainty in the uncertainty Psalm 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does. If everyone's life is laced with uncertainty, then what certainty can we expect? As Jesus described, our precariousness is like the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow, thrown into the furnace. That means today, we can be happily swaying in the field, enjoying the breeze, and tomorrow, we will be burned in the furnace. What hope do we have in an ever-changing environment where today's field might become tomorrow's fury furnace to us? If we want to avoid such precarious moments, we must be like a tree and not grass. We cannot be any ordinary tree but a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither and who prospers in all he does. Such a tree is not affected by dry spells or storms that threaten its existence or uproot it. Beneath the tree, where no one can see, is living water, nourishing the tree from physical damage, threats or dangers. Sun or rain, nothing is going to affect the growth of the tree. It can only get bigger and stronger every day, bearing fruit —a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold. The certainty Matthew 5:17-18 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Unbeknown to many, in the world of uncertainty, there is certainty, and it is found in the law. A law describes the outcome under certain conditions and predicts what will happen as long as those conditions are met. Even when heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Hence, everything in the entire universe happens according to Law—there is no such thing as chance. Every effect must have a cause, and in turn, that cause must have an effect. Thus, we have the perpetual, never-ending cycle of cause and effect. In farming terms, we reap what we sow. In scientific terms, it is the equal and opposite reaction of every action. In spiritual terms, it is karma or retribution. In idiomatic terms, it is the chickens who come home to roost. The predictability of the law 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. No matter what terms we use to define certainty, the message is clear: nothing happens by random selection or chance. The uncertainty that many face is the certainty of an outcome because they are not under the protection of the law. Simply explain, those who live in obedience to the law live in certainty that things will work out as planned, while those who live in disobedience to the law live in uncertainty that nothing will work out as planned. That is to say, the law protects all who obey. Those who disobey will have to face the penalty of the law. Regardless of whether it is common law, scientific law or spiritual law, all have the same power to enforce their predicted outcome. If they cannot, then they are good practices, good to know but not necessary to follow. Therefore, whatever we do, we should not trespass any law and expect to get away. There is no getting away until every arrears is paid. No man is above the law. Galatians 3:11 For it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."  As much as we think we are free to do what we want, no one is entirely free to do so. We are free to do as we wish, but only within the boundary of the law, not just spiritual but scientific or common law. Once we cross the boundary, we walk out of the hedge of protection of the law. We have to suffer the consequences of our actions. It is similar to observing the traffic rules. If we don't, the predictable outcome will, indeed, ultimately, be hit by other vehicles. We do not need watchful eyes to enforce the punishment. The traffic system can self-regulate itself and eliminate the offender. If one gets into an accident, there are three predictable outcomes: injuries, death or license suspension. If we do not want to end up with such curses, we should be obedient and observe the law. Ignorance of the law Luke 23:34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." However, many things are easier said than done. No one wants to trespass the law and add curses into one's life. Many of us are like Eve, not knowing what we are doing. We are like grass that cannot go through any strong wind, unlike a tree that goes unaffected by the storm of life. The difference is that one does not know the rules of the game, while the other does. If we do not want to be like grass that is constantly tossed around by the whims and fancies of the wind until we do not know what we are doing, we must precisely understand the requirements of the law. Then, we will be like a tree drawing living water, where the storm is nothing but a breeze. However, The law is not a friend but a foe. Galatians 5:17-18 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 that you do not do what you want. But if the Spirit leads you, you are not under the law. As much as we want to obey the law and live under its protection or provision, it is beyond our human nature. Obeying the law is more complex than turning to the right or the left. It is more than stopping when the traffic light turns red and moves on when it turns green. That was the mistake the Israelites made when they were at Mount Sinai when they said, "We will do everything that the LORD has spoken." They wrongly assumed that doing everything that GOD has spoken about was as easy as moving out of Egypt with GOD parting the way and levelling all obstacles. Unbeknownst to them, that was courtship. The real test was in the marriage when they agreed to GOD's proposal. That innocent statement of 'I do' sealed their fate and everyone's fate from then on to be under the law. With their consensus, GOD issued His house's rule, the Ten Commandments. From then on, everyone who wants to be with GOD enters into a covenant relationship with Him, and those who obey will be blessed, while those who cannot will be cursed. The law condemns Romans 4:14-15 For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith is useless, and the promise is worthless because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression. In courtship, God did everything for the Israelites. After marriage, as in all marriages, the Israelites had to DIY. Therefore, in the Book of Numbers, chapter 14, the Israelites wanted to divorce God because they did not want to DIY with the giants. The treatments, figuratively speaking, before marriage were not the same after marriage. GOD's purpose in His law is, unlike other laws, to reveal our sins. The law was given to prove otherwise to what the Israelites thought, 'We will do everything that the LORD has spoken'. We cannot do what GOD wants because of our fallen nature. The law is to catch our weaknesses and prove our need for GOD. As Jesus commented, apart from Him, we can do nothing. Recalibration John 15:5 I am the vine, and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me, you can do nothing. Despite our best efforts, nothing will go as planned because we are not the game masters. Only GOD is. We are only game players. As long as we are not the game masters, we cannot control the game. Therefore, our destiny is in the hand of He who holds it. That is that much we can do to ensure success. We like kites; if the wind does not pick us up to soar through the sky, we are nothing but some beautifully crafted paper. Even if we are not the game masters, GOD is good because He plays by His rules. As long as we act according to His rules, against our fallen nature, whatever we do will be according to His Word. That is the certainty of our future according to GOD's Word. Conclusion: Matthew 7:17-18 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. If we want to be successful in all that we do, we cannot be the lords of our lives. We cannot listen to ourselves and be wise in our eyes. Instead, we must be wary of our fallen nature, which will lead us away from the way of GOD and guide us to an aimless life. Today, if we look within and are unhappy with ourselves and what we are doing, then we are guided not by the Word but by our fallen nature. The fruit of our decision will never lie. If it is from GOD, it will be a good fruit. If not, it will be a rotten fruit. If we are not getting the result that we want, we must go back to GOD's Word and reexamine our lives. Prayer and positive proclamation will not make what is wrong right. Ignorance is not excusable. GOD rules everything according to His Book. As long as we do everything according to the Book, our lives are as predictable as written in the Book. GOD will have to act according to His Word, and we can predict the outcome as promised. Prayer: Thank you, GOD, for your Word. That is my trust and strength. Nothing will be done out of the context of your Word. No one can stand against your Word or override it. Help me keep it in my heart that I may not sin against You. Instead, I can predict my future according to Your Word. 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.

Finding true success through the Word of GOD 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. All roads might lead to Rome, but there is only one way that leads to prosperity and success. Some might think it is through hard work, creativity, perseverance or any positive traits. They are definitely good attributes, but they are not the way. As conceited as it may sound, we have only one option to ironclad achievements and successes so that they will be everlasting, not something that comes by day and flies by night. That way is through the Spiritual way of GOD, according to the Book of the Law. In other words, nothing we do is good enough to give us true success unless we follow His way. Only that will make a difference. Unbeknownst to many, this is where many fail. Why? We do not know the way. Jesus has cautioned us that the way that leads to life is narrow, and the gate to it is small. Unlike the wide is the gate and broad is the way, few will find it. Therefore, we might think we know the way, but we might be wrong. Our failures prove that we do not know the way. Our weakness is we know far too little of the Bible while assuming we know enough to be right with GOD. Once we are not careful, we might end up like the foolish virgins in the parable of the ten virgins, being locked out of the wedding feast. The difference between the wise virgins and the foolish virgins is that one group has more oil-nointing than the other. Presumably, the foolish virgins knew GOD's promises and claimed them in faith without working out their salvation. Unlike the foolish virgins, the wise virgins not only knew GOD's promises but also the terms and conditions to fulfil them. They worked out their salvation. One group fulfilled the requirements and made it to the wedding feast, while the other did not. Therefore, knowing GOD's promises is not enough. We need to meet the conditions. Jesus is no exception, and He met GOD's condition before He was given a name beyond others. Many of GOD's promises are conditional, meaning we must pay a price for them. In other words, they require sacrifices. Without doing so, we cannot claim the promises. Even though Jesus paid the price for our salvation, it does not mean it is free. To claim it, we must repent from our sins. That is to mean we must sin no more. We are not free to do as we wish but what GOD wants of us. Many know the promise of salvation, but a few are aware of the condition that they have to sin no more. If they had known, many would not have jeopardised their eternal life for eternal condemnation by sinning. Sinning gives us temporary gratifications but eternal sorrows. Therefore, it is not worth the indulgence. Living in GOD's promises is like enjoying the breathtaking mountain view. However, to enjoy the view, we must scale the mountain. Realistically, without scaling the mountain, there will be no view. If we do not scale, we remain like chickens that peck the ground instead of eagles that soar into heaven. As much as we might be acrophobic, remember, when Adam and Eve fell, GOD cursed the ground, and the consequence of that is we must toil to eat off the ground all the days of our lives. Both thorns and thistles will make the ground yield for us. Instead of eating from the sweetness of the fruits, we eat the blandness and bitterness of the plants of the field. Today, if we think that our lives lack sweetness, we can change it by scaling the mountain of GOD's Word. Only then can we distance ourselves from the cursed ground and soar in the blessings of GOD. Yes, as long as we do everything written in the Book, all His promises are always yes and amen to us because GOD rules heaven and earth according to His Word. As simple as it might sound, many do not know its implications. We must become slaves to the Word or slaves to righteousness, as Apostle Paul phrased it. Ultimately, it means we must, according to the Book of Deuteronomy, faithfully obey the voice of the LORD our God and be careful to follow all His commandments. No matter how we choose to understand it, we must be obedient to His Law 100%. Where He leads, and we must follow. When He says yes, we will not say no. We willingly relinquish our rights to be under His sovereignty as Christ did for the Kingdom of Heaven. In truth, GOD holds sovereignty over heaven and earth because He is the creator of them. Everything in the universe revolves around Him, whether we want to acknowledge it or not. His kingdom comes, and His will be done on earth as in heaven. As much as we want, nothing revolves around us - our wishes, hopes, or purposes. We are not the centre of anything, not by our will, our might or our strength. Nothing happens unless GOD permits it. If our lives ever turn out well, it is that we first seek the kingdom of GOD and His righteousness because GOD does not bless unrighteous people. For the righteous, He ensures that we are the head and not the tail; we will only move upward and never downward. Only when we recognise we are nothing without Him will we be willing to align ourselves according to His will so that we may bear much fruit. It is not without reason that the Bible writes, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven'. Only those who are not blinded by their self-centredness know they are poor in spirit. They recognise their spiritual emptiness and the need for GOD, seeking Him with all their hearts. Only they will find Him. Be that as it may, many understand that Jesus is the vine, that we are the branch, and that we can do nothing without Him. However, that is not the case when they are in church. Nobody goes to church to pray as the branch for His kingdom to come and His will be done. Few pray to be more like Jesus in obedience to GOD the Father and love others as Jesus has loved us, fulfilling GOD's will on earth. Instead, we pray for ourselves for our kingdom to come so that we can be wealthy and better than most men, winning their admiration. We pray against those who go against us and despise them as they are not like us. We fail to be better persons because we are not like Christ, full of the fruit of the Spirit. Many times, difficult people are those who are different from us and have different perspectives coming from contracting circumstances. Once we have the patience to understand them, they might not be as obstinate as they seem. Similarly, there are no wayward children, only neglected ones. All we need to do is exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, and many things will change. When we do that, we invite the Holy Spirit to work in our midst. There is no situation that is impossible for GOD to resolve. When a man's ways please Him, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. GOD will fill our shortcomings with His strength to be what He wants us to be: good children, spouses, parents, friends or enemies. If any of them slaps us on our right cheek, we will turn to him the other. If he forces us to go one mile, we will go with them two. And if he wants to take our tunic, we will let him have our cloak as well. To meet the unreasonable demand of going a mile is stretching beyond human limits. And to go for an additional mile is inhuman; it requires divine empowerment. GOD is not joking when He asks us to go the extra mile. If we cannot, it only means that we are not empowered to do so and are unable to follow instructions. Therefore, we need to go before GOD on our knees, asking for His divine intervention so that we can do what we cannot. If not, we cannot fulfil the will of GOD. Many might think GOD is teasing for stating such an OMG request, but He is not. He was also not teasing when He asked the Israelites to conquer the promised land dominated by giants. Though time and situation have changed, GOD has not. Even when there are no more giants to fight, His demands are as impossible as ever. To do His will, we need more than human strength; we need divine empowerment to deny our internal resistance, which is called fallen nature. Only then will we be able to carry the cross and follow the path of Jesus. As ugly as it might sound, if we cannot deny our fallen nature, we cannot embrace GOD will and welcome His kingdom. The big question is: are we still GOD's children if we do not do His will? Can we believe in GOD, do whatever we want and still be called children of GOD? Simply put, can we pass a maths test without knowing how to answer the questions and only knowing the English words? The bottom line is if we cannot do everything written in the Book of the Law, how do we qualify as children of GOD? Many might argue that the rule has changed, and it is no longer by work but by grace through faith that we are saved. It is a gift of GOD. We do not need to work for our salvation but to believe and have faith. Jesus came to settle all the documentation for us so we could have an unconditional visa to heaven. Yes, it is true, but it is not as simple as what we think. Salvation is a gift only by GOD's gracious invitation and not something that we can buy with our work. GOD is magnanimous and has given everyone an invitation to salvation through Jesus Christ without prejudice. However, if we decide to accept the invitation, we need not do anything except attend the wedding banquet where GOD has prepared for His Son. The condition is we need to dress according to the wedding code. If we do not, we will be thrown out, as illustrated in the parable of the wedding banquet. Even though salvation is not by work, it does not mean we do not need to put any effort into it, as some might assume. The only thing free is the invitation. We are not prequalified to be invited, but anything more than that is not. If we are staying for the banquet, we need to change to wedding clothes. There are expectations to be met. Therefore, we cannot oversimplify things or assume wrongly. No work does not mean no expectations. When GOD promised Joshua success in all that he did as the next leader after Moses's death, the condition was that he must know the Book of the Law by heart by meditating on it day and night and that he be careful to do everything written in it. Only then, figuratively, will whatever he touches turn into gold, implying that all God's promises are "Yes" and "Amen." He understood the gravity of his situation, as no one was fit enough to fight the giants. In other words, they are digging their graves. GOD did not ask Joshua to hope in Him to deliver them but to do everything written in the Book. If GOD were to save the Israelites regardless of whether they adhere to His Word or not, then it would be redundant to instruct Joshua to mediate night and day in His word. Therefore, knowing the Word is paramount to his success. Likewise, it is paramount to our success, and we should put in every effort to seek it. 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. All roads might lead to Rome, but there is only one way that leads to prosperity and success. Some might think it is through hard work, creativity, perseverance or any positive traits. They are definitely good attributes, but they are not the way. As conceited as it may sound, we have only one option to ironclad achievements and successes so that they will be everlasting, not something that comes by day and flies by night. That way is through the Spiritual way of GOD, according to the Book of the Law. In other words, nothing we do is good enough to give us true success unless we follow His way. Only that will make a difference. Unbeknownst to many, this is where many fail. Why? We do not know the way. Jesus has cautioned us that the way that leads to life is narrow, and the gate to it is small. Unlike the wide is the gate and broad is the way, few will find it. Therefore, we might think we know the way, but we might be wrong. Our failures prove that we do not know the way. Our weakness is we know far too little of the Bible while assuming we know enough to be right with GOD. Once we are not careful, we might end up like the foolish virgins in the parable of the ten virgins, being locked out of the wedding feast. The difference between the wise virgins and the foolish virgins is that one group has more oil-nointing than the other. Presumably, the foolish virgins knew GOD's promises and claimed them in faith without working out their salvation. Unlike the foolish virgins, the wise virgins not only knew GOD's promises but also the terms and conditions to fulfil them. They worked out their salvation. One group fulfilled the requirements and made it to the wedding feast, while the other did not. Therefore, knowing GOD's promises is not good enough. We need to meet the conditions. Jesus is no exception, and He met GOD's condition before He was given a name beyond others. Many of GOD's promises are conditional, meaning we must pay a price for them. In other words, they require sacrifices. Without doing so, we cannot claim the promises. Even though Jesus paid the price for our salvation, it does not mean it is free. To claim it, we must repent from our sins. That is to mean we must sin no more. We are not free to do as we wish but what GOD wants of us. Many know the promise of salvation, but a few are aware of the condition that they have to sin no more. If they had known, many would not have jeopardised their eternal life for eternal condemnation by sinning. Sinning gives us temporary gratifications but eternal sorrows. Therefore, it is not worth the indulgence. Living in GOD's promises is like enjoying the breathtaking mountain view. However, to enjoy the view, we must scale the mountain. Realistically, without scaling the mountain, there will be no view. If we do not scale, we remain like chickens that peck the ground instead of eagles that soar into heaven. As much as we might be acrophobic, remember, when Adam and Eve fell, GOD cursed the ground, and the consequence of that is we must toil to eat off the ground all the days of our lives. Both thorns and thistles will make the ground yield for us. Instead of eating from the sweetness of the fruits, we eat the blandness and bitterness of the plants of the field. Today, if we think that our lives lack sweetness, we can change it by scaling the mountain of GOD's Word. Only then can we distance ourselves from the cursed ground and soar in the blessings of GOD. Yes, as long as we do everything written in the Book, all His promises are always yes and amen to us because GOD rules heaven and earth according to His Word. As simple as it might sound, many do not know its implications. We must become slaves to the Word or slaves to righteousness, as Apostle Paul phrased it. Ultimately, it means we must, according to the Book of Deuteronomy, faithfully obey the voice of the LORD our God and be careful to follow all His commandments. No matter how we choose to understand it, we must be obedient to His Law 100%. Where He leads, and we must follow. When He says yes, we will not say no. We willingly relinquish our rights to be under His sovereignty as Christ did for the Kingdom of Heaven. In truth, GOD holds sovereignty over heaven and earth because He is the creator of them. Everything in the universe revolves around Him, whether we want to acknowledge it or not. His kingdom comes, and His will be done on earth as in heaven. As much as we want, nothing revolves around us - our wishes, hopes, or purposes. We are not the centre of anything, not by our will, our might or our strength. Nothing happens unless GOD permits it. If our lives ever turn out well, it is that we first seek the kingdom of GOD and His righteousness because GOD does not bless unrighteous people. For the righteous, He ensures that we are the head and not the tail; we will only move upward and never downward. Only when we recognise we are nothing without Him will we be willing to align ourselves according to His will so that we may bear much fruit. It is not without reason that the Bible writes, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven'. Only those who are not blinded by their self-centredness know they are poor in spirit. They recognise their spiritual emptiness and the need for GOD, seeking Him with all their hearts. Only they will find Him. Be that as it may, many understand that Jesus is the vine, that we are the branch, and that we can do nothing without Him. However, that is not the case when they are in church. Nobody goes to church to pray as the branch for His kingdom to come and His will be done. Few pray to be more like Jesus in obedience to GOD the Father and love others as Jesus has loved us, fulfilling GOD's will on earth. Instead, we pray for ourselves for our kingdom to come so that we can be wealthy and better than most men, winning their admiration. We pray against those who go against us and despise them as they are not like us. We fail to be better persons because we are not like Christ, full of the fruit of the Spirit. Many times, difficult people are those who are different from us and have different perspectives coming from contracting circumstances. Once we have the patience to understand them, they might not be as obstinate as they seem. Similarly, there are no wayward children, only neglected ones. All we need to do is exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, and many things will change. When we do that, we invite the Holy Spirit to work in our midst. There is no situation that is impossible for GOD to resolve. When a man's ways please Him, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. GOD will fill our shortcomings with His strength to be what He wants us to be: good children, spouses, parents, friends or enemies. If any of them slaps us on our right cheek, we will turn to him the other. If he forces us to go one mile, we will go with them two. And if he wants to take our tunic, we will let him have our cloak as well. To meet the unreasonable demand of going a mile is stretching beyond human limits. And to go for an additional mile is inhuman; it requires divine empowerment. GOD is not joking when He asks us to go the extra mile. If we cannot, it only means that we are not empowered to do so and are unable to follow instructions. Therefore, we need to go before GOD on our knees, asking for His divine intervention so that we can do what we cannot. If not, we cannot fulfil the will of GOD. Many might think GOD is teasing for stating such an OMG request, but He is not. He was also not teasing when He asked the Israelites to conquer the promised land dominated by giants. Though time and situation have changed, GOD has not. Even when there are no more giants to fight, His demands are as impossible as ever. To do His will, we need more than human strength; we need divine empowerment to deny our internal resistance, which is called fallen nature. Only then will we be able to carry the cross and follow the path of Jesus. As ugly as it might sound, if we cannot deny our fallen nature, we cannot embrace GOD will and welcome His kingdom. The big question is: are we still GOD's children if we do not do His will? Can we believe in GOD, do whatever we want and still be called children of GOD? Simply put, can we pass a maths test without knowing how to answer the questions and only knowing the English words? The bottom line is if we cannot do everything written in the Book of the Law, how do we qualify as children of GOD? Many might argue that the rule has changed, and it is no longer by work but by grace through faith that we are saved. It is a gift of GOD. We do not need to work for our salvation but to believe and have faith. Jesus came to settle all the documentation for us so we could have an unconditional visa to heaven. Yes, it is true, but it is not as simple as what we think. Salvation is a gift only by GOD's gracious invitation and not something that we can buy with our work. GOD is magnanimous and has given everyone an invitation to salvation through Jesus Christ without prejudice. However, if we decide to accept the invitation, we need not do anything except attend the wedding banquet where GOD has prepared for His Son. The condition is we need to dress according to the wedding code. If we do not, we will be thrown out, as illustrated in the parable of the wedding banquet. Even though salvation is not by work, it does not mean we do not need to put any effort into it, as some might assume. The only thing free is the invitation. We are not prequalified to be invited, but anything more than that is not. If we are staying for the banquet, we need to change to wedding clothes. There are expectations to be met. Therefore, we cannot oversimplify things or assume wrongly. No work does not mean no expectations. When GOD promised Joshua success in all that he did as the next leader after Moses's death, the condition was that he must know the Book of the Law by heart by meditating on it day and night and that he be careful to do everything written in it. Only then, figuratively, whatever he touches will turn into gold, implying that all God's promises are "Yes" and "Amen." He understood the gravity of his situation, as no one was fit enough to fight the giants. In other words, they are digging their graves. GOD did not ask Joshua to hope in Him to deliver them but to do everything written in the Book. If GOD were to save the Israelites regardless of whether they adhere to His Word or not, then it would be redundant to instruct Joshua to mediate night and day in His word. Therefore, knowing the Word is paramount to his success. Likewise, it is paramount to our success, and we should put in every effort to seek it. Prayer: Dear God, help us to understand more of your Words through the Holy Spirit so we are equipped to do your Will on this earth and to glorify your Name. Amen