Preparation = Holiness and Love

A Christians call is a call to holiness and perfection. I know. When we read the word 'perfection', most of us inwardly cringe - not because we don't like it, but because we feel we can never measure up to such an absolute.
But let us look at it in a different perspective through the eyes of the word. 

2 Peter 1 :3-7

The Christian’s Call and Election

3 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature. 5 For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. 

When we read these words of Peter, we understand that the way to pursue perfection and avoid corruption in this world is through the great promises of Jesus -- divine power. We no longer need rely on our own power, but on his sanctifying grace! Drawing upon this sanctifying grace through Christ Jesus we are asked to build our faith with goodness, and support goodness with knowledge of God and all things God wants us to know. We need to support knowledge with self-control and self-control with endurance or maybe patience. Then finally we embellish all this with godliness, mutual affection and love. 

All of this begins with a decision. A decision to transform ourselves into the rightful heirs of the Kingdom of God - as sons and daughters of the most high God and as siblings to Jesus as confirmed in Romans 8:28-30 

28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

We are not called to be conformed to the image of this world and its desires. We are called to be conformed to the image of JESUS! How awesome is that! This is a very real call. Our destiny in fact. If you have been called according to His purpose, this is your destiny! That is why Paul says in Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

What does Paul mean by the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.? 

Is that true? Shall we not see God through faith or through works as many argue both ways about it? 

For this we need to understand the nature of God. God is the embodiment of all the forces of nature and beyond. His presence is fearsome and glorious. Unless refined as silver and tested as gold we cannot come into His presence. For man to see God, God must be able to see His Son in us. 

THAT is why the only begotten Son, in whose image and likeness we were created took human form.

THAT is why he shared the Good News by announcing to the world that we are the sons and daughters of His Father.

And That is why He died a gruesome death for our sins so that we will all be eligible to gain entry into heaven. 

His death made us all, all of mankind, eligible for a free entry into heaven. But that doesn't mean that heaven can become the abode of the wile and dirty scum of the earth. We need to leave the earth behind. We need to leave the foulness of this earthly life behind. We need to believe in Jesus Christ and draw from Him the graces to be Holy as He was holy.

John 1:12-13 says 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

 Let us use this power to be the child of God which is possible only through Christ. And this power leads to holiness, godliness and love.

In holiness and love - the Kingdom of God will be among us.
In holiness and love - we will be rich toward God.
In holiness and love alone - can we be joyous and jubilant when the Son of Man comes. Otherwise we may become the corpses that the vultures will feed on.

I pray Jesus, that you shower your sanctifying and purifying grace upon me and each and every person reading this. Grant us the power to shed our worldliness and live in holiness and love. Grant us righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit. Amen

The day the Son of Man comes again.

The Lord teaches and leads according to the times we are moving in and according to the needs of knowledge. Let us explore the bible to see what Jesus talks about this. Today I am very happy, for Our Lord spoke to me through a dream and answered a query I have had since the past several weeks. I knew that the verse He showed me was important, but could never figure out what it meant. I searched high and low for a satisfactory answer, but received none.
His will is to learn when He teaches -- at the right time.

In Luke 17:37 Jesus says "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather". Though I read and meditated and searched many times over, I couldn't understand what those words meant. From reading the context it was clear that Jesus was answering the question 'where?' Here is the context from Luke 17:22-23;31-37
22 Then he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 They will say to you, “Look there!” or “Look here!” Do not go, do not set off in pursuit.  
31 On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. 34 I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.’ 37 Then they asked him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.’  
Where are they being teleported to is the question the disciples asked.

In Luke 12:32-34 Jesus says 32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.34 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Let us now read the three italicised sentences of Jesus one after the other.
"Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it."
"Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather."
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Remember that Jesus says  these sentences in the context of the Kingdom of God and subsequently the coming of the Son of Man.
What we need to understand is that at the time of the coming of the Son of Man or immediately before it people may  disappear from amongst us. This has been variously interpreted over time and some saying that this is the rapture. These words are a warning to us.
Our heart, or the state of our soul will determine where we go. According to the predominant desire of our heart will be our destination. We may believe in God, pray even; but if our predominant emotion is to invest, make money and save for our future then that is what rules our heart. If our predominant thought or passion is the car we drive or the car we would like to drive, then that will determine the destination to which we are taken. It all depends on what our heart is set on at the time when Our Lord, the Son of Man comes!
If our heart is set on making our lives secure we will lose it says the Lord.
Then He says  "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather" The corpse belongs to the vultures. If our heart and soul has been pawned to the king of this world, his army of vultures will take us away and feed on us. BUT if our heart and soul bears the word of God and if we are 'rich toward God' (read Luke 12:13-21), then it is our Fathers good pleasure to give us the kingdom. We will be the living kingdom of God. The vultures does not prey on the living - only on the dead.

How must we be then, when the Son of Man comes? Jesus explains in Luke 12: 35-48.

Watchful Slaves

35 ‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

39 ‘But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave

41 Peter said, ‘Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?’ 42 And the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. 44 Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. 45 But if that slave says to himself, “My master is delayed in coming”, and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful. 47 That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. 48 But one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.

Note that when Jesus says 'You also must be ready, for the Son of man is coming at an unexpected hour' Peter quickly asks Him ‘Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?’ 

This Jesus answers in the verses that followed. And finally Jesus sums it up thus 'From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.'

Let us take care to examine our lives - look within and search honestly and truthfully. If I am taken at this very moment will I be taken to the lord of real estates, the king of automobiles or the prince of minecraft? Will I be a corpse for the vultures or will I be alive and rich toward God? There is no either or answer - guard your thoughts, then guard your eyes and then guard your heart -- so that it doesn't get taken over by the real estate mafia who promises untold riches and get rich quick schemes or by the automobile industry tempting you with flashy cars at great discounts or whatever games they are that rules your waking moments. Shun the pleasures of the flesh and the eye candy of the world and set your heart soul and mind on the precepts of the Lord. The Psalmist sings in Ps.119:11 'I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.'

P.S This message has reached so many. But could you help to spread this message all over the world so that all those whom the Lord chooses can see and hear the truth of the coming of the Son of Man. If you would like to help, please forward this blog onto your friends and family as well. 
Feel free to comment below if something is disturbing you or if you need any more clarification.

PPS. Preparation for the Son of Man next

What is the 'Kingdom of God' ?

Our Lord has been trying to teach me about His Kingdom. Maybe because I have been saying for a while that I want to help Jesus build His and our fathers Kingdom here in Sydney. So I guess Jesus decided that if I want to build the Kingdom of God, then He better teach me what it actually is and correct any misconceptions I may have. 
Jesus tutorial began with Luke 17:20-37 given below here

The Coming of the Kingdom

20 Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; 21 nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There it is!” For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.’

22 Then he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 They will say to you, “Look there!” or “Look here!” Do not go, do not set off in pursuit. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first he must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed all of them 30 —it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. 34 I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.’ 37 Then they asked him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.’

The parts that struck me most I have given in italics. Jesus says that the kingdom of God is among us. Though some translations mistranslate it as 'within you', the correct meaning of what Jesus says is 'among you'. We also see the overt manifestation of the Kingdom of God in the works that Jesus and his disciples did. They preached the Good news, healed the sick, drove out demons and raised the dead.
The second part in italics about the corpses and vultures--I have not yet fully been granted the wisdom to understand.

After this teaching came Pentecost Sunday which was yesterday and Fr. Francis Onwunalli and his talk about the Holy spirit.  Romans 14:17 is what he had to say 'For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.'

Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit are experienced by people and not buildings, structures or organisations. So when we enjoy these 3 in the Holy Spirit we become the kingdom of God among those around us. Or do we? 

Then comes todays tuition which began with holiness (very important learning curve which I shall share soon but not now) and led onto the kingdom. It came from Mathew 13:33. 'He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’

Now what is it that Our Lord wants us to understand about the kingdom of God.
This is it in a nutshell.
One. The kingdom of God has become manifest from the time of Jesus and his disciples--therefore he says that the kingdom was among them. 
Two. The kingdom comprises of those who, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, enjoy and practice righteousness, peace and joy. These are the inner manifestations of the Holy spirit in our lives.
Three. The kingdom of God grows when we, filled with the Holy spirit, exhibiting the signs of this infilling, become the leaven in our communities, raising them up along with us. It is for this mission that we His chosen people have been mixed with the flour around us - to be the yeast that raises all of the flour with which it is mixed.
Another parable that our Lord narrated was to answer the question 'What is the kingdom of God like?' To this He said "It is like the mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden;it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches."

P.S. Meaning of Corpses and Vultures Revealed next.