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In these hard times…life should be practical!
PRACTICAL…
We usually say this word to describe what our lives should be…practical and prudent.
To be practical is to be sensible or aware of the times through practices of trials and errors that produce wisdom for daily living. Same as to be prudent is to be wisely careful by having foresight in avoiding errors in life.
Yes, these virtues are good strategies in these hard times, for these will minimize the hardships and complexities of living in this material world, but BEWARE lest we will be inclined to flow with the ways of the world which will create…
A life of convenience…
A life guided by worldly values and wisdom of men…
A life of mediocrity…a balance life where good and evil are at odds against each other…
A life centered for our own purpose and gain…
A life centered on pleasing others and mingling with the ways of the men…
A life of LIBERALISM…
May I ask? Is this the life our Heavenly Father wants us to have?
Our Eternal Father predestined us (Ephesians 1:5) through Christ to be His chosen Children (John 1:12), naturally like any father longing so much for His lost children since the beginning of time He prepares a perfect place for us that we may be with Him till eternity. Therefore as chosen children of God, we are expected of Him to live …not a practical life but a Christian life…a Christ-like life…
A life of LABOR (1Corinthians 15:58, 2 Corinthians 11:22), SERVICE (Ephesians 6:7) and MINISTRY (Ephesians 4:12, 2Timothy 4:5, 1Peter 4:10) for our Father…not for our own convenience or comfort.
A life guided by a strict adherence to the Scriptures (John 8:31, 14:15 & 23) as a guide for worship…not by worldly values or wisdom of men written in books and booklets.
A life of Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control (Galatians 5:22)…not a mediocre life of status quo.
A life offered and sacrificed to our Father (Romans 12:1)…not centered for our own purpose and gain.
A life centered in the fulfillment of our Father’s will, that we may please Him always (Hebrews 13:21) …not men.
A SPIRITUALLY CONSERVATIVE life of NO COMPROMISE in the interpretation of our Father’s Instructions that “ When the Bible speaks we speak but when the Bible is silent we are silent”, lest we openly and overtly expose ourselves to the dangers of satan’s snares.
This is the life our Heavenly Father wants us to have…in these hard times, an ideal life…a life worthy of salvation…a life pleasing in the presence of our Father…a life worthy of eternal life with Him.
Can we achieve this life our Heavenly Father wants us to have?
Honestly, I was hesitant in writing this article; trying to change the topic, that every time I think deeper of things to say…well OUCH! The truth really hurts, being rebuke by the Word of God more often as I try to finish this article. Being a businessman where I get to face this worldly life and constantly being expose to the snares of satan and sometimes being trap on them…well, I guess we all do…living in this sinful world…in this imperfect world…being just an imperfect human being…See! Another excuse!
But you know what?
In the history of men, there was only one man who lived the life our Heavenly Father designed for us and that was His only begotten Son; our Lord Jesus Christ…who had a perfect life…an ideal life… a life He purposely and deliberately showed for us. Now manifested through the Word of God for us to follow and be guided.
Our Heavenly Father knew that we are of sinful nature living in this sinful world. Thus, He equipped Christians with the Holy Spirit to dwell within us (Acts 2:38; 5:32). He gave us an assurance of salvation (2Thessalonians 2:13) and forgiveness for our sins (Colossians 2:12-13). He gave us ways of escapes from temptations (1Corinthians 10:13). He gave us an Armor to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11-18). He listens to all our prayers and answers them according to His wisdom. He gave us the physical and visible comfort; our human senses requires, form our congregation…our brothers and sisters in Christ. He added us to His Church (Acts 2:47)…the Body of Christ (Colossians 1:18)…the Churches of the saints (1Corinthians 14:33) where Christ is the head (Colossians 1:18); the only Perfect Man Who walked the earth, making perfect His church through the washing and cleansing of His blood that she may be made holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:23-27). And as spoken by our Lord Jesus Himself that through Him we can overcome the world thereby having peace (John 16:33) and permanent abode with Him forever (1 John 2:17).
Therefore as shown by the Word of God and through the grace of our Merciful Father, perfection can be achieved through Christ. For He has given us a path for perfection…a path to an ideal life…the only path for eternal life with Him who longs for us ever since.
We are in a spiritual warfare, we are warriors of Christ in this sinful world, we may be losing the fight against satan (1Peter 5:8), against the world (1John 2:15-17) and against ourselves (Galatians 5:19-21) but we shall never forget the battle is not yet over…for we all know that our Lord Jesus Christ shall come and bring forth the ultimate victory and end all fights.
Although; we Christians are being wounded and weakened during the battle, we must not forget…our soul is being strengthened by the Holy Spirit, our body is being cleansed by the Blood of Christ and our courage is being reinforced by the Word of God.
So we must keep on fighting! We must make our Heavenly Father become proud of us! Let us show our worth!
Let us live the life Our Heavenly Father wants us to live…In These Hard Times.
Glory to God!
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