Buy a lottery ticket is one of the many attachments to money and wealth. You may want to keep up with the Joneses by driving a more expensive car than those of your neighbors and friends. So, it all boils down to only one thing--your greed to satisfy your ego-self. Money and wealth have become your treasure, and where your heart is.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)
Changing God’s mind for what He has already destined for you is your disobedience. Obedience to God is graciously accepting and embracing any adversity and calamity in life so that you may learn valuable lessons from them, thereby enhancing your spiritual wisdom to continue your pathway of trust and obedience.
“Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
(Psalm 90:12)
What is trusting in God? Trusting in God means believing in the veracity of His Word.
“so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
Letting God is letting go of your control of your destiny. God is in absolute control of anything and everything in this world.
“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.’” (Psalm 46:10)
Throughout ages, miracles have happened around the world -- a strong testament to the indisputable fact that God is always in control of anything and everything, despite humans’ resistance to letting go of their own futile efforts and endeavors to control their own destinies.
Control is basic human instinct. Humans are inherently controlling. Out of fear and insecurity, our ancestors living as early as in the Stone Age strove to survive in a dangerous environment, and thus developing their controlling fight-or-flight instinct.
So, let go of your control of anything that is disobedience to God.
An Illustration
In the famous Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15), the younger son asked his father for his fair share of his estate. The father gave him his fair share. With his fortune, the younger son traveled to a distant country, where he led a sinful life, and squandered all his fortune. His financial failure was followed by a natural disaster in the form of a famine. He learned the hard way that covetousness would not make him happy. Ultimately, he became penitent and returned to his father who welcomed him with open arms.
The father was like God, letting a sinner go his own way without stopping him, but would welcome him back if he becomes obedient and penitent, letting go of his sins and acknowledging his own disobedience.
In the real world, parents may think they can still control the finance of their children by setting up a trust fund or foundation. But they cannot control their children’s perceptions of money. So, do not try to control what is uncontrollable.
The bottom line: Letting go of your control to let God is your trust and obedience in God, who will take over the control of everything in your life.
(4) The Sin and the Evil
Lack of trust and disobedience to God may bring out the evil and the sin of man. According to Scripture, Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God began humans’ departure from God’s way to their own way of sin and brokenness.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2: 16-17)
But it must be noted that "moral evil" from freedom to choose did not come from God. Quite the contrary, the goodness of God is to make humans’ wrongs right someday.
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” (Revelation 6: 9-10)
Freedom to choose with no accountability
We are all given the freedom to choose almost anything and everything in life. But that freedom comes with accountability because God exists. Living with no accountability is not living in reality but in fancy and fantasy --and that is the source of sin and evil.
Accountability is the responsibility of an individual for the thinking and decision, as well as for the action or inaction, regardless of the circumstance. Accountability can be physical, mental, or spiritual.
A Hypothetical Illustration
You were one of the last two persons at a bar. The person sitting next to you had just left, leaving behind some cash for the bartender who, at that moment, was away with your credit card. You grabbed the tip left by the man who had just left and placed it just a little closer to you. Then, the bartender came back with your credit card, looked at the cash close to you, and said: “Thank you.”
Did you do anything wrong?
If you had not placed the tip closer to you, the bartender would still have said: “Thank you.” In that hypothetical scenario, nothing had really changed, except your own accountability.
In this world, many have developed their own “no accountability” mindset based on their own beliefs, their own justifications, and their own rationalizations. They simply have no accountability to the law and order, not to mention to God.
The Seven Deadly Sins
The Bible calls the dark side of human nature “sin.” None of us is exempt from sin. Life is always an inner struggle between what is perceived in our moral system as “right” and the dark opposing force inside to do just the opposite. To make matters worse, most of us are really quite good at self-deception. Either we deceive ourselves into thinking that the dark opposing force does not exist in ourselves, or we simply inflate our own personal virtues to overshadow the dark force within us.
The Bible says there are "Seven Deadly Sins."
1. The Deadly Sin of Pride
Pride is your feeling good about who you are and what you have done or accomplished. Pride comes from your attachments to your social status, your success in your life goals, and your wealth. They not only define who you think you are, but also separate yourself from others, making you special and unique.
But pride is the deadliest of the Seven Deadly Sins because not only it is the root of all evils but also it separates you from God due to your thirst for control and power, instead of trust and obedience to His will.
The antidote to the Sin of Pride is humility and letting go.
2. The Deadly Sin of Envy
With pride, you see yourself better than some people in some aspects but maybe not as good as others in other aspects of your life. Because of your pride, you may then become envious of them. You just want to surpass them in all aspects of your life pursuits in terms of desire, quality, and possession.
An Illustration
Paris Hilton is the great-granddaughter of the founder of the Hilton Hotels.
Being given the nickname “Star” by her mother and grandmother, and growing up in fame and prestige, Paris Hilton began her modeling career as a teenager. Due to her own insatiable craving and demand for celebrity status and the media attention, she also began her other career pursuits through her books, businesses, music, and screen appearances. For example, Paris earned the Teen Choice Award for her portrayal in the film House of Wax, and her first book, Confessions of An Heiress landed on the New York Times best-seller list. As a result of her over-indulgence in staying at the top spotlight in the tabloids, Paris continued her pursuits in music ventures and television shows, such as The World According to Paris and Hollywood Love Story.
But the Guinness World Record in 2007 named Paris Hilton “the most overrated celebrity”; and, according to the media, “the worst actress of the decade.”
In 2006, Paris Hilton was even arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, as well as for violating the terms of her probation by driving with her suspended license.
Serving her short jail sentence might have been a new beginning for Paris Hilton -- making her realize that contentment could be the way to ending her endless envy of others, who, in her mind’s eye, are always better and more successful than herself.
The antidote to the Sin of Envy is contentment and gratitude.
3. The Deadly Sin of Lust
Lust is sexual impurity. Lust is strong desire to live a rich and lascivious life. Lust is animal impulse for power and survival.
Lust for sex
You are a sexual being, and your sexuality is a part of who and what you are -- a gift from God. So, you are to use that gift to refrain yourself from doing what God forbids. God stipulates that sex is to exist only in the marriage of one man to one woman and further stipulates that the gift must exist in the ways God commands and not in the ways humans want (1 Corinthians 7:1-5).
So, it is sinful to have sex outside of marriage, as well as sinful not to have sex within marriage.
Yes, the human body has a spiritual purpose with a lifelong discipline to control its sexual desires.
But if the human mind is obsessed with the question “What if it is right, and nobody gets hurt?”, then sex, which is life-giving but with its own control and boundaries, may fuel itself into self-destructive flames.
Biblical Illustrations
King David, despite his constant efforts in seeking God’s wisdom, also demonstrated his darker side of committing the sin of lust.
One night, King David saw Bathsheba, the wife of one of his generals, bathing on the rooftop. Succumbing to his own sin of lust, King David sent for Bathsheba, and committed adultery with her. To gratify his lust, King David even purposely sent the general to the war front to have him killed so that he could marry the general’s widow.
King David eventually married Bathsheba. Although penitent for his sins, God punished King David, and their firstborn son died.
King Solomon, the second son of King David, despite his profound human wisdom, violated God’s standards of sexual purity. His decision to disobey God and marry foreign women with their different gods led to his own idolatry. As a punishment for his sins, God divided Israel, and Solomon suffered bitterness and emptiness at the end of his life.
The difference between King David and King Solomon is that King David always lived in the presence of the Lord because he always turned back to God with remorse and repentance, while King Solomon only distanced himself from God with no contrition and remorse.
So, living in the presence of the Lord may remind you of your own accountability to Him, without which you will continue to indulge in the sin of adultery.
A Contemporary Illustration
Harvey Weinstein, former Hollywood film producer, was charged with sexual abuse allegations in 2017. More than 80 women claimed that Harvey Weinstein had sexually abused them in the past decades, and thus initialing and sparkling the #MeToo social media movement. The “Weinstein effect” had finally led to his own downfall: he was arrested in 2018, and convicted in 2020, and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Because of the humans’ prevalent lust for sex, the #ChurchToo movement also began to bring to light on the sexual abuse and assault in churches and religious communities. The #ChurchToo movement is a testament to institutional betrayal, victim blaming and shaming, as well as the silencing of victims and survivors -- the deadly sins related to the Deadly Sin of Lust for sex. The accusations of abuse and cover-ups inside churches and religious institutions then began to surface and receive public attention during the late 1980s.
It is human pride that ignites the lust for sex and generates the deceit for its cover-up. The antidote to lust for sex is chastity, which is sexual purity.
To sum up, God hates sexual sin. He hates any defilement of the gift of sexuality, and He hates any dishonoring of marriage, which is the only right context for sexuality.
Lust for money
Lust for money and lust for sex are inter-related in that one often promotes the other. Many people lust for money because money can also gratify their lust for sex.
An Illustration
Barbara Woolworth Hutton, also known as “the poor little rich girl”, was one of the wealthiest women in the world during the Great Depression. She had experienced an unhappy childhood with the early loss of her mother at age five and the neglect of her father, and thus setting her the stage for a life of difficulty in forming love relationships.
Married and divorced seven times, she acquired grand foreign titles, but was maliciously treated and exploited by several of her husbands. Publicly, she was much envied for her lavish lifestyle and her exuberant wealth; privately, she was very insecure and unhappy, leading to her addiction and fornication.
She died of a heart attack at age 66. At her death, the formerly wealthy Hutton was on the verge of bankruptcy resulting from the exploitation by others around her, as well as by her own lavish and luxurious lifestyle.
Barbara was the “unhappy poor little rich girl”! She was widely reported in the media, and her story was even made into a Hollywood movie: “The Poor Little Rich Girl.”
The reality is that Barbara simply had too many attachments in her life: beauty, celebrity, fame, love, and above all, wealth-they had created the illusions of “lust for sex” and “lust for money” not only for herself but also for others around her. Wealth and fornication had made Barbara into the poor little rich girl.
The antidote to lust for money is generosity, which is sharing and giving.
Lust for power
Lust for power is an insatiable human desire for power and control due to pride and insecurity.
Lord Acton, a 19th century English historian, once said: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Indeed, power corrupts those who achieve it, or inherit it. The process of lusting for power often involves fraud, dishonesty, exploitation, manipulation, and victimization, among other sins and vices. To seek power, humans would do just about anything to get what they want, thinking that they would even get away with murder.
In the modern era, it is not uncommon for presidents to expand their presidential power and prerogatives. To illustrate, President Trump had implied that he could undermine the rule of law with self-pardon, although he insisted that he had not done anything wrong or illegal. Even Rudy Giuliani jokingly said that President Trump could not be indicted if he were to shoot former FBI Director James Comey.
The antidote to lust for power is a deflated ego to control others.
4. The Deadly Sin of Wrath
Pride makes you focus more on yourself than on others. As a result of this separateness, you often see yourself better than and more superior to others. This arrogant mindset often leads you to expect others not only to praise and compliment you, but also to defer to your desires and wishes. Not getting what you expect as your “rights” is the source of conflicts with others, resulting in wrath, hostility, and even revenge.
An Illustration
Near the end of 2016, a road rage occurred in Arkansas that ended in the tragic death of a 3-year-old child.
A woman, with her 3-year-old grandson sitting at the back of her car, stopped at a stop sign. A man in the car right behind honked her for not starting her car immediately, but the woman honked back; thus, the road rage began with the man firing a gun shot at the back of the woman’s car, with her 3-year-old grandson sitting at the back of her car.
Stopping too long at a stop sign or wanting to get to a place on time might be everything to the man. Having the right to remain where she was might also be everything to the woman, so she naturally honked back in wrath.
Unfortunately, the wrath of the man and that of the woman ended in tragedy affecting the rest of their lives.
Wrath may be present in you to serve the purpose to release some conflicts, issues, and problems deep inside you that need to be resolved. Remember, the world always reflects your actions: if you lash out in wrath, then the world lashes back at you with the same wrath. The antidote to anger is peace and forgiveness.
5. The Deadly Sin of Greed
With pride, humans may have excessive love or desire to get more of what they want to increase their pride. Greed is that intense desire to acquire and accumulate large amounts of that something, whether it is money or any material thing.
An Illustration
Bernard Madoff, former financial investor, began his infamous Ponzi scheme to lure greedy investors into believing that earlier investors would be paid much more than their later counterparts, and not from product sales. His “get rich quick” pyramid scheme earned him billions of dollars.
Madoff’s Ponzi’s scheme, a form of financial fraud, finally collapsed, and in 2009 he was sentenced to federal prison for life. It was greed that had led Madoff to committing the largest financial fraud in history.
Fraud is not only common but also prevalent in the financial world due to the presence of humans’ greed.
Recently, in 2020, Richard Burr, the Republican Senator from North Carolina, was being investigated for selling stock ahead of the market crash due to coronavirus fears. The Senator then resigned from his chairmanship of Senate Intelligence Committee after the FBI seized his cell phone for further investigation.
As Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Health Committee, Richard Burr had access to some of the government’s most highly classified information about threats to America’s security and public health concerns. He had even said: “The United States today is better prepared than ever before to face emerging public health threats, like the coronavirus.” Apparently with classified information about the coronavirus, Richard Burr sold his shares right before the market plunged.
Of course, Richard Burr defended his actions, saying that he relied solely on public information and his own financial advisor.
Greed occurs not just in the financial world, but also in everyday life and living; for example, people go to casinos or line up for hours to get their lottery tickets.
The antidote to greed is, paradoxically, generosity, which is giving-away without expecting anything in return.
6. The Deadly Sin of Gluttony
Gluttony is the sin of over-consumption and over-indulgence in anything and everything.
In ancient times, food was not so plentiful as modern times, and so over-consumption of food was considered a sin because it caused deprivation in others. Nowadays, some buffet restaurants may still have notices reminding customers to take only what they can eat. This may avoid millions of food items being fed to landfills annually.
Gluttony is not just about food; it is also about over-indulgence in material things.
An Illustration
Imelda Marcos is the former First Lady of President Ferdinand Marcos, who had been the President of the Philippines for more than two decades. In 1986, after a revolution in the country, the couple were exiled to the United States.
Imelda Marcos left behind 3,000 pairs of shoes, along with a vast collection of expensive clothes and accessories. It was widely reported in the news worldwide, and she was even called the “Marie Antoinette with shoes.”
Did Imelda get to wearing those 3,000 pairs of shoes? Probably, it would have taken more than eight years for her to do so.
Amassing illegally billions of dollars and indulging herself in living a lavish and luxurious lifestyle of excess, Imelda was subsequently convicted of a crime of corruption after she and her family were allowed to go back to the Philippines in 1991.
Greed is wanting more, and gluttony is getting more for more. So, the antidote to gluttony is moderation or temperance.
7. The Deadly Sin of Sloth
Sloth is human laziness. Sloth is your failure to do things that you are supposed to do. In the biblical sense, it is your “not doing” what you should do with God, such as saying your daily prayers and reading His Word if you are a believer.
We are all created in this world for a purpose. Given that we are all somehow inter-connected with one another, our “doing or not doing” will somehow affect others as well.
Living in reality is about only two things: “being” and “doing.”
Your “being” is about who you think you are: your self-beliefs, your life goals, and your life passions.
Your “doing” is about making decisions and taking actions to earn your living, while manifesting and validating your true “being.”
Do you have an education or the skills to make a living? If not, then do something about that? You may have the self-belief of your own incompetence or incapability to do certain things. Then, you may have two options: one, changing your pre-conceived mindset about what you can and cannot do; the other, self-acceptance, which is accepting who you really are and all the consequences of being who you are meant to be.
The first option means you must now change yourself no matter what. Life is all about changes and getting wisdom from those changes. Without changes, nothing can or will be done. The second option means you are willing to do a low-paying job, such as working at the checkout of a grocery store.
If you want to become a professional with a high-paying job, then you must learn and acquire the skills and the expertise, backed by related training, to become an expert in the profession of your choice.
To start a business, you must have your own innovative ideas that make you “think out of the box.” To turn your business into success, you must show your passion, motivation, perseverance -- they require your doing, and not just your talking about it.
Not doing what you are supposed to do is sloth. Essentially, it is neither acquiring the skills to do a high-paying job nor wanting to do a low-paying one -- end up with career of crimes and wrongdoings. Not living in reality is the origin of all deadly sins.
An Illustration
Christopher Paul Gardner is an American businessman, entrepreneur, investor, author, and philanthropist.
In the early 1980s, Gardner was very poor and homeless; he was often sleeping on the floor of a public toilet. Gardner never dreamt that he would become a multi-millionaire one day. His very inspiring life story was even made into a hit Hollywood movie, starring Will Smith: “The Pursuit of Happyness.”
Gardner was brought up with the belief that he could be anything that he wanted to be with his doing. He was homeless, but he was not hopeless. He often dreamed of wealth and success, and his dreams were not mirages. Because of his right doing, he made his dreams come true.
Initially, Gardner made his living by selling medical equipment. He did not make enough money to make both ends meet, and his poverty made him homeless for a year.
Then, one day, Gardner met a stockbroker in a red Ferrari, whom he asked for internship. Gardner’s incredible drive and sustained enthusiasm finally got him his internship.
After his internship, Gardner applied for a position in that investment firm. On the day before his interview for that position, Gardner lost his shirt and clothing. Nevertheless, he attended the interview even though he was not “appropriately dressed” for the occasion. It was Gardner’s “determined doing” that got him his job.
Gardner had a successful investment career, and he finally opened his own investment firm, Gardner Rich & Co.
More than two decades later, after the death of his wife, who challenged him to find his own true happiness and fulfillment in the remainder of his life, Gardner then made a complete career change. He became a philanthropist and a remarkable motivation speaker traveling around the world, focusing not on his own wealth, but on humanity and helping others to get their happiness through their “doing” of what needs to be done.
So, sloth is disobeying God’s instructions to work, and the antidote is obedience.
The bottom line: The Seven Deadly Sins show the vulnerability of man to committing sins. So, turn to God for forgiveness, and not condemnation, so that all evil and suffering can be overcome.
Satan
Satin, the devil, is real. In the Bible, the “flesh” is where Satan drives humans to oppose God.
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8: 5-6)
Satan is a liar who works on the human mind to create the desires in humans that always blind the eyes of unbelievers.
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)
Satan creates doubt about the Word of God in vulnerable circumstances, such as anger, frustration, and loneliness.
To fight against Satan, believe the whole Bible, and not just part of it. Remember, evil is something that God allows, but does not condone, for the sake of freedom of will that was given to humans from the beginning of creation.
Paradoxically, “physical” evils can be a manifestation of the goodness of God. In the Scripture, Jesus saw a man blind from birth, and He told his disciples that the man’s blindness had nothing to do with the sin of the man or that of his parents. Rather, his blindness “happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3) In other words, man’s sin can demonstrate the goodness of God, who is always ready to forgive.
The bottom line: Physical evils, such as sickness, famine, war, and death, are the result of moral evil. They exist because humans have sinned:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
But God Himself took the consequences of our sin, so every person can have access to His forgiveness and His salvation. As a result, all sin, evil, and suffering will someday be completely ended.
(5) The Justice and the Injustice
God is a God of fairness and justice. He rules this world in justice.
“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne: love and faithfulness go before you” (Psalms 89: 14)
In addition, God is calling for justice throughout the Bible.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
But God’s justice may not come right away, and this may make some people think that God is not just.
An Illustration
Archbishop Valerian Trifa was originally a priest of the Rumanian church. In 1950, he immigrated to the United States, claiming that he was a displaced person from a Nazi concentration camp. Soon after his arrival in the United States, he became a priest, and rose quickly to the rank of bishop and then archbishop.
But Valerian’s true identity was revealed and uncovered by a dentist, who recognized him and swore that the Archbishop was working for the Nazi during the Holocaust and that he was responsible for killing the Jews. But the Archbishop vehemently denied all those accusations, and the case went on for two decades without any conclusion or conviction due to the lack of evidence. But, with the advancement in forensic science, the Archbishop was ultimately convicted because he had accidentally left his saliva and fingerprint on one the execution cards kept by the German government.
In 1982, the Archbishop was convicted of being a Nazi supporter, responsible for killing Jews and other civilians in World War II. He was to be deported from the United States. However, no country would accept him, and he was finally deported from the United States in 1984 when Portugal gave him refuge.
It took decades to bring the Archbishop to justice.
As a believer and a priest, what was on the mind of Valerian Trifa when he signed those execution orders during World War II? Was he thinking only of his own survival?
Injustice comes from man, who misuses power or freedom to choose to do all the wrong things, resulting in harm and inequality to others.
Jesus clearly says about the final judgment and what will happen to all who commit acts of injustice.
“I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me” (Matthew 25:42-43)
So, to pursue justice: denounce greed; call for the right use of power; stand up for those who suffer; help the poor and the forsaken; and hate those who justify the wicked.
(6) The Living in Reality
The New Testament brings an end to the nation of Israel but certainly not an end to justice, especially that of the LORD.
Justice often creates “fear” in those who are righteous. But “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10); it is your fear that gives you the wisdom to live in the presence of God.
But how and with what?
Praying and prayers
Praying is not just abut asking what you want; it is about your conversation or communication with God. Praying should be done before getting up and before going to bed, and at least several times throughout the day.
Remember, prayer is God’s gift to anyone who prays for that free gift.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’ (Matthew 6)
Pray to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and forgiveness
“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.”
Also, pray to the Virgin May, the Mother of Jesus.
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”
It is important that praying is your talking to God through your heart, and not with your words; repeating a right set of words is not as important as your heart talking to Him.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)
Meditating and mindfulness
Meditate on the Words of God, and not just committing them to memory.
Find a quiet place where you can sit undisturbed. Your body must be erect; do not lean back on anything, if possible. Before you begin your meditation, recall a short message of the LORD in your mind.
Begin your meditation by focusing on your breathing. Your first thought may not come to you right away. When it does, dismiss it by refocusing on your breathing. Within a timeframe of 10 minutes or so, you may find that fewer thoughts crop up in your mind. Then, one day, you may suddenly find that you have stepped into a different world with total tranquility and clarity of mind. Even though it may last only a moment or two, the sensation is totally nondescript.
Meditation is life changing. Find time to practice it every day.
Mindfulness is purposeful attention to the present moment.
Practice mindfulness walking.
You can select the first two verses from Psalm 23: “The LORD Is My Shepherd.” Repeat each syllable in your mind with each foot. Always begin your right foot first followed by your left foot:
“The Lord is my She-pherd, I lack nothing”
R L R L R L R L R L
Mindfulness walking-instead of listening to the radio or talking on the phone-intensifies the presence of God in your daily life.
Endurance and patience
God’s Word is judgmental. Human suffering is inevitable in the form of frustration and disappointment in their daily endeavors. But, in fact, they are God’s calling to their trust and obedience. Impatience only generates doubt, anger, and disobedience. “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14}
So, your response to God’s calling is your perseverance to remain quiet with prayers to control your negative thoughts and emotions. Let the Holy Spirit take control of your life and give you the willingness to wait.
(7) The Penitence and the Forgiveness
Penitence is your state of mind feeling regretful and sorrowful over your actions or inactions. To be penitent is to feel repentant of your sins and disobedience to God’s Words. In other words, you feel you are “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). True penitence involves humility to seek God’s help and forgiveness.
Penitence is not the same as remorse. You can feel remorse about what you did wrong but without feeling penitent. That is, you may wish you had done differently but not necessarily righteously according to the Word of God. True penitence involves your “worldly sorrow” for the sin you committed.
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10)
So, do not just focus on your own “worldly sorrow”, which is self-serving in emphasizing your own sorrows and negative consequences. Instead, focus on the “Godly penitence” that is instrumental in turning you from repeating that same sin in the future.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11)
Punishing yourself cannot pay for your sin. Only the blood of Jesus can cleanse you from your sin.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)
Your humble penitence is your own admission and acknowledgment that God’s forgiveness of your sin is undeserved except through Jesus who calls you to a lifetime of penitence.
So, ask God to forgive you through Jesus, believing that Jesus died to pay for your forgiveness-and He will forever forgive your sin.
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3: 16-17)
The truth of the matter is that you become a born-again believer of Jesus only through your true penitence.
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2)
(8) The Salvation and the Redemption
“Redemption” refers to undoing the effects of sin for all mankind. The word itself means to “buy back.” Biblical redemption centers on God, who saves His chosen ones from sin, evil, trouble, bondage, and death. Redemption is an act of God's grace, by which He rescues and restores His people. “Redemption” is all-inclusive.
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)
“Salvation” is what God brings to everyone in this world according to His perfect plan and purpose. God desires that all people not only know what Jesus did on earth but also have the forgiveness Christ earned on the cross. But there are some who do not want to know the biblical truth, and others who reject the good news even after they have heard it. “Salvation” is more personal and subjective.
Jesus did pay for the sins of all, but you must believe it. Jesus even said He would go away and let the Holy Spirit take over.
“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7)
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
So, the Holy Spirit helps humans’ redemption by being present as conscience in their minds, giving human beings a sense of their guilt about any wrongdoing, and a sense of righteousness when they live according to God's laws.
The Holy Spirit gives everyone the power of the Word of God to do all the righteous things to receive his or her own salvation.
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
The Holy Spirit provides humans with sanctification to change their sinful habits as well as to understand the conviction of sin even before they sin.
8When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; (John 16:8-10)
The Holy Spirit also gives humans the courage not only to testify for them but also to be closer to them.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jesus, Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.” (Acts 4:32)
So, welcome the Holy Spirit to receive your own eternal salvation.
(9) The Awakening and the Enlightenment
Now, with the eternal salvation from the Holy Spirit, you still need to continue your belief journey.
Why? It is because the belief journey does not have a destination.
So, where would that belief journey now lead you to?
The Holy Spirit may further awaken you to what God has destined for you in this world, and to open your eyes to see above and beyond. Awakening is the pathway to enlightenment.
Enlightenment has its origin from emptiness or nothingness -- the origin of Creation.
Emptiness is also a way of human perception: looking at life experiences without adding anything to them, or without taking away anything from them. It is the thinking of the mind with no assumption and no presumption-that is, a divine mindset of acceptance and embracing with trust and obedience all the absolute truths of human existence.
Enlightenment is an endless process of knowing and understanding anything and everything that is simply there and is available to all since the beginning of time. It is like knowing that at sunrise you will see sunlight if you just open your eyes; its presence is permanent-but you just have to open your eyes to see its presence, and even the blind can just feel the presence of the sunlight. Likewise, you may feel the presence of God in everything around you, but you just have to look around you.
An Illustration of Enlightenment
Li Ching-Yuen, a Chinese herbalist, martial artist, and tactical advisor, known for his extreme longevity of well over 200 years, gave his own profound wisdom on enlightenment:
“Before I had studied Zen (Eastern philosophy) for thirty years,
I saw mountains as mountains,
and waters as waters.
When I arrived with a more intimate knowledge,
I saw that mountains are not mountains,
and waters are not waters.
But now that I have got its very substance,
I am at rest.
For it is just that I see mountains once again as mountains, and waters once again as waters.”
(Li Ching-Yuen)
Enlightenment is effortless and spontaneous.
So, if you strive to know and understand anything and everything about God, the enlightenment may not come right away. But that does not matter because you already have the spiritual wisdom to seek God.
In the beginning of your belief journey, God might have changed one aspect of your life, making you “see” that “mountains are not mountains, and waters are not waters.” In other words, you were beginning to see God’s role in your everyday life.
By now, with increasing faith, as you continue with your belief journey, God is changing every aspect of your life, and you are seeing anything and everything through the lens of the Holy Spirit; you have become “transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2) Now, anything and everything that is happening in your life has become the “new normal”; accordingly, you see “mountains once again as mountains, and waters once again as waters”-which is the enlightenment itself.
Yes, illusion and delusion may go on indefinitely, but enlightenment may take only a moment or two. It is the very moment of consciousness without being self-conscious.
Enlightenment is the realization and understanding that “nothingness” is in fact everything. God is “nothingness”-invisible, inexplicable, and unfathomable. All humans will one day become “nothingness” too by returning to dust. But returning to dust is actually the only pathway to everything; physical death is just a way station on the belief journey to eternity, and that “nothingness” ultimately becomes everything in the life to come.
In short, enlightenment is the spiritual wisdom to understand the mysteries and the paradoxes of life.
(10) The Coming and the Revelation
Both Christians and Islams believe that Jesus will return on the Judgment Day to judge believers and unbelievers, as well as the living and the dead.
“so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:28)
The Bible says no man knows when and not even the angels know the time of Jesus’ coming back.
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 24:36)
Although no one knows when Jesus will come again, the world is growing increasingly dark and evil, and is getting closer to God’s Day of Judgment.
So, you must be ready for Jesus’ Second Coming by constantly praying, listening to God’s Word, and doing what needs to be done through faith and righteousness.
“So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:44)
Jesus warned that someday this world as we know it will come to an end-not because of a war or natural disaster, but because God will intervene and bring it to an end. But when? Nobody knows. The future is in God’s hands, and He alone will bring an end to the world when He chooses to. So, a believer must believe in that.
12‘Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. (Revelation 22:12-13)
Before Jesus’ Second Coming, all humans will go through suffering and death.
Death and Suffering
In the Book of Revelation, John describes the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who have been given authority to kill with sword, famine, and plague, and by means of the beasts of the earth. Eternal death is imminent for all and sundry. After that, all will be judged according to their sins they have committed.
Whenever sin is committed, God's law will pronounce a curse that demands death on the person who has committed that sin. Humans by nature are in state of guilt, condemnation, defilement, and unbelief; so, all human efforts to save themselves are futile. The righteousness of God is the only standard of judgment for all mankind. At the Final Judgment, sinners will not be compared with other sinners. Instead, they will be compared only with the righteousness of Christ, and all who come short are sinners, and “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)
For a believer, death is no more than a rite of passage to eternal life. It is something to be joyful about and not something to be crying for.
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
A believer must believe in “born twice-die once” to be saved from the “second death.”
Suffering is inevitable-it is a testament to humans’ trust and obedience.
“If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword they will be killed.”
This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people. (Revelation 13:10)
The New Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus’ “Second Coming” will bring with Him a new heaven, a new earth with a new Jerusalem. The new heaven will be like a family of immortal beings. All who inherit eternal life in the Kingdom of God will experience the fullness of their salvation.
“Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.” (Revelation 21:7)
The saved ones will be living in a setting similar to that of Adam and Eve’s Garden of Eden. The biblical story of man began in the Garden of Eden with man’s rejection of the tree of life. Now, in the New Kingdom of Heaven, God’s immortal family is forever dwelling before His throne, while enjoying the fruits of the tree of life. It is the kind of fruit-the product of the righteous relationship with God-that will make eternal life worth living.
Yes, God is “the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:13)
The Conclusion
Belief is always a mystery. Even for many believers, much of Scripture is still wrapped in mysteries.
For example, the night before the Crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples that He would send them the Holy Spirit:
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13)
The Holy Spirit will shed light on the truth -- including all the truths behind the mysteries of the Bible.
Your belief does not promise the absolute understanding of everything given to you in the Words of God. But your belief gives you access to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus who will guide you into those vital and ultimate truths about life and living.
A SUMMARY OF THE BELIEF JOURNEY
·Begin with your intent to believe and to change yourself for the rest of your life.
·Have an empty mind with no expectation. Surrender yourself to God.
·Believe you are who you are meant to be. Give up your material desires and wants.
·With humility, let go of all your attachments to the world-you are in this world but not of this world.
·Connect yourself to others to see your own imperfections to seek God’s grace and blessings.
·Study the Bible, and believe God’s Word, which is a gift to humans.
·Live in the presence of God through prayers and meditation of His Words.
·Trust and obey God through your action of patience and perseverance.
·Confess your sin and the moral evil of your freedom to choose.
·With penitence, seek Jesus’ salvation through the Holy Spirit.
·Let God’s justice reveal your eternal life and the New Kingdom of Heaven.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
About Stephen Lau
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Contact Stephen Lau
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