Spiritual Growth

  There are three things that God loves: mercy, holiness, and judgment. What God loves the most is holiness, yet only He is holy, and others need God’s mercy to grow toward His holiness. That is why God loves mercy—because it is not in our essence to be perfectly holy. However, there are those evil apples who say light is dark and dark is light, truth is a lie and a lie is truth, who are completely allergic to holiness and gravitate toward evil. Here is where God’s judgment becomes a critical tool for building holiness.   After all, it is foolish to expect holiness out of an evil person by rewarding evil, and some evildoers need the judgment of God. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Yesterday, today, and forever, He loves holiness, mercy, and judgment. Just read the message to the seven assemblies of the Lord—His sword is a double-edged sword that cuts both ways. The sword that comes out of the mouth of the Lord Jesus is the Word of God. If you obey the Word of ...

    A faithful who has tasted the heavenly touch and seen the light of the Bible cannot turn back against the true faith of the Lord—unless he thinks he is smarter than the Lord, as Judas did. Once you have lived under the bright light of life with the Lord, it is impossible to settle for less. Once your spiritual eyes are opened to understand holiness, salvation, righteousness, and the work of the cross—once you have tasted the Spirit of the Lord and the unshakable peace He provides—it is impossible to return to the world or any religion. Once you have truly encountered Jesus, settling for anything less is unthinkable.   When faith was pure, religious people never understood how someone who had truly been born again, who had met Jesus in spirit, could never turn back. When you have experienced heaven, you crave it like an addict craves his drug. You become addicted to both heaven and its ways. That is why they reasoned that the early faithful must have eaten cat’s meat t...

  A good teacher uses examples that students can understand. Since our minds develop in a path-dependent manner—shaped by our experiences—we tend to grasp ideas more easily when they are framed in familiar terms rather than in abstract concepts. Moreover, a teacher’s deep understanding of a subject is often reflected in their ability to provide appropriate examples. A good teacher, therefore, uses well-chosen illustrations to convey meaning effectively.   Jesus frequently used parables and examples to teach people about the truth, while also concealing certain truths from those who were not meant to understand them. His examples were simple on the surface but contained profound wisdom that a casual observer might overlook. These parables simultaneously blinded those destined for destruction and enlightened those who were chosen. That is why Jesus spoke plainly with His disciples but used parables when addressing the crowds.   From this perspective, many assume that Jesus ...

  The temple authority in Jerusalem shifted from one competing religious-political dynasty to another until it was ultimately shaped by Herodian influence to serve the interests of the Herodian government. Lacking both religious and political legitimacy among the wider population, the Herodian dynasty relied on political maneuvering, oppression, persecution, and grand investments in the temple and other buildings to gain popular support—ultimately, in vain.   People were indeed impressed by the temple projects funded by the Herodian dynasty. Even the disciples tried to share their admiration with Jesus, pointing out the grandeur of the temple buildings. But Jesus was not impressed. Instead, he prophesied that not one stone would be left upon another—that the entire structure would be destroyed. He was telling them that in the late 60s and early 70s AD, the temple would be utterly demolished when the Jewish people revolted under the leadership of a false Messiah, Simon Bar Kokh...

  When we were in high school, we had a clear objective: to join the right university and the right department. We dressed for that, and we worked for that. Our entire lives were programmed for this goal. When we joined university, our goal was to graduate with good grades, find a good job, and earn a living. That also guided our lives on campus. This is why we had such high dedication and preparation for those goals. We dressed and prepared ourselves not for today but for tomorrow. What we did and what we chose were the results of our future hopes—our tomorrow.   Many of us are wise up to this point because we dress for tomorrow. However, the problem for many of us arises after graduation—after securing a job and earning a living—when we no longer have a clear vision. It is at this point that disarray and confusion take over, and fun for fun’s sake becomes an abomination that imprisons us. Since there is no tomorrow to work toward, we only seek fun today. But fun, without pur...

  Defeating the devil and world powers has never been an issue for God. In fact, God had to harden Pharaoh’s heart so he could resist God, allowing God’s glory to be revealed in Egypt’s downfall. Governments rise by God’s allowance, and once they have a stronghold, He orchestrates their downfall.   Nothing is impossible for God; there is no power mightier, wiser, or more competent against Him. No plan, scheme, or strategy can stand against God. Yet, God has a weakness—He loves us. He cannot destroy us because He loves us, yet He cannot embrace us if we embrace idolatry, even when we identify as faithful. Therefore, the real war of God is not against the devil but against our disobedient hearts. It is within our hearts and minds that the devil hides, leading us astray from the road of salvation.   That is why taking His people out of Egypt was as easy as taking candy from a baby, but taking Egypt out of His people was a struggle even for God. The devil works to preserve Eg...

  John the disciple of the Lord says, on one side, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not tell the truth” (1 John 1:6). He adds: “He who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). But who can keep the Lord’s commandments except the Lord Himself? Does John mean we must never sin? Yet John also warns: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).   We will never stop sinning because we will never be Jesus. Even Heaven’s angels are not perfect—holiness belongs to God alone. Yet we are called to walk in light, not darkness. Darkness lives in us and around us: our flesh, accustomed to earthly life; the devil prowling nearby; the structures of this world. The Holy Spirit is the light within us, guiding us toward truth—but not instantly transforming us into flawless saints. Instead, He changes us step by step, in ways we c...

  John, the disciple of the Lord, said, "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not tell the truth" (1 John 1:6). He further added, "He that says, I know him, and keeps not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4). The question is: who can keep the commandments of the Lord except the Lord Himself? Does John mean we should not sin? But then John also says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).   We will never stop sinning because we will never be Jesus—ever. Even the angels of heaven are not perfect; that is why the only truly holy being is God. Yet, we should live in the light, not in darkness. There is darkness within us and around us—our flesh, accustomed to the ways of this earth, is our darkness. The devil tempts us from the outside, the earthly structures surrounding us are darkness, but the Holy Spirit is the light within ...

  John the disciple of the lord said on one side “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not [tell] the truth” (1st John 1: 6) and added that “He that says, I know him and keeps not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1st John 2: 4). The question is who can keep the commandments of the lord, except lord himself? Does John mean we should not sin? But John again says “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1st John 1: 8)   We will never stop sinning because we will never be Jesus and that is ever. Even the Angels of Heaven are not perfect, and that is why the only Holy being is God. But we should live in light, not in darkness. There is darkness in us and around us. Our flesh which is accustomed to life on this earth is our darkness, the devil around us is darkness, earthly life and earthly structures are darkness around us and the Holy Spirit is the light in us.   T...