Questions most of us ask

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There are many belief systems in the world, some very convincing and others not very convincing; some easy to follow and others very difficult to follow.  We hope to help people find their way to who God really is, what He asks of us and why He does what He does.

The bottom line is that mankind needs to learn the difference between good and evil and make a personal choice as to which he will follow.  The lessons of life are here to test us, to allow us to know sadness and sorrow and also know goodness and happiness.

God is blamed for many of the ills in this world when it is really the work of Satan and his fallen angels.   God 's  righteousness does not allow Him to interfere in Satan's work....to a point.  Otherwise Satan would claim the soul of mankind for himself saying that if God had not intervened, man would not have chosen good over evil with his free will.

Scripture lists many ways for us to escape, even thwart, or even endure what Satan does.  Scripture explains the "armour" of God which we can take to fight evil.  Scripture also tells us why prayers, forgiveness and understanding are important in this fight.

Again we can turn to scripture to learn the "signs" God has prepared for us so we can know when His plan will come to fruition.  Christ will return to earth at that time and take those who are found "worthy" with Him to heaven.  

The Bible tells us that in time those not found worthy to go with Christ at the First Resurrection will be "weeping" and "knashing their teeth", they will have "a wish to die" because evil will be so rampant.  There will be war, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, hatred of Christians, false accusations, and no love. Scripture also tells us that no one except God the Father knows when Christ will return. 

Most of us would reply to all that's been said above with the words...."But I go to church.....I pray....I try to be a good person......I don't steal or cheat or kill".  And that may be true.  But an excellent lesson and food for thought lies in the Parable of the Ten Virgins found in scripture.

The story tells us of ten virgins who gathered together in worship.  All of them believed.  All of them wanted to go with Christ when He returned.  All of them learned God's words.  All carried lamps.....which held the oil needed to produce light.  And all knew that light represents the wisdom of God which requires renewal in our hearts on a regular basis.

The story tells us that when these ten virgins gathered to await the return of Christ, only five had their lamps full of oil.  Five had their lamps completely filled with oil but five suddenly realized that their lamps were only half filled with oil.  Thus  these five virgins had to leave where they were to await Christ and run to their source of oil to fill their lamps.  

When the five filled their iamps with the oil and hurried back to where the others waited for Christ, they were horrified to learn that Christ had already come, took the five virgins whose lamps had been full and had closed the door behind Him.   When the five foolish virgins...those who had not filled their lamps before they came.... realized that they'd been left behind, they  cried in anguish and knocked on the door which was now locked to them.

This parable is very poignant especially when tied to the scripture which tells us that God laments over those who WILL be lost due to their lack of knowledge.  This parable compares the lack of knowledge to the lack of oil in the lamps held by the virgins.  

This is a lesson which we must learn in order to know how to fix what we may not even realize is broken.  Scripture; God's words; are what teaches us what is broken and how to fix it.  God leaves no stone un-turned in how He tries to help us gain the path to His kingdom and an eternity with Him.  God will always act within His rule of righteousness. 

Most of us love God, want to be with Him for all eternity and would be miserable if we found ourselves unworthy.  Therefore we really do have to consider exactly what we still need to know, how to learn this and what we can do to become one of the five wise rather than one of the five foolish virgins.

The first thing we need to know about sin is that ALL of us sin.  The second is that God is willing to forgive our sins IF we meet the following criteria.  First we have to acknowledge that we DO sin.  Then we have to acknowledge EACH sin in which we have engaged.  Then we must examine our heart to see if we have remorse for having committed that sin. Next is developing the hearts attitude to wish with all our heart NOT to commit that same sin again even if reality we do.  Finally, we have to be willing to forgive others.  

God knows our weaknesses.  He knows that Satan tempts us.  He also know that through inherited sin, we sometimes have a tendency to behave in a manner which is not pleasing to God.  But the beauty of what God does for us is that He sees all this and that He will forgive our hearts attitude.  God looks for our inner DESIRE not to commit those same sins again.

Satan does not want us to have remorse for what we do which scripture tells us is displeasing to God.  He wants us to enjoy our sin, bask in our sins in defiance to God.  He wants us to "excuse" our behavior.  But, if we do excuse our behavior, we WILL lose the forgiveness God offers.  God's forgiveness must be of paramount importance to us.

When Christ returns, those who will be known as the Bride of Christ to reign with Him in heaven, will wear white robes.  Theses white robes can have no blemish of sin on them.  The robes will be cleansed by the final forgiveness of sin.  One blemish, even a tiny one can mean  that we will not be allowed entry into the sin free world of God.  

Christ, a part of the triune God was personally tempted by Satan.  Matthew 4:1 tells us "....then was Jesus led....to be tempted of the Devil....and when the temptor came to Him He said...."  Thus Christ knows fully well how difficult it is for us and what the struggle is to overcome.  BUT, we are told that to the overcomer will be the Kingdom!