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Believe in Jesus Christ Who Came as Our God “So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.’ And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, ‘This Man blasphemes!’ But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins’—then He said to the paralytic, ‘Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.’ And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men. As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, ‘Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard that, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.’” Through today’s Scripture passage, I hope to share God’s blessings with all of you. The passage above describes Jesus’ healing of a paralytic. When people brought a paralytic to Jesus, He said to him, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” At that time, hearing what Jesus said, some of the scribes thought to themselves, “This Man blasphemes! He is so arrogant!” Knowing what these scribes thought, Jesus said to them, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.” There was no way that Jesus would not know the hearts of the scribes. This is why He said to them, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” What, then, is evil thought? It is to disbelieve in the power of the Lord. Not knowing who the Lord is and not believing in Him are precisely what is evil. Jesus has forgiven all our sins except the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, which is the only sin that cannot be forgiven. This sin is not believing in Jesus, and not believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that He fulfilled. Therefore it is impossible for those who commit this kind of sin to become sinless. If we were to speak of the greatest sin of all sins, it is the sin of unbelief. This sin of unbelief is a million times greater than the sins that we commit with our acts. Not believing in Him is the most evil and greatest sin of all. As four men brought a paralytic to Jesus, Jesus immediately said to him, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” At that time, there were scribes standing by Jesus. The scribes were men of considerable education and training. In today’s parlance, they were equivalent to public officials. So these scribes were the public officials of the state of Israel at that time. Hearing what Jesus said to the paralytic, they thought to themselves, “He is so arrogant! He is the most arrogant one among those I have ever seen! How dare one say, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven you’? I can’t grasp how this Man called Jesus can say such words! He is blasphemous!” They thought that Jesus uttered words that no man should utter. Since Jesus said, “Son, your sins are forgiven you,” these scribes, who did not believe Jesus to be God, could not help but think in this way. Jesus Is God to Everyone In this age and time, when we watch TV, we often come across some religious leaders making their frequent appearances and saying, “I have forgiven your sins.” Since these people, as mere human beings, are saying such words as if they were God, we can only consider them as being extremely arrogant. The scribes in today’s Scripture passage also thought like this, considering Jesus to be utterly arrogant. They didn’t say so in words, but Jesus still knew what they were thinking, and He told them that they thought evil in their hearts. He rebuked their evil thoughts by saying, “I said this so that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.” And He actually wanted everyone to realize that Jesus Christ who came as the Son of Man indeed had the power to forgive sins. We say that someone is blasphemous when this person, in his arrogance and pride, does not know his proper place and tries to exalt himself beyond God. The scribes thought that what Jesus said was arrogant blasphemy because they did not believe that He was indeed God Himself and the Son of God. But this was only a reflection of their evilness, for Jesus was in fact God. Jesus is the Lord of all things who created mankind and the universe, and He is the Lord of all hosts, of all things that are found in the domain of this entire universe. This is who Jesus actually is for us, but the scribes did not realize His standing. Jesus told them that they had evil thoughts because He knew that this was how they thought of Him. So He said, “I said what I said so that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. If I had instead said, ‘Son, rise up, pick up your bed, and go to your home,’ and if the paralytic got up, took up his bed and went to his home, perhaps you would have understood this. But this is not the case.” Our Lord explained this by contrasting two different ways that He could have said, asking the scribes, “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?” Which do you think the scribes considered easier? It would have been acceptable for them had Jesus said, “Son, be healed from your paralysis, take up your bed and walk,” rather than saying, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” But because Jesus was the Son of God, the Absolute Being, whose power was far greater than this, He said, “Your sins are forgiven you,” so that people may know that the Lord has the power to forgive the sins of mankind. It was to let them know that Jesus had this authority to forgive sins that He said this. When we profess to believe in this Jesus, we all believe that He is the Creator who made the universe and the Savior who has saved us from all our sins. But actually, there are times when we lower His standing, because for God the Father, Jesus is His Son. However, although Jesus is indeed the Son of God, He Himself is in His essence God the Almighty also. Jesus is God Himself who has the power to forgive mankind’s sins, and He is our Savior. And Jesus Christ came to this earth and actually blotted out all our sins with His baptism and His blood on the Cross. What is your understanding of who Jesus is, and how do you believe in Him in your hearts? Do you not, by any chance, believe in Jesus as the scribed had believed? When Peter believed in Jesus and made his confession of faith, he said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” How do you regard Jesus, and who do you believe He is? Do you really believe that Jesus Christ is the true God Himself? There is God the Father to Jesus Christ, but for you and me, Jesus Christ is the same God. Have You Recognized Jesus Properly? When Jesus came to this world, He was actually denounced and despised, treated as a negligible person. The Bible says, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him” (John 1:10). In other words, He who is the Creator and the Lord of all of us came to this world, but the world did not recognize this Lord and failed to receive Him as such. Who exactly did not receive Him? Everyone in this world. Have we not forgotten this truth, though we have been saved from all our sins by believing in Him through the gospel of the water and the Spirit? Have you not, by any chance, forgotten about who Jesus is, ignoring His honor and dignity, setting Him aside behind your back? There is the Father above Jesus Christ, but for us, “God the Father,” the Father of Jesus Christ, is God, and so is Jesus Christ the same God and Absolute One. Why? Because He is our Lord, and because He actually came to this earth and has saved us from all our sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Not only does He have the authority to forgive our sins, but He is also our Lord, and the Creator who actually made us all. He is in fact our Lord, God and the Savior for everyone. Have you not, by any chance, looked down on Jesus? Are we not, in other words, thinking of Jesus as somehow lower than God the Father, since He is the Son of God, in spite of the fact that Jesus is God Himself? From a human point of view, many people have a tendency to think of Jesus Christ to be one level below His Father. But Jesus is also the true God for us (1 John To His Father, Jesus Christ is indeed the Son, but for us He is God. This faith is extremely important. Jesus is God Himself who must not be ignored at all, the Almighty and Omnipotent One who must not be lowered ever so slightly. Disbelieving in the deity of Jesus is equivalent to committing the sin of blasphemy. The God who has not only become the Savior that has saved us from all our sins, but is also our actual Lord, is none other than Jesus Christ. Unless we have the faith that knows and believes in Jesus correctly, we are bound to have evil thoughts like the scribes. And we end up despising Jesus. How evil is it for us to accuse Jesus of blasphemy? How wicked is it not to believe in Him? Not believing in Him is the greatest sin of all. It is because people do not believe in Him that they are bound to hell. You and I must believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and the Son of God. We must never think of our Jesus as being inferior to God the Father. We must believe in Jesus as God Himself who has no insufficiency. Jesus Christ is God for us. He is the very God who is coequal with the Father. When Jesus Christ came to this earth, He did so by lowering Himself to an unimaginable extent. It was to save mankind from sin that Jesus Christ came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man. But, undeserving of His standing, just how little respect did He get, and just how much was He despised? How much suffering did He embrace whenever He was despised beyond measure? Do we, the born-again, not get angry inside when those who have not been born again boast of themselves, ignore us and despise us? This is because in our hearts we have faith that we are the people of God, and because we indeed belong to Jesus and will reign with Him. Because we are God’s people, we are fundamentally different from those in this world who do not believe in Jesus Christ. We are new creation, while they are old creation, and they are to perish, while we are to enjoy eternal life and reign with Jesus. This is why when we are ignored or mocked by those who are not yet born again, our pride is injured and we feel completely indignant. So when we ourselves are like this, how would Jesus, God Himself, have felt? We cannot even imagine how insulting He must have felt whenever His own, mere creatures ignored Him, God the Creator. When four men brought a paralytic before Jesus, He said to him, “Son, your sins are forgiven. Stand up and walk.” This was something that Jesus was more than qualified to say. Jesus said this to the paralytic because he truly believed that Jesus was the Son of God and the Absolute One. This paralytic really believed in his heart that Jesus was his Savior and God Himself. He believed, in other words, that Christ came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man and saved him. It is because he had approached Jesus with such a heart that our Lord, knowing the center of his heart, said to him, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” It was because the paralytic recognized who Jesus was and believed in Him that he was actually forgiven from all his sins by faith. This is why it is so important for us to realize who exactly Jesus is when we profess to believe in Him. If we do not have the proper recognition and understanding of Jesus, then all our faith is bound to fall down. It is when we know God correctly that our faith becomes whole. Unless we know Jesus Christ properly when we believe in Him, our hearts cannot stand on firm faith, even if we have been saved from our sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Those who have such faith cannot stand upright. Although they have come to know the knowledge that enables them to receive the remission of sin, they do not know how to be led, whom to obey, or how to live. And eventually, they come to abandon their faith. That’s why we have to believe in not only this gospel, but we must live the kind of life that believes in Jesus and follows Him. If we have been remitted from our sins by believing in Jesus Christ, then we have become His people who must obey His will according to His commandments. It is only proper that Jesus would give the remission of sin to and command over not only us the people of God, but everyone in this world. So what Jesus said was only proper for Him to say, and yet because people did not quite realize who Jesus was, they failed to understand the Word of truth that He spoke. Jesus Christ Himself, in other words, can forgive our sins. There is no other name by which we can be remitted from our sins. It is written in the Bible, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). In today’s Scripture passage, Jesus Himself also said, “For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Matthew 9:13). Only Jesus has such authority. Actually, what appears quite formidable in our eyes is rather simple to Him. We must believe in Him from His standpoint. Based on such faith, we call upon God first whenever we pray. By doing so, we confess that He is God, and we call on not only God the Father, but Jesus and the Holy Spirit as well. For us, God the Father is God, as is Jesus Christ God, and so is the Holy Spirit. Because the Triune God is one God, when we call on His name and believe in Him, we should not think of Jesus or the Holy Spirit as the God who is somehow inferior to God the Father. Rather, we must think of them as the same God. Since the God of Trinity is actually the same God, we must all believe so without fail. God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit differ from one another only in positions and roles, but for us, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are still all the same God. Therefore, whenever we pray, and whenever we think of Jesus and call on Him, we must believe Him as the truly omnipotent and omniscient God, the God who has the power to forgive mankind’s sins and to judge them all. In our hearts, there must be this faith that believes in Jesus Christ as God, as the Absolute One who reigns over all of us. When we have this kind of faith, we do not get lost and go astray from the righteous way, but we can live in such a way that makes our lives relevant to all the Word of Jesus Christ. Why? It is because Jesus is God, our Absolute One, that we cannot consider what He has done as useless acts, but we accept His works as the absolute Word that must be believed and followed. Therefore, we never react adversely to the fact that Jesus has forgiven our sins, and that Jesus rules over us. It is only natural for us to be ruled and led by Him, and for us, this in itself is a source of our happiness. Is this not the case for you? To this very day, the question of whether or not Jesus is God or a man is the issue that has been most frequently argued and contested by theologians, and with no conclusion in sight, there is no end to this debate. Many of them cannot even explain the doctrine of Trinity when asked about it. As a result, though they claim to believe in Jesus as their Savior, their sins still remain intact in their hearts; they say that Jesus has saved them, but they do not know the true remission of sin; and in extreme cases, the religious pluralists even say that there is salvation in other religions as well. Because they do not know the deity of Jesus and do not believe in it, they have not been saved from their sins even as they profess to adhere to Christianity. And they claim that one can find his salvation and enter the Kingdom of Heaven even through a non-Christian religion, justifying themselves by invoking the need to find peaceful harmony with other religions. This is why they are all bound to perish. What led these so-called doctors of divinity to say such things? They say these things because they do not know who Jesus really is, and they do not believe that He is God Himself. So while they recognize that He is the Savior who has the power to forgive sins, when it comes to the question of whether He is a man or God, they do not realize that He is in fact God. Their faith is like a house built on sand, and it will fall down all at once in a blink of eye. The Ruin of a Powerful Cult Founder There was a famous founder of a Christian cult that used to be quite influential all over Korea for a while. Before he established his cult, he used be an elder in the Presbyterian Church. One day, an amazing, miraculous power descended on him. Whenever he laid his hands on people in the name of Jesus, they were healed from their illnesses, and so many people began to revere and follow him. He eventually left the Presbyterian Church to establish his own denomination. Wearing white garments and standing before many, he exercised his seemingly miraculous power, and whenever he did so, his followers jumped around, clapped their hands, and shouted out in joy, all together making quite an impressive scene. His followers completely lost their reason, stuffing his treasury with their precious jewelry, from gold to silver. Just by holding a single meeting, he could gather enough precious jewelry and treasures to fill several large bags, and so he became extremely wealthy in no time, buying up huge tracts of land and houses. Although he had accumulated his great wealth by exercising such wonders and miracles in the name of Jesus, because he did not believe in Jesus as God Himself, nor in God and in the Word of God as well, when he was facing his last days, he ended up cursing and blaspheming Jesus. He then ordered his minions to remove every cross from his churches. In the end, he came to deny Jesus, and his faith crumbled down entirely. Such was the end of one who did not believe in Jesus as God. The root of our faith that believes in Jesus Christ as our Savior is the fact that “Jesus is God.” Only when we believe that Jesus Christ is God can we believe that He came to this earth incarnated in the flesh of man for us, took upon our sins by being baptized, died on the Cross, and has thereby saved us. It is by believing in this that we can receive the remission of our sins. Only when we believe in the deity of Jesus can we recognize that all the Word that Jesus spoke is true, and follow it. Unless you believe that Jesus is God, your faith is bound to crumble without fail, no matter how ardently you might believe Him to be your Savior. And in the end, when you happen to face some spiritual troubles while serving the Lord, you are bound to also abandon Jesus and God the Father. Therefore, it is extremely important for us to believe that Jesus is our Savior, the God of creation, and the Lord of judgment as well. The reason why the scribes in today’s Scripture passage failed in their faith despite believing in God is because they did not recognize who Jesus was. In contrast, the paralytic in the passage recognized Jesus as God and believed Him to be so in his heart, and because of this He was told by Jesus, “Son, your sins are forgiven you”—he thus received the blessing of the remission of his sins, was completely healed from his illness, and could now return to his home with a sound body. The scribes, on the other hand, were rebuked, because they did not realize who Jesus was and did not believe in Him. They were not only rebuked, but they also failed to receive the remission of their sins, and they remained bound to the eternal pit of fire. The Lord Came to Call Such Weak Ones as Ourselves Jesus said, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” This is why the Bible also calls Jesus Christ as the Son of Man, who was born unto this earth through the body of a virgin named Mary, seemingly as a son of a man. Because God became a son of a human being, and because the Almighty God came as a son of a man to save us, He is also called as the Son of Man. Jesus, the true God, came to save all humanity as the Son of Man, but while one man, the paralytic, recognized Him, another kind of people failed to recognize Him. Here lies the crossroad that leads everyone either to salvation or to non-salvation. Therefore, having faith in the deity of Jesus is as indispensably important as for us to have faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. To believe that Jesus is God is the basic foundation of faith, and it is this faith that will sustain our spiritual lives until the very last days. Theologians and countless people have debated over the issue of whether Jesus is human or divine, and this debate is still not over. But with faith, we can resolve this issue once for all. Jesus is God. He is the Almighty God. Just as God the Father is the Almighty God, as is also the Holy Spirit, so is Jesus Christ. Jesus Is Our God the Savior and the Son of God Genesis 1:2 says, “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” The “Spirit of God” here refers to the Holy Spirit. That the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters means that the Holy Spirit was hovering over this atmosphere. God then created everything one by one with His Word. In Genesis 1 to 2, which gives the account of God’s creation of the heavens and the earth, it is not just God who is mentioned, but His Son and the Holy Spirit are also mentioned. When God made man, He said, “Let Us make man in Our image.” So from this expression “Our,” we can see clearly that God is triune. When God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning, He said, “Let there be light.” This passage also speaks about Jesus Christ. The passage, “The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters,” refers to the Holy Spirit. So God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all one God. All the three Persons of the Triune God are the same Almighty God. We must not forget that we have been saved by believing in all these three Persons of the Triune God. My dear fellow Christians, do you believe that Jesus is God the Almighty and Absolute, and that He is the Savior? Everyone must believe this truth, for it is extremely important. So we must reaffirm this faith in our hearts over and over again. We must place this truth in our hearts and reaffirm it. No matter how ardently we believe in Jesus as our Savior, if we do not believe in His Person as the Absolute God, then our faith is bound to collapse. This kind of faith that is bound to collapse and melt away is without boldness, and it makes us unable to realize our status as the children of God and His workers. As such, it becomes impossible for us to have any pride. People who are in this kind of faith adhere to Christianity merely as one of the religions of the world, and regard Jesus as merely the founder of their religion. As a result, they end up thinking, “So I must have believed in just one of the many religions of the world,” and perish away. It is my hope and prayer that your faith is not this kind of spineless faith. When I understood the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, I came to realize that the doctrinal faith, no matter how long one might have studied, is all in vain, and is nothing more than leaven. There are various kinds of theology that are no different from the secular knowledge of this world, which must be dumped into garbage cans. Such useless scholarship that has neither the answers nor the truth, but only generates controversies day after day, amounts to no more than leaven. In particularly, let me warn you that the born-again and those who want to be born again must avoid it. Our Lord Jesus says, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6). Why? Because once someone eats this kind of leavened bread, it is hard to be born again, and if the born-again eats such leavened bread, they are bound to die. I am so thankful for this life of faith that I now have, where I have encountered the gospel of the water and the Spirit and am led by Jesus Christ my God. We must realize and believe that Jesus is absolutely God Himself for you and me. Jesus is the Absolute One. Jesus Christ is the Absolute God. He is the true God who has the same authority, power, strength, and sovereignty as God the Father. Jesus once said to Phillip, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Until now, no one has seen God the Father, but he who has seen Jesus has already seen the Father. This is because Jesus is God Himself. And Jesus also says that He has the power on earth to forgive sins. We must have faith in the Word of God. It is my wholehearted desire that you and I would all hold this faith in our hearts. While I would really like us to have this kind of faith, in this world, there are many people who are like the scribes. We need to be well aware of this fact. When we preach the gospel, for those who do not believe that Jesus is God, no matter how much we telling them about the gospel of the water and the Spirit, it is all in vain. This is because when such people hear the Word without believing deep in their hearts that Jesus is God, what they hear only turns into a mere doctrine. If you and I do not want to become such people, there must be faith in our hearts, believing that Jesus who has saved us is fundamentally God Himself. The Word of Truth can work in our lives only when we have faith in Jesus as the God of creation who made the whole universe and everything in it, faith in Him as the Savior, and faith in Him as the God of judgment. Jesus is alive even now, and He reigns over us as the Absolute God. Having become our Shepherd, He leads us to good places, and He also rules over everyone alike—the wicked and the good, and the believers and the unbelievers. We must believe that none other than Jesus Christ is this God. We must know that this very Jesus Christ whom we believe in and hold onto as our God is running the universe. Who Do You Think Jesus Is? Who do you think Jesus Christ is? Do you think He is God, or do you think He is a sage among humans? Do you think of Jesus as God, and do you believe in Him as God? Jesus cannot be compared to mere creations, for He, with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, is the One who created the heavens and the earth and everything in the universe from the beginning. Who made and runs this galaxy? Who established order in the universe and runs this entire universe with the utmost precision? It is Jesus Christ. The name Jesus means the Savior, and the name Christ means the anointed King. This means, in other words, that Jesus is God Himself. Jesus Christ our God is now running this universe and everything in it. Both Heaven and hell are also under the domain of Jesus Christ. The reason why I continue to emphasize that our hearts must have this faith is because faith springs forth from hearing the Word, just as the Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Your faith that is based upon God’s Word will give you the strength to overcome any persecution or tribulation to come. This is why you must continue to hear the Word and fortify your faith, believing that Jesus Christ is the Absolute God, and that you have been born again through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. By this concrete faith, you can actually receive God’s help in your everyday life. And you can be bold, and your prayers can be answered whenever you pray to God by placing your faith in Jesus as the Absolute God. Such knowledge and faith is what strengthens the power of your prayers. Christianity has spread widely throughout the whole world, but in reality, not even its foundation has been laid out solidly. This foundation was built during the Early Church period, but it crumbled down in no time. Regardless of how long the history of Christianity might be, because its foundation was lost, its history had to be rewritten. Take a look at the famous professors and doctors of theology in this world. Even as they are criticized and denounced explicitly, they cannot say a word in return, and when they are asked to criticize fallacious doctrines or arguments, they are unable do raise any critique at all. All that they try to do is to pick a hole with something else that their eyes can see, but because they know nothing about the Truth, they cannot provide any serious critique. When those who claim to believe in the Word of God do not even understand it, nor believe in it properly, isn’t it only obvious that they have no spiritual discernment? When I first published small pamphlets containing the gospel of the water and the Spirit, some pastors and theologians tried to denounce me, since some aspects of what I wrote seemed to be different from what they believed. But when they compared what I said to the Word of the Scriptures, they could not find anything to criticize, and so they put off the debate for a while. Several years have passed since then, but they are yet to say a single word against me to this day. Open the Bible. Written in the Bible is the gospel of the baptism that Jesus received and of His Cross. It speaks of water, which is the baptism that Jesus received from John. We can find the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit everywhere in the Scriptures. However, because they fundamentally have no fear of God, they don’t care about the Word of God, and they even try to attack the Truth with their worldly knowledge, which God said is no more than excrements. It is because Jesus is God that He came to this earth, was baptized, shed His blood to death, and rose from the dead again, all to save us personally. Yet despite this, people who know nothing are propounding and arguing for fallacious doctrines that distort the truth and are completely baseless. Those who believe in God must fear Him, return to His Word, believe in Jesus who is God Himself, and truly believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit fulfilled by Jesus. Christ is the Prophet, the Son of God, and the heavenly High Priest. This Jesus who came to this earth is the King of kings who bore all our sins and blotted them all out. The King of all is Christ, and the Son of the living God is Jesus. When Peter confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” he meant that Jesus is the Absolute God. He is the Son of God and the true God, who created the universe and all things in it, and who has saved us perfectly as well. While He is God Himself, because He has a Father, He is the Son of God the Father. Our Lord is the Christ, the Son of the living God. It was after Peter made this confession of faith that he was approved by Jesus. As Peter’s faith was approved, with Jesus saying to him, “Your faith is correct,” he was so overwhelmed that he stood against the righteous way of Jesus with his carnal thought. When Jesus said, “I must be crucified to death,” Peter was so emotionally overwhelmed that without even realizing the reason why Jesus would die, he blindly objected to His death, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” Jesus then said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan!” Jesus did not tolerate that anyone, even Peter, would spoil God’s plan overwhelmed by his carnal emotions. That’s why He rebuked him harshly. There are times when we also behave like Peter. At times, even as we have worked really hard for the Lord, God’s servants might rebuke us that what we did was not right. It is when we are overwhelmed by our carnal emotions, and when we are overzealous in our desire to serve God, that we often make the mistakes that Peter made. There are many times when we make mistakes from our failure to discern what is spiritual from what is carnal. In other words, we often fail to discern what is spiritually beneficial to us. For example, in dealing with those who are insufficient, we need to show our patience when patience is needed. But we have to reproach them when spiritual mistakes are made, and they need to be rebuked. What we must realize here is that if we mistakenly think being kind to each other only in the flesh is the same as the true love, and if we behave like this, then this will lead us to our destruction. At any rate, we must realize that Jesus is God, believe in His baptism and bloodshed, and live our lived led by God. And sinners really must realize that they absolutely need Jesus, and they must look for Him. The salvation that Jesus Christ, the Absolute One and God Himself, has brought to us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, is absolutely needed by all sinners. It is because all sinners need the gospel of water and the Spirit that the righteous who already believe in this gospel must preach it to these sinners. As it is written, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick,” we have to deliver the true gospel even more to those who really know their sinfulness and therefore are suffering from their sins. Actually, everyone in this world needs Jesus, but there are those who do not realize this need. As a result, they will end up becoming unbelievers in Jesus. We must believe that Jesus is the Absolute God, that He has blotted out all the sins of the world through His baptism and His bloodshed on the Cross, and we must thank Him for all these things. However, there are many people who do not believe so. Because they do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they will all be destroyed in the midst of their sins. In order for us to receive the remission of our sins and to have concrete faith in God, we have to believe in Jesus as the Absolute God. This is what is truly crucial. You and I must never forget but always believe in the fact that it is because we have been remitted from our sins and truly accepted Jesus as our God that we have been delivered from our destruction. Indeed, we had been sick from the illnesses of sin, but by encountering Jesus Christ the Son of God, we have been healed from all our spiritual diseases. This was such an important and precious event. As someone who could not avoid but be cast into the everlasting fire, we had been destined to be destroyed; yet God had so much compassion for us that He revealed Himself to us, among all people, and has bestowed His grace of salvation on us. This is how we have been saved. Our Lord said, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Who needs the Lord? He is needed by sinners like us who know the diseases of sin and want to be healed. Because He is our Savior and the Absolute God, we who had been spiritually sick needed Him desperately. Were it not for this God, the Absolute One, we could have never avoided but face our destruction. This is why Jesus, God Himself, had to become our own Shepherd. So it is because this God has actually delivered you and me from our sins that we have become who we are now—that is, we are God’s own people. We were such beings that could be saved only if Jesus saved us. Jesus had to embrace us with His almighty power. There is a future for us only if He takes responsibility for our afterlife. He is the Being who is absolutely needed by all of Those who think that they have no need for Him may not believe in Him, but you and I believe in Him and follow Him, for we need Him desperately. We need God for every moment and every second. I know only too well that because I am so insufficient and weak, I have no choice but to believe in Him and rely on Him, and I do indeed need Him desperately. What about you then? Do you also need Him desperately? Or do you not need Him that desperately? Everyone must in fact need Jesus desperately, and must believe in Him absolutely. We must pray by faith and live by faith. Since we have become God’s children by faith, there is even more reason for us to live by absolute faith. As such, we have become immensely blessed ones in this world. I am so thankful for this. Receiving the remission of sin may not seem to amount to much, but what is hidden in it is truly amazing. My dear fellow believers, reading this sermon may not seem like such a big deal, but it is in fact an amazing blessing, and while for us to serve the Lord may not appear as something that important, it is in fact the greatest thing in this world, the likes of which are not found in this world. Does the fact that we have been remitted from all our sins seem unimportant to you? If so, it is time for you to wake up. We, who have received the remission of our sins, are truly great people. We are the extraordinary men and women who have received our amazing salvation, who have become God’s own children, and who believe in this majestic God. It is my sincerest hope and prayer that you would all keep this faith to the end, and serve the gospel in union with God’s Church until the day you meet the Lord. Together, let us all believe faithfully, let us serve our God diligently, and let us then meet our Lord in joy. I give all my thanks to God. I admonish each and every one of you to believe that Jesus is the Absolute God.
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KRISTOV MIR ''Mir vam ostavljam, mir vam svoj dajem. Dajem vam ga, ali ne kao što svijet daje. Neka se ne uznemiruje vaše srce'' ( Evanđelje po Ivanu, 14:27) Kada god se vratim sa putovanja i mog boravka u Kanadi, puna sam svjedočanstava o Kristovoj ljubavi i milosti, ali i sve mlačnijem, pa čak i hladnijem odnosu ljudi prema Bogu. Okupirani poslom, ljudi sve manje mole. U želji za uzbuđenjima, vikendom odlaze na po stotine kilometara udaljena mjesta očekujući doživljaje i susrete koji ih najčešće razočaraju. Obitelji se provode razdvojeno, a mladež (po ugledu na starije) sve beznadnije želi ostvariti svoje želje odmah i sad. Razumljivo da se u takvom ozračju nema ''vremena'' za molitvu, razmišljanje o Bogu ili odlazak u Zajednicu ili crkvu. Počela sam pričati o negativnostima, a zapravo sam htjela posvjedočiti o mom susretu sa Gail (Gejl), sitnoj ženi srednjih godina i majci trojice odraslih sinova. Naš susret je bio iznenadan jer nisam znala da se itko nalazi u susjednim kućama, čiji su vlasnici trebali doći tek u vrijeme vikenda. Tog dana sam bila prilično tužna, jer sam saznala da je moj sin dobio veći posao, da će morati raditi i u nedjelju i da me neće voziti u crkvu na službu. Pješačenje je bila preporuka liječnika zbog povišenog šećera u krvi; dakle krenula sam 3 km dugim putem kroz šumu. Hodajući sam razmišljala o svojoj Zajednici u Zagrebu i privilegiji onih koji će u nedjelju moći prisustvovati Gospodnjoj večeri. Iznenada iz pokrajnjeg puta izišla je Gail. Znala sam po prilici tko ona može biti, ali mi je ona radosno pristupila i rekla da zna da sam ja Srećkova mama. Pridružila mi se i tako smo zajedno koračale. Razmišljala sam kako da započnem razgovor sa stranom ženom, a i engleski jezik me je malo suzdržavao da se raspričam. Ipak, vrlo brzo smo našle teme koje su nas zanimale i ja nisam mogla izdržati da ne započnem govoriti o vjeri. Gail je kratko vrijeme slušala, a onda mi je sa smiješkom rekla da je nanovo rođeno dijete Božje i da su svi u njenoj obitelji obraćeni. Bila sam radosna što sam na tom pustom putu susrela kršćanku i u zanosu sam joj pričala o mojoj Zajednici i mom vjerskom životu. Gail mi je onda sa mnogo tuge u glasu pričala o mnogim nevoljama koje je imala u zadnje vrijeme, kako je molila i vapila Gospodu, ali odgovora nije bilo. Rekla je da je izgubila volju i moliti kad ionako nije bila uslišana. Znala je da to nije ispravan stav, ali kao da više nije imala snage boriti se i postajala je sve slabijom. Naravno da sam je tješila riječima iz Biblije i rekla da nas Bog kušnjama izgrađuje i kako je divno kada pobijedimo, jer Bog daje da se sve stvari okreću na dobro onima koji Boga ljube. Gail je to sve znala i odobravala što sam joj govorila, ali ipak je rekla da se osjeća tako slabom da ne može uzaludno moliti. Pomislila sam kako mi u našim molitvama samo pričamo i pričamo, a ne damo mjesta da On nešto kaže i da nas na svoj način utješi. I onda sam joj rekla nešto, što ni sama nisam vjerovala svojim ušima da sam rekla: ''Gail, onda nemoj moliti! Samo šuti i miruj, On sve zna.'' Pogledala me je začuđeno. Rekla sam joj da ode na mjesto gdje će biti sama. Neka zatvori oči i zamisli da je Isus uz nju (a On je obećao da će uvijek biti s nama.), neka u mislima stavi svoju glavu na Njegove grudi i neka samo miruje. Sve ostalo će učiniti Isus. Isus će joj dati mir i snagu. Dat će joj radost spasenja i njen će se pogled na stvari ovog svijeta izmijeniti. Širom otvorenih očiju me je gledala i poljubila na rastanku. Kada smo se opet srele rekla mi je: ''Sam Bog vas je poslao da me ohrabrite i utješite!'' ’’I mir Kristov neka upravlja srcima vašim - mir na koji ste pozvani u jednom tijelu! I zahvalni budite!’' (Poslanica Kološanima., 3:15) VELIČINA SVETOG PISMA Poznati velikan vjere, Spurgeon je rekao : ''Nikada, niti itko ne nad raste Sveto Pismo. Ta se Knjiga širi i produbljuje s našim godinama.'' Sveto se Pismo čita, ali nikada ne pročita. Ma koliko ga puta pročitali, pri novom čitanju stječemo dojam da nam govori u sasvim drugom svjetlu i to u onom koje nam je baš u ovom trenutku potrebno. Božja riječ se nikada ne mijenja. U Evanđelju po Mateju, 24:35, sam Isus je rekao: ''Nebo i zemlja će proći, ali riječi moje neće proći.'' Riječ Božja se ne mijenja. Ona je uvijek ista, ali mi se mijenjamo i stanje, u kojem se nalazimo se mijenja. Savjet, vodstvo, utjehu ili blagoslov primamo iz tog, Bogom nadahnutog Pisma, upravo onda kada nam je potrebno. To nam je još jedan znak da je Bog, autor Pisma, živ. On vidi našu potrebu i odgovara na način koji možemo razumjeti. ''Imao bih vam još mnogo reći, ali sada ne možete nositi.'' To je Isus rekao u Evanđelju apostola Ivana 16:12. Opetovano čitajući Sveto Pismo, naš se um sve više otvara te postajemo sposobni uočiti ono što nam je možda još u prošlom čitanju bilo doslovce ''zastrto koprenom''. Ma kako se to nevjerojatnim činilo, ta sveta knjiga ne samo da je živa po svojim porukama, ona se preobražava otkrivajući sve više i dublje spoznaje, koje su nam baš u danom trenutku potrebne, za daljnji hod u Duhu. Za one koji ne žele razmišljati i udubiti se u Božju riječ, Biblija ili Sveto Pismo, mogu se činiti zastarjelom i dosadnom knjigom. Za one pak koji joj pristupaju moleći se s vjerom, da im Duh Sveti pomogne razumjeti, ona je neiscrpni rudnik blaga, mudrosti i otkrivenja. Što dublje prodiremo u njene dubine, sve više nas oduševljava i privlači. Kroz nju nam se otkriva sva dubina Božje ljubavi za svakog čovjeka. U njoj možemo pročitati što nam Bog želi dati, ali isto tako i detaljne upute što trebamo učiniti da bismo to primili. Upute za život kakav Gospodin želi da živimo, kratke su, jasne i primjerima potkrijepljene. Zaista, samo je Bogu moguće biti tako temeljit, sveobuhvatan, a uz to svakom razumljiv! To je zanimljiva knjiga koju uz ispravan pristup možemo s napetošću čitati od korica do korica, a da nam ne dosadi. Ona može zadovoljiti našu znatiželju za znanjem od postanka svijeta i prvog čovjeka na zemlji, do kraja svijeta kojeg i kakvog mi poznajemo. Uvodi nas u novo, tisućljetno, Kristovo kraljevstvo na zemlji. Na kraju, ona nas ne ostavlja bez nade, već otvara vidik u novu, obećanu i još neviđenu vječnost. SLIJEDITI ISUSOV PRIMJER ''I neka Gospodin upravlja vaša srca prema Božjoj ljubavi i Kristovoj postojanosti'' Solunjanima , 3:5. Mnogi od onih koji uopće mole, završivši običnom hvalom za proteklo vrijeme i molbom za slijedeći dan, spokojno i zadovoljno tonu u san. U uvjerenju da su izvršili svoju kršćansku dužnost, pretpostavljaju da vide zadovoljstvo u Božjim očima. Ipak, Božji pogled kreće od kuće Božje. On se najprije zaustavlja na onima po položaju i dužnostima najvišima: na župnicima svećenicima, pastirima, pastorima i propovjednicima, ali i svima nama. Mislim da Njegov pogled prije svega ne gleda na duljinu njihova klečanja niti napamet naučenu molitvu, već željno traži one koji su bili spremni ljudima govoriti o Njegovoj milosti i ljubavi,,, koji su puni sažaljenja pristupili ljudima u nevolji, pružili starcu ruku, stali puni utjehe uz bolesnički krevet ili unijeli mir u razorene brakove. Vjerujem da gleda i procjenjuje ljude po djelima koja ukazuju na primjer koji je sam Isus Krist ostavio na zemlji prije no što se vratio u slavu svog, ali i našeg, Oca nebeskog. Nigdje u Svetom Pismu ne piše da će nas ljudi po molitvi poznati, ali zato piše da će nas poznati po ljubavi. U Evanđelju po Ivanu, 13:34+35, Isus je rekao: ''Novu vam zapovijed dajem: ljubite jedni druge; kao što sam ja ljubio vas, ljubite i vi jedni druge. Po toj ljubavi će svi znati da ste moji učenici.'' Ne želim nikoga dovesti u zabludu da molitva nije potrebna. Naprotiv! Molitva je i te kako važna u našem kršćanskom i vjerničkom životu. Iz iskustva znadem da sam mnogu utjehu i snagu dobila upravo u molitvi. U tihim trenutcima molitve osjećala sam blizinu Svevišnjega i postajala puna sigurnosti, nježnosti i ljubavi poput malog djeteta u naručju svog Oca. Bezuvjetno je potrebno moliti, ali prije svega imati na umu da se ne moli samo na koljenima, već i rukama koje pomažu, kao i srcem koje tješi i ljubi, otkrivajući Božju milost. Upotrijebimo srce za ljubav, a ruke za rad. Zapravo svaki ud je u mogućnosti da sluzi Gospodinu na svoj način. Ne dopustimo da i jedan zahiri. PO VOLJI BOŽJOJ Apostol Pavao piše poslanicu Efežanima i u 1:1+2, piše: "Pavao, apostol Isusa Krista po volji Božjoj, svetima koji su u Efezu i vjernima u Kristu Isusu. Milost vam i mir od Boga Oca našega i Gospodina Isusa Krista!" Koliko smo puta pročitali uvod u poslanicu apostola Pavla Efežanima, i prešli preko napisanog kao uvod u nešto što je zaista važno? Tražili smo ono što će tek reći, a preskočili smo ono što je rekao, ne shvaćajući da nam je u ta dva stiha već rekao ono što je za nas važno da znamo. Kao prvo, ma da piše svetima u Efezu, on kaže: "...vjernima u Kristu Isusu." On ne piše svetom Antunu ili svetoj Ani, ne, On piše svetima u Kristu Isusu. Uopće nije bitno jesu li ti sveti u Efezu ili ma gdje drugdje. Bitno je da su sveti u Kristu Isusu. Sada već možemo shvatiti da on misli na svu nanovo rođenu djecu Božju, čiji se život temelji na riječi Božjoj. Kada smo to shvatili, vidimo da se to odnosi i na nas koji smo vjerni u Kristu Isusu. Obratimo pažnju da kaže: ".....po volji Božjoj..." Apostol Pavao izjavljuje da je to što jeste, po volji Božjoj. On to ne bi bio, da ga sam Bog nije postavio na to mjesto. Postavivši ga na mjesto apostola, dao mu je autoritet, znanje i priliku da uspješno izvršava ono što je volja Božja. Njegov udio je bio u tome što se je spremno odazvao i živio onako, kako je propovijedao, provodeći Božju riječ u djelo tako da ga je Gospodin mogao upotrijebiti. On se nije neprekidno optuživao zbog grijeha učinjenih u proteklom životu, cvilio i puzao kao nemoćan crv, već je sa zahvalnošću i vjerom prihvatio oproštenje kroz Isusa Krista. Opran svetom Kristovom krvlju, odlučno se je odazvao Božjem pozivu i Bogom mu danim autoritetom, širio Radosnu vijest i učio narod životu posvećenja. Svojim primjerom je svjedočio da je moguća preobrazba grešnika u sveto, Božje oruđe. Takav rad i djelovanje u vjeri u Isusa Krista, Bog je blagoslovio. Apostol Pavao je bio čovjek kao i mi. Sve što je bio, bio je voljom Božjom Vidimo li sada da smo i mi pozvani Božjom voljom? Sam Gospodin nas je svojom voljom odvojio od svijeta i grijeha u njemu. O našoj spremnosti da se odazovemo Njegovom pozivu ovisi naše daljnje posvećenje i naš rad. Kada smo oprani Kristovom krvlju, živimo na temelju Božje riječi, vjerni u Kristu Isusu, spremno se odazovimo Njegovom pozivu. Ponizno prihvatimo snagu, znanje i autoritet od onoga koji nas je pozvao i poslao da radimo u Njegovo ime. Tada ni uspjeh ni blagoslov neće izostati. Nikada ne zaboravimo da sve što činimo, činimo u ime Isusovo. Njemu pripada sva zahvalnost i slava. Prihvatimo kao veliku Božju milost što nas je učinio dostojnima da budemo alat u Njegovim rukama. I DANAS SE ZBIVAJU ČUDA KAO I PRIJE ''Mnogo može žarka molitva pravednikova.'' ( Jakovljeva poslanica, 5:16) Da, i danas se događaju čuda -no neki ne vjeruju! Postoje mnogi svjedoci čudesnih iscjeljenja, zaštite i pomoći, kada su sva ljudska znanja zakazala, a ipak, neki kažu da je to slučaj ili čak igra prirode. NEMA SLUČAJA! Razmislimo, tko je stvorio prirodu i odredio joj zakone i tko ih onda može promijeniti, pa makar i za jedan jedini puta, za jednog jedinog čovjeka? Bog! Iskušajte ga! On će sam sebe posvjedočiti! ALI, KAKO DOPRIJETI DO BOGA? Primjerom možemo uočiti što valja poduzeti. U nekim poslovnim prostorijama smješteni su telefoni, koji su zbog zloporabe zaključani., no postoji ključ kojim ih možete otključati i slobodno telefonirati. MOLITVA JE KLJUČ NEBESKOG TELEFONA! Ipak, da biste mogli telefonirati, morate znati broj, onoga do koga želite doprijeti. Ispustite li samo jedan broj, dobiti ćete krivi spoj. Zapravo, ima samo jedna molitva koju Bog uvijek čuje,a to je molitva pokajanja. Kada ga molite za oproštaj, On vam ga daje i pomaže da više ne griješite. DJELOTVORNA MOLITVA Pokušajmo opet primjerom pokazati uvjete za djelotvornu molitvu. Predočimo si opet telefonski broj od jedan do nule, pri čemu nula nije bezvrijedna već svemu daje deset puta veći značaj. PRVO: VJERA Vjera nas uči da je jedan Bog, a da su tri Božanske osobe: Bog Otac, Bog Sin i Bog Duh Sveti; da je Isus naš Spasitelj, koji je, da bi otkupio naše grijehe, umro na križu, treći dan uskrsnuo od mrtvih, potom uzašao na nebesa, gdje sjedi zdesna Bogu Ocu. Dakle, Isus je živ! Osim toga Biblija kaže: “Bez vjere nemoguće mu je ugoditi, jer onaj koji želi pristupiti Bogu mora vjerovati da Bog postoji i da nagrađuje one koji ga traže. (Hebrejima 11:6) DRUGO: PRIZNANJE GRIJEHA “Ako tvrdimo da grijeha nemamo, sami sebe varamo, i u nama nema istine. Ako priznajemo svoje grijehe, vjeran je On i pravedan: oprostit će nam grijehe i očistiti od svake nepravednosti,” 1.Ivanova 1:8+9) TREĆE: OPRAŠTANJE Bog je nama oprostio grijehe zbog kojih bismo morali ispaštati čitavu vječnost. Oprostimo i mi onima koji su nas povrijedili i nanijeli nam zlo. Kada nam se to čini nemogućim, zamolimo Isusa da nam u tome pomogne. Ne moramo ići s njima pod ruku, no ne smijemo ih mrziti, ako želimo moliti '' OČ ENAŠ'': ”..:.oprosti nam duge naše kako i mi opraštamo dužnicima našim!'' ČETVRTO: MOLITI ŽARKO Mlaku molitvu jedva sami osjetite Kada je potreba velika, molite iz sveg srca. Jakovljeva poslanica 5:16 kaže:… ''.Mnogo može molitva pravednika ako je žarka.'' Mi nismo pravednici sami po sebi, već zato jer nas je Isus opravdao! PETO: MOLITI SA POVJERENJEM Kada molimo, imajmo povjerenje u Boga, da će On učiniti što je najbolje za nas. On vidi unaprijed a nekada nam naša želja za danas, može štetiti u budućnosti. Dio stiha u Lukinom Evanđelju 11:11 kaže: ”A tko bi od vas, koji je otac, ako bi ga sin zamolio kruha, pružio mu kamen? Dakle, ako mi svojoj djeci dajemo dobro, zar neće Bog nama dati bolje? ŠESTO: MOLITI PO BOŽJOJ VOLJI Bog nikada neće uslišati molitvu koju molimo na štetu drugih. Trebamo prihvatit da bude, ne naša, već Božja volja. ''Molite, ali ne dobivate, jer se molite s grešnom nakanom: da to potrošite u svojim požudama'' Jakovljeva poslanica, 4:3) SEDMO: MOLITI ZA ODREĐENU STVAR Nemojmo moliti naučene molitve koje su možda drugi napisali za svoje potrebe. Mi molimo OCA našeg ono što nama treba. OSMO: ZAHVALJIVATI Zahvalimo Bogu za sve što nam je do sada učinio ali i za sve što će još učiniti. Sve što imamo dar nam je od Boga. DEVETO: MOLITI USTRAJNO Ako nas odmah ne usliša, molimo ustrajno. Bogu nećemo dodijati! Božja milost je beskrajna! DESETO: MOLITI U IME ISUSOVO Jedino je Isus uskrsnuo te nas živ zastupa kod Oca Nebeskog. Samo On ima tu mogućnost i pravo, jer je za nas umro na križu! Hvala mu za to! “Spasenja nema ni po jednom drugom jer je to jedino ime dano ljudima po kojem nam se treba spasiti.(Djela 4:12) Razmislimo sasvim ozbiljno i odlučimo živjeti po Božjoj riječi, pa ćemo vidjeti da se čuda i danas događaju. MARAN ATHA! MARAN ATHA!(aramejski = ''O, dođi, Gospodine!'' ) Mnogi vjernici oslanjajući se na Isusovo obećanje, čekaju Njegov dolazak po svoju Crkvu da je sačuva od ''velike nevolje''. Dok se to bude događalo na zemlji, Njegova Crkva, koja je i Njegova Zaručnica, će prisustvovati Janjetovoj svadbi. Mnogi prorokuju kraj svijeta, ali njega još zadugo neće biti. Najprije dolazi uzdignuće Crkve, onda Velika nevolja, pa Tisućgodišnje kraljevstvo nebesko; tek onda kraj nama poznatog svijeta i nastanak novog neba i nove zemlje. Čitajući ili slušajući vijesti, čini nam se da spikeri ili reporteri, nabrajaju u Bibliji navedena zla koja će u posljednje vrijeme ( prije tisućljetne Kristove vladavine), zadesiti zemlju. Iz dana u dan množe se nevolje, nesreće i katastrofe po učestalosti kao i po intenzitetu. Kada to slušamo, a mnogi to i doživljavaju, zastane nam dah. Pomislimo: možda će sada doći? Možda je upravo ovo trenutak Njegovog dolaska po svoju Crkvu? Možda je upravo sada početak ''Velike nevolje'', koja će se sručiti na ovu zemlju? Toliko pitanja, toliko tih ''možda'', a ipak nitko ništa ne zna! Pojavljivali su se i još se pojavljuju takozvani proroci, najavljujući ovaj ili onaj datum, no nijedno takvo proroštvo nije se ispunilo, jer je bilo lažno. Nitko od ljudi ne zna, ali ima Jedan koji to zna, a to je naš Otac nebeski. On zna! Opet možemo pomisliti, da kada On sve znade, zašto onda šuti? Oni koji čitaju Sveto pismo, znaju da On itekako govori. Otvorite svoju Bibliju i pročitajte peto poglavlje Poslanice Solunjanima, posebno od 1-3, pa ćete vidjeti da On ne šuti ili, pročitajte što Evanđelist Marko kaže u 13:32, a to isto kaže i Evanđelist Matej u 24:36: ''Što se tiče onog dana i časa, o tome nitko ništa ne zna; ni anđeli nebeski, ni Sin, već jedino Otac.'' U Lukinom Evanđelju jasno piše u 21. poglavlju od 34 –36, a naročito nas upozorava u 36. stihu: ''Bdijte i molite svaki čas, da biste mogli umaći svemu onomu što se ima dogoditi i održati se pred Sinom čovječjim.'' O tome piše i u Djelima apostolskim 2:20, ali i na mnogim drugim mjestima izravno ili neizravno. Za one koji sumnjaju i možda misle da se to već tako dugo propovijeda, a ništa se ne događa, preporučam da neizostavno pročitaju u 2. Petrovoj poslanici 3:8 + 9, gdje će im sam apostol Petar objasniti ono što im je nepoznato. ''Jedno vam, ljubljeni, ne smije biti nepoznato: da je u očima Gospodnjim jedan dan kao tisuću godina, a tisuću godina kao jedan dan. Ne odustaje Gospodin od izvršenja obećanja, kako to neki misle, nego vas strpljivo podnosi jer neće da se itko izgubi, nego da svi pristupe obraćenju.'' Evo nam jasnog objašnjenja! Taj isti Bog, koji je svog jedinorođenog Sina žrtvovao, da nitko, tko u Njega vjeruje, ne pogine, već da ima Život vječni, još uvijek milosrdno čeka i daje priliku da se mnogi spase. Oni koji se ogluše na Njegov poziv, sami su sebe osudili, jer nisu vjerovali. Bog se daje naći onima koji ga traže, no i sama želja da ga se nađe, djelo je Duha Svetoga. Nije slučajno što upravo sada čitate ovaj članak, jer vas njegov sadržaj može ohrabriti i učvrstiti nadu da čistim i svetim životom, ustrajno i strpljivo čekate na dolazak našeg ljubljenog Gospodina, Isusa Krista. Onima koji još nisu predali svoj život Isusu i prihvatili ga za svog osobnog Spasitelja, ovo je još jedna prilika da razmisle, ali neka dugo ne razmišljaju, jer ono što je danas mogućnost, sutra već može biti prekasno. Oklijevanjem se može izgubiti Život vječni, a to je prevelika cijena koju plaćamo za život, koji i onako nema vrijednosti bez Isusa Krista. Čega se odričemo, kada slijedimo Isusa Krista? Odričemo se tame, a dobivamo svjetlost; odričemo se tuge, a dobivamo radost; odričemo se beznađa, a dobivamo neumrlu nadu; odričemo se mržnje, a ispunjava nas ljubav; odričemo se grijeha, a dobivamo oproštenje; odričemo se propasti a primamo spasenje. Tko može, nakon što razmisli, odbiti Božju milost? Svi mi imamo dovoljno razloga za duboku zahvalnost našem ljubljenom Emanuelu, koji je zaista s nama. Svi imamo mogućnost da napravimo bilancu i zbrojimo sve učinjeno, ali i propušteno u svom životu, da donesemo nove i neopozive odluke za daljnji život. Ovo je vrijeme u kome moramo širom otvoriti svoje 'oči' nad propustima i izgubljenim vremenom. Jednom uzaludno izgubljeno vrijeme se nikada više ne može nadoknaditi, a priznajmo da vremena ima sve manje. Događaji u svijetu potvrđuju biblijska proročanstva. ''Ta i sami dobro znate da Dan Gospodnji dolazi baš kao kradljivac u noći. Dok još budu govorili: "Mir i sigurnost", zadesit će ih iznenadna propast kao trudovi trudnicu i neće umaći.'' Kada trudnica treba roditi, trudovi iz minute u minutu postaju sve jači i češći. Zar se to ne događa i danas u svijetu? Sve su veće i češće katastrofe, potresi, poplave, bune i ratovi. Tko može ignorirati događaje i ne svrstati ih u 'posljednje vrijeme'? Oni koji čekaju dolazak Gospodina Isusa Krista po svoju nevjestu, znaju da je vrijeme blizu. Njima je jedina, stvarna briga, da ostanu čisti i neporočni do Njegovog dolaska. Ostale mu brige i potrebe, s vjerom predaju znajući da: ''Bog moj ispunit će svaku vašu potrebu po bogatstvu svome, veličanstveno, u Kristu Isusu. Bogu pak, Ocu našemu, slava u vijeke vjekova! Sve nas, koji smo već predali svoje živote Isusu Kristu, želim ohrabriti u nadi da će naš Gospod uskoro doći po svoju Crkvu, da bismo zauvijek bili s Njim! Oni koji to još nisu, neka ne oklijevaju, jer: ''...Sad je pravo vrijeme, sad je dan spasenja!'' (2. Korinčanima, 6:2) Maran atha! O, dođi Isuse! BIBLIJA – ŽIVA KNJIGA Ploveći čamcem sredinom rijeke Severn (u Kanadi- Ontario), puna oduševljenja promatram njezine obale i šume koje se prostiru do samih stijena i kamena koji okružuju rijeku. Ogromne stijene i kamene gromade na suncu se prelijevaju i cakle u svim duginim bojama. Tlo uokolo je sam kamen na kome je polegao tanki zemljani pokrivač. Malo dalje je sloj zemlje na kamenu nešto deblji, pa može rasti i gusta šuma, ali to drveće ne dosiže neku znatnu visinu ni obujam, pa se zato ne koristi u većoj mjeri u privredi niti za izvoz. Šuma je gusta i prorasla niskim raslinjem skrivajući svoju divljinu. Upravo je uočljivo kako se pojedino drveće bori za svoj opstanak, probijajući svoju krošnju kroz lišće i granje drugog drveća. Krošnje nekih stabala nadvisuju krošnje drugih, pa vrh šume nikada nije ravan. Ono drveće, čije se korijenje kroz sloj zemlje uspjelo probiti u pukotine stijenja i tako učvrstiti, zadržalo se je, ojačalo i nad raslo ono koje se je zadovoljilo samo tankim slojem zemlje. Ploveći tako, ugledam drvo, skoro vodoravno savijeno nad rijekom. Vidi se ogoljelo korijenje koje se čvrsto upilo u pukotine stijene. Jedva mogu i vidjeti nešto zemlje, ali korijenje je čvrsto i uporno se drži i ne da iščupati. Nevrijeme ga bije, snijeg i led pritišću k zemlji, odnosno prema vodi. Grane mu pucaju, a neke se i polome, ali ono raste i zahvaljujući stijeni koju je čvrsto obuhvatilo, ono se održalo. Gledajući, misli mi odlutaju pa zamišljam kako je to drvo slično čovjeku. U životu prolazi kroz bure i oluje, leđa mu se povijaju, ali ako je svoje korijenje, a to je vjera, čvrsto ukopao u Stijenu (Isusa), može se održati. Bure i oluje dolaze i prolaze. One ostavljaju neizbrisive tragove, ali se vračaju sunčani dani. Ma da pognutih leđa i s mnogom ranom u srcu, vjernik postaje svjestan milosti koju je doživio. U najtežim trenucima nije bio sam. Bila je to snaga vjere kojom se je čvrsto pripio uz Isusa, koji je naša Stijena, a ta Stijena nije dopustila da ga nemoć shrva. Milost našeg Gospodina, snaga je naša i utjeha. Ploveći tako niz rijeku, mnogim slikama u prirodi, misli mi se vraćaju na Bibliju. Od slike do slike, od događaja do događaja, kao da listam Bibliju, kao da čitam stihove. Kako je dobro znati što u Bibliji piše i kako je divno prepoznati u prirodi i životu, tamo opisane pojedinosti . Uvijek sam vjerovala da je Biblija živa knjiga, a Bogu sam zahvalna što mogu prepoznati da nije živa samo u riječima već i u stvarnom životu. SVATKO NA SVOJU STRANU U mnogim obiteljima nedjeljno jutro ne donosi radost zajedništva u davanju hvale i primanju Božjeg blagoslova. Razdvaja ih upravo ono, što bi ih trebalo zbližiti: tradicija ili religija. Žena odijeva svečano ruho i odlazi u crkvu kojoj tradicionalno pripada, dok suprug ostaje sa novinama u ruci kod kuće, ili odlazi u neku drugu crkvu, kojoj on pripada, po tradiciji svojih predaka. Djecu, koja još nisu odrasla da bi mogla ići na svoju stranu, a koja je obično ulica, kafić ili disco, pokušavaju odvući na svoju stranu, pa prevladava često puta ona strana koja je na bilo koji način jača: fizički ili verbalno. Djeca pak ''umiru'' od dosade i zamrze obje strane. Tako se događa da ih razdvaja, ono što bi im trebalo donijeti blagoslove i voditi ih u jedan složan, miran život, pun ljubavi, a to je vjera. Pokušamo li razmisliti, vidjet ćemo da se i ne radi o vjeri, već samo o religiji. To su samo odlasci u zgrade, koje se zovu crkve, zbog održavanja tradicije, a sama se vjera ograničava na nekoliko povijesnih činjenica. U crkvi gledaju oko sebe, ponavljaju ono što drugi rade, (oni koji često odlaze u crkvu), dignu se, kleknu, sjednu. Čitanje Evanđelja jedva čuju, a još manje razumiju i jedva dočekaju: amen, što znači da je kraj. Na ovaj način ispunili su svoju tradicionalnu dužnost. Žive dalje, tvrdeći da su vjernici i jedno drugom pričaju da je u njihovoj crkvi bilo ljepše, jer njihova crkva je ili veća i raskošnija, ili su odore svećenika bogatije, a slike i kipovi sjaje zlatom i td. Isus, Sin Božji, ostao je skromno visjeti na križu, u ledenoj, kamenoj ili mramornoj crkvenoj zgradi. I nije tako tužno što je ostao, jer bi se onaj Isus koji je uskrsnuo, zgrozio nad tim što se ljudi klanjaju pred beživotnim likom na križu, kojeg još niti nakon dvije tisuće godina nisu skinuli s križa, ma da je opće poznato da je uskrsnuo, i kojeg nose obješena kao nakit o svom vratu, a zapravo kao ruglo Njegovoj presvetoj smrti na križu. Već samo to je dovoljno da posvjedoči totalno nepoznavanje Božje, svete riječi. Kada bi poznavali sadržaj knjige koja se zove Sveto pismo ili Biblija, skinuli bi Isusa s križa i sa svojeg vrata i pozvali ga da uđe u njihov život. Pozvali bi ga da živ uđe u njihova srca i živjeli bi uz Njegovu pomoć, po Božjoj riječi. I jedna i druga, i svaka religija koja se naziva kršćanskom poziva se na Bibliju, ali se teorija i praksa bitno razlikuju. Čitajući i upoznavajući Božju riječ, a kroz nju i Božju volju, vidjeli bismo da se mnogi tradicionalni običaji protive Božjoj volji, te da je za njih odredio strogu kaznu. Kada bismo znali što je Božja volja, koliko velika je Njegova ljubav za nas i da je dao svog ljubljenog, jedinorođenog Sina da umre na križu, za naše spasenje, hitro bismo našu religiju zamijenili za vjeru. Zamijenili bismo je za iskrenu vjeru koja nije samo na usnama, već u našem srcu, ali i umu, tako da je možemo živjeti; za živu vjeru, jer je i Isus živi Bog! Kada to sve znamo, moramo uvidjeti da sama religija ne znači ništa. Jedino što vrijedi je vjera u Isusa Krista, jer samo po Njemu možemo doći Bogu Ocu i samo po Njemu primiti oproštenje naših grijeha. Isus Krist sam gradi svoju crkvu i Pismo kaže, da je vrata paklena neće nadvladati. To je Kristova crkva koja se sastoji od vjernika, a ne od zidina i svi smo pozvani da se ugradimo u nju. U želji da služimo živom Bogu, a ne kipovima, slikama i tradiciji, može cijela obitelj, ma kojoj religiji tradicionalno njezini preci pripadali, ići u jednu crkvu, gdje se čita i propovijeda čista i cjelovita Božja riječ. Gdje se hvali i slavi jedan, Biblijski Bog; Bog koji je sve stvorio i koji svime upravlja. Bog koji je Otac Isusa Krista i Bog koji svoje slave nikome ne da, a najmanje rukom načinjenim kipovima i sličicama, koji niti sami ustati ne mogu kada padnu, a kamoli pomoći i uslišati neku molitvu. Mnogi se ne mogu odlijepiti od svoje tradicije koju odmah povezuju svojom narodnošću. Kako je to velika zabluda i laž! Kako često se čuje: ''Ako su moji preci i djed i otac tako vjerovali, znači da je bilo dobro i ja neću prekinuti tu tradiciju '' Tvrdeći tako i ne pomišljamo da se ne oslanjamo s pravom na vjernost naših predaka, jer da su oni bili bez razmišljanja vezani za svoju tradiciju, mi bismo još i danas bili pogani. Još i danas bi palili vatre na uzvišicama, žrtvovali svoju djecu poganskim bogovima, čarali, vračali i bacali uroke na naše bližnje i svakog tko nije naš istomišljenik. Kada je našim precima donesena Božja riječ, oni su je s vjerom prihvatili i odrekli se poganstva, ne oslanjajući se na tradiciju. Mora da su naši daleki preci bili mnogo samostalniji i čvršći u donošenju svojih odluka i nisu strepili od onoga što će netko drugi o njima misliti i reći. To je bila Božja riječ, a tek s vremenom su je ljudi iskrivili dodajući joj svoja mišljenja, svoje odluke i pravila. Mi, ljudi dvadeset i prvog vijeka, morali bismo se vratiti daleko unazad, sve do vremena u kojem je živio i djelovao Isus Krist, Sin Božji. On nam je pokazao kako živjeti. On nam je pokazao kako ljubiti i pomagati bližnjemu. On nam je pokazao tko je naš bližnji. Napokon, svojom smrću na križu, On nas je otkupio i oprostio grijehe svima koji pokajnički dođu k Njemu. Isus nije došao za jednog čovjeka ili za jedan narod. On je došao za sve ljude: crne i žute, crvene i bijele; za sve koji ga žele prihvatiti. Zato dopustimo našem umu da shvati da je samo jedan Bog, a k Njemu je moguće doći samo vjerom u Isusa Krista. Dakle, samo je jedna vjera! Samo je jedna crkva, a ta su crkva oni koji vjeruju u Božju riječ i žive po njoj. Ne građevina, već ljudi vjere, u čijim srcima živi Isus Krist! Pribavite si Bibliju, učite, saznajte što je Božja volja. U nedjelju idite u onu crkvu koja propovijeda cjelovitu Božju riječ i ne dijeli ljude na religije, već ih spaja u vjeri. Idite tamo na Službu Božju gdje ćete moći slaviti Boga sa istomišljenicima koji ne dijele ljude po boji, rasi, narodnosti ili imovnom stanju, a želja im je samo da se proslavi ime Isusovo i dobije sila Duha Svetog za daljnji život. Bog želi da smo jedno, i to jedno u Kristu Isusu! Ako to želimo, Duh Sveti će nam pomoći u tome. Bog se uvijek odaziva onima koji ga traže iskrenog i skrušenog srca. On nije tradicija od nekog vremena, već prije svakog vremena i trajat će u svu vječnost, a tu ćemo vječnost mi dijelit s Njim, jer nam je obećao Život vječni. Onom tko je donio odluku da učini prvi korak, Bog će pomoći pri svakom drugom koraku. Zamoli Isusa da ti oprosti sve dosadašnje grijehe i da ti pomogne da ne griješiš više. On će to učiniti i vodit će te dalje u jedan novi i blagoslovljeni život DRAGOCJENI BISER ISUS JE REKAO: ''KRALJEVSTVO JE NEBESKO KAO KAD TRGOVAC TRAGA ZA LIJEPIM BISERJEM: PRONAĐE JEDAN DRAGOCJENI BISER, ODE, RASPRODA SVE ŠTO IMA I KUPI GA.'' ( Evanđelje po Mateju 13:45+46 ) Razmišljam na što nas je Isus ovim riječima htio upozoriti? U svojim mislima uspoređujem trgovca s čovjekom koji uporno traži vrijednost koja će dodati veći i snažniji smisao njegovom životu. U ovom slučaju, čovjek ni ne zna što je zapravo pravi smisao njegovog života. Taj čovjek zna da njegovo traganje nije prazna tlapnja i da je na tragu pravog odgovora, ali koji ne može dobiti, jer ne zna postaviti pravo pitanje. On traži, pa čak i kada odustaje od traganja, duboko u sebi zna da postoji nešto veće i mnogo više od onoga što on može dokučiti. Čovjek opipava tminu sluteći da će zasjati divna svjetlost kada se samo približi ili dotakne onog koji skriva sve odgovore. Ljudi ni ne slute da im onaj koji ih zove, uopće ne skriva, već na sve moguće načine pokazuje i usporedbama nastoji objasniti tajnu koja zapravo i nije tajna, ali je neprepoznatljiva onima koji lutaju u tami, do onog trenutka kada im božje svjetlo bljesne u tami. U tom trenutku sve se mijenja. Umjesto tame – svjetlo, umjesto nemira – mir, umjesto izgubljenosti – utočište. Još ni sada čovjek ne razumije novo nastalu stvarnost. On osjeća samo želju da se još više približi tom svjetlu. Ta svjetlost pruža toplinu, opraštanje i sigurnost. Ona nije više imaginarna. Ona postaje stvarnost, a njeno čudesno ime je Isus. Što mu se čovjek više približava, to jačom postaje želja da ide dalje, sve bliže i više. On želi da se više nikada ne odvoji od toliko žuđenog utočišta. Svaka čestica njegovog bića teži za tim da se s Isusom sve više sjedini i da trajno osigura to stanje duhovnog blaženstva, jer u tom stanju po prvi puta nema grižnju savjesti, jer mu je Isus oprostio sve grijehe, donio mir i sigurnost. On zna, jer vjeruje, da može s povjerenjem Isusu predati sav svoj teret koji ga tišti, sve svoje boli i bolesti. Ma što se dogodilo, takav čovjek osjeća istinitost riječi iz Svetog pisma: ''Mi smo narod dobitka.'' Iz svake nevolje s Isusom izlazimo kao pobjednici. Život uz Isusa je za čovjeka najveće blago! Sada se mogu sasvim jasno razumjeti Isusove riječi kada kaže: ''....ode da proda sve što ima i kupi ga.'' U tom stanju se više ne pitamo: ''Čega se još trebam odreći? Što više ne smijem?'' Sada se pitamo, što bi smo mogli još učiniti da bi smo osigurali Isusovu prisutnost? Što bi smo mogli promijeniti u svom životu, kako bi nam On bio bliže? Tada ništa ne činimo, jer moramo, već iz čiste ljubavi gledamo u Isusa koji nam je postao Gospodar i radosno se podvrgavamo Njegovoj volji. Čudno zvuči kada Isus kaže 'trgovac', jer na mnogo mjesta u Svetom pismu piše: ''...badava ste dobili...'' Da, bez novca, ali kada usporedimo s trgovinom, onda i te kako jasno vidimo da je ono što Isus od nas traži, nije novac, već ljubav, a ta ljubav u potpunosti uključuje potpunu predaju našeg cijelog bića i savršen život po Njegovoj riječi. Tek tada možemo razumjeti kada kaže: ''..dragocjeni biser..'', jer taj dragocjeni biser je sam Isus Krist! ''....ode da proda SVE što ima i kupi ga.'' Isus je naše spasenje otkupio svojim životom, plativši najveću cijenu smrću na križu Golgote. Bog nam je darovao vjeru, a ona nam omogućava izvršavati ono što je cijena koju Isus Krist, koji je naš najsjajniji biser, traži od nas. U Evanđelju po Mateju, 13:1+2 piše: ''Onog dana iziđe Isus iz kuće i sjede kraj mora. I slegnu se k njemu silan narod.......'' On nije otišao u kraljevski dvorac i govorio okrunjenim glavama, niti bogatašku palaču i govorio imućnicima, niti u veleučilištima učenim glavama. On je govorio svemu puku: bogatima kao i siromašnima: učenjacima, carinicima i ribarima. On bi i danas govorio na trgovima pozivajući sve i svakoga tko bi htio slušati. Sve koji bi bili spremni prodati sve u zamjenu za najvrednije blago: jedinstveni, sjajni biser! On danas ne govori na trgovima, ali zato Sveto pismo piše na svim jezicima i svim ljudima, da ne brinemo tjeskobno, jer kada smo s Isusom imamo Kraljevstvo božje, sada i u vječnosti. U Evanđelju po Mateju, 6:31-34, Isus pokazuje da zna sve strahove ljudi, ali i dobrotu Očevu koji brine za svoju djecu; zato kaže: "Nemojte dakle zabrinuto govoriti: 'Što ćemo jesti?' ili: 'Što ćemo piti?' ili: 'U što ćemo se obući?' Ta sve to pogani ištu. Zna Otac vaš nebeski da vam je sve to potrebno. Tražite stoga najprije Kraljevstvo i pravednost njegovu, a sve će vam se ostalo dodati. Ne budite dakle zabrinuti za sutra. Sutra će se samo brinuti za se. Dosta je svakom danu zla njegova." Za čovjeka je najveća vrijednost zadobiti Kraljevstvo božje, jer ono je vječno, a dobiti ga možemo jedino kroz Isusa Krista. Između svih dragocjenosti, On je naše najveće blago. On je dragocjeni biser zbog kojega se je vrijedno svega odreći, jer Njegovim dobitkom mi dobivamo, ne samo život vječni, koji počinje nakon obraćenja, već i prema Božjem obećanju i sve ostalo što nam je potrebno. Mnogi misle da imaju vremena misliti na vječni život kada dođe starost i nastavljaju se sami boriti za goli opstanak ili bogatstvo i obilje koje mogu imati na ovom svijetu, a nisu niti svjesni da ne mogu pobijediti kada su sami u toj borbi. Nekog malog dječaka su na ulici napali i ugrozili mnogo veći dječaci. Dječak nije zapao u bespomoćnu paniku. On se sjetio svog mnogo starijeg brata i zaprijetio: ''Odlazite, ili ću pozvati svog brata!'' Napadači su se sa strahom pogledali i bezglavo odjurili. Vidjeli su da dječak nije sam i da ima moćnu zaštitu. Zar ćemo mi odustati od zaštite našeg najstarijeg brata, Isusa Krista? Isus je Sin Božji, Kralj, naš Spasitelj, ali je djeci božjoj i ljubljeni brat. Isus je naš dragocjeni biser. Ne nosimo ga u džepu, niti spremamo u trezoru već ga nosimo u svom srcu. Ne trebamo rasprodati imanje, jer ga ne možemo platiti, niti kupiti novcem. Isus je naše spasenje, a ono je dar od Boga. Ono što trebamo učiniti je samo odreći se zla i grijeha i slijediti Njegovu riječ. DOĐITE K MENI! Evanđelje po Mateju, 11:28 ''Dođite k meni svi koji ste umorni i opterećeni i ja ću vas okrijepiti!'' Ove tako jednostavne riječi, a ipak od bezvremene vrijednosti, izgovorio je Isus, prije oko 2015 godina. Taj poziv je uputio svim ljudima, ali ne samo onog vremena, već svima koji će doći dok god traje vrijeme milosti. Nitko ne zna kada će se ispuniti broj spašenih i zatvoriti ''Vrata milosti'', kroz koja smo pozvani da uđemo. Većina ljudi u kršćanskim zemljama je čula ovaj stih koji je apostol Matej zapisao, ali su ga čuli ne shvaćajući njegovo značenje niti kome je upućen. Oni jednostavno nisu razumjeli, ma da su ga čuli na svom materinjem jeziku. Kako bismo inače mogli razumjeti njihovu hladnokrvnost kojom odbijaju da se odazovu? Nemojte mi reći da nikada niste bili umorni od nevolja i nedaća tokom svog života; da niste mislili da ne znate i ne možete dalje, jer su problemi izgledali nerješivi? Isto tako mi nemojte reći, ma koliko mislili da ste moralna osoba, da niste opteretili svoju savjest mišlju ili djelom koje nikako ne biste željeli da drugi saznaju, i znali da su uvreda Bogu i Njegovi zapovijedima. Barem sebi samima priznajte da niste bez grijeha, a prema tome da je taj poziv i vama upućen. On nije upućen samo velikim grešnicima niti onima koji misle da su mali grešnici ili da uopće nisu grešnici, jer takovih niti nema. Poziv je upućen svima i kada razmotrimo sve događaje našega života, ne možemo zatvoriti oči i reći: ''To nije za mene! Ja to ne trebam!'' Isusove riječi svjedoče o silnoj Božjoj ljubavi za svakog čovjeka. U Svetom pismu piše da Bog ljubi čovjeka, ali mrzi grijeh. U tom kontekstu možemo shvatiti biblijski stih koji je apostol Ivan napisao u 3. poglavlju, u 16. stihu: ''Jer, Bog je toliko ljubio svijet da je dao svoga Sina jedinca da ne umre nitko tko u njega vjeruje, nego da ima vječni život.'' Zbog te božanske ljubavi Isus je bio spreman žrtvovati svoj život, da bi čovjeku donio oproštenje grijeha i spasenje, a time i vječni život. I sama sam iskusila olakšanje i neopisivu radost spasenja, kada sam se odazvala tom pozivu, žaleći zbog svakog djela kojim sam uvrijedila Gospodina i donijela odluku da ću živjeti novim životom u kojem će moj Spasitelj biti na prvom mjestu. U stihovima 29++30, koji slijede odmah poslije Isusovog poziva, Isus kaže: ''Uzmite moj jaram na sebe i učite od mene, jer ja sam krotka i ponizna srca i naći ćete pokoj svojim dušama. Jer, jaram koji vam dajem lak je i teret koji je od mene lagan je za nositi.« Uvjerila sam se da su to istinske riječi, jer Isus nas ne opterećuje i ne traži da se odreknemo bilo čega što je za nas dobro i korisno; naprotiv, od nas traži samo da odbacimo ono što je štetno za naše tijelo, duh i dušu. Zato je Njegov jaram lak i donosi veliku radost. Isusova prisutnost u našem životu čini nas boljim i plemenitijim ljudima. Ona nam daje mudrost i snagu da nadvladamo teškoće na tjelesno i duhovnom polju. Veliki broj ljudi može posvjedočiti božanska iscijeljena. Svaki iskreni vjernik može potvrditi da je u Isusu naša nada, i utjeha, naša snaga, radost i zdravlje. Da nam je Isus sve u svemu. Kako onda objasniti da se netko ogluši na Njegov poziv? Ja sam se odazvala, a nadam se da je i vama Isus jednako potreban i da već sada u mislima kažete: ''Isuse, evo me!'' Ima i onih koji sumnjaju u istinitost Svetog pisma. Jasno je da uvijek postoje ljudi koji sumnjaju u sve i svašta, ali ako smo sigurni da imamo bar malo zdravog razuma, razmislimo o onome što potvrđuje istinitost, kao i o ome što opovrgava istinitost Svetog pisma. Opovrgava je jedino naša nevjera, a potvrđuju bezbrojne stvari. Razmislimo, koja knjiga na cijelom svijetu ne gubi svoju vrijednost? Koja knjiga ne samo da ne pada u zaborav, već se kroz sva stoljeća sve više objavljuje, prevodi, tumači, uči i po njenom nauku nastoji živjeti? Ako znadete za takvu knjigu recite, jer bih je i ja voljela upoznati. Znadem da postoje mnogi stari spisi za koje većina ljudi i ne zna, a živjeti po njihovom nauku bi bilo besmisleno, jer ne bi donijelo nikakvu korist. Naprotiv, Sveto pismo je danas aktualno jednako kao i u doba kada je napisano. Ono ima odgovor i upućuje na pomoć za svaki problem. Sveto pismo je kao ''recept'' za život. Ono je kao ''vrata'' kroz koja se dolazi do odgovora na sva pitanja. Ključ koji nam je potreban da bismo otključali ta vrata, zove se VJERA. Vjerom ulazimo i saznajemo da je ime tih vrata ISUS. On je vrata kroz koja ulazimo u vječni život. Mnogi misle da vječni život nastupa tek poslije smrti. To je samo dio istine. Onog trena kada povjerujemo i prihvatimo Isusa za našeg Spasitelja, kada odlučimo živjeti po Božjoj riječi i započnemo novi život, tada smo i krenuli u vječni život. Poslije tjelesne smrti, mi samo nastavljamo živjeti život koji smo počeli već na ovom svijetu. Zar se može išta usporediti s ovom nadom? Ima li veće radosti od radosti spasenja? Kada sve to znadete, imate li hrabrosti okrenuti leđa Isusovom pozivu? Možda ste toliko tvrdoglavi i odbijate razmisliti, ali onda to činite na vlastitu odgovornost. Isus daje, On ne uzima! Isus nudi spasenje, a za uzvrat prima naše grijehe, nevolje i bolesti. Zar to nije vrijedna zamjena? Kada shvatim toliku Božju ljubav, kako da je ne uzvratim? A vi? Imate li ključ da prođete kroz ''Vrata?'', jer Isus još uvijek zove: ''Dođite k meni!'' Sam Isus kaže:u Evanđelju po Ivanu, 10:9 ''Ja sam vrata. Kroza me tko uđe, spasit će se:...........''