The Blood is Alive!

I was very curious about the research into the lost Ark of Covenant, after writing my post about “The Golden Calf & the 10 Commandments,” so started to search more about it on Google.

Many articles showed that the Ark of Covenant has actually already been found in 1982, by Ron Wyatt, the Biblical archeologist. Amazingly, he claims to have found it hidden in a cave, right under the Cross where Jesus Christ was crucified!

What find most remarkable is that Ron Wyatt’s said he found a sample of dried human BLOOD, on the Ark of Covenant!

Ron took it back for a test, and it turned out to be the blood of a male. BUT, there were only 24 chromosome in the white blood cells! (we normal humans have 46 chromosomes : 24 from our mother, and 24 from our father) Jesus only had 24 chromosomes from his mother! And He had a Y chromosome, which had to come from another source which was NOT HUMAN!

Of course, we Bible believers have no doubt at all that it came from God, the Father! The Bible already said that Jesus was born through virgin birth, NOT through a sexual relationship between a male & female.

If Ron’s discovery is true, that means every thing the Bible says is TRUE!

The Lord said that His blood will be shed to pay for human sins. His blood would fall on the Mercy Seat.The Ark of Covenant represents the Mercy Seat (the 10 Commandments are in it!) It is the same commandments that we humans have failed to obey since the beginning. Blood dripping onto the Ark is really His blood paying the price for our sins!

The Bible says that the Roman soldiers pierced the side of Jesus' body when He was on the Cross, and His blood flowed down. After Jesus died, the was a terrible earthquake and the rocks split. They had no idea that the rock beneath would crack and His blood would flow down - directly to the Ark of Covenant, and fulfill what was WRITTEN thousands of years ago!

As I watched the video clip of Ron Wyatt, I literally had goosebumps as I heard him speak! (you can watch it at: http://anchorstone.com/content/view/135/55/ )

Ron said, the man who was testing the blood sample asked him, “Whose blood is this? This blood is alive!”

I believe it is THE BLOOD of the only SINLESS MAN in the world – Jesus Christ, the Lord & Saviour.

His BLOOD is still ALIVE today – cleansing us from all sins!

-JJ-



For more info, read:

http://www.biblediscoveries.com/content/view/27/41/

The Golden Calf & the 10 Commandments

If you want to know about human impatience, ungratefulness & stubbornness, just read about our ancestors, the people of Israel, in Exodus 32 & Deuteronomy 9 & 10.

We all know about the 10 Commandments that God gave to the prophet Moses. God literally wrote the 10 Commandments with His finger on the tablets of stone, thousands of years ago (the handwriting on those stones are similar to the advanced laser technology of today, as discovered by archeologist).

Yet, many of us don’t know what happened, when the 10 Commandments were given to Moses.

Let’s take a walk back into history.

Imagine you are one of people of Israel, in the desert. Imagine, your leader, the prophet Moses, tells you he’s going up the mountain to fast and pray.

What would you be doing while waiting for your leader to return?

Take note, just some time before that, the people of Israel suffered as slaves in Egypt! They prayed and asked to Lord to save them, out of Egypt. Then, the Lord sent Moses to come and lead them. They had received miracles after miracles from the Lord. They saw a stick turn into a snake. They saw water turn into blood. They saw the Lord part the sea before their very eyes and they managed to escape from Pharoah in Egypt, with Moses as their leader. When they didn’t have food to eat, the Lord sent food from heaven.

The people of Israel experienced the Lord’s great power, literally! They knew that the Lord always answered their prayers and that He spoke to Moses. Yet, they couldn’t wait for their leader to come down from the mountain.

Here’s what the Israelites did, while Moses was away.

They said, “We don’t know what happened to that fellow Moses. Wives, daughters and sons – take off all your gold earrings! We’ll make a god for ourselves!”

They melted all the gold they had to make a statue of a young cow! They made a Golden Calf to worship it as God!

When the golden statue was complete, they said, “This is the Lord who brought us safely out of Egypt!”

Can you even believe this was happening?

And Moses’ assistant, Aaron, announced the next day as a festival to God! Everyone woke up early and sacrificed burnt offerings; they ate and drank well while enjoying great celebrations.

During that moment, the Lord was giving Moses the 10 Commandments, up on the mountain, after he fasted and prayed for 40 days.

Then the Lord told Moses, “Go down from here at once, because the people you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt!”

Can you imagine your leader, who had not eaten for 40 days and 40 nights, coming down from the mountain, carrying 2 stone tablets (with the handwriting of God)?

What does Moses see?

He sees his dear assistant, Aaron, leading the pact into worshipping a Golden Cow as God!

Moses became terribly angry with the people because they were so impatient and stubborn – they had sinned against the Lord! They were worshipping a golden cow, as God! They had reduced the greatness of the Almighty God into a statue, formed and shaped with human hands! What an insult to the Lord!

Immediately, Moses threw the 2 stone tablets (containing the 10 Commandments) out of his hands, breaking them into pieces in front of their eyes! (some parts of these broken stones have been discovered by archeologists, and science reveals the modern laser technology on the stones dated thousands of years back!)

The Lord burned with anger towards the people of Israel! The Lord had LOVED THEM, and had done SO MUCH for them. Yet, they were so stubborn, impatient and disobedient.

The Lord told Moses,”Let Me destroy Aaron & all these people!”

But Moses begged the Lord not to kill Aaron and the people of Israel. Again, Moses fasted and prayed for 40 days, asking the Lord to forgive all their sins.

The Lord listened to Moses’ prayer, and spared their lives. The Lord was gracious enough to tell Moses to prepare 2 more stone tablets. Once again, the Lord wrote the same 10 Commandments (which was broken when Moses threw them in front of the Golden Calf) on the 2 new stone tablets. The Lord gave them a SECOND CHANCE!

The Lord also asked Moses to make a wooden chest to keep the 10 Commandments. This box was called the Ark of Covenant. ’Covenant‘ means contract or agreement. And the stone tablets are in that Ark till today (many archeologists are still searching for it).

There was a special way to carry the Ark of Covenant so that it won’t be touched, and only a selected tribe was allowed to carry it. Even if people accidentally touched the Ark of Covenant, they died! So great and holy was the handwriting of the Lord! (perhaps that’s why it’s so hard to discover the Ark and the 10 Commandments stone tablets till today).

The people had to carry the Ark wherever they went, and it brought blessings to the land. Then the Lord asked Moses to tell the people to follow all the Commandments, so that they will be blessed. The Lord warned them not to create any statue to worship as God, or worship anything else besides the Lord.

What do you think of the 10 Commandments?

Can you see how serious it is? To the extent that the Lord wrote it twice! So important that it had to be placed in a special chest, carried in a special way, by selected people – to bring blessings.

What do you think of the Golden Calf?

If you were one of the Israelites, would YOU have been melting your gold jewellery to create the golden statue of a cow, or would you have TRUSTED & OBEYED the Lord who brought you that far?

-JJ-

A Father’s Love

Jesus told this story in Luke 15: 11-31:

“Dad, give me my share of your wealth. I can’t wait till you die. I want it now!” the young boy demanded from his rich father.

The father was very disappointed, but he still loved his son. He divided his estate and gave the younger son his share of the wealth. The older son, on the other hand, was a sensible boy who continued to stay faithfully with his father.

The younger son took all the money and travelled to a far away country to enjoy himself. He lavished himself with prostitutes and wine, together with his friends. He literally wasted the fortune that his father spent years to build.

After wasting all his money, he realized that his friends didn’t want to help him when he had nothing. Famine struck the land. He didn’t have anything at all! Finally, he had to work and take care of pigs!

One day, while he was feeding the pigs, he realized that he didn’t even have the pigs' food to eat! He thought to himself, “Even the servants in my father’s house had enough food to eat!”

That’s when the younger son came to his senses. He went back to his father’s house with shame. With a repentant heart, he went to see his father.

He said wholeheartedly, “Father, I have sinned against God and you. I am not fit to be called your son. Please, I beg you, just take me as one of your lowest servants…”

Yet, before he could finish the speech he memorized in his heart, his father told the servant to bring the best clothes and a ring – to wash him clean and dress him up. He asked the servants to prepare a feast. The father hugged him and was so happy his son came home!

When the older son saw this, he became very upset.

He said, “Dad, all this while I have been a very good son to you. I never disobeyed anything you said. I never wasted any of your money.Yet, this boy comes back after wasting all your money on prostitutes, but you are preparing a celebration for him. You never did anything like this for me, in my whole life!”

But the father replied to the older son, “My dear son, your brother was lost, but now he is found. He was dead, but now he is alive. We should celebrate! All this while you were with me. EVERYTHING that I have, IS ALREADY YOURS!”

This is a father’s love towards his children – both the good ones, and the ones who have messed up.

God is our heavenly Father. Even if we purposely go away from him, He still loves us. He is NOT waiting to punish us. Instead, He still loves us and blesses us. That’s why you see a lot of good things happening to very bad people. Even if we have sinned like the bad son, God is waiting for us to come home. God is so happy when our heart is really changed and we truly regret our mistakes! When we return, He doesn’t treat us like servants. Instead, He accepts us with a CELEBRATION!

That’s why we can go to Heaven in one moment, when we confess our sins to God, change our ways and follow Jesus! Heaven is our Home with God, our Father!

If you are like the good son, you should have the Father’s heart. Everything that God has promised already belongs to you. You have enjoyed the pleasure of being together with our Father. There is nothing to regret or feel jealous towards the bad son.

If you have sinned a lot in your whole life, and in the end, you come back to God after wasting your life with money, sex & wine – God accepts and loves you. IT PROVES HOW MUCH GOD LOVES YOU.

If you have been faithfully obeying God’s commandments and trying to avoid sin, your whole life – remember God already LOVES you so much and is very pleased with you. IT PROVES HOW MUCH YOU LOVE GOD.

JESUS IS OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN. HE LOVES US ALL.

Do you LOVE Him?

-JJ-

Can Love be Selfish?

When Amma, the guru from India , hugged the thousands who lined up, many said they experienced a kind of peace they could not explain. This is the way Amma showed love to them, and people were willing to queue up for hours for that one moment of experience. When people asked her, how she was able to hug everyone, she took the credit saying love flowed from herself – it was her inborn nature.

If you believe in the powers of meditation & ‘shaktipat’ (power transferred from guru to another person), you might see it as a spiritual act. If you look at it from a pure humanitarian perspective, you will see a simple woman from a poor background, showing love.

Either way, people seem to find it really impressive.

It made me think about the way we love people. Do we give every stranger we see, a ‘feel good’ moment?

The more I thought about it, I realize, we already do! Think about your day, the moment you wake up. If you’re single, you’ll find that you will be greeting your colleagues and clients with nice words. You will be hugging strangers. You will say a lot of nice things to people on your way. It’s part of your job. You make others feel good, and you get the benefit. People will say good things about you to your boss, or enjoy doing business with you. Words about your goodness will spread around. There’s something in it for you, that’s why you do it.

In life, we show love to others, but 90% of the time, it is to benefit our own SELF.

Think back – why do you do something? Is it really for LOVE, or is it because you want it to benefit your SELF?

For example, some people do many good things, because they want to cancel off the bad things they have done in their life. They are hoping to improve their own ‘karma’. They think that performing good works will take them a step closer to achieving their goal. What is the motive? SELF.

Some are terrified of being born again into this world as a mosquito or a worm. They believe, they need to do more good things to have a good life as a better animal or a human being in their next life. What is the motive? SELF.

Others are afraid to go to hell, so they think they need to do a lot of good works to earn themselves a better place in the life after death. They become very religious & sacrifice their whole life, doing charity to others. But again, what is the motive? SELF.

Some people give a lot of donations & do plenty of social work - they don’t like to keep it secret. They like the name they get – the label & attention as a ‘good person.’ When people give them compliments, they are more than happy to take all the credit for themselves. The motive is clear – SELF.

Some people achieve great success in life. They are great leaders and do a lot of good for mankind. At the end of the day, they think “I did it my way!” – Again, the motive is SELF.

People adopt a pet to take care of it. Yes, it’s a good thing. But the real reason they do it is because the pet makes them feel warm & loved. They like the benefit of having a pet; an eager puppy licking their face when they come back from a long day at work. See – even the reason for loving their pet is SELF.

Husbands & wives say they love each other. But really, many people love because the other person benefits them in some way or another (gives them happiness, company, sex, children, maybe money etc.) You see, the reason for love is again, SELF.

When your motive is SELF, it is easy to do a lot of good things in the name of Love to others. You want to get something in return (whether you realize it, or not). If it doesn’t benefit you, or you find it irritating, you will stop loving.

Doesn’t it show that we humans are very SELFISH by nature? Even when we love, it’s SELFISH.

The REAL TEST of LOVE comes in the scenarios below:


1) Imagine someone stabbed you behind your back. The person talked a lot of lies and bad things about you, to people you know. Your friend ruined your image and caused you a lot of hurt. There’s nothing you can do about it, and your heart holds a strong revenge.

2) Imagine you are a girl (or boy), who was molested or raped as a child. You suffered in silence for many years. That incident created a scar in your life, and destroyed your self-esteem & trust towards others.


3) Imagine you help someone to have a better life because of mistakes they have made. You help silently & no one knows. You are paying for someone else’s mistakes & you have to sacrifice many things so that the other person can have a better life.


Which would be easier for you?

1) To hug 1000 strangers?

2) Or to look at the ONE PERSON (your enemy / the one who hurt you/ the one who’s mistakes you are paying for) in the eye, give a warm hug & say with a sincere heart, “What you did was wrong, but I truly LOVE & FORGIVE you!”

If your focus is YOUR SELF, you will find it easier to hug 1000 strangers than to LOVE 1 enemy sincerely. “Why should I love my enemy. He hurt ME – he doesn’t deserve love,” is what a SELFISH heart would say.

The kind of LOVE I find TRULY IMPRESSIVE can be found in Jesus Christ.

1) He left his throne in heaven to come to earth as human – to pay the price & die a very painful death for humans’ sins. He didn’t have to do it, but he chose to - because it was the only way to save us. He had nothing to gain, & everything to lose. The motive was to LOVE US, NOT himself.

2) When He was being tortured & killed on the cross, He said, “Father, forgive them, because they don’t know what they are doing.” He wanted his enemies to be forgiven! Again, the motive was LOVE, NOT self.

3) When questioned about his miracles, he always pointed back to the Father in Heaven. He never went around ‘performing,’ to get credit. His purpose was LOVE, NOT self.

4) Even when he performed miracles (healed the lepers, made the blind see etc.), he told them to be silent about it. His reason was LOVE, NOT self.

5) His encounter with people changed their lives. He didn’t make everyone just feel good for one moment. He met a woman who had an affair with more than 5 men, & told her about her sin, because He wanted her to change. In that moment, she experienced something she never felt before. It changed her life. Telling people about their sins won’t bring popularity, yet Jesus did it. His motive was LOVE, NOT self.

I find it very difficult to understand, how come people are not equally impressed by the SELFLESS LOVE shown by this man.

Perhaps, people just want a ‘feel good’ moment & an ‘out of this world’ experience. Maybe, they don’t like to be reminded of their sins. They don’t like to be told about ‘right & wrong,’ because then, they would feel like a sinner & need to ask God’s forgiveness. They are enjoying life their own way, & don’t like change. They just want someone or something, to give a blast of ‘happiness’ into the lifestyle of their own choice. They always want something just for SELF. Even when they love, it is for SELF.

But Jesus OFFENDED the world, because of LOVE. He knew that our sins will take us to Hell. He knew that Hell is a place of terrible torture & suffering. Jesus knew that even if we did 1,000,000 good things in the world, even if we sacrificed our life to save 100 people, even if we quit our jobs to go and join a mission to help the slums; it will never be enough to save us from our sins. Our own good actions cannot save us & grant us a place in heaven. In the end, we will die as a sinner, if our sins are not forgiven & we don’t change from our evil ways.

Did you know – that focusing on SELF instead of GOD, is already a SIN (violation of the 1st Commandment in Exodus 20:3). Even if we have done 1,000,000 good things in the world, but our motive is SELF – then EVERY THING we have done in our life, is SIN!

Jesus came to tell us He is the only one who can forgive our sins & let us go to Heaven. He came to tell us that He really loves us – to the extent of dying for us. He came to die for a world that did not bother about sin, heaven or hell. Even after He died for us, the world does not believe Him. Yet, He loves us much…even though we killed him. Truly, we don’t deserve His love.


We tend to live purely for our SELF…even when we love, we love SELFISHLY…But, Jesus is not selfish…He really LOVES you & me…We truly need His forgiveness... we need to turn away from our sinful ways…

-JJ-

To Him Who Has More

Do you admire great men & women you see on the television? Singers like Micheal Jackson, or famous actors from Hollywood or Bollywood? Maybe even great world leaders like John F. Kennedy, from history?

There are many famous figures I admire, for the changes they have made to the world & lives, and the contributions they have made society.

Sometimes, I think, “Wow! What a great destiny this man had in his life! The whole world knows & admires him! How many people can achieve this greatness in their lifetime?”

But then again, it’s I realize, it’s a VERY HUGE RESPONSIBILITY to hold that position of ‘greatness’ – and many men & women have failed in the end.

When God allows you to climb higher & play greater roles, He gives you more CHOICES.

If you are an average 9-5 office employee, you will find that live an average life; a simple family life where one wife & a few children is already a financial challenge. You are contented with a simple life, being faithful to your wife.

But look at the lives of rich businessman or influential leaders. God has blessed them with more privileges. They have more money. They attract women everywhere you go. They can financially afford affairs; to spend lavish gifts on many women, who repay them with their bodies.

You see, God gives people more CHOICES, the HIGHER WE REACH. But WHAT DO WE DO with the MORE THAT WE HAVE?

Do men remain as faithful husbands to their wife? Do they see their position as God’s blessing? Do they make time for God? Do they do things the ‘clean’ way’? Do they discuss their plans with God in prayer? Do they think they achieved it all by themselves, or are they thankful to God & follow the Laws of the Bible?

Many great leaders had the CHOICE to live a life obeying God’s Laws. They had the CHOICE to be GREAT EXAMPLES for God, and influence a lot of people through their righteous lifestyle. But they chose SIN instead.

Most of the great leaders we admire achieved greatness in the eyes of the world. We think that they are so great & surely deserve a place in heaven! But they FAILED terribly in the eyes of God.

Even famous celebrities & stars. They have reached a level where the world totally adores them. Crowds scream & cry just to see their favourite singer pass by! God has allowed them to be in a position to influence the minds of thousands of fans!

But what do they do with this INFLUENCING POWER?

They sing songs which promote sexual immorality, and even twist Jesus’ words from the Bible. They dress in ways that corrupt young minds. They take drugs & consume alcohol, which is copied by their fans. They sell their soul to the Devil in exchange for fame & lasting popularity. They take all the glory to their SELF, and never channel it back to God. They let the youngsters treat them as if they are ‘god’!

They have the ‘power’ to influence youngsters to follow the right path, but they FAIL to do it.

The world admires them for their looks, voices, skills, popularity & fortune. But is God impressed by all this? I don’t think so.

Today, you and I may be average people. The whole world doesn’t know us, and in a way, that’s a good thing. Maybe we long for greater things, & want to go higher - which is right in itself.

But the question is : Can we FULFILL God’s standards, with the MORE THAT HE GIVES US? Can we HANDLE THE CHOICES , when we have MORE?

Take a look at your own life, currently. Count all your knowledge, skills & talents. Determine the amount of influence you have (how popular are you, how many people know you, how many people listen when you talk, how many people follow you).

Whether you realize it or not, you have the POWER to INFLUENCE people & change lives. Do you INFLUENCE people towards the RIGHT PATH, by the way you live?

If you are a global leader, you can influence the whole world. If you are a political leader, you can influence the whole country. If you are a celebrity, you can influence tens of thousands of youngsters.

If you are a leader in your organization, you can influence your colleagues & staff. If you have a family, you have the power to influence your family. If you have friends, you knowingly or unknowingly influence them.

This influencing POWER you possess, reveals itself in the WAY YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE. It can be seen in the CHOICES YOU MAKE. It is heard in the WORDS YOU SPEAK. It is seen in the ACTIONS YOU DO. It comes from the THINGS YOU SEE & READ. It originates from the THOUGHTS YOU THINK in your heart.

You have the CHOICE to LIVE HOW YOU WANT.

How do you CHOOSE to live? Does the way you live, make God happy?

In the world’s standards today, good works, financial achievement & popularity is classified as SUCCESS – even if SIN is the way of life!

But according to God’s standards, He looks into our HEARTS & judges according to His Laws.

God is NOT going to ask us: HOW WELL DID YOU ENJOY YOUR LIFE?

I believe Jesus IS going to ask: WHAT DID YOU DO WITH EVERYTHING I GAVE YOU? Did you obey My Laws? Did you use all you power, talents, skills etc, to show the world that I AM God? Were you THANKFUL TO ME? Did you prefer SIN or did you LOVE ME?

One day when we die or meet God face to face, He will judge us according to WHAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN.

If we have MORE, the REQUIREMENT to fulfill is MORE! Remember that.



Luke 12:48 says:

But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.

The Most Valuable Thing in Your Life

I attended a discussion group recently, and feel that what I learnt is worth sharing.

The group leader (a young pastor) began by posing this question: What is the most valuable thing in your life, at this moment?

A man answered, “My iPad.” Others said, “Health.” Some said, “Money.” The sweetest answer came from a lady who said, “My husband.” Then her husband (a pastor as well) sweetly pushed his chair closer to his wife and lay his head on her shoulder, while she lovingly stroked his face.

The leader asked, “How do you treat the most precious thing in your life?”

People answered, “Take care of it, protect it, love it, cherish it, spend time with it, maintain it” and a whole list more.

Then we turned to Matthew 13:44-46 –The Story of the Hidden Treasure & The Pearl .

This is a story told by Jesus to his disciples.

Matthew 13:44-46

44 “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had & bought that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.

46 When he found one of great value, he went away & sold everything he had & bought it.

In this story, the man who found the treasure found the most important thing in his life – to the extent, he went & sold everything he had, just to buy & own that treasure!

One of the group members said, “Why did the man hide the treasure? This is not good! Why didn’t he just take it & go?”

A lady shared her thoughts using a modern day example. She said: “Imagine you are walking in an abandoned piece of land. Suddenly, you accidentally find some gold in that field. You are alone there. You continue digging the ground. The more you dig, the more treasures you find! Now, you know that land is worth a fortune because it has hidden treasures!

But the problem is, you don’t own the land. If you take the treasure, you are considered trespassing or stealing. If you inform the owner, he will keep all the treasure. If you continue digging & people know about it, some others will go and buy the land.

Now, YOU found that treasure. You know it’s not just that little bit. There is a whole lot more hidden, & you want it ALL! You know its worth much more than anything you own. So, what do you do?

You hide it back, because you want it so badly. And you want to legally own it ALL, not steal just a little bit of it. You call up the owner & enquire about the price. It’s expensive & you need to sell all the property you have, to afford it. So, you go back & sell EVERYTHING, and then you look for that land’s owner again.

The owner then thinks, “After all, this land has been lying here for many years, without attracting buyers. It’s not even a strategic location. Finally this fellow is giving me the price I want, for that worthless piece of land!”

So, the owner happily sells it to you, because he doesn’t know its hidden value. He thinks he got a good deal, but you know you got a GREATER DEAL! Now, the treasure is ALL YOURS!”

It’s the same with the expert merchant who travels around the world, looking for fine pearls. While searching in the shops, he spots a really valuable pearl. He knows it’s more valuable than the expensive price it’s selling for, because he’s an expert in this field. When he finds it, he quickly sells his other belongings and buys this one pearl! The shop owner doesn’t realize its value, but the merchant does. That’s why he’s willing to sell everything he has, to buy that ONE pearl!

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN is like that, Jesus said

But, what exactly is the Kingdom of Heaven ?

Is it a place high up in the skies, or can we find it on earth? Well, it is the home of the Lord, but we can also find it here today.

A Kingdom means a state having a King as its head. A Kingdom consists of a King & people. For Christians, Jesus Christ is the King. Right now, He is the King of Heaven. Soon, He will return as King of both Heaven & Earth.

If Jesus is the King, then we Christians are the people or citizens of this Kingdom. Where do we find this Kingdom? The answer is simple – CHURCH.

Those of us who truly believe Jesus are like the man who found the treasure hidden in the field, and the merchant who found the fine pearl.

We have found the true treasure, the most valuable thing in life: JESUS CHRIST.

That’s why we love the Kingdom of Heaven . We give up other ‘pleasures’ to make Jesus our priority. When the world thinks Church & the Bible is boring, or that we are stupid – we don’t care! We still love to come to church & study the Bible!

Even if we are so busy with daily life & work, we make God our priority. We make sure we cancel all our other plans to attend Church & study the Bible. We would rather spend time with God, than drink & dance in pubs & clubs, or talk rubbish with friends.

The Church is one place where we unite as a Kingdom, & worship Christ, our King.

The Church is NOT a building with statues, or where people dress with fine robes.

Each one of us IS already the church. The Bible says our body is the Temple & Christ lives inside of us. When we come together in a house, open air by the beach, in a village, inside the jungle or in a building, to worship the Lord & study the Bible - we are uniting as the Kingdom of Heaven . We just enjoy worshipping our King & studying His Word.

Why? Because we have found the treasure!

Those who don’t know Christ are like the original owners of the field & fine pearl. They didn’t know its true value! That’s why they willingly sold it for money. If only they knew its true worth, they would have never let it go.

But we know its true value. That’s why we are willing to give up EVERYTHING to get that ONE treasure!

Eric Liddell, the Olympics gold medalist of his time, willingly gave up his career as a world-class sportsman to become a pastor (a missionary to China )! The world will think he lost his valuable career – but Eric knew he found his true treasure!

The earthly mindset tells you that your career, money & sex are the most important things in life. You must enjoy whatever you can, because life ends once you die. You must achieve greatness for yourself.

Health, money, our iPad, our family, our career etc. are very important in our daily life. It’s true – we cannot survive without these in the world today. We need these. But at the end of the day, we know that we have found the Kingdom of Heaven – our most valuable treasure!

Reach for Higher Standards

I remember reading about the experience of John C. Maxwell, the acclaimed pastor and leadership guru, where he shared about discipline and standards. When he was a child, his parents gave him some household chores to do. They warned him way in advance, that if he didn’t complete it by the weekend, he won’t get to go swimming with the family. But as a child, he took it very lightly and didn’t do the housework. When the weekend came, he thought his parents would take him along – but they didn’t! Everyone else went out for some fun, but he had to stay at home alone and do housework. He whined, begged and cried - but they still left him behind!

His parents loved him very much, and wanted him to be a disciplined person. They didn’t lower their standards to make him happy. They wanted him to reach the higher level. They gave him a second chance to it, and this time he finished the job in time. Then, his parents took him for the next family outing. John said that incident taught him a very good lesson about reaching standards, which has made him who he is today.

A lot of times in life, we have high expectations of others. These expectations are positive and attainable. They require effort and discipline to reach. We have these expectations because of love. When parents love their children, they expect the kids to excel in school. When a husband loves his wife, he expects her to be the best in everything she does. When a wife loves her husband, she also expects the same of him.

Imagine someone is teaching you to drive. Every time you reach a busy road, you cry and say you can’t do it anymore. What will happen to you if your teacher looks into your pitiful eyes and says, “Never mind…no need to learn anymore…” You’ll never learn! Your teacher will push you till you reach that higher standard, if he really cares.

Do we realize:

If we want the people we love to reach a certain level of expectations - we need to keep the standards high! We’ve got to be a little hard, firm to say ‘No’ if we must, push them when they slow down, gently pick them up when they fall, and wait patiently for them to reach the higher level. It takes time, but we’ve got to do it, if we really LOVE them.

If you are expecting honesty, don’t settle for lies and silence.
If you are expecting commitment, don’t accept it when a person simply comes and goes.
If you are expecting discipline, don’t say ‘Never mind’ when they are playing the fool.
If you are expecting love, don’t say it’s OK when there is selfishness.

A lot of times, we mistakenly lower our standards because we feel sorry that it’s too high for them to reach. We think that we need to give in because we love them. This is one of the biggest lies the Devil can throw into your mind! If you lower your standards, it only means this:

1) You don’t love others (you don’t care about improving their lives)
2) You look down on them ( you think they can never reach a higher level )
3) You look down on yourself (you think YOU can never reach and help others achieve greater heights)
4) You don’t respect God (you don’t believe God made you for greater things)

Just think about John C Maxwell’s parents in his childhood incident. I am sure it didn’t make them happy to leave their darling little boy behind on a family outing! Yet, they did it because they loved him. They knew that if they lowered their standards, their son will never become a better person. They were raising him to reach the next level!

LOVE raises you to a higher level – to a place that you never thought you could reach! If you fall, it will pick you up, get you back on your feet, and push you to climb that peak. It will never bring you down! LOVE is a POWERFUL FORCE.



Do you know why? It’s because GOD is LOVE. The Bible says it in I John 4:8.

We can learn this from the Man Himself. God LOVES us, but He maintained His criteria. He said that the repayment of sin is DEATH. He didn’t take back His Word to say, “Never mind, I know it’s difficult for you…I’ll remove the ‘death’ part.” No! He NEVER said that!


GOD PAID the price of sin with the DEATH of His only beloved Son (JESUS), so that anyone who believes in Him, will not die but have eternal life. (John 3:16).

God didn’t lower the standards! He PAID the price because He LOVED us. His requirement: BELIEVING & ACCEPTING that Jesus took the punishment on our behalf, is the only way for us to avoid the punishment of DEATH (eternity in hell). Hell is still there!

God gives us Commandments to follow. True, He loves us, and the rules are not easy to keep. He tells us to love God more than anything else in the world. He tells us to put Him first in everything, love others and love ourself. It’s not easy, but just look at what happens when you try to follow:

1) Love God

(Put God FIRST in everything : You read the Bible & pray 1st thing in the morning, think about Him the whole day, and before you sleep, you go to church every week, you give 10% of your salary back to God)

Benefits:


-You develop excellent time management; if you have time for God, you will have time for everything else that’s important. Your priorities are right.
-Your mind is fed with good things - you are happy when you think good thoughts.
-You become a better thinker and leader by learning from great people in the Book
-You become a good listener (by listening to sermons and others)
-You become a good speaker (by sharing in Bible studies and talking about good things that you learn)
-You improve your language skills (the Bible is an excellent piece of literature)
-You plan your finances better and you have more than enough after you give your dues to God
-You don’t become greedy because you learn not be too attached to money
-You can enjoy the material things of the world without becoming materialistic
-You won’t be mastered by anything in this world except God
-You will not be afraid of anything when you have the Lord’s power within you.


2) Love Others

Benefits:

-You become a nice person, because God’s character is reflected on you
-You are forgiving when people make mistakes because that’s how God loves you
-You are kind to your enemies because you know it was the Devil behind their evil deeds
-You don’t have a temper because you are too busy loving
-You are not easily bullied because you’re training to be strong to love them
-You are blessed when you give and help others
-You develop better relationship skills when you mix with people with an attitude of love
-God sends others to love and help you back in the same way when you are in need.

3) Love Yourself

Benefits:

-You care for yourself without being selfish
-You take care of your physical appearance because you are thankful God gave you good looks
-You exercise and play sports because God gave you an able body
-You travel and enjoy good pleasure because God gave you this world to live in.
-You develop a stronger character to stand firm for God, against the Devil’s techniques.
-You perform with excellent leadership skills at work.
-You become a good husband, wife, father, mother, child, daughter, sister, citizen, employee, boss, leader etc.
-You become good at whatever you do.

And, through it all, you avoid sin because you LOVE GOD, and you know GOD LOVES YOU.

You become a COMPLETE person when you obey God’s high standards in the Bible.

What would happen to us if God lowered the standards, so there is no right or wrong?

We’ll be womanizing, drinking, sleeping around with pre-marital sex and extra-marital affairs, becoming biological parents before marrying, smoking, taking drugs, killing, raping, stealing, making our own gods, believing that we are gods, being scared of everything, getting angry with a terrible temper, fighting for revenge and causing unrest, becoming selfish and greedy, failing to love – making the world a terrible place! (like it isn’t already, as people only do what they like!)

And the WORST part - we’ll be thinking that all this SIN is OKAY!

This is what happens when there is no standard to follow, or if the standards are lowered.

We NEED HIGH STANDARDS to reach higher.
We NEED to KEEP HIGH STANDARDS to help others reach higher.

Along the way, we fall and make mistakes. But God keeps pushing us forward to reach that goal – because He LOVES us.
When we see others fall and make mistakes, we should help them get up and move forward, just like God does to us.


An athlete runs to finish the race. He trains himself to reach that goal. The finishing line doesn’t come nearer towards him out of pity. He reaches it – with the unseen help of God.

Maintain HIGHER STANDARDS.
If you love yourself and others, DON’T lower it.
LOVE like Jesus.
GOD is LOVE.

Reach for HIGHER STANDARDS, because YOU are LOVED.

-JJ-