Excerpt for Amazing Truths That Will Change Your Life by Frank Padilla, available in its entirety at Smashwords



Amazing Truths that will Change your Life



Table of Contents


Foreword


Introduction


The Five Amazing Life-Changing Truths

#1 God Loves You

#2 God has a Great Plan for Your Life

#3 God Enters into Covenant with You

#4 God Calls You to be Holy

#5 God Wants to Use You as His Instrument of Salvation


Our Response

#1 Live the Covenant

#2 Be Not Afraid

#3 Persevere through Trials of Life

#4 Rejoice Always


Conclusion


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Foreword


How is your life today? Perhaps you feel it is good, or perhaps not. Perhaps you go around with a smile on your face, or perhaps you often wear a frown. Perhaps you look forward to what lies ahead, or perhaps you dread the future.

Or most probably you experience these contrasting feelings now and then, in their turn. You go around life with either positive or negative feelings determined by the circumstances of your life.

But this is not the way God designed your life to be. Yes certainly there will be ups and downs, as there will be joys and sorrows. But God intends that you go through life with confidence, with a smile in your heart if not on your face. You must know that you are not just to be directed or tossed about by the varying circumstances of your life as influenced by a disordered world.


You may not know it, but there are certain truths that can radically change your life. For the better of course! With knowledge of such truths, and living out their implications, you can go through life consistently with profound peace and a song of joy in your heart.

Never again will you be buffeted by the circumstances of life. Never again will you be unable to face the future with confidence.


What are these truths that will show us the way to having a deeply fulfilled life?

These truths have to do with a Person. He is the Teacher, the Wise One, the Ancient of Ages. He is the Beginning and the End. He is the way and the truth and the life.

He is Jesus.


Now here is the good news. You do not have to go searching for the Person who is the very key to these life-changing truths. Jesus is the one who has already searched for you.

You do not have to pay a high price for the peace and joy that inevitably result from living out these truths. Jesus has already paid the price for you.

Everything is yours, just for the taking.


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Introduction


Look at life in the world today.

There are darkness and pain. There are conflicts and animosities. There are worries and fears. There are dangers and evils.

These of course impact negatively on the personal lives of people. For most, life can be dreary, and life can be going nowhere, except perhaps in a downward spiral.


But this is not how God designed things to be.

When God created everything, He “looked at everything he had made and he found it very good” (Gen 1:31). God created a paradise, where there was no darkness, conflict and pain. God intended such a world to be our natural habitat.

And God created human beings in His own image and likeness (Gen 1:27). They were to enjoy and be masters of His created world. They were to relate personally to Him. They were provided everything they needed in order to live a very good life.

Such a life is our birthright as children of God.


But it was not to be. Sin entered into the picture, and paradise was lost.

But God would not be thwarted in His intent. God ultimately sent His own Son into the world to suffer and die for us, and by his resurrection, won for us our salvation, with the possibility of once again entering into paradise.

With such salvation won for us on the cross, we once again are restored to our relationship with God as His children. As Christians, we are children of the King, living in the kingdom of heaven in the here and now.


But if God is our Father, if we are living in His kingdom, if we have access to the fullness of blessings that come from Him, then why are we, His children, often sad, lonely, bored, frustrated, confused, angry, afraid?

We of course live in an imperfect world, and so there will be difficulties, challenges and pain. And we too are imperfect, with our weak sinful flesh, contributing to the woes that beset us in the world. And then there is the evil one, intent on thwarting God’s designs.

But even then, it is not God’s intent that we be overcome or defeated. Rather, we are to live victorious lives, even as we look to the ultimate victory of dwelling once again in paradise.

This is how life ought to be.


But there is a problem: we do not know who we really are, what we are called to be, and what we can look forward to in life, as well as in the afterlife.

How can this situation change? How can we live according to God’s design?

The key is in knowing 5 life-changing truths.


These truths may be known by some, but are often not well understood. These truths may be articulated, but are often not reflected in the way we live our lives.

A big part of the problem is the evil one who continuously tries to keep people from knowing these truths. And if they get to know, then the evil one tempts them into not believing. And if they start to believe, the evil one brings disorder into their lives to confuse them and to lead them along another path.

The enemy knows how powerfully life-changing these truths are. They are the key to living a life according to God’s eternal design. The enemy will do all he can to keep us from knowing, believing and living out these truths, for it is the truth that sets us free.

God’s word is true, and these truths are based on God’s word. We simply have to stand on God’s word.


One more piece of good news: these life-changing truths are all dependent upon God and His initiative.

God has already acted. We just need to respond.

Now let us begin.


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God Loves You


Here is Truth Number One: God loves you.


This has been said often enough, from the time we were small children. So we may know this in our head. But when hardships come, we are easily shaken. Then we can begin to doubt. Why does God allow such pains if He loves me? Why does a loving God not change my sorry lot?

How do I truly know that God loves me?


Jesus himself gives the answer.


“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16)


This is the reality. God so loved the world that He offered His very own Son as a sacrifice so that we might experience salvation and be able to enter into eternal life.

Do you realize what an amazing and astonishing act this was? The Father sent His very own Son, who was God Himself. Jesus emptied himself and took the form of a slave (Phil 2:7). Jesus accepted death on a cross, which entailed excruciating pain and intense suffering. God did this for us even when we were sinners. Even when we were the ones who put Jesus on the cross.

Jesus died specifically for you, and for me. If you were the only person in the whole world, Jesus would still have come down from heaven and offered his life on the cross for you.


Whenever you begin to doubt the love of God for you, look upon the crucifix. Look on Jesus crucified. Then you will see the very love of God personified.

And if you now truly know that God loves you, then your whole life ought to change. You are special. You are loved by God Himself. This love is deeply personal. It is totally self-sacrificial. It holds nothing back. It desires nothing but your good.


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God has a Great Plan for Your Life


Here is Truth Number Two: God has a great plan for your life.


Because God loves you, He will not allow you to just be buffeted by the vagaries of life and be unhappy. Rather, God has a wonderful plan for your life. Because you are God’s child, then God as Father has your future at heart. Because God has already won for you your salvation, He intends to bring you all the way home to heaven.

But if that were the case, why is it that life is sometimes so terrible? Since God is all powerful, can He not fix up my life? Does God truly care? Is my life going nowhere? Is the world out of control?

What is this so-called plan of God?


Long ago, the prophet Jeremiah spoke of God’s plan for His covenanted people. This same prophetic word is applicable to God’s people today.


“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope.” (Jer 29:11)


This is the reality. God has His plans for His people. And being a perfect God, they can only be the most perfect plans.

Do you realize what an amazing reality this is? God is concerned about you! In fact, God has the greatest personal plan for you.

David was awed in realizing what God was about. God was God, but was concerned about mere mortals. So David exulted in his psalm, “When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place – What are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them little less than a god, crowned them with glory and honor” (Ps 8:4-6).

We are nothing, but to God we are everything.


So God has His plans for our welfare, not for woe. But we do experience woes, do we not?

If we are experiencing woes in life, these are not in accordance with God’s plan! They are rather due to our own sin, or the sin of others that affect us, or the attacks of the evil one. There are times God allows these woes in our lives, for His own good purposes. Pains and crosses in life result in our purification, in drawing us closer to God, in being humbled which then prepare us to be exalted by Him.

So God draws good out of seemingly bad.


Knowing all this, your whole life ought to change. God is in control. God is all powerful. God has His wonderful plan for your life. Even in the face of woes, God can bring forth good.


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God Enters into Covenant with You


Here is Truth Number Three: God enters into covenant with you.


Because God loves you, and because He wants His wonderful plan for you to unfold, then God enters into covenant with you. The covenant is the means by which God’s intent for us happens.

Why would the perfect God have anything to do with us? Why would God enter into such a profound and intimate relationship of covenant with us?


Well, God has done it before.

God entered into covenant with Adam, Noah, Abram, Moses, David. With each one, God expanded the coverage. First with a couple (Adam & Eve), then with a family (Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives), then with a clan (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob), then with a people (Hebrews from Egypt), then with a kingdom (Israel). But God did not enter into covenant with them because they were so great. On the contrary, they all had their huge shortcomings. Adam disobeyed (Gen 3:6,11), Noah became drunk (Gen 9:21), Abram looked to human means to fulfill God’s promises to him (Gen 15:2,16:2), Moses was not faithful in showing the Lord’s sanctity (Nm 20:12), and David committed adultery and murder (2 Sm 12:9). But knowing human weakness, God was not deterred and simply acted unilaterally, according to His plan.

When God entered into covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai, God told them of His plan: “you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, …. You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” (Ex 19:5-6). God promised Israel great rewards and blessings for obedience to His precepts, and assured them: “Ever present in your midst, I will be your God, and you will be my people.” (Lev 26:12).

What God did for Hebrew slaves in Egypt was simply awesome, and beyond all imagination. God freed them with signs and wonders, and embraced them as His very own people. God brought them out of slavery into His kingdom.

But there is a downside as well. God punishes His people for their disobedience. This is rightly so, since by our serious sins we cut ourselves off from our covenant, and thus from the loving and protective embrace of our Father. When we do so, then we become easy prey to the enemy, to the world, and to the weakness of our own flesh.


The Supreme Being entering into covenant with mere humans is amazing enough. But for us Christians there is so much more. We have an even better covenant than those great historical personages of the Bible. Ours is a covenant not ratified by the blood of bulls, but by the very precious blood of God Himself. It is the blood shed by Jesus on the cross. During the last supper, Jesus offered the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.” (Lk 22:20).

This is the reality. “Once you were ‘no people’ but now you are God’s people; you ‘had not received mercy but now you have received mercy.” (1 Pt 2:10). We have been mysteriously and tremendously transformed. Now we are “‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own,’ … called ... out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Pt 2:9).

Amazing. The Almighty Being has embraced sinners as His very own people. God unfolds His plan through being present in the life of His people. We are a people of His own.


Being in covenant with God, we too are blessed when we obey, but cursed if we disobey. But even this latter stance is a manifestation of God’s love, so that in our human weakness we might be persuaded not to veer away from God’s plan, given the terrible consequences.

So through covenant God has made Himself our protector, our provider, our guide and our salvation. He offers us an intimate involvement in our lives. He would like nothing less than to journey with us all the way to heaven.


This reality should radically change your life. You are God’s special possession. God is covenanted with you. You have the most special of relationships. God is committed to you.


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God Calls You to be Holy


Here is Truth Number Four: God calls you to be holy.


As part of our covenant with God, we are called to be holy. Because God is holy, then, for us to enter into the privilege of being His people, we too need to be holy.

But God is a perfect Being while we are weak, sinful human flesh. How is that possible? How can we attain to the holiness of God.


The reality is that this is part and parcel of being in covenant with God.

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.” (Lev 19:2). “Sanctify yourselves, then, and be holy; for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.” (Lev 20:7).

This is God’s command. And God will not command anything that cannot be achieved.

For Christians today, the call is the same.


“as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, ‘Be holy because I am holy.’” (1 Pt 1:15-16)


Jesus himself made this radical call.


“So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48)


Be perfect as God is perfect? That is amazing!

We are to be set apart. We are to walk in the very ways of Jesus. We are to reflect the very image and likeness of God.

When you understand who it is who calls you, when you understand what it is that God calls you to, then these should radically change your life. Could any call be nobler, more sublime, more mysterious, more radical, more demanding?

Radical indeed. God raised the standards, to levels seemingly impossible for humans. We are to love our enemy, we are to give without counting the cost, we are not only not to kill but to avoid anger against a brother (Mt 5:21-22), we are not only not to commit adultery but to avoid looking with lust at a woman (Mt 5:27-28), we are to rejoice when hated and insulted on account of Jesus (Lk 6:22-23), we are to love to the extent of laying down our lives for others (Jn 15:12-13).


The standard of holiness is Jesus himself. The standard of perfection is God Himself. If you are called to be like Christ himself, then that ought to radically change your life.


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God Wants to Use You as His Instrument of Salvation


Here is Truth Number Five: God wants to use you as His instrument of salvation.


Covenant is not just about being holy because God is holy. Holiness is commanded not just for its own sake, but so that God can have fitting instruments that He can use for His purposes, to do His holy work in the life of the world.

Covenant has two basic dimensions: the internal and the external. We are called to internal holiness, and we are called to external service. We are called to witness to the life of Christ in us, and we are called to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth.

Specifically, we are commissioned to become evangelizers.


“Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” (Mk 16:15)

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Mt 28:19-20a)


The reality is that God has entrusted to us the gift of salvation that He intends for every human being. With Jesus’ death and resurrection, he had won for us our salvation. But that salvation needs to be known and accepted. So Jesus calls us to proclaim that good news to the world, so that people might experience the salvation already won for them on the cross. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, but for them to call on him they must first believe, but for them to believe they must first hear this good news, but for them to hear there must be someone to preach, and for someone to preach they must be sent (Rom 10:13-15a).

The task of such a person who proclaims the good news is so important that Paul exulted, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!” (Rom 10:15).


Do you realize what an amazing reality this is?

As evangelizers, we become the very instruments for God’s salvation to be manifested in the lives of others. And this is the greatest need in the world today—to know Jesus and the power of his resurrection.

This is divine work entrusted to weak, human flesh. God took an awful chance, and continues to do so. When we evangelize, then, by the grace of God, people will hear, believe, accept Jesus, and so be saved. But if we shirk our duty, then people are deprived of the good news, and remain in darkness. In fact, the tragedy today is that very many remain in darkness. This is because the good news of salvation in Jesus is not being proclaimed by those who are supposed to be Christians.


The very life of others depends on us! The very gift of salvation won by Jesus on the cross is placed in our hands! This must be the greatest work and service and responsibility in the whole world!

If you began to truly understand, then this reality should radically change your life. It should change your desires, priorities, values, concerns.

Could anything be more important that being an instrument to bring people to Jesus, and for them to experience the salvation that Jesus already won for them on the cross? Can you still casually go through life, pursuing your own interests, when the very salvation of others has been entrusted to you? Can you spend your time, energy and resources only for yourself, when such are needed to serve others?


To Paul everything was clear. Such a great privilege had been given him, and with that a great responsibility, that he could only say, “woe to me if I do not preach (the gospel)!” (1 Cor 9:16b).


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Our Response


We have seen how God loves us, how God has a plan for us, how God enters into covenant with us, how God calls us to be holy, and how God intends to use us as His instruments of salvation.

Each of the above is utterly amazing. Each of the above is simply inscrutable.

We cannot face these truths and just go on our merry way in the world. We cannot go on with our old lives and remain unchanged. We cannot continue to insist on our own desires and priorities. We cannot ignore the great and wonderful ways that God wants to act in and through us. We cannot just forgo the marvelous gifts and blessings God has already prepared for us.

If God does all these amazing things for us, then we need to respond.

And as we respond, we must know that these truths will truly change our lives for the better. Nay, these truths will radically change our lives for the best.


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Live the Covenant


How should we respond? We basically respond in four ways.


The first element of our response is to accept and live the covenant. This establishes our relationship with God, and opens us up to receiving the fullness of His grace and blessings.


As Christians, our relationship with God is defined by our covenant. Our covenant spells out our very way of life. And our covenant is the way to experience the fullness of God’s love and God’s plan. As God told Moses to tell the Israelites: “if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine.” (Ex 19:5). Keeping the covenant is what keeps us dear to God’s heart.

As has been said, the covenant has two basic dimensions: the internal dimension of personal holiness and the external dimension of service to others, in particular, the work of evangelization. We are to be holy because God is holy, and we are to be His instruments to proclaim His good news of salvation in Jesus to the world.


In regard to covenant, we are called to faithfulness. We are to strive to live out our part of the covenant. When we strive to be faithful, then we have access to the fullness of God’s grace. God does not call us to something that cannot be achieved by and through His grace. Though becoming holy and becoming God’s instruments of salvation are seemingly impossible for us, nothing is impossible with God. If we believe, and we cooperate with God’s abundant grace, then God can accomplish His will in and through us.

Remember that our call is initiated by God, out of His love for us and in accordance with His eternal plan for us. Therefore God will not hold back.


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Be Not Afraid


The second element of our response is to not be afraid.


The demands of covenant can certainly be intimidating. But if God loves you and has the greatest plan for you, and since He is all-powerful, then what is there to be afraid of? We have God’s assurance in the Bible. According to Paul, “we know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28).

There are two conditions for all things to work out in our life for our good. First, that we love God. Second, that we are called according to His purpose. We can easily lay claim to the first. Though our love for God is very imperfect, though our love for God falls far short of the first and greatest commandment that bids us to love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength (Mk 12:30), we know that we do love God.

Now as to the second condition, it is precisely that God calls us into covenant with Himself. His purpose is so that we might be holy as He is holy, and that we might be His instruments of salvation to others. So God Himself, with His call and His purpose, fulfills the second condition, as long as we strive to respond.


But many people in the world, including those who are renewed Christians, worry about and fear many things in life. There is crime, serious illness, accidents, terrorism, bad people, misfortunes, and so on. There are the uncertainties of the future. Nothing and no one seem to be secure.

But we have already seen how God is so very much for us. “What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him?” (Rom 8:31-32). If God is on our side, if He loves us and has the best plan for us, then what is there to worry about? If God offered His very own Son for our sakes, even when we were sinners, then will God withhold any good thing from us?

“What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?” (Rom 8:35). Paul, who suffered much for the sake of Christ, provides a strong affirmation. “For I am convinced that neither death, not life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:38-39). Wow! If nothing, nothing at all, can separate us from the love of God, then we need never fear.


Now there will certainly be storms in life. But the God who loves us with an eternal love is committed to be there with us.

There is that incident when Jesus was in the boat with his disciples. “A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, ‘Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?’” (Mk 4:37-40).

We may be facing the greatest challenge in our life, one that seemingly could overwhelm us, one that is even life-threatening. But God can turn our life around in an instant. He brought the Hebrews out of centuries of slavery in Egypt and made them a rich and powerful kingdom. Jesus cured the terminally ill, and even raised the dead back to life. The Lord can completely reverse our lot. He can bring us literally from darkness to light.

Even during those times when it seems Jesus is not attendant to our needs, when it seems he is asleep and cannot hear our cries for help, he is there in the boat with us. It is just up to him to decide whether it is time to come to our aid, and in what way.


Jesus does care for you. Very much. You just need to have faith in him. And never be afraid again.


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Persevere through Trials of Life

The third element of our response is to persevere through the trials of life.


If there will be storms in life, then there will be pains and crosses.

At times, these will be due to our own sin. If we persist in taking drugs, or living an immoral life, or turning to crime, then we will inevitably bring pain upon ourselves.

At other times, it is due to the sins of others. We become innocent victims.

Then there is the evil one seeking to afflict God’s people. He is especially vicious against those who serve God.


God allows these pains and crosses into our lives. But did we not already see that all things work for our good? Yes! And God is certainly able to bring good out of what seems bad. God uses pains and crosses to purify us, to draw us closer to Himself, to make us realize our total dependence upon Him, to humble us, to increase our faith. And when God finally acts to calm the storm, then we grow deeper in our appreciation of who He is, and of what His power can accomplish.

Viewed as such, crosses are then even to be embraced. Jesus said as much when he defined the requirements of discipleship. “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Lk 9:23).

To qualify to be a disciple of Jesus, one first needs to deny himself. One must not look to self-interest, since this can very easily get in the way of serving Christ without conditions. Then one takes up his cross. Daily. Only then are we able to truly follow Jesus.

When we truly follow Jesus, we know that it leads all the way to Calvary. But beyond the cross, there lies victory and glory.


So the key is endurance and perseverance. Many people give up just at the moment of triumph, just on the eve of victory. We as Christians are to “persevere in running the race that lies before us.” (Heb 12:1). This is because as Paul and Barnabas said, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22).

There will be hardships, but they will only be stepping stones on our way to heaven. The hardships and trials actually work for our good! Thus we can “even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:3-5a). Like Jesus, we can endure the cross for the sake of the joy that lies before us (Heb 12:2).


You endure, and you will be able to follow Jesus all the way to heaven.


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Rejoice Always


The fourth element of our response is to rejoice always.


Given the five basic truths that we have learned above, these are certainly cause for great joy. This is a joy that is not based on personal or extraneous circumstances. They are simply based upon God, who is unchanging and always faithful. As such, no one can take such joy away from us.

Thus Paul had the confidence to say, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!” (Phil 4:4). Rejoice always. All the time. No ifs, no buts. Such joy is not dependent on any worldly circumstance whatsoever.

Now Paul was not some starry-eyed follower of Jesus but a hard-nosed battle-hardened disciple. He himself spoke about the pains and crosses he endured: labors, imprisonments, beatings, brushes with death, lashings, stoning, shipwrecks, dangers, sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, frequent fastings, cold and exposure, anxiety for the churches (2 Cor 11:23-28). But Paul wore these like a badge of honor!

And despite all his afflictions, Paul rejoiced. In fact, he was “overflowing with joy all the more because of all (his) affliction.” (2 Cor 7:4b).


Paul brought the same exhortation to all the Christian communities: “Rejoice always.” (1 Thes 5:16). In this particular case, he followed it up with “Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thes 5:17-18). One could rejoice always by being constantly connected with God in prayer, which establishes a personal and intimate relationship with the Almighty. This is important, for only God is truly the source and cause of our joy. Further, one could rejoice always by having the proper attitude of thanksgiving for anything and everything, even for pains and crosses.

For as long as we are in God’s hands, then it is His will, and plan, that are unfolding.


There may even be times of persecution. Especially as we serve God. For the evil one is never happy when God uses us, especially as God uses us as instruments of His salvation for others. Thus we can expect to be oppressed and persecuted.

But even here we can rejoice. Jesus himself pronounced the beatitude. “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” (Mt 5:10-12a).

None of this makes sense to the world. But according to the mysterious and inscrutable mind of God, we can and should rejoice. The great apostle Paul realized this, based on his own experiences. The prophets themselves were persecuted in the same way (Mt 5:12b). It is one proof that we are on the right track.


In a world that is full of sadness, hopelessness and despair, to be able to go through life with joy, always, is certainly a grace and great blessing from God.


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Conclusion


Let us review what we have learned.

  • God loves you and so only wants the best for you.

  • God has a plan for your life, one that is for your welfare and so you can look forward to a future full of hope.

  • God has a special relationship with you, that of covenant, and so He is bonded to you as your God and you to Him as part of His people.

  • God wants you to be holy as He Himself is holy.

  • God uses you as His instrument to bring His salvation to the world.


These five utterly amazing truths have been revealed. Allow God to plant them deeply in your heart. And know that these truths can radically change your life. Never again will you be buffeted by the changing circumstances of life, but with these truths, you are firmly anchored, on your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.


The world does not know such life-changing truths. But now you do. Now you can live your life with confidence and with joy, because you are indeed very special. Your name has been written in heaven (Lk 10:20b). Look forward to what is already reserved for you.

Now go and live your life in Jesus and in the power of the Spirit.




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