IS GOD INTERESTED IN ME?

By: Gladys Raquel Hernández










It would be proper to answer this question considering the following biblical verses:

"God loved the people of this world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who has faith in Him will have eternal life and never really die. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent Him to save them!” (John 3:16-17)

I firmly believe that these concepts are very clear to show that God is interested in the human race and that He loves it. God loves us and has created us to have a love relationship with Him.

Jesus said:

“I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest”. (John 10:10)
But the thing is that the entire human race created, is sinful and the sin which lives into all of us, has separated us from God: our Creator. The love relationship that existed between human beings and God at the Eden garden, broke down as from the disobedience on the part of the man and the woman. (Genesis 3:24)

The following biblical verses refer to these concepts:

“All of us have sinned and fallen short of God´s glory”. (Romans 3.23)
“You were dead, because you were sinful and were not God´s people. But God let Christ make you alive, when He forgave all our sins”. (Colossians 2:13)
The consequence of being sinful is the separation from God: The spiritual death. That is, the human being is completely lost. A great abyss separates the man from God.

Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, the Son of the living God is the only solution for the sin which is into all human beings by nature and inhabits there. The sin is manifested from inside of us in different ways: either orally, or through our thougths and attitudes towards others. We can only have a personal love relationship with God through Jesus, because He is the mediator between God and the human beings. Christ Jesus is the one who makes God´s New Agreement with us.

We can appreciate the following biblical verses:

“There is only one God, and Christ Jesus is the only one who can bring us to God. Jesus was truly human, and he gave Himself to rescue all of us. God showed us this at the right time”. (1º Timothy 2:5-6)
“And Jesus is here! He is the one who makes God´s New Agreement with us, and his sprinkled blood says much better things than the blood of Abel”. (Hebrews 12:24)

The Apostle Paul states the following:“But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful”. (Romans 5:8)

“I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. That part is: Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say. He was buried, and three days later He was raised to life, as the Scriptures say. Christ appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After this, He appeared to more than five hundred other followers. Most of them are still alive, but some have died. He also appeared to James, and then to all of the apostles. Finally, He appeared to me, even though I am like someone who was born at the wrong time. I am the least important of all the apostles. In fact, I caused so much trouble for God´s church that I don´t even deserve to be called an apostle. But God was kind! He made me what I am, and His wonderful kindness wasn´t wasted. I worked much harder than any of the other apostles, although it was really God´s kindness at work and not me” (1º Corinthians 15:3-10)

Jesus said:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. Without me, no one can go to the Father”. (John 14:6)

Jesus died in our place for our sins, even though He was the only fair one of all history and who never committed any sin whatsoever. Jesus always had a perfect love relationship with God: “And I am one with the Father”. (John 10:30)

The following is a very interesting and vivid descriptive-narrative passage that the prophet Isaiah wrote about Jesus many years before His birth:

“He suffered and endured great pain for us, but we thought His suffering was punishment from God. He was wounded and crushed because of our sins; by taking our punishment, He made us completely well. All of us were like sheep that had wandered off. We had each gone our own way, but the Lord gave Him the punishment He deserved. He was painfully abused, but He did not complain. He was silent like a lamb being led to the butcher, as quiet as a sheep having its wool cut off. He was condemned to death without a fair trial. Who could have imagined what would happen to Him? His life was taken away because of the sinful things my people had done. He wasn´t dishonest or violent, but he was buried in a tomb of cruel and rich people. The Lord decided His servant would suffer as a sacrifice to take away the sin and guilt of others. Now the servant will live to see His own descendants. He did everything the Lord has planned”. (Isaiah 53:4-10).

Jesus is eternal. He has no beginning or end. The first book of the Bible, Genesis, states: “God said, Now we will make humans, and they will be like us”. (Genesis 1:26). This means that God Father, God Son and God Holy Spirit have been acting jointly as a unique divine unity everlastingly, which unity manifests itself in three different ways, even though our human mind cannot understand it well and even though it may not be explained from the chronological point of view, considering that Jesus came to the Earth two thousand years ago.

This is a very interesting biblical verse:

“I came from the Father into the world, but I am leaving the world and returning to the Father”. (John 16:28)

We must accept Jesus as our Lord and unique savior in order to have a love relationship with God Father. It is a personal decision we must make, as God has given us free will to decide. No human being loved by us, no relative and no friend at all, can interfere in our love relationship with God once we have decided to have it and to be firm on it. God does not involve third parties in our personal love relationship with Him and He will not allow any person to interfere in it, considering He treats each individual who accepted Jesus Christ as a special treasure, as if he were His only child.

We can appreciate the following biblical verses:

“Then the Lord All-Powerful said: You people are precious to me, and when I come to bring justice, I will protect you, just as parents protect an obedient child”. (Malachi 3:17)
“Yet some people accepted Him and put their faith in Him. So he gave them the right to be the children of God” (John 1:12)

We can conclude with the following biblical verses:

It is an order of God “In the past, God forgave all this because people did not know what they were doing. But now He says that everyone everywhere must turn to Him. He has set a day when He will judge the world´s people with fairness. And He has chosen the man Jesus to do the judging for Him. God has given proof of this to all of us raising Jesus from death”. (Acts 17:30-31)

If Jesus has paid the debt of our sins completely by dying in the cross in order to establish once more the love relationship with God, which had been broken down at the Eden garden, we can be absolutely sure and confident that the Lord is very interested in us and He will always love us!!! (Jeremiah 31:3)

AMEN!!!

Lazarus And The Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31)

By: Gladys Raquel Hernández




This passage about Lazarus and the Rich Man in the Bible, warns us what is going to happen to us after our physical death if we have not accepted Jesus Christ as our unique Savior and if we have not repented of our faults and sins while we lived on earth.

This chapter states that there was once a rich man who wore expensive clothes and every day ate the best food. But a poor beggar named Lazarus was brought to the gate of the rich man´s house. He was happy just to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man´s table. His body was covered with sores, and dogs kept coming up to lick them. The poor man died, and angels took him to the place of honor next to Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. (Luke 16:19-22)

“He went to hell and was suffering terribly. When he looked up and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side, he said to Abraham, “have pity on me!. Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and touch my tongue. I´m suffering terribly in this fire”. Abraham answered, “My friend, remember that while you lived, you had everything good, and Lazarus had everything bad. Now he is happy, and you are in pain. And besides, there is a deep ditch between us, and no one from either side can cross over”. But the rich man said, “Abraham, then please send Lazarus to my father´s home. Let him warn my five brothers, so they won´t come to this horrible place”. Abraham answered, “Your brothers can read what Moses and the prophets wrote. They should pay attention to that”. Then the rich man said, “No, that´s not enough! If only someone from the dead would go to them, they would listen and turn to God”. So Abraham said, “If they won´t pay attention to Moses and the prophets, they won´t listen even to someone who comes back from the dead”. (Luke 16:23-31)

This interesting and alarming passage clearly teaches us in detail the terrible consequences that disobedience to the Lord bring about, as He is our unique and wise God, Sovereign over history.

Abraham talks plainly to the rich man as he points to the deep ditch that separates the Hades or Sheol from heaven. That means that even though we would yearn to help someone to get out of the Hades or Sheol, we just cannot do so.

It is important to notice that the Hades (in Greek “Kingdom of death”) or Sheol (in Hebrew) is a place full of torment, of darkness, of complete separation from God, where the rebels, cowards, immoral, unfaithful or dirty-minded people go (those who have rebelled against God and whose names are not written in the book of life) before being thrown into the lake of fire and burning sulfur after the judgment at the Great White Throne (final judgment) and will be in pain day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:10-15 and 21:8)

We can view the following biblical verses:

“I also saw all the dead people standing in front of that throne. Every one of them was there, no matter who they had once been. Several books were opened, and then the book of life was opened. The dead were judged by what those books said they had done. The sea gave up the dead people who were in it, and death and its kingdom also gave up their dead. Then everyone was judged by what they had done. Afterwards, death and its kingdom were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Anyone whose name wasn´t written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire”. (Revelation 20:12-15)

In said passage, Abraham warns the rich man to listen to What Moses and the prophets wrote. At present, this story is repeated, as God´s plan is extended to all the human race of all times. God also warns us to listen to His different servants, (Apostles, Prophets, Missionaries, Pastors and Teachers), that is, people who have matured in their faith, who have had personal encounters with Jesus Christ throughout their lives, who have accepted Him as Savior and who have understood God´s plan for them.

We can appreciate clearly through this present passage that it is only during this earthly life that we can have the possibility to encounter Jesus and accept Him as our savior. Therefore, no one and nothing can intervene in our favor after our physical death. “The opportunity to get redemption of our souls is only during our lives”.

How is it possible not to take care of our eternal life, to divert our attention from it?. We must guard our thoughts and our own salvation, by persevering to the end of our lives. If we do not do it for ourselves, who will do so? It is important to reflect seriously on this. God is even patient and is waiting for you with His arms extended so that you go back to Him and so that He can live forever in your life!!!!

“Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life”. (Proverbs 4:23)

“The Lord isn´t slow about keeping His promises, as some people think He is. In fact, God is patient because He wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost”. (2º Peter 3:9)

AMEN!!!

Who Is The Ruler Of This World?

By: Gladys Raquel Hernández



"Put on all the armor that God gives, so you can defend yourself against the devil´s tricks. We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world. So put on all the armor that God gives. Then when that evil day comes, you will be able to defend yourself. And when the battle is over you will still be standing firm”. (Ephesians 6:11-13)

“This world´s people are now being judged and the ruler of this world is already being thrown out!. (John 12:31)

It is possible to view through these biblical verses that there is an opponent, an adversary, an enemy who opposes our love relationship with God. This spiritual being once belonged to God´s army in heaven and was the protector cherubim: one of God´s winged attendants and the most important angel in God´s kingdom, who was in charge of taking care of all God´s creation in the holy mountain. This spiritual being was perfect to fulfill his mission, but he had a shortcoming and made a serious mistake: he became conceited with his complete beauty and perfection and wanted to occupy God´s place. Therefore, God threw him down to the earth. This spiritual being was Lucifer. Lucifer is Satan, the angel rebelled against God and forced out of his place in heaven together with a third of angels in his favor.

We can appreciate the following biblical verses that establish these concepts:

“At one time, you were perfect, intelligent, and good-looking”. (Ezekiel 28:12)

“I appointed a winged creature to guard your home on my holy mountain, where you walked among gems that dazzled like fire”. (Ezekiel 28:14)

“You said to yourself, I´ll climb to heaven and place my throne above the highest stars. I´ll sit there with the gods far away in the north. I´ll be above the clouds, just like God Most High”. (Isaiah 14:13-14)

“You traded with other nations and became more and more cruel and evil. So I forced you to leave my mountain, and the creature that had been your protector now chased you away from the gems”. (Ezekiel 28:16)

“But the dragon lost the battle. It and its angels were forced out of their places in heaven and were thrown down to the earth. Yes, that old snake and his angels were thrown out of heaven! That snake, who fools everyone on earth, is known as the devil and Satan”. (Revelation 12:8-9)

Satan as well as his demons (fallen angels) thrown down to the earth are full of hatred and rancor towards the entire human race, which they have been enticing and deceiving since the very beginning, because the devil and his demons know that they will be finally thrown into the lake of fire and burning sulfur from which they will never get out and will be in pain day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:10 and 21:8)

“Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack. But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith. You know that all over the world the Lord´s followers are suffering just as you are”. (1º Peter 5:8-9)

That final fate is also reserved to all the human beings who have rebelled against God, according to the biblical prophecies. We, the human beings, have the same sinful nature as Satan (Revelation 20:13-15).

However, our good God, who is completely merciful, loved us so much that He planned to redeem us if we accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as our Savior, who died in our place in order to save us from our sins. (John 3:16)

We can view the way the human beings also wanted to reach God on their own, by building the Babel´s tower. This attitude clearly shows that we have the same sinful spirit as Satan:

“They said: let´s build a city with a tower that reaches to the sky! We´ll use hard bricks and tar instead of stone and mortar. We´ll become famous, and we won´t be scattered all over the world”. (Genesis 11:4)

BUT THE LORD GOD DID NOT ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN!

We can view it through these biblical verses:

But when the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower, he said: These people are working together because they all speak the same language. This is just the beginning. Soon they will be able to do anything they want. Come on! Let´s go down and confuse them by making them speak different languages – then they won´t be able to understand each other. So the people had to stop building the city, because the Lord confused their language and scattered them all over the earth”. (Genesis 11:5-8)

We can see the Holy Trinity´s presence working over the human race, that is, God Father, God Son and God Holy Spirit, who are coexisting, infinite and eternal, through these biblical verses where God says “Let´s go down and confuse them” as well as when He says “Now we will make humans and they will be like us.” (Genesis 1:26)

God loves the sinner but He hates the sin. We can view this biblical verse:

“The Lord corrects the people he loves and disciplines those he calls his own”. (Hebrews 12:6)

Therefore, God created men to be like Him and corrects them when they make mistakes due to His endless love, because His holiness so demands.

Probably, we may wonder why God decided to condemn Satan and the demons, and to forgive the human beings who accept Jesus and repent of their sins, if they all have a sinful nature. If we consider when Satan was Lucifer, the protector cherubim, who lived in a state of complete harmony and happiness together with the other fallen angels in heaven, a condition of life we never knew, perhaps, God, in His justice, wants to make a difference and condemn those who never had any pain, disease, anguish, sorrow, grief, despair and desolation whatsoever and, in spite of it, they rebelled against God, and to redeem the human beings through Jesus Christ, who do suffer affliction on earth.

Now, we can view the devil´s possibilities:

- He brought down other nations. (Isaiah 14:12)
- He made the world tremble. (Isaiah 14:16)
- He shook up kingdoms. (Isaiah 14:16)
- He made earth a desert. (Isaiah 14:17)
- He captured every city. (Isaiah 14:17)

Some of the devil´s power´s traits are:

- The sinners are under the power of the devil. (1º John 5:19)
- He distresses God´s children. (Job 1:12)

Other sources of God´s children´s distress are:

a. Caused by men´s negligence. (Deuteronomy 9:14)
b. Caused by God Himself. (Genesis 22:1-2)

- The devil blinds the minds of unbelievers. (2º Corinthians 4:4)
- He fights against God´s children. (Ephesians 6:12)
- He fools people on earth by pretending to work all kinds of miracles, wonders and signs. (Ezekiel 7:10-12 – 2º Thessalonians 2:7-10 - Revelation 13:13-14)
- He entices, deceives and tests everybody. (Luke 4:13)
- He makes false promises. (Matthew 4:8)
- He accuses God´s children. (Job 1:9 – Zechariah 3:1 – Revelation 12:10)
- He causes painful sores. (Job 2:7)
- He steals, murders and destroys. (John 8:44)
- He is a liar. (John 8:44)
- He deceives and fools people. (Matthew 7:21 – Revelation 12:9 – 1º John 4:1-3)
- He tests people. (Luke 22:31)
-He stops God´s work. (1º Thessalonians 2:18 – 2º Thessalonians 2:7-10)
- He wants to get the better of us. (2º Corinthians 2:11)

The following are some traits within the demons´ organization:

- They are organized according to hierarchies. (Ephesians 6:12)
- They are distributed worldwide. (Daniel 10:13-20)
- They use unbelievers to cause harm. (John 8:44)

The demons (fallen angels) serve Satan. Their illegitimate authority comes from the one of Satan himself. Jesus showed His power over the enemy by forcing out demons easily during his earthly life. Upon unmasking and destroying the power of hell, He made the kingdom of heaven of His own dominion.

1.- Christ forced out demons. (Matthew 12:27-29)
2.- God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross. There Christ defeated all powers and forces. (Colossians 2:14-15)
3.- The demons were tormented by Jesus Christ. (Luke 4:34 – Luke 8:28)
4.- Jesus Christ freed people under the power of the devil. (Luke 4:41)
5.- Jesus Christ destroyed all that the devil has done from the very beginning. (1º John 3:8)
6.-God´s own Son, Christ, protects His children and the devil cannot harm them. (1º John 5:18))
7. Everybody was amazed for Christ´s authority and power to order evil spirits out of people. (Luke 4:36)

God´s children have authority and power on evil spirits.

We can view the following biblical verses:

“In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us”. (Romans 8:37)
“Children, you belong to God, and you have defeated these enemies. God´s Spirit is in you and is more powerful than the one that is in the world” (1º John 4:4)
“I am sure that nothing can separate us from God´s love – not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God´s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord! (Romans 8:38-39)
“Jesus called together his twelve apostles and gave them complete power over all demons and diseases”. (Luke 9:1)
“Everyone who believes me will be able to do wonderful things. By using my name they will force out demons, and they will speak new languages”. (Mark 16:17)
“God´s Spirit doesn´t make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love and self-control”. (2º Timothy 1:7)
All God´s children must know that they cannot be possessed by evil spirits.

It is important to notice the following biblical verse:

“We are sure that God´s children do not keep on sinning. God´s own Son protects them, and the devil cannot harm them”. (1º John 5:18)

We can be sure and self-confident that the Lord has perfect control over all things created. Should you follow Him step by step, day after day during all your life, you will always be within His good will. You will enjoy yourself with His endless peace, joy and love towards you. Thus, the enemy will not be able to harm you. But you must be on the alert, by praying continuously to God, your Lord.

God will be in control forever! (1º Peter 5:11)

AMEN!!!

Music As An Instrument Of Praise And Worship

PRAISE AND WORSHIP MINISTRY











By: Gladys Raquel Hernández




Music has been an element, an essential means of worship to God which has been carried out since the Old Testament times until now by the people of Israel: the first people chosen by God, His pioneer and loved people, in order to take the Good News of salvation all over the world.

The Christian music, through the different musical instruments played individually or jointly, giving even a greater harmony, is a way of expression, of communication, of manifestation of feelings, thoughts and emotions under deep inspiration, on the part of those people who play it, accompanied also by deeply inspired songs, new songs, psalms, hymns, poems, poetry and praises. Likewise, the Christian music is a blessing channel for all God´s faithful people, considering that it allows them to enter God´s presence.

God´s Word establishes that God enjoys Himself through His faithful people´s praise. We can view the following biblical verses:

“Everyone in Jerusalem and Judah, celebrate and shout with all your heart! Zion, your punishment is over. The Lord has forced your enemies to turn and retreat. Your Lord is King of Israel and stands at your side; you don´t have to worry about any more troubles. Jerusalem, the time is coming, when it will be said to you. “Don´t be discouraged or grow weak from fear! The Lord your God wins victory after victory and is always with you. He celebrates and sings because of you. And he will refresh your life with his love” (Zephaniah 3:14-17)
“City of Zion, sing and celebrate!. The Lord has promised to come and live with you”. (Zechariah 2:10)

God´s faithful people celebrate the Lord´s Greatness. We can view the following biblical verses:

“Sing, people of Zion!. Celebrate the greatness of the holy Lord of Israel. God is here to help you”. (Isaiah 12:6)
“Moses and the Israelites sang this song in praise of the Lord: I sing praises to the Lord for his great victory! He has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea. The Lord is my strength, the reason for my song, because he has saved me. I praise and honor the Lord - he is my God and the God of my ancestors”. (Exodus 15:1-2)
The time is coming when the people of Judah will sing this song: Our city is protected. The Lord is our fortress, and he gives us victory”. (Isaiah 26:1)
“After the battle was over that day, Deborah and Barak sang this song: We praise you, Lord! Our soldiers volunteered, ready to follow you”. (Judges 5:1-2)

As soon as David caused the Levites to bring back the arc of the pact to Jerusalem, there was music and joy. Let us view it.

“David then told the leaders to choose some Levites to sing and play music on small harps, other stringed instruments, and cymbals”. (1º Chronicles 15:16)

As we can appreciate through these previous biblical verses, every time a battle was won, when something was recovered, when people conquered any city, overcame the enemy, or celebrated a victory, there were musical instruments being played and voices singing.

We can picture this description:

“The singers come first, and then the musicians, surrounded by young women playing tambourines”. (Psalm 68:25)

The combination of musical instruments and songs is an order of God. Let us view it:

“Sing as you play tambourines and the lovely sounding stringed instruments. Sound the trumpets and start the New Moon Festival. We must also celebrate when the moon is full. This is the law in Israel, and it was given to us by the God of Jacob”. (Psalm 81:2-4)

God´s faithful people combined instruments, voices and new songs which came directly from divine inspiration. Let us view it:

“Praise the Lord with harps! Use harps with ten strings to make music for him. Sing a new song. Shout! Play beautiful music”. (Psalm 33:2-3 – Psalm 144-9)
“And you gave me a new song, a song of praise to you. Many will see this, and they will honor and trust you, the Lord God”. (Psalm 40:3)

The following biblical verses establish that all the inhabitants on this earth must praise the Lord with new songs, in complete joy.

“Sing a new song to the Lord! Everyone on this earth sing praises to the Lord, sing and praise his name”. (Psalm 96:1)
“Tell everyone on this earth to sing happy songs in praise of the Lord”. (Psalm 98:4)
Psalm 96:2-4 – Psalm 98:1 – 100:1-2 – 149:1 – Isaiah 42:10 – 1º Chronicles 16:23-24

We can sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with joy:

“Make music for him on harps. Play beautiful melodies!.(Psalm 98:5)
“As long as I live, I will sing and praise you, the Lord God”. (Psalm 104:33)
“…. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God”. (Colossians 3:16)
“Sing praises to the Lord! Tell about his miracles”. (Psalm 105:2)
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, while the other prisoners listened”. (Acts 16:25)

There exist praises and new songs in front of God´s Throne:
“And a new song was being sung in front of God´s throne”. (Revelation 14:3)

God´s Word establishes that God gives us songs at night.

“Every day, you are kind, and at night you give me a song as my prayer to you, the living Lord God”. (Psalm 42:8)
“The Lord´s people will sing as they do when they celebrate a religious festival at night”. (Isaiah 30:29)

It is possible to enter God´s presence with praises:

“Come to worship him with thankful hearts and songs of praise”. (Psalm 95:2)

The faithful People of Israel sang and praised the Lord in thanksgiving because He is good. Let us view it:

“They praised the Lord and gave thanks as they took turns singing: The Lord is good! His faithful love for Israel will last forever”. (Ezra 3:11)
“At that time you will say: Our Lord, we are thankful, and we worship only you. We will tell the nations how glorious you are and what you have done”. (Isaiah 12:4)

God´s Word teaches us to sing God´s justice and glory:

“Sing about his glorious name. Honor him with praises”. (Psalm 66:2)

God´s Word uses exaggerated words to make us praise the Lord. Let us view it:

“All of you faithful people, praise our glorious Lord! Celebrate and worship. Praise God with songs on your lips and a sword in your hand. Take revenge and punish the nations. Put chains of iron on their kings and rulers. Punish them as they deserve; this is the privilege of God´s faithful people. Shout praises to the Lord! (Psalm 149:5-9)

God´s Word establishes that the dead will rise to life and will praise God when Jesus returns to the earth to take His church with Him forever:

“Your people will rise to life! Tell them to leave their graves and celebrate with shouts. You refresh the earth like morning dew; you give life to the dead”. (Isaiah 26:19)

God´s faithful people sang Jacob´s redemption which is the same as our redemption through Jesus Christ. Let us view it:

“Tell the heavens and the earth to start singing! Tell the mountains and every tree in the forest to join in the song! The Lord has rescued his people; now they will worship him”. (Isaiah 44:23)

It is possible to praise the Lord with the spirit as well as with the mind:

“…. Sometimes I should sing with my spirit, and at other times I should sing with my mind” (1º Corinthians 14:15)

We can praise with joy:

“… If you are feeling good, you should sing praises”. (James 5:13)

God´s Word establishes that even the stars in the sky praise the Lord. Let us view it:

“What supports the foundation? Who placed the cornerstone, while morning stars sang, and angels rejoiced?” (Job 38:6-7)

Praises were accompanied by sacrifices in front of God in the Old Testament times:

“… Now that you are once again acceptable to the Lord, bring sacrifices and offerings to give him thanks”. (1º Chronicles 29:31)
“I am God Most High! The only sacrifice I want is for you to be thankful and to keep your word. Pray to me in time of trouble. I will rescue you, and you will honor me”. (Psalm 50:14-15)

Other biblical verses which refer to praise sacrifices are:

Exodus 15:2 – 1º Chronicles 16:8-9 and 29:13 - Nehemiah 12:27 – Psalms 7:17 and 9:1 - Psalm 30:12 – Psalms 42:5 and 11, and 43:4-5 - Psalm 50:23 – Psalm 57:9 - Psalm 65:1 – Psalm 67:3 and 5 - Psalm 69:30 – Psalm 71:22 - Psalm 79:13 – Psalms 92:1 and 95:2 – Psalms 96:6 and 99:3 – Psalms 100:4, 105:1, 106:1, 107:8-15-21-31, 111:1 and 113:1, Psalms 116:17, 117:1, 118:21 and 119:7-62-164 – Psalms 135:1 and 138:1 – Psalm 136:2 – Psalms 140:13 and 145:3 – Psalm 146:1-2 - Psalm 147:7 and 12 – Isaiah 38:19-20 – Jonah 2:9 – Zephaniah 3:19-20 – Matthew 11:25 and 21:16 - Luke 10:21 and 24:53 – Romans 15:11 - 2º Corinthians 8:18 - Ephesians 5:19 - Hebrews 2:12 and 13:15 – Revelation 5:13 and 19:5.

The psalms 145, 146 and 147, refer to the praise to God for His kindness and mercy, for His justice and for His favor towards Jerusalem. Psalm 148 exhorts all the Creation to praise the Lord God. Psalm 149 exhorts the people of Israel to praise the Lord God with musical instruments. Psalm 150 finishes with a universal calling for attention. Let us view it:

“Let every living creature praise the Lord. Shout praises to the Lord! (Psalm 150:6)

Worship to God is more than singing, more than the combination of musical notes, more than a song, a psalm or a hymn… It means to surrender our heart to God and it implies meditation, respect, obedience and service to God, and sometimes, silence in front of the Lord. Let us view it:

“He told his servants: Stay here with the donkey, while my son and I go over there to worship. We will come back”. (Genesis 22:5)
“Moses quickly bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord”. (Exodus 34:8)
“Everyone on this earth will remember you, Lord. People all over the world will turn and worship you, because you are in control, the ruler of all nations”. (Psalm 22:27-28)
“Everyone on earth, now tremble and worship the Lord, majestic and holy”. (Psalm 96:9)

Other biblical verses that refer to worship to God are:

1º Samuel 1:3 - Nehemiah 9:6 - Psalm 5:7 – Psalm 29:2 – Psalm 66:4 - Psalm 86:9 - Psalm 95:6 - Isaiah 27:13 - Isaiah 66:23 – Zechariah 14:17 – Matthew 2:2 – Matthew 4:10 - Matthew 28:17 – John 4:20, 22 and 24 – John 9:38 – John 12:20 – Acts 8:27 – Acts 10:25 – Acts 17:23 – 1º Corinthians 14:25 – Hebrews 1:6 – Revelation 4:10– Revelation 14:7 – Revelation 15:4 – Revelation 19:4 and 10 – Revelation 22:8

Praise and worship to God imply exaltation, glorification, thanksgiving, honor, magnification and service to our God Creator and Heavenly Father.

“And now, because of Jesus Christ, we can praise the only wise God forever! Amen.” (Romans 16:27)

The Narrow Door

The Narrow Door (Luke 13:22-30)







By: Gladys Raquel Hernández




Someone asked Jesus if few people would be saved and He answered:

“Do all you can to go in the narrow door! A lot of people will try to get in, but will not be able to”. (Luke 13:24)

This biblical verse is very important and invites all human beings of the planet to reflect seriously about the expression: “The Narrow Door”.

Jesus was referring to the fact that it is not always easy for all the people in the world to live a proper Christian life such as He has taught and is established in the Sacred Scriptures as regards the ten Commandments and further Laws and teachings that God has ordered to obey and follow so that we could be able to live according to His will, and therefore, we could be blessed by Him. (Deuteronomy 5:1-21)

Even though the salvation of an individual is due to God´s Grace and not due to his works or any merit whatsoever, Jesus teaches us that if we allow Him to inhabit our hearts and govern our lives, God´s Commandments and His Laws can be perfectly fulfilled through Him. That is, God will always strengthen and comfort us when we fall down, when we go wrong or when we commit sins, considering that His mercy endures forever.

“Shout praises to the Lord! He is good to us, and his love never fails”. (Psalm 107:1)

The Sacred scriptures state that even the Jewish people could not obey God´s Laws as He would have wished them to.

We should view the following biblical verse that establishes this concept:

My friends, the message is that Jesus can forgive your sins! The Law of Moses could not set you free from all your sins. But everyone who has faith in Jesus is set free”. (Acts 13:38-39)

However, a Christian person who is matured in his faith cannot abuse of God´s Grace and basically must make great efforts and be brave during all his Christian life.

“I´ve commanded you to be strong and brave. Don´t ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the Lord, your God, and I will be there to help you whenever you go”. (Joshua 1:9)

Therefore, if we do not obey God faithfully, we will lose our eternal salvation. On the other hand, when people in general refer to death, they usually think that any person who dies, goes to God´s presence. How easy it is for people who belong to the world´s system to solve this topic, isnt´t it? Did Jesus mean the same? The answer is: No.

Jesus continues talking:

"Once the owner of the house gets up and locks the door, you will be left standing outside. You will knock on the door and say, “Sir, open the door for us!”. But the owner will answer, “I don´t know a thing about you!”. Then you will start saying, “we dined with you, and you taught in our streets.” But he will say, “I really don´t know who you are! Get away from me, you evil people!” Then when you have been thrown outside, you will weep and grit your teeth because you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the prophets in God´s kingdom. People will come from all directions and sit down to feast in God´s kingdom. There the ones who are now least important will be the most important, and those who are now most important will be least important”. (Luke 13:25-30)

This alarming message on the part of Jesus is clearly addressed to the human race of all times. We have free will to decide and choose what kind of life we want to live and which path to follow during all our lives.
According to what we decide and choose, God will guide us step by step towards His right paths or not, because He will never compel us to do anything. However, the consequences of disobedience will be terrible.

We can view this biblical verse and should pay attention to it:

“Turn to the Lord! He can still be found. Call out to God! He is near”. (Isaiah 55:6)

Otherwise, we can view the consequences:

“The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everyone who does wrong or causes others to sin. Then he will throw them into a flaming furnace, where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain. But everyone who has done right will shine like the sun in their Father´s kingdom. If you have ears, pay attention!”. (Matthew 13:41-43)

We are confined into God´s Laws and into His Plan of eternal salvation, as we are His creation!!! We can neither escape nor decide different alternatives.

Therefore, we should look for our God only!

AMEN!!!