How God transforms the sinner into the saint

“I believe that education is the single most important activity there is. If there is good education, then I think everything else takes care of itself, on every level: personal, family, business, community, state, regional, and national levels. I have faith that most of our problems - economic disasters, international and intercultural strife, and even climate problems - can ultimately be solved by a well-educated populace. Education is the cornerstone to growth…” Andrew Zimmerman Jones

The way to the good life

Everyone has his own thoughts regarding the different aspects of a good education. But everyone is agreed that education, whether formal or informal, intellectual or spiritual, or all of those and more, is the key to success in any endeavor.

So from early on, we learn how to learn. We go through our ABCs and 123s. We learn how best to do things for ourselves and interact with one another to obtain our desired results – get a good job, find a suitable mate, build a beautiful home, raise children, gain fame, fortune and riches – secure the best place for ourselves in the world and live happily ever after.

A beautiful picture, an attainable objective, a worthy goal. It could suffice us for a hundred years, if we’re lucky. But after, it will all be gone.

Is this all there is to life?

Life after death is certain

Fortunately for us, it is not.

This picture just takes up the physical side of life, the life on earth that most people know it to be. But there is more to life than just what you can see and touch.

Waiting for us just at the other side, we will crossover to an invisible world that is the Real World and the True Life.

Every man’s journey in this world

Christians are taught that a man’s life is a journey from being a sinner to becoming a saint. The Hindus explain this concept more clearly in greater detail. They believe that every man undergoes four stages of life.


PIXABAY

We first become a student that initiates studies mainly in preparation for the material aspects of life. Realizing the benefits of a good education, our parents would struggle and sacrifice to afford us this advantage. And depending on our efforts and strivings, we will enjoy the fruits of our labor or suffer the consequences of our neglect. 

PIXABAY

Then next, we become a householder. Here, we find a suitable mate, raise children and engage in economic activity. We are able to enjoy some worldly pleasures. No, this is not at all sinful but the full satiation of our fleshly desires is a natural part of the total human experience, even sex and some excesses are normal and necessary. All things will be corrected and balanced – mastered over time.

Subsequently, as we grow older spiritually and much wiser, now less enamored with the physical attractions of this world having indulged them all, we will, in this life or in a future one, decide to withdraw from worldly involvement and live the life of a hermit or a recluse.

At this stage, we retire from our business or professional activities, relinquish direct family duties and responsibilities and reflect on the deeper aspects and meaning of life. We do all this, not to escape our responsibilities and hardships, but rather, to prepare ourselves for much greater service. 

Once the sinner, now a saint

PIXABAY

Finally, as a spiritual pilgrim or a Christian saint, we will devote our life to the service of our fellowmen. The pilgrim or the monk goes wherever he is sent, trusting to divine providence, and helps all those who are worthy and in need of spiritual guidance by sharing the knowledge and wisdom he has acquired over many lifetimes.

The life that never ends

The cycle then completed, we will have merited our release (or salvation) from the cycle of rebirth, old age, disease and death. No longer subject to death in a physical body, we will then be permitted to live forever after where divine love and eternal happiness wait for us all.

The Bible is the only true word of God?

This Holy Week: Know your Bible

The Bible is the (only true) word of God. The Bible is complete in itself. It is written in the Bible, therefore it must be true.

Seriously, is it?

Sometimes, the writings are true. At other times, they are not. Most are transitional, subject to change, revision and upgrading. There are levels to the Biblical teachings, just like any instructions are not static, but progressive.

Just as water seeks its level, so must you gravitate to the truths at your own level in the order of evolution. It is different for everyone.

Do you even know who wrote the books of the Bible or how the books were selected for inclusion in the authorized Bible?

If you still don’t, isn’t it time that you did?

Who wrote the books in the Bible? 

How were the books in the Bible selected?

Reincarnation verses in the Bible

This Holy Week, give time to reflecting on the things of God, advancing your knowledge and understanding of the deeper levels of the divine teachings.

A Happy and Enlightening Easter to you!

So you think you're going to heaven

The assurance of the “Christian” evangelists

It’s so easy. Evangelists urge you: “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved - you and your household.”

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By his stripes, you have been healed. By the shedding of his blood, you have been washed clean. Although you are sinful and have committed mortal sins, Jesus has already paid for all of them by sacrificing himself and dying on the cross. All for you

And by God’s grace, you are saved by your faith, not of works – it is a gift from God.




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The Catholic way

The Catholics teach: You have committed a sin or even mortal sins, not a problem. Confess your sins. Repent. Say a few Hail Marys, partake of Christ’s body and blood and your sins are forgiven.

Do these teachings and practices really make sense to you? Seriously?

What happened to the principles of personal responsibility, and justice and fairness?

If this were true, is this fair to everyone involved? The guilty are shown mercy. That’s practicing brotherly love. Right, just as we should.

But because they won’t have to answer for their crimes, unrepentant criminals will likely commit their crimes, again, over and over, and they will graduate to committing even worse offenses.

How can anyone ever feel safe, again? Without accountability and exacting retribution, there will be no deterrents to curb criminal activity and no way to administer justice to the victims. 

There has got to be a better way

Surely, there has got to be something more that must and can be done. Or is it possible that we have simply misunderstood the full depth and meaning of the divine plan of God? Have we? Misunderstood?

The kingdom of God is reserved only for the righteous

In the World of Perfection, there can be nothing imperfect. Spiritual perfection perforce relates and applies to our every thought, word and deed. Honestly, do you really think that you are already perfect?

Well, we may not be perfect now, but we will be, according to Jesus. He tells us unhesitatingly, “You must be perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” But how, you ask. Surely he must be mistaken. How can we ever become perfect in just this one brief lifetime allotted to man? 80 or a hundred years, it’s just not possible. But you don’t think that he is lying, do you?

Reincarnation reintroduced and clarified

Knowing the answers and understanding God's plan can be as simple as considering the validity of the divine principle of reincarnation (not taken up here for lack of space). Then the mystery can be solved and Christ’s teaching becomes certainly doable. With reincarnation operating in our life, everything will make sense. We will have all the time and the opportunities we need to attain to our spiritual perfection.

Actually, this is just one of those things that Jesus referred to when he told us before he left: “There is so much more I want to tell you, but youcannot understand it, now.” But he also said, “Today, I speak to you in parables but the time is coming when I will speak to you, plainly. I will come again.”

Christ is here, already

For now, let us just suppose that there will be more revelations to come when he does return. Some more recent sources like Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce and the ‘Aquarian Gospel’ tell us that, in fact, he is here, already, waiting in the wings.

Putting the pieces together

While waiting for the prophecies to come true, perhaps we can already make some sense of the apparent irrationality that directly relate to many widely believed but false religious teachings.

When you truly believe in Jesus, then you should follow what he teaches and live your life, accordingly. Those who do not only prove that they do not really believe. And if they really don’t, then they are not saved, can you agree? To restate the obvious, it is not enough to just believe, you and everyone else must comply with the divine teachings.  




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Jesus is not a human sacrifice

If you will search the Scriptures, yourself, you will find that the references to Jesus sacrificing himself for your sins and paying for your debts never were his teachings. In fact, Jesus is emphatic in the books of Mark, Luke and Matthew that his followers must take up and carry their own cross.

Deeds are what count

As to the reference to not having to do good works but being saved purely on the basis of your faith in Jesus, alone, he vehemently refutes this saying, “Not everyone who calls me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do what my Father in heaven wants them to do.”

All debts must be paid in full

And to the Catholics, Jesus tells this parable: “Settle disputes with your adversary, amicably, before it is too late; otherwise, he might drag you into court and the court would hand you over to the authorities to be thrown in jail. I tell you, you won’t be released from there until you have paid the last penny.” (MT 5)    Through the unerring operation of the Law of Karma or the principle of sowing and reaping, all debts must be paid in full.

Ignorance is not an excuse

While Jesus admits that we being like little children “know not what we (they) do”, nevertheless, we cannot simply confess our sins and be forgiven. We must be truly repentant and strive not to commit the same mistake or sin, again. And we must effect restitution or compensate for the harm we did, if not to the actual person, then to others in their place.

The Way

The Way to God is through loving and serving our brothers.

Christ then concludes in Matthew 25:

“‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; naked and you clothed me; sick and in prison and you visited me.’

“Then, the righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you anything to drink? Or a stranger and help you? Or naked and clothe you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

“And the King will tell them, ‘When you did this for the least of my brothers, you were doing it for me!’”

Now I know what you’re thinking

“But hey, wait just a minute,” you say, “what about Dimas? Wasn’t he crucified with Jesus? He was a thief and a sinner but he repented and went straight to Paradise, didn’t he?”

Right, you are. But what is Paradise and what is Heaven?

The “many mansions” and dimensions of being

In the Kingdom, there are “many mansions”. It’s something like how it is down here on Earth. There are highly developed freedom-loving countries that empower their citizens enabling them to enjoy all the good things this world can offer. But there are also certain places where inhuman conditions exist, where life is continued suffering – wherever persistent war, poverty, hunger, disease, injustice and oppressive conditions are more the norm than the exception.   

According to those among us who have been afforded some insights even if they are only partial and introductory, there is no place like Hell where sinners will be subjected to eternal torment. Instead, in comparing the living conditions in the various spiritual planes and dimensions, our stay here on Earth can be regarded as a living hell, but only for a short time. It is here that in taking up our daily lessons and opportunities for self-development, we experience extreme hardships and difficulties, but only for as long as the needed lessons remain unlearned. Once we have learned, we won’t need to take them up, again. And neither will we be required to undergo all the attendant difficulties, pain and suffering they bring.

When we depart this life, we ascend to a Paradise of a world where happiness, peace and love abound in the company of the people we love who have ascended there ahead of us. We enter the dimension or plane of being which corresponds to our level in the order of spiritual evolution.

Nevertheless, the best of anything found here in our world is but a shadow of their real counterparts in Paradise. But Paradise or the Astral Worlds are themselves just a way station for us, a temporary transit point. As soon as we are able to attain to the required level of spiritual attainment, we will be able to merit entry into even Higher Heavenly Worlds.   

More about the unknown worlds and other new teachings will be revealed to us in the coming days when Christ comes again, in your lifetime.

Life after death is certain

Ignorance brings fears and doubts. But with knowledge, hope and certainty will replace them. There really is an Afterlife. All your efforts and strivings will be rewarded and you will be able to enjoy everything that you have worked and sacrificed for.

No need to hurry, though. There is time enough for you to prepare your place in Heaven. Simply avail of your daily opportunities.

Your entry into Heaven is guaranteed and is just a matter of time

Since the beginning of time, no man has heard or seen what God has prepared for him. But the times are different.

Today, all the secrets kept hidden since the foundation of the world are slowly being unfolded in our midst.

To those who are open, the Truth can be known.