Geta's Blog

Dec 12, 2023

CRACIUNUL COPILARIEI

Filed under: Uncategorized — Geta @ 5:13 pm

Ne apropiem de Craciun, una dintre cele doua mari sarbatori ale crestinatatii.

Craciunul, spre deosebire de Paste, are un caracter mai festiv, mai vesel. S-a nascut, a venit la noi pe Planeta Pamant Isus, Fiul lui Dumnezeu. Bucurie imensa.

Din nefericire astazi marea majoritate a acelora care sarbatoresc Craciunul nu au nimic in gand, in inima, in intentie, de a corela Craciunul cu Cristos, Cel ce S-a nascut in ziua de Craciun.

Este o adevarata isterie a cumparaturilor, chefurilor, evenimentelor ce se organizeaza. Lumini, pom impodobit, mese bogate, cadouri. Toate acestea nu ar fi rele in sine daca noi NU ne-am opri doar la acestea.

La nasterea lui Cristos s-au aprins luminile cerului. Stele au stralucit intr-un mod unic, extraordinar. Si Steaua Calauzitoare a stralucit sa arate intregii lumi si magilor ca S-a nascut Mantuitorul lumii. Si noi punem o stea in varful bradului, asemenea stelei calauzitoare a magilor. Si ornam casa si bradul cu luminite multe, asemenea stelelor cerului la nasterea lui Isus.

De Craciun obisnuim sa oferim daruri.

Magii au adus daruri scumpe parintilor lui Isus, daruri cu semnificatii spirituale dar care prin valoarea lor au asigurat un trai decent si sigur pentru Isus si parintii lui. Au asigurat toate cheltuielile necesare pentru trai dar si pentru migrarea lor in Egipt si reintoarcerea in Israel.

Cantam colinde.

Cantecele care anuntau nasterea lui Isus erau ingeresti. Si asta la propriu. Ele erau cantate de ingeri. Ciobanii care pazeau oile aproape de grajdul in care se nascuse Isus au fost cei ce au avut privilegiul dat de Dumnezeu de a canta cu ingerii si de a fi primii la care Dumnezeu trimite ingerii sa ii informeze despre nasterea lui Isus.

Realitatea zilelor noastre insa ne arata ca foarte multi se bucura de ocazia de a sarbatorii de Craciun, de a face cumparaturi si a orna brazi, luminite si artificii casele, strazile. Si ATAT.

Dar sensul profund al Craciunului trebuie simtit si trait cu latura sa spirituala: un Fiu S-a nascut, Dumnezeu intrupat.

Sarbatorim si ne facem cadouri unii altora. E bine? E rau? E neutru?

Zilele astea m-am gandit la Craciunul copilariei mele. Apoi, dupa ani, la Craciunul fetei noastre.

In copilaria mea iarna era cu zapada si Craciunul era cu zapada. Nu aveam brad dar primeam cadouri. Modeste, ca asa era vremea aia pentru familia mea. Credeam ca Mos Craciun exista. Si ca sa imi aduca un dar eram foarte cuminte, mai ales in Ajun de Craciun, ca Mosu venea in Ajun seara. Am maturat coridorul lung al casei, am ajutat la curatatul zapezii si mi-am curatat cu grija ghetutele. Ma bucuram cu o bucurie speciala cand “Mosu” imi lasa cadourile in ghetutele curatate.

Mai stiu ca mergeam prin vecini cu colindul “O, ce veste minunata!”. Si primeam mere, nuci si cativa bani. Bucurie mare. Erau vremuri grele acelea si fiecare banut era foarte binevenit.

Dar cea mai frumoasa parte a Craciunului era atunci cand seara, impreuna cu bunicii, cantam colinde. Apoi bunicii mei, oameni extraordinari, ne vorbeau despre Isus. Ascultam fermecata.

Anii au trecut. Am ajuns si eu pe postul de Mos Craciun pentru fetita noastra. Pe furis aduceam pomul si il ornam. Puneam darurile sub pom si ieseam. Apoi mergeam in camera ei si o intrebam daca a venit Mosu la ea. Se catara in bratele unuia dintre noi si mergeam cu totii tiptil sa vedem daca a trecut Mosu si pe la noi. Fetita noastra tremura de emotii si fericire. Era fascinata de enigmaticul Mos pe care nu l-a vazut niciodata si de farmecul Craciunului. Si a ramas cu acelasi sentiment de emotie si bucurie pana astazi. Craciunul de atunci cu bucuria bradului si a darurilor a impresionat-o in mod placut. Desigur ca dupa emotia vederii bradului impodobit cantam colinde si ne bucuram cu totii. Isus Cristos era inclus intotdeauna in sarbatorirea nasterii Lui in familia mea.

Privind in urma ma intreb: A fost important sa facem de Craciun ce am facut? A fost bine?

Raspunsul meu categoric este DA. Copilaria noastra a fost mai fericita cu un Craciun fericit. E important sa avem o copilarie fericita? Categoric. Este foartee important. Ne poate marca restul vietii.

Este adevarat ca acum lucrurile au luat proportii in sens negativ si esenta Craciunului consta in cumparaturi si ornamente, minimalizand sau chiar reducand la zero partea spirituala.

Totusi, sa nu uitam ca este important sa oferim copiilor nostri un Craciun atat cat putem noi de frumos. Si sa ii lasam sa se bucure. Dupa ani si ani ne vor multumi. Partea educativa este datoria parintilor pe parcursul intregului an. Nu le facem educatie de Craciun, privandu-i de ceea ce majoritatea copiilor au: BUCURIA.

Si daca puteti, daca va permiteti financiar sau in orice fel, daca stiti familii mai nevoiase care nu isi permit prea multe sau nimic de Craciun, luati putin din ceea ce aveti si dati si altora, sa se poata bucura si ei in Ziua Bucuriei, Craciunul.

Un colind tare frumos spune : “Si nu uita cand esti voios romane sa fii bun.” Sa nu uitam sa fim mai buni, sa facem bucurii altora.

De Craciun Dumnezeu a dat omenirii ce a avut mai de pret: S-a dat pe Sine in Persoana lui Isus Cristos. S-a dat pe Sine sa ne arate cum trebuie sa traim si apoi S-a dat sa moara prin Rastignire ca sa ne poata garanta iertarea de pacate si o viata eterna in prezenta Sa.

Pe El Il sarbatorim de Craciun, cu o bucurie mare. De la El invatam cum sa traim frumos. In El credem si ne incredem.

Sa avem un Craciun Fericit, sa ne bucuram, sa facem bucurii altora si sa Il cinstim pe Sarbatoritul nostru, Isus Cristos.

Sa aveti un Craciun Binecuvantat !

Cu drag,

Geta

CHILDHOOD’S CHRISTMAS

Filed under: Uncategorized — Geta @ 5:07 pm

THE CHILDHOOD’S CHRISTMAS


We are approaching Christmas, one of the two great celebrations of Christianity.
Christmas, unlike Easter, has a more festive, cheerful character. Jesus, the Son of God, was born, came to us on Planet Earth. Immense joy.
Unfortunately, today the great majority of those who celebrate Christmas have nothing in mind, in their heart, in their intention, to correlate Christmas with Christ, the One who was born on Christmas day.
It is a real hysteria of shopping, pleasures, events that are organized. Lights, decorated tree, rich meals, gifts. All these would not be bad in themselves if we did NOT stop only at these.
At the birth of Christ, the lights of the sky were lit. The stars shone in a unique, extraordinary way. And the Guiding Star shone to show the whole world and the wiseman that the Savior of the world was born. And we put a star at the top of the tree, like the guiding star of the wiseman. And we decorated the house and the tree with many lights, like the stars of the sky at the birth of Jesus.
At Christmas we usually give gifts.
The wise man brought expensive gifts to the parents of Jesus, gifts with spiritual meanings but which by their value ensured a decent and safe living for Jesus and his parents. They provided all the necessary expenses for living but also for their migration to Egypt and their return to Israel.
We sing carols.
The songs that announced the birth of Jesus were sung by angels. Real angels. The shepherds who guarded the sheep near the stable where Jesus was born were the ones who had the privilege given by God to sing with the angels and to be the first to whom God sends angels to inform them about the birth of Jesus.
The reality of our days, however, shows us that many people enjoy the opportunity to celebrate Christmas, to shop and decorate their houses and streets with Christmas trees, lights and fireworks.
But the deep meaning of Christmas must be felt and lived with its spiritual side: a Son was born, God incarnate.
We celebrate and give each other gifts. It’s good? It’s bad? Is it neutral?
These days I thought about the Christmas of my childhood. Then, years later, at our daughter’s Christmas.
In my childhood, winter was snowy and Christmas was snowy. We didn’t have a Christmas tree, but we received presents. Modest, because that was the time for my family. I thought Santa Claus existed. And for him to bring me a gift, I had a very good behaviour especially on Christmas Eve, because Santa came in the evening. I swept the long corridor of the house, helped clear the snow and carefully cleaned my boots. I rejoice with special joy when “Santa” leaves my gifts in the cleaned boots.
I also remember that I used to go around the neighbors with the carol “Oh, what wonderful news!”. And I received apples, nuts and some money. Great joy. Those were hard times and every penny was very welcome.
But the most beautiful part of Christmas was when in the evening, together with the grandparents, my parents, we sang carols. Then my grandparents, extraordinary people, told us about Jesus. I listened fascinated.
Years have passed. I also got the position of Santa Claus for our little girl. I secretly brought the tree and decorated it. I put the gifts under the tree and went out. Then I went to her room and ask her if Santa came to her. She was climbing into the arms of one of us and we all went to see if Santa had passed by us. Our little girl was shaking with emotions and happiness. She was fascinated by the enigmatic Santa, whom she had never seen, and by the charm of Christmas. And she remained with the same feeling of emotion and joy until today. The Christmas of that time with the joy of the tree and the gifts impressed her in a pleasant way. Of course, after the emotion of seeing the decorated tree, we sung carols and we all rejoiced. Jesus Christ was always included in the celebration of His birth in my family.
Looking back, I wonder: Was it important to do what we did for Christmas?
My categorical answer is YES. Our childhood was happier with a happy Christmas. Is it important to have a happy childhood? Categorical. It is very important. It can mark the rest of our lives.
It is true that now things have taken negative proportions and the essence of Christmas consists in shopping and decorations, minimizing or even reducing to zero the spiritual part.
However, let’s not forget that it is important to give our children a Christmas as beautiful as we can. And let them enjoy. After years and years they will thank us. The spiritual-educational part is the responsibility of the parents throughout the year. We do not educate them at Christmas, depriving them of what most children have: JOY.
And if you can, if you can afford it financially or in any way, if you know needier families who can’t afford much or nothing for Christmas, take a little of what you have and give it to others, so that they too can enjoy the Day of Joy, Christmas.
A very beautiful carol says: “And don’t forget when you’re happy, Christians to be good.” Let’s not forget to be better Christians, to bring a bit o joy in other people’s lives.
At Christmas, God gave humanity what was most valuable: He gave Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. He gave Himself to show us how we should live and then He gave Himself to die through the Crucifixion so that He could guarantee us the forgiveness of our sins and an eternal life in His presence.
We celebrate Him at Christmas, with great joy. From Him we learn how to live beautifully. In Him we believe and trust.
Let’s have a Merry Christmas, let’s be happy, make others happy and honor Him whose coming in our word we celebrate, Jesus Christ.
Have a blessed Christmas!
With love,
Georgeta

Oct 16, 2023

UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE: THE TIME WE LIVE IN

Filed under: Uncategorized — Geta @ 10:30 am

UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE: THE TIME WE LIVE IN

When it comes to major issues related to the salvation of our souls, the forgiveness of sins, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to wash away our sins, to receive eternal life, the New Testament is very clear, understandable to all, and no one has need theological studies or special seminars to be able to understand how he can receive salvation, salvation from sin, eternal life.

It’s simple: I believe in Jesus, in His sacrifice on the cross to wash away my sins, I accept and declare that I am a sinner and I need Jesus. My faith in Him ensures my salvation. The Holy Spirit makes His home in me and guides me in what to do, how to live from the moment of salvation. Which changes to make in my life.

The Holy Spirit and reading the Bible are the immediate methods to guide my life.

With regard to other topics that the Bible addresses, it is possible that just by reading the Bible, we cannot form a complex and correct view. And that’s because to understand the exact meaning of some statements in the New Testament we need to STUDY the Bible, not just read it. We must transcend ourselves in the first century to understand what is written in that context, historical, social, political and religious.

Jesus told many parables, and some of the disciples asked Jesus to explain the meaning of the parables because they did not understand them. And He explained them.

Someone once told me that the New Testament has certain parts that contradict others. And he gave me an example. It is written that Jesus was born in a stable. Then we are told that the wise men came to worship Jesus and entered “the house” and brought Him gifts. The conclusion of my interlocutor was that one of the options is not good: Jesus was born either in the stable or in the house. Here probably the great confusion is also given by the Christmas scenes where the wise men are presented coming with the gifts to the stable. This image does not conform to the biblical text.

Luke 2: 7 tells us about the birth of Jesus in the stable. In Matthew 2:11 we are told about the wise men who came to worship Jesus and brought Him gifts. They are distinct passages, written by different authors.

A reading of these biblical passages looks like something is wrong there. But a little study of the passages shows that the wise men saw the star at the birth of Jesus, when He was in the stable. Then they organized the jurney and set out on their camels, traveling about 1,200 kilometres to Jerusalem. Their journey lasted at least 3 months. If not more than that. During this time Jesus was already circumcised at the local synagogue and His parents lived with Him in the house. When the wise men got there, they found Jesus in the house.

What I want to emphasize is that before drawing personal conclusions about certain biblical texts, before making personal interpretations of biblical passages, it is good to study them. If we have a Bible Dictionary, a Bible Commentary, a Concordance, several translations of the Bible, it helps us. Today we have the internet where through Google we can access any information we want.

In April 2019 I wrote and published on this blog an article: “The New Testament and the cultural context”. I want to take the time to translate it in English and I recommend you to read it.

One topic I want to refer to now, along the same lines as understanding Scripture, is related to the Rapture of the Church. I want also to add something about the vaccine and the trumpets of Revelation.

The rapture of the Church and the return of Jesus to Earth are completely two different events in purpose, action, and manifestation. Jesus will come on the clouds to take the Church. He will not come on the Earth to take the Church. The Church will leave the Earth being welcomed by Jesus “in the air”.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 – 17

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

Jesus’ return to earth will take place in a few years after the Rapture. Jesus will then come on the Earth to punish. To punish the Antichrist and all those who followed and worshiped him and to free God’s chosen people, Israel. Then there will be the great battle of Armageddon.

The New Testament texts I will first refer to are in Paul’s letters to the Christians in Thessalonica. It seems that they were very concerned about the Rapture and the return of the Lord Jesus on the Earth.

I will not reproduce the passages in full here, but I will comment on certain verses.

1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13 – 5:10

2 Thessalonians 2: 1-12.

1 Thessalonians 1:10:

And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

The meaning is that Jesus will take the Church to heaven before the great tribulation, before the coming wrath.

2 Thessalonians 2: 1-2:

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Crist had come.”

Paul is speaking here of the rapture of the Church, “our gathering together with Him,” at the “coming of the Lord.”

In verse 2 Paul speaks of “the day of Christ”

The “coming of the Lord” in verse 1 is not the same as the “day of Christ” in verse 2.

Why would the Thessalonians be “shaken” that the “day of Christ” had come? Because at that ime they were going through tribulation and persecution, and knowing that the Church shouldn’t go through the great tribulation, they believed that the Rapture had already taken place and they were left behind to go through the “Day of Christ.”

That is why Paul writes to them not to be disturbed, that the Rapture has not yet taken place. Paul then describes the events which will take place before the “Day of Christ” and NOT before the rapture of the Church. And he tells them that first will be the renunciation of the faith of those who call themselves Christians, the apostasy, and the installation of the Antichrist. Then the Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem. (2 Thessalonians 2: 3-4).

2 Thessalonians 2:6-8:

And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His coming.”

Paul encourages them by telling them that before the mystery of lawlessness unfolds, “He who now restrains”, “will be taken out of he way.” . The one who stops the mystery of lawlessness from manifesting itself fully, is the Holy Spirit who dwells in the Christians who make up the Church. The Holy Spirit will be taken at the rapture of the Church. So the Rapture will take place before the wicked, the Antichrist, develops his forces.

The manifestation of the power of the Antichrist will be done with the support of the false prophet, a leader of an universal apostate Church, left after the Rapture.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12:

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, and lying wonders, and with unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condamned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

1 Thessalonians 5:2-9:

For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then suddendestruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.

Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.

But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Crist.”

Paul speaks of the Lord’s day, as I wrote earlier, which is different from “the coming of the Lord.”

The day of the Lord is a day of vengeance of the Lord.

The coming of the Lord is a day of liberation, when Jesus is taking the Church to heaven.

The day of the Lord comes at night, like a thief, as an unexpected destruction will come upon them and there will be no escape.

But you, because you are sons of the day, you will not get to see that night. You already will be gone. But for that, there is a condition: “let us watch and be sober.” (1 Thessalonians 5: 6)

If we arm ourselves with protection (the breastplate), with faith and love for Christ and in Christ and feed our minds (helmets) with the promises made by Christ, the hope of salvation in which we believe, God has not left for us the Day of the Lord’s wrath but our salvation through Him whom we have declared Lord of our lives, Jesus Christ.

Regarding the Rapture and the trumpet of which Paul speaks, we find in

1 Corinthians 15: 51-52:

“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

Paul makes us understand that he was waiting for the Rapture of the Church to take place during his lifetime.

There are preachers who claim that the “last trumpet” referred to in this biblical passage is the same as the 7th trumpet in Revelation 11:15, the trumpet that is sounded during the great tribulation.

We must first know that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians during the third missionary journey, while in Ephesus in 55 AD. John wrote Revelation in 95 AD, 40 years after Paul wrote 1 Corinthians. John received the revelation of the trumpets 40 years after Paul wrote of the “last trumpet.” Therefore, Paul could not refer, for his audience to understand, to a prophecy to be told 40 years later, when neither Paul nor probably many of those who read his letter then were still alive.

But moving with our thoughts in the year 55 AD, we must understand the passage keeping in mind only the information they had then. The New Testament was not yet fully written. The gospels, the epistles, circulated, the Revelation was not written.

The information they had came from the Old Testament, from the writings of the New Testament to which they could have access, and from everyday life and the culture of the time.

The trumpet in 1 Corinthians is used in the service of God, not some other trumpets.

Paul maybe referred to the Old Testament passage in Numbers 10: 2-6.

There is talking of two trumpets here. The second (last) trumpet is sounded to gather all the people. The assembly of the whole people. If Paul was referring to this in 1 Corinthians, the message was to gather the people of God, the Church, of whom Paul was speaking. That is, the Rapture of the Church. And by no means the trumpet of Revelation, which would have suggested that the Church is going through great tribulation.

One thing I want to return to here is that the rapture of the Church to meet Jesus in the clouds is different from the return of the Lord to earth, an event that will take place at the end of the great tribulation; a return of Christ, preceded by all the disasters described in Revelation. At that time will be the assembly of the peoples at Armageddon in order to destroy the Land of Israel. At that moment will be the second coming of Jesus, followed by 1,000 years of peace on earth under Christ’s ruling.

Let’s not confuse the events and their order.

After the Rapture of the Church, all the focus of events on Earth shifts to the Jews, Israel, and Jerusalem.

Jesus will return as He left, from where He ascended to heaven. Acts 1:11: “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” He will come for the Jews, in Jerusalem. For the Jews who, on His return, will be wholeheartedly turned “to the One who pierced Him,” to Jesus Christ. Then the nations will be in God’s sight for destruction and judgment. Israel for salvation and restoration.

A few words about the covid vaccine.

If the covid virus had spread to just one country, it would have been called an epidemic. If the vaccine had been created in that country, people would have agreed to be vaccinated, to get rid of the misfortune. This is the case with the annual flu vaccines. Nobody talks about them conspiratorially.

The problem with the pandemic is that, by definition, it is widespread in many countries. In most countries of the world. Knowing the world situation and that certain extremely rich people have their interests and their agenda, the promotion of covid vaccines has raised questions, suspicions.

Many Christians who are not very familiar with the Bible and some of them have not read the Book of Revelation at all, out of fear or lack of interest, now quote Revelation 13, saying that the vaccine is the sign on the right hand or forehead without which you cannot buy or sell. .

What they do NOT know is that the sign in Revelation 13 will be placed after the establishment of the Antichrist (the Antichrist is a PERSON, not a phenomenon or a concept). The Antichrist will ask people to worship him and receive the mark on their forehead or right hand.

I also wrote about the evolution of the microchip and, according to my understanding now, a microchip will be implanted on the right hand or forehead (not on the left hand, not on the shoulder, not on the arm or forearm). It will include all the information regarding the person and individualized information: personal numerical code (NI), bank account, NHS number, number and series on the passport, number of the driving license and all the details contained in the above documents.

None of the current vaccines have implanted any of these in people’s arms. The vaccine was neither personalized nor required to be worshiped before it was given.

Let’s understand this clearly: the vaccine has NO connection with the spiritual. It’s purely physical, in our body.

But there is in all this pandemic a preparatory factor for the next stage in human history: submission because fear to authorities.

The preparations that are being made now are: globalization, universal socialism, apostasy (is the freely renunciation of faith of many Christians), global crises and others.

In order to reach the point of worshipping before the Antichrist, there are steps to follow. It will not be an instant requirement. It is a process to get there, for people to accept willingly and and of fear.

The stage we are in now is a very advanced one. The pandemic test confirms it. Fear has proven to be the most effective method. This has been proven now.

I have said it before: when we do not open the door of the man in need, on the ground, sick, because we are afraid of being infected by him, even if we do not know that he is infected, but as a precaution that “you never know .. ”, then we successfully passed the exam of submission, the exam of fear. We have qualified for the next stage of advancing to the Antichrist.

Jesus tells us not to be afraid, as long as we have surrendered our whole life to Him and are in Him. Let us not be afraid to do good, let us not be afraid of tyrants! Let us live beautifully and do what He has commanded us because our deeds will accompany us in heaven. If we happen to get sick and leave the earth, we are sure we go to Him, the One we love and serve.

Let me be clear: I’m not saying not to use protection methods: mask, distance where possible, to test ourselves, vaccine if we think it helps us. Let’s use them where appropriate but not apologize for not doing good for fear of getting infected.

In conclusion, I urge you to read the Bible, especially the New Testament, to meditate on what you read, not to draw hasty conclusions, to do research where it seems to us that the meaning of a text is confusing, to ask those in whose teaching we trust. Let us not develop theologies without serious foundations in the Word of God.

The Rapture of the Church is imminent. The Church will not go through the Great Tribulation that culminates in the great and fearful Day of the Lord.

The church seems to be already going through the first events of the tribulation but not through the second part of it, called the Great Tribulation.

I remind you of some pasages from leters written by Paul to Thessalonians, to read them and to be encouraged by them: 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-4; 9.

This is a message, a Bible study, a little longer. I repeated some phrases and ideas to emphasize their meaning. I had it in my heart to write all this considering the extremely difficult, confusing, unprecedented times we live in.

Let us find encouragement that our trials will not last long. Let us encourage ourselves that we deserve to live beautifully, in the light, as the Lord has asked us to do, even if the darkness around us intensifies. It is worth enduring a little more because He, Christ, is on His way to the clouds of our heaven and will take us to Him in eternal happiness and eternal glory.

May Jesus bless us all with salvation, inner peace, physical and spiritual health, wisdom, and understanding of His will for our lives. And when the hour comes, the trumpet will sound, to take all of us who have loved and honoured Him HOME to His glory.

Help us, Lord!

Amen.

With love,

Georgeta

Biblia pe intelesul nostru: evenimentele actuale

Filed under: Uncategorized — Geta @ 10:30 am

BIBLIA PE INTELESUL NOSTRU: EVENIMENTELE ACTUALE

Atunci cand e vorba de teme majore legate de mantuirea sufletelor noastre, de iertarea pacatelor, de jertfa Domnului Isus pe cruce pentru a ne spala de pacate, pentru a primi viata vesnica, Noul Testament este foarte clar, pe intelesul tuturor, si nimeni nu are nevoie de studii teologice sau seminarii speciale sa poata intelege cum poate primi mantuirea, salvarea din pacat, viata vesnica.

Simplu: cred in Isus , in jertfa Lui pe cruce pentru a-mi spala pacatele, accept si declar ca sunt o pacatoasa si am nevoie de Isus. Credinta in El imi asigura mantuirea. Duhul Sfant Isi face casa in mine si ma calauzeste ce sa fac, cum sa traiesc din momentul mantuirii. Ce schimbari sa fac in viata mea.

Duhul Sfant si cititul Bibliei sunt metodele immediate care imi ghideaza viata.

Cu privire la alte teme pe care Biblia le abordeaza, se poate intampla ca doar citind Biblia sa nu putem sa ne facem o parere complexa si corecta. Si asta pentru ca, a intelege exact sensul unor afirmatii din Noul Testament este nevoie sa STUDIEM Biblia, nu doar sa o citim. Trebuie sa ne transbordam in secolul intai sa intelegem cele scrise in contextul de acela, istoric, social, politic si religios.

Isus a spus multe pilde si la unele ucenicii I-au cerut lui Isus sa le explice sensul pildelor, pentru ca ei nu le-au inteles. Si El le-a explicat.

Cineva mi-a spus odata ca Noul Testament are anumite parti care se contrazic cu altele. Si mi-a dat un exemplu. E scris ca Isus S-a nascut intr-un staul. Apoi ni se mai scrie ca magii au venit sa se inchine lui Isus si au intrat “in casa” si I-au adus daruri. Concluzia interlocutorului meu a fost ca una din variante nu e buna: Isus S-a nascut ori in staul ori in casa. Aici probabil ca marea confuzie e data si de scenele de Craciun unde magii sunt prezentati venind cu darurile la staul. Aceasta imagine nu este conforma cu textul biblic.

In Luca 2:7 ni se spune despre nasterea lui Isus in staul. In Matei 2:11 ni se relateaza despre magii care au venit sa se inchine lui Isus si sa aduca daruri. Sunt pasaje distincte, scrise de autori diferiti.

La o citire a pasajelor biblice se pare ca sunt contradictorii. Dar studiind putin pasajele vedem ca magii au vazut steaua la nasterea lui Isus, pe cand El era in staul. Apoi magii s-au organizat si au pornit la drum pe camilele lor, strabatand aproximativ 1.200 kilometrii pana la Ierusalim. Calatoria lor a durat cel putin 3 luni de zile. Daca nu mai mult de atat. In timpul acesta Isus a fost circumcis deja la Sinagoga locala si parintii Lui impreuna cu El au locuit in casa. Cand magii au ajuns acolo L-au gasit pe Isus in casa.

Ce doresc sa subliniez este faptul ca, inainte de a trage concluzii personale asupra anumitor texte biblice, inainte de a aduce interpretari personale unor pasaje biblice, este bine sa le studiem. Daca avem un Dictionar Biblic, un Comentariu Biblic, o Concordanta, mai multe traduceri ale Bibliei, ne ajuta. Astazi avem internetul unde prin Google putem accesa orice informatie dorim.

In aprilie 2019 am scris si publicat pe acest blog un articol cu titlul “Noul Testament si contextul cultural”. Daca aveti timp va sugerez sa il cititi.

Un subiect la care doresc sa ma refer acum, pe aceeasi linie a intelegerii Scripturii, este legat de Rapirea Bisericii. Mai doresc sa adaug cate ceva despre vaccin si trambitele din Apocalipsa.

Rapirea Bisericii si revenirea lui Isus pe Pamant sunt evenimente complet diferite ca scop, actiune si manifestare. Isus va veni pe nori sa rapeasca Biserica. Nu va veni pe Pamant la Rapire. Biserica va parasi Pamantul fiind intampinata de Isus “in vazduh”.

1 Tesaloniceni 4:16 – 17 “Caci insusi Domnul, cu un strigat, cu glasul unui arhanghel si cu trambita lui Dumnezeu, Se va pogori din cer, si intai vor invia cei morti in Cristos. Apoi, noi cei vii care vom fi ramas, vom fi rapiti toti impreuna cu ei, in nori ca sa intampinam pe Domnul in vazduh; si astfel vom fi totdeauna cu Domnul.”

Revenirea lui Isus pe Pamant va avea loc dupa Rapire la cativa ani. Isus va veni atunci sa pedepseasca. Sa pedepsesaca pe Anticrist si pe toti cei care l-au urmat si i s-au inchinat si sa elibereze poporul ales al lui Dumnezeu, Israelul. Atunci va fi marea batalie de la Armaghedon.

Textele din Noul Testament la care voi face intai referire se afla in scrisorile adresate de Pavel crestinilor din Tesalonic. Se pare ca acestia erau foarte preocupati de Rapire si de revenirea Domnului Isus pe Pamant.

Pasajele nu le voi reda complet aici dar voi comenta asupra anumitor versete.

1 Tesaloniceni 1:10; 4:13 – 5:10

2 Tesaloniceni 2:1 – 12.

1 Tesaloniceni 1:10:

si sa asteptati din ceruri pe Fiul Sau, pe care L-a inviat din morti; pe Isus care ne izbaveste de mania viitoare.”

Izbavirea este “de” mania viitoare. Nu “din” mania viitoare, adica in timpul ei. Ci ”de” mania viitoare, adica inainte ca aceasta sa aibe loc. Intelesul este ca Isus va lua Biserica la cer inainte de necazul cel mare, inainte de mania viitoare.

2 Tesaloniceni 2:1-2:

Cat priveste venirea Domnului nostru Isus Cristos si strangerea noastra laolalta cu El, va rugam fratilor, sa nu va lasati clatinati asa de repede in mintea voastra si sa nu va tulburati de vreun duh, nici de vreo vorba, nici de vreo epistola ca venind de la noi, ca si cum ziua Domnului ar fi si venit chiar.”

Pavel vorbeste aici despre rapirea Bisericii, “strangerea noastra laolalta cu El”, la “venirea Domnului”.

In versetul 2 Pavel vorbeste despre “ziua Domnului.”

“Venirea Domnului” din versetul 1 nu este aceeasi cu “Ziua Domnului” din versetul 2.

De ce ar fi fost “clatinati” tesalonicenii ca “ziua Domnului” ar fi si veenit? Pentru ca treceau prin necazuri si persecutii si, stiind ca Biserica nu trece prin necazul cel mare, au crezut ca Rapirea a avut loc deja si ei au ramas in urma sa treaca prin “Ziua Domnului.”

De aceea Pavel le scrie sa nu se tulbure, ca Rapirea nu a avut loc inca. Si Pavel le descrie evenimentele premergatoare “Zilei Domnului”, si NU premergatoare Rapirii Bisericii. Si le spune ca intai va fi lepadarea de credinta a acelora care se numesc crestini, apostazia, si instalarea Anticristului. Atunci Templul va fi reconstruit la Ierusalim. (2 Tesaloniceni 2:3-4).

Apoi Pavel ii incurajeaza spunandu-le ca inainte ca taina faradelegii sa se desfasoare, “cel ce o opreste sa fie luat din drumul ei.” . “Cel ce o opreste”, cel ce opreste taina faradelegii sa se manifeste plenar este Duhul Sfant care locuieste in crestinii care alcatuieesc Biserica. Duhul Sfant va fi luat, cand Biserica va fi Rapita. Asadar Rapirea va avea loc inainte ca cel nelegiuit, Anticristul, sa isi desfasoare fortele. (2 Tesaloniceni 2:6-8)

Manifestarea puterii Anticristului se va face si cu sprijinul prorocului mincinos, un conducator al unei Biserici apostate universale, ramase dupa Rapire. “Dumnezeu le trimite o lucrare de ratacire ca sa creada o minciuna”, “Prin puterea Satanei minuni si semne si puteri mincinoase.” “Pentru ca toti cei ce n-au crezut adevarul, ci au gasit placere in nelegiuire, sa fie osanditi.” (2 Tesaloniceni 2:11,9,12)

In 1 Tesaloniceni 5:2, Pavel vorbeste despre ziua Domnului, asa cum am mai scris, ceasta fiind diferita de “venirea Domnului”.

Ziua Domnului este o zi de razbunare a Domnului.

Venirea Domnului este o zi de eliberare, de luare a Bisericii la cer.

Ziua Domnului vine noaptea, ca un hot. “Cand vor zice: ‘Pace si liniste!’ atunci o prapadenie neasteptata va veni peste ei”… “si nu va fi chip de scapare.”

Versetele 4-5: “Dar voi, fratilor, nu sunteti in intuneric, pentru ca ziua aceea sa va prinda ca un hot. Voi toti sunteti fii ai luminii si fii ai zilei. Noi nu suntem ai noptii, nici ai intunericului.”

Adica, pentru ca sunteti fii ai zilei, nu veti ajunge sa vedeti noaptea. Adica veti fi luati inainte. Dar pentru asta este o conditie: “sa veghem si sa fim treji.” (1 Tesaloniceni 5:6)

Versetele 8 si 9: “Dar noi, care suntem fii ai zilei, sa fim treji, sa ne imbracam cu platosa credintei si dragostei si sa avem drept coif nadejdea mantuirii. Fiindca Dumnezeu nu ne-a randuit la manie, ci ca sa capatam mantuirea prin Domnul nostru Isus Cristos.”

Daca ne inarmam, protector (platosa) cu credinta si dragoste pentru Cristos si in Cristos si ne hranim mintea (coif) cu promisiunile facute de Cristos, nadejdea mantuirii in care credem, Dumnezeu nu a lasat pentru noi Ziua Maniei Domnului ci salvarea noastra prin Cel pe care L-am declarat Domn al vietii noastre, Isus Cristos.

Cu privire la Rapire si la trambita de care vorbeste Pavel, mai gasim in 1 Corinteni 15:51-52:

Iata va spun o taina: nu vom adormi toti, dar toti vom fi schimbati. Intr-o clipa, intr-o clipeala din ochi, la cea din urma trambita. Trambita va suna, mortii vor invia nesupusi putrezirii si noi vom fi schimbati.”

Pavel ne face sa intelegem ca el astepta ca Rapirea Bisericii sa aiba loc in timpul vietii lui.

Exista predicatori care sustin ca “cea din urma trambita” la care se face referire in acest pasaj biblic este aceeasi cu ce-a de a 7-a trambita din Apocalipsa 11:15, trambita care este sunata in timpul necazului cel mare.

In primul rand trebuie sa stim ca Pavel a scris 1 Corinteni in timpul celei de-a treia calatorii misionare, pe cand se afla in Efes, in anul 55 DC. Ioan a scris Apocalipsa in anul 95 DC, adica 40 de ani dupa ce Pavel a scris 1 Corinteni. Ioan a primit revelatia despre trambite 40 de ani dupa ce Pavel a scris despre “ultima trambita”. Asadar, Pavel nu putea face trimitere, pentru ca auditoriul de atunci sa inteleaga, la o profetie ce urma sa fie spusa 40 de ani mai tarziu, cand nici Pavel si probabil nici multi din cei ce au citit atunci scrisoarea lui, nu mai erau in viata.

Deplasandu-ne insa cu gandul nostru in anul 55 DC, trebuie sa intelegem pasajul avand in minte doar informatiile pe care le aveau ei atunci. Noul Testament nu era inca scris in totalitate. Evangheliile, epistolele, circulau imprastiat, Apocalipsa nu era scrisa.

Informatiile pe care le aveau ei veneau din Vechiul Testament, din scrierile Noului Testament la care puteau avea acces si din viata de zi cu zi si cultura vremii,

Trambita din 1 Corinteni este folosita in slujba lui Dumnezeu, nu o trambita oarecare.

E posibil ca Pavel sa fie facut o aluzie la pasajul din Vechiul Testament din Numeri 10:2-6.

Se vorbeste aici de doua trambite. A doua trambita (ultima) se suna pentru a strange tot poporul. Adunarea intregului popor. Daca la asta facea Pavel referire in 1 Corinteni, mesajul era de strangerea poporului lui Dumnezeu, Biserica, despre care vorbea Pavel. Adica rapirea Bisericii. Si nicidecum trambita din Apocalipsa, care ar fi sugerat ca Biserica trece prin necazul cel mare.

Un aspect la care doresc sa revin aici este ca rapirea Bisericii pentru a-L intalni pe Isus pe nori este diferita de revenirea Domnului pe Pamant, eveniment ce va avea loc la sfarsitul necazului celui mare, revenire precedata de toate dezastrele descrise in Apocalipsa, semnele din cer, adunarea popoarelor la Armaghedon cu scopul de a distruge Tara Israel. Atunci va avea loc a doua venire a lui Isus, dupa care vor urma 1.000 de ani de pace pe Pamant, sub domnia lui Cristos.

Sa nu confundam evenimentele si ordinea lor.

Dupa Rapirea Bisericii, toata concentrarea evenimentelor pe Pamant se muta la evrei, Israel, Ierusalim.

Isus va reveni asa cum a plecat, de unde S-a inaltat la cer. Faptele Apostolilor 1:11: “acest Isus care S-a inaltat la cer din mijlocul vostru va veni in acelasi fel cum L-ati vazut mergend la cer”. Pentru evrei, la Ierusalim, la evreii care, la revenirea Sa vor fi cu toata inima intorsi “la Cel ce L-au strapuns”, adica la Isus Cristos. Atunci neamurile vor fi in vizorul lui Dumnezeu pentru distrugere si judecata. Israelul pentru mantuire si restaurare.

Cateva cuvinte despre vaccinul impotriva covid.

Daca virusul covid ar fi fost raspandit doar intr-o tara, s-ar fi numit epidemie. Daca s-ar fi creat vaccinul in acea tara, oamenii ar fi acceptat sa fie vaccinati, sa scape de nenorocire. Asa se intampla cu vaccinurile anuale impotriva gripei. Nimeni nu vorbeste conspirativ de acestea.

Problema pandemiei este ca, prin definitie, e raspandita in foarte multe tari. In majoritatea tarilor lumii. Cunoscandu-se situatia mondiala si ca anumiti oameni extrem de bogati, au interesele lor si agenda lor, promovarea vaccinurilor anti-covid a ridicat semne de intrebare, suspiciuni.

Multi crestini care nu sunt foarte familiarizati cu Biblia si unii dintre ei nu au citit deloc Apocalipsa, de frica sau lipsa de interes, citeaza acum Apocalipsa 13, spunand ca vaccinul este semnul pe mana dreapta sau pe frunte fara de care nu poti cumpara sau vinde.

Ceea ce NU stiu acestia este ca semnul din Apocalipsa 13 va fi pus dupa instaurarea lui Anticrist (Anticrist este o PERSOANA, nu un fenomen sau un concept). Anticrist va cere ca oamenii sa i se inchine si sa primeasca semnul pe frunte sau pe mana dreapta.

Am mai scris despre evolutia microcipului si, dupa intelegerea mea acum, un microcip va fi implantat pe mana dreapta sau pe frunte ( nu pe mana stanga, nu pe umar, nu pe brat sau antebrat). In acesta vor fi incluse toate informatiile referitoare la persoana respectiva si informatii individualizate: cod numeric personal (CNP), contul bancar, codul de pe cardul de sanatate, numarul si seria de pe psaport, numar, serie carnet de conducere si toate detaliile cuprinse in documentele de mai sus.

Nici unul din vaccinurile actuale nu a implantat pe brat vreunul din acestea. Vaccinul nu a fost nici personalizat, nici nu s-a cerut inchinare la cineva inainte de a se face.

Sa intelegem clar asta: vaccinul NU are nici o conexiune cu spiritualul. E pur fizic, la nivelul trupului nostru.

Exista insa in toata pandemia asta un factor pregatitor pentru stadiul ce va urma in istoria omenirii: supunerea de frica in fata autoritatilor.

Pregatirile ce se fac acum sunt: globalizarea, socialismul universal, apostazia (adica lepadarea de credinta a multor crestini), crize globale si altele.

Pentru a se ajunge la inchinarea in fata lui Anticrist, sunt pasi de urmat. Nu va fi o cerinta instantanee. E un proces pentru a ajunge acolo, pentru ca oamenii sa accepte de buna voie si de frica.

Stadiul in care suntem noi acum este unul foarte avansat. Testul pandemiei il confirma. Frica s-a dovedit a fi metoda cea mai eficienta. S-a dovedit asta acum.

Am mai spus-o: atunci cand nu deschidem usa omului in nevoi, la pamant, bolnav, pentru ca ne temem sa nu ne infectam de la el, chiar daca nu stim ca acesta este infectat, dar din precautie ca “nu se stie…”, atunci am trecut cu brio examenul supunerii, examenul fricii. Ne-am calificat pentru stadiul urmator al avansarii catre Anticrist.

Domnul Isus ne spune sa nu ne fie frica, atata timp cat ne-am predat viata total Lui si suntem in El. Sa nu ne fie frica sa facem bine cand boala bantuie, sa nu ne fie frica de tiranii! Sa traim frumos si sa facem ceea ce El ne-a poruncit pentru ca acestea ne vor insoti in cer. Daca se intampla sa ne imbolnavim si sa plecam de pe pamant, suntem siguri ca mergem la El, Cel pe care Il iubim si Il slujim.

Sa fiu inteleasa clar: nu spun sa nu folosim metode de protectie: masca, distanta unde e posibil, sa ne testam, vaccin daca noi consideram ca ne ajuta. Sa le folosim unde este cazul dar sa nu ne scuzam in a nu face un bine cu teama de a nu ne infecta.

In incheiere, va indemn cu drag sa citim Biblia, in special Noul Testament, sa meditam la ceea ce citim, sa nu tragem concluzii pripite, sa facem cercetari acolo unde ni se pare ca intelesul unui text e confuz, sa intrebam pe cei in a caror invatatura avem incredere. Sa nu dezvoltam teologii fara baze serioase in Cuvantul lui Dumnezeu.

Rapirea Bisericii este iminenta. Biserica nu va trece prin Marele Necaz care culmineaza cu Ziua Domnului cea mare si infricosata.

Biserica se pare ca trece deja prin primele evenimente ale necazului dar nu prin partea a doua a acestuia, numita Necazul cel Mare.

Va reamintesc cateva citate:

1 Tesaloniceni 1:10 “sa asteptati din ceruri pe Fiul Sau pe care L-a inviat din morti; pe Isus care ne izbaveste de mania viitoare,” (nu “din” mania viitoare si nici “in timpul” maniei viitoare)

1 Tesaloniceni 5:1-4: “Cat despre vremi si soroace, n-aveti trebuinta sa vi se scrie fratilor. Pentru ca voi insisi stiti foarte bine ca Ziua Domnului va veni ca un hot noaptea. Cand vor zice; ‘Pace si liniste !’ atunci o prapadenie neasteptata va veni peste ei, ca durerile nasterii peste femeia insarcinata; si nu va fi chip de scapare. Dar voi, fratilor, nu sunteti in intuneric, pentru ca ziua aceea sa va prinda ca un hot.”

1 Tesaloniceni 5:9 “Fiindca Dumnezeu nu ne-a randuit la manie, ci ca sa capatam mantuirea prin Domnul nostru Isus Cristos.”

Pavel reaminteste crestinilor din Tesalonic ceea ce le-a spus inainte, prin viu grai. Si anume ca in ziua Domnului “o prapadenie neasteptata” va veni peste ei, peste cei ce vor zice “Pace si liniste !”, si pentru ei nu va mai fi chip de scapare. Pavel scrie: “Dar voi, fratilor, nu sunteti in intuneric, pentru ca ziua aceea sa va prind ca un hot.”

Adica voi, fratilor, fii ai luminii, nu veti ajunge acolo. Cand ziua aceea va veni voi veti fi deja rapiti, in lumina.

Aceasta este o meditatie, sa zicem un studiu biblic, ceva mai lung. Unele fraze si idei le-am repetat pentru a le sublinia sensul. Am avut pe inima sa scriu toate acestea avand in vedere vremurile extrem de dificile, confuze, fara precedent pe care le traim.

Sa gasim incurajare ca incercarile nostre nu vor mai dura mult. Sa ne incurajam ca se merita sa traim frumos, in lumina, precum Domnul ne-a cerut, chiar daca in jurul nostru se inteteste intunericul. Se merita sa mai rabdam putin ca El, Cristos, e pe drum catre norii cerului nostru si ne va rapii la El in fericire eterna si glorie eterna.

Domnul Isus sa ne binecuvanteze pe toti cu mantuire, pace interioara, sanatate fizica, sufleteasca si spirituala, intelepciune si pricepere in intelegerea voii Sale cu privire la viata noastra. Si cand ceasul va veni, trambita va suna, sa ne ia pe toti cei care L-am iubit si onorat ACASA la El.

Ajuta-ne, Doamne !

Amin.

Cu mult drag,

Geta

Sep 28, 2023

THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEOPLE

Filed under: Uncategorized — Geta @ 4:57 pm

THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEOPLE


As I wrote in the previous blog, I am studying the Gospel written by the apostle John. I am close to finishing my studies.
A verse from chapter 20 of this Gospel made me stop to understand its meaning.
After Jesus resurrected, he went to the disciples who were gathered. Jesus breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit!” (John 20:22).
Then he said to them (v23):
“Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven, and whose sins you retain, they are retained.”
I asked myself what is the meaning of these words and how can they be applied in our lives?
What sins does Jesus refer to in this verse, sins that man can forgive and that will remain forgiven, that is, they will not be taken into account even by God? And what sins, which, if we do not forgive them, will be unforgiven by God, that is, they will be held by God.
We know that our sins are forgiven by God, if we ask for his forgiveness and believe in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. The blood of Jesus washes away our sins and gives us salvation, forgiveness.
In the New Testament we have presented two types of “forgiveness” that man is or is not obliged to offer to other people.
There are sins that we commit against God and there are sins that we commit against people, which then turn against God.
For example, any transgression of the laws given by the Lord Jesus is a sin against God.
Resolving the sins we commit against people can affect the forgiveness we receive for them from God.
Therefore, we must solve the sins against people with people first and then go with them to God.
Of course, there are situations when we cannot apologize to the person we wronged if they are no longer alive, we have lost any contact with them or we are not allowed to communicate with that person. This is because there are situations when we do not immediately realize that we have made a mistake, but after a while.
We have two groups of people who can sin against us: Christians, that is, sisters and brothers in Christ, and non-Christians, or as they are called in the New Testament, “pagans” and “tax collectors”.
What happens if a sister or brother sins against me? For example, he cheats on me, aggresses me in any way, verbally or physically and many others.
In Matthew 18:15-17 we are told:
““Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector”
And Jesus continues in verse 18, concluding what was said in verses 15-17:
“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”
It is the same message that we have in John 20:23. Let us understand that the message of Jesus presented in Matthew was spoken before the crucifixion of Jesus. The message being very important, to be remembered and applied, Jesus repeated it at His first meeting with the disciples after His resurrection.
The meaning and applicability are clearly shown in the text from Matthew 18:15-17.
A brother wrongs you; sin against you. Go to him and tell him that he was wrong against you. If he listens to you and regrets, he asks for your forgiveness “you have gained your brother” (v.15) How did you gained him? You forgave him. His sin committed against you is forgiven. The relationship between you is repaired. And he will ask God for forgiveness and you will be forgiven. The forgiveness that God gives is decided by the forgiveness that you have offered.
But if your brother who wronged you refuses to accept that he was wrong, he doesn’t ask for your forgiveness, you have to give him another chance to be forgiven by God. Take one or two more brothers with you and go to him again and tell him that he has wronged you and that you want him to ask for your forgiveness. If this time he accepts, forgive him and God will forgive him afterwards.
But if he doesn’t ask for forgiveness, go and expose him to the church. If he accepts then that he made a mistake and asks for your forgiveness, forgive him and then God will forgive him. You won your brother’s soul. But if he does not admit his guilt now, the text from Matthew 18:17 tells us: “let him be to you as a heathen and as a tax collector.” This means that you will treat him as a non-Christian. He is not your brother anymore.
In Matthew 18:18 we have the verdict: “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
In other words: if I forgive him, I untie him. He is freed from his sin, he is forgiven for his sin towards me and he will be forgiven by God. But if he doesn’t ask for my forgiveness, I don’t forgive him, I don’t release him. He remains tied to his sin in his relationship with me and this is transferred to his relationship with God. His sin remains.
I want to make some clarifications. I used examples for the masculine gender, but they apply both in the relationship between men, women, and also between women and men.
Another thing I want to mention is that the “disengagements” and “bindings” referred to in the text are made by the injured person. They are not made by other people outside the conflict between the two Christians. Not the priest, the pastor, the mentor, binds and unbinds. The Christian in question has the authority to do this. Nobody else.
And the last thing I want to mention refers to the fact that it is not mandatory to ask for an account of those who wrong us. But in this situation we must overcome the conflict and forgive as a manifestation of agape love, the love we show towards those we love unconditionally and forgive. Let’s not go to the corners to chat. Either we confront the person or we forgive them without confrontation. But the conflict must be ended.
In the Gospel of Matthew 5:23-24 we are presented with the situation in which I made a mistake, I sinned against my brother in Christ.
“if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
Jesus says that, in order to be in a good relationship with God, so that the gift you bring to the altar is received by God, He conditions you: first go and ask for forgiveness from the one you wronged. Go and resolve the conflict. You were wrong, you must take the step towards forgiveness. Only after you have done this go to the altar and make your offering. God will receive you.
But if the brother does not forgive you? If he doesn’t forgive you after you’ve done everything you could to resolve the conflict, you’re untied, free before God after you’ve asked for God’s forgiveness.
I have written so far about forgiveness among Christians.
But if those who wrong us are non-Christians? But what if we wrong the non-Christians? What should we do then?
If we made a mistake, we definitely have to ask for forgiveness, to repair the damage. Regardless of whether the person we have wronged forgives us or not, asking for forgiveness God remembers and forgives us.
If a non-Christian has wronged us, we must forgive him regardless of whether he asks for our forgiveness or not. By forgiving, we give the person the chance to be forgiven by God. God can work in a person’s life to give him salvation. Also, the forgiveness offered by me can be a message, a testimony for the one who wronged me.
In conclusion, I would like to refer to the prayer “Our Father” (Matthew 6:12). At the request of the disciples, Jesus teaches them how to pray:
“And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors”.
Paraphrasing this verse we can say: we forgive those who wrong us. We restore the relationship between us through forgiveness. We ask You, Heavenly Father, to receive us when we ask for your forgiveness. By forgiving us, You restore the relationship between You and us.
Because the one who forgives restores the relationship. Untie. The one who forgives is entitled to restore the relationship between the two in conflict.
As a conclusion.
The theme of forgiveness is very important for us, humans.
We are obliged to forgive. We have to ask for forgiveness.
If we do not forgive the brothers, their sin remains before God.
If we forgive our brothers, we offer them the chance to be forgiven by God.
In the relationship with non-Christians we are obliged to forgive.
We have a very big responsibility.
Sometimes it is very difficult for us to forgive.
It is divine to forgive. Naturally, we want to see people punished, serving their punishment. But having the Holy Spirit, we have power, we have the strength to forgive and we have the qualification to forgive, to tie and untie.
We cannot bring back the things that hit us, affected us. By offering forgiveness, we give a chance to those who have wronged us. The chance of their rehabilitation with heaven.
In life there are situations in which it is very difficult for us to forgive and sometimes, from a human point of view, almost impossible. But the Holy Spirit gives us the strength to do it. Let’s think about extreme situations. Someone kills, intentionally or not, a person you love. Or like your rights, your assets are stolen by imposters. Justice can be done, from a legal point of view. But apart from justice, there is forgiveness.
Christians imprisoned and tortured during communism. They say how, by the fact that they forgave those who tormented them, tortured them physically and psychologically, they had a strong impact on many investigators and some of them became Christians when they saw the attitude of the Christians they tortured. The power of their forgiveness was the moment when the Holy Spirit began to work in the hearts of the aggressive investigators, bringing them to Christ.
Forgiveness costs us nothing, but forgiveness can bring salvation to many.
May the Lord Jesus help us to understand what is His will regarding the way we should live, the way we should relate to those around us, but especially to build a healthy relationship, bringing salvation, with God.
With Christian love
Georgeta

Sep 27, 2023

IERTAREA PACATELOR SI RELATIA DINTRE OAMENI

Filed under: Uncategorized — Geta @ 5:36 pm

ESTE IERTAREA PACATELOR SI RELATIA DINTRE OAMENI
Asa cum am scris in blogul precedent, studiez Evanghelia scrisa de apostolul Ioan. Sunt aproape de incheierea studiului.
Un verset din capitolul 20 al acestei Evanghelii m-a determinat sa ma opresc si sa ii patrund intelesul.
Dupa ce Isus a inviat, a mers la ucenicii care erau adunati. Isus a suflat peste ei si le-a spus: “Luati Duh Sfant!” (Ioan 20:22).
Apoi le-a spus (v23):
“Celor ce le veti ierta pacatele vor fi iertate si celor ce le veti tinea vor fi tinute.”
Eu m-am intrebat care este intelesul acestor cuvinte si cum se pot aplica ele in vietile noastre?
La ce pacate se refera Isus in acest verset, pacate pe care omul le poate ierta si care vor ramane iertate, adica nu vor fi tinute in considerare nici de Dumnezeu? Si ce pacate, pe care, daca nu le iertam, vor fi neiertate de Dumnezeu, adica vor fi tinute de Dumnezeu.
Noi stim ca pacatele noastre sunt iertate de Dumnezeu, daca ne cerem iertare Lui si credem in Isus Cristos si jertfa Lui. Sangele lui Isus ne spala pacatele si ne da mantuirea, iertarea lor.
In Noul Testament avem prezentate doua tipuri de “iertari” pe care omul este sau nu dator sa le ofere altor oameni.
Exista pacate pe care le comitem impotriva lui Dumnezeu si exista pacate pe care le comitem impotriva oamenilor, care apoi se rasfrang impotriva lui Dumnezeu.
De exemplu, orice calcare a legilor date de Domnul Isus este pacat impotriva lui Dumnezeu.
Rezolvarea pacatelor pe care le comitem impotriva oamenilor ne poate afecta iertarea pe care o primim pentru ele de la Dumnezeu.
Asadar, pacatele impotriva oamenilor trebuie sa le rezolvam cu oamenii intai si apoi sa mergem cu ele la Dumnezeu.
Desigur ca sunt situatii cand nu putem sa cerem iertare persoanei careia i-am gresit daca aceasta nu mai e in viata, am pierdut orice modalitate de contact cu ea sau nu ne este permis sa comunicam cu persoana respectiva. Asta pentru ca sunt situatii cand nu realizam imediat ca am gresit ci dupa o vreme.
Avem doua grupuri de oameni care pot pacatui impotriva noastra: crestini, adica surori si frati in Cristos si necrestini, sau cum sunt numiti in Noul Testament, “pagani” si “vamesi”.
Ce se intampla daca o sora sau un frate pacatuieste impotriva mea? De exemplu ma inseala, ma agreseaza in vreun fel, verbal sau fizic si multe altele.
In Matei 18:15-17 ni se spune:
“Dacă fratele tău a păcătuit împotriva ta, du-te și mustră-l între tine și el singur. Dacă te ascultă, ai câștigat pe fratele tău.
Dar, dacă nu te ascultă, mai ia cu tine unul sau doi inși, pentru ca orice vorbă să fie sprijinită pe mărturia a doi sau trei martori.
Dacă nu vrea să asculte de ei, spune-l bisericii; și, dacă nu vrea să asculte nici de biserică, să fie pentru tine ca un păgân și ca un vameș.”
Si Isus continua in versetul 18, concluzionand cele spuse in versetele 15-17:
“Adevărat vă spun că orice veți lega pe pământ va fi legat în cer; și orice veți dezlega pe pământ va fi dezlegat în cer.”
Este acelasi mesaj pe care il avem in Ioan 20:23. Sa intelegem ca mesajul lui Isus prezentat in Matei a fost rostit inainte de rastignirea lui Isus. Mesajul fiind foarte important, de retinut si aplicat, Isus il repeta la prima Sa intalnire cu ucenicii dupa invierea Sa.
Sensul si aplicabilitatea ne sunt redate clar in textul din Matei 18:15-17.
Un frate iti greseste; pacatuieste impotriva ta. Mergi la el si spune-i ca a gresit impotriva ta. Daca te asculta si regreta, iti cere iertare “ai castigat pe fratele tau” (v.15) Cum l-ai castigat? L-ai iertat. Pacatul lui comis impotriva ta este iertat. Relatia dintre voi este reparata. Si el isi va cere iertare lui Dumnezeu si va fi iertat. Iertarea pe care Dumnezeu o da este hotarata dupa iertarea pe care tu ai oferit-o.
Daca insa fratele tau care ti-a gresit refuza sa accepte ca a gresit, nu iti cere iertare, tu trebuie sa ii mai dai o sansa sa fie iertat de Dumnezeu. Mai ia cu tine unul sau doi frati si mergi din nou la el si ii spui ca a gresit impotriva ta si ca doresti sa isi ceara iertare de la tine. Daca de data asta va accepta, sa il ierti si Dumnezeu il va ierta dupa aceea.
Dar daca nu isi cere iertare, sa mergi si sa il expui bisericii. Daca va accepta atunci ca a gresit si iti cere iertare, sa il ierti si apoi si Dumnezeu il va ierta. Ai castigat sufletul fratelui tau. Dar daca nu isi va recunoaste vina nici in fata busericii, textul din Matei 18:17 ne spune: “sa fie pentru tine ca un pagan si ca un vames.” Asta inseamna ca tu il vei trata ca pe un necrestin. Nu iti mai este frate.
In Matei 18:18 avem verdictul: “Adevărat vă spun că orice veți lega pe pământ va fi legat în cer; și orice veți dezlega pe pământ va fi dezlegat în cer.”
Cu alte cuvinte: daca eu il iert, il dezleg. E dezlegat de pacatul lui, e iertat de pacatul lui fata de mine si va fi iertat si de Dumnezeu. Dar daca nu isi cere iertare mie, eu nu il iert, nu il dezleg. El ramane legat de pacatul lui in relatia cu mine si aceasta se transfera si in relatia lui cu Dumnezeu. Pacatul lui ramane.
Vreau sa fac cateva precizari. Am folosit exemple la genul masculin dar acestea se aplica atat in relatia dintre barbati cat si cea dintre femei si de asemenea intre femei si barbati.
Un alt lucru pe care doresc sa il mentionez este ca “dezlegarile” si “legarile” la care face referinta textul se fac de catre persoana lezata. Nu se fac de alte persoane din afara conflictului dintre cei doi crestini. Nu preotul, pastorul, mentorul, leaga si dezleaga. Crestinul in cauza are autoritatea de a face asta. Nimeni altul.
Si ultimul lucru pe care doresc sa il mentionez se refera la faptul ca nu este obligatoriu sa cerem socoteala celor ce ne gresesc. Dar in aceasta situatie noi trebuie sa trecem peste conflict si sa iertam ca o manifestare a dragostei agape, dragoste pe care o manifestam fata de cei pe care ii iubim neconditionat si ii iertam. Nu sa mergem sa barfim pe la colturi. Ori confruntam persoana ori o iertam fara confruntare. Dar conflictul trebuie sa fie incheiat.
In Evanghelia Matei 5:23-24 ni se prezinta situatia in care eu am gresit, am pacatuit impotriva fratelui meu in Cristos.
“dacă îți aduci darul la altar, și acolo îți aduci aminte că fratele tău are ceva împotriva ta,
lasă-ți darul acolo înaintea altarului și du-te întâi de împacă-te cu fratele tău; apoi vino de adu-ți darul.”
Isus spune ca, pentru a fi in relatie buna cu Dumnezeu, pentru ca darul pe care il aduci la altar sa fie primit de Dumnezeu, El te conditioneaza: du-te intai si cere iertare celui caruia i-ai gresit. Du-te si rezolva conflictul. Tu ai gresit, tu trebuie sa faci pasul spre iertare. Doar dupa ce ai facut asta mergi la altar si adu-ti jertfa. Dumnezeu te va primi.
Dar daca fratele nu te iarta? Daca el nu te iarta dupa ce tu ai facut tot ce ai putut sa rezolvi conflictul, tu esti dezlegat, liber in fata lui Dumnezeu dupa ce ti-ai cerut iertare si lui Dumnezeu.
Am scris pana aici despre iertarea dintre crestini.
Dar daca sunt necrestini cei care ne gresesc? Dar daca noi gresim necrestinilor? Ce trebuie sa facem atunci?
Daca noi am gresit, categoric trebuie sa ne cerem iertare, sa reparam paguba. Indiferent daca persoana careia i-am gresit ne iarta sau nu, cerand iertare Dumnezeu ia aminte si ne iarta.
Daca un necrestin ne-a gresit, noi trebuie sa il iertam indiferent daca ne cere iertare sau nu. Iertand noi dam sansa persoanei sa fie iertata de Dumnezeu. Dumnezeu poate lucra in viata persoanei sa ii dea si mantuirea. De asemenea, iertarea oferita de mine poate fi un mesaj, o marturie pentru cel ce mi-a gresit.
In incheiere doresc sa ma refer la rugaciunea “Tatal nostru” (Matei 6:12). La cererea ucenicilor, Isus ii invata cum sa se roage: “Si ne iarta noua greselile noastre precum si noi iertam gresitilor nostrii”.
Parafrazand acest verset putem spune: noi ii iertam pe cei ce ne gresesc. Relatia dintre noi o restabilim prin iertare. Te rugam, Tata ceresc, sa ne primesti cand Iti cerem iertare. Iertandu-ne, Tu sa restabilesti relatia dintre Tine si noi.
Pentru ca Cel ce iarta restabileste relatia. Dezleaga. Cel ce iarta este indreptatit sa restabileasca relatia dintre cei doi in conflict.
Ca o concluzie.
Tema iertarii este foarte importanta pentru noi, oamenii.
Suntem datori sa iertam. Suntem datori sa cerem iertare.
Daca nu ii iertam pe frati, pacatul lor ramane in fata lui Dumnezeu.
Daca ii iertam pe frati le oferim sansa sa fie iertati de Dumnezeu.
In relatia cu necrestinii suntem obligati sa iertam.
Avem o responsabilitate foarte mare.
Uneori ne este foarte greu sa iertam.
E dumnezeiesc sa iertam. In mod firesc noi dorim sa vedem oamenii pedepsiti, ispasindu-si pedeapsa. Dar avand Duhul Sfant, avem putere, avem taria sa iertam si avem calificarea sa iertam. Sa legam si sa dezlegam.
Nu putem aduce inapoi lucrurile care ne-au lovit, ne-au afectat. Oferind iertare dam o sansa acelora care ne-au gresit. Sansa reabilitarii lor cu cerul.
In viata sunt situatii in care ne este foarte greu sa iertam si uneori, din punct de vedere uman, aproape imposibil. Dar Duhul Sfant ne da taria sa o facem. Sa ne gandim la situatii extreme. Cineva ucide, intentionat sau nu o persoana pe care o iubesti. Sau ca drepturile, bunurile tale sunt furate de impostori. Dreptatea se poate face, din punct de vedere juridic. Dar in afara de dreptate, exista iertare.
Crestinii pusi in inchisoare si chinuiti in timpul comunismului. Ei spun cum, prin faptul ca au iertat pe cei ce i-au chinuit, torturat fizic si psihologic, au avut un impact puternic asupra multor anchetatori si unii din acestia au devenit crestini cand au vazut atitudinea crestinilor pe care ei ii chinuiau. Puterea iertarii lor a fost momentul in care Duhul Sfant a inceput sa lucreze in inimile anchetatorilor agresivi, aducandu-i la Cristos.
Iertarea nu ne costa nimic dar iertarea poate aduce mantuirea pentru multi.
Domnul Isus sa ne ajute sa intelegem care este voia Lui cu privire la felul in care trebuie sa traim, felul in care trebuie sa ne relationam cu cei din jur dar mai cu seama sa construim o relatie sanatoasa, aducatoare de mantuire, cu Dumnezeu.
Cu drag
Geta

Aug 15, 2023

THE APOSTLE JOHN AND THE SPIRITUAL AWAKENING

Filed under: Uncategorized — Geta @ 3:35 pm

THE APOSTLE JOHN AND THE SPIRITUAL AWAKENING

For several months I have been studying the Gospel written by John, the apostle of the Lord Jesus, and I want to share some thoughts from what I have read and understood by reading this Gospel. Then an overview of the situation that was then and to find an equivalent to what we have today.

John, one of the 12 apostles chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ, is the only one of the 12 who died of old age. All the others died before their time. Judas committed suicide immediately after the Lord’s condemnation and of the other 11, 10 were martyred, they were killed for their faith. Some earlier, others later. Among the 10, the first to be martyred was Jacob, John’s brother, and this happened around AD 43-45, so about 12 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. The other apostles were martyred over time, until 65 AD when Peter was killed by crucifixion in Rome, according to documents from the tradition of the time.

Ioan was the only one of them who died of old age, at about 100 years old.

John describes himself in his Gospel as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. Jesus loved everyone, but with John he had a more special relationship. John, along with his brother, Jacob and Peter were the closest in the circle of the Lord Jesus. In more special moments, the Lord Jesus took the three with Him.

The New Testament is made up of 4 parts: we have the 4 Gospels, then a historical book, the Acts of the Apostles, followed by the Epistles and the last part is the Apocalypse, a prophetic book.

The four Gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The first three Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke are also called synoptic Gospels, because they present the life and work of the Lord Jesus with the same events and in the same order (synoptic meaning viewed from the same point of view.) Of course each of them has its own way of expression.

The fourth Gospel, written by John, is a little different from the other three.

The first three Gospels were written until AD 63-65. The fourth, written by John, was written after AD 90. Therefore, the three Gospels and the rest of the writings, apart from the writings of John, took place until AD 65. From the crucifixion of the Lord to these writings, 30 years have passed. 30 years followed in which nothing was written. The only one left alive among the apostles was John.

He also goes through persecution, arrives on Patmos Island where he has a special revelation, the Apocalypse, the last book he writes. But before writing the Revelation he is inspired by the Holy Spirit to write his Gospel and his epistles.

From Patmos Island John returns to Ephesus where he ends his journey on earth.

From the writings of the others to the writings of Ioan, 30 years have passed. From the crucifixion of the Lord to the writings of John, 60 years passed. During this time, the Church crystallized, the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed in AD 70, so it no longer existed when John wrote his writings.

Why am I saying all this? It is good to understand the biblical texts as they were written. John does not tell us about the exit of Jesus from the Temple, with the prophecies that Jesus said. The Jews were scattered, persecuted as well. Without the Temple, sacrifices were not offered and without sacrifices, according to the Mosaic Law, there is no forgiveness of sins both at the level of the nation and for each individual Jew. There was no high priest anymore, there were no sacrifices. The temple was also the heart of the nation, of the Jewish people. It was the place where they gathered for all the holidays. For them, the destruction of the Temple was the biggest blow they could receive.

But everything went according to God’s plan. At the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, they asked for His blood to fall on them. And so it was.

By rejecting the Jews, God focuses His attention on the Church, namely those people who believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, believed that He was God come to live in human flesh, to live among us, to show us a way of life and then to die as a sacrificial Lamb. It was the LAST valid SACRIFICE LAMB. With the crucifixion of Jesus, the sacrifices in the Temple lost their validity. With His crucifixion, there is NO longer any chance of salvation for the Jews. No matter how religious they were, because “the wages of sin is death”, the blood of the animal sacrifices at the temple was no longer valid. With Jesus on the cross “it was corrected”, “the period of blood sacrifices ended”.

With the death of Jesus, salvation could only be received through faith in Him and His sacrifice. He was the last Sacrifice, the last sacrificial Lamb. This is very important to remember, as the last Sacrificial Lamb is Jesus Christ.

From the founding of the Church through the death of Jesus Christ, the Church began to coagulate. We have in the Acts of the Apostles the work of Peter and Paul. The doctrine crystallized and the evangelization of the world, of the non-Jews, began. Churches were established in Ephesus, in Asia Minor, Greece. The church expanded.

After 30 years after that, why does John come with the Gospel and his letters. Were all these still necessary when the Church had already been formed?

It is important to understand this in order to understand what is happening in our churches today.

A current appeared at that time, called Gnosticism. A current that is based on the esoteric knowledge of reality. Entering the Church, Gnosticism altered the doctrine of the Church. The churches were founded and received the Gospel message from the apostles. They died. They are gone. In time, others came who wanted to somehow modernize the Church, to adapt the doctrine to the Greek philosophy of the time. Apart from that, there were also those in the church who wanted a somewhat more liberal church. Jesus wanted a holy Church, a Church that focuses on Him, on His Word. He asked that He be honored, His Word be listened to and respected. For this reason, these currents that entered the Church, widened the way, liberalized the way, in the sense that they changed the biblical doctrine.

Against this heresy, Gnosticism, John is inspired by the Holy Spirit to write his Gospel and after that the epistles and the Revelation. Gnosticism denies the divinity of Jesus, stating that Jesus was only a man who received a special enlightenment.

John brings evidence of Jesus’ divinity, that Jesus is the Son of God and is God, the Messiah who was awaited by the Jews and crucified by them.

John’s writings brought clarifications to the Church. They emphasized the line the Church must follow, the individual’s relationship with God, receiving salvation, how to pray, how to relate to God and our fellow men, how to walk on the path that has only one Door: Jesus Christ. The identity of the Christian, serving in humility, the vulnerability of those who think they are strong in faith, falls, forgiveness, true love, agape, calling to serve all those who believe in Him.

During the history of the Church, things have been repeated. Currents foreign to the teachings of the New Testament entered the Church, altering the doctrine, bringing foreign teachings and imposing them in the churches. But God always and always did what he did through John: he brought out strong people in the faith whom he used to bring about a revival in the Church, to re-establish the Church on Biblical teaching. There have been spiritual awakenings throughout the history of the Church. They constituted new beginnings, the cleaning of the church, its sanctification.

The current attacking the Church of Christ today is, unfortunately, very strong and widespread, especially in the western churches but not only. It uses an aspect of God’s Nature: love. Because God is Love, He defends and accepts everything that people do “out of love” for each other. The church officiates marriages between people of the same sex, between transgender people, the church no longer considers sex outside of marriage a sin, as long as people have been living together for a long time, the church hides and tolerates all kinds of actions, activities that the New Testament calls serious sins .

The Acts of the Apostles presents the case of a couple, husband and wife, Ananias and Sapphira, who lied about the amount they received after selling a property and donating the money to the church. They said a price, the amount donated to the church, but they sold the property more expensively. What can we say: big deal? It was their money. They made a large donation to the church. What is their sin? Their sin was lying. The compromise. They didn’t have to lie. They could keep as much money as they wanted from the property sold. Why did they lie? To show how generous they were and in the top. They stated that they donated all their money to the church. And the consequence of their action was terrible. They died on the spot. But not before knowing why they will die and of course their eternal destiny. If the Holy Spirit were to do the same thing in our churches today, to die all who fornicate, cheat, and do all kinds of violations of the holiness requirements of the New Testament, how full or empty would our churches be?

The Church is called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. How salty is the salt called the church? How powerful is the light called the church?

Let’s not fool ourselves. Maybe many are doing well, they are seen well in churches, but their lives are a collection of sins. Let’s not forget that God is Love, but he is also a Consuming Fire, which does not tolerate seeing sin.

The Church is called to spiritual awakening, to stop closing its eyes to sin. Let him face it and be holy. Not to tolerate it, it doesn’t matter who the sinners are. If they make large donations to the church, like Ananias and Sapphira in the Acts of the Apostles. They must be held accountable and if they do not repent, they must be kicked out of the church. This is what the New Testament teaches us.

Let’s not forget that those who tolerate sin in the church are complicit in that sin.

The Lord Jesus brings us the message of returning, always and always, to His Word. At a spiritual awakening in the Church. We must always and in everything relate to the message brought by the New Testament.

The apostle John urges us to this through his writings.

Let’s read the Bible, pray and live in holiness, according to its message.

The Lord Jesus will come soon to take His Church to heaven. Let us be ready, with lit candles, like the five wise virgins, so that at His call we may be with Him forever.

God help us in this.

Amen.

With love, Georgeta

Aug 15, 2023 Leave a Reply

« Previous

Leave a Reply

Logged in as Geta. Edit your profile. Sign out? Required fields are marked *

Comment *

Notify me of new comments via email.

Notify me of new posts on the web and Jetpack App via notifications.

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address:

Sign me up!

Join 30 other subscribers.

AUG 2023MTWTFSS 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 « Mar

Recent Posts

THE APOSTLE JOHN AND THE SPIRITUAL AWAKENING

Easter: Closer to Christ, closer to Heaven

Easter: Closer to Christ, closer to Heaven

THE WEALTH OF AUTUMN

OUTLOOK 2021

Recent Comments

Yemalla Edwards on THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRITGeta on THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRITGeta on THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRITPompilia on About LIFE Geta on About LIFE

THE APOSTLE JOHN AND THE SPIRITUAL AWAKENING

Trial and Temptation in the life of the Christian

JESUS ​​IN DIALOGUE WITH SOME WOMEN

PETER versus JUDAS

View Full Site

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

getab.wordpress.comCustomise

APOSTOLUL IOAN SI TREZIREA SPIRITUALA

Filed under: Uncategorized — Geta @ 12:30 am

APOSTOLUL IOAN SI TREZIREA SPIRITUALA

De cateva luni studiez Evanghelia scrisa de Ioan, apostolul Domnului Isus si doresc sa impartasesc cateva ganduri din ceea ce am citit si am inteles eu citind aceasta Evanghelie. Apoi o privire de ansamblu a situatiei care a fost atunci si sa gasim echivalent cu ceea ce avem astazi.

Ioan, unul din cei 12 apostoli alesi de Domnul Isus Cristos, este singurul din cei 12 care a murit de batranete. Toti ceilalti au murit inainte de vreme. Iuda s-a sinucis imediat dupa condamnarea Domnului iar din ceilalti 11, 10 au fost martirizati, au fost omorati pentru credinta lor. Unii mai devreme, altii mai tarziu. Dintre cei 10, primul care a fost martirizat a fost Iacov, fratele lui Ioan si asta s-a intamplat prin anii 43-45 d.C., deci cam la 12 ani dupa rastignirea Domnului Isus. Ceilalti apostoli au fost martirizati in timp, pana prin anul 65 d.C cand Petru a fost omorat prin rastignire la Roma, dupa cum spun documente din traditia vremii.

Ioan a fost singurul dintre ei care a murit de batranete, la aproximativ 100 de ani.

Ioan se descrie pe sine in Evanghelia sa “ucenicul pe care l-a iubit Isus”. Isus i-a iubit pe toti dar cu Ioan a avut o relatie mai speciala. Ioan, alaturi de fratele lui, Iacov si de Petru au fost cei mai apropiati din cercul Domnului Isus. In momente mai speciale, Domnul Isus I-a luat cu El pe cei trei.

Noul Testament este alcatuit din 4 parti: avem cele 4 Evanghelii, apoi o carte istorica, Faptele Apostolilor, urmeaza Epistolele si ultima parte este Apocalipsa, carte profetica.

Cele patru Evanghelii scrise de Matei, Marcu, Luca si Ioan.

Primele trei Evanghelii, Matei, Marcu si Luca se mai numesc si Evanghelii sinoptice, deoarece ele prezinta viata si lucrarea Domnului Isus cu aceleasi evenimente si in aceeasi ordine (sinoptic insemnand privit din acelasi punct de vedere.) Desigur fiecare dintre ei au modul propriu de exprimare.

Cea de-a patra Evanghelie, scrisa de Ioan, e putin diferita de celelalte trei.

Primele trei Evanghelii au fost scrise pana in anul 63-65 d.C. Cea de-a patra, scrisa de Ioan este scrisa dupa anul 90 d.C. Asadar, cele trei Evanghelii si restul scrierilor, in afara de scrierile lui Ioan au avut loc pana in anul 65 d.C. De la rastignirea Domnului pana la aceste scrieri au trecut 30 de ani. Au urmat 30 de ani in care nu s-a scris nimic. Singurul ramas in viata dintre apostoli a fost Ioan.

Trece si el prin persecutii, ajunge pe Insula Patmos unde are o revelatie speciala, Apocalipsa, ultima carte pe care o scrie. Dar inainte de a scrie Apocalipsa el este inspirat de Duhul Sfant sa scrie Evanghelia sa si epistolele sale.

Din Insula Patmos Ioan se intoarce in Efes unde isi sfarseste calatoria pe pamant.

De la scrierile celorlalti pana la scrierile lui Ioan au trecut 30 de ani. De la rastignirea Domnului pana la scrierile lui Ioan au trecut 60 de ani. In timpul acesta, Biserica se cristaliza, Templul de la Ierusalim a fost distrus in anul 70 d.C., deci nu mai exista cand Ioan a scris scrierile sale.

De ce spun toate acestea? E bine sa intelegem textele biblice asa cum au fost ele scrise. Ioan nu ne vorbeste despre iesirea lui Isus din Templu, cu profetiile pe care Isus le-a spus. Evreii erau imprastiati, prigoniti si ei. Fara Templu nu se aduceau jertfe si fara jertfe, conform Legii Mozaice, nu exista iertarea pacatelor atat la nivel de natiune cat si pentru fiecare evreu in parte. Nu mai exista mare preot, nu existau jertfe. Templul era de asemeni inima natiunii, a poporului evreu. Era locul unde ei se adunau la toate sarbatorile. Pentru ei, daramarea Templului a fost cea mai mare lovitura pe care o puteau primi.

Dar totul a decurs conform planului lui Dumnezeu. La rastignirea Domnului Isus ei au cerut ca sangele Lui sa cada asupra lor. Si asa a fost.

Prin respingerea iudeilor, Dumnezeu Isi focalizeaza atentia asupra Bisericii si anume acelor oameni care au crezut ca Isus Cristos este Fiul lui Dumnezeu, au crezut ca El a fost Dumnezeu venit sa locuiasca in trup uman, sa traiasca printre noi, sa ne arate un mod de viata si apoi sa moara ca Miel de jertfa. Era ULTIMUL MIEL DE JERTFA valabil. Odata cu rastignirea lui Isus, jertfele din Templu si-au pierdut valabilitatea. Odata cu rastignirea Lui NU mai exista pentru evrei nici o sansa de salvare. Oricat de religiosi ar fi fost, pentru ca “plata pacatului este moartea”, sangele jertfelor animale de la templu nu mai era valabil. Cu Isus pe cruce “s-a ispravit”, “s-a incheiat perioada jertfelor de sange”.

Odata cu moartea lui Isus, mantuirea nu se mai putea primi decat prin credinta in El si jertfa Lui. El era ultima Jertfa, ultimul Miel de jertfa. Acest lucru este foarte important de retinut, ca ultimul Miel de Jertfa este Isus Cristos.

De la infiintarea Bisericii prin moartea Domnului Isus Cristos, Biserica a inceput sa se coaguleze. Avem in Faptele Apostolilor lucrarea lui Petru, a lui Pavel. Doctrina se cristaliza si s-a inceput evanghelizarea lumii, a ne-evreilor. S-au infiintat biserici in Efes, in Asia Mica, Grecia. Biserica s-a extins.

Dupa 30 de ani de la acestea, de ce vine Ioan cu Evanghelia si cu scrisorile lui. Mai erau acestea toate necesare cand Biserica deja se formase?

Este important sa intelegem asta pentru a intelege ce se intampla si in bisericile noastre astazi.

A aparut un curent in vremea aceea, numit gnosticism. Un curent care se bazeaza pe cunoasterea ezoterica a realitatii. Patruns in Biserica, gnosticismul a alterat doctrina Bisericii. Bisericile au fost fondate si au primit mesajul Evangheliei de la apostoli. Acestia au murit. S-au dus. In timp au venit altii care au vrut sa modernizeze intr-un fel Biserica, sa adapteze doctrina la filozofia greaca a vremii. In afara de asta, mai erau in biserica din aceia care voiau o biserica ceva mai liberala. Isus voia o Biserica sfanta, o Biserica ce se focaliza pe El, pe Cuvantul Lui. Cerea ca El sa fie onorat, Cuvantul Lui sa fie ascultat si respectat. Din aceasta cauza, aceste curente care au intrat in Biserica, largeau calea, liberalizau calea, in sensul ca au modificat doctrina biblica.

Impotriva acestei erezi, gnosticismul, Ioan e inspirat de catre Duhul Sfant sa scrie Evanghelia sa si dupa aceasta epistolele si Apocalipsa. Gnosticismul nega dumnezeirea lui Isus, afirmand ca Isus a fost doar un om care a primit o iluminare speciala.

Ioan aduce dovezi ale dumnezeirii lui Isus, ca Isus este Fiul lui Dumnezeu si este Dumnezeu, Mesia Cel asteptat de evrei si rastignit de ei.

Scrierile lui Ioan au adus clarificari in Biserica. Au subliniat linia pe care trebuie sa mearga Biserica, relatia individului cu Dumnezeu, primirea mantuirii, cum sa ne rugam, cum sa ne raportam la Dumnezeu si la semenii nostrii, cum sa mergem pe calea care are o singura Usa: Isus Cristos. Identitatea Crestinului, slujirea in smerenie, vulnerabilitatea celor care se cred tari in credinta, caderi, iertari, iubirea adevarata, agape, chemare in slujire a tuturor celor care cred in El.

In decursul istoriei Bisericii lucrurile s-au repetat. Curente straine invataturii Noului Testament au patruns in Biserica, alterand doctrina, aducand invataturi straine si impunandu-le in biserici. Dar Dumnezeu a facut mereu si mereu ce a facut prin Ioan: a scos oameni puternici in credinta pe care i-a folosit sa aduca o trezire in Biserica, sa reaseze Biserica pe invatatura Biblica. Au fost treziri spirituale in decursul istoriei Bisericii. Ele au constituit noi inceputuri, curatirea bisericii, sfintirea ei.

Curentul care ataca Biserica lui Cristos astazi este, din nefericire foarte puternic si raspandit, cu precadere in bisericile din vest dar nu numai. Acesta se foloseste de un aspect al Naturii lui Dumnezeu: dragostea. Deoarece Dumnezeu este Dragoste, El apara si accepta tot ce fac oamenii “din dragoste” unul pentru altul. Biserica oficiaza casatorii intre persoane de acelasi sex, intre transgenderi, biserica nu mai considera sexul in afara casatoriei pacat, atata timp cat persoanele locuiesc de mult timp impreuna, biserica ascunde si tolereaza tot felul de actiuni, activitati pe care Noul Testament le numeste pacate grave.

In Faptele Apostolilor este prezentat cazul unui cuplu, sot si sotie, Anania si Safira, care au mintit cu privire la suma pe care au primit-o dupa ce au vandut o proprietate si au donat banii bisericii. Au spus un pret, suma donata bisericii, dar au vandut proprietatea mai scump. Ce putem spune noi: mare lucru? Erau banii lor. Au facut o donatie mare bisericii. Care e pacatul lor? Pacatul lor era minciuna. Compromisul. Nu trebuiau sa minta. Puteau sa isi tina cati bani doreau din proprietatea vanduta. De ce au mintit? Ca sa arate cat erau ei de darnici si in top. Au declarat ca au donat toti banii lor bisericii. Si consecinta actiunii lor a fost cumplita. Au murit pe loc. Dar nu inainte de a sti de ce vor muri si desigur destinul lor vesnic. Daca Duhul Sfant ar face acelasi lucru in bisericile noastre astazi, sa moara toti care curvesc, inseala, si fac tot felul de incalcari ale cerintelor de sfintenie ale Noului Testament, cat de pline sau goale ar fi bisericile noastre?

Biserica este chemata sa fie sarea pamantului si lumina lumii. Cat de sarata e sarea numita biserica? Cat e de puternica lumina numita biserica?

Sa nu ne amagim. Poate ca la multi le merge bine, sunt vazuti bine in biserici, dar vietile lor sunt adunatura de pacate. Sa nu uitam ca Dumnezeu este Dragoste dar este si Foc Mistuitor, care nu tolereaza sa vada pacatul.

Biserica este chemata la trezire spirituala, sa inceteze sa inchida ochii la pacat. Sa il dea pe fata si sa fie sfanta. Sa nu il tolereze, nu conteaza cine sunt cei care pacatuiesc. Daca fac donatii mari in biserica, precum Anania si Safira din Faptele Apostolilor. Trebuie trasi la raspundere si daca nu se pocaiesc sa fie dati afara din biserica. Asa ne invata Noul Testament.

Sa nu uitam ca cei care tolereaza pacatul in biserica sunt complici la acel pacat.

Domnul Isus ne aduce mesajul intoarcerii, mereu si mereu, la Cuvantul Lui. La o trezire spirituala in Biserica. Trebuie sa ne raportam mereu si in toate la mesajul adus de Noul Testament.

La aceasta ne indeamna apostolul Ioan prin scrierile sale.

Sa citim Biblia, sa ne rugam si sa traim in sfintenie, conform mesajului ei.

Domnul Isus va veni curand sa Isi ia Biserica la cer. Sa fim gata, cu candelele aprinse, precum cele cinci fecioare intelepte, ca la chemarea Lui sa fim cu El vesnic.

Dumnezeu sa ne ajute la aceasta.

Amin.

Cu drag, Geta

Mar 26, 2023

Easter: Closer to Christ, closer to Heaven

Filed under: Uncategorized — Geta @ 7:06 pm

Easter: Closer to Christ, closer to Heaven

We are approaching Easter, the most important Day of all Christians.
Jesus came to the world to live a normal life, in a family with modest incomes. He lived among ordinary people, who faced needs, problems, diseases, poverty, death. And these people with many needs were the most open to learning about salvation, about hope here and now and about the hope of eternity in the splendor of heaven. The message of Jesus was addressed especially to the “low”, to the humble, who did not have much in life. And He, Christ, brought everything into their lives.
That’s how it was and that’s how it stayed. Jesus was received and adored by those in need, not by those who had everything and who relied only on themselves and their abilities. He said that it is impossible for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. That’s how it was and that’s how His message remained. Why was Jesus’ message against the rich? Because the rich loves his wealth and because the rich invests all to accumulate and preserve wealth. And there is something else: what King David calls the source of great sins: “pride”. Pride is a great sin. And it is at the root of sins. Pride is treacherous because you cannot “prove” it.
Solomon, in Proverbs 30:7-9 says:
“Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die):
Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me;
Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God.” (NKJV)
Why am I writing about this? Because in the last week before being crucified, Jesus allocated a special time to convey the essence of His message to the disciples. The evangelist John allocates half of his Gospel to the last week of Jesus on earth and until His ascension to heaven.
Jesus rides a donkey, not a horse, into Jerusalem, which hails Him.
The final Supper with the disciples follows. Jesus kneels before each of them and washes their feet. And He tells them then and us today that we are obliged to wash each other’s feet. A powerful message of humility. That is to kneel in front of everyone and wash their feet. Today, washing the feet physically (water and basin) is no longer practiced in most churches. It is still practiced only in some isolated churches.
Both those who do not wash physically and those who do say that Jesus’ message was a call to humility. In the time of Jesus, feet were washed. Servants, slaves were the ones who washed the feet of those who entered someone’s house as guests. Jesus, washing the disciples’ feet, took the place of a servant in relation to them.
As I said, pride cannot be proven. But humility can prove itself. And precisely because it can be proven, we realize that it is so rare among us.
What is more difficult to understand is the fact that Jesus also washed the feet of Judas Iscariot. Jesus knew what Judas would do. This means that the manifestation of our humility must be seen not only by true Christians but also by those who call themselves Christians but are not really Christians. The meaning of the word “Christian” is “follower of Christ” or “to follow in the footsteps of Christ”
Jesus then talks about the love we must show to each other. “Agape” love. And He speaks to them of His death. Gethsemane follows. Prayer with sweat of blood. Then, the betrayal of the disciples, the cry of the crowd to be crucified and the crucifixion.
Meditating on all this, on the last week of His life, I think of us, the Christians of the last days before the Rapture of the Church. After 2000 years since Jesus gave us the last instructions, how have we kept and fulfilled what He told us? How are we, the Christians, the disciples, the Church, today?
If in His narrow group there was a salesman and the others were detached from His suffering, how are we today?
Let’s remember what the Lord Jesus says to the Church that ends the “Church Age”, i.e. the Church before the Rapture of the Church to heaven:
“Revelation 3:14-22
“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,
These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
Because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked-.
I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire that you may be rich; and white garments that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoit your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (NKJV)
Let’s remember this message! Jesus transmits it to us, that is, to the Church at its end.
Let’s not be satisfied with the fact that we go to church regularly, that we give a penny to the collection, that we do a service in the church, whatever that may be. All these are good but they are not enough to guarantee us that we will go to heaven.
The guarantee that we will go to heaven is given by our personal relationship with Jesus, living with the firm conviction that He died to give us the forgiveness of our individual sins if we ask for forgiveness, believe in Him and follow what He asks of us. He is with us at any moment, in illnesses, troubles, problems, but also everywhere we are: work, school, in society, in the family, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, in the bedroom, when we talk to colleagues, friends, family.
All these define us, our character, our personality. And if all these are not according to the divine standards but we wish from the heart that they are, Christ can allow the work of the chisel and hammer of the carver in our lives, to give us the splendor of the image of Christ in us, at different levels of brilliance. And this processing can be painful. Physically and/or mentally. But, calling on the Name of the Lord, we are strengthened and overcome.
Let’s not forget: the essence of Christ-Man’s life and character were: humility, love, suffering and sacrifice. If we want to get to heaven, with Him, we have to consider all this in our life.
We live in the days before the Rapture of the Church. The concentration of evil forces is very high to attack us at these points. And they attack us with their opposite. With the opposite of humility: pride; with the opposite of suffering: sinful offerings; with the opposite of love: envy, conflicts of interest, hatred. If we are aware of these and stay alert, watchful, we will win.
If before the first coming of the Lord Jesus on earth the devil concentrated all his forces to prevent His birth, now he does the same: he violently attacks the true Christians with all his forces, with the aim of removing them from the “number of the chosen”. We are not surprised that we are attacked on different levels. Let’s pray, asking for Christ’s intervention and to be strong in faith, uncompromising, holy, clean. Even if we have internal and/or physical wounds, even if we are marginalized. Let’s pray. He will strengthen us and give us victory.
Jesus is coming to get us. He’s at the door.
Am I ready to go to Him?
Are YOU ready to go to Him?
Make us worthy, God, we pray!
I wish you an Easter blessed by the One who, dying on the cross, gave us the salvation of souls and eternal life together with Him.
With love,
Georgeta

Mar 24, 2023

Pastele: Mai aproape de Cristos, mai aproape de Cer

Filed under: Uncategorized — Geta @ 3:32 pm

Pastele: Mai aproape de Cristos, mai aproape de Cer

Ne apropiem de Paste, sarbatoarea cea mai importanta a tuturor crestinilor.
Isus a venit pe lume sa traiasca o viata normala, intr-o familie cu venituri modeste. A trait printre oameni de rand, care se confruntau cu nevoi, probleme, boli, saracie, moarte. Si acesti oameni cu nevoi multe au fost cei mai deschisi sa afle despre mantuire, despre nadejde aici si acum si despre nadejdea vesniciei in splendoarea cerului. Mesajul lui Isus se adresa in special celor “de jos”, a celor smeriti, care nu aveau prea multe in viata. Si El, Cristosul, a adus totul in viata lor.
Asa a fost si asa a ramas. Isus a fost primit si adorat de cei in nevoi, nu de cei care aveau totul si care se bazau doar pe ei si abilitatile lor. El a spus ca e imposibil ca cei bogati sa ajunga in Imparatia lui Dumnezeu. Asa a fost si asa a ramas mesajul Lui. De ce mesajul lui Isus a fost impotriva bogatilor si a bogatiilor? Pentru ca bogatul isi iubeste bogatia si pentru ca bogatul investeste tot sa acumuleze si sa pastreze bogatia. Si mai e ceva: ceea ce imparatul David numeste sursa pacatelor mari: “mandria”. (Psalm 19:13 “ Păzește, de asemenea, pe robul Tău de mândrie, ca să nu stăpânească ea peste mine! Atunci voi fi fără prihană, nevinovat de păcate mari.” Mandria e un pacat mare. Si sta la radacina pacatelor. Mandria e perfida deoarece nu o poti “dovedi”.
Solomon, in Proverbe 30:7-9 spune:
“7. Două lucruri Îți cer; nu mi le opri înainte de moarte!

  1. Depărtează de la mine neadevărul și cuvântul mincinos; nu-mi da nici sărăcie, nici bogăție, dă-mi pâinea care-mi trebuie.
  2. Ca nu cumva, în belșug, să mă lepăd de Tine și să zic: „Cine este Domnul?” Sau ca nu cumva, în sărăcie, să fur și să iau în deșert Numele Dumnezeului meu.”
    De ce scriu despre asta? Pentru ca in ultima saptamana inainte de a fi rastignit, Isus a alocat un timp special sa transmita ucenicilor esenta mesajului Lui. Evanghelistul Ioan aloca jumatate din Evanghelia lui ultimei saptamani a lui Isus pe pamant si pana la inaltarea Lui la cer.
    Isus intra calare pe un magarus, nu pe un cal, in Ierusalimul care Il aclama.
    Urmeaza Cina finala cu ucenucii. Isus ingenunchiaza in fata fiecaruia dintre ei si le spala picioarele. Si le spune lor atunci si noua astazi ca suntem datori sa spalam picioarele, unii altora. Un mesaj puternic de smerenie. Adica sa ingenunchiezi in fata tuturor si sa le speli picioarele. Astazi nu se mai practica spalarea picioarelor in mod fizic (apa si lighean) in majoritatea bisericilor. Doar in unele biserici izolate se mai practica.
    Si cei ce nu fac spalarea in mod fizic si cei ce o fac spun ca mesajul lui Isus a fost un indemn la smerenie. In vremea lui Isus se practica spalarea picioarelor. Servitorii, sclavii erau cei care spalau picioarele celor care intrau ca musafiri in casa cuiva. Isus, spaland picioarele ucenicilor, a luat locul de servitor in relatie cu ei.
    Cum spuneam, mandria nu se poate dovedi. Dar smerenia se poate dovedi. Si tocmai pentru ca se poate dovedi, ne dam seama ca e asa de rara intre noi.
    Ceea ce este mai greu de inteles este faptul ca Isus a spalat si picioarele lui Iuda Iscarioteanu. Isus stia ce va face Iuda. Asta inseamna ca manifestarea smereniei noastre trebuie sa se vada nu doar de catre crestinii adevarati ci si de cei ce se numesc crestini dar nu sunt crestini cu adevarat. Sensul cuvantului “crestin” este “urmas al lui Cristos” sau “a calca pe urmele lui Cristos”
    Isus vorbeste apoi despre dragostea pe care trebuie sa o manifestam unii fata de altii. Dragostea “agape”. Si le vorbeste de moartea Sa. Urmeaza Ghetzimani. Rugaciune cu sudoare de sange. Apoi, tradarea ucenicilor, strigatul multimii sa fie rastignit si rastignirea.
    Meditand la toate acestea, la ultima saptamana din viata Lui, ma gandesc la noi, crestinii ultimelor zile dinaintea rapirii Bisericii. Dupa 2000 de ani de cand Isus ne-a dat ultimile instructiuni, cum am pastrat si implinit ceea ce El ne-a spus? Cum suntem noi, crestinii, ucenicii, Biserica, astazi?
    Daca in grupul Lui restrans a fost un vanzator si ceilalti s-au detasat de suferinta Lui, cum suntem noi astazi?
    Sa ne reamintim ce spune Domnul Isus bisericii care incheie “Epoca Bisericii”, adica Bisericii dinaintea Rapirii Biserici la cer:
    “Apocalipsa 3
  3. Îngerului Bisericii din Laodiceea scrie-i: „Iată ce zice Cel ce este Amin, Martorul credincios și adevărat, Începutul zidirii lui Dumnezeu:
  4. „Știu faptele tale: că nu ești nici rece, nici în clocot. O, dacă ai fi rece sau în clocot!
  5. Dar, fiindcă ești căldicel, nici rece, nici în clocot, am să te vărs din gura Mea.
  6. Pentru că zici: „Sunt bogat, m-am îmbogățit, și nu duc lipsă de nimic”, și nu știi că ești ticălos, nenorocit, sărac, orb și gol,
  7. te sfătuiesc să cumperi de la Mine aur curățat prin foc, ca să te îmbogățești; și haine albe, ca să te îmbraci cu ele și să nu ți se vadă rușinea goliciunii tale; și doctorie pentru ochi, ca să-ți ungi ochii și să vezi.
  8. Eu mustru și pedepsesc pe toți aceia pe care-i iubesc. Fii plin de râvnă, dar, și pocăiește-te!
  9. Iată Eu stau la ușă și bat. Dacă aude cineva glasul Meu și deschide ușa, voi intra la el, voi cina cu el, și el cu Mine.
  10. Celui ce va birui îi voi da să șadă cu Mine pe scaunul Meu de domnie, după cum și Eu am biruit și am șezut cu Tatăl Meu pe scaunul Lui de domnie.”
  11. Cine are urechi să asculte ce zice bisericilor Duhul.”
    Sa luam aminte la acest mesaj! Isus il transmite noua, adica Bisericii la finalul ei.
    Sa nu ne multumim cu faptul ca mergem la biserica cu regularitate, ca dam un ban la colecta, ca facem o slujba in biserica, oricare ar fi asta. Toate acestea sunt bune dar nu sunt de ajuns sa ne garanteze ca vom merge in cer.
    Garantia ca vom merge in cer ne-o da relatia noastra personala cu Isus, trairea cu convingerea ferma ca El a murit ca sa ne dea iertarea pacatelor noastre individuale daca ne cerem iertare, credem in El si urmam ceea ce El ne cere. El este cu noi in orice clipa, in boli, necazuri, probleme dar si peste tot unde suntem: servici, scoala, in societate, in familie, in baie, in bucatarie, in dormitor, cand vorbim cu colegii, prietenii, familia.
    Toate acestea ne definesc pe noi, caracterul nostru, personalitatea noastra. Si daca toate acestea nu sunt conform standardelor divine dar noi dorim din suflet ca ele sa fie, Cristos poate ingadui in vietile noastre sa se lucreze cu dalta si ciocanul cioplitorului, sa ne dea splendoarea chipului lui Cristos in noi, la diferite nivele de stralucire. Si aceasta prelucrare poate fi dureroasa. Fizic sau/si mental. Dar, chemand Numele Domnului, suntem intariti si invingem.
    Sa nu uitam: esenta vietii si caracterului lui Cristos-Omul au fost: smerenia, dragostea, suferinta si jertfa. Daca vrem sa ajungem in cer, cu El, trebuie sa avem in vedere toate acestea si in dreptul nostru.
    Traim zilele dinaintea Rapirii Bisericii. Concentrarea fortelor raului este foarte mare sa ne atace in aceste puncte. Si ne ataca cu opusul lor. Cu opusul smereniei: mandria; cu opusul suferintei: oferte pacatoase; cu opusul dragostei: invidia, lupte de interese, ura. Daca suntem constienti de acestea si stam cu mintea treaza, veghiatori, vom invinge.
    Daca inainte de prima venire a Domnului Isus pe pamant diavolul si-a concentrat toate fortele ca sa impiedice nasterea Lui, acum face la fel: ataca violent, cu toate fortele crestinii adevarati, cu scopul de a-i indeparta din “numarul celor alesi”. Sa nu ne miram ca suntem atacati pe diferite planuri. Sa ne rugam, cerand interventia lui Cristos si sa stam tari in credinta, necompromisi, sfinti, curati. Chiar daca suntem cu rani interioare sau/si fizice, chiar daca suntem marginalizati. Sa ne rugam. El ne va intari si ne va da biruinta.
    Isus vine sa ne ia. E la usa.
    Sunt EU gata sa merg la El?
    Esti TU gata sa mergi la El?
    Invredniceste-ne, Doamne, Te rugam !
    Va doresc un Paste binecuvantat de Cel care, murind pe cruce, ne-a dat in dar mantuirea sufletelor si viata eterna impreuna cu El.
    Cu drag,
    Geta
Next Page »

Blog at WordPress.com.