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continuation...
Do not be influenced by the ideology that there is no God. Just make a thorough study of your being and you’ll realize that there is God. If you will only learn the scientific attitudes and principles, we will be compelled to believe that there is God. Our beings and surroundings are not results of an accident. Instead, they are the fruits of the toil of an Almighty Being.
Our being is not a product of an accident as claimed by other. That is not true. An accident, or an evolution, cannot produce exact things. If you are going to follow the theory of evolution, it would show you that evolution is a mere accident. It is not planned. However, if you are going to analyze our being and our surroundings, you will see that they were all planned.
It had been planned that there should be 21% oxygen and 78% nitrogen in the atmosphere to sustain life. And since oxygen is vital to the sustenance of life, God created the plants. These plants need carbon dioxide, and in return, they release oxygen. The oxygen, which has been inhaled by man, will be released in the form of carbon dioxide which is needed by plants. In other words, there is a definite cycle that takes place. That being the case, how can you say that man’s existence is a mere result of an accident? There must be a God who designed that cycle. How did it happen that the oxygen that the plants will release will be consumed by man, and the carbon dioxide that man releases will be consumed by plants? How did it become an accident? Instead, it had been planned by a great architect and builder of the universe and that is the Almighty God. Just try to think about it.
Cruelty is also a result of man’s refusal to acknowledge God. Look at Hitler. Because he did not acknowledge God, it was too easy for him to kill millions of people. Refusal to acknowledge God will not do a person any good. I don’t believe that a person can be considered good if he refuses to acknowledge God. As mentioned in the Bible, “there is none that doeth good.” A person who does not acknowledge God is bad. I apologize to those who do not believe in God. I have nothing personal against you. But I am just saying what I have read from the Bible. No person can be considered good if he does not fear God. He who does not acknowledge God is bad. You can find good people only among those who acknowledge God; while abominable wickedness and heinous crimes can be found among those who do not fear God. If ever they happen to know any god, surely, it must be a false god, not the real God. This is what Romans 21:23-25 says—
“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.”
This is what results out of man’s refusal to recognize God. Although they profess to know God, but, apparently, it’s not the real God that they know. Why? ... because they have changed the incorruptible glory of God with a corruptible glory of man. They have changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to a corruptible man, and to birds, and to four-footed beasts and creeping things. No wonder there are people who worship birds and beasts. Others worship a woman stepping on a snake; they kneel before her. There are those who kneel before a saint riding on a horse. That is why every time that they kneel before that saint, they are also kneeling before the horse. In the first place, they cannot order the saint to go down from the horse, or tell the horse to leave, because they will worship the saint. On the other hand, there is a saint who is being accompanied by a dog, so that when a worshipper kneels before that saint, he is also bending his knees for the dog. What the Bible said is being realized in them. They have changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to a corruptible man, and to birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things. They have changed the truth of God into a lie, and they worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator.
Their god is a false god. This is the reason why this world gets worse every day. Do you want this world to get better? Introduce God and His will to all. Nowadays, very few bother to lift a finger to make God and His will be known to all. The schools hardly introduce God to the youths. In fact, the very first lesson that they instill in the minds of the children is ABC. But, it would be better if, before the parents send their children to school, they should introduce God to them first. Tell them that God is the reason why they have come into existence. Explain to them what God has done to them since the day they were born. Normally, children ask their parents where they came from. They ask why there is a moon. They are interested to know why the sun gives off heat while the moon does not. By responding to their inquiries, you are being given the chance to introduce God in their young minds. Ideally, that should be the first lessons that the school should teach to the children, instead of singing and writing. Actually, even if they reach high school and college, they are not offered an avenue for learning and knowing God. And what is worse, in their respective churches the god that their pastors introduce to them are merely false gods. With this situation, is it still surprising why this world is getting worse?
There are those who say that, for this world to be good, we need good law enforcers and good government officials. That is not true. Nothing and nobody could become good if there is not God. For the government officials and the citizenry to be good, they should get to know God first. Read them the Bible. Unfortunately, very few radio and television stations today preach the word of God. Most of the programs they air, especially during primetime, deal with gossips, while the talk show programs that tackle moral issues are being aired during the wee hours – when children are already asleep. That is why we must not be surprised if the succeeding generations will breed nothing but gossip mongers, who adore actors and actresses, instead of God. The moral values of man deteriorate, partly, due to the mass media. They transmit other things instead of introducing God.
The wickedness of man is a result of his non-recognition of God. But if we are going to refer to what the Bible says, the very first thing that we must seek for is God. Our love and obedience to God should come before anything else because it is to Him that we owe our life.
Try to observe a newborn babe. What is the first thing that a newborn looks for? The very first thing that a newborn babe looks for is the breast of his mother, because the breast milk is what he needs for his survival. Do not feed the infant with cow’s milk right away. Breast milk is still best for babies. Why? The first milk that an infant could suck from his mother’s breast contains anti-bodies that would be his defense against illnesses, while the next that he would suck contains the vitamins that he needs. That is why the very first drops of milk from a mother’s breast is very important to the baby.
However, there are mothers who, after breast-feeding for a few weeks, readily switch to cow’s milk as a substitute. Remember that a baby is a human being, but you are feeding him with a cow’s milk when your breasts still have milk. As a result, the child imbibes the attitudes of a beast. Perhaps, after breast-feeding for six months, or one year, a mother can already switch to cow’s milk because she has already given her baby a very healthy foundation. But there are mothers who breast-feed only for a day. That is why after a month, they are, again, pregnant. Before they knew it, they already have seventeen children. How can you look after seventeen children? Child rearing requires a lot of time. So, how can you properly take care of so many children? Because of this, the children begin to loiter in the streets, and begin to learn all sorts of vices and evil things. And this is one of the reasons why the society gets worse. That is why, it is very important that we get to know, and learn to love God.
What is our basis in saying that love is the most important of all? And if love is the most important, what ranks as the second and the third most important? I Corinthians 13:13 says—
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity.”
Charity, or love, is the greatest of all because God is love. I John 4:16 says—
“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”
Charity, or love, is the most important among the three – faith, hope, and charity, or love. What is that love? It is the love of God’ obedience to His Commandments and submission to His will. These are the things that we need to possess for us to live peacefully and for us to be saved. Do we have a confirmation that love, indeed, is the most important of all? This is what I Corinthians 13:1-3 says—
“Though I speak with the tongues of men of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”
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Bible
The
Way to Salvation
