The

New Jesus

How to keep your faith strong in the modern world

By

Simon H. Louis

Also By Simon H. Louis

57 Payers for Strength: Overcoming any obstacle in life with the power of prayer

(Discover 57 powerful prayers to help you overcome everything in you life)

Authors Statement

All information in this book has been researched carefully. Saying that it is important to make note that the authors and publishers make no warranty, express or implied, that the information contained herein is appropriate for every individual, situation or purpose, and assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. The reader assumes the risk and full responsibility for all actions and the authors will not taking any responsibility for any loss or damage, whether consequential, incidental special or otherwise may result from the information presented in this book. This book is the outcome of experience and best effort had been done to check facts and to give credit where it is due. In the event of any material is incorrect or has been used without proper permission, please contact us so that the issue can be corrected. This book had been created with love to all living beings and we hope that it will be used with the love it was created.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Modern Beliefs

New Age Beliefs about Jesus

Discoveries about Christianity

Modern Science and Christianity

Hard Times in the modern world

Turning the Other Cheek in real life

Believing in Modern Society

Unconditional Love for God

Collective Love

Love with God's Blessing

Elevating Your Spiritual Faith

Making every prayer count

Rediscovering Your Inner self

Putting it all together

Introduction

The world is changing, new discoveries, new beliefs and new technologies are continuously changing the face of humanity. It is hard to recognize and acknowledge a revolution in human behavior on a global scale while it is happening in the present.

Usually only when looking back in history we can recognize an era in which there were a significant change in human beliefs on a globe scale.

Such change is happening now, the last decades, the last years. As technology evolves there are only more and more new unanswered questions. Things that were well proven and explained have new more complicated and unsolved theories, and as time goes by more and more theories confronts the answer that was clear to Christianity for thousands of years.

The knowledge of belief in God that stands behind everything we sense in the world.

Those new discoveries try to explain god thru science, trying to say in different words, simple words, what was already said ages ago in the Bible. New age beliefs are discovering essentially the same thing in their own "language".

As we discuss those fields more deeply we will find that those new age believes are in some part very similar to Christianity but uses other terms and misses the point.

It is almost as if Christian believers looking at the picture and seeing it as a hole with all its true colors and new age believers and science looking at the same picture through glasses with color lenses so they can almost see the whole picture in its full purity only they have a distortion of focus and fake colors that blur them from seeing the full truth.

The last decades have shown us that those glasses are slowly disappearing as time goes by and we are getting closer and closer to the point that the way of the Lord will be seen clearly by all. This is the revolution that is coming upon us in the upcoming years.

With that in mind, we all know that the modern world is yet to become an easy place to live and keep your faith in Jesus strong and solid. So many new beliefs, theories and temptation are testing our belief on a daily basis. People have turned against each other and this has led to violence and insecurity, fighting each other to prove that their glasses are the right ones.

The world is home to human beings meaning that it is the people who have become monstrous and evil towards each other. The moment they began drawing apart from the word of God is when they lacked moral lessons to guide them into co-existing with each other.

If you don't believe in anything, you will fall for anything. So eventually people are always looking for ways to find something that will help them to see the true picture in whole.

The New Testament gives the modern man hope for that, hope to see the real picture in the purest way possible. It teaches them that God always has compassion for those who believe in him and live their lives according to his instructions.

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The world today is fast changing and the high technological advance has evidently contributed to more people turning to God. It is through technology that televangelism has been made this possible. This has automatically led to the gospel reaching people throughout the entire world fast and easy.

Some have led to the rise of Christian broadcast channels that only air Christianity related programs. This has given people a chance to get closer to God on a daily basis around the clock instead of only a single day of the week. This has also made it possible for televangelists to reach Christians who never have time to go to church due to busy schedules among other things.

Some local channels have also incorporated Christian programs into their line up, hence the gospel reaching even the non-Christians. Technology has also made it possible for people to view Christian programs and preaching in the office, at home as well as on the road through computers.

This has been made it even more convenient because of the types and sizes of computers available; tablets and iPads are so small hence allowing one to carry them everywhere they go.

And so the modern world presents us with a promising future but with it, brings us a new arsenal of challenges and tests that we must prevail on our path. We must understand these times so we can overcome them.

Modern Beliefs

Almost every religion, movement and belief structure is centered on the ideas or teachings of a single individual. For Christianity, that individual is Christ. For Buddhism, it's Siddhartha, for Muslims, its Mohammed. All of these figures preached a message of peace, unity and understanding that forms the core of their respective religions.

The New Age Movement, as a whole, lacks this central figure. Individual groups and beliefs within the movement have single people at their centers certainly, but these luminaries can only serve to drive smaller facets of the movement.

This seems inevitable, given the decentralized nature of many New Age beliefs. Despite this, the New Age Movement is questing for a Jesus figure to tie everything together and serve as a lightning rod, focusing outside attention and energizing the community with new, unifying energy.

Getting into Christianity is easy. Despite there being literally thousands of separate denominations of churches, large and small, with vastly different beliefs and methods, there's still a common place for new believers to start from.

In order to learn more about Christianity, all one has to do is study the teachings of Jesus. Even if you find yourself disillusioned with the particular branch or church that you start with initially, these core ideas translate very well and can lead to a quick acceptance into a new community.

New Age ideas are more complicated. While there are a handful of unifying ideas across the movement, individual cells and communities often go about the activities of belief in vastly different ways.

Rituals like re-birthing, meditation, trance and magic are handled differently by practitioners across the world, with many groups eschewing or disavowing various methods entirely. The objects of worship differ, too – while assigning some importance to various crystals, relics, runes or other sacred items is a common theme across many groups, both the nature of the objects and the specifics varies from practitioner to practitioner.

This creates an environment where a motivated believer can use research, experience and critical thinking to find a community and belief structure that works best for them. Unfortunately, this can also make it difficult to explain New Age ideas to laypersons or bring new converts into the fold, as the lack of commonality across various New Age worship centers can be a confusing mess of contradiction.

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Many New Age leaders recognize this difficulty and are overtly seeking to find a sort of Jesus figure that can help to unify their beliefs. Even if religious communities choose not to incorporate every teaching of such a person into their worship and ritual, a centralized belief structure still can serve as a benchmark to make comparisons to.

Describing a denomination of Christianity as 'Baptist but with these differences' is a very quick, accepted way to describe the belief structure of a community, even if it varies from the model. By having a set of common, universally understood teachings, believers can quickly communicate ideas to themselves and outsiders, even if they disagree with some of the common teachings.

According to New Age beliefs, while finding this Christ figure will be difficult, it's not impossible. Many believers reconcile the three major Jesus figures in world religions (Christ of Nazareth, Mohammed, and Siddhartha Buddha) by describing a kind of "Christ Consciousness."

They believe in the idea that all of these figures occupied a central seat in their respective religions by equipping themselves to receive a sort of transcendent enlightenment. This Christ Consciousness allowed them to access reserves of wisdom and spirituality far beyond that of other men.

This set of ideas is supported by the common New Age belief of distributed divinity. In essence, distributed divinity means that God is a part of creation rather than an omnipotent creator. Each individual holds a latent spark of divine power within them, making humanity a spiritual entity unto itself.

Unlocking the Christ Consciousness is simply a function of allowing oneself to better connect with this sea of spirituality. The various complexities and differences between other major religions can be explained by the difficulty of putting such powerful ideas into words. These figures all did their best to explain things to their followers in their own way. Separated from us by thousands of years and thousands of miles, their explanations have been warped and twisted by millions of retelling across dozens of generations. The New Age movement has many similarities to these other religions and draws heavily upon their teachings -- it's just different in that it's more open to other sources of wisdom as well.

The New Age Movement makes use of various sacred objects and rituals in order to attempt to connect at a higher level. Even though differences in these techniques can make it difficult to communicate ideas across communities, these activities all hold a common theme of connecting with deeper spirituality.

Christians believe in a discrete God-figure that accepts a very narrow range of behavior in life and worship. New Agers are more accepting of the idea that God is a concept and not a person and therefore is able to be reached in a number of ways. This idea is not new or unique -- a close reading of the Gospel shows that Jesus himself told his followers a number of times that the ideas behind their worship are more important than their actions. Viewing the movement as a mass, free-form worship of a distributed deity can help to reconcile some of the disparate ideas different factions manifest.

Christianity and New Age beliefs have many things in common. Believers of both seek to live peaceful, holy lives, spreading spiritual wisdom to those who will listen. There's a common theme of respect for both oneself and others, as well as a quest for an age of peace, bounty and happiness. The biggest difference is in the optimism and practicality of the movements. While Christians pray to God without asking anything in return, surrendering to Gods will. New Age practitioners are more proactive and try to bring about this age of enlightenment in their time here on Earth.

Not only are the ideas of Jesus present in the teachings of many New Age sects, the concept of a Jesus like figure is both accepted and sought after by the movement as a whole. Such a figure would help to bring unification to a fractured community, helping both converts and existing believers reconcile their ideas and communicate freely to achieve a better understanding of the spiritual world.

New Age Beliefs about Jesus

The dawning of the New Age tends to redefine spirituality from a different respective. They see Jesus more of a kindred spirit who manifests great powers to those who enters the New Age. This is an altogether different interpretation or attestation that he is a legendary lore or a mere God-like pretender. The New Age Movement is a group of spiritual seekers who tries to find mystical sources of religious orthodoxies. Because the group is highly diverse, it has no single view of what Jesus is all about.

The views on Jesus in the New Age may be summarized as follows:

Belief No.1 - Jesus, is a Holy Man like Buddha

The New Age acclaims Jesus as somebody who has reached the highest spiritual advancement and referred to in various names and titles like ----Master, Guru, Yogi, and Shaman among many others. He is revered along other religious and holy men like --- Buddha, Krishnan, Lao-Tse, and Confucius. Many discourses were made to separate Jesus Christ, the man, with the impersonal and the religious.

His ability to perform many miracles were attributable to His being able to tap the higher level of consciousness or cosmic power.

It is the firm belief of the group along with New Age philosopher, David Spangler, that echoes the Gnostic truism that, “The attributable healing powers of Christ is not solely His own, but manifested in other holy men too like the Buddha.

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Belief No. 2 - Jesus is not the only Son of God

In the bestselling book, The Power of the Myth (1988) by Joseph Campbell where he was quoted as saying that “All of humankind exudes either a Buddha or Christ-like consciousness; “unless, they may not be aware of it.

People can tap into Christhood or universal energy, and may have the Christ consciousness in them too. The orthodox Christian belief on the supremacy of God is questioned by the group.

Jesus is respected as a holy man, but not worshiped. It was argued that Jesus cannot be the only “Son of God” as there are others. By accepting the said truism --- they believed, would limit God’s power and lessen the impact of divinity to one physical form all throughout eternity.

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Belief No. 3 - Crucifixion is a Pagan Rite

The new age group does not believe in the crucifixion of Christ as a way to man’s redemption. His sufferings to pay for man’s sins are rebuked as unessential to be one with God.

The leader of the Church Universal and Triumphant, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, stated in no uncertain terms that the blood sacrifice is a pagan rite and was never taught by Jesus Himself. The New Age view denies human sinfulness, and the belief that Jesus is God who is ethically perfect. With this belief, the crucifixion loses its traditional importance.

The act of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension is also recognized only as that of an ascended master who was brought to the spiritual plane.

The Ascension was not given God-like pre-eminence. It is merely interpreted as a mere going inwards from where all human being come from, and back into the consciousness that is the source, and where all things must go.

Jesus’ ascension is seen not as going to the right hand of the Father, but more of descending into the divine pits of the universal soul.

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Belief No. 4 - Literature includes Gnostic Text and other texts

The idea of the second coming of Christ is rejected as pure literalism (Philippians 3:20-21).

The belief is that each person is God, and everyone is part of the second coming. The final judgment after one dies is denied in favor of the soul being reincarnated into another life form.

New Age thinkers do not only recognize the Holy Bible as the sole source of authentic document about Jesus. They turn to other documents like the lost years of Christ and other alternative records of Jesus’ life.

Many believe that the Gnostic texts provide a reliable account of the life of Jesus. New Age believers affirm that the way to salvation is through self-knowledge or gnostic.

Most fanatics believe that since the Gnostic texts include the Gospel of Thomas and Peter, then these are trustworthy Materials that may have been expelled from the Orthodox Church.

Another revisionist belief is adhering to a book entitled “The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ” that was published by Russian journalist, Nicholas Notovitch in 1894. The book purports to show the lost years of between 13 years to 29 years old, where Jesus spent studying and traveling to the mystical east. The Jesus depicted in the book, vastly differs from His biblical persona.

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Belief No. 5 - Jesus is not God

Others use the materials from the Dead Sea Scrolls and other sources. They do not believe that Jesus is God, but was part of the mystical remnants of the Jewish Fundamentalist group that was inherent in His time.

Some mediums were used to receive messages from personal beings regarding Jesus. Others like Edgar Cayce and Rudolf Steiner, known clairvoyants ---- keyed into the higher planes of consciousness to extract a picture of Jesus.

The pictures do not correspond to the biblical Christ. There were claims that dictations were made by Jesus Himself and were published in a book called, 'A Course in Miracles', by author Marianne Williamson in 1975.

All of these materials deny the Christian beliefs on: original sin, the crucifixion of Christ, belief of God through Christ, and the concept of heaven and hell.

Jesus as portrayed was not mentioned in the Holy Bible in the traditional sense that He is God, by the group. The Holy Bible was decoded for hidden messages that it may contain when used.

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New Age believers often create a non-biblical view of God. Some even believe to be God themselves, or may have sudden revelations that God as depicted is different from the written Word.

The group tends to drift towards the watered-down versions of what Christianity is all about, so that they can live a life that is free from biblical constraints of an unchanging moral order.

The New Age movement seeks to provide a different way of looking into spirituality. But as it is, it lacks the sheer power and significance of the cross, which is the bulwark of Christianity. Those involved in New Ageism continues to seek for something that is apparently not there.

So their journey never ends and it goes on until all their queries are answered. With Christianity, the truth is written and the answers are found in the Bible, and the cross serves as the beacon of light that rallies the faithful to be one with Christ.

Discoveries about Christianity

Christians oftentimes are in a quandary about their faith. Their faith may be absolute but it would be of much help if archaeological artifacts would show the truth about their beliefs. A number of artifacts have been found to give credence that what was stated in the Holy Bible represented real events.

That there was enough historical data to prove that Christ walked this earth and became man.

Scientists and archaeologist have looked closely on historical accounts that surround the life of Jesus. Although some of these scientists tend to discount the historical accounts that are found in the Holy Bible, these findings have shown that a great number of them are credible.

It has been noted that through centuries of archaeological discoveries, what has been unearthed so far continues to authenticate the truthfulness of biblical records.

The discovery of a collection of 500 pieces of historical documents in the 1940's by a shepherd along the coast of the Dead Sea is the most important findings to date.

The scrolls were believed to have been written before Christ up to A.D. 68 and provided significant insights into the Qumran community, a group of Jews whose practices and beliefs were written in detail in the scrolls.

The documents that were found included: the complete Book of Isaiah; some portions of the Deuteronomy and Exodus among others. It also contained commentaries on the Old Testament; non canonical books; a Qumran manual code of state and other community documents.

Although the manuscripts were Jewish, they still underscored truthfulness of the scriptures that are found in the Old Testament.

What it contained helped unravel, and at the same time piece together the ancient antiquities and regions surrounding the Holy Land before Christ.

Archaeological teams usually excavate in a number of biblical sites to deepen the historian’s knowledge of the biblical world. They unearth and study every fragment of indigenous pottery to monolithic ruins — so as to gain better insight into the ancient civilizations.

These specialists usually share their stories when they have excavated evidence and this is where we see science and religion meet.

While most archaeological findings were based on several years of scientific excavation, some of them were discovered just out of the blue.

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Coptic Texts

These that were discovered in 1945 offered the early views of Christianity taken from Gnostic viewpoints.

These were discovered by two peasants hidden behind big stones in a town in Upper Egypt. These consist of more than 10 volumes of Coptic texts that gave the world insights to the long forgotten but important side of Christianity.

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Ain Dara Temple

The finds in Northern Syria were discovered by John Monson, which were unveiled at Ain Dara and showed an eerily likeness to the Jerusalem Temple that has been depicted in the Old Testament --- than any other known structure. The architecture is a perfect fit into traditional sacred architecture from biblical times.

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Ancient Inscription on King David

This discovery of an inscription that dated before Christ attracted worldwide attention since it gave a historical boost of the biblical truth on the existence of King David. The inscription was found by an excavation assistant in an excavated wall.

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The Mosaic of an Unnamed Girl in Galilee

When Sepphoris was destroyed by an earthquake during the 16th century, among the artifacts that was discovered was a colored mosaic of an unnamed girl with a tilt in her head and a near smile ---- that gave her a nickname of Mona Lisa of Galilee.

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Painted Shards at the Sinai Desert

The discovery of painted shards in the eastern side of the Sinai desert gave the world a glimpse of the Jewish religion. The fragments were found in an 8th Century B.C. pottery with the inscription ----Yahweh and Asherah. Scholar Ze’ev Meshel gave credence to ancient Israel’s religion that it was far from being a monolithic. Yahwistic faith as stated in Biblical verses—was practiced and understood differently by each region.

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St. Peter’s House

A group of researchers and scientists found a home in Capernaum which was dated around the 1st Century A.D., This house was believed to be where Jesus stayed together with Peter. The material remains showed that the house was used for Christian gatherings during the time of Jesus.

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A Monumental pool in the Temple of the Mount

During a recent construction work in 2004 to repair a water pipeline on the southern section of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, a group of archaeologists was able to excavate a portion of the monumental pool where Jesus was said to have performed the miracle of restoring sight of a blind man as found in the Holy Bible.

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Ashkelon’s Arched Gate

In 1992, this ancient arch was discovered in southern Israel that was said to have been built during the Middle Bronze Age. At the same dig, a roadside sanctuary revealed something more remarkable: an exquisite statue of a silver calf.

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Stepped Stone Structure

The 12-story-high structure, constructed during the Iron Age continuously stands as a great reminder of how grand David and Solomon’s Jerusalem might have been during their time.

Though it may look just like an ordinary stone and rubble masonry now, it would most likely have supported a monumental fortress or a building structure.

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Babylonian Siege Tower and Arrowheads

This was uncovered during excavations in Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter in the 1970's. This 22-foot tower, with walls that are 12 feet thick, was Jerusalem’s main line of defense during the Babylonian intrusions in 586 B.C. This was uncovered around the base area of a tower.

It was covered with a thick layer of burnt wood, ashes and soot --- a reminder that Babylonia was destroyed by a raging fire in ancient times. Other findings in the burnt rubble were five arrowheads: four were made of iron, and one in bronze which was used by the Babylonian army.

The iron arrowheads were typically used by the Israelites. These artifacts gave silent testimony to the heinous clashes that erupted before the fall of Jerusalem.

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They say in the scientific world that there should be sufficient proof to show the validity of a phenomenon.

In Christianity, we might have altercations with non-believers and even some members of the faith who may question the veracity of the biblical truths as contained in the Holy Bible. However, a number of relics and biblical excavations have been unearthed in the last several centuries. As more of them get discovered, it will be noted that they only tend to validate the truth of what was stated in biblical accounts.

Discoveries are still done today in Israel, and with each piece of evidence ---it just points out that there was once a man who walked with us on earth, and He was the Son of God – Jesus Christ.

Modern Science and Christianity

Many voices today say that Science and Christianity do not go together. Some non-believers claim that science runs contrary to religious belief and thinks the church is against science. Even within the church community, the study of science is oftentimes looked at as something that challenges important Christian beliefs and doctrines.

However, none of these deliberations would closely hint that they can go hand in hand. Many arguments purport to contend that Science and Christianity are poles apart.

Most of these allegations are not true. There is a thread of peaceful co-existence between Christianity and Science that others may find incredible but something within the realms of a possibility.

An iconic example of the perceived clash between Christianity and Science is the historical incident that involved Galileo. By teaching that the earth revolved around the sun, Galileo was charged with hearsay by the church in 1633.

Yet, the Galileo incident did not served as a conflict between the two perceived factions. Galileo himself was a Christian who believed, that the glory of God can be discerned in all His works and can be read in the divine book of the heavens.

Many of the scientists before and even now, are Christians who do not see any conflict between their faith and their scientific work. Most scientific studies like--- the migration patterns of indigenous birds and even the composition of atoms --- are not contrary to religious morals and beliefs.

More so, the latest discoveries of quantum mechanics show scientifically that there is a great absolute knowledge beaned all matter in the universe. It shows that the possibilities of all matter are infinite and the existence of a higher being that controls it all, is unavoidable.

The perceived war between science and Christianity goes against the basic notion that there was already conflict from the very start.

A few areas may raise concern for Christians like the Big Bang Theory and Evolution, but some Christian thinkers are coming up with models that would purport to show that there is basically no conflict.

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To resolve the perceived differences between Science and Christianity, is by looking at them distinctly. A more intensive study should be made known on how they differ as to purpose, methodologies, and bodies of knowledge.

The emphatic view of what science is all about ---- is that it is a systematic flow of knowledge about the worlds’ behavior in the physical realm; whereas, Christianity deals about God, moral issues, and the life beyond death.

Thus the two lines of thought cannot be in conflict with each other because they are addressing two lines of thought. This model of analysis may have its drawbacks but it helps us understand the correlative aspects between these relationships. Many of the conflicts that arose in the past was a result of the unclear understanding of the fundamental differences between the two.

When somebody would claim that the Holy Bible is capable of answering a scientific query--- that would be preposterous if another one would claim that science can elucidate about God---conflict would immediately flare up.

Conflicts normally arise because participants would not know, that Christianity and Science get to address very different issues. This mode of analysis would also remind us that science is not only the source of pure knowledge. There are queries that may not fall under its domain in much the same manner that there may be questions that may not also fall within Christianity’s context.

Query samples would be the scenario of asking ---- “What have you eaten?” The straightforward answer may be, “I had dinner of chicken and mashed potatoes!” Another acceptable, but probably unscientific answer would be, “No, I am not yet hungry.”

Still, this answer could also be given, “None of your business!” These are three different answers to one query ---- not one of them is wrong, and all of them can be right.

Hence, like the question about dinner, scientific and religious queries can also be answered in several ways ---- and all of them may be correct.

Science on its own line of reasoning cannot answer the question, “Are you sure that there is really a God?”

Some would reason out that since the existence of God cannot be subjected into a scientific query, then it would be safe to claim that God does not exist. But scientific studies deal with the natural world, and not the metaphysical. No amount of laboratory work and scientific testing would you be able to prove or disprove that there is a God. The claim that there is a God is outside the realm of natural laws, and can only be taken within the context of the supernatural laws.

Though scientific theories cannot validate nor invalidate God’s existence, it can provide clues that would support this claim. We should be reminded though that the Holy Bible is not the only ultimate source of biblical knowledge, since it does not touch on the physical phenomena.

You are not bound to find topics about plumbing, protons, whales, Uranus, and the universe in the Holy Bible. Instead, God through it teaches about the natural order of things and the revelation of His teachings.

However, this mode of reasoning may imply certain weaknesses since it tends to marginalize Christianity from a scientific discourse.

By putting a wall between Science and Religion, we would not understand the inherent connection that they may have – whether negatively or positively.

This type of reasoning would also place science on its own path and religion on another path. Christians normally believe that there is no part in our lives that is outside of God’s dominion --- hence, this contradiction may confuse a lot of believers.

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While a lot of questions can be easily segregated as either questions on Science or Religion, other questions may not be that easy to do.

These would include topics about: the evolution of man, medical ethics on euthanasia, climate change, and use of contraceptives. In confronting queries about these, there would be need to consider both Science and Religion when seeking on what is right.

Complex queries would need answers from all possible sources; looking only at one side may not give us the true picture of what we are trying to find out.

Pope John Paul II once wrote about the disparity of these two lines of thought, “Religion can be freed from erroneous assumptions and outright superstition by Science. On the other hand, Science can be helped by Religion to be freed of idolatry and false resolutions. Each can strengthen the other into a better and meaningful world where both can co-exist harmoniously.

Hard Times in the modern world

I knew a man once that became very ill. He experienced extreme bleeding, which made him very scared that he might have cancer. The Big-C is a tragic illness that affected a number of his family members --- and that got him scared. Because of extreme fear, he delayed going to the doctor until the situation got worse two months later.

He believed all along that the sickness will just go away, but it did not: He had a stroke. The attending physician prepared this man for surgery immediately---as he was dying.

He was only in his early 40’s then, he felt that he was losing everything. This man began to question God, why He would take him so soon? It was one of his hardest times as a devout Christian, when he blatantly questioned his faith. There he was, very strong in his relationship with God, and God allowed him to become very ill.

This man wondered why God allowed it to happen to him. Until he remembered this Bible verse from Isaiah 41:10 --- “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Despite his hold on to his faith, this man still experienced extreme fear of not making it to surgery. Whenever he slept, he prayed that If Jesus loves him --- can He fetch him when he will be in death throes?

Though he had doubts about why he became sick, this man did not lose faith that in the end, God will bring him to heaven.

Though in extreme anguish, he never felt death’s presence while he was in his sick bed. There was a reassuring presence of calmness that he knew can only come from God. Take notice of the biblical words from Psalm 46:1--- “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (NIV)

A few days before surgery, the man was still not making it for pre-surgery procedures --- he barely passed the treadmill test. When the minimum requirement was met, the attending surgeon decided to open him up for surgery the following day. It had to be done quickly lest his other internal organs would become affected. Looking at his daughter on the way to surgery, gave him the distinctive feeling that he will still see her again. There was an aura of blessedness that he could not seem to fathom then.

This man decided to just leave everything to the will of God. As he was operated on, this biblical verse kept circling in his mind, Philippians 4:6-7--- “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

The surgery was successful and the man had no trace of cancer in his body. If he had waited another week, another day, he would not survive. But he did, and would still be able to see his little girl grow up into a fine young lady.

Why his faith was tested by going through such an emotional phase I don’t know, all I can say is that this experience only strengthened his faith in God and can be a symbol of true and unconditional belief for all of us.

A lot of people often wonder why bad things happen to good people, and why good things happen to bad people. The world may appear so complicated that these situations are sometimes very difficult for people to understand.

I have been in the most tragic situations in my life --- my brother’s death from accident, my being crippled for almost a year, my father’s sudden death, financial set-backs, extreme pain and humiliation from bad decisions, failures and job displacement, that I have told some friends that I have gone to hell several times over and I often wonder why I kept coming back.

Thinking deeply about it, I knew that it was my deep trust with the Lord Almighty that helped me get out of the quagmire, no matter how many times I get thrown over.

There may be things that happened and you may be in a quandary why it did. But trusting God that He is in control of your life would make the struggle easier to tolerate and accept.

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What are the difficulties that would prove our faith in Jesus?

Our Christian Identity

The world is full of struggles. We are confronted with deceit, guile, malice, bad faith, and evil intent. How we face life with all its tribulations would show the kind of Christian that we are.

If we are easily swayed by temptations, then the true faith of being a Christian has not been deeply ingrained into our person. Just like the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1-23, where Jesus described three situations. A seed that was thrown on a rocky place, that did not have much soil – grew rapidly but wilted immediately when the sun came up.

The second seed was thrown among thorns, grew but became unfruitful. But the third seed which fell on good soil, grew robustly and produced a good crop.

If a man is like the first seed where his foundations are rocky, his growth as a Christian may not be long sustained if faced with extreme difficulties.

There is not enough soil for his faith to grow roots on. The second seed would be akin to a man who is full of bitterness and deceitfulness, that his faith would simply be choked by all the thorns of life that engulfs him.

The third seed represents what a true Christian is. Whether sun or rain, it will grow robustly because the plant had taken root on the ground and it will be hard to displace it.

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Our Sense of Faith and Purpose

Man is never free from hardship and extreme difficulties. These are all part of life – death, illnesses, persecution, abject situation, financial worries, and emotional turmoil that can drive a believer of little faith to question the very existence of God. A true Christian believes that Jesus is the 'Ultimate Savior' and despite extreme difficulties, He will be the beacon light to lighten the path for all the faithful to thread on.

These tests of faith are stated in James 1:2, "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him".

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Our Sense of Obedience

Our life is a series of test to determine the degree of our faith. Some people pass the tests, some do not. Some like to cover themselves with piety and proclaim Jesus, but their person runs contrary to what Jesus is all about.

There is a word in the New Testament that talks about that which did not pass the test. The true test of being a Christian is when you live your life as an embodiment of Christ. Christianity is not showing off that you are a Christian.On the other hand, it is being as foot soldiers of Christ and doing His bidding on how we should lead our lives. A Christian’s life is fraught with great danger and pain, but despite of it, he perseveres and his faith remain unsullied until the very end.

Turning the Other Cheek in real life

Turning the other cheek is something that is hard for Christians to understand. Taking the context out of the statement “Do not resist the wicked --- that he, who slaps your right cheek, you turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:39).

In the Sermon on the Mount is a scriptural statement by Jesus that any righteous Christian can recite at a flick of a finger. It is one of the most powerful biblical passages that any Christian would know by heart, even before he finishes secondary school.

Nonetheless, knowing it by memory is one thing; but realizing what it is all about, is an altogether different thing.

What did Jesus mean then? Did he tell early Christians not to fight, and be victims instead?

Were Christians admonished to be meek and suffer without question? Can Christians not fight back by seeking legal remedies under the law?

What does it mean?

To fully understand what Jesus really said, is to take into consideration the time and place when the statement was said. You also have to take into account the audience that He had when this admonition was given.

He prefaced his quoted statements on what his listeners already knew from the Holy Bible, regarding the biblical phrase on retaliation with regard to the eye and tooth passages per Matthew 5:38.

The eye for an eye as mentioned was a form of retribution that was administered after the offender had been tried before the judges as to the degree of the offense.

Deuteronomy 19:15-21. Many people would not want to touch on these words of Jesus because they seem to imply that Christians would merely allow themselves to be beaten black and blue without doing anything.

This is taken out of context, and the admonition should be understood on how it was taken during the times of Jesus.

In order to fully understand what Jesus wants every Christian to do, is for you catch the smallest details. What was said by Jesus is when someone strikes you on your right cheek; you have to turn the other way for him to strike you again on the left cheek. The implication of the left cheek is that it is presumed that he will hit again.

If you are to picture somebody getting hit on the right cheek, he is bound to be hit using a backhand slap. What was talked to here is not somebody breaking your bones, but of somebody giving an insult.

A backhand slap connotes an insult whose intent is to humiliate you in such a way that you lash out in revenge--- hence, escalating the conflict.

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What Does It Mean by Turning the Left Cheek?

Turning to the left cheek is neither a sign of humiliation or cowardice. On one hand, it is a sign of inner might that says, “I will not retaliate because I am far better than you.” It also means that you will not stoop low to be degraded, since you have dignity in the presence of Christ.

Turning the other cheek does not imply that a Christian would let himself be massacred nor defend himself against untoward attacks.

What is meant by Jesus’ words is that the flock should not strike offensively nor be provoked to take justice into their own hands. While it is wise to pull away when there is a conflict, it is only proper to protect yourself and call for assistance if you happen to be a victim of an attack or an offense.

In reality, you would be hard put to imagine seeing yourself being slapped by a backhand. What would most likely occur is you would be attacked verbally --- through malicious insinuations, gossips, or gross disrespect towards your person. Most fights and arguments in real life usually start that way – by showing disrespect to another.

When this happens, the two protagonists get worked up and very much excited. The one who was attacked, would retaliate back to show that he is capable of being respected.

If that is not granted to him, he would feel violated --- so he attacks. This situation is not going to lead anywhere and every Christian should avoid conflicts like this one.

A Christian never tries to wield power by hitting back; or show that he is stronger and more important by being able to move mightily.

Instead, you do not mind them for their un-Christian behavior, and you are not to be tempted to strike back with greater strength and vigor.

If you resort to that, you will never receive the respect and dignity that you aspire for.

A Christian’s sense of dignity and equanimity comes with the knowledge that he is created in the image of God.

A Christian is significant because he is counting on Jesus to be with Him and make the world a better place than it actually is. Power and strength are taken in a spiritual context rather than the physical.

A Christian follows God’s path wherever that leads him, and in his journey the Holy Spirit guides him each step of the way. Responding to insults and degradation in all meekness and humility represents the true essence of Christ – when He took in quiet dignity all the insults that were thrown His way.

It is not any different for Christians today. There will be many times when our patience is tested and the most vicious attacks are thrown our way. It would hurt us and there will be countless times when we are tempted to strike back.

Becoming vindictive when insults are hurled our way, would affirm to the world that Christianity is nothing but a sham and putrid belief.

Being able to take in the brick-a-brac that are thrown in our person in a dignified manner, would show to others what the teachings of Christ are all about.

The quiet civility that we give to those who shame us would result in a positive response of utter respect for the person that we are ----as Christians.

Turning the other cheek is a hard thing to do, but it is doable. When we respond with quiet dignity, then we bring glory to God’s name.

Believing in Modern Society

As we discussed earlier modern society has changed a great deal during the past few decades and people’s beliefs were affected by those changes.

While the Age of Enlightenment promised people a major improvement for their religious and social situations, the modern society developed unhealthy beliefs that have changed people’s behavior and gestures completely, eliminating every shadow of the past from their lives.

The modern society has a fixed pattern every person has to follow in order to avoid being different and, therefore, being excluded from the so-called civilization.

Expressing your actual beliefs and making the other people understand you has become an unrealizable aim, as the society is not opened to new changes that can destroy the current state of things.

Religion has become less important for many people and God is not welcome anymore in their lives. During the last decades, religion has suffered important changes and it slowly transformed into its new shape.

During the Victorian and Edwardian Ages, people and especially women had an extraordinary respect for religion and God, going to the church regularly and following the exact guidelines of the Bible.

Nowadays, even though many people frequent churches and monasteries, they do not have a strong belief in Jesus and they do not welcome His teachings accordingly.

You have to adapt your beliefs and your love for God to the actual principles of the modern society. God encourages people to follow Him whatever happens, no matter if they are oppressed and tortured for their beliefs.

“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Gospel of St. Matthew 5:3-10).

It might be very complicated to adapt your religious beliefs to the modern society, because people prejudice your single action immediately.

Telling the truth and following God’s Beatitudes constitute the only ways to express your beliefs and support them adequately. People have lost their faith in Jesus because, in their opinion, He does not do anything for them, He does not help them if they need or ask for help.

However, Christianity is based specifically on fairness and God is continuously testing our faith and treating the ones who believe in His existence.

In order to adapt yourself to the modern society nowadays, it is important to follow God’s teachings appropriately.

“Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:36-40). You have to respect people around you as much as you respect yourself, offer them what you have and share your goods with them. God encourages love between people, along with respect and understanding.

Being an honest person who always helps people around will bring you the appreciation of the modern society – you have to believe in your God strongly and never doubt His existence.

As the technology has evolved and people can gain better access to information, they are not interested anymore in the miracles God can do.

Do not be afraid to show your belief and always remember that Christians have been being oppressed since Nero the Roman Emperor’s reign, but God has always rewarded their faith with peace and blessing.

People do not believe in the great salvation anymore and they never pay attention to their deeds. Whether they lie, steal or kill their neighbors, people never think about their deeds as something wrong.

Behaving according to the modern society, but adjusting it to your beliefs is a very good way to survive in this world. You do not have to pretend you do not believe in God and His teachings, as you are an independent person who has the right to think for himself. Do not be what others want you to be, but be yourself instead and help them become better people.

Spread your love and treat everyone equally, like they are your brothers --- whether it is about your father or your teacher, share your love evenly, understand them and respect their beliefs.

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You do not have to hide your real self in order to adapt your religious beliefs to the modern society, as Christianity involves a positive behavior that allows people around you to see who you really are.

Do not lie, do not steal, do not kill, but do behave according to the modern society: get information, develop your qualities, and try to become a better person. God encourages people to never care for themselves, but only for their neighbors – this is a strong belief, but you do not have to apply it to your life completely.

As long as you care, understand and wish the best for yourself, but you help people around you and you become like a mentor for them, you can easily manage to be successful and get a satisfactory fulfillment.

Making people understand who you are involves understanding yourself very well firstly – after all, who you really are? What do you want? What do you expect? Based on these questions and your answers, you will be able to figure out what beliefs and principles you have.

Your beliefs will show you the most appropriate ways to express yourself without imposing your authority to other people.

Apart from this, you have to understand the equal “offer-receive” exchange, which involves understanding other people’s beliefs first of all, especially if you want them to understand you appropriately and accept you the way you are.

Accept yourself as a Christian with new principles and an attitude that is a little different than hundreds of years ago. Christianity involves peace, mindfulness, mercy, compassion – do not be that different from other people around you and try to understand their beliefs, as well.

Do not prejudge them and encourage them to manifest their positive behavior. Modern society involves accepting other people’s ideas, mindsets and beliefs without judging them.

Having a correct and adequate behavior as a Christian will help you become an important person for other people around you, as you will be their support and they will offer their acceptance and appreciation instead.

It is important to remember that you should never expect to receive something more than that: you help people because you want, not because you can be rewarded if you do so.

Having a good understanding of the way the modern society works is essential, so try to analyze your situation and try to do everything you can in order to achieve the great salvation and become a role model for other people, to be a role model for others.

Unconditional Love for God

Christians are known to have very strong faith with God. The most devout followers never question God’s unconditional love for them. Relationship with the Lord is beyond fervor and human comprehension.

A Christian can feel God even at the bleakest moment of his life. The trust that a believer places in the Almighty sometimes confuses the unbelievers.

But only Christians can feel this kind of love for a God that is all encompassing and endowed with unconditional love. In Christianity, unconditional love means God’s love for His creations irrespective of that creation’s love for Him. The Holy Bible describes God’s unconditional love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ----

(4) Love is patient and kind. It does not envy. It does not brag, and is not proud;

(5) Love does not behave inappropriately. It does not seek its own way, provoked, and takes no account of evil;

(6) Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with what is true;

(7) Love bears, believes, hopes and endures all things;

(8) Love never fails.

There can be no clearer definition of love than what is specified here. Real love is unconditional, and God’s love for all his creations is real. Yes, God's love is unconditional.

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One Ultimate Question

There are some people who disagree about God’s unconditional love. They say, that if this is true --- why would the faithful be constrained to live with some biblical requirements? This would include: having faith in Christ’s blood (Romans 3:24-26), keeping the commandments of Christ for salvation (John 15:14), and acting on one’s faith (James 2:14-17). If there are requirements for God to love humanity, would this mean that His love is conditional?

The Holy Blood of Christ

Although God’s love for His creations is unconditional, it does not mean that sin cannot stand in the way of man’s relationship with Him. (Revelation 21:27). What separates man from God is sin, and the way to remove that is through the covenant which is inaugurated by the Holy Blood of Christ (Hebrews 9:16-22).

There is a need to partake of His blood so our sins can be washed away and we will be reunited with God once more. Without the gift of Christ’s blood, we cannot stand clean in front of God, and would be beyond salvation. These are some of the conditions that others see as a bar for God to love them unconditionally.

But a Christian should always remember, that he should be without sin when he faces God. And only through Christ's blood will the sin be removed from us.

Because of God’s unconditional love, His Son, Jesus Christ was sent to earth to give the people a chance of salvation (John 3:16-18). The only drawback is if a person does not believe in Christ --- that automatically makes him an unbeliever of the New Covenant too. The only way to be free of sin is through Christ’s blood ---- hence, non-believers are kept unclean because of their continuous non-acceptance of the blood-drenched New Covenant (Hebrews 10:29-31). This is what excludes them from being kept clean to stand in God’s presence and bars them from hope of being save.

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Unconditional Love and Freewill

This concept of Free Will makes every person who hears the Gospel of Christ to know that he is given the choice of whether to accept it or reject it. If you choose to accept, you will be saved. If you reject, you will be damned (Mark 16:16). God wants his creations to love Him at their own free will.

He does not demand that you believe Him; rather, He desires that every person should find his way towards salvation (1 Timothy 2:3-4). God’s love was manifested to man, that He sent His Only Son into the world, so they may live. (1 John 4:9-10). God does not love because of a person’s inherent abilities.

There is nothing more than a person can do to make God love him more, since He already does and nothing more can cause God to love you any lesser.

God’s love is far greater than you can love yourself. Even in times when you feel that you are all alone, you would feel God’s presence at the bleakest and saddest moment of your life because of these all encompassing love.

This love is far different from conditional love, where you are only love based on what you can do. If you do well on the job, or perform well on an assigned task, or do well in a relationship --- only then can you feel loved. But God’s love is profound.

Even in your weakest moment, you will find Him by your side. When things are down and nowhere for you to go, God will engulf you with His love if you will just let him.

By opening up your life to Jesus, you will find true love and acceptance. It is something that is hard to understand especially if you have not experienced being loved and accepted without constraints by anyone.

Feeling God’s love is an ultimate experience, and only a believer would feel that. It is a most wondrous feeling to be complacent that God will be with you no matter what. It is most unfortunate though that your faith with God may be tested a couple of times. There will be occasions where you won’t always feel that God’s love exists. There will be many times too when this love is challenge and you may doubt if He even exist. When this occurs, do not give up on Him. He is still by your side, watching and loving you.

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When God gave you a new lease of life by being a Christian, it did not come in a box full of frills and ribbons. It just came most naturally, without fanfare.

Jesus’ entry into His earthly life was the same thing. He was placed in a dark, smelly, and dirty stable. He lived as a man and experienced the rigors of being a mortal.

This ordinariness will be how your journey with Christ will happen—no fanfare and no frills ---- just the promise that He will be with you come hell or high waters. God says, “I loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you to my side with all loving kindness” (Jeremiah 31:3).

This belief with the Lord Almighty will see you through. His love will be so intense, so unconditional, that there is no question that you will love Him with the same fervor, as well.

Collective Love

Prepare Yourself to Give, and Absorb It

What holds this world together is love; lack of it could be the reason behind the crime seen on earth.

All religions in the world base their teachings on love. It is also a common practice in all societies in the world to stress to their members the importance of incorporating love in all their undertakings. All these prove that love is actually universal and collective and the sooner an individual understands this, the better for not only him or her but those surrounding him or her.

The Concept of Universal Love

Humans are very complex beings. They have superior emotions, interactions, intelligence as well as self-consciousness. Without understanding universal love, not all these aspects of humanity would make sense and a person can find himself or herself struggling with distrust and lack of self-realization.

There is no better way to define universal love other than to look at it from its lack. Humans do have inner feelings that are subconscious but do control them. What this means is that the environment in which we live cannot explain all our behaviors. There are core belief systems that we do acquire early in life. This becomes our holding environment and has huge effects in the development of our sense of self-realization.

If there are inadequacies in the holding environment, we grow up with some emptiness and lack of self-realization meaning that we will miss some aspects in life. In other words, we will not have universal love.

The simple explanation for universal love is love for everything and everyone. For you to cultivate universal love you need to have some kind of emptiness to be filled and the will give to others.

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Universal love is essentially the “the good will to all mankind” which involves extending love and care to other people way beyond our circle of friends, family and colleagues. Most people usually think the best time to show this kind of love is during unifying holidays and ceremonies such as the Christmas and New Year when there are gifts and other goodies to share. This should not be the case; universal love ought to be part of humanity. It must be practiced all year round.

How to Prepare Yourself for Universal Love?

Currently, the world is a global village thanks to the technological advancements in the information and communication industry.

Geographical boundaries are no longer barriers to people meeting others from nations all over the planet. This means that anybody and everybody is a potential friend and needs your love.

If you want to know just how strong and unifying collective love is, watch what is happening in the world today. Terrorism, hunger and natural disasters usually attract attention from all countries in the world each of which seeks to show solidarity and even offer support at both national and personal level.

The question therefore is how best can you prepare yourself for universal love?

There is no simple answer to this question. It starts early in life with the core belief system. Everyone needs to understand that the world remains what it is because of the relationships between its inhabitants.

To love others, you must first learn to love yourself. However, before you love yourself, you need to understand who you are. This is called self-realization.

Once you realize who you are, you will find there is some emptiness in you that needs filling. You can watch your favorite TV programs, do the things you like most but still feel the emptiness.

This is good indicator of the need to meet someone. The world’s population is vast and has any characters, personalities and cultures that will definitely offer something to take care of your emptiness.

The next thing is to pour out your love to all humankind. If your heart is open to receive love then it will not be difficult to find someone to love you back.

All you need to do is to believe in yourself and have the principle of love for all humanity. You have to believe in equality, fairness and justice in order to love unconditionally. There are attributes and virtues you must develop in order to cultivate the all important universal love if you do not already have them.

Unified universal love is like two-way traffic each taking an opposite direction to another and yet uses the same road. It is not just enough to love; you must also be ready to absorb it.

Even if you are an expert in loving other people, you must also prepare yourself to absorb love from them. Of what use will it be if someone cares about you but you fail to do the same to him or her. It is like insulting their love.

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While offering love, people will see it as an act of kindness and so will try to respond in kind. Give them the opportunity by accepting them just the way they are. This may seem difficult because of the differences in culture, personality, belief systems as well as other aspects.

However, just as was mentioned earlier in at the opening, love in any language when purely spoken from the heart can conquer all these differences.

Even if you do not understand each other in terms of language, a gesture of love will we appreciated as accurately as the words would.

As a citizen of the world, it is your responsibility and mine to ensure that there is unified universal love in the world. This will not only improve your life but also make the world a better place for all its inhabitants.

If everyone was to speak the language of love, this world would thrive in peace, liberty and tolerance of each other and there would be no cases of humanitarian crisis and merciless killing.

Love with God's Blessing

A blessing from God is a wondrous experience that any Christian can have. It's living a life that is attuned to God’s wonderful acts of divine mercy and love. A blessing from God is an act of unconditional love; nonetheless, we bless Him too since we love Him as our Heavenly Father.

The love that we have for God is there, because we know all along that He loved us first (1 John 4:19); in the same manner, we bless Him as our Holy Father, because He too blessed us first.

The act of the faithful--- blessing the Lord Almighty is more rewarding, for the blessing comes back a hundredfold to the giver. Blessing another person is one act of divine piety since we are summoning God’s love be bestowed on another person.

God’s spiritual summons of blessing those who curse us (Luke 6:28) does not confine that we only bless those that have done us wrong. It means that we should love everybody including those that has done us harm.

God’s love for His flock is omnipotent. He so loves us that he died for us. If God’s love is unconditional, so must be our love for others. In our everyday lives, we must always walk in God’s path to seek His blessings. Every Christian would equate God’s blessing as His eternal gift to the faithful; hence, we seek him often to praise and treasure those holy gifts to remind us to follow His heavenly ways here on earth.

As a Christian, we know that to become an ultimate servant of God, we must be a blessing to others too. We have to show goodness and wish them well. These acts would signify that we are doing God’s work and we are messengers of His holy words.

A blessing is an important act that signifies comfort, protection, and the innate wisdom to make holy. God in His infinite mercy, gave His blessings to the Israelites as the chosen race. He kept His promise by delivering them out of Egypt, and directed them towards salvation.

Moses is another faithful who received the first blessings by being saved from the waters. The water typifies that our salvation would be done through baptism by it so we can be saved from the fires of hell.

The salvation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt equates to being saved from sin. As they went through the red sea, so must we go through the Precious Blood of Christ for us to be purified of sins and eventually be saved.

As Christians, we must learn about the value of God’s blessing. We must lift our struggles, fears, and sorrow to God in an act of supreme humility and ask Him for divine blessings in all the things that we are going through. Daily communication with God can be in the form of prayers and deep meditation so as to be connected with His Divine Presence. Communication can be done in solitude or even in a crowded place, where we can block the noise and the outside turmoil and learn to turn on to God’s communication lines.

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Daily Encounters with God for a Better Life

Our life comes from God, and our very existence depends on him. As we wake up every morning with the sun shining bright, and there is fresh air to breath, so must our conversation with God begin.

Let Him touch the very essence of our soul and dedicate all the work we do to glorify His name. By acknowledging God’s presence before we start our day, would give us great insights on what we are going to do to be worthy --- as God's foot soldiers on earth.

Our first act of devotion is by paying homage to Him in prayers. By worshiping, we make Him the center of our lives and we bow humbly, to speak to Him that, “God is within me and all that I do is in God’s Holy Name.

Make your love shine before me and your ultimate wisdom be given to me as I do God’s work.”

By putting God at the center of our lives, we will have an anchor to make us still if the waves of life get rough once in a while. Knowing that God is on our side will make us at peace with the world, and all those that surrounds us.

When we have glorified God and is filled with Him in the spirit of humility, we bow our heads in self-abasement. Let us prostrate before Him and surrender to His eternal goodness and mercy.

This will be in great exaltation to face God in deep meekness and surrender. Let us be joyful in God’s exalted holy presence, that we will have access to the innermost creases of His heart and of His divine love. Let us bow down before Him to get His blessings.

We have to sing praise that we have a living God. Christ’s love can be found in the air that we breathe, the sun that shines, the birds that twerp high in the skies, and the flowers that blooms in eternal splendor.

Living with God as an anchor makes for a wonderful experience. It gives you a sense of purpose and direction. Knowing that you are following God’s path everyday makes for a journey that is always a sight to behold and an experience to cherish. Being God’s servant is the most cherish position that we are going to have. Doing God’s work, in all the things that we do, can give us an accomplishment that no possession on earth can equal.

We must remember that God’s presence and likeness are with us. Let us always bow down to the Lord that His blessedness be carried on the work that we do this day.

Our likeness to Christ are akin to two things – His death and resurrection. With Him, we are dead because of our sins. As we bow down in surrender of His eternal goodness, so do we exalt in His resurrection --- the Risen Christ. A real Christian walks God’s path. We start the day acknowledging God’s presence and ends the day by thanking Him for His love and great mercy.

Elevating Your Spiritual Faith

Countless hours, energy and millions of dollars are spent by people who are completely obsessed with one thing; self-improvement. This is what makes them attend seminars, watch TV programs, hire personal trainers, purchase latest including the newest equipment, all because people seek to become better.

I wonder how humanity would look like in case we exhausted a fraction of that investment hunting’ to become better believers. Becoming a believer is indeed the best choice for life.

Just like man has laws in his institutions to help bring and maintain order, God also has His own rules which we have to follow. That set aside, the question each and every believer should ask himself / herself is, “How do I become a better believer?”

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Trust and Obey

In John 2: 3-11, we get the idea of what it takes to elevate our spiritual lives. For one to become a better believer, the apostle mentions that we as believers ought to live according to God’s commands.

Are you as a Christian obeying His word because you have to, because you need to, or because you want to? Trusting and obeying the Word is the response of the love you have to our savior; Jesus Christ.

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Imitate the Son of Man

Since Christ is the best blueprint for Christians. You like other believers should live a life that is a true reflection of Jesus’ life here on earth. For this to be possible, a believer has to spend time with Christ which will make him/her understand and build better relationship with both God and the society at large.

The idea can be found in the book of John 15 where John spoke of “abiding in Christ”. This simply means that, to become a strong believer you have to completely depend upon Him.

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Love your neighbor as you love yourself

Loving one another is one of the key factors to becoming a better believer. The neighbor’ Christ talked about is not the person staying next to you.

This applies even to strangers. Treat everyone fairly and with the respect each deserves. Because God has loved us, it will be good if we love others.

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Prayer Changes Things

Make sure that you always pray. Be it in a mall, a café, at the park or even driving from home to work, you can do this silently while you engage yourself in whatever you’ll be doing. Pray that God will guide and protect you in all your doings making you stronger than ever before.

Ask Him to grant you the courage and wisdom you need to make you remain strong by His grace. Remember to confess and repent your sins because knowing that He has forgiven you will make you focus on your spiritual growth.

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Read Your Bible

Study the Bible very well because it is in this Holy Book that you will find the spiritual answers you seek. Learn to memorize some of the scriptures because this will help you engage with others in a more compassionate and just way.

Read Christian journals, books including commentaries from Bible scholars on ways to develop yourself spiritually. Start attending Bible study sessions where you’ll have believers discussing the Bible under supervision of a spiritual leader.

Find a Mentor

As hard as it may sound, finding a mentor is the best thing to do because you’ll require somebody who is spiritually old to guide you through the process of becoming a better believer. In case your church has some men, women or youth ministry, join the group and start attending the meeting.

During the meetings, discuss it with your fellow group members stating your interest in spiritual development, and that you are seeking a mentor to help you with the course. You will surely find the right person that God will lead you to.

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Humble Yourself

As a believer, you should humble yourself no matter what or how the circumstances are. May be it is someone criticizing you regarding your Christian lifestyle or some random cashier at the grocery telling you how she doesn’t like your attitude, do not be offended and start pointing out flaws in their character.

You should instead ask yourself if there are some things in your life as a believer you should at least change to make them feel at ease when you are around; such as attitude and pride.

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Surrender to Him

Surrendering to God means allowing Him to be in control and allowing him to change whoever you are. This is because only God through His Son Jesus Christ can save you from evil and the best part is that you have nothing to lose but a lot more to gain.

You have to accept that you cannot do this alone, and only God has the answer. In the book of Ezekiel 36:26-27, the prophet mentions God’s words - “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws”.

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Do not Judge

To strengthen your faith as a believer, it is best if you don’t judge others for what or who they are.

Jesus gave a good example in the book of Mathew 7 when he spoke of looking at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye yet you are paying no attention to the plank of wood in your own eye. In other words don’t be a hypocrite.

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Regularly Attend Church

Get together with other believers at a church – which should be regularly, take part in praise and worship team then later on, receive the spiritual food that the pastor, bishop or priest has for the day.

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Acquiring a stronger, more solid belief is a life journey and can't really be told in a shopping list. But there are directions and actions in life that can help you stay on the right track on your never ending journey becoming a better believer. This will certainly elevate your religious being giving you the best start.

Nothing refreshes the spirit as His word, and it is only through His word that the human race will be saved. God bless you and I pray with you that He makes you will become a better believer in His Glory now and forever more.

Making Every Prayer Count

Prayer is an important aspect in the life of every Christian. God knows the need of every one of his creatures, but he expects every individual to make his or her requests known in prayers.

He says ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened unto you. This implies that despite the fact that God knows your needs, it is required of you to make specific requests concerning those needs if you want them met.

There are several steps you must take if your prayers must be answered at all times. When you follow the right steps when you pray, you will make every prayer count because God listens to all his creatures whenever they pray to him, but the way you pray can go a long way in determining whether you receive the answers you seek or not.

He is a God that delights in the praises of his people. Prayer should be an important part of your daily life. You don't have to wait till you are hit by one trouble or the other before you remember to run to God.

If you are one of those people who remember prayers only when the storms set in, chances are that God will not take your prayers. But when you make prayer a lifestyle, it becomes an inseparable part of you.

A life of constant prayers brings you closer to God and helps you understand the nature of God and what he expects from you at every point in time. Outlined below are some of the steps that can help make your prayers more effective and result-oriented.

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Pray in "secret"

God appreciates prayers that come from the heart out of a genuine need to pray either to give thanks or to make supplications. When you pray, make sure you are not doing so to please onlookers and passersby.

Prayers are meant to be an interactions between God and his creatures and he is known to be a God that hears all.

This does not imply that you need to pray alone or being quiet. There are situations that call for loud prayers especially when you are leading the prayers in a gathering or congregation.

Praying in "secret" means that you are alone in the deepest levels of yourself. You can be surrounded by other people, pray out loud, sing or lead a prayer but inside you are alone with God.

This implies that you are clean from any other aspect of life, you are clean from bad or good feelings, from addictions, from pain. You are clean from worries of what will happen next or what people are thinking about you.

The only pure thing in your mind, in your heart is the clarity of your prayer to God in this sacred moment of infinite existence.

It is important that you find a very serene environment to help you be in this clear state so you can connect with God. Prayer is an interaction between men and a spirit. God is a spirit, and those who pray to him must do so in spirit and in truth.

Praying in a quiet place will keep you in the consciousness of the divine nature of God and will be a lot easier to get up to this clear state of being.

When you connect with God before praying, you will be able to pray better and receive more answers to your prayers because God will see the sincerity of your heart and the broken spirit with which you have come to seek his face.

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Have Faith

Your level of faith when you pray goes a long way to determine how effective your prayers can be. Before you pray, make sure you have faith that your prayers will receive answers from God.

Doubting the consequences before and during your prayers shows you are not ready for the answers.

Faith gives you the confidence to approach the throne of the invisible ruler of the universe to table your matters before him. If you must receive answers to your prayers, you must first believe that you are about to talk to God at the most deep level of understanding.

When you pray with faith, you will receive answers even before you finish praying with the assurance and peace in your heart that God has heard you.

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Have the Attitude of Gratitude

God expects you to show appreciation for the things he has done in the past before he does more for you. It is just in his nature to receive your praise.

That is the only debt you owe him for all his benefits towards you. When you praise God, you simply give Him reasons to do more.

When you pray, spend time on giving Him lavish praise. Your praise has the ability to make God move faster in giving you answers. Have the attitude of gratitude.

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Humble Yourself

You are talking to the maker of heaven and earth. The creator of the universe. The one who has the power to kill and make alive. The best you can do to show your loyalty and reverence to his supremacy is to appear before him as humble as you can. Tell him you are nothing without Him and with Him you can be something. Don't think about your social, political and religious status. Don't give him reasons why you think you deserve immediate answers.

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Ask For Forgiveness

As a human being, you must have erred in one way or the other. God is a God of righteousness who despises evil and sin.

Ask him to put all your weakness and shortcomings behind him and look upon you from the view point of grace.

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Pray in God's Will

Asking for things that are not in agreement with God's promises to his children is one way of praying wrongly.

Know what God has promised to do in your life as his follower and pray in that direction.

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Pray with Passion

Let the whole of you be part of the prayer you are making. Let it echo from your heart. Let your mouth, nose, and every part of your being bear witness to the passion in your heart. If you must shed tears, do.

Be consumed in the atmosphere of prayer. Focus and concentrate on the prayer without any distractions and wondering thoughts.

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Have No Plan B

Desperation is one factor that drives you to pray as if your life depends on that prayer.

When you still have hope of getting help from elsewhere, your prayers will go unanswered.

Pray like one who has gotten to the end of his rope and needs urgent rescue from falling off the cliff.

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Don't be Selfish

No matter what you are passing through, remember to put in a word of prayer for others.

Pray for your leaders, pray for your family. Prayer for your friends. Pray for your enemies. Your generosity in the heart of adversities will move God to be generous to you.

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Listen to God

If prayer is an interaction, then you must not be the only one talking.

Listen carefully to the voice of the spirit. Listen for specific instructions. God can speak to anybody whenever, however, and wherever he chooses.

Rediscovering Your Inner Self

Your inner self is essentially that very subtle message that you at times pick up coming from somewhere slightly different from your usual thoughts or commentary train.

It usually has a different tone and message. The inner self does act as an ally or guide that speaks up to you when things are a bit vague or not so clear.

It usually helps you make wiser decisions, even when you have very little or no information to rely on. It gives you information and advice in form of hints that you may have either overlooked or missed.

Consistently ignoring or failing to heed your inner self may numb you and make you close to receiving God's speaking. There are many people who don’t even realize that they have an inner self, an inner core that can open the direct channel to God. And thus have never sought to search for it.

If you realize that your connection to your inner self is weakened, don’t worry; you are not alone. There are several tips and activities that can help you regain it.

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Learn how to recognize it

It is virtually impossible to appreciate and listen to your inner self if you don’t recognize in the first place. Don’t mistake your inner self to those self-defeating and self-criticizing thoughts, your inner self usually feels and sounds wise, lucid, sensible and relatively gentle.

It is not your mental chatter or thoughts. It is usually accompanied by a feeling of peaceful confidence and centeredness; it generally offers some reassurance.

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Spend quality time with yourself

Many people panic when left alone, when conditions force them to be alone, they keep themselves busy by getting themselves occupied doing other things.

To spend quality time with yourself refers to shifting your own attitude from not being around anyone to being with yourself. One is encouraged to listen to oneself, to keenly observe and jot down his or her thoughts, ideas and even feelings. This is a very important activity as it slowly makes you aware of what is happening to you internally.

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Try and disconnect all devices

With the numerous technological advancements, we do find ourselves constantly connected to one device or the other.

Whether it is your PC, Mobile Phone, TV, or the Internet, chances are that they have not only consumed the free time that we have but also fully consumed the relationship that we previously had with ourselves.

It is important to get some time when you either switch off all devices or just walk away from them. Take time to fully absorb what your environment has to offer, think and imagine stuff, feel free to create in your head; away from the madding crowd.

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Learn an activity that quiets your mind

Start practicing an activity that helps you quiet your mind. Whatever it is that makes you comfortable, try to do it frequently; do it daily if possible.

One of the best activities that you can incorporate is to focus on how you breathe; keenly focus on how your lungs feel and belly moves and feels as you exhale and inhale; it’s a very personal exercise that lets you understand yourself more.

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Master how to “feel” and not “think”

Because your inner self is usually more connected to God then your conscious mind, it is very important for you to know how to feel your answer.

As a matter of fact, your inner self is usually felt and is not as a result of your thinking. You can try this activity by asking yourself a question and then try to feel the answer.

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Get back in touch with your emotions and feelings

Start paying close attention to what is happening or going on inside of you. Chances are that you had stopped paying attention to these feelings over time and thus lost touch with your inner emotions and feelings. Learning once again to observe your emotions and feelings is bound to send a message to your inner self that you are back listening again.

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Start stepping aside for a while

When you are faced with a problem, learn to step aside for a while when you are trying to solve the problem; don’t continuously keep on thinking about the problem. When you are constantly thinking about that particular problem, you are blocking off space for other messages besides those emanating from the mind.

By stepping aside you are also sending an invitation to your inner self to step in and help you solve that particular problem.

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Start getting cues from your inner self

Many people usually find it much easier to receive cues about situations from other people or from the immediate surroundings other than their inner surrounding.

To reconnect with your inner self, start seeking answers and guidance from your inner feelings rather than relying on outer feelings. Because your feelings are the direct connection to God, it is important to learn how to tune in and listen to your gut feelings and intuition and act accordingly.

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Learn to manage your expectations

Many people tend to sit back and wait for some loud audible voice to go through their heads or something of that sort. If you are waiting for a particular voice or hear a specific sound then you would end up missing that moment when God speaks to you as it is not some type of sound that assumes a particular voice.

Some people also expect for some magical voice that has a solution to each and every problem; this is a clear route to disappointment.

Your inner thoughts offer you strength to overcome obstacles and get solutions to otherwise difficult problems but it is not a panacea to all the problems or troubles that you may face in your day to day activities.

The inner self that is mentioned so much in new age beliefs is clear connection to God's speaking. It might come to us in many forms other than an actual voice but when it comes you will know that God has spoken.

Putting it all together

You are the pilot of your life journey in God's shadow. The first right that everyone has in life is loving God. The fact that you exist, anything that happens to you is only felt in your mind and heart. For this reason, the power of feeling remains yours.

There are many changes taking place now days in modern society. Some are taking humanity closer to God and some are making it harder to remain a true believer.

We can never write a checklist of how you should believe in the "right way" because believing is more than just a set of rules and guide lines.

It is something that is impossible to put in plain words. We can only try to pass the knowledge of self-experience to others so that we could help them to avoid the mistakes that we did on our life journey towards loving God.

The worth of your life is directly proportional to the faith an individual attracts. To go a long way in life, your faith must be a climbing type, an adapting one. So that you can guard it and keep it honest and loyal to God in the fast changing world we live in today.

This world is full of ups and downs. You have to learn how to build your faith in the basic credence of success.

Experience is the best teacher in life. Trial and error, difficult times, and interesting moments in essence every second you experience in life. History holds that the elders were able to live a triumphant life based on faith in God. You have to build your faith based on belief so as to go a distance in life.

Your faith in anchor to the belief that an individual is exposed to. It is important to know the rudiments of building a lifelong faith that counts. It will never be a simple struggle. It has taken people several years, even decades before they understood faith in its purest form.

Take your time to feel the truth inside of you. This will be the best platform to produce a quality faith for a lifetime. Always be ready to learn how to improve your faith.

It is never a day's job. You have to continually build your belief and defend it.

Never quit this never ending journey even when times are hard. Take your time to do research on how to build a long lasting faith that glow with longevity.

Durability is the sole basis of your faith. Always remember that the truth is the only thing that lasts for eternity.

Embrace the truth and say no to failure. You will grow a climbing faith that cannot be destroyed by anyone. Be a co-creator to God's building.

From there, your faith will wax strong and last forever as you walk in the way God intended for you, embracing his infinite love upon you.

Table of Contents

Authors Statement

Introduction

Modern Beliefs

New Age Beliefs about Jesus

Discoveries about Christianity

Modern Science and Christianity

Hard Times in the modern world

Turning the Other Cheek in real life

Believing in Modern Society

Unconditional Love for God

Collective Love

Love with God's Blessing

Elevating Your Spiritual Faith

Making every prayer count

Rediscovering Your Inner self

Putting it all together