WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO CHILDREN OF GOD?

  
At the Last Supper table were the Twelve. The Son of God was honest and straight-forward. He bared to them the baptism of fire that every new covenanter would have to go through.

³⁴ If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the Gospel will save it. MARK 8

Baptism of fire is the reason why bad things happen to the children of God. It is a refinement process, similar to the way precious metal is subjected to intense heat to melt away all its impurities.

The baptism is a series of LOVE-sacrifices, with the new covenanter needing to shed his old polluted self, donning a new self, striving hard to reach Christian maturity, and helping his neighbors to become new covenanters themselves. As he go through the process, difficulties, frustrations, hurts and sorrows will confront him. If he endures to the end, he will come out of it holy and pure.

⁷ I will refine [tsaw-raf, make pure, purge] them and test them, for what else can I do because of the sin of My people. JEREMIAH 9

⁹ I will bring them into the fire. I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. ZECHARIAH 13

²⁵ I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities. ISAIAH 1

It is common to hear nowadays of children of God complaining of the breaks of life going against them. They must be told that the demonic forces have become terribly sore at them for  several reasons. First, for enlisting as soldiers of God in the kingdom war. Second, for  the once reliable loyalists of the evil empire are now turning into traitorous renegades. Third, for the number of its enemies will increase and the number of its human agents will decrease. Fourth, for the demonic spirits will be ejected from the hearts of their human agents and that will mean loss of territory for the evil empire.

In his book Purpose-Driven Life, Rick Warren spoke of the children of God being given to “impossible problems, delayed promises, major changes, unanswered prayers, underserved criticism, and even senseless tragedies”. The demonic forces are the culprits. They are putting the children into the fire hoping they would get frustrated and angry with the testing, and quit on God. 

God is allowing it to determine who among the children will deny themselves. take up their crosses and endure to the end. 

¹⁶ If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 1 PETER 4

The Book of Job gives three insights on what the demonic forces can do.

First, the new covenanter would be isolated and stripped of covering and support (Job 1:11). He would be deprived of his talents, treasures and sources of income. People dear to him and supportive of him would be disabled and or separated from him through poverty, ailment, conflict, accident and death. In the case of the prophet Job, he lost his sons and daughters, his servants and great wealth, all in one day (Job 1:13-22).

Second, the flesh of the new covenanter would be afflicted. Job was afflicted with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head (Job 2:7).

Third, intrigues, conflicts, persecutions, anxiety, failures, frustrations, and disappointments would plague the new covenanter. To convince him that he is a loser, that what he is doing were an exercise in futility, and that it would better for him to kill himself or return to his old wicked ways than to endure.

There is a fourth insight which the Book of Job did not give. The new covenanter would be seeing demons—elemental spirits, mermaids, angels of death (“yamadutas”), demons of the air (“yandavas”), guardian spirits (“devas” and “devates”), demigods, and guardians of the flame (“abhodevendas,” cosmic teachers, ascended masters)—and would be attacked by them. (Occult Grand Master Now In Christ, Part 2: Seven Occult Kingdoms)

¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. EPHESIANS 6

In the beginning a demon or two would attack. The elemental spirits would disguise themselves in the form of insects, snakes, and strange-looking creatures—even in the form of persons, both dead and living, who are familiar to the new covenanter. Eventually the disguise would be dropped.

The attacks would come by sundown and end before sunrise. But later the attacks would come at any time of the day and appear endless.

The new covenanter would have to evade and parry the attacks for he could be killed, paralyzed or dismembered if hit. Should he win the battle, the number of his attackers would increase in the next battle. 

The attacks would intensify. If the lowly elemental spirits fail to overcome the new covenanter, Lucifer would send his “living grand masters” along with the rulers of the seven occult kingdoms—Seraphim Visel (earth kingdom), Lord Kaliya (water kingdom), Lord Naga (fire kingdom), Lord Sagna (astral kingdom), Lord Shohang (terrestrial kingdom), Sat Kumara (Azura) and Chitanam (Kalami)—to confront and gang him up. If still they fail to overcome him, Lucifer himself would attack.  

The new covenanter could be chained, taken prisoner and brought to an astral or terrestrial dungeon so dark and eerie, where the angels of God could not rescue him for they are forbidden to come near the place.

His family and neighbors might not be able to cope with his situation. They would likely presume that he has lost touch with reality. Medical doctors might diagnose him as schizophrenic, paranoid, psychotic, or simply mentally ill. His own churchmates might think he’s demon-possessed (not demonized which is the real case) and might not want to sit on the same pew with him. Instead of helping him, they might ostracize and ridicule him—even think of him as someone being punished by God.    

In the four insights above, the new covenanter would have to cling to his faith. Instead of being perplexed or panicky or losing hope, he should pray for help. Prayer is his only link to God. As soon as he prays, God will come to neutralize his enemies, free him if taken captive, restore his losses, and wake him up—alive and whole. The attack will all seem to be a “nightmare”.     

¹⁴ I will rescue those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in My name. ¹⁵ When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. ¹⁶ I will reward them with a long life and give them My salvation. PSALM 91 nlt

Baptism of fire is a series of battles progressively intensifying and terribly exhausting. We speak from experience. Our first battles made us sleepless for almost nine months. Lucifer himself was our opponent mostly. Today the attacks have waned but still come—even in the middle of a sea trip or a business conference, while crossing the street or while sleeping.

The truth is, the demonic forces will not give up until the new covenanter quits on God. Thus, he must always be on battle station. Good for him to stay on prayer mode 24/7 and resist the attacks with the help of God and other God-worshipers.

And so at the Last Supper, Y’shua essentially told the Twelve: “Those of you who have the heart desire to be a new covenanter must prepare for testing. Prepare for a treacherous, protracted war, one to last the rest of your lives. Baptism of fire will not be easy for you. But just as I carry My cross, so you must carry yours. You will stumble but do not stay down. Stand firm to the end and your original blessed state will be restored.”

What was said to the Twelve is also said to us.

³³ In this world you will have trouble. JOHN 16

⁸ Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers [in faith] throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 1 PETER 5

Do Not Be Afraid

Baptism of fire means eating the bread of adversity and drinking the water of affliction. It sounds dreadful but fear not. Nebuchadnezzar ordered Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to be thrown into the blazing furnace yet no harm came to them. The Son of God came to untie them and enabled them to “walk around in the fire unharmed” (Daniel 3:19-30).

¹⁰ 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. ISAIAH 41

¹⁵ Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s… ¹⁷ Go out and face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you. 2 CHRONICLES 20

¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you, and all you have to do is keep still. EXODUS 14 tev

¹⁰ Be still and know that I am God. PSALM 46

²⁹ The Lord Himself is your shield and your sword to defend you and give you victory. DEUTERONOMY 33 tev

² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. ³ For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Isra’el, your Savior. ISAIAH 43 

²⁰ Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. ²¹ Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” ISAIAH 30

⁵ No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. JOSHUA 1

²⁰ And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. MATTHEW 28

⁴ Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. ISAIAH 46

St. Paul gave a testimony of how God protected him:

⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 CORINTHIANS 4

You will take hits in the course of your baptism but not beyond your capacity to take.

¹³ God… will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, He will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you a way out. 1 CORINTHIANS 10 tev

You will face unpleasantries but how else should you be refined? 

¹³ Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 1 CORINTHIANS 16  

⁹ If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. ISAIAH 7

¹³ But he who stands firm to the end will be saved. MATTHEW 24

The demonic forces can kill (Hebrews 2:14), they are murderers (John 8:44), but do not fear them. Y’shua has given them the authority to test you but not to kill you (Job 2:6). They cannot kill you unless you permit them or unless you entertain a negativity (eg. anger or fear). You will eventually exit this world, as we all must, but not to satisfy the purpose of the enemy. God will see to it that your death will satisfy His kingdom purpose.

¹² Blessed are all who take refuge in Him. PSALM 2

¹⁸ The One who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. 1 JOHN 5 

St. Paul wrote of Lucifer’s unsuccessful attempts to kill him:     

²³ I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. ²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, ²⁶ I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger at sea; in danger from false brothers. ²⁷ I have labored and toiled and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 2 CORINTHIANS 11

Fear not because whatever you lose in the course of your testing will be returned to you one hundred times (Matthew 19:29). Job received from God much more than what he lost in the beginning (Job 42:12).

Do not be afraid but rather embrace your baptism of fire with joy and gladness because the evil empire's opposition is your assurance that you are on the right track.

⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. 1 PETER 1 nlt

Embrace your baptism of fire with joy and gladness because God is fair and just. The suffering of the non-covenanters will be seven times worse.    

13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 1 CORINTHIANS 10

49 Everyone will be salted with fire. MARK 9

8 Here is what all creatures, both human and animal, must face (but it is seven times worse for sinners): 9 death, violence, conflict, murder, disaster, famine, sickness, epidemic. SIRACH 40

Take the Cup

¹⁴ When the hour came, Y’shua and His apostles reclined at the table… ¹⁷ After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸ For I tell you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁰ In the same way, after the supper, He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the New Covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.” LUKE 22

²⁷ Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ This is My blood of the Covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. MATTHEW 26

The Most Holy Body was about to be broken, the Most Holy Blood about to be spilled. The culmination of the Son of Man’s baptism of fire was about to come. Three times He prophesied it. Everyone at the table had an inkling of what He was talking about.

⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. ⁵⁰ But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the Living Bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world… ⁵³ I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. JOHN 6

God leads by example. He does not command anyone to do something that He Himself did not do. In giving the symbolic bread and wine for the apostles to eat and drink, He was virtually saying to the Church, “As your God, Master and Teacher, I will do it first. But do I have your commitment to follow in My footsteps?”

Earlier, He asked two of the apostles: “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” (Mark 10:38)

In effect God asked, “Will you be My coworkers?”

²³ And they all drank from it. MARK 14      

Yes! The Twelve partook of the bread and wine, hallelu-yah! It was a sacred affirmation of the Church’s commitment, and of the Twelve’s personal commitment, to become new covenanters and go through baptism of fire.

Trumpet Call. Now, whenever and wherever the Passover meal is commemorated (Catholics call it "holy communion"), our participation in it—eating the bread and drinking the wine—should be a sacred affirmation not only of our oneness with the Church but also of our personal commitment to go through our baptism of fire and to contribute our share of LOVE-sacrifices to the collective cause.  

Whenever and wherever the Passover Feast is celebrated, the baptism of fire of our ancestors in faith—especially that of Y’shua—should ring in our minds. For there would be no true spirituality for us to celebrate today if they shied away from it. Thank God for their LOVE and faithfulness. 

The Passover is about LOVE. The New Covenant is about LOVE. The Ten Commandments are about LOVE. Because of LOVE God bore the penalty meant for us. Now He is looking for new covenanters. People to work on your family… your friends… your schoolmates… your workmates… your churchmates… People to begin the work on their own selves.

God hopes you would be one of them. He is calling you to imitate His sacrifice, to offer your body and blood for LOVE.

¹⁵ And He said, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” LUKE 22

²⁹ I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom. MATTHEW 26

An annual rite was proclaimed to commemorate His death and the commitment of the Church to follow suit.

¹⁹ Do this in memory of Me. LUKE 22

THE PURPOSE OF CREATION

The purpose of creation is LOVE. God created us to love and be loved. When He thinks, He thinks of propagating and perpetuating LOVE. When He acts, He acts to propagate and perpetuate LOVE. When He speaks, He speaks to propagate and perpetuate LOVE.

Our Creator is LOVE. His nature is LOVE. Rick Warren said, “1 John 4:16 says God is love. It doesn’t say God has love. He is love! Love is the essence of God’s character.” (Purpose-Driven Life, p. 24)

LOVE too is our nature. Remember, we were created in the image and likeness of the First Tree. Matthew 5:48 says, “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.” It means we are potential perfections (seeds) that must grow into actual perfections—into trees that constantly produce fruits of LOVE.

¹⁸ What is the kingdom of heaven like? What shall I compare it to? ¹⁹ It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. LUKE 13

³¹ It is the smallest seed you can plant in the ground. ³² Yet it grows and becomes [a tree] the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch on its shade. MARK 4

In us is LOVE that “yearns to be expressed and shared; it needs an outlet,” said Billy Graham (The Journey: How to Live by Faith in an Uncertain World, p. 27).

It is most natural for us to love and most unnatural for us not to. Act contrary to our nature—immobilize or isolate it—and we feel heavy, down and lonely; our life becomes empty and meaningless. However, let our nature fly, let it find an outlet, and we feel light… excited… inspired… fulfilled… easy to smile and laugh… 

What is our world without LOVE? Rosario “Boots” Zulueta Santos said: “Without LOVE, our week would be Sin-day, Tears-day, Wasted-day, Thirst-day, Fight-day and Shatter-day.”

We are created to build and nurture LOVE-relationships. God blessed our first parents and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number” (Genesis 1:6). A mandate has been given and it extends to us, their seeds. The mandate is to propagate and perpetuate LOVE. In this context John 15:12 becomes our accountability—an obligation—to our Creator.

¹² Love each other as I have loved you. JOHN 15

⁶ Fill all the world with fruit. ISAIAH 27

¹⁷ Wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then… full of good fruit. JAMES 3

Gratefulness dictates that we reciprocate God’s love for us in a manner most acceptable to Him. He deserves nothing less.

¹⁹ We love each other because God loved us first. 1 JOHN 4 nlt

¹⁴ Anyone who does not love remains in death. 1 JOHN 3

Now, why must we love God with all our heart and with all our mind and with all our soul and with all our strength?

The teacher of the Law in Mark 12:28 asked the question. Y’shua replied, “When a man loses a purse, does he turn only his eye to look for it? Or only his hand to feel for it? Or only his tongue to ask for it? Certainly not! He turns his whole body and employs all his powers to find it. Is this not true? Now, is not your Father in heaven more valuable than your purse?” (Gospel of Barnabas, chapter 100)

 Why does God command us to love Him? DOESN’T IT SOUND LIKE GOD IS selfish?

God is not selfish. Our existence is one proof of this. He created us to share with us what He has.

Rick Warren said, “God made us so He could love us. This is a truth to build our lives on.” (Purpose-Driven Life, p. 24)

God has no need to be selfish. The whole creation belongs to Him; everything in it is His (Job 41:11, Psalm 24:1, Leviticus 25:23, Psalm 50:10, Haggai 2:8). God is called God because He is perfect and complete. Nothing can be added to Him and nothing taken away (Sirach 42:21).

²⁵ He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. ACTS 17

The command to love Him is for our own good. You see, our journey through life is always a matter of choice between the kingdom of God and the evil empire. Life is like standing at the edge of a cliff—with Lucifer urging us to jump and God urging us not to. Lucifer is urging us to jump because it would kill us. God is urging us not to jump so we might live. The devil does not have our best interest in mind (John 10:10). But God is the opposite. He wants us to keep busy living, not dying.

⁶ I am the way, the truth and the life. JOHN 14 

Strictly speaking, God cannot be served by human hands. Nothing can be added to HIM and nothing taken away. How then should we translate “Love God” into action?  

Love of God = Love of neighbor. That is the equation.

⁸ If you really keep the royal law found in the Scripture, which is Love your neighbor as you love yourself, you are doing right. JAMES 2 

²⁰ For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. ²¹ [God] has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 JOHN 4

The term neighbor encompasses our family members, friends and relatives, churchmates, schoolmates, workmates, townmates and countrymen—even the strangers that come into our sphere and the peoples that live in foreign lands.

God identified “Love your neighbor as yourself” as the second greatest commandment (Mark 12:31). Now, if “Love God” is Commandment No. 1 and “Love your neighbor” is Commandment No. 2, isn’t that two? If we add the Two to the Nine, there would be Eleven, isn’t that right?

No, it isn’t. God gave Ten, not Eleven.

There is only one LOVE Commandment. Y’shua said Love your neighbor is “like” Love God (Matthew 22:39). For whoever loves God must also love his neighbor and whoever loves his neighbor must also love God. No one can love God and put his neighbor aside; neither can he love his neighbor and put God aside. The two commandments are corollary, made to be part and parcel of one another. In the sight of God one is not pleasing without the other. To love God is to love your neighbor and to love your neighbor is to love God. Love God and Love your neighbor are clamped together. They are not really two separate commandments, but one. 

Y’shua said, “When you have seen your brother, you have seen the Lord.”—Tertullian, On Prayer

Does it follow that our neighbor must be loved as well with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength?

The answer is Yes. That precisely is how Love God is translated into action. “And since a neighbor is every person, regardless of race, gender or age, we get to love everyone!” said Paul J. Meyer (Unlocking Your Legacy, p. 31).

If an occasion arises wherein we must choose between GOD AND NEIGHBOR, who must we choose? 

Remember that God called one “first” and the other “second”. Choose Love of God over Love of neighbor. Prioritize the Creator over the creation.

Why was the patriarch Abraham called righteous? He was called righteous because he chose God over his beloved son Isaac. Abraham always prioritized God.  

We love our neighbor only because we love God. Make no mistake about it. Love your neighbor is but an offshoot (meaning only a subsidiary or an extension) of Love God. God should be our first and foremost priority, and Love God our primary focus.  

²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. COLOSSIANS 3

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WHAT ON EARTH ARE WE DOING HERE?

The purpose of man on earth is to be holy and pure. God is a God of purity and His kingdom, a kingdom of purity. Nothing impure will ever enter the kingdom (Revelation 21:27, Ephesians 5:5). Only the impure man-turned-pure may re-enter His kingdom.

How many sins did it take for Adam and Eve to be banished from the kingdom of heaven? Just one. Likewise, it takes one sin to keep us out of God’s heaven. (The Truth Behind Left Behind, p. 159) 

²² Keep yourselves pure. 1 TIMOTHY 5

⁴⁸ Be perfect therefore as your Father in heaven is perfect. MATTHEW 5

¹ Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 CORINTHIANS 7

In disobeying God, man chose death over life. God (who is a respecter of the human freewill) had to banish man to the realm of the dead. He did with great hope that man would appreciate life better when death is in sight.

As man had become capable of producing unholy thoughts, unholy actions and unholy words, God also had the great hope that before the Day of Judgment comes, man could be disciplined into producing only holy thoughts, holy actions and holy words. That man would opt for the reversal of his situation and seek the restoration of his original blessed state—to be part of God’s royal family again, partake of His bliss and immeasurable LOVE, and get to celebrate life anew.

²⁹ God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes. ECCLESIASTES 7

Today you might think, “Our destiny is cursed and cannot be altered. We are children of disobedience, born sinners and sinners we will die. So today let’s eat and drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.” Lucifer loves that kind of thinking. But we are not totally hopeless.

To those who seek the restoration of their original blessed state, God has given instructions to live by, summed up and unified in the Decalogue called Ten Commandments.

The instructions (summarily called the Law of God or simply the Law) have blueprinted the way of life in heaven. Man—who was weak (Romans 8:3) and error-prone (Hebrew 8:8)—has been told what to do in given situations so he might not miss the mark.

The instructions reflect God’s love, plan and hope for man. Clearly it is not to abandon him in the realm of the dead but to provide him with a roadmap to the realm of the living.

                 ¹⁷ If you want to enter life, obey the commandments. MATTHEW 19

⁸ The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. PSALM 19

 ⁵ Follow the practices and the laws that I give you; you will save your life by doing so. LEVITICUS 18 tev

¹⁷ I am the Lord your God who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way to go. ISAIAH 48

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future… ¹⁴ I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile. JEREMIAH 29

⁵⁰ God’s command leads to eternal life. JOHN 12  

What does a journeyman who is disoriented and lost in the thick usually do? Open his eyes and ears for directional signs, right? When he finds someone who could give him proper direction, how would he feel? Relieved and delighted, right? And would he disobey the instructions given him? Of course not! In fact, he would try hard not to forget any one of them. He would obey them 100% with gladness and excitement in his heart.

Now, are we not disoriented and lost in this spiritual journey called life? God no less has provided us the roadmap. 

So stay focused. If we do not stay focused, we lose sight of God and forget the purpose of our being on earth. We are likely to miss the mark and fall into satanic traps.

So be conscientious. It means be thorough and diligent. Obey every instruction of God without omitting or altering any one of its specifications (Galatians 3:15).

Rick Warren said, “Often we try to offer God partial obedience. We want to pick and choose the commands we obey. We make a list of the commands we like and obey those while ignoring the ones we think are unreasonable, difficult, expensive, or unpopular. I’ll attend church but I won’t tithe. I’ll read my Bible but won’t forgive the person who hurt me. Yet partial obedience is disobedience” (The Purpose-Driven Life, p. 72).

¹⁰ Whoever keeps the whole Law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. JAMES 2

⁴ Obey Me and do everything I command you. JEREMIAH 11

² Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. LEVITICUS 19

⁷ Consecrate yourselves and be holy. LEVITICUS 20

Being conscientious requires the discarding of our rebellious spirits, sinful desires, negative and compromising attitudes, and the false teachings in our minds while we make a constant practice of obeying God’s instructions until it becomes a habit.

The prophet Ezra devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law, and to teaching its commandments and decrees (Ezra 7:10). We must be as conscientious as he was.

In the Gospel of Barnabas God asked, “My instructions to you, are they given for knowing or for doing?”

So have prior understanding of what to obey. Psalm 19:7-8 says, “The Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the soul are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” While this is true, we must be aware that some of God’s instructions have been corrupted (the Ten Commandments made Nine is one blatant proof of this). It is not healthy for anyone’s spirituality to obey God’s instructions at face value. Before full compliance is made, the Law must be analyzed for flaws. The chaff must be removed from the grain. Our faith must be based on accurate knowledge (John 17:3) and God’s instructions, in their pure form.

¹⁷ …Understand what the Lord’s will is. EPHESIANS 5

So have prior knowledge of God’s expectations of us. In applying for a job, we have to know the job requirements before we can comply with them. The same holds true in finding our way back to life. The desire to be loyal to God must be tempered with the knowledge of how God expects us to be loyal to Him.

This book shall unfold and impart to you God’s instructions using the Ten Commandments as teaching vehicle. The Ten-C are like jigsaw parts scattered in the 66 books of the Scripture (74 books if the apocryphal books are added). The parts have been pieced together for study-made-easy.  

¹¹ Whoever wants to keep the Law must learn what the Law means. SIRACH 21

¹⁰ Find out what pleases the Lord. EPHESIANS 5

² It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. PROVERBS 19

So be realistic. Know first that we are spirits living in souls embodied in flesh (1 Thessalonians 5:23), and that God is not after the state of our flesh but rather after the state of our spirits. That means we should be attending more to our spiritual well-being than our physical well-being.

²⁷ The lamp of the Lord searches the spirit of a man, it searches out his inmost being. PROVERBS 20

Secondly, know what this Scripture verse means:

                 ⁴ It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. MATTHEW 4

Thirdly, know that purity cannot be achieved without holiness (100% obedience). Holiness cannot be achieved without conscientiousness. Conscientiousness cannot be achieved without understanding God’s instructions. Understanding the instructions cannot be achieved without knowing them. Knowing the instructions cannot be achieved without being realistic.

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