Christ as a companion

THE ROLE OF ACTION - I

Theme verse

 “But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” 

James 1:22 (KJV)

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what does it profit? James 2:15-16

It is very normal to hear words like as long as you have faith in Jesus it is not necessary to do what the bible says in fact Jesus paid it all, Jesus is all in all and we already have him, this popular belief is completely against what the bible says and here in this lesson we will discuss it clearly,

Divinity part

In completion of the work of salvation, there are two mains sides (with a third one which will be discussed in part II of this lesson) the human side and the Divine side as explained by Ellen White, “Christ took upon Himself humanity that He might reach humanity, Divinity needed humanity; for it required both the divine and the human to bring salvation to the world” now each part has a place to do, lucky enough the Divine side has done and will do all it has to do to make sure the human side will be able to do its part, here below is a view of what the Divine side has done and will keep doing.

Prepared and executed an evacuation plan.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” John 3:16

The act of heavens sending down the only begotten son of God to earth to rescue humanity from satan, is a great provision done by Divinity to restore the original state of humanity, Christ came down to earth, risked being lost and an eternal separation from his father all this to rescue humanity, thanks to God the evacuation plan succeeded and here we are free to choose salvation whereas we had no opportunity to be saved.

Given providence of a helper to completely win over sin

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…” Acts 1:8

Even after the evacuation plan was completed Divinity, knowing the weakness of humanity towards sin, did not leave humanity alone but provided him a helper (The Holy spirit) to makes sure he is successfully saved.

Humanity part

Yes, humanity has a part to do to complete this mission, if anything God cannot do, not because he is not able but because he doesn’t want to intervene the freewill of his creatures in to walk our way in our salvation, he has promised to be with us and will be to the end but he will never walk our way, we have to walk it alone.

Here is what humanity has to do.

Preparation of heart.

“The preparation of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.” Proverbs 16:1

Just as the parable of the sower says, the heart has to be prepared, and the preparation of the heart has to be done by humanity, when our heart is humbly prepared to receive God’s instructions, we receive them joyfully and are able to execute them not the same to when we receive them in prejudice.

Thinking.

“Come back to your right way of thinking and stop sinning…” 1 Corinthians 15:34 (ERV)

God is calling us to go back to our right way of thinking, we are called to put our mental powers in use, God does not expect us to blindly follow everything we are told to, he expects us to reason, contemplate and judge he expects us to think. “Our reasoning powers were given us for use, and God desires them to be exercised” Ed 231.1 It is the humanity’s part to think and God desires us to do so. 

Obey.

“…To observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day…” Deuteronomy 28:1 (KJV)

Obedience—the service and allegiance of love—is the true sign of discipleship. Thus the Scripture says, “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3). “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him,” (chap. 2:4). Instead of releasing man from obedience, it is faith, and faith only, that makes us partakers of the grace of Christ, which enables us to render obedience. 

We do not earn salvation by our obedience, for salvation is the free gift of God, to be received by faith. But obedience is the fruit of faith. “Ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not” (chap. 3:5, 6). Here is the true test. If we abide in Christ, if the love of God dwells in us, our feelings, our thoughts, our purposes, our actions, will be in harmony with the will of God as expressed in the precepts of His holy law. “Little children, let no man deceive you; he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous” (verse 7). Righteousness is defined by the standard of God's holy law, as expressed in the ten precepts given on Sinai.

Apostle James says it very clear in the parable from the theme verse, as Christians we have a responsibility to do, we can have a reference from prior lessons, by obedience we mean either not putting into actions what we are told not to do or putting into actions what we are told to do, our core beliefs and faith is revealed in our actions, what we do has a greater impact than what we merely say, acknowledging our faith only by words is almost meaningless if those words don’t tally with our actions.

Be blessed.

THE ROLE OF FAITH

Theme verse

 “But without faith it is impossible to please him…” 

Hebrews 11:06 (KJV)

The world of Christianity in the twenty-first century is full of lawlessness, just by the fact that people think that as long as you believe in Christ there is no longer a need for you to obey and follow Gods commandments of love, so everybody does whatever they want to do just because they think they believe in Christ. But is this really faith? On the other hand, there those legalists who keep focusing on keeping the law as if it was their gate pass to heaven they focus on their own ability to conquer sin now is this right? On top of that the book of Hebrews 11 comes with a verse that openly says it’s impossible to please God without faith, now what is this faith, and what is its role in our religious life? Well focus onto and into that in this lesson.

Faith: The bible in the book of Hebrews 11, openly states that, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

Not once or twice do we find Jesus healing the diseased and there after telling them that it was their faith that healed them, these absolutely believed in Jesus and his power to heal, some of them had not seen his miracles before but they believed that they would be healed, it sometimes sounds crazy for a leper whom the doctors and physicians of his/her time declared their disease to be uncured to follow Jesus and believe that the so called uncured disease would be cured, it requires an extra force and this force is called faith, a force that pushes you to believe that a stone is a bread, that amidst an ocean there is a way, in this logical first world this is complete insanity. But you know God says it’s impossible to please him without faith.

Now if faith is just hoping and believing, can we believe on everything and can we hope for everything, is there right and wrong faith, or faith is just faith?

Origin of faith: The bible in the book of Romans, openly states that, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” Romans 10:17 (KJV)

So anything called faith should be passed in the filter of the word of God, because there is no faith without the word of God, faith in the right direction is faith that is directed by the right “Way” who is the incarnated word and the written word himself. Anything that is called faith and is not based and rooted in the word is a wrong faith leading to a wrong direction. We cannot just believe in anything or hope for anything unless it is written in the word.

Relationship between faith, grace and law: The bible says this “…We have access by faith into his grace wherein we stand…” Romans 5:2, “For by grace are ye saved through faith…” Ephesians 2:8, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone … thou believes that there is one God thou does well: the devils also believe, and tremble… but will thou know, o vain man that faith without works is dead?” James 2:17-20 

Now some say that it is just okay to live a lawless life just because we have faith in Jesus Christ! This is an absolute lie from the devil, a life of faith is a life that reveals the fruits of what we believe so leaving a lawless life effectively show us to whom our faith is. Ellen white says, “The so-called faith in Christ which professes to release men from the obligation of obedience to God is not faith, but presumption. “By grace are ye saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). But “faith, if it hath not works, is dead” (James 2:17). Jesus said of Himself before He came to earth, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8). And just before He ascended again to heaven, He declared, “I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:10). The Scriptures says, “Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3) ...” Steps to Christ 64-65

We were absolutely lost, but then God decided to save us though we did not deserve, he came on earth and died a death that was ours to die and through this sacrifice everyone was supposed to be saved, but now not everyone will be save not because God doesn’t want us to be saved but because it takes faith to receive this grace, so then what is the role of faith in the life of a Christian? “Faith is hand to receive grace” it is only when we practice faith in our daily schedules that we receive grace and through this grace we become saved.

It is impossible to pleases God without faith because as we learnt in the previous lesson “THE ROLE OF OBEDIENCE” sometimes we need to obey God even before we understand what he fully wants/means, now at times like these we really cannot obey God if we don’t have faith in him, only when we have faith in him can we obey without questions because we have “the evidence of things not seen” and that is faith and this way we can please God.

God want us to live and practice our faith day to day in our daily schedules. Be blessed.

THE ROLE OF OBEDIENCE

Theme verse

 “…To observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day…” 

Deuteronomy 28:1 (KJV)

Living in a perverted world, where people want to do whatever seems right to them, the lesson of obedience is not easily learned, in a world where people are eager to receive blessings than to harken the voice of the one who blesses it is an unfamiliar lesson, in a world where every doctrine should pass in the filter of logical reasoning and scientific proofs it is a strange lesson, in a world where truth is relative it is almost perverseness.  

Regardless of the world we are living in, God’s requirement for us remain the same in all ages, he desires our obedience. In the book of 1 Samuel 15, we encounter a story of king Saul who being sent to war against the Amalekites as a revenge of God for what they did to his people as they were entering the land of Canaan from Egypt, with this order of war another order was given to the king “…And utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” 1 Samuel 15:3 (KJV) but as the king went to war he did what was pleasing to him according to his own logical thinking, he spared all that was pleasing in his sight on top of that he spared the king of Amalek, with a reason of bringing what is good for an offering to God, this thing was completely against the orders of God, and here comes prophet Samuel with God’s statement “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to harken than the fat of rams” 1 Samuel 15:22 (KJV) this verse directly shows how God is pleased in obedience and for a Christian life to be complete obedience is a must without obedience our religious life is not balanced.

But a question arises to whether we should obey without understanding the orders given to us, or should we wait until we fully understand the orders for us to obey?

We encounter a story of Abraham in the book of genesis 22 where God orders him to offer Isaac as a burnt offering, in fact this order was not completely understood by Abraham, but the only thing Abraham was sure of was that it was the voice of God and thus even though he didn’t fully understand he obeyed the Lord’s voice, sometimes in our religious life we will be called to obey before fully understanding the order, this is because of several reasons, 1. Because God’s knowledge of things is very far beyond our understanding 2. Because he has the full plan of our life, he knows the beginning from the end, as explained in the book of Corinthians “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God…” 1 Corinthians 3:19, “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men...” 1 Corinthians 1:25.

So the only trick is to understand and recognize the voice of God which comes with personal experience with him, but as long as we are sure it is his, we have to obey even though we don’t fully understand.

Here is what Ellen White has to say about the role of obedience in a religious life.

Obedience—the service and allegiance of love—is the true sign of discipleship. Thus the Scripture says, “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3). “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him,” (chap. 2:4). Instead of releasing man from obedience, it is faith, and faith only, that makes us partakers of the grace of Christ, which enables us to render obedience. 

We do not earn salvation by our obedience, for salvation is the free gift of God, to be received by faith. But obedience is the fruit of faith. “Ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not” (chap. 3:5, 6). Here is the true test. If we abide in Christ, if the love of God dwells in us, our feelings, our thoughts, our purposes, our actions, will be in harmony with the will of God as expressed in the precepts of His holy law. “Little children, let no man deceive you; he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous” (verse 7). Righteousness is defined by the standard of God's holy law, as expressed in the ten precepts given on Sinai.

The so-called faith in Christ which professes to release men from the obligation of obedience to God is not faith, but presumption. “By grace are ye saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). But “faith, if it hath not works, is dead” (James 2:17). Jesus said of Himself before He came to earth, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8). And just before He ascended again to heaven, He declared, “I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:10). The Scriptures says, “Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3) ....

The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been—just what it was in Paradise before the fall of our first parents—perfect obedience to the law of God, perfect righteousness. If eternal life were granted on any condition short of this, then the happiness of the whole universe would be imperiled. The way would be open for sin, with all its train of woe and misery, to be immortalized....

The more our sense of need drives us to Him and to the Word of God, the more exalted views we shall have of His character, and the more fully we shall reflect His image. —Steps to Christ, 60-65.

Finally, God desires our obedience because with obeying him comes blessings for our life here and on the world to come.

“If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth is mine.” Exodus 19:5 (KJV)

God calls us to obey, be blessed.

Introduction

“No matter how the sailor is skilled an unbalanced boat is more likely to sink”

 ” In 1372 A.D a beautiful free standing tall tower going almost 183 feet above the ground famously known as Torre pendent di Pisa (leaning tower of Pisa) was accomplished in Pisa, Italy. Built by marble and stones, it is famously known for leaning at an angle of about 4°, which happened during the 12th century to the 14th century being caused mainly by the poor bearing capacity of the soil which caused forces of this 14,500 tones tower to be unevenly distributed leading to uneven settlement, it is very amazing though that this tower has passed the test of time, having survived for more than 7 centuries without collapsing, it surely qualifies to be among the world’s heritage sites.” (Longo, 2024)

Just as in engineering field a spiritual life needs a very good balance, without this balance a believers’ loss is inevitable. In this article we will discuss about this balance and its spiritual significance as revealed through the bible.

THE ROLE OF THINKING

Theme verse

 “Come back to your right way of thinking and stop sinning…” 

1 Corinthians 15:34 (ERV)

 We are living in a world where because of limited thinking either brought upon us by our own laziness or by the influence of the selfish spiritual leaders who aim at manipulating their followers, we have become prone to manipulations that lead to economic, spiritual and life loses, we have examples of recent cases as the cases of Paul Mackenzie Nthenge accused of deaths of 98 people linked to his church, the sexual abuse cases of the late T.B JOSHUA all these happen because people have been manipulated to depend on their leaders for thinking.

 God’s calling to reason.

“And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art though” Genesis 3:9 (KJV)

After sin, the very first calling of God to think in the bible is found in the book of Genesis, God calls Adam and asks him, where are you? taking into consideration that our God is all knowing we know for sure that God knew where Adam was, but this question was a calling to Adam to think, to meditate upon what has just happened, a calling to contemplate on the consequences of the choice he had just made, God is still asking us today the same question with the same calling to think, “Where are you” this questions carries in it more detailed questions like “what are you doing there, why are you doing it, how are you doing it.” We need to ask ourselves these question as often as possible in every religious matter we are taking part in, “Where am I”, If we don’t have answers to these questions we are most likely wasting our time in whatever we are doing.

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD ...” Isaiah 1:18 (KJV)

Another clear calling of God to think is found in the book of Isaiah, where God calls us to REASON for our sins, this is a very important aspect in repenting, to reason, reasoning brings more clear our transgressions into our minds, and the clearer we see our sins the more likely we are to see its sinfulness the more likely we are to repent. The devil does all in his power to shun us from reasoning as we repent that’s why, he established a system of people repenting to people, people depending on people to repent, this is very contrary to the will of God, which is for us to REASON, lets respond to this calling.

“Come back to your right way of thinking and stop sinning…” 1 Corinthians 15:34 (ERV)

God is calling us to go back to our right way of thinking, this verse is very well explained in the Swahili Union Version, I’ll quote it here “Tumieni akili kama ipasavyo, wala msitende dhambi ...” 

The words Tumieni akili kama ipasavyo in simple English means “Use your mind effectively”, we are called to put our mental powers in use, God does not expect us to blindly follow everything we are told to, he expects us to reason, contemplate and judge he expects us to think.

Here is what Ellen White has to say about the role of thinking in a religious life, 

“Our reasoning powers were given us for use, and God desires them to be exercised” Ed 231.1

In everything you are doing be it spiritual or social, THINK, that is what God is calling you to. Blessed.

THE SAVING POWER OF JESUS

Theme verse

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out”

John 6:37 (KJV)

One of very prominent promises of God in scriptures, it is so refreshing to memorize, just think of it! whoever comes to Jesus no matter how wrecked they may be, he shall in no wise cast the out, as we finalize this series of the rarely spoken heroes, we speak of the saving power of Jesus as portrayed in the life his precious daughter and friend Mary Magdalene.

Perhaps brother Lazarus or sister Martha had arranged the contact (between Mary and Jesus). Never had she met a man remotely like Him. Jesus loved Mary Magdalene, that’s for sure, the same as He loved any other human soul. It was with an unselfish, pure, self-sacrificing love. Having been “made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7) and as alone “He knew what was in man” (John 2:25), He understood Mary as no other human being ever had. He understood the labyrinthine complexities of her female human nature, in particular the abused nature of her soul. Himself man’s Creator and Redeemer, He knew as no other man how she felt toward men. In even such a casual contact, Jesus would convey in some way to each human soul He met a sense of self-sacrificing agape love. If that soul would open the heart to “behold” it, a certain measure of reciprocity would immediately be initiated. The recognition would at first be beyond words, for “deep calleth unto deep” when one’s “soul is cast down,” as was hers. It was not an instinctive response on her part, but one far deeper than that, for Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice…and they follow Me” (John 10:27). Mary heard the Voice, however faint its echo may have been in her darkened and deafened soul. We read that “agape never fail” (see 1 Cor. 13:8). Evidently, even in demon possessed souls that are honest, the capacity to sense agape also “never faileth.” In the hidden stratum of her consciousness, Mary began to sense the divine implications of an unearthly love that drove Him at last to His cross. That was what won her soul. There was recognition there, on her part, if only a millivolt in strength. It had seemed to her an utter impossibility that there could be any man on earth who could love with purity, that is, genuinely. But this One did. The last spark of soul that lingered alive in her heart was awakened. She wanted what He had, something infinitely beyond sex or human companionship. If ever you are tempted to wonder why you must pray and pray again, and then pray again, for someone’s conversion (or even for your own!), take heart from this story of Mary Magdalene. Even Jesus, the divine Son of God, “the Savior of the world,” had to pray “seven times” before Mary was delivered. Her case was a difficult one (and so is every lost soul, including yours and mine). Nothing in the Bible story suggests that this prayer season was on one occasion only. A wise writer tells us that “seven times she had heard His rebuke of the demons that controlled her heart and mind.”6 Demons don’t give up easily, especially sexual ones. Whatever the nature of her lust, Mary found only temporary relief with the expulsion of the first demon; but her confidence was initiated. She began to see some hope. Little flowers as at springtime after a hard winter began to blossom in her mind and heart. Yes, she could become a woman of self-respect again! But then when temptation assailed her, she fell. And nothing hurts so badly as to fall after you think you have been delivered. In her renewed despair, Mary could have offered the Psalmist’s prayer, “Thou hast lifted me up and cast me down” (Psalm 102:10). But Jesus prayed for her again, and again she was delivered. A second demon cast out! It’s hard to imagine (unless you have yourself been through battles with addiction) that this went on seven times! You can just hear Judas Iscariot and the disciples telling Jesus that this woman is hopelessly gone. “You can’t save everybody; she’s had it! You’re making a fool of Yourself to pray for her again!” But a seventh time He prayed for this lost soul. We are not wise enough to know who that seventh devil was that was finally cast out. But from limited pastoral experience, one would suggest that very likely it was the bitter resentment that Mary had harbored all these years against the man who had ruined her life, against the one who had trampled on her soul and selfishly climbed up his career over the wreckage of her life. But when she could bring herself to forgive him, to repent in a corporate sense in his behalf, to realize that as a member of the human race she too had “sinned and come short of the glory of God,” (Rom. 3:23) and when she could sense that she had no righteousness of her own but it was all 100% imputed from Christ, then a new light began to dawn on her. Nothing would have been possible unless she could have come to sense that his sin would have been her sin but for the grace of a Savior. Then she discovered how the impossible task before her had become possible: she forgave him. The seventh and last devil was gone. Now she was singing, “[My] soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and [I am] escaped” (Psalm 124:7). There was no thought of performing an act of penance. That little millivolt of sensing agape had developed into a lightning surge of heart appreciation for it. She had escaped from hell itself! Like Christian and Hopeful escaping from Giant Despair’s dark dungeon when they looked with tears on the bodies of others just as worthy who had perished there in unbelief, she knew only tears of humble but grateful contrition. Her conversion was not a program of works. All she did was to appreciate what she saw in Jesus. Her faith was proven to be genuine because it immediately went to work, as we shall see.

The same Mary that was severely wounded by satanic powers, the same that had been home to seven demons, the same that had been so badly wounded by sexual violence, that same Mary met Jesus and after her meeting with Jesus, she was completely transformed, now there are several lessons to learn from her,

Our very first step to our freedom is to seek the help of Jesus regardless of our current situation.

The journey back from spiritual bondage (sin, addictions and the likes) is not always simple, it literary took Jesus seven times to cast out the demons in Mary for her to become completely free.

No matter how many times you fall keep coming back to Jesus, he is always open to those who come to him and will in no wise cast them out.

Our salvation is not dependent on our works it is completely dependent on the way we allow Jesus to work, in us, with us and for us.

Never stay reluctant with your sins, until you are forgiven.

Just as Mary surrendered to Jesus and Jesus made her whole again, we have the same opportunity today, the same Jesus that walked in the streets of Bethania is still walking in our hearts today, open your heart to the saving powers of Jesus and he will make you whole again.

Be blessed.

LOVE ON A TREE

"......saying truly this was the son of God" Mathew 27:54

When someone causes you pain how do you feel?!! As you are suffering can you pray for his or her well being? Actually it is not easy in our humanly nature. Jesus during his crucifixion on the cross prayed for those who were torturing him. His words displayed a sense of righteousness to all who witnessed him on the cross. Jesus demonstrated his love which knows no bounds for me and you so that we may be saved.

LIFE FROM GOD

1 Peter 1:3

"Blessed be God and father and father of our Lord Jesus Christ,which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Christ from the dead."

Our hearts are filled with sadness when we see our loved ones are sick and suffering and even when they die.

Jesus lived a holy life without sin, He was crucified,died and on the third day He arose from the dead. Jesus is the only hope of human race, through Jesus we are eligible for eternal life. When Jesus comes again all those that are dead in Christ will be resurrected for eternal life and meet Jesus in the air. What a joy that will be!

THE WOMEN THE WORLD MUST NEVER FORGET

Theme Verse

“Wherever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world…” 

Mark 14:9 (KJV)

The story of Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Mark is so striking that it charms everyone willing to listen. Like a precious jewel displayed in an ugly pot, … In the middle is this woman so badly twisted out of shape by sexual exploitation that the Bible says “seven devils” had gotten control of her. (Wieland, n.d.)

The story of Mary Magdalene, just like that of John the Baptist, mention one the people, recommended by Jesus himself, but they are very rarely spoken, here is a woman whose story is one that depicts a typical life of an addicted sinner fighting hard to return back to his savior. We will have a look on this story from two perspectives, the first is the life of Mary before he met Jesus, we will look on how bad sin and its effects can be, and then we will have a look on how the Savior’s blood can remedy sin and its effects completely.

A HIGHLIGHT ON MARY MAGDALENE

It has been popular through the ages for scholars and theologians to label Mary Magdalene a prostitute. A surprisingly detailed mosaic picture emerges from a study of all that the four Gospel writers say about her, but seems no suggestion there that she was a prostitute. Instead, her problem was some kind of sin that landed her in demon possession. Bible narratives are unabashed in portraying individuals as prostitutes if that’s what they were. Nothing is hidden. Mary may seem to have had an even more serious problem than simple prostitution: some scholars believe they see evidence that she was a nymphomaniac, a woman driven out of her reasoning mind by a demon of lust that was apart from a desire for monetary gain. Sexual demon possession is not a pleasant obsession. Its captives are held fast because the entanglement of sex in our psychic makeup goes down to the primeval roots of our existence. We are beings created in the image of God, “male and female.” Sex is not something for jokes; it’s a life or death involvement in the profound creative mysteries of God. And it was not one demon in Mary that called for exorcism; seven swirled about in her soul. The numeral “seven” is not a mere euphemism. Biblical evidence suggests that she was a very intelligent person; and the more intelligent you are; the more demons can inhabit your soul once they get in. This woman was far, far gone. 

How could she ever have gotten this way? 

God does not create people in such a condition! The mosaic prose pieces in the four Gospels fit together to indicate that the person who initially abused her sexually was Simon the Pharisee (the story as Luke tells it in chapter 7 can mean nothing else, as we shall see2). Jerry L. Walls and Joseph R. Dongell analyze a hypothetical example of what happens to an innocent girl who suffers this fate. This is an insightful glimpse into what could well have been the source of Mary Magdalene’s problem: “Consider the case of a young girl who is sexually abused by her uncle. The experience is emotionally devastating and contributes significantly to a deep negative self-image, which, among other things, leads her into sexual promiscuity. …She continues to struggle with feelings of guilt and inferiority throughout her life.”3 Mary’s sexual abuse had obviously been foisted on her when she was young and vulnerable. Although her older sister and brother are prominent in the Bible story, there are no details of a father, who would have been Simon’s brother. For some reason, he seems to have dropped out of sight. Contextual flashes in the story suggest that Mary’s upbringing and education were supplied by Simon, the prominent church leader who lived in Bethany (a suburb of Jerusalem near the home of Mary’s sister Martha and brother Lazarus). As sometimes happens with uncles and nieces, Simon could have initiated an emotional relationship with Mary. Fatherless, she could have innocently responded to his subtle aggression. Carsten Johnson in his little volume, The Writing in the Sand, the Part of the Story That You Were Never Told About Mary Magdalene, suggests that she became pregnant. If so, Uncle Simon would have desperately wanted to exile her as soon as possible, lest his holy and reverend reputation be sullied(supplied) by gossip that was unmistakably real. Mary’s journey away would have been embittered by the deepest resentments any young woman can know. Very likely, when we consider human nature, it seems reasonable that Mary would go to Magdala just to bury herself in shame. She took a nosedive into the darkness of despair. The “nuthin’ goin’ nowhere” philosophy could well have been hers. Dark as hell despair with corresponding unbelief became the setting for multiple devil possession. If she had been totally bereft of self-respect (a heart condition such devil possession would produce), other men as well could have abused her (Roman soldiers were in Galilee). Her hatred toward men in general only would go deeper and become more bitter. Thus it wouldn’t be long before she became a human soul inhabited by these agents of ancient darkness. When the Bible insists on “seven,” it implies that she was beyond anyone’s therapeutic help. (Wieland, n.d.)

The story of Mary Magdalene is a typical illustration of what sin can do in our lives, I surely can see why Jesus insisted this story to be preached everywhere the gospel is preached, because it shows the very sinful and destructive nature of sin, and this is very crucial for a repentant sinner, one must see the real nature of sin for him/her to have a sincere repentance, Ellen White has this to say about this subject “Repentance include sorrow for sin and a turning away from it. We shall not renounce sin unless we see it sinfulness; until we turn away from it in heart, there will be no real change in the life.” SC 23.2 

Now the story of Mary Magdalene shows the real nature of sin, from how it seduces, to how it sets roots in heart and then the effects that comes with sin. Have a look at this carefully,

Mary is brought by her uncle to a corner that she seems helps (Forgetting God could help her even in such a situation)

Mary becomes used (though painfully) to being used sexually by her uncle

Mary’s uncle tries to hide her sin by chasing her niece to a distant land

Mary gives up on herself

Satan sets her kingdom in Mary

This is a typical circle that satan uses daily against us, He tries to put us in a corner that we think we are helpless against sin’s seduction so we give in, then he makes us used to that sin there after we try hard to hide the sin and in the process we add up sin over sin (meanwhile these sins we add up start the same circle), after adding up so much in trying to hide he convinces us to give up on ourselves, after that if we give up, he actually comes in to set his kingdom in us and that way we are lost forever.

Now Jesus insisted this story to be taught everywhere so we can see the nature of sin and how it sets us captives so we can break the chains before we are captives, not many who reach in Mary’s point have a chance to make a U-turn, that is why Jesus wants us to know this, so we should never reach that point. But the good news is regardless of what point we have reached, if we decide whole heartedly for a change, God can still save us from there just as he did for Mary Magdalene, the woman the world must never forget.

Be blessed.

JOHN'S MINISTRY

Theme verse

“…Repent ye, and believe the gospel”

Mark 1:15 (KJV)

John the Baptist was called for a mission that look so similar to ours, he was called to prepare the way for Christ’s first advent, our mission is to prepare the way for His second advent, an account recorded by Ellen White says “In this age, just prior to the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven, such a work as that of John [the Baptist] is to be done. God calls for men who will prepare a people to stand in the great day of the Lord. In order to give such a message as John gave, we must have a spiritual experience like his. The same work must be wrought in us. We must behold God, and in beholding Him lose sight of self.” Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, pp. 332, 333 (1904).

The nature of John’s ministry was such that would require him to be set apart from the world, he was called to live a secluded life in the wilderness where he could find a nice time to grow spiritually and learn from his master, from the wilderness he would go to minister and baptize in the river Jordan, regarding this life the pen of inspiration says “All who are under the training of God need the quite hour for communion with their own hearts, with nature and with God, … The silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God” MH 58.

We may not be called to seclude ourselves from the society like John, but in a spiritual context we are called to seclude ourselves completely from the ways of this world, we are called to get out from the worldly ways of living, and just as John we need to consecrate ourselves to God each day, our ministry needs power for just like john we will have to face kings and authorities and rebuke them fearlessly, this power comes only through prayers and a daily communion with God, here Ellen white is noted “Communion with God will ennoble the character and the life. Men will take knowledge of us, as of the first disciples, that we have been with Jesus. This will impart to the worker a power that nothing else can give. Of this power he must not allow himself to be deprived. We must live a twofold life--a life of thought and action, of silent prayer and earnest work.” MH p. 512 (1905). She also adds “Prayer and effort, effort and prayer, will be the business of your life. You must pray as though the efficiency and praise were all due to God, and labor as though duty were all your own. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 538 (1881). No man is safe for a day or an hour without prayer.” GC, p. 530 (1911).

Only through a life of daily communion with Christ can we stand firmly for his course, John’s ministry was such that was supposed to rebuke kings and rulers, such that was supposed to rebuke religious leaders and their pride, this work was not an easy task, only through self-sacrifice and a willing to surrender to God’s mission did he accomplish this. We, just like him are also supposed to stand firm for the truth Infront of authorities and rulers and religious leaders of our time, proclaiming what is the present truth fearless, about this Ellen White says “The greatest want of the world is the want of men, men who will not be bought or sold; men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name; men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole; men who will stand for the right though the heaven fall” Education p. 57

John sacrificed his dear life for the sake of preparing a way for the coming king, so are we supposed to we need to daily surrender to the will of God as we prepare the way for his second coming, though our mission may demand to be sealed by our blood we need not compromise our faith, as a needle points faithfully to the north, so are we supposed in our words and action to point toward the coming king, so are we supposed to faithfully portray the real image of Christ as presented to us in His holy scriptures.

Be blessed.

By.Eng Longo P.J

Secretary AHM

Introduction

The bible, written by men through God’s inspiration, has a lot of characters described by men as heroes, we have powerful Samson, brave David, wise Solomon and humble John just to mention a few, we have heard their stories since our childhood and we will probably keep hearing more of them. But unfortunately, there are some very prominent characters, acknowledged by Jesus Himself who are spoken very rarely and very little, this article will cover two of them, John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene.

JOHN THE BAPTIST: KINGS HERALD

Theme verse

“And saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

Mark 1:15 (KJV)

In Isaiah 40:3-5 the prophet begins with "the voice of one crying in the wilderness." The voice prophesied was that of John the Baptist, which Scripture confirms in Malachi 3:1; Matthew 3:3; and Mark 1:2-3. The prophet goes on “prepare the way of the LORD." The instruction becomes more specific: ". . . make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill shall be made low, the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth.

The idea is taken from the practice of Eastern monarchs, who, whenever they entered on a journey or an expedition, especially through a barren and unfrequented or inhospitable country, sent harbingers [forerunners] or heralds before them to prepare the way. To do this, it was necessary for them to provide supplies, and make bridges, or find fording places over the streams; to level hills, and construct causeways over valleys, or fill them up; and to make a way through the forest which might lie in their intended line of march. (Barnes, 1851)

John the Baptist was called, since his birth to prepare the way for the first advent of the king, unlike physical roads and valleys, he was called to straighten ways of the hearts of men, in a generation where Israel had not listened to a voice of a prophet for about four centuries the work of John was so crucial to prepare the hearts of men to receive their king, this time not as glorious king but as a humble man from Nazareth.

John the Baptist was called to awaken the generation that lived in the first century from religious rituals to turn to God, the people of God in this time put a great focus to religious rituals than to God who gave the rituals, they could sacrifice anything to fulfill these rituals but in real sense they had no real idea of who God was and how he worked in and for their lives. An account given by Ellen White in Desire of Ages says “For more than a thousand years the Jewish people had awaited the Savior’s coming. Upon this event they had rested their brightest hopes. In song and prophecy, in temple rite and household prayer, they had enshrined His name. And yet at His coming they knew Him not. The Beloved of heaven was to them "as a root out of a dry ground;" He had "no form nor comeliness;" and they saw in Him no beauty that they should desire Him.” DA 27.1 Before the coming of their King, they were to be turned from these rituals back to God himself so they could understand the real mission of his first advent.

John the Baptist was called to rebuke the selfishness and obsession prevailing in the religion of that time, the time when religion was a source of income and status to a certain sect of people, self was supposed to be laid aside for their hearts to be ready to receive the coming King, they were to be changed from viewing religion as their source of income and status, without this change they would surely oppose the coming King for he was coming to alter the whole system of their religion and this is what really happened because they could not be converted by the voice of the one crying in the wilderness.

Just as the nature of the calling of John was, so is ours, we are called to straighten the ways of the hearts of the people for the second advent of our King, now not as a humble Nazarene, but as glorious King. The nature of the generation we have, might in several ways be very similar to that of John the Baptist, we are living in a world where the love of religion is very prevalent than the love of Christ, the love of self is very prevalent than the love of God, we as John the Baptist are called to be the voice in the wilderness crying for a change of life in us and to everyone around.

We too, are looking forward to the arrival of the King, and so we are also called to “prepare the way” within our own lives, Isaiah 40:4 describes the preparation as bringing every valley up and every mountain down to the level of the road. The crooked places have to be made straight, and the rough places smoothed. However, this prophecy does not say that the King will not arrive until we are ready. Rather, the King will arrive at the appointed time, and whether or not we have straightened our crookedness will determine if we face His wrath or His reward when He does.

We cannot straighten the crookedness of the world, but through God's power, we can straighten our own paths. God has given us the gift of His Word, which will help us to evaluate properly whether something in our lives will make the path crooked or straight. He has given us the example and teachings of the Messiah. He has given us inspired letters. He has given us laws, statutes, judgments, reflections, proverbs, praise, prophecy, and history. He has given us specifics and principles, all of which can be used to help us consider our ways: to consider whether a word or action is sin; whether we are asserting our will against another; whether something will make our path to the Kingdom more difficult; and whether our attitudes, approaches, or activities will make someone else's path crooked.

Another thing that God has given us in His Word is hope—because we can read about the future. We know that when God's plan is complete, nothing will be crooked. God will wipe away every tear; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for—to paraphrase Revelation 21:4—the former crookedness will have been straightened out. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. There will be new spiritual bodies, and most importantly, new hearts.

God tells us, and shows us, how to be a part of that future. Right now, our responsibility is to make our paths as straight as possible—not just for our sakes, but also for the effect it has on others.

Be blessed.

By: Eng. Longo P.J

Secretary AHM