WHICH FAITH SAVES - from the pen of Bicento Henriquez

How about a slice of melon from our own little plot? Oops! I forgot - we took it to Bonaire to share with our friends Alan and Jane Gross - and it was good, I must say so, as did they and Bicento. What about some of Aruba Cashew Nut fruit? It tastes good and makes the best of juices! Try it!
(A Translation of the Papiamento Blog: “CUA TA E FE CU TA SALBA?”)
The Bible tells us so plainly and clearly that: without FAITH it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
As I am writing today’s Blog, I have my Bible before me, and I read and see that it explains very clearly to us everything concerning the subject of FAITH. I (Bicento) have lived here in Aruba for most of my lifetime, and from the time I was very small I heard the word FAITH (“FE”) mentioned many times, but it wasn’t until I was twenty three years old, that I heard, for the first time, about THE FAITH that is according to the Scriptures. Indeed, I have repeated the so-called CREED since childhood: “I believe in the Father God Almighty and in His Son, our Lord… etc., etc.” However, for the greater majority of us, it was only endless repetition of religious words, which we repeated time after time with our mouths, when in fact our hearts were very far from God.
By saying that, I do not mean that the words in the Creed: “I believe in the Father God Almighty,” etc., are wrong or erroneous, but the problem lies in the fact that we say them only with the mouth, and our hearts are cold and indifferent towards God – therein lies the problem! Let us take a moment and see what the Scriptures have to say to all peoples of the world, which of course, includes the people of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, just like the rest of humanity.
In Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, he was writing to the believers living in Rome, and he says: What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that whatever the law says, it is to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” (Romans 3:9-20)
Dear friends of all different ages, perhaps you are asking – if indeed the keeping of the law is of no avail as an escape from eternal punishment, why then was the law given?
I would like to encourage each precious one of you, reading this message at this moment, to take time and read the entire letter to the Roman believers, and the letter to the Galatian believers, as well as the letter to the Hebrew believers. In those three books we learn a lot about the WHY of the LAW, the PURPOSE of the LAW and the FULLFILLMENT of the LAW. According to those Scriptures the LAW in itself is holy, just and good. More than that the LAW was given because of failure to perform, or because of transgression, but NOT TO GIVE LIFE! (Galatians 3:19)
The possible question remaining is: WHICH FAITH THEN SAVES? The answer is very clear in the Scriptures. The faith that saves is the FAITH that comes by hearing the WORD OF GOD. In the letter to the Romans, we read this (Rom. 10:8-13). But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth, in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scriptures say, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame. For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile –the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him.”
Dear Blog reader: that is the FAITH that saves! Believe what God says in His Word about Himself, His Son, and His Spirit, and believe in your heart in Him Who was raised His Son back to life and confess Him unashamedly. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life!
Have any questions, feel free to drop us a note - either to our email address above, or comment at the end of this blog.

IN WHOM AND IN WHAT IS YOUR FAITH ANCHORED?

According to the Scriptures, at the end times, when the actual world system that man has already been living in for many ages, and time will run its course, there is a DAY OF JUDGEMENT coming. And that is, as far as we can understand, for ALL mankind living on this planet called earth – from the time of Adam to the last person still to be born.
In Revelation chapter twenty, there is a description about that day. We can read the what the Apostle John writes (and let us be sure that THAT DAY is coming) about the future and final history of humankind on this actual earth: “And I saw a great throne and Him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15)

Dear reader of this blog, the above words in Revelation were written for you and me, for every human being, be it man or woman from every nation without exception. And the purpose for which the Lord revealed these truths to us, is for us to repent and believe the Gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If we neglect or do not pay attention to these sacred and solemn warnings, it simply means that we are turning our backs to all the spiritual blessings in heaven that are eternal, instead facing and living a life that never before did or could give true happiness. We came into this world empty and empty we will go to the grave.
But for those who have heard and obeyed the blessed gospel of our God, we read in God’s word the following: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him!” (Read 1 Cor. 2:6-16).
The Lord willing, in our next blog, we will consider other passages of Scripture that touch this subject of the Judgment of God.

IN WHOM AND IN WHAT IS YOUR FAITH ANCHORED?
According to the Scriptures, at the end times, when the actual world system that man has already been living in for many ages, and time will run its course, there is a DAY OF JUDGEMENT coming. And that is, as far as we can understand, for ALL mankind living on this planet called earth – from the time of Adam to the last person still to be born.

In Revelation chapter twenty, there is a description about that day. We can read the what the Apostle John writes (and let us be sure that THAT DAY is coming) about the future and final history of humankind on this actual earth: “And I saw a great throne and Him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15)

Dear reader of this blog, the above words in Revelation were written for you and me, for every human being, be it man or woman from every nation without exception. And the purpose for which the Lord revealed these truths to us, is for us to repent and believe the Gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If we neglect or do not pay attention to these sacred and solemn warnings, it simply means that we are turning our backs to all the spiritual blessings in heaven that are eternal, instead facing and living a life that never before did or could give true happiness. We came into this world empty and empty we will go to the grave.
But for those who have heard and obeyed the blessed gospel of our God, we read in God’s word the following: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him!” (Read 1 Cor. 2:6-16).

The Lord willing, in our next blog, we will consider other passages of Scripture that touch this subject of the Judgment of God.

Hello everyone! For one of the passtimes Bicento and I love,is to jump into our car and go exploring our island; it seems there are always place we have not seen or not in a long long time. This particular picture was taken in the North East part of the island not long ago:large spacious areas filled with rocks and stones that make you stand in AWE! Here is one particular stone that intriqued us!

And now to what the Bible teaches us about Negligence to God's Word:

In our past three blogs we emphasized the importance of faith. We actually could have gone on writing on the importance of the doctrine of faith, because all other fundamental doctrines are interlaced or interconnected with the faith. Apart from faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, it is quite impossible to please our God. That is why in this short message today we want to write about the matter of NEGLIGENCE or IGNORING.
In Hebrews 2:1-3, we read the following words, “We must pay the more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by the angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?”
Dearly beloved friends of our Heavenly Father, and by our Lord Jesus Christ Who gave Himself voluntarily to free us from the bondage of sin by means of His death on the cross. It is to us who are alive today that this solemn warning is directed.
Very many people living here in Aruba and in the Antilles have heard the Gospel again and again. Yes, we have heard it from our childhood. Do not forget that the word “Gospel” means Good News. And that Good News is that we can receive forgiveness of our sins, if we repent and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our only Savior.
Now, what does to neglect or ignore mean? Actual every day in one form or another we experience the meaning of that word. At this very moment that I am writing, my wife is busy in the kitchen preparing food. She is putting either what is fish or meat in a pan and putting it on the burner to simmer or cook. What will happen if she begins to do other work and neglects or ignores the pan on the lit burner? Well, She will come back to find the pan and food burned into charcoal. This can easily be taken care by buying another pan and purchasing other food.
HOWEVER, in relation to the blessed Gospel of our Lord, it is another matter and here in Hebrews 2:2 we read the following words: “HOW SHALL WE ESCAPE IF WE NEGLECT (ignore) SUCH A GREAT SALVATION?” The message and warning in those words is that there is NO ESCAPE. During my short life span, I have heard about other chances or opportunities after death. We were even taught that there is a place called purgatory, where a person goes after death with sins not confessed. That person will pass through the purgatory fires till he is purified of his or her sins. Such teaching is not Scriptural; it is not found in the Bible, and what is more, it contradicts the Gospel of Grace. The clear and persistent teaching in the Word of God is that: whoever hears the message of pardon and eternal life which is only in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and is thus convinced by the Holy Spirit of God, such a person, whoever that may be, admits that he is a lost sinner.
Then that person repents of his sins and puts his or her faith absolutely and completely in the Lord Jesus. That person then receives pardon of all sin, and begins a new life. The Bible calls that transformation, regeneration or being born again. No matter if you are someone advanced in age, or a young person, or a child who has reached the age of understanding… you are a new creation. However, you are a baby in spiritual matters, and are in need of the spiritual milk of the Word of God. You will need to grow and become an adult in spiritual matters. (Read Ephesians 4:1-16 and 1 Corinthians 12:12-31).
In conclusion for today I give this warning in the love of Christ. Remember I started this message using the word “negligence”. There are so many precious souls living here in Aruba and in the Antilles, and yes, around the world who permit this danger of negligence to overtake their lives. Many, no matter what age, when hearing the Gospel – the Good News – say, “yes, it was a good message, lovely words,…” but what happens? Nothing! The person keeps on living his or her life, religiously not religiously, and does not OBEY, God by repenting and believing ( having faith) in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. By doing NOTHING, the just judgment remains: “HOW SHALL WE ESCAPE IF WE NEGLECT SO GREAT A SALVATION?”

FAITH continued

Cactus growing in the form of a donkey's head! It was an incredible sight.

In our first message about FAITH, we mentioned about warnings the Holy Spirit gives in the Scriptures for these last days we are living in. The Scriptures say: SOME will abandon the faith, or fall from the faith, by giving heed to deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Since the Apostle Paul mentioned that some will abandon the faith, this solemne warning is especially to such who teach and preach to others.

For that reason, the Apostle warned Timothy to teach the Word, or preach and proclaim the message of the Gospel. The Gospel means "good news". The exhortation was to be ready at all times to preach the Good News. Paul said to Timothy: I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage -with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great amount of teachers so say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

Be sure of this dear friends in the Lord, the Holy Spirit is not warning us today of this great danger which will have tremendous consequences for those who turn their ears away from the Truth in Christ to live in the world of deceit and lies. And worse when we come to the place where people do not want to hear about repentance from sin and faith in Christ for eternal life. Then the Apostle Paul concludes with these words of encouragement for each one who has his or her faith in Jesus today and is willingly walking in His footsteps: "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of rightousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to ALL who have longed for His appearing."
(1 Tim. 4:6-8).

The Word of God solemnly exhorts and encourages us about FAITH in Christ in our daily life. But this FAITH comes through the Word of God in the Scriptues. That is why the Lord gave gifts to people. God gave spiritual gifts to the Church - the body of Christ - after Jesus' resurection and ascenion. Read Ephesians 4:1-16. In verses 11-13, we read: "It is He who gave some to be Apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ."

It is not the will of God that we remain infants tossed to and fro by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

The Lord willing we will continue this topic in our next Blog as a conclusion for now. Take time and study more on this topic and together let us do what the Scriptures exhort us to do: examen ourselves to determine if we are in the faith.

FAITH

Today we want to share a little about what the Scriptures say about Faith, but in particular what we read about faith in the New Testament. The O.T. mentiones the word "faith" only two times, whereas the N.T. mentions this word "faith" around 240 time! Surely this would indicate to us that Faith must be an important factor for our daily lives.

Also, I would like to emphasize that this message is for such who have already professed or confessed FAITH in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In 1 Timothy 4:1,2 we read the following: "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith, and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared with a hot iron"..etc. These warnings are for each and every one of us, who profess FAITH in Christ. Why? It is not possible to "abandon" or "fall from" something you do not have. These words are directed to believers. These Scriptures indicate the possibilty for believers to follow deceiving spirits and thereby abandon the faith.

Take your Bible and turn to 1 Timothy 3:6. Here we have a similar exhortation:"If anyone teaches false doctrine and does not agree to the sound doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to fiancial gain." Continue to read through verse ten.

Dear friend, believe it or not, any one of us who is sincerely believing in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, can be in danger of falling into false and wrong teachings. The true answer is found in verses 6-8. In is in this category each one who believes in Christ for his or her salvation, belongs in: "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it."

GODLINESS is each one of us living in fellowship daily with God, our Heavenly Father, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. This is the greatest blessing one can have, and it can be mine and yours! The Apostle Paul calls this GREAT GAIN or TOTAL SATISFACTION.

There will be more on this subject of FAITH in our next blog, the Lord willing.So remember to log in soon.
Betty and Bicento Henriquez

TEARS
No one loves tears or enjoys crying! Did you know that one day God will wipe away ALL tears?
We are living in a world today that is familiar with tears, and we experience again and again what it means to shed tears. As human beings each one of us experience what it means to be in tears - in one way or another, for one reason or the other. We cry for many and varied reasons, but mostly because of SIN. Just as soon as the first man and wife on this earth sinned, death came, and with death came tears. There is not a single person in this world that does not experience this. Even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in His incarnation suffered tears.
We have all surely come across the verse in the Scriptures that reads: “Jesus wept” – see John 11:35. This was in the connection with the death of His friend Lazarus. We also read the following in Hebrews 5:7: “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One Who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission.” In fact this portion of Scripture is much more profound than fear of death. We must try and grasp the truth that the cause of death is sin. In other words, our Lord suffered when He was tempted to sin. In the same book, namely Hebrews, we can read that it is for this reason He suffered…. “in bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the Author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Look at verse 18 of Hebrews 2:10-18.. “Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.” Read all the verses.
The word “tempt” should be understood as a test or trial. In the same book of Hebrews, in Chapter 12, we can read how our Lord was put through testing, and how He triumphed over death on a shameful cross. Then we here in the Antilles and around the world should are exhorted to consider the hostility that our Lord suffered at the hand of sinners, and not lose courage in our battle against sin. The will of our Heavenly Father is for us to encourage one another through the love of God shed abroad in our hearts, through His Holy Spirit given to us as a seal of our redemption.
Remember dear ones in Christ, that SOON, and very SOON our Lord will wipe away ALL tears from our eyes. There will be no more death, nor mourning, or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Read Revelation 21:1-8.
God willing, we will write a little more on this topic in our next Blog. Remember our Email- bettyvicenteaw@yahoo.com and write us a note, or make your comments on Facebook. All are appreciated: we learn, and we are encouraged. So until next time… B&B Henriquez

TEARS
In our previous blog we spoke about “TEARS” and what the Scriptures say about tears. We mentioned that even our Lord Jesus Christ shed tears during his public ministry while He was here on this earth in a human body. And this was especially when He was being tempted by Satan to sin and disobey God. We are living today in what the Scriptures call the “last days” – days just before the return of our Lord for His saints. We are exhorted by the Apostles, but especially so by the Apostle Paul who warns us of very terrible and difficult days ahead of us. “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
Beloved friends, these words were written more than two thousand years ago, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. Pablo mentions that these kinds of people had a form of godliness, but denied its power. The question which each one of us needs to ask ourselves is this: Do we have this kind of form of godliness and denying of its power here in Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire, and other parts of the world? The answer is simple and clear for us in the Scriptures: saying we are living (then already) in the last days, how much more so now? Open any newspaper today, and you can see and read how we are drifting away from the truth!
Our Lord, who authorized the Apostles to proclaim the Good News of forgiveness and eternal life, warned of the falling away from the faith, and note especially that the Scriptures say “the faith”. This is happening on our islands this very day and around the world – O how much religiosity there is! What outward kind of godliness! Is there any power, any change in our lifestyle? Are we new creatures in Christ? When the Scriptures speak of “the faith”, it speaks of something very unique. This faith is inseparable from the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are speaking of a personal faith on the part of a sinner (you and I) in the One Who died in our place, paid our death penalty for sin, and was resurrected on the third day. And this faith comes from hearing and obeying the Gospel by the help of the Holy Spirit of God. That is why we are being warned in the Scriptures to not allow our hearts to be hardened towards the Good News that comes from God Himself.
Friends, it is only possible through Jesus Christ that we can be reconciled back to a Holy God. The Scriptures talk about tears of repentance.(2 Cor. 7:10; Job 42:6). Oh that our tears today will be tears of repentance, and faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Remember this: our days are short, death can visit unexpectedly – yes, that is a fact. Therefore, do not delay!

TEARS

No one loves tears or enjoys crying! Did you know that one day God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes?

We are living in a world today that is familiar with tears, and we experience again and again what it means to shed tears. As human beings, each one of us experience what it means to be "in tears" - for one reason or another! We cry for many and varios reasons:loss of a loved one, loss of a job, a friendshop, loss of money, posessions,etc., but mostly because of sin. Immediately after Adam & Eve sinned, this sin nature was passed on to all mankind, and with it tears and death.There is no one in this world that has not experienced sin, and seen death. Even our Lord Jesus Christ, in His human body wept, suffered and died.

We surely do remember the verse in Scripture that says, "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). Why did He weep? His dear friend Lazarus had died! And the home of Mary and Martha, where He often visited was in sadness: they were in tears! And Jesus also wept. In the book of Hebrews we also read the following: "During the days of Jesus' life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One Who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission." (Hebrews 5:7)

In fact this portion of Scripture is much more profound than just fear of death. We must try & fathom the depth of the truth, that the cause of death is sin. In other words, our Lord suffered when He was tempted to sin, to disobey God. In the same book of Hebrews we also read that it is for this reason He (Jesus) suffered... "in bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for Whom and through WHom everything exists, should make the Author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Look at verse 18 of Hebrews 2:10-18.."Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He was able to help those who are being temped." Take a moment to read all sixteen verses.

The word "tempt" should be understood as a test or trial. In the same book of Hebrews, in chapter twelve we read how our Lord was put through testing and how He triumphed over death on a shameful cross. Here in Aruba and the Antilles, yes, and around the world should be, and are exhorted to consider the hostility that our Lord suffered at the hand of sinners, was for us, and not to lose courage in the battle over death and sin. The will of our Heavenly Father is to encourage each and every one of us through His love shed abroad in our hearts, through the Holy Spirit given to us as a seal of our redemption.

Remember dear ones in Christ, that soon, and very soon our Lord will come and He will wipe away all our tears. There will be no more death, no more mourning or crying, or the suffering of pain and sorrow: for the old order of things has passed away! Praise His name forever! Read Revelation 21:1-8.

God willing, in our next blog we will write a little more about the topic "tears" - so until another time. Remember to share with us your thoughts, questions and trials, and together we can search the Scriptures for an answer. So until...

Our Phone # and Email address

Hello everyone! We are working on our next blog, but I have to figure out Windows 7, and also new computer. What's more, Bicento needs to get a little stronger. He is still trying to cope with exhaustion. Our new email is: bettyvicenteaw@yahoo.com and our phone number is 297-744-1111. Have a great day and remember "all things work out together for good to them that love the Lord."

THE CROSS AND THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST

Hello there! It has been a long time. We have had three months of endless trips to doctors, labs, hospital, and what have you, not to mention troublesome computer problems. But I did manage today to get this short Easter message onto our blog. We have been issued the green light for our trip to Curacao for Bicento's radiation treatments for his diagnosed "Bacterial Lyphoma". We are hoping to leave this coming week - the exact date has not been issued, but we are ready!! Pray for Bicento - that the radiation will do its work and that, God willing, he can taste again and eat again. He never complains about eating soup twice a day, and I try and think up new recipes daily!!

We are nearing the Easter season, and preparations are under way for the celebration of Good Friday, and then Easter Sunday and Monday. Do you take time to ponder, meditate and read what the Scriptures have to say about the Gospel and the Cross of Christ?

According to the Scriptures, the Good News that God provided forgiveness of sin and eternal life to ALL people everywhere - is inseparable from “the Cross of Christ”. Nevertheless, when we mention the cross of Christ, we are talking about the manner in which He died for all the world. In those days the punishment of being hung on a cross was for criminals and wicked people. The Jews, under the leadership of some very religious heirarchy considered Jesus Christ a blasphemer because He was telling the disciples and multitudes that He was the Son of God! And for that reason, they persisted and managed to achieve support from a large throng of Jewish people. They also managed to convince the Roman government at that time to consent to the killing of Jesus on a cross.

The purpose of this short message, is not to try and explain all that the Scriptures say in relation to the Cross of Christ, but want to try and give a solemn exhortation about some false teaching we hear - about the cross. Before we continue, I would like to encourage you to open the Scriptures now and read some very important passages about the death of Christ on the Cross, on which He carried the sins of the entire world in His body. (1 Cor. 1:17-25, Gal. 6:12-16, Eph. 2:14-18, Phil. 2:5-11, Col. 1:19,20 as well as Col. 2:13-15. Then turn to Hebrews and read 12:1-3 and Gal. 2:20,21).

The false teaching that I referred to in the above paragraph has to do with the many different forms of crosses that thousands of people around the world are using today to receive some form of spiritual blessing and assurance after they die. At this moment, according to the Scriptures, our Lord is seated at the right hand of God, the Father, and is the ONLY MEDIATOR between man and God. I want to repeat: Jesus is the only mediator between man (you and I) and God. According to the Word of God we also read that God is NOT WILLING that anyone should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance and knowledge of the TRUTH. Take a moment and read 2 Peter 3:8,9.

Dear friends of all ages, according to God's Word there is no other way to receive forgiveness for we, sinners, to receive forgivness for our sins, and eternal life, except through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. In Galatians 3:13,14 we read, “ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us – for it is written, “Cursed is every one who hangs on a tree -”

Our religious world is filled with crosses of every kind of shape and form, but none of those, I say none, can free a sinner from the judgement that is to come. The only way in which our Lord God provided a way for us to receive pardon for our sin, and receive eternal life is THROUGH FAITH IN HIS BELOVED SON, Who carried our sin (my sin, your sin) in His body on a cross. Therefore, Salvation is by FAITH, in Jesus Who died in our place on a cross; not in a cross.

God willing,we will continue this topic in the following Blog. May this meditation stimulate your heart and mind, and ask yourself in what am I trusting, you trusting for our life in the hereafter?

By Bicento and Betty (Ratzlaff) Henriquez