Those who seek to strengthen their faith in the Lord and immerse themselves deeper with His Word are welcome to attend the New Life Conference 2023 which will be held simultaneously in two venues in Alabang, Muntinlupa City from August 22 to 25 (Tuesday to Friday). Pastors, leaders and members of other churches or ministries are welcome to join in by registering online.
To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from the New Life Conference 2023 page. Some parts in boldface…
This year, for the first time ever, Pastors Conference, Worship and Creative Conference and Disrupt (formerly Life Conference) will be happening simultaneously as one big event..
The main theme of the conference will focus on mobilizing the church to take its place, be a beacon of hope and shine its light during the dark and confusing times. New Life Conference 2023: The Church for this Hour, aims to encourage, equip and empower the believer to answer the call of God through 3 streams:
And because we understand that ministry is not one-size-fits-all, attendees can pick and choose their daily sessions from each of the streams—making the conference a unique experience for everyone, tailored to fit their needs.
The place of worship inside New Life Main (Alabang Hills Village).
The Filinvest Tent in Filinvest City, Alabang, Muntinlupa. There are several restaurants, food/beverage joints, stores and bank ATMs within walking distance from this venue.
The three streams specifically are Pastors & Leaders, Worship & Creative and Disrupt. Each day from August 22 to 25 (Tuesday to Friday) there will be varied church activities that will be held simultaneously at New Life Philippines’ main church inside Alabang Hills Village and at the Filinvest Tent located within Filinvest City in the Alabang area.
The New Life Conference 2023 will officially kick-off with an opening rally at the Filinvest Tent at 10AM of August 22. At 2PM of the afternoon of that same day, the Disrupt Streams will take place inside Filinvest Tent while the Pastors & Leaders Streams will be inside New Life Main. At 6PM, the Disrupt Night Rally will start inside Filinvest Tent while the NL CON Night Rally will happen inside New Life Main. To see even more activities with their respective time slots and venues per day, click https://newlife.ph/nlcon/
For each day from August 22 to 25, there will be lunch breaks and dinner breaks that last 2 hours each so that conference participants can rest and feed themselves. For those who will be attending activities at Filinvest Tent, be aware that there are lots of stores, food/beverage vendors and restaurants that are within walking distance. Commercenter Mall is a short walk away from the Filinvest Tent and inside are restaurants such as Akrotiri, Sigekiya Ramen and The Black Pig to name a few. Even closer to the Filinvest Tent are branches of McDonald’s and Jollibee, as well as the area of South Supermarket which has some restaurants on the ground floor. For those who will be inside New Life Main, there is a cafeteria within.
Whether you are a pastor/leader/member of New Life Philippines or of a different church or ministry, be encouraged to deepen your faith in the Lord and immerse yourselves deeper with the Word of God by attending the New Life Conference 2023 this coming August. People of faith who submitted themselves to Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God the Heavenly Father are always meant to be together and this conference is a golden opportunity for worship and solidifying faith in the Lord even more. Learn from the holy scriptures below…
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)
“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Matthew 18:19-20 (NKJV)
And let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up (stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble activities,
Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24-25 (AMPC)
“The Son of Man has come to give life to all who are lost. Think of it this way: If a man owns a hundred sheep and one lamb wanders away and is lost, won’t he leave the ninety-nine grazing the hillside and thoroughly search for the one lost lamb? And if he finds his lost lamb, he rejoices over it, more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. Now you should understand that it is never the desire of your heavenly Father that a single one of these little ones should be lost.”
Matthew 18:11-14 (TPT)
Take care and be on guard for yourselves and the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you bishops and guardians, to shepherd (tend and feed and guide) the church of the Lord or of God which He obtained for Himself [buying it and saving it for Himself] with His own blood.
If you have fully decided to get registered for New Life Conference 2023, click https://newlife.ph/nlcon/register-demo/ (note: have your credit cards prepared to ensure completion of registration). You can also register by scanning the QR code below…
Get registered by scanning the QR code on the above social media post of New Life Philippines.
For more South Metro Manila community news and developments, come back here soon. Also say NO to fake news, NO to irresponsible journalism, NO to misinformation, NO to plagiarists, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagements, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673
Welcome back, fellow geeks, Blu-ray collectors and movie buffs! If you are into films about faith and Lord Jesus told through an American perspective, then you should check out Jesus Revolution on Blu-ray disc format which has been available in the market since April 25, 2023. It also emerged as a top-selling Blu-ray disc release and you can order it online right now!
Jesus Revolution Blu-ray cover.
To put things in perspective, posted below is the description of Jesus Revolution as well as its official trailer…
In the 1970s, young Greg Laurie (Joel Courtney) is searching for all the right things in all the wrong places: until he meets Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie), a charismatic hippie-street-preacher. Together with Pastor Chuck Smith (Kelsey Grammer), they open the doors of Smith’s languishing church to an unexpected revival of radical and newfound love, leading to what TIME Magazine dubbed a JESUS REVOLUTION.
Posted below are the technical details about Jesus Revolution Blu-ray disc as sourced from the Blu-ray.com page of the movie…
Video
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles – English SDH, French, Spanish
Discs – Blu-ray Disc, Two-disc set (1 BD-50, 1 DVD), DVD copy
Digital, Digital HD, Digital copy included
Packaging – Slipcover in original pressing
Playback – 2K Blu-ray: Region A
While I have not seen Jesus Revolution in the local cinemas, I myself am interested in buying the Blu-ray disc soon. I am a person with unbreakable faith in Jesus who is truly the Lord and Savior! More on the what the movie has to offer, its release is timely as America has been so divided as many people moved away from the Lord to embrace evil elements such as critical race theory, homosexuality, LGBTQ culture, transgender concepts, abortion, anti-police movements, anti-Semitism, terrorism, illegal immigration, witchcraft, Communist/socialist/Marxist ideologies, negative elements affecting churches, vandalism of places of worship, Satanic values inserted through entertainment media, and a whole lot more. Watch the related CBN News videos below…
By today’s standards, the social unrest America had during the Vietnam War era looks smaller compared to what has been going on over the past few years. People are getting divided over race, gender, social class and a whole lot more. As such, Jesus Revolution has something that viewers can reflect about.
When it comes to restoring people and societies from the damage caused by evil forces, only the Lord can provide restoration and healing. That being said, you must praise the Lord and have unwavering faith in Him no matter what happens. Being a worldly person means living with unholy elements. A lot of people may not realize it but it is clear they need Jesus in their lives and in their societies! Learn from the holy scriptures below…
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:16 (NASB)
Jesus once again addressed them: “I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.”
John 8:12 (MSG)
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Welcome back my readers, fellow people of faith and those who love entertainment. Today, I want to emphasize something within the 1983 sci-fi epic TV miniseries V: The Original Miniseries.
Before I proceed, I want to address the newcomers reading this. V: The Original Miniseries was about alien humanoids from space who arrived on Earth “in peace” but gradually took control of the world and its people through varied means. Told through the viewpoints of affected Americans in California, V: The Original Miniseries was a cerebral and reflective form of science fiction entertainment that strongly parallels Nazi German’s occupation and takeover of countries in Europe in relation to World War II. As expected, a group of resisting people forms led by a reluctant young woman.
I personally love V: The Original Miniseries as well as its 1984 sequel V: The Final Battle. I own Blu-ray discs of the two mini-series (click here and here) and I encourage you to check out my retro reviews (click here and here). To this day, both mini-series remain solid to watch and are worth replaying all over again in my experience.
Going back to the subject matter of this post, the one significant scene of V: The Original Miniseries I want to emphasize is the prayer scene in the 2nd episode. The prayer scene took place just before the human resistance (led by Julie Parrish played by Faye Grant supported by Mike Donovan played by Marc Singer, Caleb Taylor played by Jason Bernard and others) execute their desperate moves to free their people from the Visitors (the aliens). Watch below the video clip I recorded off-screen while replaying V: The Original Miniseries on Blu-ray disc…
The prayer scene of V: The Original Miniseries.
As you can see in the above clip, the affected people were about to pull off a major push back against the Visitors from outer space. They no longer had the local police (who are already working with the aliens) nor the National Guard, nor the State Government of California nor any American authority to help them. Caleb, who lost a son, reminded Julie of having a prayer as he knew that without the Lord, everything they will do will fail. Caleb knew that as a rebelling force, they could not succeed against the Visitors by focusing on themselves, their resources and their abilities. Caleb knew they had to look up to God even though he does not know the state of each group member’s personal connection with Him. It was also symbolic to see Julie Parrish declare amen before finally giving the go-signal for their next operation which eventually served as the series of spectacle (action scenes) and suspense serving as the big pay-off for viewers.
Within the context of the what happened in the 2nd episode of the mini-series, Julie and her crew moved to secure essential equipment and military hardware at a local facility guarded by the Visitors which results in acts of violence as both sides fire at each other. These scenes happened after the prayer scene.
That being said, I want to make clear that I am not emphasizing the concept of praying to God to be able to win against the oppositionby means of violence. Violence and using the very methods of wicked people as a means of getting back at them are clearly not the ways under the watch of the Lord. God has a plan for each and every one of us and we have Lord Jesus to follow to save the lost and unsaved souls. The Lord has His ways of defeating Satan and his pawns, and we only need to follow the Lord instead of taking matters on our own hands.
If you are oppressed and you truly need the Lord’s help for favor and breakthroughs, let the Holy Spirit guide you instead of giving in to your fleshly desire of using force on those who attacked you. Do not even think about using the ways the evil ones used against you. Trust in Him, not the worldly and certainly not your flesh. Always remember that vengeance is the Lord’s. Read the bible verses below…
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:19-21 (NKJV)
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for [God’s] wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay (requite), says the Lord.
But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.
Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good.
Romans 12:19-21 (AMPC)
Vengeance is Mine, and recompense, in the time when their foot shall slide; for the day of their disaster is at hand and their doom comes speedily.
Deuteronomy 32:35 (AMPC)
But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
Romans 1:18 (NLT)
For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’
Isaiah 41:13 (NKJV)
As seen among the bible scriptures above, Romans 12:19-21 should remind you all that vengeance is the Lord’s and we only need to follow Him because He knows best and has the means to help us overcome the forces of evil. In relation to that, this should remind you all that V: The Original Miniseries is not a faith-based story. Rather, it is a science fiction tale designed to entertain viewers while emphasizing the concept of what the world would be like if people welcomed foreign entities to come in peace pretentiously and take over societies by means of force, violence and fascism. Take note that the mini-series was released at a time when science fiction movies and TV shows were in high demand arguably due to George Lucas’ Star Wars.
The prayer sceneshould serve as a reminder that we the faithful in real life should keep trusting in the Lord and we need to support each other and strengthen our faith in Him no matter how twisted the world is around us. That is what makes it significant as part of the mini-series. Learn from the scriptures below…
For wherever two or three come together in honor of my name, I am right there with them!
Matthew 18:20 (TPT)
Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:5-6 (NKJV)
In Whom, because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear).
Ephesians 3:12 (AMPC)
Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV)
For God has not appointed us to [incur His] wrath [He did not select us to condemn us], but [that we might] obtain [His] salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)
Who died for us so that whether we are still alive or are dead [at Christ’s appearing], we might live together with Him and share His life.
Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another, just as you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 (AMPC)
Finally, while focusing on being with other people of faith and praying to the Lord together as a united body of His, learn from the scriptures below pertaining to Lord Jesus’ ascension to Heaven and His faithful followers (the early Christians) who stayed united together at the Upper Room in Jerusalem and prayed together knowing they are living on with His victory. May this encourage you to be with your fellow spiritual family (God’s family) members and pray to Him together.
Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
Acts 1:9-14 (NKJV)
Now watch this video I recorded during my first-ever visit to the Upper Room in Jerusalem which was part of the pilgrimage tour I joined with my local church.
This was from my 2nd visit to the Upper Room in Jerusalem. I went to Israel on a pilgrimage tour with my local church because I desired to seek God’s kingdom there (read Matthew 6:33).
From this point on, I would like to reach out to all the lost and the unsaved people reading this. Did a religious and idolatrous extremist ruin your life? Have you been living in bondage for too long? Did the atheists, the humanists and the secularists fool you and abused you? Were you involved in the terrorist activities of Iran or the Palestinians? Have you been living as a homosexual or as a transgendered person? Are you still addicted to sex, drugs and other inappropriate elements? Did you spend an entire life worshiping statues, statuettes, images, people and relics? Are you a toxic person or one of those modern-day Leftist activists (Black Lives Matter, Democratic Socialists of America, Antifa, the abortionists and others) who got fed up fighting for worthless causes? Did you kill someone and have been living so long with the guilt?
All of the darkness related to what was mentioned above can finally end and you can decide to do it! How? You can save yourselves by submitting yourselves to the Lord Jesus willingly and realize He is the Light! There is no force and no coercion here. You have time and freedom to decide to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. For those who have decided to get born again now and gain salvation, please read the instructions and follow the prayer that I learned from a pastor.
Are you ready? Firstly, open your heart to the Lord and pray this simple prayer in sincerity from your heart:
Father God,
I thank You. I believe Jesus is Your Son. I believe that He died for me and redeemed me from all of my sins. He took my sins and, Father, thank You for loving me and You demonstrated Your love for me through Your Son Jesus Christ. Forgive me for all of my sins. Jesus, I open my heart to You. I welcome You to enter into my heart. I confess today that You are now my Lord and Savior. Thank You for forgiveness. I receive forgiveness. Thank You for Your blood that cleansed me from all of my sins. I will follow You, Jesus. Thank You for Your plan. I receive the Holy Spirit. And Holy Spirit, help me to follow the will of God in my life in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Congratulations! You are now a child of God! You have received Holy Spirit in your heart! This is easily your greatest decision ever made and also the greatest miracle of your life. Always praise, thank and honor the Lord. No more darkness in your life caused by politics, radicalism, toxicity, rebellion, religion, unbelief, evil, idolatry, traditions and rituals! Leave behind the darkness of your life and don’t look back to it. Remember that idolatry is evil, Purgatory is a lie, penance is a deception and Satan always used religion and unbelief to prevent people from being saved by the Lord. Also, do not ever hail Mary (the mother of Lord Jesus) because all the praise and honor belong to God, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit only.
With Lord Jesus, you are already moving forward and the best is yet to come! You also have a personal relationship with God, a relationship that is strictly off-limits to others (even to your household members or biological family members).
The Holy Bible is the ultimate authority and nothing else comes close to it for it is the Word of God. Remember always that Lord Jesus did not die on the cross to start religion. He died to redeem us all and showed that we must be led by faith in Him, faith in the Holy Spirit and faith in God the Heavenly Father. He rose from the dead and made His earthly presence felt once more to those who believed in Him. Lord Jesus ascended to Heaven and He promised to return in the future. His return is what we must always remember and keep living with holiness under the watch of God. We can do our part in building up God’s kingdom here on Earth by preaching His Word, blessing the Jewish people and saving the countless lost and unsaved souls around us by leading them to Lord Jesus. Living as a Christian is always about the personal relationship with the Lord, and it is certainly not about religion. Never let the idolaters, the idol makers, the ritual practitioners and other sinister forces fool you into becoming unholy.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there.
It is simply too easy for us people to let our feelings dominate us and lead ourselves to undesirable outcomes in life. There are times that we make decisions not based on faith but based on how we feel at the moment. Even worse, is carrying wrongful feelings for long even to the point of putting ourselves in a crisis.
To get to the point, feelings are part of our living in the flesh but as Christians who got born again and accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, we must always remind ourselves and even orient the unsaved souls the truth that faith in God is much more essential than feelings. Let’s start with a bible verse.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
Proverbs 3:5 (NKJV)
The verse above is about moving by faith, not by feelings and not by the limitations of our perception and understanding. When you trust the Lord, you do it wholeheartedly and not because you relied on the inaccurate indications of your feelings deep inside. You should not rely on your feelings to do something with your faith. Remember that God’s kingdom is not of this world we live in which is full of unfortunate events or things that move people’s perception and feelings almost all the time.
Let me cite an example here. Imagine yourself anticipating a blockbuster movie you waited months for and already you secured in advance a ticket for a specific time slot for opening day. Suddenly, as your drive on the way to the movie theater, you received a call from a family member who needs you to go to the bank to do a very essential transaction which ultimately prevents you from watch that movie. The natural effects of such a scenario are disappointment, anger and, worse, resentment. In other words, negative feelings fill your heart which should never be because you already have the Holy Spirit in your heart. You should always be led by the Holy Spirit, not your feelings.
In the Kingdom of God as well as in the Body of Christ (we Christians are the church), we are supposed to be pure in heart and be living with the holiness of the Lord. Feelings, whether negative or positive, are not essential and they are never meant to be utilized as indicators on how we live, what we do and what we think of. As Christians, we are supposed to be more reasonable and be wiser under the watch of the Lord. Always remember that while you can hide your feelings from people, you can never ever hide those feelings from God. Remember that whatever feelings we have here on Earth are meaningless in the spiritual realm.
Let’s examine some notable examples of life that cause people to feel (and then giving in to those feelings) while they live in the flesh.
First example is unbelief. You see those secularists or atheists who speak out loud on TV or on social media? They often reject God and deny His existence. They believe that humans can exist, remain moral and prosper without God, without faith (or religion as they often call it) and without discipline. Those secularists and atheists can easily offend the feelings of a Christian at first. However, any anointed and mature Christian would always know to prioritize God and maintain faith in Him instead of giving in to feeling offended or feeling weakened by those who have no faith. Remember this always and go around telling your fellow Christians to never give in to their feelings and never ever let unbelief dominate them. Remind them of being faithful to the Lord. Remind them that they already have the victory of the Lord over Satan. Let’s read the following scripture from the Holy Bible.
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
John 16:33 (NKJV)
Wow! Those were powerful words from Lord Jesus Himself! He achieved a major victory that nobody else could ever match – redeeming the whole world by sacrificing Himself, then returned to enlighten more with holiness before ascending to Heaven! Jesus holiness is very real and there truly is a God who created us, accepted us as His children when we got born again and blessed us since. The truth of Christianity shows that there is no good reason at all as to why we Christians should surrender to our feelings and allow the non-believers to drag us down to their level. We Christians are not only believers but are also citizens of God’s Kingdom complete with armor, weapons and other spiritual means that with Him, we are more than conquerors. Moving on, let’s read the next holy scripture.
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
2 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV)
2 Corinthians 2:14 is another clear example as to why we the faithful are living in victory. Unbelief combined with feelings are actually a weak combination and we Christians are never meant to allow ourselves to be defeated by them. We are spiritually stronger under God. Always remember that!
Secularists and atheists are more likely to manipulate other people (those with weaker faith or even none at all) through their feelings and then trap them into accepting unbelief. This is sad but not hopeless for us Christians. We can unite and pray to the Lord that unbelief will be overwhelmed and then time will come that the secularists and atheists will realize the errors of their ways and soon will decide willingly to apologize to the Lord and submit to Him peacefully. We can also pray for the victims as well as all the unsaved and lost souls who embraced unbelief. Remember that unbelief is a weapon of the ever-stubborn loser Satan. We can always defeat Satan by remaining strongly faithful with God and preach His Word to this screwed-up world we live in.
The next example that spark feelings in people is religion which is often confused with faith. To put it in simple terms, religion is a deeply flawed approach of worshipping the Lord as it involves a lot of man-written rules, sacraments and a bunch of other stuff that are not really holy. Having gone through a past life of religion (followed by a short life of unbelief) myself, I confirm the truth that religion is frustrating (this is the most notable feeling) and is actually a hindrance to achieving truth faith in the Lord.
Religion involves idolatry (worshiping people, images and man-made items) which is very wrong as confirmed by the following holy scripture.
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NKJV)
Think about the sin of idolatry carefully. You worship a person, that makes you unrighteous. You pray to a statue or statuette, that makes you unrighteous. You pray to a painting or a relic, that makes you unrighteous. You keep on practicing idolatry, it will impact you to developing a whole bunch of unnecessary feelings deep inside you which will give you a false perception of faith in the Lord (which you are not really achieving). In religion, idolatry is also a tradition falsely believed to be holy. Be aware that idolatry itself makes religion unholy and our Heavenly Father is a jealous God. Even Satan uses religion and idolatry is a useful tool for him to prevent people from being with God. Learn from the following scriptures.
You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image – any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Exodus 20:3-6 (NKJV)
Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19:4 (NKJV)
Apart from idolatry, religion also comes with its own traditions that were not made by God’s chosen people who wrote the Holy Bible. Such traditions trap people and make them more emotional and prone to being dictated by their feelings. This alone should be of deep concern for anyone seeking the Lord. In my old life, I practiced religious traditions of visiting seven churches of religion, praying with repetitive prayers, praying with a relic that was never holy, submitting to a religious hierarchy that has a history of abuse and corruption for centuries, praying to man-made objects, forcefully getting pushed to participate in a religion-driven brainwashing event called family encounter (now a tradition for a certain group religious people here in the Philippines), participating in a religion-based youth movement (also a tradition for the above-mentioned group of people) and the like. So I went through all of that in my old life and ultimately I really never got connected with the Lord, nor was I ever able to discover the ways to establishing a true personal relationship with Him.
Religion and its traditions, rituals, idolatry and culture of forceful imposition deeply frustrated me. This is the ultimate feeling I had long ago. Because religion was hollow, mean and so frustrating to me, I rejected religion and, incidentally, I got myself separated from the Lord which is why there was a period of almost ten years in which I lived a non-believer. I even became antagonistic towards the Lord and Christianity as whole. All that time before, I did not realize that faith and religion are not one and the same. I also had not discovered back then that it was possible to be with God without religion.
And then, when I was a little over forty-years-old, something wonderful and holy happened. My dearest friend in life invited me to her church to attend a holy seminar. I attended with her and the many church members (the Body of Christ) present, just behaving myself since I was still a non-believer. I was still living in darkness (which started since my old life with religion). After attending that event, meeting the pastor and brought home with me a holy bible that was given to me, I saw the light again and eventually I willingly got born again. I became a new creation, a true Christian and a child of God. The darkness of religion and unbelief that overwhelmed me ended and I have no desire to go back to my old life ever again.
Since then, I attended Sunday worship regularly and also participated in bible study sessions and holy seminars to grow spiritually and deepen my established personal relationship with God. Along the way, I learned from our pastor that our faith in the Lord should never be dominated nor affected by our feelings which is the precise topic of this article. To end this part, religion is truly frustrating and unnecessary. Being religious is not the same as being faithful with the Lord.
Another factor that sparks feelings in us is Satan. The enemy knows well that feelings, emotions and sentimentalism are effective weapons for him to dumb us Christians down, and worse, overwhelm people who are not aware of their true purpose under God. The enemy would not hesitate to use a person or an event to arouse our feelings inside to keep us distracted from being focused Christians. Satan is also known to spread temptation which itself sparks feelings.
Take for example, an earthquake rocks and heavily damages a major city causing a lot of deaths, injuries and property damage. That tragedy gets magnified by the morally bankrupt cable TV news organizations which only cause viewers around the world to feel sad, sorry, fearful and even defeated. Such tragedies that spark tons of feelings to weaken people delight Satan. We as children of God should never ever allow our feelings nor our perception of magnified tragedies overwhelm our faith in the Lord. We the Christians have been redeemed by Jesus long ago and it is our mission to always remain focused and very strong with faith in Him. We the children of God are not mere followers but we are special and we have a much greater purpose in the spiritual realm even though we are still living in the flesh on this world that Satan had screwed-up long ago. Learn from the following scripture.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Ephesians 6:10-20 (NKJV)
Those were such powerful words! More than that, Ephesians 6: 10-20 confirms the truth that we the faithful should always be strong in the Lord and with Him, we have the means to overcome Satan and all other forces of evil. That also includes completely defying the feelings we have while living in the flesh. That being said, we the children of God have no reason to be fearful at all. We only fear the Lord because it leads to wisdom (Proverbs 9:10), strong confidence (Proverbs 14:26) and opposing evil (Proverbs 8:13).
Satan is not as powerful as most people think. He is simply a loser who just refuses to stop and will continue to exploit the weak to screw up many people and spread chaos worldwide. War, famine, riots and pandemics are such examples of global tragedies with people falling for Satan’s tricks and failing to keep strong faith in God.
We the children of God know much better. Therefore, Satan’s strategy of using chaos (being magnified by the global news media giants), fear and negative vibes to bring us down through our feelings can be deflected for as long as we continue to be strong with God. It is a matter of being faithful over being full of feelings.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying feelings are totally useless. As God’s children living in the flesh here on Earth, it is okay to have feelings like the happiness that comes with being with the family or a special someone, the deep satisfaction we have inside as we enjoy the prosperity and protection God blessed us with, etc.
We can live with feelings but we always prioritize our faith in the Lord eternally. We can keep on living with feelings but we must not be led by them because we were created by God to be led by the Holy Spirit. We were not created to be religious but to be faithful Christians.
Now let me reach out to the unsaved souls and the lost souls among you, my readers…
If you seek salvation now, learn that the first step is to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Never be fooled into believing that your past defined you and your future. With Jesus, you will become a child of God and a whole new creation complete with your sins from the past washed away! You will become a true Christian with a holy purpose!
Once you are ready, pray this simple prayer (I learned from my pastor) in sincerity from your heart:
Dear God,
I believe that Jesus is Your Son, and that He died on the cross to pay the penalty of my sins. I believe that Jesus has been raised from the dead and that He is alive! Right now I call on the name of Jesus. Jesus, come into my heart. I receive You as my personal Lord and Savior. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me by the power of Your blood. Thank You for saving me and giving me eternal life! Help me now to follow Your plan for my life. Amen.
Congratulations! You are now a child of God! Praise the Lord and always be faithful to Him! No more darkness in your life caused by unbelief or religion (and the idolatry, traditions and rituals that come with it). Your new life has begun!
Always study the Holy Bible, apply its lessons into your life and pray in tongues regularly to Him. The Holy Spirit is in you and you are now a new creation! You can also start your spiritual growth immediately under the eyes of the Lord! Today is a happy day for you!
In ending this piece, feel free to enjoy these Christian praise-and-worship YouTube videos. Hallelujah!!!
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved souls out there.
Author Carlo Carrasco 