God’s Redeemed People The Doctrine of the Church

I've been thinking about Easter and the coming of the Holy Spirit that happened at Pentecost 50 days later. In 2033 it will be 2000 years since this occurred, 7 perfect years from now. It's amazing to think about how the world has changed from then till now. At the Cross where Jesus "laid down his life, only to take it up again (John 10:17-18)." He fundamentally changed our world. He redeemed the sinner, paid the ransom of death that sinful man deserved. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and gave us a grace period where the clarion call of God would go out into all the world proclaiming the good news. "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish - but have eternal life. The son did not come to condemn the world but to save the world through him..." John 3:16-17.

The world we live in is messy, for 2000 years we still have so much evil, death and destruction. Yet we all track time according to the birth of Jesus Christ. I love memorizing beyond "John 3:16 to include John 3:18-21 that explains "why the good news of God's son didn't automatically make everything awesome for everyone.

“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

• Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" 

The cross of Christ broke down hostility between people. He taught us to love our enemies and then demonstrated this for us. "He said forgive them father for they know not what they do" and said "it is finished" before giving up his Soul. Hebrews 11-12 explains this  act of unwavering faith and it's impact on our lives today. "Romans road" show cases this reality of coming to the throne of God, in the resurrection power of Jesus and allow him to wash away our sins and give us new day.

• Romans 5:8: "God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" 
• Romans 6:23: "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" 
• Romans 10:13: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" 

Dying to Self to Live for God, The Doctrine of the Cross for a Believer 

To be found in the book of life, walk with God in righteousness (Rev20:14-15)

Prayer, help me to share your word with my friends today and live in HOPE (Help One Person Everyday) I have in You, amen.

So what is the church?

• God chose Israel to bless the world, yet their failures and exile could not derail His plan; He faithfully restored them and fulfilled His purposes through them. My friend Steve S said, Israel is the strongest reason to believe the Bible is true, I say it's 4/24/2026 AD "in the year of our Lord" everywhere on Earth. 
• The rebuilt temple pointed forward to Christ, in whom believers become the living temple, a spiritual house where God dwells by His Spirit. Love your enemies becomes a living reality, a testimony of our lives that is felt 30, 60, 90 more than what was sown in our hearts. 
• Christ's Church is a diverse, unified body of redeemed people from every nation, built on Christ as cornerstone and the foundation of the apostles and prophets. I've worshiped in Myanmar with redeemed people who physically shined with the Holy Spirit of God.
• Membership in Christ's Church is internal, not external; only those born again by the Holy Spirit and faith in Christ truly belong to Him, and God knows each one.

• God invites all people to join His redeemed community through faith in Christ, offering eternal blessing, present strength, and a future glory that surpasses everything this world offers.

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" - it's as simple as asking God for help, and help is very near: The Pilgrim's Progress (2019) | Full Movie

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Smashing bronze snakes: When God's gifts become idols

Jim shared this the other day and I really needed to let go of my past trophies and live in today's challenges. 

The Backstory

In Numbers 21, God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it on a pole. Anyone bitten by snakes who looked at it would live (Numbers 21:8-9). It was an instrument of healing and a call to faith, nothing more.

Hundreds of years later, the object remained. But its purpose had curdled. By Hezekiah's time, the people were burning incense to it, had given it a name ("Nehushtan," meaning simply "a piece of bronze"), and were treating it as an object of worship (2 Kings 18:4). What God designed to point toward Him had become a substitute for Him.

Hezekiah destroyed it. No hesitation, no nostalgia. His reasoning was clear: the symbol had replaced the Savior. The created thing had eclipsed the Creator (Romans 1:25). It had to go, even though it once carried a holy purpose.

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The Lesson

Even gifts from God can become idols when we cling to them wrongly. Traditions, symbols, spiritual experiences, past blessings — any of these can quietly take the throne that belongs to God alone. Israel did it with the bronze serpent. We do it with subtler things.

The warning echoes across Scripture. The prophet Isaiah records God saying, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing" (Isaiah 43:18-19). Jesus warned that no one pours new wine into old wineskins (Luke 5:37-38). Paul pressed forward, refusing to be held by what was behind (Philippians 3:13-14). Reverence for what God did must never become a chain that keeps us from what God is doing.

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The Beautiful Twist

Jesus Himself references this moment in John 3:14-15: "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him."

The bronze serpent was never the destination. It was always a signpost pointing forward to Christ. Hezekiah was not rejecting God's past work. He was protecting God's present glory by refusing to let a shadow replace the substance (Colossians 2:17, Hebrews 10:1).

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Reflection for the Week

What bronze serpent do you need to smash?

It might be social media, a phone habit, an unhealthy website. But it can be subtler than that.

For me, pride in past achievements became an idol. I found myself protecting a former version of myself rather than remaining open to God's corrective input today. It is a kind of PTSD in reverse: worshipping a past experience, guarding an old award, rehearsing a former identity. The very thing God once used became a wall between me and what He wants to do now.

The Psalmist prays, "Search me, God, and know my heart... see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24). That is the prayer for this week.

Lord, help me look forward to Your presence and the promises You are fulfilling in me now and in the days ahead. Loosen my grip on what was. Give me eyes for what is. Amen.

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Holocaust Survivor Testimony at my work (CHAI)

This is the testimony of Janet Applefield (born Gustava/"Giga"), a Jewish child survivor from Kraków, Poland, one of only 11 children to survive a specific camp. She was 4 when the war began and was eventually given away by her parents to save her life.

Story Highlights

• The family's world before the war A warm, multi-generational Jewish family. Janet was pampered as the first grandchild. Her "Aryan appearance" (blonde, green eyes) would become a survival tool.
• The invasion and flight (1939) German bombing began September 1. The family fled east toward Russia, dodging low flying aircraft (German strafen ("to punish")), crossing rivers on foot. Her father found them through a newspaper ad.
• Russia two tragedies Two uncles were lured to a "town hall for jobs," marched to a ravine, and shot. Her grandparents, who refused to return to Poland, were deported to Siberian slave labor.
• Return to Nazi-occupied Poland Her father was arrested as a suspected communist. Jews were forced to wear armbands. Gestapo raided homes for valuables. The family tried to escape by train.
• The escape attempt that failed August 1942 a moonlit night, a horse and wagon, and Polish "blue police" who beat the family with clubs until they bled. No place to hide.
• The agonizing decision Her parents separated to improve the odds of one surviving. They gave Janet to Maria, a cousin's nanny. Her last words from her parents: "Be good, be strong, be brave we will be reunited soon." ("Be strong and courageous")
• Bełżec death camp Approximately 12,000 people were assembled in an open field. Men selected for slave labor. Elderly and children shot into mass graves. The remaining 53 boxcars traveled 5 days to Bełżec. 600,000 murdered in 6 months. Janet's mother, grandmother, aunt, and 3-year-old cousin Anushka were among them.
• Hidden with cousin Lala / false Catholic identity Janet became "Krisha" (Christina Antoshevich) — identity taken from the birth certificate of a dead Catholic girl, obtained from a Catholic priest. Lala was cruel, beating Janet with a fireplace poker and telling her "Your mother is dead, she's never coming back."
• Abandoned in Kraków Left alone in a church at 7 years old when Lala was arrested by the Gestapo. A woman found her weeping on the street and sheltered her. She was eventually placed on a Catholic Church-owned farm.
• Survival through performance When the blue police arrived at the farm, Janet instinctively sang and danced to distract them. They laughed, drank vodka, and left.
• Plaszów concentration camp / reunion with father Her father survived a gunshot wound to the face with no medical treatment. After liberation, they reunited. They eventually emigrated to the U.S. via Paris.
• Legacy Janet earned a BA and master's degree, raised three children, lost her oldest son David six years ago. She testified before the Massachusetts legislature, which then mandated Holocaust education. She authored Becoming Janet, with her grandson designing the cover.

Christian Concepts That Were Ignored or Violated

These are the theological failures the testimony exposes — many perpetrated by people who identified as Christian.

1. Imago Dei — Every person bears God's image Genesis 1:26–27 is foundational. The Nazi ideology systematically stripped Jews of human dignity — armbands, ghetto walls, boxcars, mass graves. To dehumanize is to deny the image of God in another person. Many perpetrators were baptized Christians.

2. "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39) Jesus called this the second greatest commandment. The "blue police" — Polish, nominally Christian — beat a bleeding father and his terrified family with clubs for trying to survive. Collaboration with evil is not neutrality; it is a direct violation of this command.

3. "Do not murder" (Exodus 20:13 / Matthew 5:21–22) Jesus expanded this to include contempt and hatred. Six million Jews were murdered. The command was not merely broken — it was institutionalized.

4. Protection of the vulnerable (Psalm 82:3–4; Isaiah 1:17) "Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed." Janet was a 7-year-old child wandering alone, weeping on a Kraków street. Most walked past. The biblical call to protect the vulnerable was culturally abandoned.

5. Hospitality to strangers (Hebrews 13:2; Leviticus 19:34) "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers." The Jewish people were strangers in occupied lands — and were hunted rather than sheltered. Hebrews 13:2 echoes the angelic hospitality theme that runs through all of Scripture.

6. Silence in the face of injustice (Proverbs 31:8–9; Ezekiel 3:18) "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves." Many European churches were silent. Pope Pius XII's silence remains one of the most contested failures of institutional Christianity in the 20th century. Silence, biblically, is complicity.

7. Bearing false witness / propaganda (Exodus 20:16) Nazi anti-Semitic propaganda was the engine of genocide. Dehumanizing lies — that Jews were vermin, communists, sub-human — were spread through a society with deep Christian roots. Falsehood in service of hatred violates the 9th commandment at a civilizational scale.

8. Antisemitism rooted in theological distortion Replacement theology, misapplied "Christ-killer" rhetoric, and centuries of church-sanctioned anti-Jewish prejudice created the cultural soil in which genocide grew. This is a painful indictment. Malachi 3:6 — "I the LORD do not change; so you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed" — stands as God's own covenant fidelity against any theology that writes Israel off.

Where Christian Conscience DID Appear

The testimony is not without grace. Several people acted on what Christian conscience demands:

Person	Act
Alicia Goa	Sheltered a weeping, abandoned 7-year-old stranger at great personal risk
The Catholic farm administrator	Hid Janet on church-owned land
The Catholic priest	Provided a birth certificate that became a survival document
The unknown woman under the cape	The woman who pulled Janet close in the street, the most Christlike act in the story
The German foreman	Slipped Janet's father extra bread in the concentration camp

These are echoes of the Righteous Among the Nations people who, at risk of death, chose the costly path of obedience. Dietrich Bonhoeffer called it "the view from below." Janet's testimony is ultimately a call back to that standard.

Janet's own conclusion: "The smallest acts of kindness have a ripple effect... I am the voice of all those people whose voices were so brutally taken from them."

That is, at its core, a profoundly biblical statement and a rebuke to every generation that forgets it.

Immigration, foreigners' and natives from the perspective of Holiness and Love (Lev 19, Matt 22:37-39, 2 Chron 7)

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Let God show you the path of life today (Psalm 16:11, John 14:6)

You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. — Psalm 16:11

My friend and prayer partner Gloria sends me a text message every morning. She always encourages me and builds up my soul. We get to pray every Thursday with my mom, Robb, Tony, Russ and Karen. It's awesome. It helps me to pray for all the things in ministry, our church, our community and world. It started as Alpha Prayer for twin cities and five state area. Then morphed into Alpha at Teen Challenge Campuses. Here's today's message.

 Good morning!!

 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

  There are times I realize  that I miss out on certain things because I'm not fully focused on the present. I am asking Jesus to help me be aware of all that He brings to my life each day.

  My desire is to be fully present, basking in the pleasures of Jesus as He guides me through out my life.

  Jesus loves you and so do I 

David wrote Psalm 16:11 from a place of deep trust. He knew that God was not a distant guide pointing from afar, but a close companion walking beside him every step. Jesus made this same promise when He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). He does not just show us the path. He is the path.

There are times when life moves fast and our minds race ahead to tomorrow, or drift back to yesterday. In those moments, we miss what God is doing right now. Moses learned this at the burning bush. He had to stop, turn aside, and look before God spoke (Exodus 3:3-4). Presence requires attention.

Jesus modeled this beautifully. He stopped for blind Bartimaeus when the crowd pressed on (Mark 10:49). He paused for the woman who touched His robe (Luke 8:45). He noticed. He was fully present. And He invites us into that same awareness.

Paul reminds us, "This is the day the Lord has made" (Psalm 118:24), and that we should "give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Gratitude is one of the greatest tools for staying present. When we say thank you for what is in front of us, we stop rushing past it.

The promise of Psalm 16:11 is not just for heaven. Fullness of joy is available today, in His presence, on this ordinary morning. As we walk with Jesus, He fills each moment with meaning, with beauty, and with Himself.

"The Lord your God is with you wherever you go." — Joshua 1:9

• Psalm 23:3 — "He leads me in paths of righteousness" — a companion to Psalm 16:11 on guidance
• John 10:10 — "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" — the fullness Jesus brings
• Philippians 4:11 — Paul learning contentment in the present, whatever the circumstance
• Matthew 6:34 — Jesus' direct teaching on not borrowing anxiety from tomorrow

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How can we know we are "repenting" (Malachi 3:6-7)

"I the Lord do not change...Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty." Malachi 3:6-7

God uses material faithfulness as the proving ground for spiritual trust and formation. The themes flow from covenant to conduct to consequence.

1. God's unchanging covenant is the foundation God's faithfulness is not reactive. It is predetermined and rooted in His promises to Jacob (Mal. 3:6; Rom. 11:28–29). Israel's survival is not due to performance but covenantal commitment (Deut. 7:9; Lam. 3:22–23). This establishes trust. Return is always possible because God does not change (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8).

2. Return to God is expressed through tangible obedience "Return to me" is not abstract (Mal. 3:7). It is demonstrated through tithes, offerings, and stewardship (Mal. 3:8–10). Withholding is framed as distrust and misalignment with God's order. Giving becomes a diagnostic of the heart (Matt. 6:21; Luke 16:10–11).

3. Stewardship reveals spiritual alignment Material resources are positioned as "very little" (Luke 16:10). Yet they expose deeper loyalties (Luke 16:11–12). Faithfulness in money equals faithfulness in trust. Mismanagement signals divided allegiance. You cannot serve both God and money (Luke 16:13; Matt. 6:24).

4. God invites testing in one domain to build trust in all domains Malachi presents a rare invitation. Test God through obedience in giving (Mal. 3:10). The outcome is provision, protection, and overflow (Mal. 3:10–11; Phil. 4:19). This is not transactional prosperity. It is relational validation of trust (John 14:21; James 2:18).

5. Blessing includes provision, protection, and public witness The "windows of heaven" represent sufficiency (Mal. 3:10; Ps. 78:23–24). The "rebuked devourer" represents protection from loss (Mal. 3:11). The result is external credibility. Others recognize God's favor (Mal. 3:12; Matt. 5:16). The community becomes a signal.

6. Tithing trains the fear of the Lord Deuteronomy clarifies intent (Deut. 14:22–23). Giving is formative, not merely financial. It teaches reverence, dependence, and worship. The outcome is wisdom, knowledge, and understanding (Prov. 9:10; Ps. 111:10). Fear of the Lord is the gateway to all three (Job 28:28; Isa. 33:6).

7. Generosity is designed to sustain community and justice Provision extends beyond the giver. Levites, foreigners, widows, and the fatherless are included (Deut. 14:28–29; Mal. 3:5). This embeds equity into the system (Lev. 19:9–10; Amos 5:24). Kingdom economics are communal, not individualistic (Acts 2:44–45; 2 Cor. 8:13–15).

8. True riches are spiritual, not material Jesus reframes value. Money is "unrighteous wealth" (Luke 16:11). True riches are the life of the Spirit. Righteousness, peace, joy, wisdom, and empowerment (Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor. 1:30; Eph. 1:3). Material trust is preparation for spiritual entrustment (Luke 16:11–12; 1 Tim. 6:17–19).

9. Faith is developed through constraint before abundance "Very little" is intentional (Luke 16:10). It is the training environment. Trusting God in scarcity builds capacity for abundance (Deut. 8:2–3; 2 Cor. 9:8). This aligns with Paul's learned contentment across all conditions (Phil. 4:11–13; Heb. 13:5).

10. The end goal is Spirit-enabled purpose and impact The Holy Spirit brings wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, and knowledge (Isa. 11:2; 1 Cor. 12:7–11). These enable God's work through people. Like Bezalel, individuals are empowered for specific kingdom assignments (Exod. 31:3–5). Faithful stewardship unlocks participation in that work (Matt. 25:21; Eph. 2:10).

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In summary, the passage teaches a progression. Covenant leads to trust (Mal. 3:6; Rom. 8:28). Trust is proven through stewardship (Luke 16:10–12). Stewardship forms reverence (Deut. 14:23). Reverence unlocks wisdom and Spirit-led living (Prov. 9:10; Isa. 11:2). Material faithfulness becomes the gateway to true spiritual riches (Luke 16:11; Eph. 1:3).

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