Inspiration from a Blind: Trusting the Trustworthy to Triumph over Tragedy

Happy July from Inspiration from a Blind brought to you monthly by www.ShirleyCheng.com!

"Help! Please don't leave me here." Joseph's muffled cries rang out from in the pit. He couldn't believe that his elder brothers could actually cast him into this hole. They wouldn't leave him here, would they? They just couldn't. "Help!"

"C'mon, don't mind him," said one brother. "Let's eat; I'm starved." It had been a long, hot day, grazing their flock, so it was a relief when they finally sat down to have some bread. While they ate, talked, and laughed, with their 17-year-old brother's cries in the background, the ever-increasing sound of a caravan interrupted their meal. They looked up, and saw The traveling caravan with camels bearing spices, balm, and myrrh. The caravan belonged to traveling merchants.

One brother by the name of Judah said, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, and let's sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not let our hand be on him; for he is our brother, our flesh." (Genesis 37:26-27, WEB) The rest of the brothers thought it was a good idea, so for twenty pieces of silver, they sold their little brother to the merchants.

By and by, the merchants arrived at their destination, Egypt, where they sold Joseph to Potiphar, the captain of the guard of Pharaoh. The captain put Joseph in charge of all his household and business, and because God was with Joseph, all that Joseph did was successful, and consequently the captain prospered greatly.

As days passed, followed by weeks and months, Joseph matured into a very handsome young man, catching the eye of Potiphar's wife. Day after day, she asked him to sleep with her, but he refused every time, saying, "Behold, my master doesn't know what is with me in the house, and he has put all that he has into my hand. He isn't greater in this house than I, neither has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:8-9)

One day as they were alone in the house, the woman grabbed on to Joseph, demanding him to sleep with her, but he ran away, leaving his garment in her hands. When Potiphar returned, his wife accused Joseph of attempting to rape her. Furious, Potiphar threw Joseph into the dungeon, where he spent for years.

One night, Pharaoh of Egypt had two disturbing dreams, and once he was told that Joseph had accurately interpreted people's dreams before, he brought Joseph out of the dungeon and asked him to interpret the dreams for him. God made the dreams' interpretation known to Joseph, who told Pharaoh that the dreams meant that there would be seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of severe famine in that entire region. He also suggested that Pharaoh store up some crops during the seven years of plenty, so there would be some food during the famine. In response, Pharaoh made Joseph the governor of Egypt, second in rank to the Pharaoh himself.

Once the famine rolled in, people throughout the land went to Egypt to buy grain, for only Egypt had stored crops. Among the buyers were Joseph's brothers who sold him twenty years ago. When they came before Joseph, they didn't recognize him. When he revealed himself to them, they were startled and frightened. But Joseph told them, "I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now don't be grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are yet five years, in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance. So now it wasn't you who sent me here, but God, and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt." (Gen 45:4-8)

How was Joseph able to endure the injustice, the terror, the heartbreak, and the separation from his family all these decades? How was he able to forgive his brothers for committing such wrong against him? Above all, how was it that he never questioned or doubted God during his suffering? Because he simply trusted in Yahweh God Almighty. It was his simple faith in God that God had everything under control. He understood that God had a purpose for him, even though at first, he didn't grasp what that was exactly. Through his suffering and pain, God was working for everyone's good.

Now, what can we learn from the experiences of Joseph? How can we survive our own suffering and troubles like him? His story tells us that trust in God is the key. Only when we trust God will we be able to endure our hardships. And its only when we trust God will we be able to love Him unconditionally in spite all that we go through and see others going through.

How can we, like Joseph, love God unconditionally despite the suffering, the darkness, the hardship that surround us? By trusting God. Think about it: Can we love someone if we don't trust them? So love stems from trust. Therefore, to love God unconditionally is trusting Him unconditionally regardless of what we may face.

Unconditional trust is the ability to trust God despite all the difficulties, hardships, suffering, and evil of life. Unconditional trust is trusting God even when our circumstances seem to contradict all that is good and just. Unconditional trust is having trust in God despite seemingly hopeless situations.

Unconditional trust in God does not require the answers to our "why?" questions. It does not require for us to presently understand why God permits suffering and evil, why God allows people to experience difficulties, or why God does not end evil altogether right away. Unconditional trust is the simple faith in God. The Bible says, "Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)

But the question now is: Why should we trust God? What good reasons do we have for trusting God under any and all circumstances?

To trust God, we must understand and keep in mind the unchangeable qualities of Yahweh God Almighty. Let's review some of His divine qualities:

1) Yahweh is sovereign: God is in absolute control. There's absolutely nothing in the universe that He cannot and does not control. Even seemingly bad circumstances are under His control. Everything happens on Earth only because He permits it. It is impossible for anything to happen without His control, permission, or will. Not even the fall of a sparrow is not without His will (Matthew 10:29).

2) Yahweh is omniscient: God is all-knowing. He knows everything that has ever happened, that is happening, and that will happen. Even before you think about doing something, He will know about it. Nothing can be hidden from Him, good or bad. He knows even the count of hair on your head (Matthew 10:30). While we are focused on the "now," God sees the whole big picture and the eternal future, so nothing is a surprise or an "accident" to Him.

3) Yahweh is omnipotent: God is all-powerful. He can do anything and everything. There's nothing that He cannot do...except to die.

4) Yahweh is love: God is not simply an all-loving God; God is the very representation of love itself. However, we must redefine love. Our society associates love with a warm, fuzzy feeling that is self-seeking. On the other hand, real, godly love is self-sacrificial love, and a love that loves what is good only. God does not love "unconditionally"--He doesn't love evil. He loves only good and hates what is evil. Thus, from this quality of love, comes His other qualities: justice, righteousness, and judgment.

5) Yahweh is light: Light represents all that is pure, good, holy, righteous, truthful, and faithful. We may consider some people to be "good" and "righteous," but no one can measure up to God's light. Jesus said that only God is purely good, in whom there's no darkness at all (Matthew 19:17; 1 John 1:5).

6) Yahweh is immutable: God does not change. His essence and qualities will never change. If He is all-knowing and all-loving today, He will remain all-knowing and all-loving forever. This also means that when He unconditionally promises something, He will always fulfill His promise. God cannot and does not lie.

When we put all these qualities together, we have absolutely no excuse not to trust Yahweh God at all times at all costs; it would be unreasonable not to trust Him. Only God can be trusted unconditionally, because only He is sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, all-loving, and unchanging. However, trusting Jesus, the Son of God, is equal to trusting God Himself, since Jesus is the exact spiritual image of God (Colossians 1:15). This is trusting the Trustworthy. This is how countless number of believers throughout the history of humanity have been willing to die for their faith in God, suffering all sorts of torture in the hands of ruthless persecutors (Hebrews 11:35-40). These people trusted in God and His promises, plans, and purposes, knowing fully this truth:

"All things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) No matter what happens in life, good or bad, small or big, absolutely everything will work out for good for those who love God. And how do we love God? By trusting Him and doing His will. So this means that everything will work out for good for those who trust in God and who do His will. Our circumstances may seem as if God doesn't care for us, but nothing can be further from the truth. God not only cares, but He has everything under control, and He has already planned everything out so that all things will conclude for our own good, and for His own glory. Right now, it is impossible for our imperfect and finite minds to comprehend how the evil events of the world could possibly work out good for us, but as long as we trust in God unwaveringly, we don't have to comprehend right now. Someday, we will all see the conclusion of His masterpiece, and once we do, we will understand, and glorify God for working everything out so perfectly and beautifully!

In conclusion, how can we survive our storms in life? By simply trusting in God. How can we love God unconditionally despite all the suffering we see around us? Again, by simply trusting Him. Trusting God does not require us to ignore or pretend that suffering doesn't exist. Trusting God is trusting Him in spite of suffering. In fact, when we trust Him in midst of suffering, that proves that we truly do trust Him. Think about it: if we had a perfect, prosperous, and problem-free life, trusting God would be a piece of cake taken for granted. It would not be too hard for us to trust a lifeboat when we're on dry land. But when we're out in storm-tossed seas, we would look on that lifeboat in a whole new way. Likewise, when we trust God as we suffer, that means we are serious about depending on Him and Him alone. And God is more trustworthy than a lifeboat; a lifeboat may save us temporary at best, but our God will save us eternally.

Our trust is most evident, genuine, and deep when we suffer. This trust in God will make us victors, not victims, when our suffering seems to overwhelm us, even to the point of death. Indeed, trusting God doesn't mean that we won't encounter troubles in life. It doesn't even mean that we will physically survive our storms. What it does mean is that even though we may not physically survive, we will survive as victors when we are resurrected unto eternal life on God's appointed time in the future, and thus, our victory will last forever, as opposed to our temporal suffering.

We must know that the troubles we experience now, however painful they may be, are temporary and are passing. What lies ahead, in eternity future, is what we need to set our eyes and hearts on, because God has it all planned out. God's Word says, "Our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; while we don't look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

The Bible also says, "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us." (Romans 8:18) So focus on and trust in God's eternal promises, because our current suffering is insignificant when compared to our future guaranteed glory, so long as we remain faithful to God and Jesus!

My friend, if you want to win the eternal crown of glory, come to a saving faith in Yahweh and Jesus Christ if you haven't already. Open up your heart to the One who has given you the breath of life, and the One who has offered you eternal life. Don't die along with your troubles in life; embrace the glory that's waiting for you once your troubles pass. Today is your day of salvation, for tomorrow may be too late. Once you pass away or when Jesus returns (whichever comes first), it would be too late for you to change your mind and repent--the door to eternal life would close, and Jesus would say to you, "Most certainly I tell you, I don't know you." (Matthew 25:10-13).

Whoever calls on the name of Yahweh shall be saved. Repent and call on Him, now.

~*~Q&A with Dr. Shirley~*~

Question: Once a person becomes a Christian by trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and eternal life, would he or she experience less suffering in the world?

Answer: Being a Christian will bring more suffering of one kind, and less suffering of another kind into our lives. What it will not bring is no suffering.

The kind of suffering that a Christian will not experience (or experience less of) is the suffering that is the result of living a lifestyle of sin. For example, if we obey the Bible's commandment to love others as we love ourselves, we will not commit crimes that would send us to jail, such as stealing, kidnap, rape, and murder. If we heed God's Word to stay away from adultery, fornication, and other sexual sins, we would avoid unwanted pregnancies, STDs, a soiled reputation, and hurt feelings.

Ultimately and most importantly, true Christians will avoid the ultimate punishment and suffering: an eternal guilty verdict from God on Judgment Day. Those who refuse to accept Jesus as their only Savior will be sentenced to eternal death, never to be resurrected again.

The kind of suffering that a Christian will experience is the suffering for Jesus' name and for living according to God's will.

Jesus said, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his lord.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do to you for my name's sake, because they don't know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me, hates my Father also. If I hadn't done among them the works which no one else did, they wouldn't have had sin. But now have they seen and also hated both me and my Father. But this happened so that the word may be fulfilled which was written in their law, 'They hated me without a cause.'" (John 15:18-25)

During his earthly ministry, Jesus was heavily persecuted because he openly exposed and rebuked the hypocrisy and evil deeds of the religiously self-righteous. It was for this reason that he was falsely accused and convicted during an illegal trial held in the wee hours of the morning, and then was wrongly executed hours later (little did his murderers know that Jesus' death was actually a God-purposed sacrifice that would open the door to eternal life for those who believed in him).

If we whole-heartedly follow Jesus our Lord by teaching the righteousness he taught and correcting people's sins, it's no surprise if we would be persecuted the same way. In fact, if we have never experienced persecution as a Christian, then we must wonder: are we really living up to our title as a Christian? When our culture conflicts with God's principles, do we live by our cultural standards or God's? When our spouses, parents, friends, and co-workers tell us to do something that is against God's commandments, whom do we obey? If our allegiance is to principles and laws that conflict with God's, then we will certainly be loved and viewed as successful by the world's standards, all the while not realizing that we are actually people most miserable in the sight of God.

If we want to be true Christians--people who are Christians by their deeds, not merely their words--we are guaranteed to suffer for righteousness' sake, because when we, as the light of the world, expose the works done in darkness, those who work in the dark will hate us, "for everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn't come to the light, lest his works would be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God." (John 3:20-21)

To sum it up: True Christians will experience innocent suffering for Jesus' name. This is to be expected. If Christians don't experience persecution, then there's something wrong. Jesus said, "Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:11-12)

So, if you're a Christian, "don't be astonished at the fiery trial which has come upon you, to test you, as though a strange thing happened to you. But because you are partakers of Christ's sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory you also may rejoice with exceeding joy. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed; because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified. For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil doer, or a meddler in other men's matters. But if one of you suffers for being a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don't obey the Good News of God? 'If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will happen to the ungodly and the sinner?' Therefore let them also who suffer according to the will of God in doing good entrust their souls to him, as to a faithful Creator." (1 Peter 4:12-19)

~*~Dr. Shirley's Corner~*~

Two of my books are now available from Apple's iTunes! So if you have iPhone, iPad, iPod touch with iBooks, or iTunes on your computer, you can now read my books, "Embrace Ultra-Ability!" and "Dance with Your Heart," which can be downloaded from:

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"If there is ever to be a poster person for people with ultra-abilities, it would have to be twenty-four-year-old Shirley Cheng. ...(a) power-packed guide...full of sage advice, helpful exercises, common sense analyses...tough love prescriptions..." -M. Wayne Cunningham, ForeWord Magazine Clarion Reviews

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Synopsis: The tales and poems held between the pages of Dance with Your Heart are filled with inspirations, lessons, and magic. Most of the stories take no more than a few minutes to read, and yet they allow the reader to discover and visit worlds never before visited. Inch alongside a tiny snail as she goes through a journey of self-discovery in The Gift of Uniqueness, and learn that cooperation is the key to working successfully, yielding desirable fruits in the story, The Raging Sun and Rain. The poems range from thought-provoking to inspirational; their language is simple yet lyrical, and they are written with sincerity, clarity, and that rarest commodity: wisdom.

Of course, paperback versions of my books are available autographed at my site:
http://www.shirleycheng.com

I've founded Ultra-Ability Ministry and launched the site www.ultra-ability.com. Want to experience ultra-ability today? Then start a Bible study, for only knowing Yahweh and Jesus will you be ultra-abled. Be my Bible buddy and reply to this newsletter! I'd be more than happy to study the Bible with you via e-mail, without any cost to you. Our study will be in your own pace, in your style, at the comfort of your home. I'll answer Bible questions you may have, or help you better understand specific passages. You name it, and we'll do it! Just see me as your friend/guide/answer lady. I look forward to our journey together. Thank you.

~*~A Biblical Wisdom Nugget~*~

"Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering works perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope: and hope doesn't disappoint us, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:3-5)

One day, during his earthly ministry, Jesus and his disciples got into a boat to cross a lake. As they sailed, a violent storm suddenly raged, tossing the boat around like a toy and quickly filling it with water. Frantic, the disciples went over to Jesus, who was peacefully asleep in the stern, and cried, "Master, master, we are dying!" (Luke 8:24) Upon waking, Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea, commanding, "Peace, be still!" (Mark 4:39) Immediately, the wind and the sea calmed.

Jesus turned to his disciples, saying, "Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?" (Mark 4:40) His disciples had been with him for many months, witnessing him performing numerous miracles, from giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, to the raising of the dead. Thus, their lack of faith in the midst of the storm was unfounded. Yet, we mustn't chide them alone for their little faith. When we're faced with life's storms, how many of us cry out, "We're dying!" ourselves? Our disbelief in God or in His powers and our lack of faith in Him is not because we have no evidences of God or His powers; we disbelieve in spite of an abundance of evidences.

While the ultimate reasons for our suffering lie in Yahweh's hands, one way that suffering works for our good is to test, strengthen, and refine our faith. Our faith (or lack of it) in God is revealed only when we're under stress. Only when the lights go out would we go fetch a flashlight and put batteries inside. Likewise, when there's no storm to agitate us, we would not know how much or how little of faith we have. If our circumstances don't require us to live in faith, we wouldn't even know that we need faith in the first place.

When you're being tossed around in storms, how do you react? Do you throw up your hands in fear and despair, or do you confidently look onward and upward to God to give you the strength to conquer the storms in victory? How much faith does the storms of life stir up in you? Let's pray that God our Creator and Jesus our Lord will endow us with peace that can calm the most violent of storms, just as Jesus had on that fateful day out in the middle of the lake 2000 years ago!

May the grace and peace from Yahweh God and Jesus Christ be with you.!

Content Copyright by Dr. Shirley Cheng; All rights reserved

You are permitted to only give out or link to this website or post; all other distribution and copying is prohibited without the prior written permission of Dr. Shirley Cheng. Contact Shirley at www.shirleycheng.com

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Best regards,

Dr. Shirley Cheng

Award-Winning Author with 27 Book Awards

Ultra-Ability Ministry

Proclaimer of Yahweh God's Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ

Author/Contributor/Editor of 35 books by age 27, Poet, Motivational Speaker, Self-Empowerment Expert, Advocate

Board member of World Positive Thinkers Club

http://www.shirleycheng.com

"Although I'm blind, I can see far and wide; even though I'm disabled, I can climb high mountains. Let the ropes of hope in Yahweh God haul you high!"

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Inspiration from a Blind: Want to Be Wealthy?

A jolly June greeting from Inspiration from a Blind brought to you monthly by www.ShirleyCheng.com!

What is true wealth? Is it gold that glitters under the sun? Or is it wealth that no one and nothing, not even death, can take away from you?

Let's consider material wealth for a moment. We can have absolutely everything we want in life: huge mansions, fancy cars, ever-expanding wardrobes, and a sailboat or two to boot--but should our lives be measured by monetary values? Is the worth of our lives so calculable that we can consider ourselves wealthy simply by adding up our material possessions? Even if we feel wealthy by owning great possessions, what good would such wealth do us when natural calamities take them away from us? And when we die, could we take our wealth to our graves? Thus, our lives shouldn't "consist of the abundance of the things [we possess].” (Luke 12:15, WEB)

What is True wealth then? Jesus our Messiah and future King once told a parable that answered this question:

The ground of a certain rich man brought forth abundantly. He reasoned within himself, saying, "What will I do, because I don't have room to store my crops?" He said, "This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns, and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. I will tell my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.'" But God said to him, "You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared--whose will they be?" So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

(Luke 12:16-21)

So true wealth is being rich toward Yahweh God Almighty, the very Creator who has given us the precious gift of life. Being rich toward God is establishing and maintaining a sacred and intimate relationship with Him and His Son. Such a relationship will last forever, for when we love God and His Son Jesus Christ, we will live with them in an everlasting paradisiacal world of sheer love, joy, peace, prosperity, and perfect health after our future resurrection in God's appointed time. A sacred relationship with our Creator will never grow old; it'll be "a treasure in the heavens that doesn't fail, where no thief approaches, neither moth destroys." (Luke 12:33) Indeed, such a treasure is not able to be measured--certainly not by the dollar sign as the measuring stick.

But how do we achieve this eternal wealth? Where do we even start to reap such gold?

Well, let's say someone who is interested in being your friend approaches you. How should you respond in order to accept the friendship invitation? The answer lies in the question, the key word: accept. Acceptance is the key.

1) Accept God's invitation to have a relationship with you. Yahweh said, "Come, everyone who thirsts, to the waters! Come, he who has no money, buy, and eat! Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which doesn't satisfy? listen diligently to me, and eat you that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Turn your ear, and come to me; hear, and your soul shall live: and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." (Isaiah 55:1-3)

Your Creator has graciously extended His open arms to you. He has initiated a potential relationship with you. He offers His riches to you freely. The only catch is for you to accept it! Once you accept His invitation, you will be fulfilled and satisfied immeasurably in an everlasting covenantal relationship, just as the sacred covenant He made with David, king of ancient Israel, promising him that his dynasty would be eternal. True to God's words, David's throne will last forever, for his descendent, Jesus our future King, will reign over us to time indefinite. You'd be a future resident of that Kingdom if you accept God's invitation today!

But exactly, how do you accept God's fellowship invitation? You do so by accepting and honoring His Son, Jesus as your Lord and Savior, for "whoever loves the Father also loves the child who is born of him." (1 John 5:1) Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father, except through me." (John 14:6) To know the Son is to know the Father, for Jesus is the image of God, having the same spiritual qualities as God such as enduring love, grace, righteousness, and justice (John 14:7; Colossians 1:15). It's only when you know Jesus will you have an understanding of the invisible God whom no one has ever seen or could see (John 1:18), and it's only through your trust and knowledge of Jesus can you become the child and rightful heir of God and co-heir with Jesus (John 1:12; Galatians 4:3-5). Therefore, without Jesus, you would not be a part of God's family or His Kingdom. So accept Jesus into your heart by repenting of your sins and trusting him for your eternal salvation. Once you do, you'll have both God and His Son, and for the first time, you will have the privilege of calling God your Father, for only those who believe in the Son will be adopted as the children of God! (Galatians 4:5)

2) Accept God's instruction manual for your life. Yahweh wrote a manual that introduces Himself to you, telling you of His likes and dislikes, His wishes, and deepest yearnings--and among His deepest yearnings are you--to have a sacred relationship with you! In His manual we call the Bible, you can understand how to maintain an everlasting friendship with your Heavenly Father.

The Bible is like God's Facebook or Myspace profile. It's where you get a glimpse into Yahweh's majestic personality, His awe-inspiring creativity, His almighty power, and His enduring lovingkindness. But unlike all the personal profiles we browse on the web, Yahweh's profile isn't just about Him--it's about what He desires for you, what His plans and purposes are for you. It's like a special letter a good friend writes to you, desiring your best in life.

3) Accept a godly lifestyle. Since the Bible is a life's manual on living a purposeful and godly life, don't just read it--apply its teachings and principles to your daily living to start reaping its full benefits today. God's Word promises: "Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to Yahweh's law. Blessed are those who keep his statutes, who seek him with their whole heart. [They] will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever [they do] shall prosper." (Psalm 119: 1-2; Psalm 1:3)

Jesus compared the person who merely listens to God's instructions without putting them into practice to a foolish builder: "Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn't do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell--and great was its fall." (Matthew 7:26-27) But the one who does what God instructs is akin to a wise builder: "Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock. The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it didn't fall, for it was founded on the rock." (Matthew 7:24-25) And Jesus is our Rock, for he is God's Word incarnate (John 1:14).

4) Accept God's help to help you maintain a deep fellowship with Him. Achieving true wealth--richness toward God--will be your lifelong goal, a goal that cannot be accomplished overnight. It can be achieved only through team work: your Heavenly Father empowering you with the strength and courage to be faithful to His commandments, and you cooperating with Him by trusting Him for your every need and want and by seeking His Kingdom and righteousness first. And when you seek His will first, all other things will be added unto you, and with Him will your heart be, for "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Luke 12:34)

To sum it all up: Acceptance is love: love for your Father, love for your Savior, and love for God's commandments. If we love God and His Son, we would love their commandments. If we don't love their commandments, that proves we don't love God. The two go together; we can't love one without loving the other. Jesus said, "If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him. He who doesn't love me doesn't keep my words. The word which you hear isn't mine, but the Father's who sent me." (John 14:23-24)

When you have love for both the Father and the Son, you will be in complete harmony and spiritual union with them, as Jesus said, "I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. One who has my commandments, and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him." (John 14:20, 21) Now that's true richness!

Once you achieve your mission of being an immeasurably wealthy person, all glory, praise, and honor will go to your Heavenly Father and Savior for motivating you, empowering you, and cheering you on!

~*~Q&A with Dr. Shirley~*~

This month's question is from Tucker Lieberman, editor of Moral Relativism Magazine - www.moralrelativism.com

Question: Christians consider the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) to be part of their sacred scriptures.  However, in the New Testament, Jesus seems to rebel against some of the traditional Jewish laws laid out in the Hebrew Bible.  For example, Jesus seems to disregard dietary laws. How do you think a Christian should decide which laws of the Hebrew Bible should still be followed and which are unnecessary for Christians?

Answer: First, we must understand that the laws and statutes of the Mosaic Covenant given to the nation of Israel were for Israel only, not for Christians or any other people group or nation (unless other ethnic groups lived among the Israelites). Since the human creation, Yahweh God has established several covenants with people during various time periods, and the Mosaic Covenant was one such covenant. When we, Christians, speak of the "old covenant" in the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures), we are specifically referring to the Mosaic Covenant. The Mosaic Covenant was a sacred agreement between God and Israel only. Its code of laws was to govern them for a certain period of time, not forever (Jeremiah 31:31-34). All the laws God gave to the Israelites were used as a way to show that people cannot obtain righteousness or receive eternal life on their own--they needed a Savior to save them from their sins and provide eternal life. All the daily religious rituals in the Mosaic Covenant pointed to the Son of God, Jesus Christ; they were simply a foreshadow of what was to come.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus said, "Don't think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn't come to destroy, but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17, WEB.) He fulfilled the Law (Mosaic Covenant) in two ways:

a) Obeying every single commandment without failing and without committing any sin. He correctly understood the principles behind the Law, not just the precepts themselves, and perfectly obeyed it. The only "laws" that Jesus "rebelled" against were the false interpretations of the Law and manmade traditions set by the scribes and Pharisees (i.e., Mark 7:13; Matthew 5:21-48). For example, he understood that the Sabbath law was established for the benefit of humanity, not to be a burden to them (Mark 2:25-27). He also understood that eating certain food doesn't make you morally unclean (Mat. 15:10-11; Mark 7:14-23). Contrary to what many believe, Jesus never rebelled against God's dietary regulation; what he refuted was people's understanding of the dietary law: they followed God's laws superficially and externally while their hearts were far from God, just as Yahweh Himself said, "This people draws near with their mouth and with their lips to honor me, but they have removed their heart far from me." (Isaiah 29:13)

b) Being the final sacrifice that was needed for all humankind. All previous animal sacrifices required in the Mosaic Covenant pointed to Jesus' final sacrifice as a prototype. Sacrifices in the Mosaic Covenant required unblemished animals, those without any physical defects, to wash away the sins of people. This demonstrated that only the shed blood of a perfect and innocent substitution could wash away people's sins. Why was animal sacrifice necessary? Because the penalty for sin is death, so instead of people dying for every sin committed, an animal died in that person's place. Yet, animal sacrifices could merely forgive a person's sin temporarily; when a sin was committed again, another sacrifice was needed, so animals had to be sacrificed day after day. But this all changed when Jesus came. Only a perfect human being could permanently wash away people's sins, sins from the past, present, and future, so that's why Jesus' sacrifice is sufficient for all eternity. No human being is ever perfect, so that's why Jesus became a person so he could die for us and wash our sins away. Jesus was the perfect Lamb of God who died once and for all for the sins of everyone, nullifying the daily animal sacrifices. (Animal sacrifices seem offensive to us today, because we don't comprehend the seriousness of sins and how our sins offend God. Sins separate us from God permanently; with sins, we can never have fellowship with God nor approach Him. But when Jesus died for us in our place, that enables us to have permanent fellowship with God. For more information about Jesus' sacrifice and why it was necessary, please read my article:
Salvation through Jesus Christ Alon)

After Jesus' death and sacrifice, the Mosaic Covenant was terminated and a new covenant was established between God and people of all nations, including Israel (Hebrews 8:13, 9:15, 12:24). Jesus' own fulfillment of the Mosaic Covenant terminated its governance. Think of it this way: when we write out a contract and establish specific terms for all binding parties to fulfill within a specific time frame, and when each party has fulfilled its duties on time, that fulfillment in turn automatically terminates the contract.

In the New Covenant, God established a new code of laws to govern all people, and these laws are found in the New Testament of the Bible. This code of laws include the underlying principles of the laws in the Mosaic Covenant; therefore, the "old" laws are not dead and gone--God's high standards stand forever.

All the laws set in the New Testament govern Christians. Christians are, and never have been, under the Mosaic Covenant. Israel is no longer under the Mosaic Covenant, either, since it was terminated (Galatians 3:23-28). Both groups of people--Israel and the gentiles (all other people other than Israel) are now under the New Covenant.

However, the Old Testament portion of the Bible (the Hebrew Scriptures that contain the Mosaic Covenant) is not obsolete for Christians. For example, by reading and studying the Mosaic Covenant, Christians will be able to understand why Jesus' death and sacrifice was necessary in order to give us eternal life. Moreover, there are other covenants in the Old Testament that still apply to everyone on Earth: the Adamic Covenant (Genesis 3:15-19) and the Noahic Covenant (Genesis 9:3-16). For example, the Noahic Covenant was established by God after the great flood in Noah's day. This covenant governs all of Noah's descendents, which includes every person alive today. In this unconditional covenant, 1) we are permitted to eat all meat as long as we do not eat the blood, 2) the death penalty for murder is established, and 3) God promises not to destroy the Earth with a global flood again.

Thus, in order to know and understand which laws and which covenants govern Christians today, we must study the entire Bible, both the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) and the New Testament (Greek Scriptures). We need to understand which covenants are still binding, and with whom they are binding. We cannot accept the New Testament and ignore the Old Testament.

~*~Dr. Shirley's Corner~*~

My life's story is featured in Entro, the magazine of Mom's Choice Awards, of which my books, "Do You Love Jehovah?" and "Waking Spirit" are its Gold and Silver winners, respectively. Read the article at http://issuu.com/entromagazine/docs/entro_winter_2010_2011
In the "Search this publication" box, enter in my name to go directly to my feature. (Note: The magazine may not be compatible with screen readers, as it's the case with me.)

Do you want personal, one-on-one guidance or help in better understanding the Bible and what I've written in this newsletter? Then be my Bible buddy and e-mail me! I'd be more than happy to study the Bible with you via e-mail, without any cost to you. Our study will be in your own pace, in your style, at the comfort of your home. I'll answer Bible questions you may have, or help you better understand specific passages. You name it, and we'll do it! Just see me as your friend/guide/answer lady. I look forward to our journey together. Thank you.

~*~A Biblical Wisdom Nugget~*~

"We have this treasure from God, but we are like clay jars that hold the treasure. This shows that the great power is from God, not from us." (II Corinthians 4:7, NCV)

Through the hardships I have endured, God has taught me that I am powerless without Him; He is the power in me, and friends, God is the power in you, too, if only you'd seek His help to help you overcome your pain and troubles in your life.

You see, with each challenge in my life, God has taught me that I can trust Him. He has helped me through problems of all kinds and of every size. He has also taught me that small challenges in life are to strengthen our spirits and faith in Him, and to prepare us for larger battles ahead.

Remember the young shepherd boy, David, who defeated the giant Goliath? How was he able to conquer a fierce warrior thrice his size when he had never even had any experience in warfare? Well, before he went on the solo battle, David said, "When a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after him, and struck him, and rescued it out of his mouth. When he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and struck him, and killed him. Yahweh who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine." (1 Samuel 17:34-35, 37) Yes, it was God who helped David conquer the giant!

Likewise, God will strengthened your faith as He had David, using little guys so you can be prepared to face the giants in the future! Just have faith in God to deliver you, or to give you the strength to endure your troubles if He chooses not to physically deliver you. Ensure that your faith remains strong by reading and studying the Bible, applying its teachings to your everyday living, and developing and maintaining an intimate relationship with your Heavenly Father. And when you succeed, all praise, glory, and honor will go to your Father in heaven, for it's His power in you, not your own, that has enabled you to prosper!

May the grace and peace from Yahweh God and Jesus Christ be with you.!

Content Copyright by Dr. Shirley Cheng; All rights reserved

You are permitted to only give out or link to this website or post; all other distribution and copying is prohibited without the prior written permission of Dr. Shirley Cheng. Contact Shirley at www.shirleycheng.com

Did you get this from a friend's forward and would like to subscribe? Then send a blank e-mail to subscribe@shirleycheng.com from the e-mail address you'd like to sign up under.

Read previous issues of Inspiration from a Blind at blog.shirleycheng.com

Best regards,

Dr. Shirley Cheng

Award-Winning Author with 27 Book Awards

Ultra-Ability Ministry

Proclaimer of Yahweh God's Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ

Author/Contributor/Editor of 35 books by age 27, Poet, Motivational Speaker, Self-Empowerment Expert, Advocate

Board member of World Positive Thinkers Club

http://www.shirleycheng.com

"Although I'm blind, I can see far and wide; even though I'm disabled, I can climb high mountains. Let the ropes of hope in Yahweh God haul you high!"

Sign up to Inspiration from a Blind newsletter by sending an e-mail to: subscribe@shirleycheng.com


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Inspiration from a Blind: Want Your Prayers Answered?

A warm May greeting from Inspiration from a Blind brought to you monthly by www.ShirleyCheng.com!

When you pray, do you feel that God is ignoring your prayer? After all, prayer is communication with Yahweh God Almighty; it is a two-way conversation. So when it seems as though your prayers are not being answered, there are good reasons for it.

There are hindrances to prayers--things and behaviors that will prevent an answered prayer. Here, let us briefly go over some of these hindrances, so we can learn to eliminate them in our lives in order for our prayers to be answered next time.

Disbelief

"But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For let that man not think that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." (James 1:6-8, WEB)

When we pray to Yahweh, we need to have the right heart attitude of belief. Yahweh is Almighty, and His very name means "He who chooses to become," meaning that He has the ability and power to be and do anything He wants. When we ask for something yet doubt whether He can grant the request, we are treating Him as though He lacks the power to do what we ask for.

Not praying according to God's will

Jesus, God's Son, taught us to pray: "Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth." (Matthew 6:10)

We need to pray for Yahweh's Kingdom to come and desire for His will to be fulfilled on Earth, as it is in His heavenly home. His Kingdom encompasses His entire will for us.

When we pray without taking God's will into account, we are praying with the wrong motives: "You ask, and don't receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures." (James 4:3)

We must seek God's Kingdom first; make it our number one priority. His Kingdom is the answer to all of our needs, and it's the solution to all of our problems. When His Kingdom comes, we will have everything. Jesus promised: "But seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things [material necessities] will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)

Our relationship with our Heavenly Father is like any relationship between earthly parents and their child. Not everything a child asks for will be granted by his parents. The parents answer requests based on their will and promises. This is done in everyone's best interest. Likewise, Yahweh grants our wishes only according to His will and His promises for us. Rest assured, His will for us is purely good.

Before we can ask according to God's will, we obviously need to know what His will is, don't we? So where can we find out? Why, in the Bible, of course! Pick up a copy of the Bible, read and study it. Take note of God's will and promises, and then pray according to them. (And if you need help in studying and understanding the Bible, just reply to this newsletter and I'd be more than glad to be your Bible study buddy!)

Not remaining in Jesus and his words

We know that we need to seek the will of God, and part of that will is for us to remain in Him and His Son. "Remaining" in God and Jesus is living in them by doing their will, following their teachings and words. When we ask for something and don't do what Yahweh desires, it shows that we are asking for selfish reasons, without taking God's will into consideration.

Jesus promised us: "If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you." (John 15:7)

Not praying in Jesus' name

Jesus told us to pray in his name: "Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13)

"Most certainly I tell you, whatever you may ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full." (John 16:23, 24)

Praying hypocritically

Jesus denounced those who pray just to show off: "When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward." (Matthew 6:5) Hypocrites will receive the reward they long for--praise from man--but they will not receive the reward of true value: that comes from God.

In order for our prayers to be answered by Yahweh, we must pray in humility, truthfully and sincerely from our hearts, and according to the truths of God as presented in the Bible. We should pray in secrecy: "But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." (Matthew 6:6)

While praying, we should be earnest, without using meaningless repetition, such as memorized prayers, chants or mantras: "In praying, don't use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking. Therefore don't be like them, for your Father knows what things you need, before you ask him." (Matthew 6:7-8)

Not forgiving others

Is it right to ask God to forgive our sins when we don't forgive others ourselves?

Jesus told us to pray: "Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors." (Matthew 6:12)

So before we pray, we should achieve a peaceful mind and hold no grudges in our hearts. When we forgive the wrong that has been done to us, we will be able to ask God's forgiveness for our own wrongdoing, for "if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." (Matthew 6:14)

Selfishness and lack of compassion

"Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor, he will also cry out, but shall not be heard." (Proverbs 21:13)

Mistreatment of your marriage partner

"You husbands, in the same way, live with your wives according to knowledge, giving honor to the woman, as to the weaker vessel, as being also joint heirs of the grace of life; that your prayers may not be hindered." (1 Peter 3:7)

Pride

"There they cry, but none gives answer, because of the pride of evil men." (Job 35:12)

Sin of any kind

As you can see, any sin keeps you from receiving an answer to your prayer from Yahweh.

"Behold, Yahweh's hand is not shortened, that it can't save; neither his ear heavy, that it can't hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." (Isaiah 59:1-2)

Yahweh said: "When you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves, make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil. Learn to do well. Seek justice. Relieve the oppressed. Judge the fatherless. Plead for the widow." (Isaiah 1:15-17)

"He who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination." (Proverbs 28:9)

"The sacrifice made by the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh, but the prayer of the upright is his delight." (Proverbs 15:8)

Therefore, before God answers our prayers, we must eliminate any and all sins from our lives. How can we avoid and treat sins? We do it through the born-again experience. To learn more, go to http://tinyurl.com/ykj8vlu

Demonic hindrances

While sins are a major blockade to prayers, the righteous--those who whole-heartedly devote their lives to seeking God's will--can experience delayed answers to their prayers due to Satanic hindrances. For example, the great prophet Daniel did not receive God's answer for his prayer until twenty-one days later because of demonic hindrances:

"Daniel, you man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright; for am I now sent to you... Don't be afraid, Daniel; for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard: and I have come for your words’ sake. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; but, behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: and I remained there with the kings of Persia." (Daniel 10:11-13) The one speaking to Daniel here was an angel. Since only spiritual beings could hinder an angel, we know that the "prince of the kingdom of Persia" was an evil angel which we call a "demon."

The apostle Paul reminded us: "For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world's rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12)

Yes, our main enemies are the demonic forces--evil spirits who do the will of their leader, Satan the devil. Satan and his followers do anything they can to go against Yahweh. From Daniel's experience, we can see that Satan has organized his evil force in the form of "principalities," where a demon rules over one specific region of Earth, like the "prince of the kingdom of Persia" mentioned in the book of Daniel. This is the "principalities" Paul spoke of.

Therefore, we must be strong, hold steadfast to our faith, and constantly rely on God to help us ward off the evil spirits. We must be persistent in our prayers. Jesus urged us to persistently pray to God. (Luke 18:1-8)

Jesus promised: "Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)

So keep on asking, seeking, and knocking according to the will of Yahweh, and He will answer you in His due time!

One final word...

Many times, Yahweh answers our prayers not exactly in the way we expect. Sometimes, we may not even realize He has answered us. Other times, He will not answer us when our wishes conflict with His will. But Yahweh will always do what is best for us. So even though we don't get everything we want, we will always, always get the best.

And the best of the best is a sacred, intimate relationship with Yahweh. Pray that you will develop such a relationship with Him. Seek His face, and you shall find Him!

Yahweh said: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future. You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

~*~Q&A with Dr. Shirley~*~

Question: Can you explain the components of a human being: body, spirit, and soul?

Answer: Absolutely. In the Bible, "soul" means three things, depending on the context:

1) "Soul" means "living creature" or "self," so any living animal or human is a soul. When the living creature dies, that means the soul dies. Hence, a man is a soul himself.

2) "Soul" also means "life" in the Bible. To say that a soul is leaving a person means that life is leaving that person.

3) "Soul" is also the entire life you live. So I can say that I love my soul even though it has brought me many challenges.

Therefore, a soul is not an entity with a mind of its own that could go on living when a person dies. There is no soul without a body. The notion of immortal souls is a concept in ancient Greek beliefs that has been absorbed by mainstream Christianity. Thus, always check the Bible directly to know the facts.

The spirit of a human being is the "breath of life" or the "life force" that comes from our very Creator Yahweh Himself. It is the force that brings life to a lifeless body. Without the spirit, the body would be dead, just as without batteries, a battery-powered tool would be dead. And it is in the spirit where all of a human's spiritual or non-physical elements are, such as the human willpower.

The body is perhaps the most understood component of a human being, and it's been studied extensively by scientists. One only needs to pick up a science book on the human body to learn every fascinating facet of our marvelous bodies, so I trust I won't need to spend any time on this subject.

In conclusion, the spirit (breath of life) is what you receive into your body in order to become a living soul (creature) and have a soul (life) and spirit (everything that is not physical) as described in the Bible: "Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7),

When we die, our bodies return to the ground from which they were made, our souls cease to exist temporarily, and our spirits (life forces) return to God under His control, and He shall raise everyone up on His appointed time in the future. When those of us who are cleansed by Jesus' blood are resurrected, we will receive immortality. Simply put, we become immortal after we are resurrected, not immediately after death; and for those who are still alive at Jesus' second coming, they will instantly receive immortality then, as the Bible says: "...the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this corruptible will have put on incorruption, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'” (I Corinthians 15:52-54) We will be raised up owning a different kind of body--a spiritual one, not this physical body we have now, and our spiritual body will never die--we shall live forever if we remain faithful to our God Yahweh and Messiah Jesus.

~*~A Biblical Wisdom Nugget~*~

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."
(Matthew 5:3-10)

These words of Jesus Christ called the Beatitudes are among his most well-known and loved. No wonder, for if we practice the qualities that Christ preached about, it will greatly affect our relationships with one another in a positive way. For example, when we live in humility, we will be able to accept people from all walks of life into our hearts, thus giving us the ability and opportunity to spread the Gospel to as many people groups as we possibly can. Otherwise, if we act superior than others, we will shun those we feel are unworthy to be saved. In addition, if we are humble, we will be able to accept and use constructive criticism and learn from it, and will be able to learn from our mistakes so we will not repeat them in the future.

When we serve one another with justice, we will be able to prevent false accusations and conflicts, for anytime false charges do arise, we will take care of them before they could affect the wrongly accused; thus, this ensures harmony among God's people. When we experience less injustice, we will be able to fully concentrate on ministering to others. When people from outside the church see the fair treatment among the church members, they will be drawn to the loving environment.

When we show mercy to our brothers and sisters who did wrong, we will be able to build them back up again. If we do not forgive people of their wrongdoing when they have repented, we would be forbidding them to move on with their lives for God. Only when we show mercy can we effectively show the selfless love Christ has for us.

When our thoughts are pure, we will be motivated to do what is good only. Jesus said, "For there is no good tree that brings forth rotten fruit; nor again a rotten tree that brings forth good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people don't gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:43-45) Therefore, we do whatever we have first thought of in our hearts and minds. So if we want to do good for one another and for expanding God's Kingdom, we first need to have pure thoughts and good intentions for God's Kingdom in our hearts.

The verse that sums up the Beatitudes is Matthew 5:16, where Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." In all that we think, do, and say, we must remember we are doing it for the glory of God (I Corinthians 10:31).

When we seek peace and righteousness in ourselves, we are in turn seeking peace and righteousness for God's people. And if we want to see good qualities in others, we must first set good examples ourselves as the salt and light of the world, so people can model after us. Therefore "be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)

May the grace and peace from Yahweh God and Jesus Christ be with you.!

Content Copyright by Dr. Shirley Cheng; All rights reserved

You are permitted to only give out or link to this website or post; all other distribution and copying is prohibited without the prior written permission of Dr. Shirley Cheng. Contact Shirley at www.shirleycheng.com

Did you get this from a friend's forward and would like to subscribe? Then send a blank e-mail to subscribe@shirleycheng.com from the e-mail address you'd like to sign up under.

Read previous issues of Inspiration from a Blind at blog.shirleycheng.com

Best regards,

Dr. Shirley Cheng

Award-Winning Author with 27 Book Awards

Proclaimer of Yahweh God's Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ

Author/Contributor/Editor of 35 books by age 27, Poet, Motivational Speaker, Self-Empowerment Expert, Advocate

Board member of World Positive Thinkers Club


http://www.shirleycheng.com

Having a bad day? Then meet Shirley Cheng, A.K.A. the modern day Helen Keller, to inspire, empower, and motivate you to go for the gold medal in life!

"Although I'm blind, I can see far and wide; even though I'm disabled, I can climb high mountains. Let the ropes of hope in Yahweh God haul you high!"

Sign up to Inspiration from a Blind newsletter by sending an e-mail to: subscribe@shirleycheng.com


Please sign the Parental Rights in Children's Medical Care: Give Parents the Right to Say No Petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/parentr7/petition.html

Follow Dr. Shirley on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/shirleycheng

Inspiration from a Blind: Show Agape or Avenge?

Happy April Fools Day from Inspiration from a Blind brought to you monthly by www.ShirleyCheng.com!

In a small town lived a young Christian woman named Erin who whole-heartedly followed the Bible's commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Leviticus 19:18, WEB) Whenever her neighbors were in trouble, they could always count on her for support, be it emotional, spiritual, or material. One day, her next-door neighbor and long-time friend Bob asked to borrow some money from her for an emergency. Remembering Jesus' words, "Give to him who asks you, and don't turn away him who desires to borrow from you," she un hesitantly wrote out a check for the needed amount. (Matthew 5:42)

Some months later, Bob knocked on her door and requested to borrow more money even though he still had not returned the amount he borrowed previously. After he explained that it was a family medical emergency, Erin wrote out another check to him. A few months later, he came over with the same request, saying simply, "I need more money."

Erin realized that Bob was starting to take advantage of her. What should she do?

If we were in her situation, what would be the right thing to do according to God's moral principles?

The Bible exhorts us to love everyone without hypocrisy (Romans 12:9). Our love should be the love that has been shown to us by Jesus, who laid down his own life for us (John 13:34). This kind of love is called "agape" in Greek. Such love "is patient and is kind; love doesn't envy. Love doesn't brag, is not proud, doesn't behave itself inappropriately, doesn't seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn't rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

So does this mean that we should allow others to take advantage of us? Quite on the contrary, we should not. Since such true love seeks only the good of others and "doesn't rejoice in unrighteousness," we need to disallow others to take advantage of us when we know about it. You see, taking advantage of anyone is a sin, rebellion against God's law. Those who take advantage of others in any way will be judged by God. Therefore, if we knowingly allow others to take advantage of us, we would let others think that taking advantage of others was acceptable in God's sight, and that would put them under God's wrath. Instead, we should rebuke them and not bear sin because of them. (Leviticus 19:17)

And that's exactly what Erin did, knowing that it was for Bob's own good. But she didn't leave Bob without any assistance--she offered to help him find a better job so he could support himself rather than depending on others. However, he didn't appreciate her good will. With vengeance, Bob began spreading malicious lies about Erin, and the rumors traveled throughout the small town like wildfire, reaching the ears of Erin's boyfriend, who chose to believe in the lies and consequently left her.

Heartbroken, Erin sought comfort in the Bible, which says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) She thought to herself, "Yahweh is on my side. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 118:6) She knew that she was innocent before God, and that was all that matters. We must know, too, that even if people falsely accuse and misjudge us, Yahweh God is the One who will vindicate us before all someday. (Romans 8:33; Malachi 3:16-18) Through Jesus Christ, God will judge everyone according to the works each person has ever done, good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10) He will be our Vindicator, as He said, "Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay." (Romans 12:19) When God justifies us, no one has the right to condemn us. Thus, we are not to take revenge ourselves under any circumstances or repay evil for evil. (Romans 12:17)

As Erin was reading the Gospel of Luke, a few knocks sounded on her door. She went over to the door and opened it, and there standing was Bob. "Please forgive me for the wrong I've done you," was the first thing he said. "I'm sorry for what I've done to you."

Upon seeing him, Erin felt anger boiling inside her. Then she remembered what Jesus said: "If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him." (Luke 17:3-4) She also remembered the times that she had done others wrong, and how she had sought for others' forgiveness afterward. So she smiled and said, "I forgive you." She walked to him and hugged him. He returned her hug. Reaching into his pocket, he took out the money he had borrowed from her. They chatted like old friends again, and in the middle of their conversation, Erin said, "A friend of mine is currently employing people for his company..."

So what can we learn from Erin's story? Well, let's summarize and clarify:

1) We are to treat our neighbor with agape love. The Bible admonishes us to seek our neighbor's good. (1 Corinthians 10:24) Our "neighbor" is anyone whom we come into contact with, not restricted to those who live next door, as illustrated by Jesus' parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-37.

2) We are not to knowingly allow others to take advantage of us. This is not to protect our personal rights; instead, this is for other people's own good. When we disallow people to take advantage of us, we are preventing them from coming under God's wrath and condemnation.

3) We must never take revenge when others do us wrong. Rather, we must leave retribution to God, who will repay everyone according to their works. Only God knows a person's heart and motives; therefore, only He can administer justice accurately and completely. However, leaving retribution in the hands of God doesn't excuse us from administering justice. For example, if we know of someone harming others, we must speak up about it and bring the perpetrator to court for a fair trial and have the just sentence executed. We must never remain silent of a crime we know about or give false testimonies. (Exodus 23:1-3)

4) When others sin against us or our loved ones, instead of taking revenge, we must rebuke them. Correcting others is to be done in their best interest. This permits others to understand what they did was wrong and change their behavior so they won't repeat the same wrong acts in the future.

5) When those who have done us wrong repent and ask for our forgiveness, we must grant it. Forgiving someone does not mean that we condone the wrong they have done to us; it simply allows us to show the kind of mercy God has shown us when we repent. Forgiveness also permits both parties--the wronged and the wrongdoer--to move on and improve. Now, there are those who do not truly repent; instead, they repeat the cycle of doing wrong and begging for forgiveness. In such cases, additional actions may need to be taken. For example, if a husband repeatedly abuses his wife then seeks forgiveness, the wife may need to seek new living arrangements to protect herself and her children from further abuse. If her husband truly repents afterward, the family can then reunite.

All these can be summed up in one commandment: "Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them." (Matthew 7:12) So, go and show your agape love!

~*~Q&A with Dr. Shirley~*~

Question: How should we deal with an unrepentant wrongdoer?

Answer: First off, before I answer this question, I need to lay down this vital fundamental Biblical principle: we reap what we sow. If we sow good deeds, we will reap positive consequences. If we sow evil deeds, we will reap negative consequences. If we don't immediately reap consequences, positive or negative, rest assured we will reap divine consequences from God on Judgment Day: rewards for those who live by His will, and punishment for those who refuse to live by His will. Yahweh will not be mocked, and we must not be ignorant. We are responsible for our actions.

It is erroneous to equate forgiveness with excusing someone of their wrongdoing; forgiveness does not cancel out consequences of our actions. Thus, even if we receive forgiveness for whatever wrong we've done, whether or not we've repented, we will have to face any consequences sooner or later. For example, robbery will result in a prison sentence and a criminal record. Even if our friends and family forgive us of our crime, we would have to face or live with the consequences in the form of discipline or punishment. That is called justice. Therefore, receiving forgiveness doesn't mean that we will escape any consequences that are rightly due.

With that being said, here's my answer to the question:

Jesus said, "If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother. But if he doesn't listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. If he refuses to hear the assembly also, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector." (Matthew 18:15-17) (The Jews during Jesus' day normally excluded themselves from tax collectors and gentiles, people other than Jews. So the Jews easily understood that Jesus was telling them to exclude themselves from unrepentant sinners.)

Here, Jesus indicated that if someone sinned against you and does not repent of his sin, we are to not associate with him "to the end that he may be ashamed." (2 Thessalonians 3:14) This may seem harsh at first, but it's only for the wrongdoer's own good, in order for him to realize their wrongdoing and repent. This tough love is to be done as unto a brother, not unto an enemy. (2 Thessalonians 15) Now, this disassociation does not mean that you are holding a grudge in your heart toward the wrongdoer--and we should never hold a grudge against anyone; what this means is that each wrongdoer needs to understand that every sinful deed done has its consequences and necessary disciplinary regulations. Again, we must remember the fact that God will not be mocked. We reap what we sow. (Galatians 6:7) If we sow evil seeds, we will reap the judgment and justice called for. If someone molested your child, would you go over to the molester, hug him, and say, "Oh, that's okay"? Wouldn't that give the molester the impression that what he did was alright and therefore had the right to repeat the same sin in the future? Thus, to forgive someone without administering justice is the same as condoning and tolerating sin.

As every sin is different with varying degree of severity, we should treat each case accordingly. More serious sins, such as murder and rape, should be dealt in our justice system, while lesser sins, such as personal slander, can be treated with a simple rebuke to bring forth repentance from the wrongdoer. Remember, all disciplinary actions are done for the aim of achieving true repentance in a person. Disciplinary action that doesn't renew a person will merely yield a more vengeful person, and this is the problem with our prison system. It's well known that many criminals repeat the cycle of crime-incarceration-release-crime. Locking up a sinner is not the answer; Biblical discipline and reform is the answer, because "godly sorrow works repentance to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world works death." (2 Corinthians 7:10) In other words, simply feeling bad for the wrong we've done without changing our behavior is not true repentance, and false repentance will reap God's divine judgment. But if we truly feel sorry about what we've done and change our behavior, that's true repentance, which will lead to salvation (eternal life).

~*~Dr. Shirley's Corner~*~

Do you want personal, one-on-one guidance or help in better understanding the Bible? Then be my Bible buddy and e-mail me! I'd be more than happy to study the Bible with you via e-mail, without any cost to you. Our study will be in your own pace, in your style, at the comfort of your home. I'll answer Bible questions you may have, or help you better understand specific passages. You name it, and we'll do it! Just see me as your friend/guide/answer lady. I look forward to our journey together. Thank you.

~*~A Biblical Wisdom Nugget~*~

"Behold, Yahweh's hand is not shortened, that it can't save; neither his ear heavy, that it can't hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." (Isaiah 59:1-2)

"Why doesn't God appear to us?" is the question that many of us have wondered about, yet we don't realize the significance of the request or its outcome. Yahweh is an absolutely holy God who cannot live among sinful people. When He stayed with the Israelites during the wilderness journey, those who serve Him had to be consecrated (set apart as holy) in order to go near Him. People doing sinful acts in His presence were punished. If it weren't for Moses' intercession, the entire Israelites might have been wiped out. So in order to have God with us, we must make ourselves clean first by putting our faith in Him and His Son Jesus and obeying His commands, which aren't hard to follow at all. All of His principles are to benefit us.

However, Yahweh does still personally communicate to His select few, devout Christians who sincerely love Him and His Son. Through the Bible, daily events, and our conscience, He speaks with those whose hearts are after His own heart, just like King David of Israel. If we want to have a relationship with Him--if we so desire and yearn for His nearness--we must follow the ways He has set out for us in His Word. We must abandon our sinful ways by yielding our hearts to Him and Jesus because our sins are what separate us from the holy God.

Yahweh's purpose for creating humans is to have fellowship with us. God wants to be near us. He offers His love to us abundantly. The problem is us: we have been pulling away from His embrace. We are the ones who are refusing His love, and turning our backs from Him. We are refusing to return His love. Yahweh is full of grace--He will not force Himself on us when we don't want Him. True love cannot be forced. Yahweh is patiently waiting for us to turn to Him. When will we ever return His love?

Let us "seek Yahweh while he may be found" and call on Him "while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to Yahweh, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:6-7)

May the grace and peace from Yahweh God and Jesus Christ be with you.!

Content Copyright by Dr. Shirley Cheng; All rights reserved

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Best regards,

Dr. Shirley Cheng

Award-Winning Author with 27 Book Awards

Proclaimer of Jehovah God's Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ

Author/Contributor/Editor of 35 books by age 27, Poet, Motivational Speaker, Self-Empowerment Expert, Advocate

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Inspiration from a Blind: Are You the Salt of the World?

March greetings from Inspiration from a Blind brought to you monthly by www.ShirleyCheng.com !

If you could be any flavor you want, which flavor would you choose? Sweet, sour, salty, or bitter? At first thought, I would want to be sweet as honey. But after careful consideration, I realize it may not be a very wise idea. While candy can bring a smile or two to someone's face, too much of it yields only empty calories, and we all know where those excess calories will end up! All honeybonnie and lovydovy is all fluff and no substance, offering no lasting value. I want to be something that affects others in a big way and I want my flavor to last. So I choose to be salty.

Why salty? Well, what does salt offer? How does salt spice up our lives? Jesus desires for all of us to be the salt of the world, so we must understand exactly how we can be salty (Matthew 5:13).

Salt serves several purposes: it spices up dishes, preserves food, soothes a sore throat, and disinfects, among others. For instance, adding just a tiny bit of salt to food can make all the difference to our taste buds, and before the refrigerator was invented, people used salt to preserve food. In light of these functions of salt, how should we affect the world, spiritually?

Well, our role as the salt of the world and our position as the world's light should compliment each other. As we bring warmth and delight to others as the light, we're adding flavor to their lives as the salt. While we're guiding and leading people to live by godly principles as a beacon, we're preserving the world from moral decay. And when we expose the works of darkness, and warn and discipline wrongdoers, we're disinfecting people from sin.

But first, in order to positively affect our world, we will have to become different from the world in a good way and remain different; we will have to be set apart. If the world is dark, we'll have to be light; if the world is bitter, we'll have to be sweet. This is what being holy and sanctified means. We are to be holy because, as Jehovah our Creator says, "I am holy." (Leviticus 44:11, WEB.) Many of us wince at the thought of being "holy," picturing an unhappy someone rigidly following a set of manmade do's and don'ts: don't touch this, don't eat that, don't get married. While these rules of man "appear like wisdom in self-imposed worship, and humility, and severity to the body," they are meaningless, not effective in fighting off the sinful indulgence of our flesh (Colossians 2:23). Even though being different means that we indeed need to avoid certain activities, we are not to be weighed down by external customs and rituals when they don't truly reach down into our hearts and change us into better people. On the contrary, holiness means wholeness and perfect in mind, body and spirit; and sanctified means set apart for good use by God. Becoming holy is a work done by God for us, whereas external religious rituals are man's vain attempt to become holy apart from God.

Now, some may think that when we are holy and set apart, we must stay away from the world--those who live in contrary to God's righteous will--in case we are negatively influenced. That's so untrue! How can we positively affect the world when we are not present in the world? When we prepare our meals, do we hide the salt shaker? Of course not; instead, we make sure it's always present so we can shake some salt into our food. Likewise, we must be in the world, yet not of the world (John 17:16-18). Being in the world and not of the world, we can add flavor to the world while not losing our saltiness and not allowing the world to take away our saltiness.

If we allow ourselves to be negatively influenced by the world and adopt its way of life, we would become a friend of the world, and "don't you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4) We are not to "love the world, neither the things that are in the world." If we love the world, we don't have God's love in us, for "all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn't the Father's, but is the world's. The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God's will remains forever." (1 John 2:15-17)

How are you fulfilling your role as the salt of the world? If you're not sure where or how to start to shake your salt, then perhaps you'll receive some inspiration by reading what other salty people are doing, including yours truly:

"Every day, I write a devotional which is posted on my Facebook fan page, website, and Twitter. These places have fans from 20+ countries who take the opportunity to read and be encouraged by words from the Bible. Since the devotionals I post are written that day and taken from my own personal time with God that morning, this endeavor is very personal to me and allows God to use what He is teaching me to encourage and convict others as well." -Kristi Burchfiel, Author of Without Regrets: A Study of Ecclesiastes 4, Kansas, USA

"I believe the ways in which we are most effectively salt in this world is by loving well--loving our family and all those God brings across our path, from the kids on my husband's baseball team to orphans we work with each Friday afternoon. Perhaps most poignantly, being salt involves loving those who are quite frankly not so lovable--the obnoxious kid, the foul-mouthed child, the one who is so hurtful in lashing out. 'Loving well' is a tough job, but it's one we're called to. And we are not without examples: 'Greater love has no one than this--to lay down one's life for one's friends.' (John 15:13)" -Trudy Chun, Missionary, Author of Love & Ashes: A Bible Study of Love, Loss & Ultimate Romance, Hungary

"In order to be salt of the earth, we strive to be a Kingdom Business. This means that we are guided by Biblical Core Values as we try to live into the unique role God has planned for us in the marketplace. This represents a challenge to all of our team members to be different in the workplace to be more loving, more grace-filled, to represent Christ, and fight for justice. This impacts not only how we interact with each other but also how we work with vendors, customers, and the community at large. We strive to be different from the rest of the world so that, through that, the folks we touch will see Jesus." -Todd E. Miller, President, Classic Metal Roofing Systems, Ohio, USA

"I challenge myself each day to be an activator for people to experience Jesus. I continually pray for God to open my eyes and ears throughout the day so I can see and hear what He wants me to see and hear so that I can be His hands and feet by providing a kind word, a helping hand, a meal for the hungry, a prayer for a lost soul or whatever the situation needs according to how the Holy Spirit leads. This is not how I envisioned spending my days as I was a very successful businessman, a religious skeptic and one who had a powerful Damascus Road experience. Since surrendering my life to Jesus I have walked away from my dream, gone back to school to earn a Master of Divinity and now preach the Gospel wherever He opens the door." -Norm Grant, Preacher, Ontario, Canada

"The salt of the earth role that I play encompasses what I do in my daily life. Sometimes the best and in some cases the only Bible a person may read is by watching your testimony and life. Therefore I strive every day to be testimony conscientiously not only in public but also when no one is looking as well." -Kevin Benton, Author & Child Care/Social Worker, Pennsylvania, USA

"I am fulfilling my role as salt of the world by helping others to learn more about God's Word. One of the ways I do this is by gathering Bible verses that speak directly to a situation that a friend is going through, printing those out, and sending them to him/her with a note reminding him/her that God's Word is the best medicine for any situation we are going through." -Laura Wasson Warfel, Communications Specialist, Olivet Nazarene University, Illinois, USA

"I travel all over the state and sometimes country preaching the truth of Jehovah as plainly taught in the Bible. A little over a year ago I started a house church and have had the blessed honor of teaching slowly through the Bible with them. I pray that I will have the opportunity to preach the truth of Jesus to my final breath." -Ryan Dalgliesh, Preacher, Author of Love Notes: A Biblical Look at Love, Texas, USA

"I personally fulfill my salt role by being the hands and feet of Jesus both locally and internationally through mission outreaches. Over the last several years, my team and I have shared God's love and compassion with people of all races and ages in Houston and the surrounding areas, as well as in Central America. We have provided food for the hungry, clothing for the naked, shared God's love and forgiveness with prisoners and have seen many come into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Matthew 25:31-40 is the driving force behind our work because we desire for our King to say, 'As often as you have done it unto one the least of these my brothers, you have done it unto me.'" -Joan Murray, Joan Murray Ministries, Minister, Author, Missionary, Texas, USA

"I am fulfilling the role of being a salty Christian by first focusing on my relationship with Christ. When I do this others notice that I'm loving, peaceful, and have a joy that is attractive. Secondly I'm using my talent as a writer to direct others to Christ, the ultimate example of salt, who cleanses us from sin and preserves us for heaven." -Teresa Sells, Author/Writer, Arizona, USA

"I am fulfilling my role as the salt of the world, in many ways. First and foremost, by living my life in a way that causes people to wonder what's different about me. This usually prompts them to ask questions, enabling me to share the gospel with them. I also look and listen for opportunities to share Jesus and pray with strangers who randomly voice their problems to me at the grocery store and other public places." -Ruth Thompson, Senior Pastor of New Hope Worship Center, Children's Author of I Cannot Tell a Lie, Mississippi, USA

"I make God's will known to others. As rubbing salt onto a wound hurts, sinful humanity winces when they are told of God's moral laws. Even though people may not always like to hear the truths of God, I uncompromisingly lay down God's will because I know only God's truths can satisfy humans' thirst for true love, peace, and happiness." -Yours Truly, Gospel Proclaimer, New York, USA

Do you notice a common thread running through these responses of salty Christians? These people demonstrate to us that being the salt of the world is a lifestyle. Salt is what we are, whether we are at home, work, or dining out. Being salty is not something we decide to be whenever we feel like it. We are to constantly present our bodies as "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is [our] spiritual service"; we are not to be "conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of [our minds], so that [we] may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God." (Romans 2:1-2)

So go, be the salt of the world! Remember Jesus' words for us to remain salty at all times: "If the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men." (Matthew 5:13) Don't lose your flavor!

~*~Q&A with Dr. Shirley~*~

This month's question is from Donna Lee, who's a Pulitzer Prize contender for her book, Nowheresville, Everywhere, Earth, which is available at www.authorhouse.com/bookstore Visit her site at http://www.justdonna.g2gm.com/whats_new.html

Question: With all the controversy in the early first millennium about the nature of the personage known as Jesus Christ, such as the Council of Nicea of 325 A.D., the myriad of versions of the Bible, including the many 'mistake' Bibles that have deliberate or otherwise mistakes, and the many editings of the Bible over the centuries (which is true of just about any holy book), the fact (or rumor or history) that King James was into bestiality and suppressed the last edition of the Bible which was translated from the original Greek and Hebrew before putting out the King James Version, most of which the vast majority of people have never heard about, not practicing Christians, not most of the general public, wouldn't you say that it's very hard to know or even believe a lot of what Christianity is supposed to be about except as an institution to hoodwink and control the majority?

Answer: First off, our modern Bible versions are essentially the same doctrinally as the oldest surviving manuscripts of both the Old and New Testaments. Since we have tens of thousands of manuscripts from different time periods, scholars, linguists, and translators have been able to compare them and therefore, discover manmade errors, whether made by mistake or deliberately. (These manuscripts are copies of the copies of the copies, etc. of the originals or "autographs"; copies were made by hand in order to preserve the text.)

During the first century, the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) was a popular version, which Jesus' disciples and apostles (and it seems even Jesus himself) used and quoted from. Thus, their use attested to the reliability of that version. We still have that version, which, besides manmade errors, is essentially the same in doctrine as our modern Bible translations. It's wording is also similar to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the earliest surviving Hebrew manuscripts which date between 200 and 70 BC.

The oldest manuscripts we have of the New Testament (Greek Scriptures) are dated between 200 and 400 AD (a fragment of the Gospel of John is dated around 125 AD), and scholars affirm that those versions are doctrinally the same as our modern versions; only errors made by copyists exist, and these errors do not affect Biblical doctrines. Thus, the Bible in its entirety has been preserved for these past 3,500 years.

Second, the Bible is unlike any other sacred text ever existed. The Bible is proven to be the only book written by God. The Bible is:

a) Historically accurate: Archeologists have unearthed evidences of certain people, places, and events described in the Bible, and historians have attested to the Bible's historical accuracy.

b) Scientifically sound: The Bible stated certain scientific facts thousands of years before scientists proved them. No contradiction between Bible accounts and scientific facts exists.

c) Prophetic: Hundreds of prophecies in the Bible have been fulfilled exactly as they were foretold hundreds and thousands of years before the events actually took place. Only a handful of prophecies are yet to be fulfilled, and they concern all of humanity.

The Bible's historicity, scientific soundness, and fulfilled prophecies, among other unique characteristics, attest to its divine origin, setting it apart from all other books. No other book has the credentials the Bible has.

Lastly, the Bible is clear, concise, and consistent in laying down Christian principles. It is the primary source we should go to about Christianity and its accurate teachings, as it's the very eternal Word of God, who cannot lie (Titus 1:2). Therefore, the Bible is the only source about Christianity we need, and it's the only source where we can find absolute truths of Christianity.

Pure Christianity as presented in the Bible is non-political, non-violent, and non-oppressive. The Bible commands Christians to respect and honor human governments and leaders (Romans 13:1-3; 1 Peter 2:13-14). Christianity operates on the principle of self-sacrificing love, as Jesus commanded, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just like I have loved you; that you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35) The earliest Christians would rather die than to disobey Bible teachings. They diligently followed this commandment: "Don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21) An uncounted number of Christians had indeed been martyred; they were tortured in various ways by various means until death released them. Even under such cruelty inflicted upon them, these Christians remained faithful to God till death, cursing or harming no one. These Christians followed in the footsteps of Jesus, who, after his executers drove long nails into his wrists and ankles, asked God to forgive them, saying, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)

Thus, when we study the Bible, analyze Jesus' examples, and examine how true Christians have lived out Biblical principles, it becomes unfounded and unreasonable for us to entertain in our minds even for a minute the idea that true Christianity is an "institution to hoodwink and control the majority." Is it wise for us to misjudge Christianity just because so-called Christians throughout the centuries have misrepresented the Bible by committing heinous acts against humanity and ultimately against God?

~*~Dr. Shirley's Corner~*~

Learning from those who have "been there done that" and are willing to share their wisdom with you is one of the most effective ways you can create the life you dream of. Start shifting your life into the direction you desire today by downloading a copy of "Living the Life of My Dreams: Essays & Interviews with 30 Ordinary People Living EXTRAordinary Lives.  Their Lessons Learned & How-to Secrets Revealed!" (Caryn FitzGerald, 2011).

Give yourself the gift of connecting with thirty incredible individuals who have shifted their lives in the most powerful of directions and who are now sharing their knowledge with you!  Available online at: http://www.LivingTheLifeofMyDreams.com
I'm honored to add that yours truly is one of its contributors. :)

~*~A Biblical Wisdom Nugget~*~

"One who spares the rod hates his son, but one who loves him is careful to discipline him." (Proverbs 13:24)

In the Bible, specifically the Old Testament, "rod" is often used to denote loving discipline, as in Psalm 23:4: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

While we may not like the feeling of a rod poking at our sides like the way a sheep is led, such rod is always for our good, to direct us to the right path. Consequently, such a rod becomes our comfort.

Properly handling the rod of discipline helps bring children up into responsible adults. If a child misbehaves by stealing or hitting his friends, a caring parent would be sure to promptly discipline their child for his own good. Otherwise, if the parent remains silent, the child may learn that stealing and hitting others is acceptable and would therefore likely repeat the same behavior or worse yet, become a juvenile delinquent or criminal when he grows up.

Be careful how you use your rod. If you are a parent, are you using your rod to gently yet firmly prod your children in the right direction, or are you misusing it to vent out your frustration on your kids? The Bible promotes only healthy family relationships, telling fathers: "Don't provoke your children to wrath, but nurture them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4) Never abuse your power.

Parents are the shepherds of their children, who would be lost sheep in this tough world without their parents' guidance. So shepherd your flock with tender loving care. Don't let your little ones go astray; when they wander off, use your rod to gently lead them back on to the right path of God.

When you need an example of what a great shepherd entails, look no further; look up to our greatest Shepherd: Jesus Christ, who "lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11)

May the grace and peace from Jehovah God and Jesus Christ be with you.!

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Best regards,

Dr. Shirley Cheng

Award-Winning Author with 27 Book Awards

Proclaimer of Jehovah God's Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ

Author/Contributor/Editor of 35 books by age 27, Poet, Motivational Speaker, Self-Empowerment Expert, Advocate

Board member of World Positive Thinkers Club


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