Pandemic Warning! Time is Running Out!

Pandemic Warning! Time is running out!

The world came to a standstill in early 2020 when a deadly virus started spreading in China in 2019 and from there to the rest of the world within a few months in 2020.

Today as I sit writing this, it is 2021 April and we can safely say the leaders of the world have safely contained this virus and greatly eradicated it from their countries successfully. Although the virus has mutated in several countries as of today.

How did most of us achieve so much within a short time?  To find out let us take our country Singapore and the methods we employed. 

First our main focus was to get rid of this pandemic as soon as possible. 

We looked at other countries which successfully contained and eradicated it and learned from them. 

We implemented strict rules and fined those who flouted them, for example wearing masks in public, minimising the number of people at any given venue and at house visits, safety distancing in public etc. This was equivalent to a partial lockdown to prevent massive spread. 

Working from home became a norm. Cinema theatres, schools and worship centres were shut down. 

We controlled travel and to and from other countries. We quarantined those coming in from other countries to ensure that we did not let the virus in. 

We identified hotspots and cleaned up all such hotspots for example the migrant workers dormatries and schools. 

All hospitals and clinics were at alert. All medical staff selflessly donned the encumbering protective apparel and did not waste any time treating and getting those infected cured. Everyone who was tested positive was quarantined together with their family members who were living with them and all infected individuals were treated immediately. This minimised the number of deaths in Singapore.

Announcements were constantly made on social media to alert the public and to inform them of what was happening, of the measures taken and what they should do.

The whole country came together to develop ways to trace those who had the virus and finally we now have the Trace Together  app on handphones and trace-together tokens for those who do not have phones. 

Now we are systematically getting every able citizen vaccinated to ensure the prevention of the surge of another pandemic.

Our leaders did not just save their own families and forsake the rest of us. They

did not deviate and concern themselves with other issues no matter how urgent they were, but instead pulled all resources together to eradicate Covid-19 out of Singapore and to help all affected families and individuals.

How did we the citizens respond? We obeyed(are still obeying) the laws which were implemented. We are still wearing masks everywhere we go. We are very careful about gatherings and safety distancing. We get ourselves vaccinated to prevent getting the virus. 

Now we can safely say we are reaching the status of a Covid-19 free country. Travellers coming into Singapore need not be paranoid because they know that no matter what, Singapore is safe and immediate measures will be employed to ensure safety and a cure if they are infected.

Now, there is another Pandemic far worse than Covid-19 in the spiritual world since it's beginning. It is SIN. Many are going to hell daily because their souls are infected with sin.

We who are concerned about people about protecting them from pandemics in the here and now on earth, which is a short time, are we not concerned about the souls infected with sin, perishing for all eternity in hell?

What are we doing about it? Are we doing anything to rid ourselves of sin in our lives? Are we getting ourselves vaccinated to protect ourselves from SIN? What is that you may ask. 

The vaccine against sin is the blood of Christ Jesus. 

Without getting vaccinated against Covid-19 one may not be able to travel freely in future. 

Without getting our sins washed away by the blood of Christ Jesus Who was and is the only sinless One, we will not, I repeat, we will not be able to enter heaven. 

Jesus the Son of God, came into this world as a man, lived a sinless life and He became the bloodied sacrifice for our sins on the cross. Therefore we need not sacrifice animals at any altar to appease God and get our sins forgiven. We only need to believe in Jesus and His finished work on the cross for us, repent of our sins and ask Him, Who has risen from the dead and is living now, to enter our hearts and live there in us. Yes when we do that our sins get washed away by the shed blood of Christ Jesus. Then, God's Holy Spirit will live within us and counsel us in the way we are to live.  

Vaccines do not protect us 100% from getting Covid again but they protect us from dying. In the same way when we believe in Jesus, invite Him into our hearts and get washed by His blood, we as human beings will tend to fall into sin again but we will not remain in sin for long. Accepting Jesus does not make us 100% free from future sins but The  Holy Spirit Who lives in us will constantly nudge us to repent and get right with God again. 

As masks protect us from infections passed from one person to another via the air, obedience to God's word will protect us from wrongdoing.

Covid-19 vaccines protect us from physical death and acts as a passport to gain safe entry into countries.  In a similar way but on a spiritual level, when we believe in and  invite Jesus, repent and get right with God, the blood of Christ Jesus protects our souls from spiritual death, clothes us with the righteousness of Jesus and gains us entry into heaven. 

God is holy and anyone with sin can never enter heaven. Jesus is our one and only solution. 

I am so perturbed because, we Christians who know this are living complacently. We go about our own lives as if we are going to live here on earth forever. We eat, drink, work, earn, save money, buy luxurious items, go on relaxing holidays, get engaged in fitness programs and expensive diets to ensure that our dying bodies get healthy. We marry, give birth, raise our families and attend to our own affairs as if there is no afterlife.  How long my dear friends, how long are we going to live on earth? 

We concern ourselves by campaigning to 'Save our Planet'! Our planet, the earth, my dear friends is not going to last. It will be destroyed eventually. Let us instead campaign to 'Save Souls' ! 

Christians, church leaders, pastors, please, let us get out of our comfort zones and warn everyone. Warning everyone about this is even more urgent than warning them of any worldly pandemic. Tell them from the pulpits, tell them in your homes and offices, at the markets and shopping centres. Tell them on social media. Do not compromise with the ways of the world. Do not be afraid of losing popularity, of losing friends and of losing everything else. Do not be afraid to speak the truth. Jesus is The Truth. Do not hesitate to show them the way. Jesus is The Way(only Way). Live imitating Jesus and show them how to live forever in eternal bliss. Jesus is The Life.

Our eternity will be spent in either heaven or hell. Hell is a location where no one would want to go. But again no one can enter heaven without Jesus.

Jesus Himself said ,  "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (Jn 14:16) No one else on earth has made such a claim since the beginning of the earth to date.

Why are we not telling everyone this?  Are we not being selfish, horribly selfish if we do not tell our family, our friends and all we encounter, about Jesus and the way to escape hell fire and get safely to heaven?  

When you see your friend walk towards a man hole won't you stop him and prevent him from falling in? When you see a burning house, won't you alert those who are sleeping inside to escape? When you see a child about to touch a pot of boiling water on fire won't you run to pull him back? When you find a sure cure for cancer and been healed yourself, won't you tell all who are having cancer about it so that they too can be healed and live?

Where is this urgency my dear Christian friends, when it comes to saving the souls of others? How can you sleep peacefully knowing that your friend beside you, your husband, your wife, your child, your parent is going to hell if he or she dies tonight?

Please do not be complacent. The only way to eradicate sin from our lives is to be washed by the blood of Jesus and the only way to be free from sin is to invite Jesus into our hearts and walk daily in obedience to His written Word(the Bible) and finally the only way to to enter heaven is JESUS!

Please do not be selfish. First live by example. Show everyone how to live a forgiven life by the way you live with and in Jesus. Then go and tell everyone about Jesus! All you need to do is tell them. They must see that you walk your talk.  It is not your duty to force them.  Then after telling them leave it to God to work in their hearts. He will do it in His time.  Continue showing genuine love to them.  On your part continue to live in obedience to God's Word and continue to pray for those to whom you told about Jesus. 

Please save as many you can from the burning hell, both by your example and words, while there is still time.

✍After note✍

Just a note to let you who read this know that, I have written this without malice or any other motive other than sincerely wanting all who read this and their loved ones, especially every member of my immediate and extended family  and all my descendants  saved and to be with me in heaven for all eternity. God knows my motive for writing this.💖✝🙏

For those of you who are skeptical about coming to Jesus, I sincerely pray that you will do your own research and honestly ask God to reveal the truth to you. He will! Be assured that my prayers for you and your loved ones will accompany your every search for truth. 🙏

Written Sincerely 

      with love

💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

  Mary Augustine 

12th April 2021

Choose Friends Wisely Today:-Close friends and their influence on us.

Choose Friends Wisely Today:- Close friends and their influence on us.

Our growing years from birth till early childhood are spent with our parents, grandparents and caretakers. Beyond that the influence we get from the outside world increases with time. That's where friends come in.

Friends are important in life. No one can be without friends. Next to our family and kin, friends help shape our lives as we spend much time with them. 

We definitely cannot choose our family and kin. We have very little choice of choosing whom we work with. But, we can choose whom we want to be our closest friends. By that I do not mean that the others are enemies. No, far from that. All others can be our friends, short term friends whom we meet once in a while. But closest friends are those we share most of our interests and lesiure time with. 

There is an idiom which goes like this, 'Birds of a feather flock together'! That means those with the same interests spend much time together. 

Vladimir Lenin once said, "Show me your friends and I will tell who you are!" There is truth in what Lenin a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist said.

Yes, when we spend much of our time with those who are interested in making something out of their lives, in serving others and in becoming useful citizens, then over time we will become like them. Instead, when we spend much of our time with those who waste their time smoking, drinking and exploring drugs and those who are lazy and engage in useless fights, with those who just sit and mindlessly engage in video games, binge on movies, food and cheesy talks and juicy gossips, then naturally we will become like them. 

Once we reach the age of 40, those wasted years will only bring us tears. There is no way we can turn the clock back. But again there may be some hope for those who ammend their ways and try very very hard to make the best of their remaining years on earth.

Those whom God has called to be the 'light of the world' and the 'salt of the earth', we Christians need to be extra careful when we choose our inner circle of friends. 

Why do I say that? As I have already said, friends influence our lives in major ways. As children of God, we need god fearing friends who will hold us accountable for our walk with God. As iron sharpens iron, god fearing friends sharpen one another. They will encourage us to persevere in obeying God's Word and they will correct us when we do wrong. They will pray for us and pray with us when we are sick or in trouble. They will worship God and read the Bible with us. They will give us biblically sound advice. We need such friends so that we do not compromise with this fallen world and fall prey to its sinful ways and lose the eternal life which Jesus has won for us.

Time and again in the Old Testament of the Bible, we read about the punishments God's chosen people, the Israelites, who dwelt among the Canaanites and other idol worshippers, received. They disobeyed God, got entrenched in the pagan practises of those whom they surrounded themselves with and made compromises with their evil lifestyle, and eventually received God's wrath upon themselves and their children. Let us never make the same mistakes they did.

So dear children of God, choose your closest friends wisely with extreme caution. Choose friends who will help you keep eternity's values in view. Keep these close friends with you till a ripe old age.  Together with your closest friends go and shine the light of Christ Jesus and glorify God via what you think, do and say always.

Finally remember there are two types of friends. Those who help us to gain the whole world and reach the stars and those who ruin their lives and ours. But the best friend of all is one who would give up his life to save us from hell fire. That faithful friend is none other than Jesus.

In John 15:13 we read, 

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." These are the words of Jesus. He said it and He lived it. He laid down His life to save us from eternal death and win a victorious entrance into heaven. He died a cruel death, taking our sins upon Himself and rose again, defeating death. Jesus lives! He lives to walk with you now and for all eternity. Will you choose Him to be your closest friend and companion and Lord of your life today?

May God bless you as you make your choice this day.

Mary Augustine

7th April 2021