Special Edition:- 2 blogposts in 1. Have you made your final Will? & Suffering reveals Who your God is!

Special Edition:-2 blogposts in 1.

1. Have you made your  final Will? 

2. Suffering reveals Who your God is! 

Have you made your Will?

Have you made your Will?

If you have not it is time you seriously consider now.

I am not talking about an earthly will. Something you leave behind for your loved ones to enjoy after you.

I am talking about making a Will for your soul and spirit. Your Spiritual Will, a purchase of a location where you will live for all eternity after you die. Well you need not purchase it with money because someone has paid for it with His blood. You only need to accept it. That's all.

Have you decided where you want to live forever and ever and ever after your life on earth ends. 

You may not think much about it now when you are young or healthy and strong.

These thoughts will assail you when you are facing a life threatening illness or are on your death bed. Those who have not made their 'Spiritual Will' yet, get a chance to make theirs at the last minute before they die. For others who keep putting it off, the chance may never come because they  may die suddenly, without notice.

Therefore it is always  wise to make your Spiritual Will as soon as possible, now. Do not put it off.

Need to know how to make that Will or accept that Will? 

All you need to do is get to know Jesus; repent of all your sins; make Jesus the Lord of your life. Yes it is that simple.

You will then become the child of God. He will then give you the strength to live a life pleasing to God. He will empower you to do good works which when done by your own strength or ambitious power become just filth but when done by His prompting and empowerment become pleasing to God our Father.

So what are you waiting for? Accept that ready made Will purchased by the Blood of Jesus and become a child of God now.

If you decide not to accept that Will then by default you will be given the only other location, which is hell as you property to live in after you die. 

Make your Choice Now!  

Suffering reveals Who your God is!

Suffering  and Death escape no man. 

Is there a man, woman or child in this world who has never ever suffered or who has never ever died on earth?

We all know that no one on earth ever escapes suffering and death.

Suffering always reveals our true heart's condition towards God. 

Who is God to you?

Person 1

To the one who believes, there is no God:-

He believes that suffering and death exist because there is no God. He also believes that man has to deal with it by himself! Thus he is his own 'god'!

Person 2

To the one who does not care if God exists and to the one who goes to God only when he needs something :-

Suffering and death exist because God does not care; God is selfish; God is cruel. 

Person 3

To the one who believes in many deities and many gods and who believes that all gods are the same:-

Suffering and death may be sadly acceptable, but only after exhausting all methods of making sacrifices to all the known deities and gods. Yet this person will be disillusioned into thinking that he or she will be born again as someone else or as a creature because of his 'karma'. Only pain, confusion and a struggle will remain when breathing his or her last, not knowing the truth.

Person 4

To the one who walks faithfully with God our Creator daily and who has an intimate relationship with His Son Jesus:-

Suffering and death are unavoidable yet he will have God's peace in him. 

Thus says he:-

When I suffer I know that, 

My God loves me and He cares for me.

He knows my pain & He knows my name!

He gives me grace and strength even in my suffering.

I will emerge stronger with His counsel and His strength.

The following Bible verses bring comfort to me.

Isaiah 43:1 NIV

But now, this is what the Lord says---he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2 Corinthians 12:9

But my God said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Isaiah 40:29

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Psalm 73:26

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

This person No 4 continues to say:-

When I face death, I know that, I will walk into my heavenly home with my Saviour, Lord and King Jesus, because I am now walking hand in hand with Him every moment. Death is a joyful home coming for me.

Reflect:-

Are you person 1,2, 3 or 4?

Who are you and Who is the God in your life?

Whoever you are, just know that all will undergo suffering of one kind or another; all will die one day and all will either go to heaven or hell. There is no in between. There is no rebirth. There is no such thing as being born again as an animal or creature. There is no such thing as 'Karma'. There is no such thing as disappearing into nothingness, because your soul which leaves your body will be attached to your spirit when you die, and you will hear, be able to communicate and feel all the joy or pain wherever you go to. 

Do not deceive yourself or be deceived by anyone else. All who have died in the past are either joyfully blissful in God's presence in heaven or pathetically in perpetual pain, of having lost a loving God, mourning in Satan's stronghold in hell. 

Jesus, God's only Son, came to the world as a Man to suffer and die for our sins and to win victory over eternal damnation for everyone on earth, past present and future. He rose from the dead in three days and is now seated in heaven's throne at Father God's right hand, mediating for us, who repent of our sins and accept Him as  our Lord and Saviour. 

It is only One Person in the entire history of mankind Who said, "I Am The Way, I Am The Truth and I Am The Life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6 NIV. That Person is none other than Jesus Christ the Saviour of all mankind, of all who willingly repent and make Him their Lord and Saviour.  Can you name just one other person who claimed that? If you can, you win. 

Many are deceived into thinking that Jesus came to save only the Jews.

Many others are deceived into thinking that Jesus is a Western God only for Westerners.

Still many others believe the lie that Jesus did not die but was replaced by someone else on the cross.

Whichever lie you believe, please ask God your Creator to enlighten you and reveal the Truth to you. He will, if you ask sincerely with an intention to know and with an intention to escape hell.

There are many in betweens. Those who think they can play their cards well and appease all their deities and gods including Jesus. They are those who hope that one of them will save them if they are nice enough to pray and offer sacrifices to all  of them.

No, no, no! It does not work that way. This too is a lie from the pit of hell.

My dear family and friends! Only, Jesus came to seek us and save us who are lost in this world. 

Will you get to know Him and surrender your life to Him while there is still time?

You may not have time or this opportunity to repent and accept Jesus again. 

Please consider I plead you. 

I love you and care for you therefore am doing my best by writing blogposts and by praying for each one of you, to not miss the golden opportunity God gives you in your lives to know Jesus and become a child of God.

If you are in doubt just get a copy of the Bible and read it from cover to cover. Pray before you read it. Ask God your Creator to help you understand it. He will. If you don't understand what you read, read it again, asking Him to bring His Word in the Bible come alive to you and make you understand. He will. The God Who formed you intricately in your mother's womb knows how to save you if you will only sincerely ask. God is a gentleman. He gives you the opportunity and waits for you to ask. He will never force you. 

When you grab this opportunity and make Jesus your Lord, you will find joy and peace in your suffering and in loneliness. Depression will flee from you. You will be filled with the Peace of God which only comes from knowing and abiding in Jesus. 

Do not wait till the last minute, because there is no use of regretting after you die. This may be your last and only chance! 

Love you and am 

praying for you reader.

God bless you.

Mary Augustine

24th May 2021

Choose Your King Today!

Choose your King today!

Dear family and friends, let me ask you a question. "Who is your king? Whose kingdom are you living in now?"

When one rejects God he is saying, one of these 3 things :-

1. I don't believe there is a God and I don't care.

2. I don't need God. 

3. I do not believe that God sent His Son Jesus to save us from the kingdom of hell(darkness) and bring us into the kingdom of heaven(light).

Everyone  on earth belongs to a kingdom ruled by a King. 

When we profess any one of the above 3 statements, then that reveals the pride in our hearts.

The Bible says that the king who rules the proud is Leviathan the dragon which breathes fire from its nostrils. Leviathan is the king who rules the proud of heart.

Job 41:34

Leviathan looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud."

But when we humbly acknowledge and believe that Jesus is God's Son, Who died for our sins and rose victoriously and that He lives to mediate for each one of us, then we belong to the Kingdom of heaven where God rules. Jesus is crowned as the King of the Kingdom of heaven.

Choose this day which kingdom you want to belong to. If you do not know, if are confused, ask God for enlightenment and reveal the truth to you. When you choose rightly, you will never be the same again. You will be transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light in an instant. You will be transformed into a child of God and live in the  light with Him as your King, Ruler, God, Guide and best Friend.

The Bible explains clearly the meaning of living in the kingdom of light and tells us how we will live if we are indeed living in it. 

To know more read Colossians Chapter 1 in the New Testament of the Bible. 

Let me give you an excerpt from it;  

Colossians 1:13-14 NIV

For He(God the Father ) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness (the moment we believe in Jesus) and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves(Jesus), [14] in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

*(the words in brackets and italics are mine. I have included them for your understanding.)

Dear reader, as you read this, know that I have prayed for you and have asked God my Father to enlighten you and lead you. Now, go ahead and ask Him for yourself and receive  His light and truth. 

Choose your King today!

God bless you.

Mary Augustine

22nd May 2021

PEACE which only Jesus can give:- What is it?

Hey, friends and family!

You may be wondering what is this peace that only Jesus can give? 

First let me explain to you about the peace the world gives.

I am sure you have encountered situations where you felt anxious, were fearful, were in agonizing pain or experienced a terrible loss and were hoping for the absence of those circumstances and for peace to return. 

Yes, this is the peace which the world gives and which everyone in the world experiences. It is the peace and serenity of heart and mind in the absence of anxiety, fear, pain and loss. It is the peace you experience when all is calm and good.

We all know that as human beings, suffering, pain and illness is inevitable and unavoidable. We suffer or fall ill either by our own choice (disobedience to civil laws and/or natural laws) or because of the choice made by someone else. Some of us may even suffer silently because of the atrocities done to us by evil people. Some of us may suffer neglect and suffer because we are lonely. During these times we lose sleep over it, worrying, assuming the worst about situations or people, having misunderstandings and being fearful or suffer in pain because we are sick or suffer heartaches because our loved ones are sick. Thus we lose peace of mind and peace of heart and if it prolongs for more than usual, we may even experience depression and  other illnesses ourselves. In worst scenarios people have contemplated suicide and even committed suicide because of lack of peace.

We only get back this peace when things get better or circumstances change for the better.

But...the peace that Jesus talks about is something totally different. 

In the Gospel of John 14:27 Jesus assures His followers, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid."

The Peace of Christ Jesus

This peace which Jesus gives is a peace we receive regardless of the pain, suffering, heartaches or illnesses we go through. We can have this peace as our gift both in good times and bad times.  We receive this peace when we believe in Jesus and accept Him as our Lord and Saviour. We receive this peace when we surrender our lives to Him, obey His commands and trust Him to work through our situations. 

Why can't anyone else give us this Peace?

It is because, Jesus is the Son of God Who created this universe and you and me. Only Jesus has this authority to give this kind of peace amidst trials and turmoils. 

No one who has not experienced this peace, can vouch for it. Only those who have truly experienced or are experiencing this gift of undisturbed peace can safely say, "Yes! This kind of liberating, undisturbed peace, given my situation, can only be from Jesus, the Prince of Peace!"

Take it from me, my dear friends and family, I am experiencing this undisturbed, liberating and joyful peace right now, even in my present turbulent health condition. 

I may not know what tomorrow holds for me and my loved ones, but I know that our future is safe and secure in the hands of my Lord, Saviour and Faithful Friend, Jesus Christ. 

I have the Peace of Christ Jesus in my heart and mind and my spirit. You can too! Just call upon the beautiful name of Jesus, today!

Praying for you reader, to hear God's still small voice and to submit your life to Him and receive His peace. 

Love you much.

God bless you.

Mary Augustine

18th May 2021

Discipled by Jesus my Best Friend.

Discipled by Jesus my Best Friend.

Have you given your life to Jesus? 

Have you believed in His cruel death on the cross for us human beings, His resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven and His rightful position at Father God's right hand on the throne?  

Have you believed that Jesus is mediating for everyone who believes in Him, to the Father?  

Have you repented of your sins and resolved not to sin again with the help from God's Holy Spirit? 

Have you believed that the blood of Jesus washes away your sins when you repent and confess and resolve never to sin again?

Congratulations, if you have done all that,  then  you are saved. 

Albeit, you are not there yet.

The next step is to be discipled so that you know Jesus intimately, walk faithfully with Him and be transformed into His image while on earth.  Believe me, it takes a whole lifetime.

You need someone who is mature in the faith to disciple you. Someone who will walk you through and help you in your walk with Jesus and who will teach you the full gospel without compromising with the lies of this world. Someone who himself or herself is a good role model and who is walking daily, faithfully, with Jesus. You may find such a person but again that person cannot be with you for 24hrs and teach you when you are awake and when you are asleep. 

When I was searching for one such person to disciple me at the age of 21, God showed me the Perfect Person.

He was none other than Jesus Christ Himself. In  Luke 24:13-15 NIV we read,

"Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. [14] They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. [15] As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;"

Just as Jesus walked with the two disciples and taught them all that Scripture taught about Him, Jesus, He taught me and discipled me, from His Word, the Bible, begining from Genesis to the last book, Revelation. 

There is no better book to  learn about Father God's love for us and about Jesus than the Bible and no better teacher than Jesus Himself, Who eagerly awaits for us to ask .  He is the best and only One who can disciple us and transform us into His image, if we allow Him. 

So pick up the Bible today and sit at the feet of Jesus.  Learn about Him from Him. He will teach you patiently and transform you gradually. Do not short change this for any other course or activity. Sit at His feet daily for at least two hours faithfully. Be eager to learn and you will see His marvelous works, done for you, in you and through you by His Holy Spirit.

I who am sharing this with you, am not perfect at all. In His mercy and grace God has  chosen me. By His grace through faith in Christ Jesus, He has saved me, a wretched sinner from eternal damnation. I am ever so greatful to Him for that. 

There are times when I fail Him along the way but I repent and run into His arms resolving never to hurt Him again. I consciously avoid hurting Him by my sins. I can only do this with the help and power of the Holy Spirit. By myself I will fail Him miserably. I have no power over sin. But Jesus has. He has won victory over sin and eternal death for me. Now, I only live, move and breathe by His power and strength each moment.

Jesus is continuing to chisel, shape and mould me, through the daily situations and circumstances in my life, teaching me through His Word and guiding me by His Spirit. When I make mistakes He corrects me. When I fall He lifts me up and guides me. He disciplines me when I am stubborn and puts me on the narrow path beside Him. My life has never been the same ever since I made Jesus the Lord and Saviour of my life and my Best Friend. Everyday is new and exciting for me.

With His strength, I will walk with Him until I die and then, I will walk with Him straight into heaven. I have found a faithful Friend and Guide and Councillor in Jesus. He is my Lord and Saviour.

Dear reader, won't you make Jesus your friend too? Your life can be exciting just as mine.You will never regret it. 

Love you my reader.

God's blessings be upon you as you read and make Jesus your friend, Lord and Saviour. Am praying for you as I write and post this.

God be with you.

Mary Augustine

12th May 2021

What every born again Christian must know.

What every born again Christian must know.

Matthew 16:26

"What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"

I may be the CEO of a company, a doctor or a scientist,

I may own fortunes equivalent to or more than 10 billionaires,

I may be a great philanthropist,

I may be powerful, successful and self sufficient,

Yet if I know not Christ Jesus, then I would have lost my soul.

All that I have gained and achieved and owned and done will go to a complete waste.

I can't take anything with me into my afterlife. 

What I will be able to bring along are only the good works done, birthed by faith in Christ Jesus.

All other good works birthed by my flesh and mind will be burned away like straw, by God's refining fire on judgment day.

1 Corinthians 3:13 NKJV

Each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.

Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV

 8. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9. Not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 NKJV 

14. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.

So help us Father to seek after Jesus with all our heart, know Him with our mind and to obey Him and walk with a humble repentant heart, allowing the Holy Spirit to birth good works through us.

Help us to shine the light of Christ by our lives so that all will glorify You Father God.

Help us be the salt of the earth. Just as one of the properties of salt is to make the consumer thirsty, help all who come to us, all who encounter us, thirst for Christ Jesus. 

So help us Father God, never to lose our souls and the souls You have entrusted to our care, we pray, in Jesus mighty name. Amen!

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