NEWS

«Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!» (Psalms, 32:1-2)
David says that after repentance God’s forgiveness comes into person’s life, his transgressions are forgiven, his iniquities are not imputed to him and his sins are covered. David says this person to be blessed. One who does not hide an iniquity in his heart is open before God. But there is no forgiveness for the one who does not repent and does not confess his sins to God.

«For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil» (Ecclesiastes, 12:14).
Solomon said the same thing Jesus said: God will bring into judgment our every work and especially all the hidden works: sins, wrongdoings that we have tried to keep in secret. God will openly bring our every deed into the light of His judgment. It means that all our sins will follow us wherever we go. The only way we can avoid the consequences of our sins and wrongdoings – is to repent before God brings them into the judgment. Repentance opens to us the door of mercy and grace from the Lord. It brings into our life new opportunities from the Lord. For this reason the only right lifestyle and the only correct decision is to repent of our wrongdoings so that God won’t have to judge us.

«For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light» (Mark, 4:22).

Here we see a very important truth spoken by Jesus. According to this Scripture everything hidden will be revealed. If we accept this truth then we will want to live righteously before God and men. Our every wrongdoing and ungodly deed sooner or later will be brought out in the light, and all our secret works sooner or later will come into the open; all our unconfessed, unrecognized and secret sins sooner or later will become obvious for everybody.

«The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes» (Psalm 19:8-9).

This passage of Scriptures tells us that one of the sources of joy is God’s Word, meditation on the Word and the perception of the (our) world through the prism of the Word. That is why it is so important for us to realize that if we want to remain in joy and learn to draw joy, we must grow in love with God’s Word.

Dear friends, God once again delights to tell us to serve Him with gladness. Jesus once told His disciples: «Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven» (Luke, 10:20).

If your name has been written in the Book of Life, if you are a child of God, then you are also a co-heir of Christ. And it is more than enough reason to motivate any of us to rejoice and thank God for every day of our lives.

The Bible says that «God loves a cheerful giver» (2 Corinthians, 9:7). So it says that God not only loves givers, but He delights in cheerful giving. It is so essential for us no only to serve God, but also to do it with joy.

Today I would like to continue talking about the importance of God’s Word.

We saw what God spoke through Moses that God’s Word is our life. We also talked about the fact that our attitude towards the Word can either prolong our life or shorten it. We have already seen in the parables of Jesus that our attitude towards God’s Word determines the strength of our foundation, our life and all the things we are building. Yesterday we also talked about the fact that God’s Word is able to change our disappointments into joy, bankruptcy – into abundance. We saw all of it in the life of Peter. I would like for us to look at the verses that talk about Peter when he was utterly failing and ready to give up.

For several days now we have been talking about the role of God’s Word in our lives. We talked about the Word of God being our life and about the fact that our right attitude towards it can prolong our days. Also we learned that our attitude towards God’s Words determines how strong the foundation of our lives will be and how able we are to withstand the troubles of this life. Today I would like to look at another facet that demonstrates the significance of God’s Word for us.

«Therefore whoever hears these saying of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these saying of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house; and it fell. And great was its fall» (Mathew, 7:24-27)

Today God wants to tell us the same thing. The Word of God is life to us. When God sends us His Word, He offers us life. Rejecting the Word of God we reject life itself. Moses says about God’s Word: «For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life…»

It is extremely important for us to appreciate the Word of God and not to treat it as something futile, – it is not like a song that we have listened to and then gone to do our own will. It should be to us like the greatest treasure. We have to value God’s Word, to hide it in our hearts, to appreciate it because it is life to us. God says that through the Word and through our right attitude towards it we can extend or prolong our days. Our attitude toward the Word determines whether we will extend our life or shorten it.