Before humanity existed in the world, one man became created by God. The bible indicates that he was created to the likeness of God. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness;…” (Genesis 1:26). The word image means: physical aspect of a person, in the contrary likeness means: similarity in appearance or character or nature between persons or things.
This person that was created by God was called Adam, and according to the scripture he was created to the image of God. Understanding the verse we can comprehend that he was created perfect because God is perfect. After he was created by God he was put in the Garden of Eden, “And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed” (Genesis 2:8). Speaking concerning the garden, we can colligate it with a person that receives the Holy Ghost; when one is a sinner and repents then they become a new creature like it says in the epistle that Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2nd Corinthians 5:17). We know that salvation is not the only thing we need in a Christian’s life; we need to grow closer to God. To get close to God one has to grow spiritually; after being saved one has to seek the sanctification and after seek the baptism of the Holy Ghost. To be baptized with the Holy Ghost is one of the highest levels of a Christian. It’s when the Holy Ghost dwells in the individual; he doesn’t just come and touch you, but stays inside the heart. In this spiritual state one is closer to God and each prayer that is made, reaches God. The power to heal infirmities and cast out devils comes through the power of the Holy Ghost. Remembering what Jesus told his disciples, “…In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:17,18). Although the promise of the Father was not yet fulfilled, Jesus had prophesized them what was going to occur, and it was until the days of Pentecost that the promise of the Holy Ghost was fulfilled.
Even if an individual receives the baptism of the Holy Ghost, which does not mean their spirituality will be strong forever, one has to feed their Spirit, needs to keep seeking God. It’s like a gardener that has a garden full of rose and a beautiful glooming rose begins to sprout, one has to feed it with water (prayer) and the rays of the sun (the word) so it will continue to grow. These are obligatory requirements if one wants the rose to keep its color and vigor. It is very important that we maintain ourselves spiritually strong. So if a storm reaches us we can resist it, the financial crisis is adding up, crime continues, and many more things, but that’s why we have to be STRONG to defeat the devil and his traps. As The Church of God we have a big duty, to live righteous as Christ, which means we have to be righteous in everything! Not forgetting who we are: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9,10). Praise God the almighty!! We are visible; let’s announce to the world being living testimonies that there can be Holy people in this world that live a righteous live before God. Remembering what the Apostle Paul told Timothy, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:16). Every person that hears us speak will believe, each person that witnesses our testimony will be surprised and believe we truly are the CHOSEN GENERATION!! I encourage you brother (sister) that we begin living in holiness and always seeking the Holy Ghost and us who already have it due to the grace of God, let’s continue feeding our spirit and live righteously as Christ. Amen
By Irving Romano
CA, UT, NV & S. ID
Regional Evangelist
No comments:
Post a Comment