During this Lenten Season, my wife and I had been reflecting on the Stations of the Cross, a meditation of Christ's journey to the top of Calvary.  We especially enjoy some contemporary songs written as a result of this meditation.

Station of the Cross 1: Jesus is Condemned to Death

As I put myself into Jesus' place, I wondered what was going through His mind when He was condemned to death. Although as God, He already knew that this would happen, I imagine that His human side had questions and doubts. In fact, He prayed for the Father to take away the cup of suffering that He knew He would come to bear. Sometimes, we forget that Jesus is both one hundred percent man and one hundred percent God. There is a human side to Jesus, not only because God created man in His image, but also because Jesus is the image of God, the first born of all creation and in Him dwells the fullness of God Incarnate. This is one of the things that Incarnation means and this what the Incarnation tells us. Jesus conquered death and gave the mankind eternal life. He is indeed the perfect Lamb of God, the sacrifice for all our sins.

BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD!

Jesus' sentence to death reminds me of a time that I listened to the Father and did exactly as He asked me to. Others around me tried to convince me not to do what God wanted me to do and tried to convince me that I was not hearing His voice.  This is what happened to Jesus. He claimed that He spoke the words that the Father had given Him.  This challenged the Pharisees and their interpretation of the scriptures and their security in the law.  Jesus did not do anything wrong.  He just spoke the truth and He was condemned because of it.  In fact, in His trial, He stated clearly to Pontius Pilate that He came to testify about the truth.

Reflecting upon the life of Jesus and what He experienced, my experiences are placed into perspective and I grow closer to Him, closer to Who He is, and closer to His humanness.  For what I had experienced in this life is similar to what He experienced and I paid a price for it, but that price was not death (though I did die in the eyes of those who accused me).  Perhaps, one of these days, the price will be death and when that day comes, I am ready because I know Jesus.

Dear Heavenly Father,

May we continue to keep our eyes on you despite what the world tells us.  May we continue to devote our hearts and minds to You and draw closer to You.  May we forgive those who accuse us falsely, those who turn others against us, and those who abuse authority.  May we continue to understand that despite being sentenced to death, Your Son still had the peace and resolve that only comes from the Spirit of God.  May we be given that Spirit and given the opportunity to witness for You in the ways that You had ordained for us.  May You continue to keep us, protect us, and strengthen us during times of tribulation.

Amen.

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.  When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,”  and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. (John 19:25-27).

During the last few weeks, my wife and I had been kneeling at the cross and praying.  Having a representation of what it was like for Jesus while He was on the cross really helped me reflect on the events that occurred at the foot of the cross.  One of the events that caught my attention this morning is how Jesus redefined the relationship between His mother and a disciple.

When I read the passage today, I imagined my wife and I, kneeling the cross and Jesus telling me, "This is your wife," and turning to my wife saying, "This is your husband."  This exactly how it happened.  Jesus told me that she is my wife and He later told my wife that I am her husband.  While it did not happen at the same time while we both were physically kneeling together at the foot of the cross, it did happened because we both kneel at the foot of the cross and gave our lives to Him.  Our marriage comes back to the cross, comes back to Christ, and to what occurred through His death and resurrection.  This comes as no surprise because the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world.  Everything comes through Him, by Him and for Him.  Thus, it is makes sense that our marriage leads back to the foundations of the world for God joined us together.

And, this is the incredible connection that we both have for each other through Christ.

Dear Jesus, continue to direct our lives and remind us that we are indeed at the foot of the cross, that we should put our lives at the foot of the cross and offer them to you just as You offered yourself to the world as a living sacrifice for the sins of mankind.  May we continue to love each other through Your power and Your guidance and may we continue to be reminded that it is at the foot of the cross that our relationship began with You and with each other.  And, it is at the foot of the cross that we are reminded of You and of one another.  Amen.

Copyright 2012 by Christenstein

Yesterday, on my way back from lunch, I waited on the platform for the train.  While waiting, the Holy Spirit tugged my attention to this man -- he had a very long beard and eyes that I recognized from somewhere before in the Spirit, but have never seen in real life.  The word that I received was the "old."  He was not an old man by any means, but someone in his late forties.  Having had experiences with others and their reactions to my approaches to them, I decided to take a more subtle approach this time.  And, by any standards, telling someone that they are "old" is an offense in this culture, but not other cultures that have high regard for those older.  I walked in front of the man, paced back and forth to get his attention.  It may be better to get his attention first and have him initiate.  After a few tries, he did not talk to me, but others probably thought was nervous and anxious since I paced back and forth on the platform quite a bit.

The train finally came and I entered through the rear door of one of the cars.  The man that I received a word for entered the same car through the front door.  I went straight for one of the seats near the door and sat down.  The man went from the front of the car to the rear to sit by me.  That was when I realized that I should be approaching him, talking to him, and telling him what was given to me.

I initiated a conversation with him.  He was really nice and cordial.  I told him, "I have seen you somewhere."

He answered, "Where do you live?"

I answered, "(fill in whatever neighborhood you want)."

He said, "I go to that neighborhood antique store all the time.  You probably seen me there."

I never went to that antique store.  He was talking antiques and how he collects them, how they are better investments of furniture, and how one can sell them back.  He said that IKEA stuff did not last and you cannot sell them back.

I was thinking to myself how this may be a great idea.  After listening to him about antiques, my stop came.  I said bye to him and left.

I went home without thinking much of it -- just a conversation I had with someone.

However, when I woke up this morning, I realized that the word "old" was indeed correct.  It was not referring to the man, but to what he does -- "old" furniture.

So, it is clear that God is reaching out to this man.  Perhaps, I should have given him the word, but then it may have not gone too well - discretion is key.  I felt a little bad for not giving him the word straight and assuring him that God loves him.  After talking to the Lord for a while, He gave me the impression that it is okay, that I approached the man and showed him love that day.  It was a nice conversation.

I guess some things never change after marriage.  God is still using me to talk to others, to share love with others, and to make His presence known.  And, this time, I learned something new from Him -- that His mind instructs me beyond anything that is possible by human instruction.  The world believes that the word "old" is a bad word, but it is actually a neutral word that describes just about anything.  For example, Xanga is "old" but that does not necessarily make it bad.

Perhaps, God is rebuking me gently for my narrow-minded thinking.  Perhaps, He is teaching me more about how an innocent word like "old" is perverted by the world.  Although I don't know God's intentions, I know that I had learned quite a bit and that scripture is illuminated by the life that comes from Him and that I am never the same from this point onward.

The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” 

But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor 2:15-16)

A week ago, the God of providence provided me something that I needed.  It is like going into a room and finding tons of treasure and feeling the shower of His love rained upon me.  I felt like He is the Father giving His child a gift and smiling about it.  I needed a new printer, not wanted one -- there were things that I needed to print and file for the work that I am doing for the Kingdom.  And, in the back of my mind, I knew that He will provide because He promised to provide whatever I needed to do His will properly and to bring Him glory.  He personally told me a long time ago that He will provide for my needs.  Just to be sure, I did talk to Him about it and reminded myself of the promise in prayer.

A week ago, I was walking out of the office and guess what I found?  I found a printer right by the driver door of my car.  It was obvious to me that God was giving me a gift!  Now, I would never have picked it up if I didn't talk to God about it earlier, but this was too much a coincidence to me.  Some may think that the printer was being thrown away because it was near the dumpster, but the dumpster was empty.  The person who wanted to throw the printer away could have easier thrown it in the dumpster, but instead left by the driver door.  This is not a coincidence - God was giving me a gift!

So, I picked up the printer and brought it home.  After downloading the drivers and testing it, I found that it needed new toner.  I found that the toner was very reasonable and bought some.  Just yesterday, I put the new toner in and printed a test page - the page came out perfect!  I am amazed with the Lord and with His promise to provide for those who do His will.  My wife is also amazed and knows that it is the Lord because she knew that I needed one and she knew that I talked about it before this all happened.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:36).

Copyright 2012 by Christenstein

Today, I remember further the faithfulness of God and His grace and love for me.  After many years of birthdays not celebrated, three years after the Allegory of the Gospel of grace, my Father decides to celebrate my birthday with me.  At the church that He wanted me to be at during that time, many of the new friends celebrated the day that I surrendered to Christ.  I love to celebrate that day because it was the day that I gave my life to the Lord.  My real birthday reminded me of pain and disappointment (in contrast to my spiritual birthday), not because it was intention, but because there were cultural differences with regards to what birthdays mean and how to celebrate them.

During that time, God spoke through three different events to heal me of the pain and scars that I experience every year when my real birthday comes around.  First, he spoke through a person who told me that he understood that I did not celebrate my birthday, but God picked this day for me to be born and God cares about that day.  Second, God spoke through my workplace.  It was the first year that we had Martin Luther King off as a day off, which fell right on my birthday - God gave me my birthday off!  Thirdly, He spoke through the celebration of a one-year old birthday party, in which He spoke to me personally and said (and I paraphrase), "I was there with you every birthday and celebrated with you."  Lastly, last Sunday was sanctity of life Sunday, which celebrates birth!  Through these events, I came to realize that God celebrated my birthday even when others forgot, did not celebrate it at all, or tried to celebrate it without knowing first how painful it could have been for me.

What was once a very dreadful and pain day became a really powerful testimony of the faithfulness of God and His power of deliverance from the forces of darkness.  This comes to tell me that He knows me best and knows what I needed to heal.

Copyright 2012 by Christenstein

On January 14, 2007, a Sunday, as I was preparing for another semester of classes, a promise of the Lord became fulfilled right after the Allegory of the Gospel of grace, an incident prophesied by God Himself to me -- that the world will preach me the gospel.  I was on the train and on my way to buy books for the semester and then I noticed a girl who caught my attention in the Spirit, somehow, I knew that something was familiar about her and I kept on looking at her to figure out why and how I knew her.  She surprised me by talking to me, asking me if the Coke Zero tastes like Coke.  I offered it to her, which she refused at first, but later accepted.

There was another prophecy given to me by the Lord, "The one how leads you to me shall be your wife."  Because I eventually accepted Christ through this girl, I truly thought she would be my wife based on the prophecy given to me by God.  However, as time went on and as the church she attended came under divine discipline, God told me to leave.  The discipline was very severe with stitches for thumb, surgeries for shoulder, and a fractured vertebrae for the leadership. It was easy for me to leave because the person whom I thought would be my wife did not acknowledge that I was her husband - there was another prophecy, that God will join us together and He did not here, so she was not the one.

At the [new] church that God led me to, I eventually did meet my wife.  Of all the years that she had been living and following God, she never heard God tell her who her husband is, but He eventually did directly and through saints gifted in prophecy (much in the same way that He told me).  God told her directly that I was her husband and we confirmed it.  There were many women who pointed to me to Christ, but none of them knew the deep secrets between God and me [the treasure chest] except my wife.  It was her who led me right back to my relationship with God because she knows secrets between God and me which only God can give to her.  At times, it feels as though she is right there in my relationship with God.

So, today, I celebrate and remember how God worked through the girl on the train and used her to point me to the charity of His Son.  I celebrate that God is faithful to me even when I misinterpret Him. And through His grace, I eventually bumped into my wife who knows more deeply what it means to live the Christian life and to have a relationship with Christ.  My wife and I have been married ten months now and it is the best time of my life - life in grace just gets better and better and better as one continues to know God more and and more. Sure, we have our ups and downs and our arguments with one another, but we always remember that God brought us together by speaking to each of us directly - and through that faith, we know that nothing can divide us.

And, God continues to lead us and speak to us both at the SAME time.  There are many decisions we need to make and we both have different opinions, but God speaks to us and guides us, saving us the process that others have gone through and the compromises that had to be made.  For us, it is simply, God wants us to do this or do that and we do it.  Not all things are confirmed, but enough things are confirmed where we both know that God united us and placed us together.

Copyright 2012 by Christenstein

During the first few minutes of the New Year, I wrote to my blog, honoring God and remembering what He did for me five years ago.  For me, New Year 2007 is an event I call the Allegory of the Gospel of grace.  To make the long story short, this event starting a process of forty days and forty nights that led me to Christ.  

On New Year's Day, I declared that God was with my wife and I, celebrating the New Year's.  While I understand that this is a bold statement to make, whenever I make a statement like that, I know it to be true.  Last night, we had dinner at a restaurant (the place is not important) - it was spontaneous and not planned.  When we were done, the waitress came to us and told us that our dinner was paid for by someone we did not even know.  While I do pay for things for strangers from time to time, listening to the lead and guidance of the Holy Spirit, I never expected the the same to happen to me.  In fact, this was the first time a stranger paid for dinner, both for my wife and/or I.

We took the generosity as a sign from God and His speaking to us regarding certain important directions in our lives.  Most importantly, we both agree that God, through His providence, celebrated New Year's Day with us.  I had always celebrated the New Year's with Him by remembering the Allegory of the Gospel of grace.  This year for the first time, He celebrates with my wife and I.

I don't know about you, but I was touched by Him and I felt lots of joy.

Praise the Lord!

Copyright 2011 by Christenstein

As this New Year's came, I remember the allegory of the gospel of grace, an event prophesied to me when I was around five.  The Lord told me that the world will preach the gospel to me (see December 31, 2009) before it happened.  He knew about the internet and how what seemed impossible when I was around five would occur (referring back to the December 31, 2009 entry).  He indeed knows all and knew how I would come to know His Son.

This year, as I celebrate New Year's, I came to realize that not only my family and wife celebrates with me, but the Almighty God Himself, before the beginning of time, picked New Year's day to celebrate the beginning of my journey of discovering His Son on February 9, 2007.  He indeed marked the days and the seasons and shows me that He is part of life, every step of the way, celebrating with me.

He is a wonderful Father who led me to my wife.  He just told her to marry to me and told me to marry her.  Neither of us proposed to each other - we just knew because we know that He speaks to us both.  Today, I am able to celebrate with my Father and also with wife, who witnesses my Father.  It is an amazing celebration because it is not only between me and her, but between the three of us.

I am grateful and thankful that He spoke to me when I was young and told me what would happen.  Without His directly speaking to me, I would have never came to know His Son.  It is indeed His word that led me to Him and to salvation.  And, the allegory of the gospel of grace (which I would like to call it) is the beginning of the story.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

Copyright 2012 by Christenstein

October 11, 2011 is the date that this entry was written.

I had debated whether I should be writing this entry or not, given that in the past few weeks, God had been talking to me clearly and without dispute.  My wife of about seven months also knows that God told me to quit my job and to move on with what He has planned for me.  It is understandable that some of you who also call yourselves Christian will not believe that God speaks to me and will challenge me to tell you where in the Bible does it say for a Christian to quit his or her job.  I have no interest in hearing these types of comments from" Christians" and furthermore, I will consider them all from Satan.  It is Satan's job to discourage me from doing God's work, not your job - so don't make it easier for the Kingdom of darkness.  Christians should be living in the Kingdom of light and should be encouraging one another to do what God has called one to do.

God has called me to quit my job effective November 11, 2011 and move onto a new endeavor.  I had spoken to my supervisor and provided them with one month's notice, well above the 2 weeks required.  This is not only a generous thing to do, but the godly thing to do - when I know for certain that I will no longer be there, I should tell them, even if I intend to quit a month afterwards.  Yes, I owe nothing to them beyond the 2 weeks, but it is my love, testimony, and faith in Christ that compels me to communicate lovingly and considerately.

Last year, a prophecy was given to me.  The person told me that she felt God will bring a job to me and that when it comes, I should take it because it is indeed from the Lord.  She emphasized that it will come - there is no need to learn anything new.  In trying to understand the word, I asked her - "So, God is going to give me a job in this economy."  She answered me, He is God and anything can happened because of Him.  I knew that this was true because He personally told me about a week before (maybe two or three weeks before) directly that He was going to give me a job and I will have to worker harder than I am now.  I needed to figure out when, so a few months later, I asked another person if God has something for me.  I prayed that He guides me further.  The person told me that He will provide a job to me, but I should be careful because she saw me with a hard hat in a construction site.  A few months ago, God told me that the end of my journey at this job is November 11, 2011.

In the beginning of October, my friend called me about a business venture.  My friend told me that she planned to open on November 1, 2011 and asked me if I was interested.  Having the prophecies and the word of God, I answered "yes."  Although things did not work out with the original plans ("Plan A"), I held steadfast onto what God had told me and with encouragement from my wife, I continued to believe in God's word and direction for my life.  As time progressed, we decided to move forward with Plan B.  I had indeed went through the construction site in my journey to receive this job as prophecied to me by God.

I did not search for a job (and continued in the job I had) because God told me He will bring it to me.  When this opportunity came to my door after one year of waiting, praying, and seeking His will with regards to what I should do with my education, I knew that it was Him because He told me directly beforehand Himself (God speaks to me personally), He told beforehand through those gifted in prophecy (confirmed it through people who did not know me or know what He told me), and it happened as prophecied with the drawbacks and construction (confirmed it through the prophecy coming to pass).  He even told my wife that "quitting" was coming soon last month (another confirmation because He drew my wife into the process).

It is exciting.  It is living by faith in Christ.  It is risky, but God is with me and I will learn a lot more about relying on Him, loving Him, knowing His providence, and learning more about Who He is.  Indeed, the righteous live by faith in Christ and Christ alone!

October 30, 2011 is the date that this update was written.

I recently got a random gift through a drawing and the person I just met who gave the gift was born on November 11.  I take this definite confirmation from God that November 11, 2011 is indeed the end date.  While some of you may chalk this off as coincidence, I will not and cannot do so.  God clearly spoke to me a year before this happened, confirmed it through others, confirmed it through my wife, confirmed it through my circumstances and situation, He told me the exact date, and He confirmed through a string of events under His divine hand.

Copyright 2011 by Christenstein

I am a Christian who firmly believes that Jesus Christ came to the earth in the flesh, live a bodily life, and bodily rose again on the third day for the forgiveness of sins for mankind.  I am a Christian, but I do not befriend some Christians.  The Bible clearly teaches us that we should choose our friends.  No relationship should be forced on another Christian or brought upon them because Christians are called to love another.  Love does not mean that disregard others' wishes on who they want as a friend.  That is not love because it is rude.

I had some Christians tell me that I should be friends to everyone because this is "how" Jesus loves.  It seems their views of Jesus is really flawed and totally unrealistic - considering the fact that Jesus blasted the Pharisees, the fact that He told some that they were going to hell (he told some Pharisees that they were going to hell because they blasphemed the Holy Spirit), the fact that God clearly communicates in the Bible that some are going to hell, and the fact that Jesus spent most of His time with three of the apostles.  I believe that the absence of preaching about hell has caused Christianity to be psychotic, unbalanced, and an ideal influenced by the times (the secular humanist spirit of loving man - the brotherhood of man).  It is childish to expect that just because Jesus loves everyone that we should be friends with everyone - Jesus clearly was not friends with everyone.  Loving everyone and being friends with everyone are two totally different things - there are two different words for the two different concepts.

Some Christians have tried to force friendships on me and call it love.  They have tried to convince me that being friends with them is what love really means.  Jesus clearly teaches us that to love one's neighbor is to be the Good Samaritan.  You do not need to be friends, you just need to be loving and caring, compassionate and merciful to a stranger - that is how to show God's love, not by being friends with everyone.

As Christians, do you think it is rude to force friendships on other Christians?  In your religion, what does friendship mean and are friendships rudely forced on others?  In general, speaking merely of human relations, do you think it is rude to force friendships on others?

Copyright 2011 by Christenstein