One might believe in God or might not, or may not be sure; but no matter what is believed, what’s known with certainty is that life on this earth is finite, death is certain. For adamant nonbelievers there is nothing in this book that will change their minds. Firm believers who realize their subjection to God should try to get to know him. Jews and Christians believe that God revealed himself in the Old Testament (Hebrew testament). Studying that will give insight into these revelations, and his commandments. One third of the world’s population profess to be Christians. They believe that Jesus Christ, who walked with us and personally instructed us, was the Messiah promised to the Jews by the prophets after the loss of David’s kingdom of Israel in Old Testament history. Christianity professes and embraces the New Testament accounts of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Most of Christian belief about Christ is summarized in the opening of John’s Gospel. “In the beginning was the Word; the Word was in God’s presence, and the Word was God. He was present to God in the beginning. Through him all things came into being, and apart from him, nothing came to be”. That is, that Christ, the word, was co-eternal with God and in fact was God and was the creator of all things. Christians also believe that this God, Christ, was born into humanity through his Virgin Mother Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit; Christ, human and divine; incarnate. Christ, Son of the Father, born of the Holy Spirit, three persons in one God; Trinity. Christ was: the Emanuel, God with us, promised to Mary by the Archangel Gabriel; the Son of God the most high, himself divine, who would save his people from their sins, as proclaimed to Joseph by the Archangel; the Savior, the Messiah and Lord promised to the shepherds; the King of the Jews proclaimed to the wise men; the anointed of the Lord proclaimed to Simeon; the deliverance of Jerusalem prophesied by Anna; the Lamb of God prophesied by John the Baptist; “my beloved Son”, declared by God at Christ’s baptism; “my Son, my chosen one” proclaimed by God at the Transfiguration; One in being with the Father, declared by Christ himself; “Jesus, Son of God most high.” acknowledged by expelled demons; King of the Jews affixed to his cross by Pilate.
So Christians, who believe that Jesus Christ was God and man, and came into the world in order to redeem sinful humanity, certainly should listen to and heed what he preached and practiced during his public life. In his adult life, Christ greatly amazed the people of Israel because he spoke with the authority of God. He continually demonstrated that he had supernatural power through his miracles. He cured the sick, restored the lame, made the deaf hear, the dumb speak and the blind see. He even raised people from the dead; Lazarus, the Son of the widow in Nain, and the synagogue leader’s daughter. He walked on water and fed thousands by the multiplication of few loaves and fishes. He preached that there is eternal life after mortal death and also that keeping these commandments would result in salvation; acceptance into heaven, the Kingdom of God, for that eternal life. He also preached that there is hell waiting for those who are not saved; the kingdom of the devil who roams the earth and seeks to capture souls for his kingdom. His preaching was simple, yet it was, and is, regarded as radical. When asked by the Pharisee “what is the greatest commandment?” Christ answered, “… Love God … And the second … love your neighbor as yourself”; For the Love of God. This book is about Practicing Christianity in order to achieve the salvation that Christ promised and for which he suffered death on the cross. The book first describes the basic tenets of Christian faith: Who is Christ? What did he teach? What did he command? What is the Church that he created? What did he promise that we hope for? What did he threaten? Salvation requires obeying the Ten Commandments which are embodied in the two basic commandments of love; love of God and love of neighbor, which are explored in separate chapters. To achieve salvation minimally requires avoiding mortally sinning against these commandments. But beyond that there are many degrees of spirituality. The soul will not remain dormant. It will either grow or regress. Progress requires personal persistence and the Grace of God. Active prayer and meditation in petition for God’s grace are discussed at length. The devil actively opposes progress of the soul’s spirituality throughout life and he works harder as the soul gets more devout. Some observations of the devil at work are presented. Some souls progress to a level of spirituality where God grants the gift of contemplation, passive prayer. That is where God enters and takes over the conversation. In passive prayer God grants deeper knowledge (Gnosis) of his divine mysteries to some contemplatives and mystics. The book discusses the achievement of the highest level of spirituality, that is, perfect prayer which results in union with Christ, as described in the writings of the sixteenth century mystics St. Teresa of Avilla and St. John of the Cross. Christ died so that everyone could be saved. No matter what level of spirituality a soul achieves in this life, salvation is available as long as it continues to strive for the love of God and to avoid sinning.
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