It's crucial to always remember the death of Christ on the cross. Thankfully, because we are predominantly a Christian nation, we are reminded of this once a year. But through the years, many people, even Christians, are no longer interested to remember this very important event. They would rather use this occasion to do other things. Of course, there is nothing wrong with doing other things. But if doing other things results in forgetting the significance of the death of Christ on the cross, then maybe we need to pause and consider that.

The only way to live the Christian life is by trusting and obeying the Holy Spirit. But some people think that this is too open-ended, too subjective. It would result in evil and chaos. Instead, they believe that what is needed to control evil and guarantee true righteousness are rules, not just a few but many rules. If there are rules, people will behave and do the right thing. But experience, as well as the Bible, tells us this is not true. Rules do not guarantee the right behavior. It can only define wrong behavior.

Everyone wants to be free. But true freedom is found only in Christ. Apart from Christ, what people call freedom is just slavery in disguise. They are not really free from sin and selfishness. Consequently, they are also not free to be what God wants them to be and to do, which would result in experiencing life as it was meant to be by God (which is also called eternal life in the Bible). In Christ, we can experience real freedom that leads to eternal life. For this reason, we must guard the freedom we have in Christ at all costs.

Once we stand for our faith in the Gospel, we will encounter some form of opposition, whether it is subtle or overt. Some people will make us feel in subtle ways that they do not approve of our convictions. In some cases, some people will really show us by their words and actions that they reject us because of our beliefs. They may even punish us or hurt us because of the truths that we stand for. It is important to face these persecutions in a biblical way.

God cares for His people. He doesn't want them to get lost. He doesn't want wolves to attack them or scatter them. This is the reason why He calls some of His people to shepherd them. Some of those He calls become full-time shepherds or pastors. Others He calls to help in shepherding God's people on a part-time basis only. But, whether full-time or part-time, the important thing is that God's people are cared for personally and intentionally.

Those who walk away from faith in Christ will lose a lot. It's a detrimental decision that can affect our whole relationship with God. We must not make this fatal choice, for we will regret it. Instead, we must continue to trust in Him and live our lives in full surrender and obedience to Him. Every spiritual blessing that God desires for us to receive as members of His family can only come to us through faith in Christ. This is the reason why we cannot afford to walk away from our sincere faith in Him.

It is God's will that we continue in the Lord, trusting in His grace until we finish the race. He does not want us to get lost. But this does not happen automatically. He created us and the universe in such a way that it's possible to get lost. In fact, if we do not make the effort to guard our faith, we can get lost. Based on 2 Peter 1:1-11, there are three crucial efforts that we must practice constantly to guard our faith so that we will not get lost.

How do we relate to or read the Old Testament as followers of Christ? Should we disregard it, especially now that we are in Christ? Is it a useless part of the Bible that we no longer need to read or even consider as important? Or do we still need to follow the various food laws and commandments found in the Old Testament? Are we still governed by it? Christians are divided about this issue until now.

People today are looking for happiness and fulfillment in all the wrong places. The world promises these things but it never really delivers. People may experience temporary pleasures but in the end they pay such a high price for it, i.e. they pay with their souls. Consequently, their hearts are pierced with many sorrows and they lose everything in the process. People can only find true salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. That's the only thing that is reliable in this world and in the next.

Holding on to our faith in the Gospel is the most important decision we can ever make. It's the only way we can be saved, not just in the beginning but until the very end of our lives. Unfortunately, some do not think it's that important. In fact, some would let go or set aside their faith in the Gospel because of various reasons (e.g., trials, testings, temptations, thorns, etc.). We must always remember how important faith is, not just faith in a general sense (e.g., that God exists or that He loves us) but faith in the Gospel about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.